It's clear that Jesus offered healing to every single person who came to Him for it.
But not everybody seems to get healed today. Why?
Practically speaking, this plays out in very matter-of-fact steps when we are attempting to minister healing to those who are oppressed with sickness. It is imperative to recognize that every person is a ‘free agent’ in their ability to believe, to have faith, and to receive what Christ offers.
Yet there are times when an individual is unable to understand, believe, or receive on their own. The most obvious situation is when a child is too young to understand or to make decisions on their own. In Mark 5 Jairus comes to Christ on behalf of his young daughter, and Jesus is able to respond and raise the child from the dead based on her father’s faith. In Matthew 8 the centurion comes on behalf of his servant, and again, we see that Jesus is able to honor his faith and heal the servant. In these two examples, Jesus acknowledges that the men have jurisdictional authority to believe for another person.
In my own life, my wife interceded on my behalf
when I was incapacitated in that car accident. She believed, and I was healed when I should have been dead. Then, as I regained my faculties, I was able to receive continued healing on my own, and the authority for receiving returned to my own jurisdiction. Together, we would often read aloud verses that promised healing. Over and over, we would proclaim the truth that I was healed – even when looking at x-rays that showed the fractures were not healing. Even when the surgeon recommended surgery to fuse C-4 and 5 because he felt the fractures were so unstable. We spoke these verses and promises as truth, even when reports said otherwise.
The Word is always more unchangingly true than mere reports.
As of this writing, my healing, purchased 2000 years ago at the whipping post, has manifest itself in my body to the point that I rarely even think about the injuries any more. C-4 and C-5, which were predicted to fuse as a natural consequence of the fractures through the facets, still move today – 9 years later. C-1, which could have shifted and killed me, and which should have produced arthritis and inflammation, is strong and healthy. He said that he took my sickness, and praise Him, He did! He said that I would leap like a calf from the stall, and praise His name, I can!
Yet another biblical example occurred when
Jesus took a blind man outside the city limits in order to heal him. In Mark 8:12 Jesus had spoken a curse over the same area, telling them that no sign would be given to them, and giving the area over to Satan’s jurisdiction. Also, after healing the demon possessed man in Matthew 8 the people had asked Jesus to leave the area, again leaving the area to the dominion of the evil one and the doubt that he loves. When he then encountered a man who had enough faith to be healed in verse 22, he had to honor that jurisdictional dominion and the lack of faith, and had to leave their influence in order to minister the healing. He then warned the man to stay away from the faith destroying influence of the people of that area – presumably to ensure that he keep his healing. All of this occurred within an area of about 7 miles in diameter.
So how does that impact our ability to minister healing to others?
Each person must, of their own free will, allow God access to their heart in order to receive the grace He offers. This takes the form of honestly answering four questions that establish the strength of their faith, and give the minister (if a minister is involved in leading them through the process of understanding, believing and receiving) and then God himself, legal access to work with and in their spirit, leading to manifestation of grace in the physical realm. At each of these questions, permission is either granted or denied to move ahead through the process of ministering and receiving healing.
Another excerpt from Chapter 3 of my book "The Rest of The Gospel"
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