What is Missing

The gospel of Matthew reveals some very interesting things concerning the connection of the Lord Jesus Christ to humanity. We see a good portion of this, beginning at the end of chapter three, Christ's baptism, through chapter ten, the sending out of the twelve apostles. This is not to exclude the rest of Matthew's gospel, but to simply see that much is missing in the church when it comes to sound teaching on various important topics, mainly that of healing.

After the forty days and nights that Jesus spent in the wilderness being tempted of the devil, He comes out of the wilderness in the power of the Spirit (Luke 4:14) and begins His ministry to humanity as the Son of Man. Not only does He begin to chose His disciples, but what we see that stands out most, is, "And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease among the people. Then His fame went throughout all Syria; and they brought to Him all sick people who were afflicted with various diseases and torments, and those who were demon-possessed, epileptics, and paralytics; and He healed them." (Matthew 4:23-24) Jesus begins to show us by word and action, something that most only see from one side. Not only did He teach and preach the gospel of the kingdom (of God, of Heaven), but He also assaulted the kingdom of darkness that had been holding humanity captive since the fall of man. (Genesis 3)

Assaulting the kingdom of darkness is very important for believers to not only know about, but to also implement in their daily lives. Unfortunately, we have a serious problem in many sectors of the church. The fact is, most are instructed on the Word of God concerning the salvation of the soul, but our education concerning ministering healing to the sick and disease and casting out demons has been neglected. What has happened is simple, yet disheartening. The church has lost her faith in God and has replaced faith with an intellectual approach, mental assent, to His Word. In doing so, we began to teach believers that maybe it is not God's will to heal them. With that, the church then has introduced the phrase, "Lord, if it be Your will." However, not only did Jesus heal all who came to Him, (Matthew 4:24, 8:16, 12:15), He also shows us that healing and deliverance from Satan, demons and evil spirits is not only in the plan of redemption, (Isaiah 53; John 8:36; Ephesians 1:19-23, 2:4-6; Colossians 1:13-14), but also the ministry of the church, all believers. (Mark 16:17-18; John 14:12)

In fact, Jesus did not leave us in a place where we should have any doubts about God's will concerning the supernatural flowing through believers, as we see, "When He (Jesus) had come down from the mountain, great multitudes followed Him. And behold, a leper came and worshiped Him, saying, Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean. Then Jesus put out His hand and touched him, saying, I am willing; be cleansed. Immediately his leprosy was cleansed." (Matthew 8:1-3) Taking this a step further, we see Jesus saying repeatedly, "My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work." (John 4:34) "Most assuredly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do; for whatever He does, the Son also does in like manner." (John 5:19) "I can of Myself do nothing. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is righteous, because I do not seek My own will but the will of the Father who sent Me." (John 5:30) "For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me." (John 6:38) (Also see, John 7:16, 8:26-29, 9:4, 10:25)

Although there are many church doctrines that have created more doubt than faith when it comes to God's position concerning these things, we can honestly conclude that it was, is, and will always be God's will to heal, period. The church in general is very clear in her faith on the subject of salvation of the soul through the vicarious sacrifice of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. However, the majority of believers today, have much doubt and are very inexperienced when it comes the the power of God. I believe the root of this problem has been and is reoccurring today, when believers do not see immediate results when it comes to healing. In most instances this has opened the door for doubt to overtake them and healing has come down to, "Lord, if it be Your will." However, we need to keep in mind that sometimes healing is instantaneous and sometimes progressive. Either way, it does not mean in any way that God does not heal or that He uses sickness and disease to perfect His children in some mysterious way that only He knows. In fact, looking at the ministry of Jesus we clearly see that God methods of healing are not always the same and not always instant, based on various conditions.  For instances...

"Then He (Jesus) came to Bethsaida; and they brought a blind man to Him, and begged Him to touch him. So He took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the town. And when He had spit on his eyes and put His hands on him, He asked him if he saw anything.And he looked up and said, I see men like trees, walking. Then He put His hands on his eyes again and made him look up. And he was restored and saw everyone clearly." (Mark 8:22-25) "Now it happened as He went to Jerusalem that He passed through the midst of Samaria and Galilee. Then as He entered a certain village, there met Him ten men who were lepers, who stood afar off. And they lifted up their voices and said, Jesus, Master, have mercy on us! So when He saw them, He said to them, Go, show yourselves to the priests. And so it was that as they went, they were cleansed." (Luke 17:11-14) "Now when Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to Him, pleading with Him, saying, Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, dreadfully tormented. And Jesus said to him, I will come and heal him.The centurion answered and said, Lord, I am not worthy that You should come under my roof. But only speak a word, and my servant will be healed...Then Jesus said to the centurion, Go your way; and as you have believed, so let it be done for you.” And his servant was healed that same hour." (Matthew 8:5-8, 13)

These are only a few examples that show us that healing is not always instantaneous, yet it was still God's will to heal. Keep in mind that Jesus flowed in the fullness of the Holy Spirit. He completely and wholly relied and depended of the Holy Spirit. Although believers receive the same Holy Spirit, as they yield more of themselves to Him, depend more on Him, He is able to operate in a greater way through us all. (Acts 2:4, 4:31; Ephesians 5:18) So, beloved, you and I must use the level of the Holy Spirit that we possess, knowing, we can, as a member of His body, operate in the same level of the Spirit as Jesus did. God does not expect us to fulfill Mark 16:17-18 and John 14:12 with less equipment than Jesus had. 

For us to return to the place that God had intended the church to flow, in the supernatural, we must first let go of doubt, fear and unbelief and know, what God's Word says, is, and what God's Word says, becomes! Therefore, if you pray and do not experience instant healing, do not give into doubt. Also, if you do not experience healing at all or receive only a certain amount of healing, keep praying and believing until healing is complete. This, however, is where many believer falter. They will pray for a day or two, and then quit when they see little or no results. This is one of the things that has discredited healing. For instance, a minister of the gospel will hold meetings. Many sick will come and be prayed for. Some are absolutely healed, others are only half-healed or quarter-healed and still others have only received a little touch of healing. This is where believers have permitted doubt, fear and unbelief to flood their soul, which causes faith to erode. Interestingly enough, this very thing occurs many times when the gospel message for salvation is preached and the call to receive Jesus is presented. 

For instance, ten people come to the altar at the invitation of the minister. One confesses Christ without hesitation because he/she recognizes the lost state of their soul. Another person may come and hear the gospel message preached again the next week, another for a month, and another even longer before they are convinced that they are in need of the Savior. The difference is not with God. The difference is inside the person. They have not permitted themselves to opened up to God. It is the same with healing. Every law of the Spirit that applies to salvation applies to healing, by grace through faith. (Ephesians 2:8) The Holy Spirit through the Apostle Paul puts it this way, "That if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. (to save, deliver from danger and suffering, made whole, delivered from the bondage of sin, healed, preserved) For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation." (Romans 10:9-10)

The promise of God through Jesus Christ is not only that believers can be healed and walk in divine health (1 Peter 2:24; Proverbs 4:20-22; John 10:10) but believers are to be ministers of the power of God to the world. (Matthew 28:18-20; Mark 16:17-20; John 14:12; Romans 15:18-19; 1 Corinthians 2:1-5) However, the reality of this will not be experienced, but remain a mystery that is unpredictable and even unreliable until we believe God's Word and act upon it. The Holy Spirit through the Apostle James tells us, "faith without corresponding works is dead." (James 2:20) So, let us loose the Holy Spirit in us and believe. Jesus said, "Did I not say to you that if you would believe you would see the glory of God?” (John 11:40) PTL!!!