New Salem Baptist Church

Jesus the Healer

Part Two

Sept. 19, 2021

Read Matthew 9:18-31.

Among the many marvelous things that Jesus did when he walked this earth, most evident is that he was a healer. As we read the gospels we see that he healed so very many people.

In chapter 11, John the Baptist is in prison and sends his disciples to Jesus in order to confirm that he is indeed the Messiah. John was having doubts. This is how Jesus responds to the disciples of John:

And Jesus answered them, “Go and tell John what you hear and see: ⁵ the blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them. ⁶ And blessed is the one who is not offended by me.” ^[1]

The ministry of Jesus when he was on the earth was a healing ministry. Last week, we saw that it was not only Jesus. After Jesus ascended to the Father, we saw that he continued to heal through the apostles, through others in the church who had the gift of healing, and even through the average believer who may not have the special gift.

We also saw that there are five ways that we can experience healing of both our physical infirmities and our mental infirmities:

• First, the healing of our bodies can happen, and was designed to happen, through the natural ability of our bodies to heal themselves. God created our bodies to heal themselves and they do. This ability is enhanced when we eat healthy foods and exercise. This is a scientific fact. This ability is diminished when we either overeat or eat unhealthy foods. I have reported to you before that 80% of our physical maladies, according to health experts, are caused by overeating. Lack of exercise also causes health problems because when you don’t exercise your blood flow is diminished and we need a vigorous blood flow to fight disease.
• Second, we can be healed through medicine. God heals through the ministrations of researchers, doctors, and nurses. Being healed through medicine is a gift from God. When we are, we ought to thank the Lord and those who ministered to us.
• Third, we can be healed through the gift of healing by the laying on of hands. We just read that Jesus laid his hands upon the eyes of the blind men and they were healed. The woman with the hemorrhage only touched the robe of Jesus and she was healed.
• Fourth, we can be healed through prayer alone.
• Fifth, we can be healed through taking the Lord’s Table. There is a mystical aspect of the Lord’s Table. There is a union between us and the Lord when we take the elements. Even though the Scriptures are not clear on this matter of healing through the Table, there have been a multitude of testimonies to this effect.

We also saw that it is God’s desire to heal his people. If we have faith in Christ then we belong to God. God desires to heal us. If this is true then why are not God’s people always healed? Experience shows us that sometimes God’s children are healed and sometimes they are not.

The Scriptures reveal five reasons why we are not healed from our infirmities and diseases. Just as there are five means of healing, there are five hindrances to healing. Four of these five reasons are under our control. This means that our healing has much to do with us. That is, if we live a certain way, then we can expect to be healed!

What are the five reasons we are not healed?

[1] A common reason is poor life choices. I have already mentioned this. We are stewards of the bodies that the Lord has given us. We are to be good stewards. We are to exercise wisdom as opposed to mere physical desires. That is, we must moderate the amount of food we eat and we must choose healthy foods and drinks to consume. We ought not to be choosing foods merely on taste alone. Of course that will be a factor. But it ought not to be the most important factor.

There are consequences to poor life choices. For example, if a person drinks large amounts of alcohol this can cause liver damage because your body recognizes that alcohol does not belong in your body and your liver must break the alcohol down to other substances in order to eliminate it from your body. Consuming large amounts of alcohol can overtax your liver. If you have liver damage because of overconsumption then do not expect the Lord to heal your liver because of your carnal and foolish decisions.

Similarly, those who consume far too many calories than their body needs will find that, besides being obese, they will begin to experience health problems. Do not expect the Lord to heal you because of your fleshly and foolish overconsumption.  One can still be healed, but it may very well be through making wiser choices: eating less, losing weight, and eating healthier foods.

I had an employee working for me in a previous vocation. He was a little overweight – only about 20 or 30 lbs. He came to work and told me that he had just been diagnosed with diabetes and the doctor told him he would have to go on insulin. But his physician wanted him to try and lose weight first. So, he went on a diet and lost only 20 lbs. He avoided sugary foods and high carb foods. Do you know what happened? His blood sugar fell into the normal range again and he did not have to take insulin!

So, one reason we are not healed is because of our own carnal choices.

What if we do make wise choices with regard to the amount of food we eat and the kinds of food we eat but we still experience health problems? We pray. Or, we have someone lay hands upon us, yet we do not experience healing…why might we not?

[2] A second reason we may not be healed is a lack of faith. The Scriptures are clear about this. Let’s read again our passage from this morning:

While he was saying these things to them, behold, a ruler came in and knelt before him, saying, “My daughter has just died, but come and lay your hand on her, and she will live.” ¹⁹ And Jesus rose and followed him, with his disciples. ²⁰ And behold, a woman who had suffered from a discharge of blood for twelve years came up behind him and touched the fringe of his garment, ²¹ for she said to herself, “If I only touch his garment, I will be made well.” ²² Jesus turned, and seeing her he said, “Take heart, daughter; your faith has made you well.” And instantly the woman was made well.^[2]

It was the woman’s faith that was instrumental in her healing.

And as Jesus passed on from there, two blind men followed him, crying aloud, “Have mercy on us, Son of David.” ²⁸ When he entered the house, the blind men came to him, and Jesus said to them, “Do you believe that I am able to do this?” They said to him, “Yes, Lord.” ²⁹ Then he touched their eyes, saying, “According to your faith be it done to you.”^[3]

Hear the words of Jesus: “According to your faith…!”

Faith in what or whom? It is not faith in faith. That is the message that the so-called faith healers promote. It is faith in the Lord! It means trusting the Lord. Specifically, it has to do with believing that God desires to heal you! You see, just about everyone who believes in God also believes he has the power to heal. It is the simplest deduction. If God made us, obviously he can fix us! We have a powerful God!

The temptation that we face is the thought that the Lord does not desire to heal us. But he does!

When Jesus came down from the mountain, large crowds followed Him.

    2      And a leper came to Him and ^bbowed down before Him, and said, “Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.”

    3      Jesus stretched out His hand and touched him, saying, “I am willing; be cleansed.” And immediately his leprosy was cleansed.^[4]

Jesus said, “I am willing.” He is still willing! Jesus is willing to heal you! That is the faith we need! If we think, “God does not want to heal me.,” that is just a lack of faith. Trust in the Lord! Our faith makes a difference in our healing!

[3] Third, we may not be healed because we do not ask to be healed. Someone may say, “Wait a minute, wouldn’t any Christian always ask to be healed of a disease or infirmity?” The answer is that many Christians do not ask the way our Lord taught us to ask.

“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. ⁸ For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. ⁹ Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? ¹⁰ Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent? ¹¹ If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him! ^[5]

We considered these marvelous promises this past Spring, so I will not spend much time on this passage. Just a reminder.

“Ask,” is a verb in the present active form in Greek. In Western thought, when we hear the word ask, we may have the impression that if we ask something one time then we have fulfilled the command. But that idea is better communicated by the aorist tense of the verb in Greek (There is no aorist tense in English.) The aorist communicates one single action that has lasting effects in the present. Since this verb is present active, it is better translated, “Be asking.” Several translations translate it as “Keep asking,” or similar wording, which conveys the continuance of the action.

“Keep asking,^h and it will be given to you. Keep searching, and you will find. Keep knocking, and the door will be opened to you.”[6]

“Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you.”[7]

Our Lord is telling us not to ask just once or twice. He desires that we approach God with our specific petitions often. Jesus teaches this overtly elsewhere. And so it is with healing. Do not just ask once or twice, but keep asking, keep seeking!

[4] Fourth, we may not be healed because of sin in our lives. Someone may be thinking, “Then I will never be healed, because I know I sin often.” We all struggle with sin. It is not the sin. It is when we refuse to repent of our sins.

Let us be clear about the relationship between sin and healing.

Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praise. ¹⁴ Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. ¹⁵ And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. ¹⁶ Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed.^[8]

Already, in verse 15, the apostle James hints that there is a relationship between sin and sickness. But, in verse 16, he makes it explicit. “Confess your sins…so that you may be healed!”

It is not merely sin that may preclude healing. It is unconfessed sin. Listen! If you are aware of sin in your life, never hang on to it. Never defend it. Never excuse it! Confess it. Turn from it. Make restitution, if necessary. True repentance always requires restitution to the extent that we are able to do so. We don’t earn our forgiveness, but restitution shows the sincerity of our repentance. Repentance without restitution is insincere.

It’s not just healing that is facilitated by repentance. Every true Christian, when confronted with their sin, will turn away from it. In other words, failing to repent of our sins when we become aware of them is indicative of an unregenerate state. One preacher has well said, “A person does not stop repenting when they become a Christian, that is when they start repenting. They repent their whole lives.”[9]

These four reasons for missing out on healing are in our power:

• We can control our eating, drinking, and we can exercise.
• We can trust God to heal us.
• We can persist in our requests for healing. Don’t give up.
• We can mortify sin in our lives. We confess it. We take measures to avoid temptation.

[5] The last reason is up to the Lord. It is true that the Lord desires us to be healthy. He desires us to be healed if we need it. But there is one thing he desires more than our healing. What he desires more than our healing is our sanctification. Sanctification, of course, is the process by which we leave sin behind and conform our thoughts and actions to that of the Lord. We are all in the process of being made pure practically. If we belong to Christ, we are already pure in the eyes of God. Though, God desires that our day-to-day living reflect the purity that we already possess because of Christ.

Because the Lord so desires our holiness he may use a disease or infirmity to transform us.

So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited. ⁸ Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. ⁹ But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.^[10]

God’s power can be perfected in us because of our thorns in the flesh!

Do you see that everything…everything!!...is for our good? God is changing you into something glorious and magnificent. He is changing you into the very image of himself! It takes a lifetime. It takes peaceful times. But it also takes trials, sometimes even our own health.

There is a sense in which even this reason can be affected by our own actions. If we would take our own sanctification more assiduously then it may very well be that the Lord would take less drastic measures in our transformation process.

Know that the Lord is seeking your best. Therefore, seek healing and expect it! Leave it in the Lord’s hands and be at peace.

Whoever still needs healing, come forward presently and we will lay hands upon you and see what the Lord will do!