|
1 Cor. 12:7-10 - "But the
manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all:
for to one is given the word of wisdom, through the Spirit, to another
the word of knowledge through the same Spirit, to another the gift of
faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healings by the same
Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to
another discerning of spirits, to another different kinds of tongues, to
another the interpretation of tongues."
The gifts of healings are
still functioning in and through the body of Christ today. God is still
raising up His anointed ones for the purpose of bringing wholeness and
healing to the body, soul and spirit of man.
The gifts of healings operate
supernaturally to heal diseases and infirmities without any natural
means whatsoever. It is the power of the Holy Spirit that comes upon a
person’s body, dissolving their disease and driving out their pains to
heal them.
Some of the purposes of the
gifts of healings are 1) to deliver the sick, 2) to destroy the works of
the devil in the human body, 3) to confirm the word of God and 4) to
bring glory to God.
The original reading of the
“gifts of healings” is plural. The use of the plural nouns illustrate
that there are gifts of healings for different diseases. Jesus bore the
stripes of every disease on the cross at Calvary.
Some who have the gifts of
healings operating in their lives may have great success with a
particular disease or sickness such as blindness, tumors or deafness.
Others might be very successful with cancer or lung conditions. Through
our study of God’s word, we see that Jesus had the ability to heal all
manner of sickness and disease.
Have you ever been asked the
question, “If Christians have healing power, why don’t they go to the
hospitals and empty them out?” My response to this question is this,
“I’m looking forward to the day when we will do just that!” However, the
gifts of healings do not give individuals the ability to heal all the
sick all the time. Even Jesus did not do this. There were multitudes of
sick people at the pool of Bethesda, yet He healed only one of them.
Matthew 10:7-8 – “And as you
go, preach, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ Heal the sick,
cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons. Freely you have
received, freely give.”
This Scripture verse is
written in “red” in my Bible. This tells me that Jesus is the one who
spoke these words to His disciples. What He said in this verse was not a
suggestion, but a command to those who were followers of Him. Jesus is
speaking these very same words to us today. Every one of us are called
to heal the sick. Every one of us are called to cleanse the lepers.
Every one of us are called to raise the dead and cast out demons. This
supernatural ability is not just available for the pastor or assistant
pastor. It’s made available for the entire body of Christ! It’s not some
special anointing that just comes upon evangelists. It’s available to
all those who have the Spirit of God abiding on the inside of them!
What Jesus was really saying
to His disciples was this, “If you boys are going to have church, you
may as well do it the right way. Now, here is what you need to do. First
you go, then you preach, then you heal the sick, cleanse the lepers,
raise the dead and cast out demons!”
Jesus lived in a continual
state of revival and reformation. The life He lived was not abnormal,
but normal. The things He did were an example to us of normal everyday
Spirit filled Christian activity.
How could He do these things?
Was it politically correct? Was He well received by those He ministered
to?
When we read through the
Gospel accounts of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, we see that Jesus paid
a great price for doing what He saw the Father doing and for speaking
what He heard the Father speaking. He was a man of no reputation. He was
not consumed with the fear of man and what man could do to Him. He knew
that His times where in the hands of His Father. When we know that our
times are in the hands of our Father, we have no need to fear anyone or
anything. Oh, that God would bring this revelation to each and every one
of us.
Acts 10:38 – “…how God
anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went
about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for
God was with Him.”
God is with us too! He has
anointed us to do His work. He has anointed our hands so that we can lay
hands on the sick and see them recover. He has anointed our feet with
the preparation of the Gospel of peace that we might have the privilege
of bringing the Gospel to those who have never heard it! He has anointed
our voices that we might preach His word and declare His goodness in the
morning and His faithfulness at night! What a mighty God we serve!
There’s no greater privilege than living for Jesus and doing what He has
called us to do.
I don’t understand Christians
who continually mope around saying they are bored with Jesus and
Christianity. They must be serving a different Jesus than the One whom I
serve, because my Jesus brings peace and joy in the Holy Ghost. My Jesus
heals, saves, sanctifies and delivers! My Jesus gives me a reason to
live and rejoice in the fact that I have eternal life and will one day
see Him face to face! I often find it almost impossible to restrain
myself from shouting, dancing, leaping, speaking in tongues and giving
God glory for His awesome presence in my life. What would I ever do
without Him?
We will never have the
privilege of seeing anyone healed if we never take the opportunity or
time to pray for someone who is sick. If we are full of doubt and
unbelief, the Holy Spirit will not be able to flow through us to
accomplish His perfect work in the earth.
God has been speaking to me
personally about prayer and fasting. He gave me a vision of a power
drill. This drill had a long cord on it, yet it was not plugged into the
power source. The Lord spoke to my heart and said, “Many in my church
are not plugged in. Others are plugged in, but they have not yet flipped
the power switch to the ‘on’ position.” He then told me that I was
plugged into the power source, but I did not have the power switch on
yet. I said, “Lord, what do you mean? How can I get the switch on? What
will it take?” He replied with these words, “prayer and fasting.” He
then told me there was a price to pay if I wanted to see and experience
the ‘greater things’ in ministry.
Are we willing to pay the
price that is necessary to fulfill the ‘greater works’ that God is
calling us to do? If so, it’s time for us to get with the program, God’s
program, and be about the Father’s business. The gifts of healings are
still available today for all who will say ‘yes’ to the Holy Spirit.
|
