Chapter 2: Who Is He? Jehovah Rapha

As we venture on this journey to healing, I will consistently be reminding you of what is possible with God. God can heal anybody at any time using any means. I repeat, God can heal anybody at any time using any means. God can heal those with faith and those without faith. He can do whatever He wants when He wants to do it. Glory to God.

I was blessed to hear a testimony from a brother who was healed this week. He said that as we prayed for him, he felt the pain dissolve in his back, and he was able to start exercising again. I can't wait to hear who is next to receive healing.

I want you to set your faith. The Bible says, "As you believe, so shall you receive (Mark 11:24)." God will meet you on the level of your faith. So, right now, I want to saturate the atmosphere. Come on. Make it your confession.

Say, "I believe that God is in the healing business. I believe God is a healer." My God still heals. Holy Spirit, have your way in me.

As we delve into chapter 2, let's not forget God's will for our lives, as stated in 3 John 2.

3 John 2 (AMP)Beloved, I pray that in every way you may succeed and prosper and be in good health [physically], just as [I know] your soul prospers [spiritually].

Foundational Faith Facts

1. Can God lie?

Numbers 23:19 (AMP)God is not a man, that He should lie, Nor a son of man, that He should repent. Has He said, and will He not do it? Or has He spoken and will He not make it good and fulfill it?

2. Has God said something that He cannot do?

Isaiah 55:11 (AMP)So will My word be which goes out of My mouth; It will not return to Me void (useless, without result), Without accomplishing what I desire, And without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it.

3. Has God changed?

Malachi 3:6 (NLT)"I am the Lord, and I do not change. That is why you descendants of Jacob are not already destroyed."

4. Will God ever change?

Hebrews 13:8 (AMP)Jesus Christ is [eternally changeless, always] the same yesterday and today and forever.

5. Is there anything too hard for God?

Genesis 18:14 (AMP)Is anything too difficult or too wonderful for the Lord? At the appointed time, when the season [for her delivery] comes, I will return to you and Sarah will have a son.

I don't care about your diagnosis, disease, disability, or deformity - nothing is too hard for our God.

6. Is God all-knowing?

Matthew 10:30 (AMP)But even the very hairs of your head are all numbered [for the Father is sovereign and has complete knowledge].

7. Does God know what I'm going through?

Psalm 56:8 (MSG)You've kept track of my every toss and turn through the sleepless nights, Each tear entered in your ledger, each ache written in your book.

8. Is there something impossible for God?

Luke 18:27 (AMP)But He said, "The things that are impossible with people are possible with God."

9. Can God break a promise?

2 Corinthians 1:20 (NLT)For all of God's promises have been fulfilled in Christ with a resounding "Yes!" And through Christ, our "Amen" (which means "Yes") ascends to God for his glory.

The Lord Provides Water

Exodus 15:22-26 (AMP)Then Moses led Israel from the Red Sea, and they went into the Wilderness of Shur; they went [a distance of] three days (about thirty-three miles) in the wilderness and found no water. Then they came to Marah, but they could not drink its waters because they were bitter; therefore it was named Marah (bitter). The people [grew discontented and] grumbled at Moses, saying, "What are we going to drink?"

Verse 23 states, "they came to Marah but they could not drink the waters because they were bitter, therefore it was named Marah, bitter."

Are you bitter? Oh, come on. Are you bitter? If you stay bitter, you're not going to get better. If you want to get better, you've got to leave that bitter lifestyle alone.

The Bible says, "The people grew discontented and grumbled at Moses." The people were discontent and grumbled after God took them out of Egypt and saved them from a life of slavery. After what God had done for them, you would think they would be grateful; instead, they were ungrateful because they did not like God's process. They were supposed to be on a 10-14-day journey to the promised land, and God was trying to teach them to depend on Him. But they began attacking Moses, God's representative - complaining about food and their course. They never reached their destination and wandered in the wilderness for 40 years.

I found some research from the Mayo Clinic dealing with bitterness. What happens when you get bitter? Here it is, y'all.

Letting go of grudges and bitterness can make way for happiness, health, and peace. Forgiveness can lead to:

• Healthier relationships
• Greater spiritual and psychological well-being
• Less anxiety, stress, and hostility
• Lower blood pressure
• Fewer symptoms of depression
• Stronger immune system
• Improved heart health
• Higher self-esteem

Remember: sin leads to sickness, sickness leads to disease, and disease leads to death. Disease originated out of disobedience. Bitterness leads to sickness.

Now would be a great time to pray for a release from bitterness.

Right now, lift your hands to heaven and say:

Father God.I release.All bitterness.Anger.Malice.They hurt me.And it hurts.But right now.I let it go.So that I can grow.I forgive.Again.So I can live.Again.In Jesus' name.Heal my heart.Heal my mind.

You know, they say unforgiveness is like drinking poison, thinking it's hurting them. It's really hurting you. So look at what it says: healthier relationships, greater spiritual and psychological well-being, less anxiety, stress, hostility, and lower blood pressure.

Let's continue in Exodus 15.

Exodus 15:25-26 (AMP)Then he cried to the Lord [for help], and the Lord showed him a tree, [a branch of] which he threw into the waters, and the waters became sweet. There the Lord made a statute and an ordinance for them, and there He tested them, saying, "If you will diligently listen and pay attention to the voice of the Lord your God, and do what is right in His sight, and listen to His commandments, and keep [foremost in your thoughts and actively obey] all His precepts and statutes, then I will not put on you any of the diseases which I have put on the Egyptians; for I am the Lord who heals you."

Now, verse 26. Here's the meat of my message. "Saying, if you will diligently listen."

Say to yourself, "Listen." Here are the five keys to this verse:

1. You better listen.
2. Pay attention to the voice of the Lord.
3. Do what's right in His sight.
4. Listen to His command. (This is the 2nd time we see "listen")
5. Keep God foremost in your thoughts and actively obey all His precepts and statutes.

Don't expect the benefits if you don't follow the steps. He says, "These things you do." And here is God's benefit to obedience: look at what it says, "then I will not put on you any of the diseases which I have put on the Egyptians; for I am the Lord who heals you."

Here, we see sin leads to sickness, sickness leads to disease, and disease leads to death. These are the conditions/environment of healing. We break them down into six parts.

Six Conditions for Healing

1. Diligently hear God's voice

Acknowledge Him as God and live free from all idolatry.

Romans 10:17 (AMP)So faith comes from hearing [what is told], and what is heard comes by the [preaching of the] message concerning Christ.

2. Pay attention to the voice

Now, it will be hard to distinguish the voice if you are not spending time in His presence and in His Word.

John 10:27 (NLT)My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.

Question: whose sheep are you? "Pastor, I don't know." Well, look at your life. What lifestyle are you following? That's an indicator of who you serve. He said listen, and then He said follow. They are two different things. Some of us listen, but not all follow. And God said, "You're not really listening to me. You're doing everything else but listening to me." The only indicator that you are listening is that there is a corresponding action to what you have heard.

3. Do what is right in His sight

2 Chronicles 16:9 (AMP)For the eyes of the Lord move to and fro throughout the earth so that He may support those whose heart is completely His. You have acted foolishly in this; therefore, from now on you will have wars.

God is trying to work some stuff out for you. When we get this revelation, we will no longer allow things to stress us out because God is working for me. All things work together for the good because I know God got me.

4. Listen to His Commandments

Joshua 1:8 (AMP)This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall read [and meditate on] it day and night, so that you may be careful to do [everything] in accordance with all that is written in it; for then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will be successful.

The love of God is unconditional, but the blessings are based on conditions. I'm going to say it again: the love of God is unconditional, but the blessings of God are based on conditions. Look at what it says: "For then you will make your way ..." No. No. No. God makes my way prosperous. No. No. No. Your choices make your way prosperous. You are living the life you choose for yourself—choices, decisions, consequences.

5. Keep God foremost in your thoughts

Isaiah 26:3 (AMP)"You will keep in perfect and constant peace the one whose mind is steadfast [that is, committed and focused on You—in both inclination and character], Because he trusts and takes refuge in You [with hope and confident expectation]."

Remember, disease is caused because you're not at ease. You don't have peace. I will keep my peace when my eyes are steady on Him. "You will keep in perfect and constant peace." Let's go read it: "The one whose mind is steadfast ..." that is committed and focused on you in both inclination and character, "because he trusts and takes refuge in you with hope ..." now say, "Confident expectation."

6. Actively obey all His precepts and statutes

Deuteronomy 11:8 (NLT) - The Blessings of Obedience"Therefore, be careful to obey every command I am giving you today, so you may have strength to go in and take over the land you are about to enter."

Deuteronomy 11:8 says, "Therefore be careful to obey every command I'm giving you today so you may have ..." what? Strength. "To go in and take over the land you're about to enter." Guess what? They got strength by obedience.

God's Promise: Health and Wealth

I want to close this chapter out with an amazing story of how God brought out the children of Israel. Remember, if He did it before, He can do it again.

Psalm 105:37 (AMP)He brought the sons of Israel out [of Egypt] with silver and gold, And among their tribes there was not one who stumbled.

Psalms 105:37 says. "He brought the sons of Israel out of Egypt with ..." what? Silver and gold. So that's natural prosperity. "And among their tribes, there was not one who stumbled." And then I thought, "What does stumbled mean?" There was not one feeble person among their tribe. They came out all in good health and were brought out with no disease. Another translation says, "The word denotes a person fit for military service." He said they didn't just come out healthy; they came out ready for war. Come on, man. Not one of them stumbled. The nation came out, and nobody was stumbling - everybody was healthy. And they didn't just come out healthy; they came out wealthy.

This goes back to God's original intent in 3 John 2. "I wish above all things that you may prosper and be in good health." So again, it confirms what God's will is for His children.