Natural Healing
When God created the world and all that there is in it, He put some natural laws of healing or auto-self-correcting features into the world, that would allow us to return to a state of normality. There are systems in place that specifically enable us to heal when we are afflicted or hurt. Often we do not have to do anything at all – it just happens because that is the way that God designed us. Of course none of this precludes us from doing our part in getting rest, eating right, not tempting God, etc, but the point is that we can heal through little or no participation by us.
God does not have to have any further part in our getting well. This is not what we will be talking about. Today we will address the diseases and injuries that no one, no matter what resources they have at their disposal can fix or heal – they will require God’s miraculous intervention otherwise the problem will remain.
1. Prayer
Put it in God’s hands first!
Bible is replete with examples of people putting their afflictions in God’s hands and Him answering those prayers
Isaiah 38:1 In those days Hezekiah was sick and near death. And Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz, went to him and said to him, “Thus says the LORD: ‘Set your house in order, for you shall die and not live.’ ”
Isaiah 38:2 Then Hezekiah turned his face toward the wall, and prayed to the LORD,
Isaiah 38:3 and said, “Remember now, O LORD, I pray, how I have walked before You in truth and with a loyal heart, and have done what is good in Your sight.” And Hezekiah wept bitterly.
Isaiah 38:4 And the word of the LORD came to Isaiah, saying,
Isaiah 38:5 “Go and tell Hezekiah, ‘Thus says the LORD, the God of David your father: “I have heard your prayer, I have seen your tears; surely I will add to your days fifteen years.
James 5:13 Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing psalms.
James 5:14 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.
anointing… aleiphō: to oil
2. Anointing
The ministry pray over you and place a symbol of the holy spirit on your head – it is emblematic of the power of God that is used to heal.
Mark 6:7 And He called the twelve to Himself, and began to send them out two by two, and gave them power over unclean spirits.
Mark 6:12 So they went out and preached that people should repent.
Mark 6:13 And they cast out many demons, and anointed with oil many who were sick, and healed them.
Anointed Cloth
Also, if the elder is unable to lay hands upon you (typically for reasons of distance) he can still send an anointed cloth.
Acts 19:11 Now God worked unusual miracles by the hands of Paul,
Acts 19:12 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.
3. Faith
Ask in faith
James 5:15 And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up….
Faith is necessary and should be constant
Mark 9:23 Jesus said to him, “If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes.”
Believe comes from the Greek word for faith. Faith – noun; believing – verb because we do not say “faithing” in English. Believing is the action of faith. So when you see the word believe, see faith as well
By Faith We Can Be Healed
Mark 10:46 Now they came to Jericho. As He went out of Jericho with His disciples and a great multitude, blind Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, sat by the road begging.
Mark 10:47 And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”
Mark 10:48 Then many warned him to be quiet; but he cried out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”
Mark 10:49 So Jesus stood still and commanded him to be called. Then they called the blind man, saying to him, “Be of good cheer. Rise, He is calling you.”
Mark 10:50 And throwing aside his garment, he rose and came to Jesus.
Mark 10:51 So Jesus answered and said to him, “What do you want Me to do for you?” The blind man said to Him, “Rabboni, that I may receive my sight.”
Mark 10:52 Then Jesus said to him, “Go your way; your faith has made you well.” And immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus on the road.
Is it Always Because of a Lack of Faith that We are not Healed?
Example of Paul (2 Corinthians 5:10)
By faith…
Faith Chapter: Hebrews 11:34 quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, became valiant in battle, turned to flight the armies of the aliens.
Is it Ever Because of a Lack of Faith?
Matthew 9:27 When Jesus departed from there, two blind men followed Him, crying out and saying, “Son of David, have mercy on us!”
Matthew 9:28 And when He had come into the house, the blind men came to Him. And Jesus said to them, “Do you believe that I am able to do this?” They said to Him, “Yes, Lord.”
What do you think would have happened had he said, “I guess so”? Instead, he said yes that he believed and:
Matthew 9:29 Then He touched their eyes, saying, “According to your faith let it be to you.”
Matthew 9:30 And their eyes were opened. And Jesus sternly warned them, saying, “See that no one knows it.”
Matthew 9:31 But when they had departed, they spread the news about Him in all that country.
Matthew 13:57 So they were offended at Him. But Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his own country and in his own house.”
Matthew 13:58 Now He did not do many mighty works there because of their unbelief.
There is a correlation between faith and works! And in this case, the amount of faith that we have can help or hinder our healing
Hebrews 4:2 For indeed the gospel was preached to us as well as to them; but the word which they heard did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in those who heard it.
*When?
James 5:15 And the prayer of faith will saveG4982 the sick, and the Lord will raiseG1453 him up….
Double meaning
1 Corinthians 15:1 Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received and in which you stand,
1 Corinthians 15:2 by which also you are savedG4982, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you—unless you believed in vain.
1 Corinthians 15:3 For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures,
1 Corinthians 15:4 and that He was buried, and that He roseG1453 again the third day according to the Scriptures,
In the end, God will heal, it is just a matter of when – sometimes that might not be in this life time.
4. Reconciliation with God
Repentance and Forgiveness
James 5:15 And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven.
Sin and sickness often go hand in hand. When sickness is because of sins then it necessary that we repent of that sin and ask for forgiveness so that we can be healed.
Matthew 9:2 Then behold, they brought to Him a paralytic lying on a bed. When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, “Son, be of good cheer; your sins are forgiven you.”
Matthew 9:3 And at once some of the scribes said within themselves, “This Man blasphemes!”
Matthew 9:4 But Jesus, knowing their thoughts, said, “Why do you think evil in your hearts?
Matthew 9:5 For which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Arise and walk’?
Matthew 9:6 But that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins”—then He said to the paralytic, “Arise, take up your bed, and go to your house.”
Matthew 9:7 And he arose and departed to his house.
We must remember:
-
Sicknesses are sometimes the result of sin
- Sicknesses are not always the result of sin
We covered this in the message: Is Our Sickness Always Due to Our Sins?
What we must also understand here at this juncture – based on what we already know and have seen in scripture is that forgiveness can happen without healing – in other words we must be healed to be forgiven. If we confess our sins to God and repent – God will forgive us at that time. Sometimes though we may have to live the consequences of our actions for much longer.
5. Reconciliation with One Another
James 5:16 Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much. [which is the way we started in :13]
Confess your trespasses to one another… trespasses here are the wrongful acts that we commit against another person. Confess = acknowledge, fully agree
Matthew 6:14 “For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.
Matthew 6:15 But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
So then it becomes necessary for us to reconcile once again, this time with our fellow man, neighbor, brother or whatever all inclusive term that the Bible might use.
Intercessory Prayer
Praying for one another…
1 John 5:14 Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.
1 John 5:15 And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him.
1 John 5:16 If anyone sees his brother sinning a sin which does not lead to death, he will ask, and He will give him life for those who commit sin not leading to death. There is sin leading to death. I do not say that he should pray about that.
John practiced this:
3 John 1:2 Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers.
Job 42:7 And so it was, after the LORD had spoken these words to Job, that the LORD said to Eliphaz the Temanite, “My wrath is aroused against you and your two friends, for you have not spoken of Me what is right, as My servant Job has.
Job 42:8 Now therefore, take for yourselves seven bulls and seven rams, go to My servant Job, and offer up for yourselves a burnt offering; and My servant Job shall pray for you. For I will accept him, lest I deal with you according to your folly; because you have not spoken of Me what is right, as My servant Job has.“
Job 32:2 Then the wrath of Elihu, the son of Barachel the Buzite, of the family of Ram, was aroused against Job; his wrath was aroused because he justified himself rather than God.
Job 32:3 Also against his three friends his wrath was aroused, because they had found no answer, and yet had condemned Job.
Job 32:5 When Elihu saw that there was no answer in the mouth of these three men, his wrath was aroused.
This is to be tied in as an aside with the judgment that too often comes with this subject: people assume that you have become sick because of a sin or that you remain sick because you have not repented. There is a judgment that comes upon us if we assume incorrectly either way. We must be very careful with our thoughts and conclusions in matters like this – and be more concerned with analyzing and evaluating ourselves.
6. Fasting and Humility
Fasting
Isaiah 58:1 “Cry aloud, spare not; Lift up your voice like a trumpet; Tell My people their transgression, And the house of Jacob their sins.
Isaiah 58:2 Yet they seek Me daily, And delight to know My ways, As a nation that did righteousness, And did not forsake the ordinance of their God. They ask of Me the ordinances of justice; They take delight in approaching God.
Isaiah 58:3 ‘Why have we fasted,’ they say, ‘and You have not seen? Why have we afflicted our souls, and You take no notice?’ “In fact, in the day of your fast you find pleasure, And exploit all your laborers.
Isaiah 58:4 Indeed you fast for strife and debate, And to strike with the fist of wickedness. You will not fast as you do this day, To make your voice heard on high.
Isaiah 58:5 Is it a fast that I have chosen, A day for a man to afflict his soul? Is it to bow down his head like a bulrush, And to spread out sackcloth and ashes? Would you call this a fast, And an acceptable day to the LORD?
Isaiah 58:6 “Is this not the fast that I have chosen: To loose the bonds of wickedness, To undo the heavy burdens, To let the oppressed go free, And that you break every yoke?
Isaiah 58:7 Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, And that you bring to your house the poor who are cast out; When you see the naked, that you cover him, And not hide yourself from your own flesh?
Isaiah 58:8 Then your light shall break forth like the morning, Your healing shall spring forth speedily, And your righteousness shall go before you; The glory of the LORD shall be your rear guard.
Humility
Psalms 35:13 But as for me, when they were sick, My clothing was sackcloth; I humbled myself with fasting; And my prayer would return to my own heart.
Deuteronomy 8:3 So He humbled you, allowed you to hunger, and fed you with manna which you did not know nor did your fathers know, that He might make you know that man shall not live by bread alone; but man lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the LORD.
Fasting is a time when we personally afflict our souls. Sickness is a time when our souls are afflicted from external sources. The word for affliction in the Old Testament has the same root for afflict and humble.
1 Peter 5:6 Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time,
1 Peter 5:7 casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.
7. In Jesus’ Name
John 14:13 And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.
John 14:14 If you ask anything in My name, I will do it.
Mark 16:17 And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues;
Mark 16:18 they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.”
These are the verses just following the ones for the anointed cloth, which by the way should only be done by true ministers of God as we will see here:
This is not an incantation that we can just utter and it will happen!
Acts 19:13 Then some of the itinerant Jewish exorcists took it upon themselves to call the name of the Lord Jesus over those who had evil spirits, saying, “We exorcise you by the Jesus whom Paul preaches.”
Acts 19:14 Also there were seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, who did so.
Acts 19:15 And the evil spirit answered and said, “Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are you?”
Acts 19:16 Then the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them, overpowered them, and prevailed against them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded.
Acts 19:17 This became known both to all Jews and Greeks dwelling in Ephesus; and fear fell on them all, and the name of the Lord Jesus was magnified.
In other words we go through Christ to get to God. He is our intercessor, mediator and expedites our access to the Father.
1 Peter 2:24 who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness—by whose stripes you were healed.
So this on is not just thrown in at the end, but it is foundational and necessary to make all of this possible.
CONCLUSION
Brethren this is not some magical formula that if we do it God HAS to heal us, no, we must be sincere in our approach and prayers as we pray faithfully knowing God can and will heal us in due time. As we call upon a minister for anoint and the church for their supplications, we must be right before God and our fellow man as we humbly beseech God’s will for healing in Jesus’ name.