Joseph Prince - Experience the Healing Power of the Living Word
I want to share with you on studying the Bible as I’ve already been doing. Everything in the Word of God is significant. And Paul said this in 1 Timothy chapter 4: «Meditate upon these things; give thyself wholly to them; that thy profiting may appear to all». «Meditate upon these things; give yourself wholly to them; that your profiting, thy profiting may appear to all». This is the Old King James Version. I love to memorize my Bible from the Old King James Version, all right? I still love the beauty of the language. «Meditate upon these things; give yourself wholly to them».
Give yourself completely to it. Devote yourself to it. «That your profiting,» now how many of you like profiting? «May appear to all». If there is one key principle that the Bible says will cause you to prosper in all things, what is that key principle? And would you do it? We found it is meditation. God told Joshua, amen, and again, after the previous chapter says he was full of the spirit of wisdom, yet God says this book of the law shall not depart out of your mouth. Some people say, I just ask God for wisdom and that’s all I need. No! In fact, people who are filled with wisdom see the need for the Word, amen. And the very fact God says, «This book of the law shall not depart,» that means he was reading the Bible when God says, he was reading the scroll when God says, «This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night».
What’s going to happen? He shall make your way prosperous. You shall have good success. Psalms 1, we find out what? «In his law doth he meditate, in God’s Word does he meditate day and night, and he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water that brings forth his fruit in his season. His leaf, his health, also will not wither and whatever he doeth». If God says whatever, it is whatever. Don’t let man qualify it. «And whatever he doeth shall prosper». Just meditate. «Whatever he doeth shall prosper». New Testament counterpart: «Meditate upon these things; give yourself wholly to them; that your profiting may appear to all». It will appear to all.
Now this word here, «may appear to all,» in some versions like Young’s translation and all that, some say it will be made evident, manifested to all, for all people to see. In other words, for all to see. But in Young’s, it says: «Your profiting will appear in all». So to all and in all is different, right, right? To all means everyone can see it. In all means your profiting will happen in all things in your life, right? So which is the correct answer? Because in the Greek, the word «to all,» «to all» is actually the word E-N, «en» it’s not in the Greek. I’m just saying the English, how you pronounce it, is en. En, most of the time, is translated «in». It can be «to» as well.
So whenever you find a verse that can be used both ways, apply it both ways. That your profiting, when you meditate upon God’s Word, your profiting will be manifested, will be made evident in all things in your life and to all people, wow! Wow, wow, wow! Praise God, amen? So, how do you know this meditate is meditate on God’s Word? Well, just look at the verses before that: «Till I come, give attendance to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine». That’s the Word of God. When you see reading and doctrine there, it is the Word of God, the Scriptures. And after that, «meditate upon these things,» you look at verse 16, it goes on to say: «Take heed unto yourself, and unto the doctrine».
Now this is amazing, okay? You’re going to hear something that probably you may have never heard, because people don’t bother to meditate on every word or statement sometimes. They just say, «Okay, this is a statement to be taken at a face value». But think about it. «Take heed unto yourself, and unto the doctrine; continue in them». See the doctrine is there? So it’s sandwiched with doctrine. So meditate upon the Word of God. Can you see that? Now watch this. This is something you may not have ever seen. It says: «Take heed to yourself, and unto the doctrine; continue in them: for in doing this you shall both save yourself, and them that hear you».
Now, some time ago when I saw this, I was thinking, «What is there for Paul to save»? Because our idea of safe is actually saved from hell. If I ask you, how many of you are safe? You say, «I’m safe»! Right? If you’re not safe, you’ve got to face the penalty. Or there’s first a penalty and then there’s a save. If you’re into football, okay, never mind. This is like what you sow is what you reap. This happens to a meditating mind. So he’s saying, «Take heed to yourself». He’s telling you, who meditate on God’s Word, «Take heed to yourself and to the teaching, to the doctrine, that you are meditating on; continue in them». Don’t just do it one day. Okay, where’s the results? No, «continue in them: for in doing this you shall both save yourself, and them that hear you».
Obviously, Paul is writing to Timothy, and Paul is writing by the Spirit, and Paul is writing to someone who is saved already. Not only saved, he’s a pastor. He’s a young pastor. So is Timothy saved? Yes. And of course, we know that God’s Word is not written just for Timothy. It’s written to all of us. God had us all in mind when he had the Holy Spirit inspire all these words. So what is he saying? We are safe. Why is he saying, «Continue meditating on God’s Word and you will save yourself and you will save those people who are willing to listen to you, your friends when you share with them». You’ll save yourself, you’ll save them. You ever thought of meditating on that and ask the Lord what it means? So I’ve done the meditation for you, okay?
The word «save,» sozo in the Greek means this. «To save, keep safe and sound, to rescue from danger or destruction. To save a suffering one from perishing. That is, one suffering from disease. To make well, heal, restore to health». What do you think the save is? For a Christian, it cannot mean saved from hell anymore. It’s telling you, if you continue in it, it will save you. And it will save those who are listening to you, amen? For the pastor as well, as well as people who meditate on God’s Word, the friends who listen to them, those who are willing to listen to them. You were saved.
By the way, same word in the verb that is used by Jesus, «sozo». When that woman I told you about came behind and took the healing and Jesus turned around and says, «Daughter, your faith has sozoed you». Your Bible says, «Healed you,» amen, but in the Greek, it says, «sozo». And the problem that we have in the modern church, especially those that don’t believe in healing, is that we just say, we just look at the all-inclusive word of «sozo» or salvation which is the noun of sozo. We look at the word and we say, «Saved means saved from hell. So I’m saved already». It’s like we have no more dealings with the word «sozo» anymore. No, sozo is not just saved from hell. It’s saved in every area of the Fall that man experience because of Adam’s Fall, amen.
His name, Jesus’s name, in the Greek would be Soteria from the word «sozo,» all right? Literally, Savior. Savior! From the word «sozo». Save you, not just from hell. And then from there, say, «I got Jesus already. I can do whatever I want, amen. I don’t need him anymore». No, you need saving. Sometimes you even need to save face! How many like to save face? How many like some saving face sometimes? Sometimes you don’t know where to put your face, right? Amen? Has your face gathered interest or not? After you save, okay, anyway. That came spontaneously. Your faith saved interest? Gathered interest? Doesn’t gather interest after you take it out of saving, then don’t save it anymore.
Okay, anyway. This verse must mean not saved from hell, saved from destruction, but saved from disease or saved from danger or destruction. That’s the effect of the Word of God that you are meditating on, amen, amen. The Bible says, «Study the Word of God. Meditate,» amen. I tell you something. If you can sit down and read a book and find it fascinating, all right, once you close the book, it’s done. There’s no impartation. But with the Word of God, there’s some virtue there that whatever you are reading on, okay, has the power to reproduce itself. Let me explain. If you spend time in healing scriptures, for example, you spend time long enough in healing scriptures, it has a power to reproduce itself, okay?
There was a pastor in America, he has gone to be with the Lord already, but many, many years ago, the Lord told him this because he wanted a revival in his church. A real revival. And the Lord said to him, «Spend your time in my Word in the book of Acts. Live there. Meditate there. Just be absorbed in the book of Acts». And then he says this. I don’t know how long was the time, but he spent a lot of his time in the book of Acts and all of a sudden, the things that he saw in the book of Acts began to happen in the church.
Now I read that story. I think his name was William Freeman. It’s coming to me. He was a well-known evangelist and he saw the revival, healings, deliverance and all kinds of breakthrough signs and wonders happen, glorifying the Lord Jesus, amen? And then I saw something even as a young man. I remember I was a very young man, either in my late teens or early twenties. When I read that book, it was a story about his accomplishments in the evangelistic field, this man of God. But I saw something. I saw that the Word of God, whatever area… you want revival, you spend time in the book of Acts. Whatever, healing, it has the power to reproduce itself, amen, amen, okay? And that’s why we don’t deal with occultic books, because they have the power of evil, all right?
We don’t do that. We look at the Word and there’s a power to transform. Do you know the power doesn’t come by putting in effort to change yourself? Just by looking at the blessings, looking at the beauty of the Lord, you become like him. By beholding as in a glass, as in a mirror, the glory of the Lord. You meditate on it, all right? It will do wonders for your body. Look at Proverbs chapter 4: «My son, give attention to my words; Incline your ear to my sayings. Do not let them depart from your eyes; Keep them in the midst of your heart; For,» what? «They,» God’s Word. «They are life unto those that find them». Not just for every Tom, Dick, and Harry, okay? It’s for «those that find them, And health to all their flesh».
Now, there’s no way anyone can say, this health is spiritual health, brother. Spiritual health. No, health to all their flesh. God is saying God’s Word has a profit, has a benefit, which is health to all your flesh. Now, all your flesh? All. You know something? Today’s medicine, they try, I mean, they attempt to cure you of a condition but they qualify themselves by saying, «You may have these side effects,» okay? In other words, it’s not a cure-all. If you take this, you have to take this to lower your blood sugar. It may increase your blood sugar. If you take this, it may increase your blood pressure.
So you must take this also. Isn’t it true? But we still thank God for medicine because I believe it’s part and parcel of the every good and perfect gift is from above, all right? Perfect gift for his children but good gifts for the people of the world. He still loves them. And they cannot receive from God, God’s way, they will receive benefits as well, okay? But the thing is that medicine or whatever is still man-manufactured, okay? Why not use your medicine together with God’s Word? God’s Word says, this one, it has no side effect. It’s health to how much of your flesh? All your flesh! Name all the flesh part you got.
You know, just getting God’s Word and all your flesh benefits. Your eyes benefit, your hair benefit, no hair, your scalp benefit, your ears benefit, your tongue benefit, your teeth benefit, amen? Your heart benefit, your arteries benefit, your diaphragm benefit, your liver benefit, your pancreas benefit, your stomach benefit, your large and small intestines benefit, your colon benefit, your prostate benefit, your bladder benefit, your kidneys benefit, amen? Your skin benefit. Those are your eczema. In fact, there’s a story told, a man of God who was having terrible eczema when he was a man serving in the Sudan, in the army. And he says God showed him this portion and he says that he was a medical orderly at that time and the Lord said to him, «When you advise people to take medicine, how do you tell them? Three times a day, after food or whatever. Do that with my Word».
So he opened up God’s Word, and dutifully, all right, three times a day, read the Word, read the Word, and lo and behold, his skin, his eczema disappears. It’s health to all your flesh. Health to all your flesh. Health to all your flesh. When God says health to all your flesh, don’t make it spiritual. Flesh there is as flesh as flesh as flesh as flesh can be, all right? You look up the Hebrew, it says flesh. All body. It’s your body, amen. I wish those who teach Bible study would tell people this benefit as well. Because there’s something about telling them what God’s Word reveals because it releases faith every time you read. So every time I read the Word of God, I release my faith. I believe, Father, as I read your words, you will cause your words to be life to me and health and healing to all my flesh. Especially when I’m not feeling well, okay? I go into God’s Word even more. Can I have a good amen? Are you with me so far? Are you learning?
See, God’s Word is not just for your spiritual benefit. Now it is primarily, all right, God’s priority is always your spiritual man. Your growth in character, growth in holiness, growth in grace, that’s his priority for the believer, amen? But we’ve heard that so much that sometimes we don’t even believe this side anymore and this side we just leave to the medical field or we just leave to nature, we call it. No, no, no, God wants to be involved in every area of your life, amen.
One last verse, Hebrews 4, verse 12: «For the Word of God is living and powerful». Now I like my Old King James. «The Word of God is quick and powerful». Quick means like the word «quickening,» like living. The Word of God is living! This Word is living. Well, when you read the story of 1 Samuel, the story of David doing something, and you say, well it happened 3,000 years ago, how does that have a bearing on me? It’s living! It has a word for you today, amen. You know, suddenly you’re thinking, you know, shall I or not? It’s a lost cause. Shall I go for it? Who is to say to go for it or not to go for it? Maybe it’s a lost relationship. Maybe it’s a lost client or whatever, all right. They said, «Shall I go for it»?
And you know, sometimes you just read the Word of God and all of a sudden you come to the story of David and his loss at Ziklag. The enemies came and took all his wives and all his men’s wives and children all away and all the goods and all that. He was so heartbroken and even his men were so heartbroken they thought of stoning him. But the Bible says he strengthened himself. And you read this, God’s answer to him. «Pursue, David. Pursue them. For without fail, you will overtake all». And here you are reading this. Something that happened 3000 years ago. But it’s living!
Jeremiah 15: «Your words were found». How many words? Plural? Words, okay? More than one. «Your words were found, and I did eat them». I’m going to show you how to get a rhema. «Your words were found and I ate them, And Your word was to me the joy and rejoicing of my heart; For I’m called by Your name, O LORD God of hosts». So watch this. «Your words were found, and I did eat them». You know what’s the best attitude towards God’s Word? Don’t analyze it. Eat it. It’s designed for your food. It’s designed to feed you, strengthen you, make you strong and healthy, grow your character, amen. Grow in grace. Grow in holiness, amen. It’s meant to feed you. This is a bread book, not a law book, okay?
Now, you read a lot. Read copiously, all right? Read widely. Sometimes we finish a book in one day because it’s so interesting. Have you finished an Epistle? Like the Epistle of Ephesians in one sitting? Very interesting. You get the whole perspective as opposed to just a verse study. Anyway, when you read a lot widely, your words, those are your words, the Logos. You are reading the Logos. And you are eating them. That’s the right attitude. Feeding. You know what’s going to happen? They will jump out from there. One word, singular, Your word. And that word will be the joy and rejoicing of your heart.
So the more you read, there will be that one word that will jump out at you. How do you know it’s a rhema for you for that day? How do you know? You’re going to use that to fight the enemy, to fight your fears, to fight your worries. You know how you know that’s God’s Word for you? There’s a joy and rejoicing when that word comes. Sometimes I read, read, read, read for that day and there’s no jumping and all of a sudden, bang! There it is! There it is! I try to memorize it and that’s the verse I meditate on, amen.