Thought for the Month
Don’t forget it is the Chapel’s Harvest Festival on the 29th September and as usual we will have tea at 5 pm followed by a Songs of Praise Service. The offering will be given to Water Aid.
As I write this, the summer is fast passing us by but the Chapel have had some wonderful times of worship with the presence of the Holy Spirit very evident.
Our Healing Service in July saw lots of new faces and many of these coming up for prayer.
Revd. Peter Walker who was leading the Service reminded us that included in the 4 gospels are 20 detailed incidents of healing and 12 generalized statements.
The 20 detailed incidents mention 31 people healed by God through Jesus; 24 men, 3 women, 3 children (2 boys and 1 girl) and 1 servant.
Jesus specialized in bringing God’s healing to beggars and social outcasts; 19 of the 31 – over 60 per cent.
No prestigious adult is presented as an example of healing, merely 2 children and 1 servant of those in authority.
What was healed?
Through Jesus God healed;
Quadriplegia, paraplegia, 1 severed ear resulting from a sword wound, 1 withered hand, 12 blind eyes, 11 lepers, 2 severe fevers, 1 distressing gynecological disorder, chronic curvature of the spine, dropsy, a person who was deaf and stuttered, 1 who was agonizingly paralyzed.
The general statements add that epileptics were healed, the lame walked, the dumb talked, cripples were made whole, and those who were suffering from painful complaints of one kind or another were brought to Jesus and cured. and at the point of death, 2 who had already died, 1 whose corpse was decomposing,
Places of Healing
Most were healed while Jesus was on a journey. 4 were healed in the privacy of their own bedrooms, 1 was healed in a garden, 1 at a dinner party, 1 at his own funeral, 1 in his grave, 1 at a house meeting, 1 at the Jerusalem ‘Lourdes’. Only 2 of the 31 were healed at an organized, pre-arranged, religious meeting.
In 12 of the 20 specific examples Jesus’ initiative was an unsolicited ‘please’ (7 times by a friend or relative, and 5 times by the individual. I suggest that the initiative in the other 8 incidents was the Father, either by the Spirit or by an outpouring of extraordinary compassion, prompting Jesus to go to a specified individual to announce God’s immediate healing.
What healing actions?
John’s gospel repeatedly makes it plain that Jesus knew he could do nothing by himself, and that he restricted himself to doing only what he saw the Father doing. Whenever Jesus was bringing the Father’s healing he either touched the person, or announced the healing, or spoke a healing command, or some mixture of these three actions. In 11 of the recorded examples Jesus touched the sufferer.
In 4 of the 11 examples of a ‘healing touch’ Jesus said nothing. 2 he touched and spoke a command (but only to dead bodies); 3 times he used saliva in association with touch (surprisingly this biblical method is rarely used in meetings today); In 1 instance the person touched was given a task to perform, 1 the illness was rebuked before the sufferer was touched. 2 people were healed who were miles away from Jesus’ physical presence, and on both these occasions Jesus announced – or gave a promise of – healing. 5 times Jesus spoke God’s command of healing; each time in a case of immobility due to death or paralysis. In 3 instances he instructed the sufferer to do something which appears to have been part of the healing.
There is no record of Jesus praying with a person for their healing. On 4 occasions Jesus ordered that the miracle should not be mentioned. One urged the sufferer to publicize the healing. However that was to remind the 10 lepers to visit the medical authorities for ratification of their healing, so that they could return to normal society.
Spectators or relatives were converted in only 1 of the 20 gospel incidents. Twice we read that the news spread, once that people admired Jesus, and twice that they felt awe.
In many instances, however, the reaction was antagonistic: twice there was persecution, once there was opposition and argument, and another time there were plots of destruction. The chief priests determined to kill Christ after the raising of Lazarus, and seized him as Malchus grew a new right ear. Perhaps most remarkable of all – yet the same thing happens today – five times there was no reaction at all when God brought miraculous healing through Jesus.
Not even all the people turned to follow Christ. Certainly, Peter’s mother-in-law served Jesus, the John 9 beggar worshipped Jesus, the nobleman’s son believed in him, and Bartimaeus was saved; but nine lepers walked away - grateful for their healing, and disinterested in following Jesus and so it is today.
Right through his three brief years of ministry Jesus was busy bringing God’s healing to the sick, but he also made time to train 12 apostles and 72 disciples to pass on God’s healing. They followed Jesus’ example, and shared his success.
Today Jesus still heals through his sons and daughters who are prepared to pray for healing of the sick. I know many people who pray for the sick and see God’s healing. Sometimes it is immediate, sometimes over a few weeks and sometimes over many months. There are countless books available written by people who have seen these healings. Just as it was 2,000 odd years ago we see people healed but they still don’t turn to Christ.
The Chapel now has a lending library of many of these books plus many others written on passages in the bible, on the Holy Spirit, and about Angels. We are building our library up and would be pleased to lend them to anybody that would like to read them. If you have any such books and would like to donate them to our library we would of course be very grateful.