Gift of healing

[joshua 1 9]

If the sick person is still sick, then he or she isn't healed.

A long time ago I learned from Francis MacNutt that healing can be slow and gradual over a long period of time. Over the years I have found this to be true. God has all the answers and all the solutions. WE have all wisdom, knowledge and understanding available to us. Sometimes it can take a long time to receive what we want or need from God. Change is not always instant, sometimes healing is gradual. God does not change, He remains the same yesterday, today and tomorrow. We are the ones that are changing.

I do believe that there are people that walk in divine health. God is no respecter of person. There is even a book written called: "none of these diseases". Paul talk about how many people are sick because the do not properly discern the body and blood of Jesus. 1 cor 11:30 "That is why many among you are weak and sick, and a number of you have fallen asleep." If he said a few I would not pay as much attention as I do when Paul says: "many among you".

 

[Presbyterian Continuist]

A long time ago I learned from Francis MacNutt that healing can be slow and gradual over a long period of time. Over the years I have found this to be true. God has all the answers and all the solutions. WE have all wisdom, knowledge and understanding available to us. Sometimes it can take a long time to receive what we want or need from God. Change is not always instant, sometimes healing is gradual. God does not change, He remains the same yesterday, today and tomorrow. We are the ones that are changing.

I do believe that there are people that walk in divine health. God is no respecter of person. There is even a book written called: "none of these diseases". Paul talk about how many people are sick because the do not properly discern the body and blood of Jesus. 1 cor 11:30 "That is why many among you are weak and sick, and a number of you have fallen asleep." If he said a few I would not pay as much attention as I do when Paul says: "many among you".

When a person manifests the gift of healing, the sick person is healed instantly, otherwise it is not the gift of healing. If a person says they have the gift of healing, then every sick person they minister to is instantly healed of whatever medical condition they have. There are people who say they have a gift of healing, and they build a ministry out of it and fill stadiums with people hoping to be healed, but no verified healing of any serious medical condition has been reported in any of these "healing" conferences. Therefore, because no actual healing has occurred, and seriously ill people have gone away not healed, these people are faking, and giving sick folks false hope.

I have had second thoughts about Francis MacNutt. I don't see how a person who prays to Mary and the Saints can manifest a Holy Spirit gift of healing. One cannot violate the commandment, "You shall have have no other gods besides Me", and expect the Holy Spirit to support him.

 

[Blade]

We all can.. "lay hands on the sick and they shall be healed". It comes by the sweet sweet Holy Spirit.. to another the gift of healing". Always remember God/Christ/Holy Spirit.. are not some light switch we can turn on or off. He is always on.

Peter and John.. never once had to ask pray seek wonder if that man was going to be healed. They gave away what they had. The KNEW what that NAME can do.. ANYTHING.. They said it after.. you look at us as if we did this under our own power its FAITH in that name. YOU I don't do the work.. He does.. and He IS faithful. Jesus said.. it is written.. we do that.. HE WILL do the rest. But if you doubt going in.. well then. you already have your answer. Did He not say.. if you doubt let not that man believe he will get ANYTHING from God.

You must.. YOU.. must know what HE wants.. does He want to heal all or not? You do what He said.. it may be just once or afew hundred times.. but then.. BAM! You start to see it.. every time. I think so much doubt is at 1st.. but you keep being faithful to HIS word. Many reasons.. this is just..

 

[joshua 1 9]

When a person manifests the gift of healing, the sick person is healed instantly, otherwise it is not the gift of healing. If a person says they have the gift of healing, then every sick person they minister to is instantly healed of whatever medical condition they have. There are people who say they have a gift of healing, and they build a ministry out of it and fill stadiums with people hoping to be healed, but no verified healing of any serious medical condition has been reported in any of these "healing" conferences. Therefore, because no actual healing has occurred, and seriously ill people have gone away not healed, these people are faking, and giving sick folks false hope.

I have had second thoughts about Francis MacNutt. I don't see how a person who prays to Mary and the Saints can manifest a Holy Spirit gift of healing. One cannot violate the commandment, "You shall have have no other gods besides Me", and expect the Holy Spirit to support him.

I think you need to quit judging others and start to judge yourself. Romans 14:4 "Who are you to judge someone else's servant? To their own master, servants stand or fall. And they will stand, for the Lord is able to make them stand."

 

[Presbyterian Continuist]

I think you need to quit judging others and start to judge yourself. Romans 14:4 "Who are you to judge someone else's servant? To their own master, servants stand or fall. And they will stand, for the Lord is able to make them stand."

No one is judging anything or anyone. I am merely stating a fact. If a man is praying to and worshiping other gods and idols instead of the one true living God, then he cannot expect the Holy Spirit to work with him. Praying to Mary and the Saints are using them as gods, just like any other pagan Hindu who prays to his millions of gods.

Anyone can write books on the theory of divine healing, but that is quite different from actually being able to minister it to sick people. The point is that if a person says they have a gift of healing and people don't get instantly healed through their prayers, then they are lying.

I note Charles Finney, when he was invited to receive Christ, he observed that all the prayers that the people were praying were not answered, and so he said, "If your prayers are not answered by God, then why should I put confidence in your prayers for me, seeing that they would not be answered anyway?"

So, if a fellow is praying for sick people, and God is not healing them, if I got sick, why should I have any confidence in that fellow's prayer for me, when there is every likelihood that his prayer for me is not going to be answered anyway? I would be entertaining a false hope if I went to that fellow for prayer.

I think I would be totally correct in saying that 99% of people who go for prayer in these great healing meetings never have the prayers answered and they go away still sick. That is why I have absolutely no confidence in "healing" ministries, or "healing" meetings, because in 99% of case, they just don't work! God is not honouring those ministries or answering their prayers.

I wonder why?

 

[joshua 1 9]

No one is judging anything or anyone. I am merely stating a fact. If a man is praying to and worshiping other gods and idols instead of the one true living God, then he cannot expect the Holy Spirit to work with him. Praying to Mary and the Saints are using them as gods, just like any other pagan Hindu who prays to his millions of gods.

Anyone can write books on the theory of divine healing, but that is quite different from actually being able to minister it to sick people. The point is that if a person says they have a gift of healing and people don't get instantly healed through their prayers, then they are lying.

I note Charles Finney, when he was invited to receive Christ, he observed that all the prayers that the people were praying were not answered, and so he said, "If your prayers are not answered by God, then why should I put confidence in your prayers for me, seeing that they would not be answered anyway?"

So, if a fellow is praying for sick people, and God is not healing them, if I got sick, why should I have any confidence in that fellow's prayer for me, when there is every likelihood that his prayer for me is not going to be answered anyway? I would be entertaining a false hope if I went to that fellow for prayer.

I think I would be totally correct in saying that 99% of people who go for prayer in these great healing meetings never have the prayers answered and they go away still sick. That is why I have absolutely no confidence in "healing" ministries, or "healing" meetings, because in 99% of case, they just don't work! God is not honouring those ministries or answering their prayers.

I wonder why?

As an Episcopalian using the book of common prayer we are taught that the gifts of God are for the people of God. We are just a vessel that God uses to heal. It is up to Him to heal and it is up to the individual to receive what God wants and has for them. Our part is to be holy and sanctified before God so we can be used by God. We are told that many are called but few are chosen because they are not willing to live the life God calls us to live if we want to be used by Him.

So if people are not healed it maybe because God is not doing a work to heal them or maybe they are not able to receive the healing he has for them. There are many gifts, not just healing. "8To one there is given through the Spirit the message of wisdom, to another the message of knowledge by the same Spirit, 9to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, 10to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in various tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues" 1 cor 12

 

[Presbyterian Continuist]

I have had the gift of healing sense birth.

If that is true, then every person you minister healing should be healed instantly.

 

[joshua 1 9]

If that is true, then every person you minister healing should be healed instantly.

Clearly not everyone is able to receive what God has for them. Mark 6 "4 Then Jesus told them, “A prophet is without honor only in his hometown, among his relatives, and in his own household.” 5 So He could not perform any miracles there, except to lay His hands on a few of the sick and heal them. 6 And He was amazed at their unbelief."

If we represent God then it is our words that He watches over. We are to abide in the truth 100% of the time.

 

[Presbyterian Continuist]

Clearly not everyone is able to receive what God has for them. Mark 6 "4 Then Jesus told them, “A prophet is without honor only in his hometown, among his relatives, and in his own household.” 5 So He could not perform any miracles there, except to lay His hands on a few of the sick and heal them. 6 And He was amazed at their unbelief."

If we represent God then it is our words that He watches over. We are to abide in the truth 100% of the time.

If you are going to make a claim, it needs to be supported by substantive evidence.

 

[Presbyterian Continuist]

There is no such thing as the gift of discernment. Not in my Bible anyway.

There are some situations that have given me the gift of dysentery!

 

[joshua 1 9]

If you are going to make a claim, it needs to be supported by substantive evidence.

The test for a prophet in the Bible is very clear. If they are a prophet of God then what they say comes true. If they are NOT a prophet of God then what they say does not come true. Could not be more simple then that. Of course we do not actually have prophets in the church like Israel did. Today we have the gift of prophecy which maybe a little bit different. For example Israel was told to kill the false prophets. (deu13:5) Today we are just to ignore them and not pay them any attention.

 

[joshua 1 9]

If you are going to make a claim, it needs to be supported by substantive evidence.

I agree that you should be supporting the claims that you are making. I am glad you brought that up.

 

[Presbyterian Continuist]

I agree that you should be supporting the claims that you are making. I am glad you brought that up.

That's why I never claim to have a gift unless it works every time.

 

[Presbyterian Continuist]

The test for a prophet in the Bible is very clear. If they are a prophet of God then what they say comes true. If they are NOT a prophet of God then what they say does not come true. Could not be more simple then that. Of course we do not actually have prophets in the church like Israel did. Today we have the gift of prophecy which maybe a little bit different. For example Israel was told to kill the false prophets. (deu13:5) Today we are just to ignore them and not pay them any attention.

You are correct in that we don't have any "So says the Lord" type of prophets, because they ceased after the death of John the Baptist. So, anyone who says he is a prophet for the nations, is claiming to have a role that does not exist in the New Testament church. That would make nine out of ten of our current "prophets" false. If anyone claims they are a prophet, I ignore them and their prophecies.

The gift of prophecy as described in 1 Corinthians 14 is open to all believers, and they are not Old Testament type of prophecies at all. These are words of encouragement, edification and comfort for believers in worship meetings. In churches that don't have people "giving prophecies", the prophet often comes through the preaching of the sermon. Actually, someone coming up to me and telling me that they just felt to tell me that Jesus loves me, is as powerful a prophecy as any, because I might have been in a state where I just needed to know that right then. Just telephoning a friend to say that I just want to bless and encourage them in the Lord is a neat form of prophesying without saying that I am prophesying. You, see, we can be prophetic without declaring it, and that frees up the Holy Spirit to choose to make something we say prophetic or not, depending on what the need is.

 

[joshua 1 9]

These are words of encouragement, edification and comfort for believers in worship meetings.

God's word for us is always a word of encouragement, good news and glad tidings to strengthen us and give us hope.

 

[joshua 1 9]

That's why I never claim to have a gift unless it works every time.

Time is the key word here because we have to take that into consideration. WE have not been resurrected yet the resurrection power of God is already at work in us. Healing is not always instant. The body tends to heal gradually over time. We have all wisdom, knowledge and understanding available to us. God has all the answers and all the solutions. Still our understanding is not always instant. Sometimes it takes time for us to grow in wisdom, knowledge and understanding. I have days I spent up to 18 hours to read, study and learn. This is a process we go thought that takes time.

God is doing a work to rescue, save, heal and deliver us. When Jesus said: "It is finished" His work was finished. Yet there were people that had not even been born yet and His finished work had not begun to work in them and in their lives. Yet God declares the end from the beginning and He watches over His word to see that His plan and purpose is accomplished.

"10 For just as rain and snow fall from heaven and do not return without watering the earth, making it bud and sprout, and providing seed to sow and food to eat, 11 so My word that proceeds from My mouth will not return to Me empty, but it will accomplish what I please, and it will prosper where I send it. " Isaiah 55

 

[FutureAndAHope]

Do you have the gift of healing?

When I was a young Christian a minister in one of the churches told me God was giving me a gift of healing. I found that from time to time after this the gift operated. But it does not happen all the time, i.e. not everyone is healed when prayer is offered. I don't blame this on the person receiving prayer, rather God has not entrusted me with the authority to heal on command.

 

[Presbyterian Continuist]

When I was a young Christian a minister in one of the churches told me God was giving me a gift of healing. I found that from time to time after this the gift operated. But it does not happen all the time, i.e. not everyone is healed when prayer is offered. I don't blame this on the person receiving prayer, rather God has not entrusted me with the authority to heal on command.

If that minister was being prophetic, and it has not come to pass, then his prophecy was false. If it was true, you would be manifesting the gift of healing and those whom you pray for would be instantly healed every time. It is sad that people in authority like that dream up stuff and influence young, vulnerable people. We need to be very careful when people give prophecies like that because often there is a spirit of divination attached to it that can blight your spiritual life. My advice is to get before God and totally renounce that prophecy in the Name of Jesus, and apply the blood of Jesus against any possible occult influence that has been attached to that false prophecy.

 

[FutureAndAHope]

If that minister was being prophetic, and it has not come to pass, then his prophecy was false. If it was true, you would be manifesting the gift of healing and those whom you pray for would be instantly healed every time. It is sad that people in authority like that dream up stuff and influence young, vulnerable people. We need to be very careful when people give prophecies like that because often there is a spirit of divination attached to it that can blight your spiritual life. My advice is to get before God and totally renounce that prophecy in the Name of Jesus, and apply the blood of Jesus against any possible occult influence that has been attached to that false prophecy.

Sorry to disappoint you but I will not be renouncing anything ... God has used me to instantly heal the sick since that prophecy ... not every one has been healed ... but the bible does not anywhere say as a Christian God will instantly heal every person. When listing the Spiritual gifts the bible says "some have the gift of healing", others "a gift of unusual miracles", there are levels in the Spirit and God give a measure of His gift. No one Christian will be operating in 100% healing or miracle power.

 

[Presbyterian Continuist]

Sorry to disappoint you but I will not be renouncing anything ... God has used me to instantly heal the sick since that prophecy ... not every one has been healed ... but the bible does not anywhere say as a Christian God will instantly heal every person. When listing the Spiritual gifts the bible says "some have the gift of healing", others "a gift of unusual miracles", there are levels in the Spirit and God give a measure of His gift. No one Christian will be operating in 100% healing or miracle power.

If you have had a prophecy that God is giving you a gift of healing, that prophecy is equal to Scripture because God is purported to have said it through that minister. If God really did say that prophecy, then you should have the gift of healing so that every person without fail would be instantly healed when you minister the gift to them. If a healing happens just once in a while, then you don't have the gift of healing and the prophecy is false.

God does not give a gift and then take it away and then give it back again. The Scripture says that the gifts and calling of God are without repentance. If God gives you a gift then you have it and it is not withdrawn. Therefore, every time you minister healing, the gift should flow out of you. If it doesn't every time but just once in a while, either God gives it to you for a couple of healings, then takes it back again - which is contrary to His nature - or - He never gave it to you in the first place, and therefore that prophecy did not come to pass and therefore was something the minister dreamed up out of his own head.

If someone was supposed to have the gift of prophecy, or the word of knowledge, and it was true only once in a while, and the rest of the time the prophecies were not true, would it be common sense to say that the person does not have the gift of prophecy.

In actual fact, the spiritual gifts are not given to individuals for their exclusive use. They are given to the body of Christ and the Holy Spirit manifests the gift through His chosen person at the time. And it may not be the same person every time. I firmly believe that in the instances where you ministered healing and the person was instantly healed, the gift of healing did manifest through you, but it was not yours to keep, and it remained with the ownership of the Holy Spirit.

So, the original prophecy that God was going to give you the gift of healing as your own for your personal use, is not Scripturally correct, therefore was totally false and was either from the minister's own desire for you, or from a divination spirit.

But a prophecy that stated that the Holy Spirit was going to manifest the gift of healing through you as He wills when the time is right and that you should prepare yourself by waiting on God in prayer and in His Word, I would be able to acknowledge as Scripturally correct, and has been fulfilled through your ministry.