Divine healing in a new way/Miracle of
changing water into wine in Canaa of Galilee/Functioning of the Body of Christ
Divine healing by touching Jesus
Let us read the 5th chapter of Mark about the healing of two persons by Jesus. Jairus, a ruler of the synagogue, saw Jesus and fell at His feet. He then besought Jesus greatly to heal his little daughter who was at the point of death. When Jesus was going with him to his house, a certain woman who had an issue of blood twelve years and “had suffered many things of many physicians and had spent all that she had, and was nothing bettered, but rather grew worse” came behind Him in the crowd and touched His garment (Vs.25-26). She said, “If I may touch but His clothes, I shall be whole”. Immediately the fountain of her blood was dried up, and she felt in her body that she was healed of the affliction. When Jesus came to know this incident, He said, “Daughter, thy faith hath made thee whole: go in peace, and be whole of the plague”. Then Jesus went to the house of Jairus and raised his dead daughter to life. Of these two instances of healing, the healing of the woman is all the more significant. Nobody brought her to Jesus. Neither did Jesus intend to heal her nor was any prayer made to Him by that woman. Neither did Jesus touch and heal her as was expected. It was she who took the initiative and touched Jesus. She simply came there from amongst the crowd and touched His clothes.
Are you in the same boat of that woman who suffered for a long period 12 years and spent all her savings for treatment by many physicians but of no avail? Do not worry. The same Jesus is passing by your side today as you read this message. Just touch your computer screen and claim your healing through His Blood which is on your computer screen as you read this message. The healing power of Jesus will pass through your body.
Please read Mark 8:22-26. The disciples of Jesus brought to Him a blind man and besought Jesus to touch him for healing. However, Jesus took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the town. And when He had spit on his eyes and put His hands on him, He asked him if he saw anything. He replied that he saw men like trees, walking. Then He put His Hands on his eyes again and made him look up. And he was restored and saw everyone clearly.
Here, we find that Jesus healed that blind man in a very different way and not in a manner as was expected by His disciples or by the people who had brought him to Jesus. When Jesus spat and put His hands on him for the first time, his eye sight was restored partially. When Jesus again put His hands on his eyes, he was restored completely. Jesus could have healed him by simply putting His hands on him. But He spat and put His hands on him. Again He put His hands on him for his complete healing.
Dearly beloved in Christ Jesus, today Jesus wants to heal you of your disease in a new way. Be sensitive to the voice of the Holy Spirit now. I do not have any evangelist with me to come over to your town and to pray for your healing. Please follow either of the following two ways as led by the Spirit.
You should now go to a child of God/a believer in your family/in your neighborhood/in your church and should ask him to lay his hands on you and to pray for your healing in Jesus’ Name. He/she need not be a pastor or an evangelist. Humble yourself and go to him/her for praying for your healing. You are going to be healed not because of the spiritual gift of healing but in Jesus’ Name.
Or you may take a bottle of oil, pray over it saying, “This is the Blood of Jesus shed for my healing” and then start applying this oil till you are able to see the evidence of healing.
Miracle of changing water into wine in Cana of Galilee
Please read John 2:1-11 about the notable miracle of changing water into “good wine” by Jesus during the marriage in Cana of Galilee which is described as the beginning of miracles in the ministry of Jesus Christ. During the wedding feast, when wine was required to be served, Jesus was informed that they had no wine. Jesus asked the servants to “set there six water pots of stone” and to “fill the water pots with water”.
Had Jesus simply spoken a word, the water pots of stone would have been filled with wine, and there would not have been any need to fill the pots with water. Jesus wanted water to be poured into the water pots. Likewise, in your life, you have to do something like filling the pots with water and then drawing the water from the pots, in order to receive a miracle from Jesus. You have to do something preparatory to receive this miracle. If you are looking for a new car or a new house, you have to approach the dealers concerned in the market. If you are looking for a job or for change in your career, you have to look for some advertisement or to contact some placement agency. If you have to go abroad, you have to approach a travel agent or the office of the airlines, for booking your air-tickets. If you want to hold an evangelistic meeting in your town, you may go ahead for making necessary arrangements without waiting for sufficient funds to arrive.
Until and unless you take the first step in faith, you cannot expect a miracle. You have to obey what the Lord commands you to do. (Just ask Him in prayer right now what to do. He will reveal it to you). Be attentive to what He speaks to you. The miracle of water changing into wine took place the moment the servants drew the water and took the same to the governor of the feast. The expected miracle did not take place when they filled the pots with water. The servants acted on the words of Jesus verbatim and saw the miracle.
Functioning of the Body of Christ
God has set
every one in the Body of Christ
“God hath set the members every one of them in the body, as it hath pleased Him.
(I Cor.12: 18)
The Body of Christ is likened to a human body with many members. Those who have accepted Jesus as their Savior have been baptized by one Spirit into this one Body. All the members are equally important to perform their functions. The foot cannot say, “Because I am not the hand, I am not of the body”. Similarly, the ear cannot say, “Because I am not the eye, I am not of the body”. The foot cannot perform the functions of the hand. The ear cannot perform the functions of the eye. You cannot neglect some particular person for your ministry under any circumstances because that particular person is a member of His Body and has a different role to perform. You cannot expect him to perform the same function, which you perform. You should find out the specific role to be played by him in His Body. PLEASE NOTE THAT NOT ALL THE MEMBERS PERFORM THE SAME FUNCTION. They may perform similar functions but not the same function (I Cor.12: 13-17).
“If the whole body were an eye, where were the hearing? If the whole body were hearing, where were the smelling?” (Vs.17). The whole body cannot perform the sole function of hearing or the sole function of hearing or smelling. What we find today in the Christian world is that majority of the ministers perform the function of “pastor” and some of them the function of “evangelist”. What about apostles, prophets and teachers? There is duplication of God’s work everywhere.
God has already set every one of us in the Body of Christ as it has pleased Him. Dear reader, God has set you in a particular position in the universal Body of Christ. Have you ever tried to find out the exact place where He has placed you in the Body of Christ? If you do not know the place of your service, you cannot serve Him. A player in a group game like football or hockey is assigned a specific position in the playground. He cannot play the game in all the positions. If he does so, the entire team will lose the match. He cannot play the game until and unless he/she knows his/her position assigned by the team captain.
Similarly, in the Body of Christ, it is not your choice to select a particular position. Nor is it your decision to serve God. God has set you in a particular position so that you can serve Him.
All of us are not one member but many members in one body. This means not all of us can perform the same function as a single member but different and multifarious functions as many members in a single body. Many ministers of God preach that they were chosen by God to serve their congregations as if their congregations were not chosen by God. However, Paul wrote that God has set the members, every one of them as it has pleased Him. It is not any local church or any organization that has to appoint ministers on its own choice. A child of God saved through the Blood of Christ and filled with the Holy Spirit has been set by God in the Body of Christ as it has pleased Him. It is God Who has appointed him/her to a particular place in the Body of Christ.
Bestowing
honor on uncomely parts
There are certain members in the human body which we think to be less honorable, upon which we bestow more abundant honor. Though all the organs of the body are equally important, and we cannot ignore one particular organ in preference to another, yet in our human perception, some organs may appear to be less honorable. People who are black in complexion bestow more care upon their faces by using cosmetics so that they may look comely. Some women who do not have long hairs use herbal medicines to grow their hairs so that they may look comely. People whose vision is defective bestow more care upon their eyes and use optical glasses. However, people who are fair need not bestow care upon their faces. So is the case with the women who have long hairs and those who have normal vision.
“For our comely parts have no need: but God hath tempered the body together, having given more abundant honor to that part which lacked.” (I Cor.12:24). In the human body, there are certain invisible organs or cells upon which God has bestowed more abundant honor which we do not normally give due to our lack of knowledge or due to our limited knowledge. We may give more care only to those organs like heart, lever, brain, kidney, etc. to such an extent that if we feel pain in any of these organs, we rush to the doctors for diagnose and treatment. We may not give the same care to those organs like fingers, toes, etc. Similarly, in the Body of Christ, God gives more care to those members of His Body who are spiritually weak so that “there should be no schism in the body; but that the members should have the same care one for another”. “And whether one member suffer, all the members suffer with it: or one member be honored, all the members rejoice with it” (Vs.25-26). If a member of His Body suffers due to some affliction, the other members should also feel the agony of that particular member. If a member of His Body is used by God mightily or honored by others, the other members should also rejoice with the former.
God’s order of
prominence in the Body of Christ
Though God treats all the members of the Body of Christ equally, He has set an order of prominence amongst various ministries in the Body of Christ. God has set some, in the church, first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, after those miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, governments, diversities of tongues (I Cor.12:28-30). These days, hardly do we attach due importance to the ministries of apostles and prophets, who are the foundation of the Church, the Body of Christ. We have now changed the order of prominence set by God by giving more importance to miracles and gifts of healings which come only after teachers.
All of us are not apostles, prophets or teachers. All are not workers of miracles. All do not speak with tongues or interpret such tongues. These days, we find multitudes attend miracle or healing meetings. The miracle ministries or healing ministries are assigned a fourth position in the Body of Christ.
Apostles and prophets
Do we crave apostolic and prophetic ministries? Do we give importance to the teaching ministries? The whole Christian world is in the grip of false doctrines, apostasy, confusion and dissention. The Body of Christ lacks unity amongst the different members. All this can be ascribed to due importance not being given to the apostles and prophets who are the foundation of the Church (Eph.2:20). Today we have in our midst apostles like Paul, Peter, John, etc. But we do not recognize them.
People argue that today there are
no more apostles and prophets because the foundation of the Church was laid
once and for all through the apostles and prophets who existed during the New
Testament period. Please note that Paul
wrote to the saints that were at
Similarly, we have in our midst
prophets like John the Baptist. But we
do not recognize them just because they are in the wilderness. John the Baptist was in the wilderness. But
“there went out unto him all the land of
Teaching ministries
Thirdly, the teaching ministries are set by God in the Body of Christ. We need teachers who teach the right doctrines and who rightly divide the word of truth. We attach less importance to the Bible Study. In the Bible Colleges, we need anointed teachers and not people with merely doctorate degrees in theology. Of course, we need teachers who have a thorough knowledge about other religions also and who are filled with the wisdom of God and not merely Biblical knowledge.
Helps
In the Body of Christ, there are many precious people who are “helps”. We just ignore those who have wonderful intercessory ministries and who pray for the renowned
Evangelists daily. There are many who help the five types of New Testament ministers i.e. apostles, prophets, evangelists, teachers and pastors. Without the help of these precious people, the work in the His Vineyard is humanly impossible.
Apostle Paul was encouraged and
comforted through the ministry of Epaphroditus, a
messenger from
Governments
After this, God has set
governments in the Body of Christ. Today there are many ministers of God in our
midst who have the God-given wisdom in establishing and running mission fields,
Christian social and charitable organizations, schools, hospitals, orphanages,
Christian publishing houses, etc. We cannot ignore them just because they carry
on administrative functions. As members
of the Body of Christ, these ministers do wonderful work. In fact we need more such administrators
today. Many young people with their
educational and professional background should come forward and help establish
many organizations. Their skill and
knowledge on Information Technology should be fully harnessed for the
Diversities of tongues
Lastly, God has set diversities of tongues. In the Corinthian churches, undue importance was given to the gift of tongues. The Holy Spirit through the apostolic ministry of Paul gives the least importance to this gift.
(Job Anbalagan)