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Take a Fresh Look at Jesus
As we desire to have more of Jesus and draw closer to Him we need
to become like Him. We must walk as He walked, talk as He talked and
do the same works as He did. Many people today ask the question:
"What would Jesus do?" And then they come up with all kinds of stuff
He never did. If you want to know what Jesus would do, go and look
in the Gospels to see what He did and then go and do the same. We
need to take a fresh look at the ministry and works of Jesus. We
must become passionate about Jesus. Our passion for Him must stir us
to do the same works He did.
"You know what has happened throughout
Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John preached--
how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power,
and how he went around doing good and healing all who were under
the power of the devil, because God was with him." (Act 10:37-38)
These words come from the mouth of Peter as he explains the
gospel to Cornelius. For three and a half years, Peter was a
firsthand witness of the ministry of Jesus and this is the
overwhelming impression that the ministry of Jesus left on him. When
Peter sums up the ministry of Jesus, he speaks of Jesus healing the
sick through the power and anointing of the Holy Spirit. In his
famous sermon on the day of Pentecost, Peter said,
"Men of Israel, listen to this: Jesus of
Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and
signs, which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know.
(Acts 2:22)
Healing the sick was the hallmark of Jesus' ministry. Wherever he
went, people brought the sick to him, and he healed them. The
Gospels show us that He did this throughout his earthly ministry:
"Jesus went throughout Galilee,
teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the
kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people."
(Matthew 4:23-25)
News about him spread all over Syria, and people brought to him
all who were ill with various diseases, those suffering severe pain,
the demon-possessed, those having seizures, and the paralyzed, and
he healed them. Large crowds from Galilee, the Decapolis, Jerusalem,
Judea and the region across the Jordan followed him.
When evening came, many who were
demon-possessed were brought to him, and he drove out the spirits
with a word and healed all the sick. This was to fulfill what was
spoken through the prophet Isaiah: "He took up our infirmities and
carried our diseases." (Matt. 8:16-17)
"Jesus went through all the towns and
villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of
the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness." (Matt. 9:35)
"The whole town gathered at the door,
and Jesus healed many who had various diseases. He also drove out
many demons," (Mark 1:33-34)
"And wherever he went--into villages,
towns or countryside--they placed the sick in the marketplaces.
They begged him to let them touch even the edge of his cloak, and
all who touched him were healed." (Mark 6:56)
"Yet the news about him spread all the
more, so that crowds of people came to hear him and to be healed
of their sicknesses." (Luke 5:15)
"...but the crowds learned about it and
followed him. He welcomed them and spoke to them about the kingdom
of God, and healed those who needed healing." (Luke 9:11)
Even after Jesus clears the temple, he heals the sick:
"Jesus entered the temple area and
drove out all who were buying and selling there. He overturned the
tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling
doves. 'It is written,' he said to them, "'My house will be called
a house of prayer,' but you are making it a 'den of robbers.'" The
blind and the lame came to him at the temple, and he healed them."
(Matt. 21:12-14)
After John the Baptist was put in prison, he sent some of his
disciples to Jesus to find out whether Jesus was really the Messiah.
The reason John did this was that Jesus' ministry differed so much
from his own. Even though the message that Jesus started to preach,
"Repent for the Kingdom of God is at hand,"
(Matt 3:2 and 4:17) was the same as that of John the Baptist,
what Jesus DID was different from John. Jesus sums up his own
ministry in his answer to John:
"Jesus replied, 'Go back and report to
John what you hear and see: The blind receive sight, the lame
walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead
are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor.'" (Matt
11:4-5)
Jesus himself said that the miracles were proof that He was from
the Father: "Believe me when I say that I am
in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the
evidence of the miracles themselves." (John 14:11)
Jesus Heals All
It is important to note that Jesus healed all. From Peter's
mother-in-law's fever, to the blind, to the demon possessed, no case
was too small, or too hard, or too undeserving for the Lord. He
refused no one who came to Him for healing. This should be the
departure point for the healing ministry today. We cannot base what
we believe and practice concerning healing, on our experience or any
other person's experience. We need to fix our eyes on Jesus. Many
people say, "My experience is that not everyone gets healed," and
are therefore hesitant to go after sickness. Many even knew a godly
person, who trusted the Lord for healing, and yet died. Such
situations are often used as an argument against healing. To restore
healing in the church, we need to look past these situations and
regain our confidence in dealing with the sick directly from the
ministry of Jesus. Jesus is the chief cornerstone, and without
confidence in His ministry, we find ourselves unable to act with
authority against sickness.
My own mother died of cancer at the age of 42. She had great
faith to the end that God would heal her. We contended with her - my
father took her to every healing meeting, she confessed the Word and
even a few weeks before she died, she still believed that she would
be healed. As I stand in the healing ministry today, I need to look
beyond the tragedy of her death and rather follow the example of her
faith. Her trust in God and faith in His Word was not at all in
vain. It inspires me to continue the fight against disease and
sickness, making the most of every opportunity to minister to the
sick. It was during the time of her sickness, that the Lord first
anointed me to minister in power.
YES, JESUS HEALED ALL!!!
Jesus Healed Everywhere He Went
Preaching and teaching the gospel without healing the sick is a
'modern invention'. Anyone who lived during the time of Jesus or the
early church would be completely surprised at such a notion. During
this time the only ones who taught the scriptures without healing,
were the scribes and Pharisees, but everywhere Jesus went, people
were healed. He was the Doctor with the sick streaming to His
meetings and leaving healed. Jesus was the 'health care system' of
the day. Healing either preceded of followed the teaching and
preaching of Jesus:
"… A large crowd of his disciples was
there and a great number of people from all over Judea, from
Jerusalem, and from the coast of Tyre and Sidon, who had come to
hear him and to be healed of their diseases. Those troubled by
evil spirits were cured, and the people all tried to touch him,
because power was coming from him and healing them all. Looking at
his disciples, he said: 'Blessed are you who are poor, for yours
is the kingdom of God.'" (Luke 6:17-20)
"Jesus went through all the towns and
villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of
the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness." (Matt 9:35)
Jesus Commanded All Those He Sent Out to Heal the Sick
Jesus sends out the Twelve with these instructions:
"These twelve Jesus sent out with the
following instructions: 'Do not go among the Gentiles or enter any
town of the Samaritans. Go rather to the lost sheep of Israel. As
you go, preach this message: "The kingdom of heaven is near." Heal
the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive
out demons. Freely you have received, freely give.'" (Matt.
10:5-8)
Similarly, the seventy-two is sent out:
"When you enter a town and are
welcomed, eat what is set before you. Heal the sick who are there
and tell them, 'The kingdom of God is near you.'" (Luke 10:8-9)
And, when after the resurrection, Jesus commands his disciples to
take the Gospel to the whole world, his instructions are consistent
with the above: The sick must be healed wherever the Gospel of the
Kingdom is preached:
"He said to them, 'Go into all the
world and preach the good news to all creation. Whoever believes
and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will
be condemned. And these signs will accompany those who believe: In
my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new
tongues; they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they
drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place
their hands on sick people, and they will get well.' ... Then the
disciples went out and preached everywhere, and the Lord worked
with them and confirmed his word by the signs that accompanied
it." (Mark 16:15-18 & 20)
Jesus Expected That Those Who Believed in Him Would Duplicate His
Ministry
"I tell you the truth, anyone who has
faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even
greater things than these, because I am going to the Father."
(John 14:12)
The apostles and believers of the early church did this. Peter
and John healed the man at the Gate Beautiful and are thrown into
prison as a result. Yet, when they are released, they pray that God
will increase the healing anointing in the church. They saw no
future in a church unable to heal the sick:
"'Now, Lord, consider their threats and
enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness.
Stretch out your hand to heal and perform miraculous signs and
wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus.' After they
prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they
were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God
boldly." (Acts 4:29-31)
"The apostles performed many miraculous
signs and wonders among the people." (Acts 5:12)
"As a result, people brought the sick
into the streets and laid them on beds and mats so that at least
Peter's shadow might fall on some of them as he passed by. Crowds
gathered also from the towns around Jerusalem, bringing their sick
and those tormented by evil spirits, and all of them were healed."
(Acts 5:15-16)
Even people who are not mentioned in any of the four Gospels, and
who did not seem to have had any special access to Jesus while He
was on earth, were powerful in healing and miracles:
"Now Stephen, a man full of God's grace
and power, did great wonders and miraculous signs among the
people." (Acts 6:8)
"Philip went down to a city in Samaria
and proclaimed the Christ there. When the crowds heard Philip and
saw the miraculous signs he did, they all paid close attention to
what he said. With shrieks, evil spirits came out of many, and
many paralytics and cripples were healed. So there was great joy
in that city." (Acts 8:5-8)
Paul's Ministry
So Paul and Barnabas spent considerable
time there, speaking boldly for the Lord, who confirmed the
message of his grace by enabling them to do miraculous signs and
wonders. (Acts 14:3)
"God did extraordinary miracles through
Paul, so that even handkerchiefs and aprons that had touched him
were taken to the sick, and their illnesses were cured and the
evil spirits left them." (Acts 19:11-12)
From these verses and others we see that where ever Paul
ministered he healed the sick. When writing about his own ministry,
Paul clearly states that he always did healings and miracles. He
regarded it as vital to the establishment of the Kingdom of God.
"I will not venture to speak of
anything except what Christ has accomplished through me in leading
the Gentiles to obey God by what I have said and done -- by the
power of signs and miracles, through the power of the Spirit. So
from Jerusalem all the way around to Illyricum, I have fully
proclaimed the gospel of Christ." (Rom. 15:18-19)
"When I came to you, brothers, I did
not come with eloquence or superior wisdom as I proclaimed to you
the testimony about God… My message and my preaching were not with
wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the
Spirit's power, so that your faith might not rest on men's wisdom,
but on God's power." (I Cor. 2:1& 4-5)
"The things that mark an
apostle--signs, wonders and miracles--were done among you with
great perseverance." (II Cor 12:12)
Paul did not proclaim a gospel without demonstrating the Kingdom
of God in power by healing the sick and doing miracles. We often
think of Paul's ministry in terms of the letters that he wrote to
the churches and then conclude that the ministry of an apostle is
primarily sorting out problems in church leadership. Or we use his
letters to derive theology and doctrine, but we pay little attention
to how he actually ministered.
It is clear from the ministry of Jesus, the Acts of the Apostles,
and Paul's own writings that doing healings and miracles, is the
only pattern for ministry in the New Testament. The philosophy of
ministry where healing the sick is not a focus, is very prevalent in
the church today, but has no biblical base. We cannot base our
philosophy of ministry and practice on culture, psychological
reasoning and humanistic philosophy. Neither can we cling to our
ways in the church where healing is regarded as non- essential and
is seldom practiced. We need to take a fresh look at the New
Testament and endeavor to follow the pattern that is so clearly set
forth!
Hamilton and Helena Filmalter
River of Life Ministries
640 Cedar Str.
Fairview, OR. 97024-1919
503-665-3096 (h)
503-560-7310 (cell)
hamilton@healingwells.com
http://www.healingwells.com
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