In general sickness comes from sin. It first entered into mankind through the fall (Genesis 3:1-7). This was the injection of Satan himself with all the satanic element into Adam and Eve. They were in effect corrupted. This corruption had an issue which was death. Firstly, the injection of sin caused man to be separated from God, secondly the injection of sin caused man to die. Sin is insidious; it corrupts our soul, and through our flesh kills us.
Aside from the sickness that comes from sin, and the death produced from the sin element within us, our bodies from time to time become worn down. There is much to be said about spiritual warfare and our bodies, especially our minds. The enemy uses darts as thoughts to distract our mind from being set on the spirit and following God in a full way. Our mind needs to be constantly under the control of the spirit and in subjection to God. It should in a sense be buffeted by ourselves and at the least be under the subjection of our will connected to the spirit at all times, including in our sleep. Through our will, we may direct our mind to be set upon the spirit. This is accomplished through prayer, Bible reading, and fellowship with God and other brothers and sisters. We should not do this "in ourselves." But we should get out of our self, our mind, emotion, and will, and get into our spirit through these means. This is something basic and yet all-important for living a normal Christian life. It is elementary yet advanced. There is no graduating from this level. A believer whose mind is not subject to his spirit will at the least live a very poor life before God, and at the worst be usurped by the evil one and fall victim to sin and evil. The mind is the battleground for it is the leading part of our soul. Some are more emotional, and others are reason more. But in general, we follow our own mind, our own will. We do what we want to do. But a Christian should do God's will and follow God by exercising his spirit to contact God and become saturated with God.
With the mind, we should have an understanding of certain spiritual principles. Firstly we should understand how the mind is a great spiritual war zone that is a constant goal for both God and Satan. Within the mind there is a constant battle. From the time you were born again your mind has been under attack. Because of this, we should always set our mind upon the spirit (Romans 8:1-2). When we do this we have life and peace and God can grow within us. When He grows in us, He spreads to all of our parts, even to our bodies.
With the mind, we should have an understanding of certain spiritual principles. Firstly we should understand how the mind is a great spiritual war zone that is a constant goal for both God and Satan. Within the mind there is a constant battle. From the time you were born again your mind has been under attack. Because of this, we should always set our mind upon the spirit (Romans 8:1-2). When we do this we have life and peace and God can grow within us. When He grows in us, He spreads to all of our parts, even to our bodies.
We have to see how our minds can become useful to either God or the enemy. We have to see that we should set our mind upon the spirit, otherwise it is either in one of the parts of the soul, or it is in the flesh. Either way, we have death.
For this we need exercise and practice. Everyone who is a professional athlete is good at these two areas-exercise and practice. It is nearly impossible to become a great athlete without exercise and practice. Talent is one thing, exercise and practice are another. One could have a wonderful talent, but if he or she does not exercise that talent and practice at developing and honing it, then that talent is somewhat wasted. With regards to our spirit, it should be exercised. As Christians, our talent lies in our spirit. For this we need to take control of our minds, through our will, to exercise to live Christ and live within our spirit. We must not be distracted from this.
The young people are a wonderful example of how easily our minds can be distracted from following God. If we take some time out to "people watch" and observe the young people we can easily see how our minds can be used against us in our spiritual walk. The young people may one second be in the meeting hall enjoying God with fellow brother and sisters and the next second be in France talking about the Eiffel tower in their mind. This is just an example, it is not to talk down on the young people, for in fact this is all of our experience. Oh how easily our minds can be distracted from the spirit! Often we travel in our mind, thinking from one thought to the next. Through the fall our minds were utterly corrupted with the satanic element. This caused the mind to be connected to the flesh with it's sin. When our mind is set on the flesh it is very literally connected to sin. But we are so used to living here! This is where we are from our birth. To exercise the spirit is actually a foreign thing to us. But it is all important. Since the mind is in the middle between the flesh and our spirit, this makes it a beachhead and a battleground for spiritual warfare. If the mind is not set on the spirit, it can easily become usurped and even be used by the enemy to damage or even to kill us. When our mind is set on the flesh, or flaccid within our soul, any kind of evil can be worked out within us if we are not careful and watchful over ourselves. This is why we constantly need to set our mind upon the spirit in the spirit's enjoyment and stay in God's life. In the spirit Satan cannot touch us. In God's life we are safe.
Through the spirit, our bodies are also in a process of being renewed through the metabolic process of transformation. This eventually brings healing to our bodies. God is a healer. Many instances within the Bible record God healing people of their sicknesses. We should see that sickness is related to sin. Many of the instances of healing recorded in the Bible are records of God healing people through forgiveness of their sins. "Go, and sin no more." (John 8:1-11) "Child, your sins have been forgiven." (John 7:36-48) "Your faith has healed you." (Mark 10:46-52). These are all instances of when Christ healed people through forgiveness. As we are forgiven, we are healed. Sometimes forgiveness is an ongoing thing. As we deal with sins, we are forgiven. Some struggle with sin, so their healing takes longer. As they struggle they become more sick, but as they are forgiven, and eventually overcome the sin, they are healed more and more. Sometimes this is how God works. Some cases are harder than others.
For this we need exercise and practice. Everyone who is a professional athlete is good at these two areas-exercise and practice. It is nearly impossible to become a great athlete without exercise and practice. Talent is one thing, exercise and practice are another. One could have a wonderful talent, but if he or she does not exercise that talent and practice at developing and honing it, then that talent is somewhat wasted. With regards to our spirit, it should be exercised. As Christians, our talent lies in our spirit. For this we need to take control of our minds, through our will, to exercise to live Christ and live within our spirit. We must not be distracted from this.
The young people are a wonderful example of how easily our minds can be distracted from following God. If we take some time out to "people watch" and observe the young people we can easily see how our minds can be used against us in our spiritual walk. The young people may one second be in the meeting hall enjoying God with fellow brother and sisters and the next second be in France talking about the Eiffel tower in their mind. This is just an example, it is not to talk down on the young people, for in fact this is all of our experience. Oh how easily our minds can be distracted from the spirit! Often we travel in our mind, thinking from one thought to the next. Through the fall our minds were utterly corrupted with the satanic element. This caused the mind to be connected to the flesh with it's sin. When our mind is set on the flesh it is very literally connected to sin. But we are so used to living here! This is where we are from our birth. To exercise the spirit is actually a foreign thing to us. But it is all important. Since the mind is in the middle between the flesh and our spirit, this makes it a beachhead and a battleground for spiritual warfare. If the mind is not set on the spirit, it can easily become usurped and even be used by the enemy to damage or even to kill us. When our mind is set on the flesh, or flaccid within our soul, any kind of evil can be worked out within us if we are not careful and watchful over ourselves. This is why we constantly need to set our mind upon the spirit in the spirit's enjoyment and stay in God's life. In the spirit Satan cannot touch us. In God's life we are safe.
Through the spirit, our bodies are also in a process of being renewed through the metabolic process of transformation. This eventually brings healing to our bodies. God is a healer. Many instances within the Bible record God healing people of their sicknesses. We should see that sickness is related to sin. Many of the instances of healing recorded in the Bible are records of God healing people through forgiveness of their sins. "Go, and sin no more." (John 8:1-11) "Child, your sins have been forgiven." (John 7:36-48) "Your faith has healed you." (Mark 10:46-52). These are all instances of when Christ healed people through forgiveness. As we are forgiven, we are healed. Sometimes forgiveness is an ongoing thing. As we deal with sins, we are forgiven. Some struggle with sin, so their healing takes longer. As they struggle they become more sick, but as they are forgiven, and eventually overcome the sin, they are healed more and more. Sometimes this is how God works. Some cases are harder than others.
