Monday, 3 October, 2011
AMC Praying for the Sick
Kota Kinabalu
Written By Rev Law Hui Seng
Posted By Teresa Han
Acts 9:36-43; James 5:13-16
Main Idea: Pray for the Sick
Objectives: a. To exercise faith to pray for healing of the sick.
A. Introduction
- What is the first thing you do when you get sick?
- Some of us may go to Jesus to ask for healing and get healed. Sister Lisa did it and she got healed from heart problem and thyroid.
- Some of us did not pray at all when get sick and you to see a doctor straight away.
- I hope that after the sermon today, you will change the order. The first thing you do is to pray for healing first. With all due respect, to doctors who are present here, God also uses medicine to heal or to bring about recovery in health.
- The bible, especially the New Testament talks about praying for the sick, healing the sick and raising the dead.
- Let us study the 2 passages today to learn more about praying for the sick. At the end of the day, after the sermon, I pray that you will love to pray for the sick.
B. Peter Raised the Dead
- Acts 9:36-43, the main event was about apostle Peter raising the dead woman called Tabitha (or Dorcas). She was probably one fruit of Philip in chapter 8:26-40 (after the persecution of Christians in Jerusalem where they scattered) to preach the gospel all over the towns. You still remember, after Philip baptized the Ethiopian, he was taken away by the Holy Spirit. Then he appeared again in Azotus, 8:40, says, he travelled about preaching the gospel in all the towns until he reached Caesarea.
- I believe Philip preached at Joppa, one of the towns, on his way to Caesarea up North.
- His preaching was very powerful and it resulted in conversion of a group of people, including Dorcas.
- After conversion, she was zealously serving Christ by doing good and helping the poor.
- In verse 37, we are told she became sick and died, and fellow disciples who might have been converted the effort of Philip quickly sent for apostle Peter who was at the nearby town of Lydda. Her body was delayed for burial for the purpose of prayer of Peter.
- Immediately before the paragraph today, we read that Peter healed Aeneas who bed-ridden miraculously. The news of the great work of Jesus through Peter must have spread to Joppa which was just a few miles away from Lydda.
- I believe Peter was told by these 2 disciples of great faith that Dorcs was dead and needed to be prayed for. By faith, Peter responded to the urgent to pray despite the death! Take note, it was out of faith, Peter went. Otherwise, there was no need to go as Dorcas was dead!
- The widows showed Peter the clothing and robes, probably she had made for the poor. These widows who were crying probably were ministered by Dorcas before.
- Peter, an apostle of great faith, now, faced with the impossible task of raising the dead.
- When Peter was with Jesus, probably he had witnessed how Jesus raised the deads. (Matthew 9:24-25, Jesus raised the dead daughter of a ruler. Jesus said, "The girl is not dead but asleep." After the crowd had been put outside, he went in and took the girl by the hand, and she got up; Luke 7:11-17 is about raising the dead son of a widow - Jesus simply commanded, "Young man, I say to you, get up!"; John 11:1-44, Lazarus was dead for 4 days, Jesus commanded, "Lazarus come out!"
- Peter exercised his faith according to pattern of Jesus raising the dead. He sent the crowd out of the room as he learnt from Jesus, he just commanded like Jesus, "Tabitha, get up." And miracle happened.
- In verse 42, it said the miracle caused many people to believe in Jesus. Notice the purpose of raising the dead is to cause people to come to Jesus in faith.
- Then, in verse 43, it was specifically mentioned Peter stayed with an unclean man Simon, a tanner, treating animal skins for sale; it showed Peter's (a Jew) willingness to mix with the unclean as Simon treated unclean animal skin. He was prepared for the vision of eating the unclean animal in the next chapter.
- I want you to especially take note of the faith that Peter exercise to raise the dead. I am not preaching to you to raise the dead, but I am preaching to you to at least exercise your faith to pray for the sick and heal them.
- You may not have Peter's faith of raising the dead. But you are all challenged to exercise your faith to pray for healing of the sick.
C. How to pray for the sick by Faith
- It was something practiced in the early church.
- James 5:13-16, a passage that is very dear to my hear. I have been using it minister the sick and pray according for at least 10 years now.
- James is a letter written by the oldest brother of Jesus, a leader of the important council of Jerusalem (Acts 15:13).
- The instruction by James to the sick, was to call the elders of the church to pray and anoint him in the name of the Lord. Today, in our church, we have church leaders (Local Church Executive Committee) and they are equivalent to church elders.
- The promise is this, in verse 15, it says the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven.
- What preparation we have to do before we pray for the sick? James says in verse 16, elders and the sick need to confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful an effective.
- Take note of the faith and holiness involved in praying for the sick.
- Now, I want to ask question why is it that the sick person and even the elders have to confess our sins?
- I believe it has to do with the holiness needed to usher in the healing power of God.
- The other reason could be the connection between sin and sickness. Your anger, unforgiveness, bitterness, hatred, your worries, your sin of gluttony (of which I used to commit as I overeat), you smoke cigarette, you drink too much alcohol, you do not rest well, you commit adultery and get all the sexual diseases; our sins cause our body immunity system to go down and subject ourselves to all the attack of virus and germs.
- We do not take care of our body, which is the temple of the Holy Spirit, we sin against God.
- We repent from our sins, God will heal.
- As I pray for the sick, I always ask God for the forgiveness of my own sins first and I command the sickness or certain spirit (e.g., hatred, anger, lie, lust, jealousy, unforgiveness) to leave.
- On top of healing, then, I pray for Jesus to fill the person with love, faith, joy, etc.
- In all these, you got to believe Jesus heals.
- Personally, as I pray for the sick, as far as possible I lay hands on their forehead as I anoint them with olive oil.
- In some cases, I even lay hands on the affected partis as it is more personal to do so.
D. Applications
- (1) You really need to believe that Jesus heals. You must have the faith before you can pray for the sick. After your prayers, after the patient gets well or nor, we leave it to Jesus. Your role is to exercise your faith. Start to pray for healing for yourself when you are sick; then, your family members; then, come in person to pray for the sick.
- (2) When there is a healing, you can give a testimony of God's healing. Remember you are just an instrument, you are not a healer, Jesus is the healer.
- (3) There are people who are gifted to heal. If Jesus has given the gift of healing to you by all means, use it. 1Cor 12:9, specifically mentions gifts of healing. As there are so many kinds of sickness, Jesus distributes each gift of healing to a particular person whom he choose to use. Matthew 10:1 talks about Jesus giving authority to His 12 disciples to drive out evil spirits and to heal the sickness and every disease. I believe we are all authorize to pray for the sick to heal! Do you?
E. Conclusion
- Sickness and diseases will remind us of our mortality, weakness and fragility of life and physical body.
- When we are willing to exercise our faith to pray for the sick and healings happen, it helps people to come to know Jesus and be saved eternally and become His disciples.
- Those who are Christians who healed, we become more committted to serve Jesus.
