LET NATURE TEACH US

I. JESUS HEALED ALL

Matthew 8:16-17:

When evening had come, they brought to Him many who were demon possessed. And He

cast out the spirits with the word, and he healed ALL who were sick,

That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying: “He Himself

took our infirmities and bore our sicknesses.”

Notice, Jesus healed ALL who were sick. Some believe there are times sickness is sent by God.

They will say, “Well, I know the devil sends sickness, but sometimes God puts sickness on us to

test us. I just need to surrender to the will of God.”

If Jesus really healed them ALL, healing must be for ALL and sickness must not be the will of

God. If sickness was any part of God’s will, Jesus wouldn’t have healed anyone! God doesn’t send

demons to people. Notice, Jesus cast out devils and healed the sick. No believer in their right

mind would claim God sends demons to oppress and possess people, because demons come from

hell. Just as there are no demons in heaven, there is no sickness in heaven. Because of the fall

of man, there is sickness in the earth, but Satan is the real root cause of all sickness and

disease.
II. WE ARE WITHOUT EXCUSE

Romans 1:19-20:

Because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them.

For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being

understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and godhead, so that

they are without excuse.

People often ask, “What about someone who lives in the most remote place on earth? Won’t they

have an excuse for not accepting Jesus since no one ever shared the Gospel with them?” This

passage plainly states they will be without excuse. Inside they know there must be a God, but in

their own heart, they have rejected Him. Inside every person there is some level of knowledge

about God and an opportunity to either say yes or no to Him. One day, when each of us stand

before God, we will be without excuse. The New International Version of these same verses

says, “Since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to

them. For since the creation of the world, God’s invisible qualities—His eternal power and divine

nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are

without excuse.”
III. NATURE TEACHES US ABOUT GOD

Nature teaches us about God. The first thing we learn about God when we look at nature is God

is omnipotent—all-powerful. You cannot look at nature—from bugs, plants, flowers, and trees, to

the sun moon, stars, and galaxies—without acknowledging the existence of God. Technology

becomes more advanced every day. Expectant parents can watch 3-D movement of their child in

the mother’s womb months before the child is born. To me this is a natural display of the

existence of God.

Next, nature teaches us about the Trinity—that there is the Father, His Son, and the Holy

Spirit; they act together as one. Many wonder how they can be three yet one. Think about a

husband and wife becoming one. There are families with multiple children, each child an

individual along with the parents, yet they are one family. A company is typically comprised of a

boss and employees. Each employee is an individual member of the entire company. Teams have

different players performing different functions, yet together they make one team. Many

individual soldiers make an army that is one entity. The things that surround us in life teach us

about the Trinity—three separate members yet, one God.

Satan did not make the signs of the zodiac. God did. God created the stars and through the

constellations, the story of redemption is displayed. The signs of the zodiac were never

intended to guide our life; the Holy Spirit was sent to guide us. The Word of God was given to
guide us. The signs of the zodiac are simply in the heavens to paint a picture of the plan of

salvation. There is an excellent book entitled Signs in the Stars by E.W. Bullinger describing the

story of redemption displayed in the constellations.

I expect to see people in heaven who were won to the Lord Jesus Christ without a preacher.

They simply looked at the stars and came to a realization one day: God must exist. People can

hear about salvation, even without a preacher. Nature teaches us about God’s love. Nature

teaches us about His power. Nature teaches us about His Holy Spirit and the plan of

redemption.

IV. NATURE REVEALS GOD’S PLAN

Psalm 8:3-4:

When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and the stars, which

You have ordained,

What is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that You visit him?

David didn’t have a Bible, yet he began to understand more about God and His character by

looking at the stars; nature taught him about God. David was a shepherd and had plenty of
opportunity to observe nature. Psalm 23, is a vivid picture of the nature surrounding God, but

also a vivid picture of God as our Shepherd.

To the redeemed man, nature reveals our place in God’s plan. As surely as the stars and planets

exist without colliding with one another, God has perfectly placed them in the heavens, so has

He perfectly placed us. We have a plan to fulfill and fulfilling that plan is like the stars or

planets in the heavens—each star and planet fulfilling a certain part of God’s plan, but combined

together fulfilling God’s ultimate plan in the end. Each of us simply do our small part to fulfill

our part in His ultimate plan .

God gave man dominion over nature and nature was designed by God to serve man. Plants and

animals are part of God’s provision for food and clothing for mankind. God created the plants

and animals for our benefit. We breathe in oxygen and breath out carbon dioxide. Plants

breathe in carbon dioxide and breathe out oxygen. God put the foliage in the earth to keep us

alive! God has placed nature around us to bless humanity. Think for just a moment. Every

medicine that exists comes from the earth, either chemicals from the ground or plants—things

found in the nature around us.

Genesis 1:26 says, “God said let us make man in our own image, after our likeness.” Our spirit

was made in the image of God, but our body was made in His likeness. God’s nature is inside us.

The human body tries to heal itself. That is something that just naturally happens. Why?
Because God’s nature is not to kill, His nature is to heal. Because we are made in His image and

likeness our own body acts like God. If we cut our hand, our body will naturally begin to heal the

cut. If we have an infection in our body, our body will try to rid itself of the infection. The air

we breathe, the food we eat, the medicines we take, the things around us in nature are all

working to do us good.

V. HEALING IS GOD’S NATURE

God’s nature is healing. He placed that nature inside us. Our body filters out poisons through

our breath, sweat, and waste while keeping the nutrients from the foods we eat inside our body.

In Psalm 139:14 David recognized the magnificence of the human body when he said, “I will

praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made…”

God’s desire for us to be healthy was placed inside us; it is God’s nature. Does nature teach us

to rebel against God? No! Nature teaches us to work with God. Nature around us confirms our

bodies are designed in His very likeness. But beyond the natural healing process our bodies

possess, God has provided supernatural healing through the laying on of hands, prayer, and

standing on His promises. God’s desire for humanity to walk healthy and whole is so great, He

will go beyond what nature can do, beyond the ability of the body to compensate for itself, and

His supernatural power will flow to bring supernatural healing.

God wants you well. He doesn’t want you sick. Sickness does not come from God. Sickness

comes from a curse that has been in the earth since the fall of man and ultimately, sickness

comes from Satan himself. Healing comes from God. He has not taught nature to rebel against

His will. If it was God’s will for some to be sick, if God puts sickness and disease on men, then

all of nature would be rebelling against its very Creator because the human body works to

naturally heal itself. God’s nature is healing! His name is healing! One of His names is Jehovah

Rapha, the Lord our Healer, the Lord who Heals us.

God has provided many ways beyond nature to provide healing to the natural body. When

disease tries to enter the physical body, the body’s immune system fights against it. Coroners

have examined bodies to discover that throughout a person’s lifetime their physical body may

have warded off many sicknesses and diseases they were unaware existed. I believe it is

because God has place a natural ability in the physical body to fight against sickness and

disease. Yet, even beyond natural ways, God has sent His Word and healed. He sent His Holy

Spirit and healed. The Bible says Jesus cast out devils with His Word and healed many diseases

and sicknesses. He did this by speaking God’s Word, but we also know God sent His Holy Spirit

to us. One of the ministries of the Holy Spirit is healing because Jesus said, “The Spirit of the

Lord is upon me because He has anointed me to heal.” When the body cannot heal itself and

nature cannot conquer sickness and disease, God has many supernatural healing methods beyond

nature.

VI. WAYS GOD HEALS

I want to present a number of ways God has provided for us to receive healing.

1. Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any

thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in

heaven. (Matthew 18:19)

2. Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them

pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord: (James 5:14)

3. Gifts of healings (1 Corinthians 12:28)

4. Faith in God’s Word (Mark 5:34)

VII. SICKNESS IS NEVER FROM GOD

I want to emphasize that sickness never comes from God. Nature teaches us that. It takes

human thinking or religion to come up with the idea that sickness comes from God, and we’ve had

a lot of religious help through the years. Many times, a person may step out in faith to receive

healing and if the healing doesn’t manifest immediately or like they think it should, God gets

blamed. Even if a person is disobedient, God does not put sickness on them. When a person is

disobedient to God, they move out from under God’s protection and open the door to attacks of

Satan. It is similar to a parent warning a child about the consequences of disobeying. If the

child is disobedient, they cannot blame the parent. No, the child crossed the boundaries set by

the parents. Often believers do the same. We cross the boundaries of God and open ourselves

up to an attack from the devil, but if we choose to be disobedient, it is not God who put sickness
and disease on us. God does not believe in child abuse. If God could put sickness and disease on

us, He would be worse than an abusive parent. Normal parents would never put cancer on a

disobedient child to teach them a lesson.

IX. THE WORLD RECOGNIZES SICKNESS AS AN ENEMY

Even the world recognizes sickness as an enemy. The world fights cancer. Hollywood constantly

has fundraisers to fight all manner of sickness. Why? Because sickness and disease are

enemies. Think about that. If sickness is the will of God, then doctors, nurses, and medical

researchers are fighting against God! Luke should never have written the book of Acts if

sickness and disease is an enemy. If it is God’s will for us to be sick, why would we spend so

much money to be out of “God’s will”? Even our natural mind knows sickness is an enemy.

Acts 10:38:

How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, who went about

doing good and healing all that were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him.

God’s goodness is displayed in healing. The oppression of the devil is displayed in

sickness. Sickness originates from Satan himself.

Jesus took our sickness. The verse we started with in Matthew 18:16-17 tells us Jesus took

sickness and the curse from us when He was on the cross. He absorbed our sickness and

breathed out healing on us just as nature inhales our curse and exhales a blessing for us. Our

part is simply to accept what Jesus has already given us.

X. PERPETUAL JUBILEE

The bottom line is this: We need to get angry at the works of the devil. When Jesus read from

Isaiah that day in the synagogue, He proclaimed God had sent Him to preach the acceptable

year of the Lord. The acceptable year of the Lord is the Year of Jubilee. Jesus was saying,

“I’ve come to preach jubilee.” I’m sure many people in that audience looked at Him and thought,

“This isn’t the Year of Jubilee. Why is He preaching jubilee is now? Does He realize what He is

saying?”

However, once Jesus came, He gave us the ability to live in perpetual jubilee. We don’t need to

wait for every fifty years to pass before jubilee. Jesus came to introduce us to a perpetual

jubilee! In the Year of Jubilee, everything was returned to it’s original owner. If land or

possessions were confiscated, they were returned to the original owner during the jubilee.

Probably one of the busiest places in town during the Year of Jubilee was the office of records.

I can imagine people searching records for a property that once belonged to them. We have an
office of records today—God’s Word, which is a record of what once belonged to us and has

been returned to us through the work of the cross.

Jubilee is not only us taking from Satan what belongs to us, but also giving back to the devil

what originally belonged to him. Sickness belonged to him. Sin belonged to him.

Unrighteousness belonged to him. Salvation belonged to us. Righteousness belonged to us.

Healing belonged to us. Notice how Jesus put it: He came to preach deliverance to the captive.

Whatever once belonged to the captive now belongs to Satan. The blind receive sight, and

blindness goes back to the devil, its original owner! All that was part of the curse goes back to

the original owner!

I like to think of it this way: the reason Jesus Christ took all those sins, poverty, sickness,

disease, unrighteousness and loaded them on Himself was to unload them on the devil while He

was three days and nights in the grave conquering sin, death, and the grave! The moment Jesus

rose from the dead, He introduced a perpetual jubilee! If you are carrying a burden, it must go

back to its original owner. If you have sickness in your body, it must go back to the original

owner! Jesus Christ procured these for us at the cross—healing belongs to us and God gave us

nature to teach us about Him!