Acts 14:8-10 „Now at Lystra there was a man sitting who could not use his feet. He was crippled from birth and had never walked. He listened to Paul speaking. And Paul, looking intently at him and seeing that he had faith to be made well said in a loud voice, “Stand upright on your feet.” And he sprang up and began walking.”

The case with the cripple who was healed in Lystra always focuses my attention on two important things, which require more thought. When we speak of healing and liberation we have to bear in mind that it always happens where there is faith in the name of Jesus and not because of a charismatic and emotional service. Putting our faith in a person is easier and people often rely on it for success like prayer with laying hands on the sick, anointance with oil, both of which are fine, on the contrary – those are acts found in the Bible. I want to draw your attention to something else entirely.

Many people don’t get their healing because of lack of faith. Many times they are not paying attention to the Word that is being read so they can gain faith, but are waiting for a sensation when the sermon ends and the preacher starts placing hands on the sick.

Returning to the verse we started with we can see where the crippled man had places his faith. First of all this man was unable to move from birth. He has in need of a miracle. He didn’t come for a sermon to be healed, but was there to listen to the Word like everyone else.  The crippled man was not waiting for the end of the service, but we read that he was listening to the preaching of Paul.  This is what the church nowadays misses – faith that comes from listening to the Word of God. Don’t ever forget that we are saved through faith in the resurrection of Christ, through faith in His name we are healed and released from chains; we perform great deeds through faith through faith we prophesy, through faith we our hope in eternal life remains. Faith is the main driving force in the life of any follower of Christ. When you listen to the Word of God and faith comes “whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith.” Matthew 21:22

The second most important thing we need to pay attention to is the acts of the apostles. We read that as Paul was preaching he saw faith in the eyes of the crippled man and cried out loudly: “Stand upright on your feet.” Only the wish of the crippled man to start walking is not enough. This man could walk for the first time because of two important factors: hearing the Word, through which faith came into his heart and the acts of Apostle Paul, who was guided by the Holy Spirit.

A similar biblical example of healing we can also see in the service of the apostles Peter and John. Acts 3:16 „And his name—by faith in his name—has made this man strong whom you see and know, and the faith that is through Jesus has given the man this perfect health in the presence of you all.”

This man was also a cripple and his friends would regularly put him in front of the temple to beg for money. When Peter, who was there with John, looked into his eyes, he told him: look at us. And so the man was looking at them, waiting for them to give him something. You see, faith is a great expectation for something to happen. If one would say that the crippled man was expecting a miracle at this moment, they would be wrong. The man was expecting to get money, but when Peter looked into his eyes, he saw faith and so he said: look at us. But Peter said, “I have no silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk!”

The foundation of this miracle is faith in Jesus Christ.

This leads us to the answer of which road we should point out to those, who are in need of healing:

1.     Listening to the Word

2.     Faith

3.     Timely intervention of the pastor

4.     Healing based on faith in the Lord

Have a wonderful day and may the Lord of peace be with each one of you today

I love you, church,

Pastor Vasil Petrov