3 Reasons Christians Get Sick: Identifying Supernatural Barriers to Divine Healing
There are hundreds of millions of Christians all around the world who are sick.
So how can Jesus make us dead to sickness and we still get sick? Because we make ourselves alive to sickness. How is this possible?
We think it’s possible to be sick.
We don’t control our imaginations.
We don’t take care of the bodies God gave us.
Let’s deal with the first one. Because Jesus has made us free from sin and unplugged us from the first Adam and now we are plugged into Him, it’s no longer possible to be sick unless we still think it is possible. We have to do some considering in our imagination and change our perspective of life. We must see ourselves as dead to disease—that it is no longer possible to be sick another day in my life. Remember: if we are dead to sin, which is the source, we are dead to the byproducts, which include sickness.
For the death that He died, He died to sin [sickness] once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God. Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin [sickness], but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 6:10-11 NKJV).
If I am dead to sin/sickness, why would I need to consider myself dead to it? Because everything in this world is telling you that you are still alive to it. Whatever my soul is connected to is what will flow through me. Jesus set me free from the curse but I choose with my soul what I plug into: life or death. This is where I need to daily consider that it is no longer possible for me to be sick. No matter how bad the pandemic is, no matter what the reports may be on the news—I am untouchable. I must properly discern the Lord’s body and see myself for who He is.
Therefore whoever eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body (1 Corinthians 11:27-29 NKJV).
The word discerning in the Greek means “to separate, prefer, or make a distinction” (Strong’s #G1252). Remember, we identify with His death, His resurrection, and His life. In order for me to identify with His resurrection and His life, I must identify first with His death. I must make a distinction that there was something special that happened here—that I am in union with that death. The death Jesus died is the death I died. Jesus’ past is my past.
I don’t take communion from the standpoint of just another ritual. When I take communion, it is a stark and solemn reminder that I am eating and drinking to His death, my death, His life, and my life. I am nothing without Him, and I thank Him for everything. I believe it is unworthy to partake of communion and see myself separate from Him. Jesus died so I could be one with Him. I think it is unworthy to partake of communion, partake of His blood and body, and still see it possible for me to stay connected to sin and sickness. I must discern His body in Heaven; that body is free of sickness and disease and yet also shows the holes in His wrists and feet revealing forever the sacrifice He made to eternally set me from sin. When I see myself separate from Christ, that is when condemnation sets in.
So now the case is closed. There remains no accusing voice of condemnation against those who are joined in life-union with Jesus, the Anointed One. For the “law” of the Spirit of life flowing through the anointing of Jesus has liberated us from the “law” of sin and death (Romans 8:1-2 TPT).
We view condemnation as only relating to sin; condemnation is more than that. Condemnation also relates to sickness. The moment I see it possible for me to be sick, that is condemnation telling me I am not righteous enough. How could I be filled with the life of God and yet think I could get sick? Because condemnation tells me I don’t have enough life. Condemnation will tell you when you lay hands on someone that you aren’t anointed enough. Condemnation will tell you that cancer is a big deal and you should be concerned. The moment you see yourself outside of your union with Christ is where condemnation comes in, and if not dealt with, condemnation will kill you.
The world’s normal is not my normal. What is normal for a fifty-year-old man filled with the devil will not be normal for me at fifty because I am filled with God. What is normal for a man at seventy years old connected to death will not be normal for me at seventy because I am filled with God’s life. The only time these things will be possible is if I think they’re possible—and this is the area that satan is working overtime in when it comes to your life.
Don’t you be scared of dying young. Remember, what you fear is what you revere and what you revere, you will be a slave to. You don’t have to die young when part of your covenant promise with God is that He will fulfill all of your years. If you will be led, He will lead you down the path of a long life until you are satisfied.
Because he has set his love upon Me, therefore I will deliver him; I will set him on high, because he has known My name. He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him and honor him. With long life I will satisfy him, and show him My salvation (Psalm 91:14-16 NKJV).
Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage (Hebrews 2:14-15 NKJV).
Don’t you ever be afraid of death. When you die—so what? If you are in union with Christ, death is gain. I’m telling you right now, I know I have a job to do on this earth, but when I finish it, I am ready to be with Jesus. On April 1, 2006, I had an experience of going to Heaven, seeing Jesus, and going to the throne room. When I was back in my bedroom, I was mad that I was back; I wanted to be back with Jesus! From that point on, if it wasn’t for my family and the mission God has given me, I’d be ready to step back on over! The fear of death is ultimately what hinders so many people from walking in health because they keep plugging into a continual flow of death. So many cancers are the result of this; remove the fear that you revere and it will never control you.
If you are pregnant, you don’t ever have to worry about having a miscarriage. Why? Because it’s part of your covenant with God. You can fully expect for your child to be born full term and completely healthy. Why? Because we are dead to the curse.
Whatever disease comes down the pipeline—COVID-127, pig pox, elephant pox, and whatever other pox they come up with—I’m not scared of it. It is scared of me. It can’t get on me because it can’t be in my midst. If you want to be in a disease-free zone, stand near someone who is filled with the life of God and they know it, because my covenant says that sickness can’t even be in my midst.
We must make the decision that because we are united with Christ, sickness is just not possible. When it comes to the next pandemic, who cares! My Bible says that no plague can even come near me.
So let’s deal with reason number two as to why Christians get sick: their imaginations. This ties right into number one because this is satan’s way of getting you to plug into the curse. He is wanting you to fill up on his thoughts so he can fill you up with the curse. It really comes down to what I call diseases of the soul such as condemnation, fear, and lack of self-control. Satan wants you to get your imaginations on all of the news articles on television and social media about all of the diseases that are in the world and all the things that are normal for the world.
In America, have you ever noticed you can’t even watch one television show without seeing an ad for a prescription drug? How wicked is that! The United States of America is one of the two nations in the world that is so corrupt toward its citizens that they allow pharmaceutical companies to advertise their drugs. We live in a sick world in which people are so focused on money and power, they are willing to pump people’s bodies full of chemicals and call it healthcare—and that’s why so many people are sick. We just got through talking about our imaginations, so I am not going to go much further with it. But this is how Christians ultimately get sick: an unmaintained thought life.
The third reason people get sick is one people don’t like to talk about, especially in America, and it is this: not taking care of our body, which is the temple of God. I will go into more detail about this in the last chapter, but I’ll just leave this right here: if you don’t take care of the body God gave you, it’s not the devil’s fault or anyone else’s fault when you get sick. If you notice, ultimately, all three reasons are still tied to our soul. Remember, “I want you to prosper and be in health even as your soul prospers.” How you think will determine how you see and, thus, how you live.
What about when Christians are in accidents? Well, it is simple—this will not be popular, but it is biblical—accidents happen when we are not being led by the Holy Spirit. When we stop listening, this is when we get into trouble.
However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come (John 16:13 NKJV).
This is about as plain as it gets. One of the jobs of the Holy Spirit is to guide us in life, reveal truth, and show us things to come. There has never been a righteous person filled with God who was in an accident and yet the Holy Spirit wasn’t warning them. You will never convince me otherwise. Any of us who have been in an accident, if we are humble and honest, we can look back and realize that there was something on the inside of us saying, “Don’t do that,” “Don’t go just yet,” or “Don’t go that way.” He is always looking out for us, but He will never make us do anything.
Because you have made the Lord, who is my refuge, even the Most High, your dwelling place, no evil shall befall you, nor shall any plague come near your dwelling; for He shall give His angels charge over you, to keep you in all your ways. In their hands they shall bear you up, lest you dash your foot against a stone (Psalm 91:9-12 NKJV).
Who are the ones that the angels are bearing up with their hands? The ones who are trusting in God to be their shelter, refuge, and place of protection. Well, how can that be possible when I am not listening to Him? Friend, I am not talking about sin; I am talking about the daily affairs of life. Do you know how many times I have heard the Lord tell me to go a different way home while driving on the highway or to wait a few minutes before I left, or to do something different in an activity I am participating in? He knows the end from the beginning and He isn’t hiding secrets from us. God wants you to be healthy every day of your life!
So with all that said, what do Christians need to do to walk in healing? Well, do the opposite of what you did to get the sickness. If we gave away our healing because we used our soul to plug into death, then we simply unplug from death and plug back into Life. Turn the valve of your soul and let the life of God flow.
Now I know that sounds simple. I like simple, and the Bible is simple, but what does this look like practically? Use your imagination and consider yourself dead to it. I don’t care if it’s a common sickness, chronic illness, deadly disease, or the result of an accident—consider yourself dead to it. Do what my friend and partner Johan from Belgium did! Use your imagination and see the light of Jesus radiating into your body. You don’t need someone who stands behind a pulpit to lay hands on you. Christ lives on the inside of you! The Healer and all of His life is in you.
