II. Healing the Sick
Many of the churches in America....their focus is distorted and the true vision of the church: to set people free from the grips of satan and bring them to Christ, has been taken away. Very few churches have spiritual warfare training; most have no intercessory prayer team and no deliverance ministry. People come to church sick and go back home in the same condition because their church wants to live in the modern world of entertainment, with no backbone. That's not the church of Jesus Christ. I plead with the church today to get back to the blueprint of the early church, to cast out demons, heal the sick, baptize the people, and bring the people into salvation and discipleship. This is the true Church of Jesus Christ.[1]
Image #1
....For three years the disciples had before them the wonderful example of Christ.... When the
time came for Him to leave them, He gave them power and grace to work as He had worked, saying, "Freely ye have received, freely give." They were to go forth into the world to shed abroad the light of His gospel of love and healing.[2]
The work He had done they were to do. And this is the work we also are to do in the world.
In sympathy and compassion we are to minister to those in need, seeking with unselfish earnestness to lighten the woes of suffering humanity.[2] “Our Lord devoted more time and labor to healing the sick than to preaching.
When He sent forth the seventy, He commanded them to heal the sick, and then to preach that the kingdom of God had come nigh unto them. The physical health was first to be cared for, that the way might be prepared for the reception of the truth which the apostles were to proclaim.”[2]
So, the work of healing did not stop with the disciples; God intended it to continue through the life of believers, who would allow the Holy Spirit to work in them.
God is just as willing to restore the sick to health now as when the Holy Spirit spoke these words through the psalmist. And Christ is the same compassionate physician now that He was during His earthly ministry. In Him there is healing balm for every disease, restoring power for every infirmity. His disciples in this time are to pray for the sick as verily as the disciples of old prayed. And recoveries will follow; for "the prayer of faith shall save the sick."[3]
We have the Holy Spirit's power, the calm assurance of faith, that can claim God's promises. The Lord's promise, "They shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover" (Mark 16:18), is just as trustworthy now as in the days of the apostles. It presents the privilege of God's children, and our faith should lay hold of all that it embraces. Christ's servants are the channel of His working, and through them He desires to exercise His healing power. It is our work to present the sick and suffering to God in the arms of our faith. We should teach them to believe in the Great Healer.[3]
Image #2
Mark 16 (v. 15) And He said to them, Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature....(v. 17) And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons....(v. 18)....they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.
...."And they went forth, and preached every where, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following" [Mark 16:17, 18, 20]. The words spoken to the disciples are spoken to us also. None need think that the day for working as the apostles worked is past. Men and women today can work as Christ has given them example.[4]
To all will come opportunities to minister to sin-sick souls and to those in need of physical healing. Physical healing is a science of heavenly birth, bound up with the gospel commission. We have a work to do that we have not done. Our faith is to be broader, deeper, more trustful than it has been. We are to bring all our necessities to Christ, knowing that
He will supply our need.[4]
Once again, we learn that the words spoken to the disciples are also spoken to us. And that the work that they did continues for us today!!
Matt 10 (v. 1) And when He had called His twelve disciples to Him, He gave them power over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease.
“When Satan found his power was completely broken upon him [James], he went to the child again; he woke us crying at the top of his voice. He seemed to have colic, and we went up to the chamber, anointed his stomach with oil and prayed over him, and rebuked Satan, and he had to flee. We heard no more from him till morning. He is quite well today, but rather weak.”[5]
Image #3
John 14 (v. 12) Most assuredly I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father.
....The promise is just as strong and trustworthy now as in the days of the apostles....This is the privilege of God's children, and faith should lay hold on all that it is possible to have as an endorsement of faith. "They shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover" ....The gospel still possesses the same power, and why should we not today witness the same results?[6]
So, it is not about people doing it; but rather christians who are willing to allow themselves to be used as channels for Christ's power to flow through them for sick people's benefit.
Image #4
Acts 19 (v. 11-12) Now God worked unusual miracles by the hands of Paul, so that even handkerchiefs or aprons were brought from his body to the sick, and the diseases left them and the evil spirits went out of them.
....The Lord's people are to be one. There is to be no
separation in his work. Christ sent out the twelve apostles, and afterward the seventy disciples, to preach the gospel
and to heal the sick....As they went forth preaching the kingdom of God, power was given them to heal the sick and cast out evil spirits. In God's work teaching and healing are never to be separated. His commandment-keeping people are to be one. Satan will invent every device to separate those whom God is seeking to make one.[7]
....“There was a young sister in the house where we tarried who was subject to fits, and she was afflicted with this most distressing disease while we were there. All seemed to be alarmed. Some said, "Go for the doctor;" others, "Put on the tea-kettle for hot water." I felt the Spirit of prayer. We prayed to the Lord to deliver the afflicted.[8]
In the name and strength of Jesus I put my arms around her, and lifted her up from the bed, and rebuked the power of Satan, and bid her, "Go free." She was instantly brought out of the fit, and praised the Lord with us. We had a solemn, refreshing season in this place.[8]
Jam 5 (v. 14) Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord.
It is the divine plan that we shall work as the disciples worked. Physical healing is bound up with the gospel commission. In the work of the gospel, teaching and healing are never to be separated.[9]
I believe that there is plenty of evidence from the bible and people's recorded testimonies, that we are to continue God's work of healing the sick, just like they did in the bible days.
My God is Awesome....Heals me when I'm broken....He's mighty, Awesome....By His stripes I am healed....Praise His Holy Name.... video Ref. [10]
For more information about this topic, contact any of these free deliverance ministries:
A.I.C. Ministries, http://www.abidinginchristministries.com/
Jay Bartlett Missions, http://jaybartlett.org/events.php
Deliverance Ministry, http://pullingdownstrongholds.com/
Setting the Captives Free, http://frankmarzullo.com/
Real Deliverance Ministries, http://www.realdeliverance.com/index.shtml
Freedom Encounters, http://www.freedomencounters.com/
Got Demon? Defeat satan starting today!, www.gotdemon.com
References:
1. John Ramirez, (2015). Unmasking the Devil, p.107, Destiny Image Publishers.
2. Pacific Health Journal, (1 Dec 1901), par.1
3. The Ministry of Healing, p.226, par.1
4. Manuscript Releases (vol.19), p.363, par.1
5. E.G.W. Biography (vol.1), p.183, par.2
6. The Desire of Ages, p.823-824, par.2
7. E.G.W. Pamphlets 095, p.36, par.1
8. Spiritual Gifts (vol.2), p.71, par.3
9. Christian Service, p.133, par.6
10. Charles Jenkins Fellowship (Lyrics) "Awesome" Online video. YouTube, 2 May 2012. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tz8BgLSC24E
Image #1: Making History Now, (2017). Succession and commissioning. Retrieved from https://makinghistorynow.wordpress.com/category/leadership/
Image #2: New Journey Fellowship, (2017). Laying on of hands. Retrieved from http://newjourneyfellowship.com/gods-dream-for-njf-new-level-living/
Image #3: Kent Burke, (2007). The importance of Christ's Name. Retrieved from https://www.slideshare.net/kentburke/the-importance-of-christs-name
Image #4: The Ephphatha Coffee-Corner Ministry, (2011). Miracles of St. Paul at Ephesus, by Jean Restout 1693. Retrieved from http://www.jeffangiegoh.com/?p=1114
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