Sermon Tone Analysis

The Battle for Healing

05 - Your Healer

Church in the City | Sunday, 10 APR 2022 | Glen Gerhauser

Text: “Pardon me, my lord,” Gideon replied, “but if the LORD is with us, why has all this happened to us?

Where are all his wonders that our ancestors told us about when they said, ‘Did not the LORD bring us up out of Egypt?’

But now the LORD has abandoned us and given us into the hand of Midian” (Judges 6:13, NIV).

Theme: In the battle for healing God trains his mighty warriors.

Intro: In Exodus 15:26, Yahweh reveals that he is our healer (Yahweh Rophekha).

And in the Gospels, Jesus was constantly “healing every kind of disease and every kind of sickness” (Matt.

9:35).

So if God is with us, and Jesus is in us, why do some believers get sick?

Furthermore, why do some stay sick after receiving prayer?

Why aren’t there more physical healings, and what can we do to change this?

Today, I want to tackle some of the difficult questions regarding healing.

We will also look at some verses that many Christians who believe in healing don’t like to read.

There are many mysteries surrounding sickness and healing, but one thing is certain: when you believe in Jesus, you receive eternal life.

This means that you will receive a resurrected body in the age to come, a body just like Jesus’ resurrected body).

It will be a body completely healed just as Jesus intended it (1 Cor.

15:42-57).

Near the end of the message, I would like to share a dream I had this week, which I hope sheds more light on the mystery of healing.

1) There’s a battle for healing (Judges 6:13-14).

In Judges 6:13, Gideon asked “If God is with us, where are his wonders.”

Listen:

“Pardon me, my lord,” Gideon replied, “but if the LORD is with us, why has all this happened to us?

Where are all his wonders that our ancestors told us about when they said, ‘Did not the LORD bring us up out of Egypt?’

But now the LORD has abandoned us and given us into the hand of Midian” (Judges 6:13, NIV).

People who hunger and thirst for righteousness ask these kinds of questions.

However, be careful that you don’t get stuck in these questions like a four-wheel drive stuck in the mud.

Don’t let these questions feed unbelief.

Instead, let them thrust you into the battle for healing.

And yes, in this age of sin and death, there is a battle for healing.

Sometimes it comes instantaneously, and at other times, it takes time.

When healing takes time, God is teaching you how to war.

Look at Judges 3:1-2.

Nothing is perfect in this age.

Otherwise, we would settle here rather than seek the eternal city whose builder and maker is God.

How did the Lord answer Gideon’s question about the absence of God’s wonders?

“The LORD turned to him and said, “Go in the strength you have and save Israel out of Midian’s hand.

Am I not sending you?” (Judges 6:14, NIV).

In other words, you make the change in the situation.

You are a mighty warrior––God is with you.

Now, go in this strength––the strength of God’s presence with you.

And as you respond to me, I will work wonders and set Israel free.

Don’t be focused on the oppression.

Instead, focus on me and my voice.

Listen to me and you will set the captives free.

And that’s what happened.

God used Gideon’s weakness to usher in his strength.

2) Jesus has given you authority over demons, sickness and disease (Matthew 10:1).

Matthew 10:1 & Luke 10:19

Police have the authority to enforce the law.

However, that doesn’t mean every criminal just listens to their first command.

They may have to say repeatedly, “Put down your weapon!”

They may even have to chase the lawbreaker.

In other words, they have authority, but it doesn’t mean that enforcing that authority is always easy.

Sometimes it is easy.

They raise their hand and a car stops.

At other times, the person in the vehicle is more rebellious.

The police officer raises their hand, but the car races on.

3) In every battle, God is training us to be his warriors.

He’s making us stronger and wiser (Judges 3:1-2).

“These are the nations the LORD left to test all those Israelites who had not experienced any of the wars in Canaan (he did this only to teach warfare to the descendants of the Israelites who had not had previous battle experience)” (Jdg 3:1–2, NIV).

When things are difficult regarding healing, we don’t give up and doubt our authority or Jesus’ power.

Instead, dig your heels in and fight.

We have been given authority to fight in the Spirit for healing.

How do you fight?

You use all of God’s weapons, and you let the Holy Spirit teach and lead you.

Even in the New Testament, there were battles for healing––not everyone was instantly healed.

Acts 9:32-43 - Tabitha also known as Dorcas

1 Cor.

11:30 - The Corinthians

Galatians 4:12-14 - Paul

Phil. 2:25-27 - Epaphroditus

1 Tim.

5:23 - Timothy

2 Tim.

4:20 - Trophimus

There was some kind of lesson learned and redemption in all these instances.

4) Our Father’s house has many rooms.

Each one has unique treasures for you to receive (John 14:1-6).

This week, I dreamed of a house with many rooms.

And in this dream, a man gave me an ancient keychain with many keys, and I heard him say, “I have given you the keys.”

Then a verse of Scripture came to me.

It’s when Jesus said to Peter, “I have given you the keys of the Kingdom of heaven” (Matt.

16:19).

And when he gave me the keys, I first saw one key and then many (as often happens in dreams).

Then, the Lord began showing me the many rooms of his mansion.

The entrance.

The library.

The study.

The family room.

The kitchen.

The dining room.

The bedroom.

The dressing room.

There were many rooms, too many to mention.

But the most important room was the throne room.

I saw that there were many treasures to be found in each room.

And I saw you often had to go through one room to get to the other room.

As I prayed over the dream, there were three rooms that the Lord highlighted to me.

One was the healing room.

The second was the waiting room.

And the third was the war room.