Faith that Heals

Rev Gideon Lee

I want to thank all of you for praying for me. If you didn't know already, last week I hurt my back while picking something up. I was supposed to preached at the youth last Saturday but I could not do it so I asked bro Vive to take over and he graciously did. I thought I could preach on Sunday but I still couldn't so I asked bro Koay to take over. He is someone who excel in last minute preaching so he just stepped up to preach. And sis Melinda handled communion, where she is more than qualified. So that was Team B last week, the replacement team. I was told even the worship leader was a replacement. That is what it is all about. We talked about this at the Leader's Retreat. Empowering leaders to take over. 

Luke 17:11-19
Ten Healed of Leprosy
11 Now on his way to Jerusalem, Jesus travelled along the border between Samaria and Galilee. 12 As he was going into a village, ten men who had leprosy met him. They stood at a distance 13 and called out in a loud voice, “Jesus, Master, have pity on us!”
14 When he saw them, he said, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went, they were cleansed.
15 One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice. 16 He threw himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him–and he was a Samaritan.
17 Jesus asked, “Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? 18 Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?” 19 Then he said to him, “Rise and go; your faith has made you well.”

There was this story of a travelling evangelist who advertised himself as a faith healer. He jumped onto the stage and said there are two people who will be healed today. He said to the crowd, quickly the two of you come to the stage. Then a man named Harry came to the stage and the evangelist asked what healing he needed and he said he stutters. Te evangelist asked him to go behind the curtain. Then the second person named Steven came up and was on a crutch and he said he wants to walk again. Both of them were asked to stand behind a curtain. So he called Steven to slip his crutches out from underneath the curtain. After some time one crutch came out and later the second crutch. Then he told Harry to speak properly and asked an usher to give Harry a mike. So Harry slowly but surely said, with a little stutter, Steven has fallen down. (laughs)

I don't know what you think about healing but if you treat it as a business I don't think God will be pleased. But I believe God is still in the business of healing. My title is Faith that heals.

The bible says Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem. And as He was travelling He came to a village and as He was going in 10 men with leprosy called out to Him. Notice how desperate these men were.

Maybe to know how desperate you have to know what leprosy is like. Back in those days it was considered one of the most frightening disease. It is a disfiguring disease, where body parts can fall off. And they look pale and it is a very slow death. People who are afflicted with this is very pitiful. And often they are blamed to have been punished because of sin.

In Jewish custom they are considered physically unclean. So they cannot participate in any of the temple worship.

Leviticus 13:45-46
“The person with such an infectious disease must wear torn clothes, let his hair be unkempt, cover the lower part of his face and cry out, ‘Unclean! Unclean! ’ 46 As long as he has the infection he remains unclean. He must live alone; he must live outside the camp.

They have to live alone outside the city gates. They can only live with their own kind. And they have to wear a black robe and move around shouting unclean unclean. They can only be healed by God. Imagine the anguish and heartache with these people.

Imagine not only their mental pain but also their emotional pain. They knew Jesus was the answer. Master have pity on us as they stood at a distance. The law says they have to be at least 6 feet away from another.

Friends, have you been in such a desperate situation like this? This pain is not only physical but also emotional and mental pain. But the good news is that Jesus heals a person completely. Not only your body but also mental and emotional.

Do you know suicides is on the rise. What would drive them to do that? Jesus has come to deal with it permanently. Emotional distress can cause a person to take their own lives. The bible says Jesus healed the 10 men. Jesus said go show yourselves to the priest and as they went they were cleanse.

As they acted on the command, they were cleanse. The word of hope for us is that Christ hears our pleas as well as he heard the pleas of these 10 lepers. He hears, he cares and he has the ability to do something about it.

There was this woman who had no hope of healing and in a symbolic manner as she stood by a window she shut the curtain thinking that God has shut her out. You can shut the curtain but that does not mean the sun is not shining. We can shut God out but that doesn't mean He does not care.

There was this man called Peter Marshall who died in 1946. He said if God shuts my life he will not be one minute too early or one minute too late. He was right. The promises of God are true and he heals us according to our needs. This is what I call a statement of faith. Healing faith is that even in our dire circumstances there is a loving God who watches over us and healing will come.

But we need to know that death is sometimes also part of the healing process. But don't get me wrong I am not saying we pray for death but that death is not the end so we do not fear death in that sense. But don't get so caught up that we want a person to be healed only our way. Sometimes, death is God's way, absent from the body and present with the Lord.

We need to be at a place where we are so desperate for God to heal us. Dead end situation and somehow God comes and turn the situation around for His glory.

Friends, the key this morning is to hold on to God's promises.

How many of you have been on a plane especially a small plane like the Firefly. Sometimes as it taxi down the runway everything shakes even you. And you wonder if the plane can take it or not. But once the plane takes off, no more shaking. That's like our situation. Sometimes we are in a situation similar to the shaking. But we must hang on because it is just about to take off.

The 10 men got cleanse as they went. When we act on faith to God's promises the healing comes. Out of the 10 how many came back to thank him? Only one. And he was a Samaritan. Samaritans were like half breed, the worst of the worst but he was the one that came back. And Jesus said your faith have made you whole. The 9 received healing but this man was saved spiritually as well. He saved the whole person. And one of the keys is a grateful heart. Gratitude is important. We need to learn to be thankful. That's when we will see the healing come.

Are you going through a difficult time? I pray that during the turbulence do not be so quick to jump out. It is about to take off.

Do you have a need for healing? Healing for your body, marriage, emotion? A good place to start is to be thankful. It is important we understand faith plays an important part of our healing and lives.