Free Destined to Reign by Joseph Prince Page B

finished work, we have been redeemed from every evil work and curse. We can receive protection from every evil occurrence, sickness and disease. By the stripes on Jesus’ back, we are healed!
    Read Psalm 103 and look at all the benefits that Jesus has purchased for you with His own body:
    Psalm 103:1–5
    1 Bless the Lord, O my soul; and all that is within me, bless His holy name! 2 Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits: 3 Who forgives all your iniquities, who heals all your diseases, 4 who redeems your life from destruction, who crowns you with loving kindness and tender mercies, 5 who satisfies your mouth with good things, so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.
    Come on, believers. Read this Psalm every day and do not forget any of the benefits of Jesus’ finished work! He forgives you of all your sins, heals you of all your diseases, redeems you from destruction, crowns you with loving kindness and satisfies your mouth with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s. Don’t you accuse Him of giving anyone diseases or accidents!
    By the way, if the people who insist that God uses sicknesses to punish believers truly believe that, why are they going from doctor to doctor trying to get healed? That’s inconsistent! On the one hand, they say that their sicknesses are from the Lord, but on the other hand, they are trying to get rid of them.
    Stop believing the LIE that God gives you sicknesses, diseases and accidents to punish you or teach you a lesson.
    I always tell my congregation not to leave their brains at home when they come to church. Stop believing the LIE that God gives you sicknesses, diseases and accidents to punish you or teach you a lesson. I honestly find it difficult to understand why there are believers today who fight vehemently for the right to be sick, broke and defeated when God is full of grace and mercy, and wants us to be healthy, prosperous and protected from all evil occurrences! Let’s start to expect good gifts from the Lord. Reject anything which even remotely suggests that God is angry with you, and is going to discipline you with sicknesses and accidents when you fail!
    What About Paul’s ‘Thorn In The Flesh’?
    “Pastor Prince, what about the ‘thorn in the flesh’ that Paul suffered from? Wasn’t it a sickness?”
    Well, let’s see what Paul said about this “thorn in the flesh”: “And lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure.” 5 Nowhere in the verse does it say that the “thorn in the flesh” is a sickness or disease.
    The Bible, not human conjectures, must be used to interpret the Bible. Thorns in the Bible refer to personalities that harass you. Even in our English language, we use the phrase “a pain in the neck” to describe someone who harasses or irritates us. It is just an expression and does not refer to an actual pain or disease in our necks.
    In the same sense, the “thorn in the flesh” that Paul had was not a disease. In the book of Numbers, you will find that the enemies of Israel were described as “thorns” — “But if you do not drive out the inhabitants of the land from before you, then it shall be that those whom you let remain shall be irritants in your eyes and thorns in your sides , and they shall harass you in the land where you dwell.” 6 Let the Bible interpret the Bible!
    Paul himself tells us what the thorn is. He called it “a messenger of Satan”. So it was clearly in reference to an evil personality who instigated people to attack, gossip and backbite Paul everywhere he went preaching the gospel. And what did God tell Paul about this thorn in the flesh? He said, “Just be cool, Paul, My grace is sufficient for you.” 7 So Paul did not suffer any sickness or disease. He was so anointed with the resurrection life of our Lord Jesus that even when