The Whole Man/Woman - 6 Part Series

Note: Minister Stewart speaks on the Whole Man/Woman series at many places, comments are taken from several audio versions and combined... 

(** Signifies Comments)
 

**We are made in the likeness of God, we are formed from the dust of the earth and we are created male and female.
 

It is important therefore, that a person be entirely complete in order to be able to function at ones maximum capacity.  The daily activity one accomplishes may vary but the end results are the same.  That which was expended must be replenished.
 

Thus, it is important one knows where, when, with what and how to accomplish the maintaining of the Spirit, Soul and Body.
 

Enclosed in the pages of the Bible are the essentials necessary to accomplish this goal.  
 

May the Heavenly Father richly bless and keep you as you endeavor to know and serve Him through His son Jesus, by the Power of the Holy Ghost.  Praise His Holy Name!  Amen!
 

So let's begin - It Is Written....
 

Psalms 119:130 (in part) "The entrance of thy "God's" Words giveth light."
 

**When a person has light, they are not likely to stumble as they walk. I've been told, by people who have poor eyesight that stumbling is always a factor for them because the light they have is dim and so they have to take more precautions while moving around. And even for those of us with good vision, when you get up at night, (in your own home where you are familiar with things) if it is too dark, you'll stumble over things that you've forgotten where there!
 

But I have good news and that is that in Christ, there is no darkness, and His light is always shinning, showing us the way in which to walk...Hallelujah!
 

Proverbs 4:20-22 "My son, attend to my words; incline thine ear unto my sayings. Let them not depart from thine eyes; keep them in the midst of thine heart. For they are life unto those that find them, and health to all their flesh."
 

**The word 'attend' here simply means to 'pay attention to' and if we are not reading God's Word, every day, then our attention to His Word is nil and that in turn will cost us. I know of those that only hear/read God's Word when they come to church, or when they turn on the radio and listen to someone bring forth the Word, but that is not 'attending' unto the Word.
 

To 'pay attention to' means that your own eyes must be set on something and not to trust what someone else is telling you. So, in order for you to have the Word of God in your heart, you have to first put it in your eyes, read the Word out loud so your ears can hear it and speak the Word so that your tongue can process it ...every day!  
 

All the Words of the Bible are life and health unto His children. And how many of you are tired of being un-healthy? As you learn to know the Word and its promises, it will bring health to your whole being!
 

Reference Scriptures:
 

**The following will be used in our study.
 

Hebrews 12:23 "To the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect."
 

Genesis 1:26 (in part) "And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness;"
 

St. John 4:24 "God is a Spirit; and they that worship him must worship him in Spirit and in truth."
 

Genesis 1:27 "So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them."
 

Psalm 139:14 (in part) "I am fearfully and wonderfully made:"
 

Genesis 2:7 "And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul."
 

1st Corinthians 1:10 "Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment."
 

1st Thessalonians 5:23 "And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ."
 

**As Water and Physical food are essential for the physical health of a person.  The Written Word of God "YHWH" the Bible, is even more essential because it not only nourishes the Spirit but, it also nourishes and strengthens the Soul and the Body.
 

Having water/food is a given fact if we, as humans, are going to survive, but the Word of God goes far beyond what physical needs we may have. The Word reaches into our soul/spirit to nourish and strengthen us as no physical means can do.
 

How do you think that Jesus was able to stay in the wilderness for 40 days/nights?...He had the Word!
 

How do you think that Moses was able to stay up on the mountain for 40 days/nights?.....He had the Word!
 

It is the Word that is going to give you the strength to stand during your entire walk with Christ. But if you do not know His Word, you cannot do His Word. It is just like if I gave you a mathematical equation to do, unless you know the formula you'd be lost in knowing how to bring forth the answer and that is how it is in knowing the Will of God, you must know what the Word says before you can put it to use in your life!  

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Series #1

THE TWO/THREE WITNESS STUDY....

**The purpose of the Two/Three Witness Study is to provide a way in which to stand firm upon what the Word says about any given subject.  It is a way of proofing all things in a way that cannot be disputed.

All scriptures used in this study will be taken from the "Old King James" version of the Bible. 

The following scriptures will build your foundation for in-depth study. 

These scriptures are the keys to show us that we must use two or more witnesses to prove sound doctrine. 

When you find two "2" different, Biblical, writers that agree on any Bible subject, you will never find two "2" different, Biblical writers that will disagree on the same subject. 

A Couple Of Exceptions To This Rule Are: 

The sign that hung on the cross at the time of Christ’ death, being written in four (4) different languages (St. Luke 23:38), and what was spoken in the Gospels about the cock crowing at the time of Jesus' betrayal by Peter (St. Matthew 26:74). 

What we are doing, in this study, is to build up the Body of Christ, to edify one another.   It is God's desire for us to be built up. 

God's Word states that we must prove all things by two or three witnesses, as found in II Corinthians 13:1, "This is the third time I am coming to you.  In the mouth of two or three witness shall every word be established."

Even in our courts, (I'm a retired Criminal Investigator) one witness alone (a single person) could not say that they saw a person doing something without having another witness, DNA or some other proof to verify what was seen or done. 

A second witness (of some kind) is always needed in order for the prosecutor to convict a person of a crime. 

And that is what we need when we study God's Word.  This can only be done by finding two or three different Biblical writers. Now, David was a writer, Daniel was a writer, Peter was a writer and John was a writer....there was lots of different writers.  

But when we look at Paul, he wrote everything from Romans to Hebrews, so everything contained in these books is from just one writer!  We need another writer to establish the things that Paul wrote about, in order prove sound doctrine.

An example of how two or three witnesses can withstand scrutiny; I'll give you an illustration using a telephone pole. 

If I were to set up a telephone pole, on its end, on a level piece of ground and nobody bumped it or the wind didn't blow too hard, it would stand.  Now, you take and attach a cord to one side of that pole and if someone bumped it from the opposite side it would fall. But if you take an attach two or three cords to the pole, in opposite directions, it would be difficult, if not impossible, to knock it down. 

And that is what we want we study God's Word.....that which we find supported so well that nothing can dispute it.  Everything that we put into practice in our lives we want set on a solid foundation, so that we know that we know that we are not lost, but headed in the right direction. 

Let's Begin: 

FOUNDATOIN FOR TWO/THREE WITNESSESS: 

St. John 8:17 "It is also written in your law, that the testimony of two men is true." 

**Now this is Jesus speaking, but John is the one witnessing it.  So, we have two different individuals that can witness to one thing and it will stand. 

St. Matthew 18:16 "But if he will not hear thee, then take with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established." 

**Again, this is Jesus talking about something that someone has done, showing that when you bring an accusation against an Elder, don't do it except you have two or three witness to prove your case. And this stands true when coming against any of God's Saints.  

The proper order should be that if you have something against another, you should go to them, first in private, to stated your case.  If they will not hear you, then the proper order then goes on to what is stated in St. Matthew 18:16, this is the next step and if they still refuse to hear you, then you take them before the church as found in St. Matthew 18:17, "And if he shall neglect to hear them, tell it unto the church: but if he neglect to hear the church, let him be unto thee as an heathen man and a publican." 

It has been my experience that we get in trouble when we don't follow God's rules, that's plain and simple. 

II Corinthians 13:1 "This is the third time I am coming to you. In the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established." 

**I know, as a parent, that we all tell our children, "I've told you before, now I'm telling you again!" that is the way parenting goes, and that is what Paul was doing here.  He was coming to them, again, reminding them of how to prove all things. Paul was admonishing them not to trust in man, but to go back to the writers of God's Word to prove all things.

Deuteronomy 19:15 "One witness shall not rise up against a man for any iniquity, or for any sin, in any sin that he sinneth: at the mouth of two witnesses, or at the mouth of three witnesses, shall the matter be established." 

**This is where God was telling Moses about the laws of the land. Our government has established our laws today on the principles of God.  God's principles always work, just like the principle of bearing what you plant.  You plant an seed of corn and you will harvest corn, it won't bring up grapes because that is not what it is designed to do. So with the Word of God, if we use it in the right manner, it will work! 

**God Cannot Lie**

Titus 1:2 "In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began;"

**This is Paul talking. 

Hebrews 6:18 "That by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us:" (immutable: 2 instances that cannot be broken) 

**This is Paul.  It is great to have something we can trust in. Every institution in this world can change, but God does not change. He says what He means and means what He says. 

I used to have a credit card that had a fixed 6.9% interest rate on it.  One day the company contacted me and told me that they would be increasing my interest rate to 19.6%! I quickly paid off the card and canceled it with the company.  Banks change, people change, but God stays faithful.

Numbers 23:19 "God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?" 

**God is not a man and that is a fact.  He's not made of flesh and has never had any blood.  And just like the word says in the scripture, that which He says, shall he not make it good?  Take King Hezekiah for instance.

When God sent his prophet to tell him to set his house in order, that he was going to die, the King turned himself towards the wall and cried out to the Lord saying, "Lord, I've done that which thou hast told me to do and now you're going to cut me off in the midst of my years?" 

The Lord heard him and had the prophet return to inform him that He was giving him 15 more years to live.  So, when we do the things that God says to do, we shall be blessed. 

**God Cannot Change**

Malachi 3:6 "For I am the LORD, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed."

**When we accept Jesus as our Lord and Saviour, we then become part of the sons of Jacob (the Children of Israel). 

James 1:17 "Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning."

**Everything perfect and good is really something to hold onto!  If you receive those things that are perfect and good, why would you want to exchange them for anything else?

The "variableness" that the Word is talking about here means there is no "changing." The Father of Lights does not change.

God does not have shadow of turning either.   As I move around I can see shadows on the floor because the light above me is greater, but God is perfect light and He cast no shadow for there is NO light greater than Him!

Take the story of the soldiers that came to take Elijah one time and God smote them with blindness.  The soldiers, I believe, could see everything else, but could not see the one they were trying to take! 

Numbers 23:19 "God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?" 

**God Is of No Respecter of Persons** 

1st Peter 1:17 "And if ye call on the Father, who without respect of persons judgeth according to every man's work, pass the time of your sojourning here in fear:" 

**This is exciting to me.  God will never give to one and not give the same to another.  Just like when I was a kid and my sisters would often get more ice cream than me, I'd complain and cry about it, but God is not like that.  What the Lord did for Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, He'll do for you and I. 

This saying, "according to every man's work" means that we have to do something, right? Just like when we were in school, it's not just the tests that we had to take, but it was the everyday application of learning that faced us in order to make the grade. 

It is the same even now that we are grown, everything we do, every idle word that we speak, He records.  And that every day effort that we make will either make us or break us.  Our works will stand as a testimony for us or against us in the end.

Romans 2:11 "For there is no respect of persons with God."

**God wants all to receive Salvation and to receive of His blessings, that is the only way in which He is prejudice: He loves us all the same and every gift and/or correction that we receive is of our own doing.

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Series #2  

FAITH BUILDERS....   

**We mentioned in the last segment of study on how reading these scriptures is like taking vitamins, this is the next phase of the "Gos-pill" that we need to address.

Reading God's Word is great...plain and simple, and it is good for all to do, everyday.  I, for one, do not even want to leave my house each morning, until I have read my 'Body of Christ Booklet' and talked with the Lord about the day that is facing me. Neither do I go to bed until I've read these scriptures and talked with the Lord about them. 

As I mentioned before, we have a small chapel in our home and even after reading my booklet,  I still go in the chapel each night and close out my day by having prayer at the altar. Because to spend time with Him (the Lord) is our life, it is who we are and it is why we were made.

I'm the only boy out of what would have been 13 kids; 12 girls and me! But my mother had several miscarriages along the way and so there ended up being only 6 girls and me, which were tough odds! I was truly blessed to have been raised in a home that had born-again parents, who read and prayed on a daily basis, kept the Commandments of God and they taught us kids to do the same. I grew up learning to read the Bible and even though as a child I didn't always appreciate it, my parents saw that I got enough of God's Word in my life. 

Now, if you don't have that growing up, it's hard.  Take my wife, for instance.  She didn't grow up in a Christian home, never went to church and the only time she ever heard the name of God was when it was used in curse word.  She knew nothing of God until she married me and came into a family of believers.

I'll  begin by quoting Hebrews 11:16  -  

It Is Written! 

"But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him." 

**It is important that we all strive to build up our faith even as it is mentioned in Jude 1:20, 'But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost' And even though this scripture pertains to faith/prayer on a higher level, it still shows that we must strive, every day, to strengthen our faith so that we can meet the challenges that we face from day to day. 

I read these scriptures every day, it is my necessary, spiritual, food.

Romans 10:17 "So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God." 

**In other words, if it isn't in the Bible, it's no good, we need to leave it alone. We are not to listen or follow anyone or anything that teaches against God's Word.  

Romans 14:23 (in part), "Whatsoever is not of faith is sin." 

**The Bible also teaches us that if we teach others wrongly, we shall suffer for it! Knowing the truth is a must, for without knowing the truth we can lead ourselves and others astray.

St. Luke 17:6 "And the Lord said, If ye had faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye might say unto this sycamine tree, Be thou plucked up by the root, and be thou planted in the sea; and it should obey you." 

**This kind of faith takes work, hard work, through prayer, study and practice.  

The faith that moves mountains doesn't just happen, we have to make it happen. 

Proverbs 23:7  (in part), "For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he:" 

**This shows that our faith must be a personal walk and we can only stay on the path by God's mercy.  Jesus, as it were, was faith in a physical body and he confident in speaking the Word and seeing things happen. 

Whatever is in our hearts will come out of us, whether in good times or in bad.  Strive to believe the good promises of God! 

1st Timothy 6:12 "Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses." 

**To fight means that we must struggle with someone or something in order to win. God wants us to arm ourselves for the battle that surely the enemy will bring against us. 

The "many witnesses" that this scripture mentions is everyone that we come into contact with, day-by-day....they are our witnesses. 

Many years ago and shortly after being newly converted,  I had a vision..... 

In this vision I was kneeling down and I saw this two-edged sword fighting in the black-darkness and the sword was illuminated, like white phosphorus, and it came towards me, but I wasn't afraid. The sword continued to come towards me and it then went, point-end down, right beside my hip and stayed there! So, I bought a complete King James Bible, miniature size, made a scabbard (to fit the Bible) and wore it on my belt for about 15 years. This Bible stood as a witness for me many times. 

One illustration I will give was when I was working at a lumber yard and the company was having a Thanksgiving dinner and most everyone there was eating Ham. Before long I was being questioned and poked at about the fact that I wasn't eating any of the Ham they served. One man asked me, "Stewart, why aren't you eating some of this Ham?" 

I replied that the Bible tells us not to eat Ham and various other unclean meats. I was asked where in the Bible did it tell me that?  I took out my little Bible, turned to Leviticus and read the scripture to them.  The man remarked back to me, "Oh, that's your religion!" Another man, sitting on a stack of lumber, spoke up and said, "No, that's not his religion, that's the Word of God!" 

So, when we have the Word as our foundation, we can stand before the judge and be found guiltless.

1st John 5:4 "Whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith."

**This scripture needs a "Hallelujah!" this shows that in getting to the place that we need to be, we have to do something about it, we must make the effort.  If I wanted to be over where someone else is at and there are obstacles in the way, then I would have to move or climb over things in order to get there.

1st Thessalonians 5:8  "Let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for an helmet, the hope of salvation."

**We who are of the day (in Christ) must be in our right minds (sober) and have on the breastplate of faith (your heart is where your faith is) and our heads (our minds) covered with the Word so that we can strive to enter into the kingdom. 

Hebrews 12:1-2  "Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God."

**Whatever is holding you back (weight) has to go, and it makes no difference what it is.  Worry holds many people back from living in the peace that God promises us.  One thing to remember about worrying is that it does not edify you, or God, or anybody else, so we have to let it go.

Worry will easily beset us all if not put in its place.  The Lord said for us to let him be our fear and our dread and let everything else go. 

Whatever the day brings (race that is set before us) give it your all. 

"Looking unto Jesus" reminds me of those that have spoken to me about shooting arrows. They say that when you are preparing to shoot an arrow or for that matter, throw a knife or shoot a gun, see whatever you are holding - see it hitting the target before you throw or shoot. 

The same is true as we look unto Jesus...we must see Him to run to Him, keep your focus.  He is the author (the beginning) and the finisher (the end) of our faith (He comprises it all). 

And when we think about how He endured the cross, we must also bare in mind the things that He went through that led up to the cross He bore. Jesus could have spoken a word and destroyed everything that He had to face, but for our sakes' He finished His race and so must we. And because He endured all things He now has His rightful place, at the right hand of His father!

St. Mark 11:24 "Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them." 

**Can you, as a child, remember coming up to your mom and asking for a cookie and then running away right quick because you knew that she wasn't going to give you one - even though you had ask for one? 

People do that to God today. They come before Him, make their petition and at the same time walk away saying in their heart that He'll never give them what they ask Him for.  So my question is, why ask?

Psalms 42:11  "Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted within me? hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise him, who is the health of my countenance, and my God." 

**Praise God...even when I don't feel well, He's still my health, even though I have to wear glasses, He's still my health, even though I have pain in my body, He's still my health!

People often ask me how I'm doing? I always respond by saying that "I am complete in Him who is the head of all things!"  In all things we MUST profess the Word because in professing it, it becomes real and will make a world of difference in your life. 

Psalms 145:18-19  "The LORD is nigh unto all them that call upon him, to all that call upon him in truth.  He will fulfil the desire of them that fear him: he also will hear their cry, and will save them." 

**The Lord is not talking about the type of fear that causes us to "cower-down" before Him; to  be afraid in that sense, but He wants us to remember what Solomon said about fearing the Lord. 

He said "The fear of the Lord is to hate evil" and if you put "to hate evil" every place that the words "fear the Lord" appears, it will work! God wants all of us to come to the place that we despise evil. He hears those that fear Him in the proper sense. 

1st Peter 5:6-7  "Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time: Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you."

**There is coming a time Saints when we will be exalted, up and out of this world into a greater place with God...a place where we will be able to walk on the water...walk thru the fire...but it takes time to build the spiritual muscles that we need in order to do it. 

Ephesians 3:17-19  "That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God."

**I truly believe that God doesn't want to hold back anything good from His children, but if He were to give us all that He gave Jesus, our mortal bodies and our minds wouldn't be able to handle it.  We're not ready, by a long-shot. But day-by-day we are getting there as we grow in faith! 

Psalms 55:22  "Cast thy burden upon the LORD, and he shall sustain thee: he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved." 

**How many of you like to fish? I do and when I have a casting rod, I'm able to really get that line out there.

And that's what the Lord wants us to do with those things that hinder us, cause us sadness.  He wants us to cast them, fast and hard, to Him and leave them there.  He knows how to handle them when we cannot.

Psalms 27:1-3  "The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the LORD is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? 

When the wicked, even mine enemies and my foes, came upon me to eat up my flesh, they stumbled and fell. Though an host should encamp against me, my heart shall not fear: though war should rise against me, in this will I be confident." 

**Without God we are all in darkness. That is the absolute truth! His light leaves no room for darkness and it shows us the way to Salvation. Now, some people don't believe that you are saved until the day of Judgment, but the way I see it is like this: if you were out in the middle of the lake and you were drowning and I came along in a boat and pulled you in, you would be saved, right then and there! 

You would not have to wait until you got to the shore to know you were saved.  

That's how it is with Salvation, you can and will know that you are saved NOW!

That's how it is when you accept Christ into your life, He picks you up out of a world in which you are drowning and puts in His boat....you are Saved! And those afraid of death should not be.  Jesus said that if we believe in Him, we shall never die.

Our fleshly bodies will turn back to dust one day, but we have a new life coming. Just as a seed is planted, dies and comes forth, we too shall come forth. So don't be afraid of death for it will bring eternal life.

Psalms 18:2-3  "The LORD is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower. I will call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised: so shall I be saved from mine enemies." 

**The Lord is my solid rock and my protector.  The one that protects me from all things. That high tower, mentioned here, is a place I love to go.  It draws me away from everything that is against me in this life.  

As I mentioned earlier, we have a chapel in our home and there are times when my wife and I go in and we'll spend time at the piano, playing and singing praises unto the Lord. 

That is what this scripture says to me....draw yourself away and be with the one that loves you the most and let Him give you peace. 

Philippians 4:13  "I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me." 

**I can, you can....we all can!

Nahum 1:7  "The LORD is good, a strong hold in the day of trouble; and he knoweth them that trust in him."

**Make no mistake, God knows whether or not you trust in Him! 

Isaiah 12:2  "Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid: for the LORD JEHOVAH is my strength and my song; he also is become my salvation." 

**He is ALL THINGS to us all, always has been and will always be.

1st John 5:14-15  "And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us: And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him."

**The only way we can ask "according to His will" is to know His will and that can only be done by knowing His Word! You've got to know what the Word says and the faith to believe that He will always and forever honor His Word!

Hebrews 10:35  "Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompense of reward."

**Seek the reward of your confidence!  God has great things in store for His children.  Look for and expect those great things!

Psalms 37:5  "Commit thy way unto the LORD; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass."

**Everything that we attempt to do in this life must be put it before the Lord, first.  He will direct your steps.  Not including the Lord in every decision that we make can have huge consequences, many of which can be harmful to us. 

Ezekiel 36:26-27  "A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh.  And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them." 

**That is one of the greatest things about Salvation...the things that we used to do, we no longer even have the desire to do them anymore.  

Our desires and 'want-tos' change completely!  He promises us here a new heart, one that He can mold and make into what it needs to be to follow His will...all the way to the end. 

Romans 10:10  "For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation." 

**We must first believe and then receive.  Our hearts must heed the calling of God's Spirit, that is what brings us to the greatest change we'll ever make.  Everything changes when we say it out loud.  The confession that we make opens up the way to a new life! 

Hebrews 3:14 "For we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast unto the end;" 

**We are to be 'Joint-heirs' with Christ at His return, Glory!  But we must stay the course.  We must stay prayed up, paid-up and ready to go-up!  We must hold fast and never let go of the truth.  His Word is truth and by it we shall be saved. 

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Series #3 

HIS HEALING WORD....

**First off, I highly recommend that along with your daily reading, that you incorporate these scriptures into your devotional time on Healing.
 

One thing I know is that God is concerned about everything in our lives. He has made it possible for us to have everything that we need.  Like the scripture states, He that gathered little had no lack and he that gathered much had nothing over.  God cares about us in a great way!
 

As we start out in this portion of our booklet, remember that all through our lives we will have need of healing and we need to understand that God's desire for us is to be healthy, whole and complete!
 

Let's Start - It Is Written!
 

2nd Corinthians 5:21 "For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him."
 

**It totally boggles my mind to think that Jesus had to become something bad (sin) in order that you and I could be free from sin and be able to walk in health.  

Our health, just like forgiveness of our sins, was paid for on the cross by Jesus and He wants us to accept that which has been paid for. I know you have heard me tell the story about the type-setter who covered his paper in red ink and went into the black room only to find that his pages were completely white! The Black light (in essence is Red) completely erased the Red ink.  And that's what Jesus' blood has done for us.  His blood covers our sin - our sins are red, as found in Isaiah 1:18, "Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool."
 

Jesus Red blood covers our Red Sin and He sees it no more....our sins no longer exists....Glory!
 

2nd Corinthians 2:10 "And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power:"
 

**If we are complete, (which means we lack nothing...) Jesus doesn't want us to lack anything, which is "no-thing..that's the Zero-without the line!" Whatsoever we have need of, God will supply.  I often give an example of this by using parents of little children. Those little children cry and their parents are there in a heart-beat to see what the little one needs.  Those children have no need to worry as long as their parents are there.
 
Hosea 6:1 "Come, and let us return unto the LORD: for he hath torn, and he will heal us; he hath smitten, and he will bind us up."  
 

**There is hope for all who stay the course.  There are things in each of our lives that causes us pain and if we are not careful, just like the scripture says here, 'let us return unto the Lord' we may have had moments of falling away from God, but He is always waiting for us to return.  There are those of us also that become weary of waiting for the answer that we seek.  But we cannot afford to get tired on the Highway of Holiness, we have got to continue to speak words of life...God's Word.
 

Proverbs 4:20-22 "My son, attend to my words; incline thine ear unto my sayings.  Let them not depart from thine eyes; keep them in the midst of thine heart.  For they are life unto those that find them, and health to all their flesh."  
 

**What is He the health of?....all our flesh...Glory!  If we will listen and are obedient to God's Word there are great promises awaiting us. But we must remember to eat the 'whole book' from Genesis to Revelations, it is all good for us.
 

Isaiah 53:4-5 "Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.  But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed."
 
**Jesus paid the price in full. He alone faced a cross that was made for me and for you and He did it in love, so that we could have a life worth living.  Praise His Name!
 

What Jesus did for us would be just like a debt that you might have and I went down and paid it off for you, releasing you from any obligation for payment. And because Jesus paid the debt, we can live free from worry and fear. Hallelujah!
 

St Matthew 8:16-17 "And He healed all that were sick: That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying, Himself took our infirmities, and bare our sicknesses."  
 

**Jesus didn't leave out anyone when he died on the cross. Those of the present, past and future where on His mind when He gave up His life. How He could bear those stripes and the caning that He suffered is beyond me, but He did.  And Jesus didn't want to die. That was the whole reason He prayed until His sweat was as great drops of blood...He was seeking another way, but there was no other way.  He had to die and He accepted that, for you and I....Amazing!
 

1st Peter 2:24 "Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed."  
 

**Living unto righteousness means that we strive to live a right kind of life, every day. Jesus made it possible for us to do just that and we are to walk in health as well, as Jesus paid for that also.  If we could only, truly, grasp God's Word like little children, how much better off we'd be.
 

I remember when our son was very small, maybe 4 years old, him and some friends were playing together when one of them got hurt and started crying.  Our son went up to him, laid hands on him and prayed for him and then told his friend, "You're better now, let's play!" Our son had received the Word of God - as we should - to mean exactly what it says and to claim it!
 
Exodus 15:26 "For I am the LORD that healeth thee."
 

**These are true promises of God and aside from reminding ourselves of them, we need to remind satan of God's Word, just like Jesus did when He was tempted.  He (Jesus) used the Word.  But to use the Word of God, we must know the Word.
 

Exodus 23:25-26 "And ye shall serve the LORD your God, and he shall bless thy bread, and thy water; and I will take sickness away from the midst of thee.  There shall nothing cast their young, nor be barren, in thy land: the number of thy days (120 years) I will fulfil."   
 

**So many people believe that if they live to be 67 years old, they have lived a long time. But the Word says in Psalms, that because of wickedness, we are cut in the 'midst' of our years and that because of grace of God, we have the ability to live another 10 years (if God should so desire).
 

But God, according to what I read in Genesis 6:3, "And the LORD said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years." states we can live a long, prosperous life through Christ.  But we don't want to live for that long in a body that is diseased, sick or lame, but we want to claim and walk in God's promises for total, physical health, so that we can do the things that God would have us to do.
 

2nd Chronicles 16:9 "For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him."  
 

**The Lord sent His Angels to search and see if things were "thus and so." He has multitudes of Angles that keep watch, and they are looking out for you and I, every day, to make sure that we are safe from all harm. And it says here that the Lord shows Himself strong on behalf of those whose hearts are what?...PERFECT...before Him! 

Most people don't think you can be perfect.  I hear it all the time from God's people, but God would never tell us to do something that He didn't believe we could do.  He tells us in Matthew 5:48, "Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect." 

So it can and must be done and how can it be done?....by staying in the Word, knowing the Word, speaking the Word and living the Word, 24/7.
 

Psalms 91:10 & 26 "There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling.  With long life will I satisfy him, and show him my salvation."   
 

**You know, one time the Lord sent a prophet to a King, to tell him that he was going to die and to get his affairs in order. The King turned his face to the wall and prayed unto the Lord and reminded Him (the Lord) how he had done things the way He wanted him to, had lived his life according to God's Word.  The Lord sent the prophet back to tell the King that He had heard his prayer and that He was going to give him another 15 years to live.  

This goes to show that if we do what is right, according to God's written Word and live by it, we can remind God of our righteousness and He will show us the sure mercies of David.  And if anyone ever received mercy from God...it was David.
 

Psalms 103:2-3 "Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits: Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases;"
 

**I don't think any of us fully know how many benefits the Lord has towards us. This is why I love reading these scriptures (and the ones on Faith and Prosperity) these are all a part of the benefits that God has for us.  The Word itself benefits us in every way possible! It says here that He forgives "all" our iniquities, not just one or two them, but ALL of them...and He healeth "all" our diseases, not just certain ones...but ALL of them...Glory!
 

Psalms 107:20 "He sent His Word and healed them."  
 

**You see, Jesus was the Word that was sent in the flesh to heal us.  He was the Word made flesh so that we could become the flesh made Word!
 

Isaiah 55:11 "So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it."
 

**The Word that God sends to you, it will cause you to prosper. God cannot go back on His Word, it is forever settled in heaven and will forever do its work in us.
 

St Matthew 7:11 "If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?"
 

**God will never give us something rotten when we are asking for something good. He just won't do it.  He loves us more than we love our earthly children, which is hard to imagine.  But His love will always want what is the best for us.
 

James 1:17 "Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning."  
 

**In essence what is being said here is that God does not change, He has remained the same since the beginning of time.  Remember the credit card story I told about one time and about how in the middle of making payments (at one level of interest) they decided to raise the interest to a limit that was outrageous.  That's the way man is...man is given to change, God is NOT!
 

St Matthew 8:2-3 "And, behold, there came a leper and worshipped him, saying, Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean.  And Jesus put forth his hand, and touched him, saying, I will; be thou clean. And immediately his leprosy was cleansed."
 

**Now think about this...no one was to touch a leper. They were put outside the city, alienated from general population.  But Jesus, knowing the power of God within, knew that touching the leper was what needed to happen for him to be completely healed. Jesus was not afraid for He knew that God was with Him.  And that's the way we are to be as well.  We know that Jesus is with us, within us and always for us. And what Jesus has done for others, He'll do for us as well.  As He heals one, He heals us all, although touching wasn't the way that He healed the leper Nahum was it?  Jesus told Nahum to go and dip 7 times in the River Jordan.  There are times when our faith must be put into action in order to receive.
 

Acts 10:38 "How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him."
 

**You want to make sure that "God is with you" if you ever try to attempt to heal someone oppressed by devil.  

I had this happen to me once, when I was first converted. I had been going to a local church for some time and had seen a young man (around 22 years old) also attend this church and he was in a wheel chair. On one particular night the Lord spoke to me and told me that me and the Pastor were going to pray for the young man and He (the Lord) would deliver him from that wheel chair.  Well, after church, the Pastor left to take someone home, but I was unaware of this, I only knew that I didn't not see the Pastor around.  So, in my attempt to do something for the Lord, I attempted to pray for the guy..by myself and therein was the problem.  I had disobeyed the order in which God had laid out and I suffered for it, because as I prayed and cast those demons out of him, they jumped on me!  I began to struggle and I felt the very life leaving my body, I couldn't breathe.  I knew that if I could get to the pulpit I would be all right, but I couldn't reach it. The forces that had me were too strong. About the time that I finally laid my hand at the base of the pulpit the Pastor returned and laid hands on me and the demons left me.  So, don't presume to know what you are doing...on your own.  Only God can deliver, we are only instruments and it must be done according to His direction.
 

St John 10:10 "The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly."
 

**Even what we already have in Christ, the Lord wants to make better.  He wants all of us to continue to rise higher, to accomplish more, strive for more of the truth! He desires all of us to grow in grace, grow in faith and to change from Glory to Glory...Hallelujah! He wants us to 'step up' and do better in all things.
 

I'm reminded of a story about a farmer that had an old mule. The farmer hated that mule, but didn't have the heart to shoot him. So, one day he had the idea to throw him in a dry well he had and throw dirt in on him until he was buried.  Well, the farmer would throw dirt in the well and the old mule would just shake off the dirt and step on it.  This went on until finally the mule just stepped right out of the well! He just kept on shaking it off and stepping up!  We must do the same.  

Whatever life throws at us, we have to shake it off and step up until we come out of it. The truth is....if we are obedient to the written Word, we will be obedient to the voice of God.
 

St. Matthew 9:35 "And Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people."
 

**EVERY SICKNESS, means just what it says.  Believe it!
 

Hebrews 13:8 "Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and today, and forever."  
 

**He just doesn't change! He wants us to be the lender and not the borrower, the vanquisher and not the vanquished, the healed and not the sick.  He wants all good things for us!
 

Hebrews 13:8 "Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father."  
 

**How many of you are praying daily to do the works of God and to see those "signs following" that He spoke about? I am. I want to see people healed. I want to see people delivered and set free. I find it hard to imagine being able to do greater than that which Jesus did! But you see, we have a great, vast world that we are now able to travel through-out, as to where Jesus was confined to a limited area during His life time. I am sure that had He wanted to go further, He could have. But He was where His Father placed Him and it was in that area that He ministered. And even though Jesus never traveled to other parts of the world, His Word did and it is still traveling today...through His written Word and through the commission that He gives to His people.  

We, today, can go all around the world, via internet, cell connections and other forms of transport.  

We have greater abilities and so we have greater responsibilities.
 

St. Mark 16:15 & 17-18 "And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.  And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover."
 

**I, personally, don't care to fly anywhere and I sure don't want to take a ship across the ocean, because if I can't see land then I know I cannot swim to safety should the boat sink. Thanks to modern technology, we are now on-line and by that, our ministry, through God's Word, is going all around the world!
 

We just talked about the signs that follow those that believe...do you believe? Sure you do or you wouldn't be here today. Here it talks about speaking with new tongues. When a person gives their life over to the Lord, they no longer talk the same way. This may be looking at this a little differently, but I believe it is relevant. 

Everything about you changes when you give all that you are to God.  Your talk, walk and nature changes. You are no longer living for you, you are living to serve and do the will of the Lord and as you do, those signs spoken of will manifest themselves to the Glory of God!
 

James 5:14-15 "Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord: And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him."  
 

**There once was a Jewish man, who converted and became a Christian. He lived and had a ministry in Jerusalem. He had a his sister, and their Father was very wealthy. Well, not long after he had been converted his Father died. In his Father's will it stated that if his son would denounce Christianity and come back to Judaism, he and his sister could share his wealth. But the converted man did not want to denounce his new found faith, which angered his sister greatly. One day while sitting in his house, an Angel from God came into his house, sat down at the table where the man was sitting and said, "hold on to what you have", and then the Angel disappeared. His sister continued to press him to denounce his faith, but he would not. Sometime later the man's sister hired someone to befriend her brother and to poison him, in hopes of having the inheritance to herself. But her plan did not work, for although her brother was poisoned, with enough poison to kill an elephant, he did not die, he didn't even get sick! 

The enemy is always after what God has given His children, trying to stop what God has placed within us, but the enemy cannot stop God!
 

III John 1:2 "Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth."
 

**Is your soul prospering? That is a very important part of this scripture. Our inner man must prosper in order for so we can be a complete instrument for God. The changes made on the inside will show themselves on the outside, which will stand as a testimony to others of the great power of God and His Word. 

So, if your soul needs healing, seek it earnestly so that your health can prosper.
 

I John 4:4 "Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world."
 

**Remember the servant of Elisha when they were surrounded by soldiers that had been sent to take Elisha? He asked his master, "Alas, my master! how shall we do?"

(2 Kings 6:16-17) and Elisha ask the Lord to open the eyes of his servant so that he could see that they were not alone. When the servant looked, behold the mountains around them were covered with horses and chariots of fire...Glory!  We are never alone, God and His Angels are always with us!
 

St Mark 11:23-24 "For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith.  Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them."   
 

**We all have to wait upon the Lord because sometimes God will use others to supply the needs that we have. But that belief that He is talking about here is a MUST, we MUST believe in order to receive.  

Believing is a form of Faith.  It is an action word. Our believe/faith must be put forth first, then we receive accordingly. 

So, whatever your issue of healing is, keep trusting, keep believing, keep your faith strong!