Truth: Sickness and Healing to the believers - Zac Poonen

in Isaiah chapter 53 which speaks about the cross it says here verse 5 he was pierced through for our transgressions he was crushed for our iniquities the chastening of our for our well-being fell upon him and by His stripes we are healed or by his scourging were healed now most charismatic and Pentecostals take that verse to apply to healing from sickness and say that Jesus died not only for the sins of the world but also to heal us of our sicknesses now we have to always compare the Old Testament with where it is quoted in the New Testament to understand truth correctly so if you turn to Matthew chapter 8 we read of one of those prophecies in Isaiah which is quoted here in verse 17 matthew 817 this was to fulfill what was spoken through Isaiah the prophet he took away our himself took our infirmities and carried away our diseases that is Isaiah 53 verse 4 but the point is when was it fulfilled Matthew chapter 8 is not speaking about the cross Matthew chapter 8 is speaking about a time when Jesus verse 16 last part healed all who were ill and when he healed all the sick people who came if there were 2,000 people who were sick all 2,000 were healed not 90% not 1% like we here today 100% they were all healed and that was to fulfill that he took away our infirmity so where did he take it away right there he took it took away their sicknesses it's not talking about the cross at all so does it mean that Jesus didn't die for our sickness he he died for to take away the entire curse sickness is a result of the curse that came upon Adam God did not curse Adam he cursed the ground you read in Genesis 2 & 3 that when Adam sinned God said cursed is the ground and it is that ground from which our body is made that's why we get sick and until the curse is removed from our body sickness will come even to believers we got to face reality and not live in a world of delusion our spirit has already been redeemed from the curse there's no curse in my spirit but my body will be redeemed only when Christ comes we read in Philippians chapter 3 you know if you compare Scripture with Scripture you can never go astray and you live in a world of reality instead of living in a world of illusion and deceiving other people Philippians chapter 3 it says verse 20 we our citizenship is in heaven from which we eagerly wait for the Savior Lord Jesus Christ who will transform this body of our humble state this curse this body which is formed out of dust of the ground which God cursed in Genesis chapter 3 will be transformed into the body of his glory that is the time when the body will be redeemed from the curse and there'll be no more sickness but till then what does it mean but by His stripes we are healed well the best is to compare Scripture with Scripture the Holy Spirit has inspired the Old Testament and the New Testament so if you compare Scripture with Scripture you can't go wrong if you just listen to the interpretation of some human being whether it's me or anybody else you can go astray unless it's based on Scripture so in 1 Peter chapter 2 it says here in the last part of verse 24 1 Peter 2:24 this word from Isaiah Isaiah 53 verse 4 by his wounds we are healed is a lot quoted there in verse 24 towards the end buying his wounds you are healed that's the worst we found in Isaiah but see the interpretation of it which the Holy Spirit gives through Peter in that verse he doesn't say he bore our sicknesses on the cross he bore our sins in his body on the cross not so that we might be healed from sickness so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness because by his wounds you are healed healed from what from sin it's so obvious in that verse so we find here that if you if you go by scripture you'll never live in the world of unreality imagining and claiming things which are not promised in Scripture does it mean that we are we cannot pray for healing when we're sick of course we can pray for healing when we're sick because James says in chapter 5 James 5 and verse 14 if anyone is sick call for the elders of the church and let them pray over him anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord see that is oil is a symbol of the Holy Spirit and when we put oil in a person said we're saying this body is the temple of the Holy Spirit is like the symbol of baptism this baptism is only a symbol you don't become spiritual going into that water but a testimony jesus said how you are testifying that you buried to your old life and risen again to a new life like breaking your bread that bread is not the body of Christ but it's a testimony to the fact that I share in the brokenness in Christ's body and I am cleansed by his blood that's what I drink in the cup in the same way the oil is a symbol of the Holy Spirit and we are testifying this body is a temple of the Holy Spirit and therefore we ask for it to be healed in the name of Jesus Christ and it says here the prayer of faith verse 15 the prayer offered in faith will restore the one who's sick and if he has committed sins they'll be forgiven him now the two things I want to mention there that is sometimes the fact that sin is mentioned there indicates that some sicknesses are due to sin we must recognize that there are some sicknesses not due to sin and some sicknesses due to sin again so here it says in connection with healing it says if he has committed sins it be forgiven maybe that sickness was a result of some sin in his life so when he heal he's also forgiven because he's repented of that sin and therefore were 16 confess your sins to one another it is in the context of being healed whenever I pray for any sick person there's one question I asked him are you aware of any sin in your life that you've not repented of I'm not talking about whether you've overcome it but you hate it have you turned from it total overcoming from sickness will only be when Christ comes again but do you hate sin in your life have you turned from it to the best of your knowledge that's very important before you pray for healing from sickness and also very important have you forgiven everybody who has hurt you can you think back of any person who hurt you in your entire life you have not forgiven you hold a grudge against that person I say don't ask anybody to pray for your sickness it's a waste of time first of all learn to forgive completely totally he doesn't matter how great a crime that person did against you the Lord teaches us to forgive because we've committed a million times more sins against God and he forgive us forgive us our trespasses our sins as we forgive those who sin against us it's a very important requirement for healing but to show you how some sicknesses are due to sin and some sickness are not due to sin in John chapter 5 we read of Jesus going into the Pool of Bethesda and there was a great multitude we read in verse 3 of sick blind lame withered John chapter 5 verse 3 waiting for the moving of the waters and an angel of the Lord would come at a certain time and stir the waters and whoever stepped in first would be healed it was an act of God's mercy I don't know why God did not allow everyone who jumped in to be healed but everyone in the world is not heal is just a plain fact and there was a man for thirty-eight years who was lying there and Jesus saw him and he went to him and He healed him and I want you to picture this in your mind there are two things I want you to learn from this incident one is can you imagine all this maybe two three hundred people around that pool says it says a great multitude verse three and here's this one man who's lame and all these other guys have got various sicknesses and Jesus comes in and they hear him speak to this man saying do you want to get well and they've seen him lying there for years and they seem suddenly getting up and walking away with the bed what do you think all those other guys did they say hey Jesus we're also here and Jesus just went away who said jesus healed everybody who was sick he certainly didn't heal everybody was oh here he heal only one person and went away so we should not have a wrong idea of what scripture says there were times when he healed everybody there were times where he healed one person another way that teaches me that healing is in the sovereign power of God but there was never a single case where as people came to ask Jesus for forgiveness of sin where he said no he can't forgive you I'm only gonna forgive that person in the case of forgiveness of sins it was universal every single person who wanted forgiveness of sins was forgiven but every single person who was sick was not healed we got to face that reality and Jesus Christ is the same yesterday today and forever does he heal everybody no does he heal some people yes that's what we see in Scripture the man had the beautiful gate of the temple whom Peter and John healed you know was a beggar saying give me some money and Peter said I don't have any silver and gold but in the name of Jesus get up and walk that man had been lying there for 40 years can you imagine the number of times Jesus walked by that gate and they asked he asked for money and Jesus told judas iscariot give me some money he didn't heal it because he did not have a command from the father to heal jesus didn't live by a law which says thou shalt heal everybody he never lived by the law he lived by every word that proceeds from the father's mouth man to live by every word that proceeds from the father's mouth we prefer to live by rules even among Christians we make certain rules or even in the church we can have certain rules it's much easier to live by a rule than to live by daily constantly not daily but constantly hearing what the father is saying the true Christian life the spirit filled life is not a life where you heard that somebody did it that way so I'm going to do it that way no that's living by rules it's a lazy way of living I make a bunch of rules and I want to live by that that's not life life is where you're in touch like the branch in the tree constantly receiving SAP man shall live by every word that proceeds from the mother's mouth and Jesus would walk by that temple gate and say father shall I heal this man father says no 20 times he walks by that man in three and a half years every time the father says no okay Judas give him some money he gives him money one day Peter comes by and he heals him what is the result five thousand people you read that in Acts of the Apostles chapter four there's a purpose with which God delays healing so the in everything you know it's possible to try and do things before God's time and Jesus never did it man is like that you live by a rule you go around right you see a man and the gate of the temple of course in Jesus name be healed nothing happens because we don't know how to live by the every word that proceeds from the father's mouth I want to say to you my brothers and sisters one of the most important things that you need to learn it's one of the first things God taught me when I was born again man shall not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds from God's mouth by the way those are the first words that proceeds from Jesus mouth in his ministry what are the first words of Jesus ministry man shall live by every word that proceeds from God's mouth learnt learn that the importance of that he told Martha one thing is needful to sit at my feet like Mary and listen to me you believe that is the one thing that's need for in your life that even if you don't do a hundred and one other things during the day there's one thing you need to do every single day and that is to hear what God has to say to you and I don't mean by just having a quiet time with the Bible the millions of people who have a quiet time with the Bible who don't hear God at all they just ease their conscience I've read the Bible well it's good to read the Bible it's go to meditate on it but you got to hear God and that takes a little more effort than just sitting and going through a ritual of reading the Bible for 15 minutes so one of the things we need to develop to hear what God is saying and to hear what God is saying you need to be rooted in Scripture of course you need to be careful in studying scripture to be diligent and studying Scripture just like I showed you just now and not put your own interpretation into something but compare Scripture with Scripture and gradually you begin to understand God's mind the Bible says that it's by the renewing of our mind turn with me to Romans chapter 12 there are two things the Bible says we must do if you're really grateful for all that God has done for you have your sins been forgiven has God been extremely merciful to you in a hundred and one ways or a thousand and one ways what shall you do in response to God's mercies here it is present your body and your mind to God in simple terms Romans 12:1 in view of all of God's mercies to you and me the Holy Spirit says number one present your body as a sacrifice a sacrifice means you are not going to do your will in your body anymore that's a sacrifice lord I praise my body on the altar that's the sacrifice you want and that is called here spiritual worship or worship in the spirit the Old Testament worship in the Psalms was a worship of the soul the soul is your mind and your emotions and it's the worship of the soul is getting excited when you worship and you know worship with the body body moving the hands it's nothing wrong in that but it's just limited to body and soul raise your hands clap your hands be emotional like the sounds say frequent hallelujahs it's okay it's good but it's Old Covenant worship new covenant worship Jesus told a woman of Samaria the time has now come when the true worshipers John chapter 4 verse 24 will worship not in the soul but in the spirit that woman didn't ever clue what it meant but that word is something for us to hear the time has now come when the true worshipers will worship the father in spirit and truth and it goes out as if the father is eagerly wanting such worshipers and I read that I say Lord are you eager looking for such worshipers I want to be one of them who will worship in the spirit and not just in the body and soul yes I will use my body I'll clap my hands I'll raise my hands I'll be emotional but beyond it all I'll worship in the spirit and worship in the spirit is mentioned here is first of all by presenting our body as a living sacrifice

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Length: 18min 36sec (1116 seconds)

Published: Wed Mar 25 2020