Holding to your own opinions in place of what God has said will dim His light for you. Take the wisdom and promises in God’s Word without weakening them by your personal evaluation, your spirit or someone else’s opinion. Don’t try to figure God out—it’s impossible. He declares through His Word: My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts (Isaiah 55:8,9).

In this final hour the Bride of Christ will adorn herself with the Word of God, receiving her strength through it. Her vision, wisdom, knowledge and direction all come through the Word. For you who are part of the Bride, the Holy Spirit uses the Word to light your paths, to give you the guidance you need. The Word, the Word gives light in every valley. When all seems dark, turn to the Word and let the Holy Spirit use it in your heart and mind.

The Word Multiplies

Accept the full strength of the Word. God spoke the Word; the Word contains all the power of Heaven. The Word will endure forever. The Word is paramount in this hour, just as it was for the Early Church. The Holy Ghost used the Word of God, nothing less. As the Early Church embraced it, the word of God grew and multiplied (Acts 12:24). When the Word is preached in its purity and truth, it increases because it goes into the hearts of more and more people, changing them, multiplying, multiplying, multiplying. The Early Church preached the Word and people were saved, delivered, set free.

Whenever anyone receives the Word in his heart, the Word multiplies and increases. In printed form, the Word has no increase no matter how many Bibles are published; the increase comes as the Word grows in more and more hearts that will accept it and abide by it.

The Bride of Christ, pure as God Himself and possessing the kind of faith that fills her with the Word, will plant that Word in others; she will sow the seed. How can she do this? The Word will come forth from the Bride through the Holy Spirit, brimming with the life of the Godhead, to produce a great harvest. A tremendous increase of the Word will vibrate throughout the whole earth.

The Holy Spirit takes the message from the printed page and plants it in a soul, giving it life, the perfect life of God. God knows just how to lift the Word from the printed page and plant it into each willing soul who will abide by it. Then the Word takes on all the strength of God; it’s the same as God speaking to you that very moment. Through faith hear the voice of God saying to you: I am the Lord that healeth thee! Accept it—God said it.

Only Man Can Block the Word’s Increase

Down through the years, the Word of God has been held prisoner by mankind, unable to increase in a great way. Only the spirit of mankind could keep the Word imprisoned; the devil does not have that kind of power. The devil working through people, influencing their spirits, minds and souls can keep the Word from increasing, from going forth. However, without people to work through, the devil is powerless.

Many look at the way the devil presents himself, not the way he really is. Walking onto your viewing stage, he orders the spotlight to illuminate his distorted version of life. You think you can’t keep from being drawn into his world? Yes, you can. You needn’t attend his production at all. Give the Word free course to grow in your heart and mind so the devil’s deceit can be uncovered.

Confusion about Divine Healing

The devil loves to deceive people about healing. Some cults, for example, claim to receive healing from God. In reality they are not looking to God, but to the devil. The devil can’t heal. He can simply withdraw his demons for a period of time to make people think they have been healed. Only God can heal.

I heard of a man recently who thought taking medicine had hindered his faith. He condemned himself for something that was perfectly acceptable to God.

All healing comes from God in one way or another. Don’t let taking medicine hinder your faith. God put medicines in nature for man to use. Be grateful for good medicine, good doctors and nurses. Proverbs 17:22 tells us that a merry heart doeth good like a medicine.

Jesus said to give honor where honor is due. Give the doctors the honor due them; but God, remember, is the healer. Doctors cannot heal; they are instruments used by God to heal. I cannot heal. I’m an instrument God uses in a different way for healing, the healing in the Atonement. We do what we can, and God does the rest.

If I needed to have a tooth pulled, I would much rather have it done by a dentist who would give me something for the pain than to leave it in my aching mouth or else have someone at home pull it. The home remedies once used were crude, some quite painful. How much better good medical attention is today! God taught me that medicine and doctors have nothing whatsoever to do with using His faith; but if you go into the hospital, you’d better go trusting God.

King Asa was diseased in his feet, until his disease was exceeding great: yet in his disease he sought not to the Lord, but to the physicians (II Chronicles 16:12). Asa wouldn’t give God a chance to heal him, and he died. He thought his physicians would do it all. There are those who use this scripture about Asa and his physicians as a reason to not go to the doctor. That’s ridiculous. The Bible doesn’t say Asa died because he went to physicians, but because he didn’t seek the Lord. Don’t let medicine destroy your faith. Give God honor and glory for healing, and doctors the credit for their skill. Come to God and receive your miracle.

When you are born again, your soul is “roped off” from the devil with the blood of Christ. If you turn your mind as well as your soul over to the Holy Spirit, He will rope it off, too, so the devil will be unable to torment you with confusion about healing—or about any other of God’s promises. Whenever you need help with your mind, all you need do is yield to the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Truth; and the truth will set the mind free. And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free (John 8:32).

With His Stripes We Are Healed

God promises healing. When He moved through Isaiah to write with his stripes we are healed (Isaiah 53:5), he stated an absolute fact. No doubt, no loopholes are hidden in the promises of God. God will never back down on His promises; He has stood by them all these years. Man is the one who can hinder the fulfillment of God’s promises by unbelief.

Jesus went to the whipping post for your physical healing, and there is not a thing the devil can do about it. The atonement of Christ is two-fold, bringing healing for soul, mind and body: 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 (Isaiah 53:5). Don’t stop with accepting healing for your soul alone; go on to receive any physical healing you need, also. Accepting all the power of the atonement gives life for the whole you.

Many, many people in my services down through the years have been healed by believing and saying “With His stripes I am healed.” Many have read in the book Faith In God Heals The Sick that God promises with his stripes we are healed (Isaiah 53:5). In the New Testament Peter writes, By whose stripes ye were healed (I Peter 2:24). In faith believing, people have quoted these scriptures, used them, and received the life they brought.

Miracles Do Not Come through Mind Power

Why try to condition your mind to receive from God when it isn’t the mind that brings the miracle? Don’t try to set your mind to receive a miracle; use the Word. Mind-power does not bring the miracle, only God-power does that. Miracles come through the Word of the Living God. The mind is undependable: depend upon the Word as the Holy Spirit uses the Word in your soul and spirit.

Why consider thoughts that aren’t from the Lord? Bring the thoughts of God to you, the will of God, by drawing on His Word. Healing is God’s will; the promises in God’s Word are His will for you—bring them to you through the Holy Spirit by yielding to the Word. Embrace all of Him.

Indestructible Promises of Healing

The Holy Spirit is asking if you accept the fact that you can be healed with the stripes of Jesus. Do you accept it, not in your mind, but in your innermost being, the real you? When your soul agrees, through the Holy Spirit disease and affliction have to die. It’s the Word. You have promises of healing that are indestructible, all-powerful, incorporating all life. God’s Word is greater than a fountain of youth. The Word regenerates, sanctifies, justifies, delivers and gives power over sin as well as over sickness.

The same Bible that teaches deliverance from all sin, that sin shall not have dominion over you (Romans 6:14), also teaches freedom, deliverance and victory over sickness. Even in Old Testament days, God healed people. For I am the Lord that healeth thee (Exodus 15:26). I will take sickness away from the midst of thee (Exodus 23:25). Neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling (Psalm 91:10). He sent his word, and healed them (Psalm 107:20).

Conditional Promises

In Old Testament days, people were promised deliverance on the condition they would abide by the Word of the Lord. If ye walk in my statutes, and keep my commandments, and do them; Then I will give you rain in due season, and the land shall yield her increase, and the trees of the field shall yield their fruit. And I will give peace in the land, and ye shall lie down, and none shall make you afraid: and I will rid evil beasts out of the land, neither shall the sword go through your land. And ye shall chase your enemies, and they shall fall before you by the sword. And five of you shall chase an hundred, and an hundred of you shall put ten thousand to flight: and your enemies shall fall before you by the sword (Leviticus 26:3,4,6-8). As long as the Israelites honored God’s Word, no enemies were able to overcome them. But God warned that if they disobeyed Him, their enemies would conquer them—and that’s just what happened.

God gave the Israelites a condition for healing: If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of the Lord thy God, and wilt do that which is right in his sight, and wilt give ear to his commandments, and keep all his statutes, I will put none of these diseases upon thee (Exodus 15:26).

Jesus made plain the fact that healing was conditional when He told a man, Behold, thou art made whole: sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee (John 5:14).

When you meet the Lord’s conditions for salvation, all the demons in hell and the devil himself can’t keep you from being saved; and it is the same way with your healing. All the demons and devils in hell cannot keep you from being healed if you meet the conditions. It’s done. Are you ready to close your case and accept healing?

Some children of God feel it is impossible to be well all the time; they give in to fear and prepare to be sick. These are people who think their children should have all the childhood diseases and get them over with. Here they are, devil, afflict them. If I had a child, I would in the name of Jesus command the devil to keep his hands off. Nowhere does the Bible say children must have every disease that comes their way so they can build up immunity. In fact, it never states anyone need be sick of anything. The Bible promises healing.

Put Your Life in the Hands of God

Everyone will die—unless they are taken in the Rapture—but the Bible does not say they need to die sick. A thin line separates life from death. When it’s time for the Lord to take you home, all He has to do is cut off your air. It isn’t necessary for Him to give you some terrible disease. Put your life in the hands of God; if the Lord wants to take you home, He will. Walk close to God so He can take you home in His good time, so you don’t die prematurely because you have tied His hands of healing for you.

Poison to Your Soul

Your mind will never be sound until you think through the Word of God. Anything that distracts from or contradicts the Word of God in your mind is poison to your soul. Even if only a tiny amount of poison is contained in that information, avoid it. Were someone to give you a pie with just a little poison in one piece, would you want to eat any of it? Would you ask the Lord to give you wisdom to separate the poison from the good? If you had sense, you would throw the whole thing away.

Some people feel the Lord gives them wisdom to separate the true from the false when they attend churches that don’t preach the whole Word of God. The Bible endorses no poison, no false doctrine whatsoever. You are foolish to listen to a minister who doesn’t preach the whole truth. He may say some good things, but if he is wrong on one doctrine, God still calls him a false prophet. A preacher who won’t preach all the Bible is part false. In the eyes of God, part false is just plain false.

Some take more care in biting into an apple with a supicious hole in it than they do protecting their souls. Listening to misguided television or radio preachers fills them with a mishmash of doctrines. They know some of what they are hearing is not in the Bible, but it registers, nevertheless. Then they have to fight against the spirit of deceit that the devil throws up to them again and again. He wants false doctrine to take root and blossom into the stubbornness and rebellions of a mind closed to God.

The wrong spirit causes people to preach and listen to false doctrine, unaware they have begun to carry the devil piggy-back. As their minds fill with conflicting doctrines, they wonder why they can’t believe God for what they need. Those interested enough in false doctrine to listen to it are not ready to absorb the true Word of God, not in a condition to receive it.

It’s dangerous to entertain any thought or doctrine that would weaken the power of God in your mind. Never let words tinged with doubt and misconceptions about the Word of God enter clean ears on their way to your heart. Why listen to those who criticize God’s power in any way? Why listen to preachers who fight the Holy Ghost baptism? That great, wonderful Holy Ghost I have in my life I would never want to offend by giving heed to those who would undermine His place in my heart.

Be careful what you listen to on television, radio or in personal conversations. You are nourished by what you hear, just as your stomach receives nourishment or becomes malnourished from what you eat.

The Bride Will Be Separated from False Doctrine and Gossip

The Bride is not going to accept false doctrine, saith the Lord, in any form. The Bride will be absolutely separated from false doctrine; she will not listen to false preachers. She has no contamination in her; she wants none. Nothing will satisfy the Bride but the precious Word of God, the whole Word and nothing but the Word—the truth and only the truth.

Who will Jesus take with Him at His second coming? The ones who make up a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish (Ephesians 5:27).

Some Christians think they have license to gossip. They’re deceived. A hindrance to others, they will be left behind at the Rapture. Among the members of the bridal company there will be no gossip. Those of you who gossip will not be in the Rapture, saith the Lord; you are not going to be there. The Bride doesn’t want hurtful words and rumors. Gossipers will be left at the second coming of Jesus, spewed into the Tribulation Period—that means you who don’t bridle your tongue.

And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell (James 3:6).

A sanctified tongue belongs to those who offend not in word, the same is a perfect man, and able also to bridle the whole body (James 3:2).

The Early Church spoke with sanctified tongues in the beginning. The pure Word of God was paramount. Study the Acts of the Apostles and the freedom with which God could perform miracles and wonders. The gossiping came later, after members began to drown in their own lukewarmness. The Lord said of the church at Laodicea, I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth (Revelation 3:15,16).

Again and again the Israelites were they defiled with their own works, and went a-whoring with their own inventions. Therefore was the wrath of the Lord kindled against his people, insomuch that he abhorred his own inheritance. And he gave them into the hand of the heathen; and they that hated them ruled over them. Their enemies also oppressed them, and they were brought into subjection under their hand (Psalm 106:39-42). Your enemies will conquer you, too, if you don’t abide by the Word. You will be trampled underfoot, left to the horror of the Tribulation Period. One terrible morning you will come to yourself, realizing that the Rapture has taken place, and you are left. It will be too late then to make right that which you have neglected. Now is the time God is moving on you.

Check Yourself

Every night before you close your eyes, go through your day to see if you have passed on one word of gossip, if you have mumbled, grumbled or complained, if you have criticized God or His people and His work in any way. Check to see if you have edified the work of God or have caused division. What have you done? Have you used the truth, the Word of God? Was the Word paramount in your day?

That which is most important to you, you will use. If self is on the throne, self will be in control. If the Word of God is your first love, you will use the Word. The Early Church, laymen as well as apostles, spoke the Word and got results. Wonderful things took place through the Word in the name of Jesus.

The Word of God, not gossip, transforms. The Word brings about great and mighty results. Accept the Word, what God says. The Word of God is so powerful it spoke the universe into existence. Abide by the whole Word, trust it, believe it with all your heart.

If you are living pure, clean and holy with the Lord, you need not be afraid; but if you are gossiping, be honest with yourself, face your words in the light of the Word of God. Don’t be a “fork” Christian, one that forks all the admonitions of the minister over to someone else, never considering that you may be the one in need of correction. A “spoon” Christian devours the whole Word and stores it in his heart and soul. Filled to the brim, he goes forth to serve the Word of God. The fork Christian, however, is empty, dry as hay.

Whenever you start for the house of God, be sure to bring your spoon; leave the fork at home. Let the Lord feed you. Jesus said, Come and dine (John 21:12). Put your life in perspective with the Word of God; eat the Word, the whole Book.

The Word isn’t always sweet, sometimes it is very bitter. John wrote, And I took the little book out of the angel’s hand, and ate it up; and it was in my mouth sweet as honey: and as soon as I had eaten it, my belly was bitter. And he said unto me, Thou must prophesy again before many peoples, and nations, and tongues, and kings (Revelation 10:10,11).

The Word mixes with things in your system that are foreign to it, and the taste is bitter. God wants that bitter-causing substance out. When it is gone, the next time the Word is served, it brings a feeling of well-being. Medicine is often bitter, but necessary. The Word must be paramount in your life, your first love, first thought. When you bring any part of your thoughts to the Word and there is a disagreement, the Word must prevail. The Word gave John much knowledge, everything he needed from Heaven.

Evidence of the Atonement

The Early Church, in one mind and accord with the Word beginning at the day of Pentecost, accepted all that Jesus said. The Bride, like the Early Church will accept all that He said, too. He is saying to you, With my stripes you are healed. I went to the whipping post for your healing. It’s part of my atonement for you. Jesus went to Calvary for you. You have the evidence of your salvation, of the atonement for your sins, in your heart. Through His shed blood you have forgiveness of sin when you accept Him into your heart.

How did you ever come into such faith that believes for salvation? You can’t find your soul; you don’t know what it looks like. You came into the knowledge of salvation for your soul through the Word of God. As you yielded to the Word, you yielded to the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Truth who put that Word into action, into living reality in your heart, mind and soul. When you yield to the Word, you are yielding to the Holy Spirit to use that Word in your life.

The Word says, If thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation (Romans 10:9,10). You read the Word, you confessed your sins, but you still didn’t become saved until you said, I believe! All Heaven is waiting—what do you believe? I believe the blood of Jesus washes away all of my sins. When do you believe? Tomorrow? Next week? I believe it right now! The Word went into action: the blood washed away all your sins.

It’s the same process with healing; the twofold atonement of Jesus that brings salvation for the soul also brings healing for the body. Salvation and healing work the same way. Most people haven’t been taught the twofold atonement, and they have to unlearn misconceptions. It’s harder to unlearn a belief than it is to learn it. Salvation and healing are received through the same channel, from the same God, through the same atonement on the Cross, the same Jesus.

Believe, and Ye Shall Receive

With his stripes we are healed. When? Next week? Next month? Tomorrow? Believe it right now, and the disease dies just like the life went out of the fig tree Christ cursed. And when he [Jesus] saw a fig tree in the way, he came to it, and found nothing thereon, but leaves only, and said unto it, Let no fruit grow on thee henceforward for ever. And presently the fig tree withered away. And when the disciples saw it, they marvelled, saying, How soon is the fig tree withered away! Jesus answered and said unto them, Verily I say unto you, If ye have faith, and doubt not, ye shall not only do this which is done to the fig tree, but also if ye shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; it shall be done. And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive (Matthew 21:19-22).

The Word cannot be destroyed; however, the devil can rob you of its benefits, rob you of the power in the Word so you won’t use it in faith believing.

Some people receive prayer for healing, but doubt their miracle because they still feel pain. The disease is cursed, dead, but the symptoms may remain. Jesus said that whoever prays and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith (Mark 11:23). Jesus warned us about him: The devil…is a liar and the father of it (John 8:44). The thief cometh not, but for to steal and to kill, and to destroy (John 10:10). The devil is a thief, a robber. If you receive your miracle and perhaps a symptom of it returns, a pain, the devil will use it to try to make you think you were not healed. But the Word said you are healed if you meet the conditions, just like the Word said you were saved when you met the Lord’s conditions. God’s deliverance, remember, is conditional.

Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God (Romans 10:17). You receive your faith from the Word of God; the Word is your faith, all the faith you will ever need for every battle, every sickness, every disease, trial, valley and mountain to climb. The faith from God’s Word is complete; for all eternity it will last.

The woman with the issue of blood saw the Word coming her way. Would she accept the Word? The Word was made flesh, healing others. When she had heard of Jesus, [she] came in the press behind, and touched his garment. For she said, If I may touch but his clothes, I shall be whole. And straightway the fountain of her blood was dried up; and she felt in her body that she was healed of that plague (Mark 5:27-29). She just wanted to touch the hem of the garment of the Word made flesh. Accepting Him as the living Word, as Lord, Master and Savior, she accepted Him for her whole self.

I believe the woman with an issue of blood was delivered from all her afflictions. If there were sin in her heart, I believe it all went when she accepted the whole Jesus as she touched His garment. Some of you can touch the Word, handle the Word but you choke out its life with doubt. Accept all the Word.

The Word Remedy

My mother had great faith in the Word that heals. She would come to her children those times they became ill, carrying her Bible, and lay it on them. It was the Word. She loved it and claimed its promises. Many times as a child I had a Bible laid on me: my mother brought the Word of God. “Honey, God’s going to heal you,” she would say. The evidence was laying on top of me.

How would you feel were you a child with a Bible laying on you? You had been taught that the Word was God—God was right on your chest, and you were going to take His promise out of the Word so He would heal you. God had given us that authority.

Mama would pray all night, if need be, for her children. She stayed by the bedside until that sick child fell asleep. She prayed us to sleep with the Word, with God’s promises, never complaining about staying awake all night to call down Heaven. She had great faith that every promise in the Word of God was true. Not one thing did she doubt; not one shadow did she bring over any of God’s promises. With all confidence Mama carried the Word in her heart, again and again watching masterful surgery in action. She knew God wouldn’t fail one person who believed Him totally.

If I came home from school not feeling well, Mom would say, “Honey, you’d better be getting up your faith. The devil’s going to try you.” Never have I heard anyone else use that phrase, “getting up your faith,” but I knew what she meant. Mom said if I got my faith up, I’d be all right; and I believed her. I went many years with perfect attendance in school because I had a mother who believed in the Word. Mama had put a dose of the Word of God in me. My mother would say, “These are God’s promises. He loves you and He is going to heal you.” Never did I feel one doubt in her spirit when she knelt down to pray. She never talked doubt. It was always, “Honey, God’s going to do it. You’re going to be all right.”

Take the Word remedy. If I had enough Bibles to lay on everyone like Mama did, some people would be healed that haven’t been able to receive their healing. When you hug the Word to your heart and spirit, accept it totally, God’s promises will be fulfilled.

Faith Believes God Can Raise the Dead

There was a time I was brought home after I had been in an accident, bleeding profusely. Some thought I was dead. But Mama had such faith she believed that even if I were dead God would resurrect me. She grabbed a cloth, wrapped it around my head and said, “Bring him on in.” A sinner man carried me, scared to death. He wouldn’t even put me on the bed at first. Mama didn’t think about him being unsaved; it made no difference then as she called up Heaven. That man heard one tremendous prayer that day. Through her prayer, God gave me a miracle.

Abraham had faith that believed God could resurrect his son Isaac if he were killed. By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac…Accounting that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead (Hebrews 11:17,19). Aren’t we the spiritual children of Abraham? Haven’t we been adopted into the family of God? Let God pour His faith into you; His Word is true.

Healing Is the Children’s Bread

Know what you can have from God; the Bible makes it clear. Believe every promise in the Bible; you need nothing more. Decide to hug the Word of God to your bosom; press it against your heart as an act of faith. Miracles and healings are God’s will for you. Use the Word like Mom did as she put the Bible on her children and prayed. When Mom prayed, we knew God would move. He will move for you that way, too, if you use the Word in pure faith. There is life in that Holy Book. It will give you faith; it gave me faith when I was just a child.

God works with faith; He works with love—His faith and His love. Come to Him in His love and faith and humility. He keeps His promises and He delights in performing His Word. When you reach out to Him in His love—not human love, but His divine love—then His divine Spirit flows to you and moves for you. His gift of miracles, His gifts of healing work through His love. Discern the Lord’s body; He gave Himself for you, He gave His blood for you. 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 (Isaiah 53:5).

In Matthew 16, Jesus refers to healing as the children’s bread. Jesus healed when He was here on Earth, and He heals today, for Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and today, and for ever (Hebrews 13:8). Jesus is the healing Christ, the Redeemer, the One who brought deliverance from Heaven to Earth for mind, soul and body. Through faith in His name, know that He goes on the inside to deliver you from that which binds, to set the captive free. Trust Him. Believe Him. Do not doubt, and He will do His wonderful work. Accept His promises that He offers you from His mighty hand. He is the Lord who healeth all thy diseases (Psalm 103:3). He is God—He heals and gives life. There is no case He cannot cure.

Reach to Him and He will reach with love to do you good and to bring deliverance to you, soul, mind and body. It’s all promised to you in His miraculous Word.