Scripture:
- Luke 5:18-25
- John 20:22-23
- James 5:14-16
- Matthew 10:1
- Luke 13:11-13
- Acts 8:6-7
- Matthew 1:21
- Luke 7:48-50
- James 5:15
- Luke 8:36
Outline:
- Introduction
- Review of Part 1
- The Disciples Could Forgive Sins
- Healing By Prayer
- Unforgiveness
- Healing By Casting Out Demons
- Sozo
- 3 Causes of Sickness
- Conclusion
Introduction
Did Peter heal anyone?
Can demons cause sickness?
Review
Series: Hearing From God
God’s Responses to Prayer
- Yes
- No
- Wait
- Direction / Guidance / Clarity
- Silence
2 Types of Healing
- Forgiveness of sins
- Required faith (the healed or loved ones)
- For God’s Glory
Healing Was a Sign that Sins Were Forgiven
Luke 5:18-25
18And some men were carrying on a bed a man who was paralyzed; and they were trying to bring him in and to set him down in front of Him.19But not finding any way to bring him in because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and let him down through the tiles with his stretcher, into the middle of the crowd, in front of Jesus. 20Seeing their faith, He said, “Friend, your sins are forgiven you.” 21The scribes and the Pharisees began to reason, saying, “Who is this man who speaks blasphemies? Who can forgive sins, but God alone?” 22But Jesus, aware of their reasonings, answered and said to them, “Why are you reasoning in your hearts? 23“Which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins have been forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’? 24“But, so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins,”—He said to the paralytic—“I say to you, get up, and pick up your stretcher and go home.” 25 Immediately he got up before them, and picked up what he had been lying on, and went home glorifying God.
What do we see
- Because they had faith, Jesus forgave the man’s sins
- The healing proved that Jesus had the authority to forgive sins
- The healing was a sign that Jesus was the Messiah
- God got the glory
Healing proved that his sins were forgiven
- This proved that Jesus was the Messiah
The main reason that Jesus healed was to prove He was the Messiah
Jesus Couldn’t Heal Without Faith (Mark 6:4-6)
It wasn’t that He healed them because of their faith
- It was that he could heal him because he had faith
Jesus Couldn’t Heal in His Hometown
He couldn’t heal when He went to Nazareth because they didn’t have faith
They remembered Jesus as a child and couldn’t accept that He was the Messiah
The faith they needed was faith that Jesus was the Messiah and could forgive sins
Sickness For God’s Glory (John 9: 1- 3)
Blind Man
- The disciples assumed that the man’s blindness was caused by sin
- It was not
- The blindness was caused for the glory of God
- In this scenario the healing wasn’t based on the faith of the blind man
2 Types of Healing
- Forgiveness of sins
- Required faith
- For God’s Glory
The Disciples Could Forgive Sins
John 20:22-23
22And when He had said this, He breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23“If you forgive the sins of any, their sins have been forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they have been retained.”
Your Faith Has Healed You
Did Peter heal anyone?
When the disciples healed people they would declare “your faith has healed you”
- Even though they did it
- They did it through the power of the Holy Spirit
- They could heal people because the people had faith that Jesus was the Messiah
It is correct to say either:
- Peter healed them
- Their faith healed them
- God healed them
Perhaps it’s the same with forgiveness of sins
It’s correct to say
- Their sins were forgiven by God
- Their sins were forgiven because of their faith
- Their sins were forgiven by the disciples
Healing Proved Forgiveness of Sins
Jesus said that healing was a sign that sins were forgiven
- The disciples performed that sign
- They commanded people to be healed
Thus it showed that their sins had been forgiven
- Because of their faith
Healing By Prayer
Let’s see if there is anywhere else that talks about sins being forgiven by Christians ...
James 5:14-16
14 Is anyone among you sick? Then he must call for the elders of the church and they are to pray over him, [having] anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord;
15 and the prayer offered in faith will restore the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up, and if he has committed sins, they will be forgiven him.
16 Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed. The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much.
Details:
- Elders
- Anointing with oil
- Prayer offered in Faith
- Righteous man
- Confess sins to one another
- Pray for one another
Forgiving Sins
“if he has committed sins, they will be forgiven him”
- The prayers from the elders will forgive sins
Here too, the healing is associated with the forgiveness of sins
Perhaps if the sin that caused the sickness was forgiven
- The natural consequences of that sin will be removed
- The enemy no longer has authority to attack the body
“If”
Notice it says: “If” he has committed sins
It’s not necessarily caused by sin
Unforgiveness
This implies that forgiveness of sin is necessary for some types of healing
Jesus said if we don’t forgive others our sins won’t be forgiven
Could this mean that unforgiveness can impact our healing?
We have seen that healing is related to our sins being forgiven
Perhaps if we don’t forgive others our sins won’t be forgiven so we won’t be healed
Can unforgiveness prevent you from being healed?
Healing By Casting Out Demons
Disciples Had Authority Over Demons
Matthew 10:1
1Jesus summoned His twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every kind of disease and every kind of sickness.
What’s an unclean spirit?
- A demon
Demons Cause Sickness
Can demons cause sickness?
Sickness by a Spirit
Luke 13:11-13
11And there was a woman who for eighteen years had had a sickness caused by a spirit; and she was bent double, and could not straighten up at all. 12When Jesus saw her, He called her over and said to her, “Woman, you are freed from your sickness.” 13And He laid His hands on her; and immediately she was made erect again and began glorifying God.
- Demons do cause sickness and disability in people.
- Some people say all illnesses are caused by demons
Paralyzed and Lame
Acts 8:6-7
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.
- Therefore casting demons out of people would cure their sickness
- Demons cause sickness and disability
Summary
- Demons cause sickness and disability
- The Disciples cast out demons by the authority of Jesus
Sozo
Is there a relation between forgiving sins, healing and authority over demons?
sozo: to save, keep safe and sound, to rescue from danger or destruction
in the technical biblical sense
- to deliver from the penalties of the Messianic judgment
- to make one a partaker of the salvation by Christ
In the bible, sozo is translated to mean
- Healing
- Forgiving Sins
- Salvation
- Deliverance (casting out demons)
Salvation
Matthew 1:21
She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save [sozo] his people from their sins."
Forgiving Sins
Woman Putting Perfume on Jesus’ Feet
Luke 7:48-50
48Then He said to her, “Your sins have been forgiven.” 49Those who were reclining at the table with Him began to say to themselves, “Who is this man who even forgives sins?” 50And He said to the woman, “Your faith has saved [sozo] you; go in peace.”
Healing
James 5:15
15 and the prayer offered in faith will restore [sozo] the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up, and if he has committed sins, they will be forgiven him.
Deliverance
Luke 8:36
36 Those who had seen it told the people how the demon-possessed man had been cured [sozo].
The Link
There is a link between
- Healing
- Casting out demons
- Forgiving sins
- Salvation
Disciples Forgiveness of Sins
The disciples had authority to heal, and cast out demons with the power of the Holy Spirit
- They had authority to sozo
- Could they have had the power to sozo but not the power to sozo?
3 Causes of Sickness
Causes of sickness
- Consequence Sin
- To give God glory
- Demonic attack
God Allowed It
- But that does not mean that it was his will
- But the healing from God is always God’s will
What about
- Stress
- Unhealthy habits
- Poor lifestyle choices
- Lack of rest
- Climate / weather
These are direct causes, but the other 3 are reasons why they are allowed
Conclusion
We are susceptible to sickness and disease because of Adam’s fall
Jesus said “If I cast out demons by the finger of God, then the Kingdom of God is here”
The Kingdom of God was already here when Jesus began his public ministry
At that time Jesus had authority over sickness, death and demons
He passed this authority to the disciples
3 Means of Healing
- Forgiving Sins
- Casting out Demons
- Praying
Biblical healings were
- Not based on the relationship the healer had with the sick person
- Not primarily a reward for faith
- Signs and miracles intended to prove that Jesus was the Messiah
- Always within God’s will
3 Causes of Sickness
Causes of sickness / disease
- Sin
- Demons / Satan
- To give God glory
We can pray to cover all three
- Ask God to reveal my sins and give me strength to resist temptation
- Confess the sins and ask for forgiveness
- Forgive those who have sinned against us
- So that we may be forgiven
- Rebuke the disease / demon / Satan in the name of Jesus
- Have faith that Jesus is the Messiah
- Pray that God’s purpose is accomplished and that His will is done
Instructor: Michael Leadon
References
When God Doesn’t Heal
Does God Cause Sickness?
Extra
Healing 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.
The Disciples Could Forgive Sins
Different views of the meaning:
- Catholics use this verse to claim that Priests can forgive sins
- Christians have the authority to pronounce which sins "have been forgiven”
- Church can define what sins are forgiven and which are retained
- The disciples forgive sins indirectly by preaching the gospel
- Christians can announce it to people after they get saved
- In Jesus’ authority
- We can forgive those who have sinned against us
- Forgive our sins as we forgive those who sin against us
Matthew 16:19
19“I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven.”
Sozo
Mark 6:56
56 Wherever He entered villages, or cities, or countryside, they were laying the sick in the market places, and imploring Him that they might just touch the fringe of His cloak; and as many as touched it were being cured [sozo].
