Healing School Part – 12
More times than not, the road to divine healing is not an expressway.
These roadblocks wear subtle disguises and come from many sources based in tradition, superstition, and wrong teaching from the Scriptures.
Roadblock #1 – God sends sickness upon people
Roadblock #2: “It may not be God’s will for me to be healed.”
Roadblock #3: Paul’s Thorn in the Flesh
Roadblock #4: “I’m suffering for the glory of God”
Roadblock #5: “Sickness is God’s chastening.”
Roadblock #6: “What About Poor Old Job?”
The issues of human suffering do more to shape the theological perspective of God that most people have of Him.
Most atheists or agnostics base their refusal to believe upon the suffering of humanity.
“Either God can do nothing to stop catastrophes, he doesn’t care to, or he doesn’t exist. God is either impotent, evil, or imaginary. Take your pick and choose wisely.”
– Sam Harris
Christians are also faced with some of these same questions: who is behind the suffering, is it my sin, the devil or is it God?
The unbeliever looks at these things and says there is no God, and the believer looks and says, “why?” and “how do I relate to these things?”
We will base our study on the book of Job because it is the most concentrated case in the Bible on human suffering.
If human suffering does more to shape our perspective on God, then without a proper understanding of the book of Job, we will not have a proper perspective of God.
Very few have read through the book of Job but even those who have still have questions that go unanswered.
Let’s be mindful of some things that will help us in Bible interpretation:
- You must always be aware of who is doing the talking and how credible they are as a source of information.
You must consider the source.
Some things are truly stated but they are not statements of truth.
Job and his friends are the most un-credible sources of information about God imaginable.
- Understand the rule of first mentions in the Scripture. God always has the best idea the first time around.
When you can establish a principle of truth in the Bible, it will remain throughout the rest of the Bible. It will not change as the Dispensations change. It is based on the immutability of God.
However, there is a danger in this:
- You cannot use marginal revelation to interpret a greater revelation.
You may begin interpreting the New Testament in light of the Old Testament.
When you interpret the Scripture, you always use the greatest light you have to illuminate that particular subject.
With this in mind know this:
- Job is the oldest book of the Bible. (It was written before Moses penned the Pentateuch.)
Since the book of Job was written, we then have all of the books of the Old Testament after it and then of course the New Testament. What most of the Church does, however, is interpret the rest of the Bible in light of the Book of Job, including the New Testament.
We are trying to interpret the entire character of God in the New Testament based upon the very first book written in the Old Testament, the book of Job.
(Job 1:21-22 NKJV) And he said: “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, And naked shall I return there. The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; Blessed be the name of the LORD.” (22) In all this Job did not sin nor charge God with wrong.
Job did say some wrong things about God, not maliciously, but trying to figure out what was happening. He spoke out of ignorance.
(John 10:10 NKJV) The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.
As we uncover principles in the Old Testament they should hold true throughout the entire Bible unless the New Testament gives us more revelation on the subject.
With this in mind we are going to begin interpreting the Book of Job in light of the New Testament:
(James 5:10-11 NKJV) My brethren, take the prophets, who spoke in the name of the Lord, as an example of suffering and patience. (11) Indeed we count them blessed who endure. You have heard of the perseverance of Job and seen the end intended by the Lord–that the Lord is very compassionate and merciful.
These verses tell us to be inspired by his patience and endurance and to be inspired by the end of the Lord, not by his suffering.
Patience means to be constant and unchanging in the face of opposing external pressure.
One thing he never did do was to curse God (what the devil was after).
He did continue to worship God in the pressure and this eventually enabled God to bring his deliverance.
Be inspired by Job’s consistency and the mercy and grace of the Lord that brought great deliverance.
(Job 1:1-3 NKJV) There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job; and that man was blameless and upright, and one who feared God and shunned evil. (2) And seven sons and three daughters were born to him. (3) Also, his possessions were seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen, five hundred female donkeys, and a very large household, so that this man was the greatest of all the people of the East.
Be sure that you have an understanding of the big picture when you look at this background:
- Job is the oldest book in the Bible and therefore, Job had no written record to learn about God.
- Even though he lived at about the same time that Isaac and Jacob lived, he was not part of God’s chosen covenant family.
- Job was an extremely wealthy man even according to today’s standards.
- His ranch was over 500,000 acres.
In May of 2015, the W.T. Waggoner Estate was sold to Stan Kroenke, husband of Walmart heiress Ann Walton Kroenke (current owners of the LA Rams) at $725 million dollars and was 510,527 acres. The ranch specializes in raising horses and cattle, and has 14,000 cows. It also contains 160,000 acres of oil property 1100 working oil wells) as well as 26,000 acres of cultivated farmland producing wheat, oats, and hay. There are 120 workers on the ranch.
- Total number of people to run the ranch and household would be around 1000 full-time staff people.
- Total asset value of $2 billion dollars with an annual income of $150 million dollars.
- His trial only lasted about 6 to nine months and he lived anywhere from 200 to 250 years.
(James 5:10-11 NKJV) My brethren, take the prophets, who spoke in the name of the Lord, as an example of suffering and patience. (11) Indeed we count them blessed who endure. You have heard of the perseverance of Job and seen the end intended by the Lord–that the Lord is very compassionate and merciful.
Job 42:10 NKJV And the LORD restored Job’s losses when he prayed for his friends. Indeed the LORD gave Job twice as much as he had before.
These verses tell us to be inspired by his patience and endurance and to be inspired by the end of the Lord, not by his suffering.
Patience means to be constant and unchanging in the face of opposing external pressure.
One thing he never did do was to curse God (what the devil was after).
He did continue to worship God in the pressure and this eventually enabled God to bring his deliverance.
Be inspired by Job’s consistency and the mercy and grace of the Lord that brought great deliverance.
Job 1:1-12 NKJV There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job; and that man was blameless and upright, and one who feared God and shunned evil. (2) And seven sons and three daughters were born to him. (3) Also, his possessions were seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen, five hundred female donkeys, and a very large household, so that this man was the greatest of all the people of the East. (4) And his sons would go and feast in their houses, each on his appointed day, and would send and invite their three sisters to eat and drink with them. (5) So it was, when the days of feasting had run their course, that Job would send and sanctify them, and he would rise early in the morning and offer burnt offerings according to the number of them all. For Job said, “It may be that my sons have sinned and cursed God in their hearts.” Thus Job did regularly. (6) Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came among them. (7) And the LORD said to Satan, “From where do you come?” So Satan answered the LORD and said, “From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking back and forth on it.” (8) Then the LORD said to Satan, “Have you considered My servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, one who fears God and shuns evil?” (9) So Satan answered the LORD and said, “Does Job fear God for nothing? (10) Have You not made a hedge around him, around his household, and around all that he has on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land. (11) But now, stretch out Your hand and touch all that he has, and he will surely curse You to Your face!” (12) And the LORD said to Satan, “Behold, all that he has is in your power; only do not lay a hand on his person.” So Satan went out from the presence of the LORD.
- God DOES NOT ask questions because He does not know the answer.
His questions are always rhetorical.
Job 1:7 NKJV (7) And the LORD said to Satan, “From where do you come?” So Satan answered the LORD and said, “From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking back and forth on it.”
1 Peter 5:8 NKJV (8) Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.
Job 1:8 NKJV (8) Then the LORD said to Satan, “Have you considered My servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, one who fears God and shuns evil?”
In the margin of the NKJV there is a reference for verse 8 that reads: “Have you set your heart on Job…” This is the accurate translation.
God does not throw people under the bus as it seems that He did if you casually read this on the surface.
- Satan DOES ask questions because he does not know the answer.
Job 1:9-10 NKJV (9) So Satan answered the LORD and said, “Does Job fear God for nothing? (10) Have You not made a hedge around him, around his household, and around all that he has on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land.
The only way that Satan can figure that Job is so prosperous is because God has a covenant hedge of protection around him. But remember, Job is not part of God’s covenant family through Abraham.
This gives us a clue as to what Satan does in his wandering in the earth – he is probing to see who has a hedge of protection and who does not AND can he get in.
- Job did not have a covenant with God and therefore did not have a hedge of protection.
Supernatural protection is only afforded to those that are in covenant relationship with God.
Even in spite of this, God still placed a limitation on the devil – in that he could not destroy Job personally.
But there was still something that allowed the enemy to have access to Job and that was the Fear Factor.
Job 1:4-5 NKJV (4) And his sons would go and feast in their houses, each on his appointed day, and would send and invite their three sisters to eat and drink with them. (5) So it was, when the days of feasting had run their course, that Job would send and sanctify them, and he would rise early in the morning and offer burnt offerings according to the number of them all. For Job said, “It may be that my sons have sinned and cursed God in their hearts.” Thus Job did regularly.
This seemed honorable and Job may have believed he was doing the right thing but you cannot do the right thing with the wrong motivation.
This would be equivalent to your mother going to church every Sunday because she is concerned her adult children were out partying the night before.
Proverbs 21:2-3 NLT (2) People may be right in their own eyes, but the LORD examines their heart. (3) The LORD is more pleased when we do what is right and just than when we offer Him sacrifices.
Job 1:13-22 NKJV Now there was a day when his sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother’s house; (14) and a messenger came to Job and said, “The oxen were plowing and the donkeys feeding beside them, (15) when the Sabeans raided them and took them away–indeed they have killed the servants with the edge of the sword; and I alone have escaped to tell you!” (16) While he was still speaking, another also came and said, “The fire of God fell from heaven and burned up the sheep and the servants, and consumed them; and I alone have escaped to tell you!” (17) While he was still speaking, another also came and said, “The Chaldeans formed three bands, raided the camels and took them away, yes, and killed the servants with the edge of the sword; and I alone have escaped to tell you!” (18) While he was still speaking, another also came and said, “Your sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother’s house, (19) and suddenly a great wind came from across the wilderness and struck the four corners of the house, and it fell on the young people, and they are dead; and I alone have escaped to tell you!” (20) Then Job arose, tore his robe, and shaved his head; and he fell to the ground and worshiped. (21) And he said: “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, And naked shall I return there. The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; Blessed be the name of the LORD.” (22) In all this Job did not sin nor charge God with wrong.
Job 3:25-26 NKJV (25) For the thing I greatly feared has come upon me, And what I dreaded has happened to me. (26) I am not at ease, nor am I quiet; I have no rest, for trouble comes.”
- Job was in fear of those things happening to him and his household.
Fear connects you to the things that you are afraid of, just like faith attaches you to the things that you believe God for.
Faith in God’s Word will produce God’s blessing and in the same way fear will produce that which you believe.
…Same principles of faith just in reverse.
James 1:12-13 NKJV (12) Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him. (13) Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone.
James 1:13 CEV (13) Don’t blame God when you are tempted! God cannot be tempted by evil, and he doesn’t use evil to tempt others.
Temptation = Greek – peraismos
We do not want to imply that everything bad that happens in our lives is because of fear. There may be other reasons.
The Three Storms of Life:
Matthew 7:24-27 NKJV (24) “Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: (25) and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock. (26) “But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: (27) and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall.”
Jesus said there would be storms that we would encounter in this life.
Three basic examples of storms in the Bible:
- Storms of Disobedience
Jonah’s storm – came because of disobedience – God’s written or spoken instructions to our heart.
Only solution to this kind of storm comes through repentance.
- Storms of Obedience
Jesus and the disciples got into a storm as they went to the other side – the disciples were obeying the direction of the Lord and got into a storm.
When you are doing the will of God, Satan will resist what you are doing and bring storms into your life.
The solution to this kind of storm is the command of faith – “Peace be still”.
- Storms of Association
Paul got into a storm because of the people he was with were in disobedience. Sometime the people we associate with can cause storms in our lives. Caleb and Joshua suffered a 40-year delay in the wilderness because of the disobedience of the people they were with.
The solution to this kind of storm is not to use your faith as you must endure the storm but know the outcome will always be the same – the mercy and compassion of the Lord extended to you.
We must have the revelation that God is not behind the destruction and he does not use the devil to cause destruction in your life. God will always move to bring deliverance and victory and twice as much as you had before.
The book of Job is a book of extremes: Job was extremely good, extremely wealthy, extremely short on information about God, extremely tested by the devil in every area of his life, and extreme infirmity.
Theological debate in the book of Job that lasted 36 chapters and none of the participants knew what they were talking about.
Job and his friends had little or no knowledge of God whatsoever.
The lesson contained in this is seeing what man will do when they interpret God in light of their circumstance without referring to the Word of God.
God discredits what these men said about Him.
Job 38:1-2 NKJV (1) Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind, and said: (2) “Who is this who darkens counsel By words without knowledge?
Everything that had gone before was not the counsel of God.
Job 42:1-6 NKJV (1) Then Job answered the LORD and said: (2) “I know that You can do everything, And that no purpose of Yours can be withheld from You. (3) You asked, ‘Who is this who hides counsel without knowledge?’ Therefore I have uttered what I did not understand, Things too wonderful for me, which I did not know. (4) Listen, please, and let me speak; You said, ‘I will question you, and you shall answer Me.’ (5) “I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear, But now my eye sees You. (6) Therefore I abhor myself, And repent in dust and ashes.”
Job responded that he had uttered things that he knew not and he repented of those things.
God forgave Job of those things from that point forward.
Job 42:7 NKJV (7) And so it was, after the LORD had spoken these words to Job, that the LORD said to Eliphaz the Temanite, “My wrath is aroused against you and your two friends, for you have not spoken of Me what is right, as My servant Job has.
Job did not say anything right up until the point that he repented and starting speaking right from that point forward.
When we read these 36 chapters we are seeing Who God IS NOT!
Job 4:7-9 NKJV (7) “Remember now, who ever perished being innocent? Or where were the upright ever cut off? (8) Even as I have seen, Those who plow iniquity And sow trouble reap the same. (9) By the blast of God they perish, And by the breath of His anger they are consumed.
- The first conclusion that a person who is not informed about God, will be that the calamity and suffering is judgment from God for sin and wickedness.
Sin will open you to difficulty because of the fact that sin separates you from God.
Judgment is not that fist of God’s wrath being brought down upon you in retribution, but rather His hand of grace and merciful protection being lifted away.
God has labored to bring His protection back to man since the Fall: the law was given to provide protection.
It is not simply a list of rules and commandments but rather a way back into God’s mercy and protection.
What is experienced in this earth is because the god of this world brings to bear the curse of sin in people’s lives; however, God’s protection is available to us to the extent that we allow Him to.
Job 5:17-18 NKJV (17) “Behold, happy is the man whom God corrects; Therefore do not despise the chastening of the Almighty. (18) For He bruises, but He binds up; He wounds, but His hands make whole.
- The second misconception is that God uses suffering to teach us a lesson. This is not the way that God chastens us.
2 Timothy 3:16 NKJV (16) All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness,
2 Timothy 3:16 AMP (16) Every Scripture is God-breathed (given by His inspiration) and profitable for instruction, for reproof and conviction of sin, for correction of error and discipline in obedience, [and] for training in righteousness (in holy living, in conformity to God’s will in thought, purpose, and action),
This is how God chastens us, through His Word.
Job 25:4-6 NKJV (4) How then can man be righteous before God? Or how can he be pure who is born of a woman? (5) If even the moon does not shine, And the stars are not pure in His sight, (6) How much less man, who is a maggot, And a son of man, who is a worm?”
- This is the origin of the worm syndrome: Because man is of such as a low estate that he is destined to suffer the calamities of life.
Incorrect Statements by Job:
Job 1:21 NKJV (21) And he said: “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, And naked shall I return there. The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; Blessed be the name of the LORD.”
In the light of the New Testament, this statement is not true.
Job 2:10 NKJV (10) But he said to her, “You speak as one of the foolish women speaks. Shall we indeed accept good from God, and shall we not accept adversity?” In all this Job did not sin with his lips.
Job 6:4 NKJV (4) For the arrows of the Almighty are within me; My spirit drinks in their poison; The terrors of God are arrayed against me.
Job is perpetuating the concept that God must be behind the suffering – but HE WAS WRONG!
Job 7:11 NKJV (11) “Therefore I will not restrain my mouth; I will speak in the anguish of my spirit; I will complain in the bitterness of my soul.
Job 9:18 NKJV (18) He will not allow me to catch my breath, But fills me with bitterness.
Many Christians are bitter about things that have happened in their lives, towards life in general or sometimes against God.
If you do not deal with the bitterness, your suffering will be extended just as it was in Job’s life.
Job 23:14 NKJV (14) For He performs what is appointed for me, And many such things are with Him.
This is the misconception that the suffering in their lives is God’s predestined plan for their lives.
Why do people fight for the right to blame God for their troubles? Because it relieves them of the responsibility for the condition of their lives.
God does have a plan for your life but you must make the choices that will take you down that road.
Job 30:23 NKJV (23) For I know that You will bring me to death, And to the house appointed for all living.
This is the misconception that God is in the death business.
Death has never been God’s idea. (Romans 5:17)
God’s plan has always been to deal with the death that entered the earth by Adam’s sin.
There is Elihu mentioned in four chapters of Job as he speaks when Job’s other three friends are quiet.
He did make some misstatements but Elihu was not rebuked by the Lord because he is the only one that pointed Job away from his circumstance and toward the creation which could have revealed the Creator to Job.
Rom 1:20 KJV 20 For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:
Job 37:14-16 NKJV (14) “Listen to this, O Job; Stand still and consider the wondrous works of God. (15) Do you know when God dispatches them, And causes the light of His cloud to shine? (16) Do you know how the clouds are balanced, Those wondrous works of Him who is perfect in knowledge?
Elihu wanted Job to consider the interdependencies and order of Creation.
God begins to speak in Chapter 38 and picks up where Elihu leaves off.
Job’s whole problem was his limited knowledge of God.