Living Stones – Friday, November 10, 2017
Faith for healing
Luke 5:20
“When He saw their faith, He said to him, “Man, your sins are forgiven you.”
We are still meditating on the story of the forgiveness and healing of the paralytic man, recorded by Luke in his Gospel account in chapter 5 verses 17 to 26. We have observed the determination of the friends to get this man into the presence of Jesus so that he might be healed.
The friends were singularly focused on their friend’s healing. That singular focus led to one of the more dramatic scenes in Jesus’ active ministry. Jesus was at the time under pressure from the religious authorities. They had confronted Him in Jerusalem and now He was at a home in Capernaum and they showed up to hear Him and to watch Him again for themselves.
There is always scrutiny of the church, especially when there is a claim of the dramatic display of the power of the Holy Spirit in miracles and healing. That scrutiny is not necessarily a problem, many charlatans are on the loose and easily deceive others with sleight of hand. It is good to be able to determine that which is of God and that which is not. The Apostle John did warn us to, in I John 4:1 saying, “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world.”
However, the people of God must be able to recognise the presence of God’s Holy Spirit to perform His mighty works. The religious leaders, the Pharisees, were in the presence of Jesus but failed to recognise who He is, and certainly did not recognise the presence of the Holy Spirit to heal.
Luke, in setting the scene of this drama for us, lists and describes all of those present, he also includes the fact that the manifest presence of the Holy Spirit to heal was there. “Now it happened on a certain day, as He was teaching, that there were Pharisees and teachers of the law sitting by, who had come out of every town of Galilee, Judea, and Jerusalem. And the power of the Lord was present to heal them.” Luke 5:17.
We should not take it for granted that the Holy Spirit is always present to heal. Often this manifestation of the Spirit is present in an atmosphere of faith. Contrast this occasion with another, when Jesus had gone home to Nazareth, He was doubted and discredited by those who knew Him, and Matthew records that, “He did not do many mighty works there because of their unbelief.” Matthew 13:58.
Here, however, on this day, in spite of the presence of the religious skeptics, the people were full of faith, expecting Jesus to heal their sick. It is in the face of such unwavering faith that Jesus goes to work for this man. According to Luke 5:20, “When He saw their faith, He said to him, “Man, your sins are forgiven you.””
We are satisfied today to depend solely on the medical profession with little recourse to the healing that is available to the children of God through the presence and power of the Holy Spirit. Many have allowed the presence of charlatans and skeptics to destroy their faith in God as healer today. These guys didn’t let the presence of big time religious men from their neighbourhood and from afar destroy their faith in Jesus and His power to heal and neither should we.
We are again advised, this time by Apostle James, “Is 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.” James 5:14. As I speak with many people these days they always tell me about their doctor and their experience at the last visit to doctor’s office. Few tell stories of their last call to the elders when they were unwell.
It is interesting that the Apostle James also tells us that when the elders pray in faith, just like those guys came to Jesus in faith, God responds to both sin and sickness with forgiveness and healing, just like he did when the paralytic was lowered through the roof to Jesus. Here is what James goes on to say in verse 15, “And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven.”
Think on these things:
- Do you think that you have allowed the skeptism that is so prevalent today to undermine your faith that God would heal sickness?
- Did you ever call your pastor or the elders of your church when you, or someone you know, were unwell, to ask them to come over to the home or the hospital to pray for healing?
- Would you ever call your pastor or elders when you are unwell and ask them to come over to pray for you?
Prayer focus:
Let us pray today that we would keep our faith in God when we or others are sick, remembering that God is our healer.
In His Grace
Pastor Alex