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This Tuesday we will begin having our weekly Taize’ Healing Services. For those who have attended these services, I am hoping you have been blessed by these times of scripture, song and silence. I have noticed that quite a few of you have taken advantage of our prayer team in our chapel. Some of you, I hope, have been blessed by God’s healing power whether it is physical, emotional and/or spiritual. My prayer is that all who come to the Taize’ services have their needs met in Jesus Christ through the anointing of the Holy Spirit.
Sadly, there are some folks who do not believe that God is in the healing business. Yet, in both the Old Testament and the New Testament readings for today we clearly heard about God’s healing power both before Jesus came and during His time on earth.
For the Jew during the times of the Old Testament, God was known as the source of all healing. God healed His people both through physicians and prophets, who were given a special anointing for healing. When the prophet Isaiah wrote the following words to depict God’s salvation, the people believed him. He wrote, “Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped; then the lame shall leap like a deer, and the tongue of the speechless sing for joy.
In this scripture alone, there are four miraculous cures of which Isaiah attributes to God’s healing hand. They are blindness, deafness, lameness, and speechlessness. All of which were incurable during Isaiah’s time by physicians. Only an act of God could heal people afflicted with these afflictions.
In the gospel reading for today in the gospel of Mark, Jesus heals a man who is deaf and has a speech impediment. When Jesus takes him aside and heals him, the scripture states that the people are astounded. They are astounded because no physician could heal either one of these ailments. The people immediately believed that Jesus was a prophet sent from God to heal God’s people.
At this time in Jesus’ ministry, those who saw such miracles done by Him believed for the most part that Jesus was a prophet. The acceptance of Jesus as the Messiah was held by a rather small number and diminished even more when He was crucified. Even most of the Twelve abandoned Him. One, Judas Iscariot, betrayed Him, another one, Peter, denied Him and only one, John the Beloved, remained with Jesus at the foot of the cross with Jesus’ mother Mary and the other women who remained faithful. It was only when Jesus over came death through the resurrection that many came to believe that Jesus was the Messiah.
The questions for us for today is, “After Jesus ascended into heaven, did God continue to heal?” And the second question is, “Does God continue to heal today?” For the answer to the first question, let us turn to the Book of Acts, chapter three and beginning with verse 1 through 10.
“One day Peter and John were going up to the temple at the hour of prayer, at three o’clock in the afternoon. And a man lame from birth was being carried in. People would lay him daily at the gate of the temple called the Beautiful Gate so that he could ask for alms from those entering the temple. When he saw Peter and John about to go into the temple, he asked them for alms. Peter looked intently at him, as did John, and said, ‘Look at us.’ And he fixed his attention on them, expecting to receive something from them. But Peter said, ‘I have no silver or gold, but what I have I give you; in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, stand up and walk.’ And he took him by the right hand and raised him up; and immediately his feet and ankles were made strong. Jumping up, he stood and began to walk, and he entered the temple with them, walking and leaping and praising God. All the people saw him walking and praising God, and they recognized him as the one who used to sit and ask for alms at the Beautiful Gate of the temple; and they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him.”
Notice it is the Name of Jesus that brings healing to the lame beggar. No amount of money in the world could purchase healing for this man. It was only through the powerful Name of Jesus that this man’s healing was given. Brothers and sisters in Christ that power is still available for all who will believe and receive the healing of Jesus Christ. The power of healing in the Name of Christ has not diminished over time.
I personally have experienced the healing of Jesus in my life and have seen it happen in the lives of others. If you are doubtful about this aspect of God’s ministry to His people, then I invite you to come and see for yourself. The presence of Christ has been felt by those who have attended the Taize’ services. God is doing something amazing here at St. Raphael’s and you do not want to miss out on it. There is an anointing of the Holy Spirit on the Taize’ services. Trust me when I say that it is not my preaching, because I do not preach at these services. It is the presence of God here in this place. There is a sweetness that I cannot describe other than the Sweetness of the Holy Spirit working in and through God’s people.
In James’ epistle, he warns the followers of Christ to “be doers of the Word, and not merely hearers who deceive themselves.” If we truly believe that Jesus is the Christ, than we need to respond to the anointing of the Holy Spirit happening here at St. Raphael’s by bringing our friends and family members who need to be healed to the Taize’ services. This is a precious gift that we are being given. God forbid that we be found guilty of grieving the Holy Spirit, by not bringing others to Christ. God is faithful to us, the real question is, “Are we faithful to Him?”
In closing, in the gospel reading from Mark, please notice that Jesus did not go out seeking people to heal them. The scripture reads, “They brought to him a deaf man.” Those who believed that Jesus would heal their friends and loved ones brought them to Jesus. Who are we willing to bring to Jesus? All we need to do is bring them; it is Jesus who heals them. Who will you bring?
Jesus Christ alone is the only Way back to the Father God. This is what Jesus means when He states in the gospel of John, chapter 4, verse 6, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
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