The Father's House Worship Center is a Full Gospel Church. The term "Full Gospel" can best be described as the belief that everything Jesus did during His life on earth, He is still doing today. God is still God! Hebrews 13:8 says "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever." The Full Gospel message is a message of God's goodness and love. It is a message of His salvation. It is a message of His healing and delivering power.
What Is Sickness and Disease?
Sickness or disease is any condition marked by pronounced deviation from the normal healthy state. When our bodies are functioning normally, we are said to be healthy. Sickness can occur due to any one or a combination of organic, psychological, or spiritual disorders.
What Causes Us to Lose Our Health?
Sickness is a curse of Adam and Eve's sin and disobedience to God. Before they sinned, their bodies were in perfect health because that was God's will for mankind - perfect health in mind, body, and spirit. Indeed, our bodies are very complex and there are may reasons for sickness including:
1. Bacteria and viruses, plagues and epidemics.
2. Genetics - the passing down of vulnerability for diseases from generation to generation.
3. Birth defects.
4. Neglecting our bodies - poor eating habits, lack of exercise, and insufficient sleep.
5. Stress.
6. Accidents.
7. Psychological abuse or other emotional trauma.
8. The attack of the enemy - Satan - as Job was afflicted.
Does God Give Us Sicknesses?
No! According to John 10:10, "The thief (Satan) comes only to steal and kill and destroy; but I have come that they may have life, and have it more abundantly." It is the devil, not God, who steals, kills and destroys. Jesus came to give abundant life, not abundant sickness. Sickness takes away from the abundance of your life. It also steals your time (and often that of others who must care for you) and sometimes destroys your finances in the process.
In 1 Corinthians 5:5, a man is turned over to Satan for the destruction of his flesh. Therefore, it is Satan, not God, who destroys flesh. If God were going to do it Himself, there would have been no need to hand the man over to Satan.
Our God is a Loving Father. He doesn't want us to hurt, just as we don't want our own children to hurt. But sometimes God will allow Satan to attack our health as He did to Job. God allows this so that He will receive glory by means of either a dramatic healing, like the blind man Jesus healed (John 9:30), or by the unusual grace He provides to enable us to endure the affliction as in the case of the Apostle Paul (I Cor. 12:9).
Does God Heal Today?
Yes! God is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow. What Jesus did when He walked on this earth can still be done today. Have you ever heard someone say "It's God's will" or "I'll just leave it up to God" when faced with a serious illness? Don't fall into that trap when you are faced with sickness or tragedy. God wants us to pray to Him for help. In Luke 18:1, Jesus gives us the parable of the widow who kept coming to a judge to plea for justice. The widow was so persistent that the judge finally relented just so the widow would quit bothering him! So we need to continue to pray to God from our hearts for healing. Don't stop! Don't give up! God wants us to ask Him for help. He loves us!
God's word is full of the healing ministry of Jesus Christ. Jesus taught His disciples how to pray and heal. He sent them to carry on His work. He also wants us, His followers, to pray for healing today.
How Can I Be Healed?
The Bible actually gives us some direction on how to pray for healing. For example, James 5:14-15 says "Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. And 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." In James 5:16 we are asked to "Therefore 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 and effective."
Sometimes, sin and unforgiveness can prevent our healing. In Mark 11:23-25, Jesus further instructs us that we must not block our healing by being unforgiving of others.. "I tell you the truth, if anyone says to this mountain, `Go, throw yourself into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him. Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins."
Can Any Christian Pray for the Sick and Expect Healing?
According to the apostle Paul, not every Christian has the same spiritual gift of healing; however, there is a difference between gifts and roles. Every spiritual gift has a corresponding role. Just as one does not need the gift of evangelism in order to lead someone to Christ, so too one does not need a gift of healing in order to effectively pray for the sick. The one who ministers in the gift of healing will be consistently more effective than the one who ministers out of their role as a Christian. Yet, either the one who has a gift of healing or the one who simply prays out of their role as a Christian can be effective in seeing the sick made well. Sometimes these ministers with a gift of healing receive a "Word of Knowledge" for specific diseases.
What is a Word of Knowledge?
Although the power of healing is God's alone, He sometimes imparts a Word of Knowledge by anointing specific individuals with the ability to discern particular diseases or afflictions.
We are fortunate to have such an anointed individual here at The Father's House Worship Center. Our co-pastor, Inez Brinkley, receives a Word of Knowledge which is manifested by an awareness or perception in her own body of someone's illness. She then speaks this Word during the healing services which can in turn be received by the person who steps out in faith to receive the healing.
What Does it Mean to "Step Out in Faith" for Healing?
"Stepping out in faith" denotes a willingness to come before Jesus and expectantly ask for His healing touch while releasing ourselves into His loving care, trusting Him to do what is best for us. Faith is not a tool for coercing God to heal. Nor is it a level of credulity heightened by excessive emotionalism which seeks to deny the reality of symptoms. It is merely "stepping out of the boat" and showing God that we believe that He will give us that which He has promised us.
Ideally, faith should be present for healing to take place (Mark 6:1-6). However, believers can also "stand in the gap" by praying for a healing for family members or friends who are not believers, and a healing can take place to prove God's goodness and love to the unbeliever. A healing such as this will give glory to God and may result in the salvation of the unbeliever.
What About Doctors, Medicine, and Other Remedies?
Modern medicine is one of the means the Lord uses to minister healing to those in need. Seeking prayer for healing and seeking the care of a medical professional are not mutually exclusive or contradictory events. On occasion, Jesus referred to Himself as a physician (Mark 2:17), and He seemed to be favorably inclined toward the service they provide, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick." (Matt. 9:12). The Apostle Paul recommended a medical treatment for young Timothy's upset stomach (1 Timothy 5;23).
For those taking medication, a medical doctor should be consulted before discontinuing prescribed medication. Those who believe they have received healing for a condition requiring medication should check with their doctor before altering their prescribed treatment.
Sometimes, healing comes from the knowledge of natural remedies given to us by God. In Biblical days, natural remedies such as herbs, spices, plants, and other natural sources were used for wounds, sores, fevers, headaches, upset stomachs, and other ailments. Most of these natural remedies are still available for use today.
Does Healing Occur Immediately?
In Jesus' ministry, most healing appears to have been instantaneous. There were occasions, however, in which healing seemed to occur over a period of time (Mark 8:22-26; 5:8). We at The Father's House Worship Center have experienced several instantaneous healings, others seem to have occurred over a period of time. The reason why God heals some people instantly and not others is a mystery.
What if I Pray and I Don't Receive Healing?
There seems to be a divine timing both in salvation and in healing. As a result, we sometimes have to continue to approach God for healing. Although sickness is not God's perfect will for our life, suffering and trials of any kind, including persistent sickness, can be used by God to perfect our faith and to bring glory to His name (1 Peter 1:6,7). We have instances of Paul's illness (Galatians 4:15), that of Trophimus (2 Timothy 4:20), and of Timothy (1 Timothy 5:23), in which it is clear that the Lord was not obliged to supply physical healing but rather chose these physical infirmities to achieve His own sovereign purposes. We shouldn't feel a sense of failure or guilt or lack of faith if we're not healed, but should continue to pray and let our requests be known to God.
In Luke 11:5-8, Jesus tells a parable about a friend who goes to a neighbor's house at midnight asking for three loaves of bread because a friend had come to visit him and he had nothing to feed him. The neighbor did not want to get out of bed to give the man the loaves even though they were friends. But because the man was so persistently knocking at his door, the neighbor finally got out of bed and gave him as many loaves as he needed.
Then Luke11:9 sums it up by saying "And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and you shall find; knock, and it shall be opened." So God wants us to continue to let our requests be known to Him.
We must also examine our lives to make sure we don't have sin or unforgiveness blocking our healing. If that's not the case, then there is probably something that the Lord wants to teach us or do with us. He will let us know what this is if we seek His face in prayer and pray for His will in our lives.
Is it God's Will to Heal Me?
God is a loving, caring Father. He wants us to be in health and to prosper. 3 John 1 says "Beloved, I wish above all things that you may prosper and be in health, even as your soul prospers."
God is not a respecter of persons. In other words, it doesn't make any difference to Him what kind of person you are, God is righteous, just, and equitable. He will do for you what he does for everyone else. But He cannot give us healing if we don't step out to receive it.
One of God's Names is Jehovah Rapha - the God who heals. Exodus 15:26 says: "If you listen carefully to the voice of the Lord your God and do what is right in His eyes, if you pay attention to His commandments and keep all His statutes, I will not bring on you any of the diseases I brought on the Egyptians, for I am the Lord who heals you."
Say This Prayer for Healing:
"Dear Lord, thank you so much for all of your promises. Lord, I know you are Jehovah Rapha, the Great Physician, the Great Healer, and I believe You want me to regain my health and strength. I ask that You touch me with Your healing hand and that you forgive me of any sin, removing all obstacles from my life which could prevent my healing. I forgive all of those who have hurt me and who I have a grudge against. In the authority of the Name of Jesus, I speak to my illness and command it to leave my body immediately. Your Word says "By His stripes, we were healed" and I am standing on that promise, Lord. I thank you for my healing, Lord, and will glorify Your Name as part of my testimony of my healing. Thank you for hearing my prayer. I ask this in Jesus' Holy Name. AMEN
