BACK TO TESTIMONIES

By His Stripes

Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed.Isaiah 53:4-5

I want to share my testimony how the Lord has healed me not only physically but also spiritually, all within a short period of time.

On 12 January this year, I went for my usual annual health screening. I was feeling fine just like a normal person. My GP doctor went through the screening report with me on 14 January. He raised concern on my tumour (cancer) markers. Out of the four markers, two were normal but the other two markers are very high which were:

  • CEA – reading was 189.6 which should be not more than 4.7
  • CA19.9 – reading was 150.9 which should be not more than 39.0

I went through two specialists who conducted a series of tests, scans and finally a bone biopsy was performed. This was a period of much anxiety and my mind was very troubled. I could not sleep well every night.

My wife, Jessie, and my son and two daughters are spirit-filled Christians for many years. All of them were very calm throughout as they have very strong faith in the Lord. All of them advised me to accept the Lord Jesus Christ and walk closely with Him. They told me to trust and have full faith in the Lord Jesus to heal me.

n 28th January, the last specialist diagnosed that I had lung cancer stage 4 as the cancer cells had spread to several areas of my body. I was immediately referred to an Oncologist whom I consulted on the same day, 28th January. He did another blood test on me on 31 January. I was in a state of shock. But I was very fortunate to have my family fully behind me and they shared the Word of the Lord with me. I then decided to accept the Lord Jesus. My wife, Jessie, led me to into the sinner’s prayer. She also taught me to believe and to confess daily the Scriptural promise that: “I shall not die, but live, and declare the works of the Lord”.

At that time, while she received this “Word”, she forgot which part of the Bible this “Word” was from. Then the next morning, she simply flipped the Bible and immediately this “Word” in Psalm 118:17 appeared to her. Truly, she had been under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit then.

In addition to this, there is another important and fundamental Bible verse that built my faith towards receiving God’s promise of healing – found in Isaiah 53:5, which reads: “But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed”. This was the verse that assured me that God intends and wants us to be healed – spirit, soul and body; and Jesus proved this by going to the cross for us.

Since then I have been confessing daily Psalm 118:17 and also Isaiah 53:5 over my life.

One of the subjects my wife touched on was the importance of tithing, of which I could not accept previously as I did not believe it. She told me that if we are obedient and give cheerfully what is due to the Lord, God will honour our obedience and faith. She suggested and I agreed, that for the start, I would pay my first tithe based on my earnings for the full year of 2010 plus one fifth in interest for late payment.

Friends, what would follow next are truly God’s demonstration of His love, grace and faithfulness.

On 2 February, I was contacted by my Oncologist that after reviewing my case and from my blood test results, I was accepted into an international clinical trial conducted by the drug manufacturer for the tablets. Under this trial, they will take care of the costs for the drug and also for the bulk of the follow-up tests, scans, plus my Oncologist consultation costs. This is the first miracle.

Also, following a randomized selection process, the Head Office of this clinical trial informed me that they would commence my treatment using Targeted Therapy instead of Chemotherapy. Chemotherapy will not only destroy the cancerous cells, but will invariably also kill the surrounding good cells. There are also more side effects. However, for Targeted Therapy, it will kill only the cancerous cells and with less side effects. Under this Targeted Therapy, I take one tablet daily. This is the second miracle.

On 30 January, my wife brought me to Cornerstone which was my first visit to a Church after decades. I met many pastors, deacons and church members who prayed for me when they heard of my medical conditions. I was also blessed that during that period, there were several healing evangelists from overseas that came to Cornerstone to minister. I attended all their ministries and responded to their altar calls. At one of the altar calls, Pastor Phil Rich prayed for me and he prophesized that I would be healed on my third medical report. At that time, I only had my first medical report.

My wife later found out from the Cornerstone Weekly bulletin that there is a Healing & Deliverance Ministry on every Tuesday evening. We also started to attend this ministry from 22 February. All those counsellors prayed with me and for me weekly.

Subsequently, I attended Baptism classes and was baptised on 26 March. Jessie and I also joined the cell group and the leader and members also prayed for me consistently.

The spiritual support that I received was indeed tremendous and all these greatly speed up my progressive healing by the Lord Jesus. Now I shall share with you the rest of the miracles that our Good Lord has done for me:

Medical Review Reports:

1st Review 16 March

The scan showed remission of cancer by 50% and more in all areas. The cancer markers were not taken.

2nd Review 27 April

The scan showed further remission and stability of the cancer.

The blood test showed the cancer markers had dropped steeply:

  • CEA — dropped from 189.6 to 6.7 – should not be more than 4.7
  • CA19.9 — dropped from 150.9 to 6.5 – should not be more than 39.0 – safe

3rd Review 08 June (Refer to Pastor Phil Rich’s prophesy – God’s Word for me was indeed fulfilled)

The scan showed all clear with only scars (like scars from bruises as explained by my Oncologist)

The blood test showed my red and white blood counts back to normal range and the cancer markers dropped further and all back to normal:

  • CEA – dropped further from 6.7 to 4.1 – should not be more than 4.7 – safe
  • CA19.9 – dropped further from 6.5 to 3.1 – should not be more than 39 – safe

Recently, I decided to do an estimate of the total expense, which I would have had to pay had I not been under this clinical trial. As of 13 June, the total expense of my treatment is estimated to be more than double the amount of my first tithe! God is indeed faithful and merciful! We give praise and thanks to our Lord Jesus! (My wife, however, reminded me that God does not need to receive our finances before releasing His blessings; rather God wants to know if we would submit and surrender ourselves to Him, and be obedient to Him. So please do not have the wrong impression that we can “buy” God’s blessings.)

I thank and praise our Lord Jesus for saving me and healing me. He is indeed Jehovah Rapha – the God our Healer.

I also thank all the pastors, deacons, members of the church, members of the Healing & Deliverance Ministry, my cell leader and all my cell members, not forgetting members of my own family and friends for all their generous prayers and support.

Friends, our Lord Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever. He is gracious, merciful and faithful. His Word is true and He is true to His promises. Jesus heals and in Him I live, and move, and have my being. Our God reigns!

by Anthony Tan

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