“Christ has all power in heaven and in earth (Matthew 28:18-19). He is the Great Physician, upon Whom we are to call when suffering from physical or spiritual disease. Over the winds and the waves and over men possessed with demons, He showed that He possessed absolute control. To Him have been given the keys of death and of hell. Principalities and powers were made subject to Him, even while in His humiliation (as a man) . . .
“O Israel, thou hast destroyed thyself . . . but in Me is thine help. I will be thy King . . .
I will ransom them (you) from the power of the grave; I will redeem them (you) from death. O death, I will be thy plagues . . . O grave, I will be thy destruction !”
Hosea 13:9-14
We are too faithless. Oh, how I wish that I could lead our people to have faith in God! They need not feel that in order to exercise faith they must be wrought up into a high state of excitement. All they have to do is to believe God’s Word, just as they believe one another’s word. He hath said it, and He will perform His Word. Calmly rely on His Promise, because He means all that He says. Say, He has spoken to me in His Word, and He will fulfill every Promise that He has made. Do not become restless. Be trustful. God’s Word is true. Act (live) as if your heavenly Father could be trusted . . . !”
“Jesus looked about Him upon the awe-stricken multitude, the caviling scribes, the perplexed disciples. He read the unbelief in every heart; and in a Voice filled with sorrow He exclaimed, “O faithless generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer you (patiently wait for you to simply believe My Word, which cannot fail) ?” Then He bade the distressed father, “Bring thy son hither.”
The boy was brought, and as the Saviour’s eyes fell upon him, the evil spirit cast him to the ground in convulsions of agony. He lay wallowing and foaming, rending the air with unearthly shrieks.
Again the Prince of Life and the prince of the powers of darkness had met on the field of battle, —Christ in fulfillment of His mission to “preach (proclaim) deliverance to the captives, . . . to set at liberty them that are bruised” (Luke 4:18), Satan seeking to hold his victim under his control. Angels of Light and the hosts of evil angels, unseen, were pressing near to behold the conflict. For a moment, Jesus permitted the evil spirit to display his power, that the beholders might comprehend the deliverance about to be wrought.
The multitude looked on with bated breath, the father in an agony of hope and fear. Jesus asked, “How long is it ago since this came unto him?” The father told the story of long years of suffering, and then, as if he could endure no more, exclaimed, “If Thou canst do anything, have compassion on us, and help us.” “If Thou canst!” Even now the father questioned the power of Christ . . .
Jesus answers, “If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth.” There is no lack of power on the part of Christ; the healing of the son depends upon the father’s faith. With a burst of tears, realizing his own weakness, the father casts himself upon Christ’s mercy, with the cry, “Lord (Sovereign King), I believe; help Thou mine unbelief !”
“And for this cause also thank we God without ceasing, because, when ye received the Word of God which ye heard of us, ye received It not as the word of men (yea, nay or maybe), but as It is in Truth (Verity), the Word of God (Deity) . . . which effectually worketh also in you that believe . . . !” I Thessalonians 2:13
Jesus turns to the suffering one, and says, “Thou dumb and deaf spirit, I charge thee, come out of him, and enter no more into him!” There is a cry, an agonized struggle. The demon, in passing, seems about to rend the life from his victim. Then the boy lies motionless, and apparently lifeless. The multitude whisper, “He is dead.” But Jesus takes him by the hand, and lifting him up, presents him, in perfect soundness of mind and body, to his father. Father and son praise the name of their Deliverer. The multitude are “amazed at the mighty power of God,” while the scribes, defeated and crestfallen, turn sullenly away.
“If Thou canst do anything, have compassion on us, and help us.” How many a sin-burdened soul has echoed that prayer. And to all, the pitying Saviour’s answer is, “If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth (My Words) !”
It is faith that connects us with heaven, and brings us strength for coping with the powers of darkness. In Christ, God has provided means for subduing every sinful trait, and resisting every temptation, however strong. But many feel that they lack faith, and therefore they remain away from Christ. Let these souls, in their helpless unworthiness, cast themselves upon the mercy of their compassionate Saviour.
Look not to self, but to Christ. He who healed the sick and cast out demons when He walked among men is the same mighty Redeemer today ! Faith comes by the Word of God. Then grasp His Promise, “Him that cometh to Me I will in no wise cast out.” John 6:37. Cast yourself at His feet with the cry, “Lord, I believe; help Thou mine unbelief.” You can never perish while you do this — Never !
– Desire of Ages p.428
“Look unto Me, and be ye saved (delivered, set free and healed) all the ends of the earth, for I Am God (Elohim – the Mighty One), and there is none else . . . !”
Isaiah 45:22-25
“Christ Came to Relieve Suffering.–This world is a vast lazar house, but Christ came to heal the sick, to proclaim deliverance to the captives of Satan. He was in Himself health and strength. He imparted His Life to the sick, the afflicted, those possessed of demons. He turned away none who came to receive His healing power. He knew that those who petitioned Him for help had brought disease upon themselves; yet He did not refuse to heal them. And when virtue from Christ entered into these poor souls, they were convicted of sin, and many were healed of their spiritual disease, as well as of their physical maladies. The gospel still possesses the same power, and why should we not today witness the same results? {WM 24.3}
Christ feels the woes of every sufferer. When evil spirits rend a human frame, Christ feels the curse. When fever is burning up the life current, He feels the agony. And He is just as willing to heal the sick now as when He was personally on earth. Christ’s servants are His representatives, the channels for His working. He desires through them to exercise His healing power. -The Desire of Ages, pp. 823-824
“And these signs shall follow them that believe . . . . In My name shall they cast out devils, they shall speak with new tongues. They shall take up (loose the hold of) serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not harm them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover . . . !” Mark 16:17-18
Christ alone had experience in all the sorrows and temptations that befall human beings. Never another of woman born was so fiercely beset by temptation; never another bore so heavy a burden of the world’s sin and pain. Never was there another whose sympathies were so broad or so tender. A sharer in all the experiences of humanity He could feel not only for, but with, every burdened and tempted and struggling one.” – Education, p. 78. {WM 25.2}
“Christ has all power in heaven and in earth. He is the Great Physician, upon whom we are to call when suffering from physical or spiritual disease. Over the winds and the waves and over men possessed with demons, He showed that He possessed absolute control. To Him have been given the keys of death and of hell. Principalities and powers were made subject to Him, even while in His humiliation (as a man) . . .
Why do we not exercise greater faith in the Divine Physician? As He worked for the man with the palsy, so He will work today for those who come to Him for healing. We have great need of more faith. I am alarmed as I see the lack of faith among our people. We need to come right into the Presence of Christ, believing that He will heal our physical and spiritual infirmities !
We are too faithless. Oh, how I wish that I could lead our people to have faith in God! They need not feel that in order to exercise faith they must be wrought up into a high state of excitement. All they have to do is to believe God’s Word, just as they believe one another’s word. He hath said it, and He will perform His Word. Calmly rely on His Promise, because He means all that He says. Say, He has spoken to me in His Word, and He will fulfill every Promise that He has made. Do not become restless. Be trustful. God’s Word is true. Act (live) as if your heavenly Father could be trusted . . . !”
– 1 Selected Messages p.83