Transcription
Well, praise God. Somebody say this out loud with me. The word still works. Say it again now, like you mean it. The word still works. Amen. Amen.
I've said it before and I'll say it again. If God's word ever worked, it still works. And if it ever stopped working, it never was God's word to begin with. But thank God, his word still works, still heals, still delivers, still sets the captive free. Glory to God.
You see, we're living in a time when folks will believe anything but the Bible. They'll believe bad news. They'll believe symptoms. They'll believe pain. But when it comes to the word of God, they'll say, "Well, you never know what God might do." No, friend. You can know exactly what God will do because he already told you in his word. God is not a man that he should lie. He's already said it and he won't take it back.
Let me tell you a story. A man lay dying. The doctors had done all they could. His body was racked with disease. His muscles wasted away. His voice was a whisper. His hope was hanging by a thread. Family came to say goodbye. The nurses shook their heads. Even the pastor prayed those funeral prayers. You know the kind. "Lord, give the family peace in this difficult time." But on one night, one unforgettable night, Jesus himself walked into that room. Oh yes, he still does that. He's the same yesterday, today, and forever. And Jesus didn't come in wringing his hands. He didn't say, "Well, I'm sorry this happened to you." No, he came in with authority. He stood at the foot of that bed and he said just one line. "Only say this." That's all. Now hold on to that. We'll come back to it.
Turn with me to Proverbs 4:20-22. Let's read it out loud together. "My son, attend to my words. Incline thine ear unto my sayings. Let them not depart from thine eyes. Keep them in the midst of thine heart, for they are life unto those that find them, and health to all their flesh."
Now say this, "Health to all my flesh." Say it again. "Health to all my flesh." Did it say just your spirit? No. Did it say only for your emotions? No, sir. It said health to all their flesh. That's your kidneys, your joints, your lungs, your blood pressure, your bones, your skin. If it's flesh, it's covered.
Now, you may be sitting there thinking, "Brother Hagen, I've heard that verse before." I know you have. But it's not what you've heard, it's what you're hearing. The word doesn't work by having heard. The word works by hearing, present tense, right now, every day, every hour. You say, "Well, I tried that." No, you didn't. Because when it comes to the word, we don't try it. We do it. We live it. We speak it. We believe it.
You see, there's a reason why Jesus told that man, "Only say this." Because the mouth is the door to your future. What you say determines what you see. And what did that man say? What did Jesus give him? We'll get to that. But let me tell you something right now. If you'll learn to say what he said, you'll begin to see what he saw. The word never fails. Let's say that one more time together before we move on. "The word still works." Say it again. "The word still works." Hallelujah.
Now, let me introduce you to a man named Jonathan Reeves. Jonathan was a good man. Went to church every Sunday, sang in the choir, raised his kids in the Lord, used to lead worship back in his younger years. He loved God, no doubt about it. But somewhere along the line, when the pain hit, when the doctor's report came in, fear got louder than faith. He started off strong, quoting scripture, praying in tongues. But after three months of no change, six months of symptoms worsening, nine months in and a walker by his side, his spirit began to bend under the weight of discouragement. He said to his wife one evening, "Honey, maybe God's trying to teach me something. Maybe this sickness is his will." And she said back, "Well, maybe it is." You see, doubt multiplies when two agree on it. That's why you've got to guard your ears and your circle. They went from believing God to just trusting his plan. Not the word, not the covenant, not the stripes, not the name, just vague, floaty, "whatever will be will be" kind of religion. And that kind won't heal a paper cut.
Jonathan's condition progressed. His muscles began to wither. His joints stiffened. His speech slurred. He was diagnosed with ALS, a nerve disease that strips your body down while you watch yourself die. And friend, I want to tell you something. The devil doesn't care how spiritual you sound as long as you stay silent on the word. Oh, they had prayers going up, church folks laying hands, his name on every prayer chain from here to the Carolas. But nothing changed.
One night, his daughter, only 13 years old, walked into the room and said, "Daddy, is Jesus going to heal you?" He didn't want to lie, but he didn't want to say what he really felt either. So, he said, "I hope so, baby." You listen to me. "I hope so" is not faith. Hope is good. Hope looks ahead. But faith takes it now. Hope says "one day." Faith says "today."
And the next morning, Jonathan sat by the window watching the sun rise, whispering, "Lord, if it be thy will, heal me." And that's where many Christians get stuck. "If it be thy will." Now, don't misunderstand me. When you don't know God's will, you pray that way. But when God already told you his will, you have no business second-guessing him. You say, "Well, Brother Hagen, where did he tell us his will?" Right here. "By his stripes ye were healed." 1 Peter 2:24. If you were, then you are. And if you are, then stop asking. Start saying.
Jonathan was a good man, a spiritual man. But he had never been taught the word concerning healing. He had been taught tradition. He had been taught emotion. He had been taught to endure, but never to overcome. But something happened. Something shifted because God is merciful. And when a man is hungry for truth, even if he's bound by religion, God will make a way.
That night, his weakest night, something unusual took place. He couldn't sleep. The pain was worse than ever. He tried to pray, but the words wouldn't come. So he reached over, grabbed his Bible, and it fell open to Mark 11:23-24. Oh, glory to God. He read it out loud slowly, like a man searching for breath. "Whosoever shall say unto this mountain, 'Be thou removed, and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass. He shall have whatsoever he saith.'" He read it again and again, and tears began to stream down his face. He looked up and whispered, "Is this true, Lord?" And that's when the light began to shine. He looked up with tears in his eyes and said again, "Is this true, Lord?" And down on the inside, not a voice from the clouds, not a sound from the room, but right down in his spirit, came a quiet knowing, "Yes, it's true."
He kept reading. "Whosoever shall say..." he stopped. "Whosoever." He looked at the verse and said out loud, "That's me." Say that with me, folks. "That's me." Come on. Say it again. "I'm a whosoever." If you're a whosoever, then you can say. If you're a whosoever, then you can move mountains. If you're a whosoever, then you can have what you say.
He said it again. "Whosoever shall say unto this mountain..." and then he paused. "Lord, my mountain is this sickness." He wasn't poetic. He wasn't dramatic, but he was desperate. And let me tell you something, God will meet you in desperation when you reach out in faith. He sat in that bed, the covers pulled up to his waist, his arms like twigs, legs limp, and he whispered, "Jesus, I believe, but I don't know how to say it right."
And that's when it happened. In that moment, the atmosphere changed. You say, "Brother Hagen, do you believe Jesus still visits people?" I don't believe it. I know it. Not because of what I heard, but because of what I've seen. The Lord Jesus Christ has appeared to me eight different times. Not in visions of the mind, but in open visions, stood in my room, talked to me face to face. So, yes, I know he does. He did it in the Bible. He did it in Acts. He did it for John on the isle of Patmos. And he still does it today when it pleases him. And on this night for this man, it pleased him.
Jonathan looked up and there stood Jesus. Radiant, glorious, no shadow, no doubt. He didn't float in. He didn't shake the walls. He just was there. Jonathan could barely speak, but his eyes said everything. Why are you here? What do I do? And Jesus didn't waste words. He looked right at him and said, "Jonathan, I am not here to heal you. I already did." Oh my. Did you catch that? Let me say it again. "I am not here to heal you. I already did." Glory to God. You see, that's the revelation most folks never get. They're waiting for God to do what he's already done. They're begging for what already belongs to them. Healing is not a promise. It's a fact.
Jesus walked closer to the foot of the bed and said one more thing only. "Say this." "According to your word, I am already made whole." Say that with me now. Come on. "According to your word, I am already made whole." He didn't give him a paragraph. He didn't hand him a dissertation. He didn't ask him to plead. He just gave him a sentence. Because sometimes, child of God, you don't need a long prayer. You need a strong confession.
Let's say it again together. "According to your word, I am already made whole." Say it till it rises up in you. Say it till your bones know it. Say it till your blood responds. Say it till your mountain moves.
Now, you might be thinking, "Brother Hagen, that's too simple." But let me ask you, was it simple when the woman with the issue of blood said, "If I may but touch his clothes, I shall be whole"? That was a sentence. Was it simple when the centurion said, "Speak the word only and my servant shall be healed"? That was a sentence. Was it simple when David said, "The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want"? That was a sentence. Don't you underestimate the power of a spoken sentence when it's backed by faith and saturated with the word.
Jesus said to Jonathan, "Only say this." Say it when you feel pain. Say it when nothing seems to change. Say it when you're alone. Say it when fear knocks at your door. "Only say this: According to your word, I am already made whole." And with that he was gone. But the word remained. And friend, that's all you need.
Jonathan blinked. The room was still. Jesus was gone, but the word remained. The same word that upholds the universe. The same word that raised Lazarus. The same word that said, "Let there be light." And now that word had been delivered personally to one dying man. He laid back in the bed, too weak to lift his arms, but strong enough to whisper, "According to your word, I am already made whole." That was it. No lightning, no earthquake, no tingle up the spine, no angel choir singing hallelujah. But that sentence, it hit the atmosphere like a hammer. Because when a man says what God says, heaven responds and hell trembles. He whispered it again. "According to your word, I am already made whole."
Now, he didn't feel whole. He didn't look whole. The pain didn't go away. His legs didn't move. His breath still labored. But he had made a shift from waiting to saying. That's the difference. You see, most people are waiting to feel better before they talk like they're healed. But faith talks first. Faith says, "I believe, therefore, I have spoken." That's 2 Corinthians 4:13. That's the spirit of faith.
Let me teach you something here. Jesus didn't say you'll have what you feel. He didn't say you'll have what the doctor reports. He didn't say you'll have what your Aunt Martha prayed over you. No, he said, "You shall have whatsoever you saith." Mark 11:23. That's the law of faith. Now, some folks have a problem with that. They say, "That sounds like 'name it, claim it.'" No, sir. I didn't name it. He did, and I'm not claiming what's not mine. I'm claiming what he bought and paid for.
Let's go back to Mark 11 for a moment. Jesus had just cursed the fig tree. 24 hours later, the disciples saw it dried up from the roots. And Jesus used that moment to teach them and to teach us the key to moving mountains. Let's read it again. Mark 11:23. Say it out loud. "Whosoever shall say unto this mountain, 'Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea,' and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass, he shall have whatsoever he saith."
Now look at that. Three times Jesus said, "Say." And only once he said, "Believe." That means you're going to have to say it more than you feel it. Let me say that again. You're going to have to say it more than you feel it. You may not feel healed, but say it. You may not feel strong, but say it. You may not feel like the word is working, but say it anyway. Say what? "According to your word, I am already made whole."
You see, Jesus didn't just give Jonathan a sentence. He gave him a sword. A sword to swing every time pain flared up. A sword to slice through fear. A sword to cut down doubt. The word of God is alive, sharper than any two-edged sword. [snorts] But a sword doesn't help you if it stays in the sheath. You've got to swing it. You've got to speak it.
That's what Jonathan did. Every hour he was awake, he said it. Every time the nurse walked in, he whispered it. Every time his mind wandered, he brought it back and said it again. "According to your word, I am already made whole." No begging, no bargaining, just believing and saying.
Let me tell you something, friends. You don't have to move heaven to get healed. You just have to agree with it. Healing has already been released. Jesus said, "I already did." That means it's not a matter of getting God to do it. It's a matter of receiving what's already done. And how do you receive? With your mouth. With your words. With your faith.
Let's say it together again. "According to your word, I am already made whole." Say it again. "According to your word, I am already made whole." That's what Jesus told Jonathan to say. And let me tell you something. And that's what he's telling you to say, too.
Now, I want to slow down here for just a minute and teach you something that changed my life, and it'll change yours, too, if you'll let it. You see, the Bible doesn't say that faith comes by miracles. It doesn't say that faith comes by dreams or by goosebumps or by somebody laying hands on you, though God uses all those things at times. But the Bible says, "So then faith cometh by hearing, [snorts] and hearing by the word of God." Romans 10:17.
Let me tell you why that's important. Because we've raised up a generation of believers who are trying to live off feelings instead of faith. They say, "Well, I don't feel healed." And I say, "Who told you healing was a feeling?" Healing isn't a feeling. Healing is a fact. Now, say this with me. "Healing is not a feeling. It's a fact." Say it again. "Healing is not a feeling. It's a fact."
You say, "Brother Hagen, how can I say I'm healed when I still feel sick?" Because you're saying what God said. You're not lying. You're not making something up. You're making your mouth match his word. There's a difference between lying and confessing. A lie is when you say something that's not true. A confession is when you say something God already said. You say, "I'm healed." Why? Because God already said it. "By his stripes, ye were healed." 1 Peter 2:24. Were past tense, done deal, already purchased, already delivered, already settled in heaven.
But you say, "Well, I've said it before and nothing happened." Let me help you now. Just because you didn't see anything doesn't mean nothing happened. Faith works in the unseen realm before it works in the seen realm. Just because the roots are growing underground doesn't mean the seed isn't working. You can't see it yet, but the word is working.
Let's go back to our man Jonathan. He started saying that line, "According to your word, I am already made whole." He didn't just say it once and quit. He didn't try it for a day and give up. He said it when he was discouraged. He said it when he wanted to die. He said it when people rolled their eyes and the nurse shook her head. You see, you don't get results from having said, you get results from saying. Present tense. Now, faith.
Right now, let's look again at Proverbs 4:20-22. Turn there if you haven't yet. "My son, attend to my words. Incline thine ear unto my sayings. Let them not depart from thine eyes. Keep them in the midst of thine heart, for they are life unto those that find them, and health to all their flesh."
Now look at what it says. Attend to his words. Incline your ear. Don't let them depart from your eyes. Keep them in your heart. That means every part of you needs to get involved. Your eyes reading it, your ears hearing it, your heart believing it, your mouth saying it. That's the four-fold method of divine healing. You don't just ask God for healing. You surround yourself with the word until healing takes over your body.
Let me ask you something. What are you looking at all day? What are you listening to? What are you talking about? If all you ever talk about is the sickness, if all you ever Google is your symptoms, if all you ever confess is what the doctor said, then don't be surprised when your faith is weak. Because your faith will never rise above your words. That's why Jesus told Jonathan, "Only say this." Why? Because when you say what God says, your faith begins to grow. And when your faith grows, healing flows.
Say this with me. "My faith is growing because I'm hearing the word. My healing is working because I'm saying the word." You want to get healed? Then you got to talk healed. You want to see change, then you got to say change. The power is in your mouth. The miracle is in your words. The result is in your consistency.
Let me give you this before we move on. Your mountain doesn't move when you whisper about it. It moves when you speak to it. So speak to it. Tell it where to go. Tell your body how to line up. Tell your bones how to respond. Tell your blood how to behave. Tell your nervous system to come under the authority of the word and then say it again: "According to your word, I am already made whole."
Jonathan kept saying it morning, night, in between. He didn't feel better. He didn't look better. But he wasn't looking at the mirror. He was looking at the word. And the word said, "health to all their flesh." He said it again. "According to your word, I am already made whole." The nurses thought he was delirious. The doctors said he's in denial. But he wasn't in denial. He was in faith. And there's a difference. Faith doesn't deny the facts. Faith just declares the truth in the face of them.
Day one, nothing. Day two, nothing. Day three, the pain got worse. But he kept saying it. "According to your word, I am already made whole." He said it until he believed it. And once he believed it, he wouldn't let anything talk him out of it. Now, don't miss this part because this is where most folks give up. They start strong. But when the pressure increases, they back off. They say, "Well, maybe I missed it." No, friend. That's when you double down. That's when you speak louder. That's when you hold your ground. You see, the devil doesn't fight what doesn't threaten him. If it gets harder, it means you're closer than ever.
Week one passed. Still no change. Week two came and something happened. Jonathan woke up one morning and realized he could move his pinky toe. Now, that may not sound like much to you, but when you haven't moved anything in a year, a toe is a testimony. He told the nurse. She smiled and said, "Maybe it's a spasm." He said, "No, ma'am. It's a sign." She said, "A sign of what?" He said, "That the word is working. And if it worked in my toe, it'll work in my foot. And if it works in my foot, it'll move up my leg. And if it moves up my leg, it'll raise me out of this bed. Glory to God."
Say it with me. "If it works in one part, it'll work in every part." Because it says, "health to all their flesh." That's the nature of the word. It never stops halfway. It never fails. It never returns void. By the end of week two, he could wiggle his feet. Week three, he could lift his legs slightly. Week four, he began to speak clearly again.
Now, listen to me. He didn't change his confession based on what he saw. He just kept saying what he started saying on day one. "According to your word, I am already made whole." His wife noticed. She said, "You're getting stronger." He said, "No, I was already strong. The strength is just showing up."
By the sixth week, the doctors didn't know what to say. They ran tests. They poked and scanned and scratched their heads. They said, "This wasn't supposed to happen. The nerves don't regrow. The damage doesn't reverse." And Jonathan looked them in the eye and said, "Mine did because my faith spoke before my body followed." Let me say that to you. Faith speaks before the body follows. Faith speaks before the breakthrough comes. Faith speaks when sight fails. You don't speak because you see it. You speak so you'll see it.
Jonathan stood up out of that bed on the 40th day. No fanfare, no camera crew, no hype, just a man who kept saying what Jesus told him to say. He walked into his church that Sunday morning with no cane, no walker, no assistance. And he didn't ask for the microphone. He didn't tell his whole story. He just stood in the back and whispered one line, "According to your word, I am already made whole." And every person who heard it felt something shift in their own spirit because the same word that healed him will heal you. But you've got to say it.
Don't wait until you feel better. Don't wait until the pain leaves. Don't wait until the test result changes. Say it now. Say it when you wake up. Say it before you sleep. Say it until your body gets the message. Let's say it together. "According to your word, I am already made whole." Say it again like you believe it. "According to your word, I am already made whole."
Because friend, you don't need Jesus to walk into your room to get healed. You've already got what Jonathan had: his word. And if you'll say what he said, you'll see what he promised.
Now, I want you to hear me. I've been preaching the word of faith for decades. I've seen blind eyes open. I've seen cancer disappear. I've seen the dead raised. And every single time, it wasn't emotion that did it. It wasn't volume. It wasn't personality. It was the word spoken, believed, received. And it'll work for you just like it worked for Jonathan Reeves.
You say, "But Brother Hagen, what if I say it and nothing happens?" Then say it again. "But what if it gets worse?" Then say it louder. "But what if people mock me?" Then say it anyway. Because let me tell you something. Your answer is not in the hospital bed. It's not in the test results. It's not even in the laying on of hands. Your answer is in your own mouth. Proverbs 18:21 says, "Death and life are in the power of the tongue." Your healing is voice activated. Jesus didn't say, "Pray to the mountain." He didn't say, "Wait on the mountain." He said, "Speak to the mountain." So speak. Speak when it hurts. Speak when it's quiet. Speak when no one claps. Speak when the devil laughs. Speak when your own mind tries to talk you out of it. And keep on saying, "According to your word, I am already made whole."
Now listen. I don't care if you've been saved 50 years or 5 minutes. This applies to every believer. If you're a whosoever, you qualify. You don't have to be special. You don't have to feel anointed. You don't have to have a vision. You just have to be willing to believe it in your heart and say it with your mouth. Let's do that now. Right where you are. Open your mouth and speak this with me. Don't whisper it. Declare it like heaven's listening and hell's afraid. "According to your word, I am already made whole." Say it again. "According to your word, I am already made whole." One more time. For the pain in your body, for the symptoms in your chest, for the weakness in your joints, say it again. "According to your word, I am already made whole."
Now lift your hands and thank him for it. Not because you felt something, but because you believe something. You see, that's how you get it. That's how you keep it. That's how you walk in it. Faith doesn't ask, "What do I feel?" Faith says, "What does the word say?" And the word says, "Himself took our infirmities, and bare our sicknesses." Matthew 8:17. "By his stripes ye were healed." 1 Peter 2:24. "He sent his word, and healed them." Psalm 107:20. So you're not trying to get healed. You're not waiting for God to do something. You're already made whole according to the word.
Let's seal this now. Say this with me as a final declaration. "I'm not moved by what I see. I'm not moved by what I feel. I'm moved by what I believe. And I believe the word. And the word says I am already made whole. So I say it, I believe it, I receive it in Jesus' name. Amen."
And now, let's come into agreement. Wherever you are, if you're in your car, in your living room, in a hospital bed, it doesn't matter. God's not limited by walls. He's not restrained by time. He's not waiting for a revival service. He's waiting for your voice. Let's pray.
Father, in the name of Jesus, I thank you for your word. I thank you that you are not a man that you should lie. I thank you that what you said you will perform. Your word says you sent your word and healed us. Your word says by the stripes of Jesus we were healed. Your word says faith comes by hearing. And we've heard. We've heard the word. We believe the word. And now we speak the word. So right now, in the authority of Jesus' name, I take authority over every sickness, every disease, every infirmity under the sound of my voice. Pain go, tumors dissolve, nerves regrow, organs function, blood be clean, bones be strong in Jesus' name.
Now say this out loud with me. Don't just listen, speak. "I receive healing into my body. I receive strength into my bones. I receive life into every cell according to your word. I am already made whole."
Now lift your hands and begin to thank him. Don't wait for the pain to leave before you praise him. Praise is the sound of faith. Gratitude is the voice of agreement. Worship is what keeps the word rooted. Thank you, Lord. Thank you for healing power. Thank you for miracles in motion. Thank you for bodies turning around. Thank you for minds being made clear. Thank you for cycles of disease being broken.
And now I charge every listener not just to pray this once, but to speak this word daily. Don't just visit faith, live in it. Don't just hope for change, declare it. Don't just repeat what the world says, say what God said. And when the devil whispers, "You're still sick," you whisper louder, "According to his word, I am already made whole." When the pain comes back and knocks at the door, don't let it in. You stand at the doorframe of your heart and say, "This house belongs to the Lord, and his word is medicine to all my flesh."
Let me leave you with this final charge. Your miracle is not waiting on God. It's waiting on your mouth. So speak the word, stay in the word, live in the word, and never ever back down from the word because the word never fails. Say it with me one last time. "According to your word, I am already made whole."
And now go your way. Walk in your healing. Speak your healing. Live your healing because Jesus already did it. Amen. And amen.