Healings in the book of Acts

This morning we looked at the subject of miraculous healings in the book of Acts. As well as the lame man healed at the temple gates (Acts 3), there are many other examples of healing recorded by Luke, including the fact that people brought the sick into the streets and even Peter’s shadow seems to have been capable of bringing healing! (Acts 5:12-15) Other examples of healing include Aeneas (Acts 9:32-35), the raising of Dorcas and Eutychus from the dead (Acts 9;36-42, Acts 20:9-12), the father of Publius and others on the island of Malta (Acts 28:9) and the healing of many by Stephen and Philip. (Acts 8:6-7) Healing may be a controversial topic with many unanswered questions, but there is no doubt that God is Jehovah-Rapha, the Lord who heals us (Ex 15:26) and that He heals all our diseases. (Ps 103:1-5)
We see from these examples that healings brought relief from distress and suffering to individuals (both believers and those who simply came to be touched by God), great joy to all who witnessed God’s miraculous power and were valuable proofs of the gospel message preached. The result of these healings was often salvation: ‘more and more men and women believed in the Lord and were added to their number.’ (Acts 5:14) When Peter’s words of authority led to Aeneas being healed, ‘All those who lived in Lydda and Sharon saw him and turned to the Lord.’ (Acts 9:35) When Tabitha (or Dorcas) was raised from the dead, ‘This became known all over Joppa, and many people believed in the Lord.’ (Acts 9:42) When a lame man was healed in Lystra, the people thought Paul and Barnabas must have been gods come to earth to be able to do such things and as a result of this, the gospel could be preached. (Acts 14:8-18) Miracles are God’s way of demonstrating to people who He is and what He can do and healings are one of the ways He underlines the truth of the message preached.
Jesus told us that ‘whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.’ (John 14:12) Miracles are not simply reserved for the super-spiritual; James reminds us, ‘pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.’ (James 5:16) As we believe God’s word and rely on the Holy Spirit living within us, God is still able to use us as He did those first followers to bring miracles of healing to others so that His name may be glorified and His kingdom increased.

The Power of Testimony

A testimony is a public account of something, whether a statement in court of something witnessed or the more casual conversation recounting one’s experience of God. It is our way of telling others what God has done for us and as such, will always be personal and fresh.

Jeremiah was a prophet living in difficult times, immediately before and during Israel’s exile from their home land because of their rebellion against God. He had difficult words to speak but was faithful in passing on God’s word to the people. In Jeremiah 16:14-15, we read, :'”However, the days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when it will no longer be said, ‘As surely as the Lord lives, who brought the Israelites up out of Egypt,’ 15 but it will be said, ‘As surely as the Lord lives, who brought the Israelites up out of the land of the north and out of all the countries where he had banished them.’ For I will restore them to the land I gave their ancestors.”

The first event referred to was the Exodus, God’s rescue of His people from slavery in Egypt. It was a defining moment for the nation of Israel and a point of reference for them always, a reminder of how God had stepped in to history and saved them. But Jeremiah says this will not be the only time the people know God’s rescue and help, and points to a day still in the future, when God’s people will once again see God intervene to bring them back from exile. This event will be another reference point, another turning point, in the history of Israel.They will have another testimony of God’s help and deliverance.

It can be hard when we are going through difficult times to believe God will step in and change the situation around, but Jeremiah promises the people of God a testimony of deliverance. We need to know God’s help and deliverance in the present day; we need a real-time testimony, so to speak. It’s good to look back at what God has done for us in the past; we are called to remember what God has done and to recount these things, not forgetting His help and rescue. But we are also people in whom God is currently working. Let’s be prepared to testify to God’s help and deliverance right now. What has God done for us this week? What is God saying to us? Jeremiah’s words took time to be fulfilled, but He spoke with the confidence of one listening to God. Can we do the same? Can we speak of God’s works even when we have yet to see them? Can we look at God’s help and hold on to it?

It’s good to speak out what God has done for us and to declare by faith what He will do.

 

Dearne Community Arts’ Festival (2)

This year’s Dearne Community Arts’ Festival’s community art project has been to create 16 selfie boards which celebrate local community groups and key locations. Some of these were on show at the arts’ festival last week and others are now in situ (some outdoors and some indoors.) We hope to have a selfie board trail launch soon when the last board is installed in the new ‘Heart of Goldthorpe’ Town Square.

This project has been a collaboration with artist Lydia Caprani (who worked with us on the Railway Embankment mural and elephant sculptures) and storyteller Rebecca Dye, who recorded the stories of people from each group or location. Thanks to the wonders of QR codes, each selfie board links to these audio files where you can hear about the groups, what they do and what these locations mean to local people. Check out the Dearne Community Arts’ Festival website for further details of this project.

Here are some photos of the selfie boards on display last week and the selfie boards children made to take home with them:

Dearne Community Arts’ Festival (1)

Last Saturday (30 September) was the annual Dearne Community Arts’ Festival at Astrea Academy Dearne, championing creativity and celebrating community as usual!

There were some lovely exhibitions from a wide range of talented local artists.

We had the chance to learn about 3D printing, wood-turning and have a go at table shaft loom weaving with Ruth Waterworth.

There were loads of workshops where you could have a go at something new.

We had 7 performances on stage.

 

It was wonderful to see so many people there (551 attended) and to be part of the something so positive and wholesome. More photos can be seen online (search Dearne Community Arts Festival).

Key Lessons

There are a number of key lessons we looked at tonight from 1 Samuel 16:1-3:

  1. There is never an “easy time” to live for God. David lived at a time when spirituality was not high and there were many enemies of Israel. Faith is required no matter when we live. Living by faith is not for the faint-hearted!
  2. God knows us by name. He spoke to Samuel about a particular family and David is named at the end of this passage. God knows us by name and has purpose for our lives (see Is 43:1).
  3. God has a purpose for each one of us, as this anointing shows us. We too are anointed by God (2 Cor 1:21-22, 1 John 2:20) and have good works to do, prepared in advance for us by God. (Eph 2:10)
  4. God looks at the inside. His ways and thoughts are not ours (Prov 3:5-6, Is 55:8-9)
  5. God’s timing is crucial. David had a long time to wait until he actually became king. What God says will come to pass, but we must learn to wait patiently and with hope (see Ps 130, Ps 40:1). What God says will come to pass; what happens spiritually is the truth, but may not be fulfilled immediately in our understanding. We need to understand that we possess these things by faith; we believe in order to see.

The Anointing of David

In our Bible study tonight we looked at 1 Samuel 16:1-13, the account of David’s anointing to be king by the prophet Samuel and a vivid reminder that God ‘does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.’ (1 Samuel 16:7) The story involves many people: the prophet Samuel, the king Saul and Jesse and his family, a reminder to us that God chooses to work with and through ordinary people! He does not have to do this, but the fact that He chooses to work in partnership with us is one of the great miracles of a life of faith.

The fact that Israel had begged for a king instead of living under God’s rule was a source of sorrow to Samuel, and the fact that Saul (the first king) had proved so unfit to rule because of his disobedience and impatience had deeply grieved Samuel, as the opening verse in this chapter indicates. But God was ready to move on; sometimes, we need His word to us to move us from the place of grief and lament. God had another job for Samuel, to anoint a new king, and Samuel faced this with not inconsiderable fear. Faith is not an absence of fear, but choosing to be obedient even when we are afraid. The key to Samuel’s success is found in 1 Samuel 16:4: ‘Samuel did what the Lord had said.’

God did not tell Samuel everything at once; He directed him to Jesse’s family, but there was a period of uncertainty after each of his sons was presented to Samuel and no further direction was heard. It was only when the youngest son was brought in that Samuel heard God’s voice: ‘Rise and anoint him; this is the one.’ (1 Samuel 16:12) It can be hard to wait for the word of the Lord, but it is this word which transforms situations. David was to become Israel’s greatest king: how much do we owe to Samuel for his faithful obedience to God?!