Who Has Believed Our Report Series

September 25, 2016

Morning Worship

Text: Isaiah 53:1-12

Subject: Healing

Title: Who Has Believed Our Report

One of the things that we claim to believe as a Bible Believing church is that God still heals today. It’s not something that Jesus did and then the early apostles just to jump start a fledgling church. You know, that’s what some believe – that the gifts of the Spirit and the Baptism in the Holy Spirit and power and authority and casting out demons – those things are not needed today; they were only for the early church. Oh but listen to me, if those things were ever needed today is the day, now is the time. For the enemy of the church is rising up in the world – his domain – like never before and is trying to bring the church to its knees so that it becomes a paralyzed entity that has no effect on the society around it. But we are not that church. We are the church of the Living God, established in power through the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, and through His ascension and subsequent sending of the Holy Spirit. We are that church!

And healing is part of that church!

Now since we believe that, then why do we to see more people healed? Well that’s where we are going to be headed in the next few weeks. We just want to refresh you in your thinking so that your faith is increased.

Before we get started hold your bibles up with me…

I believe this is God’s word…

I believe it is for me…

I accept it as mine…

And I will appropriate it to my life today…

Isaiah 53:1-12 (NKJV)

1 Who has believed our report? And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?

Now we have to be careful when we read the word, because we have become so familiar with it that we tend to skip by some verse in order to get to others. Our natural tendency would be to jump down to verse 5, by His stripes we are healed.

But if we do that we miss out on some important information. There are at least a couple of places in the New Testament where this verse is mentioned and we need to turn there. Keep your finger in Isaiah and then turn to John 12 and Romans 10.

Have I ever preached on healing before? Yes I have. And there have been times when people have gotten excited about it and healing was all over the place and there have been other times when it just seemed like the words were hitting a brick wall and nothing was happening. So what was the difference? Is it the same word or not? Sometimes the difference comes in the hearing.

John 12:37-38 (NKJV)

37 But although He had done so many signs before them, they did not believe in Him,

38 that the word of Isaiah the prophet might be fulfilled, which he spoke: "Lord, who has believed our report? And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?"

John uses this reference to Isaiah in context with miracles that Jesus had done.

John 12:39-40 (NKJV)

39 Therefore they could not believe, because Isaiah said again:

40 "He has blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts, Lest they should see with their eyes, Lest they should understand with their hearts and turn, So that I should heal them."

41 These things Isaiah said when he saw His glory and spoke of Him.

Now John, writing under the anointing of the Holy Spirit says that Isaiah, by the Holy Spirit, said these things about Jesus hundreds of years before they happened and John specifically mentions miracles and healings.

Now in Romans chapter 10…

Romans 10:13-15 (NKJV)

13 For "whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved."

14 How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher?

15 And how shall they preach unless they are sent?

Stop there! Not every preacher or evangelist or missionary is sent… oh they may have gone with the permission of church leadership or a board but don’t you know that it is not people who send….

Acts 13:1-3 (NKJV)

1 Now in the church that was at Antioch there were certain prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul.

2 As they ministered to the Lord and fasted, the Holy Spirit said, "Now separate to Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them."