(12-28-17)
Two days ago when I was on my way to bed the Lord spoke to me and said, “Wipe the slate clean”. The next morning before I got out of bed He again said, “Wipe the slate clean.” This was an interesting directive which changed my thinking about the ministry of healing.
For quite some time I have been explaining forgiveness with a simple illustration the Lord had shown me. I would tell people to imagine God having a black board in heaven with their name at the top. On that blackboard was written all the things they had done wrong, all the things they had said wrong, and all the things they had thought wrong in their life. If they died and came before God with all those sins in their life, He would have no choice but to banish them from heaven and they would go to the place prepared for Satan and all sinners, namely hell. That is a thought too horrible to imagine.
On the other hand if that person had accepted Jesus as their Savior and their Lord, and asked God to forgive them of all those sins while they were still alive, then it is as if an eraser is dipped in the blood of Jesus and their black board full of sins is wiped clean. From that moment in time God would no longer remember their prior sins. From His stand point the sins never existed. The blood of Jesus is powerful enough to eradicate all sins from God’s perspective. If that person then died and came before God, all He would see would be the blood of Jesus that had washed him clean, and He would say, “Come into My arms. Enter the joy of your Lord for evermore.”
With this background in mind, I understood the “slate” to be the same as the black board. I knew well what God had said in Is.53:5. “But he was wounded for our transgressions; he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.” This scripture made three things very clear that Jesus had accomplished through His crucifixion.
1- Jesus had made a way for our sins to be removed when He was “wounded for our transgressions (sins)” and “bruised for our iniquities (sins).”
2- Jesus had made a way for us to live in peace when “the chastisement of our peace was upon Him.”
3- He had made a way for us to be healed and stay healthy when “with His stripes we were healed.” (1 Peter 2:24)
Let’s explore this last statement first. God had told me, “Wipe the slate clean,” which meant that you could address healing at the same time you addressed sin or vice versa. In the ministry of Jesus He healed many, many sick people, but He seldom addressed sin along with the sickness. One time was at the pool of Bethesda when He healed a crippled man and told him to take up his bed and walk. Later Jesus searched until He found this man and then told him, “Behold, thou art made whole: sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee.” (John 5:14)
This told us several things. One was that sin can open the door for infirmities to come into a person. Secondly it showed us that the man’s sins were forgiven when he was healed, because Jesus said, “Sin no more”. That tells us that the man had sinned in the past but the sins were forgiven when he was healed. Now he was free of sin, and he had better not sin in the future or he would end up in even worse shape. When He told the man, “Thou art made whole,” he was made whole both physically (crippling condition gone) and spiritually (sin wiped away). If Jesus removed both sin and sickness at the same time then, He will do the same now, for “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, and today, and forever.” (Heb.13:8) Thus He said, “Wipe the slate clean,” meaning He was able to forgive their sins as He healed them or heal them as He forgave their sins. Provisions were made for both at the same time at Calvary. In crusades among people of other religions, they are frequently healed as soon as they repent (have sins erased) and receive Jesus as their Lord and Savior. He demonstrates that He is their Healer without even being asked.
In the book of Mark we read of a time when four friends brought a paralyzed man to be healed by Jesus. The house was so crowded that they made a hole in the roof and lowered the paralyzed man down in front of Jesus. When the Lord saw their faith He said, “Son, thy sins be forgiven thee.” (Mark 2:5) The religious leaders that were there were greatly offended, thinking in their heart that no man can forgive sins, only God can do that. Jesus perceived their thoughts and said to them, “Whether is it easier to say to the sick of the palsy, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Arise, and take up thy bed, and walk? But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins, (he saith to the sick of the palsy,) I say unto thee, Arise, and take up thy bed, and go thy way into thine house. And immediately he arose, took up the bed, and went forth before them all; insomuch that they were all amazed, and glorified God, saying, We never saw it on this fashion.” (Mk.2:9-12) This makes it extremely clear that forgiveness of sins and healing go hand in hand. They can both be wiped off the slate of a person’s life at the same time.
Once when Jesus and His disciples encountered a man who was blind from birth, the disciples asked Jesus if the man was blind because he had sinned or because his parents had sinned. They must have assumed that all sickness had to be caused by someone’s sin. Jesus responded to their question by saying that neither the blind man nor his parents had caused the blindness by sinning. We know from this that every infirmity is not caused by sin.
God tells us that if a person is sick they can call for the elders of the church and ask them to pray and anoint them with oil in the Name of Jesus. “And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and IF he has committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.” (James 5:15) Clearly then, some sick people have sins that need to be forgiven and others have not sinned. God says that those who do have sin in their lives will automatically be forgiven when they are healed. This may be a revelation to you, but since God said it and Jesus demonstrated it, we must believe it.
A scripture that is rarely spoken of is where the resurrected Jesus tells His disciples, “If you forgive anyone’s sins, their sins are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.” (John 20:23 NIV) He had already commanded them in Matt. 10:8, “Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils, freely you have received, freely give.” Now He was giving them power in the area of forgiving or retaining a person’s sins. Actually in Matt. 28:18, 19 Jesus said, “All power is given unto Me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore…” He was taking all the power on earth that had been given to Him and delegating it to us. He wanted us, in His name, to be able to do the same works that He did, thus showing forth His glory. “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also (including healing and forgiving sins); and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.” (John 14:12)
It is God’s will for us to wipe the slate of the person’s life clean of sickness and disease. He paid for that at Calvary and He wants us to implement it in our every day lives. Just like reaping souls for the Kingdom of God is a mandate from heaven, so is wiping their slate clean of sickness and disease. The only thing left is for us to do it. God said to me, “When they come before you with infirmity, wipe the slate clean.” He did not suggest that I do it, He commanded me to do it. Think of it like this. The person comes to you for help. It is as if they have a black board (slate) with some infirmity written on it; diabetes, arthritis, heart disease, and the list goes on. Your responsibility as a Christian, filled with the power of the Holy Spirit, is to take authority over that spirit of infirmity and command it to leave the person in Jesus’ name. Also decree, “I wipe the slate cleanin Jesus’ name.” The spirit has to do what you tell it to do because of the power in the name of Jesus. It has no choice. So now envision their black board to be wiped clean with no sin or infirmity written on it. That is what the Lord is telling us to do.
Of course this works concerning your own body. If an infirmity tries to attach itself to your body, you should take authority over it and command it to leave you. “Whatsoever things you bind (forbid, lock away) on the earth shall be bound in heaven and whatsoever things you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” (Matt. 16:19 and 18:18) Of course if there is any sin in your life you must repent. It is up to you to keep your own black board wiped clean. Your body is the tabernacle of the Holy Spirit and He does not want you to allow His house to be filled with junk from hell.
We also know that God does NOT cause sickness. Why would He cause something that He has paid such a high price to eradicate? That makes no sense whatsoever. He does not want us to be sick or He would not have had Jesus tied to a whipping post and beat almost to death with the lethal Roman “stripes”, or scourging. The only reason He permitted this was so we could be set free from sickness and disease. It is Satan who comes to steal, kill, and destroy. It is Jesus who came that we might have life, and have it more abundantly. (John 10:10) Never forget these four words…God good, devil bad. They will help you sort out the cause of what is happening in your life and the life of others.
I want to mention the third provision of God through the crucifixion process of Jesus, “the chastisement of our peace was upon Him.” That means that He was punished (beaten, spit upon, had a crown of thorn beaten into his head, was verbally and physically abused, etc.) so that you and I could have peace. This is like everything else that is available to us in the Kingdom of God. The peace is readily available if we will apply the word of God. Think about these instructions from God that will lead to peace if we will simply apply them.
* The Bible says, “Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusts in thee.” (Is. 26:3)
* “Be careful (anxious) for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God which passes all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” (Phil.4:6, 7)
* “Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.” (1 Peter 5:7)
* An old hymn comes to mind, “O what peace we often forfeit, O what needless pain we bear, All because we do not carry everything to God in prayer.”
* We can choose to think about the things that cause anxiety, frustration, defeat, sadness, depression etc. Or we can choose to do what God says. “ Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there beany praise, think on these things.” (Phil. 4:8)The choice is ours and we will live with the results of our choice.
So the peace that Jesus provided at Calvary is ours if we will apply His word and keep our slate wiped clean of the thoughts that pull us down. You are the one who must do that for yourself. God will not wipe wrong thoughts from your mind. That is your job.
Here is a question for you to answer honestly. What is on your slate today?
–If sin is there, wipe it off with repentance. Ask God to forgive you of every sin on your slate in the name of Jesus and He will be happy to wipe your slate clean.
–If sickness is there, bind it away from you in Jesus’ name. (Matt. 16:19) Believe God’s word that by the stripes of Jesus you are healed. Believe that healing is the children’s bread. The Bible says Jesus healed them ALL and you are certainly part of that all.
–If anxiety, depression, stress, etc. are there, give all your cares to Jesus, for He cares for you. If you gave your car away, and signed the title over to another person, then any problems the car had would not be your problems. If it had a flat, that is not your concern. If it needed an oil change or a tune up you would not be involved in that in any way. That is like giving the concerns of your life to Jesus and trusting Him to take care of them from now on. If you give them away, they are no longer yours. Let’s face it; if you could have solved them you would have already done it. Since you can’t, then give them to Jesus and let Him handle them.
So God says, “Wipe the slate clean” in our own lives, and when called upon to do so, we have the authority given to us by Jesus to help others have their slates wiped clean also.