"Time to Heal"
By Harold Stoddard

"A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up;" Ecclesiastes 3:3.

According to James 5:13-16, it is never wrong to pray for the sick brethren; however, it is well to remember that God heals in His time and in His way. Later in this message we will give you information as to God's ways of healing the sick Christian but first, let's look at a few accounts of healing in the Bible.

Hezekiah, after the prophet Isaiah had already told him to set his house in order and get ready to die, wept and prayed before the Lord and Isaiah was sent back to tell Hezekiah that God would heal him and give him fifteen more years, and God even gave him a sign that he would be healed. We may wonder at this situation, but we must ever remember that God is Sovereign and needs not to explain Himself to anyone.

When Jesus was ministering in Capernaum a centurion came pleading for healing for his sick servant and Jesus said, "I will come and heal him..." Matthew 8:7. It was just a simple request from a heart of faith but Jesus heard and answered him. True and genuine faith in Jesus Christ will accomplish great things for those who will ask.

In Syria, the people brought all kinds of sick folks with various diseases and torments to Jesus. He cast out devils, healed the insane and those with palsy, and Matthew says in 4:24, "and he healed them". All they had to offer was their simple childlike faith in the power and deity of the Lord Jesus Christ.

One time, one of many times, when the children of Israel had gone away from the worship of God unto other interests, God called them "backsliding children". Jeremiah 3:14. God promised if they would return to Him He would "heal your backsliding". Jeremiah 3:22.

In Hosea, when the children of Israel promised to return to the Lord from the false gods of material strength, God promised, "I will heal their backsliding, I will love them freely". Hosea 14:4.

The Psalmist was on the right track when he said, "Lord, be merciful unto me: heal my soul; for I have sinned against thee." Psalms 41:4.

In Luke 9:1, the Lord gave the twelve disciples authority over all devils, and power to cure diseases. Verse 2 goes on to say, "and he sent them to preach the kindgom of God, and to heal the sick."

Luke 5:l7 says, "And it came to pass on a certain day, as he was teaching, that there were Pharisees and doctors of the law sitting by, which were come out of every town of Galilee, and Judaea, and Jerusalem: and the power of the Lord was present to heal them". Always remember, in whatever way you are healed of your sickness of whatever kind it may be, it is the Lord's power that heals -- never is it done in the power of a man, whoever he may be.

"In II Chronicles 7:14, God says, "If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land." I have heard this scripture quoted by politicians and preachers who are seeking popularity and power, or some personal favor, and they leave out the very heart and purpose of the verse, which says, "...and turn from their wicked ways". To leave out this phrase takes away the very meaning of the verse altogether. Woe unto those who use the very Word of God in this manner. They will receive the reward of their deception, together with those who 'revise' the Bible to suit their own preconceived ideas and doctrine of devils.

How our great nation needs this verse to be answered today! and so it would be, but never as long as we leave out the heart of the message and continue in our wicked ways.

Now we need to get back to the heart of this message. We have seen enough to know that the Name of Jesus Christ is sufficient to cure all ills, heal all diseases, cast out all devils. So now come back to the simple every day situation that we face in our daily lives...that of praying for the sick as we are told in James 5:13-16. The sick must initiate this procedure. It is his confidence and faith in Jesus Christ that would cause him to call for mature Christians to pray for him. The Lord will save the sick, raise him up and forgive the sin that caused it in the first place. Probably the most important thing about this healing is that which we never mention for fear of discouraging the sick person. We need to declare plainly to the sick as well as to all concerned that God will heal, but it will be according to His wisdom and infinite knowledge, and in His time (due time). Sometimes He will simply direct the sick to a doctor who will give the healing medicine. Today this is quite common. Sometimes He will heal instantly by his miraculous power. This is the way we usually desire it to be, so that one may be cured by an out and out miracle; sometimes, and we are reluctant to state this, but I believe the sick should be given to understand and to accept the fact that God may simply heal him by separating the soul from the body which is physical death, and taking the soul to Himself, leaving the body to be buried. This is not easy to accept in some cases, but is actually the Greatest Cure of all, and the Only Real and Permanent cure.

There is one other sickness we must mention...that of SIN SICKNESS. We all are born in sin and with Adam's nature, and so are by nature the children of sin and so we do what is natural -- we sin. Romans 3:23 says, "For all have sinned; and come short of the glory of God." The cure for this sickness is to Believe God and His Word, and Receive His Son Jesus, as our Savior. Just simple childlike faith in the Lord Jesus Christ is God's remedy for sin. All sinners who come to God in Jesus' Name will be accepted..."All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out." --John 6:37.

Jesus said, "I am the Way, the Truth and the Life: no many cometh to the Father but by me." John 14:6. Luke 19:10 says, " For the Son of man (Jesus Christ) is come to seek and to save that which was lost."

Jesus Paid It All (all the penalty for sin)
All to Him I owe.
Sin had left a crimson stain,
He washed it white as snow.

Sin is the greatest sickness in the world. Jesus died to save you from that sickness, and He will if you come to Him in true repentance. Jesus truly is able to save...Hebrews 7:25, "Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them".