Article Display
Email  |  My Account  |  Donate
Have you ever heard of a case where someone found innocent in a court of law was sent to prison anyway and punished for a crime he didn't commit?

Certainly not! The very idea is absurd. No honest court would allow such an injustice. And no innocent man would stand for it.

Yet, spiritually speaking, many Christians find themselves in that very situation every day. They wake up in the morning to bodies wracked with sickness and pain, to minds burdened with depression and torment. They spend their days suffering punishments inflicted by the devil in payment of sin.

The fact is, however, these people aren't sinners. They are born again, spirit-filled believers. They love the Lord. They read their Bibles.

The devil is extracting from them a payment they don't owe. But they pay it anyway because they don't understand their rights and privileges in Jesus. They don't realize that God Himself has declared them innocent in the courtroom of heaven; therefore the devil has no legal right to punish them anymore.

The Price Is Paid
Actually, most of us aren't even aware that sickness is a form of punishment. That's because the devil has worked feverishly to keep that truth from us.

In fact, he's tried to convince us that sickness is a blessing in disguise. He's used religious tradition to teach us that illness is, at times, God's will for us and we can glorify Him by bearing it without complaint.

Nothing could be further from the truth. Throughout the Word of God, sickness is always referred to as a curse—never a blessing. If sickness were a blessing, God would have "blessed" Adam and Eve with it in the Garden of Eden. But God only put good things in that garden—and sickness isn't good!

On the contrary, it is a part of the evil that came upon the earth when mankind rebelled against God and broke His law. The Bible leaves no doubt about that because in Deuteronomy 28 where God spells out in detail the curse of sin, He includes every sickness and every affliction (v. 61).

Why is it so important for us to understand the bad news that sickness is a curse of sin?

So that we can understand the good news in Galatians 3:13 which says, "Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree."

Most of us have read that scripture so many times that the startling truth of it no longer grips our souls. We don't truly realize what Jesus did for us when He went to the cross. But the prophet Isaiah did. Many years before Calvary, he looked forward in time and saw by the Spirit the unimaginable torment Jesus would suffer on our behalf. Isaiah saw Him bear the punishment for sin—and all the pain, sickness, and grief that includes; and he wrote:
[For many the Servant of God became an object of horror; many were astonished at Him.] His face and His whole appearance were marred more than any man's, and His form beyond that of the sons of men….

...He was despised and rejected and forsaken by men, a man of sorrows and pains, and acquainted with grief and sickness…. Surely He has borne our griefs (sicknesses, weaknesses, and distresses) and carried our sorrows and pains [of punishment], yet we [ignorantly] considered Him stricken, smitten, and afflicted by God...But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our guilt and iniquities; the chastisement [needful to obtain] peace and well-being for us was upon Him, and with the stripes [that wounded] Him we are healed and made whole.
(Isa. 52:14, 53:3-5 AMP)
Think for a moment about those stripes Jesus bore. Think what an awful sound it must have been—the cracking of the whip as it tore the skin from His back. Thirty-nine lashes He took for us. It was no random number, for research reveals there are 39 causes of disease and with each stripe Jesus bore those causes away so we could go free!

But He didn't stop with that. Our precious, gentle Master went on to the cross and bowed His beautiful head under the weight of the wickedness of the whole world. How horrible it must have been for Him to allow His perfect soul and spirit to be twisted and marred beyond recognition by receiving within Himself every disease and degradation known to man.

Why did He do it? Because He loves us so much He desired to pay the entire price for our sin. Notice I said the entire price. Not just part of it. All!

Jesus suffered—spirit, soul, and body—so we could be made whole—spirit, soul, and body. And if we fail to receive any part of His sacrifice, we have, to that extent, caused His suffering to be in vain.

Not for Hire
Those may sound like strong words, but they are true. Jesus bore our sicknesses so we wouldn't have to. Yet all too often when the devil brings us those sicknesses, we nullify Jesus' gift by bearing them again.

As I was driving down the highway thinking about that fact some time ago, I saw a big 18-wheel truck with a sign on it that read: NOT FOR HIRE. Do you know what that sign meant? It meant that trucker is not willing to carry anyone else's stuff. He only carries the stuff that belongs to the owner of his company. So you might as well not call and ask him to carry yours because he won't do it.

I believe that as Christians we ought to have that same sign on us in the realm of the spirit. NOT FOR HIRE. And when the devil comes around trying to load us up with sickness and depression and condemnation, we ought to refuse it and say, "Get out of here, devil. I'm not carrying that stuff. Jesus carried it for me 2,000 years ago and I'm not carrying it again!"

Sadly though, we're not always sure we have a right to speak that way. After all, we're not perfect. There are times when we sin; times when our failures make us feel unworthy and we wonder if we even deserve to be healed.

But we should forever dismiss such thoughts. For, the truth is, as long as we're walking with God and trusting in the Blood of Jesus, in God's sight we're absolutely innocent! Because Jesus took our guilt for us, the gavel of heaven has fallen and judgment has been rendered in our favor. God has pronounced us "NOT GUILTY." And the devil has no legal right to inflict on us any part of the curse.

Isaiah 53:6-7 says it this way:

"All we like sheep have gone astray, we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord has made to light upon Him the guilt and iniquity of us all. He was oppressed, [yet when] He was afflicted, He was submissive and opened not His mouth. ..."

Take special note of that last sentence. It says that Jesus opened not His mouth.

Do you know what happens when a righteous man opens his mouth? Heaven's power is released on his behalf. If Jesus had opened His mouth and appealed to God, the scripture says that God would have immediately provided Him with more than 12 legions of angels to protect Him. That's more than 80,000 angels. Do you think the Romans could have crucified Him with that many angels fighting on His behalf? No way!

For the crucifixion to take place, Jesus had to keep His mouth shut. He had to silently endure as He was beaten, slapped, spit upon and mocked. When they blindfolded Him and jeered, "Prophecy, King!" He had to be quiet because if He had spoken out even once in His own defense, God would have been obligated to deliver Him from His enemies' hands.

You see, the devil only has a legal right to attack the sinner. He only has a right to bring the punishment of sickness, pain, oppression, poverty and destruction upon those who are guilty and therefore deserve such punishment.

Jesus wasn't guilty. He was completely innocent, pure and sinless. But He chose not to speak out. He chose to let the devil overplay his hand. He yielded to God's plan and was "made sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him!" (2 Cor. 5:21).

Isn't that wonderful? As believers, you and I are made the righteousness of God. That means the devil has no legal right to put sickness or pain on us. And if he tries, we can open our mouths in faith and God will release His power on our behalf. He'll rise up in our defense and send demons scurrying for cover in every direction.

They said to themselves, We'd better not hurt this fellow or we'll have the whole Roman government up in arms against us. We'll end up with more trouble than we can handle.

You remember that next time the devil ties you to the whipping post and starts beating you with sickness and pain and affliction. Don't just silently submit. Resist him. Remind him that you are a citizen of the Kingdom of Heaven. Remind him that the Blood of Jesus has washed away every accusation ever brought against you. And let him know that if he doesn't get his hands off you, your Father—Almighty God, Himself—will see to it that he has more trouble than he can handle.

Look On the Savior
I want you to know, it thrills Jesus when we talk that way. After all, He paid a high price for our heavenly citizenship.

Hebrews 12:3 says that He endured the cross and all its shame for "the joy that was set before Him. What was that joy? It was the joy of seeing you and me walking free from the curse. It was the joy of seeing us overcome sin, sickness, and the devil himself by the Blood of the Lamb and the word of our testimony! (Rev. 12:11).

If you're sitting there right now with symptoms of sickness on your body, I realize you can't make them disappear with the blink of an eye. But there is something you can do. You can refuse to receive that sickness in your heart.

You can turn your attention away from the symptoms and onto the Word of God instead. You can look steadfastly with the eyes of your spirit upon the precious Savior who bought your healing. You can meditate on what He has done for you until the reality of it overshadows all else and you cry out in joy, "By His stripes I was healed!"

I promise you, the power of all of heaven will back those words when you say them in faith. And the devil will back down. He will flee just like the Bible said he would. For the verdict has been given and cannot be reversed. The righteous Judge of all the earth has found you innocent by virtue of the Blood of Jesus. He has received the Sacrifice on your behalf and declared you forever not guilty.

The devil has no legal right to punish you any more. You have been set free!

Copyright © Mac Hammond Ministries
All rights reserved. Used by permission.

Author Biography

Lynne Hammond
Web site: Lynne Hammond Ministries
 
A teacher and an author, Lynne publishes a newsletter called Prayer Notes, has written numerous books, and currently serves as the national prayer director for Daughters for Zion. Her passion for inspiring and leading others into the life of Spirit-led prayer continues to take her around the world to minister to believers whose heart cry, like hers, is “Lord, teach me to pray!”
Read more...

About Us

The online ministry of cfaith has been helping people discover faith, friends and freedom in the Word since 2000. Cfaith provides a unique and comprehensive collection of faith-building resources for the worldwide faith community.

At cfaith, you can strengthen your faith and deepen your understanding of the Word of God by digging into the vast collection of teaching articles, streaming audio and video messages, and daily devotionals. No other website offers such a unique and extensive collection of spiritual-growth resources aimed at helping you grow in your knowledge of the Word.

Read More...

 

 

Support Us

Why support cfaith?


(All contributions are 100% tax deductible)


SUPPORT CFAITH WITH ONE CLICK!

For every Internet search you make using
goodsearch, cfaith will receive one penny!

GS Logo 250x38

Contact Us

Business Hours:


Monday—Friday: 9 a.m.—5 p.m. CST
Saturday & Sunday: Closed

Phone:

(763) 488-7800 or (800) 748-8107

Mailing Address: 

CFAITH.com
9201 75th Avenue North
Brooklyn Park, MN 55428

 

Login Form

Please ignore the “Secret Key” field; it is not needed to log in to cfaith.

Login Change Article

Spring360x442
You need to enable user registration from User Manager/Options in the backend of Joomla before this module will activate.