A MUST READ FOR THOSE NEEDING HEALING!

A MUST READ FOR THOSE NEEDING HEALING!

(From our forth coming newest book: How you can be Healed!)

Never Exalt Afflictions!

The third step in your healing is that you must never, never, never, ever exalt the devil, your problems, the negative circumstances, the symptoms in your body, or your bad situation. What do I mean by this statement? I hear many Christians exalting their problems, and yet I have personally known believers that had major problems, but never talked about them, never made a big deal out of them, never even told people what they were going through.

When Smith Wigglesworth (who was an amazing man of Faith) had a real serious financial situation, he went to pray for a wealthy man. When he prayed for this wealthy man, the man was gloriously healed, and delivered right then and there! The wealthy man told Smith Wigglesworth that he wanted to bless him, asking if there was anything he could do to help him? He told the wealthy man: No brother, but thanked him any ways for the offer. Smith was literally looking to God to take care of a desperate financial need. By the way God did do an amazing miracle to meet this financial need.

On another occasion Smith Wigglesworth ended up with a terrible affliction of gallstones. When he was informed by a specialist that the only way of deliverance from these gallstones was by an operation, Smith Wigglesworth responded with: "God Shall Operate".

His son-in-law, James Salter, said that during the whole three years of this trial, Smith never stopped preaching, never complained, or told anyone. Even though Smith Wigglesworth was in great pain, and bled a great deal, he continued to minister to the sick, even with blood running down his legs, filling his socks and shoes, as he laid hands on the sick. He did end up spend many days in bed in great pain, but would get up in order to make it to the meetings where he was to minister. This test supposedly went on day, after another day, after another day, and night, after night.

It is reported that the meetings he conducted during this time were powerful, with many attesting to the wonderful miracles of God's healing power. When deliverance finally manifested in Smith Wigglesworth body, which was almost instantaneous, with all of the gallstones, 20 or more coming out. Smith Wigglesworth was made completely and perfectly whole. Smith put those stones in a small tin can, and on occasions he would show the stones to different people, as he told them of Gods faithfulness. Some of these stones were quite large: and others were jagged and needle shaped. All of the stones were capable of not only causing tremendous pain, but of penetrating his innards in such a way that it caused constant hemorrhaging. Smith was a man who understood what it meant to have faith that worked by patients. He had an unshakable faith that caused him to agree with God, and to disagree with the circumstances no matter the pain, or problem.

Whenever we exalt the sickness, the afflictions or the problems of our lives, we are operating in a spirit of unbelief. I am not saying that we cannot share privately with people of faith what we are going through in order that they can agree, and believe with us. In over 40 years of walking with Christ, personally I have shared very little with people what I was being confronted with. I knew that most people were not truly going to be believing with me, but would simply tell others what I was going through. I would like to share with you a number of powerful examples that reviews this to us in the four Gospels, in the ministry of Jesus. The first one we need to look at is with the father who had a demon possessed son.

Mark 9:17 And one of the multitude answered and said, Master, I have brought unto thee my son, which hath a dumb spirit; 18 And wheresoever he taketh him, he teareth him: and he foameth, and gnasheth with his teeth, and pineth away: and I spake to thy disciples that they should cast him out; and they could not.

19 He answereth him, and saith, O faithless generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer you? bring him unto me. 20 And they brought him unto him: and when he saw him, straightway the spirit tare him; and he fell on the ground, and wallowed foaming. 21 And he asked his father, How long is it ago since this came unto him?

And he said, Of a child. 22 And ofttimes it hath cast him into the fire, and into the waters, to destroy him: but if thou canst do any thing, have compassion on us, and help us. 23 Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth. 24 And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief. 25 When Jesus saw that the people came running together, he rebuked the foul spirit, saying unto him, Thou dumb and deaf spirit, I charge thee, come out of him, and enter no more into him. 26 And the spirit cried, and rent him sore, and came out of him: and he was as one dead; insomuch that many said, He is dead. 27 But Jesus took him by the hand, and lifted him up; and he arose.

In this particular incident I want you to notice how the father was more than willing to brag about the afflictions that were upon his son. In every situation Jesus never asked people what was wrong with them, but would ask them what it was that they wanted. In most of these situations it was obvious what the people needed, but he would ask them what it was they wanted. In Mark 11: 24 Jesus said: whatsoever things you desire, when you pray, believe that you receive, and you shall have. Jesus was always directing the needy to ask for what they needed, and not to meditate upon the problem. On many occasions when Jesus was surrounded by people who were boasting on the devil, he would direct the needy away from them. We have the one illustration of this when the couple’s daughter died! Let’s take a moment to look at this particular Scripture.

Matthew 9:18 While he spake these things unto them, behold, there came a certain ruler, and worshipped him, saying, My daughter is even now dead: but come and lay thy hand upon her, and she shall live.19 And Jesus arose, and followed him, and so did his disciples.......

23 And when Jesus came into the ruler's house, and saw the minstrels and the people making a noise,24 He said unto them, Give place: for the maid is not dead, but sleepeth. And they laughed him to scorn.25 But when the people were put forth, he went in, and took her by the hand, and the maid arose.

Understand that none of us have arrived, and none of us are walking in 100% faith all the time. Sometimes I get out of the will of God, I panic, I look at the circumstances, I look at the problem, so as I share these truths with you, I am not claiming that I have arrived. I am coming from the place in which I have had many experience, many wonderful results by simply following the principles (not a formula) of the word of God. We must never boast, never brag, never exalt the devil, never ever exalt the circumstance that is contrary to the word of God. I can give you a lot of examples found in the bible when men and women contradicted Gods word, and exalted the problem, and it never ended well for them.

In Numbers 13 we discover a powerful illustration of this when the spies went into the land of promise that God had proclaimed flowed with milk and honey. When the 12 spies returned the acknowledged that what God said was true.

Numbers 13:27 And they told him, and said, We came unto the land whither thou sentest us, and surely it floweth with milk and honey; and this is the fruit of it.

Now, it is wonderful that they acknowledged that what God said is true, yet in their next words they demean the promise, basically calling God a liar and his promise that he would protect and provide, and exalt the enemies.

Numbers 13:28 Nevertheless the people be strong that dwell in the land, and the cities are walled, and very great: and moreover we saw the children of Anak there.29 The Amalekites dwell in the land of the south: and the Hittites, and the Jebusites, and the Amorites, dwell in the mountains: and the Canaanites dwell by the sea, and by the coast of Jordan.

This information that they began to spew forth was nothing new. God had already informed them about the enemy, with all of their tribal names, and yet at the same time he told them that they would be bread for them to eat. Joshua and Caleb spoke up in the mist of their declaration, and declared that God was more than able if they would simply look to him, they would be able to overcome. If you read the context of this whole story sadly you will discover they rose up against these two men of faith, against God, against Moses in a violent manner. They said that they would rather have stayed in Egypt, or die in the wilderness then go back into the land of promise to overcome the enemy. God granted their wish by allowing the first generation out of Egypt to die in the desert.

I run into believers all the time, Christians, not sinners that have made devils and demons, the problems they're dealing with, sicknesses, and the diseases in their bodies, and in their minds, and in their hearts bigger than God. Now how can it be that the God that upholds all things with the power of his word is not able to overcome the problems of your life? From Genesis all the way to the end of the book of Revelation reveals himself as more than enough for every situation. Every trial, every affliction, every test simply reveals how big you have made God in your life. The question we all need to ask ourselves is: How Big Is Our God? It reminds me of the biblical story of David and Goliath. The Israel Army was confronted by the Philistines, who had a champion by the name of Goliath. Goliath had for 40 days challenged anybody to face him, but there were none in Israel’s army that had enough faith in God to face him.

1 Samuel 17:4 And there went out a champion out of the camp of the Philistines, named Goliath, of Gath, whose height was six cubits and a span......10 And the Philistine said, I defy the armies of Israel this day; give me a man, that we may fight together.11 When Saul and all Israel heard those words of the Philistine, they were dismayed, and greatly afraid........16 And the Philistine drew near morning and evening, and presented himself forty days........

Here comes along a Shepherd boy by the name of David that says: who is this uncircumcised Philistine that should defy the armies of the living God? Now you have a whole army of men exalting their enemy, Goliath by name, and you have one young shepherd boy by the name of David saying that this man is nothing compared to my God. It might have sounded like David was just full of pride, but in reality it was faith speaking because not only did he declare that Goliath was nobody, and nothing, but that he himself would be willing to face this man. I have met many believers who talk a big talk, but have little corresponding action.

Faith when it is in operation will never exalt, brag, or magnify that which is against the will of God. I hear believers all the time exalting their problems, their sicknesses, their afflictions, and their symptoms. When you are truly operating in faith you will only, and always exalt God and his word. This is a tremendous way that I have discovered to find out if I’m truly operating in faith. My mouth gives me a way all the time, it reveals to myself where I am at. There is a tremendous Scripture given to us in the book of James pertaining to this reality.

James 1:22 But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.23 For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass:24 For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was.25 But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.

I could give you many examples of this in my own personal life, and the lives of others I have known. I remember one time we had a lady in our church, her, and her husband were quite wealth, and influential in our community. She had been having some problems in her hands, so she went to the doctors to find out what was wrong. She came back from the doctors, and she was crying, and weeping, and she was all upset. I asked her what was wrong? She told me that the doctor said I might have: and she named a disease. She then informed me the doctor also said that it could it possibly be another such and such disease. By the time he was done talking to her, he had mentioned five different afflictions, or diseases it could possibly be.

This Dr. had successfully filled this godly woman, this believer with fear and unbelief. The enemy loves to turn a molehill into a mountain, which we ignorantly and innocently begin to confess over our lives. Now even if it is truly a mountain God tells us that we can speak to the mountain, and cast it into the sea. Never allow the devil to get you to exalt the sickness, disease, or afflictions in your body. For over 40 years I have purposely strive to never exalt the problem I’m experiencing, even if I’m not operating in faith. There is a Scripture in Ephesians that encourages us never to speak that which is contrary to God’s word.

Ephesians 4:29 Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers.

There is another set of scriptures discovered in Philippians 4 that also encourages us along the same line.
Philippians 4:8 Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.

We are living in a time when many believer’s faith is so weak that they spend all of their time exalting their problems, exalting afflictions, exalting the infirmities in their body. The purpose of writing this book is not to demean people, but to help them come to the place of strong faith in Christ Jesus to where they can be healed and made whole without even having people to pray for them. We need to realize that the devil loves it when we are speaking depth over ourselves because are negative words will draw demonic powers right to us. I remember as a young boy sitting around a campfire late at night, and somebody would be sharing a terrible, and dreadful frightening story. In every one of these situations my heart began to be filled with great fear and dread, because on be known to us that as we were exalting demonic activities, it brought to us demonic powers. The opposite is also true when we begin to exalt Christ, God, and his word. As we begin to exalt the truth, the truth will draw God’s divine presence to us, his power, and angelic beings, because Angels hearken to the voice of Gods word!

Psalm 103:20 Bless the Lord, ye his angels, that excel in strength, that do his commandments, hearkening unto the voice of his word.

Psalm 81:13 Oh that my people had hearkened unto me, and Israel had walked in my ways!14 I should soon have subdued their enemies, and turned my hand against their adversaries.

James 4:8 Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.

Now please take heed to this spiritual truth, and whether you accept it, or not, this is absolute truth. In this world flowers will drawl to themselves honeybees, even as manure always draws flies. The word of God spoken out of your mouth, from your heart will always bring God’s angels, God’s presence, and God’s power! Jesus said to the devil: “It Is Written” three times, in which immediately angelic beings appeared to minister to him.

Matthew 4:11 Then the devil leaveth him, and, behold, angels came and ministered unto him.

Angel appeared and strengthened him when he was in a garden of Gethsemane praying that the heavenly Father’s will would be accomplished in his life, instead of his own.

Luke 22:43 And there appeared an angel unto him from heaven, strengthening him.

Even as angelic beings hearken to the voice of God as you speak the word, so do demons respond when you exalt the devil, you exalt sickness, you exalt diseases. People hear the word cancer, and it fills their heart with absolute fear. The Scriptures boldly declare that fear has torment, and that it is not of God. God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and a sound mind. On three different occasions I had the symptoms of cancer in my body. There were times when I had extremely painful tumors. On another occasion I had what appeared to be prostate cancer. One of my longest battles was when all indications declared that I had colon cancer. Let me share that experience, hoping it will give you spiritual insight and how we fight this battle against allies of the devil.

I Overcame Colon Cancer without doctors!

I began to experience some very disturbing symptoms in my body. I will not go into all the details but there were approximately nine different physical symptoms. One of the symptoms was almost every time when I had a bowel movement, it looked as if all my innards were coming out. During this 3-month period of time, I was so sick sometimes that I thought that I was going to die at any moment. My normal course of action is that the minute my body begins to manifest any kind of sickness or disease; I immediately command it to go in the Name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth!

Even though I was boldly speaking Gods Word these symptoms simply refuse to leave. I made a list of everything that was happening in my body, and then I looked these symptoms up on the internet. Every one of them pointed to colon cancer. I had gone through a similar fight of faith a number of years previously, with what seemed to be prostate cancer. Once again, I took hold of the Word of God. I boldly declared to the devil, myself and the spiritual world that I would live and not die. I cried out to Jesus for His mercy, and His grace in the midst of this fight of faith. This fight was almost overwhelming and excruciating at times!

For these three months I continued with this fight. I spoke to the symptoms commanding them to go. I kept praising, thanking and worshiping God that I was healed; no ifs, ands or buts. I declared boldly that the devil is a liar. For three months every day, all day at times, declaring what God said about me. I did not invite anybody else to stand with me in this fight of faith. Most people, if they would have known what I was going through, would have pronounced me dead, and gone. Believe it or not there are actually people who call themselves Christians who would've rejoiced in my death. Yes, they would've been telling people to pray, but there would have been more negative comments than the reality of God’s Word. By His stripes we were healed! If I were healed, then I was healed, if I was healed than I am healed, and if I am healed, then I is healed!

For three long months I stood and fought by faith. Many nights and days walking the floor of our church sanctuary praising God that I was healed, resisting the spirit of fear. One day I woke up, and low and behold all of the symptoms had disappeared, praise God, and they have never come back. Thank you Jesus!!!