WHAT THE BIBLE SAYS ABOUT HEALING
Pastor Dennis Clanton
Woodland Church
Sunday, September 24, 2023
(Matthew 4:23, NCV) “Jesus went everywhere …, teaching … preaching … and healing all the people’s diseases and sicknesses.”
1. I CAN’T BUY GOD’S HEALING.
(Acts 8:18–22, Message) “When Simon saw that the apostles by merely laying on hands conferred the Spirit, he pulled out his money, excited, and said, “Sell me your secret! Show me how you did that! How much do you want? Name your price!” Peter said, “To hell with your money! And you along with it. Why, that’s unthinkable—trying to buy God’s gift! You’ll never be part of what God is doing by striking bargains and offering bribes. Change your ways—and now! Ask the Master to forgive you for trying to use God to make money.”
2. WHEN I AM SICK, I WILL BE COURAGEOUS.
(John 16:33, NLT) “I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.”
3. GOD STILL WORKS THROUGH MIRACLES, SIGNS AND WONDERS.
(James 5:13–18, NLT) “Are any of you suffering hardships? You should pray. Are any of you happy? You should sing praises. Are any of you sick? You should call for the elders of the church to come and pray over you, anointing you with oil in the name of the Lord. 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. Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results. Elijah was as human as we are, and yet when he prayed earnestly that no rain would fall, none fell for three and a half years! Then, when he prayed again, the sky sent down rain and the earth began to yield its crops.”
a. SUFFERING – HAVING TROUBLE
b. SICK – WEAK OR SICK
c. THE SICK PERSON – ONE WHO FEELS LIKE GIVING UP.
d. NO RAIN – DRY SPELL IN YOUR LIFE
e. ANYTIME I AM IN PAIN, SICK, TIRED, OR EMPTY
4. WHEN SOMEONE ISN’T HEALED…
a. KEEP PRAYING.
(Romans 12:12, NCV) “Be joyful because you have hope. Be patient when trouble comes, and pray at all times.”
b. ASK GOD TO MAKE YOUR FAITH STRONGER.
(Luke 17:5, CEV) “Make our faith stronger!”
c. IS GOD TRYING TO GET MY ATTENTION AND REDIRECT MY LIFE?
(Proverbs 20:30, GN) “Sometimes it takes a painful experience to make us change our ways.”
d. WILL THIS GIVE ME AN OPPORTUNTIY TO GLORIFY GOD?
(John 11:4, NLT) “Lazarus’s sickness will not end in death. No, it happened for the glory of God so that the Son of God will receive glory from this.”
e. AM I ABOUT TO ENTER INTO ETERNITY?
(Hebrews 9:27–28, Message) “Everyone has to die once, then face the consequences. Christ’s death was also a one-time event, but it was a sacrifice that took care of sins forever. And so, when he next appears, the outcome for those eager to greet him is, precisely, salvation.”
GROWTHWORK
How to ask God to heal someone?
1. Examine my heart and confess my sin.
(Psalm 19:12–13, NLT) “How can I know all the sins lurking in my heart? Cleanse me from these hidden faults. Keep your servant from deliberate sins! Don’t let them control me.”
2. Have prayer partners.
(James 5:16, NLT) “Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results.”
3. Be specific in your prayer!
(James 4:2, NLT) “You don’t have what you want because you don’t ask God for it.”
4. Ask in Faith!
(James 1:6, The Message: The Bible in Contemporary Language) “Ask boldly, believingly, without a second thought. People who “worry their prayers” are like wind-whipped waves.”
(Galatians 5:6, NCV) “The important thing is faith—the kind of faith that works through love.”