Do we still need miracles today, or were the miracles of the Bible all that we can expect?  Does the Lord continue to perform miracles of healing in our lives, or is modern    medicine all that we need? Some Christians believe that it is absolutely impossible for miracles to occur today. They contend that the purpose of the miracles or signs reported in the Bible was only to confirm the words preached by the apostles. They believe that Christ endowed only his apostles with the power to perform miracles, and since Paul was the last apostle and his words are no longer to be confirmed, we are ìout of miracles.î

But are we out of miracles? Hebrews 13:8 tells us ìJesus Christ is the same yesterday, and today, and foreverî. If we believe this, we must also believe that the miracles He performed as reported in the Bible, He still does today. Is He not still ìthe way, the truth, and the life?î (John 14:6) If He healed yesterday, He still heals today, and will continue to heal tomorrow and beyond. The Lord is our Healer. We still need the miracle of healing, and He is still giving us His promise of Healing.

In last weekís sermon, we learned of Godís promise as our Provider. ìAnd my God shall supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesusî (Phil.4:19).  He supplies all our needs ñ even our need for miracles! Thus, we must strive to have the faith for miracles. 

How then does God perform todayís miracles of healing? There is one constant in Godís performance of miracles: God does not act only in one way or only by one formula. We cannot expect all miracles to take the form of laying on of hands or of angels stirring the water. God will not allow us to ìformulizeî His miracles or to put him in a box. Today, He does quiet miracles as well as spectacular ones.

Letís study just five Ways That God Heals. 

1.  God heals instantly.   Read Matthew 15:28 for an example of instant healing when He healed a womanís daughter because of this womanís faith.

2.  God heals gradually.  Read the story of Naaman the Leper in 2 King 5:14 for an example of gradual healing. Notice that Naaman responded to Godís promise of a miracle with anger and impatience. God, therefore, caused Naamanís healing to be gradual in order to first build in Naaman a heart of faith. 

3. God heals with medical assistance.  Read Luke 5:31 and Colossians 4:14.

God encourages the use of medicine and doctors to assist Him in the process of healing. Luke, a man so loved by Christ that he became a disciple of Christ, was a physician. God created the profession and guided us to discover medicine in order that our bodies can be helped in healing. Never disregard the promise of healing through medicine. Yes, believe in God, have faith in His power to heal, but donít fall into the false assumption that God does not use medicine to heal. Believe in God, and get the best medical advice available.

4. God heals partially.   Read Genesis 32:25 and Corinthians 2 12:9 for examples of partial healing. We must keep in mind that even though we say that God heals partially, He does so intentionally. God does all things well. Partial healing is part of His plan. Through partial healing, God reminds us of our frailty. Just as with Jacobís limp, He leaves a small reminder that we are frail, but that He is our strength.

Remember too, the Apostle Paul who suffered grievously from failing eyesight and a chronic abscess in his eyes. He prayed fervently three times for God to take away ìthis thorn.î Godís response was, ìMy grace is sufficient for you for my power is perfect in weakness.î Paul comes to realize that he would ìmost gladly . . .rather boast of [his] weaknesses so that God will dwell in [him].î (2 Cor. 12:9)  His suffering was a reminder to him of his dependence on God.

5.   Through his promise of heaven, God heals completely.  Read Psalm

      116:15. We know that God does do all things well and intentionally. Right 

      now, He is preparing a better place for us. We are on this earth only but a

      moment, for one day we will be taken to a place from whence pain and

      sorrow and sighing have fled away. Here we will revel in Godís glory and

      live forever with Him. On this day, we will experience the greatest healing 

      of all. Our assignment on earth will be done, and we need have no fear of 

      death for God has a place for us. 

These then, are but five ways in which God performs the miracles of healing:  instantly, gradually, with medical assistance, partially, and completely. So how do we while here on Earth take advantage of His promise of healing? How do we contend for the Lord and ensure we are physically and emotionally fit to fulfill our assignment?

Letís look at three steps for readying ourselves to take advantage of His promise.

1. LEARN THE PROMISES OF HEALING.   

You cannot live on Godís promises if you donít know and understand what they are. Start to build Godís word in your life.  For example, read each of the following verses. 

What are Godís promises told to us through these verses?

?        Mal. 4:2

?        Jer. 17:14

?        Ex. 15:26

?        Mark 16:18

?        Rev. 22:2

?        1 Cor. 12:9

?        How do we start building Godís word in our lives?  We start by reading Godís word daily!  Building Godís word in our lives requires a building of faith and a building of self-discipline, too.  Do daily devotions and daily journaling.

Now read Acts 14:9-10.  

?        What did Paul see in the man crippled from birth?  How is faith perceivable by other?

Next, read Romans 10: 17. 

?        How do we create within us such a faith?  

?        How does reading Godís word relate to hearing Godís word? 

As we read Godís word, we hear Him and by hearing Him, we build faith. Faith causes us to be open to his miracles of healing. If we donít read about and hear about healing, we donít build our faith for healing. We must not only learn Godís promises to us, but we must take the second step:

2. PREPARE YOUR LIFE FOR HEALING.    

Look at this first verse:  ìIf I regard wickedness in my heart, the Lord will not hearî (Ps. 66:18)

We are told to rid our hearts of wickedness. To tolerate sin in our lives impedes Godís promise of healing for our lives. He ìwill not hearî our calls for healing. Our hearts must be prepared for His touch. 

Look now at this second verse: ìÖFear the Lord and turn away from evil. It will be healing to your body. . .î (Prov. 3:7-8). God has created our bodies as self-healers. Our internal systems are always in the process of healing. For example our white blood cells silently fight off invading illness; our muscles silently, but not necessarily painlessly, rebuild themselves after we put them through a tough workout at the gym. Our bodies are the product of Godís handiwork, the fingerprints of Godís creation, the portraiture of a God of healing. If we hold evil in our hearts or un-confessed sins in our lives, this wonderful self-healing machine cannot be healed. Wickedness leaves us vulnerable to stress and stress leads to unhappiness and illness. 

By far, the greatest impediment to healing is bitterness. To hold onto bitterness is to drink poison and then wait for the other person to die. Bitterness always destroys the container long before it destroys that upon which it is poured. 

Read James 5:16. ìTherefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, so that you may be healedÖ.î

• What are we asked to do? How? Why? 

The healthiest practice we can teach ourselves is to forget about yesterday. Learn from it, yes, but then forget about it. Think about what God want to do in our lives today and tomorrow. God throws our sins into a sea of forgetfulness, why can we not do the same? More often than not, we remember what we should forget and forget what we should remember! Instead, we must make our minds like the mind of Christ.  Develop, if you will, a ìdivine dementia.î Choose to forget what we should forget.  And, it is a choice we can make for we can develop the discipline to control our thinking.

In a letter to his daughter who was lamenting an occurrence in her life at school, the famous writer, Ralph Waldo Emerson said, ìMy darling daughter, finish every day and be done with it. You have done what you could. Some blunders and absurdities no doubt have crept in, but get rid of them and forget them as soon as you can, because tomorrow is a new day, and you should never encumber its potentialities and invitations with the dread of the past. You should not waste a moment of today on the rottenness of yesterday.î Let us pray each day that God helps us do just that.

So, we now know to prepare our lives for healing, to keep our hearts clean and our accounts short. We know to read Godís words daily, to keep relationships right, and when necessary, seek the best medical help possible. The third step in seeking the promise of healing is to pray.

3. Pray, but PRAY WITH THANKSGIVING.  

Why pray with a heart of thanksgiving? We do so because it would otherwise be too easy to become discouraged. When our spirit flags, all else drains away from our lives. Doctors and nurses often see firsthand what is warned against in Proverbs 18:14: ìThe spirit of a man can endure his sickness, but a broken spirit who can bear?î Patients, who give up their will to live, cannot endure and likely die. 

We must prepare our lives for Godís promises by keeping a strong, stalwart spirit that does not flag. We must believe for Godís best and keep our spirits strong, as this verses illustrates:

ìRejoice always; pray without ceasing; in everything give thanks; for this is Godís will for you in Christ Jesusî (1 Thess. 5:16-18)

ìIs anyone among you sick?  Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord; and the prayer offered in faith will restore the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him us, and if he has committed sins, they will be forgiven himî (James 5:14-15).

We must keep our spirits strong. We must pray. We cannot allow ourselves to sit around discouraged with what we cannot do. God wants us to start with what we can do. A willing spirit and good attitude is the start. We can choose to represent the Lord well whether our healing is instant, gradual, assisted by medicine, or partial. We can represent Him well regardless of the state we are in. Many, though weak, can influence many lives. The first, most important decision we make is to follow Christ.  The second most important decision we make is the attitude with which we follow Christ.

The promise of Godís Healing is for everyone. So learn the promise of healing, prepare for it, and pray with thanksgiving. How can we make the most of what we have no matter what circumstance we are in?  We live our lives well and contend for Godís promises. When we do so, we will impact positively the people around us. Remember, it is not how long you live, but how well. No greater gift can we give to God than a life well lived. 

DISCUSSION POINTS:

Examine several of the following verses from the Old and New Testaments.  What process of healing is illustrated?  Is God using the healing for some other purpose as well?  Explain.  Can you find other examples?

• Genesis 17:15               Genesis 20:17               1 Samuel 5:11-6:3
• Matt. 4:24                    Matt. 8:8-16                 Matt. 12:15, 22
• Mark 5:29                    Luke 13:14                   James 5:16

If we know and understand that un-confessed sins harm not only our souls, but also our bodies, why is it so difficult for us to avoid evil? 

Why does evil exist?  Does it play any beneficial role in our lives?

Take a moment to write a brief message to your child (real, planned, or imagined).  What will your advice be on staying or getting well, emotionally and physically?

MUCH MAHALO to our faithful volunteer with a great BIG servantís heart! Great job!