Healed Physically and Spiritually

 

The single remedy that cures every case in this world emotionally, physically or spiritually, and which has never been known to fail, is the Lord Jesus Christ. Exodus 1:26 says, “I am the Lord that health thee”. Jesus continues to use His healing power as an effective entry point to helping us to understand His Good News Message of Salvation and freedom from sin power. Even whilst Jeremiah (22:18) was questioning his people saying, “Is there no balm in Gilead? Is there no physician there? Why then is there no healing for the wound of my people?” Jesus has always been the Balm in Gilead and the Healer.  Before He ascended into heaven, He spoke to His followers that “they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will recover” (Mark 16:18). This anointing was so strong on the Apostles that “many signs and wonders were regularly done among the people by the hands of the apostles . . . believers were added to the Lord, multitudes of both men and women so that they even carried out the sick into the streets and laid them on cots and mats, that as Peter came by at least his shadow might fall on some of them. The people also gathered from the towns around Jerusalem, bringing the sick and those afflicted with unclean spirits, and they were all healed, (Acts 5:12-16). God’s will is for us to walk in divine healing and health, physically and spiritually. The Ministry of Prophet TB Joshua of the SCOAN Lagos Nigeria represents the Apostolic Ministry of our day, tapping into the promises of God. Jesus is making Healing a component of SCOAN’s teaching and activities across the globe.

Who are the people getting healing from Jesus in the Bible? One of them was a woman having an issue of blood for twelve years, (Luke 8:43-48). The woman had spent all her living upon physicians but couldn’t be healed of any of them. She came behind Jesus and touched the border of His garment. Immediately her issue of blood stanched. At that level, she obtained what we want to described loosely here as physical healing. But Jesus questioned, “Who touched me?” All denied and Jesus said, “Somebody hath touched me: for I perceive that virtue is gone out of me”. Eventually, she came trembling and falling before Him, she declared unto Him before all the people for why she had touched him, and how she was healed immediately. Jesus said unto her, “Daughter, be of good comfort: thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace”. She was brought to the full knowledge of Who Jesus is. Knowing Jesus is the spiritual aspect of healing. If Jesus had allowed her to go back to the crowd she might have run away with the impression that Jesus is also a super physician in town, whereas He is our Saviour, our Healer and by His stripes, we are healed. It is a complete package of emotional, physical and spiritual healing that we get from Jesus and which must be maintained by following Jesus.

Jesus also heals a Man Born Blind as another example of the people receiving this divine grace. “As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth”, (John 9). This healing was done so that the “works of God might be displayed in Him” (verse 4). Also to reveal the person of Jesus, “While I am in the world, I am the light of the world”, (verse 5). The blind man's faith and obedience must be acknowledged. He had never known or heard of Jesus before, but somehow believed and obeyed Him. The Pharisees investigated the healing only to display their spiritual blindness.

Incidentally, many people coming to SCOAN for healing belong to one or other groups; such as, “I don’t go to church”, “This is my first time in SCOAN”, “I have been to all over the places for healing to no avail”, “My pastor discouraged my coming earlier”, “I have been watching Emmanuel.tv”, etc. The Lord Jesus and His followers ministered healing even to those with little or no understanding of the things of God. Hence healing and all other God’s divine interventions in our circumstances must be that “His mercy brings both miracles and salvation”. This mercy healing is available to everyone. On the other hand, religious leaders are confused thinking of getting to the Healing Ministry by some rigorous academic research, going to a College of Divinity for a PhD degree programme, etc.

We perceive that this generation, like every other before it, consists of different minds when it comes to Who Jesus is, His disciples and the teaching of healing. In particular, the contemporary society is filled at one end with men and women of simplistic minds thinking that all there is are the only things their eyes can see. On the other end are the spiritualists, the rituals, the demons, the cultists where many religious leaders probably belong.  Our Lord Jesus Christ heals because He is full of compassion towards mankind and He knows that healing belongs to God’s children. Jesus heals us from all our infirmities to fulfil God’s promises and to glorify His heavenly Father. Furthermore, Jesus heals to confirm His Word, demonstrate the power in His blood and to expose the devil’s defeat and the devil’s failure. Peter explained to Cornelius that “Jesus went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil”, (Acts 10:37-38). Jesus knows all our needs even the number of hairs on our heads, (Matthew 10: 29-30), even our infirmities, and weaknesses.

We recall the parable of Lazarus and the unnamed Rich man told by Jesus in (Luke 16:19-31). Lazarus was described as a beggar with sores, looking for what to eat and dogs coming around him to lick his sores, whereas the Rich man was in luxury every day. The time came when Lazarus died and the angels carried him to Abraham's bosom. The Rich man also died and was buried in Hades, where he was being tormented; he looked up and saw Abraham far away with Lazarus by his side, (verse 24). Lazarus reclined at Abraham's bosom, a position for the guest of honour at a banquet. We read in the gospels that John had that position next to Jesus, (John 13:23). Those who trusted in God's Word were promised to be with Abraham in God's kingdom. This is spiritual healing and our hope.

Hence as we continue to watch and pray with Emmanuel.tv, with Prophet TB Joshua and his SCOAN team, with other Christians, or individually, for healing, for blessing, for a breakthrough, the sole aim should be to encounter Jesus Christ and His awesome power. It is a big privilege and God’s divine mercy to be healed either through prayers, medication, diet or exercise. It becomes spiritual when it leads to the source and the Healer. In this generation, we have been blessed to have a Prophet like TB Joshua who is not just doing miracles but can live by the Word that leads to salvation. TB Joshua’s Ministry is “Healing the Christian World” today, turning it from serving the god of Marmon, the god of raising supermen who can build so many branches and raise so many funds but the people are not edified and made to encounter Jesus. TB Joshua often says that reward is not necessarily the result of faithful prayer. Lazarus must have prayed but his result came to him when least expected in the bosom of Abraham. What Prophet TB Joshua and his Ministry have contributed to how the public should see Christ is in the “Returning to the Apostolic Age” rather than the “Transaction Christianity Approach”. The Transaction Christianity Approach is to claim that because you sow an amount of seed you reap so much because you pay your tithes you are blessed more because you fasted for seven days you are blessed more than when you fasted only three days, you pay so much and you are prayed for that much. TB Joshua and SCOAN have left such schools through the power of Jesus, and now seeing Christ as He is. Of course, we need to pay our tithes and labour for Christ every moment. Nevertheless let us know that by grace we have been saved, through faith and this is not from ourselves. It is the gift of God and not by works so that no one can boast, (Ephesians 2:8-9). Hence be healed physically and spiritually in Jesus’ mighty name. Emmanuel!

Prof. R. A. Ipinyomi, University of Ilorin, Nigeria