By: Donna J. Kazenske
1 Cor. 12:7-10 "But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all: for to one is given the word of wisdom, through the Spirit, to another the word of knowledge through the same Spirit, to another the gift of faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healings by the same Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another discerning of spirits, to another different kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues."
The gifts of healings are still functioning in and through the body of Christ today. God is still raising up His anointed ones for the purpose of bringing wholeness and healing to the body, soul and spirit of man.
The gifts of healings operate supernaturally to heal diseases and infirmities without any natural means whatsoever. It is the power of the Holy Spirit that comes upon a person’s body, dissolving their disease and driving out their pains to heal them.
Some of the purposes of the gifts of healings are 1) to deliver the sick, 2) to destroy the works of the devil in the human body, 3) to confirm the word of God and 4) to bring glory to God.
The original reading of the “gifts of healings” is plural. The use of the plural nouns illustrate that there are gifts of healings for different diseases. Jesus bore the stripes of every disease on the cross at Calvary.
Some who have the gifts of healings operating in their lives may have great success with a particular disease or sickness such as blindness, tumors or deafness. Others might be very successful with cancer or lung conditions. Through our study of God’s word, we see that Jesus had the ability to heal all manner of sickness and disease.
Have you ever been asked the question, “If Christians have healing power, why don’t they go to the hospitals and empty them out?” My response to this question is this, “I’m looking forward to the day when we will do just that!” However, the gifts of healings do not give individuals the ability to heal all the sick all the time. Even Jesus did not do this. There were multitudes of sick people at the pool of Bethesda, yet He healed only one of them.
Matthew 10:7-8 – “And as you go, preach, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely give.”
This Scripture verse is written in “red” in my Bible. This tells me that Jesus is the one who spoke these words to His disciples. What He said in this verse was not a suggestion, but a command to those who were followers of Him. Jesus is speaking these very same words to us today. Every one of us are called to heal the sick. Every one of us are called to cleanse the lepers. Every one of us are called to raise the dead and cast out demons. This supernatural ability is not just available for the pastor or assistant pastor. It’s made available for the entire body of Christ! It’s not some special anointing that just comes upon evangelists. It’s available to all those who have the Spirit of God abiding on the inside of them!
What Jesus was really saying to His disciples was this, “If you boys are going to have church, you may as well do it the right way. Now, here is what you need to do. First you go, then you preach, then you heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead and cast out demons!”
Jesus lived in a continual state of revival and reformation. The life He lived was not abnormal, but normal. The things He did were an example to us of normal everyday Spirit filled Christian activity.
How could He do these things? Was it politically correct? Was He well received by those He ministered to?
When we read through the Gospel accounts of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, we see that Jesus paid a great price for doing what He saw the Father doing and for speaking what He heard the Father speaking. He was a man of no reputation. He was not consumed with the fear of man and what man could do to Him. He knew that His times where in the hands of His Father. When we know that our times are in the hands of our Father, we have no need to fear anyone or anything. Oh, that God would bring this revelation to each and every one of us.
Acts 10:38 – “…how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him.”
God is with us too! He has anointed us to do His work. He has anointed our hands so that we can lay hands on the sick and see them recover. He has anointed our feet with the preparation of the Gospel of peace that we might have the privilege of bringing the Gospel to those who have never heard it! He has anointed our voices that we might preach His word and declare His goodness in the morning and His faithfulness at night! What a mighty God we serve! There’s no greater privilege than living for Jesus and doing what He has called us to do.
I don’t understand Christians who continually mope around saying they are bored with Jesus and Christianity. They must be serving a different Jesus than the One whom I serve, because my Jesus brings peace and joy in the Holy Ghost. My Jesus heals, saves, sanctifies and delivers! My Jesus gives me a reason to live and rejoice in the fact that I have eternal life and will one day see Him face to face! I often find it almost impossible to restrain myself from shouting, dancing, leaping, speaking in tongues and giving God glory for His awesome presence in my life. What would I ever do without Him?
We will never have the privilege of seeing anyone healed if we never take the opportunity or time to pray for someone who is sick. If we are full of doubt and unbelief, the Holy Spirit will not be able to flow through us to accomplish His perfect work in the earth.
God has been speaking to me personally about prayer and fasting. He gave me a vision of a power drill. This drill had a long cord on it, yet it was not plugged into the power source. The Lord spoke to my heart and said, “Many in my church are not plugged in. Others are plugged in, but they have not yet flipped the power switch to the ‘on’ position.” He then told me that I was plugged into the power source, but I did not have the power switch on yet. I said, “Lord, what do you mean? How can I get the switch on? What will it take?” He replied with these words, “prayer and fasting.” He then told me there was a price to pay if I wanted to see and experience the ‘greater things’ in ministry.
Are we willing to pay the price that is necessary to fulfill the ‘greater works’ that God is calling us to do? If so, it’s time for us to get with the program, God’s program, and be about the Father’s business. The gifts of healings are still available today for all who will say ‘yes’ to the Holy Spirit.
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