Sunday Message – Healing Message 04

08/07/07
<John 5:1-18>
PHYSICAL HEALING, LIFE OF LIVING SACRIFICE
• God has been healing us these three weeks. Our greatest joy should be that we are able
to receive healing together as one congregation
• God really wants to heal all the hurts and past wounds in us
• When God really wants to heal and set a person free, the evil spirit within that person will
“struggle” because he will eventually leave the person, screaming away
• Therefore, as we receiving healing, we might lose our temper out of a sudden
• Men can boast of nothing in the presence of God. All men need healing
• We are bound to feel inferior sometimes. There is no escape. Thus, when we realize that
we are having some interpersonal relationship problems, it is the time we must receive
healing
• God will never lose. God’s children will not lose also
• The Bible tells us that the enemy attacks us from one path but will flee in seven
• Christians should not be trying to resolve one problem after another, or simply to earn
enough money for a living. We must have great victory in all things
• The healing messages shared in the last 3 weeks all concern things that are invisible.
From today’s message onwards, we are talking about the healing of visible things
• The Bible tells us that the invisible things are more important than things that are visible.
However, what is visible will also affect what is not visible.
• E.g. Whichever part of a person malfunctions, he will start to worry immediately
• People will try to find a solution as soon as his body has some problem / illness
• Even the Bible has shown us that most people went to the Lord because of their physical
problems
• Different churches have different perspective towards physical healing
• E.g.: Some teach that the Almighty God is able to heal any kind of illnesses as long as
the person believes. Their emphasis is “just believe and you will be healed”
• E.g.: Some teach that a person has physical illness because he has committed a certain
sin
• E.g.: Some teach that we need to take good care of our body by eating the correct or
healthy food, etc. If this is the case, we should just attend health seminar instead of
going to church
• A lot of people only think about getting healed or having a healthy body. They had never
want to discover God’s perfect will
• A physical’s physical problem can only be healed truly when the word of God comes
upon him
• If a person is not healed through the word of God, he will walk his own ways as soon as
he is healed
• God’s principle is this: we should not be striving to be healthy only; we must become a
living sacrifice that could be used by God

Read <John 5:1-18>

• v3 Many sick people had gathered in the place where Jesus Christ was. However, the
Lord went there just to heal the person He loved
• v7 What the Israelites were doing then were really mystical
• v11The “mat” represented his past hurts, inferiority” etc. Thus, we should not aim just to
be healthy. A lot of people, though healthy, are living miserably
• v13It is useless for a person to be healed yet does not know Jesus Christ. His physical
recovery will not glorify God
• v14What does Jesus Christ mean by “sin”? It refers to the sin of not knowing God. It
means that we should not remain ignorant towards God or worship idols after getting
healed. This is different from the “self-committed sin” that Jesus asked the woman in
<John 8> not to do.
• v18People who do not know God will always be opposing God

• Perhaps we may think that we will not face any serious physical illness at this young age
• However, we will really understand how a pain in our body will affect our thoughts and
alertness, if we’d ever experienced an illness or accident ourselves
• Therefore, the Lord has great compassion on the sick
• The person whom Jesus Christ met today had already been paralyzed for 38 years.
However, more serious than his illness was the fact that he does not know God’s reason
for not healing him in the past 38 years. He always thought that it was because he was
not able to get into the water
• In fact, a person being deceived is more serious than him not being healed
• We must first understand the reasons for physical illnesses

1. Diagnose: the reasons for physical illnesses

1) From the spiritual principle perspective: all illnesses are related to Satan’s work
<Matthew 10:1; Acts 19:12>
* Categorized into “passive” and “proactive”
• All illnesses are related to Satan’s doing. Every time Jesus Christ sent out His
disciples, He would link the illness on a person to the evil spirit
• Therefore, there is a spiritual reason for our illness
• There are “passive” and “proactive” illnesses
• “Passive” illness: God allows a person to be sick so as to double the blessing on
him. E.g. Job
• God has allowed Satan to strike Job because He wanted to double the blessing
on him
• God has allowed a “thorn” to remain in Paul, so as to protect him
• “Proactive” illness: illness that is resulted from a person’s sin or idol worshipping
• The conclusion: God allowed His children to be sick in order to give them a
double blessing

2) A person who is loved but ignorant to God’s purpose <Romans 12:1; 1Cor6:20>
• Though some believers know God, they do not know God’s purpose and reason
for creating them
 • God continues to wait for them to turn back to Him and to understand His
purpose and He uses illness to do that
• Some believers will receive great strength to serve and be used by the Lord, after
having received healings

3) Some illnesses are related to sins <Matthew 9:2; 1Cor 11:27-30; James 5:14-16>
* Sins are grouped into two types: ‘original sin’ and ‘self-inflicted sins’. We must be
able to differentiate the two in order to give an accurate diagnosis
• “Original sin”: All men, after Adam, have the original sin. Therefore, in order for
men to know God, God has allowed men to have illnesses. Some people know
God because of their illness
• “Self-inflicted sin”: God’s discipline for His beloved children will not cause them to
die. God discipline them so that they could see God’s greater love
• Before God hits a person’s body, He would have already started working in his
heart and spirit. Thus, before a person falls sick, he would already have some
problems in his heart and spirit. Moreover, problems in the heart and spirit will
often lead to relationship problems. God will only allow them to fall sick when
they still refuse to turn back to Him
• Some illnesses come from a person’s sins, especially those sins that are
forbidden in the Ten Commandments. When a person continues to worship idols,
either him or his children will start to have some illnesses. For Christians,
‘worshipping idols’ mean to go into mysticism
• God will remove the illness on His children when they know how to confess their
sins or have a willing heart to turn back to God
• We are not talking about confessing our sins in front of the “Father (priest)” and
ask him to intercede on our behalf, such that God will remove our illnesses
• Even if we want to confess our sins to others, we must find somebody who is
more spiritually mature than ourselves

4) Some illnesses happened so that God would be glorified and His work displayed
<John 9:3, 11:4>
• Some people think it is because of the sins of the parents that some people are
born with diseases or illnesses
• In general, the illnesses in which a person is born with, would not be healed
because God has an absolute reason for him to be born with those illnesses
• Such illnesses are there to display God’s work and to glorify God
• The reason why Jesus Christ raised Lazarus after he had died for 3 days was to
display God’s work and to glorify God

5) There are some illnesses that God does not want to heal. It is the “thorn” in a
person’s life, from which he can draw strength <2Cor 12:7-9>
• The thorn in Paul’s body allowed him to receive strength to glorify and testify God
all his life
• A person with a thorn in him will be compassionate towards people around them
and that thorn will not be a torment for him
• We must understand what “a thorn” in us is. It is not the common headache that
we have once in a while
 • Usually, ‘the thorn in us’ is there even before we have accepted Christ. And God
did not remove it even after we have known and served Him. It is a thorn allowed
by God
• God uses this thorn to allow a person to have compassion, able to bless others
and to evangelize
• E.g. The thorn in Timothy was the problem in his digestive system since young
• On the other hand, some thorns are the consequences of men’s disobedience to
God.
• E.g. Some people commit suicide but God has not allowed them to die then. And
because of their suicidal actions, they received some hurts. Those hurts are the
thorns in them
• The illness (or thorn) in him has become a reminder that God still love him

2. The principle of receiving healing is to restore God’s purpose in creating me

* Must first understand that the “restoration of a person’s purpose” will surpass the
“limitation of his flesh”
• God must have an absolute purpose for His children to have some illnesses
• Before we receive any healing, we must first restore God’s purpose
• God’s purpose will surpass the limitation of our flesh
• Paul told us that the thorn in him had strengthened him

1) Our body is created for the purpose of “glorifying God, blessing others and building
God’s kingdom” <Matthew 6:25-33>
* Therefore, before we lay our hands to pray for the physical healing of a person, we
must first tell him the truth relating his life and eternality
• God’s purpose is “glorify God, bless others and build God’s kingdom”
• All men will have illnesses. We will become the main character of this era if we
are able to know how our physical illness can glorify God, bless others and build
God’s kingdom
• Our life on Earth is only 70-80 years. Thus, be it healthy or otherwise, we should
restore our life purpose to glorify God only
• If we have a chance to visit some patients in the hospital, we should not be
talking to them about their illness only. We should first tell them the truth. The
truth is there is a God who loves them always. However, they have not known
Him. A person will still have to leave this world eventually though their physical
illnesses are healed
• Jesus Christ always makes sure a person has eternal life before healing him
• In the Bible verse we read today; there are many sick people in the place where
Jesus Christ was. However, the Lord did not heal all of them. The Lord wants to
heal those who will glorify Him after being healed

2) God’s purpose on a person is ‘holistic healing’ (physical, psychological, spiritual,

lifestyle, relationships, etc)
<John 6:63; 2Cor 4:16-18>
• We must receive “holistic healing” (i.e. the complete healing of a person)
 • Some believers have very messy lifestyles. Some have very messy relationships.
Others have various pains psychologically and spiritually. Does God only want to
heal the physical bodies of such believers? If they did not receive holistic healing,
they will still live in agony even though they might be physically healed
• Therefore, Jesus Christ asked that man to take his mat and walk. It means to get
rid of the mat, which has brought us shame and fears. In other words, he must
receive holistic healing
• In general, when a person receives physical healing, his relationship with others
will improve also

3) Physical healing must only come from “reconciliation with God”

* For non-believers: must come before Jesus Christ. Die and resurrect with Him
and receive a spiritual and new life
* For believers: if an illness is a result of self-inflicted sins, he must cleanse and
renew himself and have a willing heart to turn to God
• A person is said to have “reconciled with God” if he is able to respond to God
• Reconciliation with God does not only mean to tell God, “I won’t do it again”. This
comes from fear, not reconciliation
• Reconciliation with God means to able to enjoy God’s love and work, and thus
wanting to respond to Him

4) In the process of receiving physical healing, God will indirectly bless the loved ones
of that person, especially the family members
<Matthew 8:5-13; Mark 2:1-12; Luke 8:49-56>
• Blessings will definitely come upon a person who has mental and physical illness.
His illness is also related to his family members and those around him
• Do not think that the physical problem in us is a burden for our family. In fact, it
should be a blessing for them
• There must definitely have God’s purpose and love behind a person’s physical
illness

5) We must experience “extra grace” when we are sick <2Cor 12:9-10>

• Just like Paul, we shouldn’t receive just sufficient grace, we must receive even
more grace whenever we are sick
• We shouldn’t ask God for healing anymore after we know that illness is a thorn in
us. Instead, we should ask God to give us messages, testimonies & doors of
evangelism through it
• Regardless of the illness we have, we must ask God to use that illness to bless
others
• If God hits a person’s body, that person will remember the lesson for life
• God will heal us if the physical illness is stopping us from evangelizing or is
causing us any inconvenience

3. Must sustain the “most healthy” body

• How can we use and sustain our body?
1) Do not let Satan have any chance to attack us. Thus, we must always have a
“fearless” heart in front of God
• Satan enters our life through our sins, disbelief or disobedience. Therefore, we
should go to God with a “fearless” heart
• We need not be afraid of Satan’s attack if we have reconciled with God
• We will want to take care of God’s temple automatically and have sufficient
strength to serve the Lord, after we have reconciled with God
• A person will not only want to take care of his physical body, he will also adjust
his lifestyle, after he has restored the relationship with God
• A person with very serious spiritual problem will give others the impression that
he is very sloppy. They are often anxious and have no time to dress themselves
properly because they cannot meet God
• The body of a person will become more and more beautiful after he has
reconciled with God
• A person’s body is linked with his spirit
• We are just being vain if we have spent a lot of effort on our clothing, dressings,
etc but we haven’t even reconciled with God. Either they wear too little or dress
up exaggeratedly
• A man of Gospel should just look “normal”. They are neither too trendy nor dress
like a country bumpkin. A normal person will attract the most number of people

2) The secret in sustaining a healthy heart and spirit

• In order to enrich our heart and spirit, the first thing we need to do is to pray
• Secondly, we must have a congregation-centered living, hear God’s voice
continuously and receive strength in the spirit
• Joy, hope and peace will naturally come upon us after we have heard God’s
loving voice
• The best medicine is to be joyful in God
• Will we really be joyful after getting ourselves drunk? That is a means to express
our emptiness

3) We must have the secret that enables us to sustain a healthy physical body
• We will need to have the secret for healthiness: eat, sleep, exercise and
entertainment
• Eat: A person who is truly filled by the Holy Spirit will not overeat or drink. Neither
will he avoid food in fear of getting fat. A person overeats or drinks because he
cannot control the desire of his tongue
• Sleep: We must have sufficient sleep. Only with sufficient sleep, will we have
strength to pray and serve the Lord
• Exercise: Must find the activity and time that we like to exercise
• Spiritual and psychological problems will result in us not liking our own body
• Why does a person want to take drugs? Taking drugs will only damage the body.
Usually, a person will only turn to drugs after he has been rejected by others and
fail to find any morale support. Nobody will take drugs if he lives blissfully
 • Entertainment: A person must have a balanced lifestyle. Thus, we will need to
have some entertainment. However, we should only find entertainment that is
educational or constructive in nature
• A person who serves and attends a few meetings weekly will not be placing much
emphasis on entertainment
• Entertainment is for “re-creation”. It means to renew our strength to serve the
Lord

4) Know how to use the limitation and handicap of our bodies to do great things
<John 14:12-13; 2Cor 12:10; Phil 4:13>
• We must rely on the Holy Spirit. Our body has limitation since we are only
humans. Men will become tired. Men need sleep and food
• We ask our Father to do things for us since we have our limitations. Some
believers will sleep very little and spend a lot of time and energy to serve the
Lord. However, they couldn’t receive any fruits at the end of the day
• Jesus Christ didn’t go everywhere in random and heal all the people He sees
• We just need to use whatever the amount God has given us
• Jesus Christ slept when He was tired. E.g. His disciples faced the storm by
themselves while Jesus Christ was sleeping. They woke Jesus up because they
were afraid. Even in that, Jesus Christ had an important lesson to teach them
• Sometimes when we go abroad, our loved ones are even more strengthened
because God has worked in them
• Regardless of the amount that God has entrusted to us, we just use it to the
fullness and leave the result to God

Sharing and Prayer Topics

1. Diagnose: Do I have any physical illness currently? Or do I fall sick easily? What
are the reasons for these? How are all these related to the spiritual truth?
2. The body should become a living sacrifice by restoring God’s purpose in us.
Ponder upon Jesus Christ. How did He use His body to fulfill God’s purpose? How
can our body, be it healthy or sick, coincide with God’s purpose?
3. What adjustment must I make in the spiritual, psychological and physical aspect
in order to sustain a healthy body and body of living sacrifice? Discover and
renew