THE POWER THAT HEALS

“Whether is easier to say Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Rise up and walk? But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins, (he said unto the sick of the palsy,) I say unto thee, Arise and take up thy couch, and go into thine house. And immediately he rose up before them, and took up that whereon he lay, and departed to his own house glorifying God.” (Luke 5:23-25)

In reading the Word of God it doesn’t take long to see that a supernatural power is at work producing God's will in the earth. As you begin looking at the life of Jesus, you see this power demonstrated in and through His ministry. In fact, in His very first sermon Jesus emphasized that the Holy Spirit is upon Him, giving Him the power to preach, to heal, and to make men free!

In Luke 4:18 Jesus declared: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, To preach the acceptable year of the Lord.”

The word anointed is translated from the Greek word chriō which means; “to touch with the hand, to consecrate to an office, to give power or authority.” What Jesus was literally saying to the Hebrew ear, was that God had placed His hand upon Him, and had given Him an authority, a power to free mankind from the bondage of sin.

In Acts 10:38 we read “How 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.”

Here we see Luke plainly stating How God anointed (chriō) Jesus with the Holy Ghost, and with power.

The word power here is translated from a Greek word dynamis which means strength power, ability, abundance, miraculous power.

This anointing on Jesus, gave Him the authority and power to heal all that were oppressed of the devil.

We see this power in action in Luke 5:17-25; “And it came to pass on a certain day, as he was teaching, that there were Pharisees and doctors of the law sitting …. and the power of the Lord was present to heal them. And, behold, men brought in a bed a man which was taken with a palsy: ...... And when he saw their faith, he said unto him, Man, thy sins are forgiven thee."

Here we see Jesus using this power that was present to heal, to forgive someone of their sins. Jesus went on to say that forgiving someone's sins, is just as easy as healing their bodies. Why? Because they are both done by the same power.

Luke 5: 17 tells us that while Jesus was teaching; “.... the power (dynamis) of the Lord was present to heal them.” But no one in that house where Jesus was teaching received their healing. Even though the power of the Lord was available to heal, no one benefited from it.

But when a man, who was sick, came in faith, Jesus used that power to forgive the man his sins.

Imagine that! The scriptures say the power was present to heal, not to forgive. What was Jesus thinking? In fact some of the Scribes and Pharisees that were sitting in that house listening to Jesus questioned among themselves about this.. They literally thought in their hearts; Who does this man think he is? Why does he think he can take the power of God and release someone of their sins?

These men understood that it would take a specific authority, a power, to release someone from the wages of their sin. They believed that only God has that place of authority and power.

But God has chosen to give this power to the Son of man. Jesus knew that the power was present, and He used that power to forgive this man of his sins. He released this man from judgement!

Now notice what Jesus went on to say and do: “But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power upon earth to forgive sins, (he said unto the sick of the palsy,) I say unto thee, Arise, and take up thy couch, and go into thine house. And immediately he rose up before them, and took up that whereon he lay, and departed to his own house, glorifying God.”

Once the man's sins were forgiven, which is the power of God releasing this man from the curse, Jesus told him to get up, pick up your bed and go home. YOU ARE FREE!

THE POWER THAT FORGAVE THIS MAN'S SINS HEALED HIS BODY

Jesus proved to them that the man's sins were forgiven by telling him to get up and go home!. His body was healed!

That’s what healing of the body does. It proves that sins are forgiven! It is the release from the judgement and curse of sin!

THE SAME POWER THAT FORGIVES SIN, IS THE SAME POWER THAT HEALS

The same is true for you and I today. Jesus took the power that God entrusted to him, and has already forgiven you of your sins, He has released you from the judgement and curse of sin by dying on the cross. YOU ARE FREE!
Now, according to John 3:16 all we have to do is believe this, and we can receive that same power that forgives our sins and heals our bodies as well.

I was preaching in a service one particular time, on the subject of forgiveness and the life of God. Before I ever entered into ministry, during a time of prayer, the Lord told me that He has placed His Word in my mouth. He went on to say that when I minister His Word, His power would be released and begin manifesting in people's lives. God made it clear to me this particular day that healing would manifest without me laying hands on people. As I would speak His Word, and as the people believed, they would be healed.

Now don’t misunderstand me, the Word of God says to lay hands on the sick, and they will recover, so this ministry continues to obey that Word. But it is through speaking His Word that His power to release you from the bondage of sin is made available.

I declared this to the congregation that day. During the sermon not one individual came forward with a testimony of healing.

When I finished my message I didn’t get discouraged. I did perceived faith in the congregation though, so I simply looked to the Lord and asked; Now what would you like me to do?

He instructed me to give an altar call, and invite people to accept Jesus, to be filled with the Holy Spirit and to receive healing for their bodies.

He said; "As they come forward, lay hands on them to receive." So I did as He instructed me and the altar was packed. As I prayed, souls were saved, filled with His Holy Spirit, and bodies were healed. God was truly glorified!

Later on that week, a woman who was in that service came up to me and began to tell me of an ailment that she had suffered with all of her life. She suffered from a skin condition that caused her constant pain and discomfort.

In her excitement she began to share with me her testimony. During that sermon, she began to feel a tingling sensation all over her body. She stated that she had never felt this type of sensation before. By the end of the service she noticed that she felt no more pain.

She apologized to me for not coming forward that day, but wanted to go home and inspect her body. She shared with her husband that she believed the Lord healed her.

When she did arrive home, both she and her husband began looking at her skin, and saw that the condition was completely gone from every part of her body! Glory to God, she experienced a dramatic healing, while being under the ministry of the Word.

The critics of God's healing message today need to understand that the same power that God uses to forgive and release them from their sins, is the same power that heals their bodies.

If you have received Jesus as Your Lord and Savior the power to forgive your sins has been released. You are now free from the bondage, judgment and curse of sin. And since you and I have been forgiven, our bodies are now free from its curse. That power brings health and healing to every part of your body!

All it takes is for you and I to believe like the man who came into the house that day where Jesus was ministering.

The Scriptures say that Jesus saw their faith! Faith tapped into the power of the Lord that was present. Faith caused this man to receive forgiveness of sins, to be made free, and to receive healing for his body!

We need to understand that through ministering the Word of God, like Jesus did when He was physically on this earth, power is made available for people to receive their freedom! Jesus saw people being healed right and left.

God wants people free, so Jesus set people free. Never once did Jesus put sickness on someone. The exact opposite happened! He took the power of God and forgave people of their sins, healed their bodies, and brought glory to God

It is time for the body of Christ to do the same today. It is time for us to hear the Word of God, take the power of the Lord and receive forgiveness for our sins, and healing for our bodies!

YOU ARE BLESSED