Healing # 9

     I don’t know how long we’re going to teach on the subject on the subject of Healing, but I’m just going to continue on the subject until the Lord tells me to change. We’ve been on this same subject for a number of weeks, and every time I think that we should go on to something else, I can’t, the Lord just brings me back to the subject of healing.

     So today I’m going to be teaching on faith to be healed.

     I. Sometimes you’ll get people that will ask me the question, “Pastor, do I to have faith to be healed.”

              A. That’s a very tricky question.

                        1. 1st of all turn with me to HEB 11:6.

                        2. Then in (2 Corinthians 5:7) It says, “(For we walk by faith, not by sight:)”

                                  a. Being healed through someone else’s faith is really the exception to the rule.

                                  b. I believe that it’s God’s plan that when you have heard the Word of God and take heed to that Word, it will produce faith, and you will be healed through your own faith.

                                           i. It’s the Father’s plan that every believer should be a conqueror, not just a select few.

                                           ii. God wants you to discover that you have power over the Devil.

                                           iii. He wants you to know that you have the power over sickness, that you have the victory, that you are a conqueror, and that you can rebuke disease and sickness and it has to go.

                        3. You’ll never be able to walk in this victory as long as you are dependent on the faith of someone else.

              B. This sounds very simple but you can not get saved on someone else’s faith.

                        1. You can’t have your sins forgiven on the faith of someone else.

                        2. You have to hear the Gospel for yourself and personally believe on the Lord Jesus Christ as savior. then you’re saved.

              C. You also must hear the Word of God and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ as Healer.

                        1. Then by Jesus stripes you are healed.

     II. In most cases Jesus did not heal anyone until He either heard their confession of faith, or He observed some act of faith for healing.

              A. Look at MATT 8:5-10

                        1. Jesus observed this man’s faith and He heard his confession of faith. (Because of that the servant was healed.)

              B. MARK 2:1-5 and Then Jesus healed him.

                        1. But what I wanted you to see is that Jesus saw their faith and the man was healed.

                        2. It wasn’t just the faith of the others, this man had to be in faith.

                                  a. If you were bedfast, would you let 4 men carry you on top of a roof, cut a hole in the roof and let you down through that hole, if you were not in faith?

                                  b. He must have believed that something was going to happen.

                        3. Faith is better seen than heard.

                                  a. (James 2:26) Says, “Faith without works is dead.”

                                           i. Or as many have said, “Faith without corresponding action is dead.”

                                  b. But let me say this, “Don’t get it backwards.” Just because you have a work, does not mean that it is faith.

                                           i. Sometimes people will do something like writing faith checks.

                                           ii. You don’t do something to prove that you have faith. If you have faith then you will automatically do the corresponding action.

                                           iii. You won’t have to think twice about doing it.

     III. Throughout the Word of God, we always see that God honors faith

              A. MATT 9:27-30

                        1. Jesus said, “According to your faith be it unto you.”

                                  a. Their faith is what got the job done.

              B. In (Matthew 15:22), the Canaanite woman who sought after Jesus said, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, [thou] Son of David; my daughter is grievously vexed with a devil.”

                        1. As she was persistent with her faith and unwavering, Jesus said in (Matthew 15:28), “O woman, great [is] thy faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt. And her daughter was made whole from that very hour.”

              C. Look at MARK 5:25-29

1. If we just stop there, we would say that it was her touching Jesus’ garment that made her whole.

                                  a. But not according to Jesus.

                        2. Let’s go on reading MARK 5:30-34

                                  a. It was her faith that made her whole. Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.

              D. Then starting in (MARK 10:49) we have a blind man that sought Jesus for his healing.

                        1. In (V 52) Jesus said, “Thy faith hath made thee whole.”

                        2. In (LUKE 17:19) you have the leper that returned to give thanks to Jesus. Jesus said, “Arise, go thy way: thy faith hath made thee whole.”

                        3. In (JOHN 4) the nobleman sought Jesus to come and heal his son.

                                  a. In (John 4:50) Jesus said to him, “Go thy way; thy son liveth. And the man believed the word that Jesus had spoken unto him.”

                                           i. As you go on reading you find out the boy was healed.

     IV. We don’t always have a reference to the person being in faith when they were healed, but we can see the importance of it.

              A. Turn to MARK 6:1-6

                        1. In Jesus own town He could not do any miraculous miracles because of their unbelief.

              B. Not only in Jesus ministry were people healed by their own faith.

                        1. ACTS 14:8-10

                        2. Paul knew that this man had faith, and that is what caused Paul to come over to him and say, “Stand up.”

              C. We can be healed by someone praying the prayer of faith over us, but your faith is so very important.

                        1. We need to walk by faith.

                        2. The example that Jesus was trying to teach us in (MARK 11:22) Is “You have faith in God.”

                                  a. We need to believe God for our needs to be met.

                                  b. We need to stand in faith believing God for our needs to be met and faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the Word of God.

WOLCC SUN AM 4/10/94 From Osborn’s book “Healing the sick” chapter 16 on “Is faith essential to healing?” pp. 129-131 only