HEALING OF THE PARALYTIC

Luke 5:17
Now it happened on a certain day, as He was teaching, that there were Pharisees and teachers of the law sitting by, who had come out of every town of Galilee, Judea, and Jerusalem. And the power of the Lord was present to heal them. 

     This passage is a beautiful demonstration of how Jesus and the Holy Spirit work together. Here was Jesus teaching but the power of the Lord to heal is said to be present. The word “present” here means "It is I." This indicates that the power of the Lord is a person and this person is the Holy Spirit. And He was present as Jesus taught. The Holy Spirit was with Jesus in the form of the Anointing. This was why healing was possible. Any healing ministry is only possible in the presence of the Holy Spirit who is the power of God to heal. In fact, the signs and wonders of God be it healing or others take place because God endows His people with His Spirit. Further, only when a work is anointed by God does it become acceptable to God. Thus, we must cry out for the Holy Spirit, His Anointing to be upon our ministries.

     I am reminded of something I heard in Dr. Brian Bailey's preaching before of how in the last days the teaching and healing ministries will rise together. We saw this in the life of our Lord Jesus who during His time on earth came to heal the sick and teach with tremendous power. The coming revival will also be filled with healing miracles but it will also require life-changing teaching that will establish and strengthen the saints to prepare them for the last days. These two ministries will be possible because of what Joel 2 tells us-that God will pour out His Spirit in the last days. And this will lead to the great revival of the end days.

Luke 5:18-20
"Then behold, men brought on a bed a man who was paralyzed, whom they sought to bring in and lay before Him. And when they could not find how they might bring him in, because of the crowd, they went up on the housetop and let him down with his bed through the tiling into the midst before Jesus. When He saw their faith, He said to him, "Man your sins are forgiven you."" 

     As Jesus was teaching, men brought in a paralytic by the roof and it says Jesus saw their faith. What activates the power of God in our lives is faith. The Holy Spirit who is the power of God maybe present in our midst but unless we have faith we will not experience His power. These men did not merely resign themselves to the thought that the paralyzed man was just going to be paralyzed for the rest of his life. This is something all of us must be watchful of - not resigning to defeat. There are times when our situations are naturally hopeless, as in there is no way by human means that the problem can be addressed. The issue may be in the form of a sickness, sin, situation in the family, or lack of hunger for God. And perhaps one has tried all that he can to solve the problem but to no avail. Then resignation comes in and one begins to accept that this is just a fact of life and nothing can be done about it. At the time the miracle of the paralytic took place there were very limited medical options. Science had yet to advance. So the situation may have appeared a thousand times more desperate than in our day. Yet, those men did not resign to defeat. At the news that Jesus was in the area, their faith was aroused and they sought for Him.

Two things we can learn from those four men: 

1. Seek for God and Position yourself. We are not told where these men came from, whether they were from the area Jesus was teaching or if they came from elsewhere. But the fact is they sought Jesus out. And truly those who seek after Jesus find Him.

Jeremiah 29:13
" And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart." 

     Further, these men received a breakthrough because they positioned themselves. They went where Jesus and the Anointing were. In our time, it is crucial how we position ourselves. Where we position ourselves determines whether we receive from God or not. Go where God is. Do we seek to meet Jesus? If our hearts are bent on meeting Jesus, our prayer lives and participation in church will not be merely about fulfilling a task but it will be an impassioned pursuit of encountering the person of Jesus. Let us position ourselves to receive from God. There must have been many people in that place but only those who persevered to be at the right place (with Jesus) received from Him. Let us not be content to stay at the periphery. Let us not be content to know that Jesus is around. Let us press in to get as close to Him as we can.

2. Exercise Faith. These men manifested their faith and its depths in two ways. For one when they heard that Jesus was in the area, they came to Him bringing the paralytic. Their effort demonstrates faith with action. We receive from God when we act on our faith. This does not mean preempting God by doing your own thing to help God make His purposes come to pass. We must only act in accordance to what He tells us. Acting can be in the form of actively and intensely praying for His purposes. Acting means actively pursuing God and not being merely a passive Christian. Faith is not just a mental ascent but living out the truth of what God has said even if it has yet to be fulfilled.

     Their faith was further proven by the fact they persevered to press in. Closed out by the crowd, they remained unhindered. They desired to press into Jesus and they did so even when it meant going an unconventional route - the roof. So much was their persistence that they broke through the tiling just to get their friend near Jesus. In our day this can mean going where Jesus is to receive a breakthrough not only for ourselves but for others believing that He is able. And more than just going where Jesus is, we need to press in even when there are obstacles that seem to hinder our pursuit of Jesus.

Hebrews 11:6 " But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him." 

      God rewards the diligent, those who are pursuing Him with passion, those who are willing to go out of their way, those who are willing to be inconvenienced just to seek after God. Jesus' response to these men’s diligence and perseverance was beautiful. He did not get annoyed that somebody interrupted His teaching of prominent members of the Jewish faith. He immediately saw the faith and responded to it. He was willing to have His teaching interrupted by faith to demonstrate His power. God I believe is looking for people who will be willing to interrupt the current course just to press in to Him. He does not mind people breaking away from the program to get near Him. Actually He welcomes them.

      His reply also speaks of God's heart. He said "Man, your sins are forgiven you." The physical need of the man was obvious but while men look at the outward God looks at the heart. He saw the more immediate need of the man to be set free from His sins. The paralytic in his condition may have had many days to consider his state. And for anyone who has a debilitating sickness who reflects on his life, at some point will come to know how the greater issues of life are not the outward but the inward. It is noticeable how in many people who are sick, their illness produces a brokenness of heart that makes them easy to receive God in their lives. This may have been the case for the paralytic. 

     Rolland Baker said that healing illness is quite an easy thing for God. Awesome as healing miracles are, they are not the main thing. The thing God is desirous of is an inner healing - a changed heart.

Luke 5:22-24
" But when Jesus perceived their thoughts, He answered and said to them, “Why are you reasoning in your hearts? Which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Rise up and walk’? But that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins”—He said to the man who was paralyzed, “I say to you, arise, take up your bed, and go to your house.”" 

     Beyond physical healing God desires to set people free from their greater sickness which is sin. God desires to make people whole and He can. He desires to heal us inside and out. May we press in until. Thank You Jesus!

      But who is the paralytic today? 
      The paralytic represents hopeless situations today. Is there a paralytic in our midst who needs people who will have the faith to act and persevere in their behalf? Yes, it can be somebody who is literally sick. But it can also be people in our midst who have battles and are in need of God's deliverance. Will we act and persevere for them? It can also be ourselves. Do we have struggles today where we need breakthrough? Will you simply resign to defeat or will you act and persevere until God gives you breakthrough? The paralytic can also be the church today. In its current state, the church is breathing but lacks vitality because the church lacks Christ. Will we be people who will stand in the gap for the body of Christ and cry out for revival? May we do so with the kind of faith demonstrated by the four men with the paralytic.