In this study we examine the methods Jesus and the apostles used to perform healing.

Scriptures:

Matt 1:21
Eph 2:8
James 5:14-15
Matthew 9:20-22
Act 14:8-10
Luke 8:26-36
Mark 9:25-27
Matthew 12:22-23
Acts 8:4-7
Matthew 10:1
Mark 11:20-25
2 Kings 6:15-17

When someone asks Jesus to come into their heart do we tell them to ask God to send His son down to be crucified so their sins will be forgiven?

Why not?

He already did it

What if there are other things that Jesus’ death gave us access to that we aren’t aware of

Sozo

The Greek word sozo is translated save, heal, and deliver.

This word is used 110 times in the bible.

Strong's #4982: sozo (pronounced sode'-zo)

from a primary sos (contraction for obsolete saos, "safe"); to save, i.e. deliver or protect (literally or figuratively):--heal, preserve, save (self), do well, be (make) whole.

This same word used to describe our salvation is also used to describe healing and deliverance.

Salvation

Matt 1:21

She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins."

the word save is the Greek word sozo

What do we need to do to be saved?

believe that Jesus is the savior
have faith

Do we need to ask God to do something in order for us to be saved?

no, He’s already done all that He needs to do

Eph 2:8

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith– and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God

saved is sozo
so sozo is not the result of our works
Where does the faith come from?

It is a gift from God

Healing

James 5:14-15

14Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord. 15And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up. If they have sinned, they will be forgiven.

“make well” is sozo
what type of prayer is needed?

One offered in faith

Matthew 9:20-22

20 Just then a woman who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years came up behind him and touched the edge of his cloak. 21 She said to herself, “If I only touch his cloak, I will be healed.”

22 Jesus turned and saw her. “Take heart, daughter,” he said, “your faith has healed you.” And the woman was healed at that moment.

“healed” is sozo
What caused the healing?

Her faith

Act 14:8-10

8 In Lystra there sat a man who was lame. He had been that way from birth and had never walked. 9 He listened to Paul as he was speaking. Paul looked directly at him, saw that he had faith to be healed 10 and called out, “Stand up on your feet!” At that, the man jumped up and began to walk.

“healed” is sozo
What brought sozo to the man?

his faith

What did Paul notice about the man?

That he had the faith to be healed

Did Paul give the man the faith?

Where did the faith come from?

It was a gift from God

Even though Paul saw that the man had faith to be healed, the man wasn't healed until Paul had him stand up on faith.

So you might say that the gift of healing is the ability to identify and activate the healing faith in others.

This explains when Jesus couldn’t heal anyone in His home town

In the church today the gift healing is often looked at as there are some people who can beg to God better than others

Could this mean that, similar to salvation, our physical healing is dependent on our faith?

There is a type of healing that's activated by the faith in the healed person.

Deliverance

Luke 8:26-36

26 They sailed to the region of the Gerasenes,[b] which is across the lake from Galilee. 27 When Jesus stepped ashore, he was met by a demon-possessed man from the town. For a long time this man had not worn clothes or lived in a house, but had lived in the tombs. 28 When he saw Jesus, he cried out and fell at his feet, shouting at the top of his voice, “What do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg you, don’t torture me!” 29 For Jesus had commanded the impure spirit to come out of the man. Many times it had seized him, and though he was chained hand and foot and kept under guard, he had broken his chains and had been driven by the demon into solitary places.

30 Jesus asked him, “What is your name?”

“Legion,” he replied, because many demons had gone into him. 31 And they begged Jesus repeatedly not to order them to go into the Abyss.

32 A large herd of pigs was feeding there on the hillside. The demons begged Jesus to let them go into the pigs, and he gave them permission. 33 When the demons came out of the man, they went into the pigs, and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and was drowned.

34 When those tending the pigs saw what had happened, they ran off and reported this in the town and countryside, 35 and the people went out to see what had happened. When they came to Jesus, they found the man from whom the demons had gone out, sitting at Jesus’ feet, dressed and in his right mind; and they were afraid. 36 Those who had seen it told the people how the demon-possessed man had been cured.

the word “cured” in v36 is sozo

Why was the demon scared of Jesus?

because He knew Jesus and knew Jesus was more powerful than Him

If the same word used for healing is used for casting out demons what does that imply about some sicknesses or diseases?

It can be caused by the devil or demons

Could some sickness be caused by Satan or demons?

Sickness from Demons

Many of the cases where Jesus’ healed the sick were actually accomplished by casting out demons.

Deaf and Mute

Mark 9:25-27

25When Jesus saw that a crowd was running to the scene, he rebuked the impure spirit. “You deaf and mute spirit,” he said, “I command you, come out of him and never enter him again.”

26The spirit shrieked, convulsed him violently and came out. The boy looked so much like a corpse that many said, “He’s dead.” 27But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him to his feet, and he stood up.

Blind and Mute

Matthew 12:22-23

22Then they brought him a demon-possessed man who was blind and mute, and Jesus healed him, so that he could both talk and see. 23All the people were astonished and said, “Could this be the Son of David?

Paralyzed and Lame

Acts 8:4-7

4Those who had been scattered preached the word wherever they went. 5Philip went down to a city in Samaria and proclaimed the Messiah there. 6When the crowds heard Philip and saw the signs he performed, they all paid close attention to what he said. 7For with shrieks, impure spirits came out of many, and many who were paralyzed or lame were healed.

Giving Access to the Enemy

Last week we talked about different ways in which you give the enemy access to your life (e.g. sex outside of marriage, abortion, etc). When you do those things you give the enemy permission to introduce sickness into your body.

In those scenarios we have given control over to the enemy

God has given us control in some areas

His will is that we give up control and turn it back over to Him
Sometimes we maintain control
But sometimes we give up control and give it to the enemy

The consequences that occur after we've given away control are not necessarily God's will

So sickness is not always a trial or test from God to build our character, or punishment for something we did wrong. It can be a direct result of our actions.

Example: Two people go out into the snow. One has a jacket and one doesn’t. The person without the jacket gets sick. Was it God’s will that that person got sick and not the other?

Jesus Gave Us the Authority

Jesus gave the disciples the authority to cast out demons.

Matthew 10:1

1Jesus called his twelve disciples to him and gave them authority to drive out impure spirits and to heal every disease and sickness.

Did Jesus tell them to come get Him if they ran into any demons or sick people?

no He gave them the authority to handle it

What does it mean that Jesus gave them the authority to do it?

Jesus has authority over the demons because of His rank in the spiritual hierarchy. He elevated the disciples position to the same level as His for this purpose

example: you were made a police officer

even without the uniform if you’re on duty
if someone wears the uniform and criminals know they aren’t real
7 sons of sceva

saying “in the Name of Jesus” isn’t enough
you have to have been given the authority

What would happen if you were made an officer but didn’t know it?

Do you have the authority?

Would you operate in it?

you can’t act in the authority of Jesus if you didn’t know Jesus gave you authority

Guess what!?

Now you know it!

There's a type of healing that's activated by using the authority that Jesus gave us over the cause of the sickness

Speak to Your Mountain

Mark 11:20-25

20 In the morning, as they went along, they saw the fig tree withered from the roots. 21 Peter remembered and said to Jesus, “Rabbi, look! The fig tree you cursed has withered!”

22 “Have faith in God,” Jesus answered. 23 “Trulyf I tell you, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and does not doubt in their heart but believes that what they say will happen, it will be done for them. 24Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. 25And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive them, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins.”

we unforgineness can hinder answered prayer
Did Jesus say to ask God to move the mountain?

no, He said to speak to the mountain

Sometimes you don't talk to God about your mountain,you talk to your mountain

you talk to the mountain about your God

Example: kid keying your car

we need to walk in the authority we’ve been given

Walking by Faith Not By Sight

2 Kings 6:15-17

15 When the servant of the man of God [Elisha] got up and went out early the next morning, an army with horses and chariots had surrounded the city. “Oh no, my lord! What shall we do?” the servant asked.

16 “Don’t be afraid,” the prophet answered. “Those who are with us are more than those who are with them.”

17 And Elisha prayed, “Open his eyes, Lord, so that he may see.” Then the Lord opened the servant’s eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.

What does it mean that the servant’s “eyes were opened”?

He was allowed to see into the spirit world

When Elisha said “those that be with us are more than those that be with them” was it true?

If the servant had faith but hadn’t had his eyes open and said the same thing would he be saying something that isn’t true?

Walking by faith and not by sight doesn’t mean saying something that isn’t true in hopes that it will eventually become true? It means saying something that is already true in the spiritual world but not yet manifested in the physical world. Faith is not denying what is happening physically. Faith is the ability to trust beyond what's in the physical world and holding to a belief in what God has promised is true.

Most Christians live based on their senses just like the world does. If we can't feel it, taste it, or smell it, it doesn't exist. We need to graduate from that. Most people assume every physical problem is natural, and don’t recognize that the enemy has a hand in things.

Conclusion

We looked at two types of healing:

Achieved by the faith of the healed person
Achieved by taking authority over the cause of the problem

We can pray for God to heal our sickness, but that’s not what Jesus or the apostles did

If the sickness is not God’s will then we can pray against it or use our authority to cast it out

the apostles never prayed for healing
they either

cast out the demons in the name of Jesus
activated the healing faith in the person

Both of these are based on our faith that Jesus already died for it.

both are done in the authority and “name” of Jesus

you've already been:

forgiven
healed
delivered

if you knew what you had, you wouldn't doubt that you'd get it

if you were convinced that you had it, you wouldn't quit trying

if you keep pursuing it, you will eventually see a physical manifestation

Example: looking for a job

you were already healed 2,000 years ago

you need to respond to what He's done
you shouldn’t be trying to use your faith to make God do something
faith is not getting God to do something

it’s responding to what He’s already done

God moves by grace

faith receives what God already did

God doesn't respond to your faith

your faith is a response to what God already did

Discussion Question

Is healing and delivering only possible if it’s God’s will?

Or is it always possible unless it’s against God’s will?

Presenter: Michael Leadon

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Saturday, October 10, 2015

Does God Cause Sickness