1. Blessed to be a Blessing
Session 3:
Weak disciples, strong Saviour
Luke 9:37-45

2. Introduction There will be times when people are healed (Luke 9:6).
There will be times when people are not healed (Luke 9:40).
Why the difference? Why the failure?
Why are people not healed?

3. What can we learn from Luke 9?
Jesus was short with his disciples!
‘O unbelieving and perverse generation, how long shall I stay with you and put up with you? Bring your son here.’ (v41)
Brought to the divine presence.

4. Reasons given why people are not healed.
Lack of faith of the person offering healing (Matthew 17:20).
Lack of faith of the individual (Mark 9:24).
Prayer and fasting (Mark 9:24).
Not God’s will (1 Corinthians 12:9).
Unforgiven sin (James 5:16; Isaiah 59:2).
Wrong diagnosis.

5. What does this teach us for our individual ministries?
Spend time in prayer seeking God’s cleansing, anointing, presence, gifts of healing.
Don’t blame the person, God or yourself.
God is able to do immeasurably more than we can ever think, ask, or imagine (Ephesians 3:20)
‘Prayer isn’t the last resort but the first line of therapy’ (James Wagner)

6. Why was Jesus’ rebuke so strong?
Had they moved our of their anointing and authority?
Did they trust in formulae used in the past rather than in the authority of Jesus?
Bring the person to Jesus.

7. Our Response
We are not looking at the channel of God’s healing but the healer who is God.
We are not looking at the power of the disease but the power of the Saviour.
We are not looking at the magnitude of the faith but the depth of the faith.
We are only ever an extension of God’s healing work.

8. Our Response The work is already complete on the cross.
We are bringing people into the blessing and victory of the cross.
We are exercising Christ’s ministry.
We do not lose heart (2 Corinthians 4:1).
We are weak disciples with a strong Saviour (2 Corinthians 4:7).