Going from Cursed to Cured

A leper once came and bowed down to Jesus saying, “If you are willing you can make me clean.” Scripture says, “Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. ‘I am willing,’ he said. ‘Be clean!’ Immediately he was cured of his leprosy.” (Mt 8:3).

The Greek word for cured in Mt 8:3 is katharizo, meaning “to cleanse (literally or figuratively): - (make) clean (-se), purge, purify.”

In Deut 28:16, and throughout that chapter, Moses warned that anyone who did not obey God’s Law would be cursed.  In other words they would be one on whom a curse has been invoked, accursed, doomed to destruction.  And he listed all the sicknesses that were part of that curse. 

“However, Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law, having become a curse for us--for it is written, ‘CURSED IS EVERYONE WHO HANGS ON A TREE’”-- (Gal 3:13)

Christ redeemed us from the curse.  Hallelujah!  The Greek word for redeemed in Gal 3:13 is exagorazo, meaning “to buy up, that is, ransom; figuratively to rescue from loss (improve opportunity): - redeem.”

In English there is only a one-letter difference between the words “cursed” and “cured.”  I say the letter “S” in that word should remind you of the Savior! He became a curse for us!  It’s amazing but true that through faith in our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, we go from cursed to cured!

He became the sacrifice for our sin, so you could say the "s" is also for "sin."  Through His sacrifice, our Savior bore our sin.  If you repent and put your faith in Him, asking Him to forgive you, He will remove your sin and even give you power over sin.  You'll go from cursed to cured!

If you have a pain, sickness or disease today from which you cannot be healed, there is One who can heal you.  If you are a sinner in need of forgiveness today, there is One who can save you.  His name is Jesus Christ.  He alone has the power to save you from your sin and heal you from your disease. He alone can make you whole spiritually and physically. 

Attribution notice: Most Scripture quotations taken from the NASB. Most other Scriptures taken from The Holy Bible, New International Version® NIV®, unless otherwise noted.

Author's note: This post is part of a series.  If you enjoyed it, you may also like the other posts in this blog available through the links in the side bar, especially Power of God to Heal. I also recommend my daughter's poem, Faith Should Not Depend on Feeling, which she wrote the same day she received a divine healing in her body.  You may also access my blog directory at "Writing for the Master."

Do You Want to Know Him?
If you want to know Jesus personally, you can. It all begins when you repent and believe in Jesus.  Do you know what God's Word, the Bible says?

“Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.’” (Mar 1:14b-15).  He preached that we must repent and believe.

Please see my explanation of this in my post called "Do You Want to Know Jesus?"

_________________________________________________

Len Lacroix is the founder of Doulos Missions International.  He was based in Eastern Europe for four years, making disciples, as well as helping leaders to be more effective at making disciples who multiply, developing leaders who multiply, with the ultimate goal of planting churches that multiply. His ministry is now based in the United States with the same goal of helping fulfill the Great Commission. www.dmiworld.org.

Power of God to Heal

I cannot emphasize enough the key aspect of faith in healing.  It’s not just about the foods we eat or about avoiding toxins.  Sometimes it’s too late and we’ve already followed a poor diet or been exposed to the toxins.  When we come to Jesus in faith, asking Him to heal us, we should believe that He will do it and He will.  I have seen this happen many times in my own life and in the lives of my loved ones.

The late Jack LaLanne, a famous nutrition and fitness expert, once said, "I spoke to my mother recently and she told me that the two most important vitamins you need are F and G. Remember that: F and G. That's faith-in-God. When you have those, nothing is impossible for you!"

This is very important for us to keep in mind.  Jesus is merciful.  He forgives all our sins and heals all our diseases, according to Psalm 103. When we come to Him in repentance and faith, we can ask Him to heal us and fully expect Him to do so.  His question for sick people who came to Him was often to find out whether they believed He could heal them.  And then when they did believe, it was done according to their faith.  

In fact, James teaches that believers who are sick should call upon their elders for prayer.  He wrote, “Is anyone among you sick? Then he must call for the elders of the church and they are to pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord; and the prayer offered in faith will restore the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up, and if he has committed sins, they will be forgiven him. Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed. The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much.” (Jam 5:14-16).

Notice that we are supposed to call upon the elders to pray for us when we’re sick.  This means you need to be part of a church where they believe the Bible and still do this.  The elders are supposed to pray over the sick and anoint Him with oil in the name of the Lord.  James says that when they offer such a prayer in faith, the Lord will restore the sick person to health. 

But he also makes a statement about sin in direct connection with this.  “If he has committed sins, they will be forgiven him.” Sometimes we are sick because of sin.  I know some people have abused this and when people don’t get healed, they tell them it must be due to some sin in their lives.  Uncaring people who have said such things have hurt folks.  Yet it is still true -- sin leads to emotional and physical illness, especially the sin of unforgiveness!  This is why we need to repent of these sins and confess them to one another.  James says, “Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed.” 

The power of God is still able to heal in the same way Jesus did two thousand years ago.  As James says, “The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much.”  Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever.

How to Heal the Sick
If you are a believer in Jesus Christ, who has received the baptism with the Holy Spirit, and you would like to learn how to heal the sick, I encourage you to spend a couple weeks, watching the 15-hour video series by Charles and Frances Hunter called How to heal the Sick.  Each lesson is one hour long, so I recommend watching one hour per day.  It actually took me about three months to watch all of them, but they were all excellent.  Charles and Frances Hunter prayed for thousands of people to be healed, and you will see many of those healings on this series.  But this couple not only functioned in the gift of healing, they taught others how to do so.  You may either watch the series at the following links on Youtube, or you can purchase it from Joan Hunter Ministries for around $60 USD:

 

Video 1

Video 2

Video 3

Video 4

Video 5

Video 6

Video 7

Video 8

Video 9

Video 10

Video 11

Video 12

Video 13

Video 14

The full playlist for this entire series is at this link, but the videos are not in the proper order in the playlist, so using the above video links will enable you to watch them in their proper sequence.

Attribution notice: Most Scripture quotations taken from the NASB. Most other Scriptures taken from The Holy Bible, New International Version® NIV®, unless otherwise noted.

Author's note: This post is part of a series.  If you enjoyed it, you may also like the other posts in this blog available through the links in the side bar, such as Healing is in the Atonement. I also recommend The Name of Jesus and my daughter's poem, Faith Should Not Depend on Feeling, which she wrote the same day she received a divine healing in her body.  You may also access my blog directory at "Writing for the Master."

Do You Want to Know Him?
If you want to know Jesus personally, you can. It all begins when you repent and believe in Jesus.  Do you know what God's Word, the Bible says?

“Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.’” (Mar 1:14b-15).  He preached that we must repent and believe.

Please see my explanation of this in my post called "Do You Want to Know Jesus?"

_________________________________________________

Len Lacroix is the founder of Doulos Missions International.  He was based in Eastern Europe for four years, making disciples, as well as helping leaders to be more effective at making disciples who multiply, developing leaders who multiply, with the ultimate goal of planting churches that multiply. His ministry is now based in the United States with the same goal of helping fulfill the Great Commission. www.dmiworld.org.

The Cause of Disease

When we meditate on God’s Word, we will find that the Bible has much to say about health and wellness.  It speaks of various diseases and how to deal with them.  The Scriptures teach proper health and hygiene on topics such as hand washing, quarantine, circumcision, proper treatment of dead bodies, and proper disposal of human feces (Num. 19, Lev. 13:46, Gen. 17:12, Deu 23:12-13)

The Bible even addresses alcohol abuse, and instructs us to be filled with the Spirit, rather than drunk with wine Eph. 5:17-18. 

There are numerous diseases related to alcoholism (Prov. 23:19-21, 29-34). These include damage of nerves and body organs, damage to newborns, and sexual disorders. But in addition to these, there are also many highway deaths and broken homes that result from alcohol abuse.

Healthy sexuality
The Scripture teaches us to avoid sexual immorality I Thess. 4:3-5. Homosexuality, incest and adultery lead to terrible consequences such as debilitating, sexually transmitted diseases and neurotic behavior. Those who violate God's instructions concerning sexuality not only affect themselves directly, but also create problems for society as a whole.

Emotional wholeness
The Bible teaches us the role of faith in coping with stress and dealing with anger (Ps. 23, Prov. 29:11) There are numerous psychological disorders and aberrant behaviors that result from our failure to exercise faith in Jesus Christ.

None of these diseases
Many years ago I read an excellent book, called None of These Diseases, written in 1967 by doctors S.I. McMillen and David E. Stern.  It has recently been revised, and is still in print.  While I don’t agree with every single point they made, I do agree with much of it.

The main premise of the book is that we should live the lifestyle God commanded, and when we do we can claim the promise found in Exodus 15:26 that we will have "none of these diseases."

Harmony with the Creator
It is said that ever molecule oscillates at its own unique frequency.  And the authors of this book teach that there are about 150 trillion DNAs and cells in our bodies. They state, “The human body is living in divine health when the 150 trillion cells are in the same frequency or harmony with the creator. Each cell has a north and south pole and generates galvanic electric power.” – S.I. McMillen, David E. Stern

They go on to write, “The harmony or frequency in the cell arrangement is disrupted with negative emotions that originate in the human mind.” S.I. McMillen, David E. Stern. I agree. When we enter into sinful emotions or behavior, we disrupt our own inner health and well being.  This adversely affects our body at the smallest cellular level.  This underlying, unhealthy state of our being predisposes us to the development of illness and disease.   

Some people would say that this teaching advocates mind control, such as that taught by the New Age or by so-called Christian Science.  The authors of the book make a clear distinction that sets this apart from such false practices.  They state, “The original and true mind control is the impartation of the mind of Christ that occurs through a spiritual metamorphosis when the born again experience takes place.” S.I. McMillen, David E. Stern.  I agree with this. Christ must control our minds.  When we have the mind of Christ, then we are free and at peace.  We are able to do that which pleases our Creator, and which leads to divine health.

Fear is the primary negative emotion
Along these lines, the authors note that fear is the primary negative emotion in life.  This is what the Word of God teaches.  Satan keeps people in bondage by constantly enslaving them with the fear of death.  If you think about it, most of what people are concerned about can be traced back to a basic fear of death.  This fear is a force that disrupts our spiritual, physical, and emotional well being. This opens the door to a host of health problems.

Love is supreme
So what is the biblical answer? The Bible teaches “Perfect love casts out all fear.”  So when you love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength, and you love your neighbor as yourself, then it dispels all that fear.  You are not a slave to it any longer. You are free to love, and this is a major key to divine health.

Like Solomon wrote, “Better is a dish of vegetables where love is Than a fattened ox served with hatred.” (Pro 15:17).  If there is love inside your heart, then you’re better off eating a simple meal that doesn’t taste so great than eating a delicious feast that includes fatty meat when there is hatred inside your heart.

The authors also admonish us to “ALWAYS KEEP BURIED IN YOUR MIND THAT WORDS ARE SEEDS AND PRODUCE AFTER THEIR KIND.” -- S.I. McMillen, David E. Stern.  So it begins with a thought, and our thought becomes a word.  That word then produces after its own kind and we get what we say.  The words then beget physical actions, which can become habits. Those habits then become a lifestyle.  And once we develop a lifestyle, it secures our destiny.  This can work for good or for evil in our lives and the lives of those we touch.

Attribution notice: Most Scripture quotations taken from the NASB. Most other Scriptures taken from The Holy Bible, New International Version® NIV®, unless otherwise noted.

Author's note: This post is part of a series.  If you enjoyed it, you may also like the other posts in this blog available through the links in the side bar. You may also access my blog directory at "Writing for the Master."

Do You Want to Know Him?
If you want to know Jesus personally, you can. It all begins when you repent and believe in Jesus.  Do you know what God's Word, the Bible says?

“Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.’” (Mar 1:14b-15).  He preached that we must repent and believe.

Please see my explanation of this in my post called "Do You Want to Know Jesus?"

_________________________________________________

Len Lacroix is the founder of Doulos Missions International.  He was based in Eastern Europe for four years, making disciples, as well as helping leaders to be more effective at making disciples who multiply, developing leaders who multiply, with the ultimate goal of planting churches that multiply. His ministry is now based in the United States with the same goal of helping fulfill the Great Commission. www.dmiworld.org.