7 Things Churches Do: Anoint the Sick

Intro

I have a great longing in my life. As a matter of fact, I’m fairly desperate. Years ago when I was first saved, my mother came to visit me while I lived with my father in SC. I was a very young Christian full of boldness. I talked to her about my faith, and I remember telling her, and meaning it, that I believed God would use me to lay hands on people and heal the sick. Can I be perfectly honest and say the path that God has led me on has caused me to doubt that? I watched people go to meetings with Benny Hinn, Kenneth Copeland, etc, etc, etc. Sometimes they would come back with great testimonies. Sometimes they would come back entirely disappointed because they weren’t healed. I remember as a child sitting at home sick with asthma and desperately hoping that Pat Robertson would say, “There’s a young boy at home on his green vinyl couch having trouble breathing. God is healing him right now.” I was always incredibly disappointed when the end of the show had come and I was not healed. I watched people’s loved ones get sick and die and then their faith would wane because God didn’t heal them.

So before I get started down this road, I want to answer the question, “Why doesn’t God heal?” I’m going to break it down into a couple categories:

Not enough faith...

Woman with the issue of blood

Mark 5:34 ESV

And he said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace, and be healed of your disease.”

Mk 5:

One of the 10 cleansed lepers comes back...

Luke 17:19 ESV

And he said to him, “Rise and go your way; your faith has made you well.”

Lk 17:

Blind beggar cries out “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”

Luke 18:42 ESV

And Jesus said to him, “Recover your sight; your faith has made you well.”

Now these passages are often used by faith healers to explain away why the people they are praying for is not healed. They will say that the person being prayed for doesn’t have enough faith. Or, maybe, there is someone in the room who doesn’t have enough faith. Let me kill that argument here. Jesus said to His disciple that “If you have the faith as small as a mustard seed, than you can say to this mountain, ‘move from here to there’and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.” () The general idea here is that even small faith is enough. In addition to that, we have to determine what Jesus means by faith in these instances where he says that faith has healed them. Because in here lies a great secret. In all of these cases, it is the reaching for Jesus that is the sign of faith. The woman pushed through crowds to “only touch the hem” because even though she knew she was not worthy, He had the authority. The blind man cried out to the authority of Jesus by crying out, “Son of David.” In those 3 words, he proclaimed the kingship of Jesus and his recognition that Jesus was the Messiah, the one who would save us from our sins. In addition to that, he cried for mercy. Mercy by definition is not getting what you deserve, so the blind man recognizes that withing himself, he is not worthy for “intentional blank” but if anyone could grant it… Jesus could. Finally, the leper that cam back. Jesus healed 10 and told them all to come back.. only one did. Jesus says to that man, “your faith has healed you.” Now I ask the question, of what? All 10 lepers were already healed. What that man recognized that the other 9 didn’t was the Jesus is everything. He is more than a healer of the body. There is something deeper that needs healing… our very soul. So what was the cleansed leper healed from other than the desperate need to be delivered from his sins. More on that later.

Lk 1842

Not God’s Will

This answer seems to make more sense. tell us that “we receive not because we ask amiss.” Meaning we receive not because we are asking for something that is not in his will. See, we look to the gospels and we see Jesus healing everyone and casting demons out left and right. But I want to show you another picture quickly. Jesus goes to the pool of Siloam where people gathered their sick. The belief was that when the waters were stirred, the first one in the pool would be healed. On the day Jesus walked by, He healed one guy. One.... not all. Why? I don’t know. But we can clearly see that sometimes, God leaves people sick. Why? I don’t know. What I do know is that Paul had a thorn in his side that God did not relieve him from, and Paul also wrote the today we see through a glass darkly. We are not doing to understand all the things that God does… Sometimes, God does not heal the sick. I may have something to do with our faith, but more than likely it has more to do with His wisdom.

Believe and do not doubt.

Pray

Be healed.

Exp

However, If there is on thing I want you to know, is that we serve a God who heals the sick. So whether you are sick in body, mind, or spirit, God’s desire is that you would be well. One day you will be. whether in this moment, or in heaven when your mad perfect. You will be healed. Can he do it today? Amen and amen and amen. Let it be so that everyone who can hear the sound of these words, be healed in Jesus name. I proclaim it boldly and without a doubt that our King has the authority and desire to make you well. So be lifted up in Jesus name today.

PS

Today, we will be going to the closest thing we have to “directions for healing.”

What the Passage is About - (hint: It’s not healing)

It’s About Prayer

Is anyone seffering? Let him pray

Is anyone cheerful? Let him praise (a form of prayer)

Is anyone sick? call the elders and they will pray

Confess your sins to one another and PRAY for one another

There is an encouragement that if a righteous man prays, it has great power as it is working.

Elijah

Prayed fervently is very interesting, in the greek “prayed” is prosyookhomahee - meaning, well, pray. Fervently however is prosyookhay meaning to pray earnestly. So what is actually being said here is the Elijah prayed prayed earnestly … That’s what I call triple threat prayer. It like saying, “Elijah prayed, and when he prayed he prayed emphatically and he really dug down deep into his soul and prayed with all he was worth.”

So, this passage is all about connecting with God. Whether you are suffering or all is well… connect with God.

When you are sick, find other to help you connect with God, but above all… connect with God.

When you need a miracle

When you are in sin confess to eachother and help each other.. connect with God.

If you need a supernatural miracle, then get some supernatural connections with God.

The other thing it’s about… (hint, still not healing)

In oder to get to the healing part we have to take a look at the verse that has caused such turmoil in the body of Christ because people like to read their desires into the truth of what is being said.

James 5:15 ESV

And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven.

James 5”15

Definitions

Sick - any person being brought low physically, mentally, and more importantly — spiritually.

Remember this book is being written to a severely persecuted church. They entire book seems to be pushing for those being pushed down to persevere under trial. Why would this little sentence be any different. However, they are in a position where they need elders in the church to help them. They are beaten down, afflicted, stressed out, sick - They need a supernatural intervention to help them to stand up and be who they are created to be. The best they can do is ask for other to pray for them.

Save - sozo - delivered. Every other time in the Bible that this word is used, and yes I looked it up, it is talking about deliverance from sin. Why would this sentence run contrary to the rest of the New Testament?

Lets couple this with the rest of the passage.

v. 15 if they have sinned, they will be forgiven.

v. 16 Confess your sins to eachother and pry so you may be healed

v 16 - why? because the prayer of a righteous man is powerful. How do you become unrighteous? Sin

v. 17-18 Why did Elijah pray? Ahab became the king of Israel and did more evil than any other king before him. I don’t want to go into the evil that literally reigned during this time but you can read it for yourselves in . So why did Elijah pray? Because he wanted his country to break free of great sin.

So this passage is not so much about healing as much as it is about having a rich prayer life to have victory over sins and the things that result from them ie. suffering, sickness, being held from being who you are in Christ.

That Being Said… this passage is about healing.

In Christ’s Ministry he would enter a town and heal all the sick and cast out all the demons. (; … the leper, the centurion's daughter, Peter’s mother-in-law, all the demon possessed, all the sick)

Matthew 8:17 ESV

This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah: “He took our illnesses and bore our diseases.”

Mt 8

While I made it a point to define sickness not only as a physical ailment, part of it is. If a physical ailment is keeping you down then absolutely bring it to the Elders so they can pray for you.

While I made it a point to say that saved (sozo) more than likely refers to being raised up from the results of sin, the word healed really does mean healed.... BUT it is a result of something. It seems to hinge on something else.

Healing Mandates (2)

If a person is sick it is their responsibility to reach out.

It is their act of faith

Just like the woman with the issue of blood.

Just like the leper who came back to Jesus

Just like the blind man that cried out.

The passage seems to allude to the fact that righteousness is a strong component. That is not to say that God will absolutely heal if you are absolutely perfect (which you not but you should strive for), and it not to say that God will not heal if you have a small blemish - or a big one. However verse 16 seems to hint that our righteousness has something to do with His healing.

James 5:16 ESV

Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.

James 5:1

There is a unity component of coming together and praying for one another

and there is a forgiveness of sin component.

these lead to “may be healed” not “will” but “may”

Conclusion

I would like to conclude by doing what the Bible says that churches do..

We provide opportunity for the sick (physically, mentally, spiritually) to reach out to Jesus by calling to the elders.

We anoint the sick with oil.

side bar… the anointing with oil every place else in the Bible is a setting apart so that God can do something amazing… in this case, maybe not to be the next King, but to provide a picture of how God brings us health not only in our body, but in our spirit.

We pray fervently.

I don’t know if that’s and outside thing as far as volume and through eloquent passionate words, but I do know it’s an inside thing. You have to mean it with your whole being.

And so that what this altar is for. You will come up and tell me what you need prayer for. I will anoint you with oil and either touch you on the shoulder or the forehead. I will pray and you may be healed. You do your part, I do mine...... and more importantly, God will do His.