Healing 7
Notes
Transcript
Reasons people are sick
1. Fallen World
1. Fallen World
sickness spreads, people are born with malformations, etc.
Man born blind
1 As he passed by, he saw a man blind from birth. 2 And his disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” 3 Jesus answered, “It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him.
2. Direct work of the enemy by demonization
2. Direct work of the enemy by demonization
woman bent over
10 On a Sabbath Jesus was teaching in one of the synagogues, 11 and a woman was there who had been crippled by a spirit for eighteen years. She was bent over and could not straighten up at all. 12 When Jesus saw her, he called her forward and said to her, “Woman, you are set free from your infirmity.” 13 Then he put his hands on her, and immediately she straightened up and praised God.
b. Man blind and mute
22 Then they brought him a demon-possessed man who was blind and mute, and Jesus healed him, so that he could both talk and see. 23 All the people were astonished and said, “Could this be the Son of David?” 24 But when the Pharisees heard this, they said, “It is only by Beelzebul, the prince of demons, that this fellow drives out demons.”
c. Pool of bethesda
14 Later Jesus found him at the temple and said to him, “See, you are well again. Stop sinning or something worse may happen to you.”
3. Life Choices
3. Life Choices
Some choices lead to physical consequences. This is obviously shown through addictions and how we take care of our bodies
Also, by doing things like BJJ…..
And, other choices that we make or that others make having a direct impact on us
So, how God heals could depend on the cause of the issue
If it is a sickness caused by a fallen world, maybe He will just touch and heal. Or, He may used doctors and medicine to heal.
If it’s through sin or demonization, there may need to be deliverance from demonization, addiction, etc
Next week, we are going to wrap up healing by talking about inner healing and demonization. Though it will not be super graphic, we will read some stories so parent discretion is advised.
Finally, He might just say you need to change your lifestyle.
So, healing may happen in many different ways. And I would encourage you to seek healing through any God honoring practice.
But now the difficult question:
What if I am not healed?
What if I am not healed?
I would start with looking at what scripture prescribes for us on healing.
Have you asked God to heal you?
James 4 is talking about fighting and quarreling and our passions and desires, so the context is not healing, take it with a grain of salt, but he says
2 You desire but do not have, so you kill. You covet but you cannot get what you want, so you quarrel and fight. You do not have because you do not ask God. 3 When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.
Again, not specifically in the context of healing, but the sentiment could still be true. We read last week that Jesus did not do many miracles or healings in Jerusalem because of their lack of belief
I interperet that as they didn’t understand who Jesus was, so they didn’t come to Him for healing.
James says you might have what you want because you don’t ask, or if you do, it is with wrong motives
So, I think we may not be healed because we just haven’t asked for it
Secondly, as James continues in chapter 5 he says
14 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. 15 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.
So, have you asked the Lord with other mature believers for healing?
James continues on which leads us to the next reason we may not be healed:
2. Are you in unrepentant/unconfessed sin?
James says
16 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.
My take is that the sickness that James is referring to in chapter 5 is because of spiritual issues
So, confess your sins, turn from them and ask for healing and you will receive it
So, if there is ongoing perpetual known sin, confess and turn from it!
Lastly,
3. Have you asked God why you aren’t healed?
The final reason that we may not be healed is because of unknown reasons.
Maybe, in God’s sovereignty, He has a reason that He has not healed us…
This is a difficult one for a lot of people.
And some may disagree with me…that’s okay
But is sure seems like God may not heal for reasons unknown to us, but He is doing something in us during the time.
As we read earlier in the story of the man born blind, Jesus’ response was
3 “Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” said Jesus, “but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him.
There is debate over the translation of this verse, basically did God make Him blind so that His power would be displayed through the healing
or, is Jesus just saying it wasn’t sin, but watch the power of God displayed
Doesn’t really matter much on the interpretation, but it seems clear that God’s power was known through the healing and the guy had suffered so long
Why didn’t God heal in sooner, I don’t know, but I know that His power was revealed when He healed
We know that Jesus let Lazarus die and He says this
4 When he heard this, Jesus said, “This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified through it.”
and going down further:
14 So then he told them plainly, “Lazarus is dead, 15 and for your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.”
And further
40 Then Jesus said, “Did I not tell you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?” 41 So they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. 42 I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me.”
So, Jesus let’s Him die, to display His power…
People who say God wouldn’t let you be sick to teach you a lesson, well, He let Lazarus die and brought Him back
Actually, Lazarus might have been upset he was raised….dude, I was winning in the basketball game in heaven!
As we read a few weeks ago, there are times when people aren’t healed in the NT. Paul had a sickness in Galatia, seems like he was healed. We don’t know about Timothy’s stomach, but to our knowledge, wasn’t healed. Trophimus wasn’t healed right away, nor was Epaphorditus
So, not everyone is healed instantly, and in fact, some die.
Is it possible God could use sickness?
28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.
So, God may not cause the sickness, but could He use it? Well I sure hope so!
We are in a fallen world, I pray God use everything for your good!
Some believe that God would never use sickness to teach us something.
I’v even heard, God wouldn’t use something of the devil.
To which my response is: man, I sure hope that He does, because in this fallen world, there are so many things of the devil!
You guys probably remember the story of Joseph, sold into slavery by his brothers, accused and thrown in prison, ends up rising to the top
At the end of that story he is reconciled to his brothers and he says this
20 You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.
Did God cause his brothers to be jealous and send him into slavery? No, but God certainly used it!
Additionally, what if God does allow things to teach us things? Isn’t what God does for us good?
I love the story of Lazarus as we just discussed
I think it teaches us some great things about what to do if we are struggling
I won’t read the whole story for time sake, but Jesus learns that Lazarus is sick.
He delays going and Lazarus dies.
Jesus decides to go and says
11 After he had said this, he went on to tell them, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep; but I am going there to wake him up.”
Jesus knew He was going to raise Him!
This is important. Jesus knows the plan!
As they get close Martha runs out to Him
21 “Lord,” Martha said to Jesus, “if you had been here, my brother would not have died. 22 But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask.”
For a long time, I have read this as Martha blaming Jesus, and maybe she is, but notice how she says
“but I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask.”
Notice, Lazarus has died, but she still has faith! Even now….
So, maybe, if we aren’t healed now in the timing that we want, we could come to Jesus with our concerns!
Lord, you can heal! You can restore, why is this happening, and maybe, He is big enough to handle it…
Also, we can still believe He will, even when it seems dark.
Mary then comes to meet Jesus and falls at His feet and expresses her concerns
32 When Mary reached the place where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet and said, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.”
And then Jesus does something interesting
33 When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled. 34 “Where have you laid him?” he asked. “Come and see, Lord,” they replied. 35 Jesus wept.
Jesus knew exactly what He was going to do and yet He was still grieved!
So, when we are struggling, Jesus is right there with us! Maybe even grieving when we are!
So, would God use sickness and death to teach us a lesson, it seems quite obvious that He did with Lazarus!
So, as we wrap up, what do we do when we are not healed?
Well, first off we come to Jesus, even in our struggles!
16 Rejoice always, 17 pray continually, 18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
And how can we do that? Not because of our circumstances, but because of Jesus!
We rejoice in Him! We pray, which is relational, and we give thanks for who He is!
It’s okay to struggle and to wrestle, but come to Jesus!
I’ll end with Hebrews 12
If you read 11, you just read the hall of faith!
Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Noah, Sarah, Moses, Enoch, who didn’t die, but then this verse in 11
13 All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance, admitting that they were foreigners and strangers on earth.
So, they had faith in what had not happened yet…Jesus, they never saw Jesus, but still believed
So, maybe we can continue in faith in God even if we don’t see it yet!
And then we start in chapter 12
1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us,
Isn’t cloud of witnesses a great picture?
We can picture them in the sky, Moses and abraham and Isaac, and we can add Paul and Peter and James
And they are cheering us on! Come on guys you can do it! Don’t give up!
So, let us…
2 looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.
So, how do we make it through, get rid of sin, and come to Jesus, he is the founder, pioneer, author, of our faith! It is relational, and fixing our eyes on Jesus!
Even if I am not healed right now, I believe in Jesus! My faith increases as I endure and persevere!
And I cry out to Jesus! And I give thanks! And I continue in faith, believing God will!
