Why Some are Not Healed and the Bible Answer - Gordon Lindsay

25 Bible Reasons Why Some Are Not Healed and

How They May Receive Deliverance

The majority of evangelical Christians today believe that God has power to heal and often does heal. Yet it is a fact that there are many people who desperately desire and need healing but have not been successful in receiving or retaining it.

It is not a question always easy to answer when people ask, “Why am I not healed?” We know by a thousand witnesses and proofs that healing is indeed real, that the promises of God

concerning healing are clear and that He “forgiveth all thine

iniquities and healeth all thy diseases.” Although God has promised to forgive all iniquities, still we all know that the iniquities of many are not forgiven. Likewise God healeth all diseases but the diseases of many are not healed. Why? The answer to both questions is the same: there are conditions to receiving either salvation or healing.

But the nature of the case is a complex thing. Can a man remain well if he does not take care of his body? Can he stay sound in mind if he constantly worries? May a man receive healing for his soul and neglect it for his spirit? Will God because He is omnipotent heal everyone who desires healing, whether or not they meet the conditions? By the nature of the case, there are conditions to be met.

But what are those conditions? What have we failed to do if our prayers are not answered in the matter of healing?

It is true that most believers realize that their failure to receive is not God's fault. They are vaguely aware that there is something that is standing in the way, but what is it? How can they find out? That is the question that is so often asked. A counselor might have to spend hours in searching out the truth. Indeed many people never do learn the reason for their failure to be healed.

To meet this need this book 25 Bible Reasons Why Some Are Not Healed has been carefully prepared. We believe that these 25 reasons taken from the Scriptures cover 99% of the cases. The individual may study these at his leisure. He may look up the Bible references and give time for the Spirit of God to work in his heart. As the Spirit of God reveals to him the true reason for his failure, he can correct it and be in a position to

receive his healing.

Why Some Are Not Healed

by Gordon Lindsay

Published byChrist For The Nations Publishing Co.

Dallas, TexasLitho U. S. A.The Year 1967

ContentsIntroduction.................................................................................7

Why Some Are Not Healed.......................................................111. Some Expect Healing as a Test of God's Power..............112. Some Look for Signs Rather Than to the Word of God.. 123. Some Rely Upon the Arm of Flesh.................................134. Some Are Not Healed Because They Have an

Unforgiving Spirit........................................................155. Some Have Sinned Against Their Brother and Have Not

Asked Forgiveness........................................................166. Some Professing Christians Are Not Healed Because of

Flagrant Sin..................................................................177. Some Are Under a Curse for Robbing God.....................198. Some Who Come to Christ for Healing Are Not the

Children of God............................................................209. Some Children Are Not Healed Because of the Sins of the

Parents..........................................................................2110. Some Are Not Healed Because Their Sickness Is Unto

Death............................................................................2311. Time Allotted to Life Fulfilled.....................................2412. Some Look at the Symptoms and Lose Their Healing. .2513. Some Let Fear Enter Their Hearts................................2614. Some Sicknesses Healed Only Through Prayer and

Fasting..........................................................................2815. Some Are Not Healed Because of Improper Care of the

Body.............................................................................2916. Some Do Not Discern the Lord's Body.........................2917. Discerning the Mystic Body of Christ...........................3118. Some Are Not Healed Because They Defile the Body of

Christ............................................................................3319. Some Are Sick Because of Immoderate Eating.............3520. Some Have Put Their Hand on God's Anointed............3621. Some Will Not Take Time to Listen to Instruction in

Order to Get Their Faith Built on the Word of God.....3722. Some Fail to Keep Their Lives Filled With God..........3923. Some Put Forth No Effort to Resist the Enemy............40

24. Many Do Not Realize That God's Plan Is Divine Health Rather Than Repeated Healings...................................41

25. Some Reject Healing as Being in the Atonement..........43

Introduction

The promises of divine healing in the Bible are many and positive. Healing is by faith, and faith is irresistible. It always brings the answer. Jesus said in Mark 11:22-24:

And Jesus answering saith unto them, Have faith in

God. For verily I say unto you, that whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast

into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass;

he shall have whatsoever he saith. Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe

that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.

Notice the promise carefully. If a man does not doubt in his heart he shall have whatsoever he saith. None other than Jesus Himself made this statement. He declared that we can have whatsoever we ask, if we believe. Jesus cannot be mistaken. Yet it is pointed out that many who have earnestly desired healing apparently have failed to receive. What is wrong?

A clue is found in the 25th verse. There are conditions to

having “the faith in God.” Jesus mentions a condition in the context. He does not enumerate all the things that can hinder faith. He mentions one to show that there are conditions. In this instance He declares that a Christian must have a forgiving spirit. If he does not, his faith will not work. God will not hear him.

There are conditions to healing. Faith always works, but wrong conditions can hinder faith. There were wrong conditions in the city of Nazareth when the Lord went there. We are told

that “he laid his hands upon a few sick folk, and healed

them” (Mark 6:5). Conditions definitely affect the operation of faith. We are not healed by doing good works, but there are things that we may do or not do that can cause our faith to be

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hindered.

By the nature of the case there are certain things that must be taken into consideration when we seek healing. For example, can we expect divine healing to keep a person well who willfully disregards the laws of health? The answer is no. Can one be healthy who constantly worries and frets or who allows himself to be the victim of fear or anxiety? If one stops to think about it, he will agree that he cannot. Physicians tell us that one half of all sicknesses are non-organic but are caused by wrong thinking and wrong attitudes. Will divine healing keep people well if they

think wrong? The Bible says, “For as he thinketh in his heart,

so is he.” And what about those who constantly dope themselves with pills, potions, quack remedies, patent medicine, nostrums, sedatives, and tranquilizers? Human health is a more complex thing than is at first realized.

Many people receive their first healing through the faith of another. But God does not intend us to go through life depending upon someone else’s faith. We must develop faith of our own. There are definite conditions to keeping healing. The apostle Paul declared that there are believers who fail to discern the conditions; they are weak and sickly, and some die before their time.

Then again we must remember that the Bible speaks more about divine health than divine healing. Rather than looking for repeated healings, we are to believe God for continuous health.

Jesus spoke of the devil’s return after being cast out to find

the house “swept, and garnished.” He intimated that if we do not keep our lives filled with God we might lose our deliverance.

We are told to “resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”

What about those who never put forth a single effort to overcome the enemy when he attacks them?

We all know that there are some who seem to seek salvation and who do not receive. Nevertheless, do we not teach that anyone can be saved who will meet the conditions? Christ said,

“him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out” (John 6:37). Likewise we say that once the conditions are met, the sick

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Introduction

person can be healed. The psalmist said that God “forgiveth all

thine iniquities” and “healeth all thy diseases” (Psa. 103:3). Some Christians have received several healings; then they become afflicted with some stubborn ailment over which they do not seem able to get victory. What is the cause?

Sometimes there may be several things holding back faith for healing. Again it may be just one thing. If you have need of healing and have failed to receive, then read this book carefully. Find out what is standing in the way. Then you can turn your faith loose and claim the promise. There is an old saying, “All sickness can be healed, but not all sick people can be healed.” There are some unwilling to make the effort to get the hindrances out of the way. The purpose of this book is to help those who are willing to make the effort. In the following pages we consider the Bible reasons why some sick people are not healed. We then show what must be done to get healing. Read carefully for if you have sought healing and are still sick, one of these causes in all likelihood will cover your case.

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1. Some Expect Healing as a Test of God's

Power

Now there is at Jerusalem by the sheep market a pool, which is called in the Hebrew tongue Bethesda, having five

porches. In these lay a great multitude of impotent folk, of blind, halt, withered, waiting for the moving of the water.

(John 5:2-3).

Opposers of the ministry of healing have on occasion challenged those who teach healing to make a demonstration of

“their healing power.” They are like Herod who “hoped to have

seen some miracle done by him” (Luke 23:8). But Jesus would perform no miracle to gratify the curiosity of Herod. Nor would He comply with the mocking request of the chief priests who

said, “If he be the king of Israel, let him come down from the

cross, and we will believe him” (Matt. 27:42), God has no miracles for the mockers or curiosity seekers.

Some have wondered why the minister who teaches divine healing does not go down the line and cure everyone who wants to be healed. Of course everyone who is sick wants to be well! But not everyone is ready to meet the conditions. Let us note the instance when Jesus was at Bethesda where a great multitude of impotent and afflicted folk lay. Did the Lord go from person to person and heal them all? Certainly they all wanted to be made well; nevertheless, Jesus healed only one. Why was this? A clue lies in the fact that everyone else at the pool was so busy watching for the moving of the water that they took no notice of the Great Physician who was in their midst. Their interest was more in getting the healing than in receiving the Healer. They thought that their cure depended on beating the other fellow to the pool. But this impotent man always found that someone else

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got into the water ahead of him. He had lost all hope of getting healed in that way. So it was that he had time to notice the Stranger who stood in their midst. And to him the Lord said,

“Wilt thou be made whole?” Jesus told him to take up his bed and walk. And walk he did, but there is no record that any of those who were watching the pool were healed.

Thus we see that Jesus did not pray indiscriminately for all the sick. The lesson is clear. Those who wish healing must get their eyes off the natural things and upon Jesus.

Second, there are definite conditions to healing. We must see Christ as the Healer, as our Great Physician, if we are to receive His divine touch.

2. Some Look for Signs Rather Than to the

Word of God.

Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. (Rom. 10:17).

Then Jesus said unto him, Except ye see signs and wonders, ye will not believe. (John 4:48).

Some people miss their healing because they will not believe

except they are given a sign or a miracle first. Jesus said, “They

shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover” (Mark 16:18). Many are healed through a gradual recovery. But some are not satisfied with a gradual healing; they demand an instantaneous miracle, or they will not believe. While God does give many miracles, and sometimes remarkable signs as He did to Hezekiah, He does not always follow that method. Most people have enough faith to receive a healing if they would use what faith they have, but not all have faith for an instantaneous miracle.

In the instance of the healing of the nobleman’s son, the man had come to Jesus beseeching Him to heal his boy who was at the point of death. But healing is not based upon the degree of need but upon faith. Apparently the man had faith for a healing,

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but not for an instantaneous miracle—which apparently he had

hoped for. Jesus then said, “Except ye see signs and wonders,

ye will not believe.” The man felt the reproof; nevertheless, he continued to beseech Jesus to heal his son. He would take healing in any way Jesus would grant it. The Lord then told the man to go his way that his son would live. When he arrived

home, he found that his son “began to amend” from the time Jesus had spoken the word. His faith had been great enough for a healing but not for an instantaneous miracle.

In the case of Naaman, who came to Elisha for healing, the general was much displeased by the prophet’s words that he dip seven times in the Jordan. He thought that the miracle would be performed in a spectacular way. In return he would bestow upon the prophet a handsome reward which he had brought with him to pay for his healing. Naaman was surprised and angry at the prophet’s brusque treatment of him.

But Naaman was wroth, and went away, and said, Behold, I thought, He will surely come out to me, and

stand, and call on the name of the Lord his God, and strike his hand over the place, and recover the leper. (II Kgs.

5:11).

Naaman did get healed but only after he decided to come God’s way. The lesson is clear. If we would have healing, we must be willing to come humbly to the Lord and follow the directions in His Word. God does on occasion perform remarkable, even spectacular healings. Yet at other times the deliverance comes gradually and without any spectacular manifestations. In any case we must stand on the promise, believing God’s Word and doubting nothing. If we do not waver, our healing is sure to be fully manifest.

3. Some Rely Upon the Arm of Flesh

Although it is true that doctors have an important place in society, there is such a thing as putting our trust in physicians rather than in God. There are of course certain services that are in order for doctors to perform. They may set a bone, bind up a

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wound, fill a decayed tooth, give instructions for dieting, instruct in the proper care of the body, quarantine those with contagious disease, attend childbirth, etc. Just where the line is to be drawn cannot be laid down by a set rule. But there is a point at which we must put our whole faith in God if we wish supernatural

healing. As Jeremiah said, “Thus saith the Lord; Cursed be

the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and

whose heart departeth from the Lord” (Jer. 17:5).

Asa was guilty of this thing. For a long time he had put his trust in God, but in the days of his prosperity, his heart became lifted up. He refused to listen to the prophet who rebuked him for his backsliding. When disease came upon him, the record

says, “He sought not to the Lord, but to the physicians” (II Chron. 16:12).

One who has trusted in Christ as his Great Physician, and then turned from the Lord to other means, may find as did Asa, that all will fail him. But even here a mistake can be made. One may boast that he has given up all means except divine help. Such a spirit may be inspired by human pride. Then again the mere giving up of drugs will not guarantee healing. Some people trust neither God nor the doctors.

The use of means does not necessarily hinder one from getting healing. However, if our confidence is only in them, we may be hindered in trusting God for our healing. It is the fact that one puts his whole trust in God that brings the deliverance. When that is truly done, the question of whether or not one should use means ceases to be a problem.

The medicine itself is actually a small matter, but with many people the use of it has the effect of transferring their faith to the medicine rather than to God. With some the use of medicine does not affect their faith in the same way. Many people have been healed who have used natural means. On the other hand, some who resorted to these means have found that their faith would not take hold until after they ceased using them. This matter should be considered carefully by those who have failed to get healing.

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It should be noted that the Bible does not condemn physicians. It recognizes that they have a place. In short it would seem that the doctor’s chief function from the Scriptural standpoint is to help people learn to obey the physical laws of nature, which is certainly necessary if they are to maintain good health.

4. Some Are Not Healed Because They Have an

Unforgiving Spirit

Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye

desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them. And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye

have ought against any: that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses. But if ye do not

forgive, neither will your Father which is in heaven forgive your trespasses. (Mark 11:24-26).

Jesus had just given the disciples a remarkable object lesson.

He had spoken to the fig tree saying, “No man eat fruit of thee

hereafter for ever” (Verse 14). Nothing happened as far as the eye could see at that moment, but the next day as they passed by, the disciples saw that the leaves of the fig tree had withered away. This shows that when the Word is spoken, even though to the outward appearance nothing has taken place, the results must eventually show up on the outside. Thus a cancer may be killed, though no change is seen immediately in the patient. But if the roots are dead the results will soon be manifest.

Therefore, Jesus gave the great promise mentioned above that whatever we ask when we pray, we are to believe we receive, and we shall have. That is the law of faith. Nevertheless, the Lord followed this promise with a warning that there are circumstances that can hinder one’s faith. He also

said, “and when ye stand praying, forgive.” Bitterness of spirit is one of the great enemies of faith and if unchecked will poison and disease the soul.

In the story of Job we find that the patriarch had real reason to be offended at his friends. These foolish comforters had

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accused him falsely of having sin in his life, and that was the reason, so they claimed, that his misfortunes had come upon him. Nevertheless, the Lord did not heal Job until he had prayed for his friends. When Job did this, the Lord turned his captivity, healed him, and gave him twice as much as he had before.

The necessity of a forgiving heart is found again and again in the teachings of Christ (Matt. 18:21-35). The Lord said that if we do not forgive, the Heavenly Father will not forgive us (Verse 35). Jesus showed in the healing of the palsied man that healing and God’s forgiveness are closely tied together. He said

to him, “Son, be of good cheer; thy sins be forgiven thee”

(Matt. 9:2). The man arose healed. It is a simple observation that since healing and forgiveness are bound up together, a sick person who holds a grudge in his heart against another may find that he is not able to get his healing.

5. Some Have Sinned Against Their Brother

and Have Not Asked Forgiveness.

Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent

prayer of a righteous man availeth much. (James 5:16).

James 5:13-16 is the great command to the elders of the church to pray for the sick. These words, therefore, are of vital importance and should be carefully studied. The apostle first of all admonishes the afflicted to pray, and if merry to sing psalms. Perhaps the reason some who are afflicted are not healed is because when they are merry they do not sing psalms!

The 15th and 16th verses give instructions on how the elders are to minister to the sick, that the prayer of faith will save the sick, and if he has committed sins he shall be forgiven. It is important to notice the implied possibility that sin can be related to the person’s sickness. This of course is not always true. Jesus

said in the case of a certain blind man, “Neither hath this man

sinned, nor his parents, but that the works of God should be

made manifest in him” (John 9:3).

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Nevertheless, James 5:15 definitely infers that sin committed against a brother can be the reason one is not healed.

It says, “Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for

another, that ye may be healed” (Verse 16). If confessing our faults one to another is necessary in certain cases before healing can come, failure to obey this command could definitely keep some people from receiving deliverance. God created man with a conscience. Though he should ignore it and put from his mind his wrong actions, nonetheless, his conscience may refuse to be stilled. This well can hinder faith for healing. Thus does the

Scripture say, “Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, then we

have confidence toward God” (1 John 3:21).

It is clear that there are some who are not healed because they have sinned against their brother and have failed to confess or to make proper restitution. However, we should point out that this is not true in every case, and one should be on the alert against Satan, the accuser of the brethren, who would seek to reproach us of things that have no foundation in fact. Having humbly searched our heart for any wrong we have done against our brother and having done our best to make restitution, we should put the matter in the hands of God. Sometimes it is easier to get God’s forgiveness than it is to forgive ourselves.

6. Some Professing Christians Are Not Healed

Because of Flagrant Sin

It is reported commonly that there is fornication

among you, and such fornication as is not so much as named among the Gentiles, that one should have his

father’s wife... In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when ye are gathered together, and my spirit, with the power of

our Lord Jesus Christ, To deliver such an one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved

in the day of the Lord Jesus. (I Cor. 5:1, 4-5)

There are some cases—probably not a large number—where a church member is guilty of some flagrant evil that is beyond the ordinary. The person has ignored all warnings and boldly

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persists in a course which if uncorrected might corrupt the entire assembly. In such cases the Bible teaches that divine discipline

is to be administered “for the destruction of the flesh, that the

spirit might be saved.” We have seen some such cases, and until the person manifested real contrition, there was no hope of deliverance. They were delivered to Satan, and the devil having a free hand would bring the most terrible oppression upon them. This chastisement was permitted in divine mercy, however, for the means used was the only way by which the person could be brought to repentance.

There was such a case in the Corinthian church as noted in the verses above. One of the members committed incest, taking his father’s wife, a particularly wicked act. The church was indifferent to doing anything about it. But Paul, pointing out the guilt which was being incurred by the whole assembly, called upon the congregation in the name of Christ to deliver the offender to judgment—in this case to Satanic oppression.

And that is what happened. Apparently the chastisement was so severe the offender despaired of life. As far as he could see there was no hope of deliverance. Notice this: although God might forgive him, there was no physical deliverance until the church forgave him! Paul finally advised that they give him absolution, saying that the punishment the man had received was sufficient.

Sufficient to such a man is this punishment, which was

inflicted of many. So that contrariwise ye ought rather to forgive him, and comfort him, lest perhaps such a one

should be swallowed up with overmuch sorrow. (II Cor. 2:6-7).

Here is perfect proof that sickness in some cases is actual punishment. If you as a professed church member have committed some open sin, perhaps even bringing reproach to the cause of Christ, and as a result are suffering because of it, thoroughly repent of the sin, and turn from it. Then call on the members of the church, asking for their forgiveness. There is deliverance for you.

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7. Some Are Under a Curse for Robbing God.

Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye

say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings. Ye are cursed with a curse: for ye have robbed me, even

this whole nation. Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and

prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a

blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it. (Mal. 3:8-10).

Malachi speaks of a curse coming on some people because they have robbed God. A man who steals from another man could hardly expect God to bless him. What then about those who rob God?

The prophet Malachi does not go into detail as to what all the curse included. But Deuteronomy shows that the curse includes sickness and disease.

As people robbed God in days of old, so likewise some do today in withholding God’s tithes and offerings. Many would evade their responsibility by declaring that they are living under the New Covenant and are released from paying tithes. It would seem a shame that anyone should live under the grace and blessings of the New Testament and then want to do less than those who lived under the Law! The fact is that Christ declared that people should pay tithes and not forget to attend to judgment, mercy, and faith (Matt. 23:23). The book of Hebrews, written almost a generation after the New Testament age began, shows that tithing which was instituted before the Law continues to be in force after the Law—that is in the days of grace.

And here men that die receive tithes; but there he receiveth them, of whom it is witnessed that he liveth.

(Hebrew 7:8).

Thus we see that Christ after the order of Melchizedek, through His ministers on earth, now received tithes in heaven. How grave a sin it is then for one to steal that which belongs to

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God. The sacred writer asks, “Will a man rob God?”

Back in the Garden of Eden, man originally sinned because he coveted what God had reserved for Himself. As a result of this sin, sickness, disease, and eventually death came upon the world. Surely man should have learned his lesson by now. He cannot take what belongs to God and evade the penalty.

It should be understood, however, that God does not send a curse upon a Christian because he fails to pay tithes. The curse already is in the world, and it is God’s grace and providence that protects us from it. We pay tithes not from compulsion, but because God’s work must be carried on, and it costs money to carry on His work. It would be plain dishonesty, as well as ingratitude, for us to accept the benefits of the gospel that someone else has made possible by their sacrifice and refuse to do our part to make it possible for others to hear and receive those benefits.

If you are withholding God’s money, it is possible that you are making a gap in the hedge for the enemy to attack you. Paying tithes in itself will not necessarily bring healing. But failure to do so, like all disobedience, can hinder one’s faith.

8. Some Who Come to Christ for Healing Are

Not the Children of God.

And, behold, a woman of Canaan came out of the same coasts, and cried unto him, saying, Have mercy on

me, O Lord, thou son of David; my daughter is grievously vexed with a devil. But he answered her not a word. (Matt.

15:22-23).

Here is the case of the Syrophenician woman’s coming to Christ for healing for her daughter and apparently being refused. She represents those who seek healing, conscious of the suffering and pain in their bodies, but not having taken account of their sin which may have caused it. This woman, however, was an ignorant woman, and the Lord in denying her at first was actually drawing out the latent faith that was in her soul.

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This woman had come to the Lord asking healing for a daughter grievously vexed of a devil. Her need was great, but healing is not given on the basis of need, but rather on the basis of Christ’s Lordship and promise. Her approach had been wrong

—she addressed Jesus as “thou son of David.” Through His mother Mary’s ancestry, Jesus was the son of David, but in that capacity He could do nothing for her. Those who see Christ as only a man—even the greatest of men—cannot receive healing on that basis. Indeed those who consider Christ only a man cannot claim His salvation. Thus Jesus rebuffed the woman

saying, “It is not meet to take the children’s bread, and to

cast it to dogs” (Verse 26). Jesus was not insulting her. He was merely seeking to get her on healing ground. The woman accepted the rebuff, and taking the humble place, used it as an argument for receiving deliverance for her daughter. She said,

“Truth, Lord; yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from

their masters’ table” (Verse 27). She accepted the truth that she was worthy of nothing, but she believed that somehow the compassion of God would find a way that salvation and deliverance might come to her home. There was no further delay. Christ commended the woman’s faith and gave her the desire of her heart.

Remedy: If one seeking healing does not understand the simple plan of salvation, it is advisable that he have someone explain to him how he may be saved. This need not take long, if the person is truly in earnest. Divine healing is the children’s bread, and God will not withhold healing from those who put their trust in Him.

(We must add, however, that many in foreign lands who have great ignorance regarding the gospel have been wonderfully healed. Many have been healed and saved at the same time, just as both salvation and healing came simultaneously to the Syrophenician woman’s home.)

9. Some Children Are Not Healed Because of

the Sins of the Parents

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And David said unto Nathan, I have sinned against the

Lord. And Nathan said unto David, The Lord also hath put away thy sin; thou shalt not die. Howbeit, because by

this deed thou hast given great occasion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme, the child also that is born unto thee

shall surely die. (II Sam. 12:13-14).

The situation apparently occurs in cases where the parents have committed some particularly flagrant and presumptuous sin or lived a particularly ungodly life.

David was a man of God, after God’s own heart. But in a moment of weakness, he committed a grievous sin. The child born of this act of adultery was not permitted to live (II Sam. 12:14). Despite the decree from the Lord, David hoped for a commuting of the sentence and fasted, wept, and prayed seven days (Verses 16-23). Notwithstanding David’s sincere repentance, there was no amelioration of the penalty, and the child died. This, however, was an extreme case, and the penalty inflicted was unusually severe because of the gravity of the transgression. Ordinarily, when parents of afflicted children sincerely repent and truly promise God that they will serve Him with all their hearts, they will find that healing will come for their child. But the fact remains that there are cases in which the right to healing has been forfeited.

The case of Jeroboam and his child is another illustration in which sickness was unto death because of the parents’ sins, although the circumstances were considerably different. In this instance Jeroboam, an ungodly king, had led Israel into idolatry. Abijah, his child became sick. The king sent his wife to inquire of the prophet Abijah concerning the lad (I Kings 14:1-13). But the word of the Lord came to the prophet, informing him that the child would not recover from his sickness. A most significant fact is revealed in this statement which throws light on the reason that God permits many children to die in their youth:

And all Israel shall mourn for him, and bury him: for

he only of Jeroboam shall come to the grave, because in him there is found some good thing toward the Lord God

of Israel in the house of Jeroboam. (I Kings 14:13).

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Here are the facts: the child Abijah died, not because of his own sins, but rather because of the sins of his father. In this case, it was because of some good things in the lad’s own heart toward the Lord of Israel that he was taken from the scene. God saw that even in his tender years, there was in his heart that which sought after the Lord God. The Lord did not consider it wise that the child should grow up in these evil surroundings and partake of the judgment which was to come upon the rest of the family. He was taken away from the judgment to come.

In view of the hour in which we are living with divine judgment about to be poured out upon the earth, is it not likely that other children are being taken away from the evil to come? If the parents are sinful and do not repent, God may take their child from them rather than let him grow up in an atmosphere of evil.

Thus we see how necessary it is, when parents bring their children to be healed, that they shall make a full surrender to the Lord and firmly resolve to serve the living God that they may rear their child, when delivered, in a manner pleasing in the sight of God. Parents who seek healing for their children and who will not make such a surrender are asking more than God has promised in His Word.

10. Some Are Not Healed Because Their

Sickness Is Unto Death

And after all this the Lord smote him in his bowels

with an incurable disease. (II Chron. 21:18).

Jesus said that the sickness of Lazarus was “not unto

death,” which implies that some sicknesses were unto death. Jehoram, son of Jehoshaphat, had the privilege of being reared in a godly home. He, as few other kings, had the opportunity to establish an honorable reign. Instead, however, he began his reign with an act of shameful ignominy—the deliberate murder of his own brothers to forego any possible aspiration on their part to the throne (II Chron. 21:4).

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Because of this cruel act the Lord sent a message through Elijah the prophet to the king, declaring that a great plague was to come upon his household. Also upon him would come a disease, of which he could not be cured, although he was only 40 years of age at the time (II Chron. 21:12-20). We are not told that Jehoram sought healing for his sickness, although undoubtedly he did, for it was a common thing for a king, like everyone else, when he was ill to seek deliverance (II Kings 1:2). But the important point was that the Lord said that his disease was incurable. This apparently was a sickness unto death.

The case of Ahaziah, son of Ahab, was a similar one. The king dabbled in sorcery and had sent unto Baalzebub, the god of Ekron, to see if he would be healed. Elijah met with the

messengers and said unto them, “Is it not because there is not

a God in Israel, that thou sendest to enquire of Baalzebub

the god of Ekron? therefore thou shalt not come down from

the bed on which thou art gone up, but shalt surely die” (II Kings 1:6).

It seems that these are unusual cases and are not ordinarily met by those who minister healing. However, sometimes relatives or friends will call upon the minister to pray for such cases. He finds that his prayers do not seem to take hold. The

reason is that the “sickness is unto death.”

11. Time Allotted to Life Fulfilled

Now Elisha was fallen sick of his sickness whereof he

died. And Joash the king of Israel came down unto him, and wept over his face, and said, O my father, my father,

the chariot of Israel, and the horsemen thereof. (II Kings 13:14).

Elisha was a mighty man of God. He received a double portion of the spirit that was upon Elijah, and he performed twice as many miracles as he did. On one occasion he prayed for a dead child, and he was restored to life. On another he invoked judgment upon an invading host. Later he prayed for a mass

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miracle that the soldiers’ sight might be restored (II Kings 6:20). His miracles covered a wide range.

Nevertheless, there came a day when Elisha himself was sick. He did not recover, but he died from that sickness. It was not because he had lost his great power, for after his death a dead man thrown into his grave touched his bones and was restored to life (II Kings 13:21).

The reason Elisha died was that he had fulfilled his allotted span of life. His ministry covered a period of over sixty years, and he was no doubt well over eighty when he died. As the

apostle has said, “It is appointed unto men once to die, but

after this the judgment” (Heb. 9:27).

There comes a time in the life of every saint when the Lord

permits him to go home. “Precious in the sight of the Lord is

the death of his saints” (Psa. 116:15).

We usually do not know the time of our going. With some it is sooner than others. God intends for us to have our work finished when the call comes, so that we will be ready to go. As was said to Hezekiah, so the message sooner or later is to all of

us, “Set thine house in order; for thou shalt die, and not live”

(II Kings 20:1).

There are those who come to the appointed hour of departing who feel that their work is not done. Prayer is made, but they are not healed. Their time has come, and they must go, whether their work is done or not. We should work now, for

Jesus said, “The night cometh, when no man can work” (John 9:4).

Nevertheless, we will say that with some exceptions it is God’s will that Christians live out a normal life span which is between 70 and 80 years (Psa. 90:10). In the case of those who have an exceptionally strong physique, life may be longer; with some it may be less.

12. Some Look at the Symptoms and Lose Their

Healing

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And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou,

bid me come unto thee on the water. And he said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked

on the water, to go to Jesus. But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid: and beginning to sink, he cried,

saying, Lord, save me. (Matt. 14:28-30).

There are some who suppose that if God gives a miracle it is impossible to lose it. This is not in accord with Scripture. Peter truly walked on the water, and it was a miracle. But when he looked at the circumstances, felt the wind, saw the waves, he became afraid and started to sink. There are people who are truly healed, but they let their attention wander to their symptoms; they become afraid and begin to sink. Those who allow themselves to be preoccupied with their feelings often lose what they have.

If this is your case, the remedy is to get your eyes off the symptoms, circumstances, and feelings. Put your faith in the Word; hear nothing; see nothing but God’s promise. Do not become a victim of your sense knowledge. Remember that you can only have faith when you keep your attention on God’s Word. When you see the healing come to pass, it is no longer faith; it is sight.

13. Some Let Fear Enter Their Hearts

For the thing which I greatly feared is come upon me, and that which I was afraid of is come unto me. (Job 3:25).

Many people suppose that God sends sickness because the Lord in His mysterious providence willed for them to be sick. Some believe that the Lord regularly punishes His children through sickness. Though it is true that God sometimes permits sickness to come as a matter of discipline, He does not punish man with sickness except in the most flagrant cases. (The case in II Corinthians 2:6-7 was certainly punishment, and it could not be lifted until the man repented and the church forgave him.)

A case often referred to is Job. Some teach that God made

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Job sick. It is plain that God permitted Job to become afflicted, since nothing can happen except God permits it. But it is a most careless reading of the Scriptures to say that the Lord put the boils on Job. We are told distinctly that the boils came from Satan.

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. (Job 2:7).

Many Christians resent the idea that Satan can put disease upon them. It hurts spiritual pride. But the mark of a mature person is that he can face up to the truth. Job himself believed that God had made him sick and brought tragedy to his

household. He said, “I uttered that I understood not; things

too wonderful for me, which I knew not” (Job 42:3). Job's view had been that there was no cause for his sickness. God just made people sick for mysterious reasons, and the only thing to do was to make the best of it.

However, there were causes for Job’s illness. The most important was that he let fear come into his heart (Job 3:25). You cannot have fear and have faith; you cannot have faith and have fear.

Job was self-righteous. He maintained it with a fierce

tenacity saying, “I am clean without transgression, I am

innocent; neither is there iniquity in me” (Job 33:9). Sickness did not purify Job. The sicker he got the more self-righteous he became. A leaning toward self-righteousness keeps some otherwise good Christians from receiving their healing. Deliverance came to Job after he did two things. First, when he

confessed, “Behold I am vile... I abhor myself, and repent in

dust and ashes” (Job 40:4; 42:6). Second, the deliverance took place as he prayed, not for himself, but for his friends who condemned him so unmercifully (Job 42:7-10).

Why did Job get sick? There was more than one reason. But chief among them was that Job allowed fear to come into his heart. God sets a hedge against Satan around his saints (Job

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1:10). But fear will allow the hedge to be broken down.

Many people solace themselves in their sickness by comparing themselves with Job. But there is one major difference. Job was sick for a season, but there are some people who are sick all the time and yet keep comparing themselves to Job. They are wrong. Job got healed, and God gave him twice as much as he had before (Job 42:10-12). Some people stay in the

“ash heap” all the time. Only those who get healed can compare themselves to Job.

14. Some Sicknesses Healed Only Through

Prayer and Fasting.

And one of the multitude answered and said, Master, I have brought unto thee my son, which hath a dumb

spirit ... I spake to thy disciples that they should cast him out; and they could not... And when he was come into the

house, his disciples asked him privately, Why could not we cast him out? And he said unto them, This kind can come

forth by nothing, but by prayer and fasting. (Mark 9:17-18, 28-29).

The disciples had been having notable success in praying for the sick, and as far as we know, they had not met with failure. But now they were confronted with a situation that they could not resolve. They tried to cast an epileptic devil out of a child, and they had failed.

Christ came upon the scene and cast the demon out and healed the child. The disciples, therefore, saw that there was no reason as far as God was concerned that prevented the boy from being healed. They were embarrassed and asked Jesus why it was that they could not cast out the evil spirit. The Lord answered that it was because of their lack of faith (Matt. 17:20). Nevertheless, He went on to explain that to obtain faith to cast out certain kinds of demons, it was necessary to pray and fast.

If all other things fail, then we may fall back on the master key to deliverance—prayer and fasting. (See the book Prayer

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and Fasting, Master Key to the Impossible.)

15. Some Are Not Healed Because of Improper

Care of the Body

For he longed after you all, and was full of heaviness,

because that ye had heard that he had been sick. 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 ... Because for the work of

Christ he was nigh unto death, not regarding his life, to supply your lack of service toward me. (Phil 2:26-27, 30).

It is important to realize that divine healing does not eliminate the need of taking proper care of the body. Jesus required His disciples to come apart from the multitude and to rest for a season (Mark 6:31). Even one who has gifts of healing will find it he does not rest his body that his nervous energy will become depleted.

This truth is well portrayed in the case of Epaphroditus who became ill in a most worthy cause. He did laborious work beyond his strength to supply the needs of Paul the apostle who lacked certain needs because the Philippian church had fallen down in its responsibility to care for Paul. Though the apostle possessed gifts of healing, Epaphroditus became sick unto death. Only after a protracted convalescence was he completely

delivered. “Because for the work of Christ he was nigh unto

death, not regarding his life, to supply your lack of service

toward me” (Phil. 2:30).

Surely Epaphroditus broke the laws of health in a most worthy cause, laboring to take care of the great apostle’s necessities. Still it did not provide him with immunity from suffering the penalty of going beyond his strength. Suffice it to say that those who come for healing must be willing to obey the laws of health and take proper care of their bodies.

16. Some Do Not Discern the Lord's Body

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For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth

and drinketh damnation unto himself, not discerning the Lord’s body. For this cause many are weak and sickly

among you, and many sleep. (I Cor. 11:29-30).

In this Scripture is found one of the most important clues to the problem of why Christians are sick. The apostle Paul was explaining the Lord’s Supper to the Corinthians, and he declared that many believers partook unworthily. He said that some seemed to look upon the Lord’s Supper as a social occasion. Apparently they had no realization or understanding that the emblems of which they partook so casually represented the very body and blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. They ate unworthily and brought themselves under condemnation. In other words, they did not discern the Lord’s body.

I Corinthians 11:23-26 shows that the Lord’s Supper was in memory of Christ’s death for the atonement of mankind. In I Corinthians 10:20-21 we are told that Christians cannot be partaker of the Lord’s table and the table of devils. They must discern that as they partake of the Lord’s table, they are partaking of the blood that was shed for them. Without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sins. Those who partake of the Lord’s supper and who fail to see the meaning of the blood have no salvation. For this cause the nominal church has had many unregenerate people in her ranks.

The evangelical church discerns the cup as the blood of the Saviour. But Paul tells us there is something more than this—the

discerning of Christ’s body. The Lord said, “Take, eat: this is

my body.” The sad thing is that many who discern the blood do

not discern the Lord’s body. The apostle says that he that

“eateth and drinketh unworthily... not discerning the Lord’s

body,” may become ill and even die before his time. While a large part of the church does understand and does discern the blood of Christ and its power to deliver the believer from his sins, nevertheless, many do not discern the body of Christ and its power to heal their diseases.

What is the answer? The Lord said that His body was

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broken for our body. If we can see it, believe it, and partake of it, then we can receive His health, His deliverance, His victory over both sin and disease. Do you discern the cup to be more than the fruit of the vine—His very blood? Then you have redemption. Do you discern His body broken for you? Then you may have His health—even divine health for your body.

17. Discerning the Mystic Body of Christ

For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the

Lord’s body. For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep. (I Cor. 11:29-30).

We have considered one phase of the meaning of the above Scripture. There is another just as important. We have seen the communion speaks of Christ’s giving His life on the cross for our sins. And that His body was broken for us. But the Lord’s

Supper has still another meaning that is just as important. “The

bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body

of Christ? For we being many are one bread, and one body:

for we are all partakers of that one bread” (I Cor. 10:16-17). As a consequence of this work of the Spirit, Paul could say,

“Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular”

(I Cor. 12:27). With this great privilege, however, there is a solemn responsibility in the matter of the relationship of one member to another. When one member suffers, all suffer with it. If we injure another member we injure ourselves, because we are all members of one body.

I Corinthians 11:29-30 thus has a further meaning. If we do not discern the Lord’s mystical body, it is possible that our relation with God’s people will be such that it will be harmful to our own well being.

Paul goes on to say that one member may not say to another,

“I have no need of you” (I Cor. 12:21). Even the more feeble members are necessary. There must be no schism within the body, but all members must have the same care one of another.

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He declares that if one member causes another to suffer, he will suffer himself. This is the law of the Body. Violation of this law may bring sickness and suffering. Nor may healing be expected until the offender forsakes and repents of his sin against his brother. It is significant that after the apostle Paul gives this warning he follows it up with his chapter on divine love (I Cor. 13).

In the command to anoint with oil for the healing of the sick,

there is the admonition to “confess your faults one to another,

and pray one for another, that ye may be healed” (James 5:16). The inference is that the sickness may have been caused

by a wrong spirit toward others in the assembly. “If he have

committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.”

This side of the subject is not often preached on in connection with divine healing, but it is of tremendous importance. Denominations and churches which reject members of the body such as gifts of healing may suffer seriously as a result.

In the book World Evangelization Now, we wrote:

The church’s failure to recognize all the members of its body has resulted in sickness in its members. For example, one of the members that God has set in the church is the gift of healing (I Cor. 12:28). There are those who profess to be of the body who oppose such gifts. Some nominally accept divine healing but look with disfavor upon, or are unduly critical of, those who have the gifts in operation in their ministries. Such persons or groups by their attitude fail to discern the members that God has set in His body; therefore, they fail to discern the body of Christ. Thus they cut themselves off from a normal functioning of the body. A man can live without arms or legs or ears, but he cannot live normally. People who insist upon identifying themselves with those who refuse to recognize or openly oppose these members of the body of Christ can hardly expect to receive the blessings of healing in that atmosphere of doubt and skepticism.

The church may have only the health that it should when all of its members are recognized and permitted to function

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normally in their midst. Sectarianism has hampered the church from the days of Jesus until the present day. The apostles, when they saw one casting out devils in the name of Jesus who did not have apostolic credentials sought to forbid the man from ministering. Jesus rebuked that attitude and told them,

‘Forbid him not’ (Luke 9:50). Such a sectarian spirit was manifested on more than one occasion in the days of the Early Church. At one time certain brethren attempted to divide the church on the matter of circumcision (Acts 15). At another time a strong division appeared in the Corinthian church over the matter of water-baptism; one group followed after Paul, another after Apollos, and another after Peter (I Cor. 1:11-13). To avoid such divisions, Paul ceased baptizing his converts and left the matter to the local churches.

The Corinthians were not discerning the unity of the body of Christ. Therefore, as a result many were weak and sickly. Where there is division there is all manner of evil. Envy, strife, division, and sectarian pride causes men to build fences of exclusion about themselves. Organizations are working agreements between believers. Working agreements are necessary, but they are not to be confounded with the body of Christ. True believers in any group are indeed members of the Body of Christ, yet only a part of the body. Arguments advanced by carnal persons that any one organization comprises the entire body of Christ is an exceedingly grave error and actually an affront to the Lord. Fierce debates and controversies that have raged over such things have never edified the church but have served to divide and wound the body. All men, even good men, do not simultaneously arrive at a full understanding of all phases of the truth at one time. This

has always been true. ‘Now we see through a glass, darkly;

but then face to face.’ ‘Knowledge puffeth up, but charity

(love) edifieth.’ If we are to see the church healed spiritually and physically, then we must recognize the whole body, even though its members are still imperfect in knowledge.

18. Some Are Not Healed Because They Defile

the Body of Christ

Know ye not that your bodies are the members of

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Christ? shall I then take the members of Christ, and make

them the members of an harlot? God forbid... For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body,

and in your spirit, which are God’s. (I Cor. 6:15, 20).

There had been fornication in the Corinthian church. Paul in writing to the church raises his hands in horror. What! Take the members of Christ and make them the members of an harlot? God forbid! The body is the temple of the Holy Ghost; therefore, it is holy and sacred.

It is significant that when the gift of discernment is manifest in the ministry of prayer for the sick, things which defile the person seeking healing are often pointed out. Individuals who have been unfaithful in their marriage vows and have not repented have been sternly rebuked by the Spirit of God. There are people who are guilty of such sins who get in the healing line and seek deliverance. Often they are puzzled when they receive nothing.

They do not discern that their body is a member of the body of Christ.

It is interesting to note that the spirit of God often admonishes a person who seeks healing and uses tobacco to give it up. Why is the Spirit of God opposed to a person’s using tobacco? Because it has no place in the temple of God. Some say they can see nothing wrong with using tobacco. If they could see the 50,000 people each year writhing in pain and dying from lung cancer caused by the habit, they might better understand. And yet that is only one seventh of the total deaths each year resulting from the use of tobacco. We should not expect God to dwell in a body profaned by an unclean habit.

Tobacco contains no less than nineteen poisons, of which nicotine is only one. This combination of poisons has a peculiar effect common to drugs of exciting the nervous system and giving it pleasurable reactions which are, however, followed by a depressive action, making the smoker crave another and still another cigarette. Some smokers in a lifetime consume over a half million cigarettes in trying to satisfy an appetite that can

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never be satisfied!

There are other habits, including the use of alcohol, barbiturates, LSD, and drugs which defile the human body and injure it. Continued persistence in these habits could well hinder the person from receiving healing.

19. Some Are Sick Because of Immoderate

Eating

For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth

and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body. (I Cor. 11:29).

Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God. (I Cor. 10:31).

The apostle Paul prefaces his instructions on the Lord’s Supper with the remark that many of the Corinthian Christians

were eating in a way that was not pleasing to God. He said, “For

in eating everyone taketh before other his own supper: and

one is hungry, and another is drunken” (I Cor. 11:21). In other words these people were food gourmets, and their eating habits had so enslaved them that they regularly brought large quantities of food to church for gluttonous repasts under the guise of eating the Lord’s Supper. He rebukes them sharply for this and tells them that they are eating and drinking unworthily, and as a result reaping sickness and even death.

It will be recalled that when the children of Israel were in the wilderness the Lord gave them certain health laws. He sent the manna from heaven which had all the elements of a balanced diet. The Lord also sent them quails to provide a variation in their meals. This did not satisfy the mixed multitude who wished a continuous diet of rich meats. God acceded to their request, and some literally stuffed themselves. The psalmist commenting

on the incident said, “They... lusted exceedingly in the

wilderness, and tempted God in the desert. And he gave

them their request but sent leanness into their soul” (Psa.

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106:13, 14, 15). Until that time there had been “not one feeble

person among the tribes” (Psa. 105:37), but now a plague struck the camp, affecting particularly the people who lusted (Num. 11:33-34). We are told that many died as a result of the plague.

The same lesson of moderation is taught in the book of Daniel. The king appointed the Hebrew children a rich diet. But Daniel purposed in his heart not to defile himself with the king’s meat and made a request for a more simple diet of pulse (vegetables). It is significant that Daniel lived the entire 70 years the captivity lasted. Although he was a young man when that captivity began, three years after it was over, he was still sound in mind and body and able to function as a high official in the government (Dan. 10:1).

Excess food turns to fat. Many diseases have as their cause obesity that compels the heart to work much harder than it should. Therefore, it wears out sooner, breaks down on the job, and the victim dies before his time. Heart trouble is a killer, and the cause of it in many cases is excess fat caused by overeating. Many diseases such as diabetes, liver trouble, and similar complaints are caused by overweight. These lead to other complications such as cataracts, kidney trouble, and varicose veins.

Often such persons come to healing meetings, seeking deliverance from these afflictions. But they need deliverance from their eating habits first. Divine healing is not an alternative to obedience to the laws of health.

20. Some Have Put Their Hand on God's

Anointed

Touch not mine anointed, and do my prophets no

harm. (I Chron. 16:22).

Miriam, the sister of Moses, challenged the position of the prophet. She thought she had a good reason. Moses’ judgment was very poor, she believed, or else he would not have married

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the Ethiopian woman, a woman who had an acid tongue and a sharp temper. Miriam and she could not get along. Besides, Miriam herself was a prophetess. She felt justified in challenging Moses’ authority. There was no doubt a strong popular sentiment against Moses’ wife. Miriam had Moses on the spot, and she felt that her position was strong enough to force him to comply with her wishes.

But something happened. God was displeased with Miriam’s attitude. Indeed it was dangerously close to sedition. God let her know that her offense against Moses was an offense against Him (Nu. 12:4-8). When the cloud departed from the tabernacle,

“Behold Miriam became leprous, white as snow” (Verse 10).

What did Miriam do? Apparently she was left in a state of shock, overwhelmed by the magnitude of her calamity. Moses, quick to forgive, interceded for her. But she was not healed at once. Both Miriam and the people needed to realize the seriousness of her act. She was to be hidden from the view outside the camp. It was seven days before she was ready to be received back into camp.

If this happened to Miriam, the sister of Moses, we may well understand that there are people today cursed with some disease from which they cannot receive deliverance because they have used their influence to downgrade God’s anointed.

If they have been guilty of this, let them truly repent and seek God’s forgiveness. They can be healed even as Miriam was.

21. Some Will Not Take Time to Listen to

Instruction in Order to Get Their Faith Built

on the Word of God

Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of

God. (Rom. 10:17).

And he could there do no mighty work, save that he

laid his hands upon a few sick folk, and healed them.

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(Mark 6:5).

Perhaps one of the most common mistakes made by those who oppose the ministry of divine healing is that they utterly fail to realize that divine healing is governed not by magic, but by definite laws. Healing is by faith, and that faith is supplied by three sources: the one who prays for the sick, those who have brought the person, and the patient himself. Some faith is required by each one of the parties involved.

Christ in creating the world exercised His omnipotent power. But when He walked on earth, He subjected Himself to the same limitations as those of His disciples. Time after time He showed the connection between instruction and healing. To

one He said, “Thy faith hath made thee whole.” To another

He said, “According to your faith be it unto you.” To the man

with the epileptic son He said, “If thou canst believe, all things

are possible to him that believeth” (Mark 9:23). To the invalid

helpless for thirty-eight years He said, “Wilt thou be made

whole?”

It is notable that Christ usually did not heal the person who came for deliverance until He had first given them some

instruction. “Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the

Word of God” (Rom. 10:17).

The sixth chapter of Mark is a striking example of the above truth. Christ went to Nazareth, His hometown, and began to teach the people in the synagogue. He gave them a healing lesson based on the miracles of Elijah and Elisha. But the people looked upon Jesus as an upstart, and they had nothing but skepticism and disbelief. To them He was only a carpenter. They would not listen to His teaching. Consequently He could do no mighty work there. It does not say that Jesus “would do no

mighty work,” but it says "He could there do no mighty work.”

There is a clear connection between faith inspired by the teaching of the Word and divine healing.

Shortly after this Jesus went on to another part of the country. The people flocked to hear Him even though He was in

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a desert place where no supplies of food were available. There

“he began to teach them many things” (Mark 6:34). Christ rewarded their faith by multiplying the loaves and fishes and feeding the 5,000. Creative faith was present. The next day they

brought their sick to touch Christ, and “as many as touched

him were made whole” (Mark 6:56). Faith was so high that merely a touch brought healing.

22. Some Fail to Keep Their Lives Filled With

God

When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest; and finding

none, he saith, I will return unto my house whence I came out. And when he cometh, he findeth it swept and

garnished. Then goeth he, and taketh to him seven other spirits more wicked than himself; and they enter in, and

dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse than the first. (Luke 11:24-26).

Many people actually receive their healing but let it slip through their fingers. Jesus spoke the above words after healing a man who had been dumb. It had been a striking and spectacular healing. But Jesus gave a warning. Healing consists not only in receiving but keeping. What gain is it to enjoy a healing for a brief period, and then relapse into the old condition? The fact is, far more people receive healing than is generally realized. But due to the lack of instruction or carelessness, they lose what they have already gained.

In this case Jesus declared that when the devil that causes the affliction is cast out of the man, he walketh through dry places seeking rest and finding none, he comes back to the house from whence he was cast out. When he finds it swept and garnished (empty) he taketh to himself seven spirits more wicked than himself and returns, and the last state of the man is worse than the first.

What has happened? The evil power was cast out of the man, but he did not replace it with the things of God. There was

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left a spiritual vacuum. Man is not complete in himself. There is a part of his being that must either be filled with God or with the spirit of evil.

There are people who after being set free from the enemy put forth little or no effort to increase their knowledge of God and His ways. The Lord intends us to grow in grace. New converts should feed on the Word of God. They should be filled with the Spirit; they should make prayer a habit. Their lives then become filled with faith and with God. There is then no room for Satan to return.

If on the other hand they use their new-found health for carnal gratification to feed on worldly amusements, to feast on pulp magazines, to indulge in other questionable things, their spiritual life becomes barren and unfruitful.

How sad is the lot of the person who after being delivered from the bondage of sickness by his carelessness leaves an opening for the affliction to return.

23. Some Put Forth No Effort to Resist the

Enemy

In those days was Hezekiah sick unto death. And

Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz came unto him, and said unto him, Thus saith the Lord, Set thine house in

order: for thou shalt die, and not live. Then Hezekiah turned his face toward the wall, and prayed unto the Lord.

And said, Remember now, O Lord, I beseech thee, how I have walked before thee in truth and with a perfect heart,

and have done that which is good in thy sight. And Hezekiah wept sore. Then came the word of the Lord to

Isaiah, saying, Go, and say to Hezekiah, Thus saith the Lord, the God of David thy father, I have heard thy

prayer, I have seen thy tears: behold, I will add unto thy days fifteen years. (Isa. 38:1-5).

God intends His people to be warriors, to fight the enemy. According to the conditions, Hezekiah was certain to die. Isaiah had told him so. But Hezekiah was so stirred that he turned his

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face to the wall and called mightily upon God. Through prevailing prayer he was healed—not by Isaiah’s faith, but by his own faith.

We do not always have someone to lean upon or to exercise faith for us. The time comes when we must stand on our own feet and believe God. It had been the custom of Hezekiah when he got into real trouble to call upon the prophet Isaiah for help. This time, however, the prophet had nothing to offer. Nevertheless, Hezekiah, instead of folding up, turned to God and praying with all his heart, he touched God himself and thereby received a mighty deliverance.

There are people who will spend thousands of dollars on doctors and clinics, giving weeks and sometimes months of their time. And if all fails, they accept it philosophically. Yet when they go to the Lord for healing, if they are not made well and strong in an instant of time they will give up. The Syrophenician woman who followed Jesus would not let Him go until He spoke the word and her daughter was healed. Blind Bartimaeus cried to Jesus to heal him of his blindness. The crowd tried to quiet him, but he would not be denied. He refused to accept defeat.

The prophet Jeremiah gives the secret of receiving from God.

Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray

unto me, and I will hearken unto you. And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your

heart. (Jer. 29:12-13).

Jesus said, “Men ought always to pray, and not to faint”

(Luke 18:1). Some of the most outstanding miracles have taken place after all hope seemed to be gone. The person absolutely refused to accept defeat. It is true that some fail to receive healing simply because it is easier to succumb to the affliction than to battle it out with the enemy. Even Jesus at times had to wrestle through to victory (Heb. 5:7).

24. Many Do Not Realize That God's Plan Is

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Divine Health Rather Than Repeated Healings

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. (Exodus 23:25)

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. (Deut. 7:15).

Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth. (III

John 2).

We now come to one of the most important principles that govern the ministry of divine healing. We refer to a truth of which we regret to say, vast numbers of Christians who believe in healing are altogether ignorant. It is the lack of this knowledge that accounts for much sickness in the church. God’s best for His people is not constant healings, but divine health. This is not a theory, but the plain word of God as the above Scriptures confirm. In fact God’s original covenant of healing conveys this glorious truth.

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. (Exod. 15:26).

We know that it is easier for a sinner to get saved in the beginning than to backslide repeatedly, and after each backsliding seek to get back to the Lord. When a person is healed several times and then gets sick again, he may come to a place where his faith no longer takes hold as quickly as it did the first time.

The inference in God’s healing covenant is that His primary intention was to give the believer divine protection against

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sickness. It is evident that one of the chief reasons that we have so much illness among the people of God is simply because we have restricted the truth of healing merely as a means of deliverance when they get sick. Consequently most of our labor has been to remove the effect instead of the cause. We are told

that “the curse causeless shall not come” (Prov. 26:2). Many of God’s people feel that the strength of their testimony depends on how many times they have been healed. This is entirely wrong. We should build faith in the believer’s heart to take dominion over sickness rather than having a constant war with it all our life. God intended man to have dominion over the earth and to subdue it, and sickness and disease are included in this.

25. Some Reject Healing as Being in the

Atonement

And when Jesus was come into Peter’s house, he saw his wife’s mother laid, and sick of a fever. And he touched

her hand, and the fever left her: and she arose, and ministered unto them. 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. (Matt. 8:14-17).

Many people who know little about theology receive wonderful healings. Ask them about the atonement, and they will say that Jesus died to save them. In their simple way their spirit reaches out to God, and He blesses them.

There are others who have made a deep study of the Word. But because of the traditions of the elders, certain teachings of the Scripture have been made to seem obnoxious to them. One of these is the doctrine of divine healing in the atonement. The above Scripture tells us plainly that Jesus healed the sick in the

fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy, “himself took our infirmities,

and bare our sicknesses.” The apostle Peter says, “by whose

stripes ye were healed” (I Peter 2:24).

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The connection between the healing and the cross is seen in the covenant the Lord gave the children of Israel in the wilderness. Moses was to cast a “tree” into the waters. As the Scofield Bible says, “The ‘tree’ is the cross.” When this was done, the bitter waters of Marah were made sweet, and God gave the children of Israel His great healing covenant (Exod. 15:25-26).

While in that same wilderness, God had the children of Israel erect a brazen serpent, so that everyone bitten by the fiery serpents should look at the brazen serpent and live. The people were healed as they looked at the serpent. But Jesus showed that

the brazen serpent was a type of Himself. “And as Moses lifted

up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of

Man be lifted up” (John 3:14). Here we see healing definitely linked with Christ’s death on the cross. Christ who knew no sin was made sin for us. As we see Jesus on the cross, His body broken for our body, we can look and live; we can be healed, even as the children of Israel were healed by looking at that which was a type of Christ.

With these plain statements in the Scripture connecting divine healing with the atonement, for one to reject this glorious doctrine might effectually prevent him from receiving healing.

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Spiritual

Why Some are Not Healed and the Bible Answer - Gordon Lindsay