THE BOOK OF JAMES
HEALING
DR. JIM DIXON
JUNE 30, 1985
JAMES 5:12-18
Outside of the city of Los Angeles, deep underneath the Earth, there is a large subterranean burial vault. The bodies of 12 men and women rest there inside of cylinders that look like large vacuum flasks. Inside of each cylinder, each body is wrapped in aluminum foil. Underneath the aluminum foil, each face is covered by a thin layer of frost. An icy mist of liquid nitrogen clings to each body. Each of the 12 bodies has literally been frozen at temperatures of 200 degrees below zero. The bodies are not old. They all died prematurely. They all died, all 12 of them, of various diseases that modern science was not able to cure. In a bizarre experiment in the science of cryogenics, these 12 people have been placed in cryogenic suspension. Their bodies are frozen for a future time in hopes that perhaps a hundred years from now, or maybe 200 years from now, when science develops a cure to their various and sundry diseases, they might be thawed out and cures applied. The hope is that they might be revived so that they can live again on the Earth.
If you’d like to have your body placed in cryogenic suspension upon death, you can do that for a fee of $20,000 and $1,000 a year. There’s only one problem: it doesn’t work. It’s not possible to freeze the cells of the human brain or the vital organs of the human body quick enough to prevent cell damage. But even if it could work, even if you could freeze human bodies and revive them a hundred years from now, there’d be tremendous theological questions. Would the human soul and spirit be trapped in that frozen body, or would the soul and spirit have left and gone to its eternal state? When the body was revived, would the soul and spirit return to the body, or would the soul and spirit remain separate and the body be a type of zombie? I’m sure that most of your waking hours are spent contemplating these kinds of questions, but the mere fact that the science of cryogenic suspension exists shows that mankind is perplexed with this tremendous problem of death, disease, and infection.
This is a disease-riddled world and mankind doesn’t know what to do about it. More people are killed and maimed in this world by disease than by all the wars ever fought. Millions of people will die in the United States of America this year because of infection and disease. This year, 3 to 4 million Americans will have heart attacks because of heart disease and 700,000 of them will die. This year, 1 million Americans will be found to have cancer. 400,000 Americans will die of cancer this year. 600,000 Americans will have strokes this year and 200,000 of them will die. This is a disease-riddled world and even the common cold is beyond the capacity of modern-day science to cure. Americans spend $750 million a year on non-prescription drugs for the common cold. 30 million work hours are lost here in America because of the common cold and 30 million school hours are also lost because of the common cold. This is a disease-riddled world.
We live in this fallen world, and disease, death, and infection touch all of us. What does God want us to do when we find ourselves in the midst of disease or infection or illness, when we find ourselves sick? We have two messages from the Apostle James from our passage of scripture for today, and the first message is this: when you find yourselves sick, call for the elders of the church. “Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church.” That’s what James says, seemingly a strange teaching.
Why doesn’t James say call for the doctors? That’s what most of us do when we’re ill. The Bible is not against medicine, although medicine was not nearly as advanced or sophisticated in biblical times as it is today. In biblical times, the Egyptians had the cult of Imhotep, a medical cult named after the Prime Minister to King Djoser. Imhotep allegedly had medical powers 4,700 years ago. When our Lord lived there was also the medical cult of Asclepius in the Greek world, named after the Greek god of healing. But these medical cults amounted to little more than superstition and incantation. 400 years before Christ, Hippocrates appeared. He gave credibility to the medical profession. He developed preventive medicine and health standards of cleanliness. He set fractured bones, developed medicinal drugs, and even performed surgery, even brain surgery.
By the time Christ lived on the Earth, the medical profession had a moderately reputable reputation. The Bible does not condemn medicine. Indeed, our Lord Jesus took the title physician and He applied it to Himself. Luke was trained in the medicine of his day and in the Bible he is called the beloved physician. We are blessed to have medical science, blessed to live in a time when medical science is as reliable as it is today. I’m sure God would have us go and have regular checkups with medical doctors and I’m sure 330,000 doctors in the United States of America are glad to hear that.
However, sometimes what the natural world is able to offer us just doesn’t seem to be enough (and sometimes it isn’t enough). We know we need supernatural power. The people of this Earth long for supernatural power—power for healing, power for the needs of their lives. James acknowledges that and he is here giving us instruction as to how we can begin to tap supernatural power for healing.
Now, 46 years ago a woman was born whose name was Elizabeth Clare Prophet. She was born to an occultist mother. She began to have visions at a very young age in her life. When she was four years old, by her own testimony, she was playing in the sand lot when suddenly she found herself transported to the banks of the Nile River in Egypt, and she encountered the teachings of what she called “the ascending masters.” She knew that there was some special purpose for her in this world and that she was being called to be a divine healer (so she says).
She didn’t know exactly what God’s purpose was for her or the purpose of the ascending masters was for her until years later when she saw a picture of the 18th-century occultist and magician named St. Germain. She was told in her spirit that St. Germain was still alive but in a different incarnation. She was to find him and she was to receive his teaching. As she studied at Boston University, she found him (or so she says) in a man named Marcus Prophet, whom she married. Marcus Prophet was said to be the incarnation of St. Germain and also of Sir Lancelot of the King Arthur legends.
Elizabeth Clare Prophet announced that she would give birth to the Christ child in the years to come. So far it has never happened. She’s 46 years old. She has started a new church based on the teachings of St. Germain (or Sir Lancelot or Marcus Prophet) and also based on the teachings of Jesus Christ and the teachings of Confucius and all the other people that she refers to as the ascending masters. Her church is called CUT—The Church Universal and Triumphant. She purchased the old Broadmoor Mansion down in Colorado Springs years ago. Then she moved her church to Santa Barbara. Then she moved her church to Pasadena, and today her church is headquartered in Malibu. She bought the 257-acre estate that belonged to King Gillette who used to make the razor blades. She has a 30,000 acre ranch in Montana.
She performs healing services and lays hands on people and claims to heal them—sometimes in the name of Christ, sometimes in the name of Marcus Prophet, sometimes in the name of Confucius, and sometimes in the name of some other ascending master. People are flooding to her. Incredibly, 75,000 people have now become members of her church. Some people estimate that 150,000 people are involved in her work. These people have given her $50 million. You see, we live in a world that is desperate for supernatural power. People will reach out to anything. They are subjected to economic deceit in their quest for supernatural power. They’re subjected to psychological manipulation. They involve themselves in the powers of Satan, either knowingly or unknowingly, because people are so desperate for supernatural power. It’s a needy world.
If you’re a Christian, you are to have nothing to do with the world of the occult, nothing to do with what is called the ascending masters. James is telling us that everything you need as a Christian is available in the local church. Wherever the church of Jesus Christ is represented by a true assembly of brothers and sisters in Christ, everything you need is there by the Spirit. James is saying, “If you need supernatural power for healing, here’s the first thing you do. Call for the elders of the church.
Now, the Greek word for elder is the word presbuteros. It’s a the word that means “strange clothing.” I’m just kidding. Actually, it’s a word that means “old men,” but this word was not generally used. This word presbuteros, this word “elder,” was not normally used simply to refer to those who were physically old, but to those who are spiritually old and spiritually mature. Now, not all the spiritually mature in an assembly or in a church were called presbuteros, but only those spiritually mature who had been appointed to leadership. They were called the elders.
Now, in this church we have 16 ordained elders. 12 of them are currently on active duty. Bob and Dick Savage and I are three of those elders and we are called teaching elders, but there are nine additional elders. They have been nominated and approved by the congregation of Cherry Hills Community Church. Through much prayer and much guidance, they have been selected. We believe they have been called by God for a purpose. They have been given a special ministry in this assembly, and part of that ministry is prayer—prayer for healing.
199 years ago, a little church in Ephrata, Pennsylvania, called Swamp United Church of Christ (kind of an unusual name for a church) had their pastor die. He was a man named John Waldschmidt. When he died, his wife was grief-stricken and she became a deaf mute. She could not speak and she could not hear. Six months passed and she was still a deaf mute. The congregation felt compassion towards her. They decided to call for the elders of the church. They had never done this before in their life, but it said in James 5, “Call for the elders of the church.” And so they did. They called for the elders of the church one Sunday evening and they laid hands on her. The elders began to pray that she might be restored to wholeness.
Seconds passed into minutes and minutes passed into hours, and suddenly they felt the Holy Spirit descend upon them in power as they prayed. This is a true story. I mean, there were many eyewitnesses. As they prayed, a great bolt of lightning came crashing from the heavens and it struck the earth just outside their little church. They ran outside the church where there was a little cemetery where Pastor John Waldschmidt was buried. They found that that lightning bolt had struck the tombstone of John Waldschmidt and split it right in two. They ran back into the church and found his wife speaking. She suddenly could speak and she suddenly could hear. She was no longer a deaf mute. She had been restored through prayer.
Now, I doubt I should say that our elders have that kind of power. They don’t call down lightning bolts from the heavens, but God has that kind of power and God wants to use some measure of that power through our elders. He’s called them to minister. In the second century, the Canons of Hippolytus stated that elders were to be selected on the basis of whether or not they had the gift of healing. That canon is in error. They have things reversed. Elders are not to be selected on the basis of whether or not they have the gift of healing. It doesn’t say anything in Titus or Timothy when it describes the selection of elders about elders having the gift of healing. I don’t believe that our elders have the gift of healing, not necessarily. I personally believe that the gift of healing is given. I believe, however, that it is very, very rare. We’re not saying our elders have the gift of healing. We’re simply saying that they have been anointed and they’ve been given a special call. And I honestly believe that there are contexts in which their prayers are unusually effectual, not because of who they are but because of what God has called them to be. And sometimes God calls our elders to lay hands on people and pray.
We want you to know that in the months to come you’re going to see our elders visiting the hospitals. They’ve begun to do that this month. You won’t always see Bob or I at the hospital. Sometimes we’ll go as the Spirit leads, but sometimes you’ll see our elders visiting the hospital and praying for people, and this is part of the ministry that God has given them. We want to give you an opportunity to avail yourself of the laying on of hands from our elders. Therefore, a week from this Thursday night, on the 11th of July, right here at the church, we’re going to have a healing service. It’s not going to be bizarre. It’s not going to be strange. You don’t need to be afraid. We’re just going to ask for people who have various illnesses, various needs in their life, to come forward and have the elders pray for them. That’s going to be a week from this Thursday night at seven o’clock here in the sanctuary, and we would encourage you to come and be a part of that.
Now, we’re not saying that only elders are supposed to pray. The Bible’s clear that all of us as Christians are called to pray. And whenever we pray, we tap the power of God. We’re all children of God, all of us who believe in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior of life. We all should come to God with our needs, knowing that He cares. But we are also saying that there is a special call given to the elders, a special anointing. We acknowledge that, and if you feel led to have them pray for you, we are providing this opportunity.
Secondly this morning, we have this teaching from James (and I’ll make this as quick as possible): if you find yourself ill, if you would be healed you must confess your sins to one another. James says, “Confess your sins to one another that you might be healed.” Now there’s no doubt biblically that sin and illness are linked. In our passage from Mark chapter two, we saw how when Jesus returned to Capernaum He was found to be at His home (probably the home of Peter where He generally stayed when He was in Capernaum). great crowds gathered around to hear the Son of God teach. They surrounded the house. So great were the crowds that you couldn’t even go near the doorway of the house. The Bible says four men came with a friend, a paralytic. They came in compassion, longing to see the power of God touch his afflicted body, but they couldn’t draw near to Christ because of the great multitude of people. And so they did an amazing thing. They went around the house and they climbed up on the roof and they began to tear the roof away above where Jesus was teaching and preaching. When they had made an opening in the roof, they took the bed and dropped it through the roof, gradually, with the paralytic laying on the bed.
When Jesus saw it and saw their faith, He was deeply moved. And He said a strange thing to the paralytic. He said, “Your sins are forgiven.” And then He said, “Rise, take up your bed, and walk.” And he rose, took up his bed, and walked. And Jesus told the scribes who were present that His power to heal that man proved that He had authority to forgive sins because sin and illness are linked. And you see that over and over again in the Bible. Many times when Jesus heals somebody who’s physically afflicted, Jesus just says, “Your sins are forgiven.”
The Bible says there wouldn’t be any disease or death in this world were it not for sin. Death entered the world through sin. And the Bible says more than that. The Bible says sometimes our personal illnesses are actually caused by our personal sins (not all the time, but sometimes). That’s why Jesus said to the cripple by the pool of Bethesda (sometimes called the pool of Bethsaida), “Sin no more, that nothing worse befall you.” That’s why Paul wrote to the Christians at Corinth who were abusing the Lord’s supper and using it as an occasion for gluttony and drunkenness that because of their sin many of them were sick and some of them had died. And that’s why James in our passage of scripture for today says, “Confess your sins that you might be healed.”
It would be a mistake to think that all of our illnesses are caused by personal sin. If that were the case, we’d never want to let anybody know that we were sick. And it clearly says in the 9th chapter of John that not all of our personal afflictions are caused by our personal sins. But some are. And therefore, James is saying to us, “When you’re sick, take an inward look. Examine your heart, examine your spirit, and see if there is not some unconfessed sin in you.”
Throughout church history, sometimes God’s power has descended in miraculous ways in the working of miracles and in the healings of the of the physical body. Other times there’s been very little evidence of God’s power supernaturally on the Earth. Whenever in history you see these great outpourings of the power of God in healing, invariably it is accompanied by a corresponding movement towards confession of sin. All you have to do is examine church history and you see that. The power of God is released through the confession of sin.
I’m sure most of you have heard of John Wesley. In all of Christian history, there are few people that have been so anointed as John Wesley. He is acknowledged as the founder of the multi-million member Methodist Church. In his lifetime, John Wesley established a church with 175,000 people. He personally trained and sent into ministry more than 650 men. The power of God was a upon him for proclamation, for healing, and for evangelism. Rarely has the power of God been so evidenced in a single human life. People ask, “How come John Wesley had so much of the power of God?” Some people say, “Well, he was very intelligent. He was gifted.” And that’s true. He spoke ten languages fluently. He wrote grammars in Greek, Latin, French, English, and Hebrew, and they were used in the schools. He wrote more than 400 books—three volumes on medicine, four volumes on the Bible, four volumes on history, five volumes on philosophy, and six volumes on music. He was a genius, but nobody who knew him ever said that the power that was in him came from his intellect.
Some people say, “Well, he was hardworking. He was industrious.” And he was. In the course of his 50 years of ministry, he traveled more than 250,000 miles (and this was in the 18th century when there were no cars or airplanes). He preached more than 44,000 sermons. When he was 83 years old, he complained that he could only write 15 hours a day. When he was 86 years old, he said he felt embarrassed that he didn’t have the strength to preach more than twice a day. Surely he was hardworking. But again, nobody would say that the power that was in him came from his industry.
No, the power that was in John Wesley came from God. The power of God that was in John Wesley was in him simply because he longed for holiness. When he was at Oxford University, he started a club called The Holy Club. They met for an hour every week. They prayed and they confessed their sins, not only to the Lord but to each other. Throughout John Wesley’s ministry, he spent an hour on his knees every day in prayer and in confessions. Wherever he went, he started churches and he broke them into groups of 12 people. He had those groups of 12 people meet twice a week to confess their sin to the Lord and to each other.
As Christians, it’s very easy for us to acknowledge that we need to confess our sin to the Lord. Catholics confess their sin to priests. As Protestants, we acknowledge that there’s one High Priest, one intercessor Jesus Christ, and we confess our sin to Him. And that is right. But under Christ, we are all priests. Sometimes God calls us by His Spirit to confess our sin to a brother or sister in Christ. Sometimes He calls us to go to someone we’ve abused and confess our sin to them. And sometimes He calls us simply to confess our sin to some other brother or sister.
We need to be careful. Sin is not a matter for gossip. It must be Spirit-led. But indeed, confession is good for the soul and the power of God is released through confession, repentance, and a hunger and thirst after righteousness. So if you’d be healed, take an inward look. If there be anything in you that is not right, repent and confess. That’s what James is saying to us. “If we confess our sin, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sin, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” There are two messages from James this morning. If you’re sick, pray and be open to the laying on of hands by the elders of the church. Also, if you’re sick, search your heart and confess your sin. Let’s pray.
Lord Jesus, our bodies seem so frail. Loved ones grow ill and pass away and death awaits us all. Lord, You have said that we are not to fear death because You rose from the dead in power and great glory. Your body is indestructible—no longer subject to decay, eternal in the heavens, and glorious. You’ve promised us bodies just like Your body. And Lord, we long to be clothed in those bodies in the life to come. But in the meantime, Lord, these bodies are all we have. Help us to take proper care of them. Thank You for medical doctors and, Lord, help us to be open to Your supernatural power in healing, a power that You’ve poured out at many times and in many places. Thank You for the elders of this church and for their faithfulness. You called them by Your Spirit. Anoint them for the ministry that is theirs. Lord, help us to be open to their ministry in our life. Lord, help us all to pray faithfully to You, knowing that with You all things are possible. Lord, help us to hunger and thirst after righteousness for Your name’s sake. We love You, Lord Jesus. We pray these things in Your great name. Amen.