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Come And See |
The Bible Says: Healing By Mark Hatfield Part 11 There are many today who claim the divine ability to heal someone of their physical illnesses. Every individual at some point in their life, will find themselves in a position of illness, and wish they were feeling better. Others will take this process one step further, and seek the help of a “so called” faith healer. In these instances someone will put their faith in a man who claims to have an ability from God to perform a healing. Are they telling the truth? What does the Bible say? Can you tell the difference between the phony and real healers? ARE THERE REAL FAITH HEALERS TODAY? There are many so called “faith healers” today, who stand on television or broadcast on the radio their desire to make someone well to prove their ability from God. Yet as we view the different news reports, more and more of these “healers” are exposed as phonies. To answer this question we must make some clarifying points. God has always had the ability to heal anyone of their physical illnesses. God still has that ability today, yet He uses different methods to accomplish His will in the area of healing. From the Old Testament to the New Testament, man has always sought the help of God both spiritually and physically. There is no doubt that God healed people in the Bible, and used many methods to accomplish His purposes. In the first century, even the apostles were given the gift of healing that they might further establish the cause of Christ (Mark 16:18). The real question then becomes, can I trust anyone today who claims to have the ability to heal physical infirmities? The answer to this question is very simple…Yes. The point that needs to be understood is that it is no television evangelist, or radio miracle worker, but God alone. The Bible teaches that after the apostles died the gift of healing would cease (I Cor. 12:9; 13:10) It was then up to man to come to God through Jesus Christ, in order to be made whole, spiritually or physically (John 12:40) God asks us to call on Him in prayer and cast our cares upon Him, because He cares for us. (I Peter 5:7) Among this list of cares, certainly includes our physical ailments. If it is the Lord’s will that we be free from that particular difficulty, He has the ability, and will heal us of our sicknesses. “Faith healers”, as they call themselves, want nothing more but recognition for themselves and glory from man. When someone comes to these men for a healing, they put their faith in the man more than in the power of God. Why do we think we need to go anywhere to any man to experience the power of God in our lives. God simply asks us to call on Him in prayer and He will be listening and answering. WHAT STEPS CAN I TAKE TO BE HEALED? The first step you can take to receive help from God is make sure you are in a proper relationship with God. Have you obeyed the gospel, so as to restore your place with God? Are you spiritually well? Check the list below to make sure: Hear John 12:48; Romans 10:17; Matthew 7:24-27 Believe John 8:24; Hebrews 11:6 Repent Luke 13:3,5; Acts 17:30; II Peter 3:9 Confess Matthew 10:32-33; Romans 10:9-10; Acts 2:37 Baptism Mark 16:16; Gal. 3:26-27; I Pet. 3:21 Acts 2:38; 22:16 Faithful Rev. 2:10; Matthew 24:13 The second step would be to spend some time in earnest prayer to God. God is no respecter of persons, but still loves every individual He has created. He wants what is best for us and has given us all things to be faithful to Him to receive salvation from sin. It may be that the illness we have is self inflicted and we may have to deal with the consequences (STD etc.). It may also be that the illness that we have is part of life itself, and we need to realize the brevity of life and learn to deal with our difficulties. At the same time, it never hurts to ask an all powerful God to take away our physical ailments and make us well. The third step would be to count our blessings and recognize that even though we have some hard times in life, God’s blessings are abundantly given to us every day. Let us look past those small afflictions (II Cor. 4:17) and give God the glory for the blessings of life. Remember to be patient and wait on the Lord. His answer may not come when you expect it, and it may not always be the answer you expect. It is only by the Lord’s blessing that we are healed and made whole, whether physically or spiritually ( I Peter 2:24). |
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