SOME THOUGHTS ON MIRACLES AND HEALING
FIRSTLY, THE FOUNDATIONS:
1. God is a healer. One of His covenant names is "Jahve Raphae," which means "The Lord your physician."
2. When Jesus was whipped, beaten, and crucified, He bore upon His own self as our substitute, ALL of our sins, diseases, pains, and infirmities. The Bible declares that "By His stripes we WERE healed." This means that healing was provided for us at the Cross 2000 years ago, and that it is ours to take hold of by faith today.
3. Because healing flows from the Atonement, it is for ALL humankind, leaving nobody out. It is not only our "privilege," but also our "right" to receive healing, since Jesus has paid the price to give it to us.
SECONDLY, SOME KEYS:
1. FAITH is a most important aspect of healing. Jesus often said, "your faith has healed you."
2. We MUST preach the Word of God about healing provided through the atonement. Since faith comes by hearing the Word of God, the only way people can have faith to be healed is if we as pastors and teachers teach much on what the Bible says about healing in the atonement. People will only have faith for that which is preached to them. That is why, if we really want to see more people healed, we need to teach and preach more on faith and healing than is done today.
3. The Holy Spirit and His gifts are important. A church that gives free reign to the Holy Spirit and His gifts is a church where the healing power of God flows freely. If we want miracles and healings to flow in our church, we must submit to the Lordship of Jesus AND of the Holy Spirit, and let the Power of God flow freely.
4. God uses anointed men and women who carry healing gifts and anointings, and we see this through the fruit in their lives and ministries. At the same time, He also uses ordinary believers who study and believe the Word and put their faith into action. Here we see two groups of people who operate in different levels of calling and anointing, but God has a place for both, and He uses both in His own way for His glory.
5. Healing and miracles are connected to the Gospel. Miracles accompany the preaching of the Gospel. That is why churches that are very active in evangelism outside the church, and in foreign missions, see more miracles than others. This flow of miracles eventually affects the flow inside the church as well.
6. Prayer. "Praying churches," i.e churches that place a major emphasis on prayer, see many more miracles and healings than those who do not have that emphasis.
7. Ultimately, we must never forget that JESUS is the healer. He uses humans; He uses our hands to touch others and our lips to proclaim His Word, but it is He who is the great healer.
Our churches and ministries should be totally "Jesus centered." We should ALWAYS point to Him, we should always make sure to give Him all the glory. We should always bring people to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ, because that is the ultimate goal of the healing power of God flowing through us.
These are just a few thoughts that are in my heart before I go to bed tonight. God Bless you all!
Originally posted on Facebook by Pastor Christopher Alam