A. God appeals to our spiritual reasoning.
Isaiah 1:18,19
18 “Come now, and let us reason together,” Says the LORD, “Though your sins
are like scarlet, They shall be as white as snow; Though they are red like
crimson, They shall be as wool.
19 “If you are willing and obedient, You shall eat the good of the land” (NKJV).
B. We must reason in line with His revealed Word.
James 5:14 – Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord (NKJV).
Matthew 7:7,8
7 “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and
it will be opened to you
8 “For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him
who knocks it will be opened” (NKJV).
John 14:14 –“If you ask anything in My name, I will do it” (NKJV).
Mark 11:24 –“Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them” (NKJV).
C. Jesus gave a commission…
1. To the Twelve
Matthew 10:7,8
7 “And as you go, preach, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’
8 “Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely give” (NKJV).
2. To the Seventy
Luke 10:1,8,9,17
1 After these things the Lord appointed seventy others also, and sent them
two by two before His face into every city and place where He Himself was about
to go.
8 “Whatever city you enter, and they receive you, eat such things as are set before you.
9 “And heal the sick there, and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’”
17 Then the seventy returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name” (NKJV).
3. To those who believe in His name
Mark 16:17,18
17 “And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will
cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues;
18 “they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover” (NKJV).
The faith that appropriates God’s promise rests on the knowledge of His will. His known will is the basis of our faith. We could not take healing by faith, believing that we had received it, if there was any question as to whether or not it was for us.
We must know the will of God; then we may take by faith whatever He
has promised in His word, believing that when we ask we receive.
Our will also has a part in
the question of healing: Will we take that which God wills for us? “If you live
in me, and my words live in you, ask what you will, and it shall be done to
you” (John 15:7). When our will meets
His will, the work is done.
–
T.L. Osborn