What Should We Make of Healing Ministries?

00:00:00.000 | (upbeat music)

00:00:02.580 | - Pastor John, last time on Wednesday,

00:00:06.480 | I played an old sermon of yours

00:00:08.440 | and we talked about healing.

00:00:10.040 | God has promised to heal our bodies.

00:00:11.700 | He could heal us today if he wants to,

00:00:14.240 | but he has a timeline for that healing.

00:00:16.240 | And until then, for most of our ailments,

00:00:18.680 | we groan inwardly, awaiting the redemption of our bodies.

00:00:22.900 | This waiting is what we saw in Romans eight.

00:00:25.840 | But you balance that waiting with a faith-filled eagerness

00:00:28.840 | for God's healing mercy to be experienced today as well.

00:00:32.880 | And that point leads us to consider how much trust

00:00:35.280 | we should put in faith healers

00:00:36.600 | and healing ministries today.

00:00:38.560 | And if we avoid them, are we doing so

00:00:40.320 | because those ministries are fraudulent

00:00:42.600 | or because we simply lack faith that God heals today?

00:00:45.560 | The perceptive question comes from Dana,

00:00:48.800 | a woman who listens to the podcast.

00:00:50.940 | Pastor John, hello and thank you for this podcast.

00:00:53.460 | I would certainly call myself a skeptic

00:00:55.000 | toward healing ministries,

00:00:56.200 | but I'm left wondering if this is unbelief in me.

00:01:00.000 | Jesus said to his followers,

00:01:01.400 | "Whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do,

00:01:04.440 | "and greater works than these will he do,

00:01:07.080 | "because I am going to the Father."

00:01:09.480 | That's John 14, 12.

00:01:11.160 | After the ascension, this amazing promise

00:01:13.140 | carries over to every single believer, you said, in APJ 63.

00:01:17.960 | That's amazing.

00:01:19.580 | But how does this promise of Christ

00:01:20.960 | relate to healing ministries today?

00:01:22.880 | I could attend a healing meeting in a church in my area

00:01:25.800 | and I'm in need of healing and deliverance,

00:01:28.240 | but I cannot do this until my skepticism is addressed.

00:01:31.880 | And if these people, these faith healers,

00:01:33.660 | are really doing the work of God,

00:01:35.100 | I don't want to disobey Him by my skeptical unbelief.

00:01:38.920 | Pastor John, can you help me?

00:01:40.580 | As you can imagine, it is difficult to give counsel to Dana

00:01:45.760 | when I don't know the nature or the degree of her skepticism

00:01:52.080 | and I don't know anything about the healing ministries

00:01:55.840 | that she is thinking about going to.

00:01:58.600 | So let me speak more generally about first the text,

00:02:03.600 | John 14, 12, and then the possible legitimacy

00:02:08.960 | of the healing ministry and the kinds of questions

00:02:10.800 | you might want to ask about that.

00:02:13.400 | In John 14, 12, Jesus said, "Truly, truly, I say to you,

00:02:20.480 | "whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do.

00:02:25.480 | "And greater works than these will he do

00:02:31.640 | "because I am going to the Father."

00:02:34.140 | Now, she alluded to the fact that in APJ number 63,

00:02:40.040 | we gave a whole session on this text.

00:02:43.480 | So I'm not gonna defend my interpretation again.

00:02:47.360 | There's a whole sermon on it, by the way,

00:02:49.080 | at Desiring God called "Doing the Works of Jesus"

00:02:53.160 | in my series on the Gospel of John.

00:02:55.400 | So let me just give my summary here.

00:02:57.480 | This text is not about people who have the gift of healing.

00:03:01.680 | We know that because Jesus said, "Whoever,

00:03:06.000 | "whoever believes in me will do the works that I do

00:03:10.080 | "and greater works."

00:03:11.120 | This is true of every believer.

00:03:14.920 | But 1 Corinthians 12 says that only some

00:03:19.200 | have the gift of healing.

00:03:21.080 | Are all teachers, do all work miracles,

00:03:23.480 | do all possess gifts of healing, do all speak in tongues?

00:03:27.440 | The answer is no.

00:03:28.640 | So what makes John 14, 12 so puzzling

00:03:34.080 | is that it's true of every believer.

00:03:36.760 | Every believer does the works of Jesus.

00:03:39.220 | That's scary, right?

00:03:42.100 | Every believer does the works of Jesus

00:03:44.080 | and every believer exceeds the works of Jesus.

00:03:47.080 | That's what the verse says.

00:03:49.800 | It's not like there's a select group.

00:03:51.280 | Well, somebody attained to it finally.

00:03:53.320 | The second thing that makes this so puzzling

00:03:56.960 | is that nobody, underline nobody,

00:04:00.720 | has ever in the history of the world

00:04:02.960 | exceeded the works of Jesus.

00:04:05.320 | If the supernatural wonder of the miracles

00:04:11.480 | is what's meant, turning water into wine,

00:04:15.040 | healing everyone who comes to you without fail,

00:04:18.560 | feeding 5,000 with five loaves and two fish,

00:04:21.360 | walking on water, raising the dead,

00:04:24.320 | casting out demons with a word,

00:04:26.240 | infallibly, nobody has ever come close

00:04:30.920 | to this kind of consistency and awesomeness

00:04:34.640 | of miraculous work.

00:04:36.360 | So how do all Christians exceed the works of Jesus?

00:04:40.360 | That's what is perplexing about this verse.

00:04:44.360 | And my answer, defended in that number 63

00:04:48.460 | and in that sermon, is this.

00:04:50.480 | We exceed the works of Jesus.

00:04:52.600 | We go beyond the works of Jesus

00:04:55.280 | by living in the power of the Spirit,

00:04:59.480 | the Spirit of the risen glorified Christ

00:05:02.820 | that Jesus himself poured out

00:05:05.480 | and thus pointing people to the glory

00:05:08.800 | of the crucified and risen Christ

00:05:12.160 | so that through faith in that risen Christ,

00:05:15.680 | their sins might be forgiven

00:05:18.080 | by believing in the crucified and risen one.

00:05:21.600 | That's my answer.

00:05:23.000 | In other words, what's greater

00:05:26.240 | is that Jesus has now died for sinners

00:05:29.940 | and risen from the dead,

00:05:31.440 | and he is reigning at the right hand of God

00:05:33.720 | so that by the power of the Spirit,

00:05:35.640 | we can point people to the risen and glorified Christ

00:05:40.240 | where they can find forgiveness of sins.

00:05:42.440 | Jesus never did this.

00:05:44.380 | This is greater.

00:05:48.100 | He had not died or risen from the dead.

00:05:51.640 | He didn't point people to have specific faith

00:05:54.940 | in his crucified self or risen self.

00:05:58.620 | We get the superior ministry of pointing people

00:06:02.160 | by our lives and by our words

00:06:04.320 | to the risen and glorified Christ.

00:06:06.760 | So I don't think Dana should make her decision

00:06:11.240 | about the validity of a healing ministry

00:06:13.360 | on the basis of this verse.

00:06:14.960 | I don't think they're connected.

00:06:16.800 | There are better ways for her to assess

00:06:20.800 | this healing ministry than to use

00:06:23.920 | the controverted John 14, 12.

00:06:28.120 | I would suggest five kinds of questions

00:06:32.240 | to ask about the people she calls faith healers.

00:06:36.120 | First, what do they believe?

00:06:39.580 | What's their theology?

00:06:41.320 | Are they doing their ministry in the service of truth

00:06:46.080 | or in the service of error?

00:06:48.640 | What do they believe about the nature of God

00:06:50.600 | and the way he saves sinners

00:06:51.960 | and the way he sanctifies the church?

00:06:54.040 | What do they believe about Christ

00:06:56.400 | and what he accomplished on the cross?

00:06:58.780 | What do they believe about the Holy Spirit

00:07:00.880 | and about the ultimate purpose of God in the world?

00:07:03.440 | And if they are hesitant to talk about these things

00:07:07.720 | or to provide written materials, that's a problem.

00:07:11.280 | Lots of people want spiritual power these days,

00:07:14.480 | they always have, without loving biblical truth.

00:07:17.920 | Give me the power.

00:07:19.100 | I don't care what's true.

00:07:20.100 | I just wanna be able to heal people or raise the dead

00:07:23.040 | or make something amazing happen.

00:07:24.780 | But power without truth will almost certainly

00:07:30.160 | damage the cause of Christ in the end,

00:07:33.480 | even if miracles are happening.

00:07:36.360 | And yes, miracles happen a plenty

00:07:39.200 | in the hands of unbelievers.

00:07:41.360 | And they will at the end of the age,

00:07:43.800 | Paul says in 2 Thessalonians 2.

00:07:47.000 | Second, is healing the body the goal of their ministry

00:07:52.000 | or is healing a means to the end of glorifying Christ

00:07:59.660 | and sanctifying human life

00:08:02.680 | and building up the local church?

00:08:04.540 | I've attended healing services

00:08:08.240 | and it seemed to me in some of them

00:08:11.400 | that it became quickly clear

00:08:13.760 | that the word of God was subordinate

00:08:17.600 | to what they consider power encounters.

00:08:19.940 | Wherever the word of God was simply used

00:08:24.240 | as a kind of brief priming of the pump,

00:08:27.280 | in fact, that language was even used,

00:08:29.960 | the priming of the pump of power.

00:08:32.040 | So I'm gonna use a little bit of a homily here

00:08:34.300 | to prime the pump of power that we can all enjoy at the end.

00:08:38.040 | My trust level in those situations went way down.

00:08:41.360 | All the physical miracles of the New Testament

00:08:45.200 | serve to confirm the word of truth

00:08:49.880 | and the glory of the saving word of God.

00:08:53.040 | If these get turned around,

00:08:55.440 | the long-term effect is going to be unhealthy.

00:08:59.480 | Third, do the faith healers believe

00:09:03.320 | that God's will is for every sickness

00:09:06.280 | of every believer to be healed

00:09:08.000 | and that the reason they're not is because of lack of faith?

00:09:11.980 | That's a hallmark of many faith healers.

00:09:15.580 | They believe that faith will always heal

00:09:18.640 | and that if you're not healed,

00:09:20.240 | it's because you are defective in your faith.

00:09:24.920 | And I would say this simply does not fit

00:09:28.560 | with the Apostle Paul's teaching about the suffering

00:09:32.260 | and groaning of this age

00:09:33.760 | as we wait for the redemption of our bodies.

00:09:36.600 | God can heal and he does heal

00:09:39.560 | and we should pray for healing always when we get sick

00:09:42.480 | or we love somebody who's sick,

00:09:44.380 | but he does not teach us that we are God

00:09:50.060 | as if healing lay decisively in our hands.

00:09:54.360 | If we can just muster enough of this so-called faith.

00:09:59.360 | Fourth, do these faith healers rank physical wholeness

00:10:04.560 | above treasuring Christ through pain?

00:10:08.380 | That is, do they think that the miracle of physical healing

00:10:13.960 | is a greater miracle than the miracle of strong, joyful,

00:10:17.960 | unwavering faith through sickness and pain?

00:10:21.620 | Do they see that both of these are wonderful miracles?

00:10:26.300 | Do they see that the miracle of faith

00:10:29.180 | in the face of suffering may be a greater miracle

00:10:33.120 | than the removal of suffering?

00:10:35.100 | Medicine can remove suffering,

00:10:37.220 | but no human medicine can produce Christ-exalting faith

00:10:41.520 | in the face of suffering.

00:10:42.780 | How do they think about this?

00:10:45.420 | Finally, number five is just a personal question to Dana.

00:10:51.700 | Have you asked the elders of your church to pray for you?

00:10:56.260 | James 5, 14 says, "Is anyone among you sick?

00:10:59.820 | Let him call for the elders of the church

00:11:02.420 | and let them pray over him,

00:11:04.500 | anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord."

00:11:07.740 | I say this not only because that may be the way

00:11:11.860 | God gives you healing, Dana,

00:11:13.740 | but also because in those encounters

00:11:18.340 | with the leaders of the church,

00:11:21.580 | God may give them wisdom

00:11:25.100 | as to whether a healing ministry is advisable

00:11:28.940 | or not in your case.

00:11:31.080 | So let me end with this.

00:11:32.340 | When 1 Corinthians 12 says that the Holy Spirit

00:11:37.800 | gives to one faith to another gifts of healing,

00:11:42.320 | to another the working of miracles, and so on,

00:11:46.500 | in verses 7 to 11,

00:11:48.820 | don't assume that the Spirit's giving those gifts

00:11:53.820 | is locked in to specific people.

00:11:57.120 | It doesn't say that,

00:11:59.860 | which means you don't know through whom

00:12:04.580 | you might receive healing when a person prays for you.

00:12:09.420 | They may be given, anybody may be given a gift of healing.

00:12:13.980 | The word is always plural, gifts of healing.

00:12:16.260 | They may be given a gift of healing.

00:12:17.980 | Therefore, perhaps the question before you

00:12:21.940 | is not only whether you should go to a so-called

00:12:26.020 | faith healer, but also whether you should go to a trusted,

00:12:31.020 | spiritually-minded friend,

00:12:35.120 | and very seriously and earnestly ask them

00:12:39.020 | to put their hands on you and pray

00:12:43.500 | that they would receive a gift of healing

00:12:46.440 | that they could impart to you.

00:12:49.020 | - So good, thank you, Pastor John.

00:12:50.540 | And as I sit and listen to you,

00:12:52.140 | I'm reminded of a previous APJ episode we released earlier

00:12:55.420 | on this connection between faith and healing.

00:12:57.380 | I'm thinking of APJ 1425, an episode we titled

00:13:01.020 | "Did My Dad Die Because I Lacked Faith?"

00:13:04.460 | Great content here.

00:13:05.860 | If you want more on the relationship of faith and healing,

00:13:08.260 | you can find that episode, APJ 1425,

00:13:11.060 | and you can find about 1,800 other episodes

00:13:13.020 | all at our online home at desiringgod.org/askpastorjohn.

00:13:18.020 | Well, on Monday, we have a pair

00:13:20.100 | of really good Bible questions

00:13:21.380 | that at first don't really seem related.

00:13:24.080 | Namely, what does it mean that Christ is all and in all?

00:13:28.020 | And what role does racial difference play

00:13:30.260 | in the church today?

00:13:32.300 | Those questions are not unrelated

00:13:34.020 | because they both come to us

00:13:35.140 | from Colossians 3, verses 9 to 11.

00:13:37.860 | I'm your host, Tony Reinke.

00:13:39.180 | We'll see you back here on Monday for that.

00:13:40.860 | See you then.

00:13:41.700 | (upbeat music)

00:13:44.280 | (upbeat music)

00:13:46.860 | (upbeat music)

00:13:49.440 | (Thanks for watching)

What Should We Make of Healing Ministries?

Chapters