Healing Ministry

Praise for Healing Ministry Well-written, readable, easily understood, biblical, balanced, practical.

Healing Ministry is a helpful guide to divine healing and praying for the sick, a practice every believer should understand and incorporate into the rhythms of daily life. I know Jack well. He’s down-to-earth and deeply committed to God. For many years, he and his wife have led a strong local church ministry, and Jack provides leadership for a network of other pastors. A significant focus of Jack’s ministry has been praying for people to experience the power and abundance of Christ in every area of their lives, including their physical health. This book will strengthen and guide the prayers you pray for people you love.

Dr. Gary D. Kinnaman Author and Pastor, City of Grace – Mesa, AZ Wow! The best handbook on healing I have ever read—and I have read many. It’s concise, descriptive, biblical and practical all at the same time. Thanks, Jack, for doing this for all of us. This should be every minister’s companion.

Rev. Alfred H. Ells, M.C. Director, Leaders that Last Ministries

Today I received an email that a close relative was just diagnosed with a rare form of cancer, so I was motivated to read this book. I have read other good books on the subject, but I found refreshingly new material, put in a highly readable style and with a creative layout. I’ll take the stories, but I prefer hearing from Scripture, and that is what Jack does well.

Every now and then, he gives us a quotable, like, “We will never do what Jesus did until we believe what Jesus believed.” Or, “Faith is not the absence of doubt; it is the presence of belief.” The best one was: “Jesus never met a sickness that He liked.”

The book includes a good section on inner healing, showing it as part of the sanctification process, and a practical section on how to “do the stuff.”

Paul Anderson Director, International Lutheran Renewal Healing Ministry is a biblically-balanced and practical guide to embracing the healing ministry of Jesus. Jack approaches this subject with the mind of a theologian and the sensitivity of an experienced pastor who has to live with his teaching.

Too many times this important ministry is turned into a circus of excesses and exaggeration or ignored altogether. Healing Ministry brings the ministry of Christ into a modern context and puts it squarely in the hands of ordinary Christians in the ordinariness of daily life.

This is a book not just for pastors or armchair theologians but for the serious disciple who, out of love for friend and stranger, desires to participate in the healing ministry of Jesus.

Charles Bello Director, Pathways School of Ministry

Jesus commissioned us, His disciples, to heal the sick and to cast out demons. What an intimidating job He has given to us! Jack’s book is a helpful guide that will give you confidence to step out and begin to follow in the way of Jesus. Expect God to surprise you!

John and Jamie Zumwalt Directors, Heart of God Ministries

HEALING A TRAINING MANUAL MINISTRY FOR BELIEVERS

by Jack Moraine

Copyright © 2010 by Jack Moraine ISBN-13: 978-0-9679781-7-8 All rights reserved. The author retains international copyright. Written permission must be secured from the publisher to use or reproduce any part of this book, except for brief quotations in critical reviews or articles.

Printed in the United States of America Published by HGM Publishing 3720 S. Hiwassee Rd. Choctaw, OK 73020-6128 Cover art and design: Justin Falk.

All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise noted, are taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.

The personal stories related in this work are true. The names of individuals have been changed to preserve their anonymity.

For Brenda, next to Jesus, my greatest treasure.

Contents

Acknowledgments Foreword A Note from the Author 1. Healing & God’s Will 2. Healing & the Kingdom of God 3. How Jesus Healed the Sick 4. Healing & Authority 5. Healing & Faith 6. Healing & the Cross 7. Healing Past Hurts 8. Healing the Demonized 9. Ministering Healing Afterword A Special Note to Pastors Appendices Recommended Reading

17 25 37 43 57 67 77 91 103

Acknowledgments

Many thanks to Charles Bello for encouraging me to write this book and helping overcome my objections as to why I shouldn’t.

To Graeme Sellers for doing an initial read-through and edit of the manuscript.

To Audrey Falk at Heart of God Ministries for investing many hours in the editing process. This is a better book because of her work.

To Don Price, my pastor for many years, from whom I learned most of what I know about ministry.

To the congregation of Vineyard Community Church in Gilbert, Arizona, for the privilege of serving with you in kingdom ministry for the past twenty-two years.

Foreword

I believe the book you’re reading is necessary and valuable for several reasons.

Many churches that have had a history of healing ministry have moved it to the back burner. It may occur in the hidden corners of a small group meeting, but it is no longer mainstream to the practice, preaching or teaching of the general life of the church.

Furthermore, there have been notable and highly publicized abuses and misrepresentations of this ministry. These range from a refusal of medical care to a proclamation of the miraculous when there is none.

Rather than be aligned with either of these or embarrassed by those prayed for who are not healed, we just steer clear: Better not to raise expectations or expose ourselves to a sentence of “radical” at best, “heretic” at worst.

Healing Ministry introduces healing as mainstream to the church’s life gathered as well as outside, in the everyday. The emphasis that the healing presence of Jesus is normal rather than exceptional is refreshing and desperately needed.

Jack clearly develops the concept of healing in all its dimensions as the in-breaking of the kingdom of God into this earthly dimension. He reminds us again that the kingdom is present but not completely so.

To understand this in relation to the atonement is important. The work of Christ on the cross was a redemptive, reconciling act that now allows us to be rightly related to God. It breaks the hold of sin and relieves us from the crushing consequences of death. The pain of our alienation can now be healed, but that healing will be realized fully when our salvation is complete in heaven with Him. Jack’s treatment of the Scripture in this regard is very helpful. He rightly calls us to the intention of the text within its context.

One of the great contributions of the Vineyard Movement is the normalizing of the ministry of the Holy Spirit. By that, I mean helping us understand that the Holy Spirit makes the life of Christ truly present wherever Spirit-filled believers are. His life and power does not require, nor is it limited to, a religious setting. Healing Ministry furthers this much-needed theme in clear and practical terms.

Whatever one’s theological orientation, careful thought must be given to the contents of this book. One is challenged to carefully face and respond to the call to healing ministry, both within the church gathered as well as personally, in the marketplace.

Jerry Cook Pastor and author of Love, Acceptance and Forgiveness Whidbey Island, WA 2010

A Note From the Author Why another book about healing?

That’s the question that kept me from writing on this subject for a long time. There are many great books about healing that are already available from which I and many others have benefited. I am indebted to many of these authors and speakers who have helped me grow in my understanding of healing ministry and the kingdom of God—John Wimber, Ken Blue, Francis Macnutt and Dr. Charles Kraft, to name a few.

Of necessity, in the pages that follow there will be some overlap in content and concepts with what these individuals have taught and written. There are also some issues I wish to explore that, to my knowledge, have not been touched on to any great extent in their books or others I have read concerning healing ministry. It’s my hope that what I share here will add something to the conversation concerning our participation in Christ’s healing ministry today.

One of the assumptions I make in what follows is that all of the gifts of the Holy Spirit (including “gifts of healings,” 1 Corinthians 12:9) are still active and available in the church today—in contrast to the theological position known as dispensationalism, which denies this.

Dispensationalism holds that the more miraculous gifts—healing,

miracles, prophecy, tongues and interpretation of tongues—were “sign gifts” that ceased with the end of the apostolic age, sometime near the end of the first century. Though once a popular view in many Bible colleges and seminaries, this perspective has been losing large numbers of adherents in recent years.

For those with questions about whether all the gifts of the Spirit are still functioning in the church today, I recommend Jack Deere’s book, Surprised by the Power of the Spirit, which, in my opinion, is one of the best treatments of this subject.

My prayer is that you will come to see healing ministry as part of the normal Christian life and that you will be equipped and encouraged to make praying for the sick a regular part of your experience. May God use you to expand the kingdom and may many receive the healing ministry of Jesus through your prayers.

Yours in the kingdom, Jack Moraine

1 Healing & God’s Will

I was shocked when I heard the news that my father’s aunt had been healed of a tumor in her abdomen, in no small part because I was the one who had prayed for her healing a couple of months earlier while visiting her in California. I was eighteen years old and up to that time had no firsthand experience with healing. I had, however, been reading through the gospels and the book of Acts and had been struck by how prominent healing was in the ministry of Jesus and His followers. This contrasted sharply with the lack of emphasis on healing in the church of which I was a part. I don’t recall much about praying with Aunt Vera except that I laid my hand on her and asked God to heal her and remove the tumor from her body. When we finished praying the tumor was still visible in her abdomen so I assumed nothing significant had occurred.

I actually forgot about praying for Aunt Vera until my mother received a call from her. Her doctor decided to do one more x-ray before performing the surgery. The x-ray revealed no sign of the tumor. It so puzzled the medical personnel that they moved her to another exam room where a second x-ray was taken because they assumed something was faulty with their equipment. The second x-ray confirmed that the tumor was gone and the surgery was

chapter 1 canceled. Aunt Vera’s doctor finally informed her that although he had no explanation for it, the tumor was no longer present.

In those days I had more faith that God would heal people through surgery and medical means (which He often does) than through His direct intervention. “Guide the surgeon’s hands,” was a favorite prayer I had picked up by listening to the prayers of others along the way.

Although I had prayed for Aunt Vera’s healing, the truth is I had little expectation it would actually happen. I knew very little about healing at the time, but through this experience I learned two important things: Jesus is still healing people today and He uses the prayers of ordinary people to do so.

One of the reasons praying for the sick was such a new experience for me is that I grew up in a denominational church that had virtually no emphasis and little practical experience in healing ministry. It wasn’t that we believed God couldn’t heal the sick or even that He wouldn’t, we just weren’t convinced that He wanted to on a consistent basis.

This uncertainty was reflected in the way we prayed for individuals on those occasions when we were forced to pray for healing because someone asked us to. Our prayers always included this caveat: that God would heal the person we were praying for “if it be according to Your will.” Since we rarely, if ever, saw anyone healed, it was easy to conclude from our experience that it generally wasn’t God’s will to heal the sick, at least not through us.

Inserting the phrase “if it be Your will” sounded quite pious at the time. After all, we certainly wouldn’t want to ask God for anything that wasn’t in accordance with His will. “If it be Your will” also had the appearance of propriety. We wouldn’t want to impose our will on God, as though God might actually be so overwhelmed by our faith that He’d be moved to do something He didn’t really want to do.

Plus, there was the added benefit that when people weren’t healed through our prayers, we were off the hook, since the fact the person wasn’t healed, to our way of thinking, was simply due to the fact that God must not have wanted to heal them to begin with. It’s no

18

Healing & God’s Will wonder we came to believe that healing through prayer was rarely God’s will, which explains why healing ministry in the church I grew up in was, for the most part, non-existent.

If we’re going to participate in Jesus’ ministry of healing the sick, the first question we must answer from both a theological and practical perspective is whether or not healing is God’s will. If we’re uncertain about God’s willingness and desire to heal the sick, both our commitment and effectiveness in healing ministry will be seriously compromised.

In time, it began to dawn on me that praying for God to heal “if it be Your will” implies that we have no idea what God’s will is when it comes to healing. But is this really the case? The truth is we don’t have to be in doubt about God’s willingness to heal the sick. We don’t need to wonder about whether or not God is on the side of healing because His will on this matter is amply revealed in His Word and more specifically, in the ministry of Jesus Himself.

Let’s consider what the Bible actually tells us about healing and God’s will.

The Evidence of Genesis and Revelation One way to discern God’s will about any matter is to look at His original design and intent in creation. The world we’re living in is a far cry from the paradise God originally created, but the creation accounts in Genesis serve to show us the world as God intended it to be. Disease, decay and death were not part of God’s original creation.

They were not part of His plan for humankind. Sickness and death were alien invaders that entered our world along with the sin of our first parents.

Fast-forwarding now to the final book of the Bible, we likewise find that there is no sickness in the new heavens and earth that God is creating (Revelation 21:4).

19

chapter 1 These passages in Genesis and Revelation serve as bookends, demonstrating that God’s will concerning sin, disease and death has not changed. They had no place in the original creation before the fall, and they will have no place in the new creation that will be consummated with the return of Christ at the end of the age. Simply put, sickness wasn’t there in the beginning and it won’t be there in the end.

The Ministry of Jesus The fact that sickness is not part of the original creation or the new creation explains why Jesus treated sickness the way He did. My reading of the gospels forces me to conclude that Jesus never met a sickness that He liked. On more than one occasion it is said of Jesus that He healed “all who came to Him“(Matthew 8:15; 12:16).

Sometimes Jesus initiated the healing encounter; at other times those seeking healing did. Often individuals sought Jesus out and asked Him to heal them. On one of these occasions Jesus specifically addressed the issue of healing and God’s will. In Mark 1:40–41 we read of a leper who approached Jesus and said to Him, “If you’re willing, you can make me clean.” Jesus responded immediately by saying, “I am willing, be clean,” and the man was healed. I realize some people have argued for a universal application of this passage, insisting that Jesus’ statement, “I am willing,” applies not just to His willingness to heal this man, but all who are sick and suffering. I think this application goes beyond what the text actually says; there is nothing in the passage that indicates Jesus is doing anything more than responding to a specific request from a specific individual.

However, I think it is important to note that on this one occasion when Jesus is directly asked about His willingness to heal, without hesitation He responds in the affirmative. This coupled with the fact that there is no reference in Scripture of Jesus ever refusing healing to anyone who asked Him for it is strong evidence that He understood healing to be God’s will.

20

Healing & God’s Will One of the healing encounters Jesus initiated was with a disabled man by the pool of Bethesda (John 5:1–9). Sometimes people ask the question, “If you believe in healing why don’t you go down and empty the hospital?” One answer to this question is to point out that Jesus didn’t do this. There were many sick and infirmed people by the pool of Bethesda on the day Jesus passed by. In some ways, it resembled a makeshift hospital or emergency room in terms of the number of sick who were there. On this occasion, however, Jesus only healed one person. And when asked why He did so, He responded by saying that He only does what He sees the Father doing (John 5:19). At that time, in that moment, in that place, Jesus saw the Father healing this man. Jesus doesn’t say exactly how He saw the Father healing him, but it’s clear that Jesus initiated this healing encounter at the direction of the Father. John Wimber was fond of teaching from this text and emphasizing the importance of first discerning and then doing what we see the Father doing as it relates to life and ministry. He believed Jesus was not just our model for how to do life but also how to do ministry.

As we minister to others, we want to be open to receiving specific insight and direction from the Father as to what He is doing in that person’s life at that time. Once we know this (or have a specific leading from the Lord), our job is to simply join God in His work. We bless what we see the Father doing. The Father sets the agenda and we respond to His initiative.

I always prefer praying for people when I have this awareness that the Father is showing me what He is doing for a particular person or group of people. Although I often ask the Father to show me what He is doing, the truth is that I receive this awareness in varying degrees and sometimes not at all. I’ve learned, however, that it is still possible to do what the Father is doing—to engage in effective healing ministry—even in the absence of receiving a specific word from the Lord. This is because, in a general sense, Jesus has already revealed to us what the Father is doing. Although it’s true Jesus only

21

chapter 1 healed one man by the pool of Bethesda, it’s also true that of all the people who personally sought Jesus for healing we have no record of Jesus ever turning anyone away. It’s always wise to ask the Father to show you what He is doing in a given situation, but even without this knowledge, we can pray for healing with confidence that we are praying according to God’s will because we are doing what we have seen the Father do through Jesus. I have seen as many people healed when we have prayed for them out of obedience and the general revelation that Jesus’ entire ministry demonstrates God’s willingness to heal as I have when God has given me specific words or insight about particular individuals or their conditions. Both approaches to healing ministry are biblical and should be embraced.

It’s also instructive to note what we don’t find in the gospel accounts of Jesus healing the sick. We never find Jesus saying to anyone, “In your case, I’m sorry, but I actually like the way that sickness looks on you.” We never find Jesus saying something like, “Unfortunately, I can’t heal you because God is drawing you closer to Himself and doing a deeper work in your life through your physical suffering.”

This is not to say that God doesn’t draw people closer to Himself in the midst of, and even through, illness or suffering. He often does. In Romans 8:28, Paul tells us that “in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, and are called according to His purpose.” He does not say that “all things are good,” or that “God works all things,” but rather that “in all things,” God works for the good of His people.

He never works for anything else.

To acknowledge that God often does a deep spiritual work in our lives during times of physical suffering does not imply that we should conclude our sickness or disease was directly caused by God for this purpose or allowed by Him in order to facilitate spiritual growth in our lives. It simply underscores the fact that God only works for the good in our lives and the good He is working for is to make us more like His Son. This is spelled out in the very next verse. “For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his

22

Healing & God’s Will Son” (v. 29). God works for our good even in things that are painful, evil and not His will—even when we are suffering in our bodies from sickness and healing is delayed. Jesus never treated sickness as though it were a friend. He always treated it as an enemy. Or, to be more accurate, as part of the enemy’s kingdom.

At an intuitive and practical level almost everyone believes healing is God’s will regardless of their theological position on the matter.

This is demonstrated by the fact that most of us go to doctors when we’re sick and in pain. The logical extension of the belief that healing is not God’s will in certain instances because there is a higher purpose in it from God’s perspective (spirituality through sickness and suffering) means that by seeking medical help for our condition, we may actually be attempting to thwart God’s will rather than submit to it. No one I know, however—including those who believe God sometimes wills sickness and suffering for a higher spiritual purpose—gives a second thought to seeking medical treatment for an illness or to alleviate physical suffering. From a pragmatic perspective, we assume healing is God’s will. Not only does this make good common sense, it makes good biblical sense as well.

For me, it is Jesus’ life and ministry that provides the definitive answer as it relates to healing and God’s will. According to Jesus, He and the Father are one (John 10:30). To see Him is to see the Father (John 14:9). The author of Hebrews says that the Son is “the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of His being” (Hebrews 1:1–3).

To see how Jesus responds to sickness and suffering, then, is to see how the Father responds to sickness and suffering. Jesus not only reveals the will of God to us through His words, He expresses the will of God for us through His works. Jesus embodies the will of God. He is perfect theology because He is the Word made flesh (John 1:14).

If it’s God’s will to heal, then why doesn’t everyone we pray for receive healing? This may come as a shock to some people, but God

23

chapter 1 doesn’t always get His way on earth—at least not right now. There is a day coming when all things will be restored and the will of God will be fully realized in our world, but that day is not today.

When Jesus taught His disciples to pray, He told them to pray this way: “Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven”(Matthew 6:10). The clear implication is that God’s will is not being done on earth as it is in heaven. This is why Jesus tells us to pray for the kingdom to come and His will to be done.

This is an important point. According to Jesus, not everything that happens here on earth is an expression of God’s will. God is not the author of evil, suffering or sickness.

“Your kingdom come, your will be done” is not just our model for prayer, it’s our model for ministry. Should we pray for God to heal cancer? Well, how much cancer is there in heaven? Should we pray for God to release people from physical pain? How much pain is there in heaven right now? Should we pray for people to be healed of mental and emotional illnesses? How much mental illness is there in heaven? The answers are obvious. When we pray for the sick to be healed, we are on solid ground because we are praying in accordance and agreement with the kingdom prayer that Jesus taught us to pray. The principle of “on earth as it is in heaven” is the key to understanding Jesus’ ministry and to participating in His ministry today. Healing is God’s will and it is an integral part of the kingdom message and ministry of Jesus. In the next chapter we’ll explore the relationship of healing to the kingdom in more detail.

24

2 Healing & the Kingdom of God Healing ministry is occurring within the church today along a broad spectrum. Some churches emphasize healing a great deal, while others practice it occasionally and some not at all. Some churches and denominations have a theology of healing and a rich tradition of healing ministry in their past, but little evidence of it today.

Having a solid theology of healing is important, but it’s of little good if it’s not coupled with a commitment to pray for the sick on a consistent basis.

As a pastor, one of the questions I have wrestled with over the years is this: “What place should healing ministry have in the life of the local church?” Is it just a matter of the subjective personal preference of the pastor and leadership of each local congregation or is there a more objective answer to this question?

I believe there is an objective answer to the question and it lies within the nature of the church’s ministry and mission. Simply put, the church is called to continue the ministry of Jesus—to proclaim and demonstrate the message and ministry of the in-breaking kingdom of God.

chapter 2 Who Defines Ministry?

The question of what place healing ministry should have in the church today actually addresses a larger and more fundamental issue: Who defines the ministry of the church? I want to suggest it’s not our job to define the ministry and mission of the church. It’s not our job to determine what we’re called to do as followers of Jesus.

Jesus is our definition of ministry. What we see in Him we are called to emulate and obey as His followers. The apostle Paul tells us that Christ is the head of the church and we are His body. As members of His body, we are the hands and feet of Jesus. Jesus already defined ministry for us as He walked among us for three and a half years proclaiming and demonstrating the reality of God’s kingdom breaking into our world.

Consider Luke’s introductory verse to the book of Acts: “In my former book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach.” The clear implication of this verse is that Acts is a continuation of Jesus’ ministry. It is about what Jesus is continuing to do and teach through His people.

Consider, too, Jesus’ words in John 14:12: “I tell you the truth, 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.” The ministry to which God has called us is the ministry of His Son. Our job is to accept the call of Christ to carry on His ministry and mission in our world. What was central to Jesus’ life and ministry should be central to us. What was peripheral to Jesus should be peripheral to us. Ultimately, we have no ministry of our own; we participate in His. It’s true we must contextualize the message and ministry of Jesus by communicating the good news of the kingdom in culturally relevant ways. Forms and methods can and should change from culture to culture and generation to generation, but the content of Jesus’ message and ministry is timeless. How we communicate the good

26

HEALING & the Kingdom of God news may change, but the good news itself never changes. It is the same for all people, at all times, in all places.

Simply put, the church has no other ministry than the ministry of Jesus. That premise leads to this conclusion: Healing ministry should have the same place in the local church as it had in the ministry of Jesus.

So what place did healing have in the ministry of Jesus? Based on the record of the gospels, many students and scholars of Scripture have expressed the opinion that Jesus spent as much or more time healing the sick as He did preaching. This is not to imply that healing was more important in Jesus’ ministry than preaching, but it does suggest there is a strong relationship between the two. By any fair reading of the gospels, healing was certainly a prominent part of Jesus’ ministry.

John Wimber often exhorted those who serve in church leadership to focus on “the main and the plain” of what we find in Scripture. I believe that healing, along with preaching and teaching, falls within this category. It is clear from the degree to which Jesus engaged in healing ministry and the fact that He calls and commissions His followers to do the same (cf., Matthew 10, Luke 10) that healing was much more than a peripheral issue for Him. Matthew 4:23 provides a summary statement of Jesus’ ministry. ”Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people.” Jesus’ ministry of preaching, teaching, and healing flowed out of one core message and overarching theme: the kingdom of God. Everything Jesus said (preaching and teaching) and did (healing) related to the reality of the kingdom He brought with Him. Jesus proclaimed the kingdom had come, He taught about life in the kingdom and He healed people as a demonstration of the reality that God’s kingdom was indeed in their midst.

Maybe you’re old enough to remember show-and-tell time in school.

Every student brought an object from home, showed it to the class

27

chapter 2 and then explained what it was and how it worked. Jesus reversed this approach and generally engaged in tell-and-show. First He would talk about the kingdom through preaching and teaching and then He demonstrated the kingdom by healing the sick and those afflicted by demonic spirits. Jesus “showed” the kingdom in other ways as well—the feeding of the five thousand, for example—but healing is by far the most common way in which Jesus demonstrated not only the compassion of the Father, but the reality of the kingdom He was proclaiming.

One example of Jesus demonstrating the kingdom through healing is found in Luke 5:17–26. A lame man is lowered by his friends through the roof of a house in which Jesus is teaching. Seeing their faith, Jesus says to the man, “Friend, your sins are forgiven.” Some religious leaders were present and they began to question among themselves, “Who is this fellow who speaks blasphemy? Who can forgive sins but God alone?” Jesus, knowing their thoughts, said to them, “Which is easier: to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’? But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins….” He said to the lame man, “Get up, take your mat and go home.”

Jesus asks the question, “Which is easier to say?” not “Which is easier to do?” and not even, “Which is more important?” The answer, of course, is it’s easier to say, “Your sins are forgiven,” because there’s no visible, tangible proof or evidence accompanying this pronouncement that would confirm that forgiveness has actually occurred. All we have is Jesus’ word on the matter. So, Jesus does the harder thing to say—He heals the man—demonstrating the reality (the realness) of the kingdom He is proclaiming and validating His declaration of forgiveness to this man just moments before. Healing and forgiveness both belong to the kingdom of God. Jesus’ point is that if He has authority to do one, He has authority to do the other.

Healing is a tangible demonstration of the reality of the kingdom in our midst.

28

HEALING & the Kingdom of God Kingdoms in Conflict A careful reading of the New Testament reveals that the kingdom of God was the central, overarching theme of Jesus’ ministry.

New Testament scholars like George Eldon Ladd and N.T. Wright have made the case that Jesus’ life and ministry cannot be fully understood apart from an understanding of the kingdom. These authors, along with many others, have written extensively on this subject so I will attempt just a brief summary and explanation here.

The first thing we need to understand about the kingdom of God is that it is not a place (geographical or spiritual). We wouldn’t be able to locate it on a map of earth or heaven, if such a thing existed. The kingdom of God is the dynamic rule and reign of God. It is the will of God in action. Every expression of God’s love, every expression of His compassion and mercy, every expression of His justice and righteousness and every expression of His healing power is an expression of God’s reign, of His activity in our world, and as such an expression of His kingdom.

The second thing we need to understand about the kingdom is that God is not the only one who has one. Colossians 1:16 says that we have been transferred from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of the Son He loves. Satan has a kingdom too. He has his own agenda, his own will that he wants to see worked out in our world and in people’s lives. His agenda is the opposite of God’s.

It’s important to remember what the Bible teaches about Satan and his kingdom. Scripture does not teach dualism—that Satan is God’s evil counterpart. Satan is not equal with God. He was and is a created being. He fell through the sin of pride and the desire to be worshipped as god (cf., Isaiah 14:12–15; Ezekiel 28:11–19). He tempted our first parents and through their sin became the “god of this world” (2 Corinthians 4:4).

29

chapter 2 Satan’s kingdom, consequently, is only temporary. Jesus has triumphed over and disarmed all the powers of the enemy through the cross (Colossians 2:15). The decisive victory of the kingdom of God over the kingdom of darkness has already been secured through the cross of Christ and the final defeat of Satan’s kingdom at the end of history is assured. Until Christ returns, however, our world continues to be a battleground with our lives lived out against this backdrop of kingdom warfare in the spiritual realm (Ephesians 6:10–18).

This helps explain why we see so much demonic activity in response to the coming of Jesus. Comparatively speaking, there are only a few references to Satan and the demonic realm in the Old Testament, but when Jesus comes on the scene, bringing the kingdom with Him, there is an immediate response from the kingdom of darkness.

Nowhere does this conflict between the kingdom of God and the kingdom of darkness come into sharper focus than in Jesus’ ministry of driving out demons. Indeed, healing the demonized was a significant and important part of Jesus’ ministry. The opposition of the kingdom of darkness to Jesus continued to intensify throughout His ministry, culminating in John’s reference that “Satan entered into Judas” prompting Judas to betray Him (John 13:27, Luke 22:3).

It is with this understanding of the kingdom as God’s rule and reign breaking into the brokenness of a world dominated by the kingdom of darkness that Jesus begins His ministry in Mark 1:14. Not surprisingly, the first thing Jesus does is announce His kingdom. He begins by proclaiming that the time has come (the time the prophets had foretold when God would visit His people and usher in His kingdom) and that the kingdom of God is near.

There are two possible ways to understand this latter statement. One way to understand the text is that Jesus is saying that the kingdom of God is near in terms of time. It is just around the corner and may arrive at any moment. The other way to understand Jesus’ words is that Jesus is saying the kingdom of God has physically drawn near

30

HEALING & the Kingdom of God in His own life and ministry and can be touched and experienced now. I believe the latter view is correct, especially when we take into account Jesus’ statement to those who accused Him of casting out demons by the power of Satan: “If I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you” (Matthew 12:28).

Describing the kingdom as “near” and saying the kingdom is “here” (i.e., it has come upon you) are essentially equivalent statements.

Jesus is declaring that the kingdom of God is now present in His person and ministry.

There’s an interesting exchange between Jesus and a demon in Matthew 8:29. The demon speaking through the demonized person asks Jesus this question, “Have you come here to torture us before the appointed time?” What this question reveals is that the coming of Jesus and the kingdom of God took the kingdom of darkness by surprise. The demon acknowledges an understanding that he and his fellow demons face a future judgment at “the appointed time.” What he is asking Jesus is essentially this: “What are you doing here now?”

Healing ministry, in its various forms, is an expression of the kingdom of God overcoming the kingdom of darkness. In fact, it has been pointed out that virtually everything Jesus did can be categorized as “healing ministry.” Viewed from this perspective, Jesus came to bring: healing for our spirits—healing in our relationship with God. healing for our bodies—healing from sickness, disease and infirmity. healing for our minds and emotions—healing of past hurts like abuse, rejection and betrayal, including learning to forgive those who have sinned against us. healing for the demonized—those oppressed or afflicted by demonic spirits. healing for our relationships—learning to truly love not only our family and friends, but even our enemies. healing of the creation at the consummation of the kingdom.

31

chapter 2 The Now and the Not Yet of the Kingdom No discussion of the kingdom of God would be complete without acknowledging both the present and future dimensions of the kingdom. The phrase “the now and the not yet” has become a popular way of describing this tension. Jesus brought the “now” of the kingdom with Him. He inaugurated and ushered in the kingdom of God on planet earth. However, the kingdom of God (God’s rule and reign) will not be fully consummated until Christ returns. Only then will the words of Revelation 21:4 find fulfillment: “He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”

The biblical writers only knew of two ages, this present evil age and the age which is to come—the kingdom age (cf., Ephesians 1:21). In the first coming of Jesus, the age which is to come—the kingdom age—broke into this present evil age in which we are living. This present evil age will continue until the return of Christ. When Christ returns, this present evil age will pass away and all that will remain is the kingdom age.

This is illustrated by the following diagram.

32

HEALING & the Kingdom of God The area of overlap is where we are living now. If you are a Christian you are living in the kingdom age and this present evil age simultaneously. This explains why we are able to experience “the powers of the coming age” now—including healing—and at the same time be subject to sorrow, heartache, tragedy, sickness and death (Hebrews 6:5). We are living between the times of the first and second comings of Christ—in the “already” and the “not yet” of the kingdom of God. It is this “already” and “not yet” of the kingdom that informs my understanding of why some people are not healed in response to our prayers. It doesn’t give an answer as to why specific individuals we pray for aren’t healed, but it serves to remind us that if every single person we prayed for received healing, then the kingdom of God would be fully in our midst, something that won’t happen, according to Scripture, until Christ returns. In fact, whatever healing people receive in response to our prayers and the “now” of the kingdom is only partial and incomplete. Even those healed of terminal conditions will still die some day. Total healing happens in the presence of the Lord when we go to be with Christ in death and ultimately when He returns to consummate the kingdom here on earth.

I remember praying for one of my best friends who had been bitten by a poisonous wolf spider. Rudy was a childhood diabetic and due to his medical condition his body didn’t heal well. He developed gangrene in the toes of one of his feet from the infection in his system. I recall him telling me how his doctors had advised him that they were going to need to amputate.

Rudy was living in Fresno at the time but decided to come to Phoenix for a visit. While he was here, he attended church with me and several of us laid hands on him and prayed for his healing. Nothing happened right away, but Rudy went home and a few weeks later he called and gave me an update. The gangrene on his toes had begun to change color going from black to brown and then it just started

33

chapter 2 falling off like scales, he said. He told me his doctor was amazed at this and said, “I don’t know what you’re doing, but whatever it is, keep it up.”

About a week later, I was traveling through Fresno and got to see for myself what Rudy was talking about. Two of his toes were completely normal and the gangrene on the other three had already turned to the brownish color Rudy had described. Within another few weeks, all the gangrene was gone.

A few years later, I visited Rudy in the hospital. The diabetes had worsened and was causing his kidneys to fail. He had lost a great deal of weight and wasn’t doing well. A short time later, he went home to be with Jesus.

Why did God heal the gangrene in Rudy’s foot but not the diabetes that eventually took his life? I don’t know. There is an element of mystery about such questions that I’m not able to fathom. Although I understand the tension of the “now” and “not yet” of the kingdom, I don’t know why healing occurs in some instances and not in others.

Or why healing may occur for a secondary problem but not for the underlying condition as it did for my friend Rudy. I choose, however, to pray for the kingdom to come and to participate in the healing ministry of Jesus because I’m convinced this is what we’re called to do as His followers.

Where Do We Put the Emphasis?

The “now” and the “not yet” of the kingdom reflects the reality that we are living in the overlap of the kingdom age and this present evil age. Both realities need to be embraced if we’re going to be faithful to what Scripture teaches; however, in terms of practical ministry, Jesus calls us to emphasize the “now” of the kingdom of God. That’s why He taught us to pray, “Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven”(Matthew 6:10).

34

HEALING & the Kingdom of God Clearly Jesus wants more of the “now” of the kingdom to be expressed here on earth, prior to His return. How much healing can we expect then? No one knows for sure, but I suspect it is a good deal more than we are experiencing now. Deuteronomy 29:29 says, “The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children.” Our questions about the “not yet” of the kingdom—why someone we prayed for wasn’t healed, for example—fall into this category of the “secret things” of the Lord. We can either stumble over what we don’t understand, or we can choose to live in the reality of what we do understand of what has been revealed to us about the kingdom. Ultimately, the “not yet” of the kingdom as it relates to healing is beyond both our control and our complete understanding.

Jesus hasn’t called us to figure it all out, but He has called us to carry on His ministry in the world today. So how can we actually do the works of Jesus? The answer to this question lies with how Jesus did ministry Himself.

35

Healing Ministry $15

suggested donation

Books & resources from HGM Publishing are sold for whatever you can afford.

To place an order Call or email Heart of God Ministries

405 - 737 - 9446

resources@heartofgod.com

Or mail the form below to

Heart of God Ministries

ATTN: HGM Publishing

3720 S. Hiwassee Rd.

Choctaw, OK 73020

at US $________________ each.

Please send me _____________ copies of Healing Ministry Please send me more information about Beautiful Feet Boot Camp missionary training.

Name ____________________________________________________ Address __________________________________________________ City _______________________ State _____ Zip Code ____________ Country ____________________ Telephone _____________________ Email ____________________________________________________

Total Payment Enclosed $____________________________________

Please make checks payable to Heart of God Ministries.