Does God heal today?

1. Does God heal today?

2. On what basis does God heal today?

3. Praying for healing James 5:13-18

4. Healing during the New Testament times.

5. Healing of blind man in Milan • Healing of Innocentius of fistulae • Healing of Innocentia of breast cancer • Healing of doctor of gout • Healing of old man of paralysis continuity

6. superstition Bubonic plague, Europe “On Sunday, after Mass, the sick came in scores crying for help- and words were all they got: You have sinned and God is afflicting you. Thank Him, you will suffer so much the less torment in the life to come.” French Historian Jules Michelet, quoted by Leonard Sweet, pg 42, Health and Medicine in the Evangelical Tradition.

7. Rationalization

8. John Wimber Controversy and division

9. Heresy and confusion

10. Praying for healing • Why pray for healing? • How to pray for healing? • How should we respond if the person we prayed for is not healed?

11. When do we pray most fervently and for what reasons?

12. 1.Pray at all times. • v13a Is any one of you in trouble? He should pray. • v13b Is anyone happy ? Let him sing songs of praise. • And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. Eph 6:18a • (Ref: James 1:2-5, 4:13-15) – prayer opens us to communication with God.

13. Should churches practice altar calls? Emotions vs emotionalism

14. 2. We are to be involved in intercessory prayers. • Pray with the elders. (14a) • Pray with the church. (16) vs

15. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven.” Mark 2:5

16. Is there a link between sins and sickness? • “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” “Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” said Jesus, John 9:2b-3a • For anyone who eats and drinks without recognizing the body of the Lord eats and drinks judgment on himself. That is why many among you are weak and sick, and a number of you have fallen asleep. 1 Cor 11:30

17. 3. We should pray for forgiveness of sins as much as we should pray for healing. • v16a Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. • Sin directly causes some sickness. • Sin indirectly causes all sickness.

18. Many illnesses are psychosomatically linked.

19. Is my faith in Jesus simply positive thinking to improve my health?

20. Modern society tends to take a mechanistic approach to the problem of illness. When a machine malfunctions, the mechanic diagnoses what is wrong and removes or fixes the faulty part. When our physical bodies break down, we expect the doctor to diagnose what is wrong and remove or correct the faulty part. After this has been done, the body is supposed to function normally again. Humans are not machines, however, and a number of factors contribute to health. One of the things that can destroy our health is the paralyzing weight of sin. It does not show up on any blood test or X-rays, but is virulent as any physical disease. David E. Garland, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary (pg 98, The NIV Application Commentary on The Gospel of Mark) Case study: Paul’s reliance on God’s grace when struggling with his thorn in his side (2 Cor 12:7-9)

21. How should we pray for healing? • v15 And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well: the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven. • v16b the prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective. • Common misconceptions – “if I have more faith, I will be healed”. “If I find a famous faith healer to pray for me, I will be healed”.

22. When we desperately want something, our thinking often becomes irrational. When you ask, you do not received, because you ask with wrong motives. James 4:3

23. How should we pray for healing? • v14Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. v15And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well: the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven.

24. If your healing is dependent on faith, what is the purpose of anointing with oil?

25. Modern day superstition

27. Jesus, came to redeem us from Satan’s power and dominance over us…we are to reign as kings in life. That means we have dominance over our lives. We are to dominate, not to be dominated. Circumstances are not to dominate you….Disease and sicknesses are not to rule and reign over you. You are to rule and reign over sickness. We are to rule as kings in life by Christ Jesus, in whom we have redemption. Kenneth Hagin

28. Are all so called miracle healings today simply religious placebo and auto-suggestive effects?

29. This, then, is how you should pray: our father in heaven, hallowed by your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Matt 6:9-10

30. What does it mean to truly pray with faith. • To acknowledge God’s sovereignty in all matters including our health, and to submit to His will, as Elijah did (5:17-18, 4:13-15). • To be patient in suffering, as Job was ( 5:11-11). • To remember as an anointed people, we are set apart by God for works of obedience, as Abraham proved (5:14, 2:21).

31. What happens if your prayers for healing are answered?

32. What happens if you are not healed after being prayed for?

33. Paul prayed for healing from his thorn in his side, but was not answered (2 Cor 12:8-9). • David prayed for his son to recover from his terminal illness, but he died instead (2 Sam 12:20,23). • Habakkuk prayed that Judah would be spared from the Babylonians, but God said no (Habakkuk 1-3). • Jesus prayed that the suffering of the way of the cross to be removed from him, but it was God’s will to be otherwise (Luke 22:42).

34. 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. Rev 21:3-4