"Go Ye into All the World and Preach the Gospel....."

CHAPTER TWELVE: DIVINE PHYSICAL HEALTH-HEALED BY THE STRIPES OF JESUS!

                              CAUTION!

DIVINE PHYSICAL HEALTH-HEALED BY THE STRIPES OF JESUS

Confusion reins in the churches of our world over whether or not God has provided Divine physical health for His people. Do you think God wants us to be well or sick? If you didn't say well, go back to chapter one and don't even think about collecting 200 dollars. I have learned in the last twenty years that God wants us well, healthy, vibrate, radiantly healthy and He has no desire for us to be sick and has provided for our health, because we are the temple of the Holy Ghost and if we are sick, He may as well be sick. He can't get as much work done if we can't get Him where He needs to go and we have a lot of work to do and we don't have time to be sick. Ephesians 2:21-22, “In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord. In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit.” First Corinthians 3:16, “Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you.” 

Mark 16:15-18, “And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned. And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.” We have already learned that the word serpents in Mark 16:18 is the Greek word “ophis” and is derived from the Greek word “optomai”, which has to do with the ability to see. The definition of “ophis” is “probably from 'optomai' (through the idea of sharpness of vision); a snake, figuratively (as a type of sly cunning) an artful malicious person, especially satan:-serpent. Jesus was telling us that we shall take up or destroy and be able to see devil's strongholds. We can't destroy the devil's strongholds if we can't recognize them. Its okay, everybody gets sick! Let's see if we can take up the devil's stronghold that he has over the saints of God in the area of whether or not God has provided healing for His children.

Second Corinthians 10:3-5, “For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh; (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal; but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds;) Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing every thought into the obedience of Christ.”

Ephesians 6:12, “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but,,,,,,,,,,,,,,spiritual wickedness in high places.” As we learned earlier in chapter seven, when God’s Holy Mountain is established on Earth and satan is locked up for one thousand years that Isaiah 33:24 says, “And the inhabitant shall not say, I am sick:” When satan is out of the picture so is sickness. We need to know what God’s Word says about healing to be able to win the wrestling match when we get symptoms of illness.

Remember that salvation is the Greek word's “soteria” and “soterion.” The combination of the definitions is rescue or safety (physically or morally): deliver, health, salvation, save, saving. Defender or by implication defense:-salvation. The Helmet of Salvation is anything you believe God for and is much more than receiving the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven or being born again and we need the Helmet of Salvation in the area of Divine physical health now that we have the Helmet of Salvation in the area of forgiveness.

I was reading my Bible one day and read a scripture on healing that I had heard many times, but this day it took on a new meaning and went from intellectual knowledge to real saving knowledge as we learned in chapter five through the parable of the Sower. First Peter 2:24, last sentence, speaking of Jesus, “Who His own self bare our sins in His own body on the tree that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.” I had always read this as “we are” instead of in the past tense “were.” I suddenly realized that when Jesus was striped 2,000 years ago I was healed. He took not only my sins but also my sicknesses. Hallelujah! Anytime we begin to show symptoms of illness and the fiery darts of “you are getting sick”, “cancer”, everybody else has it” and so forth begin we need to remember that we were healed 2,000 years ago and immediately go to God and ask for wisdom according to James 1:5, “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him” as to why we are having symptoms that are contrary to His Word. It could be anything from an attack of the enemy to diet or stress or the effects of a past lifestyle.

Stress is always an attack of the enemy and we must remember Second Timothy 1:7, “For God hath not given us the spirit of fear [stress]; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.” And that God wants us to prosper and be in health as we learn what God’s Word says about what we are believing Him for, Third John 2, “Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospers.” Even as we study His Word and learn all the benefits that He has provided for us through the works of The Cross. Revelation 12:11, “And they [Christians] overcame him [satan] by the blood of the Lamb,”

Deuteronomy 34:5-7, Living Bible, “So Moses, the disciple of the Lord, died in the land of Moab as the Lord had said. The Lord buried him in a valley near Beth-Peor in Moab, but no one knows the exact place. Moses was 120 years old when he died, yet his eyesight was perfect and he was as strong as a young man.” Moses was in perfect health when he died at the age of 120 because he obeyed Exodus 23:25, God speaking, “And ye shall serve the Lord your God, and He shall bless thy bread, and thy water; and I will take sickness from the midst of thee.” He also ate what God provided for him, manna, and walked a lot. Compare that to Asa King of Judah in Second Chronicles 16:12-13, “And Asa in the thirty and ninth year of his reign was diseased in his feet, until his disease was exceeding great: yet in his disease he sought not to the LORD, but to the physicians. And Asa slept with his fathers, and died in the one and fortieth year of his reign.”

Hebrews 8:6-7, “But now has He [Jesus] obtained a more excellent ministry, by how much also He is the mediator of a better covenant, which was established on better promises. For if that first covenant had been faultless, then should no place had been sought for the second.” If God told His people in the old testament, who were under the old covenant, that He would take sickness away from the midst of them, and then tells us in the new testament, which is the new covenant, that it is a better covenant, then we can rest assured that He has also taken sickness from the midst of us. Don’t judge the Word of God on what you might see or feel. Romans 10:17, “So then faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the Word of God.” Remember why we have the shield of faith, Ephesians 6:16, “Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.” 

The healing that Jesus did in the four gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, are so numerous that I am going to suggest that you read them for yourself. Here is one, Matthew 8:14-17, “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.”

The book of Isaiah or Esaias, was written during Isaiah's lifetime between 740 B.C. and 681 B.C. Isaiah, 53:4-5, “Surely He hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem Him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon Him; and with His stripes we are healed.” God prophesied through Isaiah that Jesus was going to be striped so we could be healed approximately 700 years before it happened and it was fulfilled throughout the four gospels and when Jesus was striped by Pilate in Matthew 27:26, Mark 15:15 and John 19:1, “Then Pilate therefore took Jesus, and scourged Him” Scourged means to whip or flog. “Himself took our infirmities and bare our sicknesses” means the same thing as “by His stripes ye were healed.” Infirmities is “astheneia”, feebleness of body or mind; by implication malady; moral frailty:-disease, infirmity, sickness, weakness.

THE HELMET OF HEALING ACQUIRED THROUGH THE ARMOR OF GOD

Why is it so hard for us to believe that Jesus took away our sins, but not our sicknesses? Could it be we need to remember Ephesians 6:10-18, “Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armour of God that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; and your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; Above all taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. And take the Helmet of Salvation, and the Sword of the Spirit, which is The Word of God: Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints.”

The reason we have God's armor is so we can withstand in the evil day. I don't know about you but I have tried to withstand in the evil day without God's armor and I quickly learned that I needed all of God's armor to withstand in the evil day and anytime I feel sick I consider that the evil day.

The Greek word for wiles is “methodeia.” Looks like that is where our word method comes from doesn't it. When I was in the army they talked about doing things S.O.P. This meant to do things by a standard operating procedure. satan has a plan to steal, kill and/or destroy in every Christian’s life. John 10:10, Jesus speaking, “The thief [satan] cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.” The quicker we learn to recognize his s.o.p. the quicker we can learn to take our S.O.P., the Word of God, and defeat him.

It is much easier to learn the truth and stay out of trouble, than to get into trouble and then begin to learn the truth. I have an easier time staying well than getting well and I am also much easier to teach when I am not in trouble, but I have learned a lot when I have been backed into a corner. The one year “amnesty” or “truce” that we discussed in chapter three is a period of time after we are born again that God has given us to learn the great redemptive truths of God and that is what this message is all about. I am being allowed to write this to help people either stay out of trouble or get out of and stay out of trouble so that we can do God’s will for our lives and avoid what I went through and be prepared for the evil day and help change this world and set the captives free.

John 8:32, “And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free.” that we were healed 2000 years ago by the stripes of Jesus and He came and took our sins and sicknesses. Once we have our loins girded about with truth then we need to realize we have “rightstanding” with God. satan will try to make us believe that we deserve to be sick or are paying for our past sins or, even worse, that God is punishing us for something we have done by allowing us to be sick. We will study Job later, but he was under the “old” covenant and wasn’t able to recognize the works of the devil and take authority over the devil in the Name of Jesus and stand on God’s Word. Job was written to teach us not to question God, but we can ask Him questions.

In First Peter 2:24 where God is telling us that we were healed by the stripes of Jesus, the whole verse is “Who His own self bare our sins in His own body on the tree that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.” This is the righteousness that we obtained when Jesus took our sins away on the cross and made us dead to sin. In First Peter 2:24 God is reminding us that we have been made the righteousness of God through Christ Jesus just before He tells us that we are healed by the stripes of His only begotten Son.

We have the breastplate of righteousness so that satan can't come and try to condemn us and make us feel guilty, unworthy to be blessed of God. God has said in Hebrews 10:17, “And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more.” Murderers, thieves, adulterers, fornicators, idolaters, effeminate, drunkards, extortioners, etc., etc. are all forgiven. We don't have to pay the price for our sins, our Lord and savior Jesus Christ already did. Always remember First John 1:9, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” and James 5:14-16, “Is any sick among you? Let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the Name of the Lord: And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him. Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed.” God has us covered with His Word.

We have truth so the devil can't steal, kill, or destroy in our lives. We have the breastplate of righteousness so the devil can't condemn us with his lies that are contrary to God's Word so that we can have our feet shod with the preparation of peace. Romans 10:13-15, “For whosoever shall call upon the Name of the Lord shall be saved. How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach, except they be sent? As it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things.” When we go on our jobs or to the stores or malls or restaurants or hospitals or jails or prisons or nursing homes or wherever, and tell the good news of the gospel of peace with God we have our feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace. God wants us to share the gospel with others to get our eyes off of our problems and on to the problems of others.  

We have truth so the devil can't steal, kill, or destroy in our lives. We have the breastplate of righteousness so the devil can't condemn us with his lies that are contrary to God's Word. We have our feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace with God so that we can tell others and not be concerned about only ourselves and now we need the shield of faith to keep us from doubting and quench the fiery darts or lies of the devil. Doubt your doubts! Don't doubt the Word of God. Doubt never healed anyone. Ephesians 6:16, “Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.”  

Hebrews 11:1-3, “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for; the evidence of things not seen. For by it [faith] the elders obtained a good report. Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the Word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.” Go by God's Word to frame our healing and not the medical report or medical statistics or what you see or hear or feel that is contrary to God's Word. Romans 10:17, “So then faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the Word of God.”

We have truth so the devil can't steal, kill, or destroy in our lives. We have the breastplate of righteousness so the devil can't condemn us with his lies that are contrary to God's Word. We have our feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace with God so that we can tell others and not be concerned about only ourselves. We have the shield of faith to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked that are contrary to God's Word about healing or whatever so that we can put on the Helmet of Salvation of healing or whatever and take up the Sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God and speak to the spirits behind our problem in the area of healing or whatever and then develop a Word-based prayer life so that we will keep our eyes on Heavenly things and not things of this world and pray for the healing or whatever of others. When we pray in the Spirit we could be praying for ourselves, family, friends, church, pastor or whomever anywhere in the world or for someone in outer space. We never know what God has us praying about or for whom He has us praying.

Romans 8:26-28, “Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities [weaknesses]; for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession FOR US with groanings which cannot be uttered. And He that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because He maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God. And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose.” Paul wrote in First Corinthians 14:14-15, “For if I pray in an unknown tongue, my spirit prayeth, but my understanding is unfruitful. What is it then? I will pray with the spirit, and I will pray with the understanding also;”

DAMNED

Mark 16:15-18, “And He [Jesus] said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved, but he that believeth not shall be damned. And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my Name [Jesus] shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them: they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.” Let’s look at, “he who believeth not shall be damned.” Unfortunately you can be a child of God and still believe not and be damned. Repent and believe the gospel, Mark 1:15, Jesus speaking, “The time is fulfilled, and the Kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye and believe the gospel.” Let's endeavor to learn all we can about what God's Word says about healing so we can believe and not be damned.

Damned is “katakrino”, to judge against, i.e. sentence:-condemn, damn. Through his fiery darts satan will try to convince us that it is God that is going to damn us for our unbelief when he is trying to make us have a negative confession and it will be our own words that will condemn us to not be able to obtain from the Word of God any promise that we find in the Bible. Stand your ground when you know what the Word says about your situation and even if a negative confession comes out of your mouth, ask God to forgive you and He will because He understands our battle.

CONFESS YOUR HEALING OR ANYTHING ELSE YOU ARE BELIEVING GOD FOR

Romans 10:9-11, “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on Him shall not be ashamed.” We can use this scripture to claim God’s promises in His Word. That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth that you were healed by the stripes of Jesus 2,000 years ago and shalt believe it in thine heart, for with the mouth confession is made unto salvation for healing or whatever. Salvation is the Greek word's “soteria” and “soterion.” The combination of the meanings is rescue or safety (physically or morally):-deliver, health, salvation, save, saving. Defender or by implication defense:-salvation. We will discuss believe it in thine heart in Dodie’s wrestling match.

Matthew 12:35-37, “A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things. But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.” We are healed by the stripes of Jesus and He bore our sins and infirmities and sickness so we don’t have to so we can be set free to serve Him and spread the gospel of Jesus Christ-the Son of God-the Word of God.

Remember the story of Abraham in chapter five: God spoke to Abram, before He renamed him Abraham, father of many nations, in Genesis 15 and showed him the stars in the Heavens and told him that so Abraham's seed shall be. When God changed Abram’s name He was changing his name to Abraham-father of nations. I was reading in Charles Capps book, “Faith and Confession” that every time someone called Abraham’s name that he was actually calling him “father of nations.” The more Abraham heard that he was the “father of nations” the more he believed that he was the “father of nations.” He related this to how we are to use God’s Word and speak it until we believe what His Word says about us. By His stripes I am healed, by His stripes I am healed, by His stripes I am healed over and over until we get it down in our spirit along with, Matthew 8:17, “Himself took our infirmities, and bare our sicknesses.” and Exodus 23:25, God speaking, “And ye shall serve the Lord your God, and He shall bless thy bread, and thy water; and I will take sickness from the midst of thee.” and Isaiah 33:24 says, “And the inhabitant shall not say, I am sick:” when the devil is locked up for a thousand years and God’s Holy Mountain, Zion, is established on this earth.

Second Corinthians 10:3-5, “For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh; (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal; but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds ;) Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing every thought into the obedience of Christ.”

If you are sick or are having symptoms of illness don’t ever let thoughts that God is mad at you or is trying to punish you or teach you a lesson enter your mind. God does not use illness to chastise or purge. He can use this to purge or renew our minds, but He will never create it. Hang in there until we get through the entire teaching and never settle for anything but God's best. When we begin to have symptoms of an illness we need to learn to say, “Why God, why?”, and He will always answer our questions. James 1:5, “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth [rebukes, turns away] not: and it shall be given him.” Don't be afraid to ask for wisdom, God's way is always the best way and illness is always the works of the devil with a devil-made label, but it is still the works of the devil.

Whenever we get symptoms of sickness, or are having problems, we seem to have a tendency to forget what God has provided for us in His riches in glory by Christ Jesus, the “Starter Kit.” Philippians 4:19, “But my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.” Always remember, we don't need to be sick. We get to looking at what is happening to those people around us and forget what the Word of God says. Romans 10:17, “So then faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the Word of God.” We must learn not to look at circumstances, symptoms, doctor's reports or other people's circumstances, symptoms or doctor's report. The definition of faith is, Hebrews 11:1-3, “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for; the evidence of things not seen. For by it [faith] the elders obtained a good report. Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.” Go by God's Word not what you see or hear or feel that is contrary to God's Word and remember the wheat and tares.

COMMUNION

To further illustrate the effect of the tares amongst the wheat in regard to healing let's look at First Corinthians 11:23-32, “For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, That the Lord Jesus the same night in which He was betrayed took bread: And when He had given thanks, He brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me. After the same manner also He took the cup, when He had supped saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me. For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord's death till He come.

Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord, unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and the blood of the Lord. But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup. 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. For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged. But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world.”

I was in church taking communion one Sunday and was aware of this scripture of not eating and drinking unworthily. I took the cup and then put it back untouched because I felt unworthy to drink and eat of the cup of communion, but that is not what this scripture is saying. I could have drunk the cup and ate the bread. I was in darkness at this time because of the failure of my marriage and I was very actively examining and judging myself and I was also very actively being chastened of the Lord.

In the parable of the Sower we learned that three out of four of the people in the parable of the Sower don't know Jesus, but are sitting in a church acting like they do and not remembering the broken body, the shed blood of the New Testament and the death of Jesus until He comes. That is why we are seeing a lot of weak and sickly people in church and some are even dying because they are abiding in unbelief and then the born again believer sees these getting sick and they consequently don't believe God's Word in Second Peter 2:24 that by His stripes ye were healed. Most people compromise God's Word and believe this means that by His stripes we are healed once God gets good and ready or we suffer until we die. We must always look at God's Word and not what we see. “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for; the evidence of things not seen”, Hebrews 11:1. Confess that you are healed just like Jesus did when the devil tempted Him, IT IS WRITTEN! Fight saints, fight!

DODIE OSTEEN’S WRESTLING MATCH

Let's look at the healing testimony of Dodie Osteen, widow of the late Pastor John Osteen of Lakewood Church in Houston, Texas and use it to learn how the devil works to convince someone that they are sick contrary to God's Word. Luke 6:17-18, “And He [Jesus] came down with them, and stood in the plain, and the company of His disciples, and a great multitude of people out of all Judaea and Jerusalem, and from the sea coast of Tyre and Sidon, which came to hear Him, and to be healed of their diseases; And they that were vexed with unclean spirits: and they were healed.” This word healed, “therapeuo”, meant to relieve of. Vexed, “ochleo”, means to mob, harass, to torment, to afflict, to wear down with toil.

Dodie was diagnosed as having metastatic cancer of the liver in late 1981 and when she first got sick she went in the hospital and they told her she only had a few weeks to live. She was at the point I was at when I finally decided to let God take over, nowhere else to go, so she told them she wanted to go home. She and her husband began to search the scriptures and seek God for the answer to her problem. She prayed and meditated on the Word and had a list of forty scriptures she would say everyday and I am sure there were days when she said them more than once and I understand she still says them. She has a “feisty” spirit and decided not to give up. Dodie said that she still had children at home and knew God wasn't through using her. She stood on many scriptures, but one is Isaiah 43:25-26, God speaking through Isaiah, “I, even I, am He that blotteth out thy transgressions for mine own sake, and will not remember thy sins. Put me in remembrance: let us plead together: declare thou, that thou mayest be justified. ”

On pages 24-26 of her book “Healed of Cancer”, which can be ordered online at Lakewood.cc or joelosteen.com or by calling 888-870-7322 for $2.00 plus shipping, she tells a story of the battle that was going on in her mind and one of the scriptures she was standing on was Hebrews 10:23, “Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; for He is faithful that promised.” Dodie was having a discussion with her husband John one day and she told him, “John, what is wrong with me? I feel so condemned because I am wavering.” John knew just what to say and he asked, “Dodie, are you wavering in your heart?” Dodie said, “No. I know God’s Word wouldn’t lie to me, it is true.” “Then where are you wavering?” She said she was wavering in her head. John said, “Well, don’t you see? That’s the difference. You are not wavering in your heart, because you know God’s Word is true. There is no need for you to be condemned. Your heart is established. Resist the thoughts from the devil and he will flee from you.” James 4:7, “Submit yourselves therefore to God, resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”

Remember the mustard seed. Matthew 17:20, “For verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove: and nothing shall be impossible unto you.”

Remember when I told you that sometimes the devil would start harassing me and God would tell me to just ignore him. When you know what the Word of God, Jesus, says about your situation don't waste your time arguing with the devil. The reason we come against our situation with the Word of God is so that we can get it down in our hearts. The devil knows what it says. Once he realizes that we know what it says and are going to hold fast to our faith, or the Word, without wavering, he is gone. Whipped! Defeated! Once he realized Dodie had caught on the “cancer”, or any other label the devil wanted to put on it, had to go.

Luke 13:10-17, “And He [Jesus] was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath. And, behold, there was a woman which had a spirit of infirmity eighteen years, and was bowed together, and could in no wise lift up herself. And when Jesus saw her, He called her to Him, and said unto her, Woman, thou art loosed from thine infirmity. And He laid hands on her: and immediately she was made straight and glorified God.

And the ruler of the synagogue answered with indignation, because that Jesus had healed on the Sabbath day, and said unto the people, There are six days in which men ought to work: in them therefore come and be healed, and not on the Sabbath day.

The Lord then answered him, and said, Thou hypocrite, doth not each one of you on the Sabbath loose his ox or his ass from the stall, and lead him away to watering? And ought not this woman, being a daughter of Abraham, whom satan, satan, satan, satan, satan, satan, satan  hath bound, lo, these eighteen years, be loosed this bond on the Sabbath day? And when He had said these things, all His adversaries were ashamed: and all the people rejoiced for all the glorious things that were done by Him.”

Dodie wasn't battling “cancer”, she was battling the enemy in her mind, satan, evil spirits that were trying to kill her. We must always remember that we were, were, were, were, were, were, were healed by the stripes of Jesus. Anytime we get symptoms we must rebuke them and ask God to forgive us for allowing satan to have ground in our bodies, and then ask Him to show us how we gave up that ground so that we don't give it up again. What Dodie was doing was retaking ground that she had given satan earlier. The story of the woman in Luke 13 is an excellent illustration of loosing something on earth and then it will be loosed in the Heavens. Dodie was loosed from the spirit of infirmity called “cancer.” Jesus gave us the same authority He used to loose the spirit of infirmity that had bound the woman in Luke 13:10-17 in Mark 16:17, “In my Name [Jesus] shall they cast out devils.” and Matthew 18:18, “and whatsoever ye shall loose on Earth shall be loosed in Heaven.”

Dodie said that in October of 1981 her and her husband were at a celebration at Oral Roberts University and she began to feel a bit fuzzy in her mind and had chills and a fever. These symptoms got progressively worse over the next three weeks and she says that the symptoms will come now and she will tell them to go in the Name of Jesus. If she had done that when the attack or symptoms first manifested themselves she would not have had to go through what she went through and, of course, we also wouldn't have her testimony and I wouldn't be writing this. Thank you Dodie for standing strong and not taking the easy way out and going to Heaven to be with Jesus before your appointed time.

Dodie is now taking authority over the unclean spirits just as Luke 11:24-26 tells us, “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.”

Now when the wicked come with their fiery darts of your going to get sick or your catching a cold, or you probably have cancer or everybody else is getting it so you probably will also, your parent had that so you will too or you know what you did to give the devil ground to give you whatever, we can without wavering in our hearts say, “I am forgiven of my iniquities and cleansed by the Blood of Jesus from all unrighteousness according to First John 1:9 and James 5:15” and “I am healed by the stripes of Jesus according to First Peter 2:24.” and  “In God's Holy Mountain when you are locked up they will not say I am sick according to Isaiah 33:24, so this must be you saying I am when I couldn't be.” “God said He would take sickness from among His people in the Old Testament and I am under a better covenant and healed by the stripes of Jesus.” “My God says that He will supply all of my needs in Philippians 4:19 and I don't need to be sick.”

THE CURSE IS BROKEN

Let's review “the curse” that we studied earlier. What is known as “the curse” on children has scriptural basis in Exodus 20:5, “for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquities of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me.” I was cleaning my bathroom one-day, the commode to be exact, and I asked the Lord how He could stand to put a curse on little children. He was very quick to reply, “I don't put the curse on them, the parents do.” I know the scripture says fathers, but He said parents because we are all one under the New Covenant. We need to understand that we are blessed by the blessing of Abraham by faith when we are born again and become a child of God.

Galatians 3:6-14, “Even as Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness. Know ye therefore that they which are of faith [That is us], the same are the children of Abraham. And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen [That is us] through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed. So then they which be of faith [That is us] are blessed with faithful Abraham.

For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them. But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident: for, the just shall live by faith [That is us].

And the law is not of faith: but, the man that doeth them shall live in them. Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree: That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through through faith.” I was redeemed from the curse of Exodus 20:5 when I was born again, but I still had to learn God's ways and to be purged of my old sinful nature. The curse that was on my son and daughter was also broken the day I was born again and they will have to go through the same purging when they are born again and I will be able to help them speed through the process.

HEALING ILLUSTRATED THROUGH THE PARABLE OF THE SOWER

In chapter five, “The Shield of Faith to Quench All the fiery darts of the wicked!” we broke the parable of the Sower down into the four stages of faith. Using Mark 4:14-20, stage one, verse 15, “And these are they by the wayside, where the Word is sown; but when they have heard, satan cometh immediately, and taketh away the Word that was sown in their hearts.” This is intellectual faith or head knowledge.

Stage two, verses 16 and 17, “And these are they likewise which are sown on stoney ground; who, when they have heard the Word, immediately receive it with gladness; and have no root in themselves, and so endure but for a time: afterward, when affliction or persecution ariseth for the Word's sake, immediately they are offended.” This is temporary faith or knowledge.

Stage three, verses 18 and 19, “And these are they which are sown among thorns; such as hear the Word, and the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lust of other things entering in, choke the Word, and it becometh unfruitful.” This is dead faith or “yackity-yack.”

Stage four, verse 20, “And these are they which are sown on good ground; such as hear the Word, and receive it, and bring forth fruit, some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some an hundred.” This is real saving faith or heart knowledge.

We can take the parable of the Sower and use it as a guideline for determining salvation in anything spiritual that we are believing God for, such as, being born again, healing, tithing, finances, our ministries, our marriages, being blessed with a spouse, the salvation of our children or a spouse, or anything you are seeking God to do for you. All we have to do is look at the parable of the Sower and be honest with ourselves. Most of us get hung up in the third stage where the cares, riches and pleasures of this life choke the Word and it becomes unfruitful. Yackity-yack! We must always start with intellectual faith and then it will hopefully go straight to real-saving faith and, if not, then it will be either temporary or dead faith. Even if we are in the dead faith stage that is when we need to battle and overcome and convert our intellectual, temporary or dead faith in to real-saving faith.

Many times I have heard excellent teachings on healing and then would be amazed at the number of people that would come down for prayer for healing, but would be back in the prayer line the next time the church doors were open. They heard the Word, but satan came immediately to steal the Word out of their hearts. I am sure many of these people received their healing with gladness, but then satan came and began to yackity-yack and convinced them they weren't healed. These people had intellectual knowledge of healing and then were robbed of their temporary healing by persecution or affliction when the symptoms came back because they didn’t know that the devil always comes to steal the Word out of our hearts They needed to be full of the truth so they could stand on the Word of God. This is stages one and two, intellectual and temporary healing. Doubt your doubts, but never doubt The Word of God! It is okay to ask God questions, but never question His Word.

I am going to illustrate real-saving or heart faith to be healed before dead faith so that you can better understand the difference between the two. I was at church one night right after I was born again and a man came to the front of the church for prayer that was scheduled to undergo his fourth or fifth back operation. The pastor asked him if he was baptized in the Holy Ghost and he said he wasn't. The pastor laid hands on him just like in the book of Acts and he began to speak in his other language that God gave him. Acts 19:6, “And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Ghost came on them: and they spake with tongues, and prophesied.”

The pastor had him sit in a chair and put his hips back as far as he could. The pastor then checked the length of the man's legs and discovered that one was shorter than the other and he prayed and asked God to make them both the same length. I saw this happen many times while I was at this church and you can actually see the shorter leg grow out and match up with the other leg. God has allowed me to do this and I know it is real.

The pastor then had the man stand up and he rebuked a spirit of fear and told him to bend over and touch his toes. He not only bent over and touched his toes, but he jumped up and down and began to do flips and took off running around the church. Doubting Bill, that's me, said to himself, “I bet they paid him to do that and he probably came in from out of town and we will never see him again.”

To my surprise, I began to see the man at church all the time. About two months later God wanted to remove my doubts, so He had me sit behind the man in church. He reached under his seat to get his Bible when the teaching started and his shirt came up and I could see his lower back and it looked like a road map. If my back had been cut on as much as his had, I would have had to know I was healed to do what he did. This was real saving faith, the fourth stage of the parable of the sower. I have often wondered when he first spoke in his other language if the Holy Ghost didn't have him praising and thanking God for healing his back. You need the Holy Ghost and to always thank God that He has provided for our healing through His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.

I was in another service not long after this and a lady from Tennessee came for prayer for healing of her back that was scheduled for a back operation in the Houston Medical Center. She had to have intellectual knowledge of healing or she wouldn't have been in church for prayer. The pastor had her sit down in a chair and put her hips all the way back and measured her legs and asked God to make them the same length. He then rebuked a spirit of fear and told her to jump up and bend over and touch her toes. When the pastor took her by the hands and told her to jump up she just looked at him and said, “But the doctor said.”

Romans 10:17, “So then faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the Word of God.” She had chosen to listen to the doctors’ report instead of the Word of God and was in the third stage of the parable of the sower or dead faith.

Mark 16:15-16, “And He [Jesus] said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved, but he that believeth not shall be damned.”

In verse 16 it says that they who believe not shall be damned. This woman didn't believe in God's healing, only that God will sustain us through illnesses and help us suffer and guide the doctor's and He does and will continue to do so, but that is not His perfect will, because we don't have time to be sick and hospitalized. The point here is that she was damned because she believed not. I heard a preacher say one time that the reason people pay their health insurance premiums was because of fear. He was afraid not to have health insurance so he could go to the hospital when he got sick and I don't like having health insurance because I am afraid if I get symptoms that I will go to a doctor instead of Jesus. I am not about to tell people not to go to the doctor because we each need to do whatever we have faith in and works. When someone is healed through the medical system they naturally want to praise the medical system for their healing. They have found faith in the medical system. Whatever works. God has had a hand in many of the advances in the medical field only because He has had to due to a lack of faith and understanding of His Word pertaining to healing and the battle for our health. Always pray and take authority over the devil and ask God to give the doctors, nurses, anesthesiologist, billing department and whoever wisdom, clarity of mind and skills they don’t know they have when you or a loved one, or friends or whomever are hospitalized. 

James 5:14-16, “Is any sick among you? Let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the Name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him. 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.” From this scripture we can conclude that iniquity or sin can create sickness and if we confess that iniquity and pray we will be forgiven and healed just like First John 1:9 and this scripture goes with Mark 16:18. “They shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.”

FASTING AND DEALING WITH SYMPTOMS AND DIET

I don’t spend a lot of time reading a newspaper, but I was stuck somewhere and bored so I read the comics and one of them was Hagar the Horrible. He was at a pub drinking with a buddy and he told his buddy, “My doctor said I had to switch from beer and fatty foods to a diet of vegetables and garden salads.” His buddy said, “Wow! What did you do?” Hagar answered with, “I switched doctors.” Our Doctor is wisdom and we are commanded in our covenant to obey and seek wisdom in everything we do, so there will be no switching doctors for the Children of the Most High Doctor.

Diabetes is running rampant in the United States. By government estimation 23.6 million people of all ages, 7.8% of the population, had diabetes in 2007. Why, God why? Can our dietary habits be influenced by the fiery darts of the wicked? What if someone has what we consider good dietary habits and still is diagnosed with diabetes? Pediatric researchers acknowledge that there is an epidemic of childhood obesity in our country, but their solution is cholesterol-reducing drugs known as statins for some 8-year-olds. Eight year olds? Diabetes in the past has not generally been diagnosed in an individual before they were in their 50’s or 60’s, but now they are seeing a dramatic increase among individuals in their 20s and 30s and juvenile diabetes. Did God invent soda water, hamburgers and French fries? Sugar was a luxury that only the rich could afford until the explorers from Europe discovered the sugar cane of the Western Hemisphere and now almost everything we eat contains sugar or starch. If you have diabetes or you don’t go to this website and see how this group has been able to reverse diabetes in 30 days. http://www.rdnmovement.com/ The rdn stands for reverse diabetes now.

I was at a birthday party and as we chatted someone mentioned that the PH of a soda water was 2.5, which is very acidic, and someone else said that we should check the PH of our urine every morning. Oh really! I got on the wonderful World Wide Web when I got home and found tons of information on the human body PH with books and of course products for sale. My favorite is www.acidalkalinediet.com because they have a forum and you can ask questions and they actually answer your question. As I deciphered the information I discovered that the body naturally fights to keep the body alkaline as opposed to acidic. Our bodies go to great lengths to maintain alkalinity even to the point of storing acid as fat cells. When we drink and eat acidic foods, sugar, diet or regular soda drinks, meat, diary, breads and so forth we are forcing our bodies to fight to maintain alkalinity. If we eat alkaline foods, vegetables, some types of fish, beans and legumes, certain nuts, fruits like grapefruit and others we help the body maintain alkalinity. Most of the books recommend a diet of 70 percent alkaline and 30 percent acidic.  

My heart started bouncing around and acting silly one evening and I asked the Lord, “What is that?” and He answered and said, “Stress.” Stress is caused by worrying or being fearful about something and we are commanded in First Peter 5:6-9, “Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time. Casting all your care upon Him; For He careth for you. Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: Whom resist steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world.” And fear is covered by Second Timothy 1:7, “For God hath not given us the spirit of fear [stress]; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.”

We must learn to go to God and say, “Father in the Name of Jesus, your Word says you have not given us a spirit of fear, but of love, power and a sound mind and this worrying that is causing me to be stressful must go in the Name of Jesus as I humble myself under your mighty hand and casting my cares on you and bind and loose the spirit of fear that is not of you in the Name of Jesus according to Matthew 18:18, “Verily I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall bind on Earth shall be bound in Heaven; and whatsoever ye shall loose on Earth shall be loosed in Heaven.” Amen.”

Second Corinthians 1:14, speaking of angels, “Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation.” When I have a relative, friend or anybody that is displaying signs of sickness or even are hospitalized I always go to these scriptures and bind the devil and loose angels to go forth and work in their behalf. But,,,it is always best to teach people the truth on healing through the eyes of the Bible so they can stay well and not have to fight off sickness or be hospitalized.

Don't forget to pray in tongues over the situation according to Romans 8:26-27, “Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities [weaknesses]; for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession FOR US with groanings which cannot be uttered. And He that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because He maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God.”

I have had people tell me there was someone in the hospital God wanted them to pray for and that was why they were hospitalized. They imply that God will use sickness to get us to go to the hospital to pray for someone. God is a very intelligent, loving God and He can guide us to where He wants us if we stay sensitive to the urging of the Holy Spirit. God can use these circumstances to do good but He would never create them to do good. Romans 2:4, “Or despiseeth thou the riches of His goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thou to repentance?” Pray, pray, pray! Bind, bind, and bind!

Luke 4:9-12, “And he brought Him to Jerusalem, and set Him on a pinnacle of the temple, and said unto Him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down from hence: For it is written, He shall give His angels charge over thee, to keep thee. And in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone. And Jesus answering said unto him, It is said, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.” We can see from this scripture that we shouldn't take risk that might put us in a position to be injured or be exposed to something that will make us sick. I had a job once in a chemical laboratory where I was exposed to a lot of gasoline and I breathed the fumes everyday and began to get headaches. I told God that if He wanted to stay there until I was sixty-five that was fine, but if He was ready to go I was ready and He told me, “You won’t live to be sixty-five if you stay here.” We quit.

Moses was in perfect health when he died at 120 years old because he obeyed God. He stayed close to God and did what He told him to do and ate what God provided. When satan was trying to get Jesus to jump off the temple I liken that to us stuffing ourselves beyond recognition with unneeded food and then getting mad at God because we get sick. We must always remember that we were healed 2,000 years ago when Jesus was striped and when we get sick the devil has been given ground. It is not God's fault! He has already provided for us to live a life free of sickness. I had a lady tell me that she didn't like being told it was her fault because that would make her feel guilty. Guilt free illness! We need to ask God to guide and direct us in our diets.

Mark 5:25-34,  “And a certain woman, which had an issue of blood twelve years, And had suffered many things of many physicians, and had spent all that she had, and was nothing bettered, but rather grew worse, When she had heard of Jesus, came in the press behind, and touched His garment. For she said, If I may touch but His clothes, I shall be whole. And straightway the fountain of her blood was dried up; and she felt in her body that she was healed of that plague.

And Jesus, immediately knowing in Himself that virtue had gone out of Him, turned Him about in the press, and said, Who touched my clothes? And His disciples said unto Him, Thou seest the multitude thronging thee, and sayest thou, Who touched me? And he looked round about to see her that had done this thing. But the woman fearing and trembling, knowing what was done in her, came and fell down before Him, and told Him all the truth. And He said unto her, Daughter, thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace, and be whole of thy plague.”

God has blessed us with an excellent medical system, but only because we don’t realize that we were healed by the stripes of Jesus 2000 years ago. If we ask Him for wisdom as to why we are feeling bad or getting sick He could help us stay out of the medical system. It is a very expensive system and if a doctor makes a wrong diagnosis or prescribes unneeded medication to an individual they can be in a lot of trouble. God has had a hand in creating much of our medical system, but it is still a system that satan has begun to infiltrate more and more in recent years. God can use the medical system, but if we don't pray and bind the devil when our loved ones get into this system and away from God's perfect system, Divine healing, satan can easily use it to steal, kill and or destroy. We have come a long way from using leeches in barbershops to treat people like they did years ago, BUT God’s system is still the best no matter what the world has to offer. I'll hang in there with Doctor Jesus. I don't have to wait, He makes house calls and never sends me a bill.

Remember why we have the shield of faith, Ephesians 6:16, “Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.” We must be able to recognize a fiery dart of the wicked to be able to quench it. Unforgiveness, healing and finances are three of satan's favorite areas to attack God's people. If he can get us to go along with his perverted program instead of God's perfect program, he can keep us from serving God to the fullest. We must learn to know what God has provided for us in His Word so we can recognize an attack of the enemy.

I used to have problems with sinus infections. When I was writing this the first time in 1987, I had stopped one day to put drops in my nose and I was complaining that I was sure that God's people in the desert with Him didn't need nose drops. The Holy Ghost quickly replied and said, “They weren't on the same diet you are on.” I would always ask God why my sinuses were hurting and He would tell me diet.

I was beginning to have signs of a sinus infection once and I went on a fast and the symptoms almost immediately ceased. I have been fasting off and on for several years and have learned that God always has a purpose for our fast.  He said in Matthew 6:16, “Moreover when ye fast” not if ye fast. When we go on a God-called fast sometimes we know for sure what we are fasting for, but many times God has a reason for your fast that you won’t be aware of. One of the tremendous benefits of fasting is allowing your body to get rid of toxins we acquire along the way in this polluted world in which we live.  I went on my first long fast in May of 1987 and fasted for 21 days and I lost 25 pounds but I always gain it back. Whenever I begin to gain weight I know that I must be being fattened up for a fast. I have fasted for as long as 14 days on my job and no one knew it because I kept my mouth shut. I am looking forward to going on a good long fast, because I need to hear from God and lose that twenty-five pounds again.

From May 18, 1996 to May 26, 1996, I fasted. God knew I needed to fast because I woke up the morning of the 18th and my left testicle was swollen. This is a condition called hydrocele and God knew about it and the fast cleared it up in about four days and from reading about it on the internet it usually takes surgery or a painful procedure to draw off fluid with a needle. Thank you Father!!! I tried to make Brother Pittman the focal point of my fast. My physical condition was not good during the fast because of all the toxins I had allowed to accumulate in my body during the two years since I last fasted. In the reference book I use for fasting, it says if your tongue turns white during the fast that is an indication of the amount of toxins in your system. For the first time I can remember my tongue was white during a fast. I will give a more detailed report of my fast in the next chapter.

Matthew 6:16-18, “Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face, that thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father which is in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.”

Once again we will use our Lord as our example. Luke 4:2, “Being forty days tempted of the devil. And in those days did He eat nothing: and when they were ended, He afterward hungered.” I have gone on fasts before and thought about food, but was never really hungry until after the fast. Any time I go on a fast and am real hungry God has not called me to fast I have decided to fast and I have learned to just go ahead and eat, God will let me know when He is ready for me to fast. Once He calls you to a fast don't hesitate, because He will see you through. Rarely will He call someone to a forty day fast and I believe He used forty days as an extreme just to show us that our little one, three, seven, ten, fourteen or whatever day’s length fast is easy compared to what Jesus did. While you are fasting just think about what He endured.

Fasting, to me, always has a two-fold purpose. The number one is spiritual because you are always fasting to break a spiritual stronghold and you may or may not know what it is. The other reason to fast is to allow your body to what I call, catch up. The body has a filter system that gets overtaxed as we stuff it full of unneeded and unhealthy food over the years. When we are young we can generally stuff ourselves until the filtration system gets plugged and if we never allow it to, what I call “catch up”, it will stay plugged. The only way to unplug the filtration system is by fasting or when you get ill and then the system will cleanse itself. I have also gone on an extensive exercise program that included running six miles and cleaned out my system. [I wish I could run a mile now] Unfortunately most of us choose to diet and the digestive system never gets to rest and clean or purge itself and since I don't like to diet I would rather fast for 7 to 10 days and I always know that God has me fasting for a reason. The last time I fasted I couldn't believe the divers temptations, visions of tacos, because the devil doesn't like you to fast. Read the book of Acts and see how much they fasted.

The book on fasting I use is “The Miracle of Fasting”, by Paul & Patricia Bragg. It can be ordered from Health Science, Box 7, Santa Barbara, CA 93102 for nine dollars and ninety-five cents plus shipping and handling. You can also order by dialing 1-800-4461990 or through their website at http://www.bragg.com. They use Three John two in a fish as their symbol on the back of the book. “Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thou soul prospereth.” Even as we catch on and become aware of how God wants us to live and that He is interested in our diets. He wants to be involved in all aspects of our lives because He loves us and wants the best for us.

On pages 55 and 56 of “The Miracle of Fasting” Doctor Paul Bragg states, “I want it definitely understood that man can not break a natural law. He breaks himself while attempting to break the natural law. Can man break the law of gravity? Can man jump off a 25 story building and live? [Remember Jesus in Luke 4:9-12] Of course he cannot. This applies also to the nutritional laws of nature, Man has been brainwashed into eating the processed, devitalized, and dead food of civilization which has propelled him into such a pitiful physical condition. Man is so gullible to the false propaganda that is passed out to him by the big “special interests” describing what healthy and long-lived people we are.

Sickness is costly. Who spends more money in the pursuit of health than any other nation in the whole wide world? We do! Which nation has more “drives” to collect funds to fight the many diseases that plague our population? We do! Who has more convalescent homes, clinics, and sanatoriums than any other country in the world? We do! What nation spends the most money on magazine, newspaper, T.V. and radio advertising on “do-it-yourself” over the counter drug medication? We do! What nation takes the most aspirin and other so-called painkillers? We do!” We will discuss this further when we talk about financing “spreading the gospel around the world” in the chapter on “Complacency and Convenience the Curse of Christianity”.

A neighbor of mine recently had an operation to clean out the arteries in his legs and they actually went in and removed the arteries from his legs, turned them wrong side out and put them back in his legs. It worked and he is doing fine. I was visiting him during his recovery period and as we talked the Holy Ghost spoke to me and let me know that fasting would have prevented my neighbor from having to go through what he went through.

First Corinthians 10:31, “Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatever ye do, do all to the glory of God.”

Once I was concerned because I was about 20 pounds heavier than I know I should be from eating tortilla chips. I was praying and I asked God to forgive me for being overweight and to help me get to a place in my life where I can go on a nice long fast and clean out my system and lose weight. I didn't want to get sick because I was overweight. The Holy Ghost spoke to me and said, “You are still divinely healed.” Anytime we begin to get symptoms we are still Divinely healed and we must immediately go to God and ask Him to forgive us for anything we might have done to give satan ground in the area of our physical health. We must then ask Him to show us what we have done to give satan ground and help us overcome temptation and deception and the wiles of the devil in the area of our health.

Isaiah 25:6, “And in this mountain shall the Lord of hosts make unto all people a feast of fat things, a feast of wines on the lees, of fat things full of marrow, of wines on the lees well refined.” This is from the teaching on our only problem and his name is satan. In that teaching was also the scripture, Isaiah 33:24, that tells us that when satan is locked up for one thousand years we will not say we are sick.

I am not saying we should be overweight, because I hate being overweight and I look better, breathe better, feel better, act better, am more active and can wear all my clothes when I am not overweight. You constantly hear or read about a new study that tells us what causes certain diseases. We know what causes certain diseases and his name is satan. Don't let satan talk you into being sick when you are overweight when you are healed by the stripes of Jesus. I heard a preacher say one time that he was scheduled for heart surgery and God healed him and told him to take care of himself and he didn't, and ten years later he had to have open-heart surgery. “By His stripes ye were healed” didn't change and there are no footnotes to First Peter 2:24, he was just as healed the second time as he was the first time. He needed to ask for forgiveness, wisdom and strength to keep from giving the devil ground again. It would be the same principle as First John 1:9 and James 5:14-16, we confess, God forgives and God through the Holy Ghost cleanses or delivers us. Joel 3:10 says, “Let the weak say I am strong.” We need to resist eating unneeded and unhealthy food and try our best to fast and exercise, but if we don’t we can always use,

James 5:14-16, “Is any sick among you? Let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the Name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him. 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.” This scripture is exactly the same principle as First John 1:9, confessed, forgiven and healed. 

One morning I had gotten up and showered and, since I was running late, I didn't have time to dry my hair. My car didn't have a heater and it was forty degrees and as I drove along, toweling my hair dry, I began to feel symptoms of a cold coming on and I immediately asked God to forgive me for giving satan ground. I didn't even think about it I just did it and like a fog will roll in and a fog will roll out the symptoms began to clear up and by the time I got home that day they were all gone. Confessed, forgiven and healed.

Anytime I begin to get symptoms of an illness I always ask the Holy Ghost and He will always tell me why and I then bind the devil in the Name of Jesus as the Holy Ghost directs. It is generally diet or stress and recently He has been urging me to exercise. During my fast from May 18 to May 26 I could really see how many toxins I had allowed to accumulate in my body and pollute the temple of God. Colds and sinus infections are signs that we need to cleanse the temple. Jesus said in Matthew 6:16, “Moreover when ye fast.” He didn't say if ye fast, He said when ye fast. The physical benefits of fasting are just a reward of being obedient to the urging of the Holy Ghost to fast and pray.

I was fasting from January first, 1991 to January fifteenth, 1991 and the war in Kuwait, Operation Desert Storm, broke out the day I broke my fast. During this fast, I was in church and every time we would have praise and worship my back would stiffen. The Sunday before I broke the fast I sat down and for the first time in a long time my back didn't hurt.

Matthew 12:22, “Then was brought unto Him one possessed with a devil, blind, and dumb: and He healed him, insomuch that the blind and dumb both spake and saw.”

When He got me my job after I had finished getting the core of this down on paper the first time, I began to have lower back pain and diarrhea almost immediately. It was stress from not really wanting to be there, but I had learned to recognize this, so I got control of it rather quickly.

Another time I was experiencing lower back pain and very sarcastically mentioned to God that by His stripes I was healed and he said shoes. A few days later I was barely able to get my socks on and He told me shoes again. The next time I started gripping about my back hurting and being healed the Holy Ghost said, “Shoes, shoes, shoes, shoes!” I have to wear shoes with a heel and as soon as I got a different type of shoe my back cleared up.

Once my back started hurting and I had to go on an exercise program to strengthen my stomach muscles and it cleared up and was doing real good until about six months into the program my back started hurting and I discovered I needed to stretch after I exercise.

The last time I was sick with diarrhea and nausea the Holy Spirit kept saying, “You are under attack.” I needed to fast and pray and bind the devil and he would flee in the Name of Jesus. I didn’t, so I ended up going to the doctor and getting pills and spending 200 dollars when I should have prayed in the spirit and waited on God.        

The devil loves to have people drive on my side of the road. He is constantly looking for an opening to steal or destroy our health and I can’t think of anything worse than someone that is trusting God for an abundant life that suddenly finds themselves disabled or in the hospital or both. We must realize that satan is constantly looking for an opening to steal, and to kill, and to destroy, but we don’t need to run around in fear, we only need to be aware of this fact and watch and pray and trust God with all our hearts and be aware of and thankful for His protection.

Hebrews 1:14, speaking of angels, “Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation.” Thank you Father for your protection through your Word and your Word says we are healed by the stripes of your only begotten Son, Jesus! John 10:10, Jesus speaking, “The thief [satan] cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they may have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.” First John 3:8, “For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil.”

Whenever I yield to the temptations of the devil, or my flesh, it is always easier for satan to come with his fiery darts and try to convince me that the reason I feel sick is because I have either given him ground or God is punishing me for something I have done. During my period of temptation or purging or going through the fire or even now I can always ask God to forgive me my iniquities and be healed. Anytime I begin to get symptoms I immediately say to Him, “Dear Heavenly Father in the Name of Jesus I ask you to forgive me of anything I might have done to give satan ground to make me sick or to have symptoms of sickness.” I then ask Him to help me to have wisdom not to give satan the same ground again. He almost always will tell me that it is diet or stress and since sin and worrying are stressful and sin intensifies the worrying and opens the door to have the demons come in with their fiery darts of unworthiness we must avoid sin and worrying as much as possible. I then bind the devil in the Name of Jesus and accept God’s forgiveness and the only time I ever missed work since I was born again was because of exhaustion or breathing gasoline fumes.

Always remember that you are the temple of the Holy Ghost and if you are sick, He may as well be sick, because He can't get as much work done if you can't get Him where He needs to go and we have a lot of work to do and we don't have time to be sick. Ephesians 2:21-22, “In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord. In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit.” First Corinthians 3:16, “Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you.”

We need to know what God has already done for us so that we don't waste time praying for it, because a lot of the things we pray for have already been provided in our covenant that God made with us when He gave His only begotten Son for us. Philippians 4:19, “But my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.” The Living Bible says “And it is He who will supply all your needs from His riches in glory, because of what Christ Jesus has done for us.” This is generally a scripture that is applied to material needs, but it says all your need. I know that I repeat myself a lot, but,,,we don’t need to be sick.                   

John, by the inspiration of God, wrote in Third John, a letter to Gaius, verse two, “Beloved, I wish above all things that thou prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth.” Even as thy soul or mind prospereth by learning God's ways and taking authority over our situation so that the devil can't steal whatever God gives us and we must thank God every day for supplying our needs. Philippians 4:6-7, “Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” Living Bible, “Don't worry about anything; instead, pray about everything; tell God your needs and don't forget to thank Him for your answers. If you do this you will experience God's peace, which is far more wonderful than the human mind can understand. His peace will keep your thoughts and your hearts quiet and at rest as you trust in Christ Jesus.”

CHAPTER THIRTEEN