October 8, 2025 • 35 mins
Bitter water turned sweet isn’t just an ancient story—it’s a map for modern hearts carrying pain. In this powerful session, we explore Jehovah Rapha, the God who heals, and what healing looks like when cures delay, when diagnoses sting, and when faith must endure through the night. From Exodus 15’s bitter waters of Marah to the cross that reframes every wound, we trace how God’s ways—not only His acts—teach us to pray, to persist, and to find our identity beyond our symptoms.
We walk through four portraits of faith that reveal the many faces of healing. The centurion models authority under authority: “Just say the word,” and a distant servant is restored. Hezekiah turns his face to the wall and receives fifteen more years, showing how lament, memory, and bold appeal meet mercy. A Gentile mother absorbs silence and offense without turning away, answering “Yes, Lord” and reaching for crumbs that become a feast of grace. A tormented boy is set free when Jesus rebukes an unclean spirit, and the disciples learn that some breakthroughs require both prayer and fasting. Along the way, we wrestle honestly with resistance to healing—how sin can harden us, how suffering can serve God’s glory, and how not every struggle is a verdict against us.
Eben also shares lived stories—from Ghanaian villages with no clinics to a prison chapel filled with men asking for prayer—where the Word becomes medicine and community becomes a lifeline. Each story shows that God’s healing power is not limited by circumstance, geography, or time.
Whether your battle is physical, emotional, or spiritual, this teaching invites you to keep asking, keep hoping, and refuse offense. Open your Bible, steady your heart, and bring your need to the God whose very name is Healer. Come discover what it means to encounter Jehovah Rapha—the One who restores, renews, and redeems every broken place.
We are Trinity Community Church in Knoxville, Tennessee.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Ebenezer Asiamah (00:20):
Last week, Marie did a wonderful job
teaching on Jehovah Jirah, Godour provider, and she shared
practical examples of how Godprovided for her and her family
in difficult times.
And I was so blessed to receivewhat God has for us through
(00:42):
her.
Tonight we're going to belooking at Jehovah Rapha, God
our healer.
And it's very important becauseit is one area that sometimes
there can be a lot ofcontroversies about it.
But I want to share a storywith you.
(01:03):
I grew up in Ghana and myparents were believers, so I
grew up going to church.
And when the Lord startedrevealing himself to me and
giving me the desire to followhim, I had so much faith that
God can heal everything.
(01:23):
I had a big mountain in myfamily because my brother, I
have four brothers.
One of them, who is just afterme, was born with a disability.
And he had cerebral palsy.
And I said, God, you can healhim.
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And I will wake up and I willpray and I said, God, I know you
are Jehovah Rapha, you can healhim.
And his condition was still thesame.
And he's lived with adisability for 30 years.
But one thing that I see withmy brother is that I've never
(02:07):
seen him sad or depressed.
You always see him with a smileon his face.
And I believe that is also partof healing.
But personally, I rememberabout 15 years ago, it was an
evening service like this.
And after the service, I hadsome money with me to renew my
(02:32):
health insurance.
And I just felt that I shouldjust give it as an offering.
And I said, God, just be myinsurance.
And I gave the money that I wassupposed to use for my health
insurance as an offering.
So young in the faith, but I Itrusted God.
(02:52):
I don't remember the last timeI went to the hospital after
that.
Like God protected me.
And in times of sickness, hehealed me to the point that I
didn't need to go to thehospital.
So personally, that issomething that God has done that
I feel like sharing.
(03:13):
That indeed He is our healer.
Now, when God revealed thiscovenant name, it was after He
had delivered the children ofIsrael from Egypt.
And we read about it in Exoduschapter 15, verse 22 to 27.
It says, Then Moses led Israelfrom the Red Sea and they went
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into the desert of Shah.
For three days they traveled inthe desert without finding
water.
When they came to Marah, theycould not drink.
They could not drink its waterbecause it was bitter.
That is why the place is calledMarah.
So the people grumbled againstMoses, saying, What are we to
(04:02):
drink?
Then Moses cried to the Lord,and the Lord showed him a piece
of wood.
He threw it into the water, andthe water became fit to drink.
Then the Lord issued a ruling,an instruction for them, and put
them to the test.
He said, If you listencarefully to the Lord your God,
(04:26):
and do what is right in hiseyes, if you pay attention to
his commands and keep all hecommands, and keep all his
decrees, I will not bring on youany of the disease I brought on
the Egyptians, for I am theLord who heals you.
Then they came to Elim, wherethere were twelve springs and
(04:50):
seventy palm trees, and theycamped there near the water.
Shall we pray?
Our Heavenly Father, we wethank you so much that you
reveal yourself.
And you've revealed yourself inyour word to us as Jehovah
Rapha, the God that heals.
Lord, I ask that tonight willbe a night of healing.
(05:13):
That if there is anybody amongus who is dealing with a
particular sickness or anyoneamong us who has a loved one who
is in need of healing, Lord, weask that you touch us and bring
complete healing andrestoration in the name of
Jesus.
We thank you, Lord, that youare our healer and with your
(05:34):
stripes we were healed in Jesus'name.
Amen.
So this is very important.
As the children of Israel,they've just crossed the Red Sea
and everybody was in highspirit.
They were prophesying,everybody was happy.
But as they continued thejourney, for three days, no
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water, and there was a problem.
Because I don't know if anyoneof us have gone three days
without water before.
It is very hard.
And as a matter of fact, it'snot advisable to go three days
without water.
And so the people started tocomplain.
But one thing I saw is thatthey didn't complain to God,
(06:20):
they complained to Moses.
So one thing I learned fromthis story is that the people
did not know God, or they didnot know the ways of God.
But Moses knew the ways of God.
But the people were justcontent with the acts of God.
It is one thing to know theacts of God, but it is another
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thing to know the ways of God.
Moses was acquainted with theways of God.
And so the people, when anytimethey were confronted with a
difficulty, they will complainto Moses.
They won't cry to God, theywon't ask God to do anything.
They will blame Moses and theywill start wanting to stone
Moses and all kinds of things.
(07:04):
But when you read Psalm 103, Ilove it so much.
Bless the Lord, oh my soul, anddo not forget all his benefits,
who forgives all your sins andheals all your diseases, who
(07:29):
renews your life like the eagleand satisfies you with good
things.
And when you continue, he saysthat he shows his righteousness
and judgment to the oppressed.
And then he said, Moses knewthe ways of God, but the people
knew the acts of God.
(07:50):
And it's not okay to just knowthe acts of God.
We must grow from knowing theacts of God to knowing the ways
of God.
Daniel chapter 11, verse 32bsays that the people who know
their God, they shall be strongand do exploits.
So tonight I want to challengeall of us that we will get to
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know God personally.
And we will not just uh likethe people of Israel, just
always going to Moses andbringing their complaints before
Moses, but never going to God.
God wants to reveal Himself tous, God wants us to know Him.
(08:35):
Another thing I saw from thisscripture is that the fall of
man made our waters bitter.
In Romans chapter 3, verse 23,it says that for all have sinned
and we've fallen short of theglory of God.
You know, the people could notuse the bitter water because it
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needed healing.
And that is what sin has doneto all of mankind.
It ruined our relationship withGod, it ruined our relationship
with one another.
When Adam fell, the first thinghe did was to blame God.
He said, the woman you gave me.
And, you know, his relationshipwith God was gone, and it
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affected his relationship withthe gift that God had given him,
too.
But I thank God so much for thecross of Jesus Christ.
You know, when you look at thecross, the cross heals our
relationship with God, and italso heals our relationship with
one another.
So Moses was told by God to geta wood and throw it into the
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waters.
And we know that our Lord JesusChrist had to pay the sacrifice
of our sins on a wood.
You know, Peter, quoting fromIsaiah chapter 53, says that he
himself bore all our iniquitieson the tree, and by his stripes
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we were healed.
And so when God showed Moses tothrow the wood into the water,
and the water was healed, he wasjust giving us a sign that one
day he will send his son JesusChrist, and by the sacrifice
that he made on the cross, ourbetter waters will be healed.
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And so tonight I want to remindall of us to pay attention,
close attention to the word ofGod, because God instructed the
people to pay careful attentionto his words.
And one thing that I've learnedin my walk with God is that his
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word is medicinal, his word hashealing effects.
And when the word of God healsyou, it doesn't have any side
effects.
You know, we go to the store,you buy drugs, they are side
effects.
Some of them are verydangerous.
I'm like, but when the word ofGod does a work of healing in
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you, it doesn't come with sideeffects.
So God said in his word inProverbs chapter 4, verse 20,
21, 22 to 23, says, My son or mydaughter, give attention to my
words.
Incline your ears to mysayings, do not let them depart
from your mouth, set them in themidst of your eyes, for they
(11:40):
are life to those who find them,and health to all their flesh.
And so by this word we knowthat the word of God has the
power to bring healing.
When you read Psalm 107, verse20, he says, He sent forth his
word to heal them and to deliverthem from all their
(12:03):
distraction.
God instructed Joshua that thisbook of the law shall not
depart from your mouth, but youshall meditate on it day and
night.
And what we say is veryimportant, especially when we
are going through sicknesses anddiseases.
You know, sometimes we takeownership of the sickness and um
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uh we we make it our identity,but God wants us to move from
that and not identify with ourparticular ailment that we are
going through, because ouridentity is not in our sickness,
but our identity is in ChristJesus.
Tonight I want to share a storywith you about a great king,
(12:49):
King Hezekiah, in Isaiah 38.
This man walked with Godfaithfully and he trusted God.
When the Assyrians wanted toattack the people of Jerusalem,
and they sent letters tointimidate him and wanting to
destroy them, Hezekiah andIsaiah, the son of Amos, prayed
(13:13):
to God, and God sent an angel towipe out 185,000 of the
Assyrian soldiers.
And he had so much faith in Godthat God said, He's one of the
kings that trust me.
Now, this man, when he was inthe prime of his life at the age
of 39, the word of God came tohim through Isaiah.
(13:38):
He said, Thus says the Lord,the God of Israel, set your
house in order because you woulddie and not recover.
That is a very scary word.
So, how would you react to sucha word?
But Hezekiah, being a man thathe was, a man of trust and faith
(14:03):
in God, he knew that eventhough Isaiah was a man of God,
a prophet of God, his wordsdon't fall to the ground.
But Hezekiah said, Thank you.
I need to talk with God.
And then he turned to the walland he started praying and
crying to God.
God, remember, remember howI've walked before you
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faithfully.
Now remember that King Hezekiahat that time Jesus Christ had
not died on the cross.
So he didn't even have a betterreference.
He was referencing to his goodworks.
Remember how I've walked beforeyou, how I've been obedient to
you.
But you and I we have a betterreference.
We have Jesus Christ.
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So in times of sickness,instead of uh pointing to our
own good works, which is notgood enough, we can point to the
good works of Christ.
Hezekiah didn't have that, butwe do have that.
Tonight, I pray that it willnot just be a teaching
experience.
I pray that it will be ahealing experience.
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That by the time we live here,God will do a work of healing in
our hearts and in our livesbecause many are going through
sicknesses and diseases.
I remember last Saturday wewere at the prison, and as I was
sharing the word, somebodysaid, Please pray for me.
I'm being sexually abused.
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So uh Matthew, brother Scott,actually had to walk the brother
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and take him to the offices andreport the issue and then pray
with him.
Now, after the message, I askedfor those who needed prayer for
healing, and almost everybodywas there.
And I was standing there alonewith all the men, everybody
needing healing.
I'm like, wow, let's just prayfor one another.
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And so we spent time prayingfor one another, and there was
one man who just broke down,said, Please, I need healing and
forgiveness and restoration inmy family.
And he started crying.
So these are things that God isdoing at the prison.
Now, Hezekiah, when he startedcrying to God and praying to
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God, God told Isaiah, go back,go tell Hezekiah that I've heard
his prayers and I've seen histears.
I just want to encourage youthat God is not ignorant of the
prayers and the tears that we'vebeen shedding in secret places.
He said, I have heard yourprayers and I've also seen your
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tears.
God sees the tears that we cry,even in our secret place.
And God said, I have added 15more years to your life.
And God prolonged the life ofHezekiah.
Another story that I want toshare with you, there are many,
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many stories about healing.
One of them that stood out tome was the centurion and his
servant.
Let us read the story inMatthew chapter 8, verse 5 to
13.
And this centurion, he was notan Israelite, he was a gentile,
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but he has such incredible faithin God that it's so remarkable.
We can learn something from ittonight.
Matthew chapter 8, I read fromverse 5 to 13.
And Jesus, when he had enteredCapenum, a centurion came to him
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asking for help.
Lord, he said, my servant liesat home, paralyzed, suffering
terribly.
Jesus said to him, Shall I comeand heal him?
The centurion replied, Lord, Ido not deserve to have you under
my roof, but just say the word,and my servant will be healed.
(18:32):
For I myself am a man underauthority, with soldiers under
me.
I tell this one, go and hegoes.
And that one come and he comes.
I say to my servant, Do this,and he does it.
And when Jesus heard this, hewas amazed and said to those
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following him, Truly I tell you,I have not found anyone in
Israel with such great faith.
I say to you that many willcome from east and the west and
will take their places at thefeast with Abraham, Isaac, and
Jacob in the kingdom of heaven.
But the subjects of the kingdomwill be thrown outside into the
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darkness where there will beweeping and gnashing of teeth.
Then Jesus said to thecenturion, Go, let it be done
just as you believed it would.
And his servant was healed atthat moment.
Remarkable story.
Stories like this, it itpreaches itself, so there's
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there's nothing to add.
The man who was just a gentileknew that Jesus had authority to
just speak a word, and thatword is enough to cause a sick
servant to be healed.
And tonight I want to encourageyou, let's go back to the word.
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Because in times of difficulty,when you remember the word of
God and you pray the word ofGod, the word will not return
void, but it will go forth andaccomplish the purpose for which
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it was sent.
God has not stopped healing,God is still healing.
He can heal right now, or hecan heal in the future, or he
can heal when when all hasended, and we've we've done with
our assignment on this earth.
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Because healing is the natureof God, God is eternal, but
sometimes we we look at ourworld and we think that is all
that there is, and so even whenwe are asking for healing, and
sometimes it doesn't happen inthis life, we think that's the
end, but it's not because God iseternal, he is the existing
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one, Jehovah, eternal God, andhis healing doesn't end here.
As a matter of fact, it is madeperfect and complete when we
stand before him, because allthe stories that we read,
Lazarus was dead four days, hecame back to life, but he had to
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die again because this is notour home.
You know, we are just passingthrough this life, we have a
better place in God.
So tonight I just want toencourage you that let's not
stop praying for healing, evenwhen we don't see it.
I've been praying for mybrother for 30 years, still keep
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praying, still trust God thatGod will keep him, and in his
own time, he will heal him.
One thing that I found sofascinating about God is that he
is not the God of the dead,he's the God of the living.
As a matter of fact, when Jesussaid this, and I was I was
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thinking about it, even at theMount of Transfiguration, Moses
was there, and Elijah was there.
But to us, Moses died on MountNebo in the mountains of Moab.
He died.
But on the Mount ofTransfiguration, he was there.
And he says, He's God of Isaac,Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
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He's not the God of the dead,but the God of the living.
To him, they are all alive tohim.
That is the God that we serve.
And so, even our loved ones whohave departed this world, to
God, they are all alive.
And so let's let's trust in Godand let's keep hope alive in
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God.
I want to share another storyabout a woman that she was also
a gentile, and her faith alwaysblows my mind.
We can read the story in theGospel of Mark, chapter 7, verse
24 to 30.
It's also in Matthew chapter15, verse 21 to 28.
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But this woman came to Jesusfor healing.
Jesus wouldn't say anything toher.
And the disciples told thewoman, you know, he he is not
ready for you, just go.
But the woman kept persisting.
And when Jesus opened hismouth, he said, It is not fit to
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give the children's bread tothe little dogs.
And the woman was not offended.
He didn't, she didn't turnback.
She said, Yes, Lord.
How can you say yes, Lord, to aword like this?
And I was studying this theaccount and I saw that the
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reason why Jesus was doing whathe was doing was to bring out
the great faith that was in thewoman.
Because sometimes we can easilyget offended.
The woman came to Jesus, Jesuswouldn't speak a word to her.
The disciples were pushing heroff, go away.
And when Jesus opened hismouth, the word that came was
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not very encouraging.
But the woman said, Yes, Lord.
Now, how do you respond yes,Lord, to a word like this that
is not fit to give thechildren's bread to the dogs?
But the woman didn't end there.
She said, Yes, but the littledogs under the table have access
to the crowns that fall fromthe table of the master.
(24:51):
And Jesus said, Woman, for thissaying, go, your daughter is
healed.
You have great faith.
That's amazing.
She did not get offended.
I want to encourage youtonight.
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Let's not get easily offendedwith God.
Let's trust God.
Let's look to Him.
I want to share a final storybefore we move to our group
conversations.
And I want to read this storyfrom Luke chapter 9, verse 37 to
(25:37):
43.
There are many accounts of Godshowing himself as Jehovah
Rapha, but we don't have enoughtime to delve into all of it.
But let this one is very, veryremarkable.
Luke 9, chapter 37 to 43.
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Says that the next day whenthey came down from the
mountain, a large crowd met him.
A man in the crowd called out,Teacher, I beg you to look at my
son, for he is my only child.
A spirit seizes him and hesuddenly screams.
(26:21):
It throws him into convulsionsso that he foams at his mouth.
You unbelieving and perversegeneration, Jesus replied, How
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long shall I stay with you andput up with you?
Bring your son here.
Even while the boy was coming,the demon threw him to the
ground in convulsion.
But Jesus rebuked the impurespirit, healed the boy, and gave
him back to his father.
And they were all amazed at thegreatness of God.
(27:06):
So this is a story about afather who is in asking healing
for his only son.
And from this story, we got toknow that it was a demon that
was afflicting the only son.
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You know, when the enemy fellwith the fallen angels, all that
they are interested in isstealing, killing, and
destroying.
That's what Jesus said.
But when Jesus came on thescene, he said, How God anointed
Jesus of Nazareth with the HolyGhost and with power, who went
about doing good and healing allwho were oppressed by the
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devil.
For God was with him.
Some of the oppressions andsicknesses, some of them Satan
and his agents, really oppressespeople.
So Jesus rebuked the spirit andhealed the boy.
But later on, the discipleswould go to Jesus and ask him,
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Why could we not heal him?
And Jesus went on and said thatthis kind does not go except by
prayer and fasting.
And so sometimes thesespiritual disciplines are very
important, even when we arebelieving and trusting God for
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deliverance for our loved ones.
We should spend some time infasting, spend some time in
prayer, and God, who isfaithful, will hear us.
We'll be moving into our groupdiscussion, but I want to share
some resistance to healing.
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And the first one I want toshare is sin.
Sometimes it's not all thetime, but sometimes sin uh
prevents God's people fromreceiving healing.
And there was a story in Johnchapter 5 about a man who was at
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the pool of Bethesda and he hadbeen there for 38 years.
And when Jesus saw him, hesaid, Do you want to be made
well?
Then he started going into thedetails.
I don't have any man to carryme into the water when the water
is dead.
And as he was going on, Jesussaid, Get up, take up your bed
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and walk.
Now, as this man heard theword, immediately he was healed.
And when the Pharisees and therulers were asking him, Why are
you holding your bed on aSabbath day?
Well, there was a man who toldme to pick up my bed and walk.
And he found out later on thatit was Jesus.
(30:12):
Jesus told him, Go and sin nomore, so that something greater
than this will not come to you.
And so not all situations arecaused by sin, but sometimes too
there could be a sin issue.
In John chapter 9, the man whowas born blind, the disciples
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asked Jesus, Rabbi, who sinnedthat he was born blind?
Is it his mother or his father?
He said, No, neither his fatheror his mother sinned, but for
the glory of God to be mademanifest in him.
And I struggle with that.
This man has been blind for 40years.
Jesus said, It is not becauseof anybody's sin, but for the
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glory of God to be made manifestin him.
Tonight I want to share withyou that anything that we may be
going through or dealing withis an opportunity for the glory
of God to be made manifest init.
When we receive any report, anydiagnosis, which is not what we
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were expecting, I want you toknow that it is an opportunity
for God to manifest his glory init.
And you can ask God, God, howare you going to manifest your
glory with this?
Amen.
Like Hezekiah, he didn't acceptthe report that came from God.
Not from a doctor, from God.
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He didn't accept it.
So sometimes we need to wrestlewith some of the reports too.
I I have a story to share.
There is a woman in Ghana, andshe's very old.
Her dad was just a farmer, andthey were blessed with many
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kids.
He had like 11 children, butsuddenly they were just dying.
And he got very desperate.
And he had few children left.
All of them just diedmysteriously.
And his daughter was sick atthe point of death.
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And he said, God, this timeit's either you heal my daughter
or you kill me with thedaughter.
And he was in his farm and hewas praying and crying out to
God.
This was in the year 1930.
This man was filled with theHoly Spirit.
And he was the first man toever speak in the language of
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the Spirit for the first time inGhana.
And when he was filled with theHoly Spirit, he had so much
faith.
At that time, the daughter wasdead.
And God used him to raise thedaughter back to life.
And the woman is still alivetoday.
And I've met with her, I havepictures with her.
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And the last time I met her,she told me she's not feeling
very well, but she's afraid ofgoing to the hospital because
they will tell her all that iswrong with her.
Now I'm not saying that goingto the hospital is wrong.
Sometimes God uses doc, youknow, God has given us gifted
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doctors and physicians that, youknow, can diagnose and bring
healing.
But this woman, this old ladysaid, I know they will tell me
all that is wrong with me.
I already know.
So I'm not going.
Well, where she lives, there'sno hospital anyway.
So yeah.
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I shared it here before.
You go to some places in Ghana,no electricity, no hospital, no
school, nothing.
They hear the gospel for thefirst time and they are all
excited because they know thatit's either God or nothing.
And they will say, Oh, pleasepray for this water, pray over
this water, because we know thatwhen we are sick, we drink it,
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we'll be healed.
Okay.
They have so much confidenceand you know, trust in God.
Some of us here we are veryblessed, and you know, and
there's nothing wrong.
I'm not saying there issomething wrong with going to,
you know, for checkups.
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You know, if we have theopportunity to do that, we can
take advantage of it because Godcan use it to bring restoration
and healing.
But, you know, you understandme from where I'm coming from,
right?
Yeah, sometimes there are nohospitals and God still heals
his people.
Shall we pray?
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Lord, we thank you that you area healer and you haven't
stopped healing.
Lord, right now I ask that youtouch your people.
Anyone here, oh God, who isbeen diagnosed with a with a
sickness or is dealing with uhneeding healing emotionally,
(35:20):
spiritually, physically, Lord,let your word bring complete
healing and restoration in thename of Jesus.
Lord, I thank you that you healus and by your stripes we were
healed.
We give you praise in Jesus'name.
Amen.
Last week, Marie did a wonderful job
teaching on Jehovah Jirah, Godour provider, and she shared
practical examples of how Godprovided for her and her family
in difficult times.
And I was so blessed to receivewhat God has for us through
(00:42):
her.
Tonight we're going to belooking at Jehovah Rapha, God
our healer.
And it's very important becauseit is one area that sometimes
there can be a lot ofcontroversies about it.
But I want to share a storywith you.
(01:03):
I grew up in Ghana and myparents were believers, so I
grew up going to church.
And when the Lord startedrevealing himself to me and
giving me the desire to followhim, I had so much faith that
God can heal everything.
(01:23):
I had a big mountain in myfamily because my brother, I
have four brothers.
One of them, who is just afterme, was born with a disability.
And he had cerebral palsy.
And I said, God, you can healhim.
(01:45):
And I will wake up and I willpray and I said, God, I know you
are Jehovah Rapha, you can healhim.
And his condition was still thesame.
And he's lived with adisability for 30 years.
But one thing that I see withmy brother is that I've never
(02:07):
seen him sad or depressed.
You always see him with a smileon his face.
And I believe that is also partof healing.
But personally, I rememberabout 15 years ago, it was an
evening service like this.
And after the service, I hadsome money with me to renew my
(02:32):
health insurance.
And I just felt that I shouldjust give it as an offering.
And I said, God, just be myinsurance.
And I gave the money that I wassupposed to use for my health
insurance as an offering.
So young in the faith, but I Itrusted God.
(02:52):
I don't remember the last timeI went to the hospital after
that.
Like God protected me.
And in times of sickness, hehealed me to the point that I
didn't need to go to thehospital.
So personally, that issomething that God has done that
I feel like sharing.
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That indeed He is our healer.
Now, when God revealed thiscovenant name, it was after He
had delivered the children ofIsrael from Egypt.
And we read about it in Exoduschapter 15, verse 22 to 27.
It says, Then Moses led Israelfrom the Red Sea and they went
(03:39):
into the desert of Shah.
For three days they traveled inthe desert without finding
water.
When they came to Marah, theycould not drink.
They could not drink its waterbecause it was bitter.
That is why the place is calledMarah.
So the people grumbled againstMoses, saying, What are we to
(04:02):
drink?
Then Moses cried to the Lord,and the Lord showed him a piece
of wood.
He threw it into the water, andthe water became fit to drink.
Then the Lord issued a ruling,an instruction for them, and put
them to the test.
He said, If you listencarefully to the Lord your God,
(04:26):
and do what is right in hiseyes, if you pay attention to
his commands and keep all hecommands, and keep all his
decrees, I will not bring on youany of the disease I brought on
the Egyptians, for I am theLord who heals you.
Then they came to Elim, wherethere were twelve springs and
(04:50):
seventy palm trees, and theycamped there near the water.
Shall we pray?
Our Heavenly Father, we wethank you so much that you
reveal yourself.
And you've revealed yourself inyour word to us as Jehovah
Rapha, the God that heals.
Lord, I ask that tonight willbe a night of healing.
(05:13):
That if there is anybody amongus who is dealing with a
particular sickness or anyoneamong us who has a loved one who
is in need of healing, Lord, weask that you touch us and bring
complete healing andrestoration in the name of
Jesus.
We thank you, Lord, that youare our healer and with your
(05:34):
stripes we were healed in Jesus'name.
Amen.
So this is very important.
As the children of Israel,they've just crossed the Red Sea
and everybody was in highspirit.
They were prophesying,everybody was happy.
But as they continued thejourney, for three days, no
(05:55):
water, and there was a problem.
Because I don't know if anyoneof us have gone three days
without water before.
It is very hard.
And as a matter of fact, it'snot advisable to go three days
without water.
And so the people started tocomplain.
But one thing I saw is thatthey didn't complain to God,
(06:20):
they complained to Moses.
So one thing I learned fromthis story is that the people
did not know God, or they didnot know the ways of God.
But Moses knew the ways of God.
But the people were justcontent with the acts of God.
It is one thing to know theacts of God, but it is another
(06:43):
thing to know the ways of God.
Moses was acquainted with theways of God.
And so the people, when anytimethey were confronted with a
difficulty, they will complainto Moses.
They won't cry to God, theywon't ask God to do anything.
They will blame Moses and theywill start wanting to stone
Moses and all kinds of things.
(07:04):
But when you read Psalm 103, Ilove it so much.
Bless the Lord, oh my soul, anddo not forget all his benefits,
who forgives all your sins andheals all your diseases, who
(07:29):
renews your life like the eagleand satisfies you with good
things.
And when you continue, he saysthat he shows his righteousness
and judgment to the oppressed.
And then he said, Moses knewthe ways of God, but the people
knew the acts of God.
(07:50):
And it's not okay to just knowthe acts of God.
We must grow from knowing theacts of God to knowing the ways
of God.
Daniel chapter 11, verse 32bsays that the people who know
their God, they shall be strongand do exploits.
So tonight I want to challengeall of us that we will get to
(08:14):
know God personally.
And we will not just uh likethe people of Israel, just
always going to Moses andbringing their complaints before
Moses, but never going to God.
God wants to reveal Himself tous, God wants us to know Him.
(08:35):
Another thing I saw from thisscripture is that the fall of
man made our waters bitter.
In Romans chapter 3, verse 23,it says that for all have sinned
and we've fallen short of theglory of God.
You know, the people could notuse the bitter water because it
(08:58):
needed healing.
And that is what sin has doneto all of mankind.
It ruined our relationship withGod, it ruined our relationship
with one another.
When Adam fell, the first thinghe did was to blame God.
He said, the woman you gave me.
And, you know, his relationshipwith God was gone, and it
(09:21):
affected his relationship withthe gift that God had given him,
too.
But I thank God so much for thecross of Jesus Christ.
You know, when you look at thecross, the cross heals our
relationship with God, and italso heals our relationship with
one another.
So Moses was told by God to geta wood and throw it into the
(09:45):
waters.
And we know that our Lord JesusChrist had to pay the sacrifice
of our sins on a wood.
You know, Peter, quoting fromIsaiah chapter 53, says that he
himself bore all our iniquitieson the tree, and by his stripes
(10:07):
we were healed.
And so when God showed Moses tothrow the wood into the water,
and the water was healed, he wasjust giving us a sign that one
day he will send his son JesusChrist, and by the sacrifice
that he made on the cross, ourbetter waters will be healed.
(10:29):
And so tonight I want to remindall of us to pay attention,
close attention to the word ofGod, because God instructed the
people to pay careful attentionto his words.
And one thing that I've learnedin my walk with God is that his
(10:51):
word is medicinal, his word hashealing effects.
And when the word of God healsyou, it doesn't have any side
effects.
You know, we go to the store,you buy drugs, they are side
effects.
Some of them are verydangerous.
I'm like, but when the word ofGod does a work of healing in
(11:16):
you, it doesn't come with sideeffects.
So God said in his word inProverbs chapter 4, verse 20,
21, 22 to 23, says, My son or mydaughter, give attention to my
words.
Incline your ears to mysayings, do not let them depart
from your mouth, set them in themidst of your eyes, for they
(11:40):
are life to those who find them,and health to all their flesh.
And so by this word we knowthat the word of God has the
power to bring healing.
When you read Psalm 107, verse20, he says, He sent forth his
word to heal them and to deliverthem from all their
(12:03):
distraction.
God instructed Joshua that thisbook of the law shall not
depart from your mouth, but youshall meditate on it day and
night.
And what we say is veryimportant, especially when we
are going through sicknesses anddiseases.
You know, sometimes we takeownership of the sickness and um
(12:25):
uh we we make it our identity,but God wants us to move from
that and not identify with ourparticular ailment that we are
going through, because ouridentity is not in our sickness,
but our identity is in ChristJesus.
Tonight I want to share a storywith you about a great king,
(12:49):
King Hezekiah, in Isaiah 38.
This man walked with Godfaithfully and he trusted God.
When the Assyrians wanted toattack the people of Jerusalem,
and they sent letters tointimidate him and wanting to
destroy them, Hezekiah andIsaiah, the son of Amos, prayed
(13:13):
to God, and God sent an angel towipe out 185,000 of the
Assyrian soldiers.
And he had so much faith in Godthat God said, He's one of the
kings that trust me.
Now, this man, when he was inthe prime of his life at the age
of 39, the word of God came tohim through Isaiah.
(13:38):
He said, Thus says the Lord,the God of Israel, set your
house in order because you woulddie and not recover.
That is a very scary word.
So, how would you react to sucha word?
But Hezekiah, being a man thathe was, a man of trust and faith
(14:03):
in God, he knew that eventhough Isaiah was a man of God,
a prophet of God, his wordsdon't fall to the ground.
But Hezekiah said, Thank you.
I need to talk with God.
And then he turned to the walland he started praying and
crying to God.
God, remember, remember howI've walked before you
(14:23):
faithfully.
Now remember that King Hezekiahat that time Jesus Christ had
not died on the cross.
So he didn't even have a betterreference.
He was referencing to his goodworks.
Remember how I've walked beforeyou, how I've been obedient to
you.
But you and I we have a betterreference.
We have Jesus Christ.
(14:45):
So in times of sickness,instead of uh pointing to our
own good works, which is notgood enough, we can point to the
good works of Christ.
Hezekiah didn't have that, butwe do have that.
Tonight, I pray that it willnot just be a teaching
experience.
I pray that it will be ahealing experience.
(15:06):
That by the time we live here,God will do a work of healing in
our hearts and in our livesbecause many are going through
sicknesses and diseases.
I remember last Saturday wewere at the prison, and as I was
sharing the word, somebodysaid, Please pray for me.
I'm being sexually abused.
(15:26):
So uh Matthew, brother Scott,actually had to walk the brother
(15:49):
and take him to the offices andreport the issue and then pray
with him.
Now, after the message, I askedfor those who needed prayer for
healing, and almost everybodywas there.
And I was standing there alonewith all the men, everybody
needing healing.
I'm like, wow, let's just prayfor one another.
(16:12):
And so we spent time prayingfor one another, and there was
one man who just broke down,said, Please, I need healing and
forgiveness and restoration inmy family.
And he started crying.
So these are things that God isdoing at the prison.
Now, Hezekiah, when he startedcrying to God and praying to
(16:36):
God, God told Isaiah, go back,go tell Hezekiah that I've heard
his prayers and I've seen histears.
I just want to encourage youthat God is not ignorant of the
prayers and the tears that we'vebeen shedding in secret places.
He said, I have heard yourprayers and I've also seen your
(17:00):
tears.
God sees the tears that we cry,even in our secret place.
And God said, I have added 15more years to your life.
And God prolonged the life ofHezekiah.
Another story that I want toshare with you, there are many,
(17:21):
many stories about healing.
One of them that stood out tome was the centurion and his
servant.
Let us read the story inMatthew chapter 8, verse 5 to
13.
And this centurion, he was notan Israelite, he was a gentile,
(17:47):
but he has such incredible faithin God that it's so remarkable.
We can learn something from ittonight.
Matthew chapter 8, I read fromverse 5 to 13.
And Jesus, when he had enteredCapenum, a centurion came to him
(18:08):
asking for help.
Lord, he said, my servant liesat home, paralyzed, suffering
terribly.
Jesus said to him, Shall I comeand heal him?
The centurion replied, Lord, Ido not deserve to have you under
my roof, but just say the word,and my servant will be healed.
(18:32):
For I myself am a man underauthority, with soldiers under
me.
I tell this one, go and hegoes.
And that one come and he comes.
I say to my servant, Do this,and he does it.
And when Jesus heard this, hewas amazed and said to those
(18:53):
following him, Truly I tell you,I have not found anyone in
Israel with such great faith.
I say to you that many willcome from east and the west and
will take their places at thefeast with Abraham, Isaac, and
Jacob in the kingdom of heaven.
But the subjects of the kingdomwill be thrown outside into the
(19:17):
darkness where there will beweeping and gnashing of teeth.
Then Jesus said to thecenturion, Go, let it be done
just as you believed it would.
And his servant was healed atthat moment.
Remarkable story.
Stories like this, it itpreaches itself, so there's
(19:39):
there's nothing to add.
The man who was just a gentileknew that Jesus had authority to
just speak a word, and thatword is enough to cause a sick
servant to be healed.
And tonight I want to encourageyou, let's go back to the word.
(20:00):
Because in times of difficulty,when you remember the word of
God and you pray the word ofGod, the word will not return
void, but it will go forth andaccomplish the purpose for which
(20:23):
it was sent.
God has not stopped healing,God is still healing.
He can heal right now, or hecan heal in the future, or he
can heal when when all hasended, and we've we've done with
our assignment on this earth.
(20:45):
Because healing is the natureof God, God is eternal, but
sometimes we we look at ourworld and we think that is all
that there is, and so even whenwe are asking for healing, and
sometimes it doesn't happen inthis life, we think that's the
end, but it's not because God iseternal, he is the existing
(21:06):
one, Jehovah, eternal God, andhis healing doesn't end here.
As a matter of fact, it is madeperfect and complete when we
stand before him, because allthe stories that we read,
Lazarus was dead four days, hecame back to life, but he had to
(21:26):
die again because this is notour home.
You know, we are just passingthrough this life, we have a
better place in God.
So tonight I just want toencourage you that let's not
stop praying for healing, evenwhen we don't see it.
I've been praying for mybrother for 30 years, still keep
(21:49):
praying, still trust God thatGod will keep him, and in his
own time, he will heal him.
One thing that I found sofascinating about God is that he
is not the God of the dead,he's the God of the living.
As a matter of fact, when Jesussaid this, and I was I was
(22:12):
thinking about it, even at theMount of Transfiguration, Moses
was there, and Elijah was there.
But to us, Moses died on MountNebo in the mountains of Moab.
He died.
But on the Mount ofTransfiguration, he was there.
And he says, He's God of Isaac,Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
(22:35):
He's not the God of the dead,but the God of the living.
To him, they are all alive tohim.
That is the God that we serve.
And so, even our loved ones whohave departed this world, to
God, they are all alive.
And so let's let's trust in Godand let's keep hope alive in
(22:56):
God.
I want to share another storyabout a woman that she was also
a gentile, and her faith alwaysblows my mind.
We can read the story in theGospel of Mark, chapter 7, verse
24 to 30.
It's also in Matthew chapter15, verse 21 to 28.
(23:18):
But this woman came to Jesusfor healing.
Jesus wouldn't say anything toher.
And the disciples told thewoman, you know, he he is not
ready for you, just go.
But the woman kept persisting.
And when Jesus opened hismouth, he said, It is not fit to
(23:44):
give the children's bread tothe little dogs.
And the woman was not offended.
He didn't, she didn't turnback.
She said, Yes, Lord.
How can you say yes, Lord, to aword like this?
And I was studying this theaccount and I saw that the
(24:05):
reason why Jesus was doing whathe was doing was to bring out
the great faith that was in thewoman.
Because sometimes we can easilyget offended.
The woman came to Jesus, Jesuswouldn't speak a word to her.
The disciples were pushing heroff, go away.
And when Jesus opened hismouth, the word that came was
(24:27):
not very encouraging.
But the woman said, Yes, Lord.
Now, how do you respond yes,Lord, to a word like this that
is not fit to give thechildren's bread to the dogs?
But the woman didn't end there.
She said, Yes, but the littledogs under the table have access
to the crowns that fall fromthe table of the master.
(24:51):
And Jesus said, Woman, for thissaying, go, your daughter is
healed.
You have great faith.
That's amazing.
She did not get offended.
I want to encourage youtonight.
(25:12):
Let's not get easily offendedwith God.
Let's trust God.
Let's look to Him.
I want to share a final storybefore we move to our group
conversations.
And I want to read this storyfrom Luke chapter 9, verse 37 to
(25:37):
43.
There are many accounts of Godshowing himself as Jehovah
Rapha, but we don't have enoughtime to delve into all of it.
But let this one is very, veryremarkable.
Luke 9, chapter 37 to 43.
(25:59):
Says that the next day whenthey came down from the
mountain, a large crowd met him.
A man in the crowd called out,Teacher, I beg you to look at my
son, for he is my only child.
A spirit seizes him and hesuddenly screams.
(26:21):
It throws him into convulsionsso that he foams at his mouth.
You unbelieving and perversegeneration, Jesus replied, How
(26:42):
long shall I stay with you andput up with you?
Bring your son here.
Even while the boy was coming,the demon threw him to the
ground in convulsion.
But Jesus rebuked the impurespirit, healed the boy, and gave
him back to his father.
And they were all amazed at thegreatness of God.
(27:06):
So this is a story about afather who is in asking healing
for his only son.
And from this story, we got toknow that it was a demon that
was afflicting the only son.
(27:26):
You know, when the enemy fellwith the fallen angels, all that
they are interested in isstealing, killing, and
destroying.
That's what Jesus said.
But when Jesus came on thescene, he said, How God anointed
Jesus of Nazareth with the HolyGhost and with power, who went
about doing good and healing allwho were oppressed by the
(27:49):
devil.
For God was with him.
Some of the oppressions andsicknesses, some of them Satan
and his agents, really oppressespeople.
So Jesus rebuked the spirit andhealed the boy.
But later on, the discipleswould go to Jesus and ask him,
(28:11):
Why could we not heal him?
And Jesus went on and said thatthis kind does not go except by
prayer and fasting.
And so sometimes thesespiritual disciplines are very
important, even when we arebelieving and trusting God for
(28:32):
deliverance for our loved ones.
We should spend some time infasting, spend some time in
prayer, and God, who isfaithful, will hear us.
We'll be moving into our groupdiscussion, but I want to share
some resistance to healing.
(28:55):
And the first one I want toshare is sin.
Sometimes it's not all thetime, but sometimes sin uh
prevents God's people fromreceiving healing.
And there was a story in Johnchapter 5 about a man who was at
(29:29):
the pool of Bethesda and he hadbeen there for 38 years.
And when Jesus saw him, hesaid, Do you want to be made
well?
Then he started going into thedetails.
I don't have any man to carryme into the water when the water
is dead.
And as he was going on, Jesussaid, Get up, take up your bed
(29:49):
and walk.
Now, as this man heard theword, immediately he was healed.
And when the Pharisees and therulers were asking him, Why are
you holding your bed on aSabbath day?
Well, there was a man who toldme to pick up my bed and walk.
And he found out later on thatit was Jesus.
(30:12):
Jesus told him, Go and sin nomore, so that something greater
than this will not come to you.
And so not all situations arecaused by sin, but sometimes too
there could be a sin issue.
In John chapter 9, the man whowas born blind, the disciples
(30:33):
asked Jesus, Rabbi, who sinnedthat he was born blind?
Is it his mother or his father?
He said, No, neither his fatheror his mother sinned, but for
the glory of God to be mademanifest in him.
And I struggle with that.
This man has been blind for 40years.
Jesus said, It is not becauseof anybody's sin, but for the
(30:57):
glory of God to be made manifestin him.
Tonight I want to share withyou that anything that we may be
going through or dealing withis an opportunity for the glory
of God to be made manifest init.
When we receive any report, anydiagnosis, which is not what we
(31:20):
were expecting, I want you toknow that it is an opportunity
for God to manifest his glory init.
And you can ask God, God, howare you going to manifest your
glory with this?
Amen.
Like Hezekiah, he didn't acceptthe report that came from God.
Not from a doctor, from God.
(31:41):
He didn't accept it.
So sometimes we need to wrestlewith some of the reports too.
I I have a story to share.
There is a woman in Ghana, andshe's very old.
Her dad was just a farmer, andthey were blessed with many
(32:06):
kids.
He had like 11 children, butsuddenly they were just dying.
And he got very desperate.
And he had few children left.
All of them just diedmysteriously.
And his daughter was sick atthe point of death.
(32:27):
And he said, God, this timeit's either you heal my daughter
or you kill me with thedaughter.
And he was in his farm and hewas praying and crying out to
God.
This was in the year 1930.
This man was filled with theHoly Spirit.
And he was the first man toever speak in the language of
(32:50):
the Spirit for the first time inGhana.
And when he was filled with theHoly Spirit, he had so much
faith.
At that time, the daughter wasdead.
And God used him to raise thedaughter back to life.
And the woman is still alivetoday.
And I've met with her, I havepictures with her.
(33:13):
And the last time I met her,she told me she's not feeling
very well, but she's afraid ofgoing to the hospital because
they will tell her all that iswrong with her.
Now I'm not saying that goingto the hospital is wrong.
Sometimes God uses doc, youknow, God has given us gifted
(33:34):
doctors and physicians that, youknow, can diagnose and bring
healing.
But this woman, this old ladysaid, I know they will tell me
all that is wrong with me.
I already know.
So I'm not going.
Well, where she lives, there'sno hospital anyway.
So yeah.
(33:55):
I shared it here before.
You go to some places in Ghana,no electricity, no hospital, no
school, nothing.
They hear the gospel for thefirst time and they are all
excited because they know thatit's either God or nothing.
And they will say, Oh, pleasepray for this water, pray over
this water, because we know thatwhen we are sick, we drink it,
(34:18):
we'll be healed.
Okay.
They have so much confidenceand you know, trust in God.
Some of us here we are veryblessed, and you know, and
there's nothing wrong.
I'm not saying there issomething wrong with going to,
you know, for checkups.
(34:38):
You know, if we have theopportunity to do that, we can
take advantage of it because Godcan use it to bring restoration
and healing.
But, you know, you understandme from where I'm coming from,
right?
Yeah, sometimes there are nohospitals and God still heals
his people.
Shall we pray?
(34:59):
Lord, we thank you that you area healer and you haven't
stopped healing.
Lord, right now I ask that youtouch your people.
Anyone here, oh God, who isbeen diagnosed with a with a
sickness or is dealing with uhneeding healing emotionally,
(35:20):
spiritually, physically, Lord,let your word bring complete
healing and restoration in thename of Jesus.
Lord, I thank you that you healus and by your stripes we were
healed.
We give you praise in Jesus'name.
Amen.
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