Bible Study Notes:

Hindrances to YOUR Healing
Part 5

These notes are from a transcript of the postings during Bible Study on Monday Nights at 8 PM at Bible Study Chat at churchusa.com.
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Psalm 107:17-19 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.

Rebellion against God and sinfulness will bring suffering and affliction, including sickness, stomach problems, and can result in death. What is rebellion? Seeking to go your own way instead of God’s way. Yielding to temptation to sin. Failure to obey the spiritual authority that God has placed you under, as the people of God refused to obey Moses.

Psalms 78:8 They would not be like their forefathers-- a stubborn and rebellious generation, whose hearts were not loyal to God, whose spirits were not faithful to him.

Other characteristics of a rebel are to be stubborn and disloyal to God in your heart, and to be unfaithful in your spirit to Him. One mark of rebellion is spiritual adultery or idolatry – serving other gods instead of the Lord. We live in a rebellious country in a rebellious time, and must fervently guard our own hearts from the curse of this age.

Hebrews 3:15-16 As has just been said: "Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as you did in the rebellion." Who were they who heard and rebelled? Were they not all those Moses led out of Egypt?

The writer of Hebrews admonishes us NOT to be like those that rebelled against God in the wilderness, murmuring and complaining over everything that happened. Instead of being grateful for being freed from slavery, God’s people hardened their hearts against Him.

Hebrews 3:17-19 And with whom was he angry for forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose bodies fell in the desert? And to whom did God swear that they would never enter his rest if not to those who disobeyed? So we see that they were not able to enter, because of their unbelief.

The cold, hard fact is this: their sin and rebellion brought death. They were not able to enter the Promised Land because of their disobedience and unbelief. They suffered many plagues because of rebellion. And rebellion and sinfulness has the same effect on our bodies today.

Psalms 38:3 Because of your wrath there is no health in my body; my bones have no soundness because of my sin. David suffered in his body because of his sin and cried out to the Lord for deliverance from health problems that he brought upon himself.

Psalm 38:4-6 My guilt has overwhelmed me like a burden too heavy to bear. My wounds fester and are loathsome because of my sinful folly. I am bowed down and brought very low; all day long I go about mourning.

At first, sin’s pleasures seem "worth it". But a guilt-ridden conscience can burden you down and ruin your health. Certain sins bring actual physical wounds that will make you an object of loathing. You will regret what you’ve done and go about mourning and grieving.

Psalm 38:7-8 My back is filled with searing pain; there is no health in my body. I am feeble and utterly crushed; I groan in anguish of heart.

In addition, you can end up with searing pain in the back, and no health in your body. You will feel weak, crushed and be full of groaning and anguish. Is the pleasure of sin for a season, or the rush of rebellion, worth the loss of your health?

1 Samuel 15:23 (English-KJV) For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the LORD, he hath also rejected thee from being king.

The seriousness of rebellion is seen in this verse where it is compared to witchcraft and idolatry. When you are rebellious, you are in effect taking yourself out from God’s authority, and putting yourself under the authority of satan. No wonder it will bring illness and hinder healing!

John 15:9-10 "As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father's commands and remain in his love.

Obedience and submission to God’s will keeps us in the center of His healing love. We are protected and secure there. But we need to REMAIN in His love, and resist the temptation to sin and rebellion that would knock us out of our place of safety.

John 15:11-12 I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.

And we will be full of joy if we are obedient and love each other as Christ loved us. We will be free of the curse of rebellion, and free from the diseases and death that sin brings.

Hebrews 13:17 Obey your leaders and submit to their authority. They keep watch over you as men who must give an account. Obey them so that their work will be a joy, not a burden, for that would be of no advantage to you.

Obey here (peitho) has the connotation of putting your trust in; being persuaded to believe in and wanting to please. It is a voluntary yielding to those you are convinced have your best interests at heart. It is not a forced domination, but a yielding to in love.

Submit in the Greek is hupeiko {hoop-i'-ko} meaning to resist no longer, but to give way, to yield (of combatants) and metaphorically. to yield to authority and admonition, to submit. So quit resisting the authority God has placed over you. Quit trying to rebel, give way to their appointed position and wisdom.

Not only are we to be obedient to God and His Word, but to the leaders God has placed in authority over us. The responsibility of our leaders in the Body of Christ is to keep watch over us and they must give an account to God for what they do or fail to do. We are to obey them to make their work a joy, and not a burden. Why would it be of no advantage to YOU if you are rebellious?

For one thing, you are opening yourself up to temptation and failure. You are also opening yourself up to illness and hindering your healing. You are coming out from under the protection of their leadership, and causing the Gospel of Jesus Christ to come into disrepute. All because you want YOUR way! If you are rebellious, it hurts the whole Body of Christ, but it injures YOU the worst!

Oh Father, we cry out for help in your Body, for the parts that rebel and bring harm to us all. Father give us all a yearning for unity, peace and obedience, and bring forth the healing that we so desperately need.

Father I open my heart to you and ask you to reveal to me if there is any rebellion there. Help me to obey your Word and the leaders you’ve put over me. Help me to live at peace with everyone, and be free from witchcraft and idolatry that comes through rebellion. In Jesus Name, AMEN

Hindrance to Healing # 25 Strife

There is an emphasis in our society today on the self, you know, ME, MYSELF, and I? LOL We are told to gratify ourselves, actualize our potential, to "be all that we can be". At first glance, this doesn’t seem to be a bad thing, does it? The problem occurs when what we want to do collides with what someone else wants to do. The result is strife.

James 4:1 What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don't they come from your desires that battle within you? You want something but don't get it. You kill and covet, but you cannot have what you want. You quarrel and fight. You do not have, because you do not ask God. When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.

James "struck the nail on the head" when he pinpointed the cause of strife as the desires that battle within us. They cry for gratification and bring us full-tilt into conflict with others, causing hatred, quarrels, fighting and lack of answers to prayer.

Galatians 5:13 –15 You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love. The entire law is summed up in a single command: "Love your neighbor as yourself." If you keep on biting and devouring each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other.

And no body is willing to "back down", take a lower place or compromise it seems. Everyone is loudly demanding their "rights" and threatening to sue if they don’t get them. Contention, arguing and discord are the result. Strife: does it adversely affect your health? The Word says it does. Strife brings destruction.

What does "biting and devouring each other" mean? What does strife do to the ones involved? Strife consumes us in several ways. One, it just plain wastes time. Two, it creates anger, hostility and hard feelings. Three, it is disobedience and rebellion to the Word. And last, it brings damage to our physical body.

I Timothy 6:3-5 If anyone teaches false doctrines and does not agree to the sound instruction of our Lord Jesus Christ and to godly teaching, he is conceited and understands nothing. He has an unhealthy interest in controversies and quarrels about words that result in envy, strife, malicious talk, evil suspicions and constant friction between men of corrupt mind, who have been robbed of the truth and who think that godliness is a means to financial gain.

False doctrine comes from not listening to sound instruction and godly teaching. It comes from a conceited attitude – the exaltation of self – that evolves from a lack of understanding.

Notice that this attitude, the exaltation of self above all others, brings strife, controversy, malicious talk, envy and constant friction. Notice also that Paul says it brings an UNhealthy interest in these things – in other words, it does not promote health and healing!

"Sound instruction" here is literally "wholesome words". Wholesome in Greek is hugiaino {hoog-ee-ah'-ee-no} meaning 1) to be sound, to be well, to be in good health, and 2) metaphorically, of Christians whose opinions are free from any mixture of error and of one who keeps the graces and is strong.

Another way to translate this phrase is "health-giving words". If you do not agree with Christ’s health-giving words, well, you will get sick! You will get involved in UNhealthy controversy and quarrels that come from strife, literally "stifes of words", logomacheo {log-om-akh-eh'-o} meaning 1) to contend about words; 2) to wrangle about empty and trifling matters.

Proverbs 12:18 Reckless words pierce like a sword, but the tongue of the wise brings healing.

Have you ever said something that you regret and wish you could take it back? Lack of wisdom in what you say, brought about by a temper tantrum or through strife can pierce like a sword. They can cut deep, damaging your relationships and destroying your health and the health of others. But wise words spoken in love bring healing.

Proverbs 16:24 Pleasant words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones.

What is the opposite of strife? It’s peace, and it produces pleasant words that are sweet to the soul and healing to the bones. What effect are your words having on your health? Are they sweet and healing, like honey, or full of strife and destruction?

When you "let it all hang out" and "tell it like it is", your words become a destroying sword, piercing your soul and inhibiting healing. But when you wisely keep your words pleasant and your relationships peaceful, you bring healing to yourself and to others.

Father guide me in paths of peace that I may be free from strife within and without the Body of Christ. Help me to control my tongue, and let my words be full of love and light. Help me to submit to my brothers and sisters in Christ and seek first of all to build them up for Your glory. In Jesus Name AMEN

Hindrance to Healing # 25 Revenge isn’t "sweet"

In Yellowstone Park, Dale Carnegie once observed the grizzly bears, who can whip any animal in the west except the buffalo and Kodiak bear. "He noticed that the grizzly would only allow one animal to eat with him – the skunk."

"Of course, in a fight the grizzly could have thrashed any skunk. He probably resented the skunk and yearned to get even with him for his brazen impudence. But he didn’t. Why? Because he knew the high cost of getting even."

Romans 12:17–19 Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written: "It is mine to avenge; I will repay," says the Lord.

The Bible very simply says, "Do not try to get even". When someone wrongs you, forgive them and then let God handle it. Live at peace as far as it depends on you. Not only will you be obeying God, but you will be avoiding a lot of illness that comes from a spirit of revenge.

Dr. S. I. McMillen in "The High Cost of Getting Even" from his book "None of These Diseases" has this to say about grizzly bears and vengeance. "Smart grizzly? Certainly much smarter than many human beings who spend weary days and sleepless nights rummaging through their polluted memories, brooding over worm-eaten resentments and scheming venomous revenge. Why does man ignore the high cost of getting even, when his vengeful spirit may even cost him paralyzing strokes or fatal heart attacks?"

Romans 12:20-21 On the contrary: "If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head." Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Instead of revenge, be kind to your enemy, Paul advises. Overcome evil with good. Dr McMillen continues: "For centuries scoffers have ridiculed advice of Jesus to, "Love your enemies." They scorned it as impractical, idealistic, and absurd. Now psychiatrists have shown that this radical and life-changing attitude would prevent many of the ills man brings upon himself through resentment of his enemies."

Some of the diseases that resentment and a spirit of revenge can bring upon you according to Dr. McMillen are: strokes, heart attacks, irritable bowel syndrome,

ulcerative colitis, colonic cancer, high blood pressure, coronary artery disease and many others.

Dr. McMillen comments: "In life’s frog ponds, we may be able to croak our fellows, but it could truthfully be written on many millions of death certificates that the victims croaked from "irritable grudge syndrome". We have heard people say, from between clinched teeth, "I’ll get even with that skunk if it’s the last thing I ever do!" Too often, they have foretold the truth."

Most of us don’t get even by literally killing the other person, as happens in so many "grudge" films we see today. No, we kill them with our tongues. As Dr. McMillen comments: "Running people down exposes us to a host of diseases of the body and mind. Expressing animosity toward others calls forth hormones from the pituitary, adrenal, thyroid and other glands. In excess, these hormones can cause diseases in almost any part of the body."

Dr McMillen wisely states that: "I have found that the moment I start hating a man, I become his slave. I can’t enjoy my work anymore because he even controls my thoughts. My resentments release excessive stress hormones and I become fatigued after only a few hours of work…The man I hate hounds me wherever I go. I can’t escape his tyrannical grasp on my mind…I am, indeed ,a slave to every man I hate."

Hebrews 12:14-15 Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord. See to it that no one misses the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many.

Brooding on thoughts of vengeance can make you miss the grace of God, and will allow a bitter root to grow up in your heart that will cause you trouble and defile you. Defile here in Greek is miaino {me-ah'-ee-no} literally meaning 1) to dye with another color, to stain, and by extension 2) to defile, pollute, sully, contaminate, soil, to defile with sins.

So you are "staining your soul" with sin or making yourself "unclean". Recall that the cause of a lot of illness in the New Testament was "unclean" spirits. When you let a root of bitterness grow in your heart, you are "opening the door" for an unclean spirit to come in and make you sick or even kill you!

This is why the writer of Hebrews is begging us to "make EVERY effort to live in peace" and to walk in holiness. Are you walking in resentment and bitterness towards someone? Are your hours spent in planing vengeance? How to you react when someone, on purpose or not, annoys you?

Dr. McMillen asks: "Did we slam the door, refuse to eat, sit and pout, or gossip about them? An honest appraisal should make it clear whether we are allowing God’s Holy Spirit or satan’s carnal spirit to control our daily lives."

Dr. McMillen concludes: "When the ‘natural man’ is shamefully wronged, he can’t resist the temptation to get even – even though it means paying the high price of his own health. However, if we who know the Lord drive His nails into everything in our lives contrary to His Word, Christ will crucify our carnal spirits… [get] rid of the disease-producing spirit of retaliation."

Luke 6: 27-28 "But I tell you who hear me: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you."

Matthew 5: 43-44 "You have heard that it was said, `Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,

Revenge is NOT sweet. It will destroy your health and make you a slave to the person you hate. Instead, love your enemies, do good to them that hate you. Overcome evil with good, and walk in health!

Father keep me free from a spirit of revenge, and if I have ought against anyone, reveal it to me and remove all bitterness from my heart. Let your forgiving spirit be my guide in all things. I trust in you my Father to handle those who wrong me. In Jesus Name AMEN

Hindrance to Healing # 26 Living in Fear

We talked before about the negative effect that anxiety has on the body, but let’s look a little more closely at the root cause of anxiety, which is fear. We have a normal reaction to fearful circumstances, commonly called "flight or fight". Our bodies react to fear but putting us in a state of ready alertness, the adrenal glands pour out adrenaline, our heart starts pumping and we experience a surge of energy.

This fear reaction is GOOD if we are running from a would-be burglar, or facing some other kind of real danger. But often this same fear reaction comes upon us when there is no external cause for us. Psychologists have found that our bodies react this way if we even THINK of a fearful situation. If we continue to be fearful in this way, over a period of months or years, the hormones that are pumped into our blood streams can be harmful to our health.

According to Dr. McMillen in "None of These Diseases", some of the harmful effects from by prolonged "fight or flight" reactions are: overwork and fatigue, fear and hate, exposure and injury, hurry and tension, arthritis, mental disease, vascular disease and gastrointestinal disease.

2 Timothy 1:7 For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline.

What is behind this constant fear is actually an oppressive demonic spirit of timidity, deilia {di-lee'-ah} in the Greek, meaning timidity, fearfulness, and cowardice. The word deilia is NEVER used in a positive sense, as in fearful reverence for God. It is ALWAYS a negative, nagging type of fear that invades your whole life and robs you of power, love, self-control, and needless to say, your health.

1 John 4:18 There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.

One way to overcome this fear is to let God’s perfect love drive it out of you. As it is a spirit, it is subject to the authority of Jesus Name and can (and should) be cast out. Perfect here is telios, which means mature or complete. Love cannot be formed completely in you if you allow fear to dwell there.

Romans 8:15 For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, "Abba, Father."

A sure cure for fear’s bondage is meditating on your sonship through the Holy Spirit. Whatever your insecurities are, you need not be in bondage to them. Just cry, "Daddy, God help me" and He will meet your needs. Don’t let fear "eat you alive" and affect your health.

Father I confess at times that I am afraid and fail to trust in You. Remind me that I am your child and that you will always take care of me. Fear comes from the enemy of my soul, and robs me of love, power and soundness of mind. I will resist fear in Jesus Name and be filled with faith. AMEN

Hindrance to Healing # 26 Trust in doctors only, abuse of medicine

Luke 4:23 Jesus said to them, "Surely you will quote this proverb to me: `Physician, heal yourself! Do here in your hometown what we have heard that you did in Capernaum.'"

Now I’ve stated several times in the course of this study that I believe that doctors and medicine are a source of healing for us. Although some believers will not make use of doctors and medicine, I believe that their knowledge and wisdom comes from God and can be a boost to health, particularly if our faith is not developed enough yet to trust God for healing for our disease.

However, some believers give doctors the status of God and depend on them for more than they can deliver. Some things are still beyond their knowledge, and some things are out of their control. Also, we tend to try to cure ourselves first, or run to doctors, before seeking healing from God.

Jesus was criticized for not being able to do great works in His hometown. And why couldn’t He? Because of unbelief. But medicine was not very advanced in Jesus’ day, and sometimes the "cure was worse than the disease". So I’m sure that people were VERY interested in whether the physician himself had tried his own cure!

Jeremiah 8:14-15, 22 "Why are we sitting here? Gather together! Let us flee to the fortified cities and perish there! For the LORD our God has doomed us to perish and given us poisoned water to drink, because we have sinned against him. We hoped for peace but no good has come, for a time of healing but there was only terror… Is there no balm in Gilead? Is there no physician there? Why then is there no healing for the wound of my people?

Jeremiah recounts a time when there was no healing from physicians or cures. Why was that? Because the people had rejected God and were not looking to Him as their source. They had sinned and not sought repentance. And they were looking to doctors to cure what only God could.

Some people go from doctor to doctor seeking a cure, take medication after medication, and never seek the Great Physician, the Lord Jesus Christ. They are putting all their faith and hope in doctors and medicine, and not seeking healing from Jesus.

Mark 5:25-26 And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years. She had suffered a great deal under the care of many doctors and had spent all she had, yet instead of getting better she grew worse.

This happens sometimes. Either the doctor’s don’t have the knowledge yet to cure our problem, or either they misdiagnose what’s wrong with us. In either case, this poor, desperate woman had spent ALL SHE HAD on doctors, and instead of being healed, she grew worse!

Medical bills are one of the main causes of bankruptcy in this country today. It’s a sad fact that many spend all they have, lose their homes, and get "head over heels" in debt due to the high cost of medical care. And are still not cured.

Mark 5:27-29 When she heard about Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, because she thought, "If I just touch his clothes, I will be healed." Immediately her bleeding stopped and she felt in her body that she was freed from her suffering.

This woman heard about Jesus, then faith rose up inside of her. And her thoughts were filled with faith. And she released that faith when she reached out and touched the hem of Jesus garment. And IMMEDIATELY the bleeding stopped and she KNEW that her suffering was over.

Oh, if we only had HALF the faith in Jesus that we do in doctors and medicine! If we would LISTEN to the Word and really HEAR what it says and fill our thoughts with faith and belief, instead of doubt, we could reach out and touch Him and be healed.

Now I’m not against medicine and doctors. But when they come to the end of their knowledge, when they cannot cure you or misdiagnose you, what will be the source of your healing then? Place your trust and confidence FIRST in the Great Physician and be healed in Jesus Name!

Jesus you ARE the Great Physician and the source of my health and healing. In my endeavors to get well, I will not give doctors and medicine a higher place in my heart than you. Teach me how to have faith in You as my healer. Give me wisdom in making use of doctors and medicine as I develop my faith in YOU. AMEN.

Dr William Sadler in his textbook of psychiatry wrote: "Prayer is a powerful and effectual worry-remover. Men and women who have learned to pray with childlike sincerity, literally talking to, and communion with the Heavenly Father, are in possession of the great secret whereby they can cast their care upon God, knowing that He careth for us. A clear conscience is a great step toward barricading the mind against neuroticism."

He continues: "Many are victims of fear and worry because they fail properly to maintain their spiritual nutrition…The majority of people liberally feed their bodies, and many make generous provision for their mental nourishment; but the vast majority leave the soul to starve, paying very little attention to their spiritual nutrition; and as a result the spiritual nature is so weakened that it is unable to surmount its difficulties and maintain an atmosphere above conflict and despondency."

What was Dr. Sadler’s prescription for his patients? "Daily, systematic Bible reading". Let me leave you with just one spiritual tibit to nibble on until next time. Jesus said : "Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the word giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid" (John 14:27 KJV)

Remember, whenever God gives us a revelation, the devil tries to steal it from us. Guard your hearts and meditate on what you've learned! And put it into practice.

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Original lesson 3/15/99
Revised: May 03, 2001