ICS Daily Devotions
Ministering To The Sick
Mark 16:15-18 And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned. And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; 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.”
It is likely that all of us will be called to minister to the sick at some point in our lives. In Mark 16:18, Jesus says that we are to lay hands on the sick, and they will recover. Some of you might be thinking “Me?”. Yes! If you are a believer of Jesus Christ, this scripture is referring to what you are called to do and what you are capable of through Him.
What we need to understand is that we are a point of contact and not the healer — healing is the work of God; we are simply asked to operate by faith in praying for someone based on our conviction that God heals. By doing that, we become a channel for the power of God to flow through into the person. If we think about it this way, it will be a much less daunting task to lay hands on someone and just pray a simple prayer in Jesus’ name!
In order to confidently pray for the sick, however, a proper understanding of our theological conviction is necessary. First, Christ has redeemed us from our sin and the curse of the law; He was bruised for our iniquities, and by His stripes we were healed. Our sins and sicknesses have both been dealt with together!
Gal 3:13 Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree”),
Isa 53:5 But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed.
Secondly, we need to know that sickness is not from God, because it says in Psalm 107:20 “He sent His word and healed them, and delivered them from their destructions”.
Next, we need to minister to people out of love and compassion, even though we may not be able to fully empathize with their suffering. Not only is this what Jesus did, but Paul intentionally placed the famous chapter on love in 1 Corinthians 13 between the two chapters on the gifts of the Holy Spirit to caution us against ministering to people, especially the sick, without the love and compassion of God.
Matt 14:14 And when Jesus went out He saw a great multitude; and He was moved with compassion for them, and healed their sick.
Matt 20:34 So Jesus had compassion and touched their eyes. And immediately their eyes received sight, and they followed Him.
Finally, many of us confuse healings with miracles. In praying for the sick, we often get discouraged in the absence of a miracle or instantaneous healing, but the fact that healing is not instantaneous does not mean it won’t happen. It may be a process instead.
In conclusion, ministering to the sick is the ministry of every believer. Our job is simply to believe the Word, share the Word with the sick, lay hands on them and pray in faith. God will do the rest!
Sermon Series: Equipping The Saints
