You need to know beyond a shadow of a doubt that sickness and disease do not come from God. The Bible says, “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights” (James 1:17). Sickness can’t be a gift that God sends down from Heaven because there isn’t any sickness or disease in Heaven.
People who are unacquainted with the Word often don’t realize that ever since the fall of man, there has been a curse on the earth. Because people don’t understand that they live in a fallen world where Satan dominates, they accuse God of causing accidents that take place. They accuse God of causing sickness and the death of loved ones. They accuse God of causing storms, earthquakes, and floods. Even insurance policies call such catastrophes “acts of God.”
But we know sickness, disease, accidents, and natural catastrophes cannot be from God because they are certainly not good and perfect gifts. No, Satan is the god of this world (2 Cor. 4:4). And John 10:10 says, “The thief, Satan, cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy.” Anything that steals, kills, and destroys is from the devil. Therefore, the bad things that happen on this earth come from Satan; they’re not acts of God! A look at Jesus’ ministry also proves that sickness, disease, and natural catastrophes don’t come from God. Jesus was and is God’s will in action.
We can also look at Jesus to see what God’s will is concerning sickness and disease. Not once in Jesus’ ministry did He turn anyone down who came to Him for healing.
Once a leper came to Jesus and said, “Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean” (Matt. 8:2). Jesus didn’t say, “Now, my son, God moves in mysterious ways, His wonders to perform. His ways are past finding out. Man in his small finite mind can never understand the infinite. God has some purpose in your affliction. Just be patient and let patience have her perfect work.” Jesus didn’t say, “You see, God loves you so much He brought this disease on you to deepen your piety and teach you a good spiritual lesson. So learn your lesson well and maybe eventually God will heal you – if it’s His will.” No! Jesus never said anything like that. No man has a right to speak that kind of religious tradition in His Name!
Jesus is God’s will in action. Jesus never did anything outside the will of God. So when He healed the leper, He was doing God’s will. In the account where Jesus healed the woman who was bowed over with the spirit of infirmity, Jesus said, “Ought not this woman, being a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has bound, lo, these 18 years, be loosed from this bond on the Sabbath day?” (Luke 13:16).
Who did Jesus say bound that woman? He said Satan did.
Jesus’ commission to believers just before He ascended to Heaven also proves that healing comes from God, not sickness. In Mark 16:15 Jesus said, “Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.” Then Jesus said, “And these signs shall follow them that believe” (Mark 16:17). One of the signs Jesus gave was that believers would “lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover” (Mark 16:18).
When people try to figure out where sickness and disease come from, they often get confused because they haven’t taken time to get into the Word for themselves. Instead of studying to see what the Word of God has to say on the subject, they’ve just accepted what some unbelieving minister said about it or what their church taught about it.
God is not the author of sickness. Man never became sick until after he listened to the devil. You see, God told Adam, “I give you dominion over all the work of my hands” (Gen. 1:28-30). In other words, God said, “I’m turning the earth over to you, Adam.” Adam had the legal right, although not the moral right, to give the dominion over the earth to the devil. And that’s exactly what Adam did. When Adam disobeyed God, he committed high treason and the devil then became the god of this world (2 Cor 4:4). Only then did man fall heir to sickness and disease.
Sickness and disease are of the devil. Let the truth of that statement sink deep in your spirit. Then follow in the footsteps of Jesus and deal with sickness the way Jesus did. Treat sickness and disease as an enemy and never tolerate it in your life.
In His earthly ministry, Jesus continually healed the sick and broke Satan’s dominion over the lives of men and women. You have the authority to do the same in the Name of Jesus. Claim the Father’s good and perfect gift of healing for yourself and others, and walk in the fullness of the salvation Jesus provided for you!
Excerpt permission granted by Faith Library Publications
Rev. Hagin served in Christian ministry for nearly 70 years and was known as the "father of the modern faith movement." His teachings and books are filled with vivid stories that show God's power and truth working in his life and the lives of others.
Rev. Hagin was born on Aug. 20, 1917, in McKinney, Texas, a son of the late Lillie Viola Drake Hagin and Jess Hagin.
Rev. Hagin was sickly as a child, suffering from a deformed heart and an incurable blood disease. He was not expected to live and became bedfast at age 15. In April 1933 during a dramatic conversion experience, he reported dying three times in 10 minutes, each time seeing the horrors of hell and then returning to life.
In August of 1934, Rev. Hagin was miraculously healed, raised off a deathbed by the power of God and the revelation of faith in God's Word. Two years later, he preached his first sermon as pastor of a small community church in Roland, Texas.
In 1937, Rev. Hagin was baptized in the Holy Spirit and began ministering in Pentecostal churches. During the next 12 years he pastored five churches in Texas: in the cities of Tom Bean, Farmersville (twice), Talco, Greggton, and Van. In 1949, he began an itinerant ministry as a Bible teacher and evangelist.
During the next 14 years, Jesus appeared to Rev. Hagin eight times in visions that changed the course of his ministry. In 1966, he moved to Tulsa, Oklahoma, where he opened a ministry office. That same year, he taught for the first time on radio—on KSKY in Dallas. In 1967, he began a regular radio broadcast that continues today as Faith Seminar of the Air. Teaching by his son, Rev. Kenneth W. Hagin, is also heard on the program.
In 1968, Rev. Hagin published the first issues of The Word of Faith magazine, which now has a monthly circulation of more than 250,000. The publishing outreach he founded, Faith Library Publications, has circulated more than 65 million copies of books by Rev. Hagin, Rev. Hagin Jr., and several other authors worldwide. Faith Library Publications also has produced more than 9 million audio teaching tapes and CDs.
Other outreaches of Kenneth Hagin Ministries include RHEMA Praise, a weekly television broadcast hosted by Rev. and Mrs. Kenneth W. Hagin; RHEMA Correspondence Bible School; RHEMA Alumni Association; RHEMA Ministerial Association International; RHEMA Supportive Ministries Association; the RHEMA Prayer and Healing Center; and a prison ministry.
In 1974, Rev. Hagin founded RHEMA Bible Training Center USA and in 1976 moved the school and ministry offices to Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, where they remain. To date, RHEMA Bible Training Center USA has 23,000 alumni, and RHEMA Bible Training Centers have opened in 13 other nations: Austria, Brazil, Colombia, Germany, India, Italy, Mexico, Peru, Romania, Samoa, Singapore, South Africa, and Thailand. Together, the 14 schools have more than 28,000 graduates worldwide.
RHEMA Bible Church, pastored by Rev. Hagin Jr., began holding services in October of 1985 on the RHEMA campus in Broken Arrow and has since grown to become a thriving congregation with more than 8,000 members.
Rev. Hagin's daughter and son-in-law, Pat Harrison and the late Doyle "Buddy" Harrison, founded Harrison House Publishers in 1975 and Faith Christian Fellowship International Church in 1977. Both organizations are based in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
Until shortly before his death in September 2003, Rev. Hagin continued to travel and teach throughout the United States and into Canada conducting All Faiths' Crusades and other special meetings.