Intro
This message is for all those who are dwelling in a mortal body. We are going to talk about the gifts of healing. If you are dwelling in a mortal body, the gifts of healing matter to you. As I age, I become more and more interested in the gifts of healing. As I see precious people around me hurting, I become more and more interested in the gifts of healing.
How do we tap into the healing power of God? How do we enjoy the full benefits of the cross in that area of our lives? James 5:14 asks the question: “Is anyone among you sick?”.i I wonder if anyone here this morning is sick. What do we do about that? James gives this instruction. “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 will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven.” Healing is available to us through the atonement. Healing is always based on what Jesus did for us. “By His stripes we are healed.”ii Our subject is gifts of healing as listed by Paul in 1 Cor. 12:9.
GIFTS OF HEALING DEFINED
What does Paul mean by the phrase gifts of healing in that context? He is not talking about cures implemented through medical science. I thank God for people who dedicate their lives to serving people in the medical field. I have personally benefited from their service and so have multitudes of others. But that is not the gifts of healing Paul is talking about in 1 Cor. 12. I also praise God for designing our bodies with a certain capacity for self-repair and recovery. When I receive a cut in my skin, my system immediately goes to work repairing the breach. He has given us an immune system that can rally white corpuscles and fight off disease. There are limits to that but thank God for it. Those natural processes of recovery are not gifts of healing as Paul intends for us to understand. However, the supernatural acceleration of that healing process may be a gift of healing in operation. Sometimes the way God manifests the gifts of healing is for the Holy Spirit to supernaturally energize the body for rapid recovery.
I would define gifts of healing as, “Supernatural manifestations of the Holy Spirit to bring correction, cure, and recovery from disease or defects in the physical body or soul of a person.” Gifts of healing bring wholeness to the body and soul of an individual. It includes all supernatural healing by the Holy Spirit except creative miracles. Healings drive out disease and fix biological systems. Miracles create parts where they don’t exist. If a person is blind because of disease or defect in the eyes, gifts of healing can bring a cure. If a person is blind because there are no eyeballs, a creative miracle is needed to give the person sight. Therefore, almost all supernatural healing by the Holy Spiritiii of body or soul would fall under the umbrella of this gift. Sometimes it involves driving out a disease.iv Sometimes it involves restoring the proper function of mind or body. This gift of the Spirit covers a large variety of cures.
In fact, this gift of the Spirit is a cluster of many gifts. In the original language both words, gifts and healing, are plural. Most translations only translate the word, gifts, plural. But it could be translated “gifts of healings.”v Young’s Literal Translation of 1 Corinthians 12:9 reads, “and to another faith in the same Spirit, and to another gifts of healings in the same Spirit.” Why are both words plural? I’m not sure. It could be that each healing is a gift. Or it might be that different gifts are given to heal different kinds of conditions. I have observed this over the years: Those who minister a lot in gifts of healing often have significant success in certain sicknesses and less success in others. Derek Prince said his success rate was very high in praying for people with back problems.vi Smith Wigglesworth was reported to particularly effective in dealing with internal conditions like appendicitis, stomach problems, or other internal disorders.vii I knew a ministerviii who said his success with arthritis was very good. He loved to pray for people with that condition because they usually got healed. Other conditions were healed under this man’s ministry, but not nearly so consistently. That’s just an observation that many have made.
But when we talk about gifts of healing, we’re talking about a single cluster of gifts. One person likened it to a cluster of grapes. God “has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness (2 Peter 1:3). Everything we need is available. If gifts of healing are needed, then it is available to us in Jesus’ name. All the gifts of the Spirit are available to the believer. If you’re in a place where you need it, God can do it through you. It’s not just reserved for super saints.ix However, the Holy Spirit chooses when He will do it, how He will manifest it, and who He will manifest the gift through. We cannot control that. What we can do is stay connected to the Lord, listen to His voice, and do what He tells us to do. If we do that, we will see a lot of good things happen. So we are talking about the gifts of the healing.
There are a variety of ways this gift operates. There were times when people would be healed by simply coming under Peter’s shadow (Acts 5:15). James 4:14 tells elders to anoint the sick with oil when they pray for them. Acts 19:12 talks about people being healed when Paul’s handkerchiefs or aprons were sent to them. My great grandmother Clayton would pray over handkerchiefs and send them to people who were healed.x Not many people do that today, but its scriptural. Because of limited time I want to make three observations about the gifts of healing in the New Testament.
I. Often gifts of healing manifest as an ACCELERATION OF THE RECOVERY PROCESS.
The natural healing process is supercharged by the Holy Spirit for rapid recovery.
In the Great Commission recorded in Mark 16:15-18 Jesus said to His followers, “And He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. 16 He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned. 17 And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name” [that’s where the authority for all this comes from] “they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; 18 they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover."
It's amazing how many believers are passionate about the first part of this commission, and then reject the second part. Most embrace verse 15 and 16 as something promised by Jesus for us.
“Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. 16 He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned.” Then they refuse the promises of supernatural manifestations of the Spirit involved in the process. It’s very illogical. It is not sound exegesis. “17 And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; 18 they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover."
Notice who these promises are to, verse 17: “And these signs will follow those who believe….” The promise is not just to a few super saints. The promise is to any of us who will believe. The fundamental criteria is faith. Faith is the essential. If we are to operate in the gifts of the Spirit, we must understand that thoroughly. It’s not the most holy person. It’s not the person who prays the most. It is the person who believes the promises of God. Now our separation from the world and our consecration to God is a factor in our ability to believe. Jesus said, “If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you” (John 15:7-8). Our faith is nurtured by our intimacy with the Lord and meditating on His word day and night. Faith arises out of that. However, when the crisis comes, faith—confidence--reliance upon the promises of God is the key issue. “…these signs will follow those who believe.”
Look closely at the last statement about healing: “…they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover." The NIV says, “they will get well.” Recovery usually does not occur instantly. That means, you may lay hands on a person and believe the Lord for the healing and see no visible signs of healing at that moment. A gift of healing has been released, and the recovery process has begun, but these is no visible sign anything has happened.xi This is the point when many people relinquish the healing God has granted. Instead of taking God at His word and trusting Him for the full recovery, they feel no different, they see nothing different, and in an act of unbelief they conclude that nothing has happened.
Believing is about taking God at His word. It is about rising above the sensual and operating in the spiritual. In this truth, the Word of Faith Movement was right on. Most of us have been in services where God was manifesting His presence by people falling under the power. Sometimes that is referred to as “slain in the Spirit,” although that terminology is a little scary for people unfamiliar with what we’re talking about. How many here have ever fallen under the power of the Spirit or been slain in the Spirit? God uses signs and wonders like that to confirm His presence at times. I enjoy it when God does that. However, some people become dependent on the signs. They can’t embrace healing unless they are slain in the Spirit. They don’t think they will recover, unless they get goosebumps when prayed for. Their faith depends on external factors. Could I say to you, that is not a good thing! If you get Holy Ghost goosebumps when prayed for, thank God for it. Let the experience encourage your faith in God. If you fall under the power, thank God for the experience. Let it strengthen your resolve to trust Him for recovery. But if you feel nothing, if there are no signs, no emotion, no excitement, trust God anyway.
Some of the most powerful healing ministries I have seen in action, have none of those signs. David Hogan is a man whom God has used to raise the dead on a number of occasions. He has seen creative miracles in his ministry, lepers cleansed, all kinds of healing. I have never seen
anyone slain in the Spirit when he prays for them. I’m not saying it never happens, but that’s what I have observed. He prays for them. There is virtually no emotion on his part or on the part of the person being prayed for. He tells them to go trusting God for the recovery. And they fully recover! Do not allow yourself to become dependent on emotion or external signs. Trust the fidelity of your God. Trust Jesus to heal you. Rely upon His word even if symptoms seem to persist.
I’m going to share a personal observation with you. You can take it for what it’s worth. Over the years, I have watched people who get focused on their aches and pains; people who are quick to run to the doctor with the problem. Their medical problems seem to multiply. If it not a side-effect of a medication, it’s a new pain that needs to be attended to. As a general observation, they seem to get worse over time instead of better. I don’t say that as an attack on doctors and nurses who are often serving to help people; and do help people at times. But it seems to me, an excessive reliance on medical science and an excessive preoccupation with aches and pains does not serve people well.
On the other hand, I have watched people who rarely seek medical cures, fare better over the years. You may say, of course, they are healthier. I’m not entirely convinced that is the case. Maybe so. Which came first the chicken or the egg? I’m not sure about the cause-effect relationship. But I suspect excessive attention on the health problems and excessive confidence in medical science may not be a good idea. My father is 91 years old. He is a stubborn old guy who only goes to the doctor when absolutely necessary. He smoked camel cigarettes for years, drank gallons of alcohol, gave no thought to preventive medicine. Yet today at 91 years old, his mind is sharp, he still drives, he still works a little around the house. When he would get sick, he would pray about it, and carry on. He seems to have done amazingly well with very little medical help. Perhaps genetics was a factor. However, out of eleven siblings only seven made it to adulthood. So, it might not be genetics. I am not saying we should never go to the doctor. I have a wonderful Christian doctor who has helped me at times. But my advice is this: Don’t get overly focused on aches and pains. Don’t put your trust in the medical profession, although God may use them at times to help you. Let your first response always be to ask the Lord for health, wellbeing, and healing. Keep your focus on the Lord and your confidence in Him. Rely on Him for your health. Be slow to lean on the arm of flesh and quick to lean on the Lord for your help.xii
“These signs will follow those who believe…; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover." In Luke 17:12 Jesus entered a village and heard ten lepers crying out to Him for mercy. As far as we know, Jesus didn’t pray for them. He didn’t lay His hands on them. He simply said to them, in faith, “Go, show yourselves to the priests." And the Bible says, they were “cleansed as they went.” They recovered as they obeyed His instruction.
Often healing comes AS THE PERSON OBEYS God’s command. Naaman had to dip in the Jordan seven times. The instruction confronted an internal problem that needed to be dealt with. The instruction confronted Naaman’s pride. Naaman had it all figured out how God should heal Him. God didn’t do it Naaman’s way. God wanted Naaman to understand who is running the show. It required humility and submission for Naaman to receive his healing. The pride was a bigger problem than the leprosy. God’s priorities are not always our priorities. His ways are higher than our ways.xiii Are you ok with God doing it His way? Kathryn Kuhlman used to say the key to healing ministry is surrender to the Lord. It may have not even been the way Elisha wanted to bring healing to Naaman. None of that mattered; what was God’s plan? Submit to that! As Naaman dealt with his pride and obeyed the Lord’s command, he was healed. If a healing has not come in my life, the first thing I want to do is ask the Lord is there anything I need to do to position myself to receive this healing. Is there anything tied to this, that I need to address? Naaman needed to address his pride, as part of the process for his healing. In John 9, Jesus encountered a blind man. The man had been blind from birth. Unlike the way Jesus healed other blind people, for this man Jesus spit on the ground, made some clay with the dirt and spittle, and rubbed it on the blind man’s eyes. I have no idea why Jesus did it that way, except I am sure the Holy Spirit directed Him to do it as he did. It was kind of uncouth, by our standards. Sometimes when you’re praying for someone, God will tell you to do something that is a bit uncomfortable for you. It’s crucial that you do what He tells you to do. Obedience is better than sacrifice.xiv Surrender to His lordship is essential. If we are truly relying on God for the answer, we will obey His commands. They come quickly and must be obeyed quickly. If you pull back from doing it God’s way, for that situation, the Holy Spirit may be grieved, and the healing may not come. After Jesus did what the Father told Him to do in the situation, He told the blind man to go wash in the Pool of Siloam. At this point, there is no manifestation of healing. Only when the blind man submitted himself to the Lord’s command, did his healing come. John 9:7 says, “So he went and washed, and came back seeing.” There was a process that challenged the obedience of both the one praying for the blind man, and the blind man needing the healing. He recovered as he did what the Lord told him to do. Get that down. He recovered as he did what the Lord told him to do.
II. Often gifts of healing operate IN CONJUNCTION WITH TOUCH.
It was when the woman with the issue of blood touched Jesus’ garment that she was healed. Pressing through the crowd and touching the hem of Jesus’ garment was an act of faith on her part. In that case, Jesus knew something had happened in the Spirit because He felt the virtue for the healing going out of Him to the woman.xv Sometimes we know a spiritual transaction has taken place, and we don’t have to take it on pure faith. But touching Jesus’ garment was a point of contact that released that virtue. Jesus did not even know it had happened until after the virtue had gone out of Him.
Remember the wording in Mark 16:18: “They will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover." Most of the time when we pray for the sick, we lay hands on them because it is a biblical pattern. We’re not doing that as some religious ritual. We’re doing that in submission to a pattern taught in the Bible.
Jesus did not always lay hands on the sick, but He often did so.
Here’s a few examples this pattern in the New Testament:
Luke 4:40, “When the sun was setting, all those who had any that were sick with various diseases brought them to Him; and He laid His hands on every one of them and healed them. “In Luke 13:10 Jesus was teaching in the synagogue. There in the crowd was a woman with a spirit of infirmity that bent her over so that she could not raise up. Luke 13:12-13 “But when Jesus saw her, He called her to Him and said to her, ‘Woman, you are loosed from your infirmity.’ 13 And He laid His hands on her, and immediately she was made straight, and glorified God.” Notice two things there. One there was a spirit involved, a spirit of infirmity. Secondly, her cure was immediate. When an evil spirit is cast out, you usually see immediate results. Organic healing of the body usually takes some time for the cure to manifest.
Look with me in the book of Acts. Acts 5:12: “And through the hands of the apostles many signs and wonders were done among the people.” Acts 28:8, “And it happened that the father of Publius lay sick of a fever and dysentery. Paul went in to him and prayed, and he laid his hands on him and healed him.” Why am I taking time on this? It is one thing to do something as an empty ritual; it is something else to do it with understanding. According to Hebrews 6:2 laying on of hands is one of the basic doctrines of the church. Laying on of hands is an exercise of faith. Laying on of hands is a point of contact and identification.
In 2 Kings 4, Elisha was provided a place to stay by a Shunammite woman. Through Elisha’s ministry, she was healed of barrenness and enabled to have a son in her old age. The son grew up and was the apple of his mother’s eye. One morning while in the field with the harvesters, he complained of a headache and collapsed. He was taken back to his mother, where he died in her arms. The body was laid on a bed. When Elisha was told what had happened, he sent his servant, Gehazi, ahead to lay his staff on the boy so he could be raised up. Gehazi did that, but it did not work. Then Elisha went to the boy. The boy was lying on the bed on his back. Elisha lay himself on the boy, face-to-face praying for his recovery. He had to do that a couple of times. But the boy was raised from the dead. The miracle only happened when Elisha identified with the boy at that level. It went beyond laying on of hands. It was face-to-face.
If we want a manifestation of healing, we need to identify with the pain the person is suffering. Nothing will kill the flow of the anointing like a cold, Pharisaical, unattached, religious ritual. Watch the connection between compassion and healing in Matthew 14:14: “And when Jesus went out He saw a great multitude; and He was moved with compassion for them, and healed their sick.” In Mark 1:40 a leper came to Jesus saying to Him, "If You are willing, You can make me clean." Verse 41: “Then Jesus, moved with compassion, stretched out His hand and touched him, and said to him, "I am willing; be cleansed." That verse is full of instruction concerning healing. First, it reveals Jesus’ attitude toward our healing. Jesus said, “I am willing.” His willingness is not the problem. There may be things obstructing the flow of healing, but His unwillingness for us to enjoy the benefits of the kingdom is not one of them. What was the prelude to the healing? Jesus was moved with compassion toward the person. Oh, that God would give us His love and compassion for the people we pray for. And then, Jesus made contact with the man in need. He stretched out his hand and touched him. He touched the untouchable. Instead of being made unclean by that touch, He cleansed the leper. So, touch is often associated with the ministry of healing.
III. Often gifts of healing are RELEASED THROUGH THE SPOKEN WORD.
The centurion in Matthew 8 had a servant who was sick, almost dead. While Jesus was on the way to heal him, the centurion sent messengers to Jesus saying, "Lord, I am not worthy that You should come under my roof. But only speak a word, and my servant will be healed.” Jesus commended such faith that would rely on His word, and sent word back saying, “…let it be done for you.” And the servant was healed by the word of the Lord.
Nothing is more important in healing ministry than reliance on the word of the Lord. Ps 107:20: “He sent His word and healed them, And delivered them from their destructions.” I’m talking about first and foremost relying on what God has said in Scripture. And then also the rhema word that the Holy Spirit might speak into the situation.
When my youngest daughter, Katie, was 18 months old, she was diagnosed with a blood disorder that prevented her from fighting off infection. The white corpuscle count would go way up, but it would not defeat the infection. Her immune system simply was not working right. In the early months of her life, we just thought she was a passive child. She was lethargic and low energy. At eighteen months, she became extremely sick, and we took her to the hospital. They could not counter the rapid infection in her body. It had almost closed her throat. To keep her breathing, the doctor decided to do surgery on her throat to keep the air passage open. But as soon as he put her out for the surgery, she died on the operating table. In a panic, they used steroids and other procedures and revived her. But they were afraid to try again. So, the doctor came to Jeanie and me and told us what had happened. He said that they did not know what to do. If the infection closed the air passage, and we didn’t catch it immediately, she would die. On the other hand, if they tried to operate so the air passage would stay open, she would probably die on the spot. It was a no-win situation.
As the doctors went back to finish their work with her, Jeanie and I were in the room alone waiting for further instructions. As we sat there, God gave both of us a word of knowledge independent of the other one. When I told Jeanie what God had just revealed to me, she said God had just shown her the exact same thing. There were two lead doctors on the case: the anesthesiologist and the medical doctor doing the surgery. God told me what each doctor would tell us. Then He gave me a word of wisdom telling me what I was to do about the situation. What was unusual was that the two doctors gave very different instructions. The anesthesiologist came to us first. He told us to put our daughter in a dark room; seal off all the windows so that no outside air would bring in pollen; keep the room dark and watch the child constantly. If she starts struggling to breathe rush her to the emergency room. God had told me this is what he would say and that it was a message from hell. Then the medical doctor came in and gave us a little asthmatic breathing apparatus. He said that it would not help her much, but it might give her a little relief in her breathing. He told us how to apply that and told us to bring her to his office for observation once a week. Most importantly, if she had a breathing crisis rush her to the hospital immediately. The prognosis for her to live was not very good, but they couldn’t do anything about her failed immune system. God had told us what the medical doctor would say and let us know that we were to receive his advice.
So here we had two doctors. One was speaking for the devil. One was speaking for the Lord. I wondered why God would supernaturally give us words of knowledge and words of wisdom instead of just healing our daughter. That’s what we wanted. But we got a revelation of something that day. Doctors are not good or evil because they are doctors. A doctor can be yielded to the Lord and used by God to give helpful treatment and advice. Although we also saw their limits that day. On the other hand, a doctor can be an instrument of the devil. If we had followed the anesthesiologist’s counsel, my daughter would have died. I’m personally convinced of that. The word of wisdom God gave us was to reject the anesthesiologist’s counsel and do just the opposite. Take Katie home, give her the treatment the medical doctor suggested. Other than that, treat her like she is well. Take her out of the house in the fresh air. Bring her into light, not darkness. Change her nickname. Because she had been so sickly, we had given her the name Delicatessa, indicating how very delicate she was. From this day forward, that name was to never be used again. Instead, we were to call her Healthy Bones. We were to believe for her complete healing. As we obeyed God’s word, Katie progressively got better. Within five months she was completely healed. The blood disorder never bothered her again. For the next four years she never even got a cold. God completely healed her. The word of the Lord played a significant part in the process.
CONCLUSION
This morning, I want to stir up your most holy faith to believe the Lord for healing and health. I say health, in addition to healing, because we should not wait until we’re sick to believe the Lord for health. Part of the daily bread we ask the Lord for, is physical strength to do His bidding. Trust the Lord for divine health.xvi That gets more challenging as our bodies age, but God did it for Moses. He did it for Caleb. And He can do it for you and me.
One verse that I claim for myself and pray over my aging parents almost daily is Romans 8:11: “But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.” The verse does not say that the Holy Spirit will give life to your resurrected body, although that is true. It says that the Spirit of God will give life to your MORTAL bodies. That life can drive away disease. That life can strengthen organs and immune systems and whatever else needs vitality. We should be believing the Lord for divine health as well as healing in our bodies. I have not had time to talk about emotional healing, mental healing, healing in the soul. But that too is provided in the atonement. That too is covered in the gifts of healing. God has provided us everything we need to be made whole. It comes to us by faith based on Jesus’ sacrifice. By His stripes we are healed.
Do you need healing? Persist in prayer. Keep believing the Lord for the healing. Encourage others to believe with you. He is Jehovah-Rapha.xvii He is the Lord our healer!
ENDNOTES:
i All Scripture quotes are from the New King James Version unless indicated otherwise.
ii Isaiah 53:5: 1 Peter 2:24; Acts 4:9-10.
iii I do not have time in this message to deal with Satanic counterfeits of these gifts. Satan counterfeits all the gifts of the Spirit just as Pharaoh’s magicians counterfeited Moses’ miracles in Exodus. However, the existence of the counterfeit does not negate the reality of the authentic.
iv In these cases this gift may operate in conjunction with discerning of spirits because evil spirits may be involved in the malady.
v I am using the phrase “gifts of healing” because it communicates the plurality intended in the Greek and agrees with the way most translations express it with the notable exception of the NKJV.
vi I personally heard him make this statement.
vii Howard Carter, Spiritual Gifts in Their Operation (Springfield, MO: Gospel Publishing House, 1975 p. 49.
viii I believe his name was Jack Roe.
ix Many believers settle into living at a natural level, leaving the supernatural to a few special ministers who operate in the gifts of the Spirit in a spectacular way. You and I may not operate in these gifts in ways that seem spectacular to others, however, all of us should be operating in the supernatural according to our proportion of faith. We should not just be spectators for those special few!
x Grandma Clayton was homebound, so this was a practical way for her to exercise her faith in behalf of others and it has the biblical precedent in Acts 19:12.
xi When Jesus cursed the fig tree in Mark 11, there was no immediate, visible sign of change. The change was only seen by the disciples later as they were returning to Bethany. Mark 11:20 says it had dried up from the roots. Even though the root cause of a sickness or disease is immediately affected by the prayer of faith, the manifestation of that may take time to appear evident. When we curse a disease it may take a little time for it to dry up from the roots.
xii The most important issue is where we are placing our trust. A person can be enjoying the benefits of medical science while still looking to the Lord for the answer; but we must steadfastly keep our trust in the Lord (Jer. 17:5-8).
xiii Isa. 55:8-9.
xiv 1 Samuel 15:22
xv Luke 8:46
xvi Cf. Ex. 23:25-26; Prov. 3:8; 3 John 2.
xvii Exodus 15:26
