Do You Need Faith To Be Healed?

Tom:

This is our Understanding the Scriptures segment, we are in the Book of Acts Chapter 14.The apostle Paul is on his first missionary journey.They were in the region of cities like Iconium, and we are going to begin with Verse 8.“And there sat a certain man at Lystra, impotent in his feet, being a cripple from his mother’s womb, who never had walked.The same heard Paul speak:who steadfastly beholding him, and perceiving that he had faith to be healed, Said with a loud voice, Stand upright on thy feet.And he leaped and walked.”Dave, we were just talking about the word/faith guys, Hagen, Copeland, Joyce Meyer, and so on.And here it says he had faith to be healed.They promote that all the time, Dave.

Dave:

Yeah, it’s all your fault.

Tom:

Because I didn’t have the faith to heal.

Dave:

Right, but you know the Bible says it both ways.God uses our faith sometimes, even gives us faith to believe, but there are other times when He does it without anybody believing.Sometimes He does things we don’t even expect Him to do.

Tom:

So it’s really hard then to create a methodology or a system of healing.You know, for people who are into that, Dave, I recommend that they go through the New Testament, they could even pick up some from the Old Testament, but go through the New Testament and see all the different ways that people are healed.It’s a mystery, but it demonstrates that there’s not just one way.Jesus, sometimes He spit on the ground, made this little mud, placed it on an individual’s eyes.Sometimes He just spoke the word.I mean, over and over again, there’s so many diverse ways in which He did it.Why do you think that?Why was He so diverse in doing it?

Dave:

Well, because, it’s not the method.And, it’s not really my faith, although He does give us credit, He says “according to your faith, so be it unto you.”These are good verses, Tom.I think there’s more than a dozen of them in the New Testament that would be very good for a Calvinist to ponder because He reproves them for their unbelief.But, wait a minute, if you can’t have faith unless God gives it to you, it’s not nice to reprove you for something that God could give you but He didn’t give it to you.He talks about “your faith,” “their faith,” “her faith,” “I’ve not seen so great faith, no, not in Israel.”So, He’s giving . . .

Tom:

You have faith as a mustard seed.

Dave:

Yes, if you have faith.He’s giving people credit for having faith.But, then, they can’t have it unless God gives it to them?It doesn’t make sense.But, Tom, we were just, in an earlier chapter, we saw the Church gathered at a prayer meeting in a home there.John Mark’s mother’s home.And they’re all praying for the release of Peter and they don’t have any faith at all.Because, when Peter shows up at the door they can’t believe it.Even when she tries to tell them, “this is Peter.”“No, no, it’s got to be a spirit, it couldn’t be.He’s in prison.”I remember, Tom, I had terrible hepatitis, I caught it in 1968 in Mexico.Wow, I nearly died.In fact, the doctor told me that the only other person that he saw that had the kind of hepatitis I had, died.He was trying to encourage me, I guess.And, I can remember when about six friends of mine, real staunch charismatics, you know they’re going to “name it and claim it.”Well, I love them, they’re good friends and they came.We had quite a large house in those days.It was a long walk for me to get to the - - Ruth was not there, she was teaching school, I think - - long walk for me to get to the front door.I let them in and then I got back in bed and they gathered around and they prayed and they commanded this hepatitis to go in the name of the Jesus.And then, when it was time for them to leave, I started to get out of bed again, and they said, “Oh, no, no, no, you stay in bed, stay in bed.We’ll open the door ourselves.” Talk about contradictions.And it reminds me, you remember, Elijah.Remember the prophets of Baal?They’re leaping on the altar because he set a standard for them.Look, you pray to your god, I’ll pray to mine, and the God that answers with fire from heaven, that’s the true God.Ok, and all the people said, yeah, that sounds great.And they’re cutting themselves and leaping on the . . . all kinds of things.And Elijah is mocking them.And, he even says in the _________, maybe he’s gone to the bathroom.Maybe he’s on a little trip, maybe he’s asleep.Yell louder.It reminds me, Tom, of some prayer meetings I’ve been in.Mostly Charismatic ones where they think if they can just say it a little louder, or in the name of Jesus, and Elijah, he knows it’s going to happen.He said, dump some more water on there and then he says, Lord let it be known that I am your servant.I’ve done these things according to your word.But anyway,

Tom:

But, Dave, let me just add to that.Then we have a double portion of Elijah’s spirit going to Elisha, and Elisha dies of a sickness.

Dave:

Yeah.And, Tom, when we get farther in the chapter, I shouldn’t be going ahead, but when we get a little farther, what is the outcome of this?This man is healed.It’s amazing and Paul says, get up, you know, and he leaps and he walks.And, verse 11, “And when the people saw what Paul had done, they lifted up their voices, saying in the speech of Lycaonia, The gods are come down to us in the likeness of men.And they called Barnabas, Jupiter; and Paul, Mercurius, because he was the chief speaker.”See, Tom, you’re talking about the various ways, and we learn some powerful lessons here.One of the things is, this kind of backfired.Paul wanted to heal this guy because he needs healing and he has sympathy toward him.On the other hand, it backfires.It doesn’t draw these people to Jesus.They think that they’re gods.They begin to worship them, and then you know what happens.Finally they take Paul out and stone him.And, yet we have people, I remember John Wimber wrote the book, Power Evangelism, remember him saying, you can’t get people to believe in Jesus unless you show them miracles.Well, we’ve commented on it before.Nobody saw miracles, I’ll just stand on that, nobody saw miracles like the children of Israel in the wilderness.The Red Sea opens up, they go through, and the Egyptians are drowned.God talks to them with an audible voice from Mount Sinai.They’ve got manna every morning, their shoes, their clothes don’t wear out.They’re led by a pillar of fire by night, a pillar of cloud by day.

Tom:

They’re getting water from a rock.

Dave:

And, the rock follows them.I mean, Tom, and they’re the most rebellious, disobedient people.And, that’s not anti-Semitism for me to say it.I’m only quoting what Jesus said, I’m only quoting what the Psalmist said.So,

Tom:

What they’re prophets said over and over.

Dave:

Exactly.So, it’s not miracles, but it’s the heart.Ok?So, anyway, they call Barnabas, Jupiter; and Paul, Mercurius, because he’s the chief speaker.Verse 13: “Then the priest of Jupiter, which was before their city, brought oxen and garlands unto the gates, and would have done sacrifice with the people”unto these gods.Wow!But the Scripture says, the gospel is the power of God unto salvation and in the previous chapter we read where it said Paul and Barnabas “so spake.”I don’t think that a multitude believe it, I don’t that it was their oratory.I think it was just the words they spoke, the power of the Holy Spirit through the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Tom:

“Then the priest of Jupiter, which was before their city, brought oxen and garlands unto the gates, and would have done sacrifice with the people.Which when the apostles, Barnabas and Paul, heard of, they rent their clothes, and ran in among the people, crying out, And saying, Sirs, why do ye these things?We also are men of like passions with you, and preach unto you that ye should turn from these vanities unto the living God, which made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all things that are therein:Who in times past suffered all nations to walk in their own ways.”Dave, I think we’re about out of time, but do you have a comment?

Dave:

Well, no, I think I made my comment, it’s very instructive.They’re not going to like it because he tells them to turn from their gods.And this is not the gospel they want to hear and they’re going to take him out and stone him.But, we’ll come to that next week.