The Path of Healing




The Path of Healing Following the path of healing through the Bible gives us great insight into what is still available for us as we walk with Jesus. There are many examples of healing and various ways that people have been healed according to the Bible. The great news is that healing is still available to us today. “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.” Heb 13:8. The list of God’s miracle touch upon mankind throughout the ages is a testimony of His great love and compassion for His people. In Isaiah 53:5 we read that God sent His Son Jesus to die for our sins and sicknesses that we might be healed. The healing path begins in the first book in the Bible. In the book of Genesis we find Sarah, Abraham’s wife, who desperately wanted to have a child and was promised by God to have one. Ge 17:18, 19. The Lord healed Sarah of being barren in her old age, way past the age of child bearing, and gave her a son. Ge 21:1-7. There probably aren’t many women who would like to experience that miracle at ninety years old. Ge 17:17. I remember being sent to a barren woman who desperately wanted to have a baby. Because of a severe car accident she was unable to carry a child. But God gave me a word for her that she would indeed have a child. The next year she had a beautiful little girl. In Exodus 15:26, God declares that He is the Healer of His people. “……I am the Lord that healeth thee.” The translation of that word Healer actually means Physician, declaring a continuing action on God’s part to be our Healer and Physician. The book of Numbers tells us about leprosy coming on Miriam because of her speaking against Moses. Moses interceded for Miriam and God’s compassion is shown to a repentant Miriam when she is healed of leprosy. An interesting thought is God allowed a dreaded disease to come upon Miriam when she sinned, but after Moses interceded for her and she repented God healed her. Nu 12:1-10; 12:13; 12:15. In I Kings the man with the withered hand was healed. I Ki 17:17-24; 13; 4-6. In 2 Kings, King Hezekiah was healed of a terminal illness. He pleaded with God for extra time and God added fifteen years to his life. 2 Ki 20:1-6. The Lord showed King Nebuchadnezzar what was coming upon him because of his pride. He lost his mind and ate grass like an animal. Seven years later God healed and restored him. Dan 4:l1-4. In the New Testament Jesus healed Epilepsy, Dropsy, the deaf and mute, Palsy or paralysis, chronic hemorrhage, the demonized, withered hands and deformities and the blind, among other things. He restored an ear that was cut off, and raised the dead. There are 484 verses in Matthew, Mark, Luke and John that testify to the healings of physical and mental illnesses, more than enough to establish that healing was a large part of Jesus’ ministry. Hedi Baker, a modern day missionary in Africa, goes to villages and asks who is deaf when she enters a new village. She prays for that person to be healed and they are! Then she preaches salvation to them and many are saved. At a church in Coeur d’ Alene, Idaho a few months ago a blind man was healed. Two and a half years ago I was healed of Lyme’s disease. God spoke in a still small voice and said, “I am going to heal you.” He did and I am well. Jesus ministered to the whole person. He preached forgiveness of sin and healing. At times He healed them first and then forgave their sins. Lu 17:9; John 5:14. At other times their sins were forgiven first and then they were healed. Mr 2:1-12. Jesus ministered healing in public, in groups, in the synagogue, in homes, on the streets, at funerals, in graveyards, at the temple, at mealtime gatherings, in route to other destinations, in gardens, in open meetings, by pools, on hillsides, in boats, etc. He moved in various ways to bring healing. At times He called the sick to Himself, at times they called for Him, some had faith, and some folks had none. Some He touched, but for others He spoke the Word, Some He required obedience while others He required none. The path of healing begins with a repentant heart, and coming into right relationship with God and man. Draw near to God. Isa 57:18, 19. When I lay dying in a hospital with a ruptured appendix God spoke quietly to me about a matter I was holding against a brother in the Lord. I immediately repented and let that matter go. In four days I was out of the hospital. To be forgiven you must forgive. You cannot hold unto any unforgivemess. Mt 6:14. Following the path of healing you come to the laying on of hands and anointing with oil by the elders. Mr 16:17-18; Mt 10:1, 7, 8; Ja 5:14-16. One of the young men in our first church broke his arm and called for the elders to come and pray for him. The men arrived to find Carl’s bone clearly broke with the bone protruding against his skin. The men anointed him with oil and prayed the prayer of faith and before their eyes Carl’s arm was healed as the bone moved back into place. Look to Jesus for the stirring of the waters for healing. Joh 5:4-8. Whenever you hear of a true move of God’s healing go there. Years ago Kathryn Khulman moved dynamically in the gift of healing, it was a gift from God. I Cor 12:9. People came from all over the world and thousands were healed in her meetings. A woman in one of our churches had a son she dearly loved. Scott was diagnosed terminal with a rare form of cancer. Within days of his dying his mother and some friends carried her son into a Morris Cerullo meeting that was going on in Sacramento where thousands were in attendance. Scott was barely able to sit in the chair towards the back. During that meeting Morris stopped his preaching and pointed his finger to the back at Scott and said, “Young man God is healing you, stand up and receive your healing.” Scott’s mom urged Scott to stand though he was in terrible pain. He stood and was miraculously healed. When you meet a godly man on the path who gives you a word from the Lord walk in obedience as Namann did. Though he saw no purpose of washing in the Jordan River seven times, but he did what the man of God said and was healed of leprosy which was incurable at that time. 2 Ki 5:14. The man with the withered hand is another example of healing being released through obedience. Mr 3:1-5 On the path some are carried on the faith of others such as the man who was carried to the top of the roof where Jesus was ministering. His friends carefully let him down in front of Jesus and he was healed. Mr 2:3-11. Others are healed because of their own faith such as the woman with the issue of blood who took hold of the hem of Jesus’ robe. Mt 9:20-22 And the blind beggar Bartimaeus who “began to cry out, and say, Jesus, thou Son of David, have mercy on me.” Mr 10:47. Sometimes it is a combination of the faith of others and your own faith. There is no set method for healing, but there are clear components on the path through Scripture that every person who is in need of healing should be open to trying. There are many more examples of healing in the Bible for I have only given you a few to point the way for you. Healing is the work of Jesus on earth, and continues through the power of the Holy Spirit. After being healed many times, in many ways and witnessing many others who have been healed, I can testify that God still heals today. Heb 13:8. “He is the Lord who heals us.” Ex 15:26 . ODE TO LEGION.... Better than...The pit! SSSScccractchhh... The sound of the old, beaten, weather worn, wooden boat, as it pulled up into the sand like a dull ax dragging across concrete. The sun was just starting to show it''s light through the dark, angry looking clouds that surrounded this old vessel, on yet another foreign shore. Almost surreal, yet, nothing extraordinary, about this landing at all, just another old boat, meeting another destination. The first man to step out of the beaten boat, looked and acted like He didn''t really belong in an old boat like that. The first thing to actually touch down, lightly on the moist soil was a sandal, not a boot, not a bare foot, but a sandal as the waves licked at the heel of his feet. There was more, much more about this man that didn''t seem to look at all like a fisherman. He wore a robe, a dirty, slightly torn, white robe that had been turned a bit yellow with wear and had green scuffs on it as if this man, sat in the grass a lot. Yet there was something about this man, something that nobody could quite put their finger on. At least that''s how it felt. He was determined, yet gentle. Confident, yet, acting as if He''d just came from a poppers house. Then, the other men, one at a time stepped off of the boat. Most looked like real fishermen,dirty, smelling of bait and fish, unkempt hair, beards full of food crumbs and God only knows what else. some looked like tax collectors, crafty, not to be trusted, like they were hiding something Still others wore no hat, at least not one to be seen. No profession to be labeled as they stepped onto the shore, just plain ordinary men. They did however have ONE thing in common... They all followed this man with the robe very reverently, almost hesitantly, yet, oh so eager to just be with Him. They never really spoke to the man with the robe unless He spoke to them first, and even then, it was most apparent that they weighed their words very carefully. As if they were afraid that what they said would be construed as stupid or that they would be corrected. You could see the adoration and total respect that they had for this filthy robed man. If nothing else, just by the look in their eyes. There was one, maybe two, who would actually look Him in the eye as He spoke. The acted like...Like....He was...GOD? That was the really odd part. This man, we''ll call Him, "their leader", for simplicity sake, claimed that HE WAS GOD....Yet, He also claimed that He was "The Son of Man". Again, another riddle, a puzzle if you will. One thing was for certain however. These men who followed, twelve in all, believed He was. They actually believed Him when He claimed to be God, and somehow also believed Him when He said that he was the son of man. Truly baffling, amazing! The power that this man had over the twelve who followed so carefully in His footsteps. Then, after a brief walk, (as if going to market to buy fish), this "son of man", stopped and said, "we''re here!" Nobody said a word, except the grungy old fisherman. He said, "we''re where my Lord? We''re...in... a graveyard?" That is in fact, exactly where they were, surrounded by ancient, crumbling tombstones, and pieces of flowers left long ago by somebody who had no doubt, paid tribute to a lost loved one...And what was THAT SMELL? Filthy, rotten, stench? It smelled like...Pig shit! Their motionless, almost timeless stance in this death trap was suddenly broken! LOUDLY AND VIOLENTLY, as a wild man, I mean a complete and total lunatic came screaming at them, with the look of pure, mad, hatred! Not only in his eyes but his entire body reeked of violent, unrestrained HATRED! For no apparent reason it seemed. This screaming lunatic of a madman was, buck ass naked, covered in scars and freshly opened wounds covered every inch of his filthy, blood soaked body. Even his hair and his beard were filled with mats of dried, clots of blood, snot, dirt and ...scum. SCUM, is the only word that accurately described this mans face. The twelve, were terrified. You could see it in their eyes. You could see it in the way that they were all trying to force themselves to NOT RUN AWAY! Feet stepping aimlessly, here, then there, all the while their eyes, and in fact, their heads were turning back and forth from the madman, to the direction of the boat, to the leader, back to the mad man, and so it went for what seemed like an eternity....Nervous, and scared as hell! Some of them were actually to the point of uttering wordless shouts of desperate FEAR!! The leader, however, just stood their, motionless, like a gentle, yet stern statue, as this monster came screaming viciously straight toward them. Stumbling and falling, then getting up with even more determination to run straight through them and rip them to pieces with his bare hands! Except, in reality, one hand had a huge, sharp stone in it, and everybody knew, all to well, what this beast meant to do with that stone... Then, something completely and totally unexpected happened. This stark raving mad man, stopped and just looked the son of man in the eyes. His gaze was somewhere between confused, thankful, fearful, yet totally at peace as he ...DROPPED TO HIS KNEES!? The twelve were astonished, calming down, trying to comprehend what had just happened, as this self proclaimed God, just stood their and looked the wildman as one would look at a once beautiful, now withering flower, and...What on earth is THAT SMELL? Then something even more outlandish happened, something that took these still shaken twelve completely by surprise. This bloody, filthy mad man spoke, instead of screaming like a man possessed. He said, "We know who you are Yehashuah Hoopsistis... Have you come to torment us ahead of our appointed time?" Which made no sense, because, if there was such a thing as an ''appointed time'', how could this leader do anything about that? Then, calmly, as if talking to a little orphan girl, the leader said, "Tell me your name". First the naked mad man growled, and snarled, just for a moment, then, as if compelled by God Himself, the man violently said, "WE ARE LEGION...FOR WE ARE MANY!!!" The twelve...took a step back. The leader? He just stood their as to say, "That''ll do, now...hold your tongue!" The really odd thing was, (aside from the fact that everything transpiring be