Restoration Series #4 - the Healing Ministry of Jesus — James Robison

Living by Faith Through the Word of God

The Church today, tragically too often, lives by sight and not by faith, by speculation, by presumption, and not by faith, because we don't hear God, we don't hear the Word of God. God is speaking, God has spoken, God continues to speak, He does not contradict Himself, He speaks consistent, but many of the things that are consistent with this Word, in our distorted view, we still don't understand or see, even when it's God, we may feel that it's contrary to Scripture.

That was a tendency that the Pharisees had, oftentimes. They said, we have the Word, they wave the Scriptures in the face of Jesus, who was and is the Word, and they carried the Bible, the Word, the Scriptures and the Scrolls, but it wasn't written in their hearts, and that's the distinct difference between the Church that lives by revelation and the one that lives in the futility of their own understanding.

You don't carry the Bible simply in a leather binder, but rather you hide it in your heart and you find the Word of God actually carrying you along in the Spirit. And I'm longing for the Word of God to begin to speak to you in the Spirit, in the Spirit realm, into your spirit, and right on your heart, and then begin to live in and through your life.

I can't preach faith into you, I can't preach belief into you, I can't preach confidence into you. I can preach the Word, the Word will open your hearing, and as your hearing is opened and you, in fact, hear the Word and receive the Word in the Spirit, Jesus says, if you can believe, nothing shall be impossible.

Now I didn't say that, Jesus said it. Do you believe that? But you must hear Him, and I tell you, that's the problem, is hearing the Lord. That's one of the major problems. The greatest war in the universe is the war in the Spirit realm against the Word of God.

Are you aware of that? All the forces of hell, the powers of darkness, are in constant conflict, in confrontation against the Word of God. From the moment the Word goes forth, the enemy seeks to snatch it away.

When you receive the Word, then the enemy will try to drive you away from it, and persecution will come, and affliction will come because you did receive the Word, and then some of you will seek the comfort zone.

That's the constant tendency, it's a constant invitation to you who've received the Word to conform to society and to the image of this world. Conform, conform to religion, conform to the expectation of men, seek the approval of men, seek the acceptance of men.

That'll be one of the great battles, you pastors who are seeking now to live by revelation. I don't think there's a pastor involved in this meeting, privately or publicly, who in his heart doesn't want to hear God clearly and move by revelation.

And when God begins to speak to you, there's going to be the conflict within for you to conform and seek the approval of men before you even make a move. And then it'll continue, because you're going to find acceptance even when you've been approved by God.

And when you're blessed by God, you're going to find acceptance, and then the tendency is going to be to settle in and get comfortable. And then you're going to find that that communication is broken because you've allowed the tendency to conform to take away and choke out the Word.

The same thing happens when you let the worries of the world or the deceitfulness of riches or the cares for other things. And those other things can even be good things. It can even be your family sometimes.

People make idols out of their children sometimes, out of their mate sometimes. And although we're to be good parents and loving mates, we're not to idolize any person. And so even good things can choke it out.

Ministries often choke out the Word, and you don't hear God. I want you to understand that the only way that you're going to be able to move in the kingdom of power over the kingdom of darkness and to move in victory and overcome this world, the only way is for you to be able to hear God in the Spirit.

And let this book get off the page in your heart, in your spirit. I can say it to you, I can quote it to you, I can't receive it for you, I can't believe for you, I can't live it for you. You've got to receive it.

The Word of God as Healing and Life

It's a miracle. It is really a miracle when it happens. But that's what we're seeking tonight. Psalm 107, verse 20. Psalm 107, 20. He sent His Word, He sent His Word and healed them. Isn't that good? He sent His Word and healed them and delivered them from their destructions.

John chapter 1 says, in the beginning was the Word. The Word was with God, the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. Not all things were made by Him. Without Him was not anything made that was made.

It goes on to say, and the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. Who is the Word? He sent His Word and healed them. Jesus Christ is the living Word of God. Does the Word live today? Will the Word abide faithful?

Heaven and earth will pass away, but my Word endures forever. When Jesus appears, His name is the Word of God. The words that I speak, Jesus said, they are spirit and they are life. As Moses said in his departing message, this is not an idle word for you.

It is your life. God not only keeps His Word, He is His Word. The Word is God. God is the Word. The Word ever lives. He sent the Word. Somebody says, do you think healing is in the atonement? Do you think healing is in the blood?

Healing is in Jesus, friend. It's in Jesus. Deliverance is in Jesus. Salvation is in Jesus. And the works of Jesus in His shed blood is purchasing for us all of heaven right now as ours and for all eternity when we become not only new creations, but have a new body that can't get sick.

There's no sickness in heaven. There are a lot of folks waiting to get healed in heaven. Forget it. You won't get healed in heaven. Friend, if you ever want to get healed, get it now. In heaven you've got a new body, not healing.

You can't get healed in heaven. You can't get sick. Somebody says, well, do you think it's the will of God to heal? And if you think it's the will of God to heal, why do you think it is? Well, it's really pretty simple.

He built healing into your body. That's the first testimony. His creative purposes say He wants to heal you. Only a body that has been intruded, only a body that's been disturbed and disrupted in its normal processes, even by nature, you'll find that nature testifies of the character of God.

God's a giver of life. God is the giver of fruit. And God gave us the capacity within this body to fight diseases. And what are doctors doing? People wonder about doctors. I want to tell you, I think it's a sign of a willingness to grow when someone simply pauses and says, you know, do you think we as Christians, if we could really hear the Lord like we should, do you think we'd need any doctors?

And then they'll follow it up and say, well, do you think then is it right to have a doctor? And that's, you know, that's a good honest question. I'm going to tell you, when you come clean before God, you're going to begin to ask questions about everything you've been taught and you're going to ask the Holy Spirit to bring the truth and teach you now and dismiss any error.

Testimony of Healing and the Ministry of Doctors

Well, that's a good question. Do you know that when the Lord sent healing to my body and then I saw the healing power of God flow so freely that every member of my family was healed and I began to see miracles, and as best I can remember, I went through six months that I cannot recall ever praying for anyone personally or even over the telephone who was not healed instantly for a period of six months.

And I want to tell you, I've asked the Lord. I said, Lord, that's where I want to live. That was really nice. But do you know that I've never been through a six-month period of my life when I've had so many people after me, hating me as I did during that six-month period?

I mean, I got my brains beat out. It was as though I was committing some horrible act. I just believed God. Do you want me to tell you how far I've been caught up into the spirit realm? I mean, this is absolutely incredible.

It blows me away right now to even think about it. I was so consumed by the Word of God. All I could hear was Jesus saying, rise and be healed. All I could hear was Jesus saying, I am the Lord that healeth thee.

All I could hear him saying was, I sent my Word to heal you. All I could hear him saying is that when you pray the prayer of faith, the sick are restored. All I could hear was the Word of God. Listen, I couldn't hear any other possibility.

I couldn't hear men. I couldn't hear preachers. I couldn't hear professors. I couldn't hear scholars. I couldn't hear theologians. All I could hear was the Word. I'll tell you how far I was carried along.

I couldn't, if asked to pray for you, this was, it blows me away now to think about it. It never got to my mind. I want to tell you the thought, the impulse, the impulse. The thought never got to my mind that there was a possibility you might not get well.

That thought never got to my brain. Never got to my brain. I thought it was the easiest thing in the world. When I first started, I went with fear and trembling. I can remember going like a little child to pray for a woman we were told was dying.

Took my wife by the hand, took our Bibles. We'd never done it before. I'd had a man show me how. He said, come. There was a woman dying of cancer. Had it all over her body. She was a friend. I said, man, I love this family.

Let's go pray for her. He said, come on. I said, will you show me how to pray for a sick person? He said, I'll show you. Come on, let's go. We walked in the hospital. He took his Bible. He didn't have on a tie.

He didn't have on a suit. Just had on a short-sleeved shirt and the Word of God. Walked in the room. I mean, he didn't even look like a prophet. I mean, he didn't even look like a priest. Didn't look like a king.

Looked like a carpet cleaner. That's what he was. And he just walked in the room. When he got in there, he said, now watch this. Here's how we do it. He looked at the lady and said, you got a problem, don't you?

She's got cancer all over her. What do you mean got a problem? She had no problem agreeing with him. I got a problem. He said, God's bigger than all your problems. She didn't doubt that. She'd been taught that all her life.

But he said, now God's concerned about every part of you. And he just took a piece of paper from the room. And her husband was across the bed. Betty was in the room with us. He took a sheet of paper, drew a circle on it.

He drew a circle on it. He said, see that circle? Of course she did. Said, that's you. And in the circle, he drew another circle. And in the smaller circle, he wrote cancer. He said, cancer is in you.

Is that right? She said, yes. According to all the diagnosis and even the examination, yes. And it's serious. He said, well, I want to show you something else that concerns God. Because he is concerned about your cancer.

But he drew another circle. And in that circle, he wrote bitterness. And he drew another circle and he wrote unforgiveness. And he drew another circle and he wrote pride. And he drew another circle and wrote jealousy.

And he said, do you see all of these other problems? Some of these are in you too, aren't they? And she said, yes. And he said, God's concerned about them just as he's concerned about cancer, isn't he?

She said, yes. And he said, wouldn't it be rather inconsistent? Wouldn't it even be irreverent? Wouldn't it even be hypocritical to say, God, come and take away the cancer while I keep the bitterness and the jealousy and the pride?

And she said, yes. He said, wouldn't it be better just to say, come and take out of me everything that is not like Jesus? And she said, yes. And she was under deep conviction, as was her husband. And he looked across the bed and said, and you feel the same way, don't you, sir?

This is serious with your wife. He said, I do. And then he said to me, go to the door of the hospital room and put your foot against the door. Because when I begin to pray, the devil's going to try to come through that door.

Well, I thought that's pretty neat. You know, that's going to be interesting how this will be. So I'm a pretty good-sized fella with peace on my feet, and I put my feet against the door. And he begins to pray for this woman.

And I love to hear him pray because he prayed the word. And I mean he began to pray. And he prayed with authority. He knew who was in charge. He prayed for God to take out of her life every unholy, unwholesome thing.

And about the time he'd been praying a few moments, somebody that was as a raving maniac hit that door screaming. They not only hit the door, they began to scratch and claw on the door like an animal.

But they weren't getting in the door. And they didn't get in the door. Because peace on your feet will stop them every time. And I thought, boy, this is interesting. The person went on down the hall, obviously totally deluded mentally.

But they knew the right room to scratch on. The power of God filled that room. And God healed that woman. Of one of the most severe cases of cancer anybody's ever been diagnosed to have. Until even this year, the doctor was so astounded that he said, there's no way it can all be gone.

It can't be. I know you're doing fine. She said, I told you it's healed. Every time I talked to the couple, they said, we know what happened. You know, our friends down at our church, they went to a Baptist church there in Fort Worth, said they don't understand this.

They just think they can't understand it. We try to tell them. Some of them are unhappy about it. Can you believe that? They came back and telling us that some of our best friends would come through that door and try to put cancer back on my wife.

He said, do you know you hadn't been gone a half hour before they began to march into the room getting ready to bury my wife. Telling her how terrible it is, but you just hang in there till you die or whatever.

Jumped. But he said, we already knew God had already spoken. God came in that hotel room. We knew God, I mean in that hospital room. We knew God was in that room. This doctor this year said, I'm positive it's still got to be there.

The man actually put her on the operating table, cut her open and looked and couldn't find it. It was gone. And she said, I told you. And it was. And I want to tell you any healing that Jesus does when it is complete is verifiably confirmable by any medical examination.

And you don't have to fear it. But brother, I was being carried along after that. I went over to that house to pray with that lady that was dying in bed. And I sat on the foot of her bed. She hadn't been able to get out of bed for a week.

They sent her home to say she's going to have to come back indefinitely. And actually said she'll die most likely in the hospital. We can't even treat her. Go home, spend a day or two there and then come back.

And we're just going to take you into trying to find out what's wrong. We don't know. She was absolutely wiped out. We sat on the foot of her bed. Betty and I prayed for her. She got out of bed and walked us to the door.

And she hadn't been back to bed. Praise God and her whole family got healed. And it's glorious. And she's given her testimony on our television program. And she's beautiful. And God healed her all over.

She had a terrible appetite. She had such a horrible appetite. She could not get victory over it. And she actually had surgery on her stomach where they had sewed her stomach together and made it able to hold only four to six ounces to try to take weight off her.

And she actually kept eating so much with a tiny stomach that she kept gaining weight. But when God healed her in that bed, the appetite problem was over. It was over. And now the weight has just come off.

And she says, I don't die. I just sit down at the table and eat with Jesus. She said, I eat to please Jesus. What a beautiful, beautiful testimony. Well, I was flowing along like this. I said, I don't intend to ever go to a doctor again as long as I live.

Why did I say that? Because I didn't like doctors or believe that they had a purpose? No, I just didn't intend to get sick. I got jumped on for that. I mean, is it all right if you don't go to a doctor because you're well?

Well, some people interpreted that to mean I didn't believe in doctors. Listen, I believe it's possible for us to live where we wouldn't have to go. I think you could live where you wouldn't because I really think it's possible not to get sick.

Don't get down on yourself if you do. Let's learn, but let's get up. The valley's to learn in, not to live in. Get back up on the mountain. Learn in the valley. Get back up on the mountain. Listen, you can glory.

You can glory in sickness. You can glory in sickness. But don't glorify sickness. Deal with it. You don't have to have it. He's not sick. He's living in you. That is a profound statement. He's not sick.

Well, during this time, man, I'm telling you, I was doing so good and I just asked the Lord. I just prayed and I said, Lord, are doctors wrong? And the Lord said, they're sometimes unintentionally hurting a lot of people.

They treat them improperly. They give them a lot of drugs and God said a lot of what they're giving people has a more damaging end result than if they hadn't gotten it. He said, there's a lot of things happening at the hand of a doctor that's not healthy.

I said, well, Lord, anybody admit that. The doctors will admit that. One of the doctor friends of Dudley Hall told him recently, he said, now here's the situation. He said, you're going to have people come to you.

This is when he got ready to graduate from medical school. You're going to have a situation. But some of the people, you're going to help. So at the end of your medical career, try to have more on the side that you help than on the side that you hurt.

Now, many of the doctors that have told us that's just the case because there's some doctors that are really getting open and honest about what drugs do to people. I'm going to tell you something, folks.

There's lots of stuff we're putting in our body that's killing us right now. And as many wonderful things as God gives us that help the body, we're spending our time in the wrong way and the wrong quantity that is devastating the temple of God.

Now, don't leave me. Don't you leave me yet. Let me finish. But I said, Lord, I didn't just ask you about what doctors might do wrong. I want to know, are they right? Is it right to have a doctor? And the Lord said, certainly.

He said, I wouldn't have allowed my son to be called the great physician if physicians were sinful and wicked. I would never let a wicked name come out of my mouth. And he understood the body and understood what was going on and was best able to record the miracles from a medical perspective of any of the gospel writers.

And the beloved physician traveled with Paul the apostle and saw the wonderful signs and wonders and they worked at his hand. And it wasn't that he just had a bag of pills. He had the power of God. But he was also a beloved physician.

The Good Samaritan and the Proper Role of Physicians

And then the Lord Jesus in his graciousness will talk to you. He will communicate with you but you must know the word so you don't know you're being deceived. You've got to know what the word says. It's got to be consistent with the word.

And the Lord Jesus talked to him. He said, all right, go to the Good Samaritan. I went over and looked at the Good Samaritan. Here was a man beaten. Here's a man hurt. Here's a man lying beside the road.

He's been terribly battered. What happened? What did the Good Samaritan do? He took care of the wounds and he took him to a place and paid the money for them to take care of him until he was well. And what did Jesus Christ say?

He said, this is the true neighbor. Go and do likewise. This is good. Jesus says it is right to care for those in need, for those who are injured, for those who are hurt. And he showed me that a physician in its purest work and purest definition is that a physician is a trained mind and a trained hand skilled in dealing with the hurts and the needs of the temple, the body of God's people.

And that they're there to help, not to replace God, but to help. Now some think they're God and those can be dangerous. Some of them think there is no God and that can be dangerous too. But a physician, a doctor, can do this.

And he certainly, if everybody in the church were living in perfect health, you still have lots of lost people that wouldn't be in perfect health and we ought to help them like the good Samaritan helped that man when he was hurt.

And doctors are able to do that. And it's a wonderful means of missionary work and taking the gospel not only in praying for the sick but caring for the needs of others. If you're a doctor and I'm in trouble, I need some help.

Wouldn't it be wonderful if all the doctors could begin their diagnosis in prayer? Wouldn't that be a wonderful day? It may not be too far off. Although you and I may be able to live without them, although you and I may be able to overcome, we should never feel shamed should we need one.

And we should always ask the Lord for wisdom. The doctor's not God. Remember that. Sometimes they best help us by telling us specifically how to pray, specifically what to deal with. After all, Jesus named the diseases and rebuked them.

It's nice to know sometimes what you're rebuking. They have a wonderful place so thank God for them. Does that help a little bit for you to understand? I really want to see the church and thank God it'll come on them and they get healed.

Persevering in Faith After Healing

But I'm going to tell you this. The moment you get healed, you can lose it before you get out the door. Somebody says, well, I don't think when Jesus healed people, they lost it. Well, then you just haven't read your Bible.

Jesus told one man that he healed. He said, now don't go back into sin unless something worse come on you. That's Jesus talking. In other words, if we don't walk after the Word, what did Pharaoh do after he let God's people go a few days later?

What did he try to do? He tried to do what? Take them back into captivity. You can be healed tonight, walk out of here, not keep your eyes on Jesus, start checking for symptoms, checking for pains, trying to get a feeling, trying to get a sensation and not receive the Word and the enemy grab you before you get home.

But I will tell you, God showed me how to rebuke a headache. If a headache comes, I don't sit around and say, is it leaving? Let me see if it's leaving. I wonder if it's gone. Oh, I hope it's leaving.

Friend, I just set my sail to catch the wind of the Spirit, put my eyes on Jesus. I say in the name of Jesus, headache go. Now you try that, the first thing the devil will tell you is you're dumb for doing it.

Isn't that dumb, talking to a headache? Can you imagine who that is talking to dumb spirits? Did Jesus Christ speak to the sicknesses? Did he say speak to the mountain? Well, friend, if you've got a mountainous headache or a little baby headache, tell the thing to go.

Speak to it, talk to it. That'll be a sign of growth too when you can talk to it without feeling dumb anymore. I'm telling it's a sign of maturity. I remember when I first started, I said headache, I almost was embarrassed, headache.

And the devil said, and my sinuses began to flare up. And I'd say sinus problems, congestion, go. And the devil would say, you dummy. And he'd just try to pour more of it on. And man, my old sinuses would just begin to puff up again.

And he'd say, it's not working, it's not working, it's not working, it's not working. You know what the Lord would say? He'd say, get with me and I'd get in the Word. And the Word would prevail. And I found myself many times when it looked like I was losing a battle, my sinuses gone, the sinus gone.

The Lord said, look, when you deal with a problem, you speak to it, you leave it alone, you don't know the times or the seasons that I put in my own power. You just act on the Word, you do what I'm saying, you heed what I'm saying, and you leave the results and the timing to me.

Just keep your eyes on me and keep going. But I've been amazed as I would speak to these problems coming against me. I had something come against me this afternoon. I came in and told my wife and my daughter.

I'm telling you right now, like a virus, it's penetrating the pores of my skin, it's sapping my strength, it's draining me right now. I told them that, but I said, it's all right. I didn't say that with cockiness.

I didn't say it with arrogance. I said it with confidence. I said, but it's all right. And I said, the only reason I'm telling you is I just want you to agree with me and rejoice with me. I'm all right.

I didn't say that presumptuously. I know in my spirit, I know. And I'm going to tell you, I don't know like that. And you can't talk that into me. But the word will put that in you. It's the most amazing thing in the world.

And I can't get the word for you necessarily. Sometimes I can help you. But you need to receive the word. And we need one another. My friend, he sent his word to heal us. Turn over to Proverbs chapter 2.

And we're going to go through some scriptures. You're not in a hurry, are you, tonight? The hurry spirit's not welcome here tonight, is he? Is the Holy Spirit welcome? The Holy Spirit never is in a hurry.

And he's never rude, either. I'm going to tell you something, folks. You really need to be listening to the message tonight. And you need to be seeing it in the word. And this, you can call it prediction, or whatever you want to.

By the way, you need to go to Proverbs 3. I meant 3. You're going to need what you're hearing tonight. Because the greatest release of the work of the enemy in diseases, even against Christians, has already begun right now.

And it is going to intensify in the months and years ahead like you won't be able to imagine. And you really need to hear tonight. And you need to so hear that fear will not prevail against or over this word.

You'll just be able to hear the word no matter what the situation or the diagnosis. This word must take prevalence over anything else you hear. Proverbs 3, beginning at verse 1. Now let's listen to the word of God.

My son, my children, do not forget my teaching, my words. Let your heart keep my words, my commandments. For a length of days and years of life and peace they will add to you. And do not let kindness and truth, that's the word, leave you.

Bind them around your neck and write them on the tablet of your heart so you will find favor and good repute in the sight of God and man. Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding.

Trusting God When Circumstances Remain Unexplained

Rest assured, friend, look here for a moment. Rest assured that as long as we're in this life there will be in this life that which we cannot understand unless God grant that understanding. There will be in this life, I feel certain, that which we will not understand and God will not reveal to us in this life.

For we are not yet known as we're known. We do still see through a glass dimly. Someday we will be known as we're known. And we will know as he knows. But in this life there are going to be those puzzling situations for which you will not in this lifetime find the answer adequate to satisfy your sensual desires or your understanding.

And that's why God says don't lean on your own understanding. It won't hold. There will always be the puzzling thing. There will always be that question. Robert Duvall, who is the Academy Award winning best actor, and I may have shared earlier with you, spent the day with me in my home Friday just over a week ago.

And Robert is making a movie on a preacher. And I'm concerned about the drift of it. And he's being open enough to let me help. And I want to see him love the Lord. And he's opening opportunities for me to witness by the grace of God to Willie Nelson and Waylon Jennings and these other fellas.

And I want to love him. I want to really see old Willie get saved. I mean that's on my heart. It's just on my heart. I can't tell you how much. I love him. I want him saved. And Robert was telling me about the movie.

And he says I've seen the power of God. He said it's real, man. And he began to tell me about these different people where one of them was an old lady in Tennessee. He said she's so real. He said she's so holy.

And he's been watching me for years and he's memorized my messages. If anything ever happens to me I think he could do them about as well probably. He's got them down. A lot of them down. And he was telling me in the movie he said I'm going to have a man pray.

The preacher is going to pray for two children that have a terminal disease. And he said the power of God is going to come so heavy on him that one of the children is going to fall under the power of God and so is the preacher.

And the power is all over him. And he said and the kid is healed. Miraculously. Like he said I know God does and he said but the other kid is going to die. And I said why Robert? He said because they'll always be that which we don't understand.

And I said well that's right. And that is right. I mean they'll just be that we don't understand. God said don't lean on your understanding. There's a lot I don't understand right now. Some of you say why do you think you stopped that power flow when you prayed for him?

Two reasons. The first reason is tragic. Much of the church couldn't wait to beat that out of me. They lined up to do it. They got me in rooms behind closed doors and splattered my brains all over the wall.

I left one of those meetings so weak in my body that I could barely drive home. Within 48 hours I was running fever and sick and they said you want me to get somebody to pray for? I said I really don't care.

It might not be the will of God for me to get well. That's what they had pumped into my body and into my mind. Let me tell you something. Words lead to the ruin of the hearers. I didn't go in that room to get ruined.

I went in to pour my heart out and I'm telling you it was like being crucified. I don't think they understood. It was as though I were before a firing squad. I started out by telling them how Jesus healed me and one of them said, a brilliant professor said let me ask you something.

Suppose somebody came to get healed and they came and said all right let's pray. God if it's your will heal me. Go ahead God if it's your will heal me. Go right ahead. I'll accept it. Go ahead. That's what he described.

All right God go ahead. If you want to save me go right ahead. Go ahead God. I said how many of them do you think would get saved? He said not many. I said not any. He that cometh to God must believe that he is and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

I said let me ask you something else. Suppose they come to get saved and they don't get well. I said suppose they come down the aisles by the thousands and there's no transformation in their lives. Does that make Jesus any less mighty to save?

And he said no. And I said if I pray for every sick person on this earth and they don't get well that doesn't nullify the gospel the truth or the healing ministry of Jesus. It tells me we better seek the Lord.

Faith Founded on the Word Rather Than Visible Results

I want it well understood tonight that I do not base what I believe on physical phenomena. I do not base what I believe concerning salvation on physical or emotional manifestations. I was not born again by physical emotion.