Healed of Lupus

We are going to talk about what makes you a wise man in God's eyes. Take the area of healing, for instance. There are a lot of ways to be healed, and if you are wise, you will do what the Bible says to do to get healed.

A woman named Emily was dying in the last stages of lupus, an incurable disease. She was a Baptist woman and didn't know anything about divine healing. She began to listen to one of my tape series, "How To Live and Not Die." On those tapes, I ministered about how a person can get Jesus to become his Healer. So this woman began to confess that Jesus was her Healer.

God has said in His Word that the number one way for a human being to be healed is by reading the Bible and believing it for himself. God said, "I sent My Word to heal you." Well, if a person doesn't know what the Word says, he can't receive it that way.

There are many ways in the Bible you can be healed. The Bible says that one way you can be healed is by praying for one another. If you have faith in God's Word, you can be healed.

God's Word is so powerful. Find one healing verse and quote it, memorize it, and thank God for it. Claim that verse for yourself, and receive your healing by faith in Jesus' name. Then begin to thank the Lord for it. The Lord says to thank Him by rejoicing. Some people get healed by sacrificing some of their time, thanking Him for their healing.

But this woman, Emily, just kept thanking the Lord out loud for healing her of lupus so that God could hear her say it.

It's important to say it, and to say it with thanksgiving. And if you will worship the Lord first before you ask Him for anything, it is amazing how things will work so easy for you.

Now this is where you lose the church; many people will not do this: She thanked the Lord for healing her of lupus about a hundred or more times a day.

She said that in the eighth month of doing that, she could tell in her body that the lupus was leaving and that health was reappearing.

She kept on doing that for twelve months, and by the twelfth month all the lupus had disappeared, which was an impossibility according to the best doctors in the world.

How To Receive Your Answer From God

God said to first read the Bible and find out what He has promised us for healing, finances, and so forth. Then He tells us to open our mouths and remind Him of what He has promised us and what we are believing for.

Then by faith claim the answer for yourself and confess it with your mouth that it is yours. And with the sacrifice of thanksgiving, give Him thanks for it on a continual basis, with rejoicing. The joy of the Lord is your strength.

Going to Church—Vital to Your Spiritual Strength

The only way to find yourself believing like that is to go to church. Because when you believe like that, spiritual strength comes into you. God says that strength and beauty and glory is found in the sanctuary. You are not going to find it anyplace else. Every time you can, go to church. Get in that atmosphere; you need that atmosphere as much as you possibly can get it. That is the reason the Lord said to you, "When the doors of the sanctuary are open, fail not to be there."

If you choose to do something else, you choose a natural thing. But if you go to church and get in that atmosphere for an hour or two, it is amazing what happens to you. You should go to a church that praises the Lord in the assembly of the upright and worships Him in the sanctuary.

The Lord says that His work is glorious and wonderful for you. When you get involved in it, it's amazing what kind of lifestyle you take on.

Somebody said, "Brother Norvel, don't you ever have any down days?"

No, I don't have any down days. I don't have any days I don't want to serve God. I used to have one day up and one day down. But one day the Lord told me, "I don't believe in blue Mondays. I don't have any blue Mondays in heaven."

I said, "Well, if You don't believe in blue Mondays, I don't believe in them either." And I haven't had one since then. You get what you believe in. If you don't believe in blue Mondays, don't accept one.

The Importance of Worshipping the Lord

In the last fifteen years the Lord has manifested Himself three times to me concerning the importance of people worshipping Him. The third time He did was when I started writing my book on worship. God showed me that the number one covenant was worshipping Him.

I asked the Lord what I could do to help people so they can get things from Him easily. (It isn't hard to get God to do things for you.) He said, "Son, take them back to the beginning; put first things first"

Some people and denominations want to put their ideas first. "Well, we're going to build a denomination, and we're going to teach you about church. We have a seminar over here; we're going to teach you about church. If you want to be a doctor, come to our special college. We're going to build a school for about six years, and we'll teach you to be a doctor."

Well, that's all right; there's nothing wrong with that. But if you leave worship out, you leave the power out. You lose the power. You lose the beauty of the Gospel when you leave worship out.

But the Lord told me, "Take them back to the beginning and show them in the Scriptures what kind of people I picked and how they treated Jesus when they first saw Him. The Church is supposed to be treating Jesus like that now. That is why it is in there—to teach them to put first things first."

Pay the Price

How do you treat the Lord Jesus Christ? That's a good question for you to answer for yourself. "How do I treat Jesus? When I'm sick; how do I treat Jesus? Do I treat Him like a Healer, or do I just maybe say a nonchalant confession every once in a while?"

Well, you're not going to get anything to speak of doing that! God says you have to sacrifice your time. Those who sacrifice their time with thanksgiving and rejoicing are the ones who will hear from God. It will just happen.

Someone asks, "Well, what will happen?"

Well, anything you are believing for will happen, if you do that. If you don't do it, then it won't happen. You have to pay a price!

Someone asks, "What kind of a price do I have to pay?"

Well, you have to do what the Lord Jesus Christ tells you to do. You have to pick a healing verse, and you have to remind Him of what He said, and then you have to apply your thanksgiving to that.

Now Emily, the woman healed of lupus, began to receive her healing after applying that principle to her situation for eight months. She thanked the Lord about a hundred times a day for eight months.

I have known people dying of a disease who have received healing in six months. But they confessed it every single day for at least an hour or two.

Now, maybe you can get God to manifest your answer more quickly than that. If you can, more power to you. But most people can't. That is the price you have to pay.

Worshipping the Lord Increases Your Health and Finances

The Lord told me one time that people are sick in their body because they don't worship Him enough.

You ought to worship the Lord every day. If you will worship God every day, your health will increase and your finances will increase.

I can prove it to you from the Bible. If you will bow before God every day—if you will worship Him for a while every day, and praise His wonderful name with rejoicing—your health will increase and your finances will increase. God says you are to do it in your house.

Now if you go to church and do it two or three times a week, that is a lot better than nothing. It is in church where you learn to do it with your brothers and sisters. But purpose to worship God in your house. God said that if you will worship Him in your house, He will put wealth and riches in your house.

Somebody says, "Well, Brother Norvel, I'm broke! My house is broke! I don't have any wealth and riches in my house!"

"Well, why don't you worship God in your house?" I did for years before it started happening to me."

All the money I used to make, I would make it from my own ambition, my own intelligence, and my own level of sales. Any money I made was made the hard way.

But when the Lord began to reveal this to me some fifteen years ago, and I began to worship the Lord in my house, then things started happening. He began giving me all kinds of financial blessings. For instance, I was going fishing one day, and the Lord made me more than one million dollars on my way to go fishing!

Supernatural blessings started coming to me. Every year or so, something else would happen that would be a great blessing to me.

The Lord told me to take the people back to the beginning and show them. So I am going to take you back to the beginning, and I am going to show you.

Back to the Beginning

Let's look at Matthew chapter 2. God has given you instructions in His Word. He wants to know if when you approach Jesus, you are doing what He told you to do at the beginning. When you think about Jesus, what do you do?

In the Old Testament, the old prophets prophesied for hundreds and hundreds of years that the Messiah, a Deliverer, was coming. One prophet prophesied that God would call His Son out of Egypt. Well, you can imagine how that went over. Some people probably thought this was a false prophet, saying, "God isn't going to call His Son out of Egypt. You can't get Jerusalem's blessings down in Egypt."

Ever since I learned that scripture, I tell people that a lot. If someone says, "I'm dying and I want the Lord to heal me."

I say, "Where do you go to church?" "Well, I go to the First Church here and the First Church there..."

I said, "Well, you're not going to get Jerusalem's blessings down in Egypt. They don't have any healing services."

You need to be in a church that has an atmosphere of healing. There isn't any point in you going to a church that doesn't preach and teach healing; they don't have the right kind of atmosphere. You can have a healing atmosphere in your own house if you will read the Bible on healing and worship the Lord for your healing.

The Example of the Wise Men

Notice in Matthew chapter 2:

Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem.

Matthew 2:1

The Lord let me know one day that in those days they had wise men over the church to run it. He said, "Son, if you can talk people into doing what the wise men did here, I will call them wise men. Then they will be wise men."

I said, "What if they don't do what the wise men did, what do You call them?" He never did answer me.

Bow Down and Worship Him

Continue reading from verse 2. The star appeared in the east and they followed the star, and the star took them into Jerusalem. And they came into Jerusalem saying:

...Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him.

Matthew 2:2

What you get from Heaven when you actually worship the Lord Jesus Christ is a far cry from what you get when you just go to church, talk about Him and sing about Him, and then do your own thing. There is another world of blessings, another world of rewards for you.

God opens up the windows of Heaven and pours out health, blessings, financial blessings, joy blessings, and wisdom blessings for people who will bow down and worship His Son Jesus—in church and also in their house. For what God sees you doing in secret, He rewards you openly.

Rewards you openly!

Somebody said, "Brother Norvel, God doesn't ever reward me with much health. And He doesn't reward me with much financial blessing openly."

Well, you know why? Because He watches what you do in secret. I want to talk you into worshipping the Lord in your home by yourself. Go into a room and close the door. It is okay to do it with your family, but do it alone too.

The kings in those days had a lot of respect for the wise men. Notice verse 3.

When Herod the king had heard these things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he demanded of them where Christ should be born.

Matthew 2:3,4

Revealed by the Prophets

Well, the wise men didn't know where the Lord was being born. Why does the priest know?

And they said unto him, In Bethlehem of Judaea: for thus it is written by the prophet.

Matthew 2:5

Now the only reason the priests knew anything was that the prophets had spoken in God's Word. They themselves didn't know for sure, but the old prophet said that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem, and they believed the Old Testament prophets. Of course, back in the old days, the kings were always afraid of the prophets because they prophesied what would happen in the future.

New Testament prophecy is a little bit different. It can point toward the future. But it also tells about what is happening right now, because the Holy Ghost is here, and the Bible says in the Book of Hebrews that faith is now. So a lot of prophecies have to do with situations and troubles right now.

In the Old Testament, a lot of prophets foretold what was going to happen in the future.

Approach Jesus as the Wise Men Did

Now let's read verse 6 from Matthew chapter

And thou Bethlehem, in the land of Juda, art not the least among the princes of Juda: for out of thee shall come a Governor, that shall rule my people Israel.

Then Herod, when he had privily called...

Matthew 2:6,7

Herod called for those wise men when he heard what they were saying. It troubled him, and he called them into his private chamber. Notice verse 7.

Then Herod, when he had privily called the wise men, enquired of them diligently what time the star appeared.

And he sent them to Bethlehem, and said, Go and search diligently for the young child; and when ye have found him, bring the word again, that I may come and worship him also.

Matthew 2:7,8

Flakey, flakey, flakey! Shame, shame, shame! Herod was wanting to kill Jesus! He wasn't wanting to worship Him! King Herod was a first-class flake; he wasn't worshipping anything. And he told the wise men a lie. He said, "I want to come and worship Him with you."

If they had asked Herod, "When was the last time you attended a worship service?" He would have probably said, "Huh?"

Now notice verse 9:

When they had heard the king, they departed; and, lo, the star, which they saw in the east..

Matthew 2:9

Now watch this. You talk about God doing miracles! When the wise men came out of the king's chambers, the star began to move. And the star went before them until it came to just the right spot in Bethlehem; then it stayed over the place where the young child lay.

When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy. And when they were come into the house...

Matthew 2:10

Now the wise men arc approaching the Messiah, rejoicing. You see, if your approach to Jesus is not the same as the wise men's, then your approach is wrong. Many churches' approach to Jesus has been wrong for two thousand years, because they have set their own standards and they set their own ways. They built a building and put a steeple on it and called it a church, but they follow their own ways.

Well, that is not good enough for God. You have to have God's ways. You can build a building and put a steeple on it, but how are you going to teach the people? If you are not going to teach the people to worship God, you may as well stay home.

Let's continue reading.

And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and [the wise men] fell down...

Matthew 2:11

The Bible says to lift your hands and worship God, to fall down and worship God, to fall on your knees and worship God.

...fell down, and worshipped him:

and when they had opened their treasures...

Matthew 2:11

The wise men had satchels with them in which they carried their valuables with them. After they worshipped Jesus, they opened their treasures and presented unto Him gifts. And they didn't present little tiny gifts; they presented gold. Gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

The two things the wise men did to Jesus when they saw Him was first, they worshipped the Lord; then second, they gave Him gifts.

Without gifts being given to God, hardly anybody would be saved. There would be no churches.

Important Keys in Your Life

Those arc two real important keys to success in your life: First, worship the Lord Jesus Christ. Second, give to His kingdom.

Even if you don't have any money, worship the Lord Jesus Christ. But if you have a dime and you worship the Lord Jesus Christ, a tenth of a dime is a penny. Give God a penny, and He will bless that penny. Next time you will have twenty-five cents, and give God three cents. And then keep increasing slowly.

When God watches you do what He says to do, I guarantee you He will increase your material substance slowly. Why? Because most human beings I have ever met in my life cannot handle money.

Money Doesn't Bring Happiness

I have been an employer for more than forty years of my life, and I have never had an employee in sales businesses who can handle money. Human beings can't stand to have money. I see that they arc nice, sweet people, until they get about ten thousand, fifteen thousand, or twenty thousand dollars in their savings accounts. Then when they do, they change into another person. They are not as dedicated as they were; they are not as humble as they were before. They are not willing to learn anymore.

If they get fifty thousand dollars in their savings account, you can hardly live with them. They will do their own thing. And of course, they will usually go out and lose it.

But the average person sitting in a church in America, you give them one hundred thousand dollars or a quarter of a million dollars in cash money, and they can't handle it.

Making a million dollars cash doesn't mean more to me than taking a drink of water. I refuse to let money change me. You're not going to find any happiness with money; it's only a means that allows you to do things for God, but you are not going to find any happiness there.

Happiness Is Serving God

You find happiness working for God. You find happiness telling people about Jesus. You find happiness, and you get great rewards from Heaven, by helping somebody else. Love is like a boomerang; you give it out, and it comes back to you. Continually give it out, and it will come back to you.

Walk in Love

For married people, if you ever stop loving your mate and being sweet to your mate, you're in trouble. If you ladies ever stop being a good cook at your home or keeping your house clean, if you ever stop taking care of your husband—your happy days are over. But pure love from God and saying sweet things to your mate causes your marriage to never die. And the older you get, the sweeter it gets.

But if you ever open up that dumb mouth of yours, and start giving orders in your house, and start saying harsh things to your family—your happy days are over. Do you know why? Because God can't even help you because you're such a meat head. God doesn't bless meat heads! God blesses His love coming through your mouth.

Love Your Spouse

The Bible tells the men to love their wives as Jesus loves the church.

You may be going through a storm in your marriage; but just keep on obeying God. If I can talk you into obeying God, it will be so sweet at your house. You will say, "Oh, my God, blessed be the name of the Lord."

When you get up in the morning, say sweet things to your mate and your children. Don't go around nagging and screaming at them. Stop and think about how you treat your mate and children. How Do You Treat Jesus?

Stop and think, "How do I treat Jesus? Do I actually treat Him as the wise men treated Him?"

Here were men who were big shots spiritually in the land. They were the highest type of men there were at that time. The kings even listened to them.

When the wise men saw Jesus, they bowed down before Him and began to worship Him. Then after they worshipped Him for a while, they opened up their satchels and began to give Him gifts.

Now let's go on down a few more verses from the second chapter of the Book of Matthew.

And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh.

And being warned of God in a dream that they should not return to Herod...

Matthew 2:11,12

God warned the wise men in a dream, "Don't go back to Herod and tell him anything."

...they departed into their own country another way.

And when they were departed, behold, the angel of the Lord appeareth to Joseph...

Matthew 2:13

Now you'll find out why the old prophet prophesied that God said, "Out of Egypt I shall call my Son."

And when they were departed, behold, the angel of the Lord appeareth to Joseph in a dream, saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and flee into Egypt, and be thou there until I bring thee word: for Herod will seek the young child to destroy him.

Matthew 2:13

Now, Joseph would have to walk by night with a young child and His mother, and then they would sleep during the day where nobody could see them. In those days they didn't have street lights; it was dark everywhere. I am sure it took weeks and weeks, going from Jerusalem into Egypt, because they had to walk all the way.

Let's read verse 14.

When he arose, he took the young child and his mother by night, and departed into Egypt: And was there until the death of Herod: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the Prophet, saying, Out of Egypt have I called my son.

Matthew 2:14,15

Now the question is, how arc you going to treat Jesus? Are you going to treat Him the same way the wise men treated Him? God said if you do, you're going to be mightily blessed, and you're going to be blessed all the time.

Worship the Lord in Your Giving

When you bring your offerings to church services, you should present them to the Lord by kneeling down and worshipping Him. Present your gift to the Lord, but also worship Him as you do it. Bow before Him and worship Him. If you get used to doing it in church, it will be so easy to do it at home. Just praise and worship His wonderful name.

The Bible says that when you recognize there is something wrong, go to the altar in church. The Lord says that if you will go to the altar and ask Him for something, He will give it to you.

God loves altars. He loves for people to go to the altar and bow down before Him.

Of course, that same baby Jesus to whom the wise men knelt down and worshipped and presented with gifts is your Savior.

The Comforter Has Come To Help You Overcome

Jesus said it was good for us that He went away. He said, "If I go not away the Comforter will not come, but if I go away, I’ll pray to the Father that He will send you another Comforter, that He will be in you, and He will be with you. He will stick closer than a brother, all the days of your life. He will never leave you nor forsake you.”

The only way the Holy Spirit will ever leave you is if you start committing sin, because Paul said that the Holy Spirit won't live in an unclean vessel. But unless you start committing sin, He won't leave you.

Of course, if you commit sin, you need to quickly ask the Lord to forgive you. And if you have asked for forgiveness and have asked the Holy Spirit to come back in you, He will do that. Your spirit is still reborn; you just took on a new nature and then started following the devil instead of following God, and you got messed up.

But Jesus said that when the Comforter comes, He will live in you and He will do anything for you. He said, "From this day forward, whatever you ask the Father in My Name, He will give it to you." The Holy Spirit will perform it for you. Whatever you ask the Father in Jesus' name.

Ask the Father in Jesus' Name

Now, it is good to pray for one another, but you can't just go around asking men for everything you need. You have to ask the Father in the name of Jesus.

Think about what you need. If you have fulfilled the scriptures that I have taught on—if you have presented God with a gift and worshipped Him—you now have a God-given right as a child of God to go before the throne of God, to the Father in Jesus' name, and ask Him for what you will. And Jesus said it would be given unto you.

I have no way of knowing your needs. But you do. You know what they are. Just turn your face toward Heaven and ask the Father in Jesus' name for what you want. After you ask Him for what you want, spend some time thanking Him for it and praising Him for it.

Then after asking the Lord in English for what you need, either start praying in tongues or start thanking Him for it. Then just thank Him for it and praise Him for it. It will come to pass if you don't waver. You might as well mark that down.

Where needs are concerned, there is one area that the church doesn't teach very much about. God says, "When you thank Me for something, I want you to show Me that you're strong and not weak." Weakness doesn't get anything from God. God doesn't recognize weakness. That's the reason when you are weak, the Bible says, "Let them say they're strong."

Rejoice!

The Lord says, "When you're thanking Me, I want you to thank Me with rejoicing. Your rejoicing shows Me your strength, because the joy of the Lord is your strength."

If a person comes to me and tells me four or five things they need and then says, "Would you pray for me?" I would say, "Well, I think I need to pray for you, because it looks like you've lost all your strength. You don't have any joy."

Don't let yourself lose your joy. Just because you have a bunch of needs is no sign that you have to lose your joy.

So after asking the Lord and thanking Him for something, begin worshipping Him with rejoicing.

Just act like you're happy if you have to. Then you will begin to really rejoice.

About the Author

Norvel Hayes shares God's Word boldly and simply, with an enthusiasm that captures that heart of the hearer. He has learned through personal experience that God's word can be effective in every area of life and that it will work for anyone who will believe it and apply it.

Norvel owns several businesses which function successfully despite the fact that he spends more than half his time away from the office ministering the Gospel throughout the country. His obedience to God and his willingness to share his faith have taken him to a variety of places. He ministers in churches, seminars, conventions, colleges, prisons—anywhere the Spirit of God leads.

How To Become A Wise Man in God’s Eyes...Worship Him

Norvel Hayes discusses how we can become wise as the wise men were when they approached the newborn Messiah. Norvel emphasizes the importance of worshipping the Lord and giving gifts to God’s kingdom, explaining that these are the two key elements of being a wise person in God’s kingdom. ******

NORVEL HAYES, a successful businessman, has learned through personal experience that God’s Word works for anyone who will believe and apply it. He shares with a bold simplicity that captures the heart of the reader and shines new light on hidden treasures.

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