What is Sickness?

[Paul]

WHAT IS SICKNESS?

Sickness is defined in Acts 10:38 as an "Oppression of the devil." Most of
the time sickness comes as a result of sin. people who disobey God and
live in opposition to his commandments inviting a "curse" to come on them.
The curse includes consumption, fever, inflammation, extreme burning, the
botch, hemorrhoids, the scab, the itch, madness, blindness, heart trouble,
problems in the knees and the legs, sores, plagues, chronic ailments, and
many other sicknesses of long duration (Deuteronomy 28). Financial
reverses are caused generally for the same reason.

Let me make it clear that handicaps, like weak eyes or bad teeth which are
not diseased or infected, are not listed as sickness in the Bible. A
person without an arm or a leg or who is maimed in some other way should
not expect healing. There is nothing there to heal. however, in the
Sovereign will of God, he can Expect a Miracle! He cannot claim a miracle
in the way he would claim a healing, but he can expect a miracle!
What does it mean to claim healing? We can claim our rights to the
healing spoken of in God's word, healing for every sickness and disease
every single time: That is, if we meet the conditions listed in the Bible.
The word of God promises to heal all infections, diseases or sicknesses,
allergies, depressions and psychosomatic illnesses when we line up with the
word of God. Jeremiah makes it clear. "I have wounded thee with the wound
of an enemy, with the chastisement of a cruel one, for the multitude of
thine iniquity; because thy sins were increased" (Jeremiah 30:14). Paul
echoes this when he writes: "For this cause (sin), many are weak and
sickly among you, and many sleep" (1st Corinthians 11:30).
Most sickness comes because of sin, but sometimes sickness comes to "test"
us (as in the case of Job, see Job 2:5, 6) or "That the Works of God should
be made manifest" (John 9:2, 3). Exodus 20:5 speaks of sin affecting
children to the third and fourth generation, so sickness can come as a
result of the sin of parents. But in all cases if illness, people can do
what God says to do and receive healing. The source of sickness is Satan
"God gave satan the power of sickness (Acts 10:38) and the power of death
(Heb. 2:14).
John 10:10 states, "The thief cometh not, but for the steal, and to kill,
and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might
have it more abundantly." It is not wrong to say, "God made him sick" or
"God let her die" As long as we understand that God is not the source of
evil, whether it be sickness or death. Satan is the source of evil, and
God uses satan in his over-all plan. God permits satan to do certain
things.
Remember King Saul? He was anointed of God, and he stood head and
shoulders above other men. He became lax in his spiritual life, however,
backslid, and the scripture says, "The Spirit of the Lord departed from
Saul, and an evil Spirit from the Lord troubled him" (1st Samuel. 16:14).
Notice that the evil spirit was from the lord. The evil spirit evidently
had to have permission from God to attack Saul. (an evil spirit is a
demon).
There is one devil, satan, but there are innumerable demons. The King
James translation calls them devils or evil spirits. Satan is not
Omnipresent. He can be only in one place at one time. He needs many
helpers to take advantage of, to war, afflict, devour, oppress, blind,
snare contend, work miracles, steal, pervert, buffet, conspire, resist,
offend, provoke, tempt, capture, bind, control, kill, deceive and to do the
many other things the Bible says he dies.
As a general rule, when we say we are resisting the devil, we are actually
resisting a demon or demons. Some would say, "Oh, you're blaming everything
that has to do with sickness on the devil." You're right! I am! It's
significant that during the 1,000-year reign of Christ, while the devil and
his demons are bound, Isaiah declares, "Then the eyes of the blind shall be
opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped". Then shall the lame
man leap as an hart, and the tongue of the dumb sing" (Isaiah 35:5, 6).
Not every sickness, though it is caused by the devil, has an accompanying
demon that needs to cast out. But, many sicknesses do. It's interesting to
note, if you'd like to make a study of it, that in more than one-half of
the cases recorded where Christ ministered to the sick, he dealt with devil
spirits.
Sick people can be vexed with unclean spirits (Acts 5:16).Blindness,
dumbness and deafness can be caused by a demon that must be cast out
(Matthew. 9:32; 12:22-24, and Mark 9:25). When people are attacked by
satan, they can be actually infiltrated, for an example, by a spirit of
arthritis or a spirit of cancer. That's not possession, it's oppression.
They need deliverance as well as healing.
When Matthew relates in Chapter 8, verses 16 and 17, "When the even was
come, they brought unto him many that were possessed with devils: And he
cast out the spirits with his word, and healed all that were sick: That it
might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying, "Himself
took our infirmities and bare our sicknesses," the word "possession" in the
King James version should have been translated "oppression." Actually
there's very little difference between the words, "oppression" or
"possession" according to the scholars, except that generally the
connotation is accepted as "burdened" (oppressed) And "controlled"
(possessed).
Although God permits satan's activities (but always for our own good) satan
is still the source of all sickness and disease. Someone might say, "Well,
if satan causes sickness, how do doctors fit into the picture?" That's a
good question. Doctors can aid in the healing program of God, but they
cannot heal.
The natural means and medicines can curb what the devil is doing just like
a good King can curb a tyrannical dictator from his diabolical plans.
Thank God for good doctors and nurses and for medicine. Thank God for
hospitals, but only God can heal. And, most of the time, as we have faith
toward God, we can maintain good health and get well when we get sick, even
without a doctor.

[Jeffrey L. Bell]

In a previous article, Paul <fil...@mail.tds.net> wrote:
>Sickness is defined in Acts 10:38 as an "Oppression of the devil."...

No it isn't. Look it up.

-Jeff