 Why exactly is it that there are groups of charismatic who believe in the gift of healing, who teach the gift of healing, and practice the gift of healing, and they don't just run down to the children's hospital and empty out the cancer wing? This is a question that's lobbed over at me quite a bit as a charismatic who does those things. I'll tell you why, because if you did, you would be exposed. Hey smart Christians, listen for some of you this may come as a shock, for others it may not be much of a surprise if you heard me say this before, but when it comes to the issue as to whether gifts have continued or ceased, I take a neutral stand. Here's why. Now though I lean towards some of them having ceased, I'm open because of this particular passage. Go with me to Romans 12 and let's just see if you can see why I'm open Paul says in chapter 12 verse 3, for by grace given to me, I say to everyone among you not to think themselves more highly than you ought to think, but to think with sober judgment each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned them. That's key. For as in one body we have many members and the members do not have all the same function, so we though many are one body in Christ and individually members of one another. Look what he says in verse 6, having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them if prophecy and proportion to faith, if service in our servicing. So without reading more into it, if a person says they have a particular gift such as healing, well then heal. Now when he asks a question, why don't we see people kind of clearing out hospitals or healing on demand? Well no one's really asking that question. No one's really making that argument as to why aren't you just healing everyone because after all Jesus didn't heal everyone. The apostles, they did not hear everyone heal everyone. As a matter of fact with the apostles, they could not heal everyone. There are examples where they just could not heal someone. Matter of fact, Paul could not heal himself. So it needs to be understood that anytime healing takes place, it's always at the prerogative of the Lord. But the real question is what's really the difference between the people in the Bible who we saw healing and the people who today say they have the gift of healing? What's really the difference? Pretty striking. First of all, do we see in the Bible any person who is healing who is not either an apostle or prophet or someone under apostolic authority like Philip? We don't really see that do we? And maybe that's for a reason. Maybe that's to show that at the founding of the church that these signs, these miracles, these wonders needed to give validity to the people who are founding this church. But with you all, you people who have the gift of healing, so you say, we never really see you guys doing any really, any real healing. We don't hear the stories, right? We're not saying that you need to go down to the hospital because if you did, certainly the Lord might move on on you, especially if you did it every day, the Lord might move on you at some point in time if you have that gift to heal. But what will we find out that you really don't have that gift? Because when you guys make a healing, it's always, one is never really reported, no real documentation from someone who's in the medical field. This person had cancer and you go to heal them and immediately bam, that person's healed. No, you always have these little anecdotal type stories to go with, my cousin Vinnie healed some utes. Did you say utes? Yeah, two utes. What is a ute? But there's no real verification or I saw someone heal somebody and well, the thing is in the Bible we know that they were healing because not, because the Christians were the one that were saying that they were healed. It was a non-believer that also reported and gave validity to the fact that these people were healing. They were showing up. So it wasn't that they had to go to the hospitals. The sick came looking for them. They followed them. They looked for them just like it was with Jesus. People would line up because they knew that these people had some power. Why is there one lining up? Maybe somewhere where they think that or they brought into you being able to deliver them, they show up and you're only going to heal the people who, not the ones who are in the wheelchair, not the ones with cerebral pals, not the ones who are paralyzed, but the ones who have a cold, the ones who have a headache, the ones who have a backache that kind of goes and comes. See, another difference is in the Bible their healings were immediate. Their healings did not take a few days, a few weeks, a few months, a few years, and then their healings were always thorough and complete. So yeah, my back, it feels better, but I still need surgery. My cancer has gone in remission a little bit, but it's come back. Is that the way that the Lord would do the healing? So let me just say this, and I don't want to be mean, but I'm just going to be honest. You guys are pretty horrible at your job. You really are. Of all the people that are needing in some sort of need, we don't hear the world talking about how this believer came and healed me or I went to this person. He just out of nowhere just healed. We don't hear these stories. There's several billion people on the planet and you would think somebody would be reporting this. Not some vague, indescript sort of account. We've got cameras all over and no one is seeing this. No one. How could that possibly be? Okay, so let me just move on. What I want to ask this question is, what do you really mean or what does anyone really mean by healing? What I'm saying is, does the Bible necessarily mean healing as a result of a supernatural gift? Now, follow me for a second. I'm not saying it is written, but I just want you to follow me for a second. I'm asking a question. Do we think the gift of helping or the gift of administrating, is that a supernatural gift or is that something that maybe the person was trained in? They grew up, their parents taught them and they were brought up as a helpful person or they went to school and learned how to be more organized and how to be an administrator. Did they go, if they went to school and learn these things, if they were brought up that way, if that person is that way and guide to use it, is that still a gift from God? Why do I ask that? Well, if a person who's a doctor is trained to heal and he's good at it or she's good at it, is that healing also a gift of God? I mean, if a person has cancer, now they don't. Wouldn't we still credit God with that? Is it still a gift from him? I guess my point is that whatever happens, however the Lord moves, it's always his prerogative, whether he uses the hand of an apostle or if he uses the hand of a surgeon. But let's just say that it is a supernatural gift without any previous learning. Let's just go with it. The one thing we know is always the Lord who does the healing. Let's look at Acts 9. In verse 34, And Peter said to him, Ananias, Jesus Christ heals you, rise and make your bed and immediately he rose. So it's clear it's always Jesus, it's always the Lord who does the healing. Remember, he's the one who has the power to give life, to take life. He is the one that presides over us. And so if he decides that a person ought to be healed, then they'll be healed. If he has decided the person will not be healed, they won't be healed. Ask Paul, who pleaded with the Lord three times, and what did the Lord say? My grace is sufficient. No, you're not getting healed this time. Now, we're talking about Paul. Paul who has, without question, had some supernatural abilities flowing through him, but it was only at the command of the Lord, not of him. But even still, it was known throughout the region that the Lord would use Paul at times, which is why people actually sought out after him or other apostles. But again, we don't see that today. People seeking after. Let's go after Floyd the barber. Let's see because Floyd says that he can heal. So let's go get healed. Let's just hang around because at some point in time, surely the Lord will have compassion. I've been praying. So let me ask you guys a question. Let's say you're sick. You've got an illness, not just a common cold or a flu, but you're really sick. Some disease, some virus, some problem with your body. And you're told that the person's going to come in, it's going to heal you. Who would you rather see this person or that person? Would you rather see the doctor after praying? Would you rather see the doctor or would you rather see the faith healer? Would you rather see this guy from Remnant Radio? Would you rather see Benny Hand? Would you rather see T.D. Jakes? Who would you rather see? Matter of fact, let's be honest. Let's be honest. Who are you going to see? Who are you calling? But what about your faith? Someone's going to say, Corey, you just don't trust the spirit. You've never experienced any of this. Well, let me tell you about a time where I thought that I healed somebody. I was young. I was in college. We're playing basketball and one of my buddies just collapsed. He just collapsed and he was just lifeless. He was just not moving. He was breathing, but his breathing was faint. And so they called the campus medical department and so they came. But before they got there, I went over to him and I just put my hand on his chest and on his shoulder and I just prayed, Lord, would you please heal my friend? I'm praying. I didn't know anything about faith healing or anything like that. I was fairly new as a Christian, but I just prayed. And he got up. Do I think that I healed him? Do I think that I have the gift of healing? I don't think so. What do I think happened? I think the Lord healed him or the Lord at least caused him to kind of start moving. Or maybe his fainting wasn't that serious after all. He just kind of fainted and came too. I don't know, but isn't that what James 513 says? If any among you is suffering or sick, let them pray. If anyone is cheerful, let them sing praises. Is anyone among you sick? Let them call for the elders of the church and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick and the Lord will raise him up. And what does it say at the very end of 16? The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working. The effective fervent prayer of the righteous available much. So I just prayed. Well, the so-called faith healer, he just prays. The doctor who's treating, the people who are being healed or treated by the doctor, they pray. What's the commonality of a person being healed or not being healed? It's always the Lord's discretion. So maybe we ought to stop giving any sort of validity to the faith healers and giving all validity to God. And so when somebody wants to lay their hand on you, that's not really what does the healing anyway. No, you don't have the power to heal. Only God doesn't. So rather than you trying to put the onus or the emphasis on you and you in the spotlight as though you're doing something as though there's something powerful about you, because if it was, you can do it whenever you want to. But we know it's always the Lord. And so why not just do what the young Cory Minor did or the way that most of us do when we need something, when we need something from the Lord? We just pray and pray that he grants us relief. And if he doesn't, he's still God. He's still our Lord, whether he heals us or not. He's still an awesome God. And so you guys who are saying that you are faith healers, if you're not doing anything more than the rest of us are doing and you're not getting results any better than the rest of us are doing, why don't you just accept the fact that you don't have that gift? It's not working in you, but the power resides only in the Lord and not through you, but through our prayers and through his prerogative. Amen.