Healing # 8 Faith to be Healed
We’re going to continue on the subject of healing today, but more specifically in the area of faith to be healed.
I. This V says, “The prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up.”
A. The word “Save” in that V refers to “heal the sick.”
B. Thank God that we have the 2 all inclusive words run throughout the entire Bible.
1. Those 2 all inclusive words are “Whosoever” and “Any.”
a. The “Whosoever” of salvation.
i. “Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”
b. And the “Any” of divine healing.
i. (James 5:14-15) “Is “any” sick among you? 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: (15) And the prayer of faith shall save the sick.”
ii. LUKE 4:40
c. Every one of us falls under those 2 words.
i. This is something to rejoice about.
ii. That means that Salvation and healing are provided for all.
C. Most of the time faith is involved in receiving healing.
1. Either the minister’s faith, your faith or the both of you.
a. The vast majority of the time your faith is going to be involved.
b. I think that it’s too often that we want someone else to do it for us.
i. Our car brakes down, we take it to a mechanic and expect him to do the work.
ii. We have a stopped drain, we call for a plumber.
iii. Our hair is too long, we go to a barber or beautician.
2. When we get sick, we go to the minister and say, “You do it.”
a. It’s scriptural for you to go to the Pastor or to call for the Elders of the Church.
b. But no one can substitute for your faith.
3. When you 1st come to the Lord, the Word of God refers to you as a babe in Christ.
a. (Hebrews 5:13) Says, “For every one that useth milk [is] unskillful {Gr. hath no experience} in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe.
b. (1 Peter 2:2) Says, “As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby.”
4. When you are a babe in Christ others can carry you with their own faith for a while.
a. But the time comes when God expects you to begin to stand on your own 2 feet and began to use your own faith.
D. But you’ll never be able to pray the prayer of faith if you’re wondering whether or not God will do the things that you have asked Him to do.
1. The Bible tells us that real faith comes by hearing the Word of God.
a. Or you could say “Real faith comes by hearing God say, through His Word, what His will is.”
b. Praying the prayer of faith starts by simply asking God to do the things that He has promised to do.
II. Many times’ people have the idea that when the prayer of faith is prayed, there will be instant results. The manifestation will be instant.
A. That’s not the way the prayer of faith works.
1. Many people have never received their healing because they got into doubt when the healing did not manifest immediately.
2. Turn to MARK 11:11-15a
a. Jesus left the fig tree and went to Jerusalem.
b. When Jesus spoke to this fig tree by commanding it to be withered, nothing happened in the natural.
i. There was no manifestation to His words yet.
ii. You can even say there was no manifestation to His faith yet.
iii. How do we know that He was standing in faith? He goes on in just a few Vs down teaching that it was done by faith.
3. MARK 11:19-22
a. Many of the early manuscripts say “Have the faith of God,” or “have the God kind of faith.”
b. Let’s go onto V 23.
i. Notice that He says, “Shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe.”
B. Jesus is teaching the disciples that “If they want to do the same kind of thing that He just did to the fig tree, you have to have faith and not doubt.”
1. Jesus didn’t see the manifestation immediately, but He had to continue in faith in order to receive it.
2. Look at MARK 11:24 “Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive [them], and ye shall have [them].”
a. I want to look at the last part, “Believe that ye receive [them], and ye shall have [them].”
i. The word “Believe” is in the present tense. In other words believe now.
ii. The word “Receive” is also in the present tense, which means, “Believe now that it is yours.”
b. Then He say, “And ye shall have [them].”
i. The word “Shall” is in the future tense.
ii. If we put the whole thing together it would say, “Believe that it’s yours now and you will receive it in the future.”
3. But don’t get hung up with “when” you’ll receive it.
a. (Hebrews 6:12) Says, “Through faith and patience we’ll inherit the promises.”
b. When you pray the prayer of faith you need to continue believing that you already have the answer, then you’ll see it.
III. When you’ve complied with the Word of God and you’re (in right standing with Him and so on), and you have offered the prayer of faith, from that very moment you can declare that you are healed.
A. Even if the symptoms of the sickness linger for a while, faith declares that it’s done because the Word says so.
B. 1JOHN 5:14
1. He said “If we pray according to His will.”
a. We already know what His will is. Jesus healed all the sick that came to Him.
2. So if we pray according to His will He hears us.
3. 1JOHN 5:15 This is one of the best definitions of faith.
a. The NIV says, “We know that we have what we asked of him.”
b. We know that we have it, we may not see it yet, but it’s still ours. It will manifest.
4. Look at JOHN 15:7
a. All we have to do is to abide in Him and have His Words abide in us to have the assurance that we’ll have the answer to our prayers.
i. Don’t get hung up on the word “Abide.”
ii. All it means is to “Remain or Continue.”
b. As long as we are IN CHRIST, still walking with Him and as long as His Words still remain in us, we can have the confidence that we’ll see the answer to our prayers.
c. (2 Corinthians 5:7) Says, “(For we walk by faith, not by sight:)”
i. Our bodies may show the sign of sickness, but faith does not look to what our physical senses say, it looks to the Word of God.
C. Turn to HEB 11:1
1. The word “Substance” would be better translated “Confidence.”
2. Faith is the Confidence, it’s the Evidence it’s the proof that the things we hoped for are ours.
IV. God told the Israelites in (Joshua 1:3) “Every place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon, that have I given unto you, as I said unto Moses.”
A. This is the same for the New Testament. We’ve been given many promises in the Word of God.
1. We have to possess the land.
a. Healing, deliverance, prosperity are yours, but you have to go in and possess the land.
b. And you possess the land by the Word of God and by faith.
i. Don’t stop until every last enemy is conquered.
WOLCC Sun AM 3/27/94 and Sun AM 2/11/96 Form T. L. Osborn’s book “Healing the Sick.” Chapter 15 on “The Prayer of Faith”