Gifts of the Spirit 6: Harvest, healings and miracles
WBC 26/09/04am 1 Cor 12:9,10
A Baptist preacher and his wife decided to get a new dog. Ever mindful of the congregation, they knew the dog must also be a Baptist. They visited kennel after kennel and explained their needs. Finally, they found a kennel whose owner assured them he had just the dog they wanted. The owner brought the dog to meet the pastor and his wife.
"Fetch the Bible," he commanded. The dog bounded to the bookshelf, scrutinised the books, located the Bible, and brought it to the owner.
"Now find Psalm 23," he commanded. The dog dropped the Bible to the floor, and showing marvellous dexterity with his paws, leafed through and finding the correct passage, pointed to it with his paw. The pastor and his wife were very impressed and purchased the dog.
That evening, a group of church members came to visit. The pastor and his wife began to show off the dog, having him locate several Bible verses. The visitors were very impressed. One man asked, "Can he do regular dog tricks, too?"
"I haven’t tried yet," the pastor replied. He pointed his finger at the dog. "HEEL!" the pastor commanded. The dog immediately jumped on a chair, placed one paw on the pastor’s forehead and began to howl. The pastor looked at his wife in shock and said, "OH no... ! He’s Charismatic !"
God is the giver of all good gifts
- harvest = taking time to thank
- (strange that in days when we¡¦ve never had so much, Harvest and thanking is going out of fashion)
And, as we¡¦re in a series about God¡¦s gifts, this (as in preparation for Harvest) is a time to:
HOS 10:12 Sow for yourselves righteousness,
reap the fruit of unfailing love,
and break up your unplowed ground;
for it is time to seek the LORD,
until he comes
and showers righteousness on you.
The seed that God sows and the gifts that He gives are good and generous. Our part is to prepare soil and hearts in which the seed planted can grow. The gifts given can germinate
- please Jesus: may we see a harvest
- (I sense we may well do so!)
God is so indiscriminately good and generous in his giving of gifts
- and this is seen in our passage on Gifts of the Spirit (6)- on healings and miracles
GIFTS OF HEALINGS
In the context of ¡¥manifestations¡¦ (thanerosis, ¡¥appearings, showings¡¦- sermon 4)
- these are not gifts as such. Talking about spontaneous manifestations of
o God¡¦s presence, the KOG, the HS, God¡¦s power
- So- it¡¦s not so much the person having a gift as the manifestation having the person, situation
o Later it goes on to gifts, ministries and offices (v27ff)
„X (will cover next time I preach)
Here- it¡¦s just the sheer dynamic of what happens when God is around
- = v exciting. Profound (right down to the very letter)
It says that sometimes what will be manifested is giftS of healingS
- that¡¦s what God will ¡¥show¡¦
But- right down to the letter! : why are both pleural? Why not say ¡¥gift of healing¡¦
- because this is about manifestations, not gifts (remember)
- because this would imply the INDIVIDUAL
o is the focus
o is the one on whom it depends. Who might ¡¥have the gift¡¦
„X (ie focus becomes one with a ¡¥healing ministry¡¦)
This wording Implies this stuff, healings etc, depends on God. He gives giftS of healing
- and He is the source. He is the healer. (not any power in the individual). The gift is the HEALING, not the ABILITY- and the giver is God.
- It¡¦s like He¡¦s scattering these gifts abroad¡Kout¡K (Harvest like)
- = like one of Luke¡¦s catchphrases ¡¥and the power of the Lord was present to heal the sick¡¦
o gifts, presents everywhere!. Get in and get healed
- maybe like that strange bit in Jn 5, Bethesda, and the water being stirred
- It¡¦s a whole lot more spontaneous than we think (we¡¦re used to ¡¥programmes¡¦ and ¡¥healers¡¦)
- It¡¦s a whole lot more sovereign than we think
o = ¡¥as He determines¡¦ (v11)
o plenty of mystery in this. Lots we don¡¦t understand
o that¡¦s because it¡¦s God who¡¦s behind it (and we¡¦re not God!)
= truer to my experience, as well. I¡¦ve seen as much spontaneous, unexpected stuff as I have ¡¥planned¡¦ stuff
- Illustr: doctor and Beeches healed in alpha worship. Ethel + shoulder. Pam & picture re psoriasis. Jennifer Rees-Larcombe just feeling ¡¥today¡¦s your day¡¦
- You: just get a sense ¡¥today¡¦s the day¡¦. Or God just does it
Now- I¡¦m not negating the ¡¥healing ministry¡¦ at all¡Kbut HERE it¡¦s on about spontaneous manifestations
- and isn¡¦t it like that? Suddenly get heat > gotta pray for someone
And let me tell you- there are times when God is throwing out His gifts
- = linked to : sovereignty of God.. special times
o faith? (hence here in this trio)
o expectancy
¡§Gifts of healings¡¨
Note also it¡¦s gifts of healingS
- this says something about the nature of the gifts: they are healingS
- X= healing of one kind
- = healing of a diverse kind. Many kinds of healings
o X= just physical
Just as the needs in the body are broad, diverse, various
- so is God¡¦s grace, intervention and healing:
- body, mind, spirit, medicine, relationship
- God wants to and can bring healing to all
David Prior¡¦s excellent commentary: ¡§this is the many ways in which God, in His sheer grace, gives gifts of healing of all kinds of different people, relationships and situations (even)¡¨
I find this very helpful. And it also puts things in perspective
- God heals in many ways: a broken heart, relationship (maybe through forgiveness), mind, self-image, body
- And you realise you may well have experienced a gift like this and not recognised it as such¡K or thanked God
o Ever been really distressed inside and then peace comes?
o That¡¦s the HS manifesting Himself¡K and the gift He gives is peace
This helps us also to respect the way God heals through
- counselling
- medicine
- (God heals, and the doctor takes the fees. Benjamin Franklin)
¡K as well as the sovereign spontaneous kind
There¡¦s something else in here- in this breadth. But also in the contrast of healings and miracles
HEALINGS cf MIRACLES
This is important to understand; as it answers many disappointments
- ¡§yeah. Sure I¡¦ve seen people get better over time. But I haven¡¦t seen any healings¡¨
Those may have been healings in the Biblical sense!: healings, by definition, take time. Miracles are more instantaneous.
- so it may have been a healing started by an intervention of God
- ¡§But I thought you said healings, in this context, were spontaneous manifestations- like gifts thrown out¡¨
o yes- the manifestation is- but the outworking, evidence may take further time to be seen
Think again about the word itself: it¡¦s actually a natural word for a natural process, isn¡¦t it? A healthy body ¡¥heals¡¦ naturally
- but the GIFT of God is an accelerated healing¡K or a healing where the body can¡¦t heal itself.
- Not instantaneous¡K but supernatural none the less
Illustr: So- a lot of what I saw in Nigeria were healings, not miracles
there was a foot there before. It had resisted all of their natural remedies that could bring healing. God gave a gift of healing to the person and a week later their foot was better
- it would have been a miracle had their been no foot, or it was instantly well
I had problems watching the videos over here as there were no timescales on them, they were presented as instantaneous and ¡¥miraculous¡¦ ¡Vwhereas in fact they were neither instantaneous nor miraculous: but they were genuine HEALINGS!
- And to them: the manifestation (some visible, personal sense of God touching them) was evidence that they would be well in a few days time
So- by this correct understanding ¡V we¡¦ve seen lots of healings (just not so many miracles!). Recoveries, accelerated over time.
- my mum and arthritis, shoulders, M.E., depression, people in hospital, Mr Coleby (sorry! You get my baggage). Perry Evans (moving down!), Rob Lacey(?)
It¡¦s true- it¡¦s in looking back¡K through experience¡K that we so often see prayers answered
- just remember: these manifestations are given nfor the body: so don¡¦t keep it to yourself
- and we¡¦ve got lots more to experience in this area
MIRACULOUS POWERS
I¡¦m afraid this bit will be a lot briefer- as I don¡¦t have much experience, here
But I¡¦m afraid even I know the NIV wording is a bit misleading
- it sounds like someone who has ¡§powers¡¨ in themselves
It¡¦s the word of V6 (Robin- sermon 2) ¡§energentia¡¨: workings, acts, of ¡§dynameon¡¨: power
- (energetic dynamite!)
Sounds a bit more instantaneous, eh? Zap, pow!
- and it is
- it¡¦s the no arm there: suddenly an arm. Resurrections from the dead. Driving out demons. Annanias and Sapphira stuff
o stuff that seems to immediately interrupt the normal laws God has set in place
A miracle is a divine intervention into, or interruption of, the regular course of the world that produces a purposeful but unusual event that would not have occurred otherwise. (Geisler).
Scholar, William Lane Craig gives us an even more simple definition: A miracle is an event which is not producible by the natural causes that are operative at the time and place that the event occurs.
SOURCE: Norman Geisler and Ron Brooks, When Skeptics Ask: A Handbook on Christian Evidences (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1990), 79. Lee Strobel, The Case for Faith (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Pub. House, 2000), 62 Contributed by: Joel Smith on www.sermoncentral.com
Impressive stuff?!
Paul¡¦s saying: this stuff happens. When God is among YOU. And he¡¦s not writing to apostles, either
- it¡¦s clear these things accompanied the apostles
- 2 Cor 2:12 12 The things that mark an apostle--signs, wonders and miracles--were done among you with great perseverance. 1
- but not exclusively! Here they are happening in a mornal wacky church!
- They can happen in the spiritual dynamic when the Lord manifests Himself
Illustr: Resurrection of Moses. Wimber meeting in ¡¦94: African man thrown 6 feet over chairs
I¡¦ve got far less to share on this front- but, hey, I¡¦m open to learning!
- and they do still happen!
- Illustr: Howard Mellor telling of Methodist Minister called by Sikh man to pray for his extremely ill daughter. Bad news for minister as was of the liberal kind who didn¡¦t even pray WITH people, just offered ¡¥moral encouragement¡¦. He went and prayed and left the house. Was then plagued with ¡¥I wonder what happened?¡¦. Phoned and the father said: ¡¥she got up, of course!¡¦.
What a generous God we serve: who pours out gifts of healings and workings of power so indiscriminately amongst His body! For the body.
- aren¡¦t we grateful for his gifts?
- May we see much more¡K and be good ground into which they can generate much fruit for Jesus and His body
Let¡¦s see if God wants to do some.
