WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:10.140 Good morning, everyone. Good to see you. As we continue our series on the gifts that God gives 00:00:10.140 --> 00:00:17.600 us, this morning we come to the gift of healing, which I thought was ironic because I haven't been 00:00:17.600 --> 00:00:25.699 well over the weekend, but here I am by the strength of God, so that's great. The gift of 00:00:25.699 --> 00:00:33.479 healing is one of the most extraordinary and dynamic gifts of God that we can experience, 00:00:33.479 --> 00:00:41.799 yet strangely, it's one of the most controversial, misused, misunderstood, and if not handled well, 00:00:42.159 --> 00:00:50.399 one of the most damaging of the gifts, unless we use it as directed. And sadly, I've known this 00:00:50.399 --> 00:00:57.979 scripture to being used in false teaching, yet we have to realize that God wants to heal, 00:00:59.219 --> 00:01:07.400 longs to heal, but not always on our terms. And I think to paraphrase it with the beginning really 00:01:07.400 --> 00:01:14.759 helps, because often we come to healing with that dangerous, because it can often lead to feelings of 00:01:14.760 --> 00:01:23.420 guilt and disillusionment when prayer isn't answered in the ways we have expected in our own understanding 00:01:23.420 --> 00:01:31.000 or thought process. This often manifests itself in that implication is that the suffering Christian 00:01:31.000 --> 00:01:39.300 didn't quite believe enough, or maybe is hiding some sort of sin. These misunderstandings about faith 00:01:39.299 --> 00:01:48.859 and healing have frankly destroyed some believers. We need to come with this really in the grace of God, 00:01:48.959 --> 00:01:54.840 because this morning we will hardly scratch the surface of this, and in your home groups I think, 00:01:55.099 --> 00:02:00.920 I hope that you'll go much deeper into this as you think about this whole thing about healing, 00:02:00.920 --> 00:02:08.240 healing, because healing always comes from God at his discretion. You know, and I'm sorry if that 00:02:08.240 --> 00:02:20.099 disappoints us, because our ways aren't necessarily God's ways. And I think we need to remember that, 00:02:20.159 --> 00:02:27.439 because as evangelicals we can get lost in that great idea, of course it is, that God loves us so much, 00:02:27.439 --> 00:02:36.000 yet the danger is we can often treat him like a slot machine, where we put the prayer in and we expect it 00:02:36.000 --> 00:02:43.280 immediately delivered in the way we expect it, and the way in which we have expected him to answer our 00:02:43.280 --> 00:02:49.939 prayer in that particular moment. And let's not get blinkered on this, because it's not just about 00:02:49.939 --> 00:02:58.500 physical healing. It's about healing, physical healing, that's it. We're going to come back to 00:02:58.500 --> 00:03:06.000 that later. I think we need to have a reality check, really, when we come to think about healing 00:03:06.000 --> 00:03:15.219 prayer and God's gift of healing. Because the fact is, and I'm sure we all know that, that one day we will 00:03:15.219 --> 00:03:23.539 all breathe our last, we will die and we will go home to be with the Lord. That is the reality of life. 00:03:23.659 --> 00:03:29.520 At some stage, whether that is sudden, after a long, debilitating, painful illness, after a tragic 00:03:29.520 --> 00:03:38.419 accident, sadly at whatever age, death can't be hidden away. It's a reality, it's a reality that we are 00:03:38.419 --> 00:03:46.259 called as human beings to encounter. Yet we know that in confidence, death for all of us is not the 00:03:46.259 --> 00:03:55.419 end. Jesus is our hope. Jesus is our savior. Did I hear a spontaneous amen? Yes, I did. Well done. 00:03:56.139 --> 00:04:03.279 And this thing that he died and rose again to save us, he has gone before us to prepare a place for us 00:04:03.280 --> 00:04:09.620 with him. We believe in trust in the saving power of the cross and resurrection. Jesus said, which is 00:04:09.620 --> 00:04:20.180 easiest to say, your sins are forgiven or say, rise up and walk? The crowd wanted Jesus' healing power, 00:04:20.680 --> 00:04:27.600 but they didn't want the healer himself. It's an interesting point, isn't it? Perhaps nothing 00:04:27.600 --> 00:04:36.480 changes. People want the miracles, but not the cost of following Jesus. People need Jesus as their 00:04:36.480 --> 00:04:42.520 savior, acknowledging all that he did for them and for us personally on the cross. And not just a few 00:04:42.520 --> 00:04:51.939 miracles that get lost, because sadly, we see so many miracles day in and day out in people's lives, 00:04:51.939 --> 00:05:01.279 lives. And sadly, it's all put down to coincidence. God is there day in, day out, healing, working, 00:05:01.660 --> 00:05:12.360 doing all that he does, and we don't acknowledge it. And yet for some people in our communion later, 00:05:12.579 --> 00:05:21.199 we will proclaim Christ has died, Christ has risen, Christ will... Amen. Yet death happens. 00:05:21.939 --> 00:05:28.120 And we experience the pain of that deeply. Even Jesus wept when he encountered the death of his 00:05:28.120 --> 00:05:35.399 friend. Our loved ones will die, and that's painful, and I yo. Yet for some, that prayer for healing 00:05:35.399 --> 00:05:45.620 will be earthly death itself, that step into glory. My mum's prayer in her final weeks was to go home and be 00:05:45.620 --> 00:05:53.379 with dad. That's what she prayed. And she prayed it often, and so did I with her in the final stages of her life. 00:05:53.680 --> 00:06:03.340 God graciously answered her prayer. She was ready to go home. The final healing, as it is often referred to, 00:06:03.339 --> 00:06:12.299 especially if you've suffered long and you're in great pain. We seek the gifts given by God to use for 00:06:12.299 --> 00:06:22.639 his purposes, for his glory, and not claiming it for ourselves. It's a tough subject. John Wimber said, 00:06:22.639 --> 00:06:29.219 the ability to hear what God is saying, to see what God is doing, and to move in the realm of the miraculous 00:06:29.219 --> 00:06:37.259 comes as an individual develops the same intimacy with and dependence upon the Father. 00:06:38.839 --> 00:06:44.959 How did Jesus do what he did? The answer is, was found in his relationship with the Father. 00:06:44.959 --> 00:06:52.879 How will we do greater works than these, which Jesus promised, by discovering the same relationship 00:06:52.879 --> 00:07:02.439 of intimacy, simplicity, and obedience? It's a tough subject, people, but we've got to get to grips with it. 00:07:02.719 --> 00:07:10.740 We are called to pray, knowing that healing is possible, and it's God's gift to bestow that gift 00:07:10.740 --> 00:07:19.600 at particular moments and in time. We come faithful. We come expectant. It's not ours to demand, 00:07:20.340 --> 00:07:27.259 despite whatever teaching we may have had. And, you know, I've heard it maybe as you have. You know, 00:07:27.259 --> 00:07:37.199 I demand this healing in Jesus' name. I demand it. You know, that grates with me. You know, yes, 00:07:37.199 --> 00:07:46.819 I pray in Jesus' name, but who am I to demand in his grace and his love? It is within God's gift 00:07:46.819 --> 00:07:55.939 that we come open and we pray. We pray in the confidence we know. We come expectant of all that he is 00:07:55.939 --> 00:08:02.839 in the power of the Holy Spirit, but who am I to demand? I'm not sure that's helpful, and frankly, 00:08:02.839 --> 00:08:10.979 when I hear it prayed, it just sounds a little bit rude. We are called to pray and the power of him 00:08:10.979 --> 00:08:19.500 who knows through his own pain and sacrifice. Let's knock another ball out of the court too, 00:08:19.620 --> 00:08:25.239 which I think is really helpful on a morning like this. This is not a faith competition. 00:08:25.240 --> 00:08:31.980 You know, I've picked up the pieces of people who were told that they weren't healed because they 00:08:31.980 --> 00:08:39.100 didn't have enough faith. That is dangerous and that is damaging. You know, faith, we are told, 00:08:39.240 --> 00:08:47.960 can be as small as a mustard seed. In James 5, we are told it's a prayer offered in faith. We come 00:08:47.960 --> 00:08:54.860 with faith. You know, we offer prayer for healing in faith, whether that's for ourselves or whether we 00:08:54.860 --> 00:09:00.840 offer that for others seeking God's healing at that time. And so often we focus on physical healing, 00:09:01.159 --> 00:09:07.500 yet there is so much more to the gifts of healing. It changes lives when you see it 00:09:07.500 --> 00:09:15.080 and you experience it in other people. I don't know whether you've experienced that. When I've seen that 00:09:15.080 --> 00:09:23.019 in the lives of other people, it encourages me and empowers me. Healing always comes from God 00:09:23.019 --> 00:09:33.139 at his discretion. He offers an invitation to dive deeply into faith with honesty and submission, 00:09:34.240 --> 00:09:40.860 trusting him whatever the outcome. God's plans are perfect. 00:09:40.860 --> 00:09:53.980 One of my favourite films is an old film. It's from 1999. It was called Leap of Faith and it was with 00:09:53.980 --> 00:10:01.840 Steve Martin. It was one of the few films that he made which wasn't a comedy and in this he plays a fake 00:10:01.840 --> 00:10:09.759 faith healer in America. It's where the circus comes to town, full of people who are already prompted 00:10:09.759 --> 00:10:17.819 and primed to step forward and say they've been healed. And the break-off is that he takes a lot of money 00:10:17.819 --> 00:10:27.759 from people in the process. Boyd arrives, a young boy who at one of these fake healing rallies is actually 00:10:27.759 --> 00:10:36.919 drawn forward by the power of the Holy Spirit seeking healing. And Boyd isn't part of their charade at all. 00:10:36.919 --> 00:10:46.259 And he comes forward to the anger and the astonishment of Steve Martin and all his cronies because they 00:10:46.259 --> 00:10:56.059 believe he's going to show them up for who they are. Martin is confronted with the experience of a true 00:10:56.059 --> 00:11:03.639 healing. He's never experienced that before. For him it's been all smoke and mirrors and it's all been fake. 00:11:03.639 --> 00:11:14.159 And quite frankly he's devastated and he's convicted. And the following conversation goes where Boyd 00:11:14.159 --> 00:11:22.580 comes to him afterwards as we'll see and asks him and says but you healed me. You healed me. 00:11:24.179 --> 00:11:31.139 But the fake healer has to say that actually it's not me and points to God. It all points to God. 00:11:31.139 --> 00:11:38.580 He can't continue in his healing, in his ministry that he continued, that he's this fake. He leaves 00:11:38.580 --> 00:11:43.179 because he's seen the genuine article. He's seen God at work. 00:11:45.679 --> 00:11:53.399 Healing comes in all sorts of areas of our lives. It's about healing relationships. It's about healing 00:11:53.399 --> 00:12:01.959 misplaced pride. It's about healing of the past, sins forgiven, healing injustice, healing of mistrust, 00:12:02.360 --> 00:12:08.399 healing of deceit, healing of prejudice and preference, healing from greed, addictions, 00:12:09.120 --> 00:12:14.620 hate, resentment. You list it. You can pray for it and the Lord can heal it. 00:12:14.620 --> 00:12:23.060 Yet so often I've seen Christians, long-standing Christians, who have received blessings throughout 00:12:23.060 --> 00:12:30.639 their life, who have walked away from God and have walked away from the family of Christ 00:12:30.639 --> 00:12:39.580 because one prayer, albeit huge, one prayer wasn't answered in the way they expected or wanted. 00:12:39.580 --> 00:12:50.400 You know, we need to trust God in all things. Even in our disappointments, we seek earnestly 00:12:50.400 --> 00:12:58.420 the gifts of the Spirit. Earnestly seek them, even in our disappointments. Here's one I heard 00:12:58.420 --> 00:13:05.600 seriously that damaged a church and I knew that so well. Wasn't one that I was part of, but a colleague 00:13:05.600 --> 00:13:13.259 was. There was a lady whose husband was diagnosed with terminal cancer and he was dying. Both were 00:13:13.259 --> 00:13:20.519 committed Christians and the local church prayed for him. The elders of the church were adamant 00:13:20.519 --> 00:13:27.800 that he would be healed. The church gathered, the church prayed, the man died. 00:13:27.799 --> 00:13:38.539 The pastor sadly seemed really disillusioned. Seed saw it partly as a failure on his part 00:13:38.539 --> 00:13:45.639 that prayer hadn't worked and he avoided the man's wife and it was never explained to the church. 00:13:45.959 --> 00:13:51.799 There was no communication. People didn't talk about it. That was it. It was shoved under the carpet 00:13:51.799 --> 00:14:01.679 and that was gone. Nobody actually grappled with this idea of what they saw was unanswered prayer. 00:14:01.679 --> 00:14:12.579 But one day the pastor bumped into the man's wife in Waitrose and almost apologetically he said to her, 00:14:12.659 --> 00:14:19.639 because frankly he'd been avoiding her, and said, I'm really sorry your husband wasn't healed. 00:14:19.639 --> 00:14:27.699 What do you mean, she said? He wasn't healed. He was completely healed. Totally. 00:14:29.199 --> 00:14:36.779 The pastor looked really bewildered and she said, I'm really sorry to say, but my husband was one of 00:14:36.779 --> 00:14:43.899 the most angry, vociferous and vengeful people. She said, I'm really sorry to tell you that, 00:14:43.899 --> 00:14:53.319 but all you saw was his Sunday face. Under the surface was simmering throughout our married life 00:14:53.319 --> 00:15:00.639 of upsetting business partners, saying hateful things to our children, yet always managing to 00:15:00.639 --> 00:15:08.360 put on his Sunday face just so that he could come to church and put on this persona. He even fooled you, 00:15:08.360 --> 00:15:17.120 pastor. Yet when he was dying, we all prayed that he would be healed. And in the last few months of his 00:15:17.120 --> 00:15:26.200 life, he was. He reconciled himself to everyone who he had crossed and he had upset down the years, 00:15:27.200 --> 00:15:34.680 even with our own children. And most importantly, he reconciled himself with God. 00:15:34.679 --> 00:15:44.319 We had the most wonderful marriage in the last few months of our life. So please don't apologize. 00:15:45.219 --> 00:15:51.500 Yes, my husband died, but he was completely healed. His soul was restored. 00:15:53.659 --> 00:15:58.779 Isn't it interesting how we go to the 23rd Psalm that we pray when we're praying for healing? 00:15:58.779 --> 00:16:12.279 He restores my soul. I've prayed with people as you have. And often I'm not really sure what I'm 00:16:12.279 --> 00:16:19.379 praying for for healing. And neither should we be. The gifts that we can be given in any setting, 00:16:19.379 --> 00:16:28.240 at any time, come Holy Spirit. Bestow the gifts you want to use in us and through us. 00:16:28.779 --> 00:16:36.019 And allow the Lord to do what the Lord wants to do in healing. We know because there is often an 00:16:36.019 --> 00:16:43.360 underlying issue that hasn't been named that the Lord wants to address. You know, we ask the Holy 00:16:43.360 --> 00:16:50.639 Spirit to come as healer, as comforter, to give wisdom and discernment. So to sum it up today, 00:16:50.639 --> 00:16:56.419 spiritual healing is not a talent or a magic power you acquire. 00:16:58.279 --> 00:17:05.859 To everyone who has the Spirit, all believers, gifts are given as directed by God. The outcome is also 00:17:05.859 --> 00:17:13.039 determined by God. Also, earnestly seek the gifts. Be humble and courageous. 00:17:13.039 --> 00:17:20.819 And as we heard in our confession this morning, don't miss the opportunities. Don't miss the 00:17:20.819 --> 00:17:29.420 opportunities to pray with people and seek what the Lord wants to do. Seek God's will as you pray for 00:17:29.420 --> 00:17:39.039 others. Don't as often as is so easy to be done is to be pressured by emotion into one particular area 00:17:39.039 --> 00:17:45.259 because perhaps God wants to do something else in that time of healing as we heard in our story. 00:17:46.339 --> 00:17:55.139 And invite the Holy Spirit to come as you say, not my will, but yours. Because I remember somebody 00:17:55.140 --> 00:18:05.380 us praying that as well. Not my will, but yours. Model honest faith in the midst of suffering. 00:18:06.000 --> 00:18:12.860 This often leads others into a healing relationship with God. And before we pray for healing in others, 00:18:13.860 --> 00:18:21.860 seek the healing in our own life. As one person said, if the pipe is blocked, how can the Spirit flow freely? 00:18:21.859 --> 00:18:33.099 And finally, many don't realize that they are sick and in need of a saviour for their sin. Seek healing 00:18:33.099 --> 00:18:42.959 for them, pray earnestly for them, and don't resist the gifts. So, Jesus uses prayerful opportunities to 00:18:42.959 --> 00:18:49.439 make an audacious point about who he is and why he came, to bring about better healing. And through the 00:18:49.440 --> 00:19:00.840 gift of healing, he also demonstrates the mercy and love which continue to attract many people to him 00:19:00.840 --> 00:19:12.680 through us today. And which Christians seek to emulate. And I hope we will, as we do that in faith, 00:19:12.680 --> 00:19:21.920 as we seek to grow his kingdom. If you're hazy on any of this, and it's a tough subject, there's an 00:19:21.920 --> 00:19:27.100 alpha course just after Easter, and we'd love you to sign up. Let's pray. 00:19:27.099 --> 00:19:44.859 As we seek healing and to be open to the power of your Holy Spirit, Lord, would you come as we seek your healing? 00:19:47.859 --> 00:19:56.599 Father God, we welcome you into each and every area of our life to heal and to seek healing. 00:19:57.099 --> 00:20:06.279 We ask not because we should, but in the power of the cross that we may. And we trust in your purposes 00:20:06.279 --> 00:20:08.719 and your presence in our life. 00:20:12.339 --> 00:20:21.219 And Father, for those that are seeking your healing power today, Lord, would you come and meet us in that 00:20:21.220 --> 00:20:34.700 place? Would you come and heal? Would you come and heal past issues? Would you come and bring your call to forgive, 00:20:35.100 --> 00:20:40.839 to free us and heal us from resentment, anger, hate? 00:20:40.839 --> 00:20:55.399 And the Holy Spirit? Would you come and heal and restore that which those words have bound us for to so many years, 00:20:56.339 --> 00:21:00.879 that you have come to free us in Jesus' name. Amen. 00:21:00.880 --> 00:21:01.520 Amen.