Doctors Verses God for Healing

(Man's way verses God's way)

Today we will study how healing took place throughout the Scriptures and how it is that God heals today. Among Christians today there are many opinions on how God works in healing His people. Some feel that God uses prayer to heal; others believe that God now uses doctors to heal, while most believe that God uses doctors along with prayer to heal His people. What does God’s Word really say about this subject? Is there a way to find out for certain what God wants for us? There certainly is and we will explore this topic to see what God’s word really says on the subject of healing.

(Proverbs 30:5) Every word of God proves true; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him. (6) Do not add to his words, lest he rebuke you and you be found a liar. In our minds, we think that we understand God and how He heals. We believe we know the truth, but if it is not in the Word of God, He will prove us to be liars! If we are adding to His Word, God will prove us wrong. The Lord says that we are destroyed because of our lack of knowledge and that lack of knowledge is because we do not know God’s Word. (Hosea 4:6) My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. We must understand that God does not change, “For I the LORD do not change” (Malachi 3:6), and that He is the same today as He has been from the beginning. “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever” (Hebrews 13:8). With this scriptural background let us now look to the Bible to see what God says about illness, disease and healing. If God does not change we should be able to see what God’s plan is for healing His children, both then and now.

Many people believe God gives blessings to His children, but very few understand that it is also God who has set forth the curses too. You receive blessings if you follow God’s law and curses if you disobey God’s law. Look with me at these promises of blessings and curses in Deuteronomy 28. In case you do not have your Bible handy, I will include part of the blessings and curses that pertain to our study, but I encourage you to get your Bible out and read the entire chapter for yourselves.

(Deuteronomy 28:1) If you fully obey the LORD your God and carefully follow all his commands I give you today, the LORD your God will set you high above all the nations on earth…(4) The fruit of your womb will be blessed…(6) You will be blessed when you come in and blessed when you go out. (7) The LORD will grant that the enemies who rise up against you will be defeated before you. They will come at you from one direction but flee from you in seven. (8) The LORD will send a blessing on your barns and on everything you put your hand to. The LORD your God will bless you in the land he is giving you. (9) The LORD will establish you as his holy people, as he promised you on oath, if you keep the commands of the LORD your God and walk in his ways.. (11) The LORD will grant you abundant prosperity—in the fruit of your womb… (12) The LORD will open the heavens, the storehouse of his bounty… (14) Do not turn aside from any of the commands I give you today, to the right or to the left, following other gods and serving them.

So here we have the blessings which cover all areas of life; blessings on your children, financial blessings, and protection from your enemies. Dwelling under these blessings means none of us would have the diseases and illness which society has today. Remember when the Lord spoke this in Exodus 25:26? "If you will diligently listen to the voice of the LORD your God, and do that which is right in his eyes, and give ear to his commandments and keep all his statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you that I put on the Egyptians, for I am the LORD, your healer". God is in complete control and it is He who brings disease and God who heals and remember that God does not change. If Christians today understood that it is the Lord and not the devil that brings disease, then they would look to God to heal what He has given them. Let us read more about who it is that brings disease as the Lord speaks the curses for disobedience.

(Deuteronomy 28:15) However, if you do not obey the LORD your God and do not carefully follow all his commands and decrees I am giving you today, all these curses will come upon you and overtake you... (18) The fruit of your womb will be cursed…(20) The LORD will send on you curses, confusion and rebuke in everything you put your hand to, until you are destroyed and come to sudden ruin because of the evil you have done in forsaking him. (21) The LORD will plague you with diseases until he has destroyed you from the land you are entering to possess. (22) The LORD will strike you with wasting disease, with fever and inflammation… (25) The LORD will cause you to be defeated before your enemies... (27) The LORD will afflict you with the boils of Egypt and with tumors, festering sores and the itch, from which you cannot be cured. (28) The LORD will afflict you with madness, blindness and confusion of mind… (34) The sights you see will drive you mad. (35) The LORD will afflict your knees and legs with painful boils that cannot be cured, spreading from the soles of your feet to the top of your head… (45) All these curses will come upon you. They will pursue you and overtake you until you are destroyed, because you did not obey the LORD your God and observe the commands and decrees he gave you. (46) They will be a sign and a wonder to you and your descendants forever. (47) Because you did not serve the LORD your God joyfully and gladly in the time of prosperity… (58) If you do not carefully follow all the words of this law, which are written in this book, and do not revere this glorious and awesome name—the LORD your God- (59) the LORD will send fearful plagues on you and your descendants, harsh and prolonged disasters, and severe and lingering illnesses. (60) He will bring upon you all the diseases of Egypt that you dreaded, and they will cling to you.

Are you grasping the magnitude of what is written here and how it is the Lord who is bringing these diseases on His people? Please notice that the Lord said that these curses will last FOREVER! Did the Lord forget to list any of the diseases that affect us today? No, He covers that in this next verse. (61) The LORD will also bring on you every kind of sickness and disaster not recorded in this Book of the Law, until you are destroyed…(65) …There the LORD will give you an anxious mind, eyes weary with longing, and a despairing heart…

You have just read part of the curse for not obeying all of the law. You can see that it is not the devil who is bringing this but God who brings these illnesses and diseases. God does not just allow disease to happen as many Christians believe, but God brings it on to those who disobey Him. Yes, it is the devil that administers the curses and sickness but it is coming from God. Because it is written in His Word, God must obey that Word. For each cause (sin) there must be an effect (the curse). There is no soundness in my flesh because of your indignation; there is no health in my bones because of my sin (Psalm 38:3). Yes, you can have sickness because of your sin and Satan is used to carry this sickness out. The devil is just a tool that God uses to chasten His children. Behold, I have created the smith that bloweth the fire of coals, and bringeth forth a weapon for his work; and I have created the waster to destroy (Isaiah 54:16).

You might say…"that was for Israel back then and not for me. God did away with the Old Covenant when Jesus was born." Did God really do away with the Old Testament and the Old Covenant? NO!!!! Jesus came to fulfill it! (Matthew 5:17) "Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. (18) For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished.

Some of you who have been indoctrinated by “religion” may not believe that God uses the devil to discipline His children but it happens more often than you might think. Do you remember Paul turning a man over to Satan in order to save him? (1 Cor 5:5) Deliver such a one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus. Do you remember how Jesus spoke about a person being turned over to the tormentors if anyone does not forgive from his or her heart? (Matt 18:32) Then his master, after he had called him, said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you begged me. (33) Should you not also have had compassion on your fellow servant, just as I had pity on you?’ (34) And his master was angry, and delivered him to the torturers until he should pay all that was due to him. (35) “So My heavenly Father also will do to you if each of you, from his heart, does not forgive his brother his trespasses.” In God’s mercy He turns us over to the torturers (some versions say tormentors) in order that we repent. Please understand that these torturers are demon spirits that have been given authority to execute all the sickness and curses of the law. These curses and sickness are authorized by God and implemented by Satan. God loves us enough that He would rather turn you over to Satan for discipline than to see you live in your willful sin and go to hell for all eternity. That is real love. (If you doubt the existence of hell, just read about what Jesus said about a rich man and Lazarus, a poor man, in Luke 16:19-31.)

So here we have the curse of the law which you and I are still under to this day! That is unless we are washed by the blood of Jesus Christ! (Gal 3:13) Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us. What Jesus did for us on the cross is the only thing that nullifies this curse. But even then, if you do not believe all the promises in the Bible, you will still be afflicted by these diseases and every other type of mental illness non-believers have today. Here is another Scripture to help us understand this:

(Galatians 3:10) All who rely on observing the law are under a curse, for it is written: "Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law”. Remember what we just read in Deuteronomy 28 about the curse? This is the same curse Paul is speaking about when he says that if you depend on your works to be righteous you are still under that curse of Deuteronomy 28. (11) Clearly no one is justified before God by the law, because, "The righteous will live by faith." (12) The law is not based on faith; on the contrary, "The man who does these things will live by them." (13) Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: "Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree." What did Jesus do by dying on the cross? He took away our sins because "without (the) shedding of blood there is no remission of sins" (Hebrews 9:22) Well, if He took away our sin, He also took away the curse for sin. Jesus took the penalty for the curse of Deuteronomy 28 that went with breaking the law of God! If we are not under the curse then we are under the blessings of Deuteronomy 28!

(Isaiah 53:4) Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted. (5) But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed. The prophet Isaiah was prophesying/speaking about Jesus not only being pierced for our sins but being HEALED BY HIS WOUNDS! How are we healed by His wounds? We are healed because Jesus took our sin and gave us His righteousness by faith in Him we are no longer under the curse of Deuteronomy 28 but under the blessings of Deuteronomy 28 because we have Christ’s righteousness.

(1 Peter 2:24) He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed. Notice two things here. First, Jesus bore our sins on the tree... Do you agree with that? Do you believe that Jesus bore your sins on the cross? If so, do you believe the next part is also true? "By his wounds you have been healed." What Jesus did on the cross healed you! This is past tense. It already happened according to the Bible! Why can you believe the part of this Scripture that says your sins were taken at the cross and not believe the other part that says that you have been healed? Do you have the faith to believe that you were already healed at the cross? Most Christians do not believe that they have already been healed; therefore, they do not receive it. Jesus says "Go; let it be done for you as you have believed" (Matt 8:13). Do you only believe that Jesus died for your sins and because of that you will get to go to heaven some day? Then “it will be done just as you believed” and your only benefit of Christ’s sacrifice will be in the eternal life to come. If that is all you believe, then that is all you will receive. Jesus said in Matthew 9:29, "According to your faith be it done to you”. If you choose not to believe that “by Jesus’ wounds we were healed” then, sadly, you will not receive this promise and benefit. If all you believe is that Christ died so you will go to heaven, then that is all you will get. You will receive only what you have faith for and that is why Christians are just as sick as non-Christians.

Now if you believe that Jesus took away your sins, then by taking away your sin, He took away that penalty for every sin which is described in Deuteronomy 28. To highlight just a few of the curses for sin… “fever” “inflammation” “boils” “tumors” “sores” “the itch” “madness” “blindness” “confusion of mind” “anxious mind” “weary eyes” “despairing heart” “sever lingering illness” “all the diseases of Egypt will cling to you” and then finally” “The LORD will also bring on you every kind of sickness and disaster not recorded in this Book of the Law, until you are destroyed.” If indeed Jesus became sin for us and Jesus took away our sins, then we can go before the Lord and proclaim, BY FAITH, Christ’s righteousness and receive all the promises throughout our New Covenant. What promises do we have if we choose to believe the Word? We will go through those promises next, but first you must understand that when God tells us that "by his wounds you have been healed", that is a past tense promise..."have been healed". When Jesus died on the cross He accomplished total salvation from sin which in turn does away with the penalty for sin which is the curse! Sin is the reason for the curse and without sin there is no curse! Do you remember when and where Jesus said “it is finished”? Well it was finished at the cross and so we must now enter into all the promises by faith.

(Galatians 2:20) I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. This is the true Gospel because when Christ died, He reconciled you to God by exchanging you and your sinfulness for Jesus and His righteousness. It is no longer us that live in our born again body, but Christ that lives in us. Now if it is Christ that now lives in you, how can the Jesus in you have disease and illness? The answer is He cannot, therefore you cannot. Yet, that is what we have today; rampant illness amongst Christians because we DO NOT BELIEVE WHAT THE BIBLE SAYS! If you do not know your rights, God will let the devil administer the curse upon you. You will have sickness and you will be stricken with disease just like non-believers. Remember God said, “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge”. God is a just God and His Word can never be broken. He must follow the curses that He set out in Deuteronomy 28. Day and night the devil holds God accountable to His Word and God must follow that Word. (Revelation 12:10) The accuser of our brethren, who accused them before our God day and night, has been cast down. Yes, Satan is the accuser and is coming now, before the Father to remind Him of the curse of sin and how you do not believe it is been taken away by the blood of Christ. Since you do not believe God’s Word, you will have to suffer from that curse. Many believers suffer and die when they really did not have to die at 20, 40, or 60. Your only escape is to believe God’s promises and accept that you were healed at the cross, not just eternally saved with your soul going to heaven, but in complete salvation of your body too. Once you believe God’s Word, then you have a legal right to come against the devil when sickness comes upon you. You can rebuke the devil and say to him, “I do not accept this sickness because I was healed at the cross". Your only responsibility is faith in God’s Word, and then it is God’s responsibility to fulfill His Word and give you His blessing.

It is important to note that even when you are under the blessings of God, He never says that enemies will stop rising up against you. What God says is that they will come against you and they will flee from before you. (Deut 28:7) The LORD will cause your enemies who rise against you to be defeated before your face; they shall come out against you one way and flee before you seven ways. Sickness and disease will come against believers to test them, but if you understand God’s Word and believe it, this enemy (Satan) will flee from you in seven different ways! In other words, you now have the legal right to come against the devil by standing on the Word of God.

Now turn with me to investigate the wonderful promises that our Lord has given us if we just choose to believe. (Mark 16:16) Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. (17) And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues; (18) they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well." Notice that these signs WILL accompany those who believe! Does it say "you will take your loved ones to the doctor?" No it says "they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well." This is God’s method of healing and God does not change! He wants to show His power through faith and through His Believers administering His healing! Remember that "by his wounds you have been healed", so why would you deny God the glory and give it to man or give the glory to doctors? Jesus wants you to do what He did. He wants believers to place their hands on the sick and heal them! Please do not add to His Word by including doctors because that is simply not found in scripture and God does not change just because our society has changed. The simple fact is that Jesus said, “these signs will accompany those who believe” and Christians today have proven that they really are not believers. Why? Because believers will, among other things, be placing their hands on the sick and appropriating God's power in making believers well. Please notice the emphasis on believers and not what we would loosely call “Christians” today. All believers are Christians but not all “Christians” are believers. This is because a believer hears and reads the Word of God and believes what God says. Are you a believer or just a “Christian”?

Can we find any examples in the Bible where believers in Jesus Christ were going to doctors for their healing or medical needs? No, can we find any examples of His Apostles commanding believers to seek out physicians for their healing? How about in the early Church that we see in the book of Acts, did they use doctors? Look closely because I cannot find even one time when man or medicine was used for healing instead of God’s power for healing. What I can find is this command from Jesus, and it is a command! Jesus said, “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you” (Matt 28:19,20). This was the command and here’s how it was supposed to have worked. The original disciples were to make disciples just like themselves, teaching them everything that Jesus taught them. Those disciples were to make other disciples exactly imitating the pattern and teachings of Jesus. This opportunity to become a disciple of Jesus was to continued all the way to this present day. Even today we are supposed to be doing and teaching everything which Jesus taught His disciples. EVERYTHING! The life Jesus and His disciples lived, we were to imitate this same life. It was not to have stopped and we cannot find a command for it to have ended once the original disciples were gone. Yes, our churches have taught that it is all passed away with the disciples but that is far from the truth.

(Matt 10:8) “Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons: freely ye received, freely give”. God’s way of healing is free! God’s way of salvation (healing) does not cost a thing! How much do doctors cost us today? How much do you pay for medical insurance each year? It is estimated that America spends over TWO TRILLION dollars each year on healthcare, yet God charges nothing. Jesus taught us to freely give what God has freely given us and that includes healing. Here is a perfect example in Scripture of doctors charging money to a sick woman (who they could not help) versus Jesus’ free gift of healing. (Luke 8:43) And there was a woman who had had a discharge of blood for twelve years, and though she had spent all her living on physicians, she could not be healed by anyone. (44) She came up behind him and touched the fringe of his garment, and immediately her discharge of blood ceased… (48) And he said to her, "Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace".

Jesus is our example and He taught and demonstrated healing from God and not from man. This healing was from God, it was free and it was sure. Jesus taught that it is your faith that heals you. "Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace". Can you see that Jesus taught His followers to go to God in faith for their healing and not man? Man, and our dependence on him, will always cost money; money with which the Lord has provided us. If God provides all of our resources, how do you think He perceives us using His money to depend on a “savior” other than Himself? You may not call your doctor or the medication you are taking another “god” or “savior”, but any time you are placing your faith for salvation (from sickness, enemies, financial worries) in anyone or anything other than the real God, that is exactly what you are doing. (Jeremiah 17:5) This is what the LORD says: "Cursed is the one who trusts in man, who depends on flesh for his strength… (7) "But blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in him.

Trusting in doctors for your healing is trusting in man and that is trusting in the flesh for your strength. The Lord says that cursed is the one who trusts in man instead of God! God has not changed, but we have! If God now heals by doctors instead of Salvation through Him, then we are now saying that God makes mistakes. Notice this report from the Department of Health and Human Services Center for Disease Control and Prevention. Here is what they found: In American hospitals alone, healthcare-associated infections account for an estimated 1.7 million infections and 99,000 associated deaths each year. If God now heals through modern medicine and man, why is God making so many mistakes today? Besides infections that happen while in the hospital, look at this chart of accidental deaths each year by doctors.

120,000 deaths each year from accidental medical errors! Is this really God's way? Maybe you have forgotten the curse of Deuteronomy 28 and how whatever sickness comes on you that it is from the Lord. We have another witness that everything you receive, both good and bad, are from God. A man can receive nothing, except it have been given him from heaven (John 3:27). Now if what you have medically wrong with you is from God, why would you seek anything or anybody other than God to get rid of what He has given you?

(Ephesians 2:8) For by grace have ye been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; (9) not of works, that no man should glory. Most people look at this verse and only think of their salvation and promise of eternal life but the word saved is the Greek word “Sodzo” which means total salvation of your soul, body / healing and circumstance. Now that we have a better understanding of what the word "saved" really means, let’s read that verse again and substitute saved for healed. “For by grace have ye been [HEALED] through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not of works, that no man should glory. That gives us a new understanding to this scripture. God does not want you working or seeking man to heal you so that they can glory in it. God wants you healed by faith so that He receives the glory!

(Matthew 9:35-10:1) And Jesus went throughout all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction. (36) When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. (37) Then he said to his disciples, "The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; (38) therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest." (10:1) And he called to him his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every disease and every affliction.

This is a very important scripture because it shows how Jesus healed everybody who came to Him in faith. Everybody! It shows us how Jesus had compassion on them and was concerned because there were so many people to heal with only Jesus doing the work of healing. Jesus saw "the harvest as great and the laborers as few" (Mathew 9:37) so Jesus gave authority to others and sent them out “to heal every disease and every affliction.” This is our example. This is the way that Jesus instructed us to heal.

Does God change because we are now in the 21st century? Now that we are so “technologically” advanced and have come so far in medical science, has Jesus somehow changed His ways? Is He different then He was 2,000 years ago? “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. Do not be led away by diverse and strange teachings” (Hebrews 13:8,9). We are warned that Jesus does not change and not to be led away by strange teachings and yet that is exactly what we have done. We teach a worldly doctrine that man now heals and God works through man to administer that healing. Can you see that relying on modern medicine and doctors for our healing constitutes a different and strange teaching compared to what Jesus taught? It is contrary to Christ’s teachings, and yes, Jesus Christ is the same, and He has not changed! We are the ones who have changed with following the strange teachings of what we call modern medicine. These strange teachings are nothing more than pagan teachings which originated in Egypt, taken to Greece, and are now what we call modern medicine today. This has become a false god which Christians now use instead of relying on the real God for their healing.

Time after time we are given examples and instructions of how we as Christians are to heal our sick.
(JAMES 5:14) Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. (15) And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven. (16) Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective. Now what does this say about sick people? Are we supposed to take them to the nearest doctor or pharmacy? Are we to take two pills and call our doctor in the morning? No, that is not the Lord’s way! Can doctors heal? No, only God can heal. “A man can receive nothing unless it has been given him from heaven” (John 3:27). Of course doctors can sometimes give you medicines to make you feel better for a short time, but who then usually gets the glory? The doctors! Can you see that this is not God's way of healing for His people? God wants the glory for the healing and does not want to share it with man. Even more, God wants to teach you to trust in Him completely! Yet, God shows His love and compassion for us even though healing by doctors has never been His way. God is merciful and has given doctors to the unbelievers not to His people. As for believers, we have God’s Word and His ways of healing are clearly spelled out in Scripture. God’s ways have never changed for His people.

(2 Chronicles 16:12) In the thirty-ninth year of his reign Asa was diseased in his feet, and his disease became severe. Yet even in his disease he did not seek the LORD, but sought help from physicians. (13) And Asa slept with his fathers, dying in the forty-first year of his reign. This was a Godly king who relied on the Lord most of his life. Later in his life, instead of trusting in God to heal him, he trusted in physicians and he died early because of this. For the children of God, physicians were not God’s way of healing back then, nor are they for His believers today. That is why medically speaking you do not see a difference between Christians and non-Christians. They both are plagued with cancer and every other kind of sickness we read about in Deuteronomy 28.

This next Scripture shows us God’s way of healing. (MATTHEW 18:18) "I tell you the truth, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.(19) "Again, I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven”. Do you believe this promise? Can you take God at His word that if you and another agree in prayer, it will be done? If you really believed this promise from Jesus, you will believe God enough to put your total trust in Him and Him alone, even if this meant putting your life in His hands. Do you trust God with your life or do you feel more comfortable trusting your life to a doctor? Your actions will speak louder than your mouth! If you found out that you had cancer today, would you trust God enough to be anointed with oil and have mature brothers or sisters in Christ pray over you with the prayer of faith? “Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up”. Would you have the faith to be prayed over, never again going back to the doctor and just having faith in the Word of God that says you are healed? That, my friend, is faith and that is the kind of faith that God honors and answers every time. (James 2:14) What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? If you say with your lips that you believe God can and has healed you, then are your works (or your actions) agreeing with what you speak? Why are you “hedging your bets” by seeking out salvation from medications and doctors instead of solely relying on the Lord? By your actions you are confessing that you are afraid to totally trust God. You can not fool God. He knows your faith as well as He knows your heart and if you do not totally trust God and God alone, then you really do not have the faith needed to be healed. “Do you want to be shown, you foolish person, that faith apart from works is useless” (James 2:20)? Your actions will show the Lord where your faith really lies. If your actions do not back up what you say you believe, then you are providing proof that you really do not believe after all.

What will help you to overcome any fear that the devil tries to put on you is realizing that whatever comes your way is from God. “A man can receive nothing, except it have been given him from heaven” (John 3:27). Contrary to what we have been taught, it is God whom you receive your illness from and not the devil. Yes that sickness may come from the hand of the devil but God is the one who sent it. Just recall the curses in Deuteronomy 28 to see where this sickness and disease come from. If it is God who brings the curse on you, does it not make sense to seek God to take that curse away? Yet, Christians usually turn to doctors and medications to take away what God has given them. Instead going right to the source of where that sickness came from (God) we try and take another way, an easier way that bypasses God. Instead of God being our savior, man is now our savior for healing. "Cursed is the one who trusts in man, who depends on flesh for his strength”. God wants you to repent of your sin while trying to teach us to have real faith and to trust in Him for everything. It is not enough to have faith with your lips, but you must have faith by what you do. James speaks to this type of life when he says, "But someone may say, You have faith and I have works; show me your faith without the works and I will show you my faith by my works." (James 2:18) You may say that you trust God, but how does the Lord really know unless you are tested and back up your talk with action? We must start to look at each trial as a learning opportunity to grow our faith.

(MARK 11:24) Therefore I say unto you, All things whatsoever ye pray and ask for, believe that ye received them, and ye shall have them (Past tense). Do you believe this promise from Jesus? What does this promise leave out? Is what you have too big for God? Is what God has given you too difficult for Him to take away? Cancer, diabetes, mental illness, Alzheimer's, AIDS - ANYTHING you have is nothing for the Lord to heal if you have put your complete trust in Jesus. If you have confessed your sins and believe that God has healed you, you will receive that healing. Yet if you doubt and do not fully believe in your heart, then you will not receive your healing! (JAMES 1:6) But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. (7) That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; (8) he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does. God’s Word cannot be broken but as wonderful as the healing promises are, they all have conditions to them. That condition is why most do not receive the healing they prayed for, they are double-minded and doubt whether God can really heal them. That is why people "hedge their bets" and seek both the doctor and prayer, just in case… Scripture confirms that the person who does this will not receive anything from the Lord.

Do you find one instance in Scripture where Jesus refused to heal anyone? No, we do not. You might say “If it’s God’s will… then He will heal me…” IT IS GODS WILL TO HEAL YOU! To put it in God’s hands and say “if it is His will” is showing that you do not have faith because it is in His word that you are already healed. By his wounds you have been healed. (1 Peter 2:24) Those that believe God's Word can enter into that promise of healing. The problem is that most do not know what the Bible says about God’s healing promises; therefore they do not have the belief to be healed and that is why God’s children are just as sick as non-believers. “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge” (Hosea 4:6).

(MATTHEW 21:21) Jesus replied, "I tell you the truth, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only can you do what was done to the fig tree, but also you can say to this mountain, 'Go, throw yourself into the sea,' and it will be done. (22) If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer." What if you really believed this scripture with all your heart and all your soul? Nothing would be impossible to you! (Mark 9:23) All things are possible to him who believes. Yet, there ARE some that Jesus COULD NOT heal.... (MATTHEW 13:57 ) And they took offense at him. But Jesus said to them, "Only in his hometown and in his own house is a prophet without honor." (58) And he did not do many miracles there because of their lack of faith. Only because the people in Jesus' hometown, who knew Him, LACKED FAITH could Jesus not do many miracles! You mean Jesus who is all powerful could not heal nor do many miracles? That does not seem possible except we read that it was because of their lack of faith that He was not able to heal. There are many times today that Jesus still cannot heal. Yes, Jesus cannot heal because of our lack of faith. Do you believe the lack of healing that many Christians are experiencing today is the very same result as what happened back then in Jesus' hometown? We often wonder why God is not healing and not doing many miracles today when it is really us and our lack of faith. The only ones who are really seeing God heal are those who are seeking God to heal instead of doctors or medicine.

From the very beginning God’s way of healing was only through Him and our trust and obedience in God. Today we have lost that trust in an all powerful God who heals completely, every single time. We see it written in the scriptures, but we do not believe God is big enough to heal us by Himself. We think that God has changed now and we must use doctors along with prayer. We walk by sight and not by faith. We see whatever illness or sickness we have and we get scared and think that the only way to save ourselves is to “hedge our bets”; to seek the doctors and then pray that God will heal us. Is that really faith? Is that what the Bible says to do? Yet, we do what is easy and choose to believe the doctors instead of God. This is the same thing the Israelites did when God cast them out of His sight when they worshiped the real God along with the false god Baal, Ashtoreth and many other false gods. The Lord was not upset with the pagans worshiping false gods just as God is not upset today with non-Christians today relying on doctors for their healing. Back then God was very upset with those who were His people that worshiped false gods. Today is no different, God is not happy when His people seek another false god to save them from their sicknesses instead of completely trusting Him.

If God was able to heal all the way through the Bible, He can certainly do the same for us now, IF we let Him. What was God’s way of healing then is God’s way even today! The Bible says “I the Lord do not change” but the Christian world now says that God has changed and that today He works through doctors and medicine. Many Christians conclude that for healing we must rely on man “with God’s help” and not just God alone. I ask you again to please search the Scriptures to find one time where it says to depend on man or medicine for healing instead of God. I will save you some time and show you the three times the word for medicine is used.

(Galatians 5:19) Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, (20) idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, (21) envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. The word for sorcery or in the King James translated witchcraft, is the Greek word Pharmakeia. According to the Strong’s concordance Pharmakeia means medication, witchcraft or sorcery. This is where we get the word Pharmacy. You see, medicine is not of God because you are relying on another god for your salvation from what ails you. You are taking something that God Himself has given you (your sickness), and you are asking someone or something to save you or take it away instead of God. In this Scripture medicine, or sorcery, is called a work of the flesh and says that “those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God”. These are very strong words and are not mine but the Word of God. The second place that we find the word Pharmakeia (Pharmacy) is in the book of Revelation.

(Revelation 9:20) The rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands nor give up worshiping demons and idols of gold and silver and bronze and stone and wood, which cannot see or hear or walk, (21) nor did they repent of their murders or their sorceries or their sexual immorality or their thefts. These people were not just bowing to a false god, but I believe the Lord is talking about worldly idols that we put before Him. Idols like cars, houses, money, careers, and pleasures. These are all idols that we put before a holy God and He also includes “sorceries”, or Pharmakeia / Medicine that they did not repent of. If we are relying on medicine for our salvation from sickness, then we have put another god before the true God. Unless you love the truth of the Bible, you will not repent and completely trust in the Lord, you will trust in the god of sorcery, or Pharmakeia, instead of the true God.

Look at the following headlines in recent publications. Prescription Drugs Kill 300 Percent More Americans Than Illegal Drugs... Are prescription drugs now the way God heals or is it really a curse for going to another god for Salvation from your problems? Statistics prove prescription drugs are 16,400% more deadly than terrorists... How about this headline: Prescription drug injuries and deaths reach record levels... man's ways cost money while God's ways do not. Here is the last headline I will show you: Medical Errors Cost US $8.8 Billion, Result In 238,337 Potentially Preventable Deaths, Study Shows...

(Revelation 18:21) Then a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone and threw it into the sea, saying, "So will Babylon the great city be thrown down with violence, and will be found no more; (22) and the sound of harpists and musicians, of flute players and trumpeters, will be heard in you no more, and a craftsman of any craft will be found in you no more, and the sound of the mill will be heard in you no more, (23) and the light of a lamp will shine in you no more, and the voice of bridegroom and bride will be heard in you no more for your merchants were the great ones of the earth, and all nations were deceived by your sorcery. (24) And in her was found the blood of prophets and of saints, and of all who have been slain on earth." We see that Babylon is thrown down and that all the nations were deceived by her Pharmakeia / sorcery / witchcraft. Yes, the Christians in this world have been deceived into putting their trust into the false god of Pharmakeia and saying that it is blessed by God, and that modern medicine is from God when the Bible says exactly the opposite!

What would you call those that practice Pharmakeia; a pharmacist or a doctor? (Revelation 21:6) And he said to me, "It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment. (7) The one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God and he will be my son. (8) But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death." The Greek word used here for sorcerers is Pharmakeus. This is someone who practices Pharmakeia. Is that why they say that a doctor practices medicine? Does the Lord differentiate between someone practicing magic with spells and magic potions verses someone who practices pharmakeia / medicine? Most people do not understand that modern medicine originated in Egypt, was perfected in Greece, and was strictly forbidden by God!

Have you ever read the Hippocratic Oath to which doctors swear? Here are a few excerpts, I swear by Apollo the Physician, and Asklepios and Hygieia, and all the Gods and Goddesses that, according to my ability and judgment… to teach them this Art… I will impart a knowledge of the Art to my own sons… may it be granted to me to enjoy life and the practice of the Art… False gods and goddesses… does this sound like what the Lord wants for His children? (Revelation 22:14) Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they may have the right to the tree of life and that they may enter the city by the gates. (15) Outside are the dogs and sorcerers and the sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices falsehood. Again we are warned against those who practice medicine and those who practice falsehood. Are we any better if we visit Pharmakeus / sorcerers (pharmacists and doctors) and seek them to save us from the curse?

(Revelation 2:12) “And to the angel of the church in Pergamos write, ‘These things says He who has the sharp two-edged sword: (13) “I know your works, and where you dwell, where Satan’s throne is. And you hold fast to My name, and did not deny My faith even in the days in which Antipas was My faithful martyr, who was killed among you, where Satan dwells. (14) But I have a few things against you, because you have there those who hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed to idols, and to commit sexual immorality. (15) Thus you also have those who hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitans, which thing I hate. (16) Repent, or else I will come to you quickly and will fight against them with the sword of My mouth.

DID YOU KNOW: Pergamos was a city in Mysia, labeled "by the most illustrious of Asia". Its beautiful buildings distinguished it as the most beautiful city in the East. Art and literature were encouraged and it boasted a library of 200,000 volumes. Pergamos was the religious center of the province. Here was the temple of Esculapius, the god of healing represented by a living serpent - A RETURN TO THE WORSHIP OF SATAN?

Recognize this symbol?

Caduceus, symbolic staff surmounted by two wings and entwined with two snakes. Among the ancient Greeks the caduceus was carried by heralds and ambassadors as a badge of office and a mark of personal inviolability, because it was the symbol of Hermes, the messenger of the gods. According to Book IV of Virgil's Aeneid, the Greek god Apollo gave the staff to Hermes in return for the lyre. In Roman mythology the symbol is associated with the god Mercury. The staff of Asclepius, the Greek god of healing, which was entwined by a single snake, was also called a caduceus. The caduceus has been adopted as a symbol by the medical profession; it is also the emblem of the medical branches of the United States Army and Navy.

The snake and staff in the center of the symbol portray the staff Asclepius who, according to Greek mythology, was the son of Apollo (god of light, truth and prophecy). Supposedly Asclepius learned the art of healing from the centaur Cheron; but Zeus - king of the gods, was fearful that because of the Asclepius knowledge, all men might be rendered immortal. Rather than have this occur, Zeus slew Asclepius with a thunderbolt. Later, Asclepius was worshiped as a god and people slept in his temples, as it was rumored that he affected cures of prescribed remedies to the sick during their dreams.

Asclepius was usually shown in a standing position, dressed in a long cloak, holding a staff with a serpent coiled around it. The staff has since come to represent medicine's only symbol. In the Caduceus, used by physicians and the Military Medical Corp., the staff is winged and has two serpents intertwined. Even though this does not hold any medical relevance in origin, it represents the magic wand of the Greek deity, Hermes, messenger of the gods.

We have read the Hippocratic Oath and seen its pagan roots. We have just studied the American Medical Association symbol and its pagan roots. Will you still claim that the Lord blesses Christians with the use of doctors and medicine today? Will you really try and say that God now works through the false pagan gods of healing? Remember that there are only two powers in this earth; one is the Almighty God and the other is Satan. If God is not part of these false gods of medicine then by default we are worshiping the devil to receive our healing. If you’re depending on a false god to save you, is it any wonder why the Bible says that you will not inherit the kingdom of God? Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery (Pharmacy/Medication)… I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God (Galatians 5:19,20). God has never used sorcery to heal in the past and He does not use it today.

Although the American Medical Association uses the serpent on a pole as their logo, here is the real Biblical story of the serpent on the pole and its meaning. (Numbers 21:4) Then they journeyed from Mount Hor by the Way of the Red Sea, to go around the land of Edom; and the soul of the people became very discouraged on the way. (5) And the people spoke against God and against Moses: “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and our soul loathes this worthless bread.” (6) So the LORD sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and many of the people of Israel died. (7) Therefore the people came to Moses, and said, “We have sinned, for we have spoken against the LORD and against you; pray to the LORD that He take away the serpents from us.” So Moses prayed for the people. (8) Then the LORD said to Moses, “Make a fiery serpent, and set it on a pole; and it shall be that everyone who is bitten, when he looks at it, shall live.” (9) So Moses made a bronze serpent, and put it on a pole; and so it was, if a serpent had bitten anyone, when he looked at the bronze serpent, he lived.

This account of what happened to God’s children was a foreshadowing of what Jesus Christ did on the cross. (John 3:14) And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up; (15) that whosoever believeth may in him have eternal life. Jesus said that He was the fulfillment of the serpent on the pole and that whoever believed on Him shall be saved. We are to believe on Jesus for everything, including healing, and not man and the pagan roots of healing. It is Jesus who was hung on the tree and became that curse for us! Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: "Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree” (Gal 3:13).

Yet with this new understanding we must be careful not to judge anyone who is a doctor. I know many doctors who do what they do out of love and compassion. They just do not understand God’s way of healing verses the worlds. We also cannot judge those who do not know any better and are going to doctors for their healing. All of us have been to doctors and have been deceived by man's ways compared to God’s ways in the Bible. Very few of us really understand God’s ways verses the world’s ways as they are often times very blurred and intertwined. Your job as a believer is to believe the Word of God, and if you are doing something contrary to what it says then repent and change your mind and simply obey what the Word says. We cannot condemn others because they use doctors and medication because we have all used sorcery/medications at one time. We must simply show believers the truth of the Scriptures and let God work on their heart. Remember God’s way of healing is just for God’s true believers and not the whole world. Those who are His will listen while those who are not will disbelieve what we have learned about God’s method of healing.

Since this has been a long article, I think it is important to revisit an important story told to us in the Old Testament so that we can learn from it. (2 Chronicles 16:12) In the thirty-ninth year of his reign Asa was diseased in his feet, and his disease became severe. Yet even in his disease he did not seek the LORD, but sought help from physicians. (13) And Asa slept with his fathers, dying in the forty-first year of his reign. This was not a pagan King that didn’t know the Lord, - it was the King of Judah of whom the Bible says “Asa did what was good and right in the eyes of the LORD his God.” Yet this godly King, near the end of his life, stopped trusting in his Lord and Savior, and instead relied on another savior; man. The result was death. "Cursed is the one who trusts in man, who depends on flesh for his strength… What are God’s ways? His ways are not trusting in the strength of what man can do. God’s ways are to bless man for trusting in Him. "But blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in him” (Jer 17:7). Do you trust in the Lord? Do you have confidence in God and His written Word when He says you were healed at the cross? When God gives you instructions in His Word, on what to do when you are sick, do you trust Him? Remember this! “The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it” (Jeremiah 17:9)? To your fleshly mind and to the non-believer, not going to the doctor and just trusting the Lord in prayer sounds like foolishness, but the Word of God is Spirit and it is Life! “It is the spirit that giveth life; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I have spoken unto you are spirit, and are life (John 6:63).

We can think whatever we like…. we can have many opinions about how God heals in the present day, but our heart is deceitful and will lie to us! That is why we need to be grounded in Scripture and trust in the Lord! (Psalm 118:8) It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man. We were always to have trusted in God instead of the strength of man. (Isaiah 31:1) Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help, and rely on horses, who trust in chariots because they are many, and in horsemen because they are very strong, But who do not look to the Holy One of Israel, Nor seek the LORD! If you cannot find in Scripture where God now heals by the strength of man, that being the strength of doctors and the strength of medicine, then you must search the Bible on how you are supposed to be healed. What if, after you have searched the Bible, you find that it is exactly the opposite of everything you have believed your whole life? What would happen if everything you have understood about God’s healing is wrong? What do you do about this? You have the opportunity, right now to simply confess your mistake. You can confess your ignorance to what His Word says and repent, which simply means that you are now changing your mind or your way of thinking. You can simply believe in faith and trust your God.

Why is faith so hard to grasp? (Hebrews 11:1) Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. You must believe for something you cannot see. Can you see God? Can you see Jesus? Perhaps you cannot see God the Father, Jesus the Son, and the Holy Spirit physically but you can see them spiritually. Yet you believe in them and you believe you have eternal life in heaven even though you cannot see it. Though you cannot physically see them, you believe in God. Is healing any different? Can you see that you are already healed? Can you look in the mirror and see that Jesus has already healed you by faith and what His Word says? If not, then maybe that is why you are not healed. When you reach the same faith that you are healed (even though you cannot see it) with the same belief that you are eternally saved, (even though you cannot see it) then, and only then, do you really believe God and only then will you be healed by the Lord.

(1 Corinthians 1:27) but God chose the foolish things of the world, that he might put to shame them that are wise; and God chose the weak things of the world, that he might put to shame the things that are strong; (28) and the base things of the world, and the things that are despised, did God choose, yea and the things that are not, that he might bring to naught the things that are: (29) that no flesh should glory before God. Do we understand what this scripture means? Not only does God use the weak and what the world thinks of as foolish to accomplish His work, but God also uses the things that ARE NOT to bring about the things that are! That means God is making something from nothing! What is something that is nothing, or the thing you cannot see? The things that are not are the Word of God and your faith! What does God do away with that is? Your sickness, your disease, whatever your problem is, and God uses His Word and your faith to do away with that curse that He brought on you in the first place. God uses the things that are not (faith) to bring to nothing the things that are (your sickness) “that no flesh should glory before God”. God does not want to share the Glory with man! He heals by something that does not exist in the physical, but in the spiritual, - your faith. Faith is what God uses! He does not use the things that do exist, so if you still say that God works through medicine and doctors (things that do exist) then that directly contradicts Scripture.

Yes, I will agree that medications (the things that are) often times seem to help, but they do not go straight to the root problem and heal. These medications will relieve or mask the symptoms, only to spread the curse to other areas of your body. Have you ever read the side effects for some of these medications? Here are the most common side effects for depression medication: Nausea, Insomnia, Anxiety, Restlessness, Decreased sex drive, Dizziness, Weight gain or loss, Tremors, Sweating, Sleepiness, Fatigue, Dry mouth, Diarrhea, Constipation, Headaches and let’s not forget suicidal thoughts when you stop taking these antidepressants. You often times get relief in one area, while another symptom pops up in another area which requires even more medication which will eventually lead to more problems. It seems you rarely find a person on just one medication; as the years pass by more times than not they will be taking other medications to ease other areas of the curse. Please understand that for Christians who believe the word of God, it does not have to be this way. Scripture says if you are not deserving of the curse it will not stay. (Proverbs 26:2) Like a fluttering sparrow or a darting swallow, an undeserved curse does not come to rest. There is power in this promise from God. If you see a curse/sickness come upon you that is not deserved, then pray to God that it be taken away. He must obey His own word. If it still does not go away, then search your heart to see what you are doing that is not pleasing to the Lord so that you can change what God desires to change within you.

In all of the miracles that Jesus performed, did He use anything from the hand of man to make the healing come about, or did He just use people’s faith and the authority and power from God to heal? Just because Jesus is not physically with us, this does not mean He cannot still heal in the same way. (JOHN 14:12) I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it. Do we really believe this or is Jesus lying to us? Since we know that Jesus does not lie, can you have faith that a believer in Jesus can pray over you and that you will be healed? With this faith, you need never again have prescriptions or trips to the doctor. You can just place complete faith in your God!

(John 15:7) If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. These promises are true so why can we not see more evidence of this today? Is it that Jesus is just not giving us what we ask in prayer or is it us and our lack of belief in God’s promises? I think if you look closely you will find that it is our LACK OF FAITH and DOUBT every time!

(Hosea 4:6 ) My people are destroyed from lack of knowledge. We are destroyed because we do not know what the Word of God says! We Christians are sick, we are diseased, and we are in no better health than the rest of the world who do not even believe in Jesus! Why? Because we do not know what our blessings are. We have not been taught what the Word says therefore we do not have the faith and do not receive the promised benefits.

(Hebrews 4:2) For indeed we have had good tidings preached unto us, even as also they: but the word of hearing did not profit them, because it was not united by faith with them that heard. The Word of God and all these promises have absolute healing power but do you no good if you do not believe them. These promises in the Bible are just like blank checks. The benefit is there but if you never sign them and take them to the bank you will never receive the benefit. If we as believers do not take these promises of Jesus to the Heavenly Bank and Trust (IN FAITH) we will never receive our healing.

We are no different than God’s children who were saved out of Egypt, only to later die in the wilderness because they did not believe God. Those who did not believe God did not enter the Promised Land and instead died in the wilderness. Are you dying in the wilderness of sickness and disease because you don’t believe the Word?

If you do not believe God can and has already healed you; if you do not believe the Word of God, then you too will suffer and you will go to doctors the rest of your life. Once you start on medication you will likely be on medication the rest of your life. You will experience many side effects and complications from your pharmakeia / witchcraft and you will probably have to take more and more medication / pharmakeia. Eventually you will die in your sickness never entering into the promises of Jesus. You may even blame it on God because He did not heal you, even though it was you and your lack of trust and not God’s lack of faithfulness. By using another god (medications) you can never do away with the curse in which God has brought. You can move the curse around but it will come back in other areas. You must seek the author of your curse to get rid of it.

If you are not a professing Christian then you can disregard this article as God is only holding His people accountable to His Word. Those who are not His are not expected to follow His ways. If you are a professing believer please take this article to heart.

Remember, you cannot have two saviors. Jesus said, "No one can serve two masters." (Matthew 6:24) Either you will run to the world or doctors to save yourself or you will run to God for saving. You cannot have it both ways and expect it to be pleasing to God. Yet, He has been merciful to us in the past because we did not understand His ways. Now after reading this study, you now understand and are now held accountable to whether you will trust in God and His Word, or trust in man.

God bless,

Mark, a servant of the Lord, www.HeavensHelpers.org

DISCLAIMER – If you are currently doctoring or on medications and are just now becoming aware of God’s way of healing, I encourage you to make no rash decisions. The most dangerous thing you can do is to drop all your medications when you do not have that complete faith in the Lord. Once the Lord puts that faith in your heart to totally trust Him, then you must obey and know that God will take care of you. Until then, you must only do as your faith allows.

Questions/Feedback - email me: mark@heavenshelpers.org