7 PURPOSES FOR DIVINE HEALING

7 PURPOSES FOR DIVINE HEALING

By Olorunfemi Peter

The late English Bible teacher Smith Wigglesworth used to tell this story: Two women on the train with him – a mother and daughter – were very sick, so Wigglesworth said to them, “Look, I’ve something in the bag that will cure every case in the world. It has never been known to fail.”

The mother and daughter were quite interested, so the minister went on to tell them about his “remedy.” When they finally asked for a dose, he opened the bag, took out his Bible, and read them the verse that says, “I am the Lord that healeth thee” (Exodus 15:26).

What a wonderful way to share how the Bible is filled with promises and accounts regarding health and healing for His children!

HEALING THROUGHOUT THE BIBLE:

God’s will for us to walk in divine health and a right relationship with Him is emphasized throughout His Word. In the Old Testament we see it reflected in His covenant with the children of Israel (see Exodus 15:26). Then David acknowledged that covenant in his psalm when he said, “Bless the Lord, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits: Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases” (Psalm 103:1-3).

In the New Testament, Jesus ministered to the sick, doing miracles and healing all who came to Him: “Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of sickness and all manner of disease among the people” (Matthew 4:23).

But there is more to discover about divine healing, so much more.

FAITH AND MIRACLES

In the early days of our ministry, I began to see people healed who had very little faith. I asked one man who came to the platform to testify about his miracle, “What church do you attend?”

“I don’t go to church,” he replied.

“Are you a Christian?” I questioned.

“No, sir,” he said bluntly, “I don’t know anything about that.”

Here was a person who had no knowledge of the Word, had never given his heart to Christ, but was now healed. I said to myself, “Lord, this doesn’t make sense!”

Soon after that, as I talked with Dr. Lester Sumrall, a great man of faith who has since gone on to glory, I asked, “Can you explain to me why God is healing so many unbelievers in our meetings?”

He responded with this question, “Who did Jesus heal two thousand years ago?”

I went back to my Bible and reviewed the miracles of Christ. Time after time, He healed those with little or no understanding of the things of God. I began to realize that His mercy brings both salvation and the miraculous.

SEVEN PURPOSES FOR HEALING

Anytime I go back to my study notes from that time in my life after my conversation with Dr. Sumrall, I delight in seeing what the Lord showed me.

Let me share seven of God’s many purposes or reasons for healing people-then and now.

PURPOSE #1

Jesus Heals Because He Is Full Of Compassion:

A leper came to Jesus “beseeching him, and kneeling down to him, and saying unto him, If thou wilt, thou canst make me clean” (Mark 1:40).

What was the Lord’s response? “Jesus, moved with compassion, put forth his hand, and touched him, and saith unto him, I will; be thou clean” (verse 41).

It was compassion that led to the miracle. Jesus Christ heals people today for the same reason, so that “the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance” (Romans 2:4).

PURPOSE #2

Jesus Heals Because Healing Belongs To His Children:

Once, when Jesus was preaching near the city of Tyre, a Syrophenician fell at His feet, asking Him to cast an unclean spirit out of her daughter.

Jesus said to her, “Let the children first be filled: for it is not meet to take the children’s bread, and to cast it unto the dogs. And she answered and said unto him, Yes, Lord: yet the dogs under the table eat of the children’s crumbs” (Mark 7:27-28).

The Lord saw the woman’s faith and the daughter was delivered.

If you are a child of the King, healing should come to you first, even before unbelievers receive their miracle. Yet I watch as those who do not know the Lord reach out in great faith, hungry for the crumbs. And time after time, He pours out His healing virtue upon those people. I thank God, healing is often the entry point that helps people receive Jesus Christ as Savior.

PURPOSE #3

Jesus Heals To Bring Glory To His Father:

On the side of a mountain near the sea of Galilee “great multitudes came unto him…and he healed them…[and] the multitude wondered, when they saw the dumb to speak, the maimed to be whole, the lame to walk, and the blind to see: and they glorified the God of Israel” (Matthew 15:30-31).

On another occasion, there was a similar response when Jesus healed a paralyzed man: “When the multitude saw it, they marvelled, and glorified God” (Matthew 9:8).

All glory and praise belong to the Father. Healing is a wonderful, awe-inspiring faith-builder that should lead to glorifying God.

PURPOSE #4

Jesus Heals To Fulfill God’s Promises:

At Capernaum, “they brought unto him many that were possessed with devils: and he cast out the spirits with his word, and healed all that were sick: That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying, Himself took our infirmities, and bare our sicknesses” (Matthew 8:16-17).

When the Master heals, it is a fulfillment of the prophecy spoken through Isaiah. On the cross, Christ took our sickness and infirmities.

PURPOSE #5

Jesus Heals Also To Confirm His Own Word:

Healing was promised by the Father, then declared by Jesus Christ. He said, “If I do not the works of my Father, believe me not. But if I do, though ye believe not me, believe the works: that ye may know, and believe, that the Father is in me, and I in him” (John 10:37-38).

Christ knew exactly why He was sent to earth. He came to perform the works of His Father. Miracles confirm the spoken word of Jesus. And He heals to fulfill His personal word to you.

PURPOSE #6

Jesus Heals To Show You The Power In His Blood:

The prophecy Isaiah declared (Isaiah 54:4-5) was fulfilled 20 centuries ago: “He was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed” (Isaiah 53:4-5). The blood of Jesus was shed to forgive sin and provide healing.

PURPOSE #7

Every Time The Lord Heals, The Devil’s Defeat At The Cross Is Exposed Once Again:

The Word tells us, “For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil” (1 John 3:8).

At the house of Cornelius, Peter said, “God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him” (Acts 10:38).

YOUR DIVINE HEALING

Jesus knows everything about you. You are His treasure. He even knows the number of hairs on your head (see Matthew 10:29-31). He wants to show mercy and healing toward you. You are so precious that He died on the cross for your sin and your infirmities. Let the Great Physician bring healing and deliverance to you today!

God wants you to live in divine healing and health. He wants you to understand more and more about divine healing.

I want to send an excellent book that will help you discover even more about divine healing:

Promises for Your Healing from Every Book in the Bible (Softcover). The Bible is filled with God’s promises of healing and health. These promises belong to every believer today. In this powerful book, Pastor Benny offers scriptures from Genesis to Revelation that reveal the Lord’s promises of healing. As you read these scriptures, let your faith abound as you reach out to trust God for your own miracles!

When you plant a seed of any amount and request the special healing offer I will send this amazing product to you. I know this book bless you.

I look forward to hearing from you today! Not only will your gift go toward preaching the Gospel all around the globe, but you will be giving toward a supernatural harvest in your own life.

And when the seed meets the right soil, it will produce abundantly!

Don’t delay, for I believe we are in a divine time of harvest. Respond today. I want you to put this powerful book in your hands now.

Give your best to the Lord today and watch what He will do for you. For we know it is “not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the Lord of hosts” (Zechariah 4:6)…

Preaching the glorious Gospel of Jesus Christ, teaching the unchanging Word of God, and expecting the mighty and miraculous power of the Holy Spirit.