THE HEALER.

Manawatu Times, Volume XLVII, Issue 2780, 23 October 1923, Page 5

THE HEALER.

GREJT MISSION OPEHS. INFLUX OF SUFFERERS SEEKING CURE. HUGE GATHERING AT ALL SAINTS. MR. HICKSON STATES HIS CASE Over a thousand sufferers, of whom more than 800 are from peaces outside of Palmevston North, are waiting in eager expectation for the ministry of healing, which will commence to-day at All Saints, A great concourse crowded into the chinch last evening for the preliminary service, and when Mr. Hickson appealed, a thousand pair of eyes were centred on him. He wears an air of quiet assurance, and there is a general suggestion of power in his'personality. Very business-like in all his doings, and in his speech direct, lluent and forceful, the famous missioner commands and holds the attention. A quarter of a century's experience is behind every word he speaks and gives a note of authority to his claims startling and revolutionary to the ordinary man, but to James Hickson now the commonplaces Of a wonderful record in every continent. To him.there is nothing surprising in the cure of disease and sickness —organic or functional. He has proved it.

Spiritual healing is healing through Jesus Christ. The whole centres round the person of Jesus Christ. We can do nothing. I have no power in myself to give health and liealing # Jesus Chnist is the Healer, and you who have eoine must look only to Him who is all power.

This was the keynote of Mr. Hickson's address. He added:— u Do not look to me. Do not look to any of the clergy. Look to Christ. My prayer is that I may be used as the channel, and that as you are outwardly anointed you may be inwardly touched by the Lord Jesus Christ, Spiritual healing is the transference of Divine life. When the woman in the days of Christ's presence on earth touched the hem of his garment He knew that virtue had gone out from Him. The moment His life entered into that woman's life disease was destroyed. It was not her faith that healed her. It was through faith that siie received the Divine life which healed her." Mr Hickson also instanced the healing of the leper to emphasise this truth. " Once you realise this fact," he continued, "you will realise that it is just as easy to cure organic disease as functional disease. Spiritual healing is not healing by suggestion o r an> such means.

" The healing of Christ is the giving of more life. His cry is: ' Come unto Me that ye might hav e life and have it more abundantly.' " "Present to Heal.'* Mr Hickson stressed very empha. tically his conviction that spiritual healing was direct healing by Christ Himself—"present to heal."

"How many of us here to-night realise it?" he asked. "Do we not believe, according to our Church's teaching, that He is present amongst us, and that if our eyes could be opened wc would see Him standing here. What' would we feel like if our eyes were opened and we saw Him? Why should there be all this difference if the presence of Christ is a reality? What wo want is the realisation in our hearts of what we profess to believe in. If we had this faith all our doubts and fears' and questionings would fado away at once. We would only know the Lord is present to meet the needs of His people. Nothing is impossible to Him. The moment we lose the sense of Divine presence and take our eyes off Him, we fall away like Peter, and begin to sink. It-is only while, we keep our gaze on Christ that wo realise lhau nothing is impossible to those who believe. "It is all so simple and natural, and so easy to understand, if we arc only simple enough and humble enough to take Him at His word. Let us lay our burdens down and lean on Him. He loves you and understands you. His whole mission on earth was going about doing good, and He wants to come amongst us, bringing healing and blessing; removing the things that make life hard and bitter; giving also a deeper and'richer blessedness.. Spiritual Before Physical.

Mr Hickson emphasised as. the important truth that while physical heal. ing was a great work, the primary issues of the mission were spiritual. "It is your soul Christ came to save. He came to heal the sick. That was part of His work and His ministry would have been incomplete without it—and the work and the ministry of His Church to-day are incomplete without it. But "at the same time, "It did not take first place. What did taka first place, with Him was to redeem men from their sins and to fit men for the Kingdom of Heaven. It was for that He shed His blood upon the Cross. So, when you come for. ward for physical healing-, come confessing your sins to God. We have souls to be saved, as well as bodies to be healed. Let us think of our souls first, 'and all these things will be added unto you.' "If a man is comiug to this mission just because he has got rheumatism or paralysis, and with no, thought for his soul, that man will be disappointed. Of what use was ai healthy body if we had a sick.soul! The healing of Christ is all-embracing. Tlie Great Physician came to give health—perfect soundness. And we have not that until our souls, as well as our bodies are healed. We are all more or less twisted. We need to be cleansed from envy, hatred, malice, fear, the devil of selfishness, pride, impurity.

Until we are healed we cannot enter, info the Kingdom of God." A Sivb World. Mr Hickson expressed the conviction that the world was not getting better, nor .was it getting any healthier. "These very missions show it," he declared. "Most of you have been vo doctors, and have not been healed. You have suffered many tilings . o£ many physicians, and arc no better, but rather worse. Now yo.u are coming to Christ. Don't think for one moment I want to belittle God's work through the doctors. But every good doctor .admits his limitations, Where human aid ends the Lord Jesus Christ, tho Great Physician, can begin. The doctor may have told you: 'I can't do any more!' Man's limitation is not the limitation of God. Come into, the presence' of the Great Physician. Take heart!. Don't be discouraged! No man can say there is no cure for you. He can only say: 'I can't euro you.' We can only say that He who has healed of old can heal to-day. He has power, over all disease.

i Not All Instantaneous. A warning was given against discouragement through delay in euro. "Do not be discouraged," said Mr Hickson, "if it does not all come at once. Some people have only been a few weeks preparing. They forget that God has to work through the limit'a. tions of man. According to, your faith so be it unto you. God has often to change a man's heart and soul so that he is better able to assimilate the divine life that is to flow into, his body."

Mr Hickson here illustrated his point with a striking incident of what happened' in Great Britain. A young woman was suffering from double curvature of the spine, with a wasting of the muscles. She had to have an iron support for her back, and another for her neck. Word came that she desired our help, and although she was a hundred miles away we prayed for her. She was upheld and converted, but not healed. Wo went on praying for two years. Then, one night', just as she was going to sleep a voice spoke to her, saying: 'Your prayer has been heard. Get up in the morning, without your supports.' She replied: "Why can't I get up now?' The voice replied: God's time is in the morning. This is rest time, and you will need your sleep.' In the morning she arose perfectly whole. To my mind,' added Mr Hickson, "the miracle was not so much the healing of that woman's body, as the preparing of her soul so that she might, in God's own time, be able to hear His voice and believe the word that was given her. All the time the prayers were going up to Him He was working in her soul for a timo when He would raise her up." Want of faith in God's willingness to

Disease Not Divine. heal was stressed as a great stumbling block. "Some people," said the missioner, "see in sickness and disease a visitation from God. What a blasphemy that is! When did His touch leave disease behind? Why do mcri put such words into the mouth of Jesus Christ?. Disease and corruption were abhorrent to Him. Disease and sickness are the works of the devil." Mr Hickson condemned the attitude of mind that was like looking one way and walking another. Some people who came to be healed had the idea that their ailment was meant for their spiritual good, that it was a cross laid upon them. "Where is the dynamic force behind our prayers if that is our belief?" ho demanded. "Ask in faith nothing doubting. He that doubteth is like the surge o.f the sea driven by the wind and tossed. LCf not that man think he shall receive anything from the Lord.' Those words arc quite plain and definite. So we must come and pray, believing in our hearts. We must pray the prayer of faith; the prayer, of expectancy. God did not give disease. He came dawn to take these things away. "Many people pray, 'Thy will he done,' and look down at their boots and think of all the horrible things that might happen. Sometimes a person will visit some poor home of misery, where there was sickness and suffering, and looking sanctimonious will declare, 'lt is the Lord's will!' What would Jesus do in such a home? He would bring'happiness and health." "If we want to see this world freed from disease and corruption we must sec it freed from sin. These things hang together. Mosf suffering has come about through sin—not always the sin of the sufferer —sometimes through the sin o.f others. Children suffer from the sins of their parents. If we want our children to be bora pure we must be clean ourselves. "The surgeon's knife cannot .touch, the core of disease. It lies deeper than the physical. It is in the soul. The surgeon's knife cannot cut that out; but the sword of the Spirit can." Kei'erring to the rise of such sect* as Christian Science, Mr Hickson declared: "These sheep would not have strayed from the Church seeking pasture if the Church had been true to her healing mission." After describing the wonderful re* suits following his great mission in India, where sufferers of all creeds and. religions came in thousands, Mr Hick, son said a leader of the Church there exclaimed: "Why have we been so blind for so long! Surely this is Christ's way-" Before concluding, Mr Hickßon spoke with great impressiveness to the intercessors on the importance of their work, and after the congregation dispersed with the Bishop's blessing, the workers remained to receive final orders from Mr Hickson. TO-DAY'S BUSINESS. ' The first gathering to-day is Holy Communion at 7, and the first "Mission of Healing" will be held at ten o'clock, to which only patients, intercessors and necessary workers will be admitted. .At 7.30 this evening there will be a service 6t intercession • and thanksgiving. It was announced that the thanksgiving service, which had beeh'., arranged for Thursday, has been alter-| ed to Wednesday evening, .while »•'* great thanksgiving gathering will •» . held in a fortnight's time.