Jesus Is Still Jehovah Rapha

Exodus 15:26 … I am the Lord who heals you.”

Do u know that the first compound name that the Lord revealed 2 the Israelites after they came out of Egypt was Jehovah Rapha, the Lord who heals u? It was as if He was telling them, as they began their new life with Him, that He had already healed them of all the diseases and pains they suffered when they were in bondage in Egypt. Indeed, when He brought them out of Egypt, “there was none feeble among His tribes”. (Psalm 105:37)

Today, just as the Israelites were delivered from their bondage in Egypt and from slavery 2 Pharaoh, u have also been delivered from the bondage of sin and sickness, and from slavery 2 the devil, by the blood of the Lamb. And the Lord, who is the same yesterday, today and forever, still says 2 u, “I am the Lord who heals u.”

A church member, who was experiencing pain in her womb for several months, looked 2 Jesus as her healer even as she went 2 see a doctor, who performed an ultrasound scan on her womb. When told that she had two big tumors and several blood cysts in her womb, she continued 2 look 2 Jesus as her healer. The doctor then had her blood tested 2 see if the tumors were cancerous.

Three days later, she saw the doctor again and was told that the tumors were not cancerous. Not only that, but a second ultrasound scan also showed that all the cysts and one of the tumors had completely disappeared! The other tumor had also shrunk. Although she had taken medication, the doctor told her that based on the original size of the tumor, it should have taken months 2 shrink that much. He commented that this was the quickest healing he had ever seen!

Beloved, if the doctor has given u a bad report regarding your health, don’t despair. Look 22 Jesus and expect healing for your body. He is the same yesterday, today and forever. He is still Jehovah Rapha — the Lord who heals U!
 

What Is On Your Heart?

Hebrews 8:10 - “… I will put My laws in their mind and write them on their hearts…” 

Many of us have been taught that we cannot trust our hearts. We quote verses like “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked…” (Jeremiah 17:9), not knowing that Jeremiah was referring 2 the man who had not received Jesus as his Lord and Savior.

I have had people come 2 me and say, " I don’t know what I should do with my life.”
“What is on your heart?” I asked one of them.

“I would love 2 work among children.”

“Then work among children!”

“But I am waiting on the Lord 2 tell me 2 do that.”

“Well, He has given u the desire, so go and work among children!”

“But the desire comes from my heart. How do I know if it is of God?”

My friend, once u are saved, u have a brand new heart (Ezekiel 36:26), and u can trust the promptings of your heart bcoz God dwells in u and He leads u from within. And don’t worry bcoz His promptings will never contradict His Word. It will lead u 2 good success.

Often, u find that when u follow your inner promptings, it is actually God who has put those desires in your mind and written them on your heart. I remember years ago when I approached one of our church leaders and told him, “I really think that u are called 2b a full-time pastor.” It turned out 2b a confirmation of what he already knew on the inside. You see, God was already leading him from within. Today, he is one of our full-time pastors.

If u enjoy something and desire 2 do it, then go for it! Go with the flow. God Himself says that He will guide us from within. Let’s not doubt Him. And don’t worry about the outcome. Your part is just 2 follow the flow. God’s part is 2 work in u both the willingness and the performance of it! (Philippians 2:13)

Beloved, bcoz God has given u a new heart, He will write His desires on it. And as u fulfill these desires, u will bring forth fruit, and not wither and die. Whatever u do will prosper!

Power From Jesus’ Body 2 Yours

Matthew 26:26 -  … “Take, eat; this is My body.”

Can u imagine the Lord sick, nursing a cold or fever while He walked on earth? No, our Lord Jesus was never sick! He was vibrant, full of life and full of health. When He told His disciples, “Take, eat; this is My body”, they could practically visualize what it meant bcoz they had lived and walked with this Man. They had seen people without hands or feet made whole when they touched His body. (Matthew 15:30–31)

Even His clothes were soaked with His health! A woman who had a bleeding condition for 12 years — no doctor could cure her — was healed immediately when she touched the hem of His garment. If the hem of His garment was soaked with His health, vibrancy, energy and divine radiance, how much more His body!

You know, some of the most encouraging verses in the Gospels are these: “And as many as touched Him were made well” (Mark 6:56), for “power went out from Him and healed them all”. (Luke 6:19) I love those verses! That is our Jesus!

The Bible says that they put sick people along the streets, and Jesus walked around, touched them and healed them. Now, u see movie stars doing this: They run here and there, they slap their fans’ hands, but nobody gets healed. But wherever Jesus walked, whoever He touched, He healed. Picture this: A trail of people. Those in front of Jesus are lying down, but those behind Him whom He has touched are leaping with joy and following Him! That is how Jesus healed the sick.

So that night, when He said, “Take, eat; this is My body,” as He broke the bread and gave it 2 His disciples 2 eat, they knew what it meant. They were probably thinking, “We are going 2 ingest His health into our bodies! Hallelujah!”

That is what u must believe when u partake of the Holy Communion. It is not just a ritual or symbolic act. No, u must believe that He is the true bread from heaven who took your cancer, diabetes and heart disease, so that u can have His supernatural health! And when u eat of His broken body with this revelation, u will have life in abundance and the health of the Lord!

Receive The Word God Has Sent 2 Heal U

Psalm 107:20  -  He sent His word and healed them, AND delivered them from their destructions.

Your Bible will do u no good if u leave it on your bedside table, gathering dust. It will do u no good if u hold it like a teddy bear when u are facing your “giants”. But God’s Word will do u a lot of good when u RECEIVE it as Truth and SPEAK it as Truth! Then, u will see your healing and deliverance from every evil condition that has been sent 2 destroy u!

The Bible says that “He sent His word and healed them, and delivered them from their destructions”. Now, when God wants 2 heal u, what does He do? He sends His Word. Before God delivers u from your destruction, He sends His Word.

Are u still waiting 2 experience the blessing of healing that Jesus died on the cross 2 give u? Don’t feel condemned. Your Father in heaven loves u and wants u well. But how does your healing come? By u receiving His Word on healing that He has already sent u. His promises of healing are all there in your Bible. But have u received them?

During one of our church services, a lady took out her cell phone and started sending text messages of every scripture and almost every key point that I was preaching that day 2 her friend who was at home dying of cancer. I was telling the congregation 2 keep CONFESSING the healing scriptures over their bodies, no matter how bad their conditions were. I pointed them 2 Isaiah 53:5, which says, “By His stripes we are healed.” The lady got so excited that she told her friend 2 keep believing and confessing it every day! 

Her friend, on reading the text messages, simply received the Word of God and confessed it by faith. That very same week, when she went back 2 the doctor, the doctor could not find a single trace of cancer in her body!

Never underestimate the power of God’s Word. The lady’s friend was healed bcoz she received God’s Word by faith. She gladly read the messages that her friend had sent her, was encouraged by the Word, confessed it and received her miracle. God sent His Word and healed her, AND saved her from her destruction!

Nothing Shall By Any Means Hurt U!

Luke 10:19 -  Behold, I give u the authority 2 trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and Nothing shall by any means hurt u.

Years ago, while traveling on a domestic flight in the United States, I was seated next 2 a woman whose whole body was tense with fear. Concerned, I asked if I could help her in any way. Between sobs, she told me about her fear of flying. I told her, “Don’t worry. I am on board. Nothing will happen 2 the plane.” I did not say it with pride. I said it knowing that the Lord was on board the plane with me and that I would have a safe journey bcoz He has promised that “nothing shall by any means hurt u”.

Once, when Jesus was in the boat with his disciples, He told them, “Let us cross over 2 the other side.” (Mark 4:35) Believing that they would cross over 2 the other side, He fell asleep in the stern. A great storm arose, but it could not rouse Him from His sleep, only the cries of His terrified disciples did. They had forgotten what Jesus had said about them crossing over 2 the other side. They had also forgotten that with Jesus in the boat with them, there was no possibility of them going down. Nothing could by any means hurt them bcoz Jesus was with them.

Even being thrown into a fiery furnace could not hurt 3 young Hebrew men bcoz they believed that God would deliver them. They had proclaimed 2 the heathen King Nebuchadnezzar, “... our God whom we serve is able 2 deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us from your hand, O king.” (Daniel 3:17) And in the midst of their fiery trial, their deliverer not only walked with them in the fire, He also delivered them from all harm. King Nebuchadnezzar even said, “Look! I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire; and they are not hurt, and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God.” (Daniel 3:25).

Beloved, in the midst of your storm or fiery trial, bcoz Jesus is with u, nothing shall by any means hurt u!

U Have It, So SAY It!

Matthew 25:29 -  ‘For 2 everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away.

Have u come across people who have little, yet even that little is taken away from them? On the other hand, there are those who already have much, yet they receive even more.

Jesus said, “To everyone who has, more will be given. From him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away.” Notice that Jesus doesn’t go on 2 say what it is we have. He simply says, “But 2 everyone who has.”

Jesus is talking about a firm belief in God’s Word that gives one the courage 2 say, “I have it!” If u say that u have it, u have it, and more will be given 2 u. But if u say that u don’t have it, when u actually do bcoz God has freely given us all things (Romans 8:32), then even what u have will be taken away — not by God but by the devil! The devil does not want u 2 walk in God’s blessings. So when u say that u don’t have it, he can rob u of your blessings bcoz he has your agreement!

When u need something, God says that u are 2 ask of Him. And when u ask, believe that u receive it. (Mark 11:24) SAY u already have it even if u don’t see it in the physical realm yet, and one day, u will see it!

God is not saying, “Oh come on, pretend that u see it. And if u pretend long enough, u will have it.” This is not a game! God is telling us 2 call forth those things which don’t exist as though they do. (Romans 4:17)

Today, we are talking about the haves and have-nots in the church. If u believe that it is yours, u will have it.   U will see yourself possessing it and enjoying it, and more will be given 2 u. But if u say, “Well, I don’t feel it and I’m not sure if it will come,” in essence, u are saying that u don’t have it when u actually do. Then, even what u have will be taken away. So SAY u have it today!

Discerning The Lord’s Body

1 Corinthians 11:24 - ...and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “Take, eat; this is My body which is broken for u; do this in remembrance of Me.”

Have u ever taken a close look at the Matzah bread that the Jews eat during their Passover meal? The bread, which is unleavened, is pierced with rows of little holes forming stripes. It is also slightly burnt. Many churches today use this bread for the Holy Communion.

Do u know why the bread is pierced, striped and burnt?

My friend, the bread that u hold in your hands when u partake of the Lord’s Supper speaks of the body of our Lord Jesus Christ when He bore our sins and sicknesses on the cross.

Like the bread, He was pierced in His brow by the crown of thorns as well as in His hands and feet by the nails. He was also pierced in His side by a soldier’s spear. The prophet Isaiah says, “He was pierced for our transgressions…” (Isaiah 53:5, NIV)

Like the bread, He was scourged on His back until His flesh was all torn and bloody, and His bones were exposed, so that today, u can say, “By His stripes I am healed!” (Isaiah 53:5)

What about the burnt marks on the bread? The full fire of God’s wrath fell on Jesus, burning up our sins into ashes, and at the same time, bringing out the fragrance of the offering of Jesus. Today, your sins and lawless deeds are but ashes, and your Father in heaven remembers them no more! (Hebrews 8:12)

So the next time u partake of the bread during the Holy Communion, know that Jesus was pierced for your sins and scourged for your healing. He bore God’s fiery judgment so that u will never be judged for your sins! He also bore your diseases and carried your pains so that u can walk in divine health!

When u discern these precious truths about our Lord’s body, u are partaking of the Holy Communion in a worthy manner. And u will not be weak and sickly, nor die b4 your time (1 Corinthians 11:27–30) No, u will be strong and healthy, and u will live long!
 

The Lord Is Your Refuge

Psalm 91:1–2 - He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. 2 - I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress; my God, in Him I will trust.”

Every day, we are bombarded with news of conflicts, natural disasters, diseases and new strains of drug-resistant viruses. We also hear of people losing their loved ones in freak accidents. And we ask ourselves, “Is there a place where I can take refuge from a world gone mad?”

Yes, there is! God foresaw all these things and He has promised in His Word protection from every evil known 2 man. There is no trap set by the devil that our Father cannot deliver us from, if we trust in Him and take Him as our refuge. That is His promise in Psalm 91.

Whether it is an earthquake at midnight, a crazy sniper, an unknown virus or a terrorist attack, God says, “You shall not be afraid of the terror by night, nor of the arrow that flies by day, nor of the pestilence that walks in darkness, nor of the destruction that lays waste at noonday.” (Psalm 91:5–6)

Because u have made Him your dwelling place, angels are watching over u right now. (Psalm 91:9–11) They give heed 2 the voice of God’s Word, so u should give voice 2 God’s Word. This means that u should agree with and speak what God’s Word says about His preserving and protecting u. Then, angels are sent 2 minister for u. (Hebrews 1:14)

My friend, don’t say, “If it can happen 2 them, it can also happen 2 me!” Say, “A thousand may fall at my side and 10,000 at my right hand, but it will not come near me!” (Psalm 91:7) The world says that u cannot but expect danger all around. God says, “You are in this world but not of this world. U have My protection bcoz u are of Me and in Me.” (John 17:14–23)

You have access by faith into the secret place of the Most High where NO evil can touch u. There is no need 2 fear living in the end times bcoz the Lord is your refuge and fortress. His Word says so. And those who trust His Word completely find His Word completely true!