There are innumerable children of God on earth, over five billion in number today. But we see there are only a few among all of them who know and genuinely appreciate the heavenly Father's love and grace. For example, many of His children get sick and groan every day while others get well daily. There are of course some who die of old age, but there are none among the healed who have not received the touch of our Father's curing hands.
Among the variety of medicines that doctors or physicians prescribe, not a single drug is made of ingredients that are not given by God. Their hands and minds, and even the knives held in their hands, are all given freely by the God of heaven.
[God who made the world and everything in it ...He gives to all men life, breath, and everything] (Acts 17:24, 25), hands and feet, and wisdom in heart. He says to us, [Now prepare yourself like a man; I will question you, and you shall answer Me. Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Tell Me, if you have understanding] (Job. 38:3, 4). [Who has put wisdom in the mind? Or who has given understanding to the heart?] (Job 38:36). [And what do you have that you did not receive? Now if you did indeed receive it, why do you glory as if you had not received it?] (1 Cor. 4:7).
[Thus says the Lord: `Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, let not the mighty man glory in his might, nor let the rich man glory in his riches; but let him who glories glory in this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the Lord, exercising loving kindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth. For in these I delight, says the Lord] (Jer. 9:23, 24).
If a doctor in a hospital performs a surgical operation on his patient with all his knowledge and skill, putting stitches in the wounds and applying remedies on them, afterwards there is nothing more he can do for the patient. This is the limit of the human doctor. From then on, God's hand does all the work. He heals up fractured bones and makes them strong, binds up bleeding wounds so perfectly that not a drop of water can soak into the healed skin, relieves sharp pains and restores the skin as perfectly as it was before. This is the everyday work of the heavenly Physician.
And some of the cured patients give thanks and praise to Jesus and the Holy Spirit for such an abundant grace, but there are few who give sincere thanks to the Father. Of course, Jesus and the Holy Spirit heal our diseases too, but I would, in this chapter, like to highly praise the healing power of God, the Father. Most people with one accord speak much about the power of Jesus that healed all the sick on earth two thousand years ago. And yet in the Bible, the [two witnesses] [who stand beside the Lord of the whole earth] (Rev. 11:3, Zech. 4:14), testify that most of the power to heal the sick and raise the dead performed by Jesus actually was the power of the Father and His healing hands.
It is written, [Is any among you sick? Let him pray] (James 5:14). [As a father pities his children, so the Lord pities those who fear Him] (Ps. 103:13).
[Miracles, wonders, and signs ... God did through Him (Jesus) in your midst, as you yourselves also know] (Acts 2:22). With power of God, He (Jesus) [went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him] (Acts 10:38). [Now Jesus went about all Galilee ... healing... all kind of disease among the people ... And they brought to Him all sick people who were afflicted with various diseases and torments, and those who were demon-possessed, epileptics, and paralytics, and He healed them] (Matt. 4:23, 24). And Jesus said, [When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know ... that I do nothing of Myself; but ... My Father] (John 8:28).
[I am in the Father, and the Father in Me the Father who dwells in Me does the works. Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father in Me; or else believe Me for the sake of the works themselves] - Healing the sick and the mighty works and wonders. [I can of Myself do nothing] (John 14:10, 11, 5:30). "The mighty works that I did in healing the sick, raising the dead, and calming the sea were not what I a man Jesus did, but the Father." Yes, as He had been a true God before He came to this earth, so was He a true human, Jesus of Nazareth, a son of carpenter. Therefor the human Jesus did not raise up the dead, remove the maladies that were afflicting His children, and rebuke and calm the sea. The mighty works and power that flowed out from Jesus were performed by the power of the Almighty God, the Father who was in Him: God Himself did all the works through His Son. That is why Jesus said, [Most assuredly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself] (John 5:19). [My Father has been working until now, and I have been working] (John 5:17). [He is kind to the unthankful and evil] (Luke 6:35).
Truly it was God the Father who came in the form of a man, Jesus of Nazareth, two thousand years ago; who laid hands on the poor, pitiful children, rejected, forsaken and left comfortless. He healed them all, especially visiting the needy from village to village, from city to city, and from town to town.
Oh, what an amazing love of the Father for the world! So unbelievably wonderful is the love that caused Him, the Majesty of heaven, the King of the universe, to come down to this cursed ground, to visit every poor home, to lay His hands on His afflicted children and heal them. How sad it is that the world does not know, that it is a hidden mystery even today.
The Bible shows that the disciples had been taught by Jesus about the Father's healing of love for His children, and upon witnessing all the healings the Father performed through His Son, they prayed after His ascension, not to Jesus or the Spirit, but to the Father, asking for His grace and aid in healing the sick.
[They raised their voices together in prayer to God, `Sovereign Lord... stretch out Your hand to heal and perform miraculous signs and wonders through the name of Your holy servant Jesus.'] (Acts 4:24, 30 NIV). And the God of infinite love answered their prayer. [And when they had prayed, the place where they were assembled together was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit] (Acts 4:31), and went about to heal all the sick. Once on the way to the temple, Peter and John saw [a man lame from his mother's womb] (Acts 3:2) and healed him. [And all the people were ... filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him] (Acts 3:9,10). And seeing them glorify the disciples and not God, Peter exclaimed, [Men of Israel, why do you marvel at this? Or why look so intently at us, as though by our own power or godliness we had made this man walk? The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of our fathers] by healing this man in the name of Jesus,[glorified His Servant Jesus] (Acts 3:12, 13).
Truly our real Father in heaven healed us Himself two thousand years ago through His Son and through the disciples. He is also healing us today, in the hospitals and in our homes. [But they did not know that I healed them] (Hosea 11:3).
How many among all the children of God in this world are there who appreciate and praise Him for His grace and love, for curing and delivering them from their painful diseases, and for being constantly concerned and caring for them. Surprisingly, there are very few. How sad the angels must be at the sight! There are many among the healed who feel grateful to Jesus. But it seems that there are almost none who give sincere thanks to the Father who in reality deserves to receive the greater gratitude from His children. How lonely and deserted He must feel when He sees no response of love or thanks from us! But without the slightest look of complaint or displeasure, He still lays His healing hands of love upon you and me even today, caring for us with steadfast love and tenderness. He continues to say to us, [I am the Lord who heals you] (Ex. 15:26).
Dear brothers and sisters! Although it is late let us now give thanks to our heavenly Father.
[Praise the Lord! For it is good to sing praises to our God] (Ps. 147:1-3). [Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits ... who heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from destruction, who crowns you with loving kindness and tender mercies, who satisfies your mouth with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's] (Ps. 103:2-5). [Oh give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever. Oh give thanks to the God of heaven! For His mercy endures forever] (Ps. 136:1, 26). He is our real Father who personally heals all our diseases.
Praise the Lord!
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