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

God wants you to be well. This is a simple fact of the Christian faith that is seldom taught in many pulpits today. What a shame that Jesus is so clearly portrayed in scripture as the healer of those He encountered, yet so many of His modern followers suffer with sicknesses of every kind. Some even imagine it is God’s will under normal conditions to be sick! Even though we are only human and our bodies interact with the diseases that fill this world we live in, Jesus has never changed. He still heals even the most hopeless cases, and if you are suffering you can be sure that He wants to do something about it. What you must do is position yourself to receive what God wants to give you, and you will be able to overcome the obstacles we all face in this life. There are several steps one needs to take in order to do that.

I want to discuss the first step with you today. You must first know the facts and then establish your belief system around God’s revealed will. If you are critically ill you cannot afford to accept someone else’s word about divine healing, you have to know God’s perspective on healing for yourself. Then, you can think and believe properly. Never blindly follow a church that is so satisfied with maintaining a ‘nice’ congregation that the preacher is afraid to proclaim the truth! Follow the Bible and believe what it says if you want to recover.

Notice how Peter described Jesus’ ministry in our text. From this one verse we can begin to understand God’s attitude towards oppression and sickness. It is obvious that they go together, and that God is all about eradicating them. He purposefully contrasted Himself with the devil, the oppressor, author of misfortune and perpetrator of illness, by dismissing those enslavements from people’s lives. As we draw closer to the end of days health will become a major issue for people on planet earth…make sure you know where you stand by remembering Jesus’ stand and His stripes!