Lesson #1
Luke 5:17-26 (King James Version)
17And it came to pass on a certain day, as he was teaching, that there were Pharisees and doctors of the law sitting by, which were come out of every town of Galilee, and Judaea, and Jerusalem: and the power of the Lord was present to heal them.
18And, behold, men brought in a bed a man which was taken with a palsy: and they sought means to bring him in, and to lay him before him.
19And when they could not find by what way they might bring him in because of the multitude, they went upon the housetop, and let him down through the tiling with his couch into the midst before Jesus.
20And when he saw their faith, he said unto him, Man, thy sins are forgiven thee.
21And the scribes and the Pharisees began to reason, saying, Who is this which speaketh blasphemies? Who can forgive sins, but God alone?
22But when Jesus perceived their thoughts, he answering said unto them, What reason ye in your hearts?
23Whether is easier, to say, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Rise up and walk?
24But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power upon earth to forgive sins, (he said unto the sick of the palsy,) I say unto thee, Arise, and take up thy couch, and go into thine house.
25And immediately he rose up before them, and took up that whereon he lay, and departed to his own house, glorifying God.
26And they were all amazed, and they glorified God, and were filled with fear, saying, We have seen strange things to day.
What were the two things that worked together for the healing of this man to take place?
You may also want to read Mark 5:25-34 as the same two things were at work in this account of healing.
SELAH
17And it came to pass on a certain day, as he was teaching, that there were Pharisees and doctors of the law sitting by, which were come out of every town of Galilee, and Judaea, and Jerusalem: and the power of the Lord was present to heal them.
18And, behold, men brought in a bed a man which was taken with a palsy: and they sought means to bring him in, and to lay him before him.
19And when they could not find by what way they might bring him in because of the multitude, they went upon the housetop, and let him down through the tiling with his couch into the midst before Jesus.
20And when he saw their faith, he said unto him, Man, thy sins are forgiven thee.
21And the scribes and the Pharisees began to reason, saying, Who is this which speaketh blasphemies? Who can forgive sins, but God alone?
22But when Jesus perceived their thoughts, he answering said unto them, What reason ye in your hearts?
23Whether is easier, to say, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Rise up and walk?
24But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power upon earth to forgive sins, (he said unto the sick of the palsy,) I say unto thee, Arise, and take up thy couch, and go into thine house.
25And immediately he rose up before them, and took up that whereon he lay, and departed to his own house, glorifying God.
26And they were all amazed, and they glorified God, and were filled with fear, saying, We have seen strange things to day.
The answers I was looking for in yesterdays question are Faith and the Power of God, specifically the power of God to heal. If you read the passage in Mark 5 you found the "faith" of the lady and "virtue" or power flowing from Jesus. It takes both of these in order for healing to take place in our bodies.
Probably most of the messages we've heard from this story revolve around faith and the determination of the paralytic man and his friends, but in the next letters lets look at the healing power of God.
Please read again
Mark 5:22-34 (King James Version)
23And besought him greatly, saying, My little daughter lieth at the point of death: I pray thee, come and lay thy hands on her, that she may be healed; and she shall live.
24And Jesus went with him; and much people followed him, and thronged him.
25And a certain woman, which had an issue of blood twelve years,
26And had suffered many things of many physicians, and had spent all that she had, and was nothing bettered, but rather grew worse,
27When she had heard of Jesus, came in the press behind, and touched his garment.
28For she said, If I may touch but his clothes, I shall be whole.
29And straightway the fountain of her blood was dried up; and she felt in her body that she was healed of that plague.
30And Jesus, immediately knowing in himself that virtue had gone out of him, turned him about in the press, and said, Who touched my clothes?
31And his disciples said unto him, Thou seest the multitude thronging thee, and sayest thou, Who touched me?
32And he looked round about to see her that had done this thing.
33But the woman fearing and trembling, knowing what was done in her, came and fell down before him, and told him all the truth.
34And he said unto her, Daughter, thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace, and be whole of thy plague.
SELAH
LESSON #3
Isaiah 10:27 (King James Version)
27And it shall come to pass in that day, that his burden shall be taken away from off thy shoulder, and his yoke from off thy neck, and the yoke shall be destroyed because of the anointing.
To help us understand this verse lets define the words ‘yoke’ and ‘anointing’.
What is the yoke being spoken of here?
The Bible uses this work in 3 different ways.
1. There are places where it speaks about a literal yoke, the piece of wood binding oxen or cattle together. You may recall the story of Elisha's call when he used the yoke for firewood to offer the oxen as a sacrifice. I don’t think God is talking about destroying farm equipment. J
2. Jesus spoke about taking his yoke upon ourselves, He said his yoke was easy and his burden light. In Jewish culture when you chose to be a disciple of a certain Rabbi and you listened to and applied his teaching it was said that you had taken his ‘yoke’ upon yourself. Jesus wouldn’t tell us take upon ourselves something that then the power / anointing of God then would have to destroy.
3. The final way the word is used is to describe oppression, burdens and afflictions. Acts 10:38 say’s that Jesus was anointed with the Holy Ghost and power. It says he went about doing good, healing all who were oppressed of the devil. The word oppressed means to ‘exercise hard control over’, that is certainly what sickness and disease does in people’s lives. It dictates what one does, where one goes and wastes their money and time.
I want you notice something. Isaiah does not say, “the yoke might be destroyed”, it say’s “the yoke shall be destroyed because of the anointing. There is no sickness or disease that the anointing can’t handle. Notice also the Bible tells us that Jesus healed all who were oppressed. There is not instance where Jesus turned someone away saying sorry I can’t help you, that’s to hard for me. Actually he never turned anyone away that came to him for any reason. The only thing that slowed him down was the unbelief he encountered in some.
Praise God there is hope, there is an answer, healing is available to all. If you are facing sickness or disease won’t you determine right now to do whatever it takes to connect with this burden removing, yoke destroying power of God.
Say it: There is healing for me, there is power from God to destroy this yoke from off my life and I will learn about the anointing, how to obtain it and I will cooperate with it. In Jesus Name!
SELAH
Lesson # 4
Isaiah 10:27 (King James Version)
27And it shall come to pass in that day, that his burden shall be taken away from off thy shoulder, and his yoke from off thy neck, and the yoke shall be destroyed because of the anointing.
We have defined “yoke” as being something that is a burden, something that oppresses or exercises hard control over someone. Certainly we can all agree that sickness and disease fit this definition.
Now lets turn our attention the “anointing” that destroys the yoke and lifts the burden.
Just to make this clear, the anointing is capable of destroying and lifting any yoke or burden but we are focusing on the anointing to heal. For example there is an anointing to teach, that anointing has the ability to set us free from the yoke of false teaching and lack of knowledge. Again for this study we are looking at the anointing as it pertains to healing.
Let’s look at some examples of Jesus healing people and see the picture of the anointing destroying the yoke of sickness and disease.
We’ve read in Luke 5 and in Mark 5 and seen “the power of the Lord” that was present to heal and the “virtue” or power that flowed out from Jesus to the lady.
Now look at
Luke 6:17-19 (King James Version)
17And he came down with them, and stood in the plain, and the company of his disciples, and a great multitude of people out of all Judaea and Jerusalem, and from the sea coast of Tyre and Sidon, which came to hear him, and to be healed of their diseases;
18And they that were vexed with unclean spirits: and they were healed.
19And the whole multitude sought to touch him: for there went virtue out of him, and healed them all.
Here again we see the word “virtue” which can also be translated power. This virtue, this power that flowed from Jesus must have been the power to heal because that’s what happened to the multitude.
Virtue, the power of the Lord destroyed the yoke and lifted the burden just as Isaiah said the anointing would do. Therefore we can conclude that these terms, virtue, power to heal and anointing are synonymous, and can all refer to the healing power of God. Again we are only speaking in terms of the anointing as it relates to healing. Remember that when the anointing or the power of God is at work it will always produce freedom.
Say it; Lord thank you for teaching me about the rules that govern the anointing, how to obtain it and how to cooperate with it. Thank you for providing me with all I need to be free from sickness and disease. Thank you Father in Jesus Name.
SELAH
Lesson #5
God has provided healing and health for us through the suffering, death, burial and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. The redemption Jesus purchased for us includes victory over sin and sickness. The healing power of God has been made available for all. Praise God for evermore!
Let me make a comparison. Electricity and its power have been available to mankind for thousands of years and yet until the likes of Edison and Franklin the power wasn’t usable. I am sure Abraham, Elijah, Paul and Peter could have used and enjoyed the benefits of electricity but they didn’t know the rules that governed its use.
Likewise even though the power of God to heal has been available to us since the Resurrection of Jesus, many have not understood the rules that govern this power.
In order to discover these rules we must go to the Word of God, which is the only source of pure Truth. We can see these rules as we look at the ministry of Jesus and pay attention to His words and actions.
Some say that we lack power today and that’s why we don’t see more miracles. However God has not and will not change. The power of God has not grown weaker. There hasn’t been a “brown out” in heaven. God is just as powerful as He ever was. There isn’t a power shortage but rather a lack of knowledge and or understanding in regards to the healing power of God. There is just as much power to “save” people today as ever but if people are unaware of the salvation available they can’t take advantage of it. Therefore we preach and teach the Gospel encouraging everyone to receive eternal life. The Gospel concerning healing is no different, it must be declared and taught so people can obtain and cooperate with it.
Say it, Gods healing power is available to me because of what Jesus has done. Thank you Lord.
SELAH
LESSON #6
The first rule to understand;
The anointing or healing power of God may be present but the does not guarantee you will be healed.
Luke 5:17-26 (King James Version)
17And it came to pass on a certain day, as he was teaching, that there were Pharisees and doctors of the law sitting by, which were come out of every town of Galilee, and Judaea, and Jerusalem: and the power of the Lord was present to heal them.
18And, behold, men brought in a bed a man which was taken with a palsy: and they sought means to bring him in, and to lay him before him.
19And when they could not find by what way they might bring him in because of the multitude, they went upon the housetop, and let him down through the tiling with his couch into the midst before Jesus.
20And when he saw their faith, he said unto him, Man, thy sins are forgiven thee.
21And the scribes and the Pharisees began to reason, saying, Who is this which speaketh blasphemies? Who can forgive sins, but God alone?
22But when Jesus perceived their thoughts, he answering said unto them, What reason ye in your hearts?
23Whether is easier, to say, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Rise up and walk?
24But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power upon earth to forgive sins, (he said unto the sick of the palsy,) I say unto thee, Arise, and take up thy couch, and go into thine house.
25And immediately he rose up before them, and took up that whereon he lay, and departed to his own house, glorifying God.
26And they were all amazed, and they glorified God, and were filled with fear, saying, We have seen strange things to day.
Notice in verse 17 that the power was there to heal them, that is the multitude. The power was there to heal all of them. Another thing to notice is that the power was there to heal them before the man and his four friends showed up. Luke only tells of the one man being healed which leads to the conclusion that the power of God can be present but that is not an automatic guarantee you will be healed.
Lets look at our other text in Mark.
Mark 5:22-34 (King James Version)
22And, behold, there cometh one of the rulers of the synagogue, Jairus by name; and when he saw him, he fell at his feet,
23And besought him greatly, saying, My little daughter lieth at the point of death: I pray thee, come and lay thy hands on her, that she may be healed; and she shall live.
24And Jesus went with him; and much people followed him, and thronged him.
25And a certain woman, which had an issue of blood twelve years,
26And had suffered many things of many physicians, and had spent all that she had, and was nothing bettered, but rather grew worse,
27When she had heard of Jesus, came in the press behind, and touched his garment.
28For she said, If I may touch but his clothes, I shall be whole.
29And straightway the fountain of her blood was dried up; and she felt in her body that she was healed of that plague.
30And Jesus, immediately knowing in himself that virtue had gone out of him, turned him about in the press, and said, Who touched my clothes?
31And his disciples said unto him, Thou seest the multitude thronging thee, and sayest thou, Who touched me?
32And he looked round about to see her that had done this thing.
33But the woman fearing and trembling, knowing what was done in her, came and fell down before him, and told him all the truth.
34And he said unto her, Daughter, thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace, and be whole of thy plague.
Notice the adjectives used to describe the crowd around Jesus. When we look through the Gospels we see other multitudes of people that came to him. They came to be, multitudes came to be healed which leads us to believe that in this crowd there must have been others that were sick. But like in Luke 5 only one was healed.
Was the power of God there to heal? Yes because when the lady touched him Jesus new immediately that virtue or power or anointing had gone out from him. It must have been power to heal because the lady was made whole.
This again points out that God’s power to heal can be present yet that does not guarantee you will be healed.
For a third witness look at Mark 6:1-6 (King James Version)
Mark 6
1And he went out from thence, and came into his own country; and his disciples follow him.
2And when the sabbath day was come, he began to teach in the synagogue: and many hearing him were astonished, saying, From whence hath this man these things? and what wisdom is this which is given unto him, that even such mighty works are wrought by his hands?
3Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, the brother of James, and Joses, and of Juda, and Simon? and are not his sisters here with us? And they were offended at him.
4But Jesus, said unto them, A prophet is not without honour, but in his own country, and among his own kin, and in his own house.
5And he could there do no mighty work, save that he laid his hands upon a few sick folk, and healed them.
6And he marvelled because of their unbelief. And he went round about the villages, teaching.
Look at verse 5 and notice it does not say that he, wouldn’t do any mighty works, it says he couldn’t.
In verse 6 it does not say he marveled at his lack of power, rather he marveled at their unbelief. It seems apparent that the power of God to heal was present even though it isn’t mentioned specifically because of Jesus’ response. It appears the power of God was there to heal more than were healed.
So again we see that just because the power of God to heal is present it doesn’t mean that everyone will automatically be healed. There were others who needed healing, which points out that just because one “needs” healing doesn’t mean it is forth coming. Need does not cause the healing power of God to manifest and heal you. From these accounts we see that we must connect our faith to God’s power.
So we understand that just because the power of God to heal is present that doesn’t mean we will automatically receive healing.
SELAH
Lesson #7
The healing power of God can be present and yet you be totally unaware of it with your senses.
This is the second rule to consider in cooperating with the power of God.
Luke 5:17-26 (King James Version)
17And it came to pass on a certain day, as he was teaching, that there were Pharisees and doctors of the law sitting by, which were come out of every town of Galilee, and Judaea, and Jerusalem: and the power of the Lord was present to heal them.
18And, behold, men brought in a bed a man which was taken with a palsy: and they sought means to bring him in, and to lay him before him.
19And when they could not find by what way they might bring him in because of the multitude, they went upon the housetop, and let him down through the tiling with his couch into the midst before Jesus.
20And when he saw their faith, he said unto him, Man, thy sins are forgiven thee.
21And the scribes and the Pharisees began to reason, saying, Who is this which speaketh blasphemies? Who can forgive sins, but God alone?
22But when Jesus perceived their thoughts, he answering said unto them, What reason ye in your hearts?
23Whether is easier, to say, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Rise up and walk?
24But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power upon earth to forgive sins, (he said unto the sick of the palsy,) I say unto thee, Arise, and take up thy couch, and go into thine house.
25And immediately he rose up before them, and took up that whereon he lay, and departed to his own house, glorifying God.
26And they were all amazed, and they glorified God, and were filled with fear, saying, We have seen strange things to day.
Notice: (1) that the power of the Lord was present to heal before the men and their friend came on the scene. (2) Apparently no one was aware of the power that was present to heal them until the man was healed.
Perhaps you’ve been in a meeting where a minister has given the opportunity to come for ministry and 2 or 3 brave souls respond. He ministers to the first and the person “falls under the power”, the second person responds in a similar way and by the time he has prayed for the third person the isles are full of people desiring ministry. Why is that? Mostly because people are waiting to “see” if the minister has “the power” and once they see or feel something happen, then they determine the power of God is present. But the power of God was present all the time.
If someone preaches the Gospel is the power of God present to save? What if no one responds to the altar call, does that mean that the power to save wasn’t there? No, The power to save is there because of Word that has been preached or taught. God will always be there to confirm His Word and keep his promises when they are acted upon in faith.
On a mission trip to Guatemala the Lord taught me an important lesson. I was ministering to the sick with a missionary who was speaking to the people about their relationship with Jesus and what they needed prayer for. While she spoke them in Spanish I stood by praying and waiting for the time to lay hands on the in Jesus Name. We had ministered to several people and in each case I felt a tangible anointing, a tingling sensation as I prayed for the sick ones. Praise God, He was healing everyone the moment I touched them, the Power of the Lord was definitely present to heal. There came a particular woman and as we prayed for her nothing happened. My ministry partner talked with and found out there was holding a grudge against some people who ad made fun of her, so she had to forgive them … which she did. While this counseling was happening I continued to pray but I noticed that the “tangible feeling” was gone. I ask the Lord what was going on. He responded to me by saying, “ I told you in my
Word to lay hands on the sick and they would recover, I didn’t say anything about feeling anything when you pray.” I said, Yes Sir laid my hands on the lady and she was instantly healed. The anointing, the power of God can be present and yet we may not feel anything.
We cannot allow our senses to determine whether or not Gods power is available. We are to walk by faith, not by sight or by what we can perceive with our senses. Faith in God is based solely upon His Word. Feelings and emotions can change but the Word of God never changes. In fact Ps 119:89 tells us Gods Word is settled forever in heaven. Our senses may be unreliable but our God and what He says can certainly be relied upon.
Proverbs 22:20-21 (King James Version)
20Have not I written to thee excellent things in counsels and knowledge,
21That I might make thee know the certainty of the words of truth; that thou mightest answer the words of truth to them that send unto thee?
SELAH
LESSON #8
Mark 6:1-6 (King James Version)
Mark 6
1And he went out from thence, and came into his own country; and his disciples follow him.
2And when the sabbath day was come, he began to teach in the synagogue: and many hearing him were astonished, saying, From whence hath this man these things? and what wisdom is this which is given unto him, that even such mighty works are wrought by his hands?
3Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, the brother of James, and Joses, and of Juda, and Simon? and are not his sisters here with us? And they were offended at him.
4But Jesus, said unto them, A prophet is not without honour, but in his own country, and among his own kin, and in his own house.
5And he could there do no mighty work, save that he laid his hands upon a few sick folk, and healed them.
6And he marvelled because of their unbelief. And he went round about the villages, teaching.
Please read Luke 4: 17-30.
The third rule to understand in regard to cooperating with the healing power of God is this.
You must believe that the power of God is present right now to work in you.
In Mark chapter 6 it is clear that the power was there to do much more than Jesus was able to do. The reason given for the lack of results wasn’t a lack of power but of faith. Jesus didn’t marvel at His lack of power, but at their unbelief. In Luke 4 we see the same kind of response from the people. They did not believe that he had any power to do anything. In fact their unbelief was at such a level that they wanted to kill him. They didn’t want to hear any of that “faith stuff” or “healing and deliverance” message. They became angry with him and in the end mocked him even as he said they would.
Look back at our texts in Luke 5 and in Mark 5. The four who bore the sick man to Jesus and the lady with issue of blood believed there was power to heal available. Their believing moved them to action so as to obtain that power. If they hadn’t believed the power was there they wouldn’t have gone through what they did to get to Jesus.
In Matt 8:5-10 we see the centurion who believed Jesus had the power to heal his servant and his belief moved him to Jesus.
Look at Matt 8: 16-17, Luke 5:15 and Matt 4:24. In these scriptures we can see the belief, the faith that people had in the power being present to heal them.
Heb 11:6 tells us, … “ he that cometh to God must believe that he is and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him”.
The word rewarder could be translated as reward, so not only is he the one who gives the reward but he himself (all he is) is the reward. In other words when we find God and connect to him we also connect to his power.
You may not have seen or felt his power, but if he is present so is his power. Remember the “Greater One” dwells in you, as a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ you are the temple (the dwelling place) of the Holy Ghost. His healing power is available to all and that includes YOU!
Say this out loud; I am the temple of the Holy Ghost, the Greater One dwells in me and His power is available to me. He is here right now and so is His power to save, heal and deliver me. Thank You Lord!
SELAH
LESSON #9
The next principle to understand in obtaining the Healing Power of God is two-fold.
There are two ways that the Power of the Lord to Heal is made present.
1.) The Word of God is the primary way the power is made present to us.
2.) The manifestations of gifts of the Holy Spirit also make the power of God available.
Whenever the Gospel is declared the power of God is there to make good the promises. Power always accompanies the Word. When someone preaches about the salvation available through Jesus the power is there to save.
Rom 10:9 says, “That is you shall confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus, and shall believe in your heart that God has raised from the dead you shall be saved”.
There was a time when you hadn’t heard that message, but when it was preached to you the power to save became available to you. It was your obedience to the Word of God that activated the saving power of God in your life. Our obedience releases the power within the Word.
Rom. 6:17-18 says, “but God be thanked, that ye were servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine (the Gospel) which was delivered you. Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness.” It is our obedience to the Word that sets us free from sin. The power to be free is in the Word it is activated in our lives when we do it.
Remember the story of Peter walking on the water? The power for him to walk on water was not available to him until Jesus said, “come”, but as soon as the word was spoken, that power was there. When Peter obeyed the command, power was released and a miracle happened.
Power always accompanies the Word and our obedience releases that power.
The Bible compares the Word to seed. This comparison is made several times. The most familiar is probably Mark chapter 4 and Luke chapter 8, the parable of the “Sower and the Seed”. In Lk. 8:11 Jesus said, “now the parable is this: the seed is the Word of God.” We know that in the natural the seed we plant has within it everything needed to reproduce itself. If it’s an apple seed there is within that single seed the power to make an apple tree and more apples, once it is planted. We know also that unless it is planted the power for growth and fruit will not be released. The method to release the power in a natural seed is planting and watering, the method for releasing the power in the Word is obedience. It is acting on the Word, or being a doer of the Word as James tells that releases the power in the Word and brings blessing. No planting and watering no apples, no obedience no results from the Word.
Heb. 4:12, “For the Word of God is quick and powerful…” Another translation is “ For the Word of God is full of live and power”, another, “ what God says to us is full of living power.”
Gods Word contains Gods power.
Happy healthy and well-adjusted lives, homes, relationships and bodies are a result of obedience to Word of God. It is as we listen to and obey the truth that we are made free.
If your Pastor or a minister is preaching or teaching the Word of God concerning healing then power to heal is present just as it was in our text in Luke 5:17. Jesus was teaching and the power was present to heal.
Power always accompanies the Word. It’s not dependant upon the type of service, or who is in the crowd, or who the minister is the power being present is dependant upon the Word (the message) that is being preached.
So, the power is present when the Word of God is declared. This is where our previous lesson applies, do we believe the power is present when the Word is ministered or are we still waiting for a feeling of some kind, or our favorite minister to come to town? Selah.
One more thought before we move to the second way power is made available. If you will look back at our text in Luke 5 and some of the other passages of scripture we considered you would notice something.
The power of the Lord to heal being present was not effected by unbelief or opposition. It was the release of the power that was hindered or stopped by the unbelief.
The sinner does not have to exercise any faith to make the power to save available, but he does have to exercise faith to receive salvation. You and I do not have to exercise faith to bring the power to heal on the scene we simply have to begin to meditate (listen to, think upon and speak) the Word of God concerning healing and give thanks for the healing power at work in us. (Read Pro. 4:20-22)
We can listen to the Word or read the Word concerning the healing power of God and immediately the power of the Lord to heal is made available to us. The power of God ALWAYS accompanies the Word of God.
SELAH
LESSON # 10
In this lesson we will look at the second way the healing power of God can be made available. As we look at the scripture we will see that there is a way healing power can be made available even though the Word has not been taught or preached.
This second way is through the manifestations of the Gifts of the Holy Spirit as listed in the 1Cor 12:7-11.
1 Corinthians 12:7-11 (King James Version)
7But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal.
8For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit;
9To another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit;
10To another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to another divers kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues:
11But all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will.
Here we have a list of the nine gifts or manifestations of the Holy Spirit. These gifts manifest as the Holy Spirit works through men as the Holy Spirit wills. Any time there is a manifestation of one or more of these gifts the power to perform that gift accompanies the manifestation.There are two ways of ministering to the sick in the ministry of Jesus. (1) Through the teaching and preaching of the Word; and (2) through Him allowing the Holy Spirit to use Him as the Holy Spirit willed.
Remember these gifts manifest as the Holy Spirit wills, not as we will.
Lets look at a perfect example of Jesus flowing with the Holy Spirit to minister healing to someone.John 5:1-13 (King James Version)
1After this there was a feast of the Jews; and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.
2Now there is at Jerusalem by the sheep market a pool, which is called in the Hebrew tongue Bethesda, having five porches.
3In these lay a great multitude of impotent folk, of blind, halt, withered, waiting for the moving of the water.
4For an angel went down at a certain season into the pool, and troubled the water: whosoever then first after the troubling of the water stepped in was made whole of whatsoever disease he had.
5And a certain man was there, which had an infirmity thirty and eight years.
6When Jesus saw him lie, and knew that he had been now a long time in that case, he saith unto him, Wilt thou be made whole?
7The impotent man answered him, Sir, I have no man, when the water is troubled, to put me into the pool: but while I am coming, another steppeth down before me.
8Jesus saith unto him, Rise, take up thy bed, and walk.
9And immediately the man was made whole, and took up his bed, and walked: and on the same day was the sabbath.
10The Jews therefore said unto him that was cured, It is the sabbath day: it is not lawful for thee to carry thy bed.
11He answered them, He that made me whole, the same said unto me, Take up thy bed, and walk.
12Then asked they him, What man is that which said unto thee, Take up thy bed, and walk?
13And he that was healed wist not who it was: for Jesus had conveyed himself away, a multitude being in that place.
First of all notice that there was a crowd in the place (I’ve been there and it is conceivable that there were hundreds gathered here). Jesus would have worked his way through the crowd to get to the man, passing by many others who needed and wanted healing. Jesus asks the question, “Will you be made whole?” After the man answers him Jesus then says, “Rise take up your bed and walk”, and immediately the man is healed. Now a midst all the commotion created by this mans healing Jesus again makes his way through the crowd and disappears.When the man is questioned about who told him to violate the Sabbath law, he didn’t know even know who Jesus was or where he had gone. Contrast this to the lady with the issue of blood, who had heard of Jesus, sought him out and displayed expectation of healing. Jesus said to her “daughter thy faith hath made thee whole”. This man didn’t seem to display any faith or expectation at all.
What’s the difference? The lady in Mark 5 sought out Jesus and initiated the contact. Here Jesus is led by the Holy Spirit to find this particular man and flow with the Holy Spirit to minister to him as the Holy Spirit willed.As we compare these to stories we can conclude that there are times the Holy Spirit initiates the administration of the healing power through the nine gifts of the Spirit and times that we do. Isn’t it wonderful to know that even if the Holy Spirit isn’t moving in this particular way we can initiate obtaining the healing power of God through coming in contact with the Word and releasing its power through obedience.
Lets look at what we’ve learned so far.1. The anointing or healing power of God may be present but the does not guarantee you will be healed.
2. The healing power of God can be present and you could be totally unaware of it with your senses.
3. You must believe that the power of God is present right now to work in you.
4. There are two ways that the Power of the Lord to Heal is made present.
1.) The Word of God is the primary way the power is made present to us.
2.) The manifestations of gifts of the Holy Spirit also make the power of God available.
Just a reminder GOD HASN'T CHANGED AND HE NEVER WILL .... HE IS YOUR HEALER TODAY!
SELAH