06-10-20 Kevin Goins - The Church's Ministry of Healing, John 9:13-16, part 1

“Anatomy of an Illness: The Church’s Ministry of Healing”
John 9:13-16 (Part 1)

I First, sickness gets our attention and it gets the attention of Jesus (9:1).
II Second, sickness makes us uncomfortable (9:2).
III Third, sickness is caused by alienation (9:2).
IV Fourth, oftentimes our best theological or commonsense explanations for sickness are not good enough (9:3a).
V Fifth, sometimes sickness happens for a good reason, so that God can be glorified in our life (9:3b).
VI Sixth, all believers in Jesus are called to help sick people find health (9:4).
VII Seventh, sickness is a work of the kingdom of darkness; healing is a work of the Kingdom of light (9:5).
VIII Eighth, the how of healing is very important (9:6).
IX Ninth, sickness can be overcome by divine healing, but healing does not happen without some action on our part (9:7).
X Tenth, divine healing will always arouse doubt (9:8-9).
XI Eleventh, the response to the healing of sickness is often questions (9:10-12)

XII Twelfth, healing is not only a debated topic, it is also a very d_______________ issue.

A. ____________ truths stand out in these four verses:

1. First, people are often divided over what kind of _________________ to consult when a miracle has occurred.

a. In the beginning, the crowd, which included the neighbors of the blind man, did all they could to ____________ the miracle.

b. This is often the response of people today, even among _________________, when people say they have been healed.

c. But when someone claims to have experienced an actual miracle, … at that point we are forced to decide how we are going to ______________ it.

d. Sometimes when miracles of healing are reported, we will turn to a _____________ or clergy person for an explanation.

i. Some churches believe miracles are confined to the ____________ century, that miracles cannot take place in our day.

ii. Others believe that if you emphasize the healing ministry of Jesus you can cause people to feel r______________ if they ask for healing and are not healed.
e. Today it would be much better for Christians who have questions about healing, and who are seeking some authority to speak about it, to come to the one who made healing such a h_________ and v__________ part of his ministry. It would be better if they would come to ____________.

f. There is not a single passage in the entire New Testament which tells believers that they should understand the healing ministry of Jesus as something which was _____________ to the first century.