Today, more than ever, people need the Lord. Sin has cut people off from God. Misery and suffering may be found everywhere. We tell people that Jesus Christ is the answer. But we must do more than talk. We must demonstrate Jesus Christ. The Bible shows us how this ought to be done. We must live a life of love. We must also show forth the power of Jesus Christ to bless, heal and break the power of evil. Christ has commanded all these things. If we fail in one of these areas we have missed the standard that God has set. Jesus Christ is now expecting results from his servants. We should listen to His Word.
There is now a great contradiction between what Christ said and what the church shows. Jesus said, "Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also." (John 14:12). The New Testament is a model for ministry. Jesus showed his disciples how to do the ministry. The pattern is still valid for today.
Jesus Christ plainly said, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned. And these signs will follow those who believe: in My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues ... they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover." (Mark 16:15-18).
The churches that have ignored or rejected this passage of Scripture are ignoring an important instruction of Jesus Christ. The power of the gospel operates only when Christians believe it and obey it. This booklet is written to help you be effective in ministering healing to the sick people in Jesus' name. To do this you must believe the Word of God more than the theology and practice of many church leaders, who do not practice this ministry for a variety of reasons. You must have the courage to believe the Word of God for yourself and act on it. If nobody you know operates in this ministry God is still speaking to you. He expects you to exercise leadership in this area, so that God will be glorified and more people will know Jesus and his love in a practical way.
Who are you?
If you truly confess Jesus Christ as Lord, you belong to Him. His Word says you are a son of God through faith in Christ Jesus (Galatians 3:26). You have been brought into God's family. Your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19). You are an ambassador of Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians 5:20). You are called to operate on His behalf, for Him, through Him, with Him. You are called to do all in Jesus' name (Colossians 3:17). As a member of His body on the earth, Jesus wants you to continue His ministry of healing to the people of the world. You are His hands and feet. What Jesus did through his earthly body 2000 years ago he wants to continue through the church, which is His body today.
Jesus has not changed. The Bible says that "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever" (Hebrews 13:8). Jesus came to do the Father's will, and the gospels show that Jesus "went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him" (Acts 10:38). You are called to do the same. You must believe this. The Bible idea of a Christian is to be a disciple of Jesus Christ, a believer (Acts 11:26). As such, you are called to learn the trade of your master. Jesus will teach you to cast out demons, to destroy the works of the devil, and to heal the sick in His own name. Do not be fearful or unbelieving, but believing.
Healing is Part of the Good News
The same passage in Isaiah 53 which tells us of Jesus that "He was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities, the chastisement for our peace was upon him, that the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all" also tells us that "by his stripes we are healed". This is not just spiritual healing, as some have supposed, for the Word of God, if properly attended to, brings life to all our flesh (see Proverbs 4:20-22). A more literal translation of Isaiah 53:4 says "Surely he has borne our sicknesses and carried our pains". This is made clear in Matthew 8:17, which quotes this passage from Isaiah.
What does all this mean? It means that Jesus' suffering and death purchased not only redemption from our sins, but also healing for our bodies. This is part of the good news of Jesus Christ. To fully please God, we must preach this part of the message also. This message is totally consistent with the example of Jesus in healing, and with the whole revelation in the Bible of God being "the Lord who heals you" (Exodus 15:26).
Faith for healing comes from people hearing the Word of God about healing (Romans 10:17). God send his Word today through preachers and heals people, delivering them from destructive forces (Ps. 107:20). How will people believe in Jesus as healer today if we do not preach Him as such? Jesus has given us this responsibility.
Whereas faith comes through hearing the Word of God, many times doubt and unbelief come by hearing the unbelieving, twisted theologies of some preachers. Some preachers, when speaking on healing, ignore every positive thing that the Bible says about the Lord's healing work, and instead concentrate on interpretations of some passages of Scripture which they claim show that God does not always want to heal. This is a serious error, and has weakened the testimony of Christians for centuries. If faith for healing leaves through the preaching, the message is no good.
Be Results Oriented
For people to be saved from sin, they must put their trust in Christ. I have found that effectively healing the sick in Jesus' name causes more people to trust in Christ for salvation and forgiveness of sins. As Jesus has worked through me to heal the people of so many kinds of diseases, many have believed in Christ's reality and put their trust in Him. Many people, when they have seen deaf-mutes healed, blind eyes open or even backs healed through the laying on of my hands in Jesus' name, have then believed in Jesus and trusted him for salvation. Besides showing forth the compassion and goodness of God, this kind of ministry is ordained by God to cause more people to believe in Jesus. It is not right to ignore this kind of ministry. We must choose to please God rather than merely pleasing men.
Jesus expected results from his disciples. When his disciples could not cast out the demon from a boy, Jesus called them an "unbelieving and perverse generation". Jesus often rebuked his own disciples for their unbelief and hardness of heart (Matthew 18:17). He told them on one occassion to "Heal the sick there" (Luke 10:9), not merely to "pray for the sick". Disciples are supposed to be taught to do all that Jesus commanded the original twelve (Matthew 28:19). If you are a disciple, you are called to be close to Jesus. You are called to be full of faith and the Holy Spirit, preach the Good News and do the works of Jesus.
What Makes the Difference?
We have all seen prayer for the sick with little results. This can be discouraging, but it does not invalidate God's Word. Circumstances should be judged by God's Word. We should never judge God's Word by the circumstances. So what factors make the difference between a weak healing ministry and an effective one?
a. Knowledge of what God wants
Some ministers beg God to do something for the poor suffering ones. This kind of praying would be fine if God had not revealed His will and intentions on the matter. We err if we somehow believe that the Lord may be unwilling and our prayers might persuade the Lord to be compassionate. The Lord is willing to heal and has promised to respond to faith. "The prayer of faith shall heal the sick and the Lord shall raise him up" (James 5:15). Scriptures that show God's will concerning healing are many. They include Exodus 15:26, Psalm 103:3, Isaiah 53:4,5; Hebrews 13:8; Mark 16:18 and of course all the practical examples recorded for us in the four Gospels and the book of Acts.
b. The Fullness of the Holy Spirit
We are commanded to be continually full of the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 5:18). To ignore or reject this commandment is to sin against Jesus Christ. God wants us all to speak in tongues (Mark 16:17; 1 Cor 14:4). This should happen when we are baptized with the Holy Spirit. We can see this from a careful study of the Book of Acts. But being full of the Holy Spirit involves more than speaking in tongues. It involves a life of praise and thanksgiving, a life of prayer and seeking the face of God. It involves a life in the Word of God, a life actively lived to please God. God gives the Holy Spirit to those who through faith obey Him (Acts 5:32). Our Father is very willing to give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him (Luke 11:13). Since it is the Holy Spirit who actually does the healing, we must be full of Him so we can release His power through our hands and mouths to others who need healing.
c. Faith
Without faith it is impossible to please God (Hebrews 11:6). Jesus says, "Have faith in God. For assuredly I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, 'Be removed and be cast into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says. Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them." (Mark 11:23,24).
Faith means being sure of God's will and acting accordingly. Here Jesus gives us the secret of faith. You must speak to problems, be they demons, disease or whatever, and command them to go. Believe you will have what you say, and you will have what you say. And when you are praying and God puts a desire on your heart to pray for something, believe that to be God's will and believe that you receive what you asked for.
One way I apply this practically in ministering to the sick is as follows. Many people in the world have back problems. When someone with a back problem comes to me for ministry, I lay hands on the sore spot and command the muscles, tendons and ligaments to relax there. Then I command the bones to move into place. I believe that what I say will happen, and then I tell the people to bend over, acting out their faith. This has brought instant relief to sufferers hundreds of times through my personal ministry. These methods are based on a practical common sense application of the Word of God.
Trials of our faith
Faith is tested when results don't come immediately, but in these cases we may need to leave the results to God and trust that He is working. It is a serious error to doubt that God has done anything when no manifestation of healing comes immediately. God's Word has already declared that "with His stripes ye were healed". That should be enough to settle the question of God's will for us. Many times I have found after ministering to the sick that people received the manifestation of healing a little while later, despite the fact that it did not manifest immediately. God is faithful when we believe.
d. Knowledge of our authority under Jesus Christ
Jesus gave us authority over diseases and evil spirits (Luke 10:19). He expects us to believe that and use that authority. There is a strong relationship between faith and the understanding of authority. The Roman centurion in Matthew 8:5-13 understood authority and recognized it in Jesus. Jesus said about that man that he had not found such faith in all Israel. Jesus really does have all authority in heaven and earth, and his purpose is to destroy the devil's works, including disease (1 John 3:8). When we believe this and understand that he has authorized us to do it in His place, we too will operate with faith and confidence. For you see, acting in Jesus' name means acting under his authorization, doing what He told us to do in His place.
Authority is expressed through words. We should command demons and disease to go. We can even command the parts of people's bodies that are out of order to be made new. We can command bones in the spine to move into place. All this should be done in Jesus' name - that is, in Jesus' authority. You must believe in your heart that Jesus has commanded you and authorized you to do these things.
e. Humility
"God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble" (James 4:6). Pride is operating when we try to take the credit for things that only God can do. Stubbornly holding to traditional ideas that downplay healing ministry is also a form of pride. Concern for our reputation, and what others will think, even the fear of man are all rooted in pride. Jesus said to the Pharisees, "How can you believe, who receive honor from one another, and do not seek the honor that comes from the only God?" (John 5:44). This principle is valid today. There are many within the church hierarchy whose faith is paralysed because they are too busy considering whether a certain course of action will bring them approval and honor from the men in their denomination, or not. This will lead to wrong motives and a lack of obedience to Christ, to whom we owe our first allegiance as Christians.
To overcome pride and unbelief we should seek humility. Usually both
prayer and fasting are necessary. Fasting humbles our flesh, and brings
us to a place of sensitivity to the moving of God's Spirit. The Holy Spirit
has the executive power of God on
earth. Therefore we must listen to Him if we want things to work well
in ministering to the sick.
f. Focus (Matthew 17:14-21)
We must be focused to do this ministry well. Jesus called his disciples "perverse" when they could not cast out the demon in Matthew 17:17. That word "perverse" meant that they were not focused. In verse 21 Jesus points out that prayer and fasting was necessary. Prayer and fasting increases our focus and allows a build up of God's power and faith within us. Many times when we are weak physically through fasting, then we are strong in God's power.
There is more to divine healing than can be included in a brief booklet like this. To be effective, you must focus your mind on the parts of the Word of God that relate to divine healing. You should meditate deeply on them until doubt is overcome.
g. Purity
We are temples of the Holy Spirit. We are vessels for the Lord. We must seek purity and practical sanctification in order to be as useful as possible for the Lord. When our hearts weighed down with worldly cares and sins, we become like blocked channels. The healing life of the Lord through us is reduced to a trickle, or stops completely. Although God can move through a believer with sin in his life, this is a dangerous place to be. We might easily be deceived into thinking that God approves of us because of his works of power through our life. But this is not necessarily the case (Matthew 7:21-23).
Focusing on God's Word will help purify our minds and hearts. Purity helps us to draw close to Jesus. If we love Him, why should we let ourselves become dirty with fleshly sins and wicked thoughts and imaginations. This is not the way to draw close to Jesus.
By seeking purity we show our love for Jesus and our lives will bring honor to the Lord. Our love for Him and others will be sincere. When Jesus works with power through our lives we will see it as an occasion to truly praise God, not to glorify ourselves.
Impurity grieves God and can quench the flow of the Holy Spirit in our lives. Therefore let us seek purity so that our faith can reach new levels and our lives bring pleasure to God.
Many times Christians need deliverance from evil spirits, which may oppress the soul. We must learn to take authority over evil spirits seeking to work in our own lives, and be cleansed through confession, repentance and faith in the Blood of Christ, before we can effectively move in the kind of faith that gets results in the ministry of divine healing.
What are some different ways people receive divine healing?
Divine healing may be received in many ways. Below some of the more important ways are discussed. All of these methods have worked in a multitude of cases, and testimonies can be given to support all of this. But this is not done here for the purpose of space.
Calling for the Elders of the Church
This is a command of the New Testament. In cases where simpler methods have not worked, it is the instruction of God that we call the elders of the church to come to the bed of the sick one and do these things. God assumes here that the elders are able to pray a prayer of faith. If your church leaders are unable to do this, perhaps you should find a church where the elders can and will do their part in this matter. Then God gives his promise, “The Lord will raise him up.” Wonderful promise!
Jesus laid hands on the sick on many occasions and in this way imparted the healing power of the Holy Spirit to their diseased bodies. Jesus touched the hand of Peter’s mother-in-law in Matthew 8:15, and the fever left her. Jesus raised Jairus’ daughter from the dead by taking her by the hand and speaking to her (Matthew 9:25). By touching the eyes of blind men Jesus healed them also (Matthew 9:29). Many other examples could be given.
Many times also it was enough for the sick themselves to touch Jesus, or His clothes. Mark 6:56 says that “as many as touched him were made well”. This is a variation on the idea of laying on of hands but the idea is similar. The healing power of the Holy Spirit flows from Jesus through a physical contact made in faith.
Jesus gave this ministry to all believers in Mark 16:17,18. “These signs will follow those who believe: In My Name ... they will lay hands on the sick and they shall recover.” Jesus wants his ministers to lay hands on the sick and transmit into their bodies the wonderful power of the Holy Spirit, which brings healing, deliverance and release.
It is biblical to pray and intercede from a distance for those in sickness. The centurion did this in one sense, knowing that a word from Jesus was enough for the healing of His servant. In the Old Testament, Abraham prayed for the healing of Abimelech and his family and was heard (Genesis 20:17). In Numbers 12:13 Moses intercedes for the healing of his sister Miriam from leprosy, and she was healed by the time seven days were up. It is Biblical to pray for others. We are told to ask in Jesus’ name, and we shall receive, that our joy may be full (John 16:24).
Prolonged intecessory prayer will often prepare the way for God to move miraculously and suddenly in divine healing. Such prayer involves a struggle with the powers of darkness. We are not often aware of the reasons for the spiritual struggles involved in getting answers for some of our prayers. Persistent faith is important here (Luke 18:1-8).
Listening to Preaching on Divine Healing from the Word of God
Since “faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of Christ [God]” (Romans 10:17) one way to grow in faith for God’s promises to be fulfilled is to hear anointed preaching on the subject. We need not only to read and analyze, but to really hear faith-filled preaching of God’s Word in the power of the Holy Spirit. In third world countries many are healed in great evangelistic rallies by simply hearing the message preached. Even listening to taped messages can be of great benefit to our faith.
Many benefits are promised to t
Get your free registration and log in to view entire article
Post new comment