HOPE & HEALING
FOR HURTING PEOPLE
By Pastor Max Solbrekken, D.D.
Sickness, disease and death are all a result of the ‘Fall’ of our first parents. There was no disease or death in the Garden of Eden until that tragic event!
The Bible affirms: “Wherefore, as by one man SIN entered into the world and DEATH by sin; and so death passed upon ALL MEN, for that all have sinned.” (Rom.5: 12); “For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.” (1 Cor.15: 21)
In His great mercy, God sent His Son who was INCARNATED (God in human flesh) to bring salvation to lost humanity: “For when we were yet without strength (hopeless), in due time Christ died for the ungodly. But God commendeth His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for the ungodly.” (Rom. 5: 6, 8)
Through His sacrificial death on Calvary's cross, Jesus Christ took our sins, sicknesses and pains upon Himself, thereby opening the door to our freedom from the tyranny of Satan and the results of our disobedience.
The Holy Scriptures say: “He that committeth sin is of the Devil; for the Devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might DESTROY the works of the Devil.” (1 John 3: 8):
“Who His own Self bare our sins in His own body on the tree, that we being dead to sins should live unto righteousness, by Whose stripes ye are healed.” (1 Peter 2: 24)
After Adam's treasonous act in the Garden of Eden, God passed judgment on the Serpent, Eve, Adam and the earth! In His judgment on Satan, who used the serpent as a mouthpiece, Almighty God introduced the Coming of the Messiah Who would Crush his head! In theology this is known as the 'Law of the first mention'.
Here is the Holy Record of that amazing DECREE: "And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; It shall bruise thy head, and thou shall bruise His heel." (Gen.3:15)
The first part of the Judgment was against the serpent who allowed itself to be used by the devil. Surveys have proven that snakes are the most hated animals on this planet.
Then God introduced the Coming of the Just One, the Messiah who would be born of a VIRGIN (seed of the woman) and would crush Satan's head, while He would bruise the Messiah's heel!
When Jesus was crucified, His heel was bruised but His resurrection from the dead was Satan's total and complete death knell. Christ's VICTORY was Satan's DEFEAT and our LIBERTY!
JESUS BORE OUR SICKNESSES!
The Word of God states: "Surely He hath borne our sicknesses (heb. kholee) and carried our pains (heb. makob): yet we did esteem Him stricken, smitten of God and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon Him; and with His stripes we are healed."(Isa. 53:4, 5)
Seven hundred and fifty years before Jesus’ death on the cross, Isaiah prophesied those power-filled words about His sacrificial death for the salvation, healing and deliverance of all who would receive Him as their Lord and Saviour. The Bible states that He did this for us:
"Now it was not written for his (Abraham) sake alone, that it was imputed to him. But for us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on Him that raised up Jesus from the dead: Who was delivered for our offences (sins) and raised again for our justification." (Rom.4: 23-25)
St. Paul emphatically taught that those who believed in the finished work of Jesus Christ in purchasing eternal Salvation would receive the same that Abraham received by looking forward to the cross!
The words, “but for us also” has a reassuring ring for us today! There are theologians who try to compartmentalize and restrict God into a small time frame, thus regulating His ability to be the Eternal Ever Living One that He is. By doing so, they minimize His greatness, insult His intelligence and pervert His will and plans for His Church!
As St. Paul battled the carnal minded ‘small thinkers’ in his generation who said that ‘no-one could have what Father Abraham received’, we battle the same ‘God manipulators’ who say with great pontification, “The Day of Miracles is Past. Miracles happened only in Paul’s Time.”
Many Evangelical theologians were greatly dismayed with the ‘God is Dead Theology’ that came out of Europe decades ago, but their theological position may as well be: “I Shrunk God!”
WHY HE WAS INCARNATED!
"For this purpose the Son of God was manifested that He might destroy the works of the devil." (1 John 3:8); "How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and power: Who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed of the devil." (Acts 10: 38)
"For as much then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, He also Himself likewise took part of the same; that through Death He might Destroy him that had the power of death, that is the Devil; And to Deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage." (Heb 2: 14, 15).
Here is a very important truth: The children (human race) are partakers of Flesh and Blood, while Christ Himself took part of the same. The word ‘took part’ which applies to Christ is entirely different than the word ‘partakers’ which applies to the children.
The word translated took part comes from the Greek, meaning ‘taking part of something outside oneself ’, while the Greek word (koynoneho) for partakers means ‘to share fully’.
Why is this truth so important? All humans are partakers (to share fully) and have inherited from Adam the sin that is inherent in that blood. Christ, however, inherited only the ‘flesh’ from Adam because the blood that flowed through His veins did not come from Adam.
He ‘took part of something outside Himself ’. His blood came from Almighty God and therefore was not contaminated by SIN.
The Virgin Birth of our Lord Jesus Christ excluded Him from receiving the Sin Nature that all others are born with. He received from Adam through His mother Mary human flesh but the blood that coursed through His veins came from the Holy Spirit, pure and without sin!
You say: “How is that POSSIBLE?” Only the blood of the father enters the baby. The blood of the mother does not enter the child.
SCIENCE PROVES THE VIRGIN BIRTH
In Howell’s Textbook of Physiology, Second Edition, pages 885 and 886, it states: “For the purpose of understanding its general functions it is sufficient to recall that the placenta consists essentially of vascular chorionic papillae from the foetus (the unborn child) bathed in the large blood spaces of the decidual membrane of the mother.
The foetal and the maternal blood DO NOT COME INTO ACTUAL CONTACT. THEY ARE SEPARATED FROM EACH OTHER by the walls of the foetal blood vessels and the epithelial layers of the chorionic villae.”
And in Williams’ Practice of Obstetrics, Third Edition, page 133, states: “The foetal blood in the vessels of the chorionic villae AT NO TIME GAINS ACCESS TO THE MATERNAL BLOOD in the intervillous spaces, BEING SEPARATED FROM ONE ANOTHER by the double layer of chorionic epithelium.”
Page 136 from the same textbook states: “Normally there is no communication between the fetal blood and the maternal blood.”
Nurse’s Handbook of Obstetrics by Louise Zabriskie, R.N., Fifth Edition, page 75 we read: “When the circulation of the blood begins in the embryo, it remains separate and distinct from that of the mother.
"All food and waste material which are interchanged between the embryo and the mother must pass through the blood vessel walls from one circulation to the other.” Page 82 from the same textbook states: “The foetus receives its nourishment and oxygen from the mother’s blood into its own through the medium of the placenta.
"The foetal heart pumps blood through the arteries of the umbilical cord into the placental vessels, which, looping in and out of the uterine tissue and lying in close contact with the uterine vessels, permit a diffusion, through their walls, of waste products from child to mother and of nourishment and oxygen from mother to child.
"As has been said, this interchange is affected by the process of osmosis, and there is no direct mingling of the two blood currents. In other words, no maternal blood actually flows to the foetus, nor is there any direct foetal flow to the mother.”
Note: Much of the above information taken from ‘The Chemistry of the Blood’ by M.R. DeHaan, M.D
Christ's vicarious (substitutionary) Death for us and Resurrection from the dead that resulted in Satan's Defeat, has assured our Liberty. Praise the Lord! Jesus healed all the SICK who came to Him. He didn't turn away anyone, however, not everyone believed:
“And He went to His own country...And He could there do no MIGHTY WORK, save that He laid His hands upon a few sick folk, and healed them. And He marvelled because of their unbelief. And He went round about the villages teaching.” (Mark 6: 1, 5,6)
JESUS MARVELLED ONLY TWICE!
The Bible records only two occasions where Jesus marvelled. Once was when He witnessed the faith of a Roman Centurion and the second was when He witnessed the unbelief of His own people!
When Jesus began teaching in His home town they were astonished and said: “From whence hath this man these things? And what wisdom is this which is given unto Him, that even such MIGHTY WORKS are wrought by His hands?
"Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, the brother of James, and Joses, and of Juda, and Simon? And are not His sisters here with us: And they were offended at Him.” (Mark 6: 2, 3)
The Word of God states that He marvelled at their UNBELIEF. God’s Son could “there do NO MIGHTY WORK, except that He laid His hands upon a few sick folk (who believed) and healed them.” How tragic!
What does this tell us? Faith is the KEY to receiving miracles from our Lord. Jesus said to the father of a demon possessed, deaf and dumb boy, “If thou canst believe all things are possible to him that believeth.” (Mark 9: 23)
The father cried out and said with tears, “I believe, help Thou my unbelief.” (Mark 9:24). Immediately, Jesus delivered the boy! Jesus stated; “Believe Me that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me, or else believe Me for the very works sake.
"Verily, verily, I say unto you, he that believeth on Me, the WORKS that I do shall he do also; and GREATER WORKS shall he do; because I go to the Father. If ye shall ask ANYTHING in My name, I will do it.” (John 14: 10-14)
He was referring to the outpouring of the Holy Spirit! He promised to send the blessed HOLY SPIRIT Who does the greater works. No-one can do greater works than Jesus did because He raised the dead, and the Bible confirms that “death is the last enemy to be destroyed.” (1 Cor.15: 26)
Jesus ministered only in Israel, laid His hands on the sick and people touched His robe and were healed. He spoke the Word and people were delivered. He calmed the storm, multiplied the loaves and fish and cast out evil spirits.
The Holy Spirit, however, works all over the world simultaneously, through the Church! Two examples: Peter’s shadow fell on people and they were healed (Acts 5: 12-16). Paul sent out handkerchiefs and aprons, and demons were driven out and the sick were healed (Acts 19: 11, 12).
THE HOLY SPIRIT DID THIS!
Who did this? The Blessed Holy Spirit did the miracles as the people believed! He entered St. Peter’s shadow and healed the sick. The Holy Spirit accompanied the anointed cloths and aprons St. Paul sent out to the sick and suffering! And He is with us and in us TODAY and stands ready to continue doing the greater works!
In my humble ministry for the Lord, I have seen the Holy Spirit do these greater miracles. In our 1966 breakthrough Crusade in Guntur, A.P. India, we experienced such a miracle. Many thousands of people had jammed into the Freedom Park for the final service.
After my message and mass prayer of salvation, several outstanding miracles happened in the prayer line which caused everyone to excitedly move toward the platform.
I had been praying for several thousand each evening without any problems, but this being the final service the people would not heed my plea for order.
After I prayed several mass prayers for the healing of the sick, we quickly left fearing that someone could get trampled if we continued the service. As we drove away from Guntur in Lawson Barbour’s 1946 Chevy, I lay in the backseat listening to Lawson and Tommy talking about the great crusade we had just concluded.
I was disturbed because I hadn’t had the opportunity to personally lay my hands on many thousands of sick people. As I wept silently, telling God that I would have stayed till midnight to pray for 10,000 – 20,000 people if I could have, but they wouldn’t let me.
Then, I heard the voice of God, saying, “Dry your tears, My son. You are leaving them, but I am not leaving them!”
The Lord had led us to have 10,000 leaflets with a picture of Sadhu Vandanam and me, with the name of his church and some Scripture texts printed on them. We had prayed that God would use those leaflets to bring salvation and healing to many people. They were given out at that final meeting.
A woman from a little village about 20 miles away had been told by her doctor that the cancerous sore in her stomach area was inoperable and she would soon die.
She had attended three days of meetings but was unable to get near us for personal prayer because of the huge crowds. After we left, she wrapped her sari around her body and sadly started the 20 mile trek home that evening, painfully struggling and crying all the way. She had missed her last opportunity to get well.
HOLY SPIRIT DOES THE MIRACLE!
At about 6:00 A.M. she arrived at her village as people were up and about doing their toilet. She entered her little mud hut and threw herself on the little grass mat on the floor, sick and exhausted. She had cried so much, there were no more tears.
As she lay there, throbbing, nerves raw and her body twitching, she suddenly sat up and undid her sari placing the leaflet on the open sore and shouted, as she had heard me say hundreds of times, “In Jesus name be healed. Be healed in Jesus’ mighty name. Amen.”
Suddenly, a surge of power swept through her. The sore was instantly gone. She was healed! She jumped to her feet and ran around waving the leaflet and shouting: “I am healed. Jesus Christ has healed me.”
The entire village came together to see her and hear her story. Shortly thereafter, they sent a delegation to meet Sadhu Vandenam and the Missionary Lawson Barbour. When they arrived at the little village of several hundred inhabitants, everyone had prayed the sinner’s prayer and received Jesus Christ through the testimony of the healed woman and the Bible texts she had brought home with her.
When Tommy and I returned to Canada from Israel a few weeks later, a tape recording of the events had already arrived from Lawson Barbour, detailing the great miracle of God! Praise be unto God forevermore.
The Second time Jesus MARVELLED was when He witnessed the faith of a Roman Centurion: “The centurion answered and said, Lord, I am not worthy that Thou should come under my roof, but speak the Word only, and my servant shall be healed.
"For I am a man under authority, having soldiers under me: and I say unto this man, Go, and he goeth; and to another, Come and he cometh; and to my servant, do this, and he doeth it.” (Matt. 8: 5-9)
Jesus marvelled at his FAITH: “When Jesus heard it, He marvelled, and said to them that followed, Verily, I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel.” (Matt.8: 10)
In our Ministry for our Lord, I have also found that when a pagan Hindu, Buddhist, Muslim, Animist or an unlearned Protestant or Roman Catholic hears the Gospel for the first time and believes it, they literally grab onto it and sometimes receive a Miracle more readily than a believing Christian who has heard the Gospel repeatedly!
May we all reach in faith to receive a miracle of God for our spirits, souls and bodies! He is waiting for us to call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord! He said: "Come unto Me all ye that labour and are heavy laden and I will give you rest." (Matt. 11: 28) Amen.
Max Solbrekken World Mission Box 44220 RP0 Garside, Edmonton, AB T5V 1N6 Canada. Email: [email protected]; comehometojesus.ca; Blog: MSWM; FaceBook,YouTube, Donations can be made to [email protected]; Make donationa to [email protected].
