Subscription Lists

A favorite ploy of modern deceivers who are self professed healers is to postpone the healing of some diseases due to their nature. In reality, they put them off because they have NO POWER to heal anyone, and that lack of power becomes all the more obvious as the symptoms of the disease become more obvious. In other words, the immediate restoration of a missing leg is hard to fake just as the instantaneous healing of a leper's decaying flesh is something that cannot readily be palmed off on intelligent audiences. For that reason, those who seek to deceive pick and choose the diseases that they will heal based on their probability of “success.”

I want you to contrast these types of shenanigans with some straightforward words from the Bible. The passages that you are about to read came directly from God's word and are presented here without any commentary or change except that all the emphasized words are my additions:

“And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease among the people. Then His fame went throughout all Syria; and they brought to Him all sick people who were afflicted with various diseases and torments, and those who were demon-possessed, epileptics, and paralytics; and He healed them.” (Matthew 4.23-24).

“When evening had come, they brought to Him many who were demon-possessed. And He cast out the spirits with a word, and healed all who were sick...” (Matthew 8.16)

“Then Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people.” (Matthew 9.35)

“And when He had called His twelve disciples to Him, He gave them power over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease... These twelve Jesus sent out and commanded them, saying: 'Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely give.'” (Matthew 10.1,5,8).

“But when Jesus knew it, He withdrew from there. And great multitudes followed Him, and He healed them all.” (Matthew 12.15).

“When the sun was setting, all those who had any that were sick with various diseases brought them to Him; and He laid His hands on every one of them and healed them.” (Luke 4.40).

“And He came down with them and stood on a level place with a crowd of His disciples and a great multitude of people from all Judea and Jerusalem, and from the seacoast of Tyre and Sidon, who came to hear Him and be healed of their diseases, as well as those who were tormented with unclean spirits. And they were healed. And the whole multitude sought to touch Him, for power went out from Him and healed them all. (Luke 6.17-19).

It does not take a Solomon to discern a huge difference between the so-called healers of today and the real miracles that Jesus performed during His ministry. Notice the number of times that the Bible says He “healed them all.” There was no “candidate screening process” to get to the final level like there is in the campaigns of false teachers today. Jesus simply healed every one miraculously and instantaneously of their malady, regardless of what it was! Herein is the difference between the power of God and the power of deception that holds sway over many today.

Questions:

1. Who chose the people who would receive healing from Jesus? Compare that with the screenings to which the sick are subjected in order to get into the healing lines at today's “miracle campaigns.”

2. What people were turned away from the healings that Jesus performed?

3. When multitudes of people were brought to Him for healing, how many of the sick folk were healed?

4. Read carefully Matthew 10.1-8. Concerning the twelve, over what diseases did Jesus give them power? Were they empowered to raise the dead? Cleanse lepers? Cast out demons? If the twelve apostles could do these things, what diseases would you suppose were beyond their power to heal?

"'Winging It" from Stan Smith

Moralism