Healing Ministries?

[Blien]

How many of you believe in modern day healing ministries we see taking place around the world? I seriously question it because they dont ever show any real evidance that the person was sick in the first place or even a progress report on the person, 6 months to a year from the day of healing.

Some say that a person hasn't been able to walk since a car accident and suddenly as they prayed for the person the leg resrtuctured and grew to be as healthy and normal looking as the other one giving him/her the ability to walk. Well how come when they are praying for this person and we see the video on air they dont lift up the pants to show us what the leg looked before and after? Instead they ask the person to run up and down the stage and jump in the air???

The majority of who claim to be healed of blindness and deafness on stage look cold and emotionless after there supposed healings. It breaks my heart to see these videos because it is as if the evangelist in his zealousness has made lies and hurt people's ability to belive in christ because of them. These people look like they had been taken for a ride and in fact they can't hear or see. Am I the only one who feels this way when seeing these videos?

2 Thessalonians 2:8-12 (New International Version)

8And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will overthrow with the breath of his mouth and destroy by the splendor of his coming. 9The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with the work of Satan displayed in all kinds of counterfeit miracles, signs and wonders, 10and in every sort of evil that deceives those who are perishing. They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. 11For this reason God sends them a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie 12and so that all will be condemned who have not believed the truth but have delighted in wickedness.

Yet in saying this, I also know of this verse in the Bible.

Mark 16:17-18

"These signs will accompany those who have believed: in My name they will cast out demons, they will speak with new tongues; they will pick up serpents, and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover."

[Guest]

I Believe

Some Know

By Faith In Jesus We Are Healed

"And Jesus said unto the centurion, Go thy way; and as thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee. And his servant was healed in the selfsame hour."

Matthew 8:13

Some Know

By His Word We Are Healed

"And Jesus saith unto him, I will come and heal him."

"The centurion answered and said, Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldest come under my roof: but speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed."

Matthew 8:7-8

Some Know

Jesus Is Salvation

"And when Jesus was come into Peter's house, he saw his wife's mother laid, and sick of a fever."

"And he touched her hand, and the fever left her: and she arose, and ministered unto them."

"When the even was come, 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 8:14-17

Some Know

Because Of Him

"If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you."

"Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples."

John 15:7-8

Some Know

We Bear Fruit

"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,"

Galatians 5:22

Some Know

We Are His Pleasure

"Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created."

Revelation 4:11

Some Know

Hallelujah!

[Blien]

And is it for lack of faith the rest of us don't lay hands on people and have their illness healed? And can we heal ourselves if need be?? I have glasses so could I heal my eye sight? Truly, if I can do that to myself then I will believe and go off healing others.

Sorry to be a Doubting Thomas as they say.. I'm just curious why Mark 16:17-18 is not widely manifested around the world.

[nebula]

It's like those towns Jesus couldn't do many miracles in - there was too much doubt in the town. He actually had to take the one blind man outside of the town in order to heal him, and even then he had to lay hands on the man twice.

People I know pray for healing her at home and don't experience too many miracles, but when they went to third world countries - where there is a strong belief in the spiritual realm among the people - healings occur left and right!

So I wouldn't blame your faith or lack there of. Our culture and society is just so immersed with doubt (reason rules!) that it is very hard to break through.

[Guest LadyC]

i agree with the lack of faith comment.... mark and i were talking about this the other night. it's not that we lack the faith that God can heal, it's really more of a lack of faith that God will heal at our request. or that He will heal us (or deliver, as the case may be) at someone else's request.

[stacey c]

Healing is alive and well. And as Nebula pointed out, it's a common occurance in other countries where belief in the spiritual has not been trodden down to be almost absolete.

IMO there would be more healings here if our society weren't so distrustful and faithless as we have become.

Christ died for our physical and spiritual healing, but even christians doubt that God is still the same today, and that's plain sad.

But when even christians want to see proof of this or that it shows our lack of faith. Instead of knowing that our God can do anything,we want proof!

We believe in Jesus Christ and salvation by faith, but when it comes to anything else that God has said He does for us we fall back on the worlds theology seeing is believing.

I love the line from a movie a saw once "Seeing isn't believing, believing is seeing"

[Trusting Jesus]

I believe that there are some people who have a gift of healing. The thing that bothers me about some ministries is that it seems to glorify the person and not God. There are big crusades and lots of people come. Some get healed. But it all just seems like a "teen idol" type of thing rather than truly glorifying God. I also am suspicious when an admission charge is required. A free gift from God should be offered freely.

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Nathele

[OneLight]

I believe that there are some people who have a gift of healing. The thing that bothers me about some ministries is that it seems to glorify the person and not God. There are big crusades and lots of people come. Some get healed. But it all just seems like a "teen idol" type of thing rather than truly glorifying God. I also am suspicious when an admission charge is required. A free gift from God should be offered freely.

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Nathele

Amen!

We are to use His gifts freely, bringing glory to Him. We find in 1 Corinthians 12 that healing and faith are both gifts from God, given by the Holy Spirit as He wills. Not everyone will have these gifts, so I do not see this as always being that of questioning our faith, but that which the Holy Spirit will use another to bring forth healing in His name.

As for these ministries, since we only hear of those who are "big time", and not those who may be in His will, I will refrain from commenting on the ministry as a whole. That said, those who charge a fee to get in and promise you healing are false. God never charged anyone for healing. I also never read where healing will always be the will of God.

[stacey c]

Oh my Onelight, I think for the first time you made a point I don't agree with.

You said you haven't read where healing is always God's will. I have never read where it's not.

Scripture tells us that Jesus healed all who came to him, and we know He's the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow.

And yes I know all about Pauls thorn in the flesh, and many others trials, I am in no way saying that ills and sicknesses cannot be used as stepping stones for building our faith, and trust in God and learning about God's grace.

But if we being evil give good gifts, and hate the thought of our children suffering sickness why would God being our loving Daddy refuse us healing?

[yesult]

I've grown up in churchs that believed in healing and had faith for them - so I've been seeing them around me all my life and experiencing them myself.

However, I realise that not everyone has had that. Which grieves me, let me tell you.

But because of that - I would never attend a church that didn't believe in healing unless God called me in there specifically.

God heals, all the time - but you have to believe he does. Even jesus couldn't perform many miracles in his own home town because of their lack of faith*. And that doesn't mean 'blind - throw your common sense away' faith. That isn't faith - that's denial.

If you want to experience healing - then go to churchs that believe in it and look for it. I think some people want to ignore the miraculous power of God sometimes, because they can't control it and it scares them. (I think). And it can snowball into whole church movements through control. That's why the bible is so harsh on 'unbelief'. That's deliberate refusal to believe - not ignorance. That's basically rejecting God.

God doesn't expect us to throw our brain away - but he does expect us to have faith in him and his word.

*Matt 13:58

Edited April 2, 2009 by yesult