Bible Teaching

Calvary Temple Teaching Library

I Wound And I Heal Pt.6

Hallelujah! Amen! Let’s turn to Matthew 8. We want to continue looking at our subject on the Biblical doctrine of divine healing. It’s interesting to come out of the 20^th Century, which is where, in the 20^th Century, the resurgence of what we call Pentecost—the Pentecostal movement¾ was pretty obscure. There were little pockets worldwide and have been historically over the last 2,000 years. The prominence of the Pentecostal movement, or the outpouring of the Holy Spirit didn’t begin until the 20^th Century. Now here we are. I still have trouble saying it—the 21^st Century. Isn’t that interesting. The 21^st Century. It always was humorous to watch people say, "Well, yeah, but this is the ’80s." Then they would say,. "Well, yeah, we understand that is the way they used to do it, the jitterbug, but this is the ’90s." Every generation had its own methods of the way they’ve done things. The new generation always thought that this being the ’90s, that things are different. We’re more enlightened. We’re more sophisticated. This is the zeroes that we’re in. It doesn’t change anything. God’s word is true. The Biblical method is recorded forever. "Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away."

Now the fact of the matter that our fathers, who brought this heritage to us from the early 1900s, were uneducated people. We didn’t have all of the seminaries that we have today among the Pentecostals. You didn’t have the Systematic Theology book that was written for the Bible Colleges of the Four Square movement. Founded by Aimee Semple McPherson. The great Theology Departments that are now existent worldwide from the Assemblies of God, and we’ve become an educated people; and it’s the zeroes. With a lot of education we’ve lost anointing. The Scriptures says knowledge does something, what does it do? It puffs up. The Spirit is where the life is. Paul said, I didn’t come to bring you understanding, I came in demonstration and power of the Spirit. That is what the doctrine of healing is all about. It’s not something that we have to be able to necessarily have all of the answers theologically in place; but the Scripture does give us illumination. It’s not something that is accepted by blind "faith" either. Faith is not blind. "Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God." If we’re going to move in true Biblical faith, we have to know what God’s word says on any given subject. A practical, working application of the word of God. Not necessarily an academic understanding. Those who move in the academia, those who can, can, and those who can’t—you all know this saying?¾ teach. Theory’s different than application. A lot of teachers just really aren’t able to get it to the ground. I’d rather have it work than to understand it all. Wouldn’t you? So it’s very important for us to see, as we study the Scriptures, you and I, not the theologians—we’re not the scribes of our generation per se. We’re the people living down in the trenches, the people who are out getting this applied in our lives, and we need a working knowledge. So from the early days, men who couldn’t even read we up speaking what God had said about his desire to make people whole and were laying hands on the sick and seeing them recover. They spoke with other tongues, the Scripture tells us, was part of the expectation that was to be upon their hearts. It became a heritage to you and I.

I look back at the heritage that I have. Some of these men who actually founded this movement of the Assemblies of God, and able to sit at these men’s feet and listen to what it was that burned in their hearts. A people who became a voluntary fellowship of ministers. Not a denomination, but just a cooperative group of ministers who wanted to see the power of God in operation, wanted to see Satan’s power broken. They were interested in more than just proclaiming liturgies to individuals, but having God visit us in our gatherings, such as this, with demonstration and power. A freedom to worship and lift our voices and sing praises to God. That is what these men gave their lives for. It’s part of our heritage and it is Biblically-based. The higher criticism that has come about in the recent years, of many of the European theologians was one that would question anything that was supernatural. As a Christian, I question anything that’s called Christian that is not supernatural; because the walk that you and I are in is a supernatural life. The success that we’re going to have is going to be in the spirit. Those that worship God must worship God must worship him how? In spirit and truth. "Thy word is truth." So, we’re not just looking for liturgy. We’re not looking for religion. We’re looking for a visitation of the living God in our midst, that will change our hearts and our purposes, that sanctifies us and keeps us unspotted from the world. That anointing that flows in our very hearts and our members that makes us whole physically; and especially in the world that you and I are living in: "Peace I give unto you, not as the world gives."

We’re living in a crazy world. To be able to know the presence of God that brings peace when nothing else can is what this doctrine is all about. I say all that to preface the 8^th chapter of Matthew, because you see many of today’s Christians will take the obvious Isaiah 53 passage and totally make it a spiritual application. The healing, to them, out of Isaiah 53 would be a spiritual, psychological healing; but the Biblical context of Matthew 8 doesn’t allow that. Isaiah 53 is, as we believe it to be, the physical healing, then we have a question to ask and an answer that needs to come, why isn’t it more of the Christian doctrine in our generation? If we’re a people, then, who see it and understand it, then it’s our responsibility to herald it, and to make it more understood among believers, Charismatic or non-, in our generation and make no apologies for its emphasis.

Matthew 8:1-2, "When He was come down from the mountain, great multitudes followed him. And, behold, there came a leper and worshipped him, saying, Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me whole." So often, that seems to be the question in a lot of people’s minds. If you will. If you will. If you will. It’s not if you can, it’s if you will, because everybody who believes in God believes that He can. You take your average run-of-the-mill fundamentalist, you take your Presbyterian, you take your Baptist, you take your Nazarene many of these who are brothers and sisters and love the Lord Jesus, you ask them: "Do you believe that God can heal?" "Do you believe that God can work miracles?" What will their response be to that? "Yeah, man! My God can. My God is the Creator of heaven and earth. My God is expressed in the person of Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, today, and forever. Yes, my God can heal!" That is not the question. The question is, "If thou [What?] wilt." Is God willing? These same people would not say that God is some kind of ogre, that he’s just mean and says, "Yeah, I can, but I’m not going to because I just personally don’t like you." They don’t have that kind of understanding. Their minds work like this. Their minds are compartmentalized by a theology called Dispensationalism. In the dispensational categorizing of God’s dealing with man—and I’m not going to get into all of it—but the distinction of Israel from the Church from all of these different expressions of God clear back into Abrahamic, Mosaic, pre-Law, Law, post-Law, grace. You begin to look at all these different things. They have God dealing with man differently in each dispensation. I think that is a mistake, because God doesn’t deal with man differently; but God deals with the program differently. So, dispensationalism has some truth to it, but the application of it to the individual, then, begins to cause some problems. In dispensationalism you come up with the fact that, under this new working now of the Church dispensation, we have no longer apostolic function. We have no longer divine healing as part of the ordinance of the Church; but what we have now is the knowledge of Scripture, which was that which was perfect, and it’s come and all of these other things passed away because we now have this.

But beloved, this is what tells us they haven’t passed away! The proper exegesis of the word of God is what tells us that Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever. That these gifts that came, and five-fold ministry gifts, as well as gifts of the Spirit, are still functioning in our lives today. They’re to be dispersed individually as well as ecclesiastically; and we have been robbed of that hope because of this prominence of fundamentalism and dispensationalism. Wilt thou? Well, God will sovereignly heal people is their answer. That is not the question. The question is, do you want me healed, and what have you done about it? Is this something that sovereignly God just periodically throws down healing to one individual, arbitrarily, totally based upon sovereignty. We would call it random, fate. We could even get bold and call it respect of persons if we want to judge God. The real question is: Is healing for everybody? If it is, then the answer to "If thou wilt" will be what? Yes, I will, be thou whole. So we want to look at whether or not this doctrine of healing is totally inclusive. Is it for all of us, or whether we have to pray and hope that we are one of the random that God is arbitrarily favors. Okay?

So, in Matthew chapter 8, the question was asked, "…if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean." Verse 3, "And Jesus put forth his hand, and touched him, saying, I will; be thou clean…." You say, well, this could be an arbitrary thing here. This could just be that God was answering this particular individual and saying to him, "Yeah, you’re one of the lucky ones. I’m going to go ahead and do it for you." If you read on in the 8^th chapter you can’t come up with that kind of conclusion. But if you read on in the 8th Chapter, you can't come up with that kind of interpretation.

Let's continue. Verse 4, "And Jesus saith unto him, See thou tell no man; but go thy way, shew thyself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses commanded, for a testimony unto them." Right here you see, as always, the marrying of the New Covenant and the Old Covenant. How many of you know that the Old Testament is not dead? Amen? "Yeah, but that was the Old Testament!" How many of you know that the Old Testament was fulfilled, it was not excluded? Jesus came and, in his ministry, in his life, He fulfilled all of the Law, and he became the expression of God's desire to take what was shadow, type, and now make it personal and apply it specifically in the New and—say it with me—better Covenant. What makes it better? That it’s finished." We don't have to yearly go through all of this work. Jesus paid the price once for all. It's finished. We are accepted of God. We are transformed. We've been renewed and cleansed by the blood of Jesus. We've been reconciled and because of that we now have Biblical right that they didn't have under the Old Covenant. There was Biblical provision but not Biblical rights as we have them, today, in the finished work of Christ. There was covenant, there was provision, there were certain rights: Ought not this woman, this daughter of Abraham who Satan has bound be loosed? But the rights were not applied with the intimacy, with the specificity that there is in the New Covenant. So, we're here and we're looking at what God's doing in this doctrine of healing.

Chapter 8 begins to answer a number of those things. Go to the priest and show yourself and let him know that the Covenant is alive and working today, praise God. that Jehovah Rapha is alive today. That there is a balm in Gilead. All that the Old Testament spoke to is here in our midst being fulfilled. The Son of Righteousness has manifested among us—you can touch his garment and be made whole. That is an exciting time. This message that is going on is one that stirred the hearts of those who were getting the revelation. Verse 5, "And when Jesus was entered into Capernaum, there came unto him a centurion, beseeching him, And saying, Lord, my servant lieth at home sick of the palsy, grievously tormented. And Jesus saith unto him, I will come and heal him." I will. If thou wilt. Thou canst. I will. My servant is home. I will come and heal him. So we see again the heart of the Master, when encountered with a need, saying, "I will." It is very important for us to understand this purpose that God's involved in. It says, "The centurion answered and said, [Who’s unwrapping that thing over there??] Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldest come under my roof: but speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed." I'm not worthy. So, what do we begin to see here? Is healing something that's merited? No! It's nice that this guy would come and say, Lord, I'm not worthy. Okay, so what else is new? How many of you is worthy to be healed? Our worth is not the issue. It's God's desire to make us whole. So the response was, you don't even need to come into my presence, but speak the word only and my servant shall be healed. The iaomai of this revelation here. We know the difference between that and the therapeuo. The therapeuo being limited to the physical. The iaomai is that aspect of total healing, spirit, soul and body. Another term for that that would be good would be salvation, wholeness based upon salvation. That is why when you study this topic out it really gets kind of cool, because one of the things it brings about divine healing is the repentance of sin. It's a package deal. So the repentance of sin, this wholeness, God's not looking just to make us well in our bodies. Any time you encounter the presence of God, it should affect us totally: spirit, soul, and body. God does not compartmentalize when He brings us wholeness.

With that in mind as the Lord is speaking here, the centurion's faith is one that is spoken of for millennia, and we stand amazed, and even those marveled because Jesus spoke toward it, having not found so great of faith in Israel. You need to understand what Jesus is saying. When Jesus spoke to this, He was not saying that this was some kind of extraordinary faith that's unattainable. When He made the distinction of not having found this in Israel, what's being spoken of is something unique. Israel being those who had the Covenant, the Law, the understanding—and here is a man who had the relationship. He had a glimpse of the heart, the general purpose of God, wanting us to be well. Wanting man to be provided for. It was not this God of punishment, and torment, and judgement, and wrath. He was a God who was compassionate for the broken, and sought out the lonely and fearful. He was the God expressed in the flesh who was not willing that any would perish. I'm not worthy, "...but speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed." Verse 9, "For I am a man under authority [I know how this thing works.], having soldiers under me: and I say to this man, Go, and he goeth; and to another, Come, and he cometh; and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it." Wonder what he is making reference to here. He's making reference to the Lordship of Jesus. He's making reference to the fact that Satan is under His dominion, and sickness is under His dominion. He said, I'm a man who understands authority. I'm under authority and I'm in authority. I know how authority works, the chain of command. I understand that you're here representing, Jesus, the intent of the Godhead. I've come to the conclusion, I've understood now, and I've seen the vision that this is what God wants. You speak and it's going to be done; and Jesus marveled at his understanding that it wasn't based upon his worth, it wasn't based upon arbitrary decisions; it was based upon the divine purpose. The command was given and it was simply expected and carried out; and Jesus marveled at that. Verse 10, "...and said to them that followed, Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel. And I say unto you, That many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven." The opening of the door to the Gentiles. The indicator that it's not a perpetuated promise just to a natural people, but faith opens the door into the presence of God.

So the Scripture is speaking to us, says verse 12, "But the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth." Isn't that sad that those raised in the household, those who had the great benefits all their lives, being partakers of the promises of God, end up losing the eternal. Embraced the temporal and lost the eternal, because they missed the big picture of the heart of God. Yet, there are going to be those who come from the east and the west and sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom. Ah, beloved, let’s not allow our heritage to be taken from us. Those of us who have heard about the miracles of God, heard teachings on divine healing and laying hands on the sick. Those of who have been raised in an environment of faith and the prayer of faith. The Biblical provision and daily necessities being met of our God—a people who walk in the Spirit so we would not fulfill the lust of the flesh, and then in this last day lose, because of the vexing of the world's system, our inheritance. The vexing of trust in the arm of the flesh—man's intelligence and technology. Verse 13, "And Jesus said unto the centurion, Go thy way; and as thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee...." What are you believing this morning? You see, there are a lot of people that truly believe that God's method today is medical science. They’ll equate it with divine healing.

We've talked about Oral Roberts. If you've ever been out there and seen the big hands in front of the hospital. I don't know how it's operating today. I don't even know if they oversee the hospital any more. Initially, that was a symbol of the hand of man and the hand of God—the hand of Jesus coming together and working to the healing of God's people, and leading to the doctrine that God uses this method.

Everything we have is a gift from God. Our intelligence, the fact that we are created in God's image, hence the ability to create, to imagine. God himself said about us, his creation, that nothing is impossible to us if we can imagine it. You know, people have come on in our society, in our day, and talk about visualization. If you can imagine it, you can do it. We've proven that to be the case. People have thought that this is some kind of new mind-science. God said that back in the days of the Tower of Babel. He created us to be creators, if you please, if in no other way, through procreation. This ability to design and create tools and change our environment. We'll it's just sort of natural. No, we've gone beyond the beaver when we created Hoover Dam. Okay? It's not just a natural instinctive type thing. A guy sat and figured out. Some engineer sat there and figured out if we build it here, the greater the water pressure—it will actually drive these walls into the bank and make it stronger. The more it is resisted, the stronger it gets. Somebody figured it out. If I would have built it, there wouldn't be drinking water from it in L. A. So we begin to see the majesty.

You go and look at Lake Powell, and it's backed-up and the thousands of miles of shoreline. Beautiful! Red cliffs carved through by the waters of antiquity. The cataclysmic events of the flood. We stand in awe of man's ability. God is the source of that. So we can say then, properly, that God is the source of medical science also; but to equate the two, I think, is an injustice to the miraculous. It would be no different than building the dam at Hoover and saying that was God and call it the same thing when the Levites, the priests, stepped into the Jordan with the Arc of the Covenant and it stood into a heap. Those are not the same thing as far as I'm concerned. Are they both God? Yes, if you want to technically understand this; but it’s not the same thing. I want you to understand that though we can draw on medical science and be thankful to our Father for bringing that provision, it’s a lot different that when you lay hands on them and they instantly recover.

Now, as Christians we give thanks for all things, because we believe our Father is the source. But we need to begin to see the specific expression of the power, the supernatural, the ability to believe God beyond the natural. Is he included in all of these other things? Yes. Is God the source of your daily food? You say, "Yes, amen!" But I want to tell you something, and we have got to guard against this. Going to work, coming home, putting in a days work, getting your pay check, buying groceries, putting them away. We’re to rejoice and be thankful for that. But I want to tell you something, beloved. When you get in the place where God is sustaining you, and you’re wearing the same pair of shoes for 40 years, and the same clothes for 40 years, its gone to another dimension. To trust in the one to the exclusion to the other, and think that the other will be a natural consequence if we ever find ourselves in the time of adversity is not true; because the Scripture says, as thou has believed it will be done unto you. Not, "if you have need." There was a whole lot of other people who had this same need in town. This guy believed. When times come that may be hard here, we’re all going to be in the same predicament, but the ones who believe are going to be the partakers. What are we doing today to prepare our hearts to believe? There is nothing harder than preparing in the days of prosperity. It is hard to prepare for healing when you’re well, because you want to be out playing. So, as we’re looking to God and studying this doctrine, we need to understand that it has to become an assurance, it has to become a fact, that this is want God wants for us whether we’re sick at this moment or well; and to what degree He desires it to manifest. Jesus said, verse 13, "…Go thy way; and as thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee…." Powerful!

What are we believing for? If you have limited your belief to "Well, God gave this man the intelligence to make this chemical." If that is what you limited your belief to, then do you have any understanding of how much of the glory of God has been robbed? Because the reign of intelligence falls upon the just and the unjust. We’re looking for God to be glorified. As we said, we’re not just looking to get healed, we want God glorified in our midst. We want a visitation. We want him to come in here and make us a different people than the rest of the world. Don’t you want to be different? Is it your heart’s desire to be different? Everybody can do it the other way! We want God glorified that we’re a distinct people—separate, holy, a peculiar people, a holy nation, that priesthood that stands and gives forth praise and glory. It has to do with what we believe and how we’ve prepared ourselves.

Verse 14, "And when Jesus was come into Peter’s house, he saw his wife’s mother laid, and sick of a fever. [The first Pope was married.] And he touched her hand, and the fever left her: and she arose, and ministered unto them." Interesting little insertion, here, of a couple of verses, wasn’t it? What is this all about? We can over analyze this and get ourselves in trouble. The healing is obvious. Why the recording of this? Jesus is more than willing just to touch anybody? Regardless of how—this wasn’t a life or death situation here, apparently. She had a fever and Jesus made her well. A need and He responded to it. Is this what it’s all about? Or, is it the fact that she arose and ministered to them. Could that be part of what we’re dealing with? I think both. I think that we learn what we’re to do with our healing. We’re to minister to the Lord and not go play tennis, necessarily. Nothing wrong with the tennis. You’re getting the point I’m making. God doesn’t heal us so we can then use our new found energy and health our ourselves. You ask amiss desiring to consume it upon your¾ What does the Scripture say?¾ own lusts. You have not because you ask not; and when you ask you ask amiss desiring to consume it. You can pray the prayer of faith desiring to consume the answer on your own lusts. God is not going to bless you physically, financially, or any other way, for you to consume it upon your own lusts. It’s not saying there can’t be natural usage. It’s saying the heart becomes an issue. That’s another study, when we talk about the hindrances to divine healing. The heart issue—what are we going to do with this when we receive it¾ becomes an issue. I think that is addressed here. So she arises and ministers to them. Verse 16, "When the even was come, they brought unto him many that were possessed with devils: and he cast out the spirits with his word, and healed all that were sick:"

So here they are at that little house in Capernaum. Many of you got to see that. Do you remember when we were going through Capernaum? The little house there that is now covered by—you guessed it¾ another Catholic church. As we walked through the town of Capernaum and you’re trying to imagine the ministry of Jesus, you could see this place now, in the evening, begin to come to life. Those who had come in from fishing and heard that he was in town began to gather the sick. Those who were out in the fields working came back and heard that the Master was in town began to bring their family together and those who were ill.

When you go into these kind of countries, beloved, it an amazing thing. I noticed when we were ministering in Haiti, throughout India whatever, really everybody is sick. I can’t think of—especially when I was in Haiti, I can’t think of 10 percent of the people that I spoke to that didn’t have stomach problems. Do you need the Lord to touch you? Oh man, my stomach! Then you look at what they are eating and you understand. There is a problem when you walk through an area and this person is down here bathing and you walk another 30 yards up the road and that person is bathing and this guy is urinating in the ditch and that one is bathing in. Yeah, I can understand the problems. I don’t feel real good. Maybe you shouldn’t bathe. Dirtiness is next to godliness. It’s not hard to find people to pray for. It’s not difficult to find somebody that wants you to lay your hands on them in the name of Jesus because they hurt and there wasn’t Tylenol and Bayer and whatever else there is out there. They hurt. "I’m sick." "Here take 12 Gas-X® (P-T-H-F-F-F-P-H-T!!) you know?" I mean these people are blown up and hurting. They don’t know what Gas-X® is. What’s that other pink stuff? Pepto-Bismol®. They want somebody to lay their hands on them. They don’t have anything else. Then we sit in this country, the experts on divine healing¾ those who have been to Seminary, those of us who now for a second and third generation have been taught the great heritage of the Pentecostal movement¾ and we take aspirin. It’s about God being glorified. It’s about raising up to minister to Him in the midst of our healing. When evening was come they gathered up all that had need and brought them to Jesus.

Don’t you love the story of the man borne by the four? The determination to get into the presence of God? The little house where Jesus was ministering was full, and they came carrying their friend who was paralyzed and the couldn’t get into the midst, and were not deterred by it at all, but in fact went up to the top and begin to tear the roof off of the house. In the midst of the meeting, while Jesus was speaking, this guy get lowered down into the midst of them. I love this story! How determined are we to get into the presence of God? How real is Jesus to make us whole in our lives? Some of us would have went home if we couldn’t have found a parking place. The power of His presence! His presence, His power to heal them! How determined were his friends to get him there? How determined are we to get our friends into the presence of God to get healed supernaturally? Many of us would gladly run them to the hospital; but how many of us are willing to run them to the alter and stay and kneel with them and pray until we see something happen? Where is our expectation and where is our covenant and our commitment? What is it that we’re willing to spend our time upon; and silly are we ready to be when we rip the roof off the house and lower this man down? How ready to be criticized for our exuberance, our zeal, yes, our fanaticism to let God be glorified in our midst. "When the even was come, they brought unto him many that were possessed with devils…." "Well, this is antiquity, man." These guys had just come out of the zeroes. There was medical science in that day, physicians spoken of. If you go back and do a study on medicine of the 1^st Century, you can see why people went to Jesus. But, actually from Egypt there were some pretty sophisticated things going on. As you look at the Greek culture they were doing pretty good. There was a true understanding of anatomy. If you study the 1^st Century medical science, they were able to effectively care.

We know that the woman with the issue went to the physicians, many physicians¾ So, there were obviously references that were made and experts—grew none better but worse. She spent all that she had on the physicians. Then heard of Jesus, the Son of Righteousness, that had come into the midst of them, and said, if I can only touch the hem of his garment. If I can only somehow touch Jesus, I’ll be made whole. All I have to do is touch Him. All you have to do is touch Him. Yeah, but how convenient is it? I have an appointment this afternoon. Do I have any guarantees that He’ll make this headache go away before my big presentation? I’d like to touch Jesus, but it’s 11:30; I set the oven for 11:52. It would be nice to touch Jesus, but do you know how much roasts cost today? Things to do, places to go, people to see. I can touch Him. She pressed into the crowd—we’ve all heard the story, historically, what she was doing. With that issue of blood, she was no different that a leper. She was to cry, "Unclean!" She was polluted. She was to be without the camp because of this bloody discharge. She went against those things and moved through the crowd. A woman, taking this position of prominence and pushing her was through, was not accepted in that society. She didn’t care what they thought about her socially or religiously. She had to touch Jesus. When she did, virtue went out of Him. He said, "Who touched me?" What do you mean who touched you? You’re being thronged. Somebody touched me in faith. I perceive that virtue has gone out of me. What does it take to activate the power of God that makes us whole? Commitment to Him being the source. When that commitment was made on her heart, she accessed the power of God in the midst of turmoil and confusion.

We look back and think that somehow these in the first Century were so archaic as measured by our standards today. We almost make them into cave men. These were intelligent people. If you read the writings of the 1^st Century and the philosophers of the era preceding, we understand that these were intelligent people. In some ways I believe could even be more intelligent than our general populous today. We don’t have a lot of thinkers today. We have a lot of people sucking on computers and televisions sets that don’t know how to think, that don’t know how to reason. Just told what line to stand in and what button to push. So, to make these people ignorant is a statement of ignorance. To apply, then, demonic power to sickness, disease and the warfare that we’re in and call that some type of superstition because of their lack of understanding of the anatomy and the physical universe, is without merit. When they talked about demons, they knew the difference between a demon and an individual who had a broken leg.

So the Scripture speaks here, and it’s interesting that in the midst of all of this there is an emphasis on the fact that they brought him many that were possessed with devils. I want you to understand, beloved, that a lot of you and I are combating physically, in our healing, in our pursuit of the doctrine of divine healing, is demonic oppression. It's demonic warfare, and we need to begin to be aware of Satan's presence through demonic hosts and resist them and they will flee from us. Amen? But so many of us have become so intelligent and so educated that we almost lost sight of the fact that the war that we are warring is not physical, it's not material. Our weapons are not carnal; they are mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds. What kind of shape is your weaponry in this morning? I want to tell you something. You can swallow all the pills you want and it won't make a demon leave. They have not come up with a pill that drives out demons. They’ve come with some that introduce them, but nothing that drives them out. Where are we in our weaponry today? What are we believing God for? What methods are we pursuing?

When we talk about that¾ and we're going to pick it up tonight¾ when we talk about that warfare that we're engaged in, we're not talking about something mystical, spooky. We're talking about something that is pretty easily understood. Spiritual hosts that are trying to destroy you and trying to bring a reproach on God through the oppression of His people. We need to resist, and we need to claim what is rightfully ours, and speak the truth, and having spoken in the name of Jesus and having driven them from our presence release virtue from our very hands into our brothers and sisters and see them made whole in the name of Jesus so God would be glorified. Father make it real to us in the name of Jesus.

Father, cause us to be a people now that hunger for your presence and your visitation. Father, give us this morning the same desire to be in your presence as those that bore their friend upon that cot, as that woman that pressed through the masses to touch the hem of your garment. Father, give us that same appetite. Nothing else is acceptable. Nothing else is going to cause the visitation in our midst that we're looking for, but that kind of dedication. Father, we long now,-we long for that. It's our heart’s cry this morning that you would visit us.

Oh, Jesus, show yourself mighty. Hallelujah! We rejoice in the great power of God. Father, as we continue the narrative through this eighth chapter, we find out that you healed those that were brought to you that it might be fulfilled that was spoken by the prophet Isaiah. All that we read in that great prophecy, that Covenant, the bruising, the offering of yourself, the satisfaction of Father through that offering was that we would be whole. To experience anything less is to fail to draw upon the great provisions of redemption. Don't let us settle for less than your blood paid for, Jesus, that you might be glorified.

Let's stand before the Lord this morning. As Gary plays for us, we want to take these few minutes and worship the Lord. Hallelujah! Just worship Him. The Bible makes it very clear to us that He inhabits the praises of His people. As we rejoice in the great promise and we praise Him for what's been afforded in the blood of Jesus. His presence is here, and His presence is what brings the healing. It's not the doctrine, it His presence. As you worship Him, He is here to heal you this morning. He is here to impart the faith to you this morning to lay your hands on somebody else.

We rejoice in you Lord. Fix our hearts, Lord, on You and the promises like the woman with the issue had her heart fixed. If I can touch Him I'll be healed. If I can touch Him I'll be healed! Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Lord, that you would be glorified, that You would be all-in-all,. that we would perceive you high and lifted up. Hallelujah! For You said, "If I be lifted up…I will draw all men unto me." The lifting up on that cross was typified by the brazen serpent; and whoever looks is made whole. Help us to see you lifted up, Jesus. Hallelujah! Let's sing this together and worship Him this morning.

"I Worship You Lord." Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Come into our midst, Lord, and bring¾ Lord, bring an anointing that we can draw upon to be whole. Impart to us, Lord, faith that we can believe and receive for your glory. Lord, make us a people ever mindful of your presence, and ever trusting in your ability and not our own, and not the arm of the flesh. Father make us ever ready to put our hands upon our brothers and sisters. To set aside everything else and take up that cot and pay whatever price is necessary to get them into your presence. Father, make it real, this war that we're in, that we're victors because of the finished work. So we say Thank You. We say Thank You, Lord. Hallelujah! Hallelujah!

As you make us whole, Lord, iaomai from the touching of your garment and the laying on of Your hand as the leper was made whole. One touch makes us whole. Let's sing this together. I love this old chorus. It's one of my favorite all time—"He Touched Me." Remember when you were touched by Him. Everything changed. One touch and everything changed. Sing it again and let Him touch you this morning and you'll never be the same. Sing it again. Let Him touch you this morning. Be whole. Be free, be healed in the name of Jesus. Thank You, Jesus.

Just worship Him this morning. Thank Him for the touch in your life. Hallelujah! Thank Him for the touch in your life. Thank Him for the transformation, when old things passed away and all things became new. That same touch here this morning. Thank You, Jesus. Thank You, Jesus, for the new creation. One touch, one touch will change your life. We delight in you, Lord. Our hope is in you, Lord. Our trust in your great lordship. Hallelujah!

We thank You, Jesus. We delight in you, Lord, and we give you the praise. Glory! Glory! Thank You, Lord, thank You. Hallelujah! Thank You, Lord. Amen. Amen.

I need to meet with the Pastors again just following the service, if we can get back quickly. Before we go turn to somebody next to you and say, "He touched me, praise God." Amen! Go in peace. God's love go with you.

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