Virginia Brandt Berg (1898-1968)
Greetings and welcome again to Meditation Moments, and again the old-time greeting: the Lord bless you and make you a blessing. Now I'm going to continue what we were talking about last week, and that's in Psalm 107. In Verse 20 God's Word says,
"He sent His Word and healed them, and delivered them from their destructions." Then you all know the Scripture in John 1:1-14, "In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God, and the Word was God, and in Him was life and the life was the Light of men."
How true I found that! That there's life in the Lord! I've continually in public work had to draw on Him for that life! And that means a great deal to people that believe in the Lord's healing: "In Him was life and the life was the light of men."
You can really draw on the life and strength of the Lord Jesus, "who forgiveth all thine iniquities, who healeth all thy diseases." (Psa.103) I've mentioned many times that word "All," it's used so much -- and used a number of times in connection with healing: "He healed all that came to Him. Many are the afflictions of the righteous but the Lord delivereth him out of them all," and here It says, "Who healeth all thy diseases." Now God's Word says that "the words I speak unto you, they are spirit and they are life" (Jn.6:33). -- Wonderful, wonderful passages, because the Word created the World and created men. That's a law of the Word, when God's Word said, "It is written." "Now the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in My Name, He shall teach you all things and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you." (Jn.14:26)
"And now I have told you before it comes to pass, that when it is come ye might believe." Then Jesus answered and said unto them, Go and show John again those things which ye hear and see: that the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised up and the poor have the Gospel preached unto them, (Mt.11:4-6)
"And blessed is he whosoever shall not be offended in Me." -- Well, I am amazed at the people who are offended today when you talk about the Lord's healing. Now, He sent to the imprisoned John this message of healing for the body and the gospel for the soul, as an evidence of the presence of the Lord among men.
And I believe He's sending this very same message to those that are bodily imprisoned Johns of today. Now it was by works of healing -- almost in a fourth of His work -- that the Lord taught us to estimate the power of His presence with us now. And our present faith in our Lord is a pretty true estimate of those powers of His which are hidden from the view of unbelievers.
Now I believe very strongly, oh so strongly in healing, because I have experienced it so many times! As I told you, I'm 80 years of age and I've been through many a testing and trial where I just looked to the Lord alone and He answered prayer.
And you can't get up from a study of the Gospels without a conviction that He willed to leave men with this impression of His Ministry, that this was to be one of the things which would always follow the salvation of the soul. -- Healing of the body.
I feel also that the character manifested in the Gospels was meant to be a manifestation of what He is to be for all time, not just then! It seems impossible to think that He showed Himself then as a Healer of bodies, but wants us to think of Him now exclusively regarding the healing of the soul! That's impossible!
He doesn't give us any verse to make us think that He at any time willed to put off this character, when He'll be with us even unto the end of the World through the coming of God, the Holy Ghost in the Church. If He'd willed to do so, we can hardly think that He would just send His apostles out to heal! Isn't that true?
In the forefront of His commission to them comes the first command, to preach the good news that the Kingdom of Heaven's at hand. Then come the words, "Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out devils."
That our Lord willed His apostles to continue that practice of healing we learn from the frank assurance with which they healed in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. It seems a natural thing that the Name of Jesus Christ, through faith in His name, should be the means of restoring to soundness -- according to all these Scriptures, all these promises -- just like He did the lame man that was healed by St. Peter and St. John!
So many other works of healing in the Acts bear this same mark of being just considered a natural result of the Lord's work of love for man, that His Church should minister the blessing of health to those capable of receiving it!
And you know, the thought comes to me that sickness had a spiritual origin, it was through the Fall. If it were just a part of the natural constitution of things, then we might meet it wholly on natural grounds and by natural means.
But if it's part of the curse of sin, it must have its true remedy of the Redemption, the Redeeming power of the Lord Jesus Christ!
You know that sickness is a result of the Fall and one of the fruits of sin, no one can question that! Well, if it had a spiritual cause, certainly God would give it a spiritual remedy! Our Lord knew that many would be offended when reminded of the necessity of this revival of healing.
There are devout Christian people -- I would say, church people -- today that seem to be the ones most offended when you preach healing! But I would say that it's becoming more and more evident, although the Devil's trying to befog the minds of many good people.
The law, the Psalms and prophets are just replete with "Thus saith the Lord," which declares Him the healer of the whole man. In the general preaching and teaching, the soul is brought forth so prominently by so many of the historic churches that your body's almost completely left out!
Yet it was the whole man, it was the whole Christ for the whole man. It says, "The Lord for the body and body for Lord." (1Cor.6:13)
I am constantly reminded of the seas and wildernesses of doubt and unbelief through which the World is passing! Never did the Israelites of old need more than we do the promise of God, when we're being so tested in body and soul as we are today! Now He says this, and will you take it for yourself?
"If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of the Lord thy God and give ear to His commandments and keep all His statutes, I will put none of these diseases upon you which I have brought upon the Egyptians" -- which are the type of the World -- "for I am the Lord that healeth thee." (Ex.15:26.)
Now when the people turned more and more to the gods of the World, and darkness grew so dense they couldn't see God as their Healer or their Lord, the Word came in the flesh and by His example brought these promises to men's remembrance and He delivered men's bodies from the sins of their souls!
How wonderful that we have these wonderful promises! Will you look to Him? In your extremity remember that He's willing. He's given you so many promises, why not lay hold upon them? God bless you, He's still on the Throne and prayer does change things.