Sermon Archives (February  26, 2002):

Is Healing for You? – Part 9

Good afternoon church.  I have been teaching the last eight sermons on “Is Healing for You?”    We’ve sought to answer that question from God’s Word?   What does the Bible, God’s Word say about healing?   And our finding have been this:

Having received God’s answer, that yes, healing is for you, our focus is now to determine from the Bible how we as Christians obtain healing.   We have discussed: Anointing with oil, the laying on of hands, agreement between believers, and the how to pray.

Beloved let us bow our heads.   Father, let every believer hear this message today and the world as well.  Teach us Father by your word your principles of healing.   Teach us Father how we may obtain and understand healing through the Gifts of Healing, and the limitations of this method.   And all God’s people said, “Amen.”

In this world, you will likely meet someone who is ill every day.  Wouldn’t it be a thrill if you were able to help them, to facilitate their healing?

Method 5:  (1 Corinthians 12:8-11)  “For to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, to another the word of knowledge through the same Spirit, … to another gifts of healings by the same Spirit (In the Greek, it is gifts of healings, plural, not singular), 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. But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually as He wills.”

These gifts, these special gifts operate as the Spirit wills, not as we will.  Within the same chapter, we find that these gifts are placed among those who are in the church.  (Verse 28)  “And God has appointed these in the church: first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings...”  Notice, these gifts are only found within the church.  Some argue, that these gifts operated only in the early church.  But I ask, how do they know?  What authority makes the claim?   Nowhere in Scripture has God said that these gifts have been taken away.

The manifestations of these gifts are supernatural.   The “gifts of healings” heal both saints and sinners.  The manifestation of these gifts attracts attention to God’s power.   A single public healing may cause whole multitudes to accept Jesus Christ as Lord.   Such healings are for the benefit of unbelievers as well as those being healed.   Consider this Biblical story.

(Acts 3:1-8)  “Now Peter and John went up together to the temple at the hour of prayer, the ninth hour. And a certain man lame from his mother's womb was carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful, to ask alms from those who entered the temple; who, seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple, asked for alms. And fixing his eyes on him, with John, Peter said, ‘Look at us.’ So he gave them his attention, expecting to receive something from them. Then Peter said, ‘Silver and gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk.’ And he took him by the right hand and lifted him up, and immediately his feet and anklebones received strength. So he, leaping up, stood and walked and entered the temple with them--walking, leaping, and praising God.”

The gates to the temple had names.   And the gate Peter and John entered was called the Beautiful gate, because it was the most prominent leading into the temple.   This man who was healed, had lain at the gate as a cripple for years.  Jesus when alive would have entered this gate many times, passing this same man, and yet the man remained crippled.  Peter would likewise have passed this man many times as he entered into the temple.  Yet the man was not healed.   Yet, having been passed over many times for possible healing, suddenly the man is healed.  Why?  Because this type of healing is subject to the Holy Spirit.  The man who was healed was not a Christian.  He could not therefore deal through the Holy Spirit himself having not accepted Christ.   For this type of healing, for the unbeliever, one must wait for the Holy Spirit to heal.

Healings by the Holy Spirit require cooperation.  Usually an act by the one being healed is required.   Peter had said to the man to be healed, “Rise up and walk.”  Had the man refused not to walk, not to try, he would not have been healed.    The Holy Spirit is looking for a willing heart, a sense of obedience. 

We see this requirement for obedience in Christ’s healings as well.  In the book of John, there is the story of the crippled man who lay at the waters of Bethesda for 38 years.  The waters of Bethesda were reputed to be healing waters.   Whoever got into the pool first once the waters moved would be healed.   Many were healed down through the years. But because the man was crippled and without anyone to assist him into the pool, the crippled man never made it into the pool first, and thus for 38 years he was not healed.   Jesus comes by the man and asked,  “Do you want to be made well?”   The crippled man does not answer Christ’s questions, but instead explains that he had missed out on healing all these last 38 years because he couldn’t get into the pool first when the waters moves.  Jesus, the healer, is right in front of this man talking to him, and the man appears at oblivious to that fact, much as many today who require healing seem oblivious to the fact that their healing is near would they only realize that Christ is near.  Instead, the crippled man complains about his inability to be first in the pool.   Jesus then requests of the man. (John 5:8-9), "’Rise, take up your bed and walk.’ And immediately the man was made well, took up his bed, and walked.”   Had the man not been obedient to Christ’s request of picking up his bed and walking, the man would not have been healed.

Now the point I wish to make concerning this healing at the Bethesda waters was that there were many people at that pool. The Bible states (verse 3) a “great multitude of people”.  Yet only the one crippled man was healed.   Others that day must well have complained, “Why this man?  Why not me?”   With unbelievers, the Holy Spirit has a way of singling out one so that others will believe.   So the next important point is that there are advantages then to being a believer, because then you who are in Christ have rights.  You can be anointed.  You can have others stand in agreement for your healing now.  You are able to petition God through the Holy Spirit and thus through Jesus Christ your advocate for immediate healing now.   As a believer, you need not wait by the healing waters 38 years for movement in some pool, or sit by the gate entering into some temple.  In fact as a believer, you are the temple of the Holy Spirit, for the kingdom is already within you.   This realization as to the Christians availability to healing, serves then as a powerful persuasive force upon unbelievers for them to accept Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Savior, and to come to the cross now.

Today, in our time, there are yet miracle crusades.  Benny Hinn, Oral Roberts, Kathryn Kuhlman.   I serve here as your Pastor, but I was also ordained as an evangelist.   And of course, I have asked God for the gift of Healing.  I was told that this gift would come with prayer and obedience.   A woman in the Church came to me.  She had been working in the Church in physical labor the whole day.   Consequently, her leg was hurting.   She said to me, “If you will lay hands on me and pray, I will be healed.”   The woman was unequivocal in her faith.  So straight away I laid hands upon the woman and prayed.   When I finished the woman said to me, “The moment you touched me, my leg was healed.  The pain has left me totally.”    And then the woman skipped away joyously.  Do these healings come all the time?  No.  As a minister, the Holy Spirit works through me by His wills, not mine.  I wait upon the Lord.   I asked of God through a prophet, “Was this gift now given to me, now that the woman was healed.”    God replied, “No.   It was not your faith that healed the women.  Rather it was the woman’s faith that healed her.  You only acted as a conduit for My Holy Spirit.”

When unbelievers seek healing through a man of God, some obedience is usually required.   (John 9:1-8)  “Now as Jesus passed by, He saw a man who was blind from birth. His disciples asked Him, …, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?" Jesus answered, ‘Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but that the works of God should be revealed in him. I must work the works of Him who sent Me while it is day; the night is coming when no one can work. As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.’ When He had said these things, He spat on the ground and made clay with the saliva; and He anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay and He said to him, ‘Go, wash in the pool of Siloam’ (which is translated, Sent). So he went and washed, and came back seeing.”   Had the man not washed his eyes in the pool as directed, the man would not have been healed.

Beloved, we’re going to end our service differently today with an alter call.   I have four offers today to make today.  Will you close your eyes and bow your heads.  If anyone today wishes to accept for the first time Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior raise your hands.  Christians are praying.   I see a hand raised.  Thank you.  You may put it down.   If there is anyone today, who requires healing, raise your hand.   I see hands raised.  Thank you.  You may put them down.   If there is anyone who has accepted Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior before, but is unsure as to the certainty of that prior acceptance, raise your hands.   Lastly, if you have backslidden in that which you know is right, and are concerned as to your state should Christ return or call you home today, those who seek the renewing of their mind in Christ Jesus raise your hands.  I see many more hands today.   Thank you.  You may put your hands down.   Now open your eyes.  Everyone who raised a hand for any one of these four offerings take one step forward.   (Well that was just about everybody.)