THERE’S A DOCTOR IN THE HOUSE by T. R. Post

Most people have been taught to accept sickness as a part of life. When I was a kid I occasionally stayed home from school because I didn’t feel well. Back then I often enjoyed those days off. To quote from a book by “Peanuts” creator Charles Schulz, “Happiness is being too sick to go to school, but not too sick to watch TV.”

But guess what? You don’t have to be sick anymore! Headaches, colds, and even life threatening diseases can be a thing of the past. That’s because there’s a doctor in your house…that is if you know the Great Physician. One of your benefits as a child of God is divine health. Isaiah 53:5 says, “But He [Jesus] was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed.” Notice how the verb tense changes in the New Testament. 1 Peter 2:24 says that by Jesus’ stripes “…you were healed.” Healing has already been provided for you in addition to salvation. You simply need to receive what is rightfully yours.

Once I had a blind friend who was a Christian but didn’t believe it was God’s will to heal everyone. I politely mentioned Scriptures that stated otherwise since I wanted my friend receive his sight. But he didn’t want to accept the truth and eventually ended our friendship over it. Another former friend of mine got upset because I wouldn’t accept her belief that God was being glorified in her sickness.

It’s unfortunate some Christians reject the “healing message.” A lot of this can be traced to religious tradition. If we don’t study the word of God for ourselves, then we can be vulnerable to lies that well-meaning (but misinformed) preachers tell us. As Hosea 4:6 says, “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.”

Until I knew what the Bible had to say about the subject, I was skeptical of divine healing. The media often portrays faith healers as frauds. I remember an episode of the TV series “Little House on the Prairie” in which a traveling preacher came into Walnut Grove doing “miracles” in the name of the Lord. It was later discovered in another town this preacher had people traveling with him pretending they got healed.

But now I can testify to God’s healing power. In 1996 while at a renewal service at Toronto Airport Christian Fellowship, someone laid hands on me and I was on the floor for about a half-hour. During which I felt something “pop” in my sinuses. Prior to that night, one of my nostrils was always plugged up whenever I tried to breathe through my nose. Because I used to think that was normal, I received a healing I didn’t know I needed!

If you have doubts that God wants you well, notice that the leper in Matthew chapter 8 said to Jesus, "Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean." Jesus replied, “I am willing; be cleansed.” These verses make it clear that the Lord is willing to heal. But just in case you think the Lord is selective in who He will heal, Mark 6:35 says that “…Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people.”

When Jesus gave the Great Commission, part of His instructions included ministering healing to people. Mark 16:17-18 says, “And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues...they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover." This commandment is not restricted to those called into the five-fold ministry. Every believer can be used by God to bring healing to people.

Some folks claim that healing and miracles passed away when the original apostles died. But Hebrews 13:8 says, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.” Once I was about to go out witnessing with a man named Gary who suddenly fell and broke his ankle. Gary asked me to lay my hands on his ankle. He fell down again, this time under the power of God and was instantly healed. Another time while staying at a missionary house in Florida, the Lord led me to minister on healing during a worship service there. A Hispanic man who had arthritis in his hands came up for prayer and the power of God instantly healed him. The Lord still heals today!

Then there are folks who believe God puts sickness on people to teach them something. If that’s true, then why go to a doctor? People seeking medical help would be getting out of God’s will if He wanted them sick.

The wording of some Old Testament Scriptures makes it appear that God is the author of sickness. For example, Exodus 15:26 says, "If you diligently heed the voice of the LORD your God and do what is right in His sight, give ear to His commandments and keep all His statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you which I have brought on the Egyptians. For I am the LORD who heals you." It should be noted that verbs in the Hebrew language can be used either in a causative or permissive sense. Since Jesus healed everyone that approached Him, why would the Father put sickness on anyone? A loving earthly father wouldn’t purposely make his children sick, would he? Therefore, a more accurate rendering of Exodus 15:26 is that God will not ALLOW sickness to come upon His people if they obey Him.

HINDERANCES TO HEALING

There are Christians who have accepted the truth of divine healing but haven’t received it in their own lives. Here are some possible reasons...

Unforgiveness – Being bitter towards someone can block God’s power from manifesting in a person’s life. In 1993 while living in the Chicago area, I suddenly experienced an unusual pain in my tailbone area. Despite receiving prayer and confessing healing Scriptures over myself, the pain wouldn’t go away. At the time I had some differences with my parents. When I made the decision to reconcile with them, the pain went away. Mark 11:26 warns, “But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father in heaven forgive your trespasses."

Unbelief – Some believers get offended when they hear this. But it’s true that lack of faith can hinder our receiving from God. As Keith Moore says, “You can believe and receive or doubt and do without.” When Jesus came to minister in his hometown of Nazareth, Mark 6:5 says, “…He could do no mighty work there, except that He laid His hands on a few sick people and healed them.” The Lord was willing to do miracles there but He COULD NOT (it doesn’t say He would not) because they didn’t believe He was the Messiah.

Bad Health Habits – Since committing my life to the Lord in 1991, I’ve hardly gotten sick. The few times that I have can be linked to eating too much of the wrong types of food. God has given us dietary guidelines to follow in the Bible. Just because we can pray over our meals doesn’t give us the freedom to eat whatever we want as much as we want. God expects us to take care of our bodies for they are temples of the Holy Spirit. Evangelist Jesse Duplantis once visited a woman in the hospital who had surgery for throat cancer. After he prayed for this woman, she then lit up a cigarette and stuck it in a hole that had been cut into her neck. At that moment Jesse knew this woman wouldn’t receive her healing. Her smoking originally caused her throat cancer! She died two weeks later.

Unconfessed Sin – James 5:16 says, “Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed.”

Disobedience to God – People can open up doors to the devil by not obeying God’s will for their lives. Back in the 1800’s, a woman from Ohio named Maria Woodworth-Etter was called to preach the gospel. She resisted at first because she didn’t think people would receive ministry from her because of being a woman. So Maria got married and tried to live a “normal” life of being a housewife and mother. But during that time, five of her six children died. When Maria finally accepted the call to preach, it broke the curse upon her family. Let me clarify again that God is not the author of sickness. Acts 10:38 says, “How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him.”

Not Honoring God’s Ministers – Once I heard a story involving evangelist William Branham who was mightily used by God in the gifts of healing. Two preachers and their wives plotted to expose Brother Branham as a fake at one of his meetings. One of the preachers came up front with a prayer card falsely claiming he had various diseases. The Holy Spirit revealed this scheme to Branham who then confronted the preacher for being a fake himself. The preacher left the meeting with the same diseases he claimed to have! In Numbers chapter 12, Miriam was infected with leprosy after criticizing Moses for marrying an Ethiopian woman. God clearly warns us, "Do not touch My anointed ones, and do My prophets no harm" (1 Chronicles 16:22 and Psalm 105:15).

Negative Talking – People who constantly talk about being sick end up staying sick. “Death and life are in the power of the tongue.” (Proverbs 18:21)

Lack of Patience – While some healings manifest instantly, others may occur gradually. In Mark chapter 8, Jesus prayed for a blind man twice before his sight fully recovered.

It should be pointed out that a person can lose their healing if they don’t stay strong spiritually. One time I visited a lady in a nursing home who was legally blind. After I laid hands on her in the name of Jesus, her sight started recovering. But later I heard she took a turn for the worse because she depended on other Christians praying for her. There comes a time when baby Christians need to “grow up” and learn how to stand on the Word of God for themselves.

DO YOU KNOW THE GREAT PHYSICIAN?

One thing Christians can look forward to when they get to heaven is no more sickness and no more pain (see Revelation 21:4). On the other hand, hell will be a place of “weeping and gnashing of teeth” (Matthew 8:12). If sinners knew about the reality of hell, they wouldn’t make the foolish decision of rejecting the free gift of salvation made available through the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Romans 10:9-10 says “that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” If you are not certain as to where you will spend eternity, then you can make sure by saying a prayer like this one out loud:

"God in Heaven, I know I'm a sinner and I need Your help. I believe in my heart that Jesus Christ died on the cross for my sins and rose again from the dead. Jesus, come into my heart, make Yourself real to me, cleanse me and protect me with Your precious blood, fill me with the Holy Spirit, keep me away from sin, be my Lord and Savior. Amen."