Stretch Out Your Hand to Heal

Hebrews 13:8 "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever."

I believe that the church has weakened its faith. We have decided that because God does not always heal someone when we lay hands on them and pray for them, that he must not work that way anymore. We have decided rather than to believe Jesus’ promises and obey His commands to heal the sick, just as he commissioned us to preach the gospel, that we would make excuses. We have often used the passage from 1 Corinthians 13, which is a great love chapter in the Bible, to prove that now that the perfect has come (interpreted as God’s completed written Word) that we do not need the gifts of the Spirit or the miracles and wonders so often manifested in the early church any more.

Is it true that we do not need God’s active interaction with us today? Do we not need to see God’s hand work powerfully among us today to show that He is more than words on a page but rather a God who lives among us and works through His people still today?

An Episcopal priest named Richard Spread wrote in his book Stretching Forth Thine Hand to Heal in 1937 that the church yielded to the temptation to change her doctrine [teaching] instead of strengthening her faith.” I believe he was right.

Jesus said: “As you go, preach this message: ‘The kingdom of heaven is near.’ Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received, freely give.” Matthew 10:7, 8

Jesus said: “…He gave them power and authority to drive out demons and to cure diseases, and He sent them out to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick.” Luke 9:1, 2

The apostles prayed: “Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness. Stretch out your hand to heal and perform miraculous signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus.” Acts 4:29, 30

But you may say, "Each of those passages apply to the apostles. They have died off and these promises do not apply to us. Okay. What do I do with John 14:12-14?

"Anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the son may bring glory to the Father. You may ask me anything in my name, and I will do it."

Note the word anyone. Throughout the passage Jesus tells us this power is from him. It is for the glory of the Father. Those who follow him. Anyone who follows him will be doing what he did. Check out this passage in James:

James 5:14, 15 says “Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven.”

But ...my prayers are not always answered, even when I've prayed hard about something. Okay. Have you ever known of someone who went to the doctor for help, received medicine or surgery and did not get better, or maybe even died? Still, we continue to go to the doctor, even if we do not always receive the desired results. Nevertheless, next time I get sick I will go see the doctor. God does not always answer prayers the way I want him to, but I still go back to him over and over. Why? Because I have seen God answer many prayers.

I believe that Satan, the Accuser of the brothers, is standing before us shouting at us, telling us that we cannot do these things, that God will not do these things, "Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say: “Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Messiah. For the accuser of our brothers and sisters, who accuses them before our God day and night, has been hurled down." Revelation 12:10

He was hurled down by Jesus--see 1 John 3:8 "The one who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work."

Satan accuses, but faith in Jesus will shut him up. Trust in Jesus will resulting in living in the power of his Spirit. We serve the same Lord that the Apostles served. He is the same, yesterday and today and forever. Our Lord has not changed. Neither must we, if we are to be the church of Christ in our generation.

Note what Peter says in Acts 3:12-16: “Men of Israel, why does this surprise you? Why do you stare at us as if by our own power or godliness we have made this man walk?...It is Jesus’ name and the faith that comes through Him that has given this complete healing to him, as you can all see.”

The healing occurred not because Peter was powerful or because he was godly. It happened because Jesus is victorious over Satan. He defeated him once and for all when he took our sins with him to the cross. The question is whether we will walk in the power of the one we have put our trust in or listen to the defeated accuser and live faithless, powerless lives.