Experiencing the Passion of Christ Ultimate Wholeness
Theme: Experiencing ultimate wholeness
Text: Is 53:4-6, Matthew 8:16
(Isa 53:4) Surely (the fact is) he hath borne (endured) our griefs (sickness, pain), and carried our sorrows (anguish, affliction): yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. (we paid no attention to why he was doing this) 5 But he was wounded for our transgressions (rebellion, wickedness), he was bruised for our iniquities (sins): the chastisement (punishment) of our peace was upon him (the only way we could have peace was for us to pay the price yet Christ paid it for us); and with his stripes we are healed. 6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.
Mat 8:16 When the even was come, they brought unto him many that were possessed with devils: and he cast out the spirits with his word, and healed all that were sick: Mat 8:17 That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying, Himself took our infirmities, and bare our sicknesses.
Introduction
I want you to get a hold of what the scripture is saying. We don’t believe in healing just because that is the thing to do and it happened. We believe in it because it was provided for in the death and atonement of Jesus Christ. Not just a spiritual healing but physical healing. That began to be fulfilled when he came.
Matthew 4:23 reads And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of sickness and all manner of disease among the people.
And notice that this continued in the church. In the book of Acts we read that the disciples went about expecting people to be healed. There was no question that what they had seen Jesus do they felt they could do also. There was no debate.
It got so strong that people would just bring tissues to the disciples to anoint them and people would be healed.
(Act 5:15) Insomuch that they brought forth the sick into the streets, and laid them on beds and couches, that at the least the shadow of Peter passing by might overshadow some of them.
Phillip
Then Philip went down to the city of Samaria, and preached Christ unto them. And the people with one accord gave heed unto those things which Philip spake, hearing and seeing the miracles which he did. For unclean spirits, crying with loud voice, came out of many that were possessed with them: and many taken with palsies, and that were lame, were healed. And there was great joy in that city. (Acts 8:5-8 AV)
Acts 19:11 CEV God gave Paul the power to work great miracles.12 People even took handkerchiefs and aprons that had touched Paul's body, and they carried them to everyone who was sick. All of the sick people were healed, and the evil spirits went out.
Then as we read deeper in the New Testament we read in
(1Co 12:8) For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit; 9 To another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit; 10 To another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to another divers kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues:
(Jam 5:13) Is any among you afflicted? let him pray. Is any merry? let him sing psalms. 14 Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord: 15 And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him. 16 Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. 17 Elias was a man subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain: and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months. 18 And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit.
It is not hard to establish divine healing as a norm and not abnormal in the New Testament.
These are some incredible verses. Yet I believe the more incredible fact is that we don’t experience divine healing as often as we should.
Why? The Full Life Study Bible lists 9 Hindrances to Healing that I think are worth noting.
1) unconfessed sin
2) demonic oppression or bondage
3) fear or acute anxiety
4) past disappointments which undermine faith in the present
5) people
6) unbiblical prayer
7) failure of the elders to pray the prayer for the sick
8) failure of the church to seek and obtain the gifts of miracles and healings as God intended
9) unbelief
I think these are very good reasons. Yet it seems that we have done all and we still don’t have relief.
1) a restored relationship with someone
2) a true understanding of the purpose of God’s healing
God doesn’t heal us just so that we can be healed but there is a reason that he heals
3) many times we need an emotional or mental healing before we need a physical healing
4)
Last service we talked about complete forgiveness. Christ suffering and death was so that we could have complete forgiveness from our sins. In other words not partial or just a piece but Christ suffered and died for us all.
One word that is particularly important in this passage is this word peace.
Peace means soundness, well being, prosperity, and completeness.
“ The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.” (John 10:10 AV)
Grief=sicknesses, disease
Sorrow=pain
Luk 4:17 And there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet Esaias. And when he had opened the book, he found the place where it was written, 18 The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the broken hearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, 19 To preach the acceptable year of the Lord. 20 And he closed the book, and he gave it again to the minister, and sat down. And the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened on him. 21 And he began to say unto them, This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears.
I want you to notice the transition of thought in this passage.
I. Whole in our relationship with God (trangressions (rebellion) & iniquities (sins)
II. Whole in our peace (griefs (pain, sickness) sorrows (anguish & affliction)
Modes of divine healing:
A. Direct prayer of faith (Matthew 8:5-13)
B. Intercessory prayer of two or more (Matthew 18:19)
C. Anointing of the elders with the prayer of faith (James 5:14-15)
D. Laying on of hands by those who believe and whom God has prepared and called to that ministry (Mark 16:18; Hebrew 6:2)
E. Anointing a tissue or cloth (Acts 19:12
