Leadership in Context with Keith Tucci
Episode 027
Divine Healing
Exodus 23:25-26
But you shall serve the Lord your God, and He will bless your bread and your water; and I will remove sickness from your midst. There shall be no one miscarrying or barren in your land; I will fulfill the number of your days.
That is a covenant promise that Jehovah-Rapha made to His covenant people—and we are included in that covenant as children of Abraham. I believe that God wants to heal the sick.
Isaiah 53 gives us a vivid description of the crucifixion 700 years before it happens. It describes the suffering Savior as someone who is whipped, beaten, and tormented on our behalf for us. The end of the chapter says, “…and by His stripes we are healed.”
Some people suggest that that passage is not referring to divine healing. Some (many of the Jewish scholars) even suggest that it is referring to the healing of a nation. It might have those extensions, but this passage is referring to the touching of the physical body.
Scriptural Authority for Healing
Matthew 8:17—“…He bore our infirmities (our weaknesses, our sicknesses) …” He has delivered us. He has healed us.
Acts 10:38—Jesus was anointed by God, went about doing good, and healing all those who were oppressed by the devil.
Matthew 8—This is in the middle of Jesus’ healing ministry. Many people were being healed. Many people were being delivered. Verse 17 tells us that Jesus was doing this, thus fulfilling what was spoken by Isaiah the prophet.
Exodus 23— Matthew tells us that what Jesus was doing was part of that covenant found in Exodus 23. Peter echoes the same thing.
Galatians 3—We are delivered from the curse of the law. The curses (found in Deuteronomy 28) included a great list of diseases. According to Galatians 3, we have been delivered from those curses.
If healing was provided in the atonement, like salvation, why are people not getting healed?
First, we have to back up and ask, if salvation was provided in the atonement, why are people not being saved? There are lots of reasons why people aren’t being saved, but we aren’t going to quit preaching salvation, are we? The same understanding applies to healing. We need to proclaim healing and hold that as the standard. Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.God does not respond to our needs. He can respond to our needs, but we are talking about covenant theology here. He responds to what He has provided. The fact that many people do not get healed should not stop us from proclaiming the Word.
Lack of Teaching
I pray for people often and ask them what Scripture they are standing on. More often than not, they don’t have a verse to stand on. You can’t just believe unless you have Scripture to believe on. Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God. We have to pump the Word of God out there. There needs to be systematic teaching on a regular basis to build up people’s faith so that when we are praying for them, we aren’t appealing to their need/hope/brokenness, but to their faith.
Outline for Healing in James
James 5:14-15
Is anyone among you sick? Then he must call for the elders of the church and they are to pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord; and the prayer offered in faith will restore the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up, and if he has committed sins, they will be forgiven him.
Operating in faith
Laying on of hands
Healed
Sin issue—There is no doubt that if we are walking in willful disobedience against God, that we got outside of His covenant blessings. This is something to take very seriously.
Lack of Faith
The single biggest deterrent to people getting saved is faith. Likewise, the single biggest deterrent to people getting healed is faith as well. Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. We need to be stirring up faith in believers. We need to set a new culture where we are preaching the Word, having people examine themselves in preparation to receive prayer, and then releasing faith and believing God for a supernatural outpouring.
God First
We must go to God first for healing. Does that mean we don’t go to the doctor? No. I don’t think there is a prohibition on going to the doctor. We don’t see that in Scripture. I do think that anyone going to a doctor must believe that it’s God’s will to heal them. Why would you go to a doctor if you didn’t believe it was God’s will to heal you? Wouldn’t that be disobedience? But we must go to God first. Is there an atmosphere of faith in our churches? Exodus 23—He will take sickness out of the midst of us. That is very powerful, and it is uncharted grounds for most of us. We aren’t teaching community and Bible living to the degree that we believe that when we get together, there is a power house, an anointing that will break sin, break curses, break sickness, and that people being together is producing healing that is divine in nature. He is Jehovah-Rapha. He is the Lord that heals us. He is the Lord that carried away our sickness and bore our infirmities. He did heal all who came to Him.
As believers, we have a responsibility to know God’s will, propagate God’s will, to be filled with God’s will, and to share God’s will on this vital subject. I want to encourage you to consider doing an in-depth series on “The Lord Who Heals Thee.” Dig into the Scriptures so you aren’t just taking a verse or two out of context—as powerful and truthful as they may be. Explain what Matthew 8:17 was in reference to. Dig into James 5. Spend time explaining God’s covenant of healing. Talk about why the disciples felt so bold that they could pray for healing for people. Use that to stimulate your people, rather than them being moved just by needs and desires. Use the Word of God. Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.
Join us next week as Keith Tucci continues to put leadership truth in the context of the local church. And as always, please like, share, rate/review, and invite others to listen. See you next week!
