[Note: The Lord has done His part in your healing by sending His only Son. He does not need to be cajoled or coaxed into doing more. This is how you do your part. It is absolutely critical that you understand this.]

And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him. (Hbr. 11:6) But he must ask in faith without any doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind. For that man ought not to expect that he will receive anything from the Lord, being a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways. (Ja. 7-9)

Introduction

Healing and deliverance from the Enemy’s oppression is called by Jesus “the children’s bread” (Mar. 7:27). Bread is essential to life; by analogy, so is freedom from the Enemy’s oppression.

But to state the obvious: bread must be eaten for its benefits to be enjoyed. Likewise with healing; it also must be received and retained, taken and eaten, so to speak. It is available to you, but it is not automatic that you will receive it. You must take it……

The unfortunate fact is that many people are not healed because they do not understand that they must actively receive the Lord’s healing in order to enjoy the healing already provided by God – they either reject His healing, being unwilling to receive in the first place, or once received they cannot keep it, and allow the Enemy to later steal from them what they clearly have received from God.

Jesus said that Satan “is a liar, and the father of lies” (Jhn. 8:44). Lies are the primary weapon the Enemy uses to cheat us out of our healing. If he can get us to believe his lies, which inevitably center around the notions that God has caused my sickness, or He may not want to heal me or has not really promised to heal me,  or that healing ministry already received has changed nothing (e.g., “See, you still have pain, or you are still depressed”), then through unbelief our healing will evaporate off like the morning dew under a hot sun.

The fundamental fact of healing is this: in Christ God has “visited us and accomplished redemption for His people… and rescued us out of the hands of our enemies” (Lke. 1:68-74), but that rescue, although already accomplished, must be received, with open hands, and tenaciously protected and held onto, because not only is Satan a liar, but “he comes but to steal, kill, and destroy” (Jhn. 10:10) The purpose of this essay is to teach you how to do that, so that when you receive ministry, and the power of God is present to heal, you do not miss the time of His visitation, and let the Enemy steal what God has given and done already for you. Instead, you actively receive it into yourself.

***

What is said above is just a different way of saying that we are to have faith in God for our healing. Often, however, when the concept of the sick needing faith is mentioned, people immediately think of the TV and “crusade” charlatans who make it a practice of crediting their own failures to the sick person’s lack of faith.

As with most lies of the Enemy, there is actually more than a kernel of truth hidden in the lie. Jesus made it clear that the faith of the sick is important, and the Gospels point out that because of unbelief in His hometown He was hindered in performing miracles: And He did not many mighty works there because of their unbelief. (Mat. 13:58) At the end of this essay is an example of several of these Scriptures which credit the healing to the faith of the sick.

But today’s reader would do well to keep in mind that the faith of the sick is, again, a childlike expectation that God has indeed already acted by sending Christ to take upon Himself the emotional or physical affliction and that God will also act today to enforce that truth now. That expectation then prepares you to receive the healing the Lord has already provided for you. That faith is not ginned up by our own efforts.

Faith (for healing) comes from hearing and hearing by the Word of God. (Rom. 10:17) As we soak our minds in the healing Scriptures, as with the salvation Scriptures, our faith emerges and rises to receive the benefit. Please note that the articles on this website are there for the purpose of increasing your faith, so that you will actively receive your healing.

***

Through human thinking and religious tradition Satan has corrupted our understanding of practically every aspect of the absolutely magnificent blessings the Father intended for us when He sent His Son into the world. The most egregious example is the idea that God, for His part, must do something more than send His Son for us to be physically or emotionally healed.

The result is that we moderns think we must resign ourselves to pleading, cajoling, bribing, and negotiating with the Lord to try to convince Him that He needs to do more than sending His Son for us to get relief from our afflictions, or that our cause is more worthy than the next guy’s.

Just think about that for a moment…When we, in effect, say to God that He has not done enough in sending His Son to earth, what does that reveal about our true opinion both of the heart of God and the sufficiency and worth of His Son and His death? It is like a Wilderness Jew standing at the Jordan River pleading with God to give him the Promised Land when God has already done so – when it only remains to walk in and take it – to receive what God has already given. (See Joshua 1)

We cry out to Him in the midst of our disease and pain and wonder why He doesn’t seem to hear, when the fact of the matter is that He has already done His part and sent His best in sending Christ, who already took our infirmities and carried away our diseases. (Mat. 8:17) We need to understand: when we are ministered to according to the Scriptural precedent of commanding the Enemy to go, our part is not to plead for a favor, it is to believe and receive.

Consider: Christ died for the sins of the whole world (Jhn. 3:16), and reconciled God to man. That has already been accomplished for us by Him. But are all people by that action of His alone saved? Of course not. Every single person, to obtain the benefits of Christ’s substitutionary sacrifice, must actively receive what God has already done for Him in Christ and hold onto that truth in the face of all doubt, discouragement, deception, and persecution.

It is exactly the same with healing. Our healing has already been accomplished; through the substitutionary death of Christ we have already been redeemed from the Curse from which sickness flowed: He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed. (1 Pe. 2:24) When evening came, they brought to Him many who were demon-possessed; and He cast out the spirits with a word, and healed all who were ill. This was to fulfill what was spoken through Isaiah the prophet: “HE HIMSELF TOOK OUR INFIRMITIES AND CARRIED AWAY OUR DISEASES.” (Mat. 8:16-17)

If Christ has already “carried away our sicknesses” and hurts, if “by His wounds” we “have been healed”, why do we insist on holding on to them? Can there be a clearer statement by the Holy Spirit of what God has done for our situation now in sending the Lord Jesus Christ 2000 years ago?

When a believer presented to you and I the Gospel of Truth, we had to receive it to be saved. When a believer ministers healing to us in the biblical way, that also must be received to be effective. As His salvation must be received, in the same manner must His healing be received. We must receive what God has done in Christ to rescue us from disease or emotional torment!

***

When the Word talks about receiving from the Lord, the word often used is the Greek word “lambano” (pronounced: lam-ban’-o), which means to take hold of something, to catch something and make it yours. You must apprehend the healing provided by God in Christ for yourself. Otherwise, you may just watch all the glorious blessings of God elude you.

Lambano means not only to receive but to actively do so – to hold onto like a man would hold onto a life preserver when overboard in a raging sea. It means to receive as if you were a football player trying to catch a ball in the middle of a group of strong defenders. You catch it and the defenders now try to knock out and grab the ball from your hands so you must protect and keep the ball in your hands as you run toward the goal.

Abraham, as we know, is the father of us all who believe (Rom. 4:16) and therefore our model for receiving the promises of God. By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went. By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was offering up his only begotten so (Hbr. 11:8,17).

Therefore, as Abraham received (lambano) the very great and precious promises (2 Pe. 1:4), we must also receive (lambano) these promises, including the healing and salvation promises. This word is a critical part of the mysteries of God as revealed by Jesus. There is nothing casual about lambano; it is an intense word describing intense action and commitment, or single-minded purpose.

Here is an illustration of the difference between lambano and passively receiving. If someone threw a glass of cold water on you on a hot day, you would welcome and accept it without having to do anything. However, if someone handed you a glass of cold water, making it available, and you then intentionally interacted with them to take it into your possession, you would “lambano the water”. Either way, you received it.

Through this illustration, you can see why lambano is translated “take” as often as it is translated “receive.” Think about that – the Lambano-type of receiving is so active as to constitute the same thing as “taking”! [Source material for the above section on Lambano was taken in part from the following:http://covenantpeaceministries.com/resources/Article-Power+Key-Lambano.pdfhttp://jaysnell.org/Book5HTM/chapter_one.htm]

***

The Key to Your Healing

Therefore, since being saved and being healed are similar processes, let us remind ourselves how we are saved by Christ so that we may understand how we are healed by Christ. At some point in our lives, when we are desperate enough or too tired or beat up to continue on, or we stand aghast at the ugliness of our own words and actions, by God’s grace we see that we are under condemnation. In that realization arises an expectation that this same God who condemns us is our only hope for mercy and restoration.

That expectation is the key to triggering a response from God for [a]ll who come to God must believe that He is and is a rewarder of those who seek Him. (Heb. 11:6) We are saved when the Gospel, which is the power of God unto salvation (1 Cor. 1:18), gives revelation that God is holy, that we are a sinner in desperate need of a savior, and that Jesus Himself is that Savior. In recognition of that reality which has now permeated our consciousness, we fall to our knees in repentance and actively receive (lambano) and grab onto this newly revealed and precious truth, as a drowning man would grab and clutch a life preserver.

See John 1:10-12: 10 He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. 11 He came unto his own, and his own received him not. 12 But as many as received (lambano) him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name. We vow to let nothing shake us from the reality of what we have received and witnessed in our spirits of God’s wrath towards sin and His love for us as we repent and become reborn as His son or daughter.

Long after the initial halo or honeymoon period has worn off, if we are truly saved, we remember how God acted for us in our need, and we know that we must “guard our hearts” against anything and everything that would seek to disturb our hold on the knowledge of God and our situation as revealed at the moment of salvation. Others may fall away, become disconcerted, apathetic, or complacent, but we will cling to that which assures us rescue from condemnation, and eternal blessing where judgment is deserved.

IT IS THE EXACT SAME WAY WITH HEALING!

• First Step – Get Fed Up with the Enemy and his cruelty! The first element with healing, then, as with salvation, is being utterly fed up with your present state. That’s right – FED UP!You need to be sick and tired of what the Enemy has done to you, the misery and heartache he has caused you, and the horrible plans he has for you. Just as you were completely fed up with being a condemned and hopeless sinner when you were saved, you must come to the point where you are completely fed up with the Enemy’s brutalization before you will be able to really receive your healing. Unless you are truly fed up, you are unlikely to be truly healed.
• Second Step – Expectation of what God will do! The second step is simply acquainting yourself with God’s healing words on a daily basis to where great EXPECTATION arises in your heart of what He has promised and therefore will do! If you are to receive healing from God, you must approach the throne of grace with confidence (Heb. 4:18) – an expectation born of faith in His Promises and his character that He will reward you. Expectation honors God because it treats Him as an honest man who is good for His Word. You must expect to receive from him and eschew doubt and double-mindedness. But he must ask in faith without any doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind. For that man ought not to expect that he will receive anything from the Lord, being a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways. (Ja. 1:6-8)
• Third Step – RECEIVE your healing! The third step is RECEIVING (lambano) your healing. When healing is ministered to you according to the biblical method, as with salvation you will know the power of God is being exerted on your behalf. You may even be given, in addition to a revelation of the ugliness of sin, as the Enemy with his lies and sickness is ejected from your life, a revelation of the love of God and the peace that passes all understanding. Your response should not be passive but it should be active and participatory. You are to receive, recognize, accept, grasp onto, and cling to what God is doing in you for His Glory and because He loves you. Again, this honors the Father as the giver of the gift of Christ to you, as one would honor any other giver of an extravagant gift by excitedly receiving, protecting, and treasuring it. If your response is passive, non-committal, or unbelieving, your healing will slip through your fingers like water and you will be no better off than you were before. Why? Because, as stated above, the Enemy is a thief! And he is a sore loser who through lies, discouragement, doubt, and deception will relentlessly seek to deprive you of God’s healing gift, and deprive God of His glory.

***

The Parable of the Sower

This essential truth – that we must tenaciously receive with gladness and hold fast whether God saves or heals – is revealed most poignantly in the parable of the Sower. That parable is a parable not only of salvation but of most every blessing from the Lord.

The preamble to the parable tells us how important it is to understand and live this parable of the Sower and the Seed. Mark 4:1: “To you has been given the mystery of the kingdom of God, but those who are outside get everything in parables, 12 so that WHILE SEEING, THEY MAY SEE AND NOT PERCEIVE, AND WHILE HEARING, THEY MAY HEAR AND NOT UNDERSTAND, OTHERWISE THEY MIGHT RETURN AND BE FORGIVEN.”

Jesus says He is about to reveal the secret of the Kingdom of God and presumably the secret to salvation, healing, and other blessings that go with it.“Behold, the sower went out to sow; 4 and as he sowed, some seeds fell beside the road, and the birds came and ate them up. 5 Others fell on the rocky places, where they did not have much soil; and immediately they sprang up, because they had no depth of soil. 6 But when the sun had risen, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away. 7 Others fell among the thorns, and the thorns came up and choked them out. 8 And others fell on the good soil and [!] yielded a crop, some a hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirty. 9 He who has ears, let him hear.”Jesus explains the parable in Matt 13:18-23:18 “Hear then the parable of the sower. 19 When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. This is the one on whom seed was sown beside the road. 20 The one on whom seed was sown on the rocky places, this is the man who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; 21 yet he has no firm root in himself, but is only temporary, and when affliction or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he falls away. 22 And the one on whom seed was sown among the thorns, this is the man who hears the word, and the worry of the world and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful. 23 And the one on whom seed was sown on the good soil, this is the man who hears the word and understands it; who indeed bears fruit and brings forth, some a hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirty.”

The big message to all of us is that when you start to believe God for anything, especially something like healing which goes up against the mighty pillar of disease in the kingdom of darkness, you are now in a battle against the weakness of the flesh (the heat and sun), the concerns of the World (the weeds), and the wiles of the devil (the birds). And, unfortunately, as the parable indicates, most miss out!

Look at Hebrews 4 and substitute the word “healing” for “rest”: Therefore, let us fear if, while a promise remains of entering His rest [healing], any one of you may seem to have come short of it. For indeed we have had good news preached to us, just as they also; but the word they heard did not profit them, because it was not united by faith in those who heard…Therefore let us be diligent to enter that rest [or receive that healing], so that no one will fall, through following the same example of disobedience…Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession.

Don’t let the devil come in and steal your healing through lies and discouragement, don’t let your healing dissipate because the world says it can’t be so, and don’t disavow your healing because of unbelief or temporary setbacks.

*****

Practical Steps

So how does this play out in practice – how do we actively receive our healing?

Again, the same way we received our salvation. A person will act one way if he receives the salvation offered by Christ and another way if he does not receive it. Similarly, a person will act one way if he receives the healing ministered to him by another believer in the Name of Christ and another way if he does not receive it.

To recap the above, here is how we should approach our ministry sessions:

• Reflect on the cruelty of the Enemy and get FED UP with his oppression and lies
• Well before ministry, focus your mind intently on the promises of healing, of rescue, and of deliverance (see samples below). SEE them as applying to you!
• Go to ministry time with an attitude of real EXPECTATION to receive form the Lord
• As you are ministered to, RECEIVE and grasp on to the power and compassion of the Lord as you sense his power flowing through you
• Confess it – After ministry, you will be hit with a veritable flood of lies from the Enemy about ministry, the healing minister, and the role of demons in your problems. Therefore, however many times necessary, for however many days, speak out loud boldly words of agreement and reception, such as: “Lord, I reject all the lies of the Enemy and I receive you as my Healer, and I receive your healing that you have sent to me, in accordance with your promises, as ministered by your servants through your Holy Spirit, with all of my heart, mind, soul, and body.”
• Read the Word out loud as often as necessary to reassure your heart and to resist the devil. Resist the devil and he will flee from you”(Ja. 4:7). Just as we would reject sinful thoughts and actions, mortifying the flesh and the sinful passions upon salvation, reject all lies from the Enemy and all attempts by him to afflict you anew: “In the name of Christ, I command the Enemy to leave me now, and take all your works with you! Get out of my life and my mind and body. I belong to the Lord. Leave me now and never return. I reject all of your lies, discouragement, and deception!”
• We persevere, absolutely refusing the Enemy any place in our hearts, and without conceding any ground whatsoever to him. We will not be shaken or cheated out of what the Lord has provided. Then we rest in the Lord and wait patiently for Him. (Ps. 37:7) We take strength from His Word and let out hearts take courage. (Ps. 27:14) For “the battle is the Lord’s!” (1 Sam. 17:47)
• We pepper our speech with thankfulness and affirmation: “Lord, I praise you for your compassion, goodness, and power, and for sending the Lord Jesus to make my healing not only possible but actual and effective. I thank you with all of my being!”

***

Conclusion

Here is a sampling of what God has said in regard to your healing:

• When evening came, they brought to Him many who were demon-possessed; and He cast out the spirits with a word, and healed all who were ill. 17 This was to fulfill what was spoken through Isaiah the prophet: “HE HIMSELF TOOK OUR INFIRMITIES AND CARRIED AWAY OUR DISEASES.” (Mat. 8:16-17)
• 1 Bless the LORD, O my soul, And all that is within me, bless His holy name.2 Bless the LORD, O my soul, And forget none of His benefits;3 Who pardons all your iniquities, Who heals all your diseases; (Ps. 103)
• He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed. (1 Pe. 2:24)
• Many are the afflictions of the righteous, But the LORD delivers him out of them all. (Ps. 34:19)
• Call upon me in the day of trouble, and I will rescue you and you will honor me. (Ps. 50:15)

Those promises we are to receive as one would receive the salvation promise, with faith that God’s Word is good. Just as you had already been reconciled to God with the death of Christ, without your having to do anything, you have already been healed with the death of Christ. He “has taken your infirmities and carried away your diseases.” “By His wounds you have been healed.” Your salvation, and the salvation of everyone else has been accomplished. Past tense. Your healing, and the healing of everyone else has been accomplished. Past tense. But all do not experience salvation; likewise all do not experience healing.

That which Christ has already accomplished must be received, as the Parable of the Sower shows us – both healing and salvation. We must believe and receive the Good News! We must see that it is for us, and receive it by persevering and tenaciously holding on to it, and by believing that Christ has accomplished this for us, despite all discouragement and deception. We can then expect our healing to manifest in accordance with His Promise.

APPENDIX 1

SCRIPTURES POINTING TO YOUR FAITH AS KEY TO YOUR HEALING

Mt. 9:20 And a woman who had been suffering from a hemorrhage for twelve years, came up behind Him and touched the fringe of His cloak; 21 for she was saying to herself, “If I only touch His garment, I will get well.” 22 But Jesus turning and seeing her said, “Daughter, take courage; your faith has made you well.” At once the woman was made well.

Mt. 15:27 As Jesus went on from there, two blind men followed Him, crying out, “Have mercy on us, Son of David!” 28 When He entered the house, the blind men came up to Him, and Jesus said to them, “Do you believe that I am able to do this?” They said to Him, “Yes, Lord.” 29 Then He touched their eyes, saying, ” It shall be done to you according to your faith.”

Mt. 17:21 Jesus went away from there, and withdrew into the district of Tyre and Sidon. 22 And a Canaanite woman from that region came out and began to cry out, saying, “Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David; my daughter is cruelly demon-possessed.” 23 But He did not answer her a word. And His disciples came and implored Him, saying, “Send her away, because she keeps shouting at us.” 24 But He answered and said, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” 25 But she came and began to bow down before Him, saying, “Lord, help me!” 26 And He answered and said, “It is not good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.” 27 But she said, “Yes, Lord; but even the dogs feed on the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table.” 28 Then Jesus said to her, “O woman, your faith is great; it shall be done for you as you wish.” And her daughter was healed at once.

Mar. 10:46 Then they came to Jericho. And as He was leaving Jericho with His disciples and a large crowd, a blind beggar named Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, was sitting by the road. 47 When he heard that it was Jesus the Nazarene, he began to cry out and say, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” 48 Many were sternly telling him to be quiet, but he kept crying out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” 49 And Jesus stopped and said, “Call him here.” So they called the blind man, saying to him, “Take courage, stand up! He is calling for you.” 50 Throwing aside his cloak, he jumped up and came to Jesus. 51 And answering him, Jesus said, “What do you want Me to do for you?” And the blind man said to Him, ” Rabboni, I want to regain my sight!” 52 And Jesus said to him, “Go; your faith has made you well.” Immediately he regained his sight and began following Him on the road.

Lke. 7:48 Then He said to her, “Your sins have been forgiven.” 49 Those who were reclining at the table with Him began to say to themselves, “Who is this man who even forgives sins?” 50 And He said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”

Lke. 17:11 While He was on the way to Jerusalem, He was passing between Samaria and Galilee. 12 As He entered a village, ten leprous men who stood at a distance met Him; 13 and they raised their voices, saying, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!” 14 When He saw them, He said to them, “Go and show yourselves to the priests.” And as they were going, they were cleansed. 15 Now one of them, when he saw that he had been healed, turned back, glorifying God with a loud voice, 16 and he fell on his face at His feet, giving thanks to Him. And he was a Samaritan. 17 Then Jesus answered and said, “Were there not ten cleansed? But the nine—where are they? 18 Was no one found who returned to give glory to God, except this foreigner?” 19 And He said to him, “Stand up and go; your faith has made you well.”

*****

APPENDIX 2

MY COMMITMENT

Consider signing and dating the following after your first ministry session:

I, [name] commit that post-ministry:

I will receive into my heart and soul and body the healing provided by the Lord and put my faith fully in Him to manifest my healing. Even if I temporarily get worse before I get better, I will recognize that it is simply the Enemy trying to discourage me, and I refuse to be discouraged. I understand that the Enemy is a sore loser and my submitting to healing ministry will unleash an open supernatural war against me. IT MAY BE INTENSE.

I will expect to be the recipient of lies, discouragement, doubt, and ridicule from various sources, but I will credit all of them to the Enemy of God and reject them outright. I will counter lies, discouragement, doubt and ridicule with affirmation out loud of (i) the WORD of God, (ii) the Truth of what He has done in my life to heal me, (iii) thanksgiving and praise for His great Name and Promises and the compassion and power of His Name, and (iv) the encouragement of others.

I will embark upon a daily regimen of immersing myself in the Word of God and prayer to Him, along with proclaiming out loud the great things He has done for me.

/s/ name/date