Beginning A Ministry

Be careful when reading the accounts of the healing ministry of Jesus.  The Holy Spirit may lead you into a place of being involved in such a ministry.  He may speak to you about being more intentional about praying for the sick.  You may find that telling someone you will pray for them is no longer enough.  You may be asked to set aside time each day to pray for those who suffer.  Or, you may be asked to bring together a group of people who do not meet to socialize, or read a book about praying, but who actually spend time praying for those in need of God's healing hand.  

It may also be that the Spirit will use these accounts of the healing ministry of Jesus in such a way that you can no longer abide the church neglecting this ministry.  If such is where the Holy Spirit is leading, it would seem that the starting place is a personal conviction that the Holy Spirit with the gift of healing should have an essential place in the life of the church.  Perhaps, a small group study or a season of studying this ministry in Sunday School classes would be a way of giving the Spirit and opportunity to prepare the way.  Before launching out, it will prove to be a good thing to provide a place for teaching, discussion, and the questions which will surely arise.  Another thing required in a movement toward a healing ministry in the church is a loving community.  

Of course, at some point there must be a prayerful decision to offer services of worship dedicated to praying for the healing of those who come with their needs.  When such a service if offered, there should be no disappointment that it is attended by a small group instead of the larger Sunday morning worship crowd.  The people who come will be those who are led by the Holy Spirit.  Some may come to have prayers offered for themselves, or they may come and kneel at the altar asking for prayers in behalf of a family member or dear friend.  Those who are prepared to pray for those who come are not the Healer.  God is the Healer.  Those who pray know their responsibility is not to heal, but to pray.

A Holy Intersection

I was eighteen years into my ministry before I really took seriously the healing ministry of Jesus.  One of those ten years I was in Vidalia, I decided to lead an adult study during the Vacation Bible School hours. The study was entitled, "The Healing Ministry of the Church."  I spent several months ahead of the study reading about the healing ministry of Jesus as it was recorded in the gospel as well as what the Apostles wrote about it to the early church.  As I recall there were two books which really helped me prepare for these small group sessions.  One was a book simply entitled, "Healing," by Father Francis MacNutt and the other was entitled, "Healing and Christianity" by Morton T. Kelsey.   Since both books were published in the "70's, they would no doubt be considering ancient and outdated.   

As is often the case when a preacher, or anyone, prepares to lead a group, he or she is likely to be the first one impacted by the material.  By the time I considered myself ready to lead the group, I was convicted by an awareness that I had been neglecting an important ministry of the church.  This conviction has not changed over the years which have slipped away behind me.   When the Vacation Bible School adult group study was finished, I put on our regular schedule a fourth Sunday night service which I called, "A Service of Prayers for Healing."  Such a service would continue in some form for the rest of my years of ministry.  

There was never a huge crowd present.  Actually, it was a small group that gathered on those fourth Sunday nights, but everyone knew it was a night when the sermon would be on the healing ministry of Jesus, the Sacrament would be offered, and those who had a need could stay at the altar after receiving the Communion for anointing with oil and prayers for healing.  While there were those who were regulars for the service, there were always some unexpected folks who showed up with a need for the ministry being offered during a moment which seemed to be an intersection between raw human need and the abundant grace of God.

The Healing Ministry

It is impossible to read the gospels without encountering the healing ministry of Jesus.  It is particularly true in the gospel written by Mark.  While the first act of healing recorded by Him happens with Peter's mother-in-law (Mark 1:31), it says a few verses later that "...He (Jesus) cured many who were sick with various diseases..." (vs. 34) and this is followed by a references to casting out demons in vs. 39.  Later there is an account of Jesus cleansing a leper (Mark 1:41) and restoring a paralytic. (Mark 2:11). Mark 3:1-6 tells of a man's withered hand being made whole.  Going on to Mark 2:10 the Word says, "...He (Jesus) cured many so that all who had diseases pressed upon Him to touch Him..."  

Mark shows no reluctance in lifting up the healing ministry of Jesus.  It is obvious that the healing ministry was an integral part of the ministry of Jesus and an expression of His compassion and concern for those suffering with illness.  To look at the history of the church is to see periods when it was an intentional ministry and to see other times when it disappeared.  The church of our day seems content with healing being left solely in the hands of the medical community.  While the medical community is an important instrument of healing in the hands of God, the church is also given an important role if the Scripture and the ministry of Jesus is taken seriously.  

In addition to the healing ministry of Jesus, ministries of healing continued in the early church after the ascension of Jesus.  James 5:13-18 make it clear that prayers for the sick and anointing them with oil was a common practice in the early church.  If the church of our day is serious about faithfulness to the ministries entrusted to it, the ministry of healing can no longer be ignored.  

The Talked About Ministry

It does not take but a few strokes of the pen for Mark to write about a ministry of Jesus which confounds the contemporary church.  One of the struggles of the church is deciding what to do with the healing ministry of Jesus.  Though eager to be His hands and feet on the streets of suffering, and though eager to feed the hungry in soup kitchens, and though ready to be about preaching and teaching in the sanctuary, it shows some confusion about being an instrument of healing in the world.  Of course, the church is more than ready to heal the kind of brokenness which requires acts of of reconciliation, but healing the body of its illnesses and brokenness is mostly handled by putting names of a prayer list.  

In most places the church is hesitant to enter into a visible and intentional ministry of healing.  Mark makes it clear that such a ministry was close to the heart of Jesus.  The first place this ministry is really encountered is in stories found in Mark 1:29-34.  After that synagogue visit where Jesus cast out evil spirits from a man, He went to the home of Peter's mother-in-law.  She was healed of a fever by Jesus and then later in the evening the people brought their sick to the place He was staying and the Word says, "And He cured many who were sick with various diseases..." (Mark 1:34).  There would be many such moments in the ministry of Jesus.  

The church often speaks of itself as the body of Christ, or a community which is expressed as the hands and feet of Jesus.  The ministries of Jesus provide a model for the ministries to be embraced.  It seems strange that there are no evidences of the ministry of healing being taken seriously by the church.  Aside from names being put on prayer list and occasional verbal assurances that God can heal the sick of their illnesses, the healing ministry of Jesus is largely delegated to something that the church holds at a distance.  Unfortunately, it has become a talked about ministry, but not really a practiced one.

A Surprise in the Synagogue

A surprising thing happened on that Sabbath when Jesus went to the synagogue in Capernaum.  It is not surprising that Jesus entered and taught, neither is it surprising that the people who listened were astounded at the way He spoke with such authority.  What is surprising was the presence of some normal looking man who was actually possessed by an unclean spirit.  What is surprising is the fact that the evil one, confronted only a short time earlier in the wilderness, was once again confronting Jesus, but this time is was in one of the holy places of Israel.   

There were, however, some significant differences in the encounter between Jesus and the evil one in the synagogue.  First, in the wilderness, Satan was on the offense.  The evil one was the aggressor.  In the synagogue it is obvious that evil is on defense.  What is actually true is that Satan acts like a fearful and defeated foe instead of the foe of the wilderness so full of confidence in his own power.  When revealed, the evil spirit cries out, "What have You to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have You come to destroy us?" (Mark 1:24)   Another interesting thing about this moment in the synagogue is that the first recorded witness affirming the power of Jesus comes from the realm of the evil one.  

Mark makes it clear that this ministry of Jesus, as full and as powerful as it is and will be, will be an ongoing struggle.  Satan did not just show up in the wilderness and then leave Jesus, but every step Jesus took was contested.  Even though still present and at work, the power of evil knows the power unleashed at the cross and the empty tomb was a signal of its coming final defeat. Martin Luther has us singing truth when he wrote that great hymn, "A Mighty Fortress is Our God."  Verse 3 says, "And though this world, with devils filled, should threaten to undo us, we will not fear, for God hath willed His truth to triumph through us...his doom is sure; one little word shall fell him."

Preaching with Authority

A few months ago I heard a preacher who was 85 years old preach one of the most powerful sermons I have heard in a long time.  His was a commanding presence in the pulpit.  His voice was strong.  As folks used to say, "He had fire in his belly," but for sure he had fire in his eyes.  His sermon thundered in that room like the ancient prophets who said, "Thus saith the Lord!"  No one in the room was drifting off to sleep.  All eyes were focused on him.  He preached with such conviction and authority.  There was no doubt in my mind that what he preached was the Word of the Lord.  

The gospel writer Mark tells us about the first preaching foray of Jesus as He moved through the region of Galilee. (Mark 1:14-15). A little later in his account of these early days of the ministry of Jesus, he writes about a visit to the synagogue of Capernaum, "They went to Capernaum; and when the Sabbath came, he entered the synagogue and taught.  They were astounded at His teaching, for He taught them as one having authority and not as the scribes." (Mark 1:21-22). The scribes taught by constantly making reference to older scribes who had left written and oral teachings.  The writings and teachings of other men were the authority of these Sabbath teachers, but no so with Jesus.  He bypassed such references and preached and taught according to the direction of the Holy Spirit.  His Words that day were more like the ancient prophets who made it clear that their authority was the revealed Word of the Lord. 

The church today needs preachers who preach with such authority.  If the preacher to whom we are listening is lacing sermons with words like "I think..maybe...it could be..." or is basing the sermon on something seen on television, find another preacher quickly.  A preacher's only authority is the Scripture, the Word of God. If the sermon does not begin with the Word, it is not worthy of the time invested in listening.  We need more preachers like that old preacher who overwhelmed us that day as he preached with the authority of the Word and the power of the Holy Spirit.

One or Two

There was a time when I was of the opinion that there were two kinds of conversions.  Each was characterized by an event in the New Testament.  There was the instantaneous conversion such as Saul of Tarsus experienced on the Damascus Road.  There was the gradual transformation in which a person came to an awareness of the love of Christ growing in their heart.  The story of the Emmaus Road illustrates such an experience.  Why I spent time considering something so unimportant is beyond me as I live out this season of my life.  

These thoughts resurfaced as I was reading the first chapter of the book of Mark.  It would seem from the story that Jesus was strolling along the Sea of Galilee, saw four fishermen, and suddenly at almost a single word from Him, each one became a disciple.  A slower reading, however, enable us to include a previous section within the framework of what was happening.  In the earlier section, the Scripture says, "Now after John was arrested, Jesus came to Galilee, proclaiming the good news."  (Mark 1:14). It is likely that those fishermen heard Jesus preaching, talked about what they heard, and had carried His words with them as they returned to their boats.  When Jesus called out to them that day, their hearts had been prepared and made ready to say "Yes!"  What looks like an instantaneous decision might have been one that had been growing within them since they first heard Jesus preach.  

I wonder how long the grace of Jesus had been working in my heart that night I knelt by bed in the Alamo parsonage and said,"Yes" to Him.  Saul's Damascus Road experience may have been the culmination of a work of grace that really began as Saul held the coats of those who cast deadly stones at Stephen.  I know not when grace first appeared in my life, but it did.  Grace always comes before faith and as it does, we do not always see it taking hold in our life. Grace comes quietly, but surely.