Miracles may draw crowds. But they also bring controversy and criticism when Jesus healed a man’s hand on the Sabbath day, he caused an uproar within the religious establishment.
When Jesus drove a legion of demons out of a man and into a herd of pigs.
The people of that town begged Jesus us to leave them in peace.
It’s no wonder that one of the most fiercely criticized, cynically questioned and completely misunderstood ministries is the ministry of healing miracles.
So I want to lovingly address the questions that are most often asked by believers and skeptics alike.
Are those who preach about healing just taking advantage of vulnerable people.
Why aren’t some healed and why don’t so called faith healers visit hospitals?
If indeed, they have the power to heal.
The biblically based answers to these questions will help to equip you in your understanding of Jesus’s healing ministry.
If you believe that healing is for today, then make a public declaration right now by typing, healing is for today in the comment section.
Question number one, if you have the power to heal, why don’t you go to hospitals?
I’ve heard this question more times than I can count.
Now, while many ask it sincerely, it’s usually asked by someone who heard it from somewhere imagined it was clever thought, it proved a point and then repeated it simply because it sounded good to them.
But this question is neither philosophically sophisticated nor biblically based. There are two types of people who ask this question.
The first is the skeptic who genuinely wants an explanation.
And the second is the cynic who really just wants a debate. Skeptics seek understanding cynics seek conflict.
Now to answer the question. Firstly, this question is based on a faulty premise.
The premise being that anyone is claiming to have healing power of their own or that they can wield it outside of God’s authority.
Ultimately, nobody has the power to heal.
But God, even when we use language like God has given you the power to heal the sick.
We of course recognize that this does not mean that anyone can act outside of God’s will or disconnected from God’s authority.
When we say things like God placed his healing power within you or he’s given you the gift of healing.
We say this with God’s sovereign involvement in mind. Even the spiritual gifts are subject to God’s sovereign will.
All we as believers can do is lay hands on the sick or pray for them.
These miraculous signs will accompany those who believe they will cast out demons in my name and they will speak in new languages.
They will be able to handle snakes with safety. And if they drink anything poisonous, it won’t hurt them.
They will be able to place their hands on the sick and they will be healed.
That’s mark chapter 16 verses 17 to 18.
The Bible also says such a prayer offered in faith will heal the sick and the Lord will make you well.
And if you have committed any sins, you will be forgiven.
That’s James chapter five verse 15, we do the possible God does the impossible.
This is why I find it odd when critics of the healing ministry like cessation, for example, say things like we believe that God still moves and does miracles.
We just don’t believe that God gives powers such as healing the sick to individuals anymore or they might say we believe God still moves.
We just don’t believe men can heal the sick by their own will anymore.
But who actually believes that the power to perform the miraculous ever came from human beings in the first place who actually believes that men ever healed according to the exercising of their own will or power.
Who believes that man on his own will ever wielded the power to heal the sick.
I sure don’t going back to even the Old Testament where cessations admit that God was moving miraculously.
We recognize that men like Moses and Elijah were acting in power, but according to God’s will, even the apostles did not have the ability to wield the gift outside of divine intervention.
So it’s simple just as God moved according to his will through people in the old and New Testament.
So God moves according to his will through people.
Now, there’s never anything in the teaching of scripture that states otherwise.
So what then is the point to the gift of healing or miracles?
Well, these gifts are given to certain believers by the Holy Spirit.
You can see first Corinthians chapter 12 verses 4 to 7.
So God chooses to use these individuals in the area of healing more often.
But the power still comes by His choosing.
The gift of healing is more of a series of divine assignments than a human ability.
So that’s first of all, nobody is claiming healing power outside of God’s involvement.
Secondly, why do we hold ministers to a standard that not even Jesus met in the scripture?
Neither Jesus nor the apostles are ever seen going to the hospital equivalence of their day.
I mean, we could reference the time that Jesus visited the.
But even in that case, the record shows that Jesus healed only one man there.
And even in that man’s specific case, we see that timing was a factor in Jesus’s decision to heal the man.
When Jesus saw him and knew he had been ill for a long time.
He asked him, would you like to get well, that’s John chapter five verse six. Now Jesus asked the man.
Would you like to get well?
So clearly, there was something about both the timing and the man’s readiness to receive his healing.
Critics of jesus’ Day who heard the story may have asked well, if Jesus really did heal that man, why didn’t he heal everyone at the pool?
Consider this too, the sick came to Jesus. He rarely went to them.
As the sun went down that evening, people throughout the village brought sick, family members to Jesus, no matter what their diseases were, the touch of his hand healed everyone.
That’s Luke chapter four verse 40. So why isn’t everyone who comes to us healed?
We’ll get to that in a moment. But so far, we’ve seen the faultiness of the premises behind the question.
If you have the power to heal, why don’t you go to the hospitals?
A the question assumes that anyone is claiming power outside of God’s power.
And will b the question assumes that the genuineness of a healing ministry is determined by its focus or lack thereof on hospitals.
But there’s another reason why this question is faulty.
And that c it assumes that we don’t go to hospitals, literally, almost every single minister of the gospel who believes in healing that I know goes to hospitals and on a regular basis, prays for the sick.
There, we often go to hospitals to pray for the most severe cases.
Sometimes the people are healed, sometimes they’re not. And this of course, raises the question, why isn’t everyone healed?
Like we see in the Bible, was everyone in the Bible healed?
I just showed you in John five that only one man was healed when Jesus visited many sick people at the Bethesda.
And sure there are many instances where we see Jesus healing with 100% effectiveness.
But in fact, the Bible gives us several reasons as to why sickness can sometimes remain, Sickness can come about as a result of demonic attack.
One Sabbath day as Jesus was teaching in a synagogue, he saw a woman who had been crippled by an evil spirit.
She had been bent, doubled for 18 years and was unable to stand up straight.
When Jesus saw her, he called her over and said, dear woman, you are healed of your sickness and he touched her and instantly she could stand straight how she praised God.
That’s Luke chapter 13 verses 10 to 13.
So sometimes sickness remains because the evil spirit needs to be dealt with.
The Bible also teaches that disobedience can in some but not all cases cause sickness for if you eat the bread or drink the cup without honoring the body of Christ.
You are eating and drinking. God’s judgment upon yourself.
This is why many of you are weak and sick and some have even died.
That’s first Corinthians chapter 11 verses 29 30. Does this mean that every sick?
This is always a direct result of sin by no means, rabbi, his disciples asked him, why was this man born blind?
Was it because of his own sins or his parents sins?
It was not because of his sins or his parents sins? Jesus answered. This happens.
So the power of God could be seen in Him. That’s John 92 to 3.
The Bible also demonstrates clearly that doubt can prevent healing.
That was the case, even with people who Jesus himself wanted to heal and because of their unbelief, he couldn’t do any miracles among them except to place his hands on a few sick people and heal them.
That’s mark 65 time and time again, we see that faith plays an important role in receiving healing.
And he said to her daughter, your faith has made you well, go in peace. Your suffering is over.
That’s mark 5 34. And Jesus said to the man stand up and go. Your faith has healed you.
That’s Luke 17 19. And Jesus said, alright, receive your sight. Your faith has healed you.
That’s Luke chapter 18 verse 42.
This of course does not mean that in every instance that people aren’t healed, that it’s because of their lack of faith.
Those who minister healing are often accused of cruelty and accused of blaming the sick in order to save face when a healing doesn’t occur.
That may be true in some instances.
But we also can’t ignore the clear truths we see in scripture, though a lack of faith isn’t always the reason someone isn’t healed.
We at least have to consider it as a possible factor.
Biblically speaking, demons, disobedience and doubt can in some cases prevent people from receiving their healing.
So for honestly looking for biblical answers, there you go.
According to scripture, those can be reasons as to why some aren’t healed, but those aren’t the only reasons that some aren’t healed.
We can’t ignore the sovereignty of God.
So what should you think if you have faith, you rebuke all demons and you repent of sin, but you still aren’t healed.
Well, all we can do is pray and believe and then trust God with the results.
Now, this isn’t the answer that many want to hear. But this is reality. We aren’t the healers.
We do the possible God does the impossible. For example, in the case of Timothy, Paul didn’t heal him instead.
Paul recommended a medicinal approach. Don’t drink only water.
You ought to drink a little wine for the sake of your stomach because you are so often sick.
That’s first Timothy chapter five verse 23.
Now, some use that verse to try to say that the gifts had ceased at that point, but it’s perfectly consistent to believe in the gifts and God’s sovereignty and timing simultaneously.
All of those can work together and think of a Aphrodites.
Meanwhile, I thought I should send a Aphrodites back to you.
He is a true brother coworker and fellow soldier and he was your messenger to help me in my need.
I am sending him because he has been longing to see you.
And he was very distressed that you heard he was ill and he certainly was ill.
In fact, he almost died. But God had mercy on him and also on me so that I would not have one sorrow after another.
Now, why did Paul allow his friend to go to the brink of death if he was able to heal him by his own will?
There again, we see God’s sovereignty as a factor, think also of Lazarus, the people begged Jesus to heal him, but the timing wasn’t right.
Jesus waited until he was dead to work a miracle. God’s timing is a factor rarely considered.
These truths might not be emotionally satisfying but they are realities of scripture. So why are some not healed?
Well, for the same reasons that people weren’t healed even in the days of Jesus and the apostles.
Sometimes it’s demonic, sometimes it’s disobedience. Sometimes it’s doubt.
And once you address and rule out all those factors, you’re left with God’s timing and sovereignty.
And it’s at that point that we’re just to trust him. So does that mean we shouldn’t believe for healing?
Does this mean that it’s cruel to believe with someone for a miracle?
Should we stop laying hands on the sick? Because not all are healed?
Well, it didn’t stop Jesus or the apostles. Why should it stop us?
Are we taking advantage of vulnerable and desperate people? That’s question number three.
In short, some who minister healing most certainly take advantage of desperate people. And some don’t.
On this point, the primary issue is money.
People think that we who minister healing, tell people if you give me money, I’ll heal you.
Granted some so called ministers imply that or even straight out say that and God will harshly judge those who speak such lies.
But biblically speaking, you cannot buy a miracle.
You don’t need money to be healed and you don’t need money to minister healing.
As they approached the temple, a lame man from birth was being carried in each day.
He was put beside the temple gate, the one called the beautiful gate so he could beg from the people going into the temple.
When he saw Peter and John about to enter, he asked them for some money.
Peter and John looked at him intently and Peter said, look at us, the lame man looked at them eagerly expecting some money.
But Peter said, I don’t have any silver or gold for you, but I’ll give you what I have in the name of Jesus Christ.
The Nazarene get up and walk. Then Peter took the layman by the right hand and helped him up.
And as he did, the man’s feet and ankles were instantly healed and strengthened.
He jumped up, stood on his feet and began to walk, then walking, leaping and praising God.
He went into the temple with them. That’s acts chapter three verses two through eight.
You cannot buy a miracle or a healing.
The money that people give to the ministry is used to help spread the message of the gospel like any cause in which people believe the gospel is furthered with resources.
So the people give so that the message can be spread not for their healing.
Those too must not be confused. Now, think about what the critics are saying.
Think about what they’re implying about those who are sick and still desire to give to the gospel.
They are basically saying that sick people are too stupid to know what causes they wanna support or too vulnerable to be able to make decisions on their own.
I totally disagree with that notion that is completely wrong.
No one is being forced to support the cause of the gospel. Think about what they’re saying.
Are they saying that sick people shouldn’t be allowed to be involved in causes they believe in simply because they’re sick.
I think that’s incredibly insulting and condescending sick people just like everyone else have the right to stand behind and support causes that they believe in.
If someone is saying you have to pay for a miracle, of course, that’s manipulation.
But if someone is offering you an opportunity or even challenging you to back a worthy cause. Let it be.
Millions of people believe that God still heals. Millions of genuine Christians believe in miracles.
Millions of followers of Christ believe that praying for the sick can result in miracles healing.
Are they not allowed to rally support for causes? They believe in simply because they believe in healing? That’s nonsense.
Question. Number four. Why do you believe in healing without medical evidence?
Firstly, again, we’re holding ministers to standards that not even Jesus met when Jesus healed the sick, he primarily allowed the testimony of the sick to serve as evidence that the miracle had taken place.
Secondly, when someone is healed and they go back to the doctor, it’s not as though there’s a little box that the doctor can check that says miracle what we have are medical reports that show the sickness was there.
And then second reports that show the sickness is gone after the individual received prayer.
Here’s the challenge you can’t capture the divine through empirical means, the medical reports that we have reflect that there was a change that occurred and in many cases that a change occurred that should not have occurred even with medical intervention.
But many times this gets categorized as a misdiagnosis because they’d rather say the person was never sick to begin with than to say that they were miraculously healed or they might call it something like spontaneous recuperation.
The point is that even with medical documentation, which we often gather the cynics will always find a reason to reject the idea of divine intervention.
It will always take some measure of faith to believe in miracles. That’s the difference between evidence and proof.
It’s not possible to prove supernatural realities with empirical instruments or senses.
Even if you saw the literal hand of God reached from heaven and caused the sick to be made whole, there would still be room for debate as to what happened, at least for the cynics.
So rather than rely upon medical reports alone, which in many cases, we have, we should trust the ones who say once I was blind.
But now I see I couldn’t walk but now I can, the tumor was there and it caused me daily pain, but now it’s gone.
Jesus thought highly of the testimony. So should we now that we’ve addressed these issues?
Biblically, I want to pray with you.
I want to pray that the Holy Spirit would stir your faith, that you might receive your healing and that you might minister healing to others.
Father, in the name of Jesus, I pray for that one receiving this now.
And I ask you Lord to begin to remove all doubt.
Father, we stand upon the truth of your word knowing that you were able to do exceedingly abundantly above all we could ask or even imagine.
And so I pray that even now your healing virtue would begin to flow.
That your people.
I pray stir their faith by the Holy Ghost, the name of Jesus.
And I want you to say it because you believe it. Say amen.
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Now, if you enjoyed this teaching, this breakdown of those questions, then you will love four biblical reasons.
Your healing may be blocked.