Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain
of what we do not see.
(Hebrews 11 : 1)
One Christmas Eve I was busy preparing a sermon. An urgent
telephone call came in the early morning hours of Christmas
day. It was from a doctor at Seoul National University Hospital.
He asked over the phone, "Is this Pastor Cho?" "Yes, this
is he." The doctor said, "One of your members is dying here.
He was in a car accident. A taxi driver hit him, then the
taxi driver drove around all through the night with him
in the back seat."
In Korea at that time, if someone was hit and killed by a taxi, the taxi driver would only have to pay the sum of $2, 500, and then he would be cleared of all financial obligation. However, if the victim survived with some injury, then the driver would have to pay all the medical and hospital bills. So, if a driver hit someone and no one saw the accident, he would drive that person around until he or she died. It would be cheaper for him.
This church member had just bought a beautiful hat and other
gifts for his wife. He was so carried away with the joy of giving
her these presents that he jay-walked across the street without
observing the traffic light and was hit by a taxi. Since it
was late in the evening and it seemed that no one saw the accident,
this taxi driver carried the injured man in his car throughout
the evening. The man did not die and eventually a policeman
caught the taxi and took the injured man to a hospital. The
impact of the accident had badly impaired the man's intestines.
His stomach was full of dirt and blood, and blood poisoning
had already set in.
His doctor knew me and called, asking, "Dr. Cho, should
we operate on him? Medically speaking, it is hopeless. He
was left without medical attention for such a long time
and now blood poisoning has set in. There is nothing we
can do." But I said, "You go ahead and operate on him and
as soon as I finish the Christmas sermon, I'll hurry to
the hospital." After the Christmas service I rushed to the
emergency room of Seoul National University Hospital and
there he was, totally unconscious. The doctor repeated again
that there was no hope, "Reverend, don't expect anything.
He is dying. We can do nothing. When we opened his abdomen,
three areas of his intestines had been completely severed,
and these areas were filled with excrement and dirt. There
is no hope."
I replied, "Well, I'll try to do my best." In his room,
I knelt beside him and prayed, "Lord God, give me only five
minutes. Let him come out of the coma for five minutes."
As I was praying I felt him moving. I opened my eyes and
the man opened his eyes. "Oh, Pastor, I'm dying," he cried.
Knowing that I had five minutes, I replied, "Don't say that.
As long as you are saying you will die, you can't have faith.
You must think of living through this ordeal. Change your
thinking. The only way to take control over this three dimensional
situation is through your faith, which will give you visions
and dreams of being well again. Think wholeness!"
"Listen to me. Picture a healthy young man saying goodbye
to his wife. He's in the full bloom of youth and health.
He goes to his office and completes his business successfully.
All the people respect and admire him. An evening arrives
and he stops en-route home to purchase gifts for his wife.
She's waiting for him to come home so that they can have
dinner together. When he arrives, she comes out to the gate
and welcomes him with a big hug and a kiss. They go into
the house and share a delicious meal together and a quiet
evening at home."
"The man I am talking about is no stranger. That man is
you! Think of that man! Draw that picture in your mind.
Look at that man and say in your heart, 'I am that man!'
Don't draw a picture of death. Don't form a picture of a
dead corpse. Keep on dreaming about that man, and I will
do the praying. You just draw a mental picture and leave
the praying to me. Will you do that?" "Yes, pastor, I'll
change my thinking. I'll believe that I am that man. I'll
try to make that vision and dream a reality. I see it!"
he cried.
While we were talking, the surgeon came in with his nurse.
They started giggling and laughing at me. They probably
thought I had lost my mind. But I was serious. I knew the
law of the Spirit's fourth dimension and that man had begun
to speak the language of the Holy Spirit. Like a missionary
on a foreign field who gained a deeper level of communication
with the local people of that country by learning to speak
their language directly instead of using an interpreter,
so that dying man had learned the deeper language of the
Holy Spirit - to see himself completely well and believe
it would happen.
As I knelt down and grabbed hold of his bed, I prayed, "Dear
Holy Spirit, you are the Healer in the world today. Now
he speaks your language. He has a vision and a dream of
being completely healed and restored. Place your healing
upon his physical body and take control. I command this
man to be whole and to be filled with your healing power!"
Suddenly the group of unbelieving nurses said, "This room
is hot. The heat is too high." But the weather was not very
cold outside. The room was not unreasonably hot. It was
the power of the Holy Spirit at work healing this man. The
surgeon and the nurse said they began to feel fire. Their
ears turned red and the power of God became so strong that
we even felt the bed trembling.
What happened? Both the sick man and I had released faith
and the Holy Spirit worked in response to that faith. The
Holy Spirit took control and healing took place! We spoke
the language of the Holy Spirit and He manifested healing.
Amazingly, in one week, that man got up and walked out of
the hospital.
He is now in the chemical business and doing wonderfully.
Whenever I see him on Sunday mornings sitting in the balcony,
I say to myself, "Praise God!" Because we spoke the same
language the Holy Spirit spoke, He created the healing!
Hallelujah!
But remember the LORD your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth, and so confirms his covenant, which he swore to your forefathers, as it is today.
Daily Bible
