Gift of Healing – Part 3: Modern Healing Movements
August 21, 2020Podcast: Play in new window | Download
(Ruach HaKodesh, Session 13c)
This episode concludes our discussion of the gift of healing as part of our larger Ruach HaKodesh series. In part 1 of this session, we examined several important Biblical passages on the topic of healing. In part 2, we looked at historical attitudes toward the gift of healing in both Judaism and Christianity. This episode, part 3, seeks to take what we have learned thus far and apply it toward assessing modern healing movements.
A major issue that all of us have to deal with who believe in God’s power to heal is this: why doesn’t God heal everyone? At the root of this problem lies the inherent tension between three fundamental truths: (1) God is good; (2) God is in control and all-powerful; (3) sometimes bad things happen to good people. People sometimes deal with that tension by attempting to delegitimize one of those three. When a faithful follower of Yeshua gets sick, the temptation is to doubt either God’s goodness, God’s power, or the person’s faith/holiness.
Our journey through this puzzle will take us to the story of Job, and the answers that ancient Hebrew book offers on this subject. Next, we look at how the so-called “health and wealth gospel” appeals to basic human desires that have motivated people throughout history. We also look at how sometimes, perhaps unintentionally, the message of healing can get twisted into a message of condemnation toward those who fail to experience miraculous healing. Perhaps this stems from a fundamental misunderstanding of “faith.” True faith is not arrogant and presumptuous about God’s will, but is willing to submit to God in everything. This session concludes with a note about the practical application of the gift of healing for believers today.
For an outline of all the sessions in this series, click on this link. To subscribe to this podcast, click here.
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