In Matthew 14:13, although Jesus was grieving over the death of John, He still spared time to minister to the crowd of people because He had great compassion for them all. Jesus turns to all who calls upon Him. This reveals the heart of God towards all who are hurting and crying out to Him for help. Unfortunately, many people are in need but do not call upon Him. From Hebrews 1:1-3, we read that Jesus is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of God’s nature. The new covenant is revealed through Jesus Christ Himself.
God is love (1 John 4:8). Love describes God. However, we have become confused about what love is today. If one does not know God, one will never come to the true knowledge of love, Today we have an inaccurate view of love. We get confused and mistake lust for love: ‘love gives, lust takes’. Lust disguised as love. Love is found in the knowledge of Christ and Christ is the ultimate expression of God’s nature. In John 3:16, Jesus has given His all at the cross to restore and heal. Pastor John continued to say that when one is in love “at the first sight”, it may just be an attraction. Love means to give 100% of oneself to the other party. This is what marriage is where one is in a covenantal commitment with the other. Even if one party is not perfect, the other will still love him or her unconditionally.
Jesus gives, delivers, heals and restores every person who comes to Him. In Matthew 4:23-24 and 9:35, Jesus taught at the synagogues, preached the Good News and healed all people of their diseases. Teaching and preaching precede healing because faith has to be raised before healing can take place. We need to be engaged (i.e., to take action) as we seek for healing in our lives. Faith comes from the hearing of the truth in God’s Word. It is important to know what is laying upon God’s heart and His purpose for you. It is the unique healing journey for the individual that is more important. When a person is sick, it is natural to desire healing. However, God wants more than just the healing of that person. He wants the person to be able to hear, trust and have faith in Him – to learn more about Him in the process of the healing. One can also discover something more about himself during the process of healing. For example, there could be spiritual roots like unforgiveness and resentment that have manifested in physical pain and God wants to heal those wounds.
In Luke 4:40, it was recorded that Jesus healed all the sick who were brought to him. Pastor John was once affected by severe pain and it is through this painful experience that he learnt about the ramification of Jesus’ redemptive work. Through his learning encounters, as his faith grew, the symptoms reduced. He has also witnessed numerous miraculous healing and knows that God has healed him.
With Matthew 12:15 and Luke 5:17, Jesus’ teaching lifted up the people’s faith and healed them all. This is God’s heartbeat. He has paid for everything so that we have access to Him by faith. Therefore, one can learn to grow in faith by believing in His power. There is no disease that Jesus cannot heal. In Mark 1:39-42, we need to remind ourselves everyday that God is willing to heal. We need to get His word into us and let His love heal and restore. We must be acquainted with the Word of God that Jesus heals and wants to make us whole (1 Peter 2:24). In Matthew 10:7-8, we are made whole to be an instrument of grace to help others – we are ALL in ‘full-time’ ministry to reach out to people around us (Isaiah 44).
Discussion Questions
1) In His ministry, Jesus taught, preached and healed even when he had just heard about the death of his cousin, John. This is because he had compassion for the crowd. What is one thing we can learn about Jesus from this? [10 min]
Leader’s notes: A recall question. Refer to Matthew 14:13, 14 and Luke 4:38-44. What do you observe was priority in the mind of Christ in spite of his grief for John; and at the start of his public ministry, besides teaching at the synagogue what else did Jesus do? It is Jesus’ nature to always put others before his own interests. He puts the needs of the people first. Being other-centric, we ought to have compassion for those in need. Let’s emulate Christ to consider others’ interest above self, even to the point of obedience. Read Philippians 2:4-8.
Jesus not only healed those who were sick, he taught the truths and preached the Good News. Similarly, we can share about the Kingdom of Heaven (what Jesus taught about who He is in the Gospels) as we talk about our personal experiences with God to others. This will build faith and faith is an important element for healing.
2) Ps John mentioned that the leper (Mark 1:39 – 42) doubted at first Jesus’ willingness to heal. Jesus proved him otherwise and healed him.
a. How is faith related to His love that restores and heals us? [5 min]
b. Read Hebrews 11. What can we learn about God’s promises of healing and restoration from our patriarchs in their faith journeys? [10 min]
Leader’s notes: A relate question. a. God not only has the power to heal, He is also willing to heal. Christ himself has already paid the complete price for our healing and restoration (1 Peter 2:24). There is no one beyond the reach of God who loves us and has compassion for us. We should seek him and anchor our faith in God, the Healer and hope in His love.
b. Reading from Hebrews 11, we see that our patriarchs of faith did not receive that which was promised to the faithful. From verses 13-18, the posture or attitude of our patriarchs is worth mulling over. They see themselves as sojourners on earth. Their attitude of surrender and having a vision to live a purposeful life is also important for us to contemplate. Although we do not doubt the power God has to answer all our prayers (healing etc), it is also important to know what is upon God’s heart and the calling He has for each of us.
Summarise that it is God’s will to heal and that we do not doubt but rather we should be more fixated on the Healer, the Source of Life – this matters to God for God is love and we trust in His faithfulness as we read His Word.
3) Ps John shared about how God has healed him and enabled him to be His instrument of grace. Share one healing or restoration experience you have had and how it has built faith and your confidence to help others. How would you begin to be God’s instrument of grace through the healing you have received? [15 min]
Leader’s notes: A reflect and response question. Have members consider one area of healing that they have had received. Healing can be in the areas of emotional, physical, reconciliation or psychological. Encourage them to talk about how their faith has played a role in these experiences or in their miracles (small or big ones). It is important to remind cell members to focus on the Healer and not the healing itself. If not, we will become disappointed when we do not see the kind of healing we desired taking place and have an inaccurate view of who our ABBA Father is. It is what lays upon the heart of God that is most important – He treasures our relationship with Him and wants us to be an instrument of grace to bless others and be used for His glory. Encourage members to step out in faith and obey God like Jesus did, to do the will of God and redeem hope in someone else’s life.
