Post by biblethumper on May 27, 2006 14:00:35 GMT -5
Is It God’s Will To Heal…ALL the time?
by Dan lirette
First, let us state that our God is the Healer! Amen!
Exodus 15:26 And said, If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of the LORD thy God, and wilt do that which is right in his sight, and wilt give ear to his commandments, and keep all his statutes, I will put none of these diseases upon thee, which I have brought upon the Egyptians: for I am the LORD that healeth thee.
There is no doubt as to the fact that God heals…
As well, there is no doubt as to the fact that God also does not always heal:
2 Timothy 4:20 Erastus abode at Corinth: but Trophimus have I left at Miletum sick.
Paul the Apostle left a man sick, as no healing was forthcoming.
The Apostle who encountered the Lord Jesuss personally!
The Apostle who was used by God to raise the DEAD!
THIS Apostle left a man sick, as apparently God was not healing Trophimus!
Did Paul lack faith?
Scripture would indicate, through the exegetical study of the character and life of the Apostle, that he did not lack faith; the one who had faith to raise the dead could surely have prayed a simple prayer of faith, could he not?
This leads one to conclude that faith is an essential ingredient to the healing process, yet it is not “the” ingredient.
Let us now look to further Biblical evidences of godly saints who did not receive healing:
Exodus 4:10-14
And Moses said unto the LORD, O my LORD, I am not eloquent, neither heretofore, nor since thou hast spoken unto thy servant: but I am slow of speech, and of a slow tongue.
And the LORD said unto him, Who hath made man's mouth? or who maketh the dumb, or deaf, or the seeing, or the blind? have not I the LORD?
Now therefore go, and I will be with thy mouth, and teach thee what thou shalt say.
And he said, O my LORD, send, I pray thee, by the hand of him whom thou wilt send.
And the anger of the LORD was kindled against Moses, and he said, Is not Aaron the Levite thy brother? I know that he can speak well. And also, behold, he cometh forth to meet thee: and when he seeth thee, he will be glad in his heart.
These few Scriptures, Beloved, give us insight into a powerful truth:
God does not always heal!
Note the speech impediment of Moses.
Note that God did not say, “Moses…be healed!”
Rather, God promised to use the mouth of Aaron on behalf of Moses.
Beloved, did Moses lack faith?
Nothing indicates he lacked faith.
Also, later, Moses would part the Red Sea; thus, if he had faith to part that Sea, why not seek God for a healing after the parting of the Sea? I mean, did he not have faith?
Of course he did!
So then, why did God NOT heal Moses?
Simply put, Moses’ impediment looks to you and I as something that God had not originally intended for Moses to have…we would call this a “birth defect”.
However, the Lord says:
And the LORD said unto him, Who hath made man's mouth? or who maketh the dumb, or deaf, or the seeing, or the blind? have not I the LORD?
It does not state that God did NOT make Moses this way, but the exegetical anology is the opposite!
God is saying, “I made you this way…I also made the blind, the deaf and the seeing!”
Ok.
God did that?
Yes.
How can one seek healing from that which God says is not “broken”?
Moses saw a defect; God saw beauty.
Now, back to the Apostle Paul:
We all know that Paul the Apostle had a special love for young Timothy, who was a student of the great Apostle.
Timothy suffered from stomach ailment, and we see something very interesting in this situation….
The Apostle Paul did not even TRY to pray for healing:
1 Timothy 5:23 Drink no longer water, but use a little wine for thy stomach's sake and thine often infirmities.
Commenting on verse 23, Gill notes:
for thy stomach's sake; to help digestion, and to remove the disorders which might attend it: the Ethiopic version renders it, "for the pain of the liver", and "for thy perpetual disease"; which last might be a pain in his head, arising from the disorder of his stomach: the last clause we render,
Hence, I ask the question:
Do you mean to say that Paul, Timothy and the entire NT Early Church “had no faith” to seek the Lord for healing?
God did not heal Timothy; and we know that SOMEONE had faith….
This shows Faith is not the “end all” answer.
What is the answer?
The Providence of God.
by Dan lirette
First, let us state that our God is the Healer! Amen!
Exodus 15:26 And said, If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of the LORD thy God, and wilt do that which is right in his sight, and wilt give ear to his commandments, and keep all his statutes, I will put none of these diseases upon thee, which I have brought upon the Egyptians: for I am the LORD that healeth thee.
There is no doubt as to the fact that God heals…
As well, there is no doubt as to the fact that God also does not always heal:
2 Timothy 4:20 Erastus abode at Corinth: but Trophimus have I left at Miletum sick.
Paul the Apostle left a man sick, as no healing was forthcoming.
The Apostle who encountered the Lord Jesuss personally!
The Apostle who was used by God to raise the DEAD!
THIS Apostle left a man sick, as apparently God was not healing Trophimus!
Did Paul lack faith?
Scripture would indicate, through the exegetical study of the character and life of the Apostle, that he did not lack faith; the one who had faith to raise the dead could surely have prayed a simple prayer of faith, could he not?
This leads one to conclude that faith is an essential ingredient to the healing process, yet it is not “the” ingredient.
Let us now look to further Biblical evidences of godly saints who did not receive healing:
Exodus 4:10-14
And Moses said unto the LORD, O my LORD, I am not eloquent, neither heretofore, nor since thou hast spoken unto thy servant: but I am slow of speech, and of a slow tongue.
And the LORD said unto him, Who hath made man's mouth? or who maketh the dumb, or deaf, or the seeing, or the blind? have not I the LORD?
Now therefore go, and I will be with thy mouth, and teach thee what thou shalt say.
And he said, O my LORD, send, I pray thee, by the hand of him whom thou wilt send.
And the anger of the LORD was kindled against Moses, and he said, Is not Aaron the Levite thy brother? I know that he can speak well. And also, behold, he cometh forth to meet thee: and when he seeth thee, he will be glad in his heart.
These few Scriptures, Beloved, give us insight into a powerful truth:
God does not always heal!
Note the speech impediment of Moses.
Note that God did not say, “Moses…be healed!”
Rather, God promised to use the mouth of Aaron on behalf of Moses.
Beloved, did Moses lack faith?
Nothing indicates he lacked faith.
Also, later, Moses would part the Red Sea; thus, if he had faith to part that Sea, why not seek God for a healing after the parting of the Sea? I mean, did he not have faith?
Of course he did!
So then, why did God NOT heal Moses?
Simply put, Moses’ impediment looks to you and I as something that God had not originally intended for Moses to have…we would call this a “birth defect”.
However, the Lord says:
And the LORD said unto him, Who hath made man's mouth? or who maketh the dumb, or deaf, or the seeing, or the blind? have not I the LORD?
It does not state that God did NOT make Moses this way, but the exegetical anology is the opposite!
God is saying, “I made you this way…I also made the blind, the deaf and the seeing!”
Ok.
God did that?
Yes.
How can one seek healing from that which God says is not “broken”?
Moses saw a defect; God saw beauty.
Now, back to the Apostle Paul:
We all know that Paul the Apostle had a special love for young Timothy, who was a student of the great Apostle.
Timothy suffered from stomach ailment, and we see something very interesting in this situation….
The Apostle Paul did not even TRY to pray for healing:
1 Timothy 5:23 Drink no longer water, but use a little wine for thy stomach's sake and thine often infirmities.
Commenting on verse 23, Gill notes:
for thy stomach's sake; to help digestion, and to remove the disorders which might attend it: the Ethiopic version renders it, "for the pain of the liver", and "for thy perpetual disease"; which last might be a pain in his head, arising from the disorder of his stomach: the last clause we render,
Hence, I ask the question:
Do you mean to say that Paul, Timothy and the entire NT Early Church “had no faith” to seek the Lord for healing?
God did not heal Timothy; and we know that SOMEONE had faith….
This shows Faith is not the “end all” answer.
What is the answer?
The Providence of God.