So Much More: Moving Beyond Kingdom Principles to Kingdom Power (10 page)

Let’s consider one more example found in Luke 13 that makes the link between demonic oppression and the disease clear: “On a Sabbath Jesus was teaching in one of the synagogues, and a woman was there who had been crippled by a spirit for eighteen years. She was bent over and could not straighten up at all” (Luke 13:10–11). Luke was an incredible historian who paid very careful attention to detail. But even more important to remember is that Luke was also a physician. He seemed to be especially drawn to those stories about Jesus healing someone. The physician recognized there was something different about what this woman was dealing with. He recognized that there was a demonic oppression that was causing this illness. I would imagine that Luke probably had some working knowledge of curvature of the spine. As a physician it was not foreign to him, yet he saw in this situation something beyond the actual physical infirmity; and he said that a spirit had caused this woman’s condition.

When Jesus saw her, he called her forward and said to her, “Woman, you are set free from your infirmity.” Then he put his hands on her, and immediately she straightened up and praised God. Indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, the synagogue leader said to the people, “There are six days for work. So come and be healed on those days, not on the Sabbath.”

—L
UKE
13:12–14

They had just seen a woman experience a miraculous healing, a woman who they no doubt knew very well. She undoubtedly had walked into that synagogue regularly unable to even stand up straight to raise her face to her God because the deformity in her spine caused her to be so hunched over. Jesus instantly straightened out her spine and all the religious leaders could say was to do it on another day. What happens when God operates outside of your box? The synagogue ruler didn’t expect God to do heal on that day in that way and there was no place in his theology to put it. All he could do was respond with a religious idea by saying, “Don’t do it on the Sabbath,” instead of looking this woman in the eye and rejoicing that she had been set free.

Apparently Jesus felt the same way about their response, because the next verse says,

The Lord answered him, “You hypocrites! Doesn’t each of you on the Sabbath untie his ox or donkey from the stall and lead it out to give it water? Then should not this woman, a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has kept bound for eighteen long years, be set free on the Sabbath day from what bound her?” When he said this, all his opponents were humiliated, but the people were delighted with all the wonderful things he was doing.

—L
UKE
13:15–17

We need to be careful here. We can’t jump to a quick conclusion and say, “All curvatures of the spine are caused by demons.” That would not be valid. However, we do have to recognize that this particular curvature of the spine was caused by a demon because the scripture identifies it as such. I think it is fair to say that at least some sickness has a direct correlation with some sort of demonic presence.

When we look at the different healings Jesus did, at least eight or nine times the Gospel writers include that there was a demonic spirit linked with the sickness. That was not the case every time, but it definitely happened on a regular basis. This really should not surprise us when we understand that sickness is part of Satan’s kingdom. Sickness and disease were never God’s intention for mankind in the first place, and Jesus demonstrated His authority over Satan’s kingdom through healing. The healing ministry of Jesus was a physical demonstration that He came to usher in the kingdom.

Let’s put it back in the context of the kingdom. Jesus came with a message that we can live in the kingdom of God now. We can leave the kingdom of darkness and enter the kingdom of light. We can stop living under the enemy’s control and start living in a new kingdom—the kingdom of God. Part of Jesus’ ministry involved casting out of demons; and furthermore, part of that ministry was the healing of disease. We see there is a very real conflict between two kingdoms taking place—the kingdom of God on the one hand and the kingdom of the god of this world on the other hand. When Jesus saves us, He saves all of us. He saves not just our spirits but our bodies as well.

This demonstration of the kingdom over disease is a problem for many of us because we have been raised with a Western mindset that is very scientific. It is hard for us to recognize or even believe in the supernatural. But this is the kingdom. Every time we come into contact with someone who is oppressed by the enemy through sickness, we are called to break the power of that spirit in the name of Jesus and command that spirit of sickness to leave. That is called kingdom warfare. That is called taking authority over the enemy. Paul says we are supposed to be aware of the schemes, the strategies of the enemy (2 Cor. 2:11); but lets face it, in our Western culture most of us don’t understand the strategies of the enemy because most of us don’t even recognize there is such a thing as a spirit world. Even the church today often ignores the spirit world. And religion has stripped the church of living in kingdom power and taught us to believe that we can’t expect to take authority over disease the way Jesus did. We have in effect been taught the doctrines of demons. But, when we understand the kingdom, we must see our assignment has not changed. What is our assignment? To destroy the works of the devil. How do we destroy the works of the devil? Jesus put it this way, “Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received; freely give” (Matt. 10:8). That is our assignment. We have been called to advance the kingdom, not just by preaching the message of the kingdom but also by doing the ministry of the kingdom, and part of that ministry involves healing the sick.

I have begun to see many instances of disease bowing its knee to King Jesus. One day a man who could barely walk came into to our church and left running and dancing. What happened? Gout bowed its knee to King Jesus. Heaven had invaded earth.

A man came to our men’s group and announced that for years he had been unable to hear out of one of his ears. We prayed and took authority over that deafness and thirty minutes later I received a text from him saying that he had just gotten off the phone with a friend holding the phone up to the ear that he previously could not hear out of. What happened? The kingdom of heaven invaded this earth.

A woman in our church with rheumatoid arthritis woke up every morning with incredible pain. After a word of knowledge and receiving prayer at a conference we attended, her pain was gone. What happened? Arthritis bowed its knee to King Jesus. Jesus said He came to destroy the works of the devil (1 John 3:8) and then He turned to us said, “As the Father sent me, I also send you” (John 20:21). So it’s not really that complicated. That is our assignment.

Let me tell you about Katherine. From birth she suffered from numerous earaches and ear infections that many young children seem to battle with. But by the time she was four years old, her parents realized it was something more. She was sick all of the time and would take the antibiotics that were supposed to take care of the problem; but every time she completed a course of antibiotics, she would continue to be sick. The doctors ran a battery of tests checking for things like immune disorders, cystic fibrosis, and a long list of other things. Every time the doctors thought they had diagnosed the problem, it would turn out to be a wrong diagnosis.

During her second sinus surgery, the doctors did a lung biopsy and tested for a very rare genetic disorder—not because they thought she had it, but just to rule it out. They soon received the test results; and to their surprise, the results were positive. Katherine had what is called primary ciliary dyskinesia or PCD.

PCD is a genetic disease that causes the cilia—the hair-like structures that exist in our lungs, brain, and sinuses, and function as a filtration system—to become stiff. A person with this disease becomes highly susceptible to any viruses or bacteria they come in contact with. Katherine was diagnosed with this disease, and her parents were told she would have it for the rest of her life. There is no cure for PCD, and the best they could hope for was to try to prevent infections through a constant regimen of steroids and antibiotics and to try to keep her environment as sterile as possible. They were told that eventually PCD would compromise her hearing and cause her lungs to harden and she would not have a normal life span. At some point in the future, she would need a partial lung removal and maybe even a lung transplant.

If she wanted to go to school and be around other children, she would need to do things like use a sinus rinse with a water pick three times a day. She so desperately wanted to attend school and play sports like all the other children that she willingly did whatever it took. Her parents decided there was nothing else to do but trust her to God’s care and pray for a miracle. Through all the doctor visits, her mom took her Bible and read Scripture and prayed. Instead of feeling sorry for herself, Katherine would minister to other kids who were in worse shape. There was one little boy who was petrified and didn’t want to have a needed surgery. Katherine ministered to him and told him, “It is okay. The last time I was in surgery, Jesus held my hand the whole way through.”

Katherine continued to get worse. In about third grade she was having another surgery and had been on steroids so long that she found herself very swollen and sore to the touch. Many mornings she would wake up throwing up, and her parents would have to do cupping to clear her lungs just so she could go to school; but she was willing to do whatever it took to be like the other kids.

Her parents asked the doctors if there was anywhere they could move that would improve her condition, but they told her there really wasn’t. Children with PCD live all over the world in many different environments. But as they prayed, God laid it on their hearts to move from Texas to Denver. They would need to find new doctors, but they soon discovered that one of the leading experts on PCD in the world was in Denver. The doctor visits continued and her mom continued to take her Bible and read and pray at each visit. That brought incredible peace in the midst of a very trying ordeal, and they continued to trust in God’s plan, knowing that God loved Katherine more than they ever could.

After six weeks of being in Denver, the change in Katherine was amazing. She was no longer on antibiotics. When they returned to Texas, her grandmother cried and said, “I know you are never coming home because I have never seen my granddaughter look this well.” In the next two years, Katherine was only on antibiotics four times. She began to run and play competitive soccer.

They returned to the doctor for another one of their regular checkups to see how the disease was progressing. As usual, while the doctors performed the tests, her mom prayed; and it was then that she heard God speak to her and say, “Because of faith you have this miracle.” And her mom had an instant peace and confidence that the test results were going to be good.

They did the usual tests three times and then sent her for a CAT scan. They sent Katherine and her mom out for lunch while they looked at the results. When they returned, the nurse said, “We’re going to let you go, but the doctor wants to talk with you first.” When the doctor came in he said, “You do know that PCD is genetic, right? It’s part of who she is. It’s part of her makeup. It can’t be changed. It can’t be undiagnosed.” All the time Katherine’s mom was thinking to herself, “We are in year six of this. I probably know as much about PCD as you do. Why are you telling me this?”

The doctor continued, “There is really no explanation for these tests. A PCD patient’s nitric oxide levels should be extremely low like hers have been in the past. But Katherine’s is at the level of a highly trained athlete! Further, the spot on her lungs is gone. Her lungs are completely clear! There is no evidence of the PCD anywhere in her body. She is a perfect 10 year-old! I have no explanation for this.”

Her mom said, “I have an explanation. God told me, ‘Because of your faith you have this miracle.’” The doctor wasn’t convinced and said, “We are going to send you home today, but we want to do a biopsy.” A few months later the doctor called and apologized for taking so long; he proceeded to tell them that they had sent the biopsy to three independent labs and all three came back the same. She had normally working cilia, and she no longer had PCD. Only one explanation makes sense. PCD bowed its knee to King Jesus and heaven invaded earth and healed Katherine!

You may wonder, “What about those who don’t get healed? Why do some get healed and others spend a lifetime battling debilitating sickness and disease?” I wish I knew the answer to that question. But here is what I do know. I know that God is good. And I refuse to sacrifice my belief in the goodness of God on the altar of personal experience.

Remember, the kingdom is both now and not yet. While we can live in the kingdom now, we will not see the kingdom in the fullest sense until Jesus returns and every sickness, pain, and disease is nonexistent. In the meantime, I choose to keep praying and trusting and advancing the kingdom by destroying the works of the devil. That is our kingdom assignment.