This is Part 3 in the booklet
"The Lord, Your Healer"

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WHAT IS FEAR?

The opposite of faith is fear. Fear is also an active force. Doctors know this. They know that 80% of all sickness is psychosomatic and is usually caused by fear.

Fear is a mental force. It starts in the thoughts just like any other sin. “Then after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.” (James 1:15)

If, for example, someone begins to fear getting cancer, the fear of it is in the mind, and the cancer will not yet have begun breaking down the body. It takes months or even years before the cancer will effect the body. In the same way, faith is a force that works in our minds. Faith comes from the Word. Words are not a physical force. They do not work immediately on the body, but they come in through our ears and eyes into our minds and there produces faith.

Job had a lot of sickness. He also lost his family and all that he owned. He searched for the reason these things had happened to him, and the Lord showed him why it had happened. “What I feared has come upon me; what I dreaded has happened to me.” (Job 3:25)

It was psychosomatic. He was attacked in the mind. He started to fear, and it came over him breaking down everything he had. Job knew that his Redeemer was alive. “I know that my Redeemer lives.” (Job 19:25a)

But he needed to be taught and needed to receive the knowledge of God.

“Yet if there is an angel on his side as a mediator, one out of a thousand, to tell a man what is right for him, to be gracious to him and say, ‘spare him from going down to the pit! I have found a ransom for him.’ Then his flesh is renewed like a child’s; it is restored as in the days of his youth.” (Job 33: 23-25)

This knowledge gave Job faith, and faith overcame the fear and started to heal him. Our faith will gradually increase as we get more and more of the Word and begin to use it. Just as body muscles grow as we eat and exercise, faith grows as we feed on the Word and act upon it. This is not just positive thinking. This is action based on truth, the Word of God. We can act positively on our knowledge, but God says: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.” (Proverbs 3:5) Are we foolish enough to trust our own minds instead of the Word? Are we hypocrites who say we believe the Bible but do not live according to it?

Adam and Eve, in the Garden of Eden, had two things to choose from. They could either obey the Lord’s Word or trust their own understanding, which was eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. They chose to follow their own understanding after being influenced by the serpent, the father of lies. But we do the same thing today. We choose to follow our own understanding rather than the Word of God; therefore, we all sin in the same way Adam and Eve did.

Adam and Eve could no longer live in the Garden of Eden (meaning the pleasure of God), because they chose to live according to their own understanding (their senses) instead of the Word of God. The same holds true today. We must live according to the Word of God to have access to the full benefits of God’s provisions.

This way of life requires us to grow up in spiritual things.

“This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.” (I Timothy 2:3-4)

First we receive the new birth; our spirit is born again, having been dead in trespasses and sins. “As for you, you were dead in your trespasses and sins...” (Ephesians 2:1)

Then we must come to the knowledge of the truth. The new birth is the beginning, but then we must grow up. “But when he, the Spirit of Truth comes, he will guide you into all truth.” (John 16:13)

“Then you will know the truth and the truth will set you free.” (John 8:32)

The Truth is the Word of God. Through the Word we can be set free from satan’s lies, free from sickness, free to live again in the pleasure of God - the Garden of Eden.

HOW FAITH WORKS

Earlier I said that there was a difference between miracles and healing. As Christians, we are accustomed to looking for miracles or instant healing. We do this because we are carnal. In a miracle, the Lord reveals Himself on a physical level, and it is easy for us because we do not have to use our faith to believe. We can see, so we know. There is a difference in knowing something and by faith believing it. When the evidence comes, we no longer believe, we know.
“He sent forth his word and healed them.” (Psalm 107:20)

God sent His Word and healed them. The Word is not a physical force; it is a mental force, or a spiritual force working in the mental realm. We have seen that fear works the same way. People who are dying of cancer will usually admit having had a fear of the disease. Worry and fear begin to break down the mind and in turn break down the body. Jesus told us not to worry or have fear in Matthew 6:25-34:

“Therefore, I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, an and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you worrying can add a single hour to his life? And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you O you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or “What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”

“Hearing this, Jesus said to Jairus, ‘Don’t be afraid; just believe, and she will be healed.’” (Luke 8:50)

“Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom.” (Luke 12:32)

The Word of God goes into the mind and does the opposite of fear. It begins to build us up as we meditate on it over and over.

“By his wounds you have been healed.” (I Peter 2:24) Praise the Lord, it is done. We do not have to look at our body; the Word is true. Because we don’t understand how healing works, we believe it has to happen as a miracle every time. This is not the way the Lord usually works. He performs miracles now and then to reveal that He lives. If He didn’t do this, in my opinion, many of us would give up. We need to grow up to health. The important thing is to receive the Word of God and act on it.

One morning, I attended a breakfast meeting in Los Angeles. The pastor that ministered invited all who were depressed to stand up so he could pray for them. To my amazement, about 95% of the congregation rose to their feet. Weren’t these Christians? Did they not know that Jesus said, “My peace I give you.”? (John 14:27) Immediately I turned to the Lord in my spirit and asked, “Why are your children involved in depression?” The answer came in a word - "newspaper". I was shocked. It took awhile before I really understood what He meant.

I thought about the newspaper that most of these people read with their breakfast. Some days the morning paper is as thick as a book and is always filled with news and articles of evil, war, catastrophes, and many other bad things along with a little good. These things are not uplifting reading. They fill people with fears and pressures. The future is painted dark. When you read this type of material, you have no strength to read the Word of God. The depression you feel becomes a fact. Most of what we read in newspapers, books and magazines and what we hear on the radio and television and what we listen to musically creates fear and depression. There are many ways to feed our minds or souls. We should be very careful what we feed ourselves and our family.

We should begin each day with the Word of God. Reading the Word does not bring depression but joy and peace which are not dependent upon the circumstances. The Word builds us up. It does not tear us down. The Word creates faith which is the mental force that heals us.

When we choose our own understanding over the Word of God, we are actually rebelling against the Word. We are bound in affliction because we do not believe and obey the Word. “Some sat in darkness and the deepest gloom, prisoners suffering in iron chains, for they had rebelled against the Words of God.” (Psalm 107: 10-11)

OUR SELF IMAGE.

In I Thessalonians 5:23, it says a man consists of three parts: the spirit, soul and body. “May God himself, the God of peace sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Our spirit is what is born again of the Holy Spirit when we accept Jesus as our Savior. “Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to the spirit.” (John 3:6)

Then our spirit is one with the Lord. “But he who unites himself with the Lord is one with Him in spirit.” (I Corinthians 6:17) The devil cannot do any harm to that part because he cannot harm the Lord.

Our soul consists of three main areas: the WILL, the INTELLECT and the EMOTIONS. It is primarily in these areas that the devil attacks us.

“As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient.” (Ephesians 2:1-2)

Through fear, he tears down our self image which in turn has repercussions on the body. Everything which has a subversive effect comes from the devil. All sickness comes from Satan. God is good. Only good comes from Him.

“...how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and how he went around doing and healing all who were under the power of the devil, because God was with him.” (Acts 10:38)

“Don’t be deceived, my dear brothers. Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like the shifting shadows.” (James 1: 16-17)

The Lord created us healthy in His own image. What the devil wants to do is to destroy the image of God. “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy...” (John 10:10a)

A sick person is not reflecting the image of God. God is not sick. The devil has distorted and destroyed that image of God. Illness sometimes ends in death. Death comes through sin, and sin comes through Satan. Sickness is gradual death. Jesus gives life. “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” (John 10:10b)

Most of us relate how we are by how we feel. The Word of God says we are healed and much more. When asked how we are, do we confess our senses, what our bodies tell us, or do we confess the Word of God?

One day, I was on my bed resting. Suddenly I experienced a heart attack. There was terrible pain in my heart and at the same time strange thoughts came into my mind. “My time is up. I’m going to die.” But knowing the Word, I began to laugh. “Satan,” I said, “don’t try this with me. You know that I know the Truth. Take your stupid pain and your thoughts. Go in the name of Jesus.” The Word of God gives us the right to rebuke Satan when we live in submission to the Lord (the Word). “Submit yourselves then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” (James 4:7)

Immediately the heart attack was over! Praise the Lord for the restored authority of His people. For me this is a natural reaction. It should be for everyone of us. You may think I am a fanatic, but why should I be sick when Jesus has provided me with health?

If anyone accepts an illness and says “I am sick,” and asks for prayer, the Bible says:

“...they will place their hands on the sick people, and they will get well.” (Mark 16:18)

“And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up.” (James 5:15a)

They WILL recover, not might recover. It is a fact, not a maybe. It does not say it is instantaneous. They are healed from within, at the root. Now it depends upon them (with the help of the Holy Spirit to assure them of the Truth of the Word) whether or not they can keep their healing long enough for it to work its way through their body to make them whole. They must use their faith to believe it is done. Faith is the force that will bring it to completion. The assurance of the truth of God’s Word is in their heart. Their faith is the mental force that works through their mind to their body to complete the healing.

Sometimes, of course, it happens through a miracle or instant change in the physical world. Other times, there will be a sign or confirmation of the healing such as relief from pain. But if we are looking for signs, we are not exercising our faith and depending on the Word for our assurance, but we are depending on our senses for the assurance of our healing. Will we, like Adam and Eve, choose to believe our senses, our intellect, instead of God’s Word and lose the provisions God has given to us?

The real problem is the crafty old serpent who comes to us and questions God’s Word. Then like Eve we look at our problem and use our senses to nullify God’s Word in our life. We begin to doubt. We yield to our thoughts. The Bible says, “We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” (II Corinthians 10:4b-5)

If we don’t bring our thoughts into agreement with the Word, as James says, we cannot expect anything from God.

“But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does." (James 1:6-8)

Those doubts will cut off our faith which is the healing power. Remember, it took time for fear to break down the body, and now it will take time for faith to build it up again. We need patience.

Satan may let us rejoice over our healing for an hour, a day, a week, a month, a year, two years, but eventually, he will come with a pain, a doubt, a symptom hoping to cause us to doubt God’s Word and our healing. Fear attacks our mind. We can accept it and be sick again, or we can resist it and bring our thoughts in line with the Word and keep our healing. This is why we really need to be grounded in the Word. Our minds need to be transformed, then the devil cannot rob us of God’s provisions.

“Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is - His good, pleasing and perfect will.” (Romans 12:2)

Satan also tries to fool us by making us think that sickness is caused by sin in our lives, and sometimes, it is; however; Satan would want us to spend much time concentrating on our past sins. We need to concentrate on the Word and not on our disobedience. Sin can open the door and give Satan a legal right to attack us. The real problem is our ignorance of the Word. The Bible says: “My people are destroyed from a lack of knowledge.” (Hosea 4:6a)

God’s people have not been taught the whole Word of God and how to resist the devil. We cannot blame it all on the ministers. We have a responsibility to read the Word for ourselves.

Someone might ask how there can be death without sickness. It is simple. We don’t have to be sick to die. When the Lord takes one of His children home, he simply draws back the life. Sickness often makes us die before our time, before we have accomplished what the Lord has for us to do.

One day, a brother was ministering in a town and visited an 80 year old lady who had been an active Christian all her life, but was now sick in bed. She had never been taught that she could live in Divine health, so she was ready to die and be with the Lord. The brother told her she should not be sick, that many people needed her to minister to them the Word of the Lord, that many might never know the Lord if she didn’t tell them. He started teaching her about the provisions of the Lord, especially about living in Divine health. The lady knew her Bible and received the Word and was healed.

Eleven years went by. The brother was in the town again and went to the home of the lady. A young woman answered the door. He was delighted to find that the lady was still healed and spending her days going door to door telling people about the Lord Jesus.

The Lord wants us in full health so He can use us in this world. When it is time for us to go home, He can take us instantly. We don’t have to suffer illness to die.

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