The Bible in Depth – #17

​Study Seventeen
 
The Healing Jesus brought to us.

4 Surely, He has borne our sicknesses and carried our pains; yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. 5 Yet He was pierced through for our iniquities. The chastisement for our peace/prosperity was upon Him, and by His lashing that cut into His skin we are healed (Isaiah 53:4, 5).
 
With His death, burial, and resurrection, Jesus gave us three major gifts destined to change the daily lives of all believers living on the earth.  You can read them in the verse above from Isaiah.  They are 1) Forgiveness of sins, 2) Healing, and 3) prosperity. These gifts solve the problems faced on the earth. These difficulties do not exist in heaven, so there is no need of these gifts there.

We need to appropriate these gifts as they don’t just lay idle until someone stumbles over them. We have to set our sights to know what these gifts are, how God uses them, and then we must claim them. God is not at all opposed to the “Name It and Claim It” movement because that is exactly what we must do to receive these gifts. First, we find the promise of what we want, such as healing, then draw those scriptures out of the Bible and into our souls—memorize them in our minds, celebrate them in our emotions, and receive them in our spirit. Jesus paid for these three with His blood.
 
He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil (1 John 3:8).
 
This verse explains that the devil is responsible for inflicting poverty, sickness, and sin on us here on earth. Some people are horrified to hear that Satan must be dealt with. They want to think that somehow the devil has simply disappeared from the earth, or maybe he only lives in Africa. Please open your spiritual eyes and see the truth. Demons are everywhere, and they want to live in your body so they can help you to sin, to be sick, and to impoverish you. Jesus came to destroy these works of the devil.
 
Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me the works that I do he will do also and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father (John 14:12).
 
Not only does God and His Son Jesus want you to be free from these works of the devil, they want you to have the power to set other people free. In fact, as they watch us from heaven, they rejoice to see you use the power God gave you through His Son—to do everything Jesus did while here on this earth.
 
1 Now Peter and John went up together to the temple at the hour of prayer, the ninth hour. 2 And a certain man lame from his mother’s womb was carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful, to ask alms from those who entered the temple; 3 who, seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple, asked for alms. 4 And fixing his eyes on him, with John, Peter said, “Look at us.” 5 So he gave them his attention, expecting to receive something from them. 6 Then Peter said, “Silver and gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk.” 7 And he took him by the right hand and lifted him up, and immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength. 8 So he, leaping up, stood and walked and entered the temple with them—walking, leaping, and praising God. (Acts 3:1-8).
 
This is a perfect example of what Our Heavenly Father and His Son Jesus our Lord want to see us doing: taking the healing power to those who need it. This man, lame from birth, had been laid by this gate into the temple probably every day of his life. Peter wanted the man to look into his eyes so Peter could now see if this man were ready to receive God’s power. He was.  The man himself listened to the people telling the stories of Jesus as they left the temple, and his faith grew until he was ready. That’s how his faith grew.
 
4 Therefore, those who were scattered went everywhere preaching the word. 5 Then Philip went down to the city of Samaria and preached Christ to them. 6 And the multitudes with one accord heeded the things spoken by Philip, hearing and seeing the miracles which he did. 7 For unclean spirits, crying with a loud voice, came out of many who were possessed; and many who were paralyzed and lame were healed. 8 And there was great joy in that city (Acts 8:4–8).
 
All of us are called to carry the gospel to the ends of the earth. Time is short. We need to be the ambassadors of Christ that we are called to be. Nothing is more evangelistic than healing. It calls the crowds to hear about the miracles that happened in their neighborhood. Be bold. Be brave.
 
Smile at the Lord as you carry His Fire to your friends and neighbors!