Truth Seekers Newsletter
November 4, 2007: And Jesus Healed Them All! (Part One)
[Truth Seekers Home]
Jesus Healed Them All!
Matthew 4:23 tells us that Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching, and preaching the Good News of the Kingdom and healing every disease and sickness among the people.
Jesus' Ability to Heal
Were there any diseases Jesus could not cure? No! Matthew 4:23 tells us that Jesus healed every disease. He did not have to run diagnostic tests and try to figure it out. There were no diseases that stumped Him. He had the ability to heal every disease.
Healing ... A Real Drawing Card
Jesus taught and preached too. But the big reason people seemed drawn to Him was that He had something they wanted ... something they could not get from anyone else ... they wanted to be healed.
In addition to those who were healed by Jesus, undoubtedly His Audience also included those who just wanted to see if what they had heard about Him was really true. The end result was not just healing. Jesus was drawing people to Him to be taught!
Steps to Healing, as Demonstrated by a Man Who was Once Thought to be a Leper
Decide What You Believe!
Matthew 8:1-3 tells about a man who had leprosy. He came and knelt before Jesus and said, "Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean." He wasn't wondering if Jesus could really heal. He wasn't even asking for healing. He had already settled in his mind that Jesus could heal him.
Act on Your Belief!
The leper came to Jesus. Leprosy was a horrible disease that disfigured and ultimately killed people ... and it was very contagious. Lepers were forced to live outside cities and away from everyone. If anyone came near, they had to yell, "Unclean! Unclean!" as a warning to others to stay away. Most lepers knew their place, as the world defined their place. But this leper knew his place and it was with Jesus! He didn't wait for Jesus to come to him; he went to Jesus!
Submit to the Perfect Will of Jesus!
He knelt before Jesus, an act of submission to a higher Authority. He didn't demand what he knew Jesus had. He made a statement of faith by saying, "If you are willing ..." Note, he didn't say, "If you are able." He knew Jesus was able. But he was willing to submit to Jesus' timetable.
Jesus is Willing!
Jesus answered in just five words. "I am willing! Be clean!" Have you ever said to Jesus, "If you are willing, you can heal me." Think of anything of which you wish to be healed. Imagine Those Eyes of Love looking at you and imagine Jesus saying to you, "I am willing! Be healed!"
Give Glory to God by Obeying Him!
Jesus then had something for the man (no longer a leper) to do. He told him not to tell anyone, but instead to go to the priest and show him. If you had just been healed of an incurable disease, could you keep your mouth shut?? Would you not just be turning cartwheels all over the place and shouting out what had happened to you? Why would Jesus tell him not to tell?
His body in itself was his testimony. Jesus did not want the ex-leper's words to distract from the message of his body. He wanted the priests to see for themselves the up close picture of the Glory of God!
Would Jesus Come to Me?
If you were too sick to get to Jesus, do you think He would come to you? Jesus was a very busy Man. If He had functioned as some doctors do today, He might have said, "I'm booked until next spring. Try your call again later!"
Jesus was next approached by a Centurion, who asked for healing for his servant. Obviously, social status meant nothing to Jesus. The Centurion was not a Jew. His servant was ... well ... he was "just" a servant. And there were people in line before this servant. How would Jesus respond?
The Centurion, like the leper, made a statement of faith. "Just say the Word and my servant will be healed." He had decided what he believed. He had acted upon it and spoke it out boldly. He was willing to submit to Jesus' timetable. What did Jesus say? "Go! It will be done just as you have believed it would."
Have you ever said to Jesus, "Just say the Word and I know I will be healed." Again, imagine His Eyes of Love looking at you and saying what He said to the Centurion, "Go! It will be done just as you believed it would." What do you believe?
Our Intercession for Others Makes a Difference!
Some men brought a paralytic to Jesus and Jesus healed him. What made the difference? Matthew 9:1-2 tells us, "When Jesus saw their faith ...", meaning He was observing the faith of those who brought the paralytic as well as the faith of the man himself.
What can we learn from this story of healing? Our faith is an essential part of healing. We can believe for someone else to be healed. Jesus will honor our faith!
Is Sickness a Result of Sin?
Jesus said an interesting thing to the paralytic before healing him. "Take heart, son; your sins are forgiven." This passage leads many to conclude that if someone is sick, they must have committed more sins than others have. This is not true and often places an added burden on those who are battling illness.
We don't have to wonder why Jesus said what He said. He explained why He said what He said. He forgave the sins of the man "so that you may know that the Son of Man has Authority on earth to forgive sins." Jesus was using the teachable moment to let the people know that not only did He have the Authority to heal, He also had the Authority to forgive sins.
Can Sin and Sickness Ever Be Related?
In some cases, there is sin at the root of illness. Often God wants to work with us to correct the underlying cause of the illness, before we can be healed completely. God always heals from the inside out. He starts with the root cause. If a person is committing a sin that is contributing to the breakdown of the physical body, the place to start the healing process is dealing with the sin.
Is It Ever Too Late for Jesus to Heal?
One would think that if a person has, in fact, died, it would be too late for earthly healing to occur. However, the story of Lazarus disputes this. Lazarus had been dead for days when Jesus raised him back to life!
Matthew 9 tells of a ruler, whose daughter had just died. Again, the ruler made a statement of faith. "Come and put Your Hand on her and she will live."
The scenario should start looking familiar now.
- Realistically state the situation, as you understand it.
- Know and state boldly what Jesus has the Authority to do.
- Know and state boldly what you believe will happen as a result of Jesus using His Authority to heal.
- Profess your faith to Jesus.
- Praise God that He will agree with you!
Hey, I was Here First! He Cut Line!
Jesus got up and went with the ruler. We have several times seen this dynamic. Jesus was very busy and yet, when people came to Him, He was willing to drop everything and go to them. Never hang back and think you have to get in line. Step boldly forward and let Jesus handle the line. He supernaturally knows the right order of things. He knows when to move immediately and when to let someone stay in line for awhile. Be bold and then submit to His Timetable.
Freed from Suffering!
Both Matthew and Mark tell us about the woman who had suffered abnormal bleeding for 12 years. Mark tells us that she had suffered many things from many doctors. She was desperate for healing. Then she heard of Jesus. We don't know how long it took for her to settle the thought in her mind, but at some point, she knew that if she could just touch the hem of His Garment, she would be healed.
She was so positive that she was moved to act in a bold manner. Her bleeding made her as unclean as the leper in the eyes of other people. Yet she came, keeping her eyes on Jesus. And He rewarded her faith. He healed her! But He wasn't done.
Jesus told her to "go in peace and be freed from her suffering." Often the greatest challenge to one who has been healed is the battle with fear that the illness will return. Many people, who have been held captive by an illness, do not get very far away from their original captor. The illness is on their mind all the time, as they worry that they may have to return to its prison.
They hear the statistics of recurrence of the illness. They monitor their body, being constantly alert for the slightest change that might signal that the illness is back. They dread follow up appointments for months ahead of time. How do I know? Sad to say, but I've been there.
Satan messes with our head. "It was just an accident that you were healed, but it has been discovered and God will take back your healing soon." OR "God thought you would be good if He healed you and look at how many times you have sinned since you were healed. You know you don't deserve His Healing."
Jesus wanted the woman to be completely free of suffering and to live in peace, confident that God's Gift would not be retracted. God tells us that God's Gifts will never be taken back. (Romans 11:29)
Is It Possible to Receive A Gift and Still Not Have It?
Yes it is. God gave the promised land to His People, but they had to possess it. God gives us gifts, but we have to receive them. Then we must keep them with gratitude, knowing that God wanted us to have those Gifts. We must be confident of His Promise not to take those Gifts back. And we must be sure that no one else convinces us to drop them or give them away.
Our Mobile Home ... The Temple God Built Himself!
And so we come to the end of this series on the Body. God created us as marvelous Temples in which He planned to live. He created our bodies as living examples of how He wanted the Body of Christ to function. He trusted us to be gatekeepers and caretakers of the wonderful bodies He created for us. He filled our bodies with marvelous, radiating Light, more than enough for us. He is depending upon us to share that Light to show the world His Glory!
What Is It Like to Be The Temple Where God Lives?
Hear it straight from David, as he expressed it in Psalm 139:1-18. See Part Two to follow.
|
