As I laid in bed, thinking about healing..... I turned over in bed, glanced at the clock, glanced again and realized it was 10:38 pm. Immediately Acts 10:38 came to mind. God's cool like that.
"How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him." -King James Version of Acts 10:38
This is one of my favorites, but not usually THE scripture I choose to stand on in regards to healing. Usually I go with 1 Peter 2:24 "By the stripes of Jesus you HAVE been healed". But God reminded me tonight of Jesus.
God showed me about 2 weeks ago, that in order to fully understand healing, I needed to study the healer. Jesus. I committed to reading Matthew, Mark, Luke and John in order to study Jesus' life. I've started that process and will share verses from that study with you later, but for now: Acts 10:38.
"Who anointed.." ok stop. Anoint means to rub with oil and/or my personal favorite: to dedicate to the service of God. Wow. Jesus was dedicated to the service of God!
He was anointed by God. Who? Oh yes, God, the creator of the world and everything in it.
What was He anointed with? the Holy Ghost and with power. Wow! Jesus had the Holy Ghost, even though nobody else in the Old Testament did. Us, New Testament believers have the Holy Ghost living inside us just like Jesus did. So one could say WE are anointed with the Holy Ghost.... AND with power too :) Ah, getting ahead of myself here....
Ok, so Jesus was anointed with the Holy Ghost and with power. What did He do with that anointing? Oh yes, he went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him.
So he did good. The first definition of the word "good" on Dictionary.com is "morally excellent, virtuous and righteous. Yup, that definitely describes what Jesus did here on the earth AND what He's still doing today.
He healed ALL that were oppressed of the devil. I'm sorry, does that verse say "all"? No, it can't mean all. I'm sure Jesus just walked past some demon possessed people (we call that mental illness in these times) on the street because He didn't have "time" to set them free. I'm sure He thought, "oh come on God, I can't do what you do, I don't have the power...... you have all the power, not me...." NO NO NO NO NO NO NO He didn't. He healed ALL. Jesus heals ALL! He doesn't pick and choose and he most certainly isn't too busy to heal you.
Incase you're wondering what "oppressed of the devil" means. Here ya go: oppressed means.... to burden with cruel or unjust impositions or restraints; subject to a burdensome or harsh exercise of authority or power, to lie heavily upon (the mind, a person, etc.), to weigh down, as sleep or weariness does, to put down; subdue or suppress, to press upon or against: crush.
The devil oppresses us with sickness, disease, thoughts, depression, mental illness, anger and so on. Read the definition of oppression again to find out what exactly the devil does and what exactly Jesus heals us of.
Acts 10:38 ends with "for God was with Him". God was inside of Jesus. How? Via the Holy Spirit. Remember, the trinity is all 3 of them being equal. Why did Jesus heal the sick? Because it was God's will. How did Jesus heal the sick? With God's power.
When Jesus died on the cross, He freed us from sin and sickness. Matthew 8:17 "That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying, Himself took our infirmities, and bare our sicknesses." He bore it for us, so we don't have to. It's already taken care of. He's got our back, if you will.
So, this brings me to my previous title "1/3 of you is Jesus". Are you aware of what resides in your Spirit right now? When you became a Christian, your human spirit, became the Holy Spirit because it was "born again" as we like to say now days. You have a new Spirit. The Spirit of God. You have Jesus inside of you. Does that mean, Amie, that I can do what Jesus did because He is with me? Yes, that's exactly what I mean.
Acts 10:38 - Amie's Version for the church - how God anointed the born again Christians with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good, healing ALL who were oppressed of the devil, for Jesus was with them.
That is our mission. Learn WHO you are in Jesus. Learn WHAT Jesus had and did, because it turns out, you also have it since He lives in you. And BE Jesus, to the dying world.
I'll leave you with the Message's translation of Acts 10:38:
Then Jesus arrived from Nazareth, anointed by God with the Holy Spirit, ready for action. He went through the country helping people and healing everyone who was beaten down by the Devil. He was able to do all this because God was with him.
We can do what Jesus did BECAUSE the trinity (God, Jesus, Holy Spirit) are with us. Immanuel means "God with us".
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