THE FIVE GUARANTEES OF DIVINE HEALING
INTRODUCTION
A. HUMOR: THE 3 CHRISTIAN PARROTS
1. Steve went into ROGER'S CHRISTIAN PETS to find a suitable pet parrot. He saw 3 parrots in a large cage. “Roger, how much is that blue parrot?"
2. Roger replied, "That parrot costs $500." "Wow," says Steve. "Why is it so expensive?" "That parrot can recite the whole Book of Deuteronomy by heart!" Roger told him to recite Deut 1:6 and he did it verbatim. Steve was impressed but that was too expensive.
3. Steve points to the yellow and green parrot and asked, "And how much is this parrot?" Roger replied, "That parrot is $1,000." "Good grief," says Steve. "Why is it so expensive?" "Because that parrot can recite the Book of Daniel and all of the Minor Prophets of the Old Testament."
4. Roger asked the parrot to quote a portion of Scripture and it was ‘spot on.’ Although very impressed with the yellow and green parrot, it too was far too expensive.
5. So Steve pointed to the red parrot and asked, "And how much is the red parrot?" Roger replied, "That parrot is £2,000."
6. "For Pete’s sake," says Steve. "What on earth can this parrot do that's so special to make it excessively expensive?"
7. "Well," replies Roger, "I've not sure yet, but what I DO KNOW is that the other two parrots call him Pastor."
B. FAITH FOR DIVINE HEALING
1. Many times we pray to God for healing, we don't really expect to healed. We do it as a form, expecting to have to go to the doctor.
2. But Divine healing is the will of God!
a. Paul prayed three times, Not "If it be Your will...", BUT “Heal Me, Lord!”
b. 3 John 2 says, "Beloved, I wish above all things that you may prosper and be in health even as your soul prospers."
c. Jesus healed ALL who came to him.
d. Woman who had the Issue of Blood – the Virtue release didn't require a decision from God.
B.THESIS: THE FIVE GUARANTEES OF HEALING
1. Tonight I’m giving you 5 guarantees of Healing. I know you know these but I’m repeating them to stir up your godly minds.
2. They are: a. Atonement of Christ; b. The Nature of our Creator; c. Our Covenant-Keeping God; d. God as our Father; e. The Mercy of God.
I. ATONEMENT: JESUS PAID FOR OUR HEALING
A. NECESSITY FOR THIS FOUNDATION
1. The Fall of man made the Atonement necessary.
2. Sickness and death came as a consequence, an after-effect of sin (Romans 5:12).
3. The devil is the author of sickness and death, NOT God (Luke 13:11-17; acts 10:38; Hebrews 2:14-15;1 John 3:8; Job 2:7).
4. So if sin, the cause of sickness, be removed, sickness no longer has a right to afflict us.
B. CHRIST’S ATONEMENT – NOT JUST FOR SIN
1. 1. Isaiah 53:4-5
2. Matthew 27:26; Mark 15:15; John 19:1 tell us that our Lord Jesus was "scourged." The NIV Study Bible adds, 15:15 “flogged." "The Romans used a whip made of several strips of leather into which were embedded (near the ends) pieces of bone and led. The Jews limited the number of stripes to a maximum of 40 (in practice to 39 in case of a miscount), but no such limitation was recognized by the Romans, and victims of Roman floggings often did not survive.”
3. The scourging of Jesus was not an afterthought of God. God did let his Son be beaten like this to no purpose! We often ignore this incredible atoning work.
4. Jesus was tied to a whipping post and beaten until (Isaiah 52:14) He was unrecognizable. Isaiah 53:4-5 tells us the purpose: so that we might be healed physically. Matthew 8:17 confirms this as speaking of physical healing.
C. CONCLUSION
1. There is a provision for your healing, just as there is for your salvation. Psalm 103:3 says, "Who forgives all your iniquities, who heals all your diseases."
2. You didn't get saved 10 years ago -- you got saved at Calvary. You didn't just get healed last year -- you were healed at Calvary.
3. Do you believe God wants to save you? Of course! The same faith that saves is the same faith which feels. The second ground for our healing is:
II. GOD’S NATURE: A HEALING GOD
A. THE 5 FOUNDATION = 5 RELATIONSHIPS
1. "The Atonement" is our Relationship with Jesus as our Savior. Because of his suffering, I can be healed.
2. Can there be another basis? Yes! What if Adam and Eve had never sinned, and three or four generations of children/grandchildren had been born.
a. Wouldn't they at some time have needed healing?
b. At some point a child would've slipped over a cliff, or a man would fall from some tree or someone might drown. On what basis would they appeal to God?
B. THE CREATOR/ HEALER GOD
1. If my watch broke, I would take it to the manufacturer. God takes care of His Creations!
2. Nature of God: Jehovah-Rapha. Exodus 15:26 says, "I am the Lord that heals you." God reveals himself and his nature as being that of a healer.
3. Main use in the Old Testament of Rapha = "Physician." That's why some translations translate the verse as "I am the Lord your Physician."
4. John 10:10 says, "but I am come that you might have life and life abundantly." That is why the virtue "automatically" healed the woman with the issue of blood.
III. OUR COVENANT-KEEPING GOD
A. WE’RE IN COVENANT WITH GOD
1. Jeremiah 31:31-34. The New Covenant was foretold.
2. Hebrews 8 and 9.
3. About the Lord's Supper, Jesus said the cup is the "New Covenant in my blood."
B. GOD IS A GOD OF HIS WORD
1. Isaiah 55:11, "So is My Word that goes out from My mouth: It will not return to Me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it."
2. Numbers 23:19-, "God is not a man, that He should lie, nor a son of man, that He should change His mind. Does He speak and then not act? Does He promise and not fulfill?"
3. Jeremiah 1:12, the Lord said to me, "you have seen correctly, for I am watching to see that My Word is fulfilled."
4. Matthew 5:18, "I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter nor the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished."
5. Luke 21:33, "Heaven and earth will pass away, but My Words will never pass away."
6. Ezekiel 12:25, "For I am the Lord: I will speak, and the Word that I shall speak shall come to pass; they shall be no more prolonged: for in your days over rebellious house I will say the word and will perform its saith the Lord God."
7. 1 Kings 8:5-6, "Not one word has failed of all the good promises he gave through his servant Moses."
C. GOD HAS PROMISED HEALING
1. HEALING SCRIPTURES
Exodus 15:26, "I am the Lord that heals you.”
Exodus 23:25, "And he shall serve the Lord your God, and He shall bless your bread and your water; and I will take sickness away from the midst of you."
Deuteronomy 7:15, "And the Lord will take away from you all sickness, and put none of the evil diseases of Egypt, which you heard about upon you, but will lay them upon all them that hate you."
Psalm 41:3, "The Lord will sustain him on his sick bed and restore him from his bed of illness."
Psalm 103:3, "Who forgives all your iniquities, Who heals all your diseases."
Psalm 107: 20, "He sent His Word and healed them, and delivered them from all their destructions."
Proverbs 4:20, 22, "My son, attend to my words; incline your ear to my sayings... For they are life to those that find them, and health to all their flesh."
Isaiah 53:4-5, "Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows... But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon Him and with His stripes, we are healed."
Matthew 8:17-18.
Mark 16:17-18, "And these signs shall follow them that believe... they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover."
Luke 5:17, "... and the power of the Lord was present to healed the sick."
Acts 10:38, "How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with Him."
James 5:15-16
1 Peter 2:24, "... by whose stripes ye were healed."
3 John 2, "Beloved I wish above all things that you may prosper and be in health, even as your soul prospers."
2. Our faith should not rest on someone's experience -- what happened Aunt Suzy, who didn't get healed (there are many more who did get healed!) Rather, our faith should rest on "Thus saith the Lord."
IV. GOD IS OUR FATHER
A. WE’RE GOD’S CHILDREN THRU JESUS CHRIST
1. Galatians 3:26, "You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus."
2. Romans 8:17, "Now if we are children, then we are heirs -- heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ."
3. Matthew 7:7, "if you... know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him."
B. HEALING IS CALLED THE “CHILDREN’S BREAD”
1. Matthew 15:21-28, especially verse 26.
2. Important thing -- "healing/deliverance is called "the children's bread." Bread was the most basic food staple/source. You wouldn't deprive your children of bread. Of course not!
3. Neither will your Father deprive you of healing/deliverance -- which is the children's right.
V. GOD’S ULTIMATE WEAK SPOT: CRY FOR MERCY
A. COMPASSION PAGE
1. COMPASSION (defined): "to have pity, to feel distressed because of the ills of others, to suffer with another, to be inwardly moved; not only yearning to assist them, but actually reaching out to relieve their suffering." The New Testament frequently records Christ's love and compassion toward suffering people just like ourselves. His actions show, once and for all, God's feelings toward us and His willingness to help us.
2. "And there came a leper to Him, begging him, and kneeling down to Him, and saying unto Him, "If you will, you can make me clean." And Jesus, moved with compassion, put forth his hand and touched him and said to him, "I will, be clean." Immediately the leprosy departed from him that he was cleansed." Mark 1:40-45.
3. "And Jesus went forth and saw a great multitude, and was moved with compassion toward them, and He healed their sick" Matthew 14:13-14.
4. "And as they departed from Jericho, a great multitude followed Him. And behold, two blind men sitting by the roadside, when they heard that Jesus passed by, cried out saying, "Have mercy on us, O Lord, Son of David"... So Jesus had compassion on them, and touched their eyes and immediately their eyes received sight, and they followed Him" Matthew 20:29-34.
B. OTHERS
1. Other examples could be listed such as Luke 17:13 when Jesus had mercy on the 10 lepers and healed them as they were going to the priests.
2. Another example is the Syro-Phoenician or Canaanite woman whose daughter was possessed (Matthew 15:22). She had no right to healing but persistently asked Jesus. The only basis which existed for Christ to use to heal her was mercy.
3. A final example of mercy was by the Mount of Transfiguration when the possessed boy's father prevailed on Christ to help him, despite his unbelief (Matthew 17:15). In all these examples Jesus healed people (simply because of mercy) in spite of their unbelief or lack of basis due to relation to Abraham.
CONCLUSION
A. THE FIVE GUARANTEES/ RELATIONSHIPS
1. Jesus as our Savior.
2. As our Creator = a Healing God by nature
3. Our Covenant-Keeping God
4. God as our Father -- He cares for his children
5. God of all Mercies and Father of all Comfort (2 Corinthians 1:3)
B. ASKING FOR TOO LITTLE?
1. Suppose that the man who was lame had come to the Savior by Galilee shore, And had asked for a cane to help him walk -- For a cane, and nothing more.
2. Suppose that the man who was blind from birth had asked for only a guide; And had missed the wonder of Christ's dear face, and the heavens and earth beside.
3. Suppose that the woman who seemed rebuffed had turned away in despair; Resigned to nurse both her helpless child and the hurt of unanswered prayer.
4. Suppose they had been like you and me with our asking so fraught with doubt; What sorrows, and pains they would have retained; What joys they’d have gone without!”
5. I believe most of us are in greater danger of asking for too little, rather than of too much. If we must err, let’s err on the side of faith. Jesus never rebuked His disciples for having too much faith, but only for having too little.
C. STAND FOR HEALING
1. Contend for the faith once delivered to the saints!
2. If you need healing, stand and come forward.
