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Sickness of the spirit
Caused by a person’s own sin and heart attitudes – by not being right with God or our neighbors. It can also be due to a person’s shame and guilt
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Sickness of the body
Caused by disease, accidents, poor health maintenance, psychological stress, or demonic spirit affliction.
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Sickness of the emotions
A result of being sinned against and not by our invitation (e.g., rejection, abandonment, being violated, abused, disappointed or slandered).
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Sickness of demonic affliction
Caused by demonic spirits harassing or afflicting the person in mind or body.
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Sickness of alienation from relationships
Social brokenness that makes it hard for people to connect with healthy or redemptive relationships
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Recognize the three values that drive how we do the healing ministry and their subpoints (Sect. 11).
- Value 1: Being Responsive to Divine Initiation
- Jesus modeled total dependence on the Father for healing people rather than acting on His own initiative.
- 1.1.1. Jesus only did what He saw or heard the Father doing.
- 1.1.2. Jesus was meek and humble, yielding to the Father and the Spirit.
- Value 2: Being Relational
- Jesus revealed God’s compassion, mercy, and loving kindness when He healed the leper (Matthew 8:1-4; cf. 9:35-10:1).
- 1.1.3. The significance of leprosy in Israel
- 1.1.3.2. Only God could heal lepers.
- • Priests were allowed to examine lepers and tell if God had healed them.
- 1.1.3.3. The place of the leper in society.
- • A leper was totally ostracized from family, community and worship – like a dead person still walking. In Israel’s culture, social life meant everything.
- 1.1.4. The significance of Jesus’ actions.
- 1.1.4.1. Jesus was moved with compassion towards those who were broken, alienated, scorned, ostracized and marginalized.
- The leper begged, “Lord, if you’re willing, you can make me clean.” God’s attitude towards healing is revealed in Jesus’ response: “I am willing. Be clean!” Immediately he was cleansed of his leprosy.
- • Jesus touched the leper and broke all convention.
- • The second greatest commandment is: love your neighbor as yourself. We cannot control whether God heals. But we can control whether we love a person. Love is the best environment for healing!
- 1.1.4.2. Jesus did what only God could do.
- • Pray, “God, use us to do what only you can do.”
- Value 3: Being Real
- Three ways of “being real” with people in healing ministry are: authenticity, simplicity and relevance.
- 1.Authenticity
- 2.Simplicity
- 3.Relevance (i.e., incarnational: being “naturally supernatural”)
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State (in 1 sentence each) five of the seven ways we can show that we value people while praying for them. (Sect. 12)
- 1.Take time with them.
- 2.Cherish the sacred trust they’ve granted you; observe confidentiality.
- 3.Be loving: full of mercy, grace, and kindness.
- 4. Identify and help remove obstacles to their receptivity (e.g., fear).
- 5. Be discrete about contact (i.e., laying on of hands).
- 6. Be tentative with your impressions.
- 7. Don’t take people where they don’t want to go.
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List (in 1 word each) and describe (in 1-2 sentences each) the three ways we can “watch” for what the Father is doing as we pray for people. (Sect. 13)
- 1. Look
- Pray with your eyes open. Observe the person’s physical reactions to the Holy Spirit, their countenance, and their body language (which reveals their attitude and emotions).
- 2.Ask
- “What is going on?” “Are you experiencing anything?” “Are you feeling anything?” “Is God telling you anything or bringing anything to your mind?” Then continue to pray if needed.
- 3.Listen
- Listen to the person’s responses as well as keep your eyes and ears open for anything God might impress you with before or while you are praying for the person. This is where revelatory gifts are so helpful.
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Recognize the five ways that revelatory impressions can come to us. (Sect. 14)
- 1. Eyes
- 2. Ears
- 3. Bodily sensation
- 4. Smell/ taste
- 5. Witness of the Holy Spirit
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Describe (in 1-2 paragraphs each) the three examples of Jesus’ healing ministry. For each example, describe: a) the factors in the healing and b) the other characteristics of the healing (if any). (Sect. 15)
- 1.3. The Centurion’s servant (Matthew 8:5-13)
- The Centurion’s servant was “paralyzed and in terrible suffering” and about to die (8:6).
- The Centurion came to Jesus in public on behalf of his servant.
- Jesus was willing to heal: “I will go and heal him” (8:7).
- 1.3.1. Factors in healing
- The servant was healed through the faith of the Centurion (8:10-13), which was characterized by:
- 1.3.1.1. A humble sense of unworthiness (8:8)
- 1.3.1.2. A realization and belief in Jesus’ authority (8:8)
- 1.3.1.3. A belief in the power of Jesus’ word, “Just say the word...”
- • Jesus was amazed at the Centurion, “Truly I tell you, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith.” (8:10)
- 1.4. Blind Bartimaeus (Mark 10:46-52; cf. Matthew 20:29-34; Luke 18:35-43)
- Blind Bartimaeus’ healing took place in public alongside the road. His blindness had affected his social relationships: he was a beggar.
- 1.4.1. Factors in healing
- His faith made him whole (10:52). His faith was characterized by:
- 1.4.1.1. Determination, shamelessness, and persistence
- • Many people Jesus healed behaved rudely or socially inappropriately to get to Jesus. If you really believe it, you will do whatever it takes.
- 1.4.1.2. He saw Jesus for who He was, “The son of David (Messiah).”
- 1.4.1.3. He believed in God’s mercy.
- 1.4.2. Other characteristics of the healing
- 1.4.2.1. Jesus asked him what he wanted (10:51).
- 1.4.2.2. Jesus healed him through the spoken word and he was healed immediately.
- 1.5. The woman with the issue of blood (Mark 5:26-34)
- This 12-year illness affected her social life and consequently her emotional life, as well (5:26, 34). She was Levitically “unclean” and was poor because she had spent all she had on doctors.
- 1.5.1. Factors in healing
- She was healed by her faith (5:34), which was characterized by:
- 1.5.1.1. She was at the end of her rope, and she believed Jesus could heal her (5:26-27).
- 1.5.1.2. Persistence: “she pressed through (the crowd), she touched” (5:27)
- • As an unclean person, her actions were religiously and socially inappropriate.
- 1.5.2. Other characteristics of the healing
- 1.5.2.1. Jesus healed her through her touch of faith – there was a “flow of healing power”.
- They both felt it: she felt it in her body that she was healed and Jesus realized that power had gone out of Him (5:30-32).
- 1.5.2.2. Jesus used natural means to find things out; He asked, “Who touched me?” (5:30-32).
- 1.5.2.3. She knew what happened to her and she confessed her indiscretion (5:33).
- 1.5.2.4. The physical healing was immediate.
- 1.5.2.5. Possibly other areas of her person were healed, as well (5:34, “peace”; “freed from your suffering”).
- Peace (shalom) means completeness, wholeness, being secure and restored – experiencing God’s well-being in every area of life.
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