In today’s gospel reading from Mark – we see a lady being healed as she
touches Jesus with faith and then we see a little girl who’s life has been
prematurely cut short, being raised back to life by Jesus - the Lord of life.
Healing is a complicated subject
that can arouse deep emotions in us especially when we or a loved one hasn’t
been healed although we’ve prayed. And as Christians it can be confusing as to
when and how we should pray for healing.
This morning I’d like to look at healing from a Christian perspective and
try and throw a bit of light on it.
Firstly, healing is a central part of God's kingdom - the kingdom which
Jesus came to usher in, and it remains a central part of the calling of the
church.
Jesus came to restore our relationships with God and with each other and
to restore wholeness to people’s lives. And part of this wholeness is healing –
physical, mental and spiritual healing.
Jesus of course perfectly demonstrated and expressed the character of
God so it is no surprise that God describes himself in Exodus chapter 15 as - “I
am the Lord who heals you.”
God has a deep seated desire to restore and to heal broken lives - and if
his kingdom really was established on earth as it is in heaven - everyone would
be whole in body, soul and spirit.
However because we live in a fallen and imperfect world, not everything
is as God desires, so unfortunately we do experience sickness and ill health - but
this doesn’t mean that God wants us to be ill.
Far from it. God allows us to be sick – and He can even use our times of
sickness to help us develop character traits like perseverance and empathy for
others - but as a loving Father He rejoices when we are well and healthy. As Psalm
35 puts it; “God delights in the well being of his servant.”
So what are some of the causes of sickness?
Sometimes sickness can be caused by sin. For instance if we eat or drink
too much – we can damage our bodies and cause them to be sick.
If we are promiscuous and sleep around we can pick up sexually
transmitted diseases. If we take drugs we may become mentally and physically ill.
God's wants us to live upright lives because it is good for us, and as
we stray from his commandments we may sometimes become sick as a result.
Sometimes the cause of sickness is hereditary or genetic and certain
propensities for illness can be passed down family lines. Again this is most
certainly not God’s will and He can free us from inherited sickness.
Sometimes the cause of sickness is demonic. We often forget that as well
as healing people physically - Jesus cast out demons. He freed people from the
evil spirits who oppressed them.
I met a Christian guy who had a healing ministry and he told me about a
Christian woman who he’d come across in Africa who had been bed-ridden with a
bad back for 3 years.
Her local church had prayed for her healing without success.
He went to see her and sensed there was something she wasn’t telling
them. When he pressed her she confessed that she’d been to see a witch doctor
three times and that each time she’d seen him her back had got worse.
The lady confessed her sin to God and the man assured her of God’s
forgiveness and then prayed for any remaining demonic spiritual influences over
her life to be broken in Jesus name. The lady got up out of bed and was well
again.
The occult in particular is very dangerous and visiting mediums or
spiritualists is an extremely bad idea as we can open our lives to the powers
of darkness.
Sometimes the cause of illness is due to stress and anxiety but perhaps
most often it is purely the result of living in a fallen and imperfect world
where germs and viruses and diseases abound and where bad things happen.
So it’s all very well to read about how Jesus healed people when he
walked the earth but how can we be healed today?
Well the greatest healing in our lives occurs when we become Christians
– when we are born again and the Holy Spirit – the Spirit of Jesus comes to
live in us.
At this point – when we cease rebellion against God and decide that we
do after all want to live under his direction and guidance – then his divine purpose
for our lives can start to be established.
This step of faith can have a great healing effect on our lives – as we
start to live as God intended in a relationship with Him.
I like the analogy of a garden with a fence round it and a gate. The
garden is our life and what we need to do is to open the gate and invite Jesus
in to help us transform our gardens into something beautiful and fruitful –
something that resembles the life of Jesus himself.
And part of the transformation God wants to do in our lives will involve
healing – not just physical, but mental and spiritual healing.
And God is much better able to do this as He lives within us and as we
seek to co-operate with His plans and purpose for our lives.
Secondly in order to receive healing we need to come to Jesus with
faith. Time and again when Jesus was healing people he was looking for their
faith to receive it.
For instance he asked the two blind men in Matthew’s gospel who came to
him to be healed – do you believe that I am able to do this?
And Mark tells us in his gospel that he was actually unable to heal
people in his home town of Nazareth because of their lack of faith.
We don’t necessarily need a huge amount of faith - but if we doubt that
God exists or that He is able to heal us obviously it makes it harder to
receive from him.
In order for an electrical appliance to work a plug needs to be properly
inserted into a socket. If the plug isn’t fully pushed in, the appliance won’t
work.
Faith is like a plug that accesses the healing power of God. If faith is
in place the healing power of God can flow into our lives – and that of course
is what we see happening in today’s gospel reading. When the lady touches
Jesus’ clothes with faith - his healing power flows into her life.
Thirdly in order to be healed we need to come to Jesus and give him both
the time and the opportunity to heal us.
Those people in biblical times who came to Jesus to be healed made the
time and the effort to do so.
Many would probably have travelled quite long distances on foot to put
themselves in a place where they could receive healing. And sometimes of course
friends and loved ones carried them to Jesus.
And we too may need to make some effort in order to put ourselves in a
place and situation where God has an opportunity to heal us. Sometimes this may
involve travelling to a particular venue or putting aside a few days to go on a
Christian course or retreat.
For instance some of you may know of Burrswood which is a Christian
hospital and place of healing just outside Tunbridge Wells. Burrswood hold
special healing services on Thursdays and Saturdays and those who minister there
have great expertise as agents of God’s healing.
Alternately we may need deep healing from past hurts or mental illness or
from eating disorders or inherited sickness and this sort of healing often takes
time.
Christian organisations like Ellel Ministries specialise in this kind of
healing and run retreats over weekends or a few days during the week – where
God has time and space to do deep healing in people’s lives and where again those
ministering have great experience in these areas.
Alternately our situation may be desperate and we may need a miracle. If
I was desperate for a miracle I’d probably go to a Christian retreat in Wales
called Ffald y Brenin where God has been doing amazing things in people’s lives
and where the presence of God is powerfully manifest.
Some of the things God has been doing here are covered in a book called
The Grace Outpouring.
I was particularly struck by a story I heard of a young woman who was
terminally ill who after reading this book insisted that her boyfriend take her
there - despite doctors saying that the car journey would be too much for her
and she would probably die on the way up.
She didn’t die. On the contrary, God rewarded her faith and
determination and she was completely healed as with her boyfriend’s help she
stepped through the doors of the meeting room.
Of course we can never guarantee what God will do. He is able to heal
every disease and sickness, but sometimes people are healed and sometimes they
aren’t.
Only God can see all the factors involved and sometimes as I said at the
start of this sermon it can be very frustrating if we pray for healing but it
doesn’t come.
My advice in this situation is to persevere with your request. Perseverance
is a sign of faith. Sometimes like Jacob who wrestled with God - we need to
refuse to let go of God until we receive a blessing or at least a word on the
way forward from Him.
When God heals us – He always wants to deal with the root cause of our
sickness whereas sometimes we are more concerned with the symptoms. As all you
gardeners will know it is important to pull out weeds by the roots or they will
re-grow.
We humans are complex beings made up of body soul and spirit – and only
God can really see where we most need healing and if we have the faith to
receive it.
And sometimes his priorities may be different to ours. Sometimes if we
need to forgive someone or our relationships are in disrepair – this may be
God’s priority.
I heard of a lady with a bad back – who’d received prayer for healing
without success. However when she’d been prayed for she was nursing resentment
against someone.
Sometime later when she decided to forgive the person who’d hurt her - she
found that her back healed spontaneously.
When God has decided that it is our time to depart this world, no amount
of prayer or fasting will change this.
Having said this - those of you
who have read your bibles will know that God does on occasion choose to extend
people’s lives.
For instance in the second book of Kings we read that God granted King
Hezekiah an extra 15 years of life in response to his prayer.
Even death though is not irreversible for God, as we see in today’s
gospel reading – where Jesus raises Jairus’ 12 year old daughter back to life.
As the Lord of life - Jesus has the final authority over death – and
still today where there is sufficient faith – on occasion people are raised
back to life.
Of course for Christians – death is the gateway to our ultimate healing
in heaven - where one day we will be clothed with immortality and a new body
that will not get sick or wear out.
Sometimes our healing will not be instantaneous and may take place
gradually sometimes over several years. When I got very depressed back in 1997,
God told me that he’d put my feet on rock – and this is something that He has
been doing gradually over several years as I continue to walk with Him.
Sometimes our healing may be instantaneous but we may
have to wait for several years in order to receive it. For
instance Jennifer Rees Larcombe who some of you will have heard of – had to
wait 7 years before she was healed from her life in a wheel chair.
Of course we are very fortunate in this country to have access to
excellent medical care – so some our healing can be accomplished through
conventional treatment.
For instance several years ago I had a nasty lump under my arm – and I
asked God to heal me as I wasn’t looking forward to the operation.
God did heal me from the disease that was in the lump – but He didn’t
remove the lump from my body. He left this to the surgeons who operated on me.
I remember also a Christian evangelist called Don Double describing how
God had been filling and repairing people’s teeth in Africa where they had no
access to dentists.
He said he’d never seen anything like it in this country and he
suspected this was because we had good access to dental care – whereas they had
none.
We shouldn’t underestimate the part that conventional medicine can play
in bringing healing to us. Doctors, nurses and health care professionals are
all agents of the healing that God wants to bring.
So to conclude – as we read in today’s passage from Mark and in numerous
other gospel passages - Jesus healed people when he walked the earth and he
most definitely heals people today.
He is the same yesterday today and forever and his heart of love still
overflows with the desire to help and to heal those who are hurting and in
need.
And although we can never dictate what he may or may not do – we can be
sure that He understands us perfectly and that he loves us and that his touch
upon our lives will always be for our good.
So today if you want prayer for
healing, as you come and kneel at the communion rail, come to Jesus in faith and
receive whatever healing he wants to impart to you.
As one of us comes and lays hands
on you, thank Jesus for touching your life - or the life of the person you have
in mind - with his healing power – the same healing power that he healed people
with 2000 years ago.
In the name of the living
God. Amen.
