Mind-Body ConnectionUnderstanding the connection between the mind and body will help you when dealing with specific dis-eases. Be sure to look at our spiritual roots and blocks to healing teachings for more information.
This topic seems to be controversial yet it is the foundation for understanding why we have dis-ease. From a personal standpoint, I couldn't understand why I wasn't well. Why, even though I had been a Christian for so many years, I wasn't getting better, only worse in my health. So I ventured out into this teaching by Pastor Henry Wright, at Pleasant Valley Ministries, and found what I was looking for. I saw the connection between sin and sickness, life and death, truth and lies, and more. At this time, I began writing a journal which later turned into a book of my journey from fear to faith called "A Matter of the Mind." I had to come to grips with the realization that most of my problems started with my thoughts rooted from a spirit of fear. Later I realized how my body responded to thoughts and saw the parallel in my own life. I pray this information proves to be helpful for you to understand the truth behind the mind-body connection that may cause some of our dis-eases today. I want to start by sharing an article I read called, Heart and Mind connection. The title of the page says, "It's up to you." And I believe that is very true, but let me share some excerpts written by Roon Frost, an author for this magazine. "Although diet, blood pressure, and other risk factors play an important role in developing heart disease and angina, these forces can be significantly moderated by a loving relationship, "says Dr. Ornish. If almost anyone else made that statement, mainstream medicine would scoff. But Dean Ornish has probably done more than any researcher in the last two decades to change the way we look at heart disease." "When people open their hearts to each other," Dr. Ornish says, "healing often happens. More precisely, a support group helps heal isolation, alienation and loneliness," allowing physical healing to begin from the inside out." "Everyone talks about heart disease being linked to negative emotions, such as anger, depression and so on." Says James J Lynch, PhD, professor of psychiatry at the University of Maryland Medical School, "but I view all these internal vascular changes as really hidden forms of communication, like blushing. blushing is really a hidden form of caring. I blush because I'm afraid I'm going to be rejected, but I care about the other person, and I don't want them to reject me. So, the vascular changes are the language of the heart--only hidden." Lynch's own work with heart patients shows that their blood pressure goes up when they talk, and that it drops when they listen, "really listen." I find this article quite interesting as it actually backs up what I'm sharing in this session. I think you can agree that high-blood pressure comes from stress. That's easy to understand because so many studies have been made. But there was a time when it was not at all considered as the reason for high-blood pressure. We need to be open to all possibilities and not close our minds to this. So as you continue in this session, I pray your mind be opened because that's where your battle is. Why are people sick (even Christians?) Where there is no peace, the body is sick. Peace is the "stuff" we need for healing and to continue in to stay healed. When we have peace our body's chemicals balance out. When we have peace, we don't worry, fret, stress out, fall into depression, get angry, jealousy, and the like. And as you know each of these things listed does not produce peace! The Bible says to follow after peace. And at the end of most of the letters written, it says, "peace be with you." Even Jesus' parting words were, "My peace I leave with you, not as the world gives, give I unto you" (John 14:27). Peace is what causes homeostasis - balancing of our chemicals. Disease is a direct result of imbalanced chemicals, which is why we are given drugs, to balance out chemicals. Folks, we have everything we need for our bodies to produce the exact amount of chemicals every day, but many don't see this as a spiritual issue so they are happy to get that little blue pill to make it all go away. This is only covering up the real problem. There is a better way! God's way. We need to take our peace - "The God of peace sanctify you wholly, and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ" (1 Thessalonians 5:23). We need God's peace to sanctify us, to run through our blood and our thinking, so that our body's are not condemned with disease. 3 John 2: "Beloved, I wish above all things that you may prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth." When our soul prospers (which is our mind, will and emotions) our body will respond with good health. If our mind is filled with wrong thinking, our body will respond with poor health. When our heart is at peace, without guilt or condemnation, our body is at peace resulting in good health.
Is Disease from a curse? The blessings and curses are revealed in Deuteronomy 28 and Leviticus 26. The scriptures say that if we obey Him, we shall be blessed, if we don't, we shall be cursed. And as we see the listing of curses, they are diseases AND situations. God says that if we listen to Him and line up with Him, He will bless us by taking away the diseases that our disobedience caused. (Deuteronomy 7:12-15). There is one scripture that sums up all obedience scriptures as found in Matthew 23:38-40 and Mark 12:29-31. "We are to love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul and mind, and love our neighbor as ourselves, upon these two commands hang all the law and the prophets." I used this in previous teachings as it's the foundation that this ministry stands on. When we "love" God, ourselves and neighbors, we "DO" all the laws and commandments of God. This is where the breakdown is. We don't! We can't seem to get past the crabby neighbor, or the mean boss, or forget and forgive those who hurt and abused us as children, or even question if God really loves us. All these things play in to our lives and affect our health. How is this remedied? Christ redeemed us! Galatians 3:13-14, "Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us, for it is written, cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree. That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith." Isaiah 53:5 and I Peter 2:24 tells us that by Jesus' stripes (his scourging and beating) we are healed. Why are Christian's still sick then? The provision of healing must be appropriated through confession and repentance of sin, sanctification, prayer and ministry. Just as each individual must appropriate salvation through faith in Jesus Christ, so each individual must appropriate their healing provided by Jesus' stripes through faith in Jesus Christ. But more than faith is required for healing of disease. Disease is a curse. Proverbs 26:2 says that to every curse there is a cause. The cause is sin and evil spirits. The cause (sin and evil spirits) of the curse (disease) must be dealt with before the blessing (healing and health) comes from God. "As you have believed, let it be done unto you…" (Matthew 8:13) comes to mind. In my own healing, I first had to believe I could be healed. I had to believe God's desire for me was to be healed. I had to believe that God did not give me a disease. Because if God gave me a disease why would I be going to a doctor to get well? I had to believe God existed, God loved me and God was in charge. All these things I did not even see! I was taught that our disease is from God. I was taught that we are not healed because we don't have enough faith. I have heard countless individuals say that their disease has brought them closer to God. That is not what God intended. But God uses all things to draw us to Him; including being sick, but that was not His choice. He wants you to draw to Him because you want to, not because you have to. And when we say God gave us the disease we make him evil. Jeremiah 5:25 says, "Our sins and iniquities prevent good things from happening to us." I had to believe it was possible for me to be healed, then mixed with truth of my own sin, and confession began the sanctification process. It is a process. Many can be healed by miracles, but I have found that if the sin issue wasn't dealt with in that individual after healing by a miracle, in most cases they end up getting sick again! Cancer is an example. It seems that when people go into remission, it comes back - it's because the sin issue of bitterness, self-hatred, and unforgiveness was never dealt with. We need to participate in this process. Confession of faults and sins are needed in order to be healed. James 5:16 says "Confess your faults one to another and pray one for another and you shall be healed." John 1:9 "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness." And these are New Testament teachings! Why would they be there if we were free from the curse? Do you think allergies, hemorrhoids, heart disease, psoriasis, brittle bones and the like are blessings? No. They are curses. As a matter of fact, each and every one of these are listed in Deuteronomy 28. From Deuteronomy 28:1-14 lists blessings, from vs. 15-66 lists curses, which by the way lists a wide range of disease we see today - and even in Christians. So obviously something is connected here. A scripture comes to mind, "The Lord rains on the just and on the unjust." Meaning, curses can come to anyone who has not dealt with the issue behind the curse. And that issue is not loving the Lord God and obeying His commandments. See, Jesus didn't come to take away the law, He came to fulfill it. What he took away was the "curse" IF, and IF you love the Lord God with all your heart, soul and mind. That is why that scripture is the foundation for this ministry, by keeping that one commandment, you keep all, fulfilling the requirements God made on us for healing and blessing. There are conditions to God's word. It doesn't mean we are back under the law. What we are is free from is the penalty of sin associated with that law if you - condition - received Jesus Christ as Savior and confess your sins. So we need to first understand that a disease is a curse, blessing is not a curse. It's not enough to only believe, the devils even believed! But as Christians, we believe by taking action to confess our sins and receive forgiveness for what we see. God does heal: Our job as believers is to believe, believe the whole Word! All of it, not just the parts we like. We need to believe that obedience brings health. We need to believe that we are healed when we put into action the conditions for healing. This has nothing to do with salvation. Once you have received Christ into your hearts as your Lord and Savior which puts into motion the ability to live out what God wants for you. The Holy Spirit takes residence in you, seals you until the day of redemption, and in the meantime begins to convict you of things in there so you can come clean before God and be delivered. This has nothing to do with salvation, it has to do with sanctification - a process of changing into the image of Jesus. Matthew, Mark, Luke John and Acts demonstrate the power and will of God to heal through the many recorded miracles, signs and wonders. God showed us that healing is available because Jesus bore our sicknesses in His body on the cross. (Matthew 4:23-24; Matthew 8:16-17; Matthew 12:15; Matthew 14:14; Matthew 14:36: Luke 4:40-41; Luke 6:17-19; Acts 10:38; Acts 5:12-16.) Romans through Jude emphasize the sanctification of the believer. The putting off of the old sinful nature and putting on of more and more of the nature of Christ through the work of the Holy spirit. Part of the reason for this emphasis on sanctification is to show that without sanctification there will not be the healing of disease, because it is the lack of sanctification (sin and spiritual problems) that is causing the disease. (I Thessalonians 4:3: 1 Thessalonians 5:23; 2 Corinthians 3:18; Ephesians 4:21-23 and rest of chapter; Ephesians 5:26-28, Deut. 7:11-15, 2 Corinthians 7:1.) Satan Wants Our Blood: Leviticus 17:11 "The life of the man is in the blood." Satan knows that by drying up our blood, it will result in many illnesses. When the blood dries up in our bones, it results in autoimmune diseases such as allergies, bone disease, rheumatoid arthritis, crone's disease etc. All autoimmune disease is a result of the blood drying up in the bones. "A merry heart does good like a medicine, but a broken spirit dries up the bones." (Proverbs 17:22) Our spirit is broken because of a hurt or an offense. It could have been from something that happened years ago or even today. Forgiveness is the antidote for the bones drying up. Forgiveness causes us to get our hearts right with God. We are doing the Word when we forgive. James 1 says to "be a doer of the Word." Forgiveness is what God brought through the sacrifice that Jesus gave. God knew that by balancing out our hearts in truth with Him, it will result in perfect homeostasis - balanced chemicals. What will you choose? Will you choose to forgive each and every person that ever hurt or offended you or will you keep all those hurts because you think if you forgive them it gets them off the hook. That is true in part, but the main person off the hook is you! Once you forgive, you are released from that person's junk! And now they are free game for God to meddle in their lives. 2 Corinthians 2:5 says that if someone gives you grief, to forgive him and go as far as to comfort him lest that person be swallowed up with much sorrow. Well, some of you are saying, "But they deserve it." But let me finish what that passage says - if you don't forgive, you are opening your life up for Satan to get an advantage over you. Prayer: "Father, this teaching is by far one of the hardest to comprehend yet it is the most important to understanding sickness. Many instances in the Bible you indicate that sin and sickness are related. You told the lady who was about to be stoned, go and sin no more. You told the man whom you healed, "Go and sin no more lest a worse thing come upon you, and you also said to the lame man, "Thy sins be forgiven, rise and walk." So we need to come to a realization that this is true for us today. I pray that this dear saint believe who you are, believe you are God who loves them, believe you want to heal them, believes you exist! And I pray that they also recognize the sin within them and confess and receive forgiveness. If they have to forgive others, help them to do so Lord. Restore their bodies to perfect homeostasis Lord. Balance out the chemicals in their brain Lord. Restore the blood to their bones. Establish peace into their hearts and minds. And help them to identify any spirits that may 'have them' Lord. Let them not fear any thing they see but know that you need them to see so they can be cleansed, purged, healed and delivered. I ask for an anointing of your Holy Spirit to manifest Himself in them, filling them with healing, truth, love and peace. I ask you to give them strength to walk out their sanctification, hand in hand with you. Let them understand that their job is to recognize, take responsibility, repent, and receive forgiveness. Your job is to heal, deliver and restore. Grant them peace in their minds now, in Jesus name, Amen." |