EVANGELISM THROUGH HEALING AND DELIVERANCE
EVANGELISM THRU HEALING AND DELIVERANCE
(Workshop by The Rev. Canon Dr. Winfred Vergara, presented at Evangelism Matters, St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, Cleveland Heights, Ohio. March 16, 2018)
INTRODUCTION:
Hi my name is Fred Vergara, missioner for Episcopal Asiamerica Ministries. I work as staff of the Presiding Bishop. EAM is one of the most diverse communities in the Episcopal Church. We are in seven major ethnic convocations: Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Filipino, Southeast Asian, South Asian and Pacific Islanders. For two consecutive years, each convocation meets separately to map out its visions and goals and on the third year we come together in a pan-Asian Consultation to have fellowship, leadership training and share best practices. This year we will gather in Honolulu, Hawaii on September 27-October 1, 2018.
The theme of this year’s EAM Consultation is “Piko-Celebrating Christ, Community and Creation.” Piko is the Hawaiian word for navel or belly button and I like to think that Jesus is the navel, the center of our faith. If you wish to join, you may contact me through my email: wvergara@episcopalchurch.org.
The time for this workshop is very limited so may I go straight to my presentation. I will try to finish my materials in at least 30 minutes and thereafter we shall have at least 15 minutes for open forum.
The title of this presentation is EVANGELISM THROUGH HEALING AND DELIVERANCE.
If for some reason you are asked what academic
degree did Jesus have, what would you say? I think it is safe to say Jesus had
a PHD, meaning “Preaching, Healing and Deliverance.”
Jesus preached the Good News, healed the sick, and delivered those who were oppressed by the devil. Almost 2/3rd of the ministries of Jesus is about healing---and if we must become followers of the Jesus Movement, we must spend time in the ministry of healing.
Matthew 4:24 says: “Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people.”
WHY JESUS HEALS?
There are three purposes for the healing ministry of Jesus:
A. First Jesus heals in RESPONSE TO HUMAN NEEDS
It is simple: God hears our prayers. In the Old Testament (Book of Exodus), God said to the Hebrew slaves: “I have heard your cries; I have seen your tears. I will come down to save you.”
In the New Testament (Matthew 9:36), Jesus saw the crowd and he had compassion for they were harassed and helpless like sheep without a shepherd. So when the sick say, “Lord, if you are willing, make me clean; Jesus Son of David have mercy on me” (Matt. 8:2; 9:7), Jesus responds to this need.
B. PLATFORM FOR EVANGELISM
The second reason why Jesus heals is that healing is a platform or prelude to evangelism. I will say more about this but suffice it to say that “Miracles break open people’s hearts to God.” Signs and wonders have a way of getting our attention. The late Billy Graham, probably the world’s most influential evangelist in our generation once said he was sharing the gospel to a fellow passenger in the airplane but this guy was not interested at all. Then suddenly there was a jolt, a rough air turbulence and the guy was terrified. When the turbulence ended, he asked Billy, “Mr Graham, what were you saying again about this Jesus?”
C. POWER ENCOUNTER
The third reason why Jesus healed is that it is a demonstration that the power of God is far more superior than that of the evil one. In the Old Testament, there was this contest between Moses and the magicians of Egypt. When Moses threw down his staff, it became a snake. The Pharoah was astounded so he commanded his magicians to do the same. When the magicians threw down their canes their canes also became snakes. But Moses’ snake was bigger and more powerful and it swallowed up the snakes of the magicians.
Sickness, like the magicians' snakes have the counterfeit power over us---but the power of God is greater than any other power. Even the power of death, the last enemy was already conquered for us on the cross by Jesus. Amen?
HEALING AS PLATFORM FOR EVANGELISM
Let me elucidate further on the theme of healing as a platform for evangelism. This is another way of saying that healing, signs and wonders are a confirmation of the presence of the Kingdom of God.
In the BOOK OF ACTS 5: 12, 14-16 it says “The apostles performed many miraculous signs and wonders…and the people believed.” They believed in Jesus because they have seen the confirmation of the presence of God through the miracles of healing.
ACTS 8:4-8 describes Philip in Samaria. Samaria was a Gentile city and the Samaritans were a people despised by the Jews of that time. You may remember the parable of the Good Samaritan; and you may remember the parable of the Samaritan Woman at the well. The Samaritans were a marginalized ethnic group in the context of Palestine. The Jews of Jesus’ time would have nothing to do with the Samaritans. A comparable ethnic group in today’s world are the Dalits of India, the outcasts of the caste society. Or maybe the undocumented immigrants which many in the U.S. mainstream society would have nothing to do with them.
Philip preached the Good News in Samaria and his preaching was accompanied by healing. The Bible says “When the crowds heard and saw the miraculous signs, they all listened and believed.” Miracles open the hearts of the Samaritans, like the water softening the fallow ground.
So ACTS 8: 9-12, continued to say
that “the whole city of Samaria, including Simon the sorcerer, believed!” Even
Simon, the Sorcerer! It is like converting a communist to believe in Christ!
Another story was the miraculous healing of Aeneas by St. Peter. In ACTS 9:32- 35 St. Peter came down to the Christians who lived at Lydda and Sharon. There he found a man named Aeneas, bedridden for eight years, who was paralyzed. And Peter said to him, “Aeneas, Jesus Christ heals you; rise and make your bed.” And immediately he rose.” The Scriptures says “And all the residents of Lydda and Sharon saw him, and they turned to the Lord.”
But the most fantastic of all was the healing of Dorcas in ACTS 9:36-43: “Now there was in Joppa a disciple named Tabitha, which, translated, means Dorcas. She was full of good works and acts of charity. In those days she became ill and died, and when they had washed her, they laid her in an upper room. 38 Since Lydda was near Joppa, the disciples, hearing that Peter was there, sent two men to him, urging him, “Please come to us without delay.”
“So Peter rose and went with them. And when he arrived, they took him to the upper room. All the widows stood beside him weeping and showing tunics and other garments that Dorcas made while she was with them. But Peter put them all outside, and knelt down and prayed; and turning to the body he said, “Tabitha, arise.” And she opened her eyes, and when she saw Peter she sat up. And Peter took her by the hand and raised her up. Then, calling the saints and widows, he presented her alive. “ Again the emphasis “ And it became known throughout all Joppa, and many believed in the Lord.
So as you can see from the Scriptures, the early Church grew in leaps and bounds not only due to the powerful preaching of the apostles, not only by the quality of their lives and relationships but also because of the mighty works of healing that accompany the Word of God. Healing was an indispensable part of the Jesus Movement!
PERSONAL TESTIMONY
So let me now share a personal experience of how healing has become an instrument in reviving a declining church. In 2013, I served as part-time priest of ST. JAMES EPISCOPAL CHURCH IN ELMHURST, QUEENS, NEW YORK. Established in 1704, St. James is a historic church. As a matter of fact, the first Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church, Samuel Seabury, was once a priest in that church. It used to be a “great white church” (no pun intended) but as time passed by and the demographics of Queens changed, the church declined to the point that the remnants of the congregation could no longer afford to hire a full time priest.
When we came, the church had only 20 Average Sunday Attendance and had thousands of debts from the endowment fund. I could only work on Sundays as I have a full time job as missioner for Asiamerica Ministries. By God’s grace, however, after three years Sunday attendance rose to 130 people and we were able to pay the debt and had $40,000 in surplus. How did we grow? There were many factors but foremost among them was the Healing Ministry that draw in new people in.
So St. James was now able to have a full time priest so now I am in HOLY TRINITY EPISCOPAL CHURCH IN HICKSVILLE, NEW YORK serving again as a Sunday revivalist. It’s now a year and half that we serve as a Sunday priest and we have halted its decline. From 30 average Sunday attendance, we now have grown into 52. Again, there are many factors of growth but the major one is the healing service that we have introduced. Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever. His love and mercy do not change. If He healed before, He is healing now and He will heal forever.
I know we’re not supposed to say alleluia during Lent but may I say Alleluia? It is because not only that many people who came for our healing service got healed. I was diagnosed with cancer myself . I underwent 45 days of radiation but during those days I prayed for my healing and every Sunday, after I have laid hands on people who come for healing, they too would lay hands on me. Last October 2017, my psa has gone down from 5 to 1 and I was pronounced cancer free. Alleluia!
CAUSES OF SICKNESS
Now, let me enumerate the Causes of Sickness as the Bible says. There are three major spiritual causes of sickness. I would call them the three S’s: Sin, Satan, and Secret.
SIN: What is sin? I served in Singapore as priest at St.
Andrew’s Anglican Cathedral and church planter in its extension centers from
1980-1986. Throughout those years, I would travel at least two to three times a
year and Singapore Airlines would put a tag on our luggages and you know what’s
in the tag? “SIN” (abbreviation of Singapore Airlines). So in a sense, we carry
a luggage of SIN wherever we are. Sin is defined as “missing the mark.” God has
given us a bullseye, his perfect will. Adam and Eve had everything in Paradise.
There was eternal life. But they missed the mark through their disobedience.
Driven East of Eden, their mortality came in. Sickness and death came to
humanity. Hence all of us have sinned and fall short of the glory of God!
In the Roman Catholic catechism, there are 7 capital sins, capital comes from the word kaput, meaning head. These capital or cardinal sins are: Pride, Greed, Sloth, Avarice, Envy, Blasphemy. Gluttony. Out of these sins, came out diseases and so the healing of sickness involves forgiveness of sins. In many of His healing ministries, Jesus would say, “Your faith has made you well; your sins are forgiven; go in peace (Mark 2:5). James 5:14-15 says, “Is any sick among you? 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: And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.”
SATAN: John 10:10a, Satan is described as a thief. Jesus said, “The thief comes only to kill, steal and destroy” (Cf. Matt.9:22-23; Matt 5: 1-20; Luke 13:11-16). Satan inflicts sickness that steals away our health, our joy, our life but Jesus comes to give us life and have it abundantly.
SECRET: Secret means that God a
higher purpose in sickness, which we do not know. Not that God afflicts us with sickness but God
allows it to happen because of a higher purpose. In the case of the blind man
whom Jesus healed, the people asked: “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his
parents?’ and Jesus replied: “Neither this man nor his parents sinned but this
happened so the work of God maybe manifest in his life.”
St. Paul himself had “a thorn in the flesh” and he said it was to keep him from being puffed up with pride. He had sought the Lord’s healing but the Lord said “My grace is sufficient for you.”
THERE ARE OTHER CAUSES OF SICKNESS AS THE BIBLE TELLS US. Here are some of them:
1. BREAKING OF THE LAWS OF NATURE: (e.g.
Overwork)
Now, let me just mention the name
Epaphroditus in the Letter of Paul to the Filipinos, I mean to the Philippians
(Philippians 2:25-30). When St. Paul was under house arrest in Rome, the church
in Philippi gathered supplies and sent them to Rome by the hand of one of their
own, a man named Epaphroditus.
Epaphroditus faithfully delivered the gift from his home church and then went
above and beyond the call of duty. In his fervor to serve the Lord by serving
Paul, Epaphroditus became seriously ill and, in fact, almost died. God
graciously granted Epaphroditus health, and Paul sent his friend back home with
the newly penned book of Philippians.
This part of what Paul wrote: “I think it is necessary to send back to you Epaphroditus, my brother, co-worker and fellow soldier, who is also your messenger, whom you sent to take care of my needs. For he longs for all of you and is distressed because you heard he was ill. Indeed he was ill, and almost died. But God had mercy on him, and not on him only but also on me, to spare me sorrow upon sorrow. Therefore I am all the more eager to send him, so that when you see him again you may be glad and I may have less anxiety. So then, welcome him in the Lord with great joy, and honor people like him, because he almost died for the work of Christ. He risked his life to make up for the help you yourselves could not give me.”
So Epaphroditus was sent to help Paul but in his
eagerness he abused his body from overwork and instead of being of help, he
became a burden for Paul. During the charismatic movement in the Episcopal Church
in the 1980’s, there was a nursery rhyme which says, “Mary had a little lamb,
prayed all night, became a charismatic and died for lack of sleep.” Our body is
the temple of the Holy Spirit and we need to take care of our bodies even as
God takes care of our souls.
2. ACCIDENT AND ITS AFTER EFFECT:
A woman had a lump on her breast as a result of a car accident; she did not do anything about it and later it turned into a breast cancer and had to be surgically removed.
3.INGRATITUDE:
In Luke 17:18, there were ten lepers who were healed by Jesus but only one, a Samaritan, came back to give Him thanks. Most likely, their leprosy returned.
5. WRONGFUL PARTICIPATION IN COMMUNION:
In 1 Cor. 17:19-20, we are told to discern Christ’s Body in the Lord’s Supper. Where there is rupture in relationships in the church, where there are conflicts in the Body of Christ, we bring in sickness. Note that the word disease is a combination of two words “dis” and “ease.” Where there is no peace, there is no ease, and that spells “dis-ease.”
6. INNER HURTS. Inner hurts are often psychological but they also issue in physical ailment. People who suffer from inner hearts need inner healing. Once they are healed in their spirits, the physical healing follows. Some of the causes of inner hurts are:
• REJECTION AS A CHILD: e.g. parents who attempted abortion. The child who lived and survived often would have a feeling of being unwanted.
• UNKIND COMPARISON BY FAMILY: e.g. favoritism. It is not good for parents to compare their one child to another. Each person is unique.
• SUFFERING ABUSE FROM AUTHORITY: e.g. teachers, pastors, leaders. It is a known fact that in our society, even Christians had become victims of abusive parents even priests and pastors, either sexually or verbally or emotionally.
• BROKEN RELATIONSHIPS: frustrated infatuation, nasty divorce, break-ups with no closure. Again peace is not only the absence of war but the healing of ruptured relationships. One of my former counselees who suffered from a nasty divorce said that death might be better than divorce because in death you would not see the person who victimized you, whereas in divorce you still see them.
• TRAUMAS: Attempted rape, molestation, sexual misconduct, trapped in the dark. One of those who came for our healing service had a phobia of darkness; he sleeps with lights and when someone would accidentally turn off the light, he would scream in fright. Then he remembers that when he was a child, when he his mother would punish him by locking him in the closet.
• UNEXPRESSED GRIEF: Suppressed feelings of loss. I believe this is where the people in many Third World Countries would fare better than in our stiff upper lip affluent culture. There are cultures that frown upon emotional outpouring of grief. It is therapeutic to cry, even to cry aloud, if only to release our pent-up emotions. In China, they even have professional mourners who would cry out aloud, so as to encourage the bereaved family to express their grief. It is good grief!
• BULLYING VICTIM: Suppressed feelings of revenge. There had been several incidents where victims of bullying, feeling helpless and unable to release their confounded longings, decided to end their own lives.
UNRESOLVED INNER HEARTS ARE EXPRESSED UNCONSCIOUSLY IN DEPRESSIONS, OBSSESSIONS, ADDICTIONS, MIGRAINES, ALLERGIES, DIGESTIVE AND SPINAL PROBLEMS AS WELL AS SERIOUS ONES LIKE CANCER AND CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASES. WE NEED HEALING FROM INNER HURTS.
So what are the SOURCES OF HEALING
1. NATURE ITSELF (Psalm 139:13-16). Our Creator Father God has fashioned us in such a way that there are built-in healing mechanism, defined by science as our “immune systems.” For instance when we get wounded skin-deep, all we need to do is to clean the wound to prevent infection and our skin would heal itself.
2. MEDICAL SCIENCE. If you have Facebook, you may google my Facebook Fred Vergara. Last week was the commemoration of the feast days of the Mayos and the Menningers. They are outstanding medical doctors and psychiatrists who made into our Holy Women Holy Men. Mayo father and sons were the pioneers in interdisciplinary approach to medicine, which paved the way to what is now known as the Mayo Clinic. The Menningers are also outstanding Episcopalian psychiatrists who pioneered in humane treatment of the mentally-ill. The bottom line of their sainthood, if you may, was their ability to integrate their Christian faith into their medical practice. In the Episcopal Church, science and religion are not antithetical; they are interrelated and complementary. When medical science are at a loss, here comes the miracle worker of God as instrument of healing grace. Prayer and medicine doeth good together.
3. SUPERNATURAL: Divine healing is defined as the restoration of the wholeness of spirit, mind and body. Just like God is trinity---Father, Son and Holy Spirit. So is our beings: we are a trinity---spirit, mind and body. So when the Holy Spirit communes with our spirit, there is healing. Some of the ways supernatural healing can come to us, are through the following:
• Personal prayer (Hezekiah in II Kings 20)- we can pray for ourselves. “Ask and you will receive; seek and you shall find; knock and the door will be opened unto you” (Matthew 7:7)
• Intercession (Mark 8:13). Someone praying for the sick; this is what we do in the Prayers of the People every Sunday. In Scriptures, the centurion interceded for his servant to Jesus, “Lord, I am not worthy that you come under my roof but just say the word and my servant will be praying for his servants)
• Laying on Hands on the sick (Mark 16:17).) This is well-practiced in our church.
• Anointing with oil (James 5:14-15). A women’s Bible Study group read this part of scriptures and prayed for one. They do not have the oil so one of them got cooking oil and pour it down on the sick person. God honored their faith and healed the sick.
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