1. God is the Healer (Great Physician) - God desires to bring healing and wholeness because he is the Healer.
Many of you are probably familiar with the story of the Exodus when God delivered the Israelite people from slavery. They fled from Egypt and with the Egyptian army at their back they arrived at the Red Sea and the Lord prompted Moses to raise his staff, and as he did so the waters parted, and the people of Israel passed through on dry land. After the Israelites went safely through, Moses raised his hand and the waters rushed back over the Egyptian army. After that event the people of Israel traveled for three days into the desert. For three days they went without water, until they came to a place called Marah which means bitter because the water found there was bitter, undrinkable. And so the people complained to Moses who then went before God to plead on their behalf. And God told Moses to throw a specific kind of stick in the water. Moses threw the stick in and the water became good to drink. Right after this occurred God spoke to Moses, and Moses shared this with the people:
NIV Exodus 15:26 He said, "If you listen carefully to the voice of the LORD your God and do what is right in his eyes, if you pay attention to his commands and keep all his decrees, I will not bring on you any of the diseases I brought on the Egyptians, for I am the LORD, who heals you."
God revealed himself as Yahweh (Jehovah) Rapha which means the “Lord who heals.” God’s very nature is healing and God wants to provide healing and wholeness for his people.
We live in a world which is broken, hurting, in pain, suffering, whether it is physical pain, like cancer, arthritis, or emotional pain like the loss of a loved one, divorce, job loss, or whether it is the greatest of all brokenness, the spiritual pain of being separated from God because of our sin. Many times this hurt and pain is intermixed together. Whatever the pain and suffering, out of love for us, the Lord wants us to be whole people. He desires to mend our broken bodies, fix our wounded heart, restore our relationships, and forgive our sin.
Richard Foster reminds us in his book, Prayer: Finding the Hearts True Home, "God cares as much about the body as he does the soul, as much about the emotions as he does the spirit. The redemption that is in Jesus is total, involving every aspect of the person - body, soul, will, mind, emotions, spirit."
It is through the redemption of Jesus that God brings total healing. Some passages from the Bible remind us of this healing about through Jesus. The prophetic words of Isaiah who predicted what purpose was of the coming Messiah:
NIV Isaiah 53:5 But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed.
NLT Isaiah 53:6 All of us have strayed away like sheep. We have left God’s paths to follow our own. Yet the LORD laid on him the guilt and sins of us all.
Later, Jesus’ disciple Peter pointed back to Isaiah, showing that Jesus Christ was the fulfillment of this prophecy.
NIV 1 Peter 2:24 He [Christ] himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed.
“By his wounds you have been healed.” Healed of what? Our sins, or broken spirit separated from God? Our physical healing? Our emotional healing? Yes. Jesus died so we might be healed of all these.
God’s healing work comes in many shapes and forms. And I would like to go through three of these was in which God works.
2. God’s Healing Work
A. OT – God Established a Right Way of Living
Notice in the passage from Exodus God said, “if you follow my commands and decrees.” We often think of miraculous means as the first and primary way of healing however, one of the first ways God provided healing was through his laws and commands.
NLT Psalm 119:93 I will never forget your commandments, for you have used them to restore my joy and health.
Many of Gods laws were given as a means of promoting wholeness and health among his people, to keep them safe before they knew anything about germs, disease, and psychology. God had food laws which had stipulations on which kind of food they could eat and what they couldn’t eat. God gave specific instructions on what to do with skin diseases (how to find cleansing and quarantine yourself from society). God had a moral law forbidding certain sexual practices (reduced sexually transmitted diseases), he created a conduct of holiness, how to behave what to do and what not to do, such as the Ten Commandments. If people followed all of God’s commandments they would experience health and wholeness in mind, body, soul, and relationally with others. It wasn’t just a list of do’s and don’ts, it was a way to live a holy (h-o-l-y) and whole (w-h-o-l-e) life.
You might say God was the first to establish preventative measures for our health. Nowadays the healthcare industry has finally realized it is much cheaper to promote preventative measures such as eating a healthy diet of food low in cholesterol, salt, sugar (you know taste free diets), exercise, and , than it is to fix the problem after the fact.
Unfortunately, just as we ignore our doctors advise, we tend to ignore God’s commands. This harms us spiritually because the Bible says our disobedience of God’s command separates us from him, physically we hurt our bodies, emotionally we damage our mind, and relationally we were hurt one another.
B. God also uses modern medicine and medical treatment
Occasionally in Scripture, we see evidence of God using a treatment to facilitate healing. In one case in the OT King Hezekiah was healed by a God given remedy.
NLT 2 Kings 20:1 About that time Hezekiah became deathly ill… 7 Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah’s servants, "Make an ointment from figs and spread it over the boil." They did this, and Hezekiah recovered!
Medical treatment has come a long way since the days of the Bible. Through the use of x-rays, CT Scans, MRI’s, healthcare workers can peer inside of us to see what is wrong. They have treatments to eradicate many forms of cancer, procedures to reduce the effect of heart disease, medicines to keep our blood sugar normal.
I believe God uses modern medicine and medical treatment including fields such as psychology to bring healing to the whole person. God does work through doctors and nurses, and other healthcare workers such as those represented here this morning to bring healing and wholeness. You might say healthcare workers are partnering with God in the healing of people. When you think of it that way it is a great honor and privilege because you are an extension of God’s ministry, whether you are aware of it or not.
While God does use medical treatment we must also be careful as Christians.
First, medicine has its limitations, it is not God. We have seen the limitations of medicine with members of our own congregation. Noreen is still in the hospital after 10 weeks because they can’t seem to get rid of her infection. They still have no idea what is wrong with Marie. Even after a weeks worth of tests she is still in a coma in ICU. In the area of mental health there are more people struggling with depression than ever before.
Second, while science continues to amaze us at what is possible, we must be careful as to where our trust lies. Does our faith lie in medicine or is our trust in the Lord? God warns us of this danger of merely trusting in the medical profession in the life of a king in the OT by the name of Asa. Listen to what it says of Asa.
2 Chr. 16:12 In the thirty-ninth year of his reign Asa was afflicted with a disease in his feet. Though his disease was severe, even in his illness he did not seek help from the LORD, but only from the physicians. 13 Then in the forty-first year of his reign Asa died and rested with his fathers.
I think the author here of Asa’s life was trying to demonstrate that we cannot look to medical treatment alone. This is not to say that doctors or medical treatment should be avoided, God can and does use them, but we must also seek help from the Lord.
I think we have a tendency to over estimate what doctors can do and underestimate what God is willing to do if we simply ask. Didn’t Jesus say, “Ask and you shall receive?”
We talk about miracles, but do we really believe in them? In the actual practice of our faith we seem to demonstrate that we believe medicine is a whole lot more reliable than God. Think about that for a second. When you are sick do you pray first and then reach for a pill or the other way around? God wants our faith in him first.
C. God brings healing through miracles
In the Bible, most healing was credited to a miracle from God, or “spontaneous supernatural intervention” if you like. In the gospel accounts we read of Jesus ministry to people, and while his primary ministry was proclaiming the Good News about the kingdom of God, his miraculous healing ministry confirmed the presence of God’s kingdom in the person of Jesus. In the passage we read from Luke’s gospel, it said:
NIV Luke 4:40b ”the people brought to Jesus all who had various kinds of sickness, and laying his hands on each one, he healed them.
Jesus healed miraculously. Later Jesus told his disciples that those who have faith in him will be able to do what he was doing and even greater things (John 14:12). I have heard some Christians who claim there is no such thing a miracles, there is only science.
A recent study this past March was reported on in USA Today which demonstrated the effects of prayer in the recovery of heart patients, “proved” that prayer didn’t accomplish anything (actually it made it worse), it seems to add fuel to the fire.
Others claim the age for miracles has ended (except perhaps in the third world with limited medical and other technology) because the miracles were only needed in the first few centuries to prove God’s power and for the world to realize Christ. whereas today we do not need such demonstrations, or it is unnecessary because of the medical technology and knowledge we have.
I’m sorry but Jesus healed many miraculously, the blind were given sight, the deaf were given hearing, the cripple was made to walk again, leprous cleansed and restored into society (not only a physical but a social healing). Jesus’ disciples healed. We have written records into the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th centuries that miracles continued.
Just out of curiosity, how many people here have personally experienced a miracle? Some not even the doctors, or experts could explain? Share my story of Matt VanEssen’s miraculous healing from a brain tumor.
God is still our healer today.
Why isn’t every person healed when we ask God?
Unfortunately we don’t always see healing do we? Amy’s grandmother and uncle are both experiencing degenerative muscle diseases. Over time they have and will continue to lose the use of the muscles in their body. In the case of her uncle, if God doesn’t heal him, eventually he will not be able to swallow which eventually causes death. His father has already passed away from the same disease. Both of these persons were Christian with other Christians praying for them.
Perhaps you have similarly wondered why hasn’t God healed people you have prayed for?
In short I do not completely know why God chooses not to heal every person from every sickness.
Richard Foster, who himself admits he doesn’t know the answer to this question, writes in his book, Prayer: Finding the Hearts True Home about some possible suggestions for why healing has not occurred.
“Sometimes we make a faulty diagnosis of the problem and pray for example, for physical healing when the real need is for emotional healing. Sometimes we neglect the natural means of health such as diet, exercise, and sleep. Sometimes we refuse to see medicine as one way God heals. Sometimes we do not pray specifically enough or do not get down to the root problem. Sometimes we are not an adequate conduit for the flow of God’s love and power, the faith and compassion in us not yet sufficiently developed. Sometimes there is sin in our lives that hinders God’s work.”
Conclusion:
I don’t know why God heals some and not others, but I know what God tells us to do, pray:
James 5:14 Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. 15 And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven.
John Wimber, originator of the Vineyard Church said it best (Leadership, Vol. 6, no. 2):
“My responsibility is to pray, God’s responsibility is to heal. If he chooses not to do so, then he’s responsible for that.”
Our responsibility as Christians is to pray. Our responsibility as a church is to provide prayer for healing.
I want to encourage you healthcare workers to think of yourselves as channels of God’s healing. If you are not already, include prayer in the regular routine of your day. Pray for your patients, pray for yourself, . As a church we need to remember our responsibility to partner with God for healing too. We have a prayer chain, we have our Sunday evening prayer and praise service, and we publish our prayer list in the bulletin each week. How are we contributing God’s healing work?
