WEBVTT 00:00:20.399 --> 00:00:37.600 Last week, Marie did a wonderful job teaching on Jehovah Jirah, God our provider, and she shared practical examples of how God provided for her and her family in difficult times. 00:00:37.600 --> 00:00:42.560 And I was so blessed to receive what God has for us through her. 00:00:42.560 --> 00:00:49.200 Tonight we're going to be looking at Jehovah Rapha, God our healer. 00:00:49.200 --> 00:01:00.320 And it's very important because it is one area that sometimes there can be a lot of controversies about it. 00:01:00.320 --> 00:01:03.679 But I want to share a story with you. 00:01:03.679 --> 00:01:10.719 I grew up in Ghana and my parents were believers, so I grew up going to church. 00:01:10.719 --> 00:01:23.680 And when the Lord started revealing himself to me and giving me the desire to follow him, I had so much faith that God can heal everything. 00:01:23.680 --> 00:01:31.519 I had a big mountain in my family because my brother, I have four brothers. 00:01:31.519 --> 00:01:37.599 One of them, who is just after me, was born with a disability. 00:01:37.599 --> 00:01:41.519 And he had cerebral palsy. 00:01:41.519 --> 00:01:45.519 And I said, God, you can heal him. 00:01:45.519 --> 00:01:52.959 And I will wake up and I will pray and I said, God, I know you are Jehovah Rapha, you can heal him. 00:01:52.959 --> 00:01:57.680 And his condition was still the same. 00:01:57.680 --> 00:02:02.799 And he's lived with a disability for 30 years. 00:02:02.799 --> 00:02:11.120 But one thing that I see with my brother is that I've never seen him sad or depressed. 00:02:11.120 --> 00:02:14.400 You always see him with a smile on his face. 00:02:14.400 --> 00:02:18.080 And I believe that is also part of healing. 00:02:18.080 --> 00:02:26.479 But personally, I remember about 15 years ago, it was an evening service like this. 00:02:26.479 --> 00:02:33.520 And after the service, I had some money with me to renew my health insurance. 00:02:33.520 --> 00:02:38.240 And I just felt that I should just give it as an offering. 00:02:38.240 --> 00:02:41.120 And I said, God, just be my insurance. 00:02:41.120 --> 00:02:48.479 And I gave the money that I was supposed to use for my health insurance as an offering. 00:02:48.479 --> 00:02:52.560 So young in the faith, but I I trusted God. 00:02:52.560 --> 00:02:57.439 I don't remember the last time I went to the hospital after that. 00:02:57.439 --> 00:03:00.000 Like God protected me. 00:03:00.000 --> 00:03:06.639 And in times of sickness, he healed me to the point that I didn't need to go to the hospital. 00:03:06.639 --> 00:03:13.680 So personally, that is something that God has done that I feel like sharing. 00:03:13.680 --> 00:03:17.039 That indeed He is our healer. 00:03:17.039 --> 00:03:26.400 Now, when God revealed this covenant name, it was after He had delivered the children of Israel from Egypt. 00:03:26.400 --> 00:03:32.800 And we read about it in Exodus chapter 15, verse 22 to 27. 00:03:32.800 --> 00:03:41.360 It says, Then Moses led Israel from the Red Sea and they went into the desert of Shah. 00:03:41.360 --> 00:03:46.479 For three days they traveled in the desert without finding water. 00:03:46.479 --> 00:03:50.240 When they came to Marah, they could not drink. 00:03:50.240 --> 00:03:54.000 They could not drink its water because it was bitter. 00:03:54.000 --> 00:03:57.680 That is why the place is called Marah. 00:03:57.680 --> 00:04:03.360 So the people grumbled against Moses, saying, What are we to drink? 00:04:03.360 --> 00:04:08.879 Then Moses cried to the Lord, and the Lord showed him a piece of wood. 00:04:08.879 --> 00:04:14.080 He threw it into the water, and the water became fit to drink. 00:04:14.080 --> 00:04:20.959 Then the Lord issued a ruling, an instruction for them, and put them to the test. 00:04:20.959 --> 00:04:45.600 He said, If you listen carefully to the Lord your God, and do what is right in his eyes, if you pay attention to his commands and keep all he commands, and keep all his decrees, I will not bring on you any of the disease I brought on the Egyptians, for I am the Lord who heals you. 00:04:45.600 --> 00:04:54.959 Then they came to Elim, where there were twelve springs and seventy palm trees, and they camped there near the water. 00:04:54.959 --> 00:04:56.480 Shall we pray? 00:04:56.480 --> 00:05:03.120 Our Heavenly Father, we we thank you so much that you reveal yourself. 00:05:03.120 --> 00:05:09.680 And you've revealed yourself in your word to us as Jehovah Rapha, the God that heals. 00:05:09.680 --> 00:05:13.360 Lord, I ask that tonight will be a night of healing. 00:05:13.360 --> 00:05:30.160 That if there is anybody among us who is dealing with a particular sickness or anyone among us who has a loved one who is in need of healing, Lord, we ask that you touch us and bring complete healing and restoration in the name of Jesus. 00:05:30.160 --> 00:05:36.560 We thank you, Lord, that you are our healer and with your stripes we were healed in Jesus' name. 00:05:36.560 --> 00:05:37.279 Amen. 00:05:37.279 --> 00:05:42.480 So this is very important. 00:05:42.480 --> 00:05:48.720 As the children of Israel, they've just crossed the Red Sea and everybody was in high spirit. 00:05:48.720 --> 00:05:51.600 They were prophesying, everybody was happy. 00:05:51.600 --> 00:05:57.279 But as they continued the journey, for three days, no water, and there was a problem. 00:05:57.279 --> 00:06:03.439 Because I don't know if anyone of us have gone three days without water before. 00:06:03.439 --> 00:06:05.120 It is very hard. 00:06:05.120 --> 00:06:11.279 And as a matter of fact, it's not advisable to go three days without water. 00:06:11.279 --> 00:06:14.720 And so the people started to complain. 00:06:14.720 --> 00:06:22.079 But one thing I saw is that they didn't complain to God, they complained to Moses. 00:06:22.079 --> 00:06:31.680 So one thing I learned from this story is that the people did not know God, or they did not know the ways of God. 00:06:31.680 --> 00:06:34.160 But Moses knew the ways of God. 00:06:34.160 --> 00:06:38.160 But the people were just content with the acts of God. 00:06:38.160 --> 00:06:44.879 It is one thing to know the acts of God, but it is another thing to know the ways of God. 00:06:44.879 --> 00:06:47.680 Moses was acquainted with the ways of God. 00:06:47.680 --> 00:06:53.680 And so the people, when anytime they were confronted with a difficulty, they will complain to Moses. 00:06:53.680 --> 00:06:57.360 They won't cry to God, they won't ask God to do anything. 00:06:57.360 --> 00:07:04.480 They will blame Moses and they will start wanting to stone Moses and all kinds of things. 00:07:04.480 --> 00:07:09.759 But when you read Psalm 103, I love it so much. 00:07:09.759 --> 00:07:36.160 Bless the Lord, oh my soul, and do not forget all his benefits, who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, who renews your life like the eagle and satisfies you with good things. 00:07:36.160 --> 00:07:43.360 And when you continue, he says that he shows his righteousness and judgment to the oppressed. 00:07:43.360 --> 00:07:50.800 And then he said, Moses knew the ways of God, but the people knew the acts of God. 00:07:50.800 --> 00:07:54.639 And it's not okay to just know the acts of God. 00:07:54.639 --> 00:08:01.199 We must grow from knowing the acts of God to knowing the ways of God. 00:08:01.199 --> 00:08:10.000 Daniel chapter 11, verse 32b says that the people who know their God, they shall be strong and do exploits. 00:08:10.000 --> 00:08:16.160 So tonight I want to challenge all of us that we will get to know God personally. 00:08:16.160 --> 00:08:30.399 And we will not just uh like the people of Israel, just always going to Moses and bringing their complaints before Moses, but never going to God. 00:08:30.399 --> 00:08:35.759 God wants to reveal Himself to us, God wants us to know Him. 00:08:35.759 --> 00:08:42.879 Another thing I saw from this scripture is that the fall of man made our waters bitter. 00:08:42.879 --> 00:08:52.080 In Romans chapter 3, verse 23, it says that for all have sinned and we've fallen short of the glory of God. 00:08:52.080 --> 00:08:59.759 You know, the people could not use the bitter water because it needed healing. 00:08:59.759 --> 00:09:03.840 And that is what sin has done to all of mankind. 00:09:03.840 --> 00:09:09.360 It ruined our relationship with God, it ruined our relationship with one another. 00:09:09.360 --> 00:09:13.919 When Adam fell, the first thing he did was to blame God. 00:09:13.919 --> 00:09:16.559 He said, the woman you gave me. 00:09:16.559 --> 00:09:25.919 And, you know, his relationship with God was gone, and it affected his relationship with the gift that God had given him, too. 00:09:25.919 --> 00:09:29.919 But I thank God so much for the cross of Jesus Christ. 00:09:29.919 --> 00:09:39.440 You know, when you look at the cross, the cross heals our relationship with God, and it also heals our relationship with one another. 00:09:39.440 --> 00:09:46.240 So Moses was told by God to get a wood and throw it into the waters. 00:09:46.240 --> 00:09:54.240 And we know that our Lord Jesus Christ had to pay the sacrifice of our sins on a wood. 00:09:54.240 --> 00:10:08.480 You know, Peter, quoting from Isaiah chapter 53, says that he himself bore all our iniquities on the tree, and by his stripes we were healed. 00:10:08.480 --> 00:10:29.759 And so when God showed Moses to throw the wood into the water, and the water was healed, he was just giving us a sign that one day he will send his son Jesus Christ, and by the sacrifice that he made on the cross, our better waters will be healed. 00:10:29.759 --> 00:10:46.559 And so tonight I want to remind all of us to pay attention, close attention to the word of God, because God instructed the people to pay careful attention to his words. 00:10:46.559 --> 00:10:57.360 And one thing that I've learned in my walk with God is that his word is medicinal, his word has healing effects. 00:10:57.360 --> 00:11:03.759 And when the word of God heals you, it doesn't have any side effects. 00:11:03.759 --> 00:11:09.120 You know, we go to the store, you buy drugs, they are side effects. 00:11:09.120 --> 00:11:10.639 Some of them are very dangerous. 00:11:10.639 --> 00:11:18.799 I'm like, but when the word of God does a work of healing in you, it doesn't come with side effects. 00:11:18.799 --> 00:11:30.480 So God said in his word in Proverbs chapter 4, verse 20, 21, 22 to 23, says, My son or my daughter, give attention to my words. 00:11:30.480 --> 00:11:46.000 Incline your ears to my sayings, do not let them depart from your mouth, set them in the midst of your eyes, for they are life to those who find them, and health to all their flesh. 00:11:46.000 --> 00:11:53.919 And so by this word we know that the word of God has the power to bring healing. 00:11:53.919 --> 00:12:03.840 When you read Psalm 107, verse 20, he says, He sent forth his word to heal them and to deliver them from all their distraction. 00:12:03.840 --> 00:12:12.080 God instructed Joshua that this book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night. 00:12:12.080 --> 00:12:19.360 And what we say is very important, especially when we are going through sicknesses and diseases. 00:12:19.360 --> 00:12:44.399 You know, sometimes we take ownership of the sickness and um uh we we make it our identity, but God wants us to move from that and not identify with our particular ailment that we are going through, because our identity is not in our sickness, but our identity is in Christ Jesus. 00:12:44.399 --> 00:12:53.440 Tonight I want to share a story with you about a great king, King Hezekiah, in Isaiah 38. 00:12:53.440 --> 00:12:58.159 This man walked with God faithfully and he trusted God. 00:12:58.159 --> 00:13:22.159 When the Assyrians wanted to attack the people of Jerusalem, and they sent letters to intimidate him and wanting to destroy them, Hezekiah and Isaiah, the son of Amos, prayed to God, and God sent an angel to wipe out 185,000 of the Assyrian soldiers. 00:13:22.159 --> 00:13:28.559 And he had so much faith in God that God said, He's one of the kings that trust me. 00:13:28.559 --> 00:13:38.799 Now, this man, when he was in the prime of his life at the age of 39, the word of God came to him through Isaiah. 00:13:38.799 --> 00:13:48.720 He said, Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, set your house in order because you would die and not recover. 00:13:48.720 --> 00:13:53.440 That is a very scary word. 00:13:53.440 --> 00:13:56.559 So, how would you react to such a word? 00:13:56.559 --> 00:14:10.159 But Hezekiah, being a man that he was, a man of trust and faith in God, he knew that even though Isaiah was a man of God, a prophet of God, his words don't fall to the ground. 00:14:10.159 --> 00:14:12.480 But Hezekiah said, Thank you. 00:14:12.480 --> 00:14:14.639 I need to talk with God. 00:14:14.639 --> 00:14:20.000 And then he turned to the wall and he started praying and crying to God. 00:14:20.000 --> 00:14:24.799 God, remember, remember how I've walked before you faithfully. 00:14:24.799 --> 00:14:30.879 Now remember that King Hezekiah at that time Jesus Christ had not died on the cross. 00:14:30.879 --> 00:14:33.840 So he didn't even have a better reference. 00:14:33.840 --> 00:14:36.320 He was referencing to his good works. 00:14:36.320 --> 00:14:40.720 Remember how I've walked before you, how I've been obedient to you. 00:14:40.720 --> 00:14:43.360 But you and I we have a better reference. 00:14:43.360 --> 00:14:45.440 We have Jesus Christ. 00:14:45.440 --> 00:14:54.000 So in times of sickness, instead of uh pointing to our own good works, which is not good enough, we can point to the good works of Christ. 00:14:54.000 --> 00:14:57.919 Hezekiah didn't have that, but we do have that. 00:14:57.919 --> 00:15:03.279 Tonight, I pray that it will not just be a teaching experience. 00:15:03.279 --> 00:15:06.080 I pray that it will be a healing experience. 00:15:06.080 --> 00:15:16.799 That by the time we live here, God will do a work of healing in our hearts and in our lives because many are going through sicknesses and diseases. 00:15:16.799 --> 00:15:24.399 I remember last Saturday we were at the prison, and as I was sharing the word, somebody said, Please pray for me. 00:15:24.399 --> 00:15:26.399 I'm being sexually abused. 00:15:26.399 --> 00:15:54.480 So uh Matthew, brother Scott, actually had to walk the brother and take him to the offices and report the issue and then pray with him. 00:15:54.480 --> 00:16:01.200 Now, after the message, I asked for those who needed prayer for healing, and almost everybody was there. 00:16:01.200 --> 00:16:07.120 And I was standing there alone with all the men, everybody needing healing. 00:16:07.120 --> 00:16:12.720 I'm like, wow, let's just pray for one another. 00:16:12.720 --> 00:16:24.320 And so we spent time praying for one another, and there was one man who just broke down, said, Please, I need healing and forgiveness and restoration in my family. 00:16:24.320 --> 00:16:26.240 And he started crying. 00:16:26.240 --> 00:16:30.879 So these are things that God is doing at the prison. 00:16:30.879 --> 00:16:45.440 Now, Hezekiah, when he started crying to God and praying to God, God told Isaiah, go back, go tell Hezekiah that I've heard his prayers and I've seen his tears. 00:16:45.440 --> 00:16:55.039 I just want to encourage you that God is not ignorant of the prayers and the tears that we've been shedding in secret places. 00:16:55.039 --> 00:17:00.720 He said, I have heard your prayers and I've also seen your tears. 00:17:00.720 --> 00:17:04.799 God sees the tears that we cry, even in our secret place. 00:17:04.799 --> 00:17:10.240 And God said, I have added 15 more years to your life. 00:17:10.240 --> 00:17:15.119 And God prolonged the life of Hezekiah. 00:17:15.119 --> 00:17:23.920 Another story that I want to share with you, there are many, many stories about healing. 00:17:23.920 --> 00:17:31.119 One of them that stood out to me was the centurion and his servant. 00:17:31.119 --> 00:17:39.759 Let us read the story in Matthew chapter 8, verse 5 to 13. 00:17:39.759 --> 00:17:52.880 And this centurion, he was not an Israelite, he was a gentile, but he has such incredible faith in God that it's so remarkable. 00:17:52.880 --> 00:17:55.839 We can learn something from it tonight. 00:17:55.839 --> 00:18:02.480 Matthew chapter 8, I read from verse 5 to 13. 00:18:02.480 --> 00:18:10.480 And Jesus, when he had entered Capenum, a centurion came to him asking for help. 00:18:10.480 --> 00:18:17.680 Lord, he said, my servant lies at home, paralyzed, suffering terribly. 00:18:17.680 --> 00:18:21.279 Jesus said to him, Shall I come and heal him? 00:18:21.279 --> 00:18:32.240 The centurion replied, Lord, I do not deserve to have you under my roof, but just say the word, and my servant will be healed. 00:18:32.240 --> 00:18:38.000 For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. 00:18:38.000 --> 00:18:41.599 I tell this one, go and he goes. 00:18:41.599 --> 00:18:45.440 And that one come and he comes. 00:18:45.440 --> 00:18:49.279 I say to my servant, Do this, and he does it. 00:18:49.279 --> 00:19:01.279 And when Jesus heard this, he was amazed and said to those following him, Truly I tell you, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith. 00:19:01.279 --> 00:19:12.480 I say to you that many will come from east and the west and will take their places at the feast with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. 00:19:12.480 --> 00:19:20.480 But the subjects of the kingdom will be thrown outside into the darkness where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 00:19:20.480 --> 00:19:27.359 Then Jesus said to the centurion, Go, let it be done just as you believed it would. 00:19:27.359 --> 00:19:30.880 And his servant was healed at that moment. 00:19:30.880 --> 00:19:33.200 Remarkable story. 00:19:33.200 --> 00:19:40.880 Stories like this, it it preaches itself, so there's there's nothing to add. 00:19:40.880 --> 00:19:55.039 The man who was just a gentile knew that Jesus had authority to just speak a word, and that word is enough to cause a sick servant to be healed. 00:19:55.039 --> 00:20:00.799 And tonight I want to encourage you, let's go back to the word. 00:20:00.799 --> 00:20:24.319 Because in times of difficulty, when you remember the word of God and you pray the word of God, the word will not return void, but it will go forth and accomplish the purpose for which it was sent. 00:20:24.319 --> 00:20:29.359 God has not stopped healing, God is still healing. 00:20:29.359 --> 00:20:45.599 He can heal right now, or he can heal in the future, or he can heal when when all has ended, and we've we've done with our assignment on this earth. 00:20:45.599 --> 00:21:12.240 Because healing is the nature of God, God is eternal, but sometimes we we look at our world and we think that is all that there is, and so even when we are asking for healing, and sometimes it doesn't happen in this life, we think that's the end, but it's not because God is eternal, he is the existing one, Jehovah, eternal God, and his healing doesn't end here. 00:21:12.240 --> 00:21:30.319 As a matter of fact, it is made perfect and complete when we stand before him, because all the stories that we read, Lazarus was dead four days, he came back to life, but he had to die again because this is not our home. 00:21:30.319 --> 00:21:37.440 You know, we are just passing through this life, we have a better place in God. 00:21:37.440 --> 00:21:44.640 So tonight I just want to encourage you that let's not stop praying for healing, even when we don't see it. 00:21:44.640 --> 00:21:58.240 I've been praying for my brother for 30 years, still keep praying, still trust God that God will keep him, and in his own time, he will heal him. 00:21:58.240 --> 00:22:06.559 One thing that I found so fascinating about God is that he is not the God of the dead, he's the God of the living. 00:22:06.559 --> 00:22:19.839 As a matter of fact, when Jesus said this, and I was I was thinking about it, even at the Mount of Transfiguration, Moses was there, and Elijah was there. 00:22:19.839 --> 00:22:24.799 But to us, Moses died on Mount Nebo in the mountains of Moab. 00:22:24.799 --> 00:22:25.920 He died. 00:22:25.920 --> 00:22:30.079 But on the Mount of Transfiguration, he was there. 00:22:30.079 --> 00:22:35.359 And he says, He's God of Isaac, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. 00:22:35.359 --> 00:22:38.160 He's not the God of the dead, but the God of the living. 00:22:38.160 --> 00:22:40.720 To him, they are all alive to him. 00:22:40.720 --> 00:22:43.200 That is the God that we serve. 00:22:43.200 --> 00:22:49.920 And so, even our loved ones who have departed this world, to God, they are all alive. 00:22:49.920 --> 00:22:56.480 And so let's let's trust in God and let's keep hope alive in God. 00:22:56.480 --> 00:23:06.480 I want to share another story about a woman that she was also a gentile, and her faith always blows my mind. 00:23:06.480 --> 00:23:14.160 We can read the story in the Gospel of Mark, chapter 7, verse 24 to 30. 00:23:14.160 --> 00:23:18.880 It's also in Matthew chapter 15, verse 21 to 28. 00:23:18.880 --> 00:23:22.559 But this woman came to Jesus for healing. 00:23:22.559 --> 00:23:26.240 Jesus wouldn't say anything to her. 00:23:26.240 --> 00:23:33.279 And the disciples told the woman, you know, he he is not ready for you, just go. 00:23:33.279 --> 00:23:36.160 But the woman kept persisting. 00:23:36.160 --> 00:23:47.839 And when Jesus opened his mouth, he said, It is not fit to give the children's bread to the little dogs. 00:23:47.839 --> 00:23:50.799 And the woman was not offended. 00:23:50.799 --> 00:23:53.839 He didn't, she didn't turn back. 00:23:53.839 --> 00:23:56.240 She said, Yes, Lord. 00:23:56.240 --> 00:23:59.359 How can you say yes, Lord, to a word like this? 00:23:59.359 --> 00:24:12.880 And I was studying this the account and I saw that the reason why Jesus was doing what he was doing was to bring out the great faith that was in the woman. 00:24:12.880 --> 00:24:16.400 Because sometimes we can easily get offended. 00:24:16.400 --> 00:24:20.880 The woman came to Jesus, Jesus wouldn't speak a word to her. 00:24:20.880 --> 00:24:24.400 The disciples were pushing her off, go away. 00:24:24.400 --> 00:24:29.279 And when Jesus opened his mouth, the word that came was not very encouraging. 00:24:29.279 --> 00:24:32.240 But the woman said, Yes, Lord. 00:24:32.240 --> 00:24:39.200 Now, how do you respond yes, Lord, to a word like this that is not fit to give the children's bread to the dogs? 00:24:39.200 --> 00:24:42.000 But the woman didn't end there. 00:24:42.000 --> 00:24:51.119 She said, Yes, but the little dogs under the table have access to the crowns that fall from the table of the master. 00:24:51.119 --> 00:24:58.720 And Jesus said, Woman, for this saying, go, your daughter is healed. 00:24:58.720 --> 00:25:01.119 You have great faith. 00:25:01.119 --> 00:25:02.960 That's amazing. 00:25:02.960 --> 00:25:06.559 She did not get offended. 00:25:06.559 --> 00:25:12.079 I want to encourage you tonight. 00:25:12.079 --> 00:25:15.119 Let's not get easily offended with God. 00:25:15.119 --> 00:25:17.200 Let's trust God. 00:25:17.200 --> 00:25:19.359 Let's look to Him. 00:25:19.359 --> 00:25:24.480 I want to share a final story before we move to our group conversations. 00:25:24.480 --> 00:25:37.839 And I want to read this story from Luke chapter 9, verse 37 to 43. 00:25:37.839 --> 00:25:51.920 There are many accounts of God showing himself as Jehovah Rapha, but we don't have enough time to delve into all of it. 00:25:51.920 --> 00:25:55.599 But let this one is very, very remarkable. 00:25:55.599 --> 00:25:59.279 Luke 9, chapter 37 to 43. 00:25:59.279 --> 00:26:07.759 Says that the next day when they came down from the mountain, a large crowd met him. 00:26:07.759 --> 00:26:16.160 A man in the crowd called out, Teacher, I beg you to look at my son, for he is my only child. 00:26:16.160 --> 00:26:21.039 A spirit seizes him and he suddenly screams. 00:26:21.039 --> 00:26:27.039 It throws him into convulsions so that he foams at his mouth. 00:26:27.039 --> 00:26:46.079 You unbelieving and perverse generation, Jesus replied, How long shall I stay with you and put up with you? 00:26:46.079 --> 00:26:47.920 Bring your son here. 00:26:47.920 --> 00:26:55.119 Even while the boy was coming, the demon threw him to the ground in convulsion. 00:26:55.119 --> 00:27:01.279 But Jesus rebuked the impure spirit, healed the boy, and gave him back to his father. 00:27:01.279 --> 00:27:06.079 And they were all amazed at the greatness of God. 00:27:06.079 --> 00:27:18.240 So this is a story about a father who is in asking healing for his only son. 00:27:18.240 --> 00:27:26.559 And from this story, we got to know that it was a demon that was afflicting the only son. 00:27:26.559 --> 00:27:36.000 You know, when the enemy fell with the fallen angels, all that they are interested in is stealing, killing, and destroying. 00:27:36.000 --> 00:27:37.920 That's what Jesus said. 00:27:37.920 --> 00:27:50.000 But when Jesus came on the scene, he said, How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil. 00:27:50.000 --> 00:27:51.839 For God was with him. 00:27:51.839 --> 00:28:00.960 Some of the oppressions and sicknesses, some of them Satan and his agents, really oppresses people. 00:28:00.960 --> 00:28:07.359 So Jesus rebuked the spirit and healed the boy. 00:28:07.359 --> 00:28:13.440 But later on, the disciples would go to Jesus and ask him, Why could we not heal him? 00:28:13.440 --> 00:28:22.240 And Jesus went on and said that this kind does not go except by prayer and fasting. 00:28:22.240 --> 00:28:35.359 And so sometimes these spiritual disciplines are very important, even when we are believing and trusting God for deliverance for our loved ones. 00:28:35.359 --> 00:28:43.920 We should spend some time in fasting, spend some time in prayer, and God, who is faithful, will hear us. 00:28:43.920 --> 00:28:55.039 We'll be moving into our group discussion, but I want to share some resistance to healing. 00:28:55.039 --> 00:29:00.400 And the first one I want to share is sin. 00:29:00.400 --> 00:29:12.240 Sometimes it's not all the time, but sometimes sin uh prevents God's people from receiving healing. 00:29:12.240 --> 00:29:34.319 And there was a story in John chapter 5 about a man who was at the pool of Bethesda and he had been there for 38 years. 00:29:34.319 --> 00:29:37.920 And when Jesus saw him, he said, Do you want to be made well? 00:29:37.920 --> 00:29:40.319 Then he started going into the details. 00:29:40.319 --> 00:29:45.680 I don't have any man to carry me into the water when the water is dead. 00:29:45.680 --> 00:29:50.880 And as he was going on, Jesus said, Get up, take up your bed and walk. 00:29:50.880 --> 00:29:56.640 Now, as this man heard the word, immediately he was healed. 00:29:56.640 --> 00:30:03.680 And when the Pharisees and the rulers were asking him, Why are you holding your bed on a Sabbath day? 00:30:03.680 --> 00:30:09.279 Well, there was a man who told me to pick up my bed and walk. 00:30:09.279 --> 00:30:12.640 And he found out later on that it was Jesus. 00:30:12.640 --> 00:30:19.839 Jesus told him, Go and sin no more, so that something greater than this will not come to you. 00:30:19.839 --> 00:30:30.079 And so not all situations are caused by sin, but sometimes too there could be a sin issue. 00:30:30.079 --> 00:30:36.720 In John chapter 9, the man who was born blind, the disciples asked Jesus, Rabbi, who sinned that he was born blind? 00:30:36.720 --> 00:30:38.480 Is it his mother or his father? 00:30:38.480 --> 00:30:45.440 He said, No, neither his father or his mother sinned, but for the glory of God to be made manifest in him. 00:30:45.440 --> 00:30:47.680 And I struggle with that. 00:30:47.680 --> 00:30:50.559 This man has been blind for 40 years. 00:30:50.559 --> 00:31:01.279 Jesus said, It is not because of anybody's sin, but for the glory of God to be made manifest in him. 00:31:01.279 --> 00:31:13.039 Tonight I want to share with you that anything that we may be going through or dealing with is an opportunity for the glory of God to be made manifest in it. 00:31:13.039 --> 00:31:26.400 When we receive any report, any diagnosis, which is not what we were expecting, I want you to know that it is an opportunity for God to manifest his glory in it. 00:31:26.400 --> 00:31:31.279 And you can ask God, God, how are you going to manifest your glory with this? 00:31:31.279 --> 00:31:32.799 Amen. 00:31:32.799 --> 00:31:38.799 Like Hezekiah, he didn't accept the report that came from God. 00:31:38.799 --> 00:31:41.279 Not from a doctor, from God. 00:31:41.279 --> 00:31:43.599 He didn't accept it. 00:31:43.599 --> 00:31:50.400 So sometimes we need to wrestle with some of the reports too. 00:31:50.400 --> 00:31:54.079 I I have a story to share. 00:31:54.079 --> 00:31:59.119 There is a woman in Ghana, and she's very old. 00:31:59.119 --> 00:32:07.039 Her dad was just a farmer, and they were blessed with many kids. 00:32:07.039 --> 00:32:12.400 He had like 11 children, but suddenly they were just dying. 00:32:12.400 --> 00:32:14.960 And he got very desperate. 00:32:14.960 --> 00:32:18.559 And he had few children left. 00:32:18.559 --> 00:32:21.200 All of them just died mysteriously. 00:32:21.200 --> 00:32:27.279 And his daughter was sick at the point of death. 00:32:27.279 --> 00:32:34.079 And he said, God, this time it's either you heal my daughter or you kill me with the daughter. 00:32:34.079 --> 00:32:39.359 And he was in his farm and he was praying and crying out to God. 00:32:39.359 --> 00:32:43.440 This was in the year 1930. 00:32:43.440 --> 00:32:46.480 This man was filled with the Holy Spirit. 00:32:46.480 --> 00:32:52.480 And he was the first man to ever speak in the language of the Spirit for the first time in Ghana. 00:32:52.480 --> 00:32:57.119 And when he was filled with the Holy Spirit, he had so much faith. 00:32:57.119 --> 00:32:59.920 At that time, the daughter was dead. 00:32:59.920 --> 00:33:03.759 And God used him to raise the daughter back to life. 00:33:03.759 --> 00:33:06.799 And the woman is still alive today. 00:33:06.799 --> 00:33:13.119 And I've met with her, I have pictures with her. 00:33:13.119 --> 00:33:25.519 And the last time I met her, she told me she's not feeling very well, but she's afraid of going to the hospital because they will tell her all that is wrong with her. 00:33:25.519 --> 00:33:28.799 Now I'm not saying that going to the hospital is wrong. 00:33:28.799 --> 00:33:39.680 Sometimes God uses doc, you know, God has given us gifted doctors and physicians that, you know, can diagnose and bring healing. 00:33:39.680 --> 00:33:44.160 But this woman, this old lady said, I know they will tell me all that is wrong with me. 00:33:44.160 --> 00:33:45.200 I already know. 00:33:45.200 --> 00:33:46.799 So I'm not going. 00:33:46.799 --> 00:33:52.240 Well, where she lives, there's no hospital anyway. 00:33:52.240 --> 00:33:55.680 So yeah. 00:33:55.680 --> 00:33:57.200 I shared it here before. 00:33:57.200 --> 00:34:04.000 You go to some places in Ghana, no electricity, no hospital, no school, nothing. 00:34:04.000 --> 00:34:11.519 They hear the gospel for the first time and they are all excited because they know that it's either God or nothing. 00:34:11.519 --> 00:34:19.440 And they will say, Oh, please pray for this water, pray over this water, because we know that when we are sick, we drink it, we'll be healed. 00:34:19.440 --> 00:34:20.639 Okay. 00:34:20.639 --> 00:34:27.440 They have so much confidence and you know, trust in God. 00:34:27.440 --> 00:34:34.400 Some of us here we are very blessed, and you know, and there's nothing wrong. 00:34:34.400 --> 00:34:38.800 I'm not saying there is something wrong with going to, you know, for checkups. 00:34:38.800 --> 00:34:47.840 You know, if we have the opportunity to do that, we can take advantage of it because God can use it to bring restoration and healing. 00:34:47.840 --> 00:34:51.920 But, you know, you understand me from where I'm coming from, right? 00:34:51.920 --> 00:34:58.320 Yeah, sometimes there are no hospitals and God still heals his people. 00:34:58.320 --> 00:34:59.440 Shall we pray? 00:34:59.440 --> 00:35:06.960 Lord, we thank you that you are a healer and you haven't stopped healing. 00:35:06.960 --> 00:35:10.480 Lord, right now I ask that you touch your people. 00:35:10.480 --> 00:35:28.639 Anyone here, oh God, who is been diagnosed with a with a sickness or is dealing with uh needing healing emotionally, spiritually, physically, Lord, let your word bring complete healing and restoration in the name of Jesus. 00:35:28.639 --> 00:35:36.239 Lord, I thank you that you heal us and by your stripes we were healed. 00:35:36.239 --> 00:35:38.159 We give you praise in Jesus' name. 00:35:38.159 --> 00:35:39.039 Amen.