CNM MESSAGE 6-15-2008 - The promise of continual healing

The Spirit filled life
Basic principles for the Spirit filled Christian
Lección #9 “The promise of continual healing”

Introduction: For the last few weeks we have been looking at the 5 basic foundational principles of the Spirit filled Christian. We have discussed that learning these 5 different principals are important because they are the different subjects that will continually be a part of the messages we will share in our church. In this lesson I would like to continue with the lesson and look at the next area of inheritance that the Spirit filled Christ has and that is the revelation that Christ is their healer.

The ministry of Jesus
The gospels are filled with stories of the ministry of Jesus. Particularly in the New Testaments we see that God giving us the perfect example of how the Christian is to live through the example of Jesus. We see Him displaying love to others. We are to display that same type of love. We see Him displaying mercy to others. We are to display the same type of love to others. We see Him sharing the principals of the kingdom of God with others. We are to show the same types of principals to the people in the world that do not know Him. As we study the Bible what we need to keep in mind is that God intended for the life of Jesus to be a blue print for our lives. He absolutely planned that we should live our lives observing the way that Jesus lived His. He finds the greatest joy when we try to be like Him.

A personal example
The other day I saw this principal at work in my own life. I had taken one of my sons out to go bowling with me. Bowling is my hobby and I go rather frequently throughout the week. When I had taken my son bowling with me I noticed that every time that he throw the ball he expected to bowl a strike and when he did not it would frustrate him. After a while I sat down and talked with him to explain that the purpose of the game is to have fun not to be frustrated. After talking with him I noticed that the main reason that he was so frustrated was because he was trying to be like his father. He had seen his father consistently bowl strikes so he thought that he had to bowl strikes as well. It did please me that he was frustrated but what did make me feel good is that he was trying to be like his father. He reasoned that if his father could do it then he could as well.

I think that is what our Heavenly Father thinks of us when we are try to be like him. He is pleased when we try to model the life of Jesus. In all actuality that is why we have the accounts of the life of Jesus written in such detail because God intended for us to try to live our lives in the same manner that Jesus did.

Healing: One of the most visible characteristics of the life of Jesus
As you study the scriptures you cannot help but to notice the numerous accounts of when Jesus prayed for people’s physical healing. The Bible is filled with examples of it. In fact it is one of the most visible characteristics of the public ministry of Jesus. Jesus prayed for the sick and they were healed so much so that people were drawn to Him because of it.

Matthew 4:24 “The news about Him spread throughout all Syria; and they brought to Him all who were ill, those suffering with various diseases and pains, demoniacs, epileptics, paralytics; and He healed them.

Matthew 8:16 “When evening came, they brought to Him many who were demon-possessed; and He cast out the spirits with a word, and healed all who were ill.”

Matthew 12:15 “But Jesus, aware of this, withdrew from there. Many followed Him, and He healed them all”

Matthew 12:22 “[ The Pharisees Rebuked ] Then a demon-possessed man who was blind and mute was brought to Jesus, and He healed him, so that the mute man spoke and saw.”

Matthew 14:14 “When He went ashore, He saw a large crowd, and felt compassion for them and healed their sick.”

Matthew 15:30 “And large crowds came to Him, bringing with them those who were lame, crippled, blind, mute, and many others, and they laid them down at His feet; and He healed them.”

Matthew 19:2 “and large crowds followed Him, and He healed them there.”

Matthew 21:13 “And the blind and the lame came to Him in the temple, and He healed them.”

Mark 1:34 “And He healed many who were ill with various diseases, and cast out many demons; and He was not permitting the demons to speak, because they knew who He was.”

Mark 3:10 “for He had healed many, with the result that all those who had afflictions pressed around Him in order to touch Him.”

Luke 5:15 “But the news about Him was spreading even farther, and large crowds were gathering to hear Him and to be healed of their sicknesses.”

Luke 14:4 “But they kept silent. And He took hold of him and healed him, and sent him away.”

Healing as shown in the gospels is as much a part of the ministry of Jesus as was teaching and preaching. Many times he would do them both. He would teach and later pray for the people or he would pray for the people and then teach. It was so much a part of His ministry that people recognized it and brought the sick to Him so they could be healed. He was recognized as a person that could pray for the sick and God would heal them.

The Biblical view on healing
One of the things that I have noticed from teaching this subject in many different places is that many people have many misconceptions of how the Bible presents healing. It is many times because of those misconceptions that they fail to receive the promise of healing. Everything in the Christian life is a process. As we grow in the knowledge of the things of God we become more confident to receive from the Father things such as healing. Here are a few things to help guide your thinking when it comes to the subject of healing.

• Healing is a gift of God that all believers have access to. God does not have preferences when it comes to this subject. He treats all people equally. So if you will do what He says to do it will bring the reality of divine health into your life.

• God desires for us to live in constant good health and not the provision of miracles all of the time. A miracle is God’s best for you if that is the only thing that will get you out of a desperate situation but it is not God’s long-term consistent plan for you. It is better to live in constant health then having to receive a miracle all of the time.

• It is usually what you do when you are not sick that helps ensure your consistency in living in divine health. Many people do not realize that there is a difference between receiving healing and staying in divine health. Many times if a Christian is mature and has had enough teaching in the area of healing they have learned how to receive their healing when they get sick but what God desires is that they also know how to stay in divine health. He desires that His children continue to operate in a healthy life style.

• There are practical things that we can do and do not do which help us stay in good health. Jesus because we have a promise from God that He will heal us if we need it does not mean that we should not be responsible with our own bodies. Things like exercise, eating right and getting the right amount of sleep will add a natural element to the supernatural ability of God.

• If we fail to live in this level of health we should not be discouraged. Divine health, just like anything else in the kingdom of God is a process. You just do not wake up the next morning in the morning living completely in the revelation. Many times an acquired discipline of living a revelation in the Word of God comes through the process of trial and error. Sometimes we will fail. Failure hurts but it is a natural part of the process. But just because we fail does not mean we should give up on the truth. It can be a reality that we live in because Jesus lived in it. It will most likely take work but once we have achieved it in our lives it is worth the price we had to pay.

Defining the term divine health and divine healing
Up to this point we have talked a great deal about the terms “divine health” and “divine healing”. Before we go any further we should examine these terms so that we understand the reminder of the teaching. The best way to understand the subject is to realize that healing according to the Biblical mandate comes in three levels.

• Level #1 – Divine healing (1st Peter 2:24 “and He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed” )- Divine healing is the ability of the believer to apply the principals in the Word of God ones the experience symptoms of sickness. It is what someone does once they have become sick and to get out of it. It is the personal application of the Word of God to get out of a sickness situation.

• Level #2 – Divine health (3rd John 2 “2Beloved, I pray that in all respects you may prosper and be in good health, just as your soul prospers.”) - Divine health is the ability of the believer to apply the principals in the Word of God and maintain a life of consistent health. This is when a believe very rarely battles with sickness or if they do they apply their faith and overcome it quickly. It is the daily application of the principals of God to maintain a life of constant health.

• Level #3 – The application of healing in the lives of others (Mark 16:18 – “they will lay hands on the sick”) - The last level is one a believer has moved from simply believing for themselves and has started doing the works of Jesus. They realize that one of the most visible factors of the life of Jesus was Him praying for others. As a result when they come in contact with those that are sick they follow in the footsteps of Jesus and pray for others. The take the

It is important to remember that both of these processes are necessary to receive the promises of God.

My suggestions to you when you need to receive your healing
The subject of healing is so vast that we could spend an entire series just talking about it but what I think would be of the most benefit to us is if I give you a few words of advice for when you need to receive your healing. No matter how strong we are in face there will come some time when we need to receive or healing or to pray from someone else to receive their healing. When that time comes these words of advice may be useful to you.

1) Remember that healing is a “past tense” reality. If we study 1st Peter 2:24 and Matthew 8:17 we see that healing is a reality that the Bible shows as something that has already taken place. It says that Jesus “bore” our sicknesses and diseases. That means that God has already released healing to us. When we realize that it changes the way that we pray. Instead of repeatedly asking God to heal us our pray becomes a prayer of thanks giving for what God has already done.

2) Find a scriptural precedence for your right to be healed. The Bible is many times referred to as a book of law. The way that I often like to look at it is a court case. We refer to the law book to find legal precedence of why we have a right to a certain benefit of the Christian life. So instead of believing that you can be healed because you feel it is a good thing, you come before the Father with a scripture that says He will do it. This is not to convince God but more so that we can have assurance that He will do what He said He will do.

3) Do what you can do I the natural. Do not limit God and force yourself in a position that He can only answer your prayers through a miracle. Medicine is a way that God heals and so are doctors. Unless you have a direct word from God and also several words of confirmation do not illuminate the help that medical science can bring you.

4) Ask and believe that you have received when you ask. Mark 11:22-24 says that when we ask believe that we have received when we pray. When we ask the Father for healing we should do our best to be convinced that we have received what we have asked for even though we do not see the physical manifestation yet. Symptoms sometimes take time to change but once the root of the sickness if removed healing is just a matter of days.

5) Get someone to agree with you. Our prayers are powerful but we increase the amount of power available when we prayer with others. When a person couples their faith with ours it provides a wealth of power.

6) Do not neglect the ministry of the laying on of hands. In Mark 16:18 and James 5:14-15 shows us that having people lay hands on you is a Biblical way of receiving healing. When we seek out others to lay hands on us we are applying a mandate in the area of healing.

Conclusion: Healing is a promise that every believer has access to. Jesus displayed this and if we apply the principals in the Word of God we can live I that reality as well.