TOS074 Followers of Jesus are Called to Heal (Part 3)—The Lord Healed Them All For audio only PPN
Healing Series based on “The Lord Healed Them All” continues with Part 3 “Followers of Jesus are Called to Heal” with Patti Brunner. Jesus used healing in compassion and as a tool for sharing the Kingdom of God. As you hear these scriptures you will hear Lord’s instruction, coaching us to continue his healing ministry, to follow his Way; they show us that healing continues to be a key part of the ministry of Jesus through the Holy Spirit. It is difficult for people to pray themselves when they are in pain except to cry out to God for relief. Do not fear praying and asking for healing. Remember: Jesus Heals!
Are you a believer? Do you believe in God the Father? Do you believe in Jesus Christ, his only begotten son, true God true Man? Do you believe in the Holy Spirit? Guess what! Jesus tells us, “And these signs will accompany those who believe: by using my name they will cast out demons; they will speak in new tongues; 18they will pick up snakes in their hands, and if they drink any deadly thing, it will not hurt them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will recover.’ ” Mark 16:17-18
These things are possible for us through the Lord Jesus Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Welcome to Truth of the Spirit, I’m Patti Brunner. Today we continue with part 3 of the series based on my book, “The Lord Healed Them All.
Are you a believer? Every Sunday Catholics stand up and recite the Creed and say “I Believe”. A lot of people who read this particular scripture of Mark 16 dismiss it because of the ‘snake-handling’ verse. They forget this is directly tied to St. Paul who was bitten by a poisonous snake as he gathered firewood after a shipwreck and just shook it loose in the fire and continued on. I shared this verse at a youth retreat once and then asked them, “How many times have you done something that should have killed you but you weren’t even harmed?” Lots of hands went up. Father John H. Hampsch, C.M.F., a Catholic evangelizer who has a healing ministry, tells of an incident where he accidently drank the cleaning fluid that was in a coffee pot. A doctor said if he could get to the emergency room quickly he might save his life but his vocal chords would be destroyed. Father Hampsch remembered the Mark 16 verse “if they drink any deadly thing, it will not hurt them” and called upon the Lord with faith and hope. By faith he had zero damage. Fr. Hampsch, a jubilarian priest ordained in 1952 has spent over 50 years sharing healing ministry especially “Healing the Family Tree”.
A prophet of the Old Testament, Jeremiah, wrote the Lord’s promise in chapter 29:11 “For surely I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope.”
Jesus reveals part of that plan for the future of hope in Matthew 10:5a,7-8 “5 These twelve Jesus sent out with the following instructions…7As you go, proclaim the good news, “The kingdom of heaven has come near.” 8Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons. You received without payment; give without payment.”
The Gospel of Mark likewise shares in chapter 6, verses 7 and 13 Jesus “7 He called the twelve and began to send them out two by two, and gave them authority over the unclean spirits.” “13They cast out many demons, and anointed with oil many who were sick and cured them.”
The Gospel of Luke retells a time that Jesus sent out 72 disciples in the same way. He then reports in Luke chapter 10:17-20 “17 The seventy-(two) returned with joy, saying, ‘Lord, in your name even the demons submit to us!’ 18He said to them, ‘I watched Satan fall from heaven like a flash of lightning. 19See, I have given you authority to tread on snakes and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy; and nothing will hurt you. 20Nevertheless, do not rejoice at this, that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.’.”
All these healings by the disciples, how was this possible? Jesus gives them the clue by spelling it out for them.
Matthew 18:19-20 “9Again, truly I tell you, if two of you agree on earth about anything you ask, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. 20For where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them.’”
Then again, in Matthew 21:22 “22Whatever you ask for in prayer with faith, you will receive.’ “
John’s Gospel, which doesn’t just report the eyewitness but seeks to explain theologically the events of Christ’s ministry says in John 16:23b-24 “23b “Very truly, I tell you, if you ask anything of the Father in my name, he will give it to you. 24Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, so that your joy may be complete.”
James, who wrote several things about the healing ministry, repeats this sentiment when he writes in Chapter 4 verse 2b: “You do not have, because you do not ask.” James 4: 2b The great sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick is supported with the statement of James 5:14-15, “14Are any among you sick? They should call for the elders of the church and have them pray over them, anointing them with oil in the name of the Lord. 15The prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise them up; and anyone who has committed sins will be forgiven.”
Jesus spent time coaching his disciples to follow his way, so that when he left them they would be prepared to continue. When the disciples failed to heal an epileptic boy, in Matthew 17:19-20 “Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, ‘Why could we not cast it out?’ 20He said to them, ‘Because of your little faith. For truly I tell you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, “Move from here to there”, and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you.”
Why does Jesus do this? Doesn’t he realize that this world is passing away and there will be no infirmity in the ultimate healing in heaven? What is the tie of physical healing, that is temporary and spiritual healing that is eternal? Why has he combined the two?
We get a clue in Matthew 9:36-38 “When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. 37Then he said to his disciples, ‘The harvest is plentiful, but the labourers are few; 38therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out labourers into his harvest.’”
We see how rich the harvest is as we follow the early Church in the Acts of the Apostles. Peter plans his defensive testimony for healing in the name of Jesus a lame man in Acts 4:10 “let it be known to all of you, and to all the people of Israel, that this man is standing before you in good health by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead.”
The early church learned very quickly that the healing ministry can aid conversion to the faith. Acts 9:17-18 “17So Ananias went and entered the house. He laid his hands on Saul and said, ‘Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on your way here, has sent me so that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.’ 18And immediately something like scales fell from his eyes, and his sight was restored. Then he got up and was baptized,”
Saul, also known as Paul a persecutor of the early Church, is given the healing of sight and the infilling of the Holy Spirit thus confirming to him that the vision he received of Christ Jesus was real. With this new understanding Paul became a disciple of Christ and one of the greatest evangelist of the Church of all time.
Paul later explains the Baptism of the Spirit in 1 Corinthians 12:8-10 “8To one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, 9to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, 10to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the discernment of spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues.”
He teaches what was taught to him, both by Ananias who ministered the gift of healing to him and by the Holy Spirit who was sent to the Church by Jesus after he ascended to the Father.
As you hear these scriptures do you hear Lord’s instruction for us to continue his healing ministry? These show us that healing continues to be a key part of the ministry of Jesus.
He used healing in compassion and as a tool for evangelizing. Show of power through healing also gives God glory. We are to imitate Jesus and follow his Way. It’s not ‘us’ performing healing—it’s Him acting through us. Jesus invites us to pray and to be one with him as we stand in the gap—standing at the gates of heaven—as intercessors and healing ministers to allow God’s grace to come upon the people.
The gifts of grace called charisms by the Church are to be requested, received and shared. It is for the express use of strengthening and building the church that they are given. Without the charisms the Church would move more slowly in attaining wisdom, understanding, fortitude and faith. Charisms allow a “fast track” to receiving and sharing God’s love in “application”. To put it in terms of our time, like an “I-Phone” the usability is not just in the availability of the ‘apps’ but in the understanding of what the apps can do and how to access them that makes all the difference.
We each are given the Spirit at our baptism and confirmation. The stirring up of the gifts of the Holy Spirit takes place by the mercy of God on the Church. How does it happen? How do we learn it? 10 years after Vatican II Pope Paul VI wrote: “Modern man listens more willingly to witnesses than to teachers, and if he does listen to teachers, it is because they are witnesses.”
Let me tell you a portion of my story, my witness. It is one of many witnesses throughout the Church today. 120 million Catholics could tell theirs. It is the story of the stewardship of the grace given to me and to the Church by the Holy Spirit.
I was confirmed in the third grade and was basically unaware of the gift and blessings I was given. They lay ‘dormant’ until ‘stirred’ by the Spirit during a Cursillo woman’s retreat in October 1996. My husband had just gone to a similar retreat for men and had undergone a conversion through healing of depression. All during the week-end I felt a special connection to God. Part of the weekend was a healing service. We went forward in groups so that we could pray for each other while a priest led prayer. As I extended one hand on the shoulder of the person receiving prayer, I could feel a flow through me to that person. It felt awesome. Sometime it came in waves, as if several types of healing were being given to the same person. I wondered if they had turned out the lights if I would have seen sparks flow between us. Each time the energy ceased I could sense that a healing had taken place. I didn’t understand it but I looked forward to being on the receiving end of that energy force. When it was my time to receive prayer I felt my friends’ touch but it seemed more like a heavy blanket than a lightning zap. As I sat down I thanked the Lord for whatever he chose to give me. It was then that I felt like a big wind or a tornado was going on within my chest. I felt as if Jesus had taken my hand and sat beside me. It took me months to connect all the dots and realized that the Holy Spirit had stirred within me and had also given me a gift of healing. In the weeks that followed I found myself praising the Lord, visiting and praying with people in need and writing letters of encouragement. More than once an urging sent me to the hospital to pray with the family of a friend of a friend. I led a rosary of forgiveness asking the family to forgive the man who was dying and for him to forgive them. I didn’t understand why I was suddenly drawn to pray for people near death and their families. I knew nothing of inner healing ministry.
A few months later, in May 1997, I started finding answers as I visited a prayer group at my parish, St. Vincent de Paul Catholic Church in Rogers, AR, with members who understood the charisms of the Holy Spirit. They prayed for one another in small groups with encouraging words. As I stood with them and prayed, I felt an urging to tell the person we were praying for that the Lord wanted her to read scripture. Many months later I realized that the Holy Spirit was prompting those words, visions and scriptures. That night we were invited to attend an upcoming healing conference in Bella Vista, AR, sponsored by the Order of St. Luke, an interdenominational organization to promote the charism of healing. At the July 1997 OSL healing conference I browsed the book table looking for a Catholic book on healing. I found and purchased a book by Francis MacNutt called Healing. I talked about the book to my husband who was in Tulsa that week and he told me he purchased an earlier edition of the same book in a used book store the same day. God is amazingly generous to place affirmations in our paths. A month later, my husband and I were invited to serve as a prayer team at the Arkansas Catholic Charismatic Conference. As we prayed with people I could sense the presence of God. The Lord shared ways to pray by revealing words of knowledge about their needs, by reminding me of scriptures that gave counsel and causing physical sensations as particular physical healings took place. It was a tremendous joy to be able to signal my catchers that this one and that one was being overwhelmed by the grace of the Holy Spirit and was about to relax and rest in the Spirit. Some received physical healings and many received inner healings. His overwhelming peace always entered the scene, the peace that surpasses all understanding. Philippians 4:7 tells us “7And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
In January of 1998, we joined a team sponsored by Cornelius House Ministries led by Dr. Dennis Holt to travel around to parishes offering Living Life in the Spirit Seminars. During each week-end retreat we held a healing service where many were healed. In March 1998 at Benton, AR, the Lord used me to share the specific healings of those present—to call them out. I remember the first one was a healing of an elbow. I was so reluctant to call it out the Lord told me the person was wearing green—which I kept to myself. Sure enough, the person healed was wearing a green sweater.
Since those days I have come to better understand that the presence of the Holy Spirit within us connects us—the person praying and the person receiving prayer and Jesus—the Holy Spirit connects us. The Catechism of the Catholic Church states in paragraph 798 that “The Holy Spirit is “the principle of every vital and truly saving action in each part of the Body.” He works in many ways to build up the whole Body in charity … finally, by the many special graces (called “charisms”), by which he makes the faithful “fit and ready to undertake various tasks and offices for the renewal and building up of the Church.”
The Power of the Most High dwells within you. Do not forget it. Are we one? YES: One in faith, in Baptism, in the source of everlasting life. Do not fear praying and asking for healing. The answer may not always be obvious but remember: Jesus Heals!
My husband and I continue to pray for people who need healing. Almost every time we pray we sense the presence of God upon the people we pray for. The incredible amount of grace that can be bestowed upon people goes ‘wanting’ for lack of petition. Fewer and fewer people pray. Few ask for relief for the world. Few take the time to ask for intercession. We reach out to our community by leading healing workshops and spiritual formation including Life in the Spirit to help brothers and sisters in Christ to step into God’s calling and commission. Even though a lot of people receive healing I’m waiting for the day when the Lord heals them all. In nature, whenever the distant thunder sounds, you see the light preceding it and wait. Patience is difficult in good times; it is imperative in bad times. Waiting on the Lord when people are miserable is painful. So what can be done to alleviate misery? It is difficult for people to pray themselves when they are in pain except to cry out to God for relief. Seeking to change the environment can aid, yet sometimes the choice of change makes things seem worse. As the world is corrupted by sin, all are affected in some way. Environment – spiritual especially, relationships, clear thinking, right order –each of these are affected by the blatant sin of the world. We are called as Christians to center our lives more fully on the Word of God. Colossians 3:16a “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly.” When you allow the Word of God to permeate your soul you will find that you can step out of darkness. Know the Scriptures, eat the Word, and consume it so that from the abundance of the heart the mouth shall speak. Matthew 12:34b
Healing is the most sought after charism and easiest to accept by those who trust in the Lord. When you seek physical healing and receive physical relief immediately God is praised for his Goodness. Yet there are many types of healing that are not immediate that God bestows on those who seek his healing power and grace. We are also called to pray for those with pain not physical: to release the bondage of the pain by the name of Jesus. Speak life into them. Share his love with them. Redeeming love is the reminder that no matter what he will never forsake you. Look at the Psalms 131 and 139. Look, too, at Psalm 23. The Lord is my Shepherd. The Lord stands by you and leads you to verdant pastures. Encourage those in need. Hope is in the Lord. Check it out. Hope in the Lord. Inner healing of the mind and of the soul are also gifts from God. Healing of memories and overcoming regrets build up the Body of Christ. Healing of marriages and relationships are frequent prayer requests. The gift of peace that overcomes stress that causes many illnesses is but one way that the Lord gives His healing grace to his people. One way that I have been trained –by others who have been anointed in the healing ministry – is to speak specifically to the physical need. In the name of Jesus we can command body parts to come into alignment with the will of God and the perfection of creation.
We always ask God to heal and allow His grace to flow in the best possible way. Sometimes the Lord delays physical healing to allow layers of inner healing to take place. Sometimes the Lord heals through providing medicine and excellent doctors and treatment. Sometimes the Lord touches the soul and allows the heart to heal. I have personally witnessed hundreds of all types of healing – many in my own family and among friends. Many are small things because we turn to the Lord for every need big and small. Every Christian can ask for the gift of Healing from the Holy Spirit. The ministry of healing is when the Lord calls you to go out among His people curing their illness in His name.
When you set out on this course you’ll probably ask yourself “Am I worthy?” During mass we repeat the prayer, “Lord, I am not worthy to receive you; only say the word and I shall be healed”. The mass prayer is based on the centurion’s prayer in Matthew 8:8 “The centurion answered, ‘Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof; but only speak the word, and my servant will be healed.” He asked not for himself but for his servant. The centurion became a healing minister and so can you. Know this: The Lord is worthy. Jesus is worthy. Be one with his Church as it pursues the people to come to Jesus. So often people look the other way but when something ‘catches their eye’ it causes them to pause. Trust me, healing and miracles will catch their eye! Stay in the Lord and you shall see the glory of the Lord as the grace descends upon the people and lives are changed.
You’ve been listening to Truth of the Spirit; I’m Patti Brunner. Today’s broadcast is taken from my book, “The Lord Healed Them All.” And the scriptures are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible. I invite you to subscribe to my podcast on audio or YouTube. It’s free and it makes it easier for you to come back next time for part four, “When Healing Is Not Seen and Barriers to Healing”. Because remember there’s more; with the Holy Spirit, there is always more!
