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| WHY I WOULD RATHER TRUST JESUS [message #1088] |
Mon, 24 December 2007 20:27 |
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WHY I WOULD RATHER TRUST JESUS
“Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth." Mark 9:23
As Jesus walked the shores of Galilee and made His way through its many villages, His power to cure sicknesses and diseases was a conspicuous and remarkable part of His ministry. Wherever He went, crowds of expectant sufferers were sure to throng Him, looking for the least opportunity to reach out and touch the One Who went about doing good, healing all that were oppressed of the devil (Acts 10:38 “How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him.”). And those who exercised a humble faith were never disappointed. Time and again we read of healing successes summarized in sublime expressions like these:
Matthew 4:23 "And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of sickness and all manner of disease among the people"
Matthew 4:24 "And his fame went throughout all Syria: and they brought unto him all sick people that were taken with divers diseases and torments, and those which were possessed with devils, and those which were lunatic, and those that had the palsy; and he healed them"
Matthew 8:16 "When the even was come, they brought unto him many that were possessed with devils: and he cast out the spirits with his word, and healed all that were sick: That It might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying, Himself took our infirmities, and bare our sicknesses"
Matthew 12:15 "But when Jesus knew it, he withdrew himself from thence: and great multitudes followed him, and he healed them all"
Luke 6:19 "And the whole multitude sought to touch him: for there went virtue out of him and healed them all."
Such passages are, however, much more than simply glowing episodes from a bygone era. Jesus Christ, as risen Lord, is just as willing and able to show Himself strong in the bodily healing of His children today, as He was in the days of His flesh.
During the mid-1970's William Harvey was a student at North East Junior College in Rainsville, Alabama. Muscular dystrophy had taken its toll leaving him with a stride that was less than full and making his ascent up a flight of stairs at the school complex a major task. One of his legs was also shorter than the other---that is, until he encountered the risen, healing Christ. It happened one day at a local Methodist parsonage. He was asked by a full gospel minister if he believed Jesus would grow his leg out to be equal with the other one. After responding in the affirmative, prayer was offered in the Name of Jesus, and the power of God grew his shorter leg to the proper length. His stride became normal and a flight of stairs was no longer the task it once was, simply because of Jesus' healing touch.
Exceeding Great and Precious Promises
The very fact that God promises supernatural, bodily healing in both Old and New Testaments should provide the believer with sufficient incentive to trust Jesus alone for the healing and health of his body. The direct, supernatural intervention envisioned in these Divine pledges is overwhelming evidence of God's will for the believer to cling trustingly to God's Word of promise for the gracious removal of all of his bodily ailments. Promises such as these literally beckon us to believe:
Exodus 15:26-- “And said. If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of the LORD thy God, and wilt do that which Is right in his sight, and wilt give ear to his commandments, and keep all his statutes. I will put none of these diseases upon thee, which I have brought upon the Egyptians: for I am the LORD that healeth thee." The Hebrew of this final phrase, "For I am the Lord that healeth thee” could be translated. "For I am the Lord your physician." thereby highlighting the exclusive right of Yahweh to relate to His people in the role of physician. God’s role as Healer is such an integral aspect of His relationship to His people that it actually becomes His very Name!
Exodus 23:25.26- "And ye shall serve the LORD your God, and he shall bless thy bread, and thy water: and I will take sickness away from the midst of thee. There shall nothing cast their young, nor be barren, in thy land: the number of thy days I will fulfil." Here, in no uncertain terms. God promises to remove sickness, miscarriage, and barrenness from His people in response to their faithful service.
Deut. 7:15 “And the LORD will take away from thee all sickness, and will put none of the evil diseases of Egypt, which thou knowest, upon thee: but will lay them upon all them that hate thee." Obviously, it is not the will of our Father In heaven that His children be burdened with the hideous maladies which so often plague the unregenerate world (Egypt).
Psalms 103:2.3- “Bless the LORD. O my soul, and forget not all his benefits: Who forgiveth all thine iniquities: who healeth all thy diseases." Here, in bold terms, we have God's undeniable promise to heal all our diseases just as surely as He promises to forgive all our iniquities. We can believe Him to do one with the very same confidence with which we believe Him to do the other. With such unmistakable pledges before us, and mind you, these are but samples drawn from a plethora of promises, the unwillingness on the part of those who claim to be God's children, to simply trust Jesus for all of their health needs Is little short of astounding.
God's Ample Provision For Our Healing
In addition, the fact that the Scriptures clearly teach the sufferings and death of our Lord to be a bearing of our bodily infirmities (Hebrew = our weaknesses) and sicknesses, Matthew 8:17 “That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying, Himself took our infirmities, and bare our sicknesses.”), should likewise encourage the believer to place the totality of his trust in the Lord as his Healer. God has not only pledged Himself with a plurality of plain promises, He has also made ample provision for the fulfillment of those promises by grounding our healing squarely in the atoning sufferings and death of our Lord Jesus. This is the significance of such passages as Isaiah 53:4, 5, an Old Testament classic atonement reference, and its New Testament counterpart and commentary, Matt. 8: 17. Respectively, these passages read: “Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he {was] wounded for our transgressions, bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace {was] upon him; and with his stripes we are healed"; and “That it might be fu{filled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying, Himself took our infirmities, and bare sicknesses."
These passages, coupled with 1 Peter 2:24 “Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.” stand out as beacons, beckoning the believer to view his healing as an accomplished fact. God has acted historically (2 Corinthians 5:19 “To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.”) in the person of Jesus Christ to reconcile as many as believe to a right relation with Him by bearing the imputed guilt of their transgressions and the bodily infirmities which overtook them because of sin, whether racial sin in Adam (Romans 5:12 “Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:”), or individual transgressions. Since the root cause for sickness, viz. sin, has been dealt with at Calvary, the effect---sickness---has likewise been dealt the death-blow.
The fact that healing is "in the atonement" removes the question of whether it is always God's will to heal his believing and obedient children from the realm of uncertainty into the land of blessed certitude. Once the believer reckons his healing a finished work (John 19:30 “When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost.”), confessing that by Jesus' stripes he was healed, and carefully complying with the other Biblical conditions, it is but a matter of time until his bodily condition will conform to these inspired statements of God's Word. Furthermore, since God has already healed him, the believer need not beg and engage in vain repetition, as though there were need of overcoming some unspoken reluctance in God's mind concerning His will to do what He has already done in Christ. Viewing our healing as an accomplished fact thus becomes a basis for the bedrock conviction that what God has done for us in Christ at the Cross cannot be altered by the assaults of Satan against our body.
The Prescribed Means of Healing
Healing thus promised in the Bible and provided at Calvary is not mediated to the believer by medical but by supernatural means. It is by the laying on of hands (Mark 16:18 “They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.”; Luke 13:13 “And he laid his hands on her: and immediately she was made straight, and glorified God.”), the prayer of faith (James 5:14-15 “Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord: And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.”; John 14:14 “If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it.”), the touch of faith (Mark 5:27-28 “When she had heard of Jesus, came in the press behind, and touched his garment. For she said, If I may touch but his clothes, I shall be whole.”), the Word of God (Proverbs 4:20-22 “My son, attend to my words; incline thine ear unto my sayings. Let them not depart from thine eyes; keep them in the midst of thine heart. For they are life unto those that find them, and health {Heb. medicine} to all their flesh.”; Psalms 107:20 “He sent his word, and healed them, and delivered them from their destructions”), and the supernatural gifts of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 12:28 “And God hath set some in the church, first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, governments, diversities {kinds} of tongues.”) that God's people are relieved of the satanic oppression of sickness and disease (Acts 10:38 “How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him.”).
In their bouts with physical infirmity, Job (Job 2:7 “So went Satan forth from the presence of the LORD, and smote Job with sore boils from the sole of his foot unto his crown.”: 42:10 “And the LORD turned the captivity of Job, when he prayed for his friends: also the LORD gave Job twice as much as he had before. {Heb. added all that had been to Job unto the double}”), David (Psalms 30:2 “O LORD my God, I cried unto thee, and thou hast healed me.”), Paul (Galatians 4:13 “Ye know how through infirmity of the flesh I preached the gospel unto you at the first.”), Epaphras (Philippians 2:27 “For indeed he was sick nigh unto death: but God had mercy on him; and not on him only, but on me also, lest I should have sorrow upon sorrow.”) and Hezekiah (Isaiah 38:2 “Then Hezekiah turned his face toward the wall, and prayed unto the LORD,”) saw no need to resort to medical means. In fact, the only believer who is said to have sought medical relief was King Asa, who was promptly chastened for his unbelief (2 Chronicles 16:12-13 “And Asa in the thirty and ninth year of his reign was diseased in his feet, until his disease was exceeding great: yet in his disease he sought not to the LORD, but to the physicians. And Asa slept with his fathers, and died in the one and fortieth year of his reign.”). Obviously, God was displeased with his distrust and his premature death is set forth In Scripture as a warning to those who would "trust in the arm of the flesh" (Jeremiah 17:5 “Thus saith the LORD; Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the LORD.”).
As we think of Israel, an entire nation without a health department or Divinely authorized medical Institution (although the less spiritual would resort to physicians, as did their pagan neighbors), to whom God was committed by covenant as Healer-Physician (Exodus 15:26 “And said, If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of the LORD thy God, and wilt do that which is right in his sight, and wilt give ear to his commandments, and keep all his statutes, I will put none of these diseases upon thee, which I have brought upon the Egyptians: for I am the LORD that healeth thee.”), the alien nature of the medical alternative becomes increasingly apparent.
Did You Know?
In addition to the fact that the Medical Institution does not fall within the Biblical framework of God's prescribed means of healing, there are several considerations which make it a questionable route for a Christian:
The very rationale underlying all modern medicine represents a form of that "wisdom of man" (1 Corinthians 2:5 “That your faith should not stand {Gr. not be} in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.”) that is "foolishness with God" (1 Corinthians 3:19 “For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, He taketh the wise in their own craftiness.”), and is therefore diametrically opposed to the Biblical teaching concerning the source and cure of sickness. His educational background and training predisposes even the most well-meaning doctor to trace every sickness to a natural cause---some bacterial microbe, virus or dangerous cell. The Scriptures, However, assert a spiritual (Satan---Acts 10:38 “How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him.”; Luke 13: 11-16 “And, behold, there was a woman which had a spirit of infirmity eighteen years, and was bowed together, and could in no wise lift up herself. And when Jesus saw her, he called her to him, and said unto her, Woman, thou art loosed from thine infirmity. And he laid his hands on her: and immediately she was made straight, and glorified God. And the ruler of the synagogue answered with indignation, because that Jesus had healed on the sabbath day, and said unto the people, There are six days in which men ought to work: in them therefore come and be healed, and not on the sabbath day. The Lord then answered him, and said, Thou hypocrite, doth not each one of you on the sabbath loose his ox or his ass from the stall, and lead him away to watering? And ought not this woman, being a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan hath bound, lo, these eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the sabbath day?”) and moral cause for every physical malady known to man. Romans 5:12 is quite clear in this regard, and attributes spiritual and physical death to the human race's disobedience in the person of its natural head and representative. Adam: "Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned." Simply stated, this means that the experience of death, and by implication, its precursor, deadly disease---are penal inflictions traceable to original sin. Psalms 107:17-20 also reinforces this concept by adding that personal transgression (again. a moral cause) can be the root cause of illness: "Fools because of their transgression, and because of their iniquities, are afflicted. Their soul abhorreth all manner of meat; and they draw near unto the gates of death. Then they cry unto the LORD in their trouble. [and] he saveth them out of their distresses. He sent his word, and healed them, and delivered [them} from their destructions." Thus, the rationale of modern medicine is radically at odds with the Bible and must therefore be discounted by the sincere believer as an unscriptural explanation of the cause and cure of sickness.
Furthermore, the medical profession routinely employs methods of research and treatment which the Bible squarely condemns. The desecration of the dead by the use of cadavers---corpses utilized in classes on surgery rather than being properly buried and provided the dignity of a decent funeral. Since the Scriptures view the corpse as representing the person, any indignity done to the body is viewed as an injustice to the person (1 Samuel 31:11-13 “And when the inhabitants of Jabeshgilead heard of that which the Philistines had done to Saul; All the valiant men arose, and went all night, and took the body of Saul and the bodies of his sons from the wall of Bethshan, and came to Jabesh, and burnt them there. And they took their bones, and buried them under a tree at Jabesh, and fasted seven days.”; 2 Samuel 21:8-10 “But the king took the two sons of Rizpah the daughter of Aiah, whom she bare unto Saul, Armoni and Mephibosheth; and the five sons of Michal the daughter of Saul, whom she brought up for Adriel the son of Barzillai the Meholathite: And he delivered them into the hands of the Gibeonites, and they hanged them in the hill before the LORD: and they fell all seven together, and were put to death in the days of harvest, in the first days, in the beginning of barley harvest. And Rizpah the daughter of Aiah took sackcloth, and spread it for her upon the rock, from the beginning of harvest until water dropped upon them out of heaven, and suffered neither the birds of the air to rest on them by day, nor the beasts of the field by night.” of course, I realize that some misguided souls actually donate their bodies for such desecration!).
Then there is the exposure of human nakedness (e.g., in the exams of gynecologists and in childbirth, physicals, etc.)---a practice which the Scriptures condemn with one voice (Genesis 9:20-25 “And Noah began to be an husbandman, and he planted a vineyard: And he drank of the wine, and was drunken; and he was uncovered within his tent. And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father, and told his two brethren without. And Shem and Japheth took a garment, and laid it upon both their shoulders, and went backward, and covered the nakedness of their father; and their faces were backward, and they saw not their father's nakedness. And Noah awoke from his wine, and knew what his younger son had done unto him.
And he said, Cursed be Canaan; a servant of servants shall he be unto his brethren.”: Leviticus 18:6-18 “6 None of you shall approach to any that is near of kin to him, to uncover their nakedness: I am the LORD.
7 The nakedness of thy father, or the nakedness of thy mother, shalt thou not uncover: she is thy mother; thou shalt not uncover her nakedness.
8 The nakedness of thy father's wife shalt thou not uncover: it is thy father's nakedness.
9 The nakedness of thy sister, the daughter of thy father, or daughter of thy mother, whether she be born at home, or born abroad, even their nakedness thou shalt not uncover.
10 The nakedness of thy son's daughter, or of thy daughter's daughter, even their nakedness thou shalt not uncover: for theirs is thine own nakedness.
11 The nakedness of thy father's wife's daughter, begotten of thy father, she is thy sister, thou shalt not uncover her nakedness.
12 Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy father's sister: she is thy father's near kinswoman.
13 Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy mother's sister: for she is thy mother's near kinswoman.
14 Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy father's brother, thou shalt not approach to his wife: she is thine aunt.
15 Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy daughter in law: she is thy son's wife; thou shalt not uncover her nakedness.
16 Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy brother's wife: it is thy brother's nakedness.
17 Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of a woman and her daughter, neither shalt thou take her son's daughter, or her daughter's daughter, to uncover her nakedness; for they are her near kinswomen: it is wickedness.
18 Neither shalt thou take a wife to her sister, to vex her, to uncover her nakedness, beside the other in her life time.” 20:17-18 “And if a man shall take his sister, his father's daughter, or his mother's daughter, and see her nakedness, and she see his nakedness; it is a wicked thing; and they shall be cut off in the sight of their people: he hath uncovered his sister's nakedness; he shall bear his iniquity. And if a man shall lie with a woman having her sickness, and shall uncover her nakedness; he hath discovered {Heb. made naked} her fountain, and she hath uncovered the fountain of her blood: and both of them shall be cut off from among their people.”) as bringing God's certain curse (Genesis 9:25 “And he said, Cursed be Canaan; a servant of servants shall he be unto his brethren”). The concealment of nakedness is a concept firmly rooted in Biblical modesty (1 Timothy 2:9-10 “In like manner also, that women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with shamefacedness and sobriety; not with broided {plaited} hair, or gold, or pearls, or costly array; But (which becometh women professing godliness) with good works.”), although it is commonly ignored by today's culture and routinely trampled in the ongoing practice of medicine. Is it any wonder that depraved and unsupervised children sometimes refer to their indecent exposure as "playing doctor"?
And what of the administration of drugs? Are you aware that the Greek word for sorcery {<pharmakeia>} (the use or the administering of drugs ("pharmacist"): poisoning: sorcery, witchcraft, magical arts) also refers to the concoctions of the druggist---sorcerer used as remedies? We are told that sorcery (drug use) will be a predominate sin of the Endtime, and one which men will refuse to part with even in the face of unprecedented Divine judgments (Revelation 9:21 “Neither repented they of their murders, nor of their sorceries, nor of their fornication, nor of their thefts.”: and following also Galatians 5:19-21 “Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, Idolatry, witchcraft {Greek <pharmakeia>--pharmacy}, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.”: Revelation 21:8 “But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.”).
A survey of these considerations and a trusting look at the many promises of bodily healing in the Word of God have convinced me that simple trust in Jesus is preferable to reliance upon the vaunted medical discoveries of modern man. And when I ponder the very practical consideration that JESUS has been faithful to heal me and maintain my health for many years, I am satisfied with this simple, but Scriptural conclusion concerning physical healing---
I would rather trust Jesus!
Sandhill Bible Church,
4505 Sandhill Road.
Auburn. AL 36830 (334} 749-6475
sandhillbchurch@bellsouth.net
Website: http://www.sandhillbiblechurch.org
My personal testimony is that Jesus the Great Physcian has been my personal physican, and HIM only, since 1982. He has always been faithful and always will be. I was born in 1938. Thank you JESUS!
[Updated on: Mon, 24 December 2007 20:45]
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