Ben Schappell | On Healing | April 26th, 2026

The gathering opens with wholehearted worship and a posture of trust that frames the week ahead. A recent string of personal miracles gets named as evidence that God moves in ordinary moments and through sudden interventions. The central teaching turns to healing and examines three Gospel scenes to draw practical and spiritual lessons. First, the woman with the chronic bleeding models faith rooted in scripture. She acts on a prophetic promise about “the fringes of his garment” and receives instantaneous restoration, teaching that faith grows from hearing God’s word and that Scripture supplies the content for expectant prayer. Second, the blind man at Bethsaida shows that restoration sometimes unfolds in stages and in ways that surprise human reason. Partial sight becomes full sight after repeated touch, reminding that timing and method belong to God even when outcomes differ from quick-fix expectations. Third, the paralytic at the Pool of Bethesda faces a probing question about desire and identity. The exchange exposes how long seasons of need can calcify into identity and excuses, and it invites a reorientation: true healing often coincides with a decision to accept a new identity as whole. Across all three passages the same themes surface. Healing comes from the Creator, not from human effort alone, and faith anchors itself in objective promises rather than wishful thinking. Healing may be immediate, gradual, or even take forms that look like loss before revealing deeper restoration. The final invitation centers on surrendering excuses, trusting God’s timing, and picking up the mat of a former life to walk in a renewed identity. The service closes in worship and prayer, declaring openness to God’s varied ways of making people whole.

Key Takeaways

• 1. Healing comes through faith in Scripture Faith that expects healing must rest on God’s revealed promises, not on hopeful wishing. Scripture supplies the language and history that shape confident petition. Knowing biblical promises transforms requests into faithful expectation and aligns desire with divine truth. [47:03]
• 2. Healing may unfold in stages Restoration can arrive in phases rather than all at once, and God can choose processes that refine trust. Partial breakthroughs do not mean failure; they often invite persistence, reorientation, and deeper reliance on grace. Holding fast through intermediate steps demonstrates faith in the promise, not in a timeline. [56:56]
• 3. Choose healing over a wounded identity Long seasons of illness or loss can become a self-narrative that blocks reception of wholeness. True healing often requires deciding to reject a crippled identity and embracing the person God declares at creation. Such a choice reorders loyalty from a problem to the Creator who remakes identity. [63:24]
• 4. Persist in expectant, grounded faith Disappointment, unanswered attempts, or expensive efforts do not nullify God’s promises when faith remains rooted in Scripture. Persistence refines hope into a deeper trust that accommodates mystery and refuses cynicism. Continued expectancy keeps the heart aligned with God’s readiness to heal in varied ways. [53:27]

Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [31:54] - Opening worship and prayer
• [40:01] - A personal testimony of miracle
• [42:22] - Introducing healing as the theme
• [43:10] - Woman with the issue of blood
• [49:47] - Malachi and healing in the garment
• [54:09] - Blind man at Bethsaida
• [56:56] - When healing comes unexpectedly
• [62:15] - Pool of Bethesda and identity question
• [67:21] - Closing song written and sung
• [72:18] - Prayer declaring healing

1. In Mark 5:25-34, what specific action did the woman take to receive healing, and what scripture might have motivated her boldness? [50:43]
2. How did Jesus’ method of healing the blind man in Mark 8:22-26 differ from other healings in the Gospels? What details stand out as unusual? [55:07]
3. When Jesus asked the paralyzed man, “Do you want to be healed?” (John 5:6), how did the man respond, and what does his answer reveal about his mindset? [01:03:24]

1. Why might Jesus have chosen to heal the blind man in stages (Mark 8:23-25) instead of instantly? What does this teach about how God’s timing or process might differ from human expectations? [56:56]
2. The woman with the bleeding issue acted on a prophecy about “healing in [the Messiah’s] wings” (Malachi 4:2). How does grounding faith in Scripture change the way we pray for healing compared to vague hope? [47:03]
3. The paralyzed man at Bethesda had been ill for 38 years. How might prolonged suffering shape a person’s identity, and why did Jesus confront this directly? [01:04:14]

1. The woman’s faith was rooted in a specific scriptural promise (Malachi 4:2). What Bible verses about healing or God’s character could you meditate on to strengthen your faith in a current need?
2. Have you ever experienced a “partial breakthrough” or answered prayer that unfolded gradually? How can you practice patience and trust in God’s timing while waiting for full restoration? [56:56]
3. Jesus asked the paralyzed man, “Do you want to be healed?” Is there an area of your life where you’ve grown comfortable with a “wounded identity” (e.g., “I’m always anxious,” “I’ll never recover”)? What step could you take to embrace wholeness instead? [01:05:49]
4. The blind man’s healing involved unexpected methods (Jesus spitting in his eyes). How can you cultivate openness to God working in ways that surprise or confuse you?
5. The paralyzed man was told to “pick up your mat and walk” after being healed. What “mat” (old habit, mindset, or excuse) might God be asking you to leave behind to walk in your renewed identity?