Free Beyond a Shadow of a Doubt by Roger Sapp Page B

interview her and found out that she was in serious pain from her long-term condition. As I began to minister to her, she emphatically said to me God won’t heal me . I smiled and said firmly back to her and to the audience Oh yes He will . Well, she said even more firmly No, He won’t . This began a humorous exchange for a short time of me saying God would heal her and her denying that He would. I then asked her why she believed that God would not heal her and her answer was a series of situations that had produced disappointments over a 35-year span. She had suffered so long and had tried so many times to be healed that she had come to the conclusion that God did not want her well. I began to speak to her about God not being a respecter of persons and that He shows no favoritism to anyone. What God will do for one person in healing, He will do for all if they meet the same conditions. I spoke to her about examples in Christ’s ministry of people who had been ill a long time and when they met Christ the Healer and how they were healed. Somewhere in my discussion of what Christ revealed of the Father’s will, she believed without doubt and was completely healed. She was a person who was using her bad experiences and disappointments to reveal the will of God rather than Christ Himself. Underlying all this was genuine faith in Christ that had caused her to come forward at my invitation. There are many like her in the Church who need someone equipped to help them through their doubts and to receive from the Healer.
     
    Intercessors Bear the Sicknesses of Others. We are living in a time when the subject of intercession has become a popular topic in many churches. Intercession is a kind of prayer where we pray for others. The idea of intercession is standing in the gap between God and others. Unfortunately, there has been some poor teaching about intercession that has been built on this bad foundation as well. This teaching suggests that intercessors must bear the sins and sicknesses of others. There are several verses in the Old Testament and a few in New Testament that are used to relate this idea. For those who feel called as intercessors, if this idea is accepted, it creates doubt in them that God wishes them to be whole and healthy. It creates an opening for the devil to afflict them as well.
     
    It is important for any intercessor to know that Christ is the intercessor that the Old Testament predicts will take the sins and sicknesses upon Himself . Any Christian person intercedes for others on the basis of what Christ has already done. They never take Christ’s place in the plan of God to bear sin or sickness. He has already accomplished this. There is nothing for any Christian believer to add. It is finished! The work of the cross is complete. It is perfectly perfect! To think otherwise creates doubt, creates an opening for the devil to afflict and prohibits Christ from healing His intercessor.

    Doubts Coming from Doctrine of Transfer of Spirits. Occasionally someone has doubts about praying for people due to concerns about picking up an evil spirit from someone that they lay hands upon. This doubt comes from teaching about transfer of spirits. We believe that this teaching is wrong even though it is supported by many stories. We believe that these stories are misunderstandings and misinterpretations of what is actually happening.
     
    Jesus and His disciples didn’t seem to be concerned about this matter. They laid hands on many demonized and sick people. The New Testament doesn’t really reveal this concern at all. The verse usually used to teach transfer of spirits are found in 1 Timothy. The verse says:

Do not lay hands upon anyone too hastily and thus share responsibility for the sins of others; keep yourself free from sin. 1Timothy 5:17

    You can see how someone might believe that this verse means don’t lay hands on sinful people because it might mean that you get their evil spirits and you will sin just