Last week’s sermon by Pastor Wee Long taught us that divine healing is for all Christians – that we experience it in our lives and release to others. As Scripture clearly teaches us that healing was found in the atonement of Jesus Christ on the cross. God wishes to heal every sick person, even though we don’t see everyone receiving complete healing in this imperfect and sinful world. This is what I’ve taught in FCBC from the very beginning.
For years, I believed that healing stopped at the end of the first century, when the Church was established and the Bible was completed. How wrong was I! The Holy Spirit opened my eyes to see that such wrong theology was the result of rationalising our powerless Christianity. What this means is that we have conveniently interpreted God’s Word to justify our lack of spiritual power. Someone once said to me in a most pious manner, “Lawrence, I believe that it is the will of God that I am chronically sick.” My reply was, “If this is the case, then you should stop going to the doctor. Otherwise, you are resisting the will of God.” What irony and hypocrisy! The fact is we adjust our interpretation of Scripture to match our spiritual impotence. We have substituted signs and wonders for science, and we have replaced the raw power of God with the power of wealth and external success.
I was deeply stirred by a story found in LoveSingapore’s 40-Day prayer guide of the medieval theologian, Thomas Aquinas. The Pope was giving him a tour of the Vatican with all its wealth and splendour when he remarked, “The Church can no longer say, ‘Silver and gold have I none.’” Aquinas replied, “And neither can we say to the lame, ‘In the name of Jesus, rise up and walk.’”
This story tells us that as Christians, we should not focus on worldly desires. Rather, we should strive to display God’s miraculous power in our lives and ministries.
- Senior Pastor Lawrence Khong