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Location:
6425 Jefferson Rd. For
directions, click here.
Jerry
Varnado,
pastor July 28,
2002 My
purpose today is not to do a
study on healing. Instead, this a
message about God, the
healer. 1-Introduction
to
Spiritual
Gifts 2-The
Enabling
Gifts
of the
Holy
Spirit 4-The
Gifts
of
Tongues
and
Interpretation
of
Tongues 8-The
Gifts
of
Knowledge,
Wisdom,
and
Faith "Without
faith it is impossible to please
God," the Bible says. But
we must be careful to understand
that the object of our faith is
God Himself. Our faith should be
in His character and nature, not
in what God has done, can do , or
might do. I
understand that I'm drawing a
fine line, but it is an important
one. God's actions should
certainly reinforce, even
increase, our faith in Him -- but
God's actions should never become
the object of our
faith. So
if we are seeking God for
healing, or if we're seeking the
manifestation of healing gifts
among us, the questions we need
to ask are these: Is it God's
nature to heal? Has healing --
not just eventually when we die
but in the here and now -- has
healing been expressed as part of
His plan and purpose for
humankind? In
other words, is our faith rooted
in what we want, or even in
something God might have done for
someone else -- or is it rooted
in who God is? I
preached a entire series on
knowing God earlier this year, so
I'm not going to go into great
detail on this, but God has given
us four basic ways to gain
knowledge and insight into His
character and nature -- and here
they are on the video
screens: The
fingerprints of God are all
over creation. His handiwork
is all around us, telling us
about His power and His
creativity. Jesus
is saying that we can know God
in terms of a personal
relationship. In chapters 14
through 16 of John, Jesus made
it clear that this
relationship is possible
because He would send the Holy
Spirit to be with us and to
live in us. Also
look at Hebrews
1:3. In
other words, if you want to
know what God is like, look at
what Jesus does. He is the
exact representation of the
character of God in human
flesh. Again
in John 8:28-29: Now,
all of these passages tell us
that we can depend on what Jesus
said and did to reflect the will
and purpose of God the Father.
Jesus gives us the fullest
revelation we have of what God is
like. Having
said all that, let me ask the
question again: Is healing part
of God's nature? Two more
questions: Should we, as the Body
of Christ, pray for the sick? And
should we expect God to heal the
sick? If
Jesus is our model, let's look at
how Jesus responded to the
problems of sickness and disease
while He was on this
earth. First,
Matthew 4, starting at verse
23: 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. This
seems to be saying that He healed
all
of them. He didn't heal some and
tell others that they were sick
because they had sinned, or
because God was working to
perfect their character. It
simply says, "He healed
them." 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." Jesus
is the manifestation of the
Kingdom of God, and when the
Kingdom touched sick people, what
happened? They were made well.
Why? Because there is no sickness
in the Kingdom! That's
how Peter sums up the ministry of
Jesus. He went around doing good
and healing all who were under
the power of the
devil. Why
did Jesus do these things?
Because, as 1 John 3:8 tells us,
the reason He came was "to
destroy the devil's work." Let
me make it as plain as I can:
Sickness and disease are the
devil's work -- they are not of
God. Sickness and disease are
enemies to fight, not friends to
embrace. How
do we know that? First of all, as
we've just seen, Jesus devoted a
lot of time and energy to
confonting sickness and disease
and bringing wholeness into
people's lives. Secondly,
the prophets -- with one voice --
have announced that when
everything is the way God wants
it to be, there won't be any
sickness and disease. Let's
look at one description of this
in Revelation 21, beginning at
verse one: And
I heard a loud voice from the
throne saying, "Now the
dwelling of God is with men,
and he will live with them.
They will be his people, and
God himself will be with them
and be their God. He will wipe
every tear from their eyes.
There will be no more death or
mourning or crying or pain,
for the old order of things
has passed away." What
this is telling us is that when
God's perfect will is
accomplished in creation, there
will be no pain, no more
suffering, and -- the implication
is -- no more sickness. Well you
say, "Sure, preacher, but that's
heaven. What about
now?" Well,
let me ask you this: Would Jesus
teach us to pray a fruitless
prayer, a prayer that simply
could not come to pass? I don't
think so. And what did Jesus
teach us to pray? "Our father in
heaven hallowed be your name.
Your kingdom come your will be
done on earth as it is in heaven"
(Matthew 6:9). I
am firmly convinced from the
Scriptures that it is not God's
will that we have sickness and
disease. I do not believe God
allows us to be sick and diseased
"to perfect our character."
I
was listening to a tape a few
days ago by a preacher I've never
met. His name is Bill Johnson and
he leads an Assemblies of God
Church in California. He said
something that I knew to be true,
but I had never heard it put in
just this way. He
said, "In Genesis God gave
dominion of the earth to
humanity. The devil had no power
or authority on the earth until
he got humans to agree with him,
rather t ha agreeing with what
God says. And the devil has power
and authority now only to the
extent we agree with him." And
then Bill Johnson said this, "It
is the devil who tries to
convince you that you're sick
because God's punishing you or
perfecting your character. And
the devil is a liar!" Friends,
if we're to see the manifestation
of God's healing power, we must
first agree with God, not the
devil, about the nature of
disease. The Word is clear:
sickness and disease are the work
of the devil and are contrary to
God's will and purpose for His
people. One
other point for today: God heals
because God loves. God is our
Heavenly Father. I
know that some of you have had
painful experiences with your
earthly fathers that make it
difficult to understand God as
both "good" and "Father" at the
same time. But we have to
overcome bad parenting and accept
the biblical image of father as
one who loves, provides for, and
protects his children. Look
with me at Matthew 7, beginning
at verse 9: You
fathers listen to me: if your
daughter had cancer and you had
the power to heal her and she
asks you to heal her, would you
refuse? We
have to believe that God is able
-- and that He is willing -- to
manifest His healing grace among
us. I
want to close this sermon by
simply reading to you some words
of Jesus from John 14, 15,
16: "You
did not choose me, but I chose
you and appointed you to go
and bear fruit -- fruit that
will last. Then the Father
will give you whatever you ask
in my name" (John
15:16). "Until
now you have not asked for
anything in my name. Ask and
you will receive, and your joy
will be complete. Though I
have been speaking
figuratively, a time is coming
when I will no longer use this
kind of language but will tell
you plainly about my Father.
In that day you will ask in my
name. I am not saying that I
will ask the Father on your
behalf. No, the Father himself
loves you because you have
loved me and have believed
that I came from God" (John
16:24-27).
Gateway
Church gathers
for worship
Sundays
at 10:30 a.m.
(Hwy. 129) in Athens,
Georgia.
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of the
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The
gift of healing - 2:
Healing and the nature of
God
(Ninth
in the series,
Spiritual Gifts in Corporate
Worship)
Gateway
Church,
Athens GA
I talked last
week
about faith, among other things.
Faith is highly commended in the
New Testament. Faith is necessary
to our salvation; faith is the
means through which we receive
the Holy Spirit; faith is key to
our receiving and acting on
spiritual gifts.
Sermons
in
this
series
Knowing
God
Let
me go through these
briefly.
For
since the creation of the
world God's invisible
qualities -- his eternal
power and divine nature --
have been clearly seen,
being understood from what
has been made, so that men
are without excuse.
"Now
this is eternal life: that
they may know you, the only
true God, and Jesus Christ
whom You have sent."
Turn with me to John 14,
starting at verse 8 -- a brief
conversation between Jesus and
Philip, one of the twelve
disciples:
Philip
said, "Lord, show us the
Father and that will be
enough for us." Jesus
answered: "Don't you know
me, Philip, even after I
have been among you such a
long time? Anyone who has
seen me has seen the
Father. How can you say,
'Show us the
Father'?"
The
Son is the radiance of
God's glory and the exact
representation of his
being, sustaining all
things by his powerful
word.
So
Jesus said, "When you have
lifted up the Son of Man,
then you will know that I
am the one I claim to be
and that I do nothing on my
own but speak just what the
Father has taught me. The
one who sent me is with me;
he has not left me alone,
for I always do what
pleases him."
Jesus
responds to
sicknessJesus
went throughout Galilee,
teaching in their synagogues,
preaching the good news of the
kingdom,and healing every
sickness and disease among the
people.
Now, look at Matthew 8, starting
at verse 14:When
Jesus came into Peter's house,
he saw Peter's mother-in-law
lying in bed with a fever. He
touched her hand and the fever
left her, and she got up and
began to wait on him.
Next, Matthew 9, verse
35: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.
Also look at Matthew 14. Here
Jesus goes to an area called
Gennesaret. He's been here
before. This is where he healed
the man with the legion of
demons. And that man apparently
has been all over telling people
about Jesus. So when Jesus shows
up, people start flocking to Him,
bringing their sick friends and
relatives. Starting at verse
34:When
they had cross over, the
landed at Gennesaret. And when
the men of that place
recognized Jesus, they sent
word to all the surrounding
country. People brought all
their sick to him and begged
him to let the sick just touch
the edge of his cloak, and all
who touched him were
healed.
One
more bit of biblical evidence
about how Jesus responded to
sickness. Acts 10, beginning at
verse 37. Peter is preaching to a
group of people, and here's what
he tells them:"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."
The
mission of Jesus
Now, the implication of this
should be clear -- but I think it
really hasn't sunk in to the
heart and mind of the church. We
seem to be confused about
this.
Then
I saw a new heaven and a new
earth, for the first heaven
and the first earth had passed
away, and there was no longer
any sea. I saw the Holy City,
the new Jerusalem, coming down
out of heaven from God,
prepared as a bride
beautifully dressed for her
husband.
Agreeing
with God
Why
God heals"Which
of you, if his son asks for
bread, will give him a stone?
Of if he asks you for a fish,
will give him a snake? If you,
then, who are evil, know how
to give good gifts to your
children, how much more will
your Father in heaven give
good gifts to those who ask
him!"
Looking
unto Jesus"If
anyone loves me, he will obey
my teaching. My Father will
love him, and we will come to
him and make our home with
him" (John 14:23).
Now, we're going to spend the
rest this service praying for the
sick, believing that our heavenly
Father loves his children -- and
that wills them to be free of
sickness and disease. Come, let's
pray.
An
audio tape of this sermon is
available
free of charge (U.S. requests
only).
Request
a tape by calling
or writing the Gateway Church
office.
Please specify tape number
020728a: Spiritual Gifts in
Corporate Worship, part
9.
©
2002 Gerald R.
Varnado