If You Want Healing
Step Out of the Boat
By Jim Lynn
Did you happen to see the made-for-tv movie,
"Jesus," that first aired in 2000? I especially was moved by
the scene of Peter stepping out of the boat to walk on the
water to Jesus.
It was during a storm in the dark of night.
The wind was blowing and the waves were high. Even though it
was all Hollywood trickery, I watched spellbound as the Lord
told Peter to come to Him.
Poor Peter. Who of us could not sympathize
with his desire and faith. He made a good start of it,
stepping out of the boat.
As long as Peter kept his eyes on Jesus, his
faith held him up. But Peter's faith faltered. He began to
notice the waves (the world) and started sinking into the
sea.
Reaching out to save Peter (and his faith),
Jesus rebuked him saying, “You of little faith, why did you
doubt?”
We echo back, “Ahh, yes, Peter, why did you
doubt?”
But Jesus is asking us, “Why do we
doubt?”
What is keeping us in the boat when it comes
to believing in Jesus to heal our body of sickness and
disease? We know what it means to “man the oars,” but to
step out of the boat in faith that Jesus will heal us is
another matter altogether!
God's Victory Through Jesus Christ:
Throughout His ministry, Jesus did two
things. He preached about the kingdom of God and healed
people of physical suffering (Matthew 9:35} over and over
again. He never relented, because Satan is found in every
spiritual and physical sickness.
What good is it to preach about goodness if
that goodness is incapable of overcoming the power behind
both sin and suffering? The message and mission of Christ
was twofold: repentance and healing.
"Surely he took up our infirmities and
carried our sorrows...he was pierced for our transgressions,
he was crushed for our iniquities...and by his wounds we are
healed" {Isaiah 53:4-5} The question is are we willing to
step out of the boat on that truth?
Friend, if Jesus were here today looking you
straight in the eye, can you imagine Him NOT healing you of
whatever sickness or disease you may have? He would call you
by name, tell you God's kingdom is near to you, and ask you
if you want to be healed. “Do you want to be healed?”
"Oh yes, yes, Lord. Heal me!” We wouldn't
think twice about our cancer, our AIDS, or our Leukemia,
would we?
"Heal me, Lord," we would cry. What a
powerful testimony we would become for the Lord.
Now ask yourself, is your faith any
different, any less, because Jesus is physically out of
sight behind heaven's door? Unfortunately, for many of our
brethren, the answer to that question is, “Yes, it is.”
God's Adversary:
The greatest hindrance to the advance of
Christianity in the world is not lack of money or people.
The greatest hindrance is the whisper of Satan in our heads
telling us God no longer heals the way we read about in the
Bible.
We have taken the everyday nuts and bolts of
our faith and intellectualized it. For many who wear the
name of Christ, their faith in God is no more secure than
the boat that held the disciples up from sinking.
Sure, Christians trust God with their souls.
That is easy! But holding up their faith for healing? Well,
that is another matter altogether.
Never mind that God says He is our Healer.
“I have cancer. I have diabetes. I have leukemia. These are
incurable diseases,” we reason. The voice of Satan fills our
head. The father of lies, the evil one, gives us all sorts
of reasons to doubt God and keeps us in bondage by our own
words.
Like Peter, who took his eyes off Jesus,
we've taken our eyes off God's promise to heal. We focus our
attention on the waves (our problems) instead of God's
promise.
We want healing but are confused and afraid.
We are afraid that God heals, and afraid that He will not
heal, both at the same time. The end result is that many of
us have forsaken God as our Healer-cancelled Him out as
Yehovah-rapha.
Early Christians witnessed the power of
Jesus’ preaching and healing. As a consequence, they never
separated physical sickness from spiritual sickness. They
recognized that God places great worth on our body and heals
us body and soul. The thought of saving someone's soul
without addressing his physical need never entered their
minds. Today, we are just the opposite.
In many churches today sickness is viewed as
a matter for the world, and salvation as a matter for the
Church. Many Christians no longer bother to consult with God
about their maladies; they simply go to the nearest medical
doctor.
If You Want Healing Step Out of the
Boat:
Isaiah 53:4-5 is not intended to diminish
science or modern medicine. But, Friend, God does not
require science or medicine to heal. All He needs is your
permission and faith. Beyond that, He calls “things that are
not as though they were” (Romans 4:17).
God in Jesus Christ alone is the source of
salvation. He alone is the source of healing. Can we come to
grips with this eternal truth?
This is the place where “the rubber meets
the road” of our faith and the reason why so few churches
serve as healing centers today. Like the rest of the
disciples, we want to profess our faith but prefer doing so
from the safety and comfort of our boat. Humanity seems to
work that way, and we can be sure Satan knows this as
well.
Do you want healing? It makes no difference
to our heavenly Father what ails you, life-threatening or
not. If you want healing, you must step out of the boat.
Keep your eyes fixed on Jesus Christ, and Him crucified for
our sins and infirmities.
Jim Lynn is the author of "The Miracle of Healing
In Your Church Today."
| 
Yahoo My Web
Newsvine
Netvouz
Livejournal
Google Bookmarks
Facebook
Digg
Delicious
