Once you know what God's Word has to say about sickness and disease (attending to the Helmet of Salvation/Deliverance given to you), you have its power to back you up, whenever Satan comes at you with his third most common fear, the fear of sickness and disease.
Jesus Christ is "the exact representation of [God's] being" (Hebrews 1:3), and "...The reason the Son of God was made manifest (visible) was to undo (destroy, loosen, and dissolve) the works of the devil" (I John 3:8). The very first work of the devil was to bring sin, sickness, disease, and death into the Garden, with Adam and Eve's permission.
During Jesus' early ministry, we are told, in Matthew 8:16, that "When evening came, they brought to [Jesus] many who were under the power of demons, and He drove out the spirits with a word and restored to health all who were sick." He was fulfilling His Father's will.
Jesus is our example. He speaks to each believer, when He says, "I assure you, most solemnly I tell you, if anyone steadfastly believes in Me, he will himself be able to do the things that I do; and he will do even greater things than these" (John 14:12). Remember that, when the enemy comes at you with the fear of sickness and disease.
Just as Jesus drove out spirits "with a word," that is what you must do. When the enemy comes at you with the fear of sickness and disease, whispering thoughts of, "You're going to get cancer and die" (or something similar), lift up your Sword of the Spirit and speak aloud to him, with all the power of God's Word backing you. Personalize II Corinthians 10:5, and say firmly to the enemy, "I demolish [all your] arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God!" and then say, "Get behind me, Satan!"
Psalm 103:2-3 [NIV]
"Praise the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits. He forgives all my sins and heals all my diseases."
What this has to do with weight loss: I know that many in the weight-loss community have suffered or are suffering from co-morbidities and illness (whether weight-related or not). If you are a believer, I beg you to pay attention to Psalm 103:2-3, and know that God offers you "benefits." He offers forgiveness of sins and healing of diseases. Not just some of them...all of them. In faith, make a "demand" on those benefits, knowing that God will be most pleased to forgive and heal you. How do I know? "God is not a man, that He should lie, nor a son of man, that He should change His mind. Does He speak and then not act? Does He promise and not fulfill?" (Numbers 23:19). No, whatever God says, He does, and He fulfills every promise, if you will believe and receive.
Prayer for Today:
"Heavenly Father, whenever I'm presented with fear of sickness and disease, I'm going to recognize where it's coming from--from the enemy, and I'm going to open my mouth and rebuke him and the fear, the sickness, the disease. I'm going to use Your Word to do that, Lord, because it has the power to demolish Satan's schemes and bring healing to me. I thank You for that, and I pray that I will always believe and receive. In Jesus' Name. Amen."
Go forth today, speaking God's powerful Word, knowing that the enemy's scheme to put fear of sickness and disease on you will be thwarted.
Showing posts with label fear of sickness and disease. Show all posts
Showing posts with label fear of sickness and disease. Show all posts
Sunday, September 20, 2009
Saturday, September 19, 2009
Life Plan Devotion #93 [God's Armor--Helmet of Salvation, Part XI]
The enemy will provide you with multiple opportunities to give in to his third most common fear, the fear of sickness and disease. Have no fear. You have on the Helmet of Salvation (Deliverance). Now, pick up the Sword of the Spirit (the Word of God), and listen to your Commander and Heavenly Father speak to you.
"My son [daughter], pay attention to what I say; listen closely to My words. Do not let them out of your sight, keep them within your heart; for they are life to those who find them and health to a man's [woman's] whole body" (Proverbs 4:20-22). God's Word is life and health. If you don't know what God has to say in the Bible, how can you expect to be victorious over Satan in anything.
If you are a believer who does not read God's Word, except along with the preacher during your one visit to church per week, then you have not exercised your spiritual muscles. And if you don't regularly exercise your spiritual muscles, you will not have the strength it takes to lift up the Sword of the Spirit given to you by God Himself, much less use it against your enemy.
Do you want life and health? Then you must pay attention to what God has to say, listen closely to His Words, look at them constantly (or be thinking about them), and hide them in your heart. God's Word heals. God's Word, when used against Satan's lies and attempts to throw fear of sickness and disease on you (and any other fear) will defeat him every time.
Proverbs 4:23-24 [NLT]
"Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life. Avoid all perverse talk; stay away from corrupt speech."
What this has to do with weight loss: How often do you allow the negative or hurtful things that other people say determine the course of your day, even your life? Even a careless word from a coworker can set you up for emotional eating. Don't give in to it. Guard your heart, and avoid that person. Resist the urge to "give back in kind." Your ears are not garbage cans, but your mouth shouldn't be one, either.
Prayer for Today:
"Heavenly Father, I want life and health. I want to be so full of Your Word that there's no room for sickness and disease. I want to know Your Word so well that when Satan tries to throw sickness on me, I immediately raise my Sword of the Spirit and speak Your Words of promise of health and long life. I know that if I can do that, he will turn tail and run. May I flex my spiritual muscles and effectively guard my heart and body. In Jesus' Name I pray. Amen."
Go forth today, strengthening your knowledge and use of God's Word, which is life and health to you and protection against fear of sickness and disease.
"My son [daughter], pay attention to what I say; listen closely to My words. Do not let them out of your sight, keep them within your heart; for they are life to those who find them and health to a man's [woman's] whole body" (Proverbs 4:20-22). God's Word is life and health. If you don't know what God has to say in the Bible, how can you expect to be victorious over Satan in anything.
If you are a believer who does not read God's Word, except along with the preacher during your one visit to church per week, then you have not exercised your spiritual muscles. And if you don't regularly exercise your spiritual muscles, you will not have the strength it takes to lift up the Sword of the Spirit given to you by God Himself, much less use it against your enemy.
Do you want life and health? Then you must pay attention to what God has to say, listen closely to His Words, look at them constantly (or be thinking about them), and hide them in your heart. God's Word heals. God's Word, when used against Satan's lies and attempts to throw fear of sickness and disease on you (and any other fear) will defeat him every time.
Proverbs 4:23-24 [NLT]
"Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life. Avoid all perverse talk; stay away from corrupt speech."
What this has to do with weight loss: How often do you allow the negative or hurtful things that other people say determine the course of your day, even your life? Even a careless word from a coworker can set you up for emotional eating. Don't give in to it. Guard your heart, and avoid that person. Resist the urge to "give back in kind." Your ears are not garbage cans, but your mouth shouldn't be one, either.
Prayer for Today:
"Heavenly Father, I want life and health. I want to be so full of Your Word that there's no room for sickness and disease. I want to know Your Word so well that when Satan tries to throw sickness on me, I immediately raise my Sword of the Spirit and speak Your Words of promise of health and long life. I know that if I can do that, he will turn tail and run. May I flex my spiritual muscles and effectively guard my heart and body. In Jesus' Name I pray. Amen."
Go forth today, strengthening your knowledge and use of God's Word, which is life and health to you and protection against fear of sickness and disease.
Friday, September 18, 2009
Life Plan Devotion #92 [God's Armor--Helmet of Salvation, Part X]
The fear of sickness and disease, the third most common fear used by Satan to try to discourage and defeat the believer, is prevalent in the Body of Christ today. The reason that Satan is so successful in using it, in putting sickness and disease in the bodies of believers, is because believers do not realize the power behind their Helmet of Salvation (Deliverance), part of the Armor of God (Ephesians 6:17). They do not know what the Word of God has to say about sickness and disease, especially about how to obtain healing, so they are unable to successfully wield the Sword of the Spirit, to fend off the attacks of Satan within their body.
The Helmet of Salvation (Deliverance) and the Sword of the Spirit (the Word of God) give you protection and ultimate victory from sickness and disease, but you must know the promises of healing found in God's Word, qualify for them, and claim and speak them into your life. If you do that, "the length of [your] days [will be] 70 years--or 80, if [you] have the strength" (Psalm 90:10). If not, though, "[your] span [will be] but trouble and sorrow, for [the years] quickly pass" (Psalm 90:10).
Sin, sickness, disease, and death were ushered into God's perfect Garden when Adam and Eve listened to Satan's words of doubt, believed his deception, and gave in to his lies. The moment they did that, they qualified for the promise of God, when He said, "You must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die" (Genesis 2:17). You see, that's how God works. He teaches us, warns us, and then, when we disobey, He allows the consequences. Praise God for redemption through the Blood of His Son, which gives us forgiveness of sins and healing of our body, if we will avail ourselves of it.
God says to Moses, and to believers today, for He does not change and neither does His Word, "If you listen carefully to the voice of the LORD your God and do what is right in His eyes, if you pay attention to His commands and keep all His decrees, I will not bring on you any of the diseases I brought on the Egyptians, for I am the LORD who heals you" (Genesis 15:26). When sickness results from not listening to God, not paying attention to His Word, not doing what is right and what is commanded in His Word, then God will allow you to experience the consequence, the sickness and disease. However, if you listen, pay attention, allow God's Word to change your heart and affect how you live your life, God's healing will be yours.
We live in a fallen world, so there will be plenty of opportunity for the enemy to win the battle of sickness and disease in your body, but while he may appear to win the battle, with God as your Jehovah-Rapha [the God Who Heals], you will win the war. That does not mean that we would live forever, but "though outwardly [our bodies] are wasting away [wearing out], yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day," so "we do not lose heart" (II Corinthians 4:16). God wants you to be like Moses, to live a long life, and when you have fulfilled the number of the days of your life, that you go to be with the Lord like Moses, whose "eyes were not weak nor his strength gone" (Deuteronomy 34:7). Moses walked to his own funeral, and so should you!
Do not give in to the notion that sickness and disease is just a part of life. Do not fear the one who will seek to bury you, for "Greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world" (I John 4:4)! The Greater One is your Healer!
Proverbs 4:18-19 [NIV]
"The path of the righteous is like the first gleam of dawn, shining ever brighter till the full light of day. But the way of the wicked is like deep darkness; they do not know what makes them stumble."
What this has to do with weight loss: When you are righteous, in right standing with God, you have light for your journey, even your weight-loss journey. That Light will help you see that which can cause you to stumble, even on your weight-loss journey. Allow the Light of God and His Word to reveal the path you must take, to health, healing, and wholeness in your body.
Prayer for Today:
"Heavenly Father, much of the sickness I experience is due to my own poor decisions and choices, but I thank You that it doesn't have to be that way. If I listen to You and follow Your Word, I will live a healthy life, full of healing. Lord, Satan is used to winning many battles of sickness, but I desire to win the war of wellness. Help me to see my part in doing that, to partner with You, my Jehovah-Rapha, my Healer. I pray in Jesus' Name. Amen."
Go forth today, choosing obedience to God's Word over the deception and sickness of sin.
The Helmet of Salvation (Deliverance) and the Sword of the Spirit (the Word of God) give you protection and ultimate victory from sickness and disease, but you must know the promises of healing found in God's Word, qualify for them, and claim and speak them into your life. If you do that, "the length of [your] days [will be] 70 years--or 80, if [you] have the strength" (Psalm 90:10). If not, though, "[your] span [will be] but trouble and sorrow, for [the years] quickly pass" (Psalm 90:10).
Sin, sickness, disease, and death were ushered into God's perfect Garden when Adam and Eve listened to Satan's words of doubt, believed his deception, and gave in to his lies. The moment they did that, they qualified for the promise of God, when He said, "You must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die" (Genesis 2:17). You see, that's how God works. He teaches us, warns us, and then, when we disobey, He allows the consequences. Praise God for redemption through the Blood of His Son, which gives us forgiveness of sins and healing of our body, if we will avail ourselves of it.
God says to Moses, and to believers today, for He does not change and neither does His Word, "If you listen carefully to the voice of the LORD your God and do what is right in His eyes, if you pay attention to His commands and keep all His decrees, I will not bring on you any of the diseases I brought on the Egyptians, for I am the LORD who heals you" (Genesis 15:26). When sickness results from not listening to God, not paying attention to His Word, not doing what is right and what is commanded in His Word, then God will allow you to experience the consequence, the sickness and disease. However, if you listen, pay attention, allow God's Word to change your heart and affect how you live your life, God's healing will be yours.
We live in a fallen world, so there will be plenty of opportunity for the enemy to win the battle of sickness and disease in your body, but while he may appear to win the battle, with God as your Jehovah-Rapha [the God Who Heals], you will win the war. That does not mean that we would live forever, but "though outwardly [our bodies] are wasting away [wearing out], yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day," so "we do not lose heart" (II Corinthians 4:16). God wants you to be like Moses, to live a long life, and when you have fulfilled the number of the days of your life, that you go to be with the Lord like Moses, whose "eyes were not weak nor his strength gone" (Deuteronomy 34:7). Moses walked to his own funeral, and so should you!
Do not give in to the notion that sickness and disease is just a part of life. Do not fear the one who will seek to bury you, for "Greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world" (I John 4:4)! The Greater One is your Healer!
Proverbs 4:18-19 [NIV]
"The path of the righteous is like the first gleam of dawn, shining ever brighter till the full light of day. But the way of the wicked is like deep darkness; they do not know what makes them stumble."
What this has to do with weight loss: When you are righteous, in right standing with God, you have light for your journey, even your weight-loss journey. That Light will help you see that which can cause you to stumble, even on your weight-loss journey. Allow the Light of God and His Word to reveal the path you must take, to health, healing, and wholeness in your body.
Prayer for Today:
"Heavenly Father, much of the sickness I experience is due to my own poor decisions and choices, but I thank You that it doesn't have to be that way. If I listen to You and follow Your Word, I will live a healthy life, full of healing. Lord, Satan is used to winning many battles of sickness, but I desire to win the war of wellness. Help me to see my part in doing that, to partner with You, my Jehovah-Rapha, my Healer. I pray in Jesus' Name. Amen."
Go forth today, choosing obedience to God's Word over the deception and sickness of sin.
Thursday, September 17, 2009
Life Plan Devotion #91 [God's Armor--Helmet of Salvation, Part IX]
We have looked at 2 of the top 5 most common fears used by Satan, the fear of want and lack, and the fear of peril or danger. Today, let's look at the third most common fear used by Satan to try to discourage and defeat you, fear of sickness and disease.
Of all the fears utilized by Satan, the fear of sickness and disease is the one used most successfully. The reason is because so many of us believers are ignorant of (lacking revelation knowledge of) the fact that "by His stripes we are healed" (Isaiah 53:5), a prophecy fulfilled by Jesus, when He was flogged prior to His crucifixion (Mark 15:15).
The Helmet of Salvation (Deliverance) and the Sword of the Spirit (the Word of God) give you protection and ultimate victory from sickness and disease, but you must know the promises of healing found in God's Word, qualify for them, and claim and speak them into your life.
When Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden, they allowed Satan to bring in sin, sickness, disease, and death. Sin is the cause of it all, but the Cross is the cure. Jesus "took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows... He was pierced for our transgressions, crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon Him, and by His wounds we are healed" (Isaiah 53:4-5, NIV). Since Jesus fulfilled that which was prophesied by Isaiah, there is no need for any believer to either fear or endure sickness or disease.
So many believers are either sick or afraid that they will get a horrible sickness or disease. Fear is the opposite of faith, and when a believer entertains fear, he/she gives Satan an open door to bring in that which is feared. If you need healing today, it will be "according to your faith" (Matthew 9:29). Next time, we'll look at some specific promises of healing. Until then, read the Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John), about the healing ministry of Jesus, and know that "He is the same yesterday, today, and forever" (Hebrews 13:8).
Psalm 107:17-20 [NIV]
"Some became fools through their rebellious ways and suffered affliction because of their iniquities. They loathed all food and drew near the gates of death. Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble, and He saved them from their distress. He sent forth His word and healed them."
What this has to do with weight loss: Each of us with a weight problem has been foolish and rebellious. We have suffered physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually. No diet, not even weight-loss surgery, will take care of all our afflictions, but if we cry out to God, He will save us from our distress. His Word heals!
Prayer for Today:
"Heavenly Father, I have an enemy who wants me to fear sickness and disease, but You have 'not given me a spirit of fear' (II Timothy 1:7), so I do not have to be afraid of anything. Truly, You have sent Your Word to heal me. I pray that I will avail myself of it. May my faith in You, Your Word, and Healing be so strong that, according to my faith, sickness and disease shall have no power over me. I pray in the Name of Jesus. Amen."
Go forth today, choosing faith in healing over fear of sickness.
Of all the fears utilized by Satan, the fear of sickness and disease is the one used most successfully. The reason is because so many of us believers are ignorant of (lacking revelation knowledge of) the fact that "by His stripes we are healed" (Isaiah 53:5), a prophecy fulfilled by Jesus, when He was flogged prior to His crucifixion (Mark 15:15).
The Helmet of Salvation (Deliverance) and the Sword of the Spirit (the Word of God) give you protection and ultimate victory from sickness and disease, but you must know the promises of healing found in God's Word, qualify for them, and claim and speak them into your life.
When Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden, they allowed Satan to bring in sin, sickness, disease, and death. Sin is the cause of it all, but the Cross is the cure. Jesus "took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows... He was pierced for our transgressions, crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon Him, and by His wounds we are healed" (Isaiah 53:4-5, NIV). Since Jesus fulfilled that which was prophesied by Isaiah, there is no need for any believer to either fear or endure sickness or disease.
So many believers are either sick or afraid that they will get a horrible sickness or disease. Fear is the opposite of faith, and when a believer entertains fear, he/she gives Satan an open door to bring in that which is feared. If you need healing today, it will be "according to your faith" (Matthew 9:29). Next time, we'll look at some specific promises of healing. Until then, read the Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John), about the healing ministry of Jesus, and know that "He is the same yesterday, today, and forever" (Hebrews 13:8).
Psalm 107:17-20 [NIV]
"Some became fools through their rebellious ways and suffered affliction because of their iniquities. They loathed all food and drew near the gates of death. Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble, and He saved them from their distress. He sent forth His word and healed them."
What this has to do with weight loss: Each of us with a weight problem has been foolish and rebellious. We have suffered physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually. No diet, not even weight-loss surgery, will take care of all our afflictions, but if we cry out to God, He will save us from our distress. His Word heals!
Prayer for Today:
"Heavenly Father, I have an enemy who wants me to fear sickness and disease, but You have 'not given me a spirit of fear' (II Timothy 1:7), so I do not have to be afraid of anything. Truly, You have sent Your Word to heal me. I pray that I will avail myself of it. May my faith in You, Your Word, and Healing be so strong that, according to my faith, sickness and disease shall have no power over me. I pray in the Name of Jesus. Amen."
Go forth today, choosing faith in healing over fear of sickness.
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