Emotions and Healing #1

God's Healing Series #6

Fred R. Coulter

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Let's look at some things concerning healing that are very important. We're talking about physical healing; we're not talking about spiritual healing. In Exo. 15 God first revealed to the children of Israel that He was the God Who healed them. We'll see something very interesting in what He had them do, which gives us a basis for a lot of things that we can also do.

Exodus 15:23: "And when they came to Marah, they could not drink of the waters of Marah because it was bitter. Therefore, the name of it was called Marah.… [bitterness] ...And the people murmured against Moses, saying, 'What shall we drink?'" (vs 23-24). Let's just stop here for a minute and analyze something. Seeing the power of God and the miracles of God that He did in bringing them out of the land of Egypt, did it make a lasting impression upon the people? No, it did not! Signs, miracles and power of God does not convert.

Here they are just three days after passing through the Red Sea, they come to Marah and they say, 'What do we drink?' What they should have said was, 'Ah! God did all of this to get us out of Egypt. Oh, Moses, pray to God for some water for us. We know that God will hear you and we'll pray with you.' No! No such thing! They murmured. They complained!

Verse 25: "And he [Moses] cried to the LORD. And the LORD showed him a tree. And when he had cast it into the waters, the waters were made sweet…." This also shows us another principle—which we'll see a little bit later in Psa. 104—that God made herbs for the service of man. Here God Himself is actually doing this to make the water sweet.

"...There He made a decree and a law for them, and there He proved them" (v 25). Sometimes we go through circumstances and trials so that God will test us. In other words, God is proving our faith: Do we really, really believe God? A lot of people like to believe some things about God because that's what they like, but they don't like other things that God has said so they don't believe it. Paul said that he believed all that was written in the Law and the Prophets, as well as what God inspired him to write.

As far as the things to believe, your degree of believing them will grow in grace and knowledge as you draw closer to God; but as far as the things from the Bible to believe, you must do as Jesus said: 'Live by every Word of God.' You only live by every Word of God because you believe every Word of God—correct? Do you not only act upon that which you believe? Yes, indeed!

If you know that buried in the middle of this floor is $10-million in gold, what would you do? You would some how negotiate with the owners of the building and the land, not letting them know that you knew for sure that the gold was there, to buy this—right? Then what would you do? You'd dig up the floor like crazy, after you got the property, and get out all the gold, because you acted upon what you knew and what you believed. That's why it's important that not only does God prove us, but we also prove the Word of God 'whether these things are true are not.' So, God proved them.

Verse 26: "And he said, 'If...'" There are 1200 in the Bible, which might be an interesting study sometime. Get out your Strong's Concordance and start right at the beginning of the Bible and go through the whole Bible and see all the conditions that God says concerning IF. Notice, the condition is always on us. We, as human beings with our nature and so forth, are the variable factor. We have to choose God's way and choose His Truth, as well as not only choosing it, but also proving it.

So He says, "'If…" you decide to keep some of My things, if you find enough energy to do so. No! He says, "…'If you will [#1]diligently hearken to the voice of the LORD your God...'" (v 26) That's why Jesus says in the New Testament, 'He who has ears, let him hear.' Isn't it interesting that in the word 'hearken' is the word 'hear'? Actually, if you'd pronounce it with 'hear' it would be 'hear-ken.' You have to with all your diligence "…hearken to the voice of the Lord your God…"

Then, there's another condition. "'...and [#2]will do that which is right in His sight and [#3]will give ear to His commandments... [not only what He says but also what He commands] …and [#4]keep all His laws, I will put none of these diseases upon you, which I have brought upon the Egyptians; for I am the LORD Who heals you'" (vs 26).

I think it's quite interesting that when they go back and look at all the diseases of the Egyptians, and they look at some of these mummies, what did they have? Some of the very same diseases that we have today! God made it very clear. Deut. 28 contains all the blessings and all the cursing. When people read Deut. 28, everyone wants the blessings—don't they? What don't they want to do? Be obedient! We won't focus on all of the curses, but we'll just look at the verses which have to do with some of the diseases.

Deuteronomy 28:20: "The LORD shall send on you cursing, vexation, and rebuke in all that you set your hand to do... [We're going to see that repeated in this society. If you think things are getting bad, it's just getting started!] ...until you are destroyed..." God is not going to be mocked. They entered into a covenant with God and what did they say? What did they tell God after Moses wrote all the words to the covenant? All that the Lord has said we will do and obey!

You enter into a covenant with God, which all of us have done through baptism in the New Covenant—correct? We've entered into covenant with God—have we not? Yes, indeed! God is the One Who sets the conditions, and God is the One Who gives us His Word, and so forth. In bringing upon these curses, vexations and things, God is very merciful, indeed. What He does, He brings it to you to see if you'll repent—I'm talking to every nation or group of people. If they repent, then God will pull back and be merciful to them. If they don't repent, then He'll send another wave.

What I want you to do is think about the recent history of the United States, which is probably the sole place in the world that is still preaching the Gospel in any form as far as the people within it. If there is repentance, they'll be restored, and if not He'll bring another wave, then another one, and then another one. Hopefully, God will get their attention.

Verse 20: "...in all you set your hand to do until you be destroyed, and until you perish quickly because of the wickedness of your doings by which you have forsaken Me." A lot of the sickness and disease that we have today in the world around us is because as a nation we have left God! As we read all of these things we're going to see that's exactly what's coming upon us: "…because of the wickedness of your doings by which you have forsaken Me."

Verse 21: "The LORD shall make the pestilence cling to you until He has consumed you from off the land where you go to possess it. The LORD shall strike you with lung disease and with a fever, and with an inflammation, and with an extreme burning, and with the sword..." (vs 21-22) That doesn't necessarily mean just an invasion.

• Has the sword been turned loose in America?
• How many murders are there every day?
• How many robberies?
• How many beatings?

When we first got Fox News on cable, I thought that's a great improvement over CNN; but all they do is talk about crime, murder, death and have their stupid inane panels discussing all of this nonsense.

You know what this does? This blinds the people to the reality of the things that are taking place! It blinds them to the reality that these Scriptures, which we are reading, are the things that are taking place. They always try and have a secular solution to a spiritual problem! Oh, you need more police; you need better investigators. That which would help them more than anything else:

• the reading of the Bible in schools
• the Ten Commandments posted
• on school walls
• courthouse walls
• the walls of homes

would be the first step in beginning to cure the problem.

Once the crime is committed, you can't cure the problem. The only way you can cure the problem is to have the right instructions, even in a carnal world; to have the commandments of God where they obey them in the letter of the law.

This nation was much better off when it was doing that—was it not? The forces of evil and the campaign of Satan the devil using high-profile people have removed God from the government, from the schools, from society in general. Christianity without God is alive and well and that's why these things are taking place!

Because they don't want God, God is going to give them the fill. Homosexuals want to marry, let them marry and live in their debauchery! You want sin, have lots of it! 'You want to reject Me,' says God, 'I'll reject you!' There we have it!

Verse 23: "And your heavens over your head shall be bronze, and the earth that is under you iron.… [go out and see if you can put a shovel in your soil] ...The LORD shall make the rain of your land powder and dust. It shall come down from the heavens upon you until you are destroyed. The LORD shall cause you to be stricken before your enemies. You shall go out one way against them, and flee seven ways before them. And you shall become abhorrent unto all the kingdoms of the earth'" (vs 23-25) That's the ultimate thing: captivity and leaving the land that God has given.

Verse 27: "The LORD will strike you with the boils of Egypt..." Isn't it interesting? What are they worried about today that has the name of Egypt in it? Egyptian Fever, by a mosquito! God doesn't have to send giant planes and bombs to do His work. He sends viruses and bugs.

"...and with the hemorrhoids, and with the scab, and with the itch, of which you cannot be healed. The LORD shall strike you with madness and blindness and astonishment of heart. And you shall grope at noonday, as the blind gropes in darkness, and you shall not prosper in your ways. And you shall always be pressed down and spoiled forever, and no man shall save you" (vs 27-29).

That's why back in Exo. 15 He wanted them to know. He says, 'I am the LORD that heals you.' When you turn to God for healing—there are many different things that cause disease—but number one is spiritual things that take place. Let's just review some of those things that cause sickness or illness.

Accidents:

You can break an arm or break a leg. Unfortunately there was this terrible, terrible crash over near Santa Cruz. There was this big double semi that came barreling down Hwy. 17 and the brakes went out, or something like that. It smashed into and wrecked 10 cars and killed several people. The car that got smashed the most was between a flatbed wrecker in front and the truck behind it. It squished and killed the little baby right in the car. They showed the picture of it with the baby all crushed.

A lot of people look at those things and say, 'Why does God allow this?' The question is: Where is God in our lives? We don't need to look at that and say, 'That person must have really been a sinner for this to happen!' What did Jesus say? They came to Him and He was healing and doing things and—He said, 'Do not think that those who were killed by Herod and the blood mingled in the sacrifices were greater sinners than any in Jerusalem. I tell you, unless you likewise repent, you'll suffer the same thing!'

Or the eighteen who died when the Tower of Siloam fell upon them, were they sinners above other people? No! 'I tell you unless you repent you shall like wise die.'

So, the same thing! When you see some sickness or we see some things that are wrong, what we need to do is return to God; not stand up and condemn and say, 'I know why you have this.' How do you know? Are you a mind reader? No, you can't know! God knows! He says He'll heal us.

Physical Illnesses:

There are just some things that are plain physical, physical illnesses. Sometimes there are physical things you need to do like God did in casting the tree into the bitter water. There are some other things that you can do. The favorite thing of psychologists today. It's psychosomatic disease. It is true that emotions have an awful lot to do with your health and well-being.

Spiritual Illnesses:

Of course, some of the things we just covered—the spiritual cause.

Psalm 103 that gives us some promises. When we go to these Psalms, we just need to realize that God's Word is true. Every bit of His Word is true, and God cannot lie. It is the covenant that He bound Himself to do. That does not mean that we don't have some things we need to do. This means that we need to be looking to God for our health and our healing. There are some other things that we need to do in addition to that.

Psalms 103:1: "Bless the LORD, O my soul; and all that is within me, bless His Holy name.… [There again we have whole-heartedness; we have complete zeal and passion toward God] ...Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits... [there are many, many benefits] ...Who forgives all your iniquities..." (vs 1-3). We look to God to forgive our iniquities—don't we? We go to God and repent and pray and say, 'Forgive me. and give me strength to change and overcome and not sin again'—don't we? Yes, we do! Because of our nature, we need that all the time—don't we? That's why in the model prayer, the Lord's prayer, every day, we are to ask God to forgive us our sins, as we forgive others.

Here is the second half: "…Who heals all your diseases" (v 3). That doesn't mean you won't taste of death. We all have the law of sin and death in us and 'as in Adam, we all die.' That's just a fact of life. God says, 'blessed is the death of the saints in His eyes.' Why? The saint has completed the course given to run and is going to be in the resurrection! We need to balance it with that. 'He heals all our diseases' does not mean that He gives us eternal life in the flesh. That's not God's design. He says He'll heal us of all our diseases.

We'll see in a minute where God says He will heal Hezekiah, but He also told him something else to do—didn't He? In many cases, it is that there are some things that we need to do. In other cases, when we come to the point of things, we just have to put it in God's hands and say, 'Oh, God! You know whether I live or whether I die. I am in your hands. You make the judgment, whatever Your will be.'

Verse 4: "Who redeems your life from destruction, Who crowns you with loving kindness and tender mercies."

Verse 8: "The LORD is merciful and gracious..." Yes, He is! There are some who would say that these Scriptures only apply to David and not other people. Why is it there? These are examples that we are to learn from—are they not? Yes, indeed! If they only applied to David, then God is a respecter of persons—is He not? If God is a respecter of persons, then He's not God because He's lied and He said that He was not a respecter of persons—correct? That's how people do. That's why if you are not studying, praying and really living God's way when they start throwing some of these arguments to you, you won't have an answer for them.

Verse 8: "...slow to anger, and abundant in mercy. He will not always chasten... [if you're going through a trial, there's going to be a light at the end of the tunnel] ...nor will He keep His anger forever" (vs 8-9). All you have to do is remember God's anger that was kindled against Ahab. He sent Elijah to Ahab. He said, 'You go tell Ahab he's going to die and the dogs are going to lick his blood off the wall.' Sure enough, Elijah went over there and said those words and what did Ahab do? He repented in sackcloth and ashes!

Here was a man whom God said was one of the most evil men around and He repented. As Elijah was on his way back home, or wherever he was going, God said, 'You go back and tell My servant, Ahab'—now, he becomes God's servant—'because you walk tenderly, I'm not going to execute this, yet.' How about that? Does that not prove this verse true? Does that not prove that it applies to other people? Yes, indeed!

Verse 10: "He has not dealt with us according to our sins, nor rewarded us according to our iniquities." The 'wages of sin is death! If He dealt with us that way, we should be struck down with a bolt of lightening immediately and be killed, never to be revived. That means that God has not dealt with us according to our iniquities or our sins.

Verse 11 "For as the heavens are high above the earth, so is His mercy toward those who fear Him. As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us" (vs 11-12). That's why in the things concerning healing, when you repent, always remember and learn the lesson! But also understand this: God has removed them as far from you as the east is from the west! If you're at one point in the universe and you go wherever east and west in the universe is, they never meet—do they?

Verse 13: "As a father has compassion upon his children, so the LORD has compassion upon those who fear Him, for He knows our frame... [He made us] ...He remembers that we are dust. As for man, his days are as grass; as a flower of the field, so he flourishes, for the wind passes over it, and it is gone; and its place shall know it no more. But the steadfast love of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting upon those who fear Him, and His righteousness is unto children's children, to those who keep His covenant, and to those who remember His precepts to do them" (vs 13-18). We can claim that promise:

• whenever you're in trial
• whenever you're going through a difficulty
• whenever you need to be healed

You come to God in repentance, crying out to Him to intervene and to heal and claim the promises!

• Not because we are great, but because God is great!
• Not because we are able to read them, but because God has given them!
  • for our hope
  • for our healing
  • to raise us up

Psalm 104:14: "He causes the grass to grow for the livestock, and herbs for the service of man..." It's perfectly all right to use herbs. God gave it to the service of man:

• to help
• to heal
• to cleanse
• to purge

—all those things for the body.

Of course, the medical industry doesn't like that because they don't make money. You just don't make money on those things; at least the thousands and thousands that they do.

Verse 15 "And wine that makes glad the heart of man, and oil that makes his face shine, and bread to strengthen the heart of man."

Many of the things in healing today fall into this category, but not all. There are times when only God can do it and He doesn't expect you to do anything. There are other times when He expects you to do something, as well. We'll see in the case of Hezekiah, He actually instructed him what to do.

Isaiah 38:1: "In those days Hezekiah was sick to death. And Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz, came to him and said to him, 'Thus says the LORD... [he's giving an ultimatum]: ..."Set your house in order, for you shall die and not live."'" That seems absolutely final—doesn't it? Can you get anything more final than that? Can you change God's mind? If you can, that shows God's mercy—doesn't it? Some of us have been faced with those situations—haven't we?

What did Hezekiah do? Verse 2: "Then Hezekiah turned his face toward the wall, and prayed to the LORD... [he is repenting, turning to God, claiming His promises] ...and said, 'Remember now, O LORD, I beseech You, how I have walked before You in truth and with a whole heart, and have done that which is good in Your sight.' And Hezekiah wept with a great weeping" (vs 2-3).

This was showing his deep repentance, showing there is deep repentance. God intervenes—does He not? One of the keys to healing then, is repentance! Jesus said several times to those who were sick, 'Go and sin no more lest a worse thing come upon you.' So, God changed His mind.

Verse 4: "Then came the Word of the LORD to Isaiah, saying, 'Go and say to Hezekiah…" (vs 4-5). Isn't this interesting? Not only in the case of Ahab, which we have just discussed, but here in the case of Hezekiah God changed His mind.

"...Thus says the LORD, the God of David your father, 'I have heard your prayer, I have seen your tears; behold, I will add to your days fifteen years….. [Now that's something! Fifteen years at that age is quite a time.] …And I will deliver you and this city out of the hand of the king of Assyria...'" (vs 4-6).

Verse 9: "The writing of Hezekiah king of Judah, when he had been sick and had recovered from his sickness" You can read all of that.

We will find that this was a combined effort: God intervening with the blessing and promise, but He required something to be done, just like He did with casting the tree in the water to make it sweet.

Verse 21: "And Isaiah had said, 'Let them take a cake of figs and apply it as a poultice upon the boil, and he shall recover.'" This was to draw it out. Apparently he had some kind of huge, what we would call today, carbuncle. Has anyone had a carbuncle? They are painful—aren't they? If you think you were in bad shape, which you probably were; and if you were in pain, which you probably were; just picture Job covered head to toe, with boils. "…apply it as a poultice upon the boil, and he shall recover."

Hezekiah, not being satisfied with that, said, 'How am I going to know this? What sign is God going to give me?' Then Isaiah came to him and said, 'Okay, you have a choice. Do you want the sun to go forward ten degrees on the dial or to go back ten degrees on the dial?' Hezekiah said, 'To go back ten degrees on the dial, because I think going forward is a simple thing.' He didn't say it like that; I paraphrased it. What happened? You can read the account in 2-Chronicles!

After he was healed, his vanity got the best of him—didn't it? Here come the ambassadors from Babylon and say, 'O King Hezekiah, we heard of the great recovery that God has given you.' They stroked him and they cooed to him and they politically as it were petted him, and so forth. He got carried away, and what did he do? The most stupid thing in his life! He took them and showed them all the treasures and gold that God had given him and where it was. Then God sent to Hezekiah and said, 'Because you have been foolish and done this thing, I'm going to give it all to the Babylonians.' Another lesson: When you're healed, don't get 'hoity-toity' and all lifted up in vanity! Don't be big braggadocios over it; just be thankful to God and go on.

While we need to pray for each other, that doesn't mean that we need to broadcast our faults and mistakes abroad. While we are to confess our faults to one another, it doesn't say that we are to confess our sins to one another. We confess those to God. Our faults are like some of the stupid things we do that cause us to get sick, like I did with my hips, which I've explained many times.

Emotional Illness:

We're going to talk about more of the emotional things and attitudes that we have as it relates to healing. Here's the basis for all of it. There is a Proverb which says, 'As a man thinks in his heart, so he is.' That is true! When people look at us on the outside. What do they see? Generally when we come together, we try and be as presentable as we can. What they see is the exterior. Even though wives, in living with their husbands, are quite skilled in understanding much of what their husbands have thought through the years and can fairly reliably predict what they may or may not do—because of experience—that does not mean that they can read their husband's mind. You cannot read anybody's mind.

The truth is: As anyone thinks in his heart, so he is! When we come before God, we are open and naked or naked and laid bare before God. God knows! Therefore, we repent to God. If we've sinned against someone, then we repent to the person that we've sinned against and ask forgiveness. Here is the way to ensure that the way you think in your heart is going to be of benefit to you health wise.

Like I started out this series, one thing that impressed me when I saw part of the Larry King Live show was when he was interviewing Art Linkletter—when he was over 95 and he didn't look much over 65—Larry King was absolutely astonished and he said to Linkletter, 'What do you attribute this to?' Linkletter said, 'Always thinking good thoughts and never letting any problems hang over me.' The difficulty with many people is this: They don't have this kind of attitude. Rather than ruling over their problems, they let the problems and circumstances rule over them and then they wonder why they're constantly in difficulty. If they get sick, they wonder why they're not healed. With the Spirit of God and with the Word of God we're to have a change within, so that the way we think within will be reflected outward as to what we are.

Proverbs 3:1 "My son, do not forget my law, but let your heart keep my commandments." There's a difference between keeping the commandments in the letter of the law in a punctilious way out here. You can be ever so sincere and law-abiding in this society, but as you think in your mind that's how you are. They've found many of their supposed good citizens to be perverts and pedophiles—haven't they? You keep His commandments with your heart. That means that your emotions are involved in doing that—correct?

Here's what it does, v 2: "For they shall add length of days, and long life, and peace, to you." What happens to those who reject the commandments of God, spew at the Words of God, ridicule, impugn and blaspheme Christ? How long do they live? Look at some of the 'rock' stars, classical example of those who reject God. How many of them die of a young age because of sex, booze and over-dose of drugs? You can go on and on.

How about the sexual perverts? They're trying to fight off AIDS. Given enough time, it'll be resistance to everything—correct? There's one sure cure for all the sexual problems in any nation anywhere in the world: Keep the commandments of God:Do not commit adultery, fornication, homosexuality—male or female—bestiality or any of those things. You have to say that the country of Rwanda in Africa finally got the message. Much to the chagrin of the drug companies, they have turned back the tide of AIDS by preaching what I just said:

• no adultery
• no fornication
• no homosexuality
• abstain from any sex until you are married

(go to the next track)

The plague has been stayed. Even President Bush had to admit this is astounding. Those in South Africa just say that AIDS is a figment of your imagination and upwards of 30% of the population of the natives have AIDS, because they didn't do this:

Proverbs 3:3: "Do not let mercy and Truth forsake you; bind them around your neck; write them upon the tablet of your heart." As a man thinks in his heart so he is. Here is the change and conversion of heart with the Word of God. Yes!

"...and so you shall find favor... [or grace] ...and good understanding in the sight of God and man. Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not to your own understanding" (vs 4-5). That'll always get you in trouble, if you lean to your own understanding.

Verse 6: "In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths. Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD and depart from evil. It shall be health to your navel and marrow to your bones" (vs 6-8). That means that it's going to keep you healthy insideand the marrow means that it's going to give you good blood. This tells us that if you go contrary to the things that he has listed here, you're going to have bad health and your blood is going to be miserable; that is, if it is a spiritual problem.

If it's a physical problem, and yet, you're loving God and doing the things you need to do, then ask God for healing and do what you need to do and you can take care of it. The first thing to do is to solve the spiritual problem first! Then you can look at the condition that you have, or whatever it is, and you can see it in its right perspective.

Fear and Worry:

One of the things that we need to not have is fear. Here's the attitude that we need to have toward God; this will fight fear. If you constantly live in fear, you do things to your mind and your body. We're going to see that fear begins with worry. Let's deal with fear. Here's the attitude on how to fight fear and we'll see the final solution in just a bit.

Psalms 27:1: "The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear?... [You're not to fear anyone or be fearful of anything. God is there!] ...The LORD is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? When the wicked, my enemies and my foes, came upon me to eat up my flesh, they stumbled and fell" (vs 1-2).

I can tell you this. My experience has been exactly the same thing. I've had many who have been foes against me. Many who have deliberately tried to do things to me. When they thought they were really getting me, what God was doing was really separating me from them to spare me any more of their hostilities, anger and hatred. God has fought every one of my enemies and I will use His mind.

• You don't need to have guns.
• You don't need to stand up and do things politically against them.
• You don't need to try and get your own revenge against them.

If we believe that God will fight our battles for us and He will take care of the enemies for us—will He not do it? Of course, He will! There's plenty of evidence and I've seen it in my life and in my ministry many, many times over.

We need to take the same attitude that David had here, v 3 "Though an army should encamp against me, my heart shall not be afraid... [Regardless of what the circumstances are, regardless of how overwhelming it is, don't be fearful.] ...though war should rise against me, even then I will be confident." Are we not we in spiritual warfare today? Everyday, yes we are, everyday!

Verse 4: "One thing I have desired from the LORD, that I will seek after..." What did he do? He didn't stand up and brag that God did the enemies in! How was it accomplished? Because he wanted vengeance against his enemies? No!

It was accomplished because of this: "...that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life..." (v 4)—to be in the Kingdom of God. That's how it was done. Just the opposite of what most people would think.

"...to behold the beauty of the LORD and to inquire in His temple, for in the time of trouble... [rather than be fearful] ...He shall hide me in His pavilion, in the secret place of His tabernacle He shall hide me; He shall set me upon a Rock" (vs 4-5). It is the way that we fight against fear.

Now let's look at some fear. Job 3:25 is an absolutely true Scripture; of course, all Scripture is true, but this is one that also has great meaning. If you are constantly living in fear your fear will come upon you, because you are not trusting in God! Job thought he was trusting in God, in the letter.

Job 3:25 "For the thing which I greatly feared has come upon me, and that which I was afraid of has come to me." I knew it! I knew it! I knew it! What he didn't realize was that he needed to approach this from an entirely different point of view. Instead of accusing God, which he did, he needed to realize that the source of the problem lay with himself, and he didn't understand that Satan was also behind it.

Fear begins with worry! That's how it starts, you worry. Here's an interesting book. How To Win Over Worry by John Edmund Haggai. He's got some interesting principles here, which are true. What is so good about the Word of God is this: To whatever degree that you follow the Word of God—converted or not converted—is the degree that you succeed spiritually.

What I'm talking about here is that many of these things many Protestants understand. Many of these things, even cast in the guise of a secular way of doing things—such as: positive thoughts vs negative thoughts, and so forth—all have a part in what you might say is a person's physical and mental health. If it were just the exclusive domain of the Church, we would be the healthiest, the smartest of any in the world. Therefore, the world would know us, but that's not true.

Here's a little clipping:

Why Worry?
There are only two things to worry about, either you are healthy or you are sick. If you are healthy, then there is nothing to worry about. But if you are sick there are only two things to worry about, either you will get well or you will die. If you get well, then there is nothing to worry about. But if you die there are only two things to worry about, either you will go to heaven or to hell. If you go to heaven, then there is nothing to worry about. And if you to go hell, you'll be so darn busy shaking hands with your friends you won't have time to worry.

A fearful attitude and worry kind of go hand-in-glove—don't they? Let's talk about worry. I think he's very right in this:

from: How To Win Over Worry, pgs 36-37:

Worry is sin. If you're going to cast all your cares on the Lord, because He cares for you, and if you're to be anxious over nothing…

That doesn't mean you don't have to exercise caution and understanding and so forth.

…sin is worry for three reasons: Worry is a sin because worriers distrust God. Worry is sin because it damages the temple of God. Worry is sin because it damages relationships.

Okay. Let me go over those again:

• Worry is sin because worriers distrust God.
• Worry is sin because it damages the temple of God.
• Worry is sin because it damages relationships.

Let's go back and look at these. If you worry, he says that you accuse God of falsehood. What do we have? God is a God who cannot lie! Is that not true? Yes, it is! He says that God's Word says, then He quotes:

Romans 8:28: "And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose." If you love God and are called of God according to His purpose, you have nothing to worry about. Everything's going to work out:

• the trials
• the difficulties
• the test unto death

It's all going to work out. If the problem in trial and difficulty comes, don't say, 'Woe is me!' Pray and ask God. Figure out what you need to do. Ask God to help you have understanding. Sometimes the understanding will come almost right away. Other times the understanding will come after you've suffered a little and so forth. He'll 'strengthen, establish and settle you' (1-Peter 5).

Worry is sin because worriers distrust God

God's Word says He's done all things well. Yet worry says this is not true. God's Word cannot be trusted.

This is very interesting! How much of God's Word do we really believe and really trust in? That which you really do not believe and really do not trust in, you eventually give up—don't you? Have we not seen that with the demise of the WCG? Those who stayed and went to Sunday really didn't believe the Sabbath or the Holy Days. Had you really believed them, you would you would have the conviction to keep doing them in spite of what men say or do—correct? Yes, indeed!

God's Word says, "I can do all things through Christ that strengthens." Yet, the worrier says that's not true. God's Word cannot be trusted.

God's Word says, "God shall supply your need according to His riches in glory by Jesus Christ." Yet, the worrier says this is not true. God's Word cannot be trusted.

God's Word says "I will never leave you nor forsake you." Yet, the worrier says this is not true. God's Word cannot be trusted.

God's Word says, "He cares for you." The worrier says this is not true. God's Word cannot be trusted.

God's Word says, "Take no thought for your life, what you shall eat, what you shall drink nor for your body what you shall put on," etc., "for your Heavenly Father knows that you have need of all of these things." Yet, the worrier says this is not true. God's Word cannot be trusted.

Worry wears the cloak of hypocrisy for it professes faith in God and, at the same time, assails the Truth of His promises. You insult a man if you call him a liar.

Although David probably spoke the truth when he said 'all men are liars.'

How infinitely more inexcusable is it to accuse the sovereign God of falsehood? Scripture asserts that God, by His very nature, cannot deceive. As Christians we live in the hope of eternal life which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began. Consequently, he that does not believe God has made Him a liar.

Do you see how much faith, health and healing all go together? All this does not come at once—does it? We have to learn this. We have to experience it. In order to learn faith, we come to the point of understanding what it is like to try and live without faith.

Just like this man, a Protestant, but the Protestant's have one foot in the Bible and one foot in the world. The foot they have in the Bible does them good, though it doesn't necessarily bring them salvation. The foot they have in the world keeps them from understanding more of the Word of God. If they would get the foot out of the world and put both feet in the Bible and repent, then you would have another different story. He's got a lot of things here that are right.

• Worry is sin because it damages the temple of God

1-Corinthians 3:16: "Don't you understand that you are God's temple, and that the Spirit of God is dwelling in you?"

Consider then the vast range in which worry impacts your physical and mental well-being….

He lists out some of these. That's why when people go to the doctor and they don't know what's wrong with them and they're fearful, fretful and all of these things; they are worriers. There are some people that if they have nothing to worry about, they worry because there's nothing to worry about. He says this:

…Anxiety produces: heart trouble, high blood pressure, asthma, rheumatism, ulcers or other stomach disorders, colds, thyroid malfunctions, arthritis, migraine headaches, blindness, palpitations, back and neck pain, indigestion, nausea, constriction, diarrhea, dizziness, fatigue, insomnia, allergies and more. In short, worry damages your body more severely than any vandals could damage a building or a church.

So, that's why! Cast all your cares upon God for He cares for you and don't worry! Don't worry about today or tomorrow. As Jesus said, 'Sufficient to the day is the evil thereof.' Whatever you need to do today, take care of it. If you can't do it all today and it carries over until tomorrow, then do it. If it's a long-term project and it takes longer than that, well, keep at it.

• never get discouraged
• never get downhearted
• never worry

That's the only way we're going to be able to face the problems that we're confronted with in this world today, which come onslaughting to us every day.

Some people watch the news with all the things that are going on. They get all worried, concerned and involved emotionally in these things. Yes, it's terrible that that little baby was killed in that wreck that I just mentioned. Yes, it was a horrible thing that just the other day an 80-year-old man couldn't control his car and he drove up off the curb in the farmer's market and killed 10 people and injured 30. You can't get emotionally involved in it so much that it creates worry, anxiety, emotional tension and depression.

Listen, God knows that those things have taken place. Always remember this when you see those things: What is the Truth that you know—of the Word of God—which is going to undo all of that? The Truth concerning the second resurrection—correct? Yes, indeed! So, fall in God's hand. That doesn't mean, on the other hand, that you should:

• throw caution to the wind
• never follow safety things and things like that
• should never be aware that you need to be careful when you're driving or whatever you're doing

No! It means:

• do it in a positive way
• don't be worried
• don't fret and stew
• don't sit and worry over in your mind all the possible scenarios of this, that, and the other thing of what you should think or what you should say

Ninety percent of your worries are not going to take place any way.

For example: My mother is 93, but she used to be a real worrier. Finally, on her own one day—she's not in the church but she's not anti-God—she decided, this is killing me! I'm not going to worry anymore! I think that saved her physical life for having a longer life.

It's not easy to do, especially if you're emotional and you get involved in these things. You get involved mentally and emotionally and you're really not anchored to Christ, then it's going to take you down! In many cases like that, when you have these things that are on-going you may be anointed and may be prayed for, but you don't realize that you need to repent of these things that are sin, because Jesus said, 'go and sin no more.'

Another thing concerning worry: Do not re-live the past! If you re-live the past, remember the lesson! Never forget the lessons that you've learned! But you don't go back and re-live the past. You think, 'Well, if I'd have done this or if I'd have done that or if I'd have done the other thing.' What is the truth? It is past! Does always re-living the past things change something that has already happened? Of course not! You could always say, 'Well, I wish it never happened,' which is an unrealistic wish. We could all say that we wished that Adam and Eve had never sinned! That's an unrealistic wish! We have to deal with the reality of the way things are. That which is over and done is over and done and you cannot change it. Who only can change it? God!

Let me use another example that he uses in this book that is quite good. How many pay their bills by check? Some pay by electronic check. It's the same thing. When you mail out the bill with a check to pay for it and it reaches the one to whom you owe the money, they take the check, put it in their bank, it clears back to your bank and it's canceled. When you wrote the check it had value—right? It took care of a debt—correct? When it comes back canceled, how much value does a processed, cleared, paid check have? Zero! Nada! In the same way also, all your re-living of the past is like trying to put value on a canceled check.

If you don't believe that's true, reach into your past checks, if you still have an on-going account with anyone, pull out your cancelled check, stick it in the mail and send it with your bill, and see if they will recognize that as payment. If they do, they're stupid. That tells you the value of trying to re-live the past. Just conclude this: It's all in God's hands—is it not? When you re-live the past, what are you trying to do? You're trying to take on a duty that belongs to God! Are you capable of that? No! By the very fact that you can't change anything that's been done in the past means that you do not have the power that God has to change it. The way He's going to change it is to resurrect them!

I don't know if you listen to some of these talk shows, but I was listening to Michael Savage, The Savage Nation. Michael Savage was all upset about this accident with this 80-year-old man who lost control of his car. Instead of putting on the brake, he put on the gas, drove up over the curb and killed 10 people and injured 30. Savage was ranting, raving and 'I don't understand this'—blah, blah, blah! All of his ranting and raving didn't bring anyone back to life—did it? No! Out there in the world, they don't understand. We understand because we know the Truth of the second resurrection!—right? God is going to take care of them. We have enough to groan overcome day-by-day as we go along—do we not? Of course! Let's focus on that.

• Worry is sin because it damages relationships

When you let worry loose, or that is, control your life, it is not only your body that suffers. In all kinds of ways, worry infects and degrades your ability to relate to each other.

mothers and children, husbands and wives, brethren in the Church, your relationship with God

Worry damages your relationship with God. Worry is a sin because it's symptomatic of prayerlessness. Rather than praying and putting it in God's hands, you're fretting and stewing about it, wondering and worrying and tossing and turning.

—which results in many sleepless nights.

No one can pray and worry at the same time.

—that is, be consumed with worry. It's one thing to understand that there is something you need to avoid or a problem or something like that to have concern. Concern is not worry. Worry is taking concern and magnifying it. Worry is making a mental problem and a spiritual problem. You need to let God handle and ask for the strength of God's Holy Spirit to handle it.

No one can pray and worry at the same time as God tells Isaiah, "You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You; because he trusts in You."

When you pray, set your mind be on Christ.

Worry damages your relationship with family.

That's self-explanatory.

Worry damages your relationship with unbelievers.

Sooner or later they're going to find out that you're a Christian. If you're worrying about everything, worrying and stewing like everybody else in the world, they're going to look at them and say, 'I thought you were a Christian.'

Well, let me remind you of where I started. I, too, hold the distinction of having suffered a so-called nervous breakdown. I say so-called because we are mistaken if we see such crises as originating in the nervous system. Most breakdowns are not organic in nature rather they spring directly from the pressure of circumstances that arise when we allow ourselves to tumble out of control.

Or, live in the negative. Worry is the beginning of fear! When you let fear come upon you, or worry, and you exaggerate it, increase it and multiply it you get fear. That's why Job said, 'For the thing which I greatly feared has come upon me...'

Let's look at some Scriptures that we can claim. If you are a 'worry wart' and worry about everything, there's hope for you! Don't worry! There is hope for you! Take them to God. Let your mind be free of worry. Leave it at the doorstep of Christ. Ask God for His Spirit to overcome. When worry comes in your mind, take that as one of those imaginations of the mind that we are told that we are to cast down and 'bring into captivity every thought to the obedience of Jesus Christ.' Here's a promise:

Psalms 34:4" "I sought the LORD, and He answered me..." There are some people that even worry: Will God hear my prayer? If you worry about that, of course He's not going to hear your prayer because you're doubting. The very fact that you're worried about it, is saying that you don't believe God. You need to cast that out! You need to repent of that and say, 'God, forgive me. I know you hear. Jesus said that You always hear.'

"...and delivered me from... [50% of my fears—no! 75% of my fears—no!] ...all my fears" (v 4). Lay them out before God. Don't be afraid to lay them out before God! Those who have fears are afraid to pray about their fears because maybe God won't understand. He understands even before you have the fear—doesn't He? Yes, He does!

• Does God have every one of the hairs on your head numbered? Of course, be they many or few!
• Does He know the fears you have? Of course!
• What is He waiting for? For you to unload them!

Verse 5: "They looked to Him and were radiant; and their faces were not ashamed. This poor man cried, and the LORD heard, and saved him out of all his troubles" (vs 5-6). Whatever troubles you have, lay them before God.

• Can He deliver you? Of course!
• Does He expects you to do something about it? Of course!

The first step is repentance, the next step is taking positive action to overcome it. Of course, in the middle of it, if you are fearful and you are a worry wart and all you do is live on that, then you don't believe that God will hear you or answer you. Then you start accusing God of putting you through things that God is not putting you through. It's you who are putting yourself through it! You are not allowing God to help you.

Here's another little bit of help that comes along, v 7: "The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear Him and delivers them." You get deliverance

You have to have the right kind of fear toward God. That is the fear of awesome worship or worshipping God with an attitude of awe. That's why it's wrong for a man to put himself between God and the individual. When it talks about the 'fear of God,' that's the right kind of fear. It is a worshipful awe of God.

Psalms 33:18: "Behold, the eye of the LORD is upon those who fear Him, upon those who hope in His loving kindness, to deliver their soul from death and to keep them alive in famine. Our soul waits for the LORD; He is our help and our shield, for our heart shall rejoice in Him because we have trusted in His Holy name. Let Your loving kindness, O LORD, be upon us, according as we hope in You" (vs 18-22).

Speaking of hope: Never worry! As long is there is life, there is hope! As long as there is life, there is opportunity for repentance—correct? Yes! These are profound things that we really need to keep in mind.

For those who don't believe this, Psalms 34:8: "O taste and see that the LORD is good... [Do as God said, live with the Word of God—that's like tasting the Lord—and you will see that He is good.] ...blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him."

Therefore, you don't have any worry. That doesn't mean you don't have difficulty. That doesn't mean you don't have problems. That means that you're not consumed with worry and fear as to what to do. Again, the right kind of fear of God.

It talks about two fears:

• your fears that you worry about
• fearing God so He can intervene to take those from you

Verse 9: "O fear the LORD, all you saints, for there is nothing lacking to those who fear Him."

Verse 15: "The eyes of the LORD are upon the righteous... [God knows—doesn't He? Yes!] ...and His ears are open to their cry." Rather than worry, go pray! Make that a motto! If you worry, go pray and stop it!. Lay it before God!

• Why should you carry the burden?
• Are you Christ?
• Are you a sin offering?
• Can your worry make it any better?

No! You're just living in the negative.

Verse 16: The face of the LORD is against those who do evil, to cut off the memory of them from the earth." Remember, the day of the wicked is coming. It is coming!

They finally got the wording in Shawshank Redemption wherethe warden was supposed to be a religious kind of man and he had up on the wall: The Lord's judgment cometh and that right soon. He looked at that just before he blew out his brains when he knew he was going to get caught. That was God's judgment! He took his own life. God will take care of the wicked.

Verse 17: "The righteous cry, and the LORD hears, and delivers them out of all their troubles." You put all your fear, all your worry and all your anxiety on God! Christ took it to the cross and nailed it there!

Verse 18: "The LORD is near to the broken-hearted... [rather than proud] ...and saves those who are of a contrite spirit. Many are the afflictions of the righteous... [you've got plenty to do] ...but the LORD delivers him out of them all (vs 18-19).

That's what we need to do!. That's the kind of spiritual growth and attitude that we need to overcome the sicknesses and diseases that we have!

All Scriptures from The Holy Bible In Its Original Order, A Faithful Version by Fred Coulter.

Scriptural References:

• Exodus 15:23-26
• Deuteronomy 28:20-29
• Psalms 103:1-4, 8-18
• Psalms 104:14-15
• Isaiah 38:1-6, 9, 21
• Proverbs 3:1-8
• Psalms 27:1-5
• Job 3:25
• Romans 8:28
• 1-Corinthians 3:16
• Psalms 34:4-7
• Psalms 33:18-22
• Psalms 34:8-9, 15-19

Scriptures referenced, not quoted:

• 2-Chronicles
• 1-Peter 5

Also Referenced:

Books:

• Strong's Exhaustive Concordance Of The Bible
• How To Win Over Worry by John Edmund Haggai

Articles/Clippings:

• Why Worry? (quotationsbook.com/quote/42532/#sthash.7ZD09Aib.dpbs)