Should I be condemned If I haven't been Healed?
Hey Juli,
I hope you had a wonderful thanksgiving. I opened up a book today about John G Lake on healing and I read this passage that was written:
"Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God." This young man who testified says he suffers because of an appetite for cigarettes and he hopes that we will pray so that the next time he wants to smoke he won't. I tell you God says, "Quit your sins and then come to Me, and I will pardon." He doesn't say, "You come on with your sins, and I will pardon you." He says, "You quit your meanness, you quit fooling with the doctor, and the devil, you quit your secret habits, and come to Me, and I will deliver you." That is the only road to God; that is the way in God.
Here's another passage:
It is just as offensive for the Christian to take medicine as for the drunkard to take whiskey. Don't you see, beloved, the great wonderful advantage in the Christian's life of becoming cut clear and free form all dependence on the arm of man? You are cut forever from the world, from the flesh, from the devil. Bless God.
It was confirmed that he had a recorded 100,000 healings during his ministry. I also heard he had a direct visitation from the Lord Jesus Himself during a 21 day fast. I absolutely believe these things are true, but as I opened this book and started reading, these two passages in particular, it kind of troubled me. Because here is this great man of God whom I honor and respect who's had such great influence during his lifetime and then I started reading some of this book, especially the parts I have underlined, It seems like that can't be from God. Yet I look back at his life and I see all the wonderful things that took place. Right now I'm taking medicine for my stomach and I believe God for complete healing, but I feel like God led me to go the doctor to deal with the natural part while the His Word deals with the spiritual part which I believe was stress. I've been studying books by Andrew Wommack and Joseph Prince about God's Grace and it takes me to another level of His love and goodness. It puts all the emphasis on God's grace and His goodness which I agree with. I used to really struggle with performance and legalism so books on God's Grace allows me to really live confidently. But when I think of the past revivalists it seems like the entire emphasis is on sin and how offensive it is to God, but I don't, we are already forgiven and cleansed by His blood and we can come to Him just as we are? I know we're under Grace, but it seems that things I read are mixtures of performance and law mentality with His Grace. When I read of these great men of God I automatically think that everything I read from them is directly from God, but sometimes things just seem legalistic and I think, this can't be from God. And I honor these great men of faith and I would by no means ever go against them. I just see God as always pleased with me, even in my weaknesses, and His Grace is always working in me to empower me. I didn't know we had to straighten our lives out first, then come to Him and be delivered. Can somebody have a wrong view of God and His ways but yet still be used mightily by Him? And is it possible that God is revealing a deeper revelation of His grace in these end times that maybe the previous generations didn't have? The link to these passages above is http://www.revivalscotland.com/johnglake.html
Thanks, Dustin
Dear Dustin,
Blessings to you in the name of Jesus Christ and Happy Thanksgiving!
One thing I know about the Lord and healing is that God will absolutely ALWAYS meet us where we are and at the level of faith we exert. Take a look at Jesus' ministry of healing, paying attention to what he said. Most of the time, he asked the people what they wanted and what they were believing for and then he healed them in that manner. Take a look at Mark 5:21-43. Here we have 2 great examples of this. In the first example, we have Jairus who asked the Lord to come and heal his daughter. Jesus saw that his faith was for Jesus to come and lay hands on her and she would recover so Jesus went in the manner that Jarius stepped out in faith. While on the way, the women with the issue of blood came and touched Him saying, "If I just touch His garments, I shall get well". Jesus tells us that her faith made her well. She probably talked herself into it the entire way to see Jesus. Jesus felt virtue (power) go out of Him when she touched him because her faith had appropriated it, so Jesus just came into agreement with it. Afterward, he continues to go with Jarius. His servants came and told him that his daughter was dead and Jesus helped Jarius continue believing by saying, "Do not be afraid, only believe" in other words, continue in faith and I will meet there. In both cases, they were healed and fully recovered but in two entirely different ways. In fact, if you look throughout the entire gospel accounts, Jesus never healed the same way twice, He looked for faith, let them express how it would play out and then did it according to their faith. How amazing!
This is what you said in your email to me, "Right now I'm taking medicine for my stomach and I believe God for complete healing, but I feel like God led me to go the doctor to deal with the natural part while the His Word deals with the spiritual part which I believe was stress". If this where you faith is, then walk it out. God will always meet you in exactly what you are believing him for. God deals with us in grace, we responds to Him in faith. Faith is what pleases God ( Hebrews 11:6 ). So I say, continue doing what you are doing in faith without being condemned by anyone else, even if they had 100,000 healings. God does not grade on a curve, he does not compare you with John G. Lake, he is pleased with you and how you step out in faith to believe him... which is really amazing! That is grace!
While it is true that salvation includes physical healing ( Isaiah 53 ), it is important to remember that the spiritual side always gives birth to the physical side. So do not be condemned for taking medicine while meditating in the Scriptures concerning your complete physical healing (which is what you are believing God for). When you put the Scriptures inside meditating on them then eventually they will be released to interact with the physical side, this is just how it works. Here are some awesome verses to confirm this. Psalm 107:20 says "He sent His word and healed them" notice a lot of the time we think it should say, He sent his power and healed them, but it doesn't... it says, He sent his word and healed, There is something supernatural about the Word that brings life and health. Proverbs confirms this, "My son, pay attention to what I say; listen closely to my words. Do not let them out of your sight, keep them within your heart; for they are life to those who find them and health to a man's whole body. Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life" (Proverbs 4:20-23). The verse that you started with, Romans 10:17, "Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ" also confirms this. Build yourself up in the Word and faith will be released for you healing. It has its instructions and it will accomplish what it is sent to do ( Isaiah 55:11 ).
Concerning the passages that you underlined from John G Lakes book... He was a great man of faith and it is encouraging to hear the accounts from His life. He took a hard stand concerning miracles, faith and healing. I read somewhere that when we sent people out to minister he gave them instructions not to return until the person was either healed or dead. It was all or nothing with him. Most of us however, are somewhere in the middle. We are excited and learning all that God has for us, we are stepping out in faith to do the things that the Word says we can do and we are seeing miracles, healings and the Word come to fruition. It's a process. Like Wommack says, "we haven't arrived but thank God we've left!"
When I read those statements, they reflect how he lived... it was all or nothing. How I interpret them in light of what I know the Word to say, I think the difference is expectation. We cannot clean ourselves up before we come to God, it's impossible. Also that would be approaching him in our righteousness instead of His, which Isaiah says that our righteousness is as filthy rags ( Isaiah 64:6 ). As you said, "God is always pleased with me, even in my weaknesses, and His Grace is always working in me to empower me. I didn't know we had to straighten our lives out first, then come to Him and be delivered" These statements are true. We cannot straighten our lives out this is why we need Jesus. He will deliver us when we trust in Him to do so... (Without knowing the full context of Mr. Lake's statements) I interrupt them to mean, because of his grace we can't continue to live in sin expecting God to deliver when we willing participate over and over reopening the door to the sin (special note of willfully continuing, which is also what Romans 6 & 7 talks about also) Part of coming to Jesus is repentance. Which simply means to turn and go the other direction. It doesn't mean to come to him so we can continuing in our own way. I think what he means, is that we have been delivered so act and walk like who we are knowing it, instead of continuing as if we haven't been and hope that we will be. Hope that makes sense. I think his statements come from expectation and a knowing of everything God has given us. Because of His understanding he is really blunt and like I said before extreme. Most of us are in the middle, this is why it is so important to renew our minds to the Word of God because eventually we'll get there. But like I said before, God will ALWAYS meet us where we are and in the manner of faith we exude. Praise Jesus for that!
When you have a Word from the Lord, you have your healing! So find that Word & your promise and cling to it and don't let anything else tell you that it is not yours! Amen!
Be Blessed!
Juli Camarin