Your faith has made you whole
LESSON 1
Hebrews 13:8 NIV Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.
- When we study the Life of Jesus although his ministry on earth was only 3½ years the bible declared that he is the same now as he was back then
- His ministry is the same today as it was when he walked the earth
- Here is an incredible account of his earthly ministry
John 20:30 NIV Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book.
John 20:31 NIV But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.
- So, what we discover is that the miracles that were recorded in the gospels are only a fraction of the miracles Jesus actually performed
Matthew 4:23 NIV Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people.
- There are three very important words that describe the types of sickness Jesus healed
- Healing: therapeuō, where we get the word therapy, this is where Jesus imparted healing and then expected them to put some corresponding actions or exercise their faith.
- Sickness: nosos, this was considered a terminal disease of which there was not natural cure, in biblical days they believe this was created by spirits of infirmities
- Disease: malakia, this was a crippling and debilitating disease that people could have some sort of function but this disease was restricting their lives considerably
Matthew 4:24 NIV News about him spread all over Syria, and people brought to him all who were ill with various diseases, those suffering severe pain, the demon-possessed, those having seizures, and the paralyzed, and he healed them.
- Here we see the list becomes even more defined as
- Sick: kakōs, they brought people with every kind of sickness and severe pain to Jesus to heal
- Tormented: basanos, literally tortured by the sickness,
- Demon possessed: these where demonically inflicted
- Having Seizures: selēniazomai, it is described as a lunatic it believes it was those that had dabbled in the occult , this could include mental health issues
- Paralysed: paralutikos, those that were physically incapacitated and could not function
It declares out of all these sicknesses, diseases and spirits of infirmities that were brought to Jesus and he healed them.
Acts 10:38 NIV how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and how he went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, because God was with him.
The good news is that the same anointing that Jesus carried is now being given to us
Hebrews 2:3 NIV how shall we escape if we ignore such a great salvation? This salvation, which was first announced by the Lord, was confirmed to us by those who heard him.
Hebrews 2:4 NIV God also testified to it by signs, wonders and various miracles, and gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will.
Our heart and prayer is that as you go through this devotional study that your faith will be stirred to believe God for healing in your life or to see others healed.
Understanding God’s mode of operandi. Mar 16:15 -18
One of the signs and wonders God has given to us as believers is to lay hands on the sick and they will get well. Mar 16:20
A sign is simply an indication of what God can do
- The ministry of Jesus was characterised by signs and wonders because he came for the express purpose to reveal God to the world
- Signs and Wonder ultimately reveal the will of God to the world
- For the unsaved and the immature Christian, God will operate on the basis of signs and wonders. (Sign-posts) Mar 8:13-21
- Here is the crux of this line of questioning, how many times would Jesus have to miraculously multi bread and fishes for them to believe that God can supernaturally supply
- How many times does God need to miraculously heal before we will believe he can heal us
- How many storms must he calm
- How many people does he need to raise from the dead
- How many miracles must he do before we believe he can do it for us
- Just as a newborn baby needs someone else to do everything for them (until they can learn to do it themselves); God will reveal his might and power to help the immature Christian. John 20:30-31
- God is 100% able to do miracles but miracles are not God’s best
Psa 77:14 You are the God who performs miracles; you display your power among the peoples.
- God’s best is that we would walk in health, walk in peace, walk in his provision, walk in our salvation
- God doesn’t just want to perform a miracle every time he wants us to believe his word as the highs form of reality that we have. Mat 12:38-39
- The world or the unbelievers always want a sign John 20:24-29
- God’s heart is that we will believe without seen Heb 11:1-2
- The ancients were commended for believing for what they had not yet seen
For the spiritually mature, God expects us to operate and live our lives on the basis of faith.
Rom 1:17 AMP For in the gospel a righteousness which God ascribes is revealed, both springing from faith and leading to faith (disclosed through the way of faith that arouses to more faith). As it is written. The man who through faith is just and upright shall live and live by faith.
- The Christian life begins with faith, it develops faith, it builds faith and it will end with faith. Faith is the supernatural power that comes from God’s Word.
Rom 10:17 Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ.
Mat 4:4 Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.'”
Psa 119:89 Your word, O LORD, is eternal; it stands firm in the heavens.
Psa 138:2 I will bow down toward your holy temple and will praise your name for your love and your faithfulness, for you have exalted above all things your name and your word.
Faith is literally what empowers the Word of God in our life. It is what causes the Word of God to produce, to come alive, to bring health and healing and to bring peace and prosperity. Mark 11:22-23
- Jesus is challenging us to begin to live life and experience life from God’s perspective. When the words that you speak are faith-filled things begins to happen.
- The circumstances in your life will begin to change. Mountains can become stepping-stones not stumbling blocks when you learn to live by faith.
2 Cor 4:13 It is written: “I believed; therefore I have spoken.” With that same spirit of faith we also believe and therefore speak,
- God wants us to live with that same supernatural power of faith that he lives and operates by.
- God has made a decision that he will not operate outside of faith.
- We have to understand that God is a covenant keeping God and he has chosen to deal with us on the basis of his word. God cannot legally intervene in anyone’s life except on the basis of faith in his Word.
- If he could, not one person on this planet would be sick, or starving, or deprived, or abused, or victimised. There certainly would not be one person going to hell if God could intervene outside of faith in his Word. Heb 11:6
- And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.
- The word PLEASE means to come into agreement with God.
- Without faith you can never agree with God or his word.
- 3 John 1:1-4
- John says that there is no greater joy to than to hear that my children are walking in the truth.
- To “walk in truth” means to walk in the divine revelation of God’s Word
- It implies a course of conduct or a lifestyle that is governed by the truth of God’s word
- The goal in the Christian life is not to reduce God’s Word down to our experience, but that our experiences will be determined by the Word of God
- Our faith begins where the will of God is known,
- It has often been said it is not the truth that sets you free it’s the truth you know that sets you free, the truth you walk in, the truth you live by
- In Luke we have an interesting story about ten lepers. Luke 17:15-19
- In this course I don’t want to talk just about healing, but I want to speak about being made whole
- 10 lepers got healed but only was made whole.
- Jesus is the only one that can make us completely whole
- I had this incredible revelation that God doesn’t just want to heal us every time we get sick, But God wants us to walk in divine healing
Wholeness is God’s promise
We also need to understand that the term salvation is the completion of being saved
- Save: (Sozo) To save, to heal, to deliver, to make whole, to preserve from danger
- Saved or Salvation: (Soteria) The completion, the end result, the fulfilment of the promise, the fulfilment of Sozo
- In the OT the word for salvation:
- Hebrew word “yasha” and it means “to be open, wide or free; to be safe; to free, avenge, defend, deliver, help, preserve, rescue, be safe, bring salvation, save, and get victory.”
Psa 118:14 The LORD is my strength and my song; he has become my salvation.
Psa 118:21 I will give you thanks, for you answered me; you have become my salvation.
- God best is that he wants us to walk in healing and wholeness
- Faith is not believing God can because most people believe that he can
- Faith is believing God WILL do it for you Mat 8:2-3
- Jesus did a lot of miracles but he mostly responded to people’s faith
Mat 9:2 Some men brought to him a paralytic, lying on a mat. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Take heart, son; your sins are forgiven.”
Mat 9:22 Jesus turned and saw her. “Take heart, daughter,” he said, “your faith has healed you.” And the woman was healed from that moment.
Mat 9:28 When he had gone indoors, the blind men came to him, and he asked them, “Do you believe that I am able to do this?” “Yes, Lord,” they replied.
Mat 9:29 Then he touched their eyes and said, “According to your faith will it be done to you”;
Luk 17:17 Jesus asked, “Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine?
Luk 17:18 Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?”
Luk 17:19 Then he said to him, “Rise and go; your faith has made you well.”