Maybe you’ve seen this scene before - a faith healer is coming to town. I’ve actually gotten one for a service like this in our area several years ago. They sent out flyers and rented a tent for people to come to.

Some of you may have even been to one of these services yourself. I will tell you the names of a few prominent Christian writers and teachers who have sought one out for their own personal maladies.

Maybe some of you have heard the name Justin Peters. He’s a Christian teacher and YouTuber. He has cerebral palsy and has to use a wheel chair to get around. Early on in his life he attended one of these healing services seeking relief from being unable to walk.

A more prominent name for some of you is Joni Eareckson Tada. She is a quadriplegic and also is a Christian teacher. She became paralyzed after diving into a swimming pool in too shallow of water.

What both of these teachers have in common is that they sought healing from their paralysis at one of these faith healing services. Neither received it! They were told they didn’t have enough faith to be healed when things didn’t go as promised by these so-called miracle workers.

Both have learned to glorify God through their suffering, but their experiences highlight the fault of so many of these services. Most of the modern day examples of faith healers are people who offer no more than psycho-somatic healings, healings that are in the mind and cannot be verified - things like relief from a headache or an overall “sense” of well being. They don’t offer real, undeniable healings that prove their message or their authority as God’s messenger.

We have to understand that there is coming a day when God will rid the world of sin, sickness, and disease when the Messianic Kingdom comes. Until that day, we have to suffer through these things according to God’s purposes and use them for His glory.

However, there is One who can undeniably heal. He has the power to make whole and even the power to forgive sins. He is none other than Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

Turn with me this morning to Matthew 9 as we see the One Who Has the Power to Forgive Sins.