The Balm of Gilead
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Jeremiah 8
Jeremiah 8
Introduction: There is a story
from the Middle Ages
about a young woman
who was expelled from heaven
and told that
she would be readmitted
if she would bring back
the one gift
That God valued the most.
So
She brought back drops
of blood
from a dying patriot.
She collected coins given
by a destitute widow
for the poor.
She brought back a remnant
of a Bible used
by an eminent preacher.
She even brought back the dust
from the shoes of missionaries
who served many years
in a distant land.
And
Although she brought back these things
and more,
Yet
she was turned back repeatedly.
But
One day
as she watched a small boy playing
by a fountain,
she saw a man ride up
on horseback
and dismount
She watched him
take a drink.
And
When he saw the boy playing,
The man
thought of his own childhood innocence.
But
as he looked into the water
of the fountain
he saw a reflection
of his hardened face.
And when he did
He was overcome
by the sin in his life,
and in that moment,
he wept tears
of repentance.
so
The young woman
took one of those tears
back to heaven,
where she was received with joy.
And although
we understand
that
this would never happen,
yet
we do know
that our tears
are important to God.
In fact
William Arthur Ward
has said:
“ We should be thankful
for our tears!
They prepare us
for a clearer vision
of God.”
And
With that in mind
We are about to read
From the book of Jeremiah
tonight,
And
Jeremiah was known
as the weeping prophet.
Because
As he looked at the condition of Israel,
he wept
bitter tears of sorrow.
And
it was through these tears
that he penned
The words of our text
In Jeremiah 8
Read with me
Verses 18 – 22
Jeremiah wrote (Jeremiah 8:18 – 22
When I would comfort myself against sorrow, my heart is faint in me. Behold the voice of the cry of the daughter of my people because of them that dwell in a far country: Is not the Lord in Zion? is not her king in her? Why have they provoked me to anger with their graven images, and with strange vanities? The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved. For the hurt of the daughter of my people am I hurt; I am black; astonishment hath taken hold on me. Is there no balm in Gilead; is there no physician there? why then is not the health of the daughter of my people recovered?
Let’s go to the Lord
In a word of prayer
(Pray)
I. The condition of the people
Declaration
Now
Notice our text
If you would again please
And remember
We’ve been talking about missions
All day today
But
Here
In our text
This afternoon
Listen to Jeremiah
In verses 21 – 22
he Said
(Jeremiah 8:21–22 “For the hurt of the daughter of my people am I hurt; I am black; astonishment hath taken hold on me. Is there no balm in Gilead; is there no physician there? why then is not the health of the daughter of my people recovered?”
Now
Think for a moment
About what he was saying
I am hurting
For the daughter of my people
Now
The phrase
"for the daughter of my people"
is a poetic
and affectionate expression
referring
to the nation of Israel
And Judah,
emphasizing
the deep
familial connection
That Jeremiah felt
For the Jews
It emphasized
His
profound empathy
for their suffering
and
their ruined state.
Something which
By the way
We will discuss
In just a moment here
But again
he Said
(Jeremiah 8:21 “For the hurt of the daughter of my people am I hurt; I am black; astonishment hath taken hold on me.”
He was saying
I am dumbfounded
About the horrible state
Of my people
The Jews
I am in fact
Astonished
At just how bad
Things are
But then
Jeremiah made
A statement
Or rather
He asked
A couple of questions
That
Ought to get the attention
Of all of us
he asked
(Jeremiah 8:22 “Is there no balm in Gilead; is there no physician there? why then is not the health of the daughter of my people recovered?”
So
As we
end this Sunday
Here at Heritage Baptist Church
I
Want to preach briefly
On the thought
The balm of Gilead
Discussion
and
With that in mind
I want us
To first of all
Consider
The condition
Of God’s people
Here in this passage
But
Before we do
Let’s talk briefly
About the prophet Jeremiah
Himself
Jeremiah
Was the son
of a priest
from the small town
of Anathoth
in Judah
and
Jeremiah
dictated prophecies
from the Lord
to his secretary, Baruch.
Which is
The book of Jeremiah
And
Because of Jeremiah’s lineage,
he would have been raised
a priest!
though no record
of his priestly service
exists.
Yet
God chose this man
of undeniable courage
to speak
to the people of Judah
on the Lord’s behalf
even though
they would not listen.
but
Be that as it may
Jeremiah
was nearly twenty years old
when he began to prophesy,
and he continued
in that office
for the rest
of his adult life,
Which
Was some forty years
or more.
Sadly
God’s people
During Jeremiah’s tenure
But God’s people
Weren’t walking
With the Lord
In fact
Read with me
Verses 1- 2 here
Jeremiah said
(Jeremiah 8:1–2 “At that time, saith the Lord, they shall bring out the bones of the kings of Judah, and the bones of his princes, and the bones of the priests, and the bones of the prophets, and the bones of the inhabitants of Jerusalem, out of their graves: And they shall spread them before the sun, and the moon, and all the host of heaven, whom they have loved, and whom they have served, and after whom they have walked, and whom they have sought, and whom they have worshipped: they shall not be gathered, nor be buried; they shall be for dung upon the face of the earth.”
Now
Think about that!
Jeremiah
In speaking about the people
Of Judah
he mentioned
a coming,
horrific desecration
of the dead in Jerusalem
as a consequence
of the people's continued rebellion,
idolatry,
and refusal to repent
He said
The people here
In Judah
Though
At one time
They had been devout worshipers
Of Jehovah God
And at the same time too
Their ancestors
Had involved themselves
In making great sacrifices
With King David
And at the same time too
One
of their great kings
A man named Solomon
Had built a great temple
For God
And for the worship
Of Almighty God
In fact
The Bible says
Of Solomon
in 2 Chronicles 7:4–5 “Then the king and all the people offered sacrifices before the Lord. And king Solomon offered a sacrifice of twenty and two thousand oxen, and an hundred and twenty thousand sheep: so the king and all the people dedicated the house of God.”
And
The point is
That in days gone by
The people of Judah
Had been avid
Faithful worshipers
Of the Lord God of heaven
But now
According to verse 2
They were worshiping
The heavens
They had become lovers
And servants
To the heavens
Deliberation
By the way
In 2025
Some people
Still do that
Some people
Involve themselves
In astrology
The worship of the sun
And the moon
And all the hosts
Of heaven
And
Isn’t that
Astrology?
It surely is
In fact
Astrology
is the belief
that the positions
and movements
of celestial bodies,
such as planets,
the sun,
and moon,
influence
human personality,
fate,
and events on Earth.
And
To the Christian
That sounds preposterous
And it really is
But unfortunately
Recent polls
in the U.S.
show
between 27%
and 30% of adults
believe
in astrology
But
Here
In the book of Jeremiah
A goodly amount
Of the inhabitants of Judah
Had embraced
Astrology
Because again
Jeremiah said
(Jeremiah 8:1–2 “At that time, saith the Lord, they shall bring out the bones of the kings of Judah, and the bones of his princes, and the bones of the priests, and the bones of the prophets, and the bones of the inhabitants of Jerusalem, out of their graves: And they shall spread them before the sun, and the moon, and all the host of heaven, whom they have loved, and whom they have served, and after whom they have walked, and whom they have sought, and whom they have worshipped: they shall not be gathered, nor be buried; they shall be for dung upon the face of the earth.”
He said
They have walked
In the way of astrology
They have sought
And have worshiped
The sun, moon
And stars
But
Not only
had they began
To worship the stars
But at the same time too
They went headlong
Into sin
In fact
Notice verse 3
Jeremiah said
(Jeremiah 8:3 “And death shall be chosen rather than life by all the residue of them that remain of this evil family, which remain in all the places whither I have driven them, saith the Lord of hosts.”
Now
Think about that
He called the residue
Of this people
An evil family
That word evil
By the way
Means
that which is bad morally
So
The fact is
This people
In addition
To worshiping the stars!
They had gone headlong
Into sin
But then
Notice versus 4 -5
Jeremiah said
(Jeremiah 8:4–5 “Moreover thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the Lord; Shall they fall, and not arise? shall he turn away, and not return? Why then is this people of Jerusalem slidden back by a perpetual backsliding? they hold fast deceit, they refuse to return.”
He said
The once spiritual inhabitants
Of Jerusalem
Are backslidden
They are deceitful
And they have refused
to return
Because see
They have become embedded
In sin
They
Were wallowing
In spiritual mud
And
The point is
Not only
Had they engaged
And idolatry
But they had embraced
Immorality
By the way
We often think
Of immorality
In terms
Of lewd sin
And that is part of it
But
Allow me
To make an important statement
The devil
Is craftier than that
And
He will convince us
That it’s okay
To try
To be moral people
But
That
it is likewise okay
To live sometimes
An immoral lifestyle
To
Do things
That our society
Has decided to accept!
But Christian
That is a mistake
God
wants us
To live lives
That please Him
But
Unfortunately
Jeremiah wrote to a people
Who had engaged
in idolatry
The worship of the stars
Jeremiah
Wrote to a people
Who likewise
Had embraced Immorality
They had become
Backslidden
And that word
There in verse 5
By the way
Means
to turn away
They had turned away
From the Lord
What an immoral thing
To do
But
Please don’t miss
The last phrase there
In verse 5
Again Jeremiah said
(Jeremiah 8:5 “Why then is this people of Jerusalem slidden back by a perpetual backsliding? they hold fast deceit, they refuse to return.”
So
It wasn’t a matter
Of just slipping up
Which we all do
From time to time
But for them
They refused
To return to God
and
That suggests
Not slipping
That suggests
Stubbornness
In the heart
Oh
How incomprehensible
That is
Or should be
To all of us
That
At one time
The inhabitants of Judah
And particularly
The ancestors of these
To whom Jeremiah wrote
But
At one time
These people
Had been beautifully spiritual
But now
They were utterly
Backslidden
Somebody said
Preacher
How could this have happened?
And
How could it ever happened
Today
Well
Just one day
At a time
Just one indiscretion
At a time
And
If you’re not careful
And before you know it
You too
Could
Begin to engage
In idolatry
Immorality
And that
Which is incomprehensible
In terms of refusing
To return to the Lord
Somebody said
Hey wait a minute preacher
Christians
Would never engage in Idolatry
well
Let me remind you
That idolatry
Is putting anything
Before God
In your life
But see
God’s people
In Jeremiah’s time
Were embedded
In idolatry
Immorality
And that
Which is incomprehensible
Delegation
In fact
Listen to verse 6
Jeremiah said
(Jeremiah 8:6 “I hearkened and heard, but they spake not aright: no man repented him of his wickedness, saying, What have I done? every one turned to his course, as the horse rusheth into the battle.”
But
Not only
had the people in Judah
Descended into idolatry
And embraced
Immorality
And behaved in a way
That was incomprehensible
But
They acted
Ignorantly
Because
Notice verse 8
Jeremiah said
(Jeremiah 8:8 “How do ye say, We are wise, and the law of the Lord is with us? Lo, certainly in vain made he it; the pen of the scribes is in vain.”
See
These people
Claimed
To be doing the right thing
And maybe
They were self-deluded
A lot of people are
Even Christians sometimes
But
What
An awful
Spiritual condition
these people in Judah
Were in
But
Don’t miss
Verse 20
In addition
To being
In a terrible spiritual condition
They
Were likewise
In spiritual calamity
In fact
Read with me
Versus 9 – 20
Jeremiah said
(Jeremiah 8: 9 – 20
The wise men are ashamed, they are dismayed and taken: lo, they have rejected the word of the Lord; and what wisdom is in them? Therefore will I give their wives unto others, and their fields to them that shall inherit them: for every one from the least even unto the greatest is given to covetousness, from the prophet even unto the priest every one dealeth falsely. For they have healed the hurt of the daughter of my people slightly, saying, Peace, peace; when there is no peace. Were they ashamed when they had committed abomination? nay, they were not at all ashamed, neither could they blush: therefore shall they fall among them that fall: in the time of their visitation they shall be cast down, saith the Lord. I will surely consume them, saith the Lord: there shall be no grapes on the vine, nor figs on the fig tree, and the leaf shall fade; and the things that I have given them shall pass away from them. Why do we sit still? assemble yourselves, and let us enter into the defenced cities, and let us be silent there: for the Lord our God hath put us to silence, and given us water of gall to drink, because we have sinned against the Lord. We looked for peace, but no good came; and for a time of health, and behold trouble! The snorting of his horses was heard from Dan: the whole land trembled at the sound of the neighing of his strong ones; for they are come, and have devoured the land, and all that is in it; the city, and those that dwell therein. For, behold, I will send serpents, cockatrices, among you, which will not be charmed, and they shall bite you, saith the Lord.
When I would comfort myself against sorrow, my heart is faint in me. Behold the voice of the cry of the daughter of my people because of them that dwell in a far country: Is not the Lord in Zion? is not her king in her? Why have they provoked me to anger with their graven images, and with strange vanities? The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved.
My
What calamity
These people were in
In fact
That phrase
The harvest is past
The summer is ended
And we are not saved
signifies
a moment
of profound
missed opportunity
and spiritual desolation
for the people of Judah.
Because
Think about
The analogy here!
The inhabitants of Judah
That Jeremiah wrote to
had
observed
Their mommy and daddy
Live in sin
Live in idolatry
And live in immorality
They
Had watch their parents
Complain about the preacher
And live in hypocrisy
Saying things like
The Law of God
Is on our side
So
After watching those things
They refused
To return to the Lord
And because they had!
They were without...
God’s precious salvation
And oh
What an awful
Awful place to be
Wouldn’t you agree
So
How very
Self-deluded they were
And perhaps
Somewhat disillusioned
But finally
To become
so
spiritually destitute
And
As I thought about
The nation of Judah
In that time
I couldn’t help
But to think about
the
United States of America
We live
In a country
That has had
A rich spiritual heritage
In fact
Our founders
Though
Not all of them
Were Christians
Yet
Many of them
Were Moral people
And
some were Christians
In fact
Though
There was only one active minister
Who was a signer
of the Declaration of Independence:
A man named
John Witherspoon.
Who was a Presbyterian preacher
Yet
several other signers
Of the declaration
had been clergymen
at some point
In their life
before signing it
or had received
ministerial training.
So its true that
Many of our forefathers
Were Christians
And
Additionally
America was founded
On Judeo-Christian principles
In fact
Our current laws
Are based
On God’s Laws
Found in the Bible
Likewise
At the same time too
In days gone by
Our citizenry
Went to church
On a regular basis
They
Prayed together
with their families
They endeavored
To live
Decent
Moral
And upstanding lives
So
What I’m saying is
America
Has a rich
Spiritual heritage
Disappointment
But
Much like Judah
Our nation
Has gone headlong
Into idolatry
some
Worship the stars
In the heavens
Some people worship
The stars
In Hollywood
They
Worship the stars
In Nashville
Or in sports
But
In addition
To engaging
in idolatry
Our nation
Has become immersed
in immorality
Why
You can scarcely go
Five minutes
Without the innuendo
Of Immorality
As you watch the television
And at the same time too
You
Can mistakenly
Type the wrong thing
In your web browser
and When you do
you can have your eyes inundated
With the moral images
Likewise
It seems
That every other day
You hear about
A senseless shooting
In fact
Just a couple days ago
This past Wednesday
a 23-year-old young man
Who was so Confused
Had as his goal
To go shoot children
So
He walked
Into a Catholic school
And begin the gun down children
How incomprehensible
I’m
Just reminding us
That this nation of ours
Though once
A godly
Upstanding
Moral nation
Yet
In the 21st century
We have descended
Into idolatry
We had detoured
In Immorality
And sadly
We have
gotten to the place
To where we will not return
To the Lord
It seems
Deliberation
But
That
Was Judah as well
What once
Had been a nation
Of spiritually minded people
Had
Degenerated
Into a nation
Of sinfully minded people
And because they had
The
Prophet Jeremiah
Had become so saddened
Again he said
In verse 18
(Jeremiah 8:18 “When I would comfort myself against sorrow, my heart is faint in me.”
And
There is a lesson here
For us!
When we think about our nation
And the condition
That it is in
It ought
to make a sad
But
At the same time to
It ought to make us
Settled
That we will not rest
Until our nation
And even our world
Is saved
But
That is exactly
How the prophet Jeremiah felt
That because
He knew the history
Of the nation of Judah
And the rich spiritual heritage
They had
Yet
When God called him
To be a prophet
To these people
They had descended
Into wickedness
Idolatry
And immorality
well
The prophet Jeremiah
Was saddened
Again he said
(Jeremiah 8:18 “When I would comfort myself against sorrow, my heart is faint in me.”
Oh
What an awful
Awful condition
These people were in
And as result
Of their condition
They weren’t saved
II. The concern of the prophet
Declaration
But
That brings us
To the point
Of our sermon this evening
And read with me
Beginning in verse 20
Once again
Jeremiah said
(Jeremiah 8:20–22 “The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved. For the hurt of the daughter of my people am I hurt; I am black; astonishment hath taken hold on me. Is there no balm in Gilead; is there no physician there? why then is not the health of the daughter of my people recovered?”
Now
Pay close attention
To
Two questions
That Jeremiah asked
There verse 22
He asked
Is there no balm
In Gilead?
Are there
No physicians
In Gilead?
Now
In asking those questions
Let me tell you
That Jeremiah
Wasn’t expecting an answer
Because see
These
Were rhetorical questions
A rhetorical question
By the way
is a question asked
in order
to create
a dramatic effect
or to make a point
rather than
to get an answer.
And
Let me give you
An example
Of a rhetorical question
In fact
Let me
Give you several examples
First of all
We might ask
Is there no corruption
In Washington DC
Now
We know the answer
To that question
Of course there is corruption
In Washington DC
Because
The truth is
Some of our politicians
sell influence
For cash
They sell farmland
Or natural resources
In order to line
Their own pockets
They
Are deceitful
Demeaning
Dismal people sometimes
So is there no Corruption
In Washington DC?
Well of course there is
We
Might also ask
Are there no French fries
At McDonald’s
Well of course there is
In fact
Years ago
When I was employed there
During my first job
I was called upon sometimes
To unload the truck
That brought the supplies
to McDonald’s
And
On the truck
There was huge
box
After huge box
of McDonald’s Fries
So of course
There are French fries
At McDonald’s
And
Another rhetorical question
We might ask
Is
Is the sky not blue
Well of course it is
I mean
Look up
On a cloudless day
And you’ll see beautiful
Blue sky
then
We might ask
Do birds not fly?
Well of course they do
Or we might ask
Are you kidding me?
Or do pigs fly?
Of course not
But
The point is
These questions
Are used
to advance an idea,
evoke emotion,
or persuade
the audience.
Discussion
And there
Was the prophet Jeremiah
He was writing
To a backslidden people
Ones
Who would not
Return to the Lord
ones
Who were not saved
though
They need to be saved
They
Needed someone
To help them
Be saved
They were spiritually sick
But were not healed
But
In order
To make a point
Jeremiah asked
two
Rhetorical questions
And
Number 1
He asked
Is there no balm in Gilead
Now
Gilead,
a region
in the Transjordan,
was an area
known
for its healing resources
It
Was a place
Where balm
a resin from
the balsam tree
Was abundant
In fact
This balm
was applied to wounds
In Bible days
As is suggested
in Jeremiah 46:11 “Go up into Gilead, and take balm, O virgin, the daughter of Egypt: In vain shalt thou use many medicines; For thou shalt not be cured.” ;
Likewise
We are told in Jeremiah 51:8 “Babylon is suddenly fallen and destroyed: Howl for her; Take balm for her pain, If so be she may be healed.”
But see
balm
Was plentiful
In Gilead
There
Was an abundance
Of balsam trees
In the region of Gilead
So
When Jeremiah asked
Is there no balm
In Gilead
He was asking
A rhetorical question
He
Wasn’t trying to evoke
an answer
He was instead
Trying to provoke
An attitude
Deliberation
Consider likewise
The second question
Not only did Jeremiah ask
Is there no balm
In Gilead?
But
He asked
Are there no physicians there?
And again
This
Was a rhetorical question
it
would be
Like you having a problem
A medical problem
so
You go to the hospital
You sit in the waiting room
and it seems like
You are waiting forever
Just to be seen
And
As you sit there
For hours
You ask yourself
Are there no doctors
In this hospital
Well
Of course there are
And at the same time too
There were plenty of doctors
No doubt
In Gilead
They were more than likely
in abundance
And
The reason I say that
Is that
historical records
describe
a significant number of people
living in the region
east of the Jordan River
Thus
In the area of Gilead
And
Most of the time
You can find doctors
In heavily populated places
Even
In Jeremiah’s day
so
There was plenty of balm
Which was needed
To cure those
Who were ailing
And
There was no doubt
Plenty of doctors
To treat those
Who were ailing
Demonstration
Oh
But Jeremiah
Was simply
Trying to make a point
He said
Is there no balm
In Gilead?
And of course there was
Are there no doctors
In that place?
And of course
there was
But then
Notice
A question...
That was not rhetorical...
Listen to the whole verse
Jeremiah said
(Jeremiah 8:22 “Is there no balm in Gilead; is there no physician there? why then is not the health of the daughter of my people recovered?”
Now
Think about that
Jeremiah
Was making a spiritual point
he Was saying
If there is balm
This healing resin
In Gilead
And if there are doctors
In Gilead
Why then
Is not the health
Of my people
That is
The spiritual health
Of my people
Why isn’t it recovered
In other words
If the resources
To cure our people
Are there
Why don’t the people
Get cured
now
In Judah’s case
Those people
Didn’t want
To be cured
What a sad way to be
They
Were resolved
To live lives
Away from the Lord
Demonstration
But
When I think about them
And the fact
That by and large
Those people
Didn’t want to be cured
Spiritually speaking
I
Think to myself
People today
Many of them
Don’t even know
They need
to be cured spiritually
Or
They don’t know how
To be cured
Spiritually speaking
But
With that in mind
Let me borrow
Jeremiah’s rhetorical questions
If I may
To make a point
Relative to missions
Today
Listen please
Is there no balm
In Gilead?
That is
Are there no Bibles
In America
That
Could help heal
Those who are spiritually destitute?
Well
Of Course
There are Bibles
In fact
We have
Literally
Millions of Bibles
Which could be used
To spiritually
Heal the lost
From their sins
See
(Romans 10:17 “So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”
But we have millions
Upon millions
of Bibles
That could be used
To bring spiritual healing
To the lost
As
A matter of fact
Those of us
In this auditorium today
Have multiple Bible
I myself
Have several Bibles
At my home
And several Bibles
In my office
I
Have the Bible
On my computer
On my laptop
On my tablet
and on my phone
And
If the truth be known
That is true
For most of us
So
Why then
Are the Spiritually destitute
In our country
Not cured
If we in fact
Have the balm
to cure them?
see
By adhering
To this Book
Those who are lost
Can be saved
But
Why is it
That so many
Are not saved
If we had the Bibles
To apply to their hearts
Well
Let me tell you why.
While we have great access
To the balm of Gilead
The Bible
From the Lord our God
Well
Countless millions
Around the world
Including
In these United States
Either
Don’t have access
To the balm of Gilead
The Bible
Or they have no idea
Of
how to apply it
Demonstration
But
Let me
Likewise
Borrowed Jeremiah’s
Second rhetorical question
He asked
Is there no balm
In Gilead?
And then
he asked
Are there no Physicians there?
It
Would be like asking
Is there no one there
Who is able
To apply the balm
To those
who are spiritually hurting?
Isn’t
There anyone
Who can take the Balm
Of the Word of God
And Apply it
to the hearts
of those
who are lost?
Now
By the way
There might be some
Who are thinking to themselves
Well preacher
I know
what you’re getting at
But
I have to tell you
That I’m not qualified
To be a spiritual doctor
That is
I don’t know how
To use the Bible
To get someone saved
Because
I’ve never even had
A soul winning class
But
While that may be true
How many of you
Could tell someone else
How you got saved?
I daresay
All Of us could
I
Imagine
That every Christian here
Could give a testimony
About what took place
When God saved your soul
So
The truth is
All of us
Could
At the very least
Take the Balm
Of the word of God
And apply it
To the hearts of those
Who are lost
Just by giving
Our own salvation testimonies
now
by way
of example
If you have children
They have no doubt
Been sick
Yet
Without medical training
You can go purchase medicine
And administer it
To your child
Without any medical training
Can you not?
And at the same time too
I think
Of my dear mother!
When my stepdad
Had his stroke
My mother
Who
By the way
Hadn’t even graduated
From high school
Let alone
Medical school
Yet
She gave him
The very best
Of medical care
Until the very day he died
Because she loved him
and
My point is this
Those of us
Who have been born again
By the Spirit of God
And in obedience
To the Word of God
We then
Can take the balm of Gilead
The Bible
And help
apply it
To the lost souls of men
If
We are willing
To do so
But the question is
Are we?
Are we
Willing
As Christians
To take
One of our several Bibles
And then
Use them
To get help
To the spiritually needy
see
Just about anyone
Can apply balm
Even spiritual balm
Just about anyone
Can apply it
Provided
We are willing
To do so
We just have
To be willing
III. The confusion concerning the problem
Declaration
Oh
But as I think about
That second rhetorical question
That Jeremiah asked
Are there
No Physicians there
And as I borrow that question
And ask
Are there no spiritual Physicians
In our day and time
I’m reminded
That here in America
We have lots
Of spiritual Physicians
Don’t we
We have
Pastors in churches
Who endeavor weekly
To apply the Balm of Gilead
To the heart of God’s people
And
Aren’t you glad about that
and
at the same time too
They endeavor
To apply the Balm of Gilead
To the lost
In our state
And in our country
And
At the same time too
We have lots
Of spiritual physicians
In terms
Of missionaries
Who
Have a burden
To preach the gospel
In (Name the countries)
And
Let me say that
Those missionaries
Have been trained
To do so
They have been trained
To apply the Balm of Gilead
To the hearts
Of people
In North and South America
In Europe
And in Asia
In Africa
And in Australia
See
We have
the Balm of Gilead
The Bible
And we have plenty
Of spiritual physicians
In terms of missionaries
Who
are qualified
To take that Balm
and minister it
to the hearts
Of lost people
Around the world
But
Therein
Lies a problem
In
Our case
If there are Bibles
(Balm of Gilead)
And if there are physicians
(Missionaries)
Why then
Is not the hurt
Of lost people
Recovered
Well
Missionaries
Must be sent
And that takes money
It takes
Resources
To send the missionary
To the regions beyond
It takes
A willingness
On our part
To send those missionaries
And
again
These questions
That Jeremiah asked
are rhetorical
so
He
Was saying
To those people
We have the resources
So why aren’t we using them?
And
As
far as we
Our concerned
In 2025
We too
Have the resources
To reach the lost
With the Gospel of Christ
Discussion
We
As I already mentioned
Have the Bibles
To help save the lost
We
Have the missionaries
To help
Save the lost
Around the world
And
God has blessed us
With both the time
And treasure
To be able to reach the lost
Around the world
And
By time
I mean that all of us
Could invest time
In praying
For our missionaries
And they need that
In fact
While Tina and I
Were missionaries
In Africa
I had a terrible accident
Which necessitated
Going to the emergency room
Of a Hospital
An hour away
But
A couple of years later
While on furlough
One of our supporting pastors
Told me
That
In the middle of the night
God awoke he
And his family
With the burden
To pray for me
They didn’t know why
But they got up
An invested time
In prayer
For Mark DeLoach
And
Hear me please
Your missionaries
Need your prayers too
They need you
To take the time
God gave you
To pray for them
And
At the same time too
They need you
To use
Some of the treasure
God gives to you
In terms of your money
They
Need you
Those missionaries
Need you
To invest
In their mission work
So that
They can take
the Balm of Gilead
To those who are lost
But
The question is
Will you
Well
Before you answer
The question
Remember one thing
Jeremiah
When he wrote this passage
Was speaking on behalf
Of God
In essence
God was saying
(Jeremiah 8:22 “Is there no balm in Gilead; is there no physician there? why then is not the health of the daughter of my people recovered?”
So
If we have
the
Balm of Gilead
The Bible
Which is the cure
For the sinners condition
And
If we have
The physicians
To apply the Balm
Why then
Or rather
What is the problem?
Maybe
It is us
And if so
Then
In
A few moments
When the invitation begins
I want to ask you
To make a commitment
to be willing
To use the Bible
To win the lost
and
To
Use your finances
and your prayers
To help missionaries
On their way
To reach the lost
Conclusion: Let’s close in prayer
