Why do you NOT want to pray for the sick?

Preamble: This is the sermon (notes) for my sermon at a Divine Healing Service, for 21 June 2014 (It flows like an article, and so, you should have no problem reading it through) [the underscorings are only to assist in my sermon delivery.  The “greyed out” portions may or may NOT be delivered in the sermon, depending on the time available].

There are Christians and local churches who prayed NOT, for the sick or do NOT believe in Divine Healing.

Have you wondered why?

Today, we are going to look at some of the reasons:

1. Not applicable anymore – Cessationists’ view

2. Healing can come from source other than God
3. Why bother God with it?
4. Sickness is good
5. Sickness is from God
6. No faith or lack thereof
7. Malu – this is a Malay word, for embarrassment

NOT applicable anymore?

The Cessationists said that signs and wonders and miracles, including Divine Healing ended with the completion of the foundation of the Church, with the completion of the written Word, with the founding of the early Church, and passing of the apostolic age (the Apostles have since passed on).  And so, they argue that praying for the sick is no longer applicable in our modern context.

Actually, there is no saying of that in Scripture, in any direct way of it.

Rather,

1. We still have the Apostle James telling us to seek Divine Healing, in the Book of James. 

James 5:14 reads: Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord.

2. We have Divine Healing in the on-going Great Commission.

Mark 16:15-18 reads: 15 He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. 16 Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. 17 And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues; 18 they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well.”

The Divine Healing ministry door is NOT shut; for more, you can read this: Divine Healing Ministry Door is NOT shut; where I concluded that some of us are barking at the wrong tree (foundation of the Church); the right tree should be the Great Commission. 

Since the Great Commission is still on-going, signs and wonders and miracles, including Divine Healing will still be applicable.

Healing can come from source other than God?

Here, people are referring to other spiritual source, NOT talking about doctors or medicine.

Some Christians believe that when we pray for the sick or ask for supernatural intervention, it is possible for some other gods, other than our Lord, or the Father God or the Holy Spirit, coming to perform the supernatural.

Yes, in the spirit realm, there is NOT only God and His angels, there is also Satan and his devils (minions), and Satan and his minions are NOT without some powers.

Is there also such thing as healing in other religious faiths? Yes, there is. Is it possible that it is genuine that one is healed in those other faiths? Yes, gods, in almost all religious faiths, are inevitably tied to spirits in spirit realm. Spirits can perform various degrees of supernatural, including healing of a sickness, depending on the “prowess” of the spirits.

But the matter is NOT confined to praying for the sick.  Anything we want spiritual help, is caught here.  Everything we pray for, and expect God to help, the help is spiritual help or supernatural intervention.  If we need no such, then we would have just done things by ourselves, without praying.

If Satan and his minions can be believed to come in place of God, when we pray for the sick, likewise, they can come in the answer of any prayer we make; even for someone to find a job, for example.

If one trusts that belief, then he should never pray, but strange enough, people who have this belief will pray for other things, but NOT for the sick.  Meaning?  It is just an excuse for NOT wanting to pray for the sick.

Is the belief possible? It will be exceptional that God will allow Satan or his minion to act in this manner - you call to God, Satan answers! (God can use anything, even Satan or his minions, but that is another matter/topic altogether).

Why bother God with it?
The grounds, I can give us, are these:

1. God CAN and DOES heal. This is a truth; for more, you can read my 2-part article on it, here: "It is God CAN heal and God DOES heal"'.  We bother Him, because He CAN, and He DOES heal; if He cannot or does NOT, we will NOT be bothered.

2. Scripture tells us that God is mindful of us, and He cares for us (Ps 8; 8:4). 
 
Ps 8 talked about the majesty of the Lord; including how He has set the heavenly bodies in place; yet in v4, it was said there, that God is mindful of us, and He cares for us; isn’t it awesome?!); on this ground alone, we can always pray to God concerning our sickness afflictions.

3. Scripture prescribed so,

(a) that when we are sick, we ask for prayer (James 5:14), and

            (b) we, be praying for the sick (including those demonised) (Mark 16:15-
             18 – Great Commission text).

4. Jesus showed us willingness on His part, and therefore, on God’s part.  We see it in

         a) Matt 8:2-3 – the “are you willing” leper healed by Jesus. 

         b) Matt 15:22-28 – demon-possessed daughter of Gentile healed
             by Jesus.  Here, because the Gentile woman kept calling after
             them, the disciples asked Jesus to send her away (v23), but after some
             exchanges, and saying “It is not right to throw the children’s bread to
             the dogs”, still Jesus was willing to heal.

5. Jesus did NOT ignore the smaller matter.  We see it in

         a) Matt 8:14 – Jesus healed the fever of Peter’s mother-in-law.

         b) John 2:1-11 – Jesus turned water into wine; although it is NOT
             a healing, it is still a miracle.

        Now, is fever a small matter? Turning water into wine, a frivolous

        miracle?  Who decides?  It is NOT for us to say-alright!

 

Hey, why bother God with aches and pains, small matter-le!  We have seen, even a fever, Jesus would heal; don’t decide for God.  Small or big matter is often NOT for the by-standers to decide; ache and pains can be big matter for the sufferers; in fact, this is one area doctors often cannot do very much; often, all they do is to give you pain-killers; pain-killers don’t heal! 

You will be surprised that many people are suffering silently with their aches and pains.  And that may NOT be quite life, life abundant, which we read Jesus had come, that we may have, recorded for us in John 10:10b. 

Also, we don’t know if the current small matter sickness may lead to a big problem, but God knows, and if He would nip the sickness in the bud, so to speak, what is it to you?!

How about, “But they can afford to pay the doctor-what?”  God is no respecter of persons (Acts 10:34, KJV); it is NOT “the rich He will heal” nor “the rich He will NOT heal” (His healing is by grace; and we do NOT question His sovereignty);

Caveat 1: But don’t get me, wrong; I am NOT saying there is anything wrong with going to see the doctors for our sickness.  Doctors and medicine are part of the healing regime of God, but don’t ignore He can directly heal you, or heal you in combination with medicine and works of the doctors.

Caveat 2: As healing ministers, we should NOT tell people to “NOT see doctors for their sicknesses”, and we do NOT tell people to stop taking the medication that they have been prescribed by the doctors.  If the person wants to stop taking the medication, that is solely his decision; you and I do NOT get ourselves involved in that decision.

Seriously, we “bother” God with many things, one more, out of love and compassion for the sufferers, does NOT put God off; in fact, acting in love and compassion pleases God. Ministering to the sick, in my view, is a good way of loving people which we can all do.

Sickness is good?

No, sickness is NEVER good; even if it comes from chastisement of God.

Chastisement from God is good, but sickness is NEVER good.

Even if, and it would be rare, that your chastisement from God comes in the form of a sickness, it is still you are to try to understand the rationale of your chastisement, and learn from it, and have the chastisement ended (because you have learned from it), and NOT stay in sickness.

We should NOT believe sickness is good or we will have problem praying for the sick.

If sickness is good, we might as well tell the person NOT to seek medical treatment, since it would be oxymoron – why have it treated when it is good for the sufferer?!

If you want more on this, read my separate article, “Sickness any good? Nah”.

Sickness is from God?

The correct position I believe is this: a sick person’ sickness is NOT from God; that is the premise we will assume unless God reveals otherwise.

If you still think God gave you the sickness, you should ask Him.  If you have asked Him clearly enough, and HE does NOT say it is from Him directly, you just assume it is NOT from Him, and therefore, you should want it healed, even divinely, by Him.

Are there OT examples of God inflicting sickness on someone?  Yes, but uncommon.  E.g.  Miriam stricken with leprosy (Num 12:1-15) [She talked against Moses because of his Cushite wife, for he had married a Cushite wife].  But Miriam knew she was leprous from the chastisement from God.  Even for this case, with Moses’ pleading prayer, Miriam was healed by God in 7 days.

For more on this, read my separate article, “Sickness and God“

No faith or lack thereof?

There is a verse in Scripture that led us to say, “to do thing within the measure of faith that we have”; but the faith in that verse (which we will look at shortly), is NOT referring to the gift of faith or supernatural faith, but to normal faith.

Why is this understanding of gift of faith or supernatural faith, and normal faith important?  Because some may have the gift of faith or supernatural faith, but NOT all; and so, some people use it as an excuse for NOT praying for the sick, purportedly saying, “I don’t have the gift of faith to pray for the sick, so, I don’t pray [for the sick]; or it is NOT within my measure of faith to pray for the sick”.

But the faith required for praying for the sick is normal faith, and all believers have normal faith, even though, NOT all have the gift of faith or supernatural faith.

However, my normal faith and your normal faith may differ; or we say we have differing measure of faith.  The “faith” in the “differing measure of faith” is the normal faith, NOT the supernatural faith of the gift of faith.

Rom 12:3 is the verse from which we get the “we are to operate within our measure of faith”.  Rom 12:3 reads: For by the grace given me I {Apostle Paul} say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you.

The “faith God has given you” in the verse does NOT suggest, God MUST give you the faith you are to operate with.

For a fuller understanding of this Rom 12:3, read the section, “Romans 12:3 – faith is given by God?” of my separate article, “Correct understanding of salvation, and relationships between salvation, grace, faith and good works”.

Very briefly, it is the verse is exhorting us NOT to “run-ahead” or “run outside” of what God is doing or intending to do with us.

It is important to know that the onus of normal faith lies with us, NOT God; otherwise Heb 11:6a is meaningless!

Heb 11:6a said that without faith it is impossible to please God.  But if faith is to come from God, then it is possible for us to say to God, this – “God, I don’t please you, because I do NOT have faith, but I do NOT have faith is NOT my fault; it is your fault; you did NOT give it to me!”

So, if we have no faith or lack of it, to pray for the sick, for example, it is because we have NOT learned to develop our faith (in that same article, it was mentioned briefly how faith is developed, you should read it).

We have responsibility to develop our normal faith through exercising.  The exercising part cannot be stressed enough.

Scripture has many recordings of Jesus and His disciples, too, praying and ministering to the sick, with the result that God healed the sick.  Jesus did the ministering, and the disciples, too; if faith is NOT exercised, it is still very much a belief, at best, a non-operative faith or what is also called dead faith.  Dead faith is quite useless, don’t you agree?!

What kind of a measure of faith must we possess before we can pray for the sick?  We will NOT here, dwell into it, but the brief answer is: the mustard seed’s kinda of faith is needed for living; it is small, but to say smallness of the faith is all there is, for the mustard seed’s kinda of faith is over-simplication.

 

I am here, just stressing that we should NOT excuse ourselves simply on the ground of “no faith or lack of it”.

Malu or embarrassment?

It is of course, a common impediment to prayer.

Self-consciousness is another, but it is a lesser one, for no matter how non-elegance my prayer is, if it brings forth healing, soon enough all self-consciousness will disappear.  Trust me, I speak from experience!

But embarrassment from the lack of effectiveness of our prayer is altogether a different thing.  When we pray, and the result is NOT forthcoming, all kind of negative thoughts enter our mind:  “maybe I am NOT good enough, NOT righteous enough, NOT holy enough”; “people will think that I am without favour with God!”  Or “appeared holy but without power, or got form, no substance”; or “I should have sat tight, and did nothing; in that way nobody would know”, and so on and so on.

Healing, as the subject of prayer, of course, makes it worse, for often, instantaneous result is expected, and we have to face the result on the spot with the person we are praying for.

If you are praying for someone to get a job, it is NOT expected that instantly he secures a job; whereas, those in pain expect the pain to leave, and to be able to do the things they previously could NOT do, and instantly to feel a difference in their conditions. 

When the result isn’t showing, some ministers feel embarrassed.

Just for correct understanding, divine healing can be instantaneous or progressive.  We ask for instantaneous, but if God gives it, progressively, we take that, happily, too.

Also, sickness often falls under the category of “the sufferer can ‘effort not’”, unlike other conditions, like the need of a job or progression in career or business, where the person is expected to effort, and in due course, perhaps, by a combination of factors, no less, his effort, satisfactory outcome can be seen in the future, in another time, NOT at the prayer session or at the end of it.

Because of the greater possibility of embarrassment, many people do NOT want to pray for the sick.

You feel embarrassed, so how?  How do we overcome the sense of embarrassment?

First thing first; when you serve the Lord, you endeavour to serve Him well, and you do all that is necessary, and NOT do any that hinders.

Afterwards; even if there is no positive result, you are to understand that it is NOT you could have done anything supernatural, like it is you who heal the sick; rather it is the Lord who does/does NOT do any such things. 

Another very important thing is that we are clear that God can and does heal, NOT He MUST heal. 

When we are clear about these things, we should NOT be embarrassed if people are NOT healed.

And so, we should NEVER tell people that God MUST heal when God does NOT say it.

We will NOT here, dwell into how we arrive at “it is God can and does heal, and NOT He MUST heal”, but for more, you can read this - "It is God CAN heal and God DOES heal"'.

In a nutshell, we believe God can and does heal because of this:

“God CAN heal because

(a) He is the Omnipotent God who created us; and

(b) He is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us (Eph 3:20).

He DOES heal because

(a) HE has healed before, and He has given promises (conditional) that He would heal;

(b) Scripture has accounts of Him doing as He promised;

(c) there were also prophecies in Scripture, saying the He would heal, and they came to pass;

(d) there were also many recordings in Scriptures of Him healing people by His compassion and mercy, NOT based on Man’s desires or effort;

(e) outside of Bible, in more contemporary times, and even presently, there were and are numerous undisputed testimonies of God’s healing for individuals.

(f) Finally, there is nothing recorded in Scriptures that says God’s healing was for a season, and would NOT be available anymore, and so, there is nothing to the contrary; we can expect God to continue to heal, and so, the stand of God DOES heal.”

But it is NOT God MUST heal, and so, we do NOT need to be embarrassed if nothing happens.

[I am going to draw to a close ….]

 

These reasons aren’t good enough

The above reasons are NOT good enough to justify us NOT praying for the sick.

Sure, we can conveniently say, sickness of others are NOT our business, but the same can be said for the hunger, poverty, joblessness, and other afflictions of others. But if you would be bothered with these other afflictions, why single out sickness-right?!

Some may say the more practical way is to give the sick, money to see doctors. Yes, that too, you can do, and maybe you should do or do more.

But we sure can do a combination of things, including praying for them to be healed.

The point is that we should love others, more. The well-to-do, could provide financial assistance, those with time on hand, can provide of their time, but every believer can pray for the sick.


                                         ooo End ooo

Anthony Chia, high.expressions

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Lord, what are you saying in “these”?

It has been some time since I last wrote anything of a testimonial nature concerning my “little ministry”. Is my little ministry dead? Is there not any fruit from the ministry that I can write about? Is there nothing worth journaling about?

What is the “little ministry” all about?
Below this is a cut and paste from an earlier article:

“By the little ministry, for the benefit of readers who are new to this site, I mean the tiny bit or two that I believe the Lord is using me in, or even would like to believe the Lord is using me in. Principally, there is a bit which I am a little more certain that the Lord is using me in a tiny way; and that is in the broad area of healing. Of course, for many who had embraced the baptism of the Holy Spirit, and the power thereof, such things that I do, may not, in their eyes, amount to a ministry at all, especially when what I do, I do not do it in a full-time manner. But I want to call it a ministry, if not for any other reasons, it is better for me to view the things I do, as important to the Lord because the sinful nature in me, naturally will not want me to do the things that I do. It is tiny, yet I must see it as capable of being made wider, deeper, and greater; not that I can but the Lord is able, and He can enlarge if He so desires.

Is there any other bit? I like to dream with the Lord, and based on what I see as having happened or is happening to me, I like to picture myself as a “healer” with a slightly unique slant, a singing healer. We all have many dreams. How about a dream with the Lord? I find that dreaming with the Lord is one thing, not difficult at all, but to make an effort for that dream, is altogether a different thing, not a easy thing, because the sinful nature in us doesn’t like that. The tug of war of us trying to live according to the Spirit, and not, to the sinful nature is really tough, as like the Apostle Paul said it, in his epistles. But that is the reality of this life; there is no escaping it, we have to face it, and learn to win in that tug of war of choices of life, bearing in mind that Scriptures said that the Lord’s grace is sufficient for us, and that the Lord is faithful.”

Everything is more or less still going on, and at the usual venues. I still am faithful in ministering on a voluntarily basis, in all 3 services of my church (one, on Saturday, and two, on Sunday morning). For this, typically, I function in the “Altar Ministry”, which in my church is referring to the ministry time that we have for each service, after the typical praise and worship session that takes place at the beginning of each service. I move in the word of knowledge, a little, by the grace of God, and would typically be releasing words of knowledge (on sickness, etc) regularly, and general words of prophecy occasionally, during these ministry times. I would pray for the sick and any others, requiring ministry, after the release of words. I still go, about an hour earlier, each Sunday, to church, to intercede for this ministry and the services, at the front of the sanctuary. I still intercede for people I promised I would pray for them, and I would pray for my loved ones. I have been doing this since 2008. Also, since 2008, I have been with one of the gates (chapters) of the Full Gospel Business(men) Fellowship. I serve in the gate-committee and try to exercise my spiritual gifts and pray for people in those weekly gate meetings. I also frequent another monthly marketplace fellowship run by a brother from my church, in which I avail myself to pray for people with needs. Then, although I do intercede for the sick, apart from prayers in person, sister Liz Mah in Malaysia (with stage 4 lung cancer, her blog, Liz’s Adventure), has been a unique case, one whom, I suppose the Lord has somehow caused to me to have a “burden” for, and is whom I have spent much time, not just saying prayers for her, but have been trying to build up in the faith, to the extent that she could receive the feeding. And of course, this blog has kept me busy too, apart from my private study of the Word.

Dead or alive?
I guess in terms of the “doing”, they are still there, but of course, the doing alone, did not imply much, maybe a little faithfulness (and maybe a little of men as a “habitual” creature!).

Or could it mean more than just that, especially, in such things, tangible results are not known easily, at least for my settings. I sometimes wondered what sustained me in all these. People go to 1 service per weekend, I go for all 3! I am just a member of congregation; I am not a pastor and not a staff of the church, I am not required to do so.

Is it for the honors? Yes, but not the honors from men. I supposed at the end of the day, it is because of the honors and privilege that the Lord has given to me that I cannot ignore. Furthermore, I could no longer turn my back on His love shown to me:

Who am I that the Lord has taken notice of me;
Who am I that the Lord has cared to hold on to me all these years;
Who am I that the Lord should come near when even my beloved has decided to desert me;
Who am I that the Lord had cared to put His thought into me when I had sunk to the bottom of the deepest ocean;
Who am I that the Lord had cared to consider what would keep me from despair;
Who am I that the Lord should encourage when even my beloved has abandoned me to meaninglessness;
Just because I said, The Lord would be number 1 in my heart; even though I did not live up to it?

I remember my troubled days, how I could not sleep, and the only way I could get to sleep was to hug His Word to my chest, and called His name until I fell asleep. Who had heard me in the dark of the night? It was He, the Lord God Almighty. How could I turn my back from your love, now, Lord? Lord, you know I want to say, “Never”, but I fear once again I could not live up to it. By faith, I shall say, “Never.”

A couple of “these”
I could remember the times when it was difficult for me to function in the release of words of knowledge and prophecy, how if not, for the audacity the Lord put in me, I would have chickened out. I remember I was weak; a man from despair, and in abandonment, yet He showed His strength in me, even the strongest had to take note. The Lord has shown me honors when my closest has dishonored me.

1. Honors by the Lord (through men)
The Lord has not just honored me by his presence; he has given me honors by men. Not that I seek the honors from men, but it is good to know that I have helped and is appreciated.

More recently there were more feedback from people, that indeed the ministry I do in church has touched people, and they have received healing and ministry. I have more people stopping me outside the church, like in the supermarket, telling me that they had been ministered. A number asked if I could remember them, but I really could not remember, for I have prayed for too many, in church. And of course, it is an honor that people chose to come to me for prayer when there are pastors around. That some people repeatedly came back to me for their prayer needs did tell that the love of the Lord did flow across, through me. What a privilege to have been your minister, Lord! I thank the Lord, too, for the honors of church remembering me as a ministry partner in the Altar Ministry, and extended me the ministry year-end gift. I am even more surprised, that Lord, you would honor me with the Senior Pastor singling me out, to assist him in praying for a sick at the start 2011, before the entire congregation, when clearly there was no such need.

2. Tell him to pray for you
Even this could happen: From the Full Gospel Business(men) Fellowship, a member came saying that he had been told by the Lord to ask me to intercede for his non-moving stocks, and when I have done that some of the stocks moved. I thank you, Lord, for truly the member, he has believed, that, that was your voice, and you have intervened, and the proof of that was that he intentionally gave me a Christmas gift. Lord, you know I cannot minister for profit, but since it was an honoring act, not of money, I have accepted it.

3. He wanted it too
From the monthly marketplace fellowship (Tuas Reachout Fellowship), some were strongly moved by my singing in tongue that one of them who helped out in his own church healing services, sought me out, wanting the gift. I was glad to pray for impartation, and he received. It was an honor.

4. Will you be my mentor?
This too, was an honor. Lord, thank you for the Christmas gift from this mentee.

5. Multiple wheelchairs
More recently, in December 2010, it was close to Christmas, and I felt that morning in the church service, generally, that the Lord had wanted to minister a comforting touch to some needing that. I mentioned a specific category being cancer sufferers. I do not remember ministering to any with cancers, perhaps, the atmosphere then had brought out many who needed prayers, and I did not pick and choose; I just ministered to those needed prayers, but after I thought I had finished, a man pushed a wheelchair-bound man for me to pray. Before I even started praying for the man, another on wheelchair was pushed beside, for me to pray. These had chosen me to pray for them. I mentioned in an article of November 2009, I had a dream of seeing multiple wheelchair-bound people before me, and one of them stood up before me. But the needs of the 2 persons on wheelchairs were not specifically that they be healed to be able to stand up, and so, there was no standing up, but indeed multiple persons on wheelchairs came before me. Did it mean anything or was it a precursor to more of such, and one day, someone will stand from the wheelchair healed?

6. Almost the same, same cancer, same stage
Those reading the more recent articles on my blog know Liz Mah. On the 17th December 2010, she came down to Singapore with her 2 sons and husband from Malaysia for a short break. I had suggested that for that weekend, if she could make it, she could come to my church so that I could pray for her. I sent her an email with an attached map, but I did not hear from her. Liz did come to Singapore, but she did NOT come to the church that weekend, but I had a strange phenomenon that weekend, another woman, also with stage 4 lung cancer, with 2 sons, and a husband came to church and they were seated right behind my seat, and I ministered to the family. How strange?!

7. Leg grew in my hand and before my eyes!
This just happened over the weekend, Sunday, 9 January 2011. I was in church and it was at the end of the 8.30 am service. What happened was that I also commonly wait around for a couple of minutes after the service, just in case there are any people who still want to be prayed for, but have not come to the front during the usual ministry time after the praise and worship before the sermon.

This brother, older than me, came to me and told me that he still had difficulty walking properly, despite having operation on one of his knees. He explained that because of the operation, the operated leg had become longer. I told him that I could check it out for him, and so I had him seated down, back against the back of the seat (sit straight), and I then lifted both his legs, and I could tell one leg was longer than the other by about ½ inch. When I pointed to the longer leg, he said, that was the leg he had been operated on. I told him I was going to pray for him, and I launched into praying in tongue. The tongue prayer came out melodious but was forceful, and I could feel the shorter leg growing, for I had held up both his legs with both hands, one on each hand. As I watched, the shorter leg grew longer before my eyes to match the other leg. I was so thrilled, even though I have seen it happened before when some other minister elsewhere had done the same. This is a first for me, praying and seeing an observable miracle happening before my eyes (apart from seeing people slain). Hallelujah! The Lord had done it.

So, Lord, what are you saying in these, you have more installed for me? What must I do? Yes, I have, by faith, said as a resolve for the new year that I am abandoned to you. Remind me always, Lord, that I have said such a thing. More importantly too, Lord, help me to walk the talk.



Anthony Chia – All glory to God. Lord, thank you for the honors. May I always walk humbly before you as you have demanded in Micah 6:8.

PS: Please intercede for sister Liz Mah, even if it is for a season of time.  Thank you (Go to her blog, if you want to know more about her {Liz's Adventure}).

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Why I think Isaiah 53 was about Jesus and not the nation of Israel

The NIV link for the entire Isaiah 53 passage is given here (click it).

2 Schools of thought
There are 2 schools of thought on this, one thinks that Isaiah was talking about the nation Israel, another, Jesus. Many Jewish theologians subscribe to the former, and many modern Christians, the latter. This article is not aimed at creating dispute on the matter; although many Jews did not believe Isaiah 53 was about the Messiah, and so missed Jesus, or are giving Jesus, a miss.

Why I am interested
I will explain my interest in this matter. Firstly, it is important as a Christian of many years to seriously study the Word of God to learn more about God and his ways. In fact, the more I studied the Bible I found that it is important to know the faith heritage. And there are stories in the Bible, of individuals (like Gideon) who knew and understood much of the faith heritage and was honored by God, and there are stories about those (like Jephthah) who did not know enough, did not understand God’s dealings with man, and misapplied the little knowledge they had, and the results were that their actions displeased God.

More specifically, in relation to Isaiah 53, for those who argued that Jesus or the Messiah was portrayed there, they could see “the cross” in the passage. Let me explain: Every Christian should learn to understand the work of the cross, what happened at the cross? What was accomplished at the cross? What did the crucifixion of Jesus mean? What power was there on the cross? Could we claim healing from the work on the cross? If so, was the healing only spiritual? What about physical healing, emotional healing, psychological disorders? Are they all covered? Is salvation sure? What does salvation cover? Is healing part of salvation? Which aspect is sure? Is healing a sure thing? What about peace? Is it also part of the work of the cross? The word of God is important. Jesus Himself used them against Satan who also used them against Jesus in trying to tempt Jesus when He came out of His pre-ministry fasting. Those who see the Messiah in Isaiah 53 see these things in the passage, and they want to understand them, access them, and use them. Then there are those who thought they saw these things in the passage but they were told the passage was not about Jesus, and so, they could not claim them as part of the work of the cross.

There was one discussion I came across, concerning healing, and one party was saying God did mention about healing the land, and that healing did not mean people got healed, and so, by the same token, if Isaiah 53 was not about the Messiah, the healing spoken in Isaiah 53:5 was only for the nation of Israel as a whole or for the land. So, you see, we have to make up our mind, whether or not, Isaiah 53 was about Jesus, before we talk about healing for the individuals, using Isaiah 53:5. In fact, another angle surfaced in that discussion; it was whether healing was only spiritual and did not include physical or psychological ones. Again, we have to make up our mind whether or not, a man was being talked about in the Isaiah passage, or it was all just a metaphor for the nation or the land.

I know from elsewhere, in the Bible, we too, can come to certain conclusions about some aspects of the cross, but Isaiah 53 was so direct, if correctly, Jesus was being portrayed there.


What supports my conclusion?
Now let us look at what I have to support my belief that Isaiah 53 was talking about Jesus.

Thematic flow
I have taken time to study Isaiah 48 right up to Isaiah 53. I believe often times, because we take too small a bite at Scripture passages, we miss the flow and the connectivity of the verses. For those who want to say that the original scriptures did not have chapters, I know that. My conclusion is that there are 2 blocks here. You can have more if you break it down further. But I cannot come to the conclusion that it is one block, i.e. Isaiah 48 to Isaiah 53 is one big block. The thematic flow started in Isaiah 48 stopped at the end of Isaiah 52. I believe, one who takes the time to study Isaiah 48 to Isaiah 53 at one sitting, is capable of coming to the same conclusion. When you spend the time to rewrite the verses in easy to understand English with considerations of the parties (including such things as first person, second person, and so on) involved in the scriptures, you might agree with me Isaiah 53 is quite separate from the preceding texts.

There are those who said that what was being written in Isaiah 53 did not start at verse 1 of Isaiah 53, but from verse 13 of Isaiah 52; you can adopt that if you like. I like to look at the last 3 verses of Isaiah 52 (vv13-15) as capable of referring to both the nation of Israel or Jesus. The only thing is that the proponents of the other school of thought will say that verse 13 specifically used the phrase “my servant” (in the 2nd person) which in Isaiah 49:3, was referring to Israel. Rather, I would leave the last 3 verses of Isaiah 52 alone, and not take it to refer to Jesus, because the “third person” language really started in verse 2 of Isaiah 53, and used consistently throughout Isaiah 53.

One may argue that there is one anomaly to the “third person” language usage in Isaiah 53; and that would be in Isaiah 53:11 where “my righteous servant” was used. According to Jewish theologians, the English translation of the Hebrew text should have rendered the phrase as “my servant” and not “my righteousness servant”. Accordingly they claimed that the translation should read as “with his knowledge my servant will vindicate the righteous before the magnitudes, ….” Instead of “by his knowledge my righteous servant justify many”. In that case, I would say that Isaiah 53:11 could read like this:

11 After the suffering of his soul,
he will see the light of life and be satisfied;
with his knowledge my servant will vindicate many,
and he will bear their iniquities.

I merely substituted the word, “by” with “with”, the phrase, “my righteous servant” with “my servant”, and the word, “justify” with “vindicate”. And the meaning of Isaiah 53:11b would be: with the knowledge of Jesus, Israel would exonerate many {many in Israel would be exonerated}, and Jesus would bear their iniquities. Looking at it this way, although, indeed Israel appears in the verse, the third person Jesus (he) still flowed consistently. Even when the word “justify” was not used in the verse, it did not imply there was no justification element in the verse; the fact that it said Jesus would bear their iniquities implied justification. I also honestly believe in the last days, many Israelites would be saved, and Jesus would bear their iniquities. I know Gentile Christians would like to see “Israel” not in the verse, but we must understand that it is also possible for relevance to the targeted audience, “Israel” was inserted intentionally by God. The opening up of the faith to the Gentile was only made known to all in the New Testament Time; even the Apostles, initially did not know it. The Apostle Peter, for example, had to be given a vision before he understood that God had opened up the gospel to the Gentiles.

Psalm 44 – no tenable connection
I do not agree with the author, on the topic of Isaiah 53, on Wikipedia, claiming that Psalm 44 is probably the best defense for reading Isaiah 53 as applicable to the nation of Israel {and therefore, not about Jesus}. There is no tenable connection between this Psalm and Isaiah 53.

Philip and the Ethiopian
In the Book of Acts, we read of an account of Philip and the Ethiopian. God, through an angel, arranged for Philip to meet with the Ethiopian eunuch who was then reading Isaiah 53. The relevant scriptures are given below (Acts 8:26-35):

26Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, "Go south to the road—the desert road—that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza." 27So he started out, and on his way he met an Ethiopian[d]eunuch, an important official in charge of all the treasury of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians. This man had gone to Jerusalem to worship, 28and on his way home was sitting in his chariot reading the book of Isaiah the prophet. 29The Spirit told Philip, "Go to that chariot and stay near it." 30Then Philip ran up to the chariot and heard the man reading Isaiah the prophet. "Do you understand what you are reading?" Philip asked. 31"How can I," he said, "unless someone explains it to me?" So he invited Philip to come up and sit with him.

32The eunuch was reading this passage of Scripture:

"He was led like a sheep to the slaughter,
and as a lamb before the shearer is silent,
so he did not open his mouth.
33In his humiliation he was deprived of justice.
Who can speak of his descendants?
For his life was taken from the earth."{Isaiah 53:7-8}

34The eunuch asked Philip, "Tell me, please, who is the prophet talking about, himself or someone else?" 35Then Philip began with that very passage of Scripture and told him the good news about Jesus.

The eunuch was reading the passage of Isaiah 53:7-8. Not knowing who was being referred to, he asked Philip who was being referred to in the passage, was it the Prophet Isaiah or someone else. Philip took the opportunity, and starting from that very passage of Scripture, explained the gospel of Jesus to the eunuch. I believe this is a deliberate act of God, to have this account recorded in the New Testament for us; and this tells us that it was the Messiah, Jesus, who was being portrayed in Isaiah 53.

[added 05/01/2011: Even the Apostle John, understood that Isaiah 53 was referring to Jesus, for in the Gospel of John, at John 12:37-38, in revealing the response of the people (principally, the Jews) towards Jesus' ministry and teaching, John made reference to this Isaiah 53, verse 1, saying that, indeed as was written in Isaiah 53:1, only some of the Jews would believe the Messiah, Jesus, when He came walking on this earth.]

[added 10/03/2011: The Apostle Matthew wrote in Matt 8:16-17, that Jesus was healing the sick and delivering people from demon-possessions as part of the fulfilment of Isaiah 53:4. This, of course, pointed to Isaiah 53 was indeed referring to Jesus.]

If you can accept my reasoning here, the next time you read Isaiah 53, claim it as a portrayal of the Messiah, Jesus; see “the cross” in the passage, and claim the power and benefits in that passage.



Anthony Chia - And the Lord's servant must not quarrel; instead, he must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful. (2 Tim 2:24)

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It is so good to hear that people have been healed

This will be a little of a composite article although I will try not to have too many things in it. Overall, it would be an article about my little “ministry” and a little of my sensing or wondering.

Every few months I will reflect on what has been happening in my little “ministry”. By the little ministry, for the benefit of readers who are new to this site, I mean the tiny bit or two that I believe the Lord is using me in, or even would like to believe the Lord is using me in. Principally, there is a bit which I am a little more certain that the Lord is using me in a tiny way; and that is in the broad area of healing. Of course, for many who had embraced the baptism of the Holy Spirit, and the power thereof, such things that I do, may not, in their eyes, amount to a ministry at all, especially when what I do, I do not do it in a full-time manner. But I want to call it a ministry, if not for any other reasons, it is better for me to view the things I do, as important to the Lord because the sinful nature in me, naturally will not want me to do the things that I do. It is tiny, yet I must see it as capable of being made wider, deeper, and greater; not that I can but the Lord is able, and He can enlarge if He so desires. Is there any other bit? I like to dream with the Lord, and based on what I see as having happened or is happening to me, I like to picture myself as a “healer” with a slightly unique slant, a singing healer. We all have many dreams. How about a dream with the Lord? I find that dreaming with the Lord is one thing, not difficult at all, but to make an effort for that dream, is altogether a different thing, not a easy thing, because the sinful nature in us doesn’t like that. The tug of war of us trying to live according to the Spirit, and not, to the sinful nature is really tough, as like the Apostle Paul said it, in his epistles. But that is the reality of this life; there is no escaping it, we have to face it, and learn to win in that tug of war of choices of life, bearing in mind that Scriptures said that the Lord’s grace is sufficient for us, and that the Lord is faithful. I am still learning, and one recent thing that I am trying to internalize completely is that faith attracts grace.

What is faith? What is a faith entity or a unit of faith?
Because of my last statement above, I will explain a little of the understanding I learned. I will just be brief without quoting Bible references; perhaps when I feel I should write a separate article, I will go at length at this. Faith is not just a belief. Belief is only half the story, so to speak. The other half is action consistent with that belief. A unit of faith is belief coupled with an action consistent with that belief. If you just believe, that is not a complete faith unit or entity. Of course, action, by itself, is not faith at all. When a pre-believer believes that Jesus died for him but does not confess that fact with his mouth, that belief is just a belief, not a faith. It is only when that belief is followed by an action, like the confession with one’s mouth (or even putting up of hands), is the belief, a complete unit of faith, that can be counted as righteousness by God. Closely related is therefore, a definition of righteousness, but we will not go there, today. Some faith units are small, some are bigger, units can be joined together to form bigger units, bigger faith.

Therefore, in connection with the little ministry that I am referring to with regard to myself, i.e. in healing, if I believe but I do not pray for the sick person, I cannot claim the promise of God. I cannot say I have exercised faith, give me my grace. I have to believe (a belief) and pray (go into action consistent with that belief), and expect the grace of God to be poured out for healing. Of course, grace of God, by its very nature, depends on God, because when it is grace, anything asked for is unmerited. But I believe faith in God attracts God’s grace. When there is no unit of faith in God, there is no attraction of God’s grace. I am not saying that God cannot grant grace when no one put up any faith. Sugar attracts ants, but it does mean that ants cannot come by when there is no sugar. If we want to see God heals through you, move into action, do not just believe and do nothing.

Is expectation important?
I said we have to believe and pray, and EXPECT the grace of God to be poured out. Expectation in prayers for the sick tells of two things: One, strength of your belief. You do not expect because you do not believe or believed enough to expect. Two, your compassion for others; you do not expect because your heart did not go out for the sick person. Our God is a God of compassion, and when we move with his compassion, we are moving according to his heart-beat, and if it is His heart-beat, He is likely to move. So expectation is very important. If you pray without expectation, ask yourself, what is your motive? Again, do not get me wrong; I am not saying that healing cannot come without your expectation. Nothing can stop God from wanting to do something, except Himself. But if you want to see more healing, pray with expectation. But take note also that we cannot dictate how God should minister. We only expect God to act, how He acts is up to Him.

With these in mind, I will now share my joy of knowing that some people got healed when I prayed for them.

The last time I shared a testimony was in Jan 2010 – “Intercede for others, and you’ll be blessed too”. So, after 2 months or so, some 2 weeks ago, I wondered if God would do more in and through me. I long for God to break new ground, and I share my senior pastor’s desire of wanting to see more healings, and more significant healings, for his case, in the church, for myself, in the church, or elsewhere, wherever I minister. All of us, of course, know that healing is God’s work not ours, but remember what I just said about expectation.

At church
Some 2 weeks ago, in the church’s Sunday 8.30 am service, I again released words of knowledge and prayed for people in ministry time after praise and worship. I was encouraged that consecutively, one after another, 2 people got slain. The moment I finished giving my words of knowledge, a woman appeared in front of me. She was slain but there was not a catcher behind her; I was holding her hands, just like I normally would do when praying for people, at least at the beginning, before I usually would then lay my right hand on people’s forehead. When she felt like she was about to fall backwards, she grabbed my hands tightly, and in an effort to break her fall I also tried to hold onto her hands. This lady had rings on both her hands, the kind that hold diamonds, and those rings really gave me a nasty pain in my fingers (If any, from the church leadership is reading this, I got feedback, afterwards, from the woman and the husband, that they feared not having catchers around; maybe the church should regularly encourage members of congregation to step forward to be catchers).

Next was a man who 18 years ago, was miraculously healed by God of some weird muscle inflammation from certain death. This man is known to many in church. He walked up to me at the middle of the sanctuary front. Because the slain woman was still on the floor, there was no space to pray for this man, in case he also fell. I walked him to the extreme left side of the sanctuary and prayed for him there. Despite having walked some 30 feet to the left side of the sanctuary, when I prayed for him, I soon realized that he too was going to fall. I tried to break his fall, and he was slain to the floor. This gentleman had problem with his hip, and he told me that he had to be very careful when he put on his trousers because every time if the angle was not just right, he would experience extreme sharp pain on his hip. Afterwards, outside the church I passed by this brother, and he said he had experienced a tremendous release, which I took it to mean he had experienced the healing touch of the Lord.

TV program!
The above type of visible experiences excites me, and each time I would look forward to more. During the week, as I was watching a TV drama serial, 2 characters in the program talked about their experiencing a freshness going to work, just like the first days they started work. This set me meditating on the zeal that we must have concerning our work for the Lord – the first love. It got me thinking how much attention I gave to my “little ministry” when it first begun some 2 years ago. I began to remind myself how absorbed I was in the earlier days, although it is not to say I no longer did the things I used to do. The zeal and eager expectation sometimes eluded me. I reminded myself that many people, when they have not experienced God’s use of them in the supernatural, they long eagerly for such an occasion, but when they have tasted how it is like, they, soon, do not want to put themselves through “all the troubles” to be used by the Lord. I always keep in mind what a veteran itinerant preacher said about being used by God in the supernatural. These are his wise words: Anyone can be used by the Lord, but to be used consistently by the Lord one needs to get right with God, and stay right with God, even to grow. It is not difficult to understand, supernatural works are not works of men, and therefore clearly God is involved, consistent use of a person may imply a stamp of approval which God does not anyhow put on a person. God does look after His Name. So, you see, there are the “all the troubles” which, often times, people are not prepared to face.

FGBMF meetings
When I learnt from the Friday of 5th March 2010, that Michelle Hamilton (an Australian) would be sharing her testimony at the Jurong East FGBMFI(S) chapter (or now we called it gate) on the following Friday (12th March) , I was thinking to myself that I might want to be absent from the meeting. The reason was simple she had already shared the testimony in my church before, and I did not feel I want to hear her testimony again or would benefit from it. Do not get me wrong, Michelle Hamilton had a fantastic swept out to sea experience that completely changed her life. The experience happened some 20 years ago in Philippines, and today she was still sharing that testimony because it was that life-changing. Some of you, the FGBMFI(S) people know that I am part of the core Committee of the Jurong East Gate. I was supposed to provide the presence and support to the meetings, role of which I duly embraced for more than 1 year now (I am now on the 2nd term). I do not do very much at these meetings, although I have believed that my presences often helped. Still at this occasion, I just felt firstly I did not think that I would benefit from the coming to the meeting where Michelle Hamilton would be sharing, secondly, I was not really contributing much to make a difference; at least, that was what I thought sometimes. I had not been able to move much in the words of knowledge for healing in these lunch meetings as they are short, had its own liturgy, often attended by the same few persons. Often times, there was no room to pray for people, either no time left or I had better defer it to the invited speaker.

But because of the double slain in church, and the subsequent meditation of the first love, as a result of a prompting by the Spirit from the TV drama serial, I finally gave in to attend the Friday (12th March) FGBMFI(S) Jurong East Gate meeting where Michelle Hamilton was scheduled to give her testimony. I reminded myself that I was to serve, to give, and not to receive. On my way there to the lunch meeting, while driving, I told the Lord (I often did that) that alright I was to serve and to give, and asked the Lord to make my time at the meeting to count.

By the way, I just checked my blog entry on “A special Resurrection Sunday indeed (2009)”, and if my memory did not fail me, from my re-reading of that article, Michelle Hamilton spoke on that particular Sunday in my church (now confirmed from church online sermons site). I heard that testimony of hers 3 times that weekend, no wonder I did not feel like wanting to listen to it again. But this recollection, brought on a powerful connection that made me even more certain that I should pen this article down. When I re-read the 2009 article, I realized that what I did in that 10.30 am service in my church in April 2009 was exactly the same things I did on the Friday, 12th March 2010, both occasions of which Michelle Hamilton spoke.

At last Friday’s meeting, just like when I was in the April 2009 church service meeting, while I was seated, I received multiple sensations on my body, which by now I have learnt from “constant use”, to know these sensations were “words” of knowledge for healing. Those of you who were present at the meeting can compare what I said at the end of the meeting with the only recording that I had of my words of knowledge experiences in my church on this blog site, found at the end of the 2009 article. I gave out the words of knowledge in like manner. I am amazed at this similarity of the 2 occasions, many things were so similar, the words of knowledge were given at the end of meeting (in my church setting, that was uncommon, if you read, words were given outside the normal time slot), followed by many people responding to the words, I prayed for many people in this small meeting (maybe 8-10, and there was a proxy case even!), and I can recall that even when I was praying for people in this meeting, several persons were also being prayed for by Michelle Hamilton, like in 2009.

Back in the 2009 Resurrection Sunday session, I prayed like I was a great servant of God. For this FGBMFI(S) Friday session, although, I did not see anyone slain (in the 2009 session, also, no one was slain despite many were being prayed for), I remember I prayed with faith, just believing. For one of the women I prayed for in this FGBMFI session, I sensed heat on my hands when I prayed. I prayed with faith and expectation in that Friday afternoon.

All with early days’ vigor and zeal
So any healing took place from this Friday afternoon session, you are eager to know? After the meeting I realized it had been an extraordinary session, especially when it was such a small meeting of some 20+ people. While talking to the Lord before the weekend church services (both Saturday and Sunday services), I brought the occasion before the Lord, noted it was somewhat exceptional, but no people got slain. I entered the weekend church services with expectation. For those church services, I released words of knowledge, prayed for people, with great faith. I had hoped to see some tangible signs of God performing miracles in the church sessions. I was hoping I could at least see someone slain but I did not. Nevertheless, I was satisfied at the end of that weekend that I did my best for all the sessions, from Friday through to Sunday; I had gone into service for the Lord with the early days’ vigor and zeal.

Hello, so was there healing for the Friday FGBMF(S) lunch meeting at Jurong East Gate? I know some have feedback that my articles are too long-winded but please understand that these articles also served as a form of journaling for me of my journey with the Lord, and so I penned down things that I want to capture for my own record as well. The answer is affirmative. The news of the healing came on the Monday following, 15th March 2010, in the FGBMF(S) AGM. Before I go into the news, for the purposes of my own journaling, and also to encourage the brothers and sisters of FGBMF(S), please bear with me for a little recording of what I felt at the AGM.

For the benefit of those not knowing what FGBMFI(S) stands for, it is referring to the Full Gospel Businessmen Fellowship International, Singapore. I want to say that I could sense the Holy Spirit’s presence at that evening’s AGM. I usually sense the presence of the Holy Spirit physically. Not wanting to lengthen this article, I would only say that in this current season of my life I could sense the presence of the Holy Spirit by sensations in my ears, and on my forehead. The sensation was very strong when the central leadership was praying on the stage in the banquet hall. Also, when the people were asked to pray in the spirit (in tongues), I realized that when I did that, I prayed with a new tongue. Now, I have the gift of tongue for more than 20 years. I know I do pray in multiple tongues, and I am sensitive to the Lord’s doing of new things, like the giving of a new tongue (language) to me, in addition to those I already have. So, what I am saying is that I believed the Holy Spirit had given me a new tongue that evening. Because of the strong presence of the Holy Spirit, to which I usually would ask the Lord what he would want me to do; I prayed for the wife of the member who sat next to me. The member and the wife are new Christians, a year old. Both are old, over 70 years old. The lady was wheel-chair bound as a result of multiple strokes in the past, the last one happened some 8 years ago. May the Lord continue to grant her the peace and joy of the Spirit all the days of her life, just like I prayed for her that evening. Of course, I prayed for the Lord’s strengthening for her physical body to keep up with the long life the Lord has been granting to her.

At last, the 2 healing news from the Friday Jurong East Gate session. At that meeting, the words released included a condition of problem in the mouth, bad tooth, gums, or the jaw; pain in the knees; back pain; and breast disorder. The first thing that an Indian brother who had attended the Jurong East Gate session said to me, at the AGM dinner, was that he was healed. When I confirmed the details with him, he was indeed being healed of the first condition. This brother was having very bad glum and ulcers problem for over a week. He said it was so bad that he could hardly eat. I remember after that afternoon meeting, at the eating place (we always have lunch after each Gate session), this same brother thanked me for praying for him. This brother shared with me, on this Monday AGM evening that, that afternoon, after the prayer, his condition had already shown sign of improvement. He said by Sunday/Monday, he was healed. Many of us have experienced such nasty mouth ulcers or sores. Especially for those of us who are older, such ailments can really take a long, long time to go away if we leave it to our natural body immune system to heal the ailments. I thank God for He cared.

The next was a lady at the same table I sat. The Jurong East Gate members were spread over 3 tables in the AGM “banquet” meeting. She is the wife of another member of the gate. Both of them attended the gate meetings regularly. The husband goes out on mission trips from time to time, and the wife was relating to me on the Friday that I prayed for her, that each time the husband was to go out for mission trip, something would happen to her, she would get sick, pain in the eyes, mishap happened, etc. This time the husband is scheduled to leave for mission trip at the end of the month. She had a fall and injured her knee. Again, this couple is old; and old people when we fall, and injure ourselves, it can take quite long for physical injury to muscles, tendons and bones to heal; even bruises and blue-black marks take a long time to heal or go away. This sister said that by Sunday she was better already, and she had wanted to tell me and thank me on Sunday when she was at church (this couple attends the same church I attend), but somehow did not have the chance. To confirm her healing, she decided to wear high heels to the AGM. She even showed her shoes. Hallelujah.



Anthony Chia – Thank you Lord for the encouragement, and I must learn not to want to see people slain as a sign that you are working. But Lord, like my senior pastor, I want to see more significant healings, not that what you have done for the people were not important, you know that I know that, but more, Lord, more.

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