I have seen many marvelous healings in over 25 years of pastoral ministry. And, as an adjunct professor at Life Pacific College (also called LIFE Bible College) for over 15 years, I had the privilege of teaching the subject in numerous classes.
I joyfully watched as my students stepped out in faith and got to see Jesus heal through them. But, stretched out through all those years, the number seemed few and far between. I longed for more.
As I was preaching through the book of Acts last year, I noted that Jesus gave the church His power and authority. Healing opened the doors for witness. Like Jesus, the early church prayed with authority, commanding disease, demons and even death to submit to the power of the kingdom of God. We need that kind of witness today in our jaded and skeptical world.
The Lord began to show me how to establish a healing ministry in church. First, I was not to wait for a special word, feeling or anointing, but simply to act on my authority as Christ’s ambassador on Earth: “Just do it.”
Second, I needed to take the lead and demonstrate this authority in front of people: “You lead; the people will follow.”
Like Jesus, the early church prayed with authority, commanding disease, demons and even death to submit to the power of the kingdom of God. We need that kind of witness today in our jaded and skeptical world.
The next Sunday, confronting the scary “what if nothing happens” feeling, I asked everyone who had any ailment to come forward, and I said that God was going to heal them. All were healed when I commanded their maladies to be gone in Jesus’ name! Bone spurs instantly dissolved; arthritis pain disappeared; a veteran was healed of a debilitating war injury.
My wife, Sandy, and I now can hardly wait to use our rediscovered authority with anyone we meet. We have seen over 60 healings in the past year. Others in our church are actively “experimenting” with their authority too.
Here is just one example: A month before Christmas, Sandy prayed for a checker at Home Depot, asking that her husband’s heart condition would be healed by the time she got off work. The day before Christmas, we felt led to go see her and give her a Christmas card.
When she saw us, she excitedly told Sandy that her husband was healed the moment she prayed. Sandy told her that what Jesus did for them in healing her husband’s body, He wanted to do in her heart. The checker then accepted the Lord. What a Christmas present!
God is leading us out into our community with His word and His power. It is amazing to watch all preconceptions about Jesus and His church disappear when God touches and heals. Yes, it was scary at first—but it is so easy now!
