How to Gain Victory Over Deadly Diseases

In last week’s podcast, we shared a victory testimony of God’s magnificent healing power as it relates to the deadly disease of addiction. In that episode, we pointed out some lessons we can learn from God’s dealings with others. That testimony that we examined was from a medical doctor who lived in the late 19th century and early 20th century. God healed her from a severe drug addiction. We are going to follow that same MO this week of looking for valuable lessons, but from a more modern perspective, a woman healed of cancer who lived [and in fact is still alive] during our day. A. W. Tozer said that because we are the handiwork of God, it follows that all our problems and their solutions are theological.¹ What does that statement mean? It means the wisdom of God holds the answers for everyone. And since the Word of God is the Wisdom of God, then, your answers, my answers, anybody’s answers are in the Bible. We just have to know where to look, and have revelation of how things operate. So, let’s get our faith pointed towards the Lord and let’s examine another testimony in the revelation light of God’s Word. How to Gain Victory Over Deadly Diseases, that’s our focus on this week’s Light on Life.

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Why Your Powerful Victory Over Satan’s Wisdom Is Certain

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Each week’s podcast contains a call to action. The Word of God will not produce in your life unless you put it into operation.
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One of the great truths in this testimony is the importance of acting on your faith. Don’t allow your daily routine to be altered. Healed people should act like the Word of God is true.

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Testimony is vital to a believer’s life. We overcome by it (Rev. 12:11). Each week’s podcast also contains a question designed to encourage testimony.
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Question: Do you have an instructive healing testimony that you would like to share? Please give your testimony in the comments section so others can be built up.

Episode Resources:How Jesus Style Perserverance Can Make You a Winner

We are currently teaching on the subject of Divine Healing. You can click on the links below to listen to more podcasts or read blog posts along this line.

About Emery

Emery committed his life to the Lord Jesus Christ over 48 years ago and has served as both a full-time pastor and an itinerant minister. He and his wife Sharon of 44 years emphasize personal growth and development through the Word of God. The ministry of the Holy Spirit is the focus and the hallmark of their mission. Read more about them here.

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Prayer

Victory Over Disease: Faith Will Be Tested

Psalm 30:2–3 (ESV) — 2 O LORD my God, I cried to you for help, and you have healed me. 3 O LORD, you have brought up my soul from Sheol; you restored me to life from among those who go down to the pit.

Victory over disease is available to every child of God.
That’s a Bible fact — you’ve just listened to the Psalmist who cried for help and was healed.
This gentleman, depicted here in Psalm 30, was in a very bad way.
He suffered from something that brought him to the point of death but He cried to the Lord and was restored.
Restored from the brink of death back to fulness of life.
So, it’s never too late.
Now, there will be times in your life where you will need your faith.

Victory Over Disease: What is Affliction?

Psalm 34:19 (ESV) — 19 Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the LORD delivers him out of them all.

The Hebrew word ‘affliction’ means evil, wickedness, misfortune, or disaster.
It’s when evil, wicked, bad stuff, misfortune, or disaster tries to happen to you.
Affliction is not the end.

Isaiah 63:9 (ESV) — 9 In all their affliction he was afflicted, and the angel of his presence saved them; in his love and in his pity he redeemed them; he lifted them up and carried them all the days of old.

Thank God for Jesus — He saved you from affliction.

Matthew 4:23 (ESV) — 23 And he went throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction among the people.

Matthew says Jesus healed every affliction among the people.
The Greek word ‘affliction,’ of course we are in the New Testament and it was written in Greek not Hebrew, means a state of weakness resulting from disease—‘disease, sickness.²
Victory over diseases that cause weaknesses in your body is something Jesus took care of at Calvary.

**Isaiah 53:4–5 (ESV) — 4 Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. 5 But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed.

So, the Hebrew word ‘griefs’ means sicknesses and the word ‘sorrows’ means pains or weaknesses.
So, you could translate this as ‘Surely he has borne our sicknesses and carried our pains;
In fact, here is another translation that puts it this way.

Isaiah 53:4 (Lesser’s Translation) — 4 But only our diseases did he bear himself, and our pains he carried: while we indeed esteemed him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.

Jesus was afflicted with your afflictions.
There is victory available over disease.

Victory Over Disease: The Vital Necessity of God’s Word

Now, you must know the importance of the Word of God in these matters.
And with that thought, here is the Quote of the Day.

No wonder you are sick. You are not linking yourself enough to the resources that bring healing.³

What are the resources that we need?
The Word of God.
Listen to David, the man of God, on this.

Psalm 119:92 (ESV) — 92 If your law had not been my delight, I would have perished in my affliction.

Know that when your faith is tested by devils, demons, and evil spirits who want to dilute the abilities of our great God by casting dispersions upon His Word, know that in that hour, the Word of God — the Bible is your best friend.
And what does the Bible, your best friend tell us?

Victory Over Disease: God Is Not Test You with Sickness

James 1:2–3 (ESV) — 2 Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, 3 for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.

It tells us to count it all joy when meet trials — it tells us to know that the testing of your faith produces.
Now, it’s not God that’s doing the testing, right?
Sickness does not come from Him.
We know that’s true if we keep reading in James one.

James 1:12–15 (ESV) — 12 Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him. 13 Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God,” for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one. 14 But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. 15 Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.

Did you hear the switch between verses twelve and thirteen?
In verse twelve, blessed is the man who remains steadfast and has stood the test.
Then in verse thirteen, the wording switches from testing to temptation.
Well, which one is it — testing or temptation?
How about both?
What if your expectations for coming out of the test are inaccurate?
People sometimes don’t understand the time period in being steadfast.
When the scripture says, ‘having done all to stand, stand therefore’ how long do you have to stand?
The answer is simple — however long it takes.
People bail out and sometimes they turn tests into temptations.
Temptations to do what? — to blame God.
Maybe we should put up ‘wanted’ posters.
Wanted! — Men and women who will stand up for the truth.
Wanted! — Jesus’ followers who choose to remain steadfast.
Oh, how we have looked at that word — steadfast, perseverance, refusing to quit, staying power — hypomonē patience.
We’ve looked at it.

Victory Over Disease: Healed of Cancer

One of my favorite ministers coming up was a man named John Osteen.
His wife has a tremendous healing testimony.
Dodie Osteen was diagnosed with cancer of the liver.
This testimony comes from a book she wrote on the subject.⁴
She writes.

In October 1981, symptoms began to appear in my body… I felt a bit fuzzy in my mind, and I had chills and a fever. I would be freezing cold, yet burning up with fever. The symptoms got progressively worse for the next three weeks. I was unable to sleep, and when you lose sleep over long period of time that does something to you, I became extremely weak. After a few weeks, I became jaundice and other symptoms and pains began to appear… nobody knew then, not even me, how sick I really was.

John and I believe and confess God’s Word. We sought God and agreed together in prayer. I was anointed with oil according to James 5:14–15. I did everything I knew to do, but I got worse.⁵

Victory Over Disease: God Is a Prayer Answering God

Have you ever been in this place where you did everything you knew to do spiritually and instead of things getting better they got worse?
Sometimes people quit when prayers seem not to be answered.
I am emphasizing the word ‘seem.’
God is a prayer answering God who always responds to faith in His Word.
Where people get off track is not understanding that healing is not usually instantaneous.
Healing begins the moment someone releases their faith.
It starts when contact happens through the laying on of hands.

James 5:14–15 (ESV) — 14 Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. 15 And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven.

This is such good news.
You see, many think that the reason that they are sick is because of some sin they have committed.
I’m glad for the good news that the Lord will raise me up and at the same time forgive me.
So, John and Dodie decide to go the doctor and they run test after test on her and both are astounded when the doctor reports that Dodie had metastatic cancer of the liver.
The doctor said.

with or without chemotherapy, she only has a few weeks to live. We can treat her, but it will only slightly prolong her life. However, we cannot find the primary tumor. We don’t know where it is in fact, it has really baffled us.⁶

Only a few weeks to live?

Victory Over Disease: Take Time to Seek God

John couldn’t believe it. He said, ‘I am going to take my wife home.’ We are going to pray and seek God, and then we will decide what to do. We believe in miracles and we believe in the miracle worker.’ The doctor said, ‘Well Pastor, you’re going to have to have a miracle this time.’⁷

Dodie goes home from the hospital, never to return.
She decides against chemotherapy because she only was given a few weeks, anyway.
Pray and seek God is the point, here.
Sometimes the medical route is the correct route.
Sometimes it isn’t.
Find out which way you should go — don’t just take matters into your own hands.
God is the healer not man in the first place.
The Holy Spirit is on the inside of you.
He will give you direction.

Victory Over Disease: Your Faith Will Make You Whole

While I was in the hospital, I was so weak, and my senses were dulled by the medication, that I depended heavily on other people’s prayers and faith.⁸

It’s important to understand this reality, we need one another.
We need other people’s prayers to help stabilize us.
But it’s even more important to know that your faith will make you whole.
Dodie said concerning this:

It was soon after I came home, that I realized my healing was a personal matter between me and Jesus. One night God spoke to my heart: ‘It’s not your husbands faith; it is not Oral Roberts faith; it’s not Kenneth Hagin’s faith; it is YOUR faith that you must go on now.⁹

Now, what does that look like?
What does faith look like?

Victory Over Disease: Faith Does Not Give Place to Sickness

Once I went home, I never went to bed to be cared for by others. I felt if I did, it would demonstrate unbelief and undermine my faith. I went to bed at normal sleeping hours. I wouldn’t even take a nap. I knew if I did, I would stay there because I felt so sick… I was not going to act sick.¹⁰

This is a critical point in this testimony — It is absolutely a difference maker for all experiencing symptoms in their body.
You must act according to your faith.
Saying this another way: faith requires corresponding action.
If you believe you receive healing, act healed — don’t act sick.
Don’t alter your normal routine.
Don’t give place to sickness.
Healed people get up in the morning — they don’t stay in bed.
You might be tempted to lie down by how you feel.
But, are you normally in bed at 10 AM?
Healed people should get up at their normal because they believe they can.
If you weren’t sick, what you be doing at 10 AM?
Healed people should be about the tasks of the day — they are doing what the day requires — what their schedule or routine requires.
Do you believe you receive your healing?

Mark 11:24 (ESV) — 24 Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.

Did you hear what Jesus said?
He said, ‘it will be yours.’

Victory Over Disease: Lessons from the Paralytic Man Jesus Healed

Mark 2:3–5 (ESV) — 3 And they came, bringing to him a paralytic carried by four men. 4 And when they could not get near him because of the crowd, they removed the roof above him, and when they had made an opening, they let down the bed on which the paralytic lay. 5 And when Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven.”

Now, the scribes got all upset with Jesus and took Him to task over this saying this.

Mark 2:8–11 (ESV) — 8 And immediately Jesus, perceiving in his spirit that they thus questioned within themselves, said to them, “Why do you question these things in your hearts? 9 Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Rise, take up your bed and walk’? 10 But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—he said to the paralytic— 11 “I say to you, rise, pick up your bed, and go home.”

Notice what Jesus didn’t say to this man.
He didn’t say, “The healing power is working in you. When you start feeling better, get up out of bed.”
That’s not what He said.
Jesus said, three things to this man.
First get up.
Healed people can walk.
Note, the second thing Jesus said to this man; ‘pick up your bed.’
Pick up your bed: wouldn’t that be a challenge for a man who was bedfast?
Did this paralytic have any muscular strength having been bedfast?
I mean, four men lowered him on a cot of some type through the roof into the room where Jesus was.
Healed people can pick up their bed.
Healed people can make their bed.
That takes energy to do.
What would have happened if this man had said to Jesus, ‘I will make my bed as soon as I can get some strength.’
You see, that’s backwards to the way God thinks and to the way spiritual things work.
In God, strength comes through faith.
You get strength by stepping out knowing that God is there to hold you up.
So Jesus said, Rise, take up your bed — but He told this man to do yet one more thing — go home.
Go home — that’s traveling — that’s walking.
Four men carried this man coming to Jesus.
Someone else’s energy bore him.
But to leave Jesus, this man has to walk — he must use his own energy.
Maybe he had to walk some hills to get home — I don’t know — I’m sure the path home wasn’t all downhill.
So, act like you believe you are well — step out on God.
You can see this point in Dodie Osteens testimony.
I will point it out when we get to it — Listen for it.

Victory Over Disease: The Osteens Pray, Believe and Fight

Let’s pick the testimony back up.

The day after I came home from the hospital, I asked John to pray with me, I said, darling, you are the head of this house. You’re gonna have to take authority over this cancer in my body. We must agree that God is going to heal me and make me whole. So we did that was December 11, 1981. As far as I’m concerned, that’s the day my healing began. I had a confidence in God’s Word that I was healed, but my body did not completely line up with the truth. I still had many symptoms. I still felt ill, but in my heart, I knew I was healed. It took a long time for the symptoms to go. Many times I felt like saying Jesus, it would be so much easier just to give up the fight and go on it to be with you. Instead, I had to fight.¹¹

1 Timothy 6:12 (ESV) — 12 Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called and about which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.

The Greek word ‘fight’ is the one we want to look at and with that thought, here is the Definition of the Day.
The Greek word ‘fight’ means to strive to do something with great intensity and effort—‘to make every effort to, to do everything possible to, to strain oneself to.’¹²
It refers to a struggle, a fight, great exertion, or effort. It is where we get the word agony — a word often used in the New Testament to convey the ideas of anguish, pain, distress, and conflict.¹³
Fight the good fight of faith — the faith fight is an intense fight fought against an adversary.
Your adversary is not God.
He wants to give you the blessings of heaven.
The Lord wants your body to be well — to function normally.

Luke 12:32 (ESV) — 32 “Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.

It’s not God that’s withholding health and wholeness.
When you prayed and asked for healing, God’s answer to you is yes.
It’s always yes.
The faith fight is won by fighting with great effort.
Why?

Victory Over Disease: There Are Many Adversaries

1 Corinthians 16:8–9 (ESV) — 8 But I will stay in Ephesus until Pentecost, 9 for a wide door for effective work has opened to me, and there are many adversaries.

There are always many adversaries.

1 Peter 5:8–9 (ESV) — 8 Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. 9 Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world.

You must resist the enemy — you must be firm.
The word ‘resist’ means to oppose, to fight back.
It’s not pray a five second prayer and go play video games.
No, your enemies won’t back off that easy.

Victory Over Disease: Plead Your Case

Dodie says this about the fight aspect of her stand for healing.

In the middle of the night, when everybody else was asleep, I pled my case with Jesus and I said Jesus I don’t wanna die. I’m too young to die. You said that we could choose life or death and I don’t choose to die. I will not die, but live and declare the works of the Lord.¹⁴

Victory Over Disease: Pray for Others

She said, ‘Another thing that was good for me is going out and praying for others.¹⁵

James 5:16 (ESV) — 16 Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.

Pray for one another!
That is acting like you’re healed.
You’re doing something you normally would do.

When you’re fighting a battle if you will give out of your need, God will cause your answer to come to you.

Luke 6:38 (ESV) — 38 give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you.”

When you get your mind so much on yourself and your own need, you begin to weaken. I was so sick that I didn’t feel like going out when I was in the house alone. I thought about myself, the pain, sickness and symptoms, and I would get weary and full of pity. But, when I forced myself to go out and pray for somebody else, my health began to come back to me.¹⁶

People who receive prayer for healing should believe that they receive that answer from God at the moment they pray.
God’s answer is always yes.

2 Corinthians 1:20 (ESV) — 20 For all the promises of God find their Yes in him. That is why it is through him that we utter our Amen to God for his glory.

After they pray they should act like God answered them, because He did.
The mistake people make is to wait until they feel better.
Then they conclude God answered them.
Remember this, it’s faith not feelings that count.
Dodie continues by saying.

I remember one time I drove across town a long way from my house to pray for somebody in the hospital. After visiting that person, God impressed me to go by another home where the man had been sick a long time. I was so tired! I did not feel like going at all. I almost dropped from exhaustion. The point is that I felt in my own heart that I had been obedient to God.¹⁷

Now, get this part of the testimony.
The Lord is directing her to go and pray for someone else.
Doesn’t the Lord know that she is tired?
Doesn’t the Lord know how sick she was feeling?
He knows where you are physically.
But, He also knows that His power is at work in your body.
That’s something that you cannot see with your physical senses.

Victory Over Disease: The Real Source

In spite of every discouraging symptom, in my heart I knew that God’s Word could not lie. I had confidence in God’s Word. If I hadn’t, I would have died.¹⁸

Hebrews 10:23 (ESV) — 23 Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful.

Day by day, I gained hope and encouragement from the precious promises God revealed to me through his Word. I clung to my Bible and it’s healing promises. The Word became my life. I read and confessed the scriptures daily.¹⁹

Dodie Osteen is 91 years old today.
Her son Joel, who now Pastor’s Lakewood Church is 69 at the time of this podcast.
She was only given a few weeks to live — that was over 40 years ago.
The scripture says ‘fight the good fight of faith.’
A good fight is a fight you win — a bad fight is a fight you lose.
There’s a great amount of positive information in this testimony for you to apply.
But I encourage you to purchase the book.
There’s a lot in there we didn’t cover like how she dealt with fear.
How she dealt with the condemnation of thinking that she was wavering in her faith.
The letters she wrote asking for forgiveness.
Read the book.
Keep a copy of it in your library and remind yourself of the fight of faith.

Now Father God, thank you for showing us the way to life. Thank you for your healing mercies and opening our understanding of how to walk in line with your Word. We give you the glory for that in Jesus’ Name, Amen.

How to Gain Victory Over Deadly Diseases.
You guys have a great God week and we will see you next time for another edition of Light on Life.

What Is Your Testimony of Jesus?

__________
References:

A. W. Tozer, The Knowledge of the Holy (New York: Harper & Row, Publishers, 1961), 34. — Robert J. Morgan, Nelson’s Complete Book of Stories, Illustrations, and Quotes, electronic ed. (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2000), 408. ↩
Johannes P. Louw and Eugene Albert Nida, Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament: Based on Semantic Domains (New York: United Bible Societies, 1996), 270. ↩
Mark Water, The New Encyclopedia of Christian Quotations (Alresford, Hampshire: John Hunt Publishers Ltd, 2000), 465. ↩
Dolores Osteen, Healed of Cancer, (Lakewood Church Publications, 2003 ↩
Ibid pp 7–8 ↩
Ibid, pp 14 ↩
Ibid pp 12 ↩
Ibid, pp 14 ↩
Ibid pp. 15 ↩
Ibid pp. 15 ↩
Ibid pp 16 ↩
Johannes P. Louw and Eugene Albert Nida, Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament: Based on Semantic Domains (New York: United Bible Societies, 1996), 662. ↩
Renner, Rick. Sparkling Gems from the Greek Vol. 2 (pp. 332–333). Harrison House Publishers. Kindle Edition. ↩
Dolores Osteen, Healed of Cancer, (Lakewood Church Publications, 2003, pp 17 ↩
Ibid pp 18 ↩
Idid pp 18 ↩
Ibid pp 18 ↩
Ibid pp 19 ↩
Ibid pp 19 ↩

emeryhorvath.com

Equipping people to pursue God's glory

How to Gain Victory Over Deadly Diseases

Podcast: Light on Life Season Twelve Episode Twenty-Two

by Emery Horvath

Listen to the Audio

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Read the Notes

Accept the Challenge

Join the Conversation

Episode Resources:How Jesus Style Perserverance Can Make You a Winner

We are currently teaching on the subject of Divine Healing. You can click on the links below to listen to more podcasts or read blog posts along this line.

About Emery

Subscribe to the Podcast

Share the Love

Prayer

Victory Over Disease: Faith Will Be Tested

Victory Over Disease: What is Affliction?

Victory Over Disease: The Vital Necessity of God’s Word

Victory Over Disease: God Is Not Test You with Sickness

Victory Over Disease: Healed of Cancer

Victory Over Disease: God Is a Prayer Answering God

Victory Over Disease: Take Time to Seek God

Victory Over Disease: Your Faith Will Make You Whole

Victory Over Disease: Faith Does Not Give Place to Sickness

Victory Over Disease: Lessons from the Paralytic Man Jesus Healed

Victory Over Disease: The Osteens Pray, Believe and Fight

Victory Over Disease: There Are Many Adversaries

Victory Over Disease: Plead Your Case

Victory Over Disease: Pray for Others

Victory Over Disease: The Real Source

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Listen to the Audio

Click to Listen | Right Click to Download |Subscribe to PlayerFM

Read the Notes

Accept the Challenge

Join the Conversation

Episode Resources:How Jesus Style Perserverance Can Make You a Winner

We are currently teaching on the subject of Divine Healing. You can click on the links below to listen to more podcasts or read blog posts along this line.

About Emery

Subscribe to the Podcast

Share the Love

Prayer

Victory Over Disease: Faith Will Be Tested

Victory Over Disease: What is Affliction?

Victory Over Disease: The Vital Necessity of God’s Word

Victory Over Disease: God Is Not Test You with Sickness

Victory Over Disease: Healed of Cancer

Victory Over Disease: God Is a Prayer Answering God

Victory Over Disease: Take Time to Seek God

Victory Over Disease: Your Faith Will Make You Whole

Victory Over Disease: Faith Does Not Give Place to Sickness

Victory Over Disease: Lessons from the Paralytic Man Jesus Healed

Victory Over Disease: The Osteens Pray, Believe and Fight

Victory Over Disease: There Are Many Adversaries

Victory Over Disease: Plead Your Case

Victory Over Disease: Pray for Others

Victory Over Disease: The Real Source

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