The Hope of Healing
Selected Passages
Mexico Seminar Presentation
Introduction
The Bible is filled with events that cannot be called anything except miraculous. There are so many that we can’t even list them all but here are just a few of the ones that come to mind.
The Red Sea parts for the Israelites to pass on dry land
The walls of Jericho fall with a shout
Jesus is resurrected on the third day
Peter is rescued from prison by an angel
God has a way of stepping into the stream of human history and changing everything in an instant. He can do this because, well He is God. God does what needs to be done as it needs to be done and how it needs to be done. The greatest miracle it seems is the fact that He uses us at all in his plans.
Meaning of Miracle (dictionary.com)
1. An effect or extraordinary event in the physical world that surpasses all known human or natural powers and is ascribed to a supernatural cause.
2. such an effect or event manifesting or considered as a work of God.
3. a wonder; marvel.
A poll was conducted of adults on the question of miracles. Percentage of adults who mostly agree or completely agree with the statement, "Even today, miracles are performed by the power of God": 82.
In the history of Israel there were three periods of major miracles. These were periods when God revealed His power in miraculous ways to His people.
• The days of Moses: The ten plagues, the parting of the Red Sea, Manna from heaven
• The days of Elijah: The ceasing of rain, the fire from heaven to destroy the prophets of Baal and the chariot of fire
• The days of Jesus
The Miracles of Jesus (Matthew 4:13-15)
Three major types of miracles in the ministry of Jesus
1.) Power over nature: Calming the storm, changing water into wine
2.) Healings
3.) Casting out demons
Of the miracles of Jesus healings outnumber any other type of miracle. The casting out of demons was often accompanied by the healing of the person who was possessed.
Jesus healed people on 25 separate occasions in the gospels.
Three times Jesus raised people from the dead
Two times Jesus healed people of leprosy
Five times Jesus cast out demons
Nine times Jesus healed people with physical ailments
Six times Jesus healed people with general sicknesses
23 Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people. 24 News about him spread all over Syria, and people brought to him all who were ill with various diseases, those suffering severe pain, the demon-possessed, those having seizures, and the paralyzed, and he healed them. 25 Large crowds from Galilee, the Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea and the region across the Jordan followed him. Matthew 4:23-25
Jesus healed anyone of anything (23)
Jesus did not limit His healing to only those who were Jews. From this passage we see that people followed Him from various other countries from that region of the world. We also know that on other occasions Jesus healed the Roman Centurion’s servant and the Canaanite woman’s daughter. Jesus healed anyone that came to Him in faith.
Matthew records that Jesus healed every disease and sickness that was among people. Clearly, Jesus had the power over sickness and disease. There was nothing that He could not heal.
Look at the list of things that Jesus healed: Jesus healed the blind, the deaf, the mute, the lame, the lepers and even raised people from the dead.
Jesus healed the whole person (24)
The Hebrews saw three types of healing: physical, emotional or mental and spiritual. Matthew records these three separate types in verse 24.
Jesus healed people spiritually through healing the demon possessed. Jesus healed people physically through healing those suffering severe pain and paralysis. Jesus healed people emotionally or mentally through healing those with seizures. The word for seizures included those who suffered from epilepsy and mental illness.
One of the best examples of this is found in the healing of those with leprosy. Leprosy was an incurable disease that destroyed the person physically, emotionally and spiritually.
Lepers were considered the walking dead and so they needed physical healing. Lepers were considered utterly unclean and so they needed spiritual healing. Lepers were considered social outcasts and so they needed emotional healing.
Jesus revealed Himself through healings (25)
At the end of these verses there were massive crowds following Jesus. He reveled Himself in power and the people responded. Often, Jesus used the miracles as a means to communicate the gospel to those gathered. When Jesus traveled through the region of Galilee, he was preaching, teaching and healing. All three were needed to effectively communicate the gospel to those who needed it most. Remember the words of Jesus that communicated His message: The Son of Man has come to seek what was lost (Luke 19:10)
The Misconceptions about Healing
God will heal everyone each time we persist in prayer
Why does God heal some people and not others?
There are times when supernatural healing brings God great glory. There are times when suffering in illness brings God glory. There are even times when our death will bring great glory to God. Our whole purpose in life is to bring glory to God in the way we live.
We see a prime example of this in another context. James the son of Zebedee is killed while Peter is rescued from being killed.
Paul told the Corinthians that he suffered with a thorn in the flesh. Paul does not reveal what the condition is but there are several reasons to believe that this is a physical ailment.
God did not heal because of a lack of faith
If we pray for a person and they are not healed, does this mean that we did not have enough faith?
Divine healing does move with our faith and the will of God. However, God is still sovereign and in control of all things. God heals who He wants, when He wants and as He wants because He is God.
The goal of divine healing is far more than making the sick person well, it is bringing glory to God. There are times when God is more glorified in our illnesses. When Jesus encountered the man born blind, the disciples asked about the issue of sin and the reason the man was blind. Listen to what Jesus says:
1 As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. 2 His disciples asked him, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?" 3 "Neither this man nor his parents sinned," said Jesus, "but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life.
Remember that Jesus prayed for the cup of suffering to pass from Him but prayed for the Father’s will to be done.
God does not use the work of physicians to heal
Can God use physicians in the work of healing?
God can do whatever he wants to do. Jesus used the medical practices of the His day. It was a common medical practice to rub mud on the eyes of a blind person and then have them wash it off. Jesus made mud and rubbed in on the eyes of the man born blind. Many other times Jesus merely proclaims the healing. It would seem that Jesus is acknowledging the use of medicine.
The Ministry of the Church (James 5:14)
James makes it clear that the church has responsibility to minister to those who suffered from illness. Notice that James includes three areas for the care and concern for those who are sick.
14 Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord.
The church was to minister to emotional needs – Elders went when called
The Greek word for sick in verse 14 means someone so ill that they are confined to their home because their body is incredibly weak. This is the reason that the church elders are summoned. When the elders go to the sick person, it is an act of care and compassion.
The church was to minister to physical needs – Anoint
The act of anointing has a long history in Israel. Anointing was used for coronation of kings and the consecration of priests and prophets. Oil was seen as both the symbol of the Holy Spirit and the sign of God’s power. Oil was also viewed as medicine and a sign of the care and comfort of God. The intention was to set the person apart for the special attention of God.
The church was to minister to spiritual needs – Prayer
The goal of prayer is to connect with God. When we pray for those who are sick, our desire is to connect them with God. The act of prayer draws us closer to God and deepens our relationship with God.
The Meaning of Death
In the past year our church prayed on long term basis for the healing of two incredible women. One served on my leadership board and the other was a long time member of the church. One of the ladies suffered from a variety of ailments including emphysema and had gone deaf. The other lady suffered from cancer. The church prayed long and hard for God to heal both of these women. In the summer they died within a week of one another and my church went through a period of soul searching on the issue of healing.
One fact that we can all agree on is that every person is going to die. Even those that Jesus raised from the dead eventually died again. There are times when God is not satisfied to give a believer a temporary victory over illness and He takes them home to heaven.
4:16 Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. 17 For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. 18 So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. 5:1 Now we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands. 2 Corinthians 4:16-5:1
We cannot limit the work and will of God to answers to this world. Remember God works in the timeless nature of eternity. When we limit Him to this world, we limit Him to our needs and desires.
Christians should view death as the ultimate healing. God takes believers on to heaven and gives them a full restoration and a new body. Death is not being defeated by illness but instead is illness being defeated by eternal life. Death brings us the perfect victory of heaven.
He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away Revelation 21:4
Life Lessons on healing
Healing is the work of God
The motto of Ohio is this: With God all things are possible. God has both the ability and the willingness to heal believers when He so desires. God moves through the acts of faith of His people. We understand that He is God. He is almighty over the universe and all things are within His capability to work out. There are times when His will is to do thing that are at times beyond our ability to understand.
Trust is our role in God’s work
It has been said: With God trust is a must. Before we can see anything happen in the work of God we must place our trust in Him. We trust that He can and does heal people today. He is the same yesterday, today and forever. Absolutely nothing has changed from the time of Jesus until today.
Our goal is to glorify God
We are to rejoice and praise God when a person is healed. We are to rejoice and praise God when a person is taken home to heaven. The issue becomes one of victory. God is glorified in the victories of believers because it is His work that makes victory possible. No matter what the outcome is we are victorious when it comes to healing. In fact, healing is a win win situation. If there is healing, we have victory. If there is death, we have victory in the ultimate healing.
