Healed Series

Healed

Dr. Marty Baker / October 16, 2005

www.stevenscreek.net

Have you ever experienced a miracle? I have. In the early 1980s, my wife was stricken with Hepatitis. The doctors told her that she would need to drop out of college and expect a long recovery.

I remembered Acts 19:11,12

Acts 19:11,12

11 God did extraordinary miracles through Paul,

12 so that even handkerchiefs and aprons that had touched him were taken to the sick, and their illnesses were cured and the evil spirits left them.

I went to a service and asked the minister pray for her and to touch a piece of cloth for her healing. Within a week, she was back in classes. The doctors were amazed. I experienced first hand the meaning of

Psalm 77:14

You are the God who performs miracles; you display your power among the peoples.

Many of you have heard my story, but the creative team felt like I should share it one more time. I started wearing glasses when I was in middle school. Through the years and three college degrees, my eyes grew worse. I kept my glasses on the night stand so that I could grab them the moment I woke up. One Wednesday evening in August 2001 just before our evening service, my glasses broke. I had sat on them a few days before but Patty repaired them and everything was okay ... So we thought.

Like I said, just minutes before the service, my glasses fell apart. I panicked because I had to preach and I did not know the sermon well enough to preach it by memory. A couple of the guys on the music team recognized my dilemma and offered to fix my glasses. I gave my glasses to them and I went to my office and prayed in desperation. I said, "God, you called me to preach. I need to you to fix my glasses or heal my eyes." I walked out of the room and my glasses were not fixed and service had started.

Some how I made it through that Wednesday evening service. Afterwards, Patty put my glasses back together and life went on as usual. Over the next several weeks, however, my eyes began to hurt. I assumed that my glasses were bent and that the lens were too close to my eyes. I got frustrated and said, "That’s enough." I made an appointment with The Eye Guys so that I could get lasik surgery. After about an hour into the exam process, I noticed that the doctor and his assistant were whispering. A few minutes later another doctor came in to examine me. Eventually, they said, "Marty you have 20 / 20 vision."

I had worn glasses for over twenty years and had at least four other doctors in three different states prescribed glasses. Now, these guys say that I am healed. It’s was hard for me to believe. I waited ninety days and went another doctor and he confirmed it. So, for the last four years, I have been able live without glasses. It has been remarkable.

I am sensible enough to know that when Lazarus was raised from the dead in the book of John, he eventually died again. In the future, I will grow old and I may need reading glasses, but for now, God’s grace has been extended to me and I am so thankful.

How about you? Have you ever had a prayer answered? Do you believe that God answers prayer? Do you believe that miracles - extraordinary events that are the result of special acts of God -- really happen? Most Americans think so.

According to a NEWSWEEK poll, 84 % of adult Americans say they believe that God performs miracles and nearly half 48% report that they have personally experienced or witnessed one. Most Christians would say they pray for miracles, and Newsweek declares:

43% of nonbelievers say they have asked for God’s intervention.

But then there are the skeptics. There are many people who believe that God performs miracles, but for one reason or another, they do not believe that it will ever happen to them.

Also, there is a group of people who say: How can a rational person today accept the stories of miracles in the Bible?

They say, "You want me to believe that

a snake talked to Eve, that a virgin got pregnant from God, that a whale swallowed a prophet, that the Red Sea was parted and a man was crucified and rose from the dead.

I realize that these stories seem far fetched, but I challenge you to examine the record. Consider secular history and study the eye witness accounts. You’ll realize that many of the eye witnesses gave their lives for lives for the testimony of these occurrences.