Healed

Guys, I find that every 15 months or so we need to revisit healing, partly to refresh

our memories, partly to renew our minds. And each time I teach it, I find that there are

things that I stumble across that I haven't put in words or don't fully understand, and

it becomes clearer and clearer. So this week we'll talk about healing. And perhaps next

week if God allows, we'll talk about how we minister healing. But this week we're talking

about healing, understanding the nature of God when it comes to healing so that it's

easier for us as individuals to receive healing. We always call ourselves sent ones. And sent

ones have to operate under the sent word. And Psalm 107 verse 20 says, He sent His Word

Psalms 107:20

and healed our diseases. And so it's natural for a sent people to operate under the sent

word so that they manifest the benefits of the word. I love what Eddie keeps saying,

that I have to manifest the Word in flesh. Jesus was the Word in flesh. I have to be the Word in

flesh. And part of being the Word in flesh is showing the world how it is possible to always

come into a place of healing and increasingly operate from a place of health. This is part

of manifesting the Word in flesh. So just keep that in mind. Hey, you got a mohawk. I just saw

that. He's Indian now. My brother, that's what I meant. Yeah. Sickness, guys, is the consequence

of the fallen world under Satan. Sickness is a consequence of the fallen world under Satan.

Sickness is a consequence of the fallen world under Satan. And it's also something that makes

it evident that we have mortal bodies. Sickness is a consequence of the fallen world under Satan.

And it's also something that makes it evident that our bodies are mortal because immortal

bodies would not have such problems. So our bodies are mortal. And it was sin that equips

Satan. See, Satan did not create sickness, but it was sin that equips Satan with the weapons of

sickness, with the weapons of the fear of death, and with the weapon of disease, same as sickness.

So let me say that again. Check, check, check. Sickness gives Satan. Sickness gives, thanks Matt.

I'll just take this off. Sickness gives Satan weapons and the weapons, sin gives Satan weapons.

And what weapons does Satan have because of sin? As soon as sin entered, there were penalties of

sin involved. And what Satan has done is he has high-dacked these penalties and now uses it against

man. That's what he's basically doing. Sometimes we have a tendency to think that perhaps, sometimes

we have a tendency to think that perhaps Satan created sickness. No, no, no. Sickness is,

sickness and death are consequences of sin. What Satan does is he takes these and uses them as

weapons now to oppress. And the word oppress in Greek is basically to exercise dominion against.

So what the devil does is he takes the weapons of sickness, disease and the fear of death

and uses them now to inflict or to exercise dominion against man. That's what's happening.

So sin equips Satan with weapons of sickness, disease and the fear of death. It also gives him

the legal right now to exercise dominion against. This is why in Acts 10 38, Jesus came to undo

those that were harassed or those that were being oppressed by the devil. Oppressed meaning those

that were being dominated or ruled over, subjugated through sickness. That's one of the things Jesus

came to do. Go ahead. No, he has a legal right because of sin. Sin allows man to step out of

the covering of God and come under the sway of the devil. That's why in Ephesians 3 it talks about

the world being held under the sway of the prince of the power of the air, the sons of disobedience

being held under the sway of the prince of the power of the air, which is why we sang today that

one of the things that happens because of Jesus coming in, he becomes the rescue for sinners

and a ransom from heaven. So ransom doesn't have to be paid unless someone else has mastery.

So I'm being bought off the auction block where someone else cannot buy me anymore.

So in that sense, yes, a legal right or the power to exercise dominion against man.

And the thing is guys, because not everyone gets healed and it happens among believers and

unbelievers, because not everyone is getting healed, we make God's word match our experiences

instead of matching our experiences to God's word. Therefore we have to come up with explanations

that are convenient and may this church never do that. That's what happens. We make God's word

match our experiences because our experiences are not lining up with God's word. Therefore

God's word is modified to match our experience, which is so nuts.

And maybe not do that because it's highly convenient.

Yeah, yeah. At the end of the day or at the beginning of the day,

here's what Yahweh Rafa's nature and character is. In Exodus 15, verse 26 and in Exodus 23,

Exodus 15:26 Exodus 23:25

verse 25, he makes two statements very early and he calls himself Yahweh Rafa. And Yahweh Rafa means

I am the one who heals and makes you whole. I am he who heals and makes you whole.

I am he who heals and makes you whole. It's kind of almost like an

exposure of his character that is revealed in that title that he flashes before Israel.

It's not his name, it's an exposure of his character. So I am he who heals and makes whole

is what Yahweh Rafa means. And so it's in his very nature and he revealed this very earlier in

Exodus 23, 25 and Exodus 15, 26. First he says, I will take away from you sickness and disease.

So on one hand he's saying I'll take it away and in Exodus 23 he says I will not put any of these

diseases on you. So it completely removes this whole aspect that we sometimes get trapped in,

in terms of God allowing. Because when God makes statements like I will take it away and I will not

put, immediately allow suddenly goes out of the window. I will take away and I will not put.

In between I will not take away and I will not put, the word allow cannot stand.

And this is something that Yahweh Rafa reveals very early to Israel. It's a core substance of

God guys. Please write those words down. It is the core substance of God that I will take away

sickness from you with midst and I will not put sickness on you. This is the core substance of God.

It is unchangeable, immutable. It is who he is in his very core.

This is, this is something he showed long ago.

As this begins to seep into our lives, we will become a people who manifest this,

this truth of the word in our flesh, increasingly.

And remember the other thing, God is for you

in the middle of sickness, even when it may have been caused by sickness.

In the middle of sickness, even when it may have been caused by sin.

God is for you in the middle of your sickness, even if it may have been caused by sin. Because

remember when he is revealing this character of his, Yahweh Rafa character of his, you know

what's happening. They're at this pool called Marah and Marah means bitterness. It's been a time

of great contention and testing and the waters are bitter and that is when God says to Moses,

cut down this tree, throw it into the water and I'll turn the bitter water into sweet. And it is

at that point that he reveals himself as Yahweh Rafa. It is in the middle of bitterness that he

reveals his amazing characteristic of I am the God who makes, who heals and makes you whole.

Important that we understand this because we have a tendency to think God is neutral

while we are sick because of sickness, because of sin and as we begin to turn away from sin,

God now begins to move towards us. Not true, not true and I'll talk about it again. I'll touch on

it again. There is a part that sin plays and we'll talk about it later but we've got to

undo this mentality. It is an Old Testament mentality. It is an Old Testament mentality.

It is at Marah that he reveals his name. Marah means bitterness

and that is God, Yahweh, revealing himself to Israel and then what happens in the New Testament?

Jesus now represents Yahweh Rafa. He comes and he does exactly what Yahweh Rafa said he would do.

See Yahweh Rafa, God Jehovah said to Israel, I will not put any sickness on you and I will

take away your disease. What does Jesus come and do? He fulfills Isaiah 53 which is basically a

reflection of what Yahweh Rafa said. I will carry your sicknesses and your diseases on myself and

by carrying it on myself I will take it away from you and I will not put it on you because

it's been put on me and I'm carrying it for you. Jesus Christ is now representing everything that

God Jehovah said. So he carried and bore your sicknesses, infirmities and diseases

so it's taken away and not put on you. So what Jesus is doing is a fulfillment of what Christ

of what Jehovah revealed at Marah. That's what he is doing. He's fulfilling what God said. He's

saying I'll take it on so that it does not you don't have to take it and I will not put it on

you because I'm taking it on. Matthew 8 17 then goes on to say and so came to pass the prophecy

of Isaiah 53 4. It's beautiful. Look at Matthew 8 17. I know you know this

but when did it not help reading it again?

Matthew 8 17

Thanks for the butter chicken James. It was good. I just saw some curry stain on one of my pages.

That's when I remember. Matthew 8 verse 14 onwards. When Jesus came into Peter's house he

Matthew 8:14

saw Peter's mother-in-law lying in bed with a fever so the first pope was married. Just so.

I had to put that in there. Peter was not a pope by the way. He touched her hand and the fever left

her and she got up and began to wait on him. When evening came many who were demon possessed were

brought to him and he drove out the spirits with a word and healed all the sick. This was to fulfill

that which was spoken to the prophet Isaiah. He took up our infirmities and carried our diseases.

So Jesus is beginning to fulfill what is spoken of in Isaiah. For people who think that Isaiah 53

Isaiah 53:4

verse 4 is only spiritual healing Matthew 8 17 proves otherwise. Many say that Isaiah 53 4 is

only for our emotional healing, our mental healing, our spiritual healing. What a lie man. This is where

our experiences begin to dictate what the word of God means and very clearly in Matthew 8 it says

that this he healed people. It was physical healing that happened. Guys in the gospel on

17 occasions Jesus healed all the sick present and on 47 occasions he healed one or two and on

no occasion did he turn anyone away. So 17 occasions where he healed everybody. Mass, it wasn't mass

healing. He didn't say line up everybody place your hand wherever it hurts. No no no. He healed

everyone taking time and then after that he healed one or two about 47 to 50 times and

there were none that he didn't none that approached him for healing that he turned away. Now John 5 19

says that Jesus only does what he sees his father doing. So each time he was healing he was seeing

what his father is doing. You need to understand what the father likes doing. Jesus did what he saw

his father doing. Jesus said that he only did what he saw his father doing. This is what the

father likes doing and this is what Jesus saw and this is what you and I need to see that we'll talk

about next week perhaps. But the father likes healing. The father enjoys healing. The father

likes healing. Get used to that fact. There is hesitancy in this church even today with regard

to the fact whether the father actually enjoys likes healing. I'm saying to you the father enjoys

and likes healing. Time and time again the gospels are full of Jesus seeing what the father is doing

and then doing what the father likes constantly. The father enjoys healing.

Harry and I were meeting with someone yesterday who has a disease that the hospitals are denying

because they don't want to face it even because it's not a first world disease.

The person who had this disease was feeling quite unloved by God. When I started talking to him

about the love of God he said many years ago this happened and I don't think God really loves me.

Part of it came out of ignorance but it was so easy to pray for him and he surprisingly is going

for a blood test next week so we'll hear about it soon. But it was so easy to pray for him because

the father likes healing. The father enjoys healing. Once we begin to think like that it is much easier

to joyfully give healing away without being a lawyer. Often sometimes at least I have in the

past developed a tendency to approach healing as a lawyer for God not as a healer for God.

I've got to get rid of the lawyer mentality and take honor. My father enjoys this. That's why I

keep insisting and repeating this. Jesus's heart with regard to healing, it's brilliant.

I mean you go to Matthew 8 verse 2. There's a leper who comes to Jesus and he says,

Matthew 8:2

Master if you want you can heal my body. Jesus says, I want to be clean. Just listen to those

words again. I'm reading from the message so it may sound different from your version. Matthew 8

2. This is Jesus's heart with regard to healing. A leper comes and says, Master if you want to

you can heal my body. And Jesus's reply is, I really want to. He doesn't say really. He says,

I want to be clean. In Matthew 8 verse 6, a Roman centurion comes to Jesus. He says, Master

Matthew 8:6

my servant is sick. He can't walk. He's in terrible pain. Jesus says, I'll come and heal him.

It's just so cool man. Here is a guy saying, my servant is sick. Now he's a he's a gentile.

My servant is sick. He can't walk. He's in terrible pain. Jesus says, I'll come and heal him.

Luke 4 39. Simon's mother-in-law is suffering in the grip of burning fever. What does Jesus do?

Goes, rebukes the fever and the fever leaves her. Mark 1 32 34. All those who were sick with various

diseases and under the power of demons came to Jesus and Jesus cured them all and drove out the

spirit with a word. The heart of Jesus is revealed in the multiple healings that happen in the Bible.

Sometimes I just like going over these healing stories and scriptures just because as you read

you're overwhelmed by the abundance of evidence as to the heart of Jesus. See, once we understand

the heart of God in a certain matter, we don't have to worry about whether something will work

or not because we understand the heart of God. When we understand the act, when we try to grasp

and put our faith in the acts of God, it's a little harder. But if I can understand the heart

of God in a certain area, now it is easy to trust. And one of the things that has happened with

healing is we base our healing on scriptures and on the acts of God when we need to understand the

heart of God with regard to healing, which then makes scripture a natural outcome of his heart.

There's a fine line here, but it is a thick enough line.

May our faith not be in scripture, may our faith be in the understanding of the heart of God through

scripture. Let me say that again. May our faith not be in scripture, may our faith be in the

understanding of the heart of God through scripture.

This then allows me to stand comfortably at rest for sustained periods of time in the right direction.

It is when I don't understand the heart of God. Again, even with a prophetic word, when you receive

a prophetic word, go and delve into the heart of what God is saying to you prophetically,

rather than trying to hold on to the prophetic word. Because when you hold on to the prophetic word,

you're holding on to statements without understanding the heart of the one who made those

statements. Then standing on scripture, you won't even use that thing. I'm standing on scripture.

You'll say I'm resting upon the character and the nature of the heart of God. You won't have to stand on scriptures anymore.

With three exceptions guys, all of Jesus's healings occurred instantaneously. There was no recuperative

period. There was no relapse, nothing. It happened instantaneously, except for three occasions.

And even those three occasions where it didn't happen instantaneously, it happened in two or three minutes.

Now this is the bar that has been set and this is the aim that this church should have.

That healing should be expected as with Jesus. So we're going to go back to the beginning of the

So with three exceptions, all of Jesus's healings occurred instantaneously. They required no

recuperative period because he afflicted immediately, returned to health.

I mean if that doesn't convince you, you should check out the book of Acts.

All the healings in the book of Acts occurred instantaneously. Now that's human.

More human. I mean Jesus was as human as you and I. But let's for an instance assume that,

okay, but we aren't exactly Jesus, which again is a statement that can be argued against.

But in the book of Acts, Acts chapter three verses seven and eight, silver and gold have an end,

but in the name of Jesus Christ, rise up and walk. Acts 14, eight to ten. Acts 14, eight to ten.

Acts 14, eight to ten.

In Lystra there sat a man crippled in his feet who was lame from birth and had never walked.

Thanks. He listened to Paul as he was speaking. Paul looked directly at him and saw that he had

faith to be healed and called out, stand up on your feet. At that man, at that the man jumped up

and began to walk. Acts 14, 19 and 20. Then some Jews came from Antioch. No, that's not it.

Anyways, Acts 20 verses nine to 12. Acts 20, nine to 12.

Seated in a window was a young man named Eutychus. May there be no such young men here

who was sinking into a deep sleep as Paul talked on and on.

Two emails. When he was sound asleep, he was thinking about the Lord.

So when he was sound asleep, he fell to the ground from the third story and was picked up dead.

Paul went down, threw himself on the young man and put his arms around him.

Don't be alarmed. He said he's alive. Then he went upstairs again and broke bread and ate.

And after, after talking, you guys are so blessed that I don't do this. After talking until daylight,

he left. The people took the young man home alive and were greatly comforted.

So again, all the healings in the book of Acts were instantaneous. So from now on in the church,

if I shout out the word Eutychus, anyone who's sleeping gets a message. Okay.

So if I ever say the word Eutychus, just remember it's directed towards you.

The only three delays in total healing involved mere minutes.

And you see that in Mark 8, 22 verses 8, 22 to 26, Luke 17 and John 9. And in all those cases,

healing happened immediately. What I'm trying to say is guys, and we'll come to that a little later,

but keep that in mind. Now let's talk about spiritual roots, which I know you're familiar with.

But let's just examine them. Guys, four things that you basically have to remember. If I can get a pen.

One is obviously, these are the four. There's sin, there's war, there's ignorance,

and there's fallenness. These are basically four categories that we put spiritual roots under.

Sin, ignorance, war, and fallenness. Sin we'll talk about. Ignorance, what I mean by ignorance,

is an ignorance of the nature, word of God, and therefore a lack or misdirection of faith.

That's what I mean by spiritual roots for sicknesses. Sin is one obvious one. We'll talk

about that. Ignorance is basically the ignorance of the nature of God or ignorance of the word of

God, and thereby a lack of understanding of how to exert faith or misdirected faith. We'll touch

on that too. War is basically satanic messengers that afflict, because we are in a war

here on earth in terms of the enemy shooting fiery darts. Fallenness is the very nature of

a decaying earth, of decaying creation and our mortality.

These are the four main reasons for continued sickness on earth and in the lives of believers.

Sin, ignorance, war, and the fallenness, or the very nature of decaying creation and our mortality.

We'll just touch on each one of them because we've spoken of this before. The intent here is to

refresh our minds with regard to this so that we keep walking in extreme health and healing.

Guys, when it comes to sin, here's how I look at it. Guys, may the pursuit of immorality, idolatry,

discontented complaining, and the tempting of God be removed from your midst. May the pursuit of

immorality, remember a very important word I'm using, may the pursuit of immorality, pursuit is

important here, immorality, idolatry, tempting God, as in testing God, and the temptation of God.

May the pursuit of immorality, and discontented complaining be removed from your midst.

Where do I get this from? It's from 2 Corinthians 10 where Paul talks about many who were

and it says these serve as an example to us so that we don't walk in the same ways.

So, and it covers quite a lot, but these four stand out. May there not be a pursuit in my life

of immorality, of idolatry, as in putting something in place of God, a displacing God

where he is markedly second. Immorality, a pursuit of it, where it has become very habitual, very

normal, very commonplace with morality. Attesting God, as in always testing the limits, always

seeing how much I can get away with, never responding to the invitations and the windows

of opportunity that God provides, is a testing. It's just like when your children test you,

when that becomes a pursuit in my life, and discontent complaining, where there's constant

murmuring or discontented complaining. These usually cause serious physical problems.

That aside, there's the big five. In South Africa, you always go on safaris and try to see the big

five. And if you go on a safari, sickness safari, these are the big fives you want to avoid.

There are anxiety. This is one we've talked about quite a lot, and the MEBS have talked about this

too. Anxiety, fear, unforgiveness,

anxiety, fear, unforgiveness, self-hatred,

anxiety, fear, unforgiveness, self-hatred, and discord.

Guys, these are the big five. These are the roots for hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of diseases.

It's not just not so, just so not worth it.

We'll talk about how we can combat it. But the big five are the roots for so much, it's just nuts.

Anxiety, fear, unforgiveness, self-hatred, discord. And by discord, I mean discord in the community of God.

Discord in any covenant that you have entered into, be it with the community of God, be it with your family, be it with

marriage. These are things that form the bedrock for most diseases in the world.

So on one hand, this is a pursuit of certain ways of sinning that usually affect us physically.

These are certain habits we develop, which are sinful to begin with, but these are certain habits we develop

that are always a bedrock for hundreds and hundreds of diseases. And some of them we have inherited

and have been perpetuated in our lives because of the environment we grew up in. And so this has to be eliminated.

But before we go there, let's talk about something else. When I say self-hatred, I mean rejection.

When I say unforgiveness, I mean bitterness and anger too, however you want to define that.

Guys, do you realize, if you finish writing that, this is important, guys, do you realize that physical healing is evidence or proof that Jesus has forgiven our sins?

Think of that for a second. Physical healing is proof, Eudicus, physical healing is proof that Jesus has forgiven our sins.

So, what is physical healing? It's evidence that Jesus has forgiven our sins.

Think of that for a second. Physical healing is proof, Eudicus, physical healing is proof that Jesus has forgiven our sins.

I see four or five smiles, but I only saw two people sleeping.

Maybe I missed. See, this is what happens in this room. It's easy to see everybody.

May it not replace our hallelujahs.

Physical healing on earth is proof that Jesus forgives sins because he paid the penalty for sins.

That's why sickness can be eradicated. Sickness can be removed from my body because the penalty for sins has been paid.

This is why Jesus says, what do you want me to say? Do you want me to say forgive your sins first or do you want me to say get up from his bed and walk?

Because I have the authority to forgive sins and I have paid the penalty for sins.

Therefore, the healing, physical healing is evidence that sins have been forgiven.

Never forget that because it gives you a lot of courage now to go and pray for people's healings because we know without a shadow of a doubt that sins have been paid for.

And remember there is healing grace available in and through Jesus for sickness that may be a result of sin.

Receive it. That's why it's called grace.

What has happened is grace has kind of been squeezed out of the window in the process of teaching healing.

And I want to bring it back. I've done it too.

Where grace has been squeezed out of the window, the healing grace of Christ is not what has been the focus for very long.

Healing methods have become the focus and in the process of healing methods becoming the focus, the healing grace of Christ has been pushed out.

So what happens then is healing suddenly is no longer a question of the grace of Christ.

It is a question of grace and works mixed together to bring up some kind of a final result.

I'm saying no, no, grace first, work later.

Time to restore grace back into healing because it's been chucked out.

Inadvertently, but it still has been chucked out.

There is a healing grace available in and through Jesus.

And even when sickness is a result of sin, receive healing first because it's called grace.

Grace always comes where there is a problem.

Otherwise, it's not called grace.

And after you receive that grace, may you remit or repent of your sins so that you may continue to walk in healing.

Guys, it puts it so well, James 5.15.

What does it say?

Are any of you sick?

Call for the elders and the prayer of faith will heal you, will save you and the Lord will raise the person who is sick up.

And after that, it says, and his sins shall be forgiven.

It does not say if you are sick, call for the elders, confess your sins, your sins will be forgiven and then healing will flow on you.

And you will be raised up.

It says, call for the elders, they will pray for you in the prayer of faith shall save the sick.

The Lord shall raise him up.

And if he has committed sin, they shall be forgiven.

We've got to bring back the grace of healing available to Christ back.

We've got to bring it back.

It is the heart of God.

The revelation of his name, Yahweh Rafa, happened as an exposure of his grace and his character at a time when people were located at a place called Mara, which is bitterness.

And if that applies to the Old Testament people who did not have the rich covenant that you and I just remembered, how much more in a covenant that is so overflowing with grace?

Just remember that.

Yesterday when I was praying for this person who had that illness, my heart was so full of the fact that, Father, you want to do this so badly for him.

And in the process, whether he returns to give you thanks or not, it is still your grace being poured out.

That action with the ten lepers was a sheer action of healing grace flowing from the anointed one.

And whether the nine came back or not was not a problem.

We've got to relocate grace into our healing methods.

This is what we're going to do.

We've got to relocate grace into our healing methods.

This is why every time I teach healing, there's always a new glimpse of something that I have missed out on.

And so this is not a refresher. It's a renewing of a mind with new truths being inserted.

The second one was, we said, ignorance.

The ignorance about the character of God and the character of His Word can either end up in a lack of faith or misdirected faith.

You can never learn healing by following someone who is a healer.

You cannot.

You can learn methods. You can never learn the harder God through following someone who is a wonderful healer.

I've followed Roland Tan or the Mebs all my life. I've learned nothing except the method from them.

Unless I learn the nature and the character of God.

And therein I'll learn that this is the heart of God and therefore I can understand why He's so eager.

He's chomping at the bits to heal.

Chomping at the bits to heal.

Amazing.

And when it comes to the fallenness of the world, guys, remember that if there's a wound on your hand, why does it get infected?

Because if you don't take care of it, why does it get infected?

Because there are germs and parasites around.

The fallenness, it's not because demons have infected the wound.

It's not because sin has infected the wound.

It is just the condition of the fallen world.

So there is sickness in this fallen world, but the advantage that we have is that we have ways to combat or undo it.

So just remember that sometimes sickness is because of the fallenness of creation.

And then there are Satan's malignant messengers or Satan's...

And you see that in Job chapter 2 verse 7 where the devil wanted to harm Job.

Job 2:7

And these malignant messengers take on the form of the spirits of infirmity, spirits of bondage.

Spirits of affliction and the spirit of torment or harassment.

These are some names that the Bible touches on.

The spirit of affliction, the spirit of torment, the spirit of infirmity and the spirit of bondage.

These are mentioned in the gospels.

Spirit of affliction, spirit of torment, spirit of harassment, spirit of bondage and the spirit of infirmity.

Harassment and torment are close.

Saul's mental affliction, King Saul, King Saul's mental affliction was because of an evil spirit.

The woman in Luke chapter 13 verse 16 was bent over.

Luke 13:16

Very clearly Jesus says this woman has been under bondage of a spirit of infirmity.

So here was sickness caused by a spirit, a satanic, a malignant satanic messenger.

Paul attributed his bodily affliction to a spirit sent by Satan to buffer him.

So understand that there is something called the spirit of affliction or the spirit of infirmity.

Eureka's, don't pretend you're meditating.

A spirit of affliction may be the result sometimes of a frontal attack.

A spirit of affliction may sometimes be a frontal attack of the enemy.

But I would suggest to you that almost always the spirit of affliction enters life because of inadvertent pathways that have been set up.

Sometimes it's a frontal attack. It's a straight frontal attack and it comes against us.

But usually the spirit of affliction has access into my life because inadvertently or knowingly there have been pathways that have been set up into my life.

I will touch on five different pathways we can avoid.

Guys, avoid these environments.

Sometimes the spirit of affliction finds a pathway into my life when the environment I create around me or that I live in is one of jealousy, envy and strife.

I mean, do you realize that it was always jealousy and envy that would stir up the spirit of affliction against all?

So one pathway that we create for the spirit of affliction to enter and bring us to a place of infirmity is through creating or operating or perpetuating an environment of jealousy, envy and strife.

It is natural then for the spirit of affliction to find a pathway.

Remember, one of the easiest ways, remember this for the rest of your life, you'll see that in the book of Ezekiel and you'll see that in Saul's case.

The jealousy and envy will always buy the devil a seat at your table.

In Ezekiel it talks about a spirit of jealousy and with Saul's case it was a spirit of affliction, but jealousy and envy will always buy a seat for the enemy at your table.

And once that seat is bought, you cannot understand why in a normal situation suddenly you'll find envy and strife breaking out.

It just bursts out, it's like a flare.

But just keep that in mind.

Secondly, this is a very sad one because it's not really your fault.

Hereditary diseases are often perpetuated because a certain mindset that you have grown up with now allows the spirit of affliction to continue in your life what it has continued in your previous generation.

Listen to this, I haven't said this before so it's important.

Often generational diseases or hereditary diseases are an unfortunate result of you growing up in an environment in your home where there were certain mindsets that have been operating for generations that are being perpetuated now in your life so that a pathway for the spirit of affliction to continue to bring a disease generation after generation.

So let's assume that I grow up in a house where there's sufficient self-hatred and rejection.

And if I grow up in a house of sufficient self-hatred and rejection and I grow up now with the same mindset of self-hatred and rejection, I now allow the spirit of affliction, the legal ability to perpetuate in my life the same disease that has been in my father's life or mother's life.

Because sin gives an opening and a mindset is a way of thinking, now self-rejection, remember the big five?

So if I take any of these big five, because I've grown up in such an environment, if I continue this, these big five even the medical establishment will tell you is true.

Then I now perpetuate the same mindset and it gives a spirit of affliction, an opening to continue in my life what has been in my?

By legal ability I mean if I remove anxiety from my life then certain things cannot be perpetuated in my life.

He needs a pathway, he needs a pathway.

Yeah, he needs a pathway because, go ahead.

Yes, same thing.

Yeah, yeah, there is good news.

And this is very, this part of it really saddens me because we keep saying hereditary diseases are broken at the cross, this is true, because curses don't continue, this is true.

But what if I don't go ahead and continue to be a victim of the same disease?

And I'm not going to be a victim of the same disease, I'm going to be a victim of the same disease.

We keep saying hereditary diseases are broken at the cross, this is true, because curses don't continue, this is true.

But what if I don't get rid of something that I have grown up with and I continue in it for years and years and years?

Violation or trauma that has been embalmed with lies and not healed with the truth of God can cause a spirit of affliction to continue.

Violation or trauma that has been embalmed with lies can cause a spirit of affliction to continue.

Violation or trauma that has been embalmed with lies and not with the truth of God can cause a pathway for the spirit of affliction.

The person we met with yesterday had lost their first child, and now they are going to have a second child.

And they are going to have a third child, and they are going to have a fourth child.

And they are going to have a fourth child, and they are going to have a third child.

And they have basically lost their father, he is alive but completely non-functional, in a terrible accident.

And it has affected the wife differently, the son differently, the daughter differently.

And all three are suffering the consequences of this trauma that has been embalmed with tons and tons of lies, but never with the truth of the Word of God.

And so we have met with three of them now and each one has different breakdowns in their family because of what happened 12 years ago.

Very strange how each one is affected differently and each one is now afflicted with something or the other, and it is deep.

So when trauma happens or violation happens and it is embalmed with lies and no one has sat down and helped you heal with the truth of God,

then it is possible for the spirit of affliction now to torment different people in the household differently.

I am getting tired of saying eutichas. I am going to quit. I am just having fun guys, sorry.

That is part of the truth that someone who has gone through trauma or violation needs to hear, but that is only part of it.

Because too many people have had lies put on their wounds and those lies don't help. The enemy just encourages it.

Guys, and then there is a callousness that comes from God displacing confidence that can create a pathway for the spirit of affliction.

Christians who are in ministry need to be careful of this.

That sometimes a pathway into your life is created for the spirit of affliction to now begin to harass you because you have come into a place of God displacing confidence

and therefore a lack of reliance on the person of God, but you have begun to operate out of your own skill set.

You know, this is so sad. King Asa in 2 Chronicles 16, 9, it says that when he fell in the 39th year of his reign, his feet were terribly diseased.

And when his feet were diseased, King Asa did not rely, did not go to God, seek God. Instead he relied on his physicians.

The thing is, go back another 7 or 8 verses and you will find something else.

You will find that when enemy king came against Asa, Asa did not rely on God, but instead took all the wealth in his temple and gave it to them to send them away.

And the prophet comes and says to him, you did not rely on God, instead you chose to save yourself and therefore God is saying you have not done well.

I want to say to us as a church, if relying on God in everything is not our normal way of functioning, please don't think that relying on God in sickness will come naturally.

God displacing confidence, in other words self-reliance, if that is your natural way of living, then let me assure you, it will be very hard to rely on God for healing.

It has to be the natural default for us, so that when sickness comes, it's another problem that we are dealing with.

Asa, it's not surprising that Asa did not seek God but went to the physicians, because there was a pattern being set up towards the end of his reign.

During the beginning of the reign he was doing very well. In every situation he would rely heavily on God, but as confidence began to come, callousness began to enter, self-reliance began to exhibit itself.

And what happens is this man, now when it comes to sickness also can't rely on God because he is relying on his physicians, because he is the king after all, his physicians are the king.

The physicians were the best in the land.

So you cannot have faith just for healing. Faith should be a natural way of living so that healing is one more thing you stand for.

So guys, if you need to deal with spiritual roots, be it the Big Five or other pathways, it's very simple.

One, and please, we know enough to know God is not a guilt tripper, so whenever there is any illness or sickness or disease or you are struggling with something,

don't hesitate at all to ask God, Father, is there anything you need to expose that I need to deal with? That is not a guilt trip, that is just sensible.

I mean when your car begins to give trouble, you go check it out. You don't say, no, I don't want to confront what's wrong with the engine.

No, you go check it out.

If there is something, ask God, Father, expose it. Expose it either directly or have someone else speak to me so that I know what to deal with.

And remember, the heart of God is for healing, therefore he is eager to show you what needs to be corrected.

So regardless of what the spiritual roots are, whether it be the Big Five or other pathways,

as soon as you find out, begin to move in exactly the opposite direction.

It's very simple. Your healing is not dependent on you getting to a place. Your healing comes through the grace of God.

But you want to move in the opposite direction because you want to get better and want to walk in betterness.

One is not dependent on you getting to a place.

That is something we've got to demolish from our minds because it takes away the concept of grace completely.

So if there be something, may God show it to you.

And ask sincerely and that's all you need to do.

You don't need to apply a magnifying glass.

You need to ask sincerely and expect that God is eager to show you what is right.

And if you don't have the grace, you don't have the grace to show you what is right.

So if you don't have the magnifying glass, you need to ask sincerely and expect that God is eager to show you when you ask with a sincere heart.

Some of us don't even have to ask. In certain cases, I'm so aware of what needs to be changed that asking God is insincere.

It's just pretend religion then.

Sometimes I'm so aware that all I have to do is begin to walk in exactly the opposite direction.

That is not what gets me my healing but that's what I need to do.

And please understand it's evidenced not by prayer but by practice and transformation in mindset and behavioural patterns.

What I mean is, let's assume I've got a problem with unforgiveness.

If I have a problem with unforgiveness, then Jacob start walking in exactly the opposite direction and may it not be evidenced with long prayers about,

Oh Father, no, let it be evidenced through my mindset and my behaviour.

Because my healing is not dependent on that. It is dependent on the grace of God.

But this allows me to walk happily in it so that it never forms a bedrock in the future.

Here's another thing guys and this is something Acts 29 is not good at doing.

As you practice living a life that honours God, talk to each other about it and talk loudly about it.

Because very clearly in scripture it says that the Lord listened and heard as they talked to each other about the ways they were able to live their lives.

They feared, revered, honoured God and He opened a book of remembrance and wrote it down.

And then He goes on to say that further about 10 verses later He says,

And to those that revere and honour My name, I want you to know that the Son of Righteousness will rise with healing in His wings over you

and you shall be energised like little calves that are jumping around in the stall.

If you want to know what that looks like, just set up a schedule with Matt.

The point being guys, there is something to talking about,

talking in a way that honours and reveres God which we aren't very good at.

Yeah, which we aren't very good at.

Malachi 4.1 and then trace it back to Malachi 3.16, it tells you what happens when we honour and revere God.

No, not Malachi 4.1, Malachi 3.16, yeah.

As you practice a life that honours God, talk with each other about His works.

The Lord listens and He records it and then He rises on you with healing in His wings.

Man, I'm telling you, testimonies of what God is doing are vital to be spoken.

This silent, I'm going to use a strong word, this silent crap, we've got to cut it out.

I'm the silent type.

No, I'm irritated obviously.

I hope it didn't show.

So, got to talk about it guys, got to talk about it.

Got to talk about it.

Never hesitate to testify about things that God is doing where His works are spoken of in a way that honour and revere Him.

First of all, my lifestyle should be one that reveres Him and I need to talk about what He is doing.

It's important.

Pardon?

Right on.

I mean if a complaint was silent, it wouldn't be a complaint.

Very clearly He says, I will rise with you, rise on you with healing in my wings.

Nice, eh?

Guys, shift from focusing on your faith to resting on the finished work that Christ has done.

Very often in the past, while unbelief doesn't get you far, by the way it's not what you pray that you get, it's what you believe that you receive that you get, but that's on the side.

The point is we've got to shift from focusing on faith to focusing on, oh so what did Christ do?

So instead of asking, do I have enough faith?

How about asking, did Jesus take away the sickness?

I love that question.

It makes it so much easier to ask that question.

I love that question.

It makes it so much easier to trust God for healing.

Instead of saying, I've got to have more faith, I've got to have more faith, oh Father help me, help my unbelief, I've got to have more faith.

What if I shifted the question from, do I have, do I need more faith to did Jesus actually take this sickness?

And the resounding answer is, yes, that He did take the sickness.

I mean the price was a ploughing of His back and I've said this before, guys He overpaid for healing.

He overpaid for healing.

It wasn't, Jesus never did anything as this much would be sufficient.

Let me see now, 20 stripes should heal everybody, so take 20 stripes.

No, no, no, He overpaid, His back was ploughed open, everything He did He overpaid.

It was not just enough.

It was not just enough.

Thank God we don't have a God who is just enough God.

When we use the word sufficient, we always think sufficient means just enough.

Like when I have to help you moving.

That's called just enough, where you turn off for five minutes, fill your car and then disappear.

That's called just enough.

No, no, this God is not like that.

He comes with a big truck man.

Yeah, so always come from this place of Jesus took the scourging as a full payment.

He's overpaid.

He has taken the sickness that I'm going through.

Got to operate from that place.

Okay guys, think of this, when you have sinned, do you operate from the understanding that

all your sins are forgiven?

Oh, by the way, that may not be true for all of us.

Let me ask that question again and it'll kind of befuddle us a little.

When you sin, do you operate, when you have sinned, do you operate from a position that

all your sins have been forgiven?

That is something we'll have to sort out in a while.

That is something we'll have to sort out in our minds, sir, because when we have sinned,

many of us don't operate from a place that all our sins have been forgiven.

Many of us operate from a place that now I have to go and confess these sins to the Lord

and as I confess them to the Lord, I will be forgiven.

That I would suggest to you is not a Christian way of thinking.

The Christian way of thinking is when I have sinned, I operate from the understanding that

all my sins have already been forgiven and what I am doing now is I am not even informing

him of my sins.

I am trying to get back into establishing a relationship back with my father.

It is not trying to clean my slate because my slate has already been cleaned.

It is a very different way of thinking.

Our way of thinking is I have to confess the sins, once I confess these sins, my sins will

be forgiven.

No, when I have sinned, Jacob personally operates from a place where he understands that the

sins he has committed were already forgiven.

Jacob's only concern now is, Father, I am not in a place where I have a thriving relationship

as a son has with a father and that I want to restore.

In my telling you what I did, I am not informing you, I am not even asking you for forgiveness.

I am asking for a cleansing of all that stands in my relationship with you and I come to

you knowing that all my sins are actually forgiven.

It is a different mentality, guys, but it is the correct mentality.

So, when you have sinned, if you operate from the understanding that all your sins are forgiven,

then you need to understand this.

When you are sick, you must operate from the understanding that all your diseases are forgiven.

When you are sick, you must operate from the understanding that all your diseases are healed.

Hello, this is important.

When you have sinned, you operate from the position that all my sins are forgiven.

When you are sick, you have to operate from the position that all my diseases are healed.

I'll say that again.

When you have sinned, you must operate from the position that all my sins are forgiven.

Either that or Jesus lied when he said it is finished.

That is the biggest hoax perpetrated in mankind.

So, when I have sinned, I must operate from the position that all my sins have been forgiven,

which then means that when I am sick, I must operate from the position that all my diseases were healed.

You were healed.

The covenant is active.

You can access it by faith.

And I want to say this too.

It's misdirected to faith to think in terms of I'm waiting on God for healing.

It's misdirected faith to think or to, as one thinks one speaks,

it's misdirected faith to think that I am waiting on God for healing.

That is like saying I'm waiting on God to forgive me.

You do not say I'm waiting on God to forgive me.

Go ahead.

Yeah.

Because sometimes even when we use the word complete or manifest, our thinking is I'm waiting.

I have to, these are statements of truth that have to slowly seep in.

Next time we speak on this 15 months from now, there will be new truth added to this.

But I have to understand that just, and I'm repeating myself, I know,

just as I operate from the position that all my sins have been forgiven when I have sinned,

in the same way when I'm sick, I operate from the position that all my diseases were healed.

I do not operate from the position that my diseases, I'm waiting for my diseases to be healed.

I operate from the position that all my diseases were healed.

Why is this important?

It's important because unless I work from this finished position,

I cannot disallow disease from exercising dominion against me.

Let me put it this way, guys.

You know, one of the reasons I haven't taken Indian citizenship,

I'm allowed dual citizenship.

It's called a PIO or a person of Indian origin.

You can get a certain certificate and you can have the same rights as anybody in India, except vote, I think.

Why haven't I taken that?

The reason I have not taken that is because if I go into India

and if there is anything that I'm involved in that the government objects to,

then I will not be allowed to access the Canadian consulate.

I'll be treated as an Indian citizen with no rights to approach the Canadian embassy or the Canadian consulate.

I do not have that right.

So I hold on to my Canadian passport so that when I go in there,

if anything ever goes wrong, I can always call the Canadian consulate first.

That is my right.

See, unless I have that mindset,

I will never be able to resist with full confidence the dominion or the exercise of anything that is contrary to that.

I will not even know.

I will be willing to accept being taken to places I should not be taken to.

I'll be willing to accept my rights for a phone call to the Canadian consulate to be disallowed

because I do not know better.

But because I know the truth of how this thing works,

I only have Canadian citizenship because my first call in any situation,

in any country will be to the Canadian consulate.

That is my right.

And I will not allow the exercise of any other dominion over me

because I belong to the dominion of Canada.

Now, let's shift to what we are talking about.

Until I realize that when I am sick,

I have to operate from the position that I was healed,

I will not be able to disallow the dominion of sickness over my body

because I'm thinking that I have to wait for it,

that it is going to happen.

When I operate from I was healed,

now there is a resistance that both my body, my mind, my soul, my spirit and my strength reacts with,

knowing, no, I was healed.

This is a foreign invasion and everything in me begins to resist it.

As I think, so my feelings, my emotions, my words

and my whole mortal body responds to truth.

Why don't my eyes move to and fro when I walk in a mall or go places?

Because I have trained my body to come into alignment with the truth

that my eyes shall be straight and I shall not look left or right

for I do not have natural lust in me.

My body knows it. My body responds that way.

Why is it that my tongue does not come up even when I'm angry?

Why does not my tongue speak foul words?

Because my heart has been trained and my tongue has been tamed

no longer to respond to those ways of living

because there is a new truth that has formed a crown or a mantle over me

and my very physical being is aligned with it.

You have no idea how bodies, our mortal bodies can align with certain truths

where the whole body begins to function or go in a certain way

and your tongue then begins to operate a certain way

because as your tongue is tamed, so shall a man become perfect in his ways.

So when I begin to think like this, it is natural when sickness or disease comes

for my whole body to react very differently.

Depending on how you define heart, if you define heart as a combination

of the spirit and the soul, then yes, but if your heart is your conscience,

it depends on how you define heart.

Yeah.

But go ahead James.

Now the usual reaction for the girl to be upset, she goes,

no it's fine, fine does not mean you can look at her,

it's fine if you are not upset at her.

Again he looks at her, and again he looks at her,

fine, understand that I love you, look at me.

As much as you try to fit yourself, you will not

because you will just look at other people.

Yeah, I understand what you're trying to say.

I will refer you back to the teaching on training,

where the reason, I've been saying for quite a while

that Christians need to stop trying and need to start training,

and the reason I say that is because trying ain't good enough,

I now have to train the way I think.

The only difference James, and this is a huge difference,

is in our case we train because we are in love with our trainer

and the trainer lives in us.

That is what then changes everything.

In every other form of training, you have a trainer who is outside of you,

you have a trainer who is hired,

you have a trainer who wants you to achieve a certain thing.

In our case the trainer lives in us,

the trainer, we are in love with the trainer,

the trainer loves us, and the intent of the trainer

is not to help you achieve a certain event,

the intent of the trainer is to make him like you,

make you like him.

Okay, the reason I am not frustrated,

I'm not saying, yeah, yeah, James I'm not making a personal statement

against what you're saying,

I'm saying the reason I'm not frustrated

is because I'm seeing the trainer as one that I'm in love with,

the same example that you gave.

And so it's not, I go back to the words of the song,

I can do nothing for him, he does everything in me,

so I'm training, but it's the trainer in me

who's helping me become.

And so there will be failure and he'll pick me up and say,

let's go on, I can do nothing for him.

Every time I have tried, you know, before when I used to sin,

I used to make promises to God, father never again,

it will never happen again,

I just pledge allegiance to the Lord and I dedicate myself

and I take the step and I would do all that.

How long would it last?

And it would be so frustrating

because you've just pledged your whole life away

and it was no use.

I can do nothing for him, he does everything in me.

But it requires training.

What I'm scared of is when we say that and don't train,

but just try.

Because a stronghold is a mindset,

I change it by the only thing that can break a stronghold

is the truth of God,

and that truth has to now begin to replace.

So you have to deconstruct and you have to reconstruct.

So if I think the world is flat,

you will have to show me that the world is round

and you'll have to, as you begin to show me,

the world is round, everything about the world being flat

is going to be broken.

So I'm going to have to change that.

So now everything about the world being flat

gets deconstructed.

Now that it's gone, I have to now begin to reconstruct

that the world is round.

So it happens both.

Let me conclude because you have Thanksgiving lunches

to go to.

You may say, but you are saying we were healed,

but look, there's sickness in my body.

Guys, the you were healed

is a covenant that Jesus Christ made.

It has to be accessed with faith.

And faith is being certain

even when it's not revealed to the senses.

Faith is being certain

even when it's not revealed to my senses.

Faith is being certain of the finished work

of the spoken word.

Faith is being certain of the finished work of Christ

or the spoken word of God

even when it's not revealed to my senses.

There are different things I'm praying for in my body, guys.

Things that are not severe ailments, no pain, nothing.

The things I want changed

and I look forward to things in my body getting repaired,

instead of decaying, getting full of life and young.

It's just the way that almost every third or fourth

there will say, Father, thank you.

Thank you.

I was healed.

This does not mean that I won't grow old.

But the thing is that

I expect things not to decay

the way you would think the world decays.

Yeah.

Refresh.

Your youth shall be renewed like the eagle.

Your youth shall be renewed like the eagle.

Your youth shall be renewed like the eagle.

I know this is like an extreme,

but it's the way to operate.

Moses was this way.

His eyes didn't grow dim.

Go ahead.

Life and death is in the power of the tongue.

Yeah.

I hear that some people are saying,

I'm getting old or I'm never going to be like the way I used to be

or I'm not the way I was before.

It seems that it's important not to speak in the negative.

Yeah.

The Bible says, don't be sick around Israel with pains

because you're all so old.

Not sickly, it's just like they're 110 years old,

they've got a pain, and they just don't know about it.

So those are the dangerous thoughts.

Sometimes we have to cut slack

for people who are using it as expressions

and we have to cut absolutely no slack

for people who actually say it

with actual meaning.

Yeah, because sometimes,

oh man, I'm pooped might actually be a way of saying,

I need a drink,

and doesn't mean that whatever it's supposed to mean.

The point being, sometimes those are expressions

and at that time we've got to recognize it

and cut some slack,

but other times we mean it and that's when you need to say,

can't talk like that.

Yeah.

Yeah, so just don't,

I mean, may my words be words of life.

So guys, let's learn to speak and act from this truth.

This is something that we can trust,

we can come in alignment with,

and we can rest on.

So faith is being certain of the finished work

or spoken word,

even when it's not revealed to your senses

and whenever,

that kind of faith will always express itself.

It will always express itself.

Any questions before we go home?

Next week we may deal with how do we minister healing then to people.

Go ahead, Jeff.

Yeah.