No Legal Right 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 didnt 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 arent 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 dont owe. But they pay it anyway because they dont understand their rights and privileges in Jesus. They dont 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 arent even aware that sickness is a form of punishment. Thats because the devil has worked feverishly to keep that truth from us. In fact, hes tried to convince us that sickness is a blessing in disguise. Hes used religious tradition to teach us that illness is, at times, Gods 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 isnt 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 dont 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 mans, 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 didnt 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 wouldnt 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 elses 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 wont 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. Im not carrying that stuff. Jesus carried it for me 2,000 years ago and Im not carrying it again! Sadly though, were not always sure we have a right to speak that way. After all, were 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 were walking with God and trusting in the Blood of Jesus, in Gods sight were 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? Heavens 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. Thats 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 wasnt 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 Gods 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). Isnt 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. Hell rise up in our defense and send demons scurrying for cover in every direction. They said to themselves, Wed better not hurt this fellow or well have the whole Roman government up in arms against us. Well 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. Dont 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 doesnt 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 youre sitting there right now with symptoms of sickness on your body, I realize you cant 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!
Posted on: Thu, 06 Mar 2014 06:36:22 +0000
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