10 January 2014 by Adeline Lum CM-
On 6th of January, Rev Andy Xuan Bach Tran—ordained and licensed as an Evangelist by Heather Wood Baptist Church at Genesis Vietnamese Mission in Georgia, United States—came to share the Word of God in the FGB Ebenezer Chapter led by Steven Toh.
His first mission trip to Malaysia in 2008 started his journey to minister in Southeast Asia, where the Lord Jesus recently used Rev Andy to save 10,000 souls in Myanmar!
In the meeting, Rev Andy proceeded to heal the attendees of the FGB in the name of Jesus Christ including shoulder pain, chest pain, knee pain, headache, sinus, sore throat, skin problems, flatulence, gastric, food allergy, slip disc, and gout.
After the healing, we had the opportunity to ask Rev Andy hard questions about healing by God.
#1 Why God does not heal everyone?
Rev Andy shared that some people die because it’s his or her time. This is because ultimately, God decides the days of our life. (Job 14:5)
A person’s days are determined; you have decreed the number of his months and have set limits he cannot exceed. (Job 14:5)
But in our faith, death takes on a new perspective because death means reuniting with God in Heaven without pain and suffering.
He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away. (Rev 21:4)
Rev Andy shared how a widow blamed God for taking her husband who died of brain cancer away. But when she was reminded that her husband would cease to suffer in Heaven, her bitterness turned into joy and thankfulness.
#2 Why do some people take longer to heal than others?
Healing comes from our faith in God. Some people have more faith in God, which allows an immediate healing to take place.
Jesus turned and saw her. “Take heart, daughter,” he said, “your faith has healed you.” And the woman was healed at that moment. (Matt 9:22)
But some people needed a few times of healing in one session, for a complete healing to take place. Often, God would take the first step to increase our faith by reducing our pain for our first attempt. As our faith in Him rise, He will complete His work of healing in us.
Nevertheless, a complete lack of faith on the other hand hinders God from working in you.
And they took offense at Him. But Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his hometown and in his own household.” And He did not do many miracles there because of their unbelief. (Matt 13:57-58)
#3 Why do we need to confess our sins to God before He heals us?
Amidst the sins, Rev Andy shared that bitterness is often one of the most tenacious sins hidden in our heart. We refuse to forgive those who offended or hurt us.
But Scripture tells us that if we do not forgive others for their sins, our Father will not forgive our sins as well. (Matt 6:15)
But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins. (Matt 6:15)
However, if we confess our sins of bitterness to the Lord, God will forgive us and purify us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9) And thus, there will be no hindrance for God to heal us. (James 5:14-16)
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9)
Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up. If they have sinned, they will be forgiven. Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective. (James 5:14-16)
Rev Andy shared that to love God involves loving everything and everyone that God loves. Akin to loving our wife or girlfriend, we love everything and everyone she loves including her food, her parents, her siblings, and her activities. To love like God is to love unconditionally.
In John 21, Jesus asked Peter three times, “Do you love me?” In the English text, it was ‘love’ in all of the questions. But in Greek, Jesus meant agape for the first and second question. Agape means unconditional love, to which Peter replied, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” In this case, he meant phileo in Greek, which means brotherhood type of love. But when Jesus asked Peter for the third time, “Do you love me?” He used the Greek word phileo. Peter replied the same way he did for the first two questions. This shows how Jesus was attempting to stretch Peter from phileo to agape, which is necessary for him to lead God’s people in the future.
To put it simply, if we want to lead in God’s Kingdom, we need to practice God’s agape type of love—that unconditional love for everyone including people we dislike or hate.
Rev Andy shared that looking at a person from God’s perspective brought God’s love into his heart. He realized that the person has yet to know Christ or has not fully understood the love of God for his or her life. Empathy saturated his heart.
Jesus said to His disciples, “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.” (John 13:34-35)
But if anyone obeys his word, love for God is truly made complete in them. This is how we know we are in him: Whoever claims to live in him must live as Jesus did. (1 John 2:5-6)
Lastly, Rev Andy shared the bible verse, which his healing ministry is founded on. (Mark 16:17-18)
And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well.” (Mark 16:17-18)
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