HEALING MINISTRY READ_ME THIS IS THE README FILE FOR THE HEALING MINISTRY NOTES These notes were used in the development of a healing ministry at our local church. They are no substitute for a complete theology of healing but you may find them helpful. Try "Power Healing" by John Wimber or "Sent To Heal" by the Order of St. Luke The Physician for a more full treatment. There should be eight files in the zip file. healmin.zip READ_ME2.txt - This file train_1.wpd - Jesus attitude to healing train_2.wpd - 10 common questions on healing train_3.wpd - A healing service procedure. faith.wpd - Faith for healing malachi4.wpd - The sun of righteousness will arise with healing in His wings. healword.wpd - The place of the word of God in helaing healvrs.wpd - Scripture memory cards with 40 Bible verses on healing The main files are in WordPerfect 6.1 format. All files are copyright John Edmiston 1996. PERMISSION TO USE You have permission to freely copy these studies for ministry purposes provided that no commercial production is undertaken and the studies are not substantially altered. ETERNITY MAGAZINE (http://www.jed.org.au/eternity) Eternity Magazine is an evangelical/charismatic journal on the WWW that seeks to promote biblical understanding. Part of our mission is to equip the saints for the work of ministry - hence free Christian software, Bible studies etc. Donations to this on-line ministry can be sent to: John Edmiston 17 Karanya St Mt Louisa 4814 Australia

READ_ME THIS IS THE README FILE FOR THE HEALING MINISTRY NOTES

PERMISSION TO USE ETERNITY MAGAZINE (http://www.jed.org.au/eternity)

TRAIN_1:Jesus and Healing Jesus always saw sickness as something to be healed Jesus sometimes saw sickness as the direct work of the Devil Jesus sometimes saw sickness as the direct result of sin. Jesus often drew a direct connection between faith and healing. Jesus saw healing as one of the signs of the Presence of the Kingdom Jesus saw healing as a work that His disciples and His church could also work Jesus saw healing as a sovereign work of the Father not as an act of “Christian magic”. Jesus always healed what the person wanted healed Jesus remembered the social context when He gave instructions after healing. Even though Jesus had a powerful healing ministry it was not His top priority. Jesus saw healing as a manifestation of Divine authority and power.

Train_2: Healing Service Training - Part Two - Common Questions If what the Bible says about healing is true why don’t we see more of them? 2. What is the difference between the “gift of healing” and the normal Christians ability to heal? 3. What is the role of the local church? 4. What about those who are not healed? 5. What about Paul’s thorn in the flesh? 6. Should Christians use medicine? 7. Should Christians trust in doctors? 8. What about home remedies, vitamin pills, physiotherapy etc? 9. Can a Christian participate in the use of alternative medicine? 10. What about Christian use of psychologists, counsellors and psychiatrists?

train_3: Healing Service Procedure Mission: Before The Service Warfare (45 mins) 6:15-7:00 Introduction 7:00-7:02 Worship 7:02-7:15 Communion 7:15-7:25 Sermon/Homily 7:25-7:45 Prayer Ministry 7:45-8:00 Supper 8:00-8:20

Faith For Healing Introduction The Believing Heart Fact One: God is a healing God Fact Two: Jesus wants you to be healed. CONCLUSION

HEALING VERSES Spirit of God + Word of God = Creative Power of God

The Sun of Righteousness A Healing Touch

TRAIN_1:JESUS AND HEALING Healing Ministry Training

The Healing Attitudes Jesus always saw sickness as something to be healed Whenever Jesus came across sickness His attitude was to heal it. (Matthew 4;23-25, 8:16,17, 9:35) Jesus had compassion on the sick. Just as we automatically have compassion on our own children when they are ill. It would be a most cruel and unusual parent that seeing one of their own children ill would think “ This child should suffer some more in order to learn a lesson”. These natural instincts we have are part of the image of God in us and reflect the heart of God. All who came to Jesus for healing, were healed. None were told to wait until ....... (put whatever you like in the gap). Jesus sometimes saw sickness as the direct work of the Devil Sickness can come from the Devil in two main ways - as a direct attack on the life of a righteous person, permitted by God but not “God’s will”. Job’s sores (Job 2:4-7) and the sickness of the woman bound in the spirit of infirmity (Luke 18:10-16) seem to be in this category. Jesus sometimes saw sickness as the direct result of sin. Throughout the Old and New Testament there has always been a strong connection between sin and sickness. Except for the book of Job and some cases of barren but righteous women there was an almost universal causal connection between the disruption of fellowship with God and bodily illness. This flows from the Bible’s view of the person as a whole being body-soul-spirit knitted into one with each part affecting the other. Consequently spiritual health can also impart physical health and quicken our mortal bodies. (Romans 8:11) There is no record of Jesus being ill, though He was mortal and human and subject to the normal exigencies of human flesh. While Jesus broadens the OT understanding so that not all sickness was due to sin he twice indicated that a person’s illness was based in prior sin. (Mark 2:5, John 5:14) Paul is more explicit about it in his writings to the Corinthians who had a strong triumphalistic streak. He indicated that sickness could be the result of Church discipline for gross immorality - “handing someone over to Satan for the destruction of the flesh..” (1 Corinthians 5:1-5) . The abuse of the Lord’s supper was also seen to result in physical illness (1 Corinthians 11: 28-32). In extreme cases sin may even result in physical death. ( 1 Corinthians 11:30, Acts 5:5-10, Romans 1:26-28). The normal aim of such illness is repentance and the soul being saved on the day of salvation.(1 Cor 5:1-5, 11:28-32). Thus it is wise for the person seeking healing to confess any known sin and to get right with God before prayer is administered. This naturally leads to the question Should we heal someone that the Lord is chastening? The answer to this is simple. If they turn to God in their illness and submit themselves to the elders of the church, confessing their sins and asking for healing (as in James 5) then the chastening has done the work of leading them to repentance and we should heal them. Thus there is no contradiction between “healing all who ASK for it” and allowing the Lord to chasten people unto repentance.

The very act of asking is a sign of seeking God. Later we will cover how to help people when repentance is needed prior to healing. While Jesus and the apostles acknowledged a connection between sin and physical illness they never blamed anyone for being ill (or even lacking faith in their healing) but rather always sought to heal them. Jesus often drew a direct connection between faith and healing. Healing is a manifestation of the kingdom of God in our mortal bodies and I think a prefigurement of the resurrection. Like all Kingdom realities healing is received by faith. Jesus explicitly acknowledges this in Matt 8:10, 9:28,29, 15:28; Mark 2:5; 9:24, 10:52 and the parallel passages. Jesus saw healing as one of the signs of the Presence of the Kingdom In Matt 4:23, 9:35, and Luke 9:11 healing and the preaching of the Kingdom are tied together In Jesus ministry. The ministry of the disciples(the 12 and the 70) is to have both aspects the Kingdom proclamation and the demonstration of Kingdom power (Matt 10:7,8, Luke 9:2). Luke 10:9 is quite explicit (Luke 10:9 NKJV) "And heal the sick there, and say to them, 'The kingdom of God has come near to you.' In Matt 12:28 Jesus associates exorcism in His name with the Presence of the Kingdom (Matthew 12:28 NKJV) "But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, surely the kingdom of God has come upon you.” This role of healing in demonstrating the validity of the gospel and the Presence of the Kingdom is graphically demonstrated when the imprisoned John the Baptist sends his disciples to Jesus....(Luke 7:19-23 NKJV){19} And John, calling two of his disciples to him, sent them to Jesus, saying, "Are You the Coming One, or do we look for another?" {20} When the men had come to Him, they said, "John the Baptist has sent us to You, saying, 'Are You the Coming One, or do we look for another?'" {21} And that very hour He cured many of infirmities, afflictions, and evil spirits; and to many blind He gave sight. {22} Jesus answered and said to them, "Go and tell John the things you have seen and heard: that the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, the poor have the gospel preached to them. {23} "And blessed is he who is not offended because of Me." Jesus saw healing as a demonstration of the real Presence of the Kingdom that would encourage those who struggled to believe. Jesus saw healing as a work that His disciples and His church could also work This is partly covered above. Here are a few verses indicating the spread of healing from the 12 to the 70 to the wider church: (Matthew 10:1 NKJV) And when He had called His twelve disciples to Him, He gave them power over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease. (Luke 10:1,9 NKJV) After these things the Lord appointed seventy others also, and sent them two by two before His face into every city and place where He Himself was about to go..... "And heal the sick there, and say to them, 'The kingdom of God has come near to you.' (Acts 5:16 NKJV) Also a multitude gathered from the surrounding cities to Jerusalem, bringing sick people and those who were tormented by unclean spirits, and they were all healed. (James 5:13-15 NKJV) Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone

cheerful? Let him sing psalms. {14} Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. {15} And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. The theological mandate for this is found in the empowering Presence of God experienced by Jesus at His baptism and experienced by the Church at Pentecost. With this is mind Jesus could say to his disciples (John 14:10-12 NKJV) "Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me? ......{11} "Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father in Me, or else believe Me for the sake of the works themselves. {12} "Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father. “The works” spoken of here are the works Jesus did between His baptism and the cross. It is indicated that the Spirit-filled believer (discussed elsewhere in this chapter and very much in mind) “will do also” some of these works and perhaps do “greater works” because the Spirits power will be manifest in the believer and in the believing community. We cannot do Jesus’s works of creation or redemption but we can do the works He did during his ministry -preaching the Kingdom , healing the sick, driving out demons etc. Jesus seemed disappointed and in fact angry when His empowered and called disciples failed to do these works (Luke 9:39-42) and doing them seemed to be an integral part of his approach to training them for ministry (Luke 9 and 10). Jesus saw healing as a demonstration of God’s mercy and compassion, it was never “earned”.

Mercy is a somewhat neglected concept. It means that you have the right to punish or destroy but do not do so. It was used technically when someone had lost a duel and the victorious party had every right to kill them. The victor could lift his sword point thus showing mercy. God’s mercy goes much further than “not killing’ but even unto restoring the person to wholeness. Jesus gladly responded to those who appealed for healing on the basis of the mercy of God (Matthew 9:27, 15:22, 17:15, 20:30,31). Jesus also frequently healed out of compassion (Matt 14:14, 20;34, Mark 1:41, 5;19, 9:22-24, Luke 7:13-15). Compassion is Christ’s practical response to human need. It includes the practical action of the Good Samaritan and of Christ feeding the hungry multitudes (Luke 10:33, Mark 8:2) it is never just an empty sentiment. The power of God is linked to the compassion of God. However God’s mercy and compassion is His to command and should never be taken for granted (Romans 9:15). The gospel record though should lead us to believe that His compassion is readily available to all who seek it. Remarkably it was this aspect, more than almost any other, that enraged the religious leaders of His day. They often sternly opposed Jesus’ healings being angered at the mercy He demonstrated.(Matt 9:9-13, 32-34, 12:10-15, Jn 9:13-34) The Pharisaical mindset sees healings as “rewards” perhaps due to the saintly righteous but certainly not due to sinners. I cannot recall a single Pharisee being healed. This leads to three rough rules of thumb “You will only receive as much grace as you think you need.” (Luke 18:9-14) and “No grace comes to those who think they deserve it.”(Luke 18:9-14, Galatians 3:2-5, 5:1-11, Romans 11:6) and “You receive more grace than you give but you have to give it first”. (Luke 6:35-38) Jesus saw healing as a sovereign work of the Father not as an act of “Christian magic”. There is a fine line between the “magical” and the “Christian” uses of supernatural power. Supernatural power becomes “magical” when it is seen to operate separately from the will of the Father. For instance the bronze serpent that Moses held up in the wilderness eventually had to be destroyed because its healing properties were attributed to it separately from YHWH and it thus became an idol. (2 Kings 18:4). A similar thing happened to the ark of the covenant in the days of Eli (1 Samuel 4:3,4) when it, not the Lord, was credited with victory for Israel. Consequently it went into captivity for a while. (1 Samuel 4&5). The temptations Satan used on Jesus were temptations to achieve the purposes of God by means divorced from the will of God. He was asked to turn stones into bread for his own gratification. He was asked to use His new endowment of supernatural power for the purposes of showmanship and jump from the Temple. Finally He was to conquer the world - but acknowledge Satan as the source of his Kingdom. The word of God and fasting kept Jesus from these temptations. It strikes me that these must be very powerful temptations to be able to be used on Jesus and it does seem that certain Christians are in their grip - to their very great spiritual peril (Matt 7:21-23). Jesus kept His integrity in ministry by only doing that which He saw the Father doing. (John 5:19,20, 36 ; 10:32,37,38; 14:10-12). Relationship with God and obedience were keys to His overcoming this most subtle of temptations. Thus the safest way to minister is to minister in an attitude of holy fear, reverence, praise and worship. Therefore preparatory worship is more than emotionally satisfying it also draws us into the necessary state of humility and obedience that can safeguard us from wrong desires. Paul Tournier treats this aspect of the temptation to magic in healing well in his book “A Doctor’s Casebook In The Light Of The Bible” pages 113-116 (written in 1954! ). He finishes up by saying “ There are then two contrary errors: to refrain, for fear of magic, from every kind of bold and sensational act, even when God requires it of us; this course has been all too common

in the Church, and is what has made us as poor as it is today in manifestations of God’s power. And, on the other hand, through zeal to demonstrate that power, to run after the sensational, even when God does not will it, and so fall into magic; certain religious sects are guilty of this. In the Gospel, the sceptics sneered at the miracles in Galilee and at the Cross: ‘He saved others; let Him save Himself, if this is the Christ of God, His chosen’ (Luke 23:35) . Neither the miracles nor the Cross can be taken out of the gospel without distorting it.” Jesus always healed what the person wanted healed There is a tendency to be wiser than the patient when one is in healing ministry and doctors, counsellors and psychiatrists are particularly guilty of this and I am afraid some Christians are getting in on the act. If a person wanted to be healed of leprosy or blindness that was what got fixed. Even though Jesus knew the hearts of people He did not say “Your real problem is...”. Jesus took people’s problems at face value and healed them. He was not an arrogant know all and He left people with their dignity. Jesus remembered the social context when He gave instructions after healing. Jesus treated the sick as part of a social structure that needed to accept that the person had been healed. Lepers had to show themselves to the priest and be certified as clean so they could resume their place in society. (Matthew 8:2-4, Luke 17:12-19) Certain illnesses can relapse (particularly schizophrenia) if the family does not incorporate the person as “healed” but still views them as “sick”. Jesus frequently gives instructions to the family or the sick person that initiates a resumption of normality. (Matt 8:14,15; 9:6; Mark 5:43; 10:52, John 11:44). Even though Jesus had a powerful healing ministry it was not His top priority. His redemptive work on the cross, the training of the disciples and the proclamation of the good news of the Kingdom were all given a higher priority than healing the multitudes at various times. Healing was an integral part of the whole and a visual and practical demonstration of His message but it was never of ultimate importance. (Mark 6:12,13 then 30-32 ; Luke 4:40-43 ; 9:51). Jesus saw healing as a manifestation of Divine authority and power. The original commission to Adam was to ‘subdue the earth” to bring about God’s order and perfection in Creation. As the last Adam Jesus subdued evil spirits and even illness which represents a serious imperfection in God’s created order. To do this He exercised spiritual authority which He also passed on to others.( Matthew 8:9-13, 9:6, 10:1; Mark 3:15, 6:17; Luke 5:17; 6:19, 9:1, 10:19). Healing requires power and authority to flow from God. Sometimes evil spirits can strongly resist this power and a “power encounter” may take place such as that with the Gadarene demoniac in Mark 5. Healing is a miniature exertion of God’s restoring power and is a way of “doing His will on earth as it is done in Heaven” - where there will be no more sickness or crying or pain. (Rev 20:1-3)

TRAIN_2: HEALING SERVICE TRAINING - PART TWO - COMMON QUESTIONS

If what the Bible says about healing is true why don’t we see more of them? Unbelief definitely pays a part (Matthew 13:54-58 NKJV) And when He had come to His own country, He taught them in their synagogue, so that they were astonished and said, "Where did this Man get this wisdom and these mighty works?...Where then did this Man get all these things?" {57} So they were offended at Him. But Jesus said to them, "A prophet is not without honour except in his own country and in his own house." {58} Now He did not do many mighty works there because of their unbelief. Jesus’ baptism had so changed Him and so endued Him with power that He could no longer fit into the mental boxes that people in His home town had put Him in. They said “Where then did this Man get all these things..?.” they did not appreciate the equipping he had received (perhaps just received - see the parallel passage in Luke 4) . I think wrong mental boxes are a large reason why we see so few healings today. Here are a 12 common misconceptions put in “lay language” that I think stand in the way of a powerful healing ministry today... (I). The healings were “due to Jesus’ divinity” were a “one off” and are not repeatable by us today. (Covered in last weeks notes) (Ii) Jesus wandered around in a beard and sandals then vanished. His ministry in Heaven and the power He can send from Heaven are forgotten. (iii) The material world is solid and the spiritual world is sort of weak and fuzzy and not really real. Yet by a word were the heavens and earth created and with a word they will be dissolved. (iv) You have doctors for diseases and priests for the soul. Healing has been taken out of the province of religion and is no longer expected from it. People have been mistakenly divided into separate spiritual and physical compartments which “do not interact”. But God is Lord of all. (v) Healing is something that saints do, it happens in the past and it leads to building shrines. This is a bit like number 1 except that it involves bringing “the magical” element in and can lead to idolatry, relic worship, etc. This leads to two opposite dangers 1) darkness and superstition 2) thoroughgoing scepticism about the miraculous. Both cause damage to the manifestation of a genuine healing ministry by the laity. (vi) Respectable Christians don’t engage in a healing ministry. This is something that pressures me. Charlatans and “snake-oil salesman” have given the area such a bad name that people need a lot of courage to enter it and learn it. (vii) The Bible stories make me feel good but I’d be mad to take them too literally or to attempt to do them. Many Christians treat the Bible as little better than motivational literature that “picks them up”. It is like reading an inspiring biography that we can pick and choose the bits that we will align ourselves with. However it is a New Contract that we have been given and it should be studied like any contract to see what compliance is expected and what benefits can be gained. The Word activates the Spirit - but it must be the Word taken seriously and believed. (viii) I have to be in the right emotional state before God can use me and I am not there very often....We are to preach the gospel in season and out of season and to heal even when we are tired, hungry, harassed and exhausted just as Jesus and the disciples did. (Mark 6:31, 2 Timothy 4:2). (Ix) Healing is a product of something within myself; my own power, piety, intelligence, emotional intensity, fasting , rituals etc and if I do them at greater intensity then one day I will break through and see people healed..... This is a terribly pervasive lie. It leads to enormous spiritual frustration and discouragement when the results don’t show. When you are tempted to believe it just remember Jesus before His baptism -perfect in every respect in piety. Yet without miracle working power (at that time). Human perfection cannot work the works of God until it receives the power that is from God. (Acts 3:12 NKJV) So when Peter saw it, he responded to the people: "Men of Israel, why do you marvel at this? Or why look so intently at us, as though by our own power or godliness we had made this man walk? (Galatians 3:3-5 NKJV) Are you so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, are you now being made perfect by the flesh? {4} Have you suffered so many things in vain; if indeed it was in vain? {5} Therefore He who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you, does He do it by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?; Somehow believing, even naively, that our “goodness’ merits God’s power kills the “faith connection” stone dead.

Hence Jesus warned about the “leaven of the Scribes and the Pharisees’ and how even a little could ruin the whole lump of dough. (Matthew 16:6-16, Luke 12:1, Galatians 5:9). (x) The Good News has become just Good Advice. The gospel is something we live in not something we live up to. It is “Good News” - the only thing you can do with news is accept it as true or untrue, to believe it or disbelieve it. We can live in it and take advantage of it or we can choose to ignore it, but we do not “live up to it”. If you saw an advertisement advertising free Christian music and you believed it then you might get enthusiastic, tell your friends, then go out and get as much as you could. That is an appropriate response to good news. An inappropriate response would be to try to open your own shop or to pay for the music. The good news is that Jesus has made healing available. We need to accept this, believe it and live in it. The gospel is an accomplished fact that you announce so that others can take advantage of the offer. (Hebrews 9:12, 26-28, 10:10, Col 1:23, 1 Thess 1:15) (xi) This disease is too much for my faith. The size of your God, not the size of your faith is what matters. When faced with cancer we forget that the Good News has been announced, that healing is available, that God is in heaven and Almighty. Like the ten spies we look at the size of the problem relative to something in us (our faith, resources , knowledge) rather than measuring the giants against the Lord. However Jesus said to his disciples after they had failed to heal someone... (Matthew 17:20-21 NKJV) So Jesus said to them, "Because of your unbelief; for assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you. {21} "However, this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting." Mountains are bigger than disciples but smaller than God. (xii) I can’t see how God can do it.... Many people need a “mechanism” to be explained to them before they can believe. “Just believe” is too nebulous an explanation. “ How” God heals a cancer is important. For such people I take them back to Genesis and God’s mighty Word activating the Spirit which created the Universe and transformed and ordered matter. God can create matter, destroy matter and renew matter . (Psalms 104:29-30 NKJV) You hide Your face, they are troubled; You take away their breath, they die and return to their dust. {30} You send forth Your Spirit, they are created; And You renew the face of the earth. (John 6:63 NKJV) "It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life. He can give Creation its shape and form. The spoken Word of authority can impart life, strength, healing and in combination with the Holy Spirit produce awesome transformations. (Genesis 1, 2 Peter 3:5-13, Colossians 1:16-17, John 1:1-3, Revelation 4:12)

2. What is the difference between the “gift of healing” and the normal Christians ability to heal?

The gift of healing is a “charism” or “gracelet” as someone called it. All gifts are given “as God wills” (1 Cor 12:1-11) though they can also be sought (1 Cor 14:1). There seems to be two ways of gifts operating a) as temporary bursts that are “one offs” like Mary’s prophesy.(Luke 2) B) As abiding gifts (like the prophetic gift on Isaiah etc). This also seems to be true with regard to healing. Most Bible-believing Christians have a “burst” when they pray for someone’s healing and it occurs, much to their amazement. For a few it becomes a regular ministry and affects the whole way they view the church. There is no sharp dividing line between the gracelet and the full-blown gift and it seems that one can sometimes grow into the other with time, practise and an increase in faith. The gift is part of the Body and is to be used for its upbuilding in love (1 Cor 12-14). All Christians should be able to exercise healing prayer, particularly the elders of a church.(James 5:14). All Christians should be able to minister healing to some degree though not all are “healers”. We cannot leave all healing up the healers any more than we should leave all evangelism up to the few evangelists among us.

3. What is the role of the local church? There is also a healing ministry role for the church as a whole. The assembled body of Christ is a powerful army and things happen in Bible study groups and in services that do not happen with just one on one ministry. One of the aims of this training is to increase the general level of faith for healing in the church so that we may become a community regularly ministering healing. Jesus wanted others in the community of faith to be also able to heal and sought to empower them to do so. The person with the gift of healing should ideally operate within a faith-filled believing community that is also being trained to heal the sick. Even Jesus had little success when the community around Him was filled with unbelief (Matthew 13:54-58). The church does not just provide a platform for healing to take place, it provides a praying, believing community that exercises healing though its eldership, its gifted members and through the Spirit working through it when it is gathered for worship. (James 5:14 ff, Acts 5:12-16, 1 Cor 12:4-11) 4. What about those who are not healed?

There were “unhealed” people in the Bible, Timothy had “frequent ailments” and Trophimus was left ill/recovering at Miletus. Paul’s response to the first was sanctified common-sense “take a little wine for your stomach and do not exclusively drink water..”. The second seems just to be acceptance of the fact (I Tim 5:23, 2 Tim 4:20). Some of the Corinthians were sick because of unrepented sin such as immorality and abuse of the Lord’s supper. In such cases repentance was called for. If I may rephrase this question to be “How can we love those who are not healed..” I think the answer becomes easier. This shifts the emphasis from power to love and brings us back to centre. ( 1 Corinthians 13). The still sick person needs (1) To be loved, supported and cared for. (2) Have good common-sense applied including the use of appropriate medication . (3) Be able to confess any sin privately and with dignity. (4) Be encouraged to grow in faith as part of a believing community that is also growing and faith and praying for their healing. Jesus only blamed the disciples for lack of faith - never the sick person. 5. What about Paul’s thorn in the flesh? The “stake in the flesh” was a Greek equivalent of a “sharp pain in the neck..” a metaphor for real hindrance and nuisance. It is disabling, painful and causes anguish of the soul and it brings the mighty low (as in the lion in Aesop’s’s fable that was brought low by a “thorn in the flesh”). The “messenger of Satan” seems to be an angelic hindrance. Some recent commentators have speculated that “the thorn” was someone who went around “rabble-rousing” inciting the Jews to kill Paul and hindering his ministry - perhaps Alexander the coppersmith. It could be either (1) a malicious human/group of people banded together against Paul (2) a malicious spiritual entity that aroused people against him. The opposition was so fierce and relentless that Paul was constantly thrown back on God in weakness. The consequence of the “thorn” is persecution and distress not physical sickness. (1 Cor 12:1-10) 6. Should Christians use medicine? Some couples in Australia and America have been charged with manslaughter and child neglect for refusing medication to seriously ill children “in faith”. Such well publicised cases do not help the cause of the gospel. The gospel has four main aspects wisdom, righteousness, sanctification and redemption. (1 Corinthians 1:30 NRSV) He is the source of your life in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification and redemption,. These four aspects of the gospel are not in competition but part of one seamless Whole - which is Christ Himself. Healing is a part of our redemption - the buying back of our body from the dominion of sickness. The wise faith-filled use of medicine can be Wisdom - which is also from God, in Christ. Proverbs urges us to use wisdom and to acquire it - and Biblical wisdom was always practical and effective. Luke is called “the beloved physician” and there are no injunctions in Scripture to put aside medicines. At least twice in the NT “household remedies” are invoked, wine for Timothy’s stomach ailments and “oil” for wounds and bruises (the Good Samaritan) which is seen as an appropriate act of compassion. There will even be medicine in heaven! The leaves of the tree of life will be used for the healing of the nations. Who these nations are is a puzzle but the fact remains that their healing is provided for - by a medicine. (Rev 22:2). Though medicines existed in Jesus day He never exhorted the faithful to abandon them. He simply provided a more effective alternative. The refusal of medicine to a child merely to prove a religious point is seriously wrong and I believe “contrary to the faith”. It seems close to Pharisaism.

7. Should Christians trust in doctors? Our first trust should always be in God. Many people seek the doctors first then, if they are in really big trouble, they then go to their church for healing. May I tactfully suggest that it should perhaps be the other way around with prayer being the first reflex when one is ill. ( 2 Chronicles 16:12.) Doctors can be used and their advice heeded but they must not become the sole repositories of our faith. 8. What about home remedies, vitamin pills, physiotherapy etc? The general attitude of Scripture is that of empowering people to live prudent, healthy, independent lives. I believe that a good knowledge of safe folk remedies - cures for hiccups and bee stings etc makes good Christian common sense and I would love to collect them and put them in a book one day. We need a Christian challenge to alternative medicine. Part of the reason for the Sabbath and the OT dietary restrictions was a physically and spiritually healthy lifestyle. A “kosher” diet is virtually free from parasitic infections, disease and association with the more common occult practices of the time. However Jesus made it clear that our diet does not make us clean or unclean before God. It may help our health but it has nothing to do with our spiritual status. (Mark 7:14-23) 9. Can a Christian participate in the use of alternative medicine? There was a great deal of ‘alternative medicine” around in Jesus’ day and in the Gnosticism that pervaded Asia Minor. None of it was recommended for the Christian and some of it seems to have been actively preached against particularly in Colossians 2. This is incredibly complex. If this is a real issue for you or your family the best I have read is the chapter “Christian Healing and Alternative Healing Movements” in “Sent To Heal” by Harold Taylor. My brief response is to divide “alternative medicine” up into a few compartments (1) Folk remedies outside of conventional medicine but which do work (eg aloe vera for stings). (2) Things like the “Kambucha mushroom” which claim to cure everything and are highly suspect. (3) Cures that require subscribing to a non-Christian or anti-Christian philosophy such as yoga . (4) Occult cures such as reiki, pendulum divination, use of divining rods for healing, magic crystals, the use of spells, sorcery or “white magic”, channelling, witchcraft, colour therapy, use of diagrams with “special powers” etc. Category one is OK, category two mainly damages your hip pocket and your pride but can occasionally endanger your health,. Categories 3 and 4 are always wrong for a Christian. If in doubt -don’t, seems good advice here. 10. What about Christian use of psychologists, counsellors and psychiatrists? Gifts of wisdom and knowledge are given to the Church by Jesus to help the members edify each other. Part of Jesus’ mission was (Luke 4:18-19 NIV) "The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, {19} to proclaim the year of the Lord's favour." Spirit-filled counselling can bring real help and release the oppressed. Bad counselling oppresses people yet further. When seeing a counsellor ask yourself: Is the goal of their counselling compatible with Christian sanctification? Is their philosophy reasonably “Christian” or does it draw heavily on other religions? Do they explain their technique to you so that you can understand and evaluate it? Are they open to questions? Are they competent, disciplined, on-time and properly certified?

TRAIN_3: HEALING SERVICE PROCEDURE Mission: To minister healing, hope, love and comfort to the sick through faith-filled prayer in the name of Jesus Christ. Before The Service Warfare (45 mins) 6:15-7:00 The team meets for prayer, Bible study and personal encouragement. The team is thus “prayed up” and ready before the service. Specific known needs can also be prayed for at this time of pre-service warfare. Introduction 7:00-7:02 Because of the unusual nature of the healing ministry a brief word of explanation at the start of each service is in order. I would anticipate it going something like this: “Welcome to the Townsville Churches of Christ and our healing ministry. We want you to feel at home here. We are just ordinary Christians who believe that God has called us to pray for those who are ill. We just do the praying - Jesus does all the healing. If you are a visitor we would like you to feel at ease. You won’t have to pray aloud, give money, or join the church. We will sing a few songs which you can join in if you feel like it, then there will be a short sermon on healing and a time when we pray for the sick. There is a medical doctor, a pastor and a professional counsellor on hand plus a team of people who have received training on how to pray for the sick. We will not ask you to do anything embarrassing, dangerous or foolish. We want you to feel the love of God in this place and to be made whole.” Worship 7:02-7:15 Three songs plus a two minute personal testimony of healing. Songs should not just be personal favourites but be deliberately chosen to connect people to God and make them aware of the healing power that is in Jesus Christ. Songs that have good Scriptural content and that faith can “latch on to” are very helpful. Avoid songs that merely consist of a connection of unsubstantiated claims of power. They produce the sensation of unreality and people feel they are being “hyped up’ and start to distrust the service and God. Communion 7:15-7:25 A “Baptist style..” communion - without a lengthy devotional just a reading of the scriptures, brief comment and prayer. Focus on the wounds of Christ and their healing power. Pray for those unable to be present but who want prayer for healing. Sermon/Homily 7:25-7:45 A twenty minute factual presentation of God’s Word focusing on healing, forgiveness, answered prayer etc. Should be a convincing presentation of what God can do for those who call upon His Name. No rash promises just words you can believe in. Greg or John mainly. Prayer Ministry 7:45-8:00 People can either come to the front for prayer or just raise their hands where they are. The prayer team moves around praying quietly and confidentially with each one according to the healing method that Greg has outlined. Difficult cases can be taken

to a side room. Supper 8:00-8:20 Just coffee and biscuits. Allows contacts to be made and follow up to occur.

FAITH FOR HEALING

Introduction As we start our healing services it is with a real sense of dependence on the God who heals. It is clear to us that God has put the idea for this healing service in many hearts at once. It is an idea whose time has come. I feel confident that God wants to demonstrate the reality of His Kingdom and the power of Jesus by healing the sick throughout Townsville. I sense that this is going to be a ministry not so much of healing individuals but of healing congregations where the love of God is shown by the people of God to a hurting city. The Believing Heart Jesus pushed one concept nine times in Scripture.... The concept ... that nothing is impossible with God. From the first verse of the Bible “In the beginning God made the heavens and the earth..” Right through to the end we get the idea that we have a God for whom all things are possible and a God who can do what is impossible for man. Here are 4 key Scripture verses. (Jeremiah 32:27 NKJV) "Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh. Is there anything too hard for Me? (Matthew 17:20 NKJV) So Jesus said to them, ".....for assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you. (Matthew 19:26 NKJV) But Jesus looked at them and said to them, "With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible." (Mark 9:23 NKJV) Jesus said to him, "If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes." We have strong convictions about what is possible and what is impossible. Those convictions are built on what we have learned from our parents, our society and from God. Our beliefs are like a building that we live in and are comfortable with. Lets look at three types of people that the Bible mentions - the unbeliever, the doubter, and the Spirit-filled believer. Our unbeliever has a rock solid house built of their own ideas, the bricks in the picture. God is remote and in the “definitely impossible” category. Scripture plays little or no place in building their house of faith. Their faith is in their own minds, their own reason and their own grasp of what they call “the facts”. Such a person is unlikely to ask God to heal them. The second person is the doubter. God has broken through in a few places and God is in this person’s life. But a lot of ideas remain that are not conducive to faith. Some are very simple like “don’t count your chickens before they are hatched..’. Faith IS counting your chickens before they hatch - see Hebrews 11:1. Others are quite complex - such as “God won’t heal me because I’m too unworthy and I keep on

sinning..”. If God won’t heal sinners He won’t ever get to heal anyone. Jesus healed plenty of sinners and He can heal one more. Some are there just to guard us from bitter disappointment such as “God won’t heal me, at least not today..”. Jesus healed everyone, on the spot. Sickness was always something to be healed and always something to be healed today. Some of you need to demolish your house of doubts.Take a sledgehammer to it! Knock down the bricks of unbelief and build a new house on the rock that is Christ. Be bold, be brave, believe! Lord renew our minds! The third person is the Spirit-filled believer - who still has a solid belief structure - the Rock that is Christ. But these are the right beliefs, the empowering beliefs. There is no ceiling in this house, there is no limit to what God can do. But there is a very solid foundation. The Word of God, the blood of Christ and the testimony of the Spirit of God. God is radiant in their life. And now nothing is impossible. They enjoy a Universe of answered prayer and seeing a mighty God at work. These beliefs are the Truth and the Truth sets us free - from sin and from sickness. When I worked as a counsellor I specialised in treating depression. In three years full-time counseling there was not one suicide or relapse into depression. Why - because I helped people move from the untrue beliefs that crippled them emotionally to true sound beliefs that set them free. Truth can set you free from emotional illness and even from physical illness. It is Truth that make us strong and well and able to be healed. My clients had to do lots and lots of homework to gradually work the truth into them so it would claim their confused minds and bring release. But physical healing is not induced by your mind but by the power of the name of Jesus. Jesus is full of - Grace and Truth. The two go together. We exercise healing by the grace of Jesus according to the Truth that is in Jesus - in the power of the name of Jesus. During the rest of this short sermon I will try to provide you with some “Scripture bricks” for the believer’s house of faith. Facts to build into the believer’s way of seeing the world. As we proceed pray quietly in your heart and ask God to help you believe and receive the Scriptures so that you may have faith for healing. “Lord renew my mind, build my faith, show me that You love me and want to heal me. Amen”. Fact One: God is a healing God God is a healing God. He did not make His Creation to be marred in any way and He constantly longs to restore it and perfect it. (Exodus 15:26 NKJV) and said, "If you diligently heed the voice of the LORD your God and do what is right in His sight, give ear to His commandments and keep all His statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you which I have brought on the Egyptians. For I am the LORD who heals you." (Psalms 103:2-4 NKJV) Bless the LORD, O my soul, And forget not all His benefits: {3} Who forgives all your iniquities, Who heals all your diseases, {4} Who redeems your life from destruction, Who crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercies, (Psalms 107:20 NKJV) He sent His word and healed them, And delivered them from their destructions.

(Psalms 147:2-4 NKJV) The LORD builds up Jerusalem; He gathers together the outcasts of Israel. {3} He heals the brokenhearted And binds up their wounds. {4} He counts the number of the stars; He calls them all by name. From God healing Sarah of her barrenness to the healing ministry of Jesus and the apostles God has been a healing God. If God cares for the Creation He has made, if he truly is all-loving and all-powerful, if he truly wants to redeem this world from the effects of sin, then he MUST be a healing God. Healing flows from the nature of God as it is clearly stated in the Bible and when Jesus came He came as God’s perfect likeness, His exact representation. So clearly did He represent the Father that he could answer Phillip saying: (John 14:9 NKJV) {9} Jesus said to him, "Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; so how can you say, 'Show us the Father'? Therefore if Jesus, who is the exact precise image of the Father in every detail, is a healer - then it follows by logic that - the Father is also a healer. Jesus practically said as much when He said (John 5:19 NKJV) Then Jesus answered and said to them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do; for whatever He does, the Son also does in like manner.” Healing isn’t Jesus own initiative, it flows first of all from the Father heart of God, then Jesus does it “in like manner”. God the Father is not just justice and wrath, in fact it is He who wills and initiates every move of love, healing , and redemption. God the Father wants you well. Fact Two: Jesus wants you to be healed. You cannot read the gospels and come to any other conclusion but that Jesus wanted to heal people. And why did he want to heal people? Because it was His Fathers will. Jesus wants to heal you because God the Father wants you well. Jesus always saw sickness as something to be healed. He never said to anyone... suffer a little longer to learn patience. No parent would say that to their child or doctor to their patient. So if sinful humans are sufficiently compassionate to want healing for others - then how much more compassionate is Jesus ? OK - Jesus wants you well - but does He have the power to make you well ? Jesus never failed to heal anyone. He healed all kinds of people of all kinds of sicknesses. (Matthew 4:23 NKJV) And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease among the people. (Matthew 8:16 NKJV) When evening had come, they brought to Him many who were demon-possessed. And He cast out the spirits with a word, and healed all who were sick, (Matthew 9:35 NKJV) Then Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people. (Matthew 12:15 NKJV) But when Jesus knew it, He withdrew from there. And great multitudes followed Him, and He healed them all.

(Luke 4:40 NKJV) When the sun was setting, all those who had any that were sick with various diseases brought them to Him; and He laid His hands on every one of them and healed them. (Luke 6:19 NKJV) And the whole multitude sought to touch Him, for power went out from Him and healed them all. There is no person so bad or sickness so severe that Jesus Christ cannot heal it. Many of those who came to Jesus were not pious, many were not even Jews, many were just ordinary Galilean peasants with a very mixed up understanding of God. You don’t have to be especially good, or especially nice or have the right disease to get healed. Jesus is God, nothing is impossible for Him - and that includes whatever is afflicting you. God can heal whatever you bring to Him So we see that: 1. God wants to heal us. 2. Jesus gladly healed everyone who wanted to be healed.. 3. Jesus healed all kinds of diseases - spiritual, emotional and physical. 4. That nothing is to difficult with God. 5. That everything is possible to him who believes. Conclusion If God is moving in you for healing you may experience a tingling sensation, or a warmth, some people find that they have a new “clarity” about things. Others get a calm solid certainty that God wants them healed and that now is the time. We would love to pray with you for healing. The healing procedure we will use follows five simple steps. First we will ask you what is wrong, then we will seek God about why you are ill, sometimes He will give people special insight into the nature of the illness. Then we will figure out how to pray for you, then pray, and follow it up with a bit of homework for you to do. We would like to keep praying for your healing and if you like we can give your prayer needs to our intercessory prayer team. We want you to feel loved, cared for and supported. But most of all we want you to be healed. The infallible Word of God says that healing is available for all who believe on the name of Jesus Christ. Jesus is the same, yesterday, today and forever. The same Jesus who healed the crowds is the same Jesus who is at the right hand of God interceding for us. So pull apart those brick walls of unbelief and doubt and come to Jesus for healing. Let Him in. Let Him heal you. Choose to believe in His healing love. Put your trust in God - you have nothing to lose except your sickness. We will not ask you to throw away your pills, join our church or pay money. We just want you to trust Jesus and be healed. God is trust-worthy. He is the one on the throne. He is the only just and holy one. He is the one whose Word is Truth. He is the one whose mercies endure forever. He is the one who forgives all your iniquities and heals all your diseases. Give yourself to God and let Him take your illness away. For when Jesus was ministering on earth it was said of Him... (Matthew 8:17 NKJV) that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying: "He Himself took our infirmities And bore our sicknesses."

As the music plays in the background feel free to just walk down the front or raise your hand and a member of the healing team will come to pray with you.

HEALING VERSES (Exodus 15:26 NKJV) and said, "If you diligently heed the voice of the LORD your God and do what is right in His sight, give ear to His commandments and keep all His statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you which I have brought on the Egyptians. For I am the LORD who heals you." (Deuteronomy 32:39 NKJV) 'Now see that I, even I, am He, And there is no God besides Me; I kill and I make alive; I wound and I heal; Nor is there any who can deliver from My hand. (2 Chronicles 7:14 NKJV) "If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land. (Psalms 30:2 NKJV) O LORD my God, I cried out to You, And You healed me. (Psalms 6:2 NKJV) Have mercy on me, O LORD, for I am weak; O LORD, heal me, for my bones are troubled. (Psalms 103:1 4 NKJV) Bless the LORD, O my soul; And all that is within me, bless His holy name! {2} Bless the LORD, O my soul, And forget not all His benefits: {3} Who forgives all your iniquities, Who heals all your diseases, {4} Who redeems your life from destruction, Who crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercies, (Psalms 107:20 NKJV) He sent His word and healed them, And delivered them from their destructions. (Psalms 147:3 NKJV) He heals the brokenhearted And binds up their wounds.

(Proverbs 3:7 8 NKJV) Do not be wise in your own eyes; Fear the LORD and depart from evil. {8} It will be health to your flesh, And strength to your bones. (Proverbs 4:20 22 NKJV) My son, give attention to my words; Incline your ear to my sayings. {21} Do not let them depart from your eyes; Keep them in the midst of your heart; {22} For they are life to those who find them, And health to all their flesh. (Isaiah 53:5 NKJV) But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed. (Isaiah 58:8 NKJV) Then your light shall break forth like the morning, Your healing shall spring forth speedily, And your righteousness shall go before you; The glory of the LORD shall be your rear guard. (Isaiah 61:1 NKJV) "The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon Me, Because the LORD has anointed Me To preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives, And the opening of the prison to those who are bound; (Jeremiah 3:22 NKJV) "Return, you backsliding children, And I will heal your backslidings." "Indeed we do come to You, For You are the LORD our God. (Jeremiah 17:14 NKJV) Heal me, O LORD, and I shall be healed; Save me, and I shall be saved, For You are my praise. (Jeremiah 30:17 NKJV) For I will restore health to you And heal you of your wounds,' says the LORD, 'Because they called you an outcast saying: "This is Zion; No one seeks her."'

(Jeremiah 33:6 NKJV) 'Behold, I will bring it health and healing; I will heal them and reveal to them the abundance of peace and truth. (Hosea 6:1 NKJV) Come, and let us return to the LORD; For He has torn, but He will heal us; He has stricken, but He will bind us up. (Hosea 14:4 NKJV) "I will heal their backsliding, I will love them freely, For My anger has turned away from him. (Malachi 4:2 NKJV) But to you who fear My name The Sun of Righteousness shall arise With healing in His wings; And you shall go out And grow fat like stall fed calves. (Matthew 4:23 NKJV) And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease among the people. (Matthew 8:13 NKJV) Then Jesus said to the centurion, "Go your way; and as you have believed, so let it be done for you." And his servant was healed that same hour. (Matthew 8:16 NKJV) When evening had come, they brought to Him many who were demon possessed. And He cast out the spirits with a word, and healed all who were sick,

(Matthew 9:35 NKJV) Then Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people. (Matthew 10:1 NKJV) And when He had called His twelve disciples to Him, He gave them power over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease. (Matthew 10:8 NKJV) "Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely give. (Matthew 12:22 NKJV) Then one was brought to Him who was demon possessed, blind and mute; and He healed him, so that the blind and mute man both spoke and saw. (Matthew 14:14 NKJV) And when Jesus went out He saw a great multitude; and He was moved with compassion for them, and healed their sick. (Luke 6:19 NKJV) And the whole multitude sought to touch Him, for power went out from Him and healed them all. (Luke 9:6 NKJV) So they departed and went through the towns, preaching the gospel and healing everywhere. (The twelve are sent out) (Luke 10:8 9 NKJV) "Whatever city you enter, and they receive you, eat such things as are set before you. {9} "And heal the sick there, and say to them, 'The kingdom of

God has come near to you.' (The seventy are sent out) (Luke 17:15 NKJV) And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, returned, and with a loud voice glorified God, (The story of the ten lepers) (Acts 3:12 NKJV) So when Peter saw it, he responded to the people: "Men of Israel, why do you marvel at this? Or why look so intently at us, as though by our own power or godliness we had made this man walk? (Healing of the lame man at the Gate Beautiful) (Acts 4:29 31 NKJV) "Now, Lord, look on their threats, and grant to Your servants that with all boldness they may speak Your word, {30} "by stretching out Your hand to heal, and that signs and wonders may be done through the name of Your holy Servant Jesus." {31} And when they had prayed, the place where they were assembled together was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the word of God with boldness. (1 Corinthians 12:9 NKJV) to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healings by the same Spirit, (James 5:14 16 NKJV) Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. {15} And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. {16} Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much. (Revelation 22:2 NKJV) In the middle of its street, and on either side of the river, was the tree of life, which bore twelve fruits, each tree yielding its fruit every month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. (Luke 8:47 NKJV) Now when the woman saw that she was not hidden, she came trembling; and falling down before Him, she declared to Him in the presence of all the people the reason she had touched Him and how she was healed immediately. (Luke 8:48 NKJV) And He said to her, "Daughter, be of good cheer; your faith has

made you well. Go in peace." (Luke 5:17 NKJV) Now it happened on a certain day, as He was teaching, that there were Pharisees and teachers of the law sitting by, who had come out of every town of Galilee, Judea, and Jerusalem. And the power of the Lord was present to heal them.

SPIRIT OF GOD + WORD OF GOD = CREATIVE POWER OF GOD

This article will examine the relationship between the Word of God, the Spirit of God and healing power. The “equation” I will use is “the Spirit of God plus the Word of God equals the Creative Power of God”. Right at the start of the Bible the Spirit broods over the waters and then God speaks bringing creation into being. This is the first revelation of how God acts and it is the most fundamental revelation about how God acts. Under revival conditions when the Spirit of God is powerfully present - as in Jesus ministry and during the heyday of the early church then we have a condition into which all someone had to do was speak the word of Christ and healing occurred. During a recent revival in South America it was not uncommon for people to be spontaneously healed during expository preaching - even if the topic was not healing at all. The preached word has a tremendous power to unlock the brooding power of the Holy Spirit. Here are some Bible verses that illustrate the connection between the Word of God and healing: .(2 Kings 2:22 NKJV) So the water remains healed to this day, according to the word of Elisha which he spoke. (Psalms 107:20 NKJV) He sent His word and healed them, And delivered them from their destructions. (Matthew 8:8 NKJV) The centurion answered and said, "Lord, I am not worthy that You should come under my roof. But only speak a word, and my servant will be healed. (Matthew 8:16 NKJV) When evening had come, they brought to Him many who were demon-possessed. And He cast out the spirits with a word, and healed all who were sick, (Luke 7:7 NKJV) "Therefore I did not even think myself worthy to come to You. But say the word, and my servant will be healed. (Exodus 15:26 NKJV) and said, "If you diligently heed the voice of the LORD your God and do what is right in His sight, give ear to His commandments and keep all His statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you which I have brought on the Egyptians. For I am the LORD who heals you." (Proverbs 4:20-22 NKJV) My son, give attention to my words; Incline your ear to my sayings. {21} Do not let them depart from your eyes; Keep them in the midst of your heart; {22} For they are life to those who find them, And health to all their flesh. (Luke 9:6 NKJV) So they departed and went through the towns, preaching the gospel and healing everywhere. The connection seems quite plain - God’s word in the heart brings health and God’s

word spoken out in faith brings healing. I have prepared some sheets for you with 40 Bible verses on healing that you can use to encourage your own faith and so that the Word of Christ may dwell richly in you for health and healing. The back sheet is upside down ...I had a bad day on the photocopier. Back to our equation... the Spirit of God plus the Word of God equals God’s Creative Power unleashed. The first requirement is the Presence of the Spirit in power. If the Spirit could be made to be powerfully present through prayer then we would have a God who appeared on our command and that is just not so. We cannot control the Spirit’s Presence in power. We need to recognise that. However we can request it, and it is a prayer that God often answers. Luke’s gospel encourages us to ask for the Spirit’s Presence in power (Luke 11:13 NKJV) "If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!" So there is some good Biblical precedent for asking for the Spirit’s Presence. However when the Spirit is tangibly present and clearly in our midst we must do what He says. He is God and God is always the Boss - of every service and situation. This is where I think we make our most common mistake. We try to harness the Spirit. God is not a horse. If we invite the Holy Spirit in our midst it is we who will be put into harness. Jesus Christ makes it quite clear that it is we who wear His yoke - not the other way around. The second common mistake is that we hesitate even when the Spirit has spoken clearly to us. We say something like “That is too difficult or too embarrassing.... what if it doesn’t work....”. Now if God has spoken clearly it will work however sometimes it requires considerable persistence. When God told Israel to go up against Gibeah in the civil war against the tribe of Benjamin they were soundly defeated and suffered heavy casualties on the first two days before succeeding on the third. Obedience may not mean immediate success, it may mean immediate failure and loss, but when obedience is persisted in then success will come. We need to stop hesitating ,start obeying and to keep on obeying even when things look doubtful and dismal. The financing of the Bill Newman Crusade is a case in point. The financing was a tremendous struggle and weighed the Crusade Committee down heavily, it often threw doubts on the wisdom of having the Crusade. In the natural they could not have gone ahead. Every projection of income verses expenditure left us well short. However we believed it was God’s will and despite many discouragements the Crusade went ahead. On the Thursday after the Crusade we were only $900 short and a couple of churches chipped in and a businessman on the committee picked up the tab for the rest. By the time that final committee meeting was finished we had assurances that our finances were covered in every detail. From memory about $22,000 was supplied by God. Unhesitating obedience to the Spirit’s prompts plus persistence in faith led to spiritual victory and a Crusade that saw 207 responses. The third and last reason that we fail to respond to the manifest Presence of the Spirit is that we have failed to discipline the flesh and its works. In Galatians 5:16 and 17 it is clearly stated that the flesh and the Spirit are mutually opposed. To the extent that you allow the works of the flesh you diminish the works and fruit of the Spirit. Churches that allow gossips to function and spread “hatred, discord and jealousy..” unchecked are allowing the Spirit to be opposed just as effectively as if that let adultery or witchcraft go undisciplined. They are all listed among the works of the flesh. The flesh can creep in in the way we regard the Holy Spirit. Amongst the works of the flesh is sensuality (Jude 1:19) and when we treat the Holy Spirit as a form of emotional entertainment, a feeling to be enjoyed or a delicious experience to be had we are on the brink of sensuality - if not toppling right

over into it. I think that it is no coincidence that those movements that have had an enduring revival in their midst have been characterised by much discipline of the flesh on a personal level through prayer and fasting and on a corporate level through firm church discipline of any and every work of the flesh. To sum up the section on the Spirit. If we are to see God’s Holy Spirit manifest in power amongst us we must cease trying to harness God but take His yoke upon us in prompt and persistent obedience to His commands and prompts and discipline our lives so that the works of the flesh are uprooted at both personal and corporate levels. Then we need the word of God spoken in faith to the situation at hand. I will break this into two halves 1) The speaking of the Scriptures into the situation 2) The speaking of a rhema word into the situation. Personally I find speaking Scripture into a situation the more powerful of the two since I can much more easily join my faith to it with absolute confidence in what I am speaking. The Word of God in Scripture spoken by the Spirit of God in the heart is a powerful tool for healing. Part of my reason for supplying you with the 40 Scripture verses on healing is so that you will have a word from God that you can speak in faith as part of your healing ministry. What is the difference between “speaking” and “reciting’ the word of God. Reciting the Word of God seems to have little power. It is directionless, it is not spoken into a situation or to a person. When the Word of God is spoken it is spoken to a person or into a situation. During the Crusade we picked up a strange prayer from Zechariah chapter 4 where a mountain is moved by shouting “Grace! Grace!” to it. So whenever we had to move a mountain we quite literally shouted “Grace!” to it. Mountains don’t have ears but God does and He heard the word uttered in faith and addressing that situation. In Mark’s gospel we see mountains moved by mere words... (Mark 11:22-24 NKJV) So Jesus answered and said to them, "Have faith in God. {23} "For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, 'Be removed and be cast into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says. {24} "Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them. Notice how the mountain is spoken to... It is spoken to in faith, without doubt, verbally, out loud and it the mountain is addressed - not God. Jesus did NOT tell us tp pray “dear God, please move this mountain..” We are not to speak to God but to the mountain. Creation needs to hear God’s authority - through our lips. Lets go back to mountain chucking Zechariah.... (Zechariah 4:6-7 NKJV) So he answered and said to me: "This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel: 'Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,' Says the LORD of hosts. {7} 'Who are you, O great mountain? Before Zerubbabel you shall become a plain! And he shall bring forth the capstone With shouts of "Grace, grace to it!"' " How is the capstone brought forth.. With shouts of Grace, grace to God? NO! With shouts of “Grace, grace to IT...the mountain “. Lets apply this to healing. I cannot think of a single example of New Testament healing where God is prayed to (intercessory style) to effect the healing. The lame man at the Gate Beautiful is told “In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk..”. The leper is told “Be healed”. The dead girl is told “tabitha kum..little girl arise..” , Lazarus is told “Lazarus come forth..” The word of God is “Be healed” and His authority to heal is applied to Creation by the faith-filled people of God. There seems to be drastic change between Old Testament and New on this point. Certainly people in the Old Testament cried out to God for Him to heal. Generally they did not see that God’s authority was

vested in them to any significant degree . Perhaps the clue lies in the phrase “the Kingdom of God is at hand”. In the kingdom God’s rulership is enforced and manifested through His servants. Because of Christ’s work on the cross the authority we carry is far greater than that experienced in the Old Testament. We are seated with Christ in heavenly realms and on His behalf exercise “all authority in heaven and on earth..”. (Matthew 11:11 NKJV) "Assuredly, I say to you, among those born of women there has not risen one greater than John the Baptist; but he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. By logical implication the least NT believer is greater than any OT saint. Not better than, but greater than, carrying more authority than. We can command healing to occur in the name of Jesus. When the Spirit is manifestly present we can, in faith, speak to the sick person using a Word from God and command healing to occur. The authority to command healing does not work mechanically. It requires faith in God and the manifest Presence of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit of God + the Word of God = the Creative Power of God. How do we know that the Holy Spirit is present and present to heal? This is “watching” for what the Father is doing. We need the spiritual sensitivity to sense when God is at work to heal and the courage to join Him in his healing work. (John 5:19-20 NKJV) Then Jesus answered and said to them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do; for whatever He does, the Son also does in like manner. {20} "For the Father loves the Son, and shows Him all things that He Himself does; and He will show Him greater works than these, that you may marvel. However Scripture indicated that when God’s activity was healing - then all were healed. God’s will is not who will get healed - no-one was ever refused healing by Jesus. God’s will is that of the timing of the manifestation. There are times when God is present to heal and there are times when His activity is something else. But when his activity is to heal and His Spirit is present and we are there in faith we can speak the word to all who need healing and they will be healed. At least that is what I see Scripture indicating. (1 Corinthians 12:11 NKJV) But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually as He wills. When one reads 1 Cor 12-14 and looks a bit at the Greek you are struck by the impression of “flashes of giftings”. One person gets one gift for the common good then another gets something else and the Holy Spirit is activating first one ministry, then another in the assembled body of Christ and all things are done decently and in order. (1 Corinthians 12:6-7 NKJV) And there are diversities of activities, but it is the same God who works all in all. {7} But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all: The Old Testament has a strong concept of “the appropriate time’ a time to live, a time to die etc. Getting the timing right was not a matter of using a watch but tuning the time you wanted to do things with when God wanted it to happen. Putting this all together if the Holy Spirit is saying to your heart “I want you to be healed tonight” then that is God’s timing for you. Do not delay. When God speaks that is the time. when He wants you to respond. That’s why he spoke then and not some other time. If God says “I am here and I wish to heal everyone who is present..” then we need to grab everyone and haul them in just as if Jesus had walked through the door with power to heal.

As you sit there listen to what the Spirit is saying to you. Maybe you are sensing God wants to do a particular work in your life just now, maybe it isn’t healing, don’t worry about it if God has revealed that to you now then we will deal with it now. He is not on our schedule - we are on His schedule. Ask yourself what does God want to do in my life right now? When you have done that ask “How can I apply God’s word authoritatively to this situation?’ Write down waht God wants you to do and go and put into action - right now! On Your Own What I sense God wants to do in my life..................................... An authoritative Word from Scripture that applies to my situation. God’s command for my condition What I need to do right now!

THE SUN OF RIGHTEOUSNESS (Malachi 4 NIV) "Surely the day is coming; it will burn like a furnace. All the arrogant and every evildoer will be stubble, and that day that is coming will set them on fire," says the LORD Almighty. "Not a root or a branch will be left to them. {2} But for you who revere my name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings. And you will go out and leap like calves released from the stall. {3} Then you will trample down the wicked; they will be ashes under the soles of your feet on the day when I do these things," says the LORD Almighty. {4} "Remember the law of my servant Moses, the decrees and laws I gave him at Horeb for all Israel. {5} "See, I will send you the prophet Elijah before that great and dreadful day of the LORD comes. {6} He will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers; or else I will come and strike the land with a curse."

God’s plan for judgement. God’s plan for healing God’s plan for ethical restoration

There are only two fates for mankind, two races of people, two possible life paths. The first fate is the fate of the wicked, the fate of those who live for themselves and use others. “There is no shalom for the wicked - says the Lord, there is no healing, no right relationship, no long lasting blessing. The wicked are like a splash in a bucket that a few minutes later show no sign of their existence. They are described as “stubble”, not shaving stubble but grass left over from the mowing that is set on fire. They are at best temporary nd their end is total destruction. God’s plan for these people is total destruction and humiliation. Those who belong to God will “trample down the wicked”. The meek will inherit the earth. The second group of people are those who once were wicked but are being healed and restored. For them the sun of righteousness will arise with healing in His wings. Have you seen those pictures of a winged sun like the “wings” a pilot wears? The sun and the “dawn” in particular was popularly portrayed as having wings. I used to go sailing just offshore in Moreton Bay for a week or more at a time and you would wake up at dawn and the rising sun would come over the horizon with the sea all pink like wings on either side of it. Jesus came to us like that full of hope and beauty and full of healing. He has come to bring spiritual, emotional and physical healing to all who wish to follow Him. He has come that we might have life and have it more abundantly. He has demonstrated this during His earthly ministry where He restored value to people by healing their bodies, driving out demons that oppressed them, publicly honouring those that society rejected such as Zaccheus, and converting those like Nicodemus who came perplexed but seeking Him. He always left those who sought Him out better and more highly valued, than when He found them. He also often gave people value and dignity at the precise point where it had been most damaged. He allowed a prostitute to touch Him - so that she could find new value from touching a man - the precise activity that had brought her to ruin. He called Matthew when he was in his tax collectors office doing the thing that made him so despised. He called Zaccheus when he was up a tree compensating for his short stature that had embarrassed him and he went to lunch with a man that most would have refused to eat with. The sun of righteousness came with healing in His wings for all who would seek Him out. The passage in Malachi which we read indicates two key requirements of the righteous.

Firstly the keeping of the Ten Commandments which God gave Moses at Horeb. Secondly right relationships in the home -particularly between father and son. The New Testament replaces the Old and the ten commandments are slightly changed. Nine of them are retained and the command about the Sabbath is made a matter of conscience. A Sabbath can only be realistically kept if the whole society around you keeps it and with the spread of Christianity to the Roman Empire this had become impossible for many of the new converts who were slaves. Those who wish to keep the Sabbath can do so, those who do not want one special day can also do so - as long as they do so “unto the Lord”. We are still expected to honour God in our use of time. The ethical requirements for being among those being healed are thus substantially the same as when Malachi wrote. You may, quite rightly say, that since none of us keep the Ten Commandments then we are all condemned to perish like chaff and stubble on the day of judgement and that healing should be far from us. Who has not lied, or stolen or been disrespectful to parents, or used God’s name in vain or plotted greedy scheme sin their heart ?Just one of these things is a breach of His law. Just one breach of the law is enough to separate us from God and His healing. But Malachi is full of hope . He vividly portrays the righteous as happy, blessed and triumphant and he expects them to make it. He expects that there will be those who reverence the Lord and who remember His commandments. God, in His grace, grants forgiveness to those who genuinely strive to follow Him, who want, deeply to obey Him , who have His laws written on their hearts and who respect Him and fear to displease Him. Malachi specifically mentions a time when family relationships will be restored particularly the relationship between children and their fathers. Never has this been more needed than it is today. The trust between parents and children, particularly fathers and their children is at an all time low. Not in recent memory has there been so much distrust and disrespect in families. Never has there been so much longing for reliable father figures. Men are pilloried and despised by the feminist movement, and are still legally disadvantaged in family law. Adult males are seen as the dastardly perpetrators while women and children are the innocent victims. Men have recoiled from these accusations and withdrawn from their family responsibilities. Unable to disprove the taunts we feel from society and hurt by the distrust that is all around us we have silently walked away from hearth and home and pursued our own pleasures. More and more men are refusing to get married or if married they are refusing to have children. Its just too risky. Humanism, feminism and the government have created an aching hurting society that can only be turned back by God. Unless this happens God will come and “smite the land with a curse”. This curse is the opposite of the promise. - God has promised that if we honour our father and our mother we will “live in the land a long time”. In lands such as China and Japan where parents have been honoured they have remained in the land for a long time. I believe that Australia is bringing itself steadily under God’s curse and we will become a restless nation emotionally and eventually if we persist we will be ejected from this land. Our disrespect has destroyed our families and cursed us. Malachi indicates that shortly before “the great and terrible day of the Lord” that Elijah will return. This will be a confrontational prophetic figure in the mould of Elijah, Elisha and John the Baptist who were all figures “in the spirit and power of Elijah”. God will raise up a particular prophet who will confront the deteriorating family relationships. If we listen to him we will be blessed. If we don’t God will finally and utterly curse us. I believe that with movements such as Focus On The Family, Australian federation For The Family and Promisekeepers we are starting to see a tidal wave of Christian restoration of family values. The book Father Heart of God by Floyd McLung came out about 15 years ago and started a wave of books on restoring children’s love of their fathers. Even on the Internet it

is one of the most discussed Christian issues this week. It is a deep chord in the human heart. As hopeless as we may feel our family relationships are, and even though they may have fallen a long way below God’s ideal and been badly damaged we can at least fix up our side of the fence. My parents and I have never seen eye to eye. They are respectable, formal, demanding and very afraid of any expression of emotion either positive or negative. I on the other hand have always been idealistic, passionate ,anarchic and fairly unafraid to say how I am feeling. At 16 I was a communist at 20 a Zen Buddhist and at 21 a Christian. We have almost come to terms with our massive differences but not quite and you can’t wave a magic wand and fix up forty years of misunderstanding. But I can mend my side of things and be more tolerant of their chosen lifestyle and not expect them to be demonstrative in their affection for me. They in turn have learned not to scorn my multitudinous crusades and tilting at windmills and various other eccentricities. It will never be perfect, but it is better. If we are to see emotional healing of families I believe the following six things need to occur: (a) We need to value our children, teach them, invest in them and not see them as nuisances. (b) We need to financially support our aged parents and honour them with our love. (c) We need to see marital faithfulness as fulfilling and forget the “greener grass” syndrome. (d) We need to marry Christians out of obedience to God and build Spirit-filled homes. (e) We need to stop resenting the time and self-giving that families need. (f) We need to stop seeking our main source of emotional fulfillment outside of the home - even in church activities. It may sound harsh but what is the difference between going to parties or down the pub five days a week or being involved in church activities five days a week?. One is more constructive/respectable than the other but both take big chunks of time away from the family. Our family should be where we are happy and they should know that. They should know that they are precious , that we delight in them, that we love being with them and that they are our main source of emotional fulfillment next to God. After we have undergone God’s healing of body, mind and spirit we will “skip about like young calves”. Now a young calf is not a particularly philosophical animal. This is not some abstract delight in finally figuring out the Trinity. This is the delight of a young strong animal in being a young strong animal. Its the delight of being all that we are meant to be. Its the joy of functioning as we know we should function, unimpaired, strong whole and full of life and joy. Its an abandonment and a delight in what God has made you to be. It is not selfish narcissistic behaviour in fact self is almost forgotten in the delight in being able to run, jump and carry on. Its the delight of a child on as wing or a young girl with a skipping rope. The restoration of the righteous is never partial or half-hearted and it carries no sorrow with it. FINALE So we see that God’s people are being healed by the sun of righteousness with healing in His wings. We also see that God’s people in the community of healing are participating in this healing by obeying God’s commandments and restoring their family relationships. We also acknowledge that God’s healing of body, mind, and spirit is needed if we as broken people are ever to “skip about like young calves..” The joy of the redeemed is the joy of wholeness. There is a sombre note as well. The wicked will not be healed but destroyed. They will be

trodden down as they trod others down for a while. It will not be good for them, they will come to nothing, be burned up as valueless and be trodden underfoot by the very ones they hurt. The healing of the righteous also means victory over evil. Victory over Satan, over demons and over all who are wicked. In Romans we have another picture of evil being trodden underfoot by God’s people when Paul writes (Romans 16:19-20 NIV) Everyone has heard about your obedience, so I am full of joy over you; but I want you to be wise about what is good, and innocent about what is evil. {20} The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus be with you. So lets build a victorious, healing community of believers who revere God, obey His commandments and restore their family relationships in response to God’s call through His prophets. As we do so the sun of righteousness will arise with healing in His wings, heal us and restore us and make us so whole that we leap for joy at what God has made us to be and the wholeness, strength and power that are ours. God’s plan for us is to be a healed, strong and victorious people with happy families and whole bodies, minds and spirits. If you want to be part of this plan for your life - enlist now and come forward for prayer!

A HEALING TOUCH

Mention "faith healing" in most circles and cynicism descends. Images of quacks, charlatans and "Leap of Faith" style religious entrepeneurs ripping off ever gullible "believers" have hardened the arteries of the Aussie heart. However there is one healing ministry in Australia that is totally different from Steve Martin's portrayal of the religious shyster. The healing ministry of St. Andrews Anglican Cathedral has been around in its very Anglican way for over 25 years now run by two gentlemanly canons with a distinct absence of chorus lines, brass bands or travelling medicine shows. The healing ministry run by Canons Jim Glennon and Jim Holbeck is arguably one of the largest healing ministries anywhere in the world and currently helps some 7000 people per year including many overseas and interstate visitors. I was introduced to its ministry by a Townsville Christian Lyn Crossland who has survived two bouts of "terminal' secondary bone cancer and who gives testimony to the help the healing ministry of Jim Glennon has given her in fighting disease. I took a 4 day visit to the Centre and came away extremely impressed with what seems to be a sane, healthy and deeply spiritual ministry. Living under the horrified nose of the arch-conservative Moore College the delightfully charismatic healing ministry functions in a diocese noted for its opposition to things Pentecostal, charismatic or miraculous. The theology behind the healing ministry has had to be worked through very carefully and one senses the soundness that has come from living within a healthy tension. On going to the healing services or on staying at "Golden Grove" , the residential centre you are struck by both the peacefulness and the thoughfulness of the place. It still uses the Anglican prayer book and order of service and is possesed of the quiet dignity of tradition. The fire of the spirit is in the fireplace of sound tradition. The central theological maxim seems to be that in the cross of Christ there was made provision for every problem and that it is up to the believer to take hold of God's provision through faith and prayer. The ministry believes that Christ's death on the cross was a historical fact along with his resurrection from the dead. It has no place for sceptics such as Bishop John Spong or Barbara Thiering who "modernise" or deny the historical basis of these events. The cross and the resurrection are central to the healing process according to St. Andrews Cathedral. In direct contradiction to the New Age movement healing is not just a matter of attitude according to Canon Jim Glennon, the founder of the ministry and its chief spokesperson. Attitude is important but healing is something God does for you - and you receive through faith. Canon Glennon prefers the term "divine healing" to "faith healing" because he says it puts the emphasis back on God - the Healer. Many illnesses seem to have an attidunal component, particularly arthritis and cancer. According to the Healing Centre cancer sufferers are ofetn people who internalise their stresses until their body suffers at its weakest point. Much time is spent in helping people overcome destructive attitudes and obstalces to thier faith. A cancer support group meets each Wednesday to pray for, encourage and support people being healed from cancer. At "Golden Grove" there is an office "prayer line" where people can ring up to be prayed for as they undergo treatment or suffer a bad day. Encouraging volunteer staff answer the phone and pray for the request. Most healings take time thougha few have been instantaneous. The general result is that

people "do much better than the doctors ever expected". The rate of recovery of people helped through the Cathedral seems to be considerably higher than average. Ppeople are never told to "throw away their medication" or to disobey doctors orders "by faith". The Centre advises full cooperation with the endeavours of the medical professions. The Healing Centre believes all wisdom and all healing is from God. The Healing Centre offers a very personal and supportive environment free of the bustle of hospital life or the anonymity of a waiting room. The Healing Centre supports the medical profession by helping people retain their inner peace and dignity as they pass through sometimes humiliating medicalprocedures and times of great weakness and pain. The loving, caring atmosphere helps people retain their inner resources so they ahve strength to fight disease and purpose in life. This alone is an important contributing factor in the accelerated rate of healing observed. The Centre would be most irate if it was all put down to psychology or a placebo effect. Canons Holbeck and Glennon believe that it is the God of the Bible who actively and powerfully heals as He has promised to in the Scriptures. They point out that Jesus is said to be "the same, yesterday, today and forever" and therefore His healing ministry will continue through His church now He has "ascended into heaven". It is also pointed out that Scripture says "through His stripes we are healed" meaning that the sufferings of Jesus on the cross opened the way for physical healing to all believers. Yet it is not only Bible-believing Christians that seek out the Healing Centre. Many people who would not otherwise darken the doorway of a church attend the Wednesday night healing service seeking a "healing touch" from God. Most Wednesday evenings see anywhere between 200-500 people packing the Cathedral precincts. There is a time of worship, a powerful Biblical sermon on some aspect of healing or the Christian life and then communion is administered according to the prayer book. During a special "ministry time" toward the end of the service all who come and ask for prayer receive ministry. They are surrounded by small groups of two or three Christians trained to pray for the sick - generally of the same gender as the person being prayed for.. Hands arelaid on heads or on the part of the body needing healing, Someone starts softly praying and the others follow "by the leading of the Spirit". Each of those in the samll group pray once or maybe twice. Sometimes there will be tears or a moment when God becomes very real to everyone concerned. Emotions are present but kept at a thoroughly Anglican level. After ten minutes or so everyone takes their seats again . God has briefly touched the lives of a hundred or so people and healing is beginning for many. Each person who gives their name in is prayed for by a special prayer group for six weeks afterwards. For people coming from outside of Sydney there is "Golden Grove" a former stately home come convent now the guest residence for the Healing Centre. Canon Jim Holbeck lives in and provides spiritual leadership and counselling. Golden Grove is operated mainly by voluntray staff and has been running for the last ten years as a welcoming Christian environment for those in need of healing. Those interested in knowing more about the Healing Centre can contact it on Sydney (02)