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Edward Fudge
HEARING THE MASTER'S VOICE (1)
I had the pleasure this past weekend [January 1997] of attending a series of spiritual renewal meetings led by Dr. Jack Deere (author of Surprised by the Power of the Spirit and Surprised by the Voice of God), at St. John the Divine Episcopal Church here in Houston. Located in the heart of the posh River Oaks community, the epicenter of Houston's "old wealth," St. John's is a Christ-centered congregation led by Rector Larry Hall, who is a strong evangelical and a brother with a sweet Christlike spirit. I have had the privilege since 1982 of guest teaching adult Sunday School classes on numerous occasions at St. John's, and I have many dear Christian friends there.
Following a period of deeply moving worship in beautiful songs of praise (both contemporary and traditional/classical), Jack preached a simple message on Friday night about three traits of those who best hear God's voice: (1) They are people who spend time with God; (2) They are people who are prepared to obey God; (3) They are people who are humble and not proud. Jack, who has a Ph.D. and formerly taught Hebrew and Old Testament at Dallas Theological Seminary, noted that "smart" or "educated" has nothing to do with hearing God's voice, and that the Bible nowhere says anything like "Blessed are the smart," or "Woe to the dumb."
After the message, he led the congregation of 500+ people in several minutes of totally silent prayer, then invited persons with two or three specific physical ailments (which he believed God had indicated to him) to come to the front to pray for healing. All this he put in a context of saying that God is sovereign, that no one merits or deserves healing, that we do not know why God heals some people but not all people, but that we do not want to go lacking simply because we do not ask. It was a time of quiet blessing with no fanfare, but it was marked by a powerful sense of expectancy and of the presence of the Risen Jesus by his Spirit.
I would observe that for its first 500 years, the Church proclaimed Jesus as Savior and healer, victor over sin and Satan and all his works, the bearer of God's Kingdom which comes with visible power to transform lives and to heal bodies, minds and spirits as God in his kindness sees fit. As we approach a new millennium, all human-powered, man-centered, denominational and sectarian religion is seen as spiritually bankrupt and doomed to die.
Once again, I believe, God's people throughout the universal Church are being renewed to proclaim and to live out the original vision brought by Jesus Christ -- a vision of the Father as eternal, sovereign God, of Jesus Christ as all-sufficient Savior and Redeemer of the whole person, and of the Holy Spirit as the personal, powerful Presence of the Risen Jesus and of his Heavenly Father in our midst. Let us be found in the center of that vision!
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Edward Fudge
HEARING THE MASTER'S VOICE (2)
I recently reported briefly on the Jack Deere meeting on Friday evening, January 1997, at St. John the Divine Episcopal Church in Houston, at the conclusion of which the speaker invited persons with several specific sicknesses or infirmities to come to the altar for prayer that God would heal them. One preacher who read my report responded with a question, to which I replied, prompting another question and another answer. Because this questioning brother speaks for many believers these days, I share his questions and my answers, as follows.
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Q: I'm admittedly skeptical. Did the people who came forward have any real, visible illness?
A: The ailments mentioned on this occasion were not visible, although some were objectively verifiable by diagnostic tests. You must understand that Jack did not say anyone would be healed -- and I do not know yet whether God in his mercy healed any who went forward. He simply invited people with those specific problems (or any others, who wished) to come and ask God for healing. This was not a "side-show" and it was not done in a flamboyant or presumptuous manner.
I do know some of the people affected and, if they tell me that God healed them, I will rejoice and give thanks. Why do you suppose we are so upset at the idea that our kind Father might choose in mercy to heal some of his dear children?
Q: I am not upset at God's action. I am upset that people claim to work miracles and set people up to be disappointed. I would like to know if anyone was healed, what kind of ailments they had, and if they remained healed the next day. Did any maimed have limbs replaced? Were lame able to walk? Could blind see? Could deaf hear? One who claims miraculous power should show some evidence.
A: I do not know what tender mercies of healing, if any, God bestowed in answer to many prayers of faith last Friday night, but I shall praise him for his goodness if I learn of some. Let it be clear that no one claimed miraculous power on that occasion. Brother Jack Deere, on the authority of the Word of God, simply invited persons afflicted with diseases and infirmities to bring them in prayer to Jehovah Rapha and to Jesus the Great Physician, if perchance God would be pleased to heal as is his nature and according to his sovereign will.
Jesus came to save the whole person (1 Thes. 5:23). On the cross, He bore the sins of our soul and the sicknesses of our body (Isa. 53:4-6; Matt. 8:16-17; 1 Pet. 2:24). In the mighty name of Jesus, which represents all that he did before God in our stead and on our behalf, we proclaim healing and salvation (Acts 4:10, 12) according to God's sovereign purpose (Acts 4:28).
The New Testament is full of people coming to Jesus and his representatives to ask for healing -- and of God answering many of those prayers. How can we claim to be "New Testament" churches if we never see anything that even faintly resembles that? Of course we cannot heal. God is the healer. But we can pray, and we can invite others to come ask God for healing in the name of his blessed Son, Jesus Christ.
For more on divine healing, click here.