Nr. 201: INSTRUCTIONS TO THE SICK

Nr. 201:

INSTRUCTIONS TO THE SICK

Take fast hold of instruction; let her not go: keep her; for she is thy life (Proverbs 4:13).

Your healing - yes, even your very life - may depend entirely upon the way you take hold of the instruction in this and the following chapters. No doubt countless thousands who are now in their graves would be enjoying perfect health today if they could have received proper instruction about divine healing. There are perhaps millions whose lives are wasting away with disease at this very moment who will never be healed unless they receive proper instruction.

Lack of faith is often the result of lack of instruction. At Nazareth, even Christ himself could ... do no mighty work (Mark 6:5). All He was able to do was to lay His hands on a few sick folk and heal them. He marveled because of their unbelief. No doubt the reason for their unbelief was their lack of proper instruction. Christ saw their need and went round about the villages, teaching (Mark 6:6).

God has placed teachers in the Church as one of the ministry gifts (see 1 Corinthians 12:28), yet few people realize the benefits of good instruction and teaching. Many who travel for miles to attend a divine healing campaign become indignant when they are required to attend a meeting for preparatory instruction before they get in the healing line. Many who attend the instruction meetings fail to grasp the instruction they need because they are only attending in order to get in the healing line. Beneficial instruction is given but their hearts are closed to it. These people do not realize the value of such instruction. In many cases, those with little faith have not received proper instruction, either because it was not offered or because they failed to accept it when it was given. On the other hand, almost without exception, those who exercise real faith, believe God's promise, and receive healing are the ones who have taken time for instruction.

Hear instruction, and be wise, and refuse it not (Proverbs 8:33).

Build your faith

Many people have been afflicted for years and have had many outstanding men of God lay hands on them and pray for their healing. And yet they have not received their healing. These people seem to think that all they need to do in order to be healed is to get in a healing line and have someone lay hands on them and pray. They hope that it may be their lucky day. But healing is not a matter of luck. It is a matter of faith - faith in the unchanging and unchangeable Word of God. Without question, these people need appropriate instruction. All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for...instruction (2 Timothy 3:16). Those who desire healing should obtain all available instruction - not just in order to get in a healing line, but to build their faith so they can receive of God the things which He said should be theirs. Without faith it is impossible to please him (Hebrews 11:6). Since faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God (Romans 10: 17), those who seek healing should fill their heart with God's promises concerning healing. Read portions of the Bible that will build your faith - the Book of Acts and the Gospel of Mark. Read and memorize as many verses as possible. Study the mighty miracles of healing in these books, and notice how your faith increases. When the tide of your faith has risen and doesn't waver, then it is time to enter the healing line. Then, and only then, can you receive healing.

Get rid of hindrances

We will have a class in this course entitled, "Hindrances to Faith." Read and re-read this material, carefully and prayerfully, until every hindrance has been removed. Search the Word of God. God will speak to the sincere, honest, openhearted individual through His Word. As new light is shed upon your pathway, God expects you to walk in that light, for with new light comes new responsibility. You must be a doer of the Word and not a hearer only. Search your heart and see if there be any wicked way in you. If God reveals sin in your life, you must repent of it immediately. Turn loose of it - drop it as though it were a hot iron! Do not be satisfied to merely prune off the big sins. Prune off every little sin along with the big ones.

Prayer and fasting

Prayer and fasting should be an important part of your preparations for healing. Throughout both the Old and New Testaments of the Bible, we find that the great men of God were those who prayed and fasted. God's power was manifested in their lives and they worked miracles and healed the sick.

Christ himself taught fasting as well as prayer. When the disciples failed to heal a boy who was possessed with a demon, Jesus said to them, This kind can come forth by nothing, but by prayer and fasting (Mark 9:29). God has chosen a fast. It is described in Isaiah 58:6. Is not this the fast that I have chosen? to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke? The reward of this fast is seen in verse eight of the same chapter. Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thine health shall spring forth speedily as the morning, and thine health shall spring forth speedily.

Yet fasting is not a "charm" by which healing can be purchased. Do not boast about your fasting, for Jesus gives these instructions on the matter: Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face; That thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father which is in secret: and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly (Matthew 6:16-18). If a person's fasting is directed toward God, he will not boast to others about it, making sure they know of his sacrifice. Those who make such boasts will receive little or nothing from their efforts!

If you have not yet been filled with the Holy Spirit, begin now to seek God for the baptism of the Holy Spirit. It is possible that whatever has prevented you from being filled with the Holy Ghost may also be preventing you from receiving healing. It is evident that those who are filled with the Spirit are able to touch God more quickly than those who have not been filled. Don’t be discouraged if you are unable to attend a healing service. God made proper provision for those who are bed-ridden and cannot get into a healing line God wrought special miracles by the hands of Paul: So that from his body were brought to the sick handkerchiefs or aprons, and the diseases departed from them, and the evil spirits went out of them (Acts 19:11,12). If you are one who cannot attend a healing service, contact someone who prays the prayer of faith and ask him or her to send you an anointed handkerchief. (Be sure to read the special section on "Miracles by Handkerchiefs and Aprons" in chapter 11.)

Walk in fellowship with God

When ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any: that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses (Mark 11:25). An unforgiving spirit - a rebellious heart, refusing to walk in the light of God's Word - is the murderer of faith, which John calls "confidence." Only God's Word can bring real confidence. For those who desire this confidence and faith it is extremely important to walk obediently in the full light of God’s Word. To have confidence in God, you must have real fellowship with God. You cannot have real fellowship with God unless you walk in the light of His Word.

Those who walk in darkness cannot have fellowship with God. In fact, they can’t even be sure that the blood of Christ cleanses them from sin. This then is the message, which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth: But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin (1 John 1:5-7). We can only have real fellowship with Christ when we are doers of the Word and not hearers only. Those who have the greatest fellowship with God are those who have the greatest faith. Those who have the least fellowship with Him are those who have little or no faith. Our faith is in exact proportion to the fellowship, which we have with God. It’s no wonder that many today have little faith, for they have very little fellowship with the Lord Jesus Christ. Indeed, many have no fellowship with Him because of a rebellious spirit, or self-will. They refuse to walk in the light of God’s Word as it is shed upon their pathway, either through reading and studying it, or through hearing it preached by full-gospel ministers who believe and teach the Word in its entirety.

Without real fellowship with God, there can be no real faith in Him. Continuing in darkness after receiving the light of God’s Word will break that fellowship and, according to I John 1:7, the blood of Jesus Christ will no longer continue to cleanse us from sin. So rebellion, or self-will, will close the door of your heart to real faith and, at the same time, will open it to doubt and unbelief.

Does God's Word work today?

Christ himself, speaking of the very day in which we live, asked the question, When the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth? (Luke 18:8). He knew that faith could not live in the atmosphere of modernism, unbelief, doubt, coldness, indifference, and skepticism that prevails today. We need to consider why we don’t see more people healed today. Instead of faith in the hearts of men, we find men’s hearts failing them for fear (Luke 21:26). Paul, speaking of these last days and the condition of the apostate church, said, For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables (2 Timothy 4:3,4). Would you expect to find faith in such an atmosphere? Never! Paul continues, Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof. FROM SUCH TURN AWAY (2 Timothy 3:5).

Thousands of people today attend churches where modernist preachers declare that the day of miracles is past and that Christ does not heal today. They no longer believe that the supernatural, signs following, and the miraculous gifts of the Spirit are for the Church today. They preach beautiful sermons that appeal to the intellect but never touch the heart. They teach that if Christ heals today, He heals through medical science.

Ask one of these modernist preachers if he believes the Bible, and he will say, "Yes, part of it." He will explain that he does not believe in the part that borders on the supernatural. Those modernists believe all that corresponds with reason, but refuse to believe that which they cannot reason out. They reject anything supernatural. They refuse to accept the baptism of the Holy Spirit, speaking in tongues, and the supernatural gifts of healing and miracles. They are modernists to the core. Many of them deny the deity of Christ, the inherent wickedness of man, the blood atonement, and the inspiration of the Bible. Instead of preaching a direct creation, they teach that man is a product of evolution. They do not preach the fall of man, or that man’s heart is depraved. Instead, they insist that getting better and better. When they should be preaching salvation by the blood of Christ, they talk of works and character. Instead of preaching the Bible as the inspired Word of God, they teach the theories of science.

These modern preachers would make a mere teacher of our Savior. They do not believe nor do they preach, supernatural regeneration. Rather, they teach "natural development." When they should preach divine sanctification, they talk about "education." Instead of preaching supernatural grace, they lecture on natural "morality."

Could a person exposed to this kind of doctrine week after week have much faith in the supernatural doctrine of healing? Positively not! If a person is to receive healing, it will be because he has faith in the supernatural power of God - not because he doubts it.

God’s advice under these circumstances is FROM SUCH TURN A WAY! (2 Timothy 3:5). If you want to have real faith, attend a church where faith is taught and exercised! If you want healing, turn away from those who oppose it and identify yourself with people who believe it. Go to a church where people are encouraged to believe ALL the promises of God and NOT where they are told, "It is not for today."

Gifts of healing ... working of miracles

For to one is given by the Spirit...the gifts of healing...To another the working of miracles (1 Corinthians 12:8-10). It is well for those seeking healing to understand that there is a difference between the gifts of healing and the gift of miracles. Ordinarily, the gifts of healing remove the cause of the disease that is injuring the body, and the person regains his health. In some cases, relief will be complete and instant, but many times a state of convalescence begins. This is not a theory, but is thoroughly documented in the Scriptures. Many hearings of Christ were accomplished in just this way - for example, note the healing of the nobleman's son in John 4:46-52.

The gifts of healing do not ordinarily replace a missing organ that may have been removed by surgery or lost in an accident. Healing will restore sight to a blind eye, but if the eyeball is missing then only a miracle could bring sight again. A new eyeball would have to be created and only a miracle could bring about such a new creation. The gifts of healing will restore hearing to deaf ears, but in the case where there are no ear drums, only a miracle can re-create ear drums. A miracle is the setting aside of the ordinary laws of God governing a specific case, such as the sun being made to stand still at the command of Joshua. Healing is God’s promised provision for ALL the sick among His people. A miracle covers only a specific case. God, who created a universe by His Word, can, and sometimes does, recreate missing organs, when there is sufficient faith. God can do anything - all things are possible with Him. But you must understand that the gifts of healing were not intended to take the place of the gift of miracles in the Church. If this were so, the gift of miracles would not be necessary.

The gifts of healing were not intended to make an old person young again. As a person gets older, his body shows signs of aging. The face becomes wrinkled, hair turns gray and may fall out, energy is diminished, and the bodily processes become slower. More rest and careful selection of a proper diet is required in order to maintain good health. However, this does not mean that the aged must suffer from disease. God’s promises to His people are good to the end of life.

The gifts of healing do not eliminate death. Until Jesus comes, It is appointed unto men once to die (Hebrews 9:27). The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death (1 Corinthians 15:26). However, death need not be accompanied by horrible sufferings from diseases that God has promised to heal.

Healing was not intended to take the place of the natural processes of life, such as development of mind or stature. Some time ago, a young man twenty-four years of age came into the healing line. He was no more than four feet tall, had the voice of a child, and there was no sign of whiskers on his face. It was very apparent that his condition was abnormal, for both his parents were above the average height and build. Healing would not grow this man a beard in a moment, nor would healing make him a six-footer in the twinkling of an eye. However, healing would strike at the root of the trouble and, after a while, that fellow would have to buy himself a razor and some larger clothes.

Healing will not cause the person who has been deaf and mute from birth to immediately understand and speak a language that he has never heard. He must learn to speak very much as he would have learned to speak as a child. The process may be more rapid due to more mature mental development. However, he may never speak the language as perfectly as he would have if he had learned to speak at the normal time in life.

Do not be discouraged and don’t accuse God of failing or refusing to heal you simply because your healing is not immediately manifested in completion or as a miracle. Take God at His word. Accept your healing as an accomplished fact. It was not accomplished today… or last week. It was accomplished at the whipping post in Jerusalem, on the day that Jesus atoned for your sins. It was not accomplished today - but it is accepted today, and is effective in your life, as you follow the instructions of the Word of God for your deliverance. It is working even now, and will continue to work in your life until you are in perfect health - fully delivered from sickness and sin by the atoning work of Christ!