 If Jesus shed his blood for the healing of sickness and disease, if the Scripture promises the forgiveness of sins, and the healing of sickness, then why aren't some healed? That's a very pressing question, and one that you will be forced to face if you are going to participate in the call of God concerning the healing ministry. You know, the healing ministry brings three things, crowds, controversy, and criticism. That's what Oral Roberts said. But I want to help you to understand what the Bible teaches about why some aren't healed. That's what I'm addressing on this edition of Spirit Church as we continue this series on Healing the Sick. And now before we begin, here is some anointed worship by Stephen Maktezuma. So I'm ministering at a small church in Southern California, and before me stood two people who were suffering with problems in their eyesight. One woman was completely blind. She had been blind for a long time. And two, her side stood someone who was about my age, a young man about my age, and he had damaged eyesight due to some poor decisions that he had made. You see, his mother explained to me that her son had snuck out of the house, gone to a party, drank something that he should not have been drinking, but did not expect one of his so-called friends to put something in that drink, which ultimately damaged his eyesight. And the doctor said the damage was permanent. And so here I am. I have two people standing in front of me. Both of them are believing for a healing. And my faith and expectation was soaring. I was ready to minister to God's people. I was ready to minister the healing power of the Holy Spirit. And so I go to lay hands on both of them. One of them gets healed, and one of them does not. That boy who should not have been doing what he was doing was completely healed. I'm talking instantly. He went from having to be guided by his mother up to the front to reading very small fine print in a Bible that I had given him. Sure enough, the people erupted in praise. They adored the Lord for what he did for this boy. But I was left questioning, if I'm being honest with you, why the woman was not healed, especially since, according to my pattern of thinking, she should have been the one to receive the healing. Why was it that this boy who had made poor decisions was healed, yet this woman who became blind through no fault of her own, was not? And this is a pressing question, and we cannot ignore it, especially if we are going to participate, as I said, in the call of God concerning the healing ministry. And since this series is about ministering to the sick, how to heal the sick, I want to address this important question right off the bat, because I know it's going to be something that is going to be pressing on your mind. So I want to address it early on in the series. Now, there are four reasons that people are not healed, biblically speaking, and I'm going to give you all four of them right now. Now, keep in mind that all of them may apply to one instance, and only one of them may apply to one instance. But we have to understand that any doctrine that does not leave room for the sovereignty of God is in danger of becoming a heresy. So we have to acknowledge that even though the scripture promises healing, even though it makes it perfectly clear that by his stripes we are healed, we have to also acknowledge that there are other biblical reasons as to why that person isn't healed. Think about it like a legal document. Whereas one law might say, this is how it should be, another part of that law may say, except for these particular instances. So there are exceptions to the healing power of God, but not many of them. And so while I do preach and teach that it's always God's will to heal, that's what you're going to hear from me in this series and every time I minister, I believe it's always God's will to heal. However, when that healing takes place, that's up to him, and we're going to get to that in just a moment. But again, I believe in every instance, God eventually wants that person to experience healing. And so let me get to what the scripture says, and then we'll get on to that point, which is point number four, but I know that's going to be at the top of your mind right there. So I want to put that out there just for now. And now let's dive into the first one, and the first obstacle to healing we'll call it is doubt. Mark chapter six verses four through six say, Then Jesus told them, A prophet is honored everywhere except in his hometown and among his relatives and his own family. And because of their unbelief, he couldn't do any miracles among them, except to place his hands on a few sick people and heal them. And he was amazed at their unbelief. Now Jesus even ran into this issue, and it wasn't because he didn't have faith. It wasn't because he didn't have power. It was because the people didn't have faith. Now some may say, but what are you talking about? I have faith and I haven't been healed. Well, it's quite possible that there are other things that are blocking your healing. As I said, it's not always going to be each and every one of these things. It sometimes could. But in some instances, it could be doubt. In another instance, it could be demonic. In another instance, it could be sin. We have to go down the line and deductively go through and decide what points of Scripture hold true in any given circumstance. So what am I saying? I'm saying that doubt is a cause of sickness or a prevention of healing, but it is not always what is preventing you from being healed. However, you must be humble enough to open yourself to the pressing question, do I really have faith for this miracle? Now some people have somewhat of a reflex because of ego. They have a reflex to these kind of questions. Do you have faith? Of course I have faith. What are you talking about? I'm so spiritual. But we have to humble ourselves and we have to set aside the ego and really examine our hearts and ask the Lord, is there doubt in me? And if after looking, you find that there is no doubt in your heart that should prevent the healing, then you move on to what else it could possibly be. But faith was always present in every instance of healing. The Centurion had faith for his servant in Luke chapter 7 verses 1 through 10. Jairus' daughter was dead. She could not have had faith for herself. But Jairus had faith for his daughter. The woman with the issue of blood had faith for herself. Both of those instances are found in Mark chapter 5. Number two, the cause could be demonic. The longer I serve in the healing ministry, the more convinced I become that sickness is never God's will. Sickness is demonic because it is destructive to the human body, one of God's most cherished creations. Now, again, what I said of doubt also applies to the demonic. It could be demonic, but that doesn't mean it's always demonic. But let me show you just some examples of Scripture here. Look, I know this is controversial to some, but this is God's word. Not my experience. I'm not going to base my worldview on what I experience or feel. I'm going to base it on what the Bible teaches. And I have to be honest with you. I can't present anything to you that is unbiblical. I have to stay true to what the Scripture says. First, John chapter 3 verse 8 says, But when people keep on sinning, it shows that they belong to the devil who has been sinning since the beginning. But the Son of God came to destroy the works of the devil. So Jesus came to destroy any work that is demonic. So we see in Scripture that some sickness is caused by demonic spirits. Matthew chapter 8 verse 16, When the even was come, they brought unto him many that were possessed with devils, and he cast out the spirits with his word and healed all that were sick. Matthew chapter 10 verse 1, Jesus called his twelve disciples together and gave them authority to cast out evil spirits and to heal every kind of disease. Matthew 9, 32 through 33, and they went out. Behold, they brought to him, or as they went out, a dumb man possessed with the devil, and when the devil was cast out, the dumb spake and the multitudes marveled saying it was never so seen in Israel. So his inability to speak was demonic, and as soon as Jesus drove that demon out, the man began to talk. Matthew chapter 12 verse 22 says, Then was brought unto him one possessed with the devil, blind and dumb. So he was blind and mute. And the Scripture says, And he healed him in so much that the blind and dumb both spake and saw. He healed him at the same time he delivered him. Demonic powers can cause sickness, but not all sickness is caused by demonic powers. Number three is sin. Now, I know people don't want to hear this, but again, this is the truth. They say, what about the man in John chapter 9 about whom Jesus said, Nobody sinned, his mother nor father, but this was done that God might be glorified. Well, first of all, it was his healing that glorified God, not his sickness. And second of all, the Scripture just talks about this man, his instance of having a demonic spirit or of sickness coming upon him because of sin. So Jesus was saying that no, in this man's case, it's not because of sin. But that doesn't mean this isn't so in other cases. Again, it's not always the cause, but think of Ananias and Sapphira. In Acts chapter 5 verses 1-11, they lied to the Holy Spirit and because of that sin, they dropped dead. Now, if sin can cause death, surely sin can cause sickness. Proverbs chapter 14 verse 30, it tells us that sin or jealousy can cause sickness. 1 Corinthians chapter 11 verse 27 to 31, we clearly see the effects of sin because it talks about in that portion of Scripture people being sick as a result of their sin. Go and read it. 1 Corinthians chapter 11 verse 27 to 31. For the sake of time, I'll just give you the reference because I really want to park it here on this one. Number 4 is timing. So number 1 is doubt. Number 2 is the demonic. Number 3 is sin. And number 4 is timing. Now, the Scripture has many instances like this. I'm going to show you where timing is a factor. Did you know that King David prayed for the sick and they weren't healed? A lot of people did not know this, but Psalm chapter 35 verse 13 says, but as for me, when they were sick, my clothing was sackcloth. I humbled my soul with fasting and my prayer returned into my own bosom or it went unanswered. Timothy was told by his mentor, Paul, not to be healed, but instead to take medicine for his stomach condition. 1 Timothy chapter 5 verse 23, Don't drink only water. You ought to drink a little wine for the sake of your stomach because you are so often sick or because you are sick so often. Now, why didn't he just heal him? I'm sure he prayed for him, but Timothy wasn't healed. Did you know that there was a man that Jesus passed almost every day and he didn't heal him? I'm going to show it to you. Acts chapter 3 verse 2, what does the Scripture say? Watch this very carefully. As they approached the temple, a man lame from birth. That's key, lame from birth. It calls him a man and it says he was lame from birth. So this is years that have gone by. Man lame from birth was being carried in. Each day he was put beside the temple gate, the one called the beautiful gate, so he could beg from the people going into the temple. Okay, so each day he's at the temple begging. He's at the gate, the entrance. What does Matthew chapter 26 verse 55 tell us? Then Jesus said to the crowd, am I some dangerous revolutionary that you come with swords and clubs to arrest me? Why didn't you arrest me in the temple? I was there teaching every day. Now, wait a minute. Here we have a man who is lame since birth sitting at the gate of the temple and Jesus entering the temple almost every day. Why didn't Jesus heal that man? Well, I think it has to do with timing. Think about the gradual healing of the blind man in Mark chapter 8. Look at what the scripture says here. Let's go actually to verse 23. Regarding a blind man, Jesus took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the village. Then spitting on the man's eyes, he laid his hands on him and asked, can you see anything now? The man looked around. Yes, he said, I see, but I can't see or I see people, but I can't see them very clearly. They look like trees walking around. Then Jesus placed his hands on the man's eyes again and his eyes were open. His sight was completely restored and he could see everything clearly. Jesus sent him away saying, don't go back into the village on your way home. So going through these portions of scripture, we see that timing is a factor concerning God's healing power. So when ministering to the sick, recognize that the scripture does provide us instances in which we see that timing plays a big role in whether or not the person receives a healing. Now that doesn't mean that you shouldn't have faith in every moment. Have faith as if now is your moment, but have hope as if it could come any day in the future. So just to recap, obstacles to healing or why aren't some people healed. And again, these aren't always the reasons, but they can be, number one, doubt, number two, the demonic, number three, sin, yes, the scriptures. Remember Jesus when he healed the man, and he said, now go and sin no more, let something worse come upon you. And then number four is timing. And so I wanted to give you this information because I think it's important to be armed with the scripture, to know the Bible so that as you minister God's healing power to the sick, when your mind begins to wrestle with these questions, you can at least go down, so when someone's before you, you can at least go down the list and say, okay, is it doubt? Is it the demonic? Is it sin? And after you've ruled those out, then you can safely say it's in the timing of God. But you have to get the person to be open and honest enough to admit whether it is doubt or sin in their life. And you have to be discerning enough to see whether or not it is demonic. Well, that is it for the lesson. I want to pray that God would empower you with the anointing of the Holy Spirit to heal the sick. And then I want to pray for those of you who are believing for your healing right here, right now. The power of the Holy Spirit is going to flow. It flows through my hands. Sometimes I feel it like electricity moving up my arm. Moves right through that lens. And I believe that now can be your moment. Open your heart and say, Lord, search me and show me the areas in my life where I need breakthrough. Show me if I have doubt. Show me if I have sin. Show me if there's something demonic. And then if all of those things have been carefully examined and I find that none of those are the cause, help me to have the persistence and faith for your timing. Lord, in Jesus' name, let it be done. Anoint that one receiving this prayer now who desires in their heart to minister to the sick. Lord, I pray they would be equipped in your word that they would not be without answers. That your word has given. I pray in the name of Jesus that heaven would send healing power now. Precious Holy Spirit, touch each one believing for a miracle, for a healing. Wow, I feel like a heat moving out of my hands right now. I thank you, Lord, for this miracle-working power. Jesus, we give you glory. We give you the honor, Lord. Just take just a moment, just a moment. Turn your eyes upon Jesus. Let the eyes of your heart, full of faith, behold Jesus. I thank you, Lord, for this power that's moving. There is healing virtue flowing right now. Just reach out and touch it. Wow, I give you the glory, Lord. Thank you. This is beautiful. There's a skin disorder being healed. There's a woman watching me with the skin disorder. God's healing you right now. Thank you, Lord. There's a little girl. You're there with your mother. She has her hands over your ears. She's believing for your healing. Lord, I agree with them right now for their miracle in Jesus' name. There's a couple watching me. You're in the ministry. And you're believing for, in fact, it's just a woman watching. And you're believing for a child. Lord, I speak life in the name of Jesus. I give you glory for the anointing that's flowing. Wow. Heal every one of them. These are your people, Lord. In the precious name of Jesus, I apply the blood. And we thank you for the miracles that are happening in Jesus' name. I want you to say it because you agree to say, Amen. Wow. You know, you don't have to wait for me to call out your healing to receive it. When that power starts flowing, it's flowing. And in fact, it flows from the intro of the program all the way to the end. We've had people write into us saying that as soon as they started watching, seconds in, they're weeping because of the anointing of the Holy Spirit. And that is what separates this channel, makes it unique, is how the Holy Spirit just moves so powerfully. And it's really his channel. Why? Because I just step out of the way and say, This is your channel. Well, I want to welcome now the new members of Spirit Church. There you are up on the screen. We love you and we are praying for you. I always say that because I always mean it. If you'd like information on how you can join the Spirit family, use the information at the bottom of the screen. It's absolutely free. Every week, you're going to get an email from me on Sunday mornings with a brand new fresh word from the Lord. And you'll be able to reply to that email for prayer support from my ministry staff. And on top of that, you're joining together with believers from all around the world, the Spirit family. Well, I want to read your comments now from the first portion of my series, How to Heal the Sick. Now, last week we did have to disrupt the series because of some filming conflict with the scheduling. We have a lot going on and I'm going to update that on you in a moment. I'm going to update you on that in a moment. And then we're going to hopefully get you to support some of the things that are happening. But what I want to read now is from the first portion, How to Heal the Sick, part one. And this is from Karen Grace. She writes, Thank you, Brother David, for this teaching. Indeed, I fill the anointing and the presence of the Holy Spirit. See, I told you, that's what people sense here. It was a wonderful worship as well, Brother Stephen. And if you have not checked out Stephen's playlist, you absolutely must. He's my favorite worship leader. Incredibly anointed. Amin Ophelia writes, Thank you for this transformative message. I'm blessed. More grace to you. Albert Kaloyan writes, Prayer life is the most important thing in a believer's walk with the Lord. Bless you, Brother David. In fact, I was talking about how your prayer life is important to the healing ministry. You have to go watch it. It'll really challenge you. Jamie Piano 18 writes, The Holy Spirit used you to speak directly to me. That I need to spend more time in prayer so that his power can overflow and impact others around me. Many of my friends are struggling spiritually or having problems within their families. I have been praying for them, but not nearly as much as Jesus would have. I know now that I need to sacrifice my time and pray more. I love you, Brother David. We here love you too. And the final comment, Roy Jones writes, Brother, God truly works through your ministry. All of your videos help me so much. I will continue to help support this ministry. You guys are helping so much. Well, Roy, I thank you for your support. And I want to talk to those of you. Listen, I got to update you on this. And if you're watching this like years from now, you can skip this part of update, but go right to the end if you want. But if you're watching this obviously in 2017, we're at the end of the year, we're in the holiday season, I got to update you. Listen, we have been looking at properties because we're this close to finishing our monthly campaign. Now, let me tell you what we're doing. We are raising support. We need a thousand new $30 a month supporters to help us maintain the monthly costs of a new facility that we want to move into. Now, we've been looking all over and it's been a real challenge. So I need you to pray. The enemy's been fighting his heart on just a few things, but we're getting some breakthrough in it now. The enemy doesn't want us to gain property because it's a foothold for the kingdom of God. So we've been visiting all different places and we've just been experiencing favor, favor, favor. Even on this campaign, favor. The favor of God is on this ministry. In a building where they said they'd never consider the permits for allowing us public assembly, which we'd need for the studio audience to come in and sit and get this, we just received word from our realtor. He's telling me that the city is actually considering now and the owner of the property is reconsidering. So we actually went there. Me and my wife went and laid hands on the property and prayed. And we're claiming it for us. And even if it's not that one, the Lord has something better. But I say all that to say we're getting very close to finishing up the campaign. Here's what we needed. We needed a thousand new $30 a month supporters. Here's where we are now. Look at that. We are so close to this goal. I want to get this done. And here's why. Once we've reached a thousand $30 a month supporters and those people keep giving, we can then turn our attention to raising funds for the renovation of the studio. So I'll put it to you this way. The one-time costs get us into the studio. The monthly costs keep us there. So the monthly support is almost there. But you have to realize and please try to understand what I'm saying. Please really listen carefully on here. If you go into a building or property, it takes months to get permits to do certain things. That means once we get into the studio, we have to start paying months, months rent right away. Immediately as soon as we get in there. That's why we need the monthly support to come in first. And so while we're in there, we're going to be doing renovations. So you're going to love what we're doing. I'm telling you, God is up to something big. So I say all that to say this. We need to finish up this $30 a month campaign. We need our support to come in, help us finish this up. Look, we are almost there. Sign up today to become a $30 a month support. If you've been waiting, if you've been saying this is something I've been wanting to do, just do it now. Now is the time. And then we can turn now to renovation and we can start showing you footage of buildings we want to see. And it's going to get really exciting from there. So sign up today. Help us solidify that monthly foundational support so that we can start doing more. And remember, this is all for souls. That's what we do for. Don't say I'm going to give so I can get something back from God. Say I'm going to give so that we can continue to win souls. That's what this is about. Help us do that today. Don't delay. At the end of this video, you're going to see a red button appear if you're watching this on YouTube. Click on that red button. Sign up to become a $30 a month support or more. And then on top of that, if you're watching this on the app, just wait for the video to end. You're going to see a button appear. If you're watching this anywhere else, use the information at the bottom of the screen. Now listen, if you sign up today to become a $30 a month supporter or more, I'm going to send you a copy of either Carriers of the Glory or 25 truths about demons and spiritual warfare. I'll sign it as my initiation gift to becoming my partner to say thank you. So do that today. Let guys listen. Do me a favor. Let's just wrap this up. I really am counting on you here because we're like, I could feel something in here. We're very, very excited for the big, big, big things coming away. Let's just finish off this small step so we can take this to the next phase. Okay? I love you for it. I appreciate you. And I know if this ministry has blessed you, you're going to respond. So do that today. And remember until next time, nothing is impossible with God. We'll see you on the Donate link now.