By Sidharth Mohandas

“Surely He has borne our griefs (sicknesses, weaknesses, and distresses) and carried our sorrows and pains [of punishment]

But He [Jesus] was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon Him, and by His wounds we are healed.” [Isaiah 53:4-5]The Atonement of Jesus is two-fold: He paid for all our iniquities and He paid for all sickness. This verse is absolutely Universal.

“Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget none of His benefits; Who pardons ALL your iniquities, Who heals ALL your diseases” [Psalms 103:2-3]I’m glad David in the above verse didn’t say “my” iniquities and “my” diseases. Or else we’d have some come up with a teaching that the promise was only to him. On the contrary, this reaffirms that God wants our sins forgiven and diseases healed.

In this article I wish to deal with the second half of the Atonement: Healing.“And the report of Him went forth into all Syria: and they brought unto Him all that were sick, holden with divers diseases and torments, possessed with demons, and epileptic, and palsied; and he healed them.” [ Mat 4:24]healed all that were sick” [Mat 8:17]healing all manner of disease and all manner of sickness.” [Matt 9:39]” [Matt 12:15] He healed them” [Matt 15:30]He healed them there” [Matt 19:2]

Authority to Heal

I have studied the ministry of Jesus and the ministry of His disciples, I have also analyzed their response to the sick and do you know what I found out? There was not one instance where either Jesus or His disciples asked God to heal the sick. I had written an article on this earlier, but I think I’ll explain it again. You can’t ask God for something He has already given. God has delegated each of us the authority to heal or in order to avoid controversy, let me put it this way…He has given you and me the authority to impart healing to the sick.“And He [Jesus] called unto Him His twelve disciples, and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all manner of disease and all manner of sickness.“[Matt 10:1]

“Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons: freely ye received, freely give.” [Matt 10:8] 

Let’s consider what Peter’s response to the crippled man at the Beautiful Gate: “Silver and gold have I none; but what I have, that give I thee. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.” [Acts 3:6]God has freely given us healing, and therefore it is wrong to ask Him to heal someone or ask Him why He won’t heal someone. Have you ever seen Jesus asking God to heal or pleading with God? Did Peter and John plead for healing in the above Scripture? No! They took authority and commanded. We are in command in this area of healing, friends. Stop all your pleading and go by Constitutional rights and exercise your authority over the works of the devil.

This is going to offend many religious people who think it’s humility to ask God for healing than to take authority over sickness. If this is so, you should ask God to cast out demons too, don’t command them! The truth, I say again, God has given you the authority to heal just as much He has given you the authority to cast out demons!If you’re one who thinks God sometimes gives you sickness to teach you things, you’re deceived. God is never in such a business. Satan alone is the author of sickness. However, God may allow sickness to come upon you, but again that is so that you can exercise your faith. Brethren, Your faith will be tried!

Requirement for Healing

“He[Jesus] could not do any miracles there, except lay his hands on a few sick people and heal them.

And he was amazed at their lack of faith.” [Mark 6:5-6]“Teacher, I brought you my son, who is possessed by a spirit that has robbed him of speech.

Whenever it seizes him, it throws him to the ground. He foams at the mouth, gnashes his teeth and becomes rigid. I asked your disciples to drive out the spirit, but they could not.” 

“O unbelieving generation,” Jesus replied, “how long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring the boy to me.” [Mark 9:17-19]In both these places, God never withholds healing. In the latter case, Jesus could have dismissed the case by talking like many religious people today… “God sometimes doesn’t heal.” Instead He said, “O unbelieving generation!”. How many of us will hear those same words today from Jesus’ mouth?

Again Jesus said this to His disciples before He ascended back to heaven…

“And these signs will accompany those who believe…they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well.” [Mark 16:17-18]

“And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up” [James 5:15]

A person who is unsure whether the Lord will heal him or not, lacks faith. How can I say this? This is why: “Faith is the assurance of things hoped for…” [Hebrews 11:1]. If you and I can’t be sure about something we hope for, then it’s not faith. The only way to have faith for healing is to be sure that you’ll receive the healing you are hoping for.

Faith comes from…

If you want to receive faith for healing, go to the Word. Set aside words from other sources and agree with what the Word of God has said.

I was just talking to a friend of mine about the topic of healing and when I asked him why we see cases where people do not receive healing [Don't get me wrong, I've seen too many healed through laying on of hands], he said, “Lack of the Word”. That’s exactly what the problem among most Christians is today. God sent forth His Word and healed His people [Psalm 107:20]. How many of us are sure about what the Word has said? How many of us have aligned ourselves to the Word? 

My dear friends, through God’s Word God has given you His authority. Take a look at Jesus’ statement here: 

Jesus said “Has it not been written in your Law, ‘I said, you are gods’? If He called them gods, to whom the Word of God came…” [John 10:34] 

God called men “gods” to whom His Word came. If you look into the context in Psalm 82:6 from where Jesus quotes this Scripture, you will find that God was speaking to those whom He had given authority to rule and judge. These men had received God-kind of authority. And that’s what we who believe in God’s Son are given too! 

Can you look at a crippled man and say, “Such as I have give I thee”? Or would you conduct a prayer meeting for that crippled man there? 

[Continued...]

By Nick Shelton

I was given the challenge by a Christian teacher to read any one of the Gospel books of the Bible (Mathew, Mark, Luke, and John) in the morning. I was supposed to read enough of a passage until I got to a point where Jesus made a specific commandment. As soon as I came across this command, I was to shut my Bible and commit myself to do this action during the day.

In trying to do this during this past week, I’ve found out there are so many ways I can carry through with Jesus’ teachings. For example, I have many friends in need of help in some area in their life; I pass by several homeless people in my walks into the city; and I have time that I could use in other ways instead of leisure time to myself.

Though I have not done anything exceptionally noble or anything that has a dramatic effect on someone else, I feel as though I am living more as God wants. I think too many of us fail in that we are not “doers of God’s word.” We may read God’s word and agree with it, but our actions do not show this.

We should not have an attitude where we have to force ourselves to carry out everyone of Jesus’ teaching as we read them as if we are living in a legalistic type of way and not by grace. However, I do think all of us could benefit by focusing on being “doers of God’s word” and not just “listeners.”

James 1:22 But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves.