"You Wouldn't Believe Me..If I Told You!"
Have you ever came across something, or someone told you about something and it was just to good to be true.
I think we can all attest to the fact that we have heard some tall tails in our day.
The bible is full of Great examples of stories, that could be classified by some as just great stories, that to much was and is promised by believing them.
I think most every Christian would say they believe the bible to be, the inspired word of God..revealed by the Holy Spirit, given to the men who penned the words we hold so dear!
Illus. a gallop pole stated the following
About one-third of the American adult population believes the Bible is the actual word of God and is to be taken literally word for word.
About one in five Americans believe the Bible is an ancient book of "fables, legends, history, and moral precepts recorded by man."
One's view of the authority of the Bible has been and remains a key focal point for many religions today.
Some denominations hold the belief in a literal Bible as a hallmark of their faith. The statement of "Faith and Mission" of the Southern Baptist Convention, for example, states that: " The Holy Bible was written by men divinely inspired and is God's revelation of Himself to man. It is a perfect treasure of divine instruction. It has God for its author, salvation for its end, and truth, without any mixture of error, for its matter. Therefore, all Scripture is totally true and trustworthy."
Now I'm not a Southern Baptist, but I am a believer!
And I really couldn't agree more with that statement.
We can and we should believe every word, every promise that God inspired to be written..is for us!
To believe it all..simple comes down to one thing, "Trust"
It's a TRUST issue..That's what it's all about..
"That's what it's always been about!"
"Trust" the One 5 letter word, that unlocks the floodgates of Heaven! Amen?
Whether it's concerning..
*Salvation,
*Healing,
*Tithing,
*Prosperity,
*Favor, or anything else..
God is more than capable of meeting and exceeding everything He has promised!
And Don't let the devil EVER steal that truth from you...because the Truth will not only set You FREE..it will keep you FREE as well!
The question is..Why can't we seem to TRUST Him enough to believe it..
Not just for someone else and their needs..but for ourselves?
That's why there are scriptures that say.."to him who has ears let him hear"
The Bible is an all inclusive book..which means God included everything in it we would ever need..
It is the Authoritative word of God and it's not to be picked apart and made to read the way we would like for it to read!
Strong words, aren't they?
And you know who's words they are?
There Gods words..
Gal. 1:8-9 NKJ
8 But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed. 9 As we have said before, so now I say again, if anyone preaches any other gospel to you than what you have received, let him be accursed.
The Lord through Paul, wanted to be clear on deviating from the Gospel.
That's why both 8 and 9 say the same thing!
I once had a guy work for me along time ago..and the topic of believing came up,
So I asked him are you a believer?
He said I think so..just a minute, and with that he called his dad and
Asked him what religion they were! Can you believe it?
Not only did he not know whether he was a believer..he didn't know what he believed if he was a believer..He didn't have a clue!
I say that not to make fun of him, because there are millions of people just like him.. but to bring awareness to the fact..
That we all need to search the scriptures for ourselves and have our own relationship with God, through His Son Jesus..
Now Let's look at the word today..
At the cross and the healing that came about as a result of it!
John 19:28-30 NKJ
28 After this, Jesus, knowing[e] that all things were now accomplished, that the Scripture might be fulfilled, said, “I thirst!” 29 Now a vessel full of sour wine was sitting there; and they filled a sponge with sour wine, put it on hyssop, and put it to His mouth. 30 So when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, “It is finished!” And bowing His head, He gave up His spirit.
There was no more to be accomplished, there was never going to be any do overs, perfection had seen fruition, it was finished.
What had just been accomplished, would never fall short, it would always be more than enough, to achieve what it had been sent to do, no matter what was required of it, for all of eternity!
Amen? Amen??
When Jesus died on the cross, it accomplished many things for us as believers, it amazingly opened the door to salvation, which is Gods all inclusive benefit, for all of eternity for us,
When we accepted Jesus as our Lord and Savior, we became entitled to every benefit, His finished worked on the Cross brought with it!
He forgave all our sins, past, present and future, plus promised to never remember them again.
Grace, Favor, Healing, Health, Prosperity and every other Blessing God had been longing to give to us from the beginning, were all provided for as well, at the cross.
Absolutely everything that we have need of, Jesus provided for us at the cross, when He paid a debt He did not owe.
What I want to talk about this morning is, the Healing Power that came about and is available, because of the cross!
Yes, when Jesus died He took away our sins, but He also took our sickness and disease as well.
In Isaiah 53:4 NKJ we are told
Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.
Science tells us medically speaking, that there are 39 root causes for every sickness and disease in the world.
To some, that would be useless information...if you werent a Christian, this information would probably not matter much to you.
But if you are child of the King, its interesting that this article should report 39 root causes for all sickness.
Two thousand years ago in the Roman empire, it was customary to whip criminals with an instrument called a " Cat of 9 tails".
The Cat of 9 tails had stone, bone and broken glass and anything else they thought might induce pain, imbedded into the strips of leather used to beat a criminal.
When a person was beaten with this whip, it would rip the flesh right off of a persons body, the beating alone was often enough to kill the criminal, it was pure torture.
The customary number of stripes given with this whip was 40 minus one, or 39.
The Roman soldiers considered it an act of mercy to deduct one stripe from the prisoner.
The interesting thing about this is that there are 39 root causes for every disease on planet earth.
It was no coincidence, that Jesus was beaten with this whip 39 times and what it means.
TBS. in Isaiah 53:5 NKJ
5. But He was wounded for our transgressions,
He was bruised for our iniquities;
The chastisement for our peace was upon Him,
And by His stripes we are healed.
1 Peter 2:24 NKJ resonates the same message, in the new testament.
Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.
When Jesus died two thousand years ago He took Our sicknesses, Our diseases and Our sins, every last one of them.
And for every stripe Jesus took, He also took the root cause for every physical or mental sickness that you would ever encounter.
Notice it says we were healed. It is finished!
At that very moment it was done! Praise God!
You cant get anymore healed, then you already were healed at the cross!
The check is not in the mail, its already been delivered and deposited and credited to our account. Praise God!!
Just so we have a better understanding, concerning this thought of Jesus bearing our sickness and disease
lets look at what TBS. in Matthew 8:16-17 NKJ,
16. When evening had come, they brought to Him many who were demon-possessed. And He cast out the spirits with a word, and healed all who were sick, 17. that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying:
He Himself took our infirmities
And bore our sicknesses.
Notice that in the verses we just read Jesus didnt bear His sins,
He didn't have any, He never knew sin, He bore ours!
He didnt have any infirmities either!
Jesus, took our infirmities and bore our sicknesses.
Many people are willing to believe that Jesus took their sins but not their sicknesses
Does the bible say that somewhere..did I miss that verse..why would anyone think that could be the case?
Let me see?....Forgive a lifetime of sins, transport you at death to another undisclosed location, sustain, keep and suspend you there, give you a new body on the way there, one that doesn't get sad anymore or ever experience pain again, one that can supernaturally go to and fro, and be able to pass through mass and matter and do all this forever.....or heal your sickness?....which do you think would be harder and require more effort, salvation or healing?
Is one harder to do than the other, for Jesus? Like hes only capable of doing one thing at a time or something.
That my friend, is in total disagreement with the written word of God. And that belief diminishes what the word clearly says was accomplished and paid for already at the cross!
TBS. All things were accomplished, the moment Jesus said "It was Finished!"
Nowhere in the Word, does it say that Jesus denied anyone, their Healing when they came to Him and asked!
There were occasions, when He asked doubt and unbelief to leave the room,
But never the one who was looking to be Healed!
I'll tell you something else..there were times people who needed a healing, were in His presence and went away without a healing.
You can witness a healing..but until you ask, until you want it for yourself and you have the faith and trust to receive it..it won't happen!
The woman with the issue of blood..she needed a healing for 12 years, but until she reached out in faith and trusted that Jesus could deliver what she needed..
It didn't happen!
When someone doesnt believe, that God is still in the Healing Business Today,
it diminishes what Jesus did that day on the cross, like He didnt do enough or something.
He was scourged, beaten beyond recognition and then crucified with the weight of the worlds sin....that's all of man kinds sin...past, present and future,
Statistics tell us, 106 Billion people have walked this earth since creation...that's 106 Billion lifetimes of sin, He paid for on the cross!!
Is there any doubt, as to whether Jesus selfless act on the cross, was enough?
Now that sounds like a big number doesn't it..truth is He died for an infinite lifetimes of sin, no number man could ever count! Amen?
Jesus bore all the sin, sickness and disease you have ever had, or will ever have, period!
Well...what about the ones that haven't been discovered yet...you know they say, decease is becoming more resilient, to medication
All means all.... He took them all away at the cross! Praise God!! (repeat)
If Jesus Died for my Healing, then Why do people still get sick?
It seems like lots of people question the benefit of healing in the finished work of Jesus, because there are so many sick people in the world.
Are there lost people in the world? Does this mean that Jesus didnt provide something for them, in the work of the cross?
And you say, of course He did, everybody knows John 3:16 NKJ
16. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
The key thing, to activating both of these truths, salvation and healing in your life, is faith!
You have to believe! You have to trust!
The same way, you believed that Jesus could forgive your sin, is the same way He can heal you!
By faith, you believed and confessed it with your mouth, that it was true.
Your miracle is already and has always been in your mouth!!
Romans 10:8-13 NKJ
8. But what does it say? The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart(that is, the word of faith which we preach)
9. that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.
10. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
11. For the Scripture says, Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame. 12. For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him.
13. For whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved.
It's a promise from God, salvation...a new relationship...it's a covenant we enter into with God and Jesus is our guarantor!
Hebrews 7:20-25 MSG
20-22 "The old priesthood of Aaron perpetuated itself automatically, father to son, without explicit confirmation by God. But then God intervened and called this new, permanent priesthood into being with an added promise:
God gave his word;
he won’t take it back:
“He is the permanent priest.”
This makes Jesus the guarantee of a far better way between us and God—one that really works! A new covenant.
23-25 Earlier there were a lot of priests, for they died and had to be replaced. But Jesus’ priesthood is permanent. He’s there from now to eternity to save everyone who comes to God through him, always on the job to speak up for them."
Jesus is making intercession for you...that means your on His prayer list...and if your going to be on a prayer list....His is one that I would definitely want to be on...wouldn't you?
You see, this morning, I'm giving you a lot of the word...and this why....because Trust and faith begins in the heart....after you have heard the Word of God on the subject.
The natural response after you believe something is to talk about it and speak it out of your mouth.
I believed, so therefore I Spoke!
Start speaking it out Church, you have nothing to lose, only everything to gain!!
AMEN? Well???....."Somebody ought to stand up and shout Hallelujah Thank You Jesus"....before the rocks cry out and do it for you!!!
Its interesting to note that the word saved in Romans 10:9 in the original Hebrew, is sozo and it means;
deliverance; hence, aid, victory, prosperity:--deliverance, health, helping, salvation, save, saving (health), welfare.
I tell you, when God made the way unto Him, salvation through His Son Jesus, He did it right didn't He?
That's the reason Jesus was and is..able to make such a bold declaration...all things, covered all things...past, present and future...
And when He said it was finished...He meant it was done...Forevermore!!
With such a promise and a iron clad guarantee, you would think no one would ever have the audacity to question the Cross, would you?
But they do, for whatever reason, they do.
Have you ever heard people question healing using the reason,
"If healing is for today, then why are there so many good people in the world, that are sick?"
Heres something to think about, why are there so many good and moral people in the world, that dont have a Trusting relationship with God?
Because they dont know and truly believe the good news of what Jesus has done for them!
God can't work in your life if you don't ask Him to and give Him control, believe in Him and allow Him to!
This is the reason Paul the apostle said in 2 Cor 5:7 NKJ
7. For we walk by faith, not by sight
Life is a walk of faith, you know , you trust things are going to work,
like your car brakes, like the light switch on the wall, like the furnace on a cold winters night.
The Christian life, is definitely a walk of faith, because even when we dont see or feel something, we believe that it is.
Heb. 11:1-3 NKJ
1. Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
2. For by it the elders obtained a good testimony.
3. By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible.
With faith, its important that we dont trust our feelings, our circumstances or any other thing that disagrees with what God has said in His Word.
Let me ask you, do you believe the Bible to be true?
Then why not, take God at His word and Trust Him and believe it?, not just part of it.... But, All of it!!
John 1:1 NKJ
1. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God
Luke 11:28 NKJ
28.But he said, Yea rather, blessed are they that hear the word of God, and keep it.
Gods Word, is like an iron clad guarantee you would have to pay extra for, if you bought something new,
Believe me, everybody is looking for a lifetime guarantee or warrantee, when they buy something new!
There is a big difference though, when it comes to Gods Plan....you dont have to pay for it,
Jesus already paid the price with His life and signed His name in red on the dotted line...as the Guarantor!
Praise God, thank you Jesus, now and forevermore!!!
And one more thing, unlike a man-made warranty thats only good for a certain amount of time and then runs out, Jesus is our extended warrantee now and forevermore!
Gods Word on the subject, is good through-out all eternity, PRAISE THE LORD.
Just makes you want to shout, Hallelujah!
If it doesn't, It Should!!
God says that He has healed you, dont you think, He thought about what He is promising, before He made it available to whomever.
He stands ready to deliver the goods and make every promise He has ever made, Good!!!
Thats right to whomever, Hes not a respecter of persons, its available to whomever has faith and believes.
Some say, I have faith, but do I have enough faith?
Mark 9:23-24 NKJ
23 Jesus said to him, If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes.
24 Immediately the father of the child cried out and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!
Even though, he had unbelief, he still believed....
Even though he didn't think he had enough...he still had some
How much faith does it take? Well what does Gods word say about it?
Luke 17:5-6 MSG.
5.The apostles came up and said to the Master, "Give us more faith."
6.But the Master said, "You don’t need more faith. There is no ’more’ or ’less’ in faith. If you have a bare kernel of faith, say the size of a poppy seed, you could say to this sycamore tree, ’Go jump in the lake,’ and it would do it.
Right there church..did you catch it?
He gave us the green light to write our own ticket for Victory
"To him who has ears..let him hear!"
We already have enough faith, because He has already given it to us
TBS. He has allotted, or given everyone a measure of faith...well how much is a measure?
More than enough to get the job done...that's how much it is!...more than enough to get the job done! Praise God!
The key is, you have to use the amount you have and trust God! Period!!
How much faith did you have, the last time you were trusting God and He came through for you? Was it enough?
We use faith every day. Every time you flip the light switch on in your house you believe in something you cant see!
Have you ever seen the electricity that goes through the wires and makes a light bulb burn? No!
Why do you believe that when you flip the switch something will happen? There are 2 reasons you believe.
1. Someone told you it would and then showed you it to be true
2. Youve tried it yourself and found out that it works
Church, God still Heals today, nowhere in the word, does it say that what Jesus did on the cross was only good for a certain amount of time.
What it says is: You were healed and you are healed! Amen??
Just like forgiveness of your sins, its a lifetime benefit, Praise the Lord, Great God Almighty!!!
If you are sick in your body today, dont try and get healed.
Jesus has already healed you, Jesus can do nothing more, He has already done all He can do.
Your job is to believe it and receive it!....He stands ready to deliver you today, Your miracle is up to you,
It's already in your mouth, Ready for you to Speak it out and Proclaim it.....Ready for you to redeem it
In His love for you, He has done it all for you and now if you need a Healing today,
Then reach out and accept the healing that Jesus provided for you at the cross,
Believe it, receive it and thank Him for it.
Let’s pray.
