Healing & Faith #3
For the last couple of weeks we've been looking at our faith and healing work together to heal the sick and to keep us in divine health.
I) Mark 11:23-24.
A) In (verse 23) Mark tells us in order to receive we need to believe with the heart and not doubt in our heart.
1) Many times Christians believed in their head but not in the heart. And what I mean by that is that they forced themselves to say that they believe it but really, they still doubt if God will heal them.
(a) Yet, they still walk around and say they believe that, but really, they're hoping that they will be healed.
(b) I'm not trying to condemn anyone because I've done the same thing, but in order for us to be healed, we have to believe what God says with all of our heart.
B) Then he goes on to say in (verse 24), "Believe that you receive them, and ye shall have them."
1) Now what is the "THEM" that he's talking about? The things you pray for. "Believe that you receive them, and ye shall have them."
2) Now if we look up the word "RECEIVE" in the Greek, it tells us that the word "RECEIVE" is in the present tense.
3) And the words "SHALL HAVE" is in the future tense.
(a) In other words, this verse means, "When you pray, believed that you receive it now and you will have to in the future."
C) (Mark 11:24) from the Amplified translation says, "For this reason I am telling you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe (trust and be confident) that it is granted to you, and you will [get it]."
1) Notice the past tense. (That it is granted).
2) It has already been granted to you when you pray and stand in faith. As you continue to stand in faith you will get it, you'll receive.
(a) That's why (1st Peter 2:24) says, "Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye WERE healed."
II) Mark 5:22-34.
A) The NIV translation says, "Daughter, your faith has healed you."
1) According to (Romans 10:17) which says, "Faith, by hearing and hearing by the Word of God."
(a) In order for this woman to have faith she must have heard about Jesus and the miracles that he was doing.
(b) Maybe it was one of her friends that came to her and told her about the miracles Jesus was doing, how he was healing people who were oppressed by the Devil. (Acts 10:38)
(i) The Amplified translation says, "When she heard the reports concerning Jesus." Someone maybe many people told her what Jesus was doing. And this caused faith to well up in her heart.
B) Even though this woman had faith, there were some obstacles in her way to stop her from being healed.
1) This issue of blood was some kind of menstruation problem, possibly a uterine hemorrhage.
(a) According to the Levitical Law, (of Leviticus 15:25) a woman in this condition must separate herself from public.
(i) She could have been stoned for breaking this Law.
2) And not only was that against her, but she had been bleeding for 12 years.
(a) I'm sure by this time she was getting weak. The Bible says that she was even getting worse.
(b) You have to remember that there was a crowd around Jesus; it would not even be an easy task for a healthy man to push to the crowd let alone a woman that was sick.
(c) She pushed through the crowd and pushed through the crowd, probably been knocked down to the ground she saw Jesus walking by and lunged to touch the hem of his garment.
(i) When she did, she knew in herself that she was healed.
(d) Immediately Jesus knew that power went out of him and turned around and said, "Who touched me."
(i) This seem to be a ridiculous question because multitudes were touching him, but Jesus wanted to know who touched Him with the touch of faith.
(ii) Faith is what got the power of God to begin to move and brought the healing.
¨ She didn't have to beg Jesus to heal her. All she had to do was to touch Jesus with faith.
¨ Jesus said in (verse 34), "Daughter, thy faith hath made thee whole."
3) But we forgot about Jairus back in (verse 22).
(a) Look at Mark 5:35-36.
(i) The Amplified translation says, "Overhearing but ignoring what they said, Jesus said to the ruler of the synagogue, Do not be seized with alarm and struck with fear; only keep on believing."
(b) Let's keep on reading Mark 5:37-43.
(i) Why did Jesus only allow a select few to go in with Jairus’ daughter?
(ii) Because faith is what would get the job done, and doubt and unbelief could stop the miracle.
(c) To paraphrase (Mark 11:23) a little bit it says, "Do not doubt in your heart but believe and then you'll receive."
(i) James said in (James 1:6-7), "But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. 7For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord."
(ii) Faith will get the job done but doubt and unbelief will hinder the miracle from coming.
III) Matthew 8:5-13.
A) Notice what Jesus said in (verse 13), "As you believe or according to your faith so be it."
B) When God shows you something in his Word you need to receive it and continue to stand on it until you see it manifest and then keep on standing on those promises to keep it.
1) God wants you to be blessed and he wants you to be healed and have health but the way we receive it the vast majority of times is by faith, simply trusting Him with all our hearts and knowing that he will bring it to pass.