Breakthrough Healing

50 Keys to Experiencing God’s Supernatural Power in Your Life

Larry Sparks

© Copyright 2014– Larry Sparks

All rights reserved. This book is protected by the copyright laws of the United States of America. This book may not be copied or reprinted for commercial gain or profit. The use of short quotations or occasional page copying for personal or group study is permitted and encouraged. Permission will be granted upon request. Unless otherwise identified, Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Used by permission of Destiny Image Publishers, Shippensburg, PA 17257. All rights reserved. All emphasis within Scripture quotations is the author’s own. Please note that Destiny Image’s publishing style capitalizes certain pronouns in Scripture that refer to the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and may differ from some publishers’ styles.

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DEDICATION

I dedicate Breakthrough Healing to those who have fearlessly blazed the trail for the level of supernatural presence and power that my generation is currently stepping into. By sharing God’s mighty works with us, you have positioned us to be the generation that experiences His glory (Psalm 90:16). You unceasingly inspire me with your humility and hunger for more of God.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

To my beautiful and brilliant wife, Mercedes—any message I get to steward is because the Holy Spirit brought you into my life and has used you to call the destiny out of me. I am eternally grateful for your love, your support, and your prophetic voice. There will be a place reserved for you at the top of every acknowledgment list in everything I write. With all of my love…

To my precious daughter, Liberty—when you are old enough to read this, know that these words are written with you in mind. May everything we experience of God’s supernatural power be exceeded in your life as you behold Him like we have only dreamed of.

To my parents, Larry and Sheila—whether you knew it or not, you were positioning me to step into my calling at a very young age when you enrolled me in Holy Spirit School in Stamford, Connecticut.

To my pastors, Ben and Melissa—you two personify a ministry of integrity and power. So thankful for your inspiration, encouragement, and support.

To my dear friends of like-precious faith, Andrew Cardy and Kyle Winkler. When I think of people who summon me to live out the lifestyle I write about, your names instantly come to mind.

To Ronda Ranalli and Nathan Martin—thank you for believing in me and championing this message. Honored beyond words to be part of the Destiny Image family.

To Mykela Krieg and Joe Jestus—literally, you two made this project possible! You helped me stay organized, stick to deadlines, and present the best manuscript possible.

And finally, to my mentor and father in the faith (from afar), Pastor Bill Johnson—it’s because of your example, your humility, and your hunger for God that I am stirred to look beyond the miracles and actually know the God of Miracles. What you have cultivated at Bethel Church shines a light throughout the nations, showing us that the normal supernatural life is possible, available, and no respecter of persons or places. You have demonstrated that revival is more than an event—it’s a sustainable lifestyle.

Let Your work appear to Your servants, and Your glory to their children. Psalm 90:16

Contents

Introduction

Part One: Building a Foundation

1 Healing Is about Jesus

2 Building on God’s Unchanging Nature

3 Jesus Unveils God’s Nature

Part Two: The Goodness of God

4 Jesus is the Author of Abundant Life

5 Through the Eyes of a Father

6 God’s Goodness Contrasted with Ours

Part Three: Did God Create Sickness?

7 Sickness’s Origin and God’s Nature

8 The Father of Lights

9 Restoring Original Intent

10 Our Bridge Back to Eden

Part Four: Jesus Our Model

11 What’s God’s Will? Look at Jesus

12 Stranded on an Island with the Word

13 Imitators of Jesus, not Job

14 The Spirit of Jesus, not Job

Part Five: Breaking Generational Curses

15 It Runs in My Family

16 The Origin of a Curse

17 Breaking the Curse

Part Six: Moving on to the Mechanics

18 Moving Past the Messes and Misuses

19 Why Is Healing Important?

20 Healing Exalts Jesus’ Name

Part Seven: Hope—Faith Fuel

21 There Is No Faith Without Hope

22 Hope Introduces Possibility

23 God’s Willingness Produces Hope

24 Remembering God’s Benefits Produces Hope

Part Eight: Faith that Perseveres and Breaks Through

25 Faith that Is Born of God

26 Faith that Is Settled

27 Faith that Demands Breakthrough

28 Faith that Is Relentless

29 Faith that Perseveres Past Disappointment

30 Faith that Pushes Past Roadblocks

31 Faith that Busts Through the Ceiling

32 Crazy Faith Friends

33 Faith that Responds to the Invisible

34 Faith that Can Be Seen

35 Faith that Kicks Doubt Out, Part 1

36 Faith that Kicks Doubt Out, Part 2

Part Nine: Releasing Faith through Decree

37 The Miracle-Working Word of Jesus Is on Your Lips

38 Speaking the Words of Heaven

39 The Word Is Working

Part Ten: Healing and the Glory of God

40 Healing Reveals God’s Glory

41 Healing Manifests in God’s Glory

42 Creative Power in God’s Glory

43 A Generation Destined for Glory

Part Eleven: On Earth as it Is in Heaven

44 Your Testimony Sets Up the Miraculous

45 An Identity Change: Who You’re Not!

46 An Identity Change: Who You Are!

47 The Gift of Healings

48 Signs and Wonders versus Health and Wealth

49 Carriers of the Everlasting Kingdom

50 On Earth as it Is in Heaven

INTRODUCTION

God’s will is healing because He is Healer.

More than just getting our sicknesses fixed (which God is definitely in favor of) and going back to living normal life, supernatural healing is a step beyond simply getting people functional again. Healing goes hand in hand with preaching the Gospel, demonstrating the supremacy of Jesus Christ, and revealing the very nature of our Father in heaven.

In this book, you will examine divine healing from a fresh perspective. We undeniably celebrate healing as a wonderful gift from God, but I want us to be hungry to experience the presence of the Healer, know the nature of the Healer, and steward our healing by giving this power away to others in need.

The work that Jesus did on the Cross broke the power of sin and everything that sin infected. Sickness is such a condition. So many mistakenly blame God for sickness when in fact, disease is the result of humankind choosing sin in the Garden. Jesus, as the eternal Son of God, paid for our sin and sickness by dying on the Cross; and as the anointed Son of Man, He gave believers throughout the ages a model of what the normal Christian life should be—one of victory over sickness and disease. Jesus set the example as He “went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil” (Acts 10:38).

Since Jesus and the apostles walked the earth, the supernatural emphasis of the Gospel has been progressively downplayed over the centuries. Contrary to some opinions, there has never been a sovereign withdrawal of supernatural power from the planet. It has always been functioning, even if only on the fringes of Christian culture.[1]

What killed the ministry of healing from being universally embraced was corruption in the church and abuse of the supernatural. Result? Rather than separate truth from error, good-intentioned people threw everything out and denounced the supernatural as unnecessary at best, and demonic at worst. The same trend continues today, unfortunately. It is time to rise up and be voices of reformation in a generation that desperately needs an encounter with the reality of God’s presence and power.

The pages ahead are purposed to take you through fifty powerful keys found throughout the Scriptures. These truths will equip you with tools to experience a new dimension of intimacy and closeness with God. As you discover who He is, only then will you become well-acquainted with what He does. God’s supernatural healing power will transform your life—and position you to release healing to others.

These fifty keys are very intentionally laid out. We begin by establishing a foundation in the very character and nature of God, examining His original intent for created order (in the Garden of Eden); we go step by step through the process of faith (how we first need hope, releasing our faith, declaring God’s Word in faith, etc.), and then conclude with some powerful truths on healing in God’s presence, the power of testimony, and how the Lord’s Prayer sums it all up!

1. For additional resources on the history of God’s supernatural power throughout church history, check out Eddie L. Hyatt’s book 2000 Years of Charismatic Christianity (Lake Mary, FL: Charisma, 2002) and Francis MacNutt’s The Nearly Perfect Crime (Ada, MI: Chosen, 2005).

Part One

Building a Foundation

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For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 3:11).

1

HEALING IS ABOUT JESUS

Jesus answered them, “Many good works I have shown you from My Father…” (John 10:32).

We begin by focusing on some essential Scriptural building blocks, rooting and grounding us in the character and nature of God. Every good work Jesus performed—healing, in particular—reveals the will and nature of the Father.

From the outset, I want to be wholly transparent with you. There are so many people out there emphasizing the subject of healing as a means to get what we want from God, versus the few voices out there, crying in the wilderness, declaring healing as a means to an end—revealing the heart and personality of Father God.

When it becomes less about us getting something from God, and all about the Father receiving glory for unveiling who He is through healing, we position ourselves to receive from His bounty. Healing was a good work Jesus performed. According to the Gospel of John, the good works Jesus did all came from the Father.

I do not want us to be like the many out there who are trying and striving and working in their own strength, endeavoring to mimic the popular “healing gimmicks,” when in fact, they are completely neglecting the Foundation and Cornerstone—Jesus. I reiterate, dear friend, healing is not so much about us and our receiving something from God as it is about Jesus receiving what He paid for at the Cross, and Father God being glorified as His will is accomplished through the exaltation of His Son’s name, authority, and power. When Jesus is the Foundation, we cannot miss it.

2

BUILDING ON GOD’S UNCHANGING NATURE

For I am the LORD, I do not change (Malachi 3:6).

Foundations are everything. We can build and build—everything from bricks and mortar buildings to ideologies and theologies—but if we are building on an unstable foundation, it is inevitable that what we build will come crashing down. The key to building on stable ground is establishing our foundation on the unchanging. If something is prone to shift, move, and change, it is not sure and steady ground. The glorious truth is everything that both Scripture and the model of Jesus reveal about God’s nature is unchanging, ageless, and stable. We can build upon Him with confidence and this is where we must begin the healing process.

This is the reason many never even begin the healing journey, let alone persevere until they experience God’s promises coming to fruition in their lives. To receive and release supernatural healing, I can tell you this much: Foundation is everything, and the foundation we need to build upon is God’s good nature.

There are many formulas, principles, and methods circulating in the church about how to receive your healing, how to keep your healing, how to maintain a positive healing confession, how to release healing, etc. Sadly, many of these formulas give the biblical truth of healing a bad name because the principles become divorced from the Person of Jesus Christ; and there are many people out there pursuing a promise while neglecting the Promiser. The understanding of goodness that defines God’s very nature is absolutely essential if we want to experience healing this side of eternity.

3

JESUS UNVEILS GOD’S NATURE

We look at this Son and see the God who cannot be seen… (Colossians 1:15 The Message).

It is nearly impossible to persevere for a healing promise to come to pass if we are not rooted and grounded in the nature of the Promiser. God’s character is everything when it comes to reinforcing the integrity of His Word concerning healing.

If you are not convinced of His power and goodness, the myriad of healing schemes and strategies will not work. The formulas will fail and the principles will putter out. Are they bad? No. They just need the right Foundation. This is our launching pad into the journey of healing.

Jesus Christ is our Foundation. He is our model. He gives visibility to the invisible characteristics and attributes of the unseen God (see Colossians 1:15). In the days to come, we are going to explore what the Word of God—in both Print and the Person of Jesus—reveals about God’s character and why that matters when we need to receive or release healing.

We will totally miss out, both on experiencing healing and going to that rare place beyond healing, if we neglect the very character of God. Why? It’s all about Him displaying His goodness in your life to the earth. He heals for His namesake and for His glory. Healing is really a divine setup for God to physically display something, on earth, that tells people through demonstration that He really is good.

Part Two

The Goodness of God

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If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him! (Matthew 7:11)

4

JESUS IS THE AUTHOR OF ABUNDANT LIFE

…I [Jesus] have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly (John 10:10).

It is essential that you know, beyond the shadow of any doubt, that God is good, and that in His goodness, He does not will or desire sickness to afflict His children. Also, He does not create or orchestrate sickness to teach Christians spiritual lessons. Period. He is the Author of life, hope, and healing. Scripture declares Jesus to be the One who gives life and life abundantly. He does not need to use sickness to discipline or mature us. That’s sadism. He uses the conviction of the Holy Spirit. This must be settled if we are going experience results in either receiving divine healing or administering it.

I know, I know, you probably have been exposed to some religious perspectives over the years that somehow misidentify God as the author of sickness, or as one who uses sickness to teach His children a lesson, or mature them, or cause them to become more like Christ, or use it for His glory. These ideologies are false and are built on a very shaky foundation of experiential theology.

In other words, people who come up with this stuff do it because they experienced disappointment in the healing department—something didn’t happen or someone didn’t receive healing—and as a result of their disappointment, they combine godly sorrow and mourning with an ungodly tendency to redefine God’s character and nature, not based on Scripture, but based on bad circumstances. If our theology is based on anything other than Scripture and the model of Christ, it is severely questionable.

On the flip side, I am not saying that when someone does not receive healing it is that person’s fault, or it is due to a “lack of faith,” or any of that mess. That is cruel, theological malarkey. Ultimately there is mystery, and we will not understand everything this side of eternity. We must embrace that fact, while at the same time utterly refusing to redefine what Scripture and Jesus revealed about God’s will concerning healing.

5

THROUGH THE EYES OF A FATHER

Or what man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent? (Matthew 7:9-10)

I became a dad in 2010. I’m not perfect, believe me. But I will tell you this, I discipline my precious daughter. I plan on disciplining her now and in the future, for apart from discipline, there is little opportunity for our children’s growth and maturity—unless, of course, our children are perfect.

I tell her “No.” (Although she doesn’t like it very much.) I do my best to explain to her that something is bad and that she shouldn’t do it. I administer consequences for disobedience. Why? Because bad choices will cause her harm and threaten to diminish her quality of life.

You might be a parent right now. You may plan on becoming one someday. Let me ask you an honest question: Would you ever use sickness to discipline your child or teach him or her a lesson? Seriously. If such were indeed possible, child services would be knocking on your door and branding you unfit to occupy the role of a parent.

All I know is that when my precious baby girl is sick, I want to do everything to see her feeling better ASAP. When in the world did we start believing that we as natural, sinful, human parents are more capable at showing forth goodness than Almighty God? Sure, it makes sense that human parents would not want their children to be sick. But somehow we have misidentified God and bought into this lie that the Perfect Father uses something evil (birthed out of the Fall) to chasten His children under a New and better Covenant.

6

GOD’S GOODNESS CONTRASTED WITH OURS

Or what man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent? (Matthew 7:9-10)

Good parents do not give their children things that will ultimately destroy them; rather they give only to transform them for the better. We do not starve our children, giving them stones instead of food to eat, nor do we position them to be stung by a deadly serpent instead of giving them fish. Right?

If we think we are good parents (or had good parents growing up, or desire to be good parents), the goodness of God actually makes our goodness and our desire to preserve our children’s best interest look evil! Jesus clearly states, “If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!” (Matthew 7:11).

That’s how good our God is. The best parent on the planet pales in comparison when measured beside the goodness of Father God. I pray this causes us to sufficiently adjust our perspective when it comes to recognizing how good God really is.

So in view of that radical understanding of God’s goodness, would He afflict His children with sickness or disease to chasten, discipline, or mature them? If we wouldn’t, how much more would God Almighty refrain from releasing such evil into the lives of His beloved? Again, it’s not that He does not discipline; He just doesn’t need sickness to do it. Quite frankly, it’s out of character for a father, and especially the Father.

Part Three

Did God Create Sickness?

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Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning (James 1:17).

7

SICKNESS’S ORIGIN AND GOD’S NATURE

“What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us.” –A.W. Tozer

God did not create sickness. The moment we start identifying sickness as something that originates from God and that He releases from His domain, we not only roadblock our journey toward a breakthrough in healing, but worst of all, we possess a skewed understanding of who God is, what His world is like, and what His will is for humanity.

Before we ever effectively begin deploying principles to release supernatural healing in our lives, again, the issue of who God is and specifically whether or not He created sickness, are essential topics that we need to explore and settle with scriptural confidence. Some major myths need to be busted!

A.W. Tozer, the revolutionary Christian author and relentless God-chaser (and one who believed in supernatural healing) sums it up nicely: “What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us.”

Again, healing does not start with implementing right formulas or confessing the appropriate Scriptures. That comes later on down the line and varies from case to case. The most important thing in your entire life is what Tozer writes—what you think and believe about God. If sickness was created by God, then that says something about who He is. If He did not create sickness, likewise, our theology of God’s character is also defined.

Let’s get it settled, once and for all!

8

THE FATHER OF LIGHTS

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning (James 1:17).

If we believe that God is on a mission to afflict humanity with sickness, that He authors the incurable, and that in the beginning, even though everything else was created as “good,” somehow God threw sickness into the mix as a “good” tool to chastise or teach His children with—our theology needs some adjustment. It just does not compute, scripturally or logically, with the identity of God as defined in the Bible.

He is the Father of Lights, according to James 1:17, who authors “every good and perfect gift.” This verse describes the nature of what proceeds from God’s domain. What proceeds from His domain—His world (heaven)—is defined by who He is. He made it all. His world existed before this one, right? Everything in His world is eternal, final, and perfect. Sickness does not exist in God’s domain.

We will not possess boldness to release healing—for ourselves or anyone else—until we believe that sickness is not in agreement with God’s will. In other words, if we are convinced that sickness comes from God, we are less inclined to pray for healing because, in a way, we would be praying against what God wants and be sabotaging His will.

Some Christians actually entertain these deceptive ideas. It’s time to adjust our thinking, believe that He really is good, and that sickness was not born in the heart of God. He heals and restores. How many people did Jesus go around afflicting with sickness? None, right?

Settled.

9

RESTORING ORIGINAL INTENT

and that He may send Jesus Christ, who was preached to you before, whom heaven must receive until the times of restoration of all things… (Acts 3:20-21).

Before we begin to receive healing, personally, or engage the Great Commission mandate to lay hands on the sick and see them recover, we need to have an understanding of God’s original intent for creation. Original intent unveils purpose and will.

Read Genesis 1-3. Sin came from Satan, and sickness was one of the byproducts of sin. Remember, Satan was the author of sin; not God. If God birthed or authored sin, His goodness would be compromised. If God authored sin, such would reveal that somewhere in His nature is the propensity to do evil and He could not be accurately described as good.

He may have given humanity and angels the capacity to choose sin or rebellion, but He did not author it. Quite frankly, it was a risk for God to fashion beings that were wired with free will. This same free will got humankind into trouble. And yet, even though Adam and Eve acted contrary to God’s will, He was not taken by surprise.

Jesus Christ is identified as the Lamb slain before the foundation of the world. Before the earth was even created, the Father had already set redemption in motion. The key is understanding the fullness of redemption and the extent to which the work of Calvary brings things back to God’s original intent. Not only is sin forgiven by the blood of Jesus, but salvation marks the beginning of the restoration of all things that were corrupted by sin. This includes our mortal human bodies.

10

OUR BRIDGE BACK TO EDEN

Then God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good… (Genesis 1:31).

Jesus Christ was and is our bridge back to Eden, and the climate that permeated that era of perfection. When God created everything, He looked favorably upon the end result—“Then God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good.”

The Son of God dealt with the sin that was introduced into paradise through His shed blood on the Cross. He also dealt with the sickness that was a byproduct of original sin. The key is understanding that sin and its consequences needed to be dealt with—and were, through the work of Christ. When we understand that God dealt with them, we recognize that what He defeats, He does not author. When we study what He authored, specifically the conditions of Eden, notice that sin and sickness were absent. That which was absent in perfection reveals the heart of God for humanity.

Do we experience the fullness of this restoration yet? No. Will we experience fullness and perfection this side of heaven? I would be inclined to say “No,” as the realist in me does not want to set false, outlandish expectations.

Yet something thwarts an immediate, “No—we should not expect fullness this side of heaven.”

While the fullness of God’s Kingdom will come with the return of Jesus, let us by no means limit what God wants to unleash into the earth in this hour. This kind of limitation has robbed the body of Christ of mining the depths—depths in intimacy with Jesus and depths in societal transformation. We will not venture into the depths if we believe they are off limits. The Father paid a high price for you and me to know the depths—of His love, of His mercy, of His grace, and of His healing and restoration.

Part Four

Jesus Our Model

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If I do not do the works of My Father, do not believe Me (John 10:37).

11

WHAT’S GOD’S WILL? LOOK AT JESUS

If I do not do the works of My Father, do not believe Me (John 10:37).

Many Christians, when they launch onto their faith journeys, are encouraged by spiritual mentors to read the Gospel of John. My response? Go for it. Absolutely! Seriously, the Gospel of John is one of the best books that any believer can feed on, particularly those who have recently been saved and adopted into the Kingdom. Above all, it gives us one of the clearest pictures of what God the Father is like through the works and witness of Jesus Christ.

On countless occasions, Jesus made statements that startled His audiences, explaining quite boldly that He did nothing that He did not first see His Father doing. In other words, everything Jesus said and did was first said and done by His Father in heaven. Most Christians are familiar with the truth of Jesus as Savior, and that revelation is absolutely essential for one to enter into the Kingdom of God and be born again. However, Jesus came to bring salvation and unveil the will of God. His actions all speak loudly and boldly of what God Almighty is like, answering the age-old question, “What’s God’s will?”

The only reason we still ask this question is because what Jesus revealed is, quite frankly, too confrontational. It is too fantastic. It is too radical. If Jesus Christ really is, as the apostle Paul says, the visible image of the invisible God, and if Jesus really is as He Himself declares, One who executes the work assigned to Him by the Father, then the truth is indeed settled: healing is the will of God. For us to believe otherwise, we actually have to add or subtract to what is presented in the Scriptures and revealed through the ministry of Jesus.

Let’s take Him at face value!

12

STRANDED ON AN ISLAND WITH THE WORD

God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him (Acts 10:38).

One of the heinous crimes in Christianity occurs when people read Scripture through a tainted lens. When we read the opinions of fallible humans and ivory-tower theologians into the plainly stated truths of Scripture, we set ourselves up for powerlessness. Perspectives and theologies are not bad things—unless they attempt to “explain away” the black and white truths in the Word. We no longer take the Bible at face value, rather we read it based on what others have said about it, taught about it, theorized about it, etc. While we need teaching and theology, above all, we need the Holy Spirit to do what He does best—reveal Jesus to us through the Scriptures.

Think of it. What if you were the Tom Hanks character in the movie Cast Away? Imagine you got born again on an airplane, crashed onto a deserted island, and were marooned there with nothing but a copy of the Scriptures (sorry, Wilson!). If you had nothing but the Holy Spirit and the Word of God during your island stay, what would you come off that island believing? No outside influences. No theologians giving you their take on a matter. No prejudice. No “well-meaning” friends trying to dissuade you from being “radical.” I am not implying that everything in that Book would make complete sense during your time on the island. Far from it. However, the things that do make sense should define your theology.

Acts 10:38 would make sense: “God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him.”

If Jesus reveals the will of the Father, and Jesus went around healing all who were oppressed by the devil, again, Scripture therefore unveils that it is God’s will to heal—clearly and in context.

13

IMITATORS OF JESUS, NOT JOB

As the Father has sent Me, I also send you (John 20:21).

Before returning to heaven, Jesus told His disciples, “As the Father has sent Me, I also send you.” And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit’” (John 20:21-22). Jesus did not say, “As the Father has sent Job, I also send you.” It is essential that we pay attention to the “Me” Jesus refers to in this passage—Himself! He is our model for living the Christian life, for God has sent us to do the work that He did.

When it comes to the subject of suffering and sickness, I am amazed at how many Christians are so quick to make reference to the book of Job—the man who lost everything as satan invaded his life and sought to steal Job’s commitment to the Lord. We tend to observe Job as more of a model for the Christian life than Jesus, and that is absolutely incorrect.

While there are many powerful realities to be gleaned from the Old Testament account of Job, we have done the Christian life a major disservice by making Job our model. His story offers wisdom, insight, revelation, and some powerful glimpses into the glory and grandeur of God (particularly toward the book’s conclusion). That said, Job is not the model for your Christian life in the same way that Joshua isn’t or Moses isn’t, or Samuel isn’t, or Solomon isn’t.

The reason is simple. Jesus is our model because we have received the Spirit of Jesus—the Holy Spirit. The Spirit, in turn, anoints us to do the works of Jesus.

14

THE SPIRIT OF JESUS, NOT JOB

But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you (Romans 8:11).

We are anointed to represent Jesus, and for us to highlight any other biblical character above Jesus Christ as deserving of central emphasis is a distractive tool of the enemy. Think of it, the devil would much rather have Christians trying to represent Job than Jesus. I am sure that Job himself would agree that there is no salvation in Job’s name. Job did not go around healing all who were oppressed of the devil. You can see why the enemy would have us get distracted on Job’s account when it comes to the subject of healing.

You have not received the Spirit of Job, but rather you have received the same Holy Spirit who empowered Jesus Christ to do the works and wonders He performed. Yes, that same Holy Spirit lives inside you. You did not receive a downgraded version. You did not receive an inferior Spirit. I repeat, the same Holy Spirit who anointed Jesus for ministry, and the same Holy Spirit whom Jesus released to the disciples in John 20:22 is the Holy Spirit you received when you placed your trust in Jesus Christ.

The Holy Spirit enables you to model Jesus and fulfill the mission of the Father: restoration of all things, beginning with the salvation of the human spirit and going all the way to the renewal of the very dust of the earth. Nestled between salvation and the one-day complete restoration of the earth is physical healing, in your body, and for those who are hurting in your sphere of influence.

Part Five

Breaking Generational Curses

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Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree”), that the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith (Galatians 3:13-14).

15

IT RUNS IN MY FAMILY

Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us… (Galatians 3:13).

How often do we hear or use the phrase, “It just runs in my family” when describing some type of sickness, disease, abnormality, or issue that has been passed down from one generation to the next? Let’s not examine this from the positive confession route that says, “Well, this is an easy fix! Just don’t go around confessing ‘it runs in my family.’ Just change your confession and you will change your possession.”

Yes, I do believe that making a confession that agrees with God’s Word concerning your healing is helpful, not because what it does for God, but what it does for you. That said, we must tackle the root of generational curses and sicknesses before we start implementing strategies for healing maintenance. Scripture-based confession is a tool to help us maintain a healed perspective. Before moving into maintenance mode, we must continue to lay the foundation.

When we say something like, “That sickness just runs in my family,” it speaks volumes about what we believe. We have come to expect that sickness and disease will be passed down to us because of their prevalence in previous generations. Well, I have good news for you. Just because your heritage was marred by the presence of some sickness, terminal disease, or condition, does not mean that you and subsequent generations need to experience the same curse. Jesus became a curse so that you could be completely and totally redeemed from every curse, every bondage, and every affliction that was released into the earth because of sin. The first step is believing that God wills to make you free and establish a new heritage of freedom and healing starting with you.

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THE ORIGIN OF A CURSE

that the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith (Galatians 3:14).

Scripture gives credence to generational iniquity and curses, as God Himself spoke of how the iniquity of one generation would be passed down to the children of the third and fourth generations. In Exodus 20:5-6 the Lord declares, “For I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.”

This is not God’s will. It is, however, a process that becomes initiated when members of one generation adopt a curse—in this case, sickness—and do not break it. These curses can enter one’s heritage through immorality, iniquity, sin, or simply through someone being afflicted with disease and never appropriately dealing with it. I repeat, it does not always have to be sin that births the curse; it just so happens that, on quite a few occasions, it is sin that grants license to the enemy to assault a particular generation with a disease, abnormality, or seemingly irreversible condition. The curse is not broken, not because of God’s unwillingness to break it, but most often because prior generations do not know the Lord and are therefore unaware that what they are dealing with is spiritual in nature.

That said, we don’t need to go looking for generational curses behind every sickness and affliction. However, if there is evidence of a continuous cycle of sickness in your genealogy, I want to help you identify and break it by the power of Jesus’ blood.

Here is the really good news. Your salvation grants you license to interrupt the flow of sickness and curse in your family tree. Your very DNA has been infused with that of God Almighty. You are indwelt by Someone supernatural—a Person who possesses the power and authority to deliver you and your offspring from the disease that wreaked havoc on the generations before you.

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BREAKING THE CURSE

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 (Isaiah 53:5).

Jesus suffered for our sin and for our sicknesses. There is no way I can embrace, let alone proclaim (as Scripture-based truth) some reality where God the Father wills sickness, and then sends His beloved Son to receive the most brutal form of torture imaginable to heal something that He actually orchestrated. Such a reality would compromise God’s goodness and introduce great confusion into His nature. God is not against God on the sickness issue. The Father does not afflict people so the Son can come in and bring healing to some, and not to others. Thankfully, this is not the reality unveiled to us through the Scriptures, and God is not the author of confusion. So yes, while sickness and disease can be passed down from generation to generation, there is a Divine Factor who can break the chain and bring healing to you and future generations.

In Galatians 3:13 Paul writes, “Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, ‘Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree.’” Jesus was the One who hung on the tree for you and me so we could be redeemed from the curse. He wholly fulfilled the prophecies in Isaiah, being God’s suffering servant: “The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed” (Isaiah 53:5).

How do we appropriate and implement the curse-breaking work of Jesus? Faith. It is simple faith in the finished work of Jesus—emphasis on finished. The Cross was and is enough to save you from every single one of your sins and break every generational curse—I don’t care how long they have been in your ancestry. There is nothing stronger than the blood of Jesus, friend. Simply believe that His work was enough. It all starts there. You don’t need to yell and scream at the enemy. It starts with a simple prayer: Thank You, Jesus, for Your precious blood that broke every single curse. I receive a new inheritance and a new heritage. You have set me free from every sin, every sickness and every curse. And because of Your work on the Cross, I stand today and I break the cycle of sickness that has been in my family history.

Part Six

Moving on to the Mechanics

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Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. For by it the elders obtained a good testimony (Hebrews 11:1-2).

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MOVING PAST THE MESSES AND MISUSES

And they went out and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them

and confirming the word through the accompanying signs (Mark 16:20).

Before tackling the topic of faith and healing, we need to get some things out in the open and deal with them head-on. I probably don’t need to tell you, but the concept of faith—when it comes to healing—has been very sticky. Immediately, the title of “faith healer” comes to mind, and this has not received any type of positive connotation over the years. Before we really dive into some specific, practical “how-tos” of exercising faith to receive and release healing, we need to engage some serious faith detox.

I would argue that no misuse and abuse has been more prevalent in the healing arena than what some spiritual know-it-alls have said to hurting, sick, broken people—specifically, “You are not healed because you don’t have enough faith.”

This response (or responses of similar nature) have nailed the coffin shut as far as healing is concerned for many believers. They would just as well not deal with the counterfeits, the charlatans, and the crazies because of those who go around making statements like this. The problem? This has led to the rejection of the authentic scriptural doctrine of healing, and has produced a culture of powerless Christianity. More than bodies being made well, the release of healing is a demonstration of the supernatural power of God that reveals the exclusive authority in Jesus’ name. When the Gospel is preached with boldness, healing follows as a confirmation and sign of its authenticity.

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WHY IS HEALING IMPORTANT?

And truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name (John 20:30-31).

One must consider this reality when it comes to healing—Satan assaults what he fears. He counterfeits truth and introduces controversy around topics that have the potential to radically push back his tyranny of darkness in the earth. Truth be told, the enemy is terrified of healing because he is well aware of the evangelistic, redemptive potential contained in the miraculous.

Jesus Himself mentioned that, on occasion, there would be some who possessed such hard hearts toward God that even if they witnessed someone raised from the dead, they would still not believe. Christians have taken a “here and there” approach to Scripture when it comes to this particular area. We form a theology around a few instances while neglecting the multiple situations and accounts where the miraculous served as an invitation for one to follow the Lord Jesus Christ.

When healing occurs in Jesus’ name, or when signs and wonders break out and the presence of the Lord becomes powerful and tangible, unbelievers are confronted with a two-fold reality: the exclusivity of Jesus (through His name) and the reality of God (through His presence). Needless to say, entire books could be filled of accounts where people gave their lives to Jesus because of healing miracles. Friend, I encourage you, please try to lay aside any prejudices or preconceived ideas you have about healing and faith. I promise we will explore this in a balanced, scriptural, Christ-honoring manner in the pages ahead.

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HEALING EXALTS JESUS’ NAME

And His name, through faith in His name, has made this man strong, whom you see and know (Acts 3:16).

When it comes to the topics of faith and hope—both of which are clearly defined in Hebrews 11—we start moving beyond the foundations and into mechanics. This is the outworking of what we believe. This is where we put legs to theology and start to actually see “the stuff happen,” as John Wimber used to say. You know what? You received the Holy Spirit so that Kingdom “stuff” would happen. Wimber’s quote does not minimize or trivialize the work and movement of the Spirit by calling it “stuff.” On the contrary, it raises the question: if we have received the Holy Spirit, and we are fueled with solid foundations from Scripture about God’s will for healing, shouldn’t we be seeing supernatural things happen…like people getting healed?

By now, I pray that you have concluded that the Father’s will is healing, that Jesus modeled God’s agenda for healing, that sickness was not part of God’s original design for created order, and that provision has been made to release healing to those in need.

We have been establishing a solid foundation, for it is in the foundation where we realize that healing has little to do with you or me becoming physically well, but rather, it is about the very glory of God becoming manifest on the earth, transforming circumstances deemed “impossible,” and arming us with a testimony of the good nature of the awesome God we serve. The supreme purpose, however, is the exaltation of the name of Jesus Christ, for there is power in no other name!

Part Seven

Hope—Faith Fuel

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Now faith is the substance of things hoped for… (Hebrews 11:1).

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THERE IS NO FAITH WITHOUT HOPE

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for… (Hebrews 11:1).

You need a solid foundation of hope before you ever exercise or release faith, for faith is the substance of things hoped for. What does this mean?

Remember the story of Abraham in the Old Testament? God promised him a son. That wouldn’t be so outlandish if the circumstances were different. Abraham, however, was quite old, and his wife was also old and past the age of having children—and barren. That is what you call a royal setup for hopelessness. Naturally, Abraham and Sarah could not conceive a child using traditional, natural human methods. Supernaturally, however, God Almighty introduced hope into the situation by declaring His Word to Abraham.

From the beginning of Abraham’s walk with the Lord, God made it clear that He would give this faith patriarch a child, not through adoption, not through hooking up with his maidservant, Hagar, but God would give Abraham a child from his very own body (see Genesis 15:4)—a body that Paul considered “dead” (Romans 4:19).

For Abraham to become our “faith forerunner,” he first needed a foundation of hope. This came when God Almighty invaded his life and released a promise that contradicted Abraham’s natural circumstances. Abraham could start believing God, declaring this promise, and thinking differently because he had a confident expectation (Bible-hope defined) of God’s promise coming to pass.

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HOPE INTRODUCES POSSIBILITY

who, contrary to hope, in hope believed… (Romans 4:18).

Hope exposes us to possibilities that were previously off our radars. For many Christians, the hope of healing is one of these off-the-radar possibilities. Many of us embrace the circumstances that both life and the enemy throw our way, and we mistakenly claim them as evidence of God’s sovereignty. Some of us even brand them as God-authored and God-sent.

Listen, impossibilities serve one purpose—to bend their knee to King Jesus. Do not resist the drive that is spiritually engrafted in your DNA. As a believer, you have a legitimate hunger to see mountains move and oceans part. I know for sure that the enemy has authored religion, for religion—more than anything else—has robbed the masses of hope. It has done this by throwing a wet blanket on the supernatural possibilities and realities God desires to reveal to us through His Word and testimonies. When the world receives a diagnosis, hope is robbed. They lose hope because there is no greater reality than what is stated to them by a doctor or circumstance.

When this matter of hope for healing becomes settled in your spirit, your faith has something significant to work with. There was no natural hope for Abraham and Sarah to conceive a child apart from a miracle. And that is where hope breaks into the scenario. God Almighty exposes Abraham to the supernatural possibility of having a son through a promise. The promises of God are essential for us to feed on and meditate on and cling to for dear life. They are our fundamental source of hope. They empower us to persevere in hope, even when everything seems hopeless!

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GOD’S WILLINGNESS PRODUCES HOPE

Then Jesus put out His hand and touched him, saying, “I am willing; be cleansed…” (Matthew 8:3).

Hope is birthed in the three-fold revelation of God’s nature, ability, and willingness. We need all three, otherwise our hope will be restrained and we will not be able to exercise our faith.

There are a lot of songs and slogans that declare God’s ability. God is able, I totally agree. It goes without saying that the Omnipotent One is more-than-able to heal His creation of sickness. The key is believing that the able God is also willing.

He can be able all day long, but if we do not connect our understanding of God’s ability with His willingness to demonstrate His power on our behalf, we miss it. To believe in God’s ability, and divorce it from His willingness is to basically say, “God can do it. I just don’t know if He wants to.”

We can be confident that God is able and willing to release His healing power to the sick because of the very works and words of Jesus. Matthew 8:1-4 is the ideal illustration of this. One with an incurable disease—leprosy (at the time)—came to Jesus and during their verbal exchange, he got Jesus to issue a statement that we can stand on concerning His willingness to heal. The leper sought the Master, inquiring if a healing touch was in alignment with His will (“if You are willing”). Jesus settles the discussion with His reply, “I am willing.” The same great I AM is able and willing to release healing to you! Let this truth build your hope.

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REMEMBERING GOD’S BENEFITS PRODUCES HOPE

Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits: Who forgives all your iniquities, Who heals all your diseases… (Psalm 103:2-3).

We don’t seek God to get a miracle, to get money, or to ensure that life goes the way we want. In other words, we don’t go after God as the means to our end, namely an end that benefits us. He is the means and He is the end. The God-chasing life sees one benefit to the pursuit—catching Him. This is the One who fueled David in Psalm 27. And this same David reminds us to forget not all His benefits.

There are major benefits to walking with the Lord. These verses in Psalm 103 unveil two substantial blessings: forgiveness from sin and physical healing. Yet again the forgiveness of sin and healing go hand in hand. This reminds us that the Lord, whom we are exhorted to bless with “all that is within us,” does something about both of these problems—sin and sickness. He forgives and He heals. He is not the author of these maladies; He is the solution. In fact, the solutions to these problems are the byproducts of Jesus’ lordship in our lives.

We are exhorted not to forget His benefits because they visibly point to His character. Christians get jittery about speaking of God’s benefits and a Christian life that is characterized by such blessing. They get concerned about seeking “God’s hand rather than His face.” Let’s remember that His works and His benefits speak volumes about who He is. His face is not far from the work of His hands. When we actively bring to mind the glorious healing benefits of the Lord, our hope is dynamically charged!

Part Eight

Faith that Perseveres and Breaks Through

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Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. For by it the elders obtained a good testimony (Hebrews 11:1-2).

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FAITH THAT IS BORN OF GOD

So Jesus answered and said to them, “Have faith in God” (Mark 11:22).

Jesus uses very intentional language in Matthew 17:20 and Mark 11:23 when explaining how to appropriate our faith. He doesn’t say “Pray about the mountain moving, and then see what sovereignly happens.” In this teaching moment, Jesus is stepping into His role as Model and Example. He is teaching us how to live the victorious Christian life by faith.

The truth is, you and I—if we have been saved and born again—have received a supernatural measure of faith from God. Think about it, to even believe in the Gospel message, you needed to place faith in its power and efficacy for your life, correct? Where did this faith come from? Did you muster it up using your super duper will power? No. The only way you can believe God for the supernatural is by receiving supernatural faith from God to begin with.

There is more to Mark 11:22 than meets the eye. The phrase, “Have faith in God,” could be easily translated as Have the God-kind of faith. If God gives us faith to begin with, it obviously comes from His realm. Faith is not a good idea or the product of human ingenuity. In fact, it is often in conflict with such things. Jesus does not place an unrealistic demand upon us when He tells us to, literally, have and exercise the very faith of God. After all, God Himself has given faith to us. Consider it. You have the very faith of God living inside you. Is anything too hard for God? Absolutely not. Therefore, the same is true for you as you step out and exercise His faith.

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FAITH THAT IS SETTLED

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 (Romans 10:9).

The faith that enabled us to believe God for salvation is the same faith that empowers us to receive and release healing. I pray this is becoming settled for you. You do not need a faith boost or faith upgrade. What you received at the moment of salvation was enough. By grace, you inherited the very faith of God and it was through this faith that you became a Christian. This should substantially increase your confidence in the miracle-working power of faith. Keep in mind, you received a faith that is all about confidently securing breakthrough.

At salvation, the faith that you received from God empowered you to break through the bondage of sin and your past life. There is no uncertainty about faith’s ability to appropriate salvation, right? If you genuinely believe in Jesus Christ as the Savior and Lord of your life, faith secures salvation. Done deal. No leaving it up to some sovereign strategy of God. Maybe He will save, maybe He won’t. It is done!

When you, motivated by a genuine, converted heart, confidently declare out of your mouth that Jesus Christ is Lord, faith is released and you are saved. Whether you made this decree in your heart or verbally with your mouth, a decree was made. Not a hope. Not a “maybe.” Not a wing and a prayer. A decree of faith was made that Jesus was both able and willing to save you from your sins, take up residence in your heart (in the Person of the Holy Spirit), and take you to heaven one day. There is confidence in that expression of faith, and rightly so. Faith is a gift. Faith comes from God, so it only makes sense that it would work and deliver supernatural results (you receiving eternal salvation). The good news is that you can exercise this same settled faith in receiving every single promise of God—including healing!

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FAITH THAT DEMANDS BREAKTHROUGH

…If you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, “Move from here to there,” and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you (Matthew 17:20).

Don’t get me wrong on this—we are not demanding God to heal us or heal anyone else. I would never demand God to do anything.

That said, you have the Spirit of the Living God inside you. You have countless precious promises from Scripture—not removed or isolated from context—but an entire Book that culminates in the healing and restoration of all things. You are not demanding God, rather you are demanding circumstances to bow to the Word and will of the Lord. We have a right to demand that which is in disagreement with God’s will to come into alignment with it for His glory. It is all about God’s Kingdom breaking through and being established in all areas of life.

Henry Blackaby, author of Experiencing God, is often cited as saying, “Move where God is moving.” Healing actually enables us to participate in God’s activity! We are simply aligning ourselves with the nature and heart of the Father, who demonstrated through Jesus’ model, time after time, testimony after testimony, work after work, and wonder upon wonder, that it is His will to heal.

There is a time for petition, absolutely. Jesus petitioned the Father in the Garden of Gethsemane, as the time of His crucifixion was drawing near. He asked if there was any way possible He could bypass the cruel fate of Calvary. Of course we know Jesus prayed that, ultimately, the Father’s will would be done. He was consecrating Himself to the destiny the Father specifically had assigned for Him to fulfill. In the same manner, when it comes to us seeking God’s specific purposes and plans for our lives, there is definitely a time to pray, “Lord, if it be Your will…” Notice, though, that Jesus never added a caveat to any prayer for healing or deliverance with “If it be Thy will Father, please heal…” He simply healed people.

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FAITH THAT IS RELENTLESS

And shall God not avenge His own elect who cry out day and night to Him, though He bears long with them? I tell you that He will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth? (Luke 18:7-8)

Disappointment and the appearance of someone “not being healed” have shipwrecked countless people when it comes to receiving supernatural healing. The key is maintaining an attitude of relentlessness. Perseverance. On the other side of your perseverance is breakthrough. The problem is that we often refuse to hang on until we make it to the other side of perseverance. We need to be like the widow Jesus describes in Luke 18.

This woman was pursuing justice from an “unjust judge,” as Jesus identified him. He did not fear God, nor regard man. Sounds like a pretty shady, corrupt dude. The principle is that the judge inevitably gives the woman justice—not because he fears God or is genuinely concerned about the woman’s welfare. He awards her justice because she “troubles him” with her persistence (v. 5). She does not give up.

Jesus uses this example to draw a contrast and stir faith. If the unjust judge was willing to give the widow justice simply because of her persistence—though he himself was unjust—how much more will God, the Just Judge, respond to His own people who are persistent with Him and relentless about appropriating His promises? We need to learn how to persevere if we desire to witness supernatural breakthrough in healing. If we are going to believe God for our own healing, let alone take it to the level of releasing healing to the sick and broken around us, we need to learn about perseverance and not giving up. Faith in the good nature and unchanging character of God the Healer is essential for us to persevere for the promises. Sadly, this type of persevering faith is rare, hence Jesus’ concluding question, Will He (the Son of Man) really find faith on the earth? Let’s take our place in this generation and be those who would be counted as faith-full.

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FAITH THAT PERSEVERES PAST DISAPPOINTMENT

So He took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the town. And when He had spit on his eyes and put His hands on him, He asked him if he saw anything. And he looked up and said, “I see men like trees, walking.” Then He put His hands on his eyes again and made him look up. And he was restored and saw everyone clearly (Mark 8:23-25).

Jesus perfectly models how we need to deal with disappointment, discouragement, and the lack of immediate results with healing through His exchange with this blind man. This is the account where Jesus heals the guy by placing spit on the man’s eyes and laying hands on him.

The blind man was not completely healed after Jesus’ first point of contact. After Jesus laid hands on him, He asked the man a question that we should never shy away from: “How is your condition?” Jesus asked if he could see anything. This is where many of us get disenfranchised with the whole healing process and in turn disengage. I’d blame false teaching on this, big time. I’m sure you’ve heard it: “You can’t see perfectly because you didn’t have enough faith to receive your complete healing.” Jesus did not say this; and remember, Jesus is your model.

So…Jesus prays for the blind guy, and what happens? Some improvement, but not complete healing. Jesus did not touch him and BAM, “Hallelujah, it’s a miracle! I can see, I can see!” You may pray for yourself or someone else and experience little results at first. The blind man had improvement, as he mentioned being able to see “men like trees walking.” It was blurry. It was partial. It was not entirely there yet. Let’s really pay attention to Jesus’ loving, compassionate response. No rebuke. No religious phraseology. He simply “put His hands on his eyes again.”

Jesus, the Son of God, is modeling perseverance for us in this account. Don’t miss the model and please don’t neglect the message. Press on and keep praying. Lay hands on the person again. Believe God for your healing…still. On the other side of perseverance is breakthrough. Let’s remember this when answers do not come with fast food speed!

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FAITH THAT PUSHES PAST ROADBLOCKS

Then they came to Him, bringing a paralytic who was carried by four men. And when they could not come near Him because of the crowd… (Mark 2:3-4).

Your faith needs to be downright audacious. The account of the paralytic being lowered through the roof (by his four friends) has to be one of my favorite miracle accounts in the Gospels. It brims with encouragement for those who have hit roadblocks and are on the brink of faith discouragement and burnout. The next two days will be spent examining this powerful story, as the Gospels once again portray an example of faith that catches Jesus’ attention and sets up the person in need for breakthrough.

Never observe a roadblock in the healing process as a definitive barrier that confirms, “Well, it’s just not God’s will to heal after all.” If we allowed obstacles to obstruct progress in other areas of our lives, we would never experience any type of success or breakthrough. The very word “breakthrough,” by obvious definition, refers to a hindrance or obstruction that needs to be broken through.

Consider Mark 2 and the conditions surrounding the paralytic’s healing. Crowds had descended upon the place where Jesus was ministering because “it was heard that He was in the house” (v. 1). The very presence of Jesus in that location drew the masses, as there was obviously something supernatural about this Man. In Luke 5, we read that “the power of the Lord was present to heal” in that place (v. 17). Four men brought their paralytic friend to the house where Jesus was ministering. Unfortunately, the crowds prevented them from getting near Jesus.

Solution?

The key is considering what they did not do. They did not accept their roadblock as the will of God or God’s sovereignty, as many of us do today. These guys were relentlessly driven by the knowledge that Jesus healed all who came to Him. He turned none away, and they knew if they got their paralyzed friend to Jesus, he would be healed. They rejected obstacles and pressed through.

Let’s learn to do the same!

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FAITH THAT BUSTS THROUGH THE CEILING

And when they could not come near Him because of the crowd, they uncovered the roof where He was. So when they had broken through, they let down the bed on which the paralytic was lying (Mark 2:4).

I am in the process of writing an entire book on this very subject—breakthrough faith. The reason is evident. We need to learn how to build a faith that exclusively responds to God’s Word and promises, not our circumstances and barriers.

There is a breakthrough drought in the contemporary church, not because of God’s unwillingness to heal or release the miraculous. Not because your situation or circumstance is just too big for Him to handle. This breakthrough drought is the byproduct of a generation being raised up with a disdain for perseverance. Many of us are not taught how to appropriately respond to obstacles and hindrances. Rather than busting through our obstacles, we give up and embrace the crowded house and the ‘ceiling’ over our miracle as God’s will. This is poor theology and we need to start thinking differently. We need to think like the four men who busted through a roof to get their friend to the Healer.

To receive a breakthrough, you need to be willing to break through. I’m not talking about “out in left field” spiritual calisthenics. I’m not talking about finding a promise in Scripture, confessing it seven times before breakfast, calling three friends and telling them, “By Jesus’ stripes I’m healed,” running back and forth to every healing conference, and having people pray for you until the very hair on your head begins to recede. Rather, I’m referring to developing some faith backbone that is only built as you are intimate with God. It’s that simple. Knowing who God is, especially by observing the track record of what He’s done in the past, builds breakthrough faith.

These four men were full of breakthrough faith. Get this. The same way many of us mistakenly label obstacles as “God’s will,” these guys had a solid vision of what God’s will was and this confidence enabled them to break through the obstacles. A crowded house did not cry out to them: “Guess it’s God’s will for your friend not to encounter Jesus and get healed.” They were driven because they knew God’s will was to heal. When we are established in the truth that God’s will is to heal…end of story…barriers and obstacles are treated as elements contrary to God’s plan, and busting through the ceiling becomes our road to experiencing God’s promises.

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CRAZY FAITH FRIENDS

Then they came to Him, bringing a paralytic who was carried by four men. And when they could not come near Him because of the crowd, they uncovered the roof where He was… (Mark 2:3-4).

When it comes to persevering in faith through sickness, whether for ourselves, or releasing healing to others, we need audacious, crazy, out-of-their-mind, faith-filled friends believing and standing with us.

“Out-of-their-mind” does not mean these friends are disconnected from reality; it means that they refuse to back down from believing God. They will not give in to the discouraging words, disheartening news, or circumstances that appear as though they are digressing rather than improving. Again, this is not being detached from the reality of the situation and pretending everything away. That’s another kind of crazy! This type of crazy faith acknowledges a circumstance, absolutely, but the circumstance is something that must bow its knee to King Jesus and secure us a testimony that will bring supernatural transformation to countless lives.

These friends mean business. These are people who cling tighter to that precious Word than anyone or anything else in our lives. They acknowledge the Scripture as God’s will and supreme authority. Everything and anything that disagrees with the Word of God and the model presented through the life of Jesus Christ, must submit. Chains must break. Sickness must bow. Demons have to flee.

In Second Corinthians 6:14, Paul writes, “Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers.” There are actually unbelieving Christians who you do not need in your corner when going through a crisis. Apply this Scripture when it comes to evaluating the effectiveness of people you allow to speak into your life and people whose voices have the ability to lift you up or bring you down. If your friends are not willing to “bust through a ceiling” for you because of their relentless faith in God’s nature and Word, I would think twice about how closely you heed their advice in times of trial.

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FAITH THAT RESPONDS TO THE INVISIBLE

For we walk by faith, not by sight (2 Corinthians 5:7)

Faith demands visible, physical responses to invisible realities. You are not working for faith. You have received faith by God’s unmerited, free grace. The power to bring heaven to earth, and healing to every broken, sick area of your life and to the lives of others—this is totally free, paid for in full by the work of Jesus Christ. You do not need to convince God to give you faith, nor do you need to convince God to bring His will into a circumstance that is currently in disagreement with Him. The key is living like our superior reality is the Word and the world of God. His Word and His world are our standard for living!

The author of Hebrews 11, the great Hall of Faith chapter of the Bible, describes how faith is the “evidence of things not seen.” Just because a reality is invisible, that does not negate it from still being a reality or truth. Just because something is invisible does not mean it is non-existent.

We Christians have become overly naturalized. The less we are grounded in the world of God—heaven—the more our senses become preoccupied with things of this world, earth. The more our senses are in tune with what we can see, taste, feel, and experience with our five senses, and defining what can be sensed as final reality, the less God’s world becomes our reality. The key is recognizing that there is an invisible world that, at any moment, can bear down on the visible and transform it. For this to happen, it is essential for us to understand the nearness and availability of invisible realities. In short, they are so close to you as a believer, you can simply reach out and pull heaven into earth very easily. Why? You have the Holy Spirit within you. He is your link between heaven and earth, the invisible and visible. It costs Him nothing to take wholeness from one dimension and release it into another, producing divine healing in a natural body.

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FAITH THAT CAN BE SEEN

When Jesus saw their faith… (Mark 2:5).

In the account of the four men who lowered their paralyzed friend through a roof to get to Jesus, we read that “Jesus saw their faith.” Our faith becomes visible when we recognize the superior reality of the invisible world and jurisdiction of God’s Kingdom.

When we are confident that God’s realm is characterized by the absence of sin and all of its byproducts (sickness being one of them), we become synchronized with the type of reality we are empowered to release on earth. After all, our model is on earth as it is in heaven. If something does not exist in God’s world, it should not exist in this world. It should not exist in your life. It should not exist in your body, a temple of the Holy Spirit! Period. We must be so convinced of this that we become willing to break through roofs to receive and release the realities that define God’s world, bringing them into this one.

All of this talk about “breaking through” and visible faith tends to make us nervous, as it appears to imply that there is some work to faith. Faith is not produced by our works—it is a free gift from God. However, authentic faith produces work. True, relentless, ironclad faith in the unchanging standard of God’s Word produces a people who do something with their faith. If the house is crowded, they break through the ceiling. Your ceiling may be lingering pain, or a negative diagnosis, or a friend/family member who is ailing. Refuse to embrace these facts as the final, ironclad truth. As long as these circumstances remain natural, visible realities, they are subject to change. This Truth should fuel your perseverance!

You are Christ’s ambassador, right? Ambassadors are representatives, living in one land with their identity and allegiance anchored in another. That is you and I. However, our ambassadorship is unique as we are not called to just dwell on this planet called Earth, we are empowered to make this land look like His.

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FAITH THAT KICKS DOUBT OUT, PART 1

Today, I encourage you to read Acts 9:36-43. There are some incredible lessons to glean from this powerful account of healing, namely on how to confront doubt and unbelief. You will be tempted to give in to both of these elements when standing in faith for healing. If Peter, one of the mightiest, most dynamic followers of Jesus, had to take certain precautions to set himself up not to be influenced by doubt, I would say that we need to follow his example.

Remember, the devil is the enemy of your healing because He is the adversary to the redemptive work of God in the earth. He wants to sabotage your breakthrough by getting you to yield to doubt and “throw in the towel” on your faith. Even more than despising your personal wholeness, Satan knows what your healing testimony has the potential to release to multitudes: visible revelation of the nature and reality of Jesus Christ. The fruit of this revelation is obvious: lives by the thousands being adopted into the Kingdom. This demolishes darkness!

Doubt is birthed in the place of inaccurate understanding of God’s will. If you are not 100 percent sure that God’s will and heartbeat is to heal, restore, and raise up, doubt has the potential to thwart you from moving forward in receiving or releasing supernatural healing.

In the Acts 9 account mentioned above, we read of a woman, Dorcas, who became sick and died. Before we even go on, it is key to note how this situation is handled. Something in the DNA of the disciples and Peter could not embrace her death as a final reality. Many of us in contemporary Christianity immediately receive sickness or even death as God’s sovereign will. Such elegant theology, right? It happened, so it must be God’s will. Just because something happens does not mean we ought to receive it as God’s will. Could it be that God’s will is for you and me to actually do something about what happens?

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FAITH THAT KICKS DOUBT OUT, PART 2

…And all the widows stood by him weeping, showing the tunics and garments which Dorcas had made while she was with them. But Peter put them all out, and knelt down and prayed… (Acts 9:39-40).

The disciples call Peter and ask him to go to Dorcas (who was dead, remember). He ends up in Dorcas’ home, getting ready to pray for her and witness her being raised from the dead. We know what ends up happening—she is raised up. The key lesson in this account is in the process.

We read in verse 39 that there were weeping widows in the room, mourning for Dorcas. Peter’s response? He sends them out. Their response to her death was naturally-motivated. To them, she was gone—hence the mourning activities. Peter did not want to be exposed to a death perspective, when in fact he was there to witness and release the opposite—life!

Could it be that Peter was modeling the Savior? Jesus Himself set the example when He supernaturally raised Jairus’ daughter from the dead in Mark 5. When Jesus entered Jairus’ home, He was mocked and ridiculed for declaring a word contrary to the circumstance at hand. The mourners were obviously stuck in a natural perspective, as they were weeping and wailing over the little girl’s death. Jesus’ attempt to deliver words of comfort were not received warmly. How did He respond? He kicked the weepers and mourners out of the house! He recognized the adverse influence of doubt and dealt with it; not for His sake, but most likely for His disciples and the girl’s parents (who were the only ones remaining with Jesus in the house). He also knew that this situation would prove to be an example for believers throughout the ages, giving instruction on how we should respond to doubt. No, this is not a call to be insensitive. We must follow the lead of the Holy Spirit in every single situation. The point is not making people who are mourning or crying leave a difficult situation; in most cases, this would be completely inappropriate. The key is isolating and rejecting the doubt that creeps into your mind, trying to restrain you from stepping out in faith.

When you reject doubt and step out in faith, the results are powerful. Dorcas was raised up in Acts 9 and Jairus’ daughter was restored to life in Mark 5. We would do well to imitate Peter who followed the Master’s example. When we are believing for healing, we must give no place to doubt. It is truly an unwelcome guest!

Part Nine

Releasing Faith through Decree

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…For He Himself has said….So we may boldly say… (Hebrews 13:5-6).

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THE MIRACLE-PRODUCING WORD OF JESUS IS ON YOUR LIPS

So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; it shall not return to Me void… (Isaiah 55:11).

Now that we have established a foundation of what faith is, what it’s not, and how it works, let’s answer the key question: How do we release faith for healing? Let’s start here: God’s Word on your lips is just as powerful as the Word spoken from Jesus’ mouth. It is the same Word and this Word works! When we know what God says about healing, we can boldly come into agreement with His Word, speaking the same things He says and thereby, producing the same results.

Review the Acts of the Apostles. Their words and decrees produced the miraculous. Their prayers carried and released power. When they pronounced healing or deliverance, what they said happened. These same results characterized Jesus’ ministry.

Is this an elevation of humankind to a godlike status? Not at all. Were the first-century apostles superhuman? No. They carried the anointing of the Holy Spirit, and that presence graced their words with heaven’s very culture. Consider it. These men were not speaking natural human words when they addressed disease. They were not declaring their opinion, want, need, or desire. They were responding to a circumstance on earth that was in disagreement with the perfect, disease-free culture of heaven. The Lord’s Prayer stuck with these guys. It was not a ritual or a mantra—it was a powerful tool that positioned a rag-tag team of fishermen to turn the world upside down (see Acts 17:6).

Their words produced supernatural works of healing because they boldly declared the Word of the Lord concerning sickness. They were not confused about it, as many are today. It was settled to them. They knew what God had to say about sickness, and in turn they aligned their declarations with God Almighty’s.

I invite you to do the same and position yourself to experience the same supernatural results. His Word will produce and it shall not return void.

38

SPEAKING THE WORDS OF HEAVEN

…but it [God’s Word] shall accomplish what I please… (Isaiah 55:11).

The disciples stewarded their supernatural citizenship well by speaking to elements on earth that did not align with the culture and climate of heaven. They carried the power to see the government of one world totally transform situations and circumstances in another. This Power is a Person, and He is the Holy Spirit. He is God! He is Jesus Christ. He receives all of the glory. He possesses all of the power. We are weak, poor, broken, helpless, and destitute apart from the Holy Spirit and His anointing.

You are born again, correct? You are indwelt by the Holy Spirit? I assume so! If you are, you too are anointed. It has little to do with you as the vessel or host, and everything to do with the One who lives inside you just waiting to release transformation to every sphere of the cosmos. The work of redemption is not complete until the entire universe has been restored and renewed. And get this, we get to play a part in this glorious cosmic renewal.

When it comes to healing, one remedy that many people prescribe is “confession” of God’s Word. Don’t let this frighten you. I know there are folks out there who border on the other side of ridiculous trying to use “positive confession” as a formula to get Cadillacs, Armani suits, and boatloads of cash out of God. The Maker of all the earth is not a vending machine, nor are our words a magic spell that rub a genie’s lamp just right.

However, the balance is that something supernatural happens when you declare the decree of the Lord. When you have a vision for what life is like in God’s world and catch a revelation of what the increase of His Kingdom looks like, you are positioned to speak the Word of God boldly and see it prosper and produce results. Healing permeates the pages of Scripture. Declare with boldness, for His Word will accomplish it! His Word, spoken from your lips, accomplishes much because of who He is and what He wills.

39

THE WORD IS WORKING

…and it [God’s Word] shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it (Isaiah 55:11).

Father-heart of God cannot be divorced from healing, let alone the restoration of all things that were rendered broken because of the Fall. When you decree God’s Word concerning healing, know full well that what you are saying is in complete agreement with His will. The key to releasing it effectively? Recognize the working power of God’s Word.

Scripture tells us that God’s Word goes forth from His mouth and it actually prospers in what it is dispatched to do. First, do you grasp the implications? When you speak the Word of the Lord, it is though He is speaking it. It’s not referred to as “The Word of God” for nothing. Could God speak it Himself? Sure. But He has sovereignly decided to involve you and me in the process. This is completely breathtaking! I pray that we begin to grasp the joy and honor of being able to witness realities on earth come into supernatural agreement with the realities of God’s Kingdom.

Second, when you understand that declaring Scripture is actually speaking the very Word of God, I pray your faith becomes more focused. You’re not just spouting out affirming words or positive, self-fulfilling prophecy. These are not just encouraging sayings designed to get you through a dark time. When God declares, things happen. Worlds are created. Dry bones become an army. Satan is put to flight. Demons flee. Disease is healed. Storms are calmed.

Third, know that even if you feel like nothing in your natural situation is changing, the Word of God is still working. It is prospering and producing in the thing it was sent to address, confront, and transform. In fact, things may feel like they are getting worse or deteriorating. You are going to need to make a decision: what do I believe is the definitive word on my situation—fickle feelings or the Word of God that created the universes? Everything on earth is subject to change, but the Word of the Lord is eternal, steadfast, and unchanging. It never fails!

Part Ten

Healing and the Glory of God

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This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it (John 11:4).

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HEALING REVEALS GOD’S GLORY

Jesus answered, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but that the works of God should be revealed in him” (John 9:3).

John 9 is often presented incorrectly, to make it sound like God afflicts people with sickness for His glory. In other words, God authors a disease or infirmity in our lives, and the sickness that we are afflicted with testifies of His glory. I am sure you have heard people use this type of language in speaking about illness—almost like sickness is some gift from God purposed to mature people and develop Christlikeness in them.

It is so important that we actually read the Scriptures in context and recognize that this perspective is skewed. More than just a twisted concept, this idea reflects poorly on the good and loving nature of the Father.

This is not “out in left field” type of stuff, nor are we talking “health and wealth” prosperity gospel. We are not promised preservation from persecution, true. Christians around the world are persecuted on a daily, if not hourly basis, in a variety of different ways. Everything from ridicule to torture. That said, sickness and infirmity do not fall under this persecution banner.

Sickness is not some heavenly solution for Christian maturity; it is devilish in origin. Disease does not cultivate Christlikeness; the Holy Spirit does. He can do this in the midst of disease, sure, but it is essential that we recognize the truth that the Father does not go around afflicting people with sickness “for His glory” and then have a scenario like John 9 where Jesus shows up, saves the day, and actually works “contrary” to the Father’s purpose. Keep in mind, if God the Father authors sickness and Jesus heals it, you have two members of the Trinity working against each other. This is impossible.

Remember, God’s glory is revealed in healing, not sickness. To believe otherwise is to embrace confused theology.

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HEALING MANIFESTS IN GOD’S GLORY

For an angel went down at a certain time into the pool and stirred up the water; then whoever stepped in first, after the stirring of the water, was made well of whatever disease he had (John 5:4).

All this means, healing in the glory, is that people are sovereignly and supernaturally healed when God’s glorious presence invades an atmosphere. Why? God’s presence carries the Kingdom and legislation of heaven. Contained in His presence and glory are the very essence of His nature. What defines God and the elements that characterize His realm—heaven—are in turn, released into a concentrated environment. If there are elements in an earthly location that are in disagreement with the climate of heaven, the glory of God sets them straight, bringing that which is on earth into alignment to that which is in heaven. This is revealed in the account of the guy who waited multiple decades to be dipped into the pool of Bethesda.

It was said that at “a certain time…an angel…went down into the pool and stirred up the water.” Whoever stepped into the water would be healed. The healing power is directly connected with angelic activity in the body of water. What does this mean? Angels never deserve the spotlight; however, it is foolish to ignore their purpose in the Kingdom. They are messengers. They are carriers. They live in God’s presence, right? As a result, they carry His presence and resources from heaven to earth. In this case, an angel was said to carry a trace of God’s glorious presence from heaven to earth, and specifically, deposit this glory into the pool of Bethesda—a concentrated location.

Because of the Cross, the veil that separated humanity from God has been torn. Glory is accessible. His presence is near and tangible. More than methods and more than formulas, let’s radically pursue Him. When He shows up, His government comes along and that which is out of line and out of order must submit.

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CREATIVE POWER IN GOD’S GLORY

But to you who fear My name the Sun of Righteousness shall arise with healing in His wings (Malachi 4:2).

Testimonies are coming in from around the world where people are in a strong flow of praise and worship, and the Holy Spirit begins healing those afflicted with sickness and disease. No one is praying for them. No production. No bop on the head, fall down, spin around, and hyped-up experience. God’s manifest presence shows up, touches people, and those with sickness are miraculously cured in His wonderful presence. Reports are numerous of occurrences where people just start shouting in the middle of worship, “I’ve been healed! I’ve been healed!”

This is my favorite type of “healing method” because the method is a Person. The catalyst is an encounter. The pursuit is not a remedy, a fix, comfort, or even a healing; the pursuit is the presence of the Sun of Righteousness. The object of desire is the Desire of Nations, Christ Jesus. There is an expectation, however, that when He shows up, anything and everything is possible—that along with His presence comes healing in His wings.

The focus is completely God-centered, rather than man-centered. And when He is given the platform, and the service, and the freedom to move as He wills, the impossible happens. All around the world there are accounts of phenomena where God’s thick, manifest presence carries His supernatural creative power into an environment and begins to do things that blow people’s minds. It is the glory of God that carries His creative power, and it is this creative power that grows limbs back into place, causes tumors to fall off bodies, reverses the incurable and terminal, and fulfills the “on earth as it is in heaven” mandate.

Let’s go against the grain of formulaic approaches to healing and set our gaze upon Jesus—just because we desire Him. I promise, a moment in His glorious presence contains the potential to change everything!

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A GENERATION DESTINED FOR GLORY

Let Your work appear to Your servants, and Your glory to their children (Psalm 90:16).

Psalm 90:16 speaks of two generations—the servants of God who witness His works, and their children who behold God’s glory. Was Moses (the suggested author of the Psalm) using arbitrary language here, or is there a strategic link between the two generations? There is indeed a connection, and it is vital that we note the relationship between the works of God and the glory of God, and how the revelation of God’s works set up the next generation to experience His glory in greater measure!

Right now, God is moving around the earth. It is silly for us to pray, “Send revival.” Revival is here. Rather, it is stewarding His move and activity that we need to be concerned with, for the world cannot afford another event. This move of God needs to be continuous. It must maintain momentum…and increase. That has been God’s agenda throughout the ages. One generation witnesses His wonders and His works, and then tells the next generation about them. This sets up the next generation to expect the miraculous from the outset, as the testimony of one generation stirs hunger in the next.

We need to pass on the testimony of God’s supernatural healing power to those after us—our children, the young people in our churches, those we mentor. We will not be casual about it when we see what we are positioning them for—glory. When a generation is brought up believing that what the Bible says can actually be released in and through their lives, and their mentors and spiritual parents are constantly feeding their faith with stories of the supernatural happening…today…ceilings become floors and the mountaintops one generation enjoyed with God become a launching pad for another generation to pursue the even greater works that Jesus described in John 14:12. .

Right now, a generation is witnessing the awesome works of the Lord. The next generation—should we train them correctly—will not merely witness miracles “here and there.” They will literally carry and release His presence and power wherever they go, so that the earth would become filled with His glory!

Part Eleven

On Earth as it Is in Heaven

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Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven (Matthew 6:10).

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YOUR TESTIMONY SETS UP THE MIRACULOUS

Now a certain woman had a flow of blood for twelve years, and had suffered many things from many physicians. She had spent all that she had and was no better, but rather grew worse.

When she heard about Jesus, she came behind Him in the crowd… (Mark 5:25-27).

In Mark 5, we meet a woman with a blood flow that had been going on for a long time. We know that, ultimately, she gets healed. Want to know one of the major catalysts for this woman’s breakthrough? The testimony of Jesus Christ. The moment that set her up for healing was “When she heard about Jesus.” When we as believers come into a clear understanding of the power of testimony, we become an unstoppable force that releases faith to the hurting and faithless.

When you speak forth the incredible things God has done in your life, or in the lives of those you know, or even in the life of someone you have never met, but you are still sharing his or her testimony—when you decree these things from your lips in hearing range of other people, something supernatural takes place. When you testify of real miracles, real healings, and real situations that were completely turned around by the power of God, faith is imparted to those listening. Hope rises. Those who previously assumed that their problems were hopeless are now exposed to the possibility of breakthrough because they heard you testify of that same breakthrough in your life.

This bleeding woman, who I have to believe was at the end of her rope, was exposed to the possibility of a man named Jesus. I have no idea how well her theology was developed. Scripture is silent on her track record of good deeds, Old Testament education, and faithfulness to attend synagogue. However, we would do well to pay attention to what Scripture does share about her: When she heard about Jesus, she came behind Him…

She heard testimony about Jesus and obviously, the testimony she heard exposed her to His identity as Healer. If she had not heard that He healed people (and people in some pretty desperate situations at that), I don’t know if she would have had the audacity to leave her home (still bleeding), expose herself to a crowd of people, and touch the hem of a holy man’s garment (while she was in a perpetual state of uncleanness). The testimony about this man Jesus must have been incredible, as it repositioned her from being poor and house-bound to touching the Son of God, with all eyes on her.

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AN IDENTITY CHANGE: WHO YOU’RE NOT!

And a certain woman, which had an issue of blood twelve years… (Mark 5:25 KJV).

As we continue to study the Mark 5 account of this woman, we discover that she had this ailment for twelve years. It is interesting that almost every time I have heard someone preach or teach about this story, they refer to the woman as “the woman with the issue of blood.”

After twelve years, there is a high likelihood that she also defined herself by her circumstance. She was not the woman of destiny or the woman who had hope and a future. She was not the woman God loved and wanted to change history through. Rather, she was the woman who kept bleeding and did not get any better. Are you defining yourself by your condition or issue?

“I’m the guy with the limp” or “I’m the kid who isn’t very smart” or “I’m the woman who can’t have children,” etc. Even if you do not go around saying such things about yourself, there is a chance that you may think them. Say it or think it, you need to know that Jesus Christ is both able and willing to cancel that false identity, as it is not His desire for you to wear it any longer.

What you do not have yet or what you think God has not done for you should never be upheld like a badge of honor, as such things misrepresent God. We cannot come to a place in our faith journey where we decide to give up and create a theology about a God who does not. This woman had the perfect opportunity to do this. She could have easily come up with some theology where God didn’t heal because she wasn’t healed. This does not change the fact that, most likely, she was at the end of her rope. She was undeniably desperate. And even still, when she heard about Jesus, her response tells you and me that she was willing to do whatever was required to shake off that old identity.

Just because breakthrough has not happened in your perceived timeframe does not mean that breakthrough will not happen. It is vital for you to reject the identity Satan wants to assign you, and instead remind yourself of how God sees you!

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AN IDENTITY CHANGE: WHO YOU ARE!

But Jesus said, “Somebody touched Me, for I perceived power going out from Me” (Luke 8:46).

Believer, you are a child of God. You were bought with the highest price imaginable—the precious blood of Jesus Christ. You have received the gift of the Holy Spirit, God dwelling inside you. You are God’s delight. He has sovereignly willed for you to be His partner in the restoration and renewal of the planet. I pray by this point you recognize that you are endlessly more than a person identified by an ailment. You are someone who possesses the potential to touch Jesus and become completely transformed by His power.

When did it become spiritually kosher for us to start identifying ourselves by what God has not done? Do you think we can really expect to receive breakthrough as we harbor false perspectives like that? Listen, our negative words and wrong thinking don’t do anything to or for God. What they do impact is our faith and how we release it. This is why it is so essential that we see ourselves as God sees us.

This woman in Luke 8 refused to be defined by her ailment any longer; and with whatever faith she had left, she stepped out, took a risk, pressed through the crowd, touched the Master’s garment and she was changed—forever. If she maintained a negative perception of identity and continued to see herself as nothing more than the woman with the issue of blood, I wonder if she would have released the faith to approach Jesus and experience a touch of His power.

Remember, you are more than a person with an issue and ailment. You are a miracle in the making. You are a testimony on the other side of a test. You are an encounter with King Jesus who is presently being set up. Press through the temptation to identify yourself by your ailment. Rather, fix your gaze on Jesus and keep your ears tuned in to the faith-empowering truth of His Word!

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THE GIFT OF HEALINGS

…to another gifts of healings by the same Spirit (1 Corinthians 12:9).

Any believer at any moment can be used mightily by the Holy Spirit to administer supernatural healing—specifically, through the “gifts of healings.”

Before I continue, I want to distinguish the “gifts of healings” from a few other things. For one, all believers have been commissioned to lay their hands on the sick and see them recover (see Mark 16:18). Since Jesus sent us as the Father sent Him, we cannot escape His model and mandate—He healed “all who were oppressed by the devil” (Acts 10:38). It is our mission to pray for the sick and see signs and wonders follow our proclamation of the Gospel.

When we examine the “gifts of healings,” we are dealing with another subject altogether. Contrary to the opinions of some, the gifts of the Holy Spirit are not toys, nor are they given on our demand. The Holy Spirit is sovereign in how He distributes these gifts and to whom He distributes them (see 1 Corinthians 12:11).

In First Corinthians 14:1, Paul encourage us to “Pursue love, and desire spiritual gifts.” It is not unbiblical or illegal to desire spiritual gifts. If your heart burns with passion for Jesus, and you pursue Him, while understanding that any supernatural endowment that you receive is not purposed to make you look like God’s man or woman of power for the hour, but rather to bring glory to Jesus Christ, there is nothing God cannot do through you. I am convinced of this.

Desire and hunger coupled with the knowledge of what Scripture says positions you to be used by the Spirit in any moment, at any time, in any environment to release supernatural healing to one or thousands. Always be ready. Always be expectant. Always be hungry. God desires to use you in the supernatural. The gifts of the Spirit are for His church and bring God great glory when they are used to exalt Jesus and manifest His love.

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SIGNS AND WONDERS VERSUS HEALTH AND WEALTH

…grant to Your servants that with all boldness they may speak Your word, by stretching out Your hand to heal, and that signs and wonders may be done through the name of Your holy Servant Jesus (Acts 4:29-30).

God wants you healed, yes. However, the greater ministry than receiving healing is releasing it to others. You have been filled with the Holy Spirit to live a miraculous lifestyle. Anything less is settling below what Jesus died to secure for you. A dimension of this miraculous lifestyle is releasing signs and wonders, healings and miracles.

When you heal the sick through the power of the risen Christ, something happens—your boldness is increased. Boldness to tell others about Jesus. Boldness in your pursuit of God, to know Him and encounter Him. After all, the ministry of the miraculous confronts us with His reality. God is not detached. He is not “somewhere, out there.” He is near. He is powerful. He is sheer love, but He is also terrifyingly strong. How can we remain silent about our God who is that real, and how can we not desire to pursue this glorious One who has invited you and me seek Him out?

Never let anyone rob you of the ministry of the miraculous because they claim you are ascribing to some type of “health and wealth” gospel. The sad fact is that there are erroneous pockets of Christianity that observe “divine healing” as something purposed to improve one’s comfort level in this life—and that’s it. They lump it together with the “prosperity gospel” and you have certified false teaching and an inaccurate representation of the living, risen, supernatural Christ.

Contrast health and wealth with what Jesus preached and demonstrated—signs and wonders. Difference? Signs and wonders follow and carry a message. Signs follow those who believe and preach the Gospel message. Signs point to Someone—Jesus Christ. Wonders infuse the observer with awe and wonder of this great Savior. I pray you see the difference. Signs and wonders are completely God-focused, while health and wealth is human-focused.

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CARRIERS OF THE EVERLASTING KINGDOM

…His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and His dominion is from generation to generation (Daniel 4:2-3).

Signs and wonders reveal the substance of God’s Kingdom—everlasting. Think about it. When someone is healed by the power of God, that sign and wonder takes a natural circumstance (sickness) and demonstrates how it is subject to change when exposed to the everlasting substance of God’s Kingdom.

In other words, reality in God’s Kingdom is not subject to change. It is permanent, everlasting and eternal. This world, however, is entirely subject to change. There is nothing on planet Earth that is permanent, everlasting or eternal, beside the spirit of humanity that will journey on into eternity. Do you know what this tells us? Everything on earth is one supernatural invasion away from transformation.

Your sickness is one encounter with the presence and power of God away from being healed. The person that the Lord has laid on your heart who desperately needs a healing—I pray you would know that he or she is only one moment, one second, one instant away from being transformed and changed. The key is recognizing the temporal nature of sickness. It is completely subject to change. Even apart from the power of God, when our bodies get sick, they have the innate ability to heal by divine design.

That said, we get a picture of how fickle and temporal everything on this planet truly is. Paul describes the temporality of this life by writing, “For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal” (Second Corinthians 4:18). Hold fast to this truth when you are going through trials and circumstances, or you need to bring the eternal power of God’s Kingdom to someone else who is going through a tough season.

You carry the eternal. You are a temple, a resting place for the very presence of God. That presence is everlasting! You possess the potential to release eternal substance—the presence of God—into natural circumstances.

50

ON EARTH AS IT IS IN HEAVEN

Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven (Matthew 6:10).

Our fifty keys conclude with the most blatant, black and white directive in the whole Bible that confirms God’s will to heal—The Lord’s Prayer in Matthew 6. Interestingly enough, this prayer has received more religious stigma than any other in Scripture. It is taught about frequently. It is repeated, chanted, and confessed every week by millions of Christians around the globe. We know it by heart. We are extremely familiar with it. In fact, we could recite it in our sleep. Many unbelievers know it just as well as the Christian community does. So…why isn’t more of heaven showing up on earth?

For too long theology has answered this question foolishly. It mistakenly identifies circumstance, calamity, disease, and disaster as God’s sovereign will instead of elements that need to be combated by you and me—God’s chosen ambassadors of change in the earth.

Contemporary Christianity has become like a lazy parent who delivers idle threats to a disobedient child. “One more tantrum and you’re in time out!” “If you scream like that one more time, I promise, I will pull the car over!” What happens with lazy parents? They threaten, do not deliver on their “promise” of discipline, and then the children end up running amuck. Diagnosis? “That’s just how my kids are!” I know this is not the case in every situation, being a parent myself. Sometimes kids just go crazy and you have to do whatever you can to survive and hold down the fort. However, when considering the parenting process from the example just cited, we can draw a powerful comparison. Lazy parents refuse to accept blame for their lack of rising to the occasion to disciple their children, and foolishly brand their children’s disobedience as “that’s just how my child is.”

It is time for the church to rise up and break off this “lazy parenting” approach to dealing with the works of the devil. Let’s stop looking at the world and concluding, “Well, that’s just how it is. It must be God’s sovereign will and whatever will be will be.” We have allowed a defeated foe to run amuck for far too long. Why? We’ve kept heaven in heaven instead of drawing on our supernatural inheritance and releasing it into our sphere of influence.

This is not an invitation to condemnation. This is the last thing God wants us to feel when it comes to not stewarding His inheritance. He is a good Father Who possesses a world of divine resource just ready to release into the Earth through you and I. He stands with arms open wide, celebrating every time the body of Christ presses into His presence deeper and in turn, discovers more and more about what they possess in Him. This gives Him great glory. When we identify and activate every single grace that Calvary purchased—from salvation to healing to deliverance—the Father receives endless praise.

In short, disease and disaster are not the way things are supposed to be—and they are in our territory to transform. Jesus is at the Father’s right hand, seated in heaven. Two members of the Trinity are in heaven. If all three were in heaven, I would easily accept the whole, “Sovereign will of God” approach to all of the stuff that goes on in this world. The fact is, we have not been left as orphans—we have received the One Jesus called the Advantage—the Holy Spirit lives inside you! He is the divine change-agent for this planet.

Take a moment and consider His residence—inside of you. Steward His presence and release His healing power today. It is both your assignment and joy as a disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Larry Sparks is on a mission that can be captured in three words: Encounter, Activate, and Transform. His driving passion is to see people encounter the presence of the Holy Spirit, activate His power in their lives through supernatural discipleship, and transform the world by representing Jesus Christ and advancing His Kingdom.

As an author, speaker, and revivalist, Larry is committed to harnessing the power of media to equip the body of Christ for supernatural living. His ministry, Equip Culture, exists to provide tools and resources that empower everyday believers to enjoy a lifestyle of victory through the power of the Holy Spirit.

Larry’s ministry combines the clear, practical teaching of Scripture with the supernatural power of the Holy Spirit. He graduated from Palm Beach Atlantic University with a B.A. in Screenwriting and Communications. Presently, he is pursuing graduate theological studies at Regent University in Virginia Beach (MDiv, Christian Theology).

Supernatural discipleship is one of Larry’s main areas of emphasis. He presently serves as Director of Curriculum Resources for Destiny Image Publishers where he creates media-based resources that equip believers to sustain supernatural lifestyles followed by the gifts of the Spirit, signs, wonders, and miracles.

Having ministered in university, church, and conference settings, Larry delivers a message of supernatural empowerment and spiritual passion. He also ministers consistently using different forms of technology—a repeat guest on CBN’s Spiritual Gifts Webcast, host of the weekly The Voice of Destiny radio broadcast, and Equip Culture TV.

He lives in Florida with his wife and daughter.

Subscribe to Larry’s weekly blog at

www.lawrencesparks.com

View Equip Culture Media’s library of video content at

www.equipculture.com

Follow Larry on Twitter

@LarryVSparks

Invite Larry to minister at your conference or event at

lawrencesparks.com/invite-larry

Table of Contents

Introduction

Part One: Building a Foundation

1 Healing Is about Jesus

2 Building on God’s Unchanging Nature

3 Jesus Unveils God’s Nature

Part Two: The Goodness of God

4 Jesus is the Author of Abundant Life

5 Through the Eyes of a Father

6 God’s Goodness Contrasted with Ours

Part Three: Did God Create Sickness?

7 Sickness’s Origin and God’s Nature

8 The Father of Lights

9 Restoring Original Intent

10 Our Bridge Back to Eden

Part Four: Jesus Our Model

11 What’s God’s Will? Look at Jesus

12 Stranded on an Island with the Word

13 Imitators of Jesus, not Job

14 The Spirit of Jesus, not Job

Part Five: Breaking Generational Curses

15 It Runs in My Family

16 The Origin of a Curse

17 Breaking the Curse

Part Six: Moving on to the Mechanics

18 Moving Past the Messes and Misuses

19 Why Is Healing Important?

20 Healing Exalts Jesus’ Name

Part Seven: Hope—Faith Fuel

21 There Is No Faith Without Hope

22 Hope Introduces Possibility

23 God’s Willingness Produces Hope

24 Remembering God’s Benefits Produces Hope

Part Eight: Faith that Perseveres and Breaks Through

25 Faith that Is Born of God

26 Faith that Is Settled

27 Faith that Demands Breakthrough

28 Faith that Is Relentless

29 Faith that Perseveres Past Disappointment

30 Faith that Pushes Past Roadblocks

31 Faith that Busts Through the Ceiling

32 Crazy Faith Friends

33 Faith that Responds to the Invisible

34 Faith that Can Be Seen

35 Faith that Kicks Doubt Out, Part 1

36 Faith that Kicks Doubt Out, Part 2

Part Nine: Releasing Faith through Decree

37 The Miracle-Working Word of Jesus Is on Your Lips

38 Speaking the Words of Heaven

39 The Word Is Working

Part Ten: Healing and the Glory of God

40 Healing Reveals God’s Glory

41 Healing Manifests in God’s Glory

42 Creative Power in God’s Glory

43 A Generation Destined for Glory

Part Eleven: On Earth as it Is in Heaven

44 Your Testimony Sets Up the Miraculous

45 An Identity Change: Who You’re Not!

46 An Identity Change: Who You Are!

47 The Gift of Healings

48 Signs and Wonders versus Health and Wealth

49 Carriers of the Everlasting Kingdom

50 On Earth as it Is in Heaven