I believe it is the responsibility of every believer to do as much as possible to learn about the ways of God because that is how we will be able to draw close to His heart. In His Upper Room Discourse, Jesus tells His disciples that they are no longer servants but friends (see John 15:15) because He knows that it is out of relationship we minister. He modeled this for us in His relationship with the Father. Jesus is inviting us into an intimate relationship between Father, Son and Holy Spirit, to embrace His mission and do what He did. In this place of intimacy we will find His revelation. John 14:26 says, “But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.” Through the Spirit, Jesus is with us, and His Spirit enables us to do the same things He did and more (see John 14:12). Servants don’t receive this kind of revelation, but friends do. The basis of supernatural faith is this revelation that flows from intimacy.
Because Jesus was perfectly obedient to the Father, there was nothing that hindered His ability to see and hear what the Father was doing.
I want to touch briefly on the connection between obedience, intimacy, and revelation as it relates to healing. In the New Testament we find Jesus giving His disciples the secrets of His power and His relationship with the Father that grew out of His (Jesus’s) obedience. Because Jesus was perfectly obedient to the Father, there was nothing that hindered His ability to see and hear what the Father was doing. Revelation flowed to Him from the heart of the Father. Jesus says, “If you love me, you will obey what I command (see John 14:15). We are not saved by obedience, but we can have intimacy with Jesus if we obey Him. Understand, the kind of obedience Jesus is talking about is not possible apart from the renewing and regenerating work of the Holy Spirit in us.
Let’s take faith, obedience, intimacy, revelation, healing and testimony a step further as found in Scripture. In John 15:4-8 Jesus talks about the vine and the branches, and how, apart from Him we can bear no fruit. Then He says that it is to the Father’s glory that we bear much fruit. The fruit Jesus is speaking of here is the fruit of “doing.” He is saying that we can bear much fruit from the works we do that can only be accomplished in the power of His Spirit. In other words, anything done in the flesh does not bring God glory, but what is done in the power of the Spirit brings God great glory. So it follows that we can and should bring God glory by ministering healing and deliverance in His name. Jesus certainly did this, and He did it out of intimacy and obedience. Jesus was constantly abiding with the Father, so much so that God’s glorious power actually emanated around Him and flowed through Him. This is why the woman with the issues of bleeding was healed when she touched the hem of His garment (see Mark 5:29).
You’ll notice from verse 30 that Jesus wanted the woman to come forward and testify to her healing. He knew that faith was at work in this woman, and it was her faith that had healed her (see Mark 5:34). The atmosphere of the crowd shifted when this woman testified to her healing, and when Jesus acknowledged her faith. This loving act of God’s power and glory was a demonstration of the Kingdom of God that came to earth with Jesus (see Mark 5:34).
With every victory, the Kingdom of God advances on the earth. When Jesus began His ministry in Galilee, He announced His identity when He said, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent and believe in the gospel” (Mark 1:15 NKJV). This declaration ushered in His Kairos time, and that Kairos time is still ongoing. As we continue to be obedient to the Great Commission, seeking intimacy with the Giver first and foremost, He comes in power, showing Himself glorious above all things on earth and in Heaven. He is truly the vine, and if we will become His branches, He will bear fruit in us and through us as we draw close to His heart, embracing the great command to love one another as Christ loves us, and allowing God to create the atmosphere for the miraculous to flow.
How to Heal Like Jesus
