I once had a colleague who talked about how she had broken her ankle and asked God for healing and received it, instantaneously and miraculously. Another gentleman was diagnosed with cancer and genuinely believed God would heal him. Several months later I attended his funeral.
Healing is another one of those areas where there is a great deal of confusion, extremism and, sometimes, downright deception.
This morning we’re going to explore the issue of why and how God heals, and, if he heals, why he doesn’t always do it.
GIFTS OF HEALINGS and SIGNS AND WONDERS
Healing usually comes up in the context of the gifts, and we talk about the ’gift of healing’. But the Bible doesn’t actually mention a gift of healing. In 1Cor 12 Paul talks about gifts of healings – plural, and a couple of weeks ago we saw that the healing itself, not just the ability to heal, is the gift. So this morning I want to take a look at the broader biblical view on healing.
Another side of healing we need to touch on is signs and wonders. When Jesus came preaching the Kingdom of God, and the Apostles after him, one of the ways that God authenticated their message was through miracles and signs and wonders. In fact, God still does this and we often hear of amazing stories of miracles and healing in places where the gospel is being preached.
In the 60’s and 70’s there was a powerful work of God that took place in PNG and there were even testimonies of people being raised from the dead. I recently heard an Indian Christian leader talk about a move of God taking place in his country and he said they are witnessing signs and wonders.
But these are a little different to the church context I want to look at this morning.
HEALING AND THE COVENANT
To understand the context of healing in the church we need to go back to the Old Testament and to an understanding of who God is.
In Exodus 15 the Israelites were not long out of Egypt and wandering through the desert when they came to a spring of water they ended up calling Marah.
Why don’t we read that story it’s in Exodus 15.22-26.
READ EX 15.22-26
This event was a test of faith for the Israelites – would they trust God? But it was also an object lesson in God’s nature. God turned the bitter water sweet, bad water good. And then he said, “I am the Lord, who heals you.”
This is the first lesson that God taught them after they cross the Red Sea. At the Red Sea they learned that God is a deliverer. At Marah they learned that he is a healer.
He tells them, “If you listen carefully to the LORD your God and do what is right in his eyes, if you pay attention to his commands and keep all his decrees, I will not bring on you any of the diseases I brought on the Egyptians.”
What we’re seeing here is the beginning of the terms of the covenant that will bind God to Israel and Israel to God. The reason God is going to spare them from the diseases he afflicted on Egypt and bring them healing, is because they’re his people and he is their God and this is what he does. The promise of blessing flows from covenant relationship.
Let’s turn to Deut 28 where God spells this out in more detail. In Deut 28.1-12 God tells them what’s going to happen if they keep up their side of the covenant.
READ DEUT 28.1-12
“What’s this got to do with healing?” You ask. It’s actually much bigger than healing. God’s will for his people isn’t just that they’d be healed, but that they wouldn’t need to be! His desire is for their health, their wholeness, their prosperity.
If we’re going to understand why and how God’s heals, we need to understand divine healing is based on covenant relationship. In his love and mercy God desires his people to be whole.
THE NEW COVENANT IN CHRIST
The problem of sickness goes right back to the fall when Adam and Eve disobeyed God. In Genesis 3.17-19 God said, “Cursed is the ground because of you... it will produce thorns and thistles for you... By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground...” In short, we are cursed because of sin, and that curse impacts us spiritually, physically, relationally - everything. In short, death comes as a result of sin.
The covenant with Israel was meant to go some way towards dealing with sin so that the people could live in relationship and wholeness with God. But if you’re familiar with the Old Testament story you’ll know that didn’t happen very often, so God made another way. He sent Jesus as Saviour.
In Isaiah 53.4-6 we read about the promise of this saviour and what he will do for us. Now, we usually read this as talking about dealing with our sin and bringing peace with God. Let’s read it.
READ Isa 53.4-6.
This does deal largely with our sin, that’s what transgressions and iniquities are - sin. But listen to what the gospel of Matthew says about this:
’When evening came, many who were demon-possessed were brought to him, and he drove out the spirits with a word and healed all the sick. This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah: “He took up our infirmities and bore our diseases”’ (Matt 8.16-17).
Matthew took Isaiah quite literally and saw the fulfillment of this prophecy, not only in Jesus death, but also in his healing ministry. God’s concern isn’t just for what happens when we die, it encompasses the whole of his creation, and that includes our mind and body as well as our soul.
And, of course, Christ’s death and resurrection brought about a new covenant. In Mark 14.24, on the night before he died, Jesus said, “This is my blood of the covenant which is poured out for many.”
And Heb 8.1 says, “The ministry Jesus has received is as superior to [the Old Testament priests] as the covenant of which he is mediator is superior to the old one, since the new covenant is established on better promises.”
Is this starting to come together? God is still a God of covenant. He still longs to see people whole. Jesus went to extraordinary lengths to see to it. So there is still the covenant promise of healing and wholeness for those who enter into that covenant by faith in Christ.
THE NOW BUT NOT YET OF THE KINGDOM
But if that’s the case, why do we still see sickness and death. If Christ has taken our sickness, why does one Christian get healed and another die? Actually, everyone dies! Healing in this life is only ever temporary.
This has to do with the nature of the Kingdom of God. Matthew 9.35 says, “Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness.” Kingdom preaching and healing go together in Jesus ministry because healing is a manifestation of life in the Kingdom.
Yeah? How many of you expect to get sick when we enter into the fullness of the Kingdom in the next life?
Now, we understand God’s Kingdom to be both present and future. In fact, we say the future Kingdom is breaking into the present. In Romans 8.21 Paul says, “Creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God.” With the coming of Jesus and the age of the Spirit we see this beginning to happen, but it’s not all here yet.
And so, we sometimes see healing because the Kingdom is breaking in. Jesus reigns! The Spirit is present! But sometimes God doesn’t heal because the Kingdom isn’t completely here, not yet. We still die, but with death will come a resurrection into the fullness of eternal life which we taste now.
THE NEED FOR OBEDIENCE
But I think there’s another reason we don’t see healing. Remember how the Israelites had to obey God in order to receive the blessing? In every covenant there are terms. It’s not that God abandons us when we disobey, but how can we expect a blessing from God when we step outside the boundaries of real relationship with him?
Put it another way. If we want to see the fruit of the Kingdom in our lives, don’t we need to live according to the principles of the Kingdom and in obedience to the King?
I love my kids, just as you love yours. They never stop being my kids or being subject to my love. But sometimes they do stop receiving my blessing because of their behaviour! Most of us here are Australian citizens. We have all the benefits and freedoms that come with citizenship… unless we break the law. We don’t stop being Aussies, but prison takes away many of those blessings.
We don’t just see this in the Old Testament, but in the New as well.
Do you remember what happened to Ananias and Sapphira in the book of Acts when they lied? God struck them dead! OK, they was exceptional circumstances and usually we don’t get struck down for sin anymore. But the principle is there - blessing requires obedience.
In 1Cor 11.29-30 Paul says, “Those who eat or drink [the Lord’s supper] without discerning the body of Christ eat and drink judgment on themselves. That is why many of you are weak and sick, and a number of you have fallen asleep.” Which is Paul’s way of saying they’d died because they weren’t looking out for one another when they had communion. The Corinthians shared communion as a so called love feast, but it was a free for all, there was no love at all. And they suffered for it.
Paul says in Eph 6.1-3, “Children, obey your parents in the Lord... ’Honour your father and mother’ – which is the first commandment with a promise – ’so that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth.’”
The way we relate to God and to one another has an affect on our health! I heard one pastor talk about how their church got to such a level of unity that they experienced no major health issues among their members for a decade or more!
But there’s another, very practical side to health and wholeness. We’re mainly dealing with divine healing this morning, but we need to remember the natural course of events as well.
Here’s the indisputable fact - if you spend your life scoffing fat and sugar and not exercising, you’re going to get heart disease or diabetes or stroke or all of the above. We can’t live an unhealthy lifestyle and expect God to save us from the consequences! God has ordered the world so that if we live right we’ll live healthy. Sometimes he graciously saves us from ourselves, but usually he just expects us to be smart.
On the other side of that God has also created us with the ability to heal naturally. I hate catching a cold, but I know I’ll get over it! If I break a leg, with a little bit of care it will get better.
RECEIVING HEALING
But, as I said, we’re dealing with divine healing. And I want to emphasise that God is the healer. And James 5.14-16 gives some keys for how we can receive healing when we do get sick.
READ Jas 5.14-16.
Notice how much this is in the context of community? That’s the first principle - we need each other and we need to humble ourselves before each other. God is relational and he sets these things up to work best through relationships.
James says to call the elders to pray and anoint with oil. I think anointing is meant as a visual reminder of the Spirit’s presence. When you get sick, by all means go to the doctor – they often have a part to play in the healing process. But don’t put your faith in doctors, put it in God. Ask for prayer first, then go to the doctor!
Second, we need faith. Faith and healing aren’t magic, they come out of relationship with our loving heavenly Father, who is the God who heals us.
James also mentions forgiveness and confession of sin. Friends, we’ve seen how sin can be a cause of sickness. It’s not always the cause, but can be. And it can stop us receiving healing. So we’re to confess our sins to each other and pray for one another so that we can be healed!
And finally – healing prayer isn’t just for the leaders. We’re all God’s children. We’re a kingdom of priests. Pray for healing for one another!
CONCLUSION
Ultimately the promise of perfect health won’t be fully realised until Jesus comes again. Sometimes we will suffer sickness and eventually we’ll all die. But the Kingdom of God is breaking in and his desire is that we’d know his blessing in this life.
If we’re going to know the blessings of the Kingdom then we need to live as Kingdom people, fully submitted the rule of God, living by the values of the Kingdom, humbling ourselves before God and one another, coming in simple faith to our loving heavenly father who has revealed himself as the God who heals.
