ALL WHO TOUCH HIM ARE HEALED
Mt. 14:36
INTRODUCTION
A. HUMOR
I thought I broke my ankle the other night when I tripped over a Kleenex box, but the doctor said it was only tissue damage.
B. TEXT
“And when the men of that place recognized Jesus, they sent word to all the surrounding country. People brought all their sick to him and begged him to let the sick just touch the edge of his cloak, and all who touched it were healed” Mt. 14:36.
C. THESIS
1. Healing was a significant part of our Lord Jesus’ ministry. Of the 3,779 verses of the Four Gospels, 727 (1/5) of them are devoted to Jesus’ healing ministry!
2. Not only did He heal people, but He trained and empowered His disciples to heal people also, and gave that same commission to the Church to fulfill for all time (James 5:14-16; Mark 16:17-18; John 14:12; 1 Cor. 12:9,30; etc.).
3. Further, we shall see that part of Jesus’ atoning work was for the purpose of making a provision of grace so that sickness and disease could be overcome.
4. Therefore, we’re going to study the origins of sickness, look at two aspects of Christ’s healing ministry, and conclude with the precious promises of the Word concerning this great gift.
I. SICKNESS IS FROM THE DEVIL
A. GOD DOES NOT AFFLICT WITH SICKNESS
1. If it was God who afflicted people with sickness, then it would automatically NOT be His will to heal some people.
2. If God directly afflict people, then Christ would NOT have healed "ALL", for certainly in the great multitudes there would have been some people whom God had willed to be sick (if such were true). But Jesus healed them ALL!
3. The sources of sickness can therefore be limited to the Original Sin and its consequences, or to attacks of Satan. It was Satan who tempted Adam & Eve to sin, and brought sickness & death on them.
4. If it were God's will for you to be sick, then it would be wrong to seek healing by any means, whether physical or spiritual. If sickness were God's will, then it would be wrong to go to the doctor! But sickness is NOT God's will.
B. SATAN IS THE AUTHOR OF SICKNESS
1. In Job 2:7 tells us that "Satan went forth and smote Job with sore boils from the sole of his foot into his crown."
2. In Luke 13:16, the Lord Jesus declared that the bent woman couldn't stand upright because she’d been bound by Satan for 18 years and ought to be loosed.
3. In Mark 9:17-21, a demon was the cause of a boy being deaf and dumb and also the cause of his convulsions. When the demon was cast out, the boy was healed.
4. Acts 10:38, Peter preached "Jesus of Nazareth... went about... healing ALL that were oppressed of the devil." This Scripture shows that sickness is Satan's oppression.
5. In 1 John 3:8, we are told that "the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil." Sickness is part of Satan's work. Christ, in his earthly ministry, always viewed sin, diseases, and demons the same -- he rebuked them and drove them out, because they were destructive to those they had afflicted.
6. In John 10:10, Jesus said "the thief (speaking of Satan) comes but for to steal, to kill, and to destroy; but I have come that you might have life, and life abundantly."
C. SIMILAR TO TEMPTATION
1. James 1:13 says, “Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone.” So who does the tempting? Satan does. God ALLOWS Satan to tempt us for one of two reasons: either we have wandered from His protection OR He has a higher purpose in allowing it.
2. The same is true of sickness. God’s protection may be lifted if we’re disobedient or because God has some higher good purpose. When His protection is withdraw, our adversary the devil is able to get at us and bring a set amount of trouble to us.
3. 1 Cor. 10:13 says, “but God is faithful, who will not ALLOW you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.” NKJV The same is true about sickness.
II. JESUS HEALED ALL WHO CAME TO HIM
A. NEW TESTAMENT
1. “Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people. 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” Matt. 4:23-24.
2. “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” Matt. 9:35.
3. “Aware of this, Jesus withdrew from that place. A large crowd followed him, and He healed all who were ill” Matt. 12:15.
4. “When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them and healed their sick” Matt. 14:14.
5. “they landed at Gennesaret….People brought all their sick to him and begged him to let the sick just touch the edge of his cloak, and all who touched it were healed” Matt. 14:34-36.
6. “A large crowd of his disciples was there and a great number of people from all over Judea, from Jerusalem, and from the coastal region around Tyre and Sidon, 18 who had come to hear him and to be healed of their diseases….the people all tried to touch him, because power was coming from Him and healing them all Luke 6:17-19
B. OTHER PROMISES OF “ALL”
1. “Who forgives all our iniquities; Who heals all our diseases” Ps. 103:3.
2. In Matt. 8:16-17, Matthew used the “ALL” to apply to Isaiah 53:4; “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.”
III. JESUS ATONED FOR OUR SICKNESSES
A. JESUS ATONED, NOT JUST THE SOUL, BUT THE BODY
1. Isaiah described the beating that Jesus received before He went to the Cross; “Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; Yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed (53:4-5, NKJV).
2. Some teach that these verses are only talking about spiritual healing, NOT physical. But Matthew clears that up in 8:17, where he quotes Isaiah 53:4 as referring to Jesus healing people PHYSICALLY!
3. Therefore when Jesus was scourged (Matthew 27:26; Mark 15:15; John 19:1), it was for our physical healing! The scourging of Jesus was not an afterthought of God. God didn’t let his Son be beaten like this to no purpose! To deny physical healing is to spurn this precious gift the Father purchased at great price.
4. 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."
5. You didn't get saved 10 years ago -- you got saved at Calvary. You didn't get healed last year -- you were healed at Calvary.
6. Do you believe God wants to save you? Of course! The same faith that saves is the same faith which heals! [Gr. word, “sozo,” in Mk. 5:34; Lk. 18:42; Mt. 14:36]
B. ILLUSTRATION
1. A man and his wife were checking out of a motel. They discovered the manager had charged them for a fresh basket of fruit put in the room every day.
2. The man said, "How can you charge us for fresh fruit when we never ate any fruit from any basket on any day? The manager said, "It's not my fault you didn't eat it. It was there."
3. At that point, the husband reached over and took the bill is subtracted $150 from it. The manager said, "What in the world are you doing?"
4. The husband said, "I am charging you $50 a day for kissing my wife." The manager said, "I didn't kiss your wife!"
5. And the husband answered, "That's not my fault. She was there!"
6. The point is, the Lord Jesus has already paid the price for your healing, but the sad thing is that many are leaving their healing’s virtue unclaimed.
IV. GOD’S WORD PROMISES YOU DIVINE HEALING
A. GOD HAS PROMISED HEALING
1. 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."
2. 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."
3. Matt. 8:17, “that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying: “He Himself took our infirmities and bore our sicknesses.”
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."
4. 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."
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."
B. TRUST GOD’S WORD: IGNORE FEELINGS
1. Polling indicates that as of 2015, 73 percent of U.S. medical doctors say miracles of healing occur. Source: www.tulsaworld.com/.../oru...oral-roberts-healing.../article_21107c4f-0551-5fd0-87fe...
2. We must pray with faith and ignore our feelings. Faith "perceives as real fact what is not yet revealed to the senses" Hebrews 11:1 Amp. FAITH, FACT, FEELING: CORRECT ORDER.
3. So when you get prayed for, don’t go by whether you “feel” healed, but trust God is working and that healing will follow!
CONCLUSION
A. WHAT GOD CAN DO!
1. Some years ago two boys decided to pour kerosene in a pot-bellied stove to warm things up. What they poured was gasoline, & the stove exploded. One boy was killed & the other had badly burned legs. The doctors told his parents, we must amputate his legs right away.” The parents said, "Let's wait a day." And they prayed.
2. The next day the doctors said, "His legs must be amputated or he’ll die." The parents said, "No, let's wait another day" and they prayed. This went on for several weeks, until the doctors discovered that the legs were healing, but that the left leg would be 2 1/2 inches shorter than the right leg.
3. The doctors said, "He’ll keep his legs, but he'll never be able to walk." But within a few weeks he was standing up & hobbling around on crutches. The doctors said, "He may be able to walk, but he'll never be without crutches."
4. In a few more weeks he was walking without crutches. So they said, "Well, he’ll walk, but he'll never be able to run." But the boy soon broke into a wobbly jog & was running.
5. That boy was Glenn Cunningham, who, in the 1930's, won gold medals & set world records in track, & was called, "The fastest human on two feet." [Melvin Newland] SEE WHAT GOD CAN DO!
B. PRESCRIPTION FOR HEALING
1. Confess and forsake any known sin.
2. Take the promises of God about healing as for you personally. "I am the Lord who heals YOU!"
3. Ask the Father to cause your body to come into conformity with His Word in Jesus Name. Stand on the Promises. Claim them as your own.
4. The Point of Contact? "WHEN YOU PRAY," Mark 11:24. Begin to PRAISE God in advance for your healing.
