Who Is best able to heal the sick the Pastor, Doctor, or the Intercessor?

I would like to acknowledge our Bishop Devonry & Pastor Beverley Harvey and their team

from Building Believers Worship Centre in Florida, Rev. Steve Edwards & Evangelist Edwards

and Ecclesia Worship Centre in Christ members. Also to our Pastor, Rev. Lloyd Allen and

Minister Pauline Allen and the Ecclesia Worship Centre family our distinguished Judges,

families and friends good afternoon. I am here to present on the topic “Why the pastor is best

able to heal?”

Healing is one of the most controversial subjects we can raise in the church. Yet there is no

doubt that the Bible is filled with accounts of Jesus' healing miracles. It seems clear as well

from the following three Scriptures that healing is a by-product of the stripes Jesus endured

before going to the cross: These scriptures are:

 (Is. 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"

 (Matt. 8:16-17)"They brought to Him many who were demon-possessed. And He cast

out the spirits with a word, and healed all who were sick, that it might be fulfilled which

was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying: 'He Himself took our infirmities and bore our

sicknesses'"

 (1 Pet. 2:24)."Who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having

died to sins, might live for righteousness—by whose stripes we were healed"

Furthermore, the Christians in the early church experienced miracles of healing as well. In fact,

health and prosperity were objects of prayer for the believers: "Beloved, I pray that you may
prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers," the apostle John wrote in 3

John 1:2.

When we look at the healing ministry of Jesus, we must also recognize the vital connection we

have with it: We are His body on earth today (1 Cor. 3:16). Therefore, we must exhibit the

same passion for healing that we have observed in Him.

Any examination of Jesus' healing miracles during His generation will reveal facts about how

He healed and whom He healed. Note that the Bible shows us that He healed: by speaking the

word and by the faith of the sick.

According to Mark 16:17-20, the gifts of healing belong to all believers. However, when we

talk about healing as a “gift” we are referring to a supernatural (sovereign) healing without

human aid. Gift of healing is beyond what doctors and intercessors can do.

The Bible highlights "gifts" as it relates to healing. This means that healing not only speaks

of physical delivering but also speaks to emotional and most importantly being in the spiritual

realm with God.

Why the preacher would be the best to carry out the practice of healing is that he/she is expected

to be able to believe or demonstrate faithfulness when offering healing which comes from God.

Also, the pastor must be able to stay connected with the master healer who is indeed the source

in which all request is granted. When I speak of being connected means to be witness of the

Holy Spirit. (Romans 8:16) “The spirit itself bearing witness with our spirit, that we are

children of God.

Now I will look at who is the pastor. A Pastor is usually an ordained leader of a Christian

congregation. A pastor also gives advice and counsel. In Hebrew, the word pastor is ‘Ra’ah’

which means shepherd. It relates to feeding of sheep as in Genesis 29 v 7 or to the spiritual

feeding of human beings, as in Jeremiah 3 v15. “Then I will give you shepherds after my own

heart who will feed you on knowledge and understanding.

And also, the pastor stands between the people and God thus making him an intercessor for

one who needs healing.

In the bible, we find that Jesus carries out the duties of a pastor. In which he often taught

and preached before he healed people. By doing this he tries to increase their faith, to

help them tap into his power.

The greatest need is to care when people are sick with soul destroying sin. The chief shepherd

is Jesus Christ. The pastor is characterised as the shepherd. Therefore, the pastor

emulates chief shepherd. The shepherd’s job is to the church. The pastor is to feed the

flock. This means Intercessors are classified as sheep because they are members of the

church therefore a sheep cannot be greater than a shepherd. The pastor is given authority

to claim healing from the stripe of Jesus Christ as denoted in Isiah 53 verse 4-5. “

There is a story recorded in the bible (Mark: 5 vs 24- 34) which speaks of a woman who had

been subjected to bleeding for twelve years. Sadly, she got worst under the care of doctors who

took all her money. When she heard that Jesus was in town, she believed that if she touched

his cloak she would be healed. She demonstrated her faith in God and immediately her bleeding

stopped. What doctors could not do for 12 years while taking all of her money for their services

and products. Jesus accomplish in a moment free of charge. When Jesus was on earth, He

NEVER referred anyone to a Physician’.

You will agree, that many persons have shared their testimonies of how God has healed them,

despite their many visits from the doctors.

God needs no middle men. When Jesus was on earth, when someone came to Him for healing,

he never referred the person to Luke, the “Physician.” Yet, Jesus healed the person directly and
personally. He also healed him with His Word which we have today, in the form of the Bible

or by with natural methods – clay, water, etc.

Jesus NEVER used drugs, although we know that some types of drugs were available in His

time. When Jesus was on the Cross, He was offered a type of drug to ease His pain, but He

refused it.

In the Bible, what was the consequence of seeking healing from anyone except God’s healing?

 ASA, King of Israel looked to the physicians for healing INSTEAD of depending on

the Lord – and Asa DIED!

 Also, Ahaziah, King of Israel, and son of the wicked King Ahab (who was married to

Jezebel), was ill and did not seek God, but sought the god of Ekron – sorcerers. And

Ahaziah DIED!

The consequence of seeking out anyone except the Lord for healing – is death!

Jesus certainly did miraculous healings when He was on earth, but there was always ONE

requirement. The person wanting to be healed HAD TO BELIEVE. He or she had to believe

that Jesus WOULD do what He had already PROMISED to do – and that is to heal ALL our

diseases. (Psalm 103:3) Knowing all this, there are still questions and controversy that swirl

around ministries of healing. Questions often asked. They include: 1) Does God heal everyone?

2) Why are some people not healed?

If God gives you gifts of healing, it does not mean that you can heal at will or that everyone

you pray for will be healed. There will be many times when a person with some gifts to heal

will not be able to heal.

This was Paul's experience. God gave him the grace to heal the cripple, cast out demons, revive

the dead but Paul was not able to heal himself from the thorn in the flesh or from the ailment

that he had. And evidently, he could not heal Timothy from his stomach ailments (1 Timothy

5:23). Sometimes Paul was given gifts of healing and sometimes he wasn't. God is sovereign

in this affair. Nothing is mechanical or automatic.

Although intercessors may have the ability to pray for others or even heal them, they may not

be able to pray or heal themselves and so they seek assistance from there Pastors. Another vital

point, intercessors are very important to the growth of the church however, they come under

the authority of the shepherd who is the Pastor. So, I ask the question how can a vehicle drive

without an engine, in the same way how can a church operate WITHOUT a Pastor? Intercessors

MUST receive instructions in spiritually growth and emotional wholeness. It is not the

responsibility of the team members to make decisions apart from the leader.

Paul's own experience teaches us that there are varied gifts of healing that can be given to us at

different times for different illnesses. There is no guarantee that we will be able to heal in the

future because we have received a gift to heal in the past. This all comes down to the sovereign

will of God.

In closing, verse 11 of 1st Corinthians chapter 12 says it is the Spirit who "apportions the gifts

to each one individually as he pleases." Please bear in mind that whether you are a DOCTOR,

an INTERSESSOR or a PASTOR, God uses whom he sees fit to heal. He is sovereign and can

give or withhold a gift of healing whenever he deems best.