Hope for Healing, Faith for Living Podcast

He Had Faith But Needed To Act On It

Acts 14:5-10

5 When an attempt was made by both Gentiles and Jews, with their rulers, to mistreat them (Paul and Barnabas) and to stone them 6 they became aware of it and fled to the cities of Lycaonia, Lystra, Derbe, and the surrounding region. 7 There they preached the Good News. 8 At Lystra a certain man sat, impotent in his feet, a cripple from his mother’s womb, who never had walked. 9 He was listening to Paul speaking, who, fastening eyes on him, and seeing that he had faith to be made whole, 10 said with a loud voice, “Stand upright on your feet!” He leaped up and walked. 

In our last episode, we talked about how we know healing was part of the message that Paul and Barnabas were preaching because by listening to them, a man cripple from birth had faith to be made whole. The only way to have faith is to hear the Word of God, or the message of Christ because Romans 10:17 says faith comes by hearing, and hearing through the word of God, or the Word of Christ as some translations say.

Therefore, since this man had faith to be healed, that faith for healing came for hearing Paul preach the goodness of Jesus and included healing.

Let’s look again at Proverbs 4:20-22

20 My son, be attentive to my words; incline your ear to my sayings. 21 Let them not escape from your sight; keep them within your heart. 22 For they are life to those who find them, and healing to all their flesh.

The Word itself is healing or produces healing. Here we see faith for healing was produced in the crippled man because he heard Paul preach the good news of Jesus.

Now I don’t want you to miss this part. The crippled man had faith to be made well. He had faith “to be made” well. He wasn’t well but had faith to be made well.

Remember James 2:17, “So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.”

This man had faith but he had yet to act on his faith. 

Paul saw this and gave the man instructions how to use his faith.

Paul said, “Stand upright on your feet!”

The Scripture says, “He leaped up and walked.”

So let’s go back and take a big picture look. A man, crippled from birth listened to Paul preach about Jesus. From that, he had faith to be made well. And, though he had faith to be made well, he wasn’t. Paul, apparently by revelation of the Holy Spirit, could see this man had faith and instructed him how to act on his faith. Once he did, what he had faith for came to pass.

Can you gain faith for healing by hearing the Word of God? Yes.

Can you have faith for healing but still not be? Yes.

Can you have faith, act on your faith, and experience the power of God in your life? Yes.

Let’s be determined to study the Word of God, to know it’s truth, to grow in faith and learn how to act on our faith so that we can experience the Will of God in our lives.

Blessings,

Tim Dumas

www.hopeforhealingfaithforliving.com