Hodder 1995 (1985)
AJM September 1999
1. Signs and wonders
1/5th of gospels dedicated to Christ’s healing ministry and teaching about it.
Signs and wonders in NT
1 Cor 2.4 my message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power.
Heb 2.4 salvation announced by signs, wonders and various miracles, and gifts of the HS distributed
acc to his will.
How did we lost sight of it?
- materialist and rationalist western world view
- idea of ministering in signs and wonders sounds presumptuous
- own sense of powerlessness; we know we haven’t the resources. But Jesus only had resources
of HS - he didn’t need baptism for remission of sins, but even he needed baptism of HS and
didn’t minister till he’d got it
- we have no idea how to minister in power; no training or experience
But in 3rd world, signs and wonders has always meant rapid church growth
John Wimber.
2. Two spiritual kingdoms
‘The kingdom of God is a reign of spiritual power which penetrates, permeates and integrates the material world’ p.8. Signs and wonders were and are a visible manifestation of the kingdom.
Kingdom of God vs kingdom of evil.
Ways in which kingdom of evil manifests its power and the power of Jesus is shown to be greater:
- Satan manifests his power through sin
- disease Mk 5, Lk 13
- demonisation Mk 5, Mk 9
- destruction Jn 10.10, storm
- death Mt 9, Jn 11, Lk 7 raisings from dead; Christ’s death and resurrection
Loosening of Satan’s grip was proof the kingdom of God had come.
3. Wholeness
Christ’s desire is to save us and cleanse us from sin. Also that this message should be accompanied by signs and wonders as proof of truth. Our attitude to sickness more influenced by Stoics than gospel. But sickness and pain came with Fall; not part of the plan. Jesus did not divide man into two - a soul to be saved and a body to be left sick and unhealed. Dealt with the whole person - paralytic, man at Bethesda, lepers.
Biblical view of man is wholeness.
But still part of fallen and groaning creation; not everyone is healed, just as not everyone is forgiven.
Appendix: word sozo means save, heal, make whole, preserve, rescue. List of instances.
4. Authority and power
What is spiritual authority and/or power and how do they relate to each other?
Authority is the right to exercise power.
God’s absolute authority and power; delegated to us. Satan has temporarily usurped it (2 Cor 4.4), Christ came to re-establish it. Authority and power given to us.
Jesus experienced temptations (power, priorities, presumption); refuted them with truth; then received anointing of HS.
5. How did Jesus minister?
Without omniscience, omnipresence, omnipotence.
The Son ... can do only what he sees his Father doing Jn 5.19. So through his relationship with the Father, Jesus knew who and when to heal:
- sometimes healed everyone
- sometimes refused to do it at all
- selective; eg at Bethesda
- refused to be emotionally pressured into a response, eg Cana, Lazarus
- wouldn’t be manipulated into doing anything. Even when he did heal he did it in the way the
Father wanted, which varied.
- acted out of compassion. But compassion alone not enough.
6. Introducing the gifts
4 listings: 1 Cor 12 (manifestation of the Spirit)
: 1 Cor 12.28 (ministries of the Spirit) - apostles, prophets, teachers, miracles, gifts of
healings, helps, administration, tongues
: Romans 12 (gifts of grace) - prophecy, serving, teaching, exhortation, giving, organising,
mercy
: Eph 4 (equippers of the saints) - apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastor/teachers
Plus miscellanous - celibacy (1 Cor 7.7-8), philanthropy (1 Cor. 13.3), hospitality (1 Pe.4.9).
Chapter on gifts of spirit.
Purpose: given to use for others; not trophies, intended as tools for ministry.
Gifts are released on believers in context of gathering for worship. When an individual is often given the same gift (1 Cor 12) he may be recognised to have a particular ministry to do with that gift (later list in 1 Cor 12); when he exercises that he may be given office to do so more widely.
7. The gift of tongues
Not necessary; not possible without Spirit; only one for individual use.
3 types: specific language; glossolalia (interpretation thru Spirit); private use.
Use in public
Use in private
Receiving the gift
Exercise of gift; may be in human or angelic language
Response
8. The gift of interpretation
Given in Spirit, like the original utterance
Exercise of the gift
Order
9. The gift of prophecy
Wagner definition - message of God through divinely anointed utterance.
Forthtelling: preaching, teaching, evangelism
Foretelling
All can prophesy; but only some are appointed to the ministry of a prophet
Prophecy is not the equivalent of scripture; is a particular word for a particular congregation at a particular time through a particular person. Scripture is for all Christians in all places at all times.
To be exercised in love; to be eagerly desired. May come through meditating on scripture, through visions, dreams, trances, impressions, voice, angel.
Warnings. Use in church meetings - not visitors.
10. The gift of discernment
A supernatural gift of perception to enable individuals to distinguish the motivating spirit behind certain words or deeds. Transrational; operates like jizz. More than normal discernment which comes from training in word and recognition of evil. Warning - discernment not the same as suspicion!
Operation of the gift in area of demonic; may see word over face, shadows, second face, shapes.
Operation of the gift in area of divine; may see flame, halo, aura
11. Words of wisdom
Key to unlock a situation; for application to problems of life itself.
4 kinds of wisdom:
- normal human wisdom; but danger of pride
- fallen supernatural wisdom; Eve
- spiritual wisdom; Proverbs, James 1
- word of wisdom; may come in flash or may just seem like common sense
4 may come on top of 1 and 3 or independently.
Recognised by its startling aptness. Classic example is Solomon and the baby.
Modern examples.
Gift is received by any who ask for it.
12. Words of knowledge
Supernatural revelation of facts.
Biblical examples; modern examples.
How received
How exercised - sensing the truth, seeing picture/word, hearing phrase or word, feeling sensation, feeling heat/heaviness/tingling in hands, feeling power come upon us
Share with person who has discernment
Always given because God wants sth done.
Warnings
13. The gift of faith
Supernatural surge of confidence from the Spirit of God which arises within a person faced with a specific situation or need whereby that person receives a transrational certainty and assurance that God is about to act through a word or action. Is ‘both the irresistible knowledge of god’s intervention at a certain point and the authority to effect his intervention through the power of the HS’ (Grossman).
4 kinds of faith in NT:
- creed: the doctrine we believe
- trust in God for salvation
- a fruit of the Spirit
- a gift of the Spirit; a mountain-moving surge
Operation in scripture. Supernatural blessing (Isaac to Jacob); personal protection (Daniel, Jesus, Paul and snake in Malta); supernatural sustenance (Elijah); bringing about promises of God (Sarah); in administration of supernatural discipline of offenders; in victory over enemies (Moses); in solving problems (Elisha); in raising the dead (Jn 11); in curses (fig tree).
Modern examples.
Less spectacular than other gifts because happens over time.
14. The gift of miraculous powers
Jesus did miracles primarily out of compassion.
Accompanying signs: deep compassion/anger; faith
15. The gifts of healing
Excellent chapter.
Fundamental principle: the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, Jn 5.19.
Forms of healing
medicine
sacramental (James 5)
itinerant
natural healing abilities in Christians
shrine ministries eg Lourdes
healing thru other spirits...
healing in church, 1 Cor 12.
Purpose of healing
to contribute towards process of wholeness in individual
alleviation of suffering/pain
cleanse soul
release emotions
edify believers
sign in world of kingdom
glory to God
Healing is spiritual warfare - sickness is domain of devil (Acts 10.38) though permitted by God (Job). Those in healing ministry find selves in active spiritual conflict. Enemy attacks before, during and after healing ministry.
Common forms of attack: depression, fatigue, anger, conflict, blockage, unworthiness (before)
: distraction, doubt, feeling lack of faith/anointing, temptation to override
one’s faith or to stop listening to God; tendency to focus on the
condition; discouraging/negative thoughts; desire to speed up and finish
(during)
: depression, sense of failure, fatigue, confused/mixed feelings, pride (after)
Values to be accepted by those involved
Ministry of HS, Acts 13
Authority of Jesus
Relationship between prayer and client must be:
- adult to adult
- honesty and truth on both sides
- no manipulation on either side
- based on compassion and respect
- willingness to take time
- concern for whole person
- avoid emotionalism
- don’t bring them into reliance on you
- don’t condemn
- keep confidence
Setting for healing
Worship the ideal setting; cell group or ot her OK.
Preparation before ministry to others
Remind selves of who Jesus is, what he has done, what he has told us to do
Seek to empty ourselves of self
Armour of God
Empty mind of preconceptions and presumption
Ask for fresh infilling of HS
Ask God what he wants to do
Pray in tongues
Envisage affected part of body well and functioning properly
How the ministry of healing begins
Inviting and honouring ministry of HS
Through inspiration
Vision/picture
Impression/knowing
verse coming to mind
word describing condition
The place of faith in healing
Must be there, either in the person, the friends/relations, the prayers
Good to ask person what he wants Jesus to do for him; encourages their faith
Remove obstacles - unbelievers
Told to command the mountain to move; not told to pray
Good to envisage the person whole when praying
Jesus asked for faith response - take up your bed, stretch out your hand etc
Importance of forgiveness in healing; ministers need to have received it and live it, client likewise (though may come after healing if not Christian). Unforgiveness may cause affliction to return.
Phenomena often experienced by those involved in healing
Heaviness/heat in hands; shaking of hands; tingling; sense of anointing. Inward witness of Lord’s presence to heal; sense of knowing, sense of detachment, seeing Lord working; sense of electrical currents through the body. Sometimes no feeling at all; then we minister out of our authority.
Client may feel heat or cold (deliverance); electrical current, shaking, stiffness, movement under skin, fatigue, peace, deep breathing, joy, falling. None is proof of healing.
Points
Never rely on own emotions; never ignore them
some develop faith for one particular area of healing
ministry can go in waves
16. Dreams, visions and ‘enigmatic speech’
Not included among gifts of the Spirit, but are frequently integral to the work of the HS.
Dreams in scripture
Visions in scripture
Enigmatic speech - God takes roundabout approach
Tests for these: does it agree with scripture; does it draw us closer to God; has there been any occult contact; who gets the glory; seek confirmation; offer in submission.
17. Inviting the Holy Spirit
Times when it good to do this; reasons from scripture and tradition
Manner of invocation
Allow time for HS to work
Next - team may go to those who are being anointed
Thanksgiving
18. ‘Falling’ under the power of God
Will happen sooner or later...
MacNutt et al.
Falling in scripture - Ezekiel, Daniel, John
- priests in 2 Chron 5.14
- disciples at Transfiguration
- some of those being delivered
- Paul on Damascus Rd
- Jesus on arrest Jn 18.6
Falling in history
What happens: conversion; power encounter light vs darkness; revelation; anointing; inner healing.
Warning: snare for Chrisitans who like the unusual, for outsiders who fix on it, for those who go for it as boost to spiritual pride, and for those who want to draw attention to their ministry (may even push).
19. Values in the healing ministry
and hazards to avoid.
Value the work of the Spirit
Keep spiritual and physical eyes open; vital to know what HS doing.
Say as little as possible when ministering in the Spirit
Value biblical authority
Value harminy in relationships
Value the individual person
Don’t impose your will on them; ask rather than tell; don’t accuse.
Value the body of Christ
20. Reasons why we have not healed the sick
We don’t pray for them - fualty world view, belief gifts of Spirit no longer available, lack of power, lack of effective model, fear, inadequate theology of healing, lack of encouragement.
Reasons to pray: common sense, scripture, history
Does everyone get healed? Jesus didn’t heal everyone.
Gradual healing. Medicine. Death.
All sickness came originally through the curse of sin, but not all sickness is caused by specific sin in the afflicted individual.
When people aren’t healed: may be no explanation, but check unforgiveness, deeper emotional hurts, unbelief.
Do sickness and suffering come from God? Well; there are beatitudes for those who are ppor in spirit and those who are persecuted, but not for those who are sick! It is God’s nature to heal; it is not his primary purpose to teach us through sickness. Sickness is never made to appear beneficial in NT.
21. Who should minister?
Character deficiencies in the disciples! Character deficiencies in the church at Corinth!
Links 1 Cor 13 (love) with Galatians 5 (fruits of Spirit); love is mother of the fruits of the Spirit.
Ministers must be subject to faith, prayer, anointing, authority, teachable, open to receiving healing.
22. Equipment for those ministering
Ephesians 6.
23. Health and forgiveness
Clearly linked in Bible. Ps 103.3; paralytic Mt 9.
Mt 18 parable (NB jailors = tormentors)
Jesus - forgiveness costly, unconditional, unlimited, obligatory
Receiving forgiveness - people don’t becasue they don’t understand how it is possible; they are too proud; they won’t forgive others.
Forgiving - others, selves
24. Healing of the Spirit
Regeneration and restoration of a person’s spiritual life. Sickness of spirit is caused by the individual’s own sin.
Adam and Eve
Esau
Saul
David
Nebuchadnezzar
Paralytic Mk 2
Impotent man Jn5
Sinful woman Lk 7
25. Healing of the Body
Where there is no spiritual component.
Naaman the leper, 2 Kings 5
Bartimaeus
Guidelines for ministering healing to the physically
unwell
Invite HS
Watch for manifestations of HS on person
Listen to God to find rot cause; lay hands
Listen for words of knowledge or instructions
Find out where the faith lies
Ask them to pray
Calm them down
Break power of any unbelief
Tell the condition to go or be healed (mt is a Jewish metaphor for difficulty, Mt 17; Jesus rebuked
fever in Peter’s mother in law)
Ask how they feel and continue if necessary
Close when HS no longer working in power
Some conclusions
They know if they are healed - don’t tell them
healing may be progressive
if symptoms recur there may be underlying cause
devil will attack them afterwards
listen to person and ask while praying
faith necessary (in you, them, or those who brought them)
26. Healing the oppressed
Some mental or physical illness is the result of demonic activity. Healing must therefore include the expulsion or deliverance from whatever demonic influences may be causing the disease.
Jesus cast out demons. He:
- did not seek out the demonised
- never argued with demons
- sometimes bound them first
- commanded them never to return
- addressed them directly
- once cast them out from a distance
- delivered demonised children
- ministered to the demonised in synagogues, open air and in their homes
- asked qs to help diagnose the problem
- showed demons had to obey his orders
- showed multiple demonisation is possible
- made disciples work in pairs
Degrees of demonisation
: afflictions, like darts
: footholds (sin, occult, unforgiveness)
: strongholds (from longstanding rebellion)
: bondages
: possession
Discerning the presence of demons (see Richards)
- personality changes
- physical changes
- mental changes inc psychic powers
- spiritual changes inc aversion to sacraments etc
When HS invoked over oppressed person there is often a manifest ‘power encounter’ - shaking etc; but this can also be due to suppressed emotional trauma.
Don’t diagnose evil spirit without corroboration and manifestation.
In doubt, can command any dark spirit to manifest itself
Preparation for those ministering
right relationship with God; LP; fasting; meditation on cross, victory and authority given to disciples
confession
Eph 6
Ministering deliverance
in groups if poss
quietly but firmly
in circle
in private
avoid shock
show love; confidentiality
prayer for protection
begin with dialogue covering following areas:
- personal occult involvement
- family history
- false religion, cult, masonic links
- sexual liason with demonised/occult person
- general case history
they repent and renounce all work of occult and flesh
call down HS on person
person to cooperate where possible
in addressing spirit, look into person’s eyes where possible
look for God’s leading; counterproductive if they not prepared for ongoing discipleship
demons will try every trick to stay
if it won’t come out, stop and ask Lord to reveal the foothold
send it to place prepared for it
person to renounce it and tell it to go
sometimes more than one spirit to cast out
person may have kind of post-op depression, and problems may reassert themsleves; will pass; but they
need someone on hand to minister truth
further deliverance ministry to be done by same team
person to be discouraged from believing further ministry necessary and taught to resist
Appendix
Form of prayer of renunciation and ministry for release from occult
Thanks
confession and renunciation
Prayer minister: ‘in the name of Jesus I break any curse placed on you from occult sources. I break all psychic heredity and any demonic hold upon your family line due to any disobedience of your ancestors. I break any bonds of physical and mental illness and all demonic subjection to your mother, father, grandparents, great grandparents or any other human beings’.
27. Inner healing
Normal processes of healing are frequently impeded by deep inner hurts from the past; and sometimes deliverance from a demon may only result when the associated inner hurt has been dealt with first. Use any secular counselling model which is compatible with scripture.
Assumptions: Christians have problems that can remain untouched by confession, repentance, conversion, renewal of HS, deliverance, Bible study, prayer and sacraments
: hurts and traumas in subconscious affect present life
: purpose of inner healing is to minister to those memories in such a way that they are
no longer associated with pain and have no negative effect in person
Origins of traumatic experience: sinful world; inflicted by others; inflicted by self (eg wrong choices)
Reaction to traumas:
- nursed; leads to anti-social behaviour patterns
- confession and repentance
- suppressed; leads to depression, phobia, illness, neurosis
Don’t let person remain passive during ministry; you can’t do it for them.
Don’t let person become emotionally dependent on you
To relive the emotions isn’t enough
To find the root cause isn’t enough
There must be:
- commitment to taking responsibility and owning one’s bad decisions
- forgiveness to those who have caused the hurts
- repentance for resentment and acceptance of forgiveness from the Lord
- openness to receive the healing love of Jesus thru the HS
- commitment to seek Lord’s answer for right living in kingdom
Appendix - a prayer of forgiveness
28. Ministering healing to the dying and their
families
Acc to God’s creative will no one should die from sickness or accident
Acc to God’s permissive will some do.
29. Raising the dead
Widow’s son 1 Kings 17
Shunammite woman’s son 2 Kings 4
Elisha’s bones 2 Kings 13
Jairus’s daughter Mk 5
Widow of Nain’s son Lk 7
Lazarus Jn 11
many holy people Mt 27
Dorcas Acts 9
Eutychus Acts 20
Other examples, historical and modern
30. Ministering to those in hospital
Preparation
Concentrate not on the condition but on what God is doing/saying
31. Ministering to children
When praying for sick children always picture them as happy and well
32. Keeping our healing and deliverance
It is possible to lose one’s healing - cp Jesus’ warning to man at pool
It is possible to lose one’s deliverance; cp swept house Lk 11
Important to repent continuously; to keep being filled with the HS; to keep forgiving; to resist the devil
33. Worship: where it all begins
William Temple: ‘worship is the submission of all our nature to God. It is the quickening of the conscience by His holiness; the nourishment of the mind with His truth; the purifying of the imagination by His beauty; the opening of the heart to His love; the surrender of will to His purpose - and all this gathered up in adoration, the most selfless emotion of which our nature is capable and therefore the chief remedy for that self-centredness which is original sin and the source of all actual sin’. P. 263.
There is the order of death - a cemetery
and the order of life - a nursery, where order is teased out of untidiness and constantly restored.
34. Operating within a liturgical structure
Pavlova, asked why she danced; ‘if I could tell you, I would not dance’.
35. Organising the healing ministry
Kind of people required: converted and anointed; teachable; who relate well to others; common sense.
Phases of ministry
Ask what the person wants Jesus to do (keep dialogue to minimum)
Seek to discern level of faith of person and encourage them to state belief that Jesus can heal
Invite HS, relax and wait
Wait for further words of wisdom/knowledge; ask what they feeling
Hands on or off not a major issue
Encourage person to be open to HS, relaxed
Let HS do the convicting
Encourage person to come again if ministry has been partially beneficial
Speak to the condition if necessary
Encourage person to take a step of faith - eg bend the arm etc
Appendix
Complete list of scripture refs for healing and deliverance
Toronto blessing - matters arising.