Your Healer

01 - Your Healer

Church on the Park via Zoom | Sunday, 13 MAR 2022 | Glen Gerhauser

Text: “And he said, ‘If you actively listen to the voice of Yahweh your God. If you do what's right in his eyes, give ear to his commands and watch over his written word. Then, I will not set on you all the sicknesses that I placed on the Egyptians. Why? Because I am Yahweh Rophekha – The Lord, Your Restorer. I am the one who heals you, making you whole’” (Exo. 15:26, Inspiration Translation).

Theme: Yahweh is your healer.

Intro: This week, our whole house got hit hard by the COVID virus. We were all unwell except for Gideon and Allison, who kept their distance. It’s a unique challenge when everyone in the house is simultaneously sick and you also have to isolate yourself. However, everyone was kind to us and prayed for us. We even had quite a few offers to drop off groceries. It’s good to be part of a caring community.

I prayed during this time, “Lord, speak to me.” I wanted him to guide me to the right place in his Word––his green pastures for our healing. To be honest, at first, I could hardly concentrate at all––focusing is difficult when you’re in lots of pain. But the Lord gradually began to shine his light in our darkness and highlighted to me Exodus 15:22-27. In this passage, Yahweh reveals himself as his people’s restorer and healer. I’d like to share with you some of the treasures the Lord gave to us during this darkness.

1) The Lord is your restorer and healer. He is the one who makes you whole (Exo. 15:26).

The Lord’s will is always restoration.

It should give great comfort to our hearts that God is our restorer and healer.

The Lord desires to restore you––spirit, soul and body.

The Lord desires to restore his church––his people.

The Lord desires to restore Israel to fulfill her eternal purpose.

The Lord desires to restore the cities and towns of Australia.

The Lord desires to restore the whole world.

Exodus 15:26 has special meaning to me with regards to my battles with Crohn’s disease.

Exodus 15:22-27 is the first revelation of Yahweh in the wilderness.

This revelation was the first thing God wanted Israel to know after their salvation through the Red Sea.

This revelation begins unveiling who he is to his people in the wilderness.

Moreover, this comes straight from Yahweh’s mouth––straight from the source.

He says,

כִּ֛י אֲנִ֥י יְהוָ֖ה רֹפְאֶֽךָ

Translated, “For I am Yahweh, Your Restorer” or “Because I am Yahweh, Your Healer” or “Indeed, I am Yahweh, Your Physician.” Also, see my translation above.

Roph-EH-kha (pronunciation) - Your Restorer

Rophekha is very personal––He is YOUR healer.

God’s very nature is restoration.

Therefore, he brings life, restoration, and healing wherever he is honoured and valued.

Healing is not just what he does––it is WHO HE IS.

Restoration is the essential nature of Yahweh.

Hosting his presence is key to healing and restoration.

Since it’s God’s will to heal and restore, we should always pray in their direction. We shouldn’t be praying ‘If it’s your will, then heal,’ but rather, ‘It is your will to heal, so we call on you to heal.’

In Hebrew, the root word for ‘heal’ is ‘rapha’.

Rapha means healing but also has a much more extensive range of meaning. Its meaning can be summed up in the word ‘restore’ (Brown, TDOT).

We see this in the story of God making the bitter waters sweet.

God is restoring the waters so that Israel can drink them and be healthy.

God does a miracle transforming the natural waters.

See ‘RAPHA’ word map.

2) Yahweh restores you to his original design and purpose (Exo. 15:22-25).

When Yahweh restores, he brings things back to their original purpose and state.

In other words, he brings his creation back to HIS normal.

All through our lives, God is doing a work of restoration. He is restoring us back to the image of his Son––Jesus (Rom. 8:28-29).

This is also God’s purpose for all creation: to bring everything under Jesus’ lifegiving reign (Eph. 1).

Restoration is God’s purpose in the end times. It’s not to destroy all things, but to restore, reconcile, and redeem them (Acts 3:21, Rom. 8:21; Col. 1:19-20; Rev. 21-22, etc.).

God restores. God liberates. God reconciles. God renews. That’s what God’s Kingdom is all about.

Jesus reveals his willingness to restore the Leper in Matthew 8:1-4.

The Leper’s restoration was more than physical. It restored him back to God’s house and back to the community. He no longer had to live outside the camp in isolation.

3) The promise of Yahweh’s healing doesn’t mean you won’t get attacked by sickness. Instead, Yahweh’s healing means sickness will not master you (Exo. 15:26).

What are some of the bad thoughts that Christians have about healing?

Some think, “If God is my healer, I can never get sick.”

This thinking is one of the significant errors in Pentecostal and Charismatic circles.

People think, “If a believer gets sick, it's because of their lack of faith or personal sin.”

And if they don’t fully embrace these thoughts, they tend to look down on the sick––as if sickness disqualifies you from ministry.

So why do we get sick?

We get sick because we live in a fallen world.

It’s a world that has been corrupted by Adam and Eve’s sin.

None of our DNA is perfect––it’s flawed.

Perfection will not come until Christ returns and we receive our resurrected bodies.

In the meantime, while you are in this fallen age, you need to rely daily on Yahweh Rophekha, the Lord, your Healer.

Sickness and lack are always opportunities for God to be glorified (John 9:1-5).

Our goal should not be searching for sin but seeking him.

I think most Christians make the mistake that once they’ve been healed, they never need to be healed again.

It’s a ‘been there, done that’ mentality. “I’ve checked that off my list. I don’t need to rely on God as my healer anymore.”

Or, “If I get sick, it means that he must’ve not healed me in the first place.”

The other trap we can fall into is thinking that if Jesus doesn’t instantly heal us, he is not healing us at all.

No, the right attitude to have is that we have to abide in the vine of Jesus' healing and restoration.

In this life, we will have battles with sickness. But we continually fight and also rest in his restoration.

Healing is like the restoration of the walls of Jerusalem. It happens one stone at a time.

In other words, throughout this journey on earth, you will continually need Yahweh to be your healer.

And that’s what Yahweh was teaching Israel as they embarked on their wilderness journey.

Yahweh didn’t say they wouldn’t get sick. Instead, he said he would not set (fix) sickness on them. It wouldn’t be a part of their essential nature if they lived in a covenant relationship with him.

One of the last errors we must stay clear from is “If God is my healer, I don’t need medicine or doctors.”

See Sirach 38.

Jesus is our living water, yet we still drink water. Jesus is our bread of life, yet we still eat bread. Jesus is our rest yet we still sleep. Jesus is our healer, yet he may choose to use his creation to restore us.

4) The Lord’s way to healing and restoration is his living Word (Exo. 15:26).

Notice how God begins this verse on healing by saying, “If you actively listen” (‘If to listen, you listen’).

Why?

Because it was through his Word that God created everything in the first place.

All created things came from his Word and he still upholds them by his Word (Gen. 1; Col. 1:15-17; Heb. 1:3).

And since God’s word created everything, he will also use natural means to heal us. Because many of the natural things he created, he made for our healing––like water, plants and trees.

Living by his Word is living in a covenant relationship with God.

In his, Word is life and restoration.

That’s why our church will always put the Word and worship first.

Ten lepers were made clean, but only one returned to give thanks. So who was the one truly healed? (Luke 17:11-19)

God’s will is that we depend on his Word as our life source every day.

This truth brings us back to Psalm 29: The Power of Yahweh’s Voice.

To be continued…

Conclusion: Let’s recap. 1) First, the Lord is your restorer and healer. He is the one who makes you whole. 2) Second, he restores you to your original design and purpose. 3) Third, the promise of Yahweh’s healing doesn’t mean you won’t get attacked by sickness. Instead, Yahweh’s healing means sickness will not master you. 4) Lastly, the Lord’s way to healing and restoration is his living Word.