Over the past couple of weeks we have been looking at Jesus Christ. Today I want to focus on Jesus as the healer.Jesus Christ the healer.

Acts 3:1- 21

We know the verse that almost at cliché level now 'Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give I thee:' In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk. Now we all know that Peter and John had spent three years with Jesus, we know that they had just being filled with the Holy Spirit at Pentecost given those things I want to investigate the basis for Peters bold statement.

When did they first meet Jesus? Matt 4:18-25 Tells us that Peter, Andrew, John and James where all called together immediately afterwards they head off for a grand tour of Galilee with Jesus healing all kinds of sicknesses and diseases. Let's say they got a quick introduction into Jesus healing ministry. From the onset they where aware that being with Jesus meant that people where going to be healed wherever they went.

Is this for real
One of the first questions we ask is. 'Is this for real or do people actually get healed?' If you have being around Andre long enough you will have seen many, many healings. Even before we came here we had seen God heal a number of people. So we like Paul have had that question answered yes God does heal and yes He heals today. Last week we had three confirmed healings in the two morning services. There was a lady with a pain in her leg, one with a stomach problem and the other tooth ache all confirmed healed. So not only does God heal, but He heals here and now.

Now how did Peter and John know that is was faith that worked the healings? Because in verse 16 'and his name through faith in his name' Peter says when he preaches to the amazed multitude. He would have been there when Jesus was on His way to heal Jairus daughter and then being stopped along the way by the women with the issue of blood. (Matt 9:25-34) Jesus says to her in verse 34 'daughter your faith has made you well. Go in peace and be healed from your affliction. They would have been there when Jesus talked to the Syrophenician women and she persuaded Jesus to heal her daughter and Jesus also said to her 'O women great is your faith! Let it be as you desire.' (Matt 15:28)

They would have heard Jesus commend the centurion for his faith which Jesus described as the greatest in Israel and how his servant was healed. There are many other stories, but I have used these to highlight the fact that Jesus makes special mention of the faith that brought about the healing.

Will God use me?
Next question is will God use me for healing? How did Peter know that he could operate in the same level of healing that Jesus operated? Matt 10:3 tells us of Jesus sending out the twelve to 'Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely give'. Then again when Jesus sends the seventy he tells them in Luke 10:9 'And heal the sick there, and say to them, 'The kingdom of God has come near to you.' Then Jesus says to them in John 14:12 that he who believes in Him will do greater works that He did and verse 14 'if you ask anything in My name I will do it.'

Then we read in 17:14-16 that the disciples could not heal the epileptic so. Because of this I am convinced that this man was not the first person the either Peter or John had healed in the name of Jesus of Nazareth. I would imagine by that stage it was normal for them.

That is all well and fine for Peter and John, but what about me? Well we are told in Mark 16:17, 18 that these signs will follow those who believe they will cast out demons, speak in new tongues and lay hands on the sick and they will recover. So Mark is saying that just as you leave a muddy trail when you have been walking in the mud, so believes should leave a trail of delivered and healed people where they go.

If we read the whole of Acts 4 what happens is that the rules get very upset as one would imagine. They could not punish Peter and John so they forbid them to speak in the name of Jesus. Peter and John went back to the group and then in verse 30 they prayed that God would stretch out His hand to heal and signs and wonders be done through the name of His holy servant Jesus.

Now according to 1 Cor 12:9 healing is a gift of the Spirit. There are certain people who have the gift of healing. People like Kathryn Kullman, AA Alan, John G Lake and many other healing evangelists. That does not mean that the others of us cannot pray for healing. It means that they have a specific calling to heal people on a large scale. They are called and used to show God's healing power. It is interesting to note that the Greek word for miracles the gift before healing is actually power as in Acts 1:8 so some people have a power gift. We had an evangelist here a while back and he had the gift of power which was quite something. Apostle Andre operates in the gift of healing.

There is also an expectation of healing because James writes 5:13 that the elders should pray over and anoint the sick and the prayer of faith shall save the sick.

This scripture may surprise you. In Col 1:23-24 Paul writes that he that is Paul must fulfill the word of God. If it is for Paul to fulfill the word of God then what about us, should we not also fulfill the word of God? Then he goes on to talk about the great mystery 'Christ within the hope of glory'. The main reason why we can pray for the sick and see them healed is because of Christ with. Through the power of the Holy Spirit that we received when we where baptized in the Holy Spirit and Christ with there should be no reason why we cannot pray for the sick. We just need to believe.

Why are they sick?
This always a good reason, we are told about the man born blind in John 9 that the reason he was born blind is that the works of God be revealed in him. So here is this man, born blind all his life going around in darkness. I doubt that he knew his purpose in life, yet he was not created without a purpose. Along comes Jesus and bang he can see and now the whole world knows about this insignificant blind man.

We are told in Act 10:38 that Jesus went about doing good healing all who where oppressed of the devil. So we know that sickness and disease comes from the devil. It is a generalization, but hey its Luke's generalization not mine. I remember that I was struggling with a certain sickness and when we prayed the Holy Spirit reminded me about a coin that I was given by a friend as a kind of sign of our friendship. The problem was that this guy went skew and I have no idea what happened to him. Anyway that coin was a soul tie to this old friend and once I had destroyed that coin I was healed. At a stage we lived next door to Jehovah Witnesses and they gave us one the watchtower pamphlets to read. I read it before I went to sleep and threw it under the bed. I could not sleep that night till I had destroyed the pamphlet.

I remember counseling a lady who was going through a lot of issues in here life. The whole evening she sat with us her nose ran because she was allergic to cats. She went through a whole box of tissues. After we had ministered to here about the issues in her life I suddenly turned around and rebuked the allergy. She told me afterwards that she had adopted a kitten that slept with her on the bed. Now if that is not enough evidence to prove that allergies come from the devil and can be cast out then I do not know.

Then there was the time some of us where with Apostle Andre at another church. We where busy helping him with a deliverance. As we where delivering the person and driving out the demons all the gudge in his chest came out. We had a bucket that he could cough in