Sermon – 1 Corinthians 12:12-31 – Gift of Healing

Rev. Jeffrey T. Howard

First Presbyterian Church of Ocean City

Sermon – 1 Corinthians 12:12-31 – Gift of Healing

January 31, 2016

            This is the second sermon in a series on spiritual gifts.  As we heard last week the Apostle Paul wants us to understand what spiritual gifts are when they come from the Holy Spirit.  The Holy Spirit gives us gifts of work and service so that we have people who do what the church requires.  We have the gift of wisdom so that we can proclaim the great truths of our faith that Jesus died for our sins and was resurrected that we may have eternal life.  We also have the gift of knowledge so that we can see what Christ is doing in our lives and share this testimony with others.  Today we will explore the gift of healing.  We will get to this, but first let's pray.

            “Grant unto us, O Lord, to be occupied in the mysteries of thy heavenly wisdom, with true progress in piety, to thy glory and our own edification. Amen.” (John Calvin)

            Listen to the good news from the Apostle Paul to the church at Corinth. 

            1 Corinthians 12:^`27 Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it. ²⁸ And God has placed in the church first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, of helping, of guidance, and of different kinds of tongues. ²⁹ Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? ³⁰ Do all have gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues^[d]? Do all interpret? ³¹ Now eagerly desire the greater gifts. And yet I will show you the most excellent way.

            Each of us has been gifted by the Holy Spirit.  And Holy Spirit has brought us together with all our gifts for the purpose of building up the church.  In today's reading Paul mentions three specific gifts, miracles, healing and tongues.  We will talk about speaking in tongues next week.  This week let’s look at healing, especially miraculous healing from the Holy Spirit.

            We know that Jesus healed when he walked on earth.  He became known as a healer and through this he attracted great crowds.   He tried to limit the size of the crowds by telling the people he healed not to tell anyone about it. But this failed and the word spread wherever Jesus went.  By healing people Jesus demonstrated that he was more than just an ordinary man.  He was, in fact, God, with the supernatural ability to heal. 

            But after Jesus' death and resurrection there was a question about whether or not the church he left behind would also be able to heal diseases.  Let’s look at how the church received the gift of healing.

            As the church grew the religious leaders in Jerusalem became concerned about what they were doing, and so they brought Peter and John in for questioning.  They told these Apostles to stop talking about Jesus.  The Apostles then went back to the church and prayed.  Here is what they said.

Acts 4:  29 Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness. 30 Stretch out your hand to heal and perform signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus.”

The Apostles asked for both the gift of wisdom that would allow them to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ with boldness.  They also asked for the gift of healing so that the church could continue this important ministry of Jesus.  Here is what happened after they prayed.

31 After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.

And so the early church was given the ability to proclaim the gospel, but what about healing?   Well, here is what happened.

Acts 5:12 The apostles performed many signs and wonders among the people. And all the believers used to meet together in Solomon’s Colonnade. 13 No one else dared join them, even though they were highly regarded by the people.14 Nevertheless, more and more men and women believed in the Lord and were added to their number. 15 As a result, people brought the sick into the streets and laid them on beds and mats so that at least Peter’s shadow might fall on some of them as he passed by. 16 Crowds gathered also from the towns around Jerusalem, bringing their sick and those tormented by impure spirits, and all of them were healed.

            The prayer of the Apostles was answered.  The early church was given the gift of healing by the Holy Spirit.  But over the centuries that followed, Christians gradually stopped using this gift.  Here is what happened.

            From the second into the fourth century the church suffered from intense persecution.  They were forced into hiding.  Many Christians were jailed and tortured.  Some were killed.  In the midst of this suffering the focus of the church was on survival rather than healing.  They began seeing suffering not as something to be healed but as something to be honored because it was a way of following Jesus to the cross.  And those who died, the martyrs, received the greatest honor of all. 

            This idea that suffering is our cross to bear is still with us today.  That's why so many of us refuse to ask for prayer when we suffer.  We think that it is better to suffer in silence than find healing in prayer.  And the church often condones this by telling us to accept our suffering and place our hope in healing after we die and go to heaven.  Our focus is on getting to heaven rather than the blessings of this life.   And therefore we don't expect blessings today and we don't pray for healing.

            After Constantine established the church as the official religion of the Roman Empire our focus changed.  The church was no longer persecuted.  God was now in control.  And if God is in control there should be no more suffering and illness.  The church began to think that suffering was deserved.  The sufferer must have disobeyed God in some way.   Suffering is a part of God's justice.  And so instead of praying for those who suffer, the church condemned sufferers as sinners.

            We do this today.   We see someone who lost their job because of alcohol abuse and we say that they got what they deserved.  We see someone who gets a venereal disease after a visit to a prostitute and they get no sympathy from us.  Why pray for sinners who deserve the punishment they get?  And so we just don't pray for healing.

            Today Christian healing is out of favor.  We have been plagued with charlatans, false healers, who claim to heal a whole auditorium filled with sufferers.  They claim to be healing in the name of Christ.  But in reality they are pursuing fame and fortune through church growth.  Their excesses have been documented.  And we are fearful of healing that may associate ourselves with them.

            The church has neglected its gift of healing for centuries.  We have allowed suffering to be something we honor or something we condemn or something we use but not something we pray for.  Failure to use the gift of healing is a sin.  It is time for the church to confess this sin and repent.  It is time for us to pray again to receive from the Holy Spirit the gift of healing. 

            The reason we pray for healing is that the God we worship loves us and does not want anyone to suffer.  We know this because Jesus healed people who were suffering.  Also the Holy Spirit gave the early church the gift of healing for the building up of the church.  And so we can be confident that we can ask for the gift of healing now and it will be granted to us.   Then we will then have the great privilege of being able to pray for those who suffer with the assurance that God will hear our prayers.

            Let me tell you what happened to me.  One day, I received a call in the chaplain’s office.  I was urgently needed in a room on the 3^rd floor.  When I arrived the nurse informed me that the patient had just returned from surgery and was in considerable pain.  The device that was supposed to deliver morphine had failed.  It would take ten minutes for it to be replaced.  The nurse asked, “Was there anything you can do for those ten minutes to relieve his pain?  I sat down next to the bed and held the patient’s hand.  I prayed that God would release him from pain.  As I prayed I felt him relax.  And I continued praying until he was properly medicated and fell asleep.  The next day he thanked me for my prayers.  He said, “Prayers work.”  That was when I realized that it is important to pray for healing.

            As a pastor I am often called to hospitals to sit with members who are sick or dying.  I always pray with them reminding Jesus that just as he healed when he walked on earth so too do we expect healing now.  On two occasions I prayed with people who were close to death.  Their doctors had given up all hope and removed life support.  Both times I held the patient’s hand and prayed for healing.  Both of those people are alive today.

            Last September we decided that the best way to help First Presbyterian Church of Ocean City grow was to do what the early church did.  We prayed for the gift of healing and started a new healing service.  At 1:00 pm every Sunday we have a praise worship service, share in the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper, and pray for healing.  At the conclusion of worship people are invited to come to the rear of the sanctuary where they can kneel and receive prayers from elders and pastors.  It is my prayer that people will be healed by Jesus and through this ministry the church will grow.

            So I urge all of you to pray for the gift of healing.  Join me in praying, every day, for prayer concerns in the bulletin.  Ask Jesus to heal them.  And if you know anyone who is suffering, pray with them and ask God to heal them.  The Holy Spirit will be delighted to give you the gift of healing.  Jesus will work through you to heal people.  Pray for the doctors and nurses.  Pray that the medicines will be effective.  Pray for the specific thing the sufferer needs.  Pray trusting that God loves us and wants people to be healthy and whole.  Praying for healing is your privilege as a follower of Jesus Christ.

            Let's conclude today by hearing from our Lord Jesus Christ.

John14  12 Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. 13 And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.

            So pray for people who are suffering.  Ask Jesus to heal.  And expect that he will do it.  Let's pray.

            Father in heaven I ask that you send your Holy Spirit upon this congregation.  Bless us with the gift of healing.  Give us the boldness to proclaim your word and ask Jesus to heal in all circumstances of illness and suffering.  We remind Jesus that just as he healed when he walked on this earth so too do we expect healing today.  And so we pray for healing for all those on our prayer concern list, and our families and friends, and everyone we encounter who needs healing.  This we pray in the name of the one who heals, our Lord, Jesus Christ.  Amen.