God heals today, why do we keep it a secret?

The seventy-two returned with joy and said, “Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name.” He replied, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.”

Luke 10:17-18

Jesus appointed seventy-two people and sent them out to heal the sick and to proclaim that the Kingdom of God is near you. He told them that the harvest was plentiful, but there were few workers, and they should ask the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into the harvest field; and with that he told them to “Go!”

Today there is no shortage of harvest. We live in a country with a lot of lost people in it. The number even identifying themselves culturally as Christians is declining and the number who truly know Jesus and are his disciples is a tiny fraction of the total. There is a huge harvest field out there full of people captivated by sin and death, subject to the rule of Satan in their lives. Caught in worship of false gods such as money, jobs, social status, good looks, materialism – the list is endless. Most utterly unaware of their state – an identical problem to that facing Jesus’ disciples all those years ago when he sent them out.

Jesus’ parting words were to make disciples of all nations and to teach them to obey everything I have commanded you. Proclaiming that the Kingdom of God has come near was central to Jesus’ ministry and he made it central to the instructions he gave his disciples, i.e. us.

There are many ways in which we can show that the Kingdom of God has come near, through the way we live, our humility, our passion for justice, our generosity, our willingness to suffer, and so on. But as Jesus made plain one of the clearest acts of love to demonstrate the reality of the Kingdom of God is to show people the powerful impact of the Holy Sprit on their minds, emotions and spirits. When the seventy-two returned having cast out demons and healing the sick they were overjoyed – imagine how those who had been released from demonic influence and who had been healed from sickness felt! Imagine how easy it was for the seventy-two to tell them that the Kingdom of God had come near once they had been healed.

And the result? Jesus said he saw Satan fall like lightening from heaven. When the good news of the Kingdom is proclaimed and demonstrated through signs and wonders in the way that Jesus has commanded us to do and that he modelled for us, then Satan is dethroned from his place of influence and control in the lives of individuals, and his rule and influence in this world is replaced by the rule and influence of the Kingdom of God.

The church in this country has kept this good news to itself for too long and spent too much time only offering healing in its buildings, its time we took God’s healing out into the market places, work places, streets, pubs and so on. Its a job for every disciple as Jesus commanded; will you step out obediently?

For an excellent book that explores this theme see Bruce Collins book “Jesus’ Gospel Jesus’ Way”