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Back to Fulfilling the Great Commission & the Last Days
.Back to ministering healing to infirm believers
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When the Lord heals you miraculously, his purpose may be more than simply alleviating you from a physical condition. He is calling you to follow him as a disciple.
As Jesus and his disciples were leaving Jericho, a large crowd followed him. Two blind men were sitting by the roadside, and when they heard that Jesus was going by, they shouted, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!” The crowd rebuked them and told them to be quiet, but they shouted all the louder, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!” Jesus stopped and called them. “What do you want me to do for you?” he asked. “Lord,” they answered, “we want our sight.” Jesus had compassion on them and touched their eyes. Immediately they received their sight and followed him. (Matthew 20:29-34)
Learn to walk in holiness and obedience
There may be few believers who are following Jesus as true disciples. Though they may be faithful church-goers, they may not be living holy lives. They are not walking in the fruit of the Holy Spirit, but may be engaging in sins like anger, quarreling, malice, slander, jealousy, envy, or sexual sin like pornography. They are not walking in obedience. They are not denying themselves, taking up their cross, and following Jesus as true disciples.
When Jesus heals you, it may be a sign that you need to repent of lukewarmness, and follow him wholeheartedly as a disciple.
Later Jesus found him at the temple and said to him, “See, you are well again. Stop sinning or something worse may happen to you.” (John 5:14)
Therefore the infirmity could return—or even worse—if we do not stop sinning.
If our disease was a consequence of an unhealthy lifestyle, we must repent of sinning against the temple of God (our physical body) and take care of our body by changing our lifestyle. Common examples are poor diet and lack of physical exercise. If we do not change, the disease can return. Diseases can behave in a way similar to demons—and therefore can return.
Jesus teaches us below that an evil spirit can return after it comes out of a person.
“When an impure spirit comes out of a person, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. Then it says, ‘I will return to the house I left.’ When it arrives, it finds the house swept clean and put in order. Then it goes and takes seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the final condition of that person is worse than the first.” (Luke 11:24-26)
Moreover, some infirmities can be the work of a spirit of infirmity.
…And a woman was there who had been crippled by a spirit for eighteen years. She was bent over and could not straighten up at all. (Luke 13:11)
And we have already seen from Luke 11 above that unclean spirits can later attempt to return after they have left a person. Therefore it is important for us to be alert to the possibility that after the Lord heals us, the infirmity may attempt to return. How do we prepare for this possibility?
Learn to walk in power and authority over diseases and demons as a disciple of Jesus
When Jesus had called the Twelve together, he gave them power and authority to drive out all demons and to cure diseases, and he sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal the sick. (Luke 9:1-2)
“Heal the sick who are there and tell them, ‘the kingdom of God has come near to you.’ ” (Luke 10:9)
Although this power and authority is primarily for proclaiming the kingdom of God to the lost in the context of evangelism, it can to some extent be used by a believer to resist demons—and diseases—seeking to return to his or her body as we see from Luke 11:24-26 above.
Therefore, it’s possible that your healing from an infirmity can be a process by which a second round of ministry may be needed, especially if it tries to return. You yourself can “move the mountain” step-by-step into the sea by continuing to rebuke it and command it to leave you in Jesus’ name. Therefore it’s important that you yourself learn to use this power and authority in Jesus’ name even after the Lord has touched you through the ministry of a servant of God. Below we see that Jesus ministered to a blind man a second time before the healing was complete.
They came to Bethsaida, and some people brought a blind man and begged Jesus to touch him. He took the blind man by the hand and led him outside the village. When he had spit on the man’s eyes and put his hands on him, Jesus asked, “Do you see anything?” He looked up and said, “I see people; they look like trees walking around.” Once more Jesus put his hands on the man’s eyes. Then his eyes were opened, his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly. (Mark 8:22-25)
For a testimony about perseverance in exercising authority against the infirmity and continuing to rebuke it in Jesus’ name, click on “My Journey to Wellness and Healing”.
Give the Lord the glory by testifying
Give your testimony of miraculous healing by the Lord to encourage other believers. Doing so can also draw non-believers to follow Jesus as Lord and Savior.
Make a point of giving thanks directly to the Lord, and not just in passing. He is the one who healed you and delivered you freely, so seek Him and praise Him with all your heart.
Of David. Praise the LORD, my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name. Praise the LORD, my soul, and forget not all his benefits– who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases… (Psalm 103:1-3)
For those who do not know Jesus Christ as their ONLY Lord and Savior
If you did not know Jesus Christ personally, your healing is a sign to you that you should now repent of sin and accept him as your only Lord and Savior for the forgiveness of your sins and eternal life.
But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority upon earth to forgive sins, He said to the paralytic, I say to you, Arise, and take up your cot, and go to your house. And immediately he arose and took up his cot and went out before all. So that all were amazed and glorified God, saying, “We have never seen anything like this!” (Mark 2:10-12)
Or perhaps you “know” Jesus, but only as one of several different avenues to God—and not as the ONLY WAY to God the Father. Jesus said about Himself, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6) Jesus performed an unmatched miraculous healing in your physical body as indisputable evidence for you that He is in fact the ONLY WAY to God. He healed you to show you that it’s only by faith in Him ALONE that you can be saved, and not by faith in anything else on earth.
Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name. (John 20:30-31)
Therefore now that Jesus has delivered you from your physical suffering in a way that no other power could do for you—proving to you that He in fact has authority to forgive your sins and grant you eternal life—repent and come to Him as your ONLY Lord and Savior. The Jesus who healed you as no one else could is the ONLY WAY to the Father. Therefore forsake all other ways and powers and follow Jesus Christ alone. It’s clear that He loves you.
Or perhaps you “know” Jesus, but not the Jesus of the Scriptures. Instead you know another Jesus from a different gospel. Paul warned us: “I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you to live in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel—” (Galatians 1:6)
Therefore after Jesus heals you miraculously, you should come back to the Jesus of the gospels found in the New Testament. If you do not, the physical infirmity will likely return and your physical condition could be even worse than before.