As of this past week, we have overone hundred fifteenpeople involved in Life Groups. That represents over half of our adult worship attendance! Have you ever heard a sermon and thought, "I want to dig deeper into that." Or "I want to learn how to live like that?" Look through the questions in your study guide this morning. Think of the benefits that would come in discussing those questions with other Christians this week. To join a group, simply call the group leader.
Well this morning, we need to get right down to business. In Luke7 we find a series of stories in which Jesus brings healing into people’s lives.
Instances of healing.
In Luke 7:1-10 (NIV) we find the story of the Roman centurion. The centurion was a high ranking officer in the Roman Army. He was a rugged, battle-worn soldier, who would have been in charge of as many as sixty to eighty foot soldiers. But this Roman officer wasn’t any ordinary officer. He was a good man. Even though he was a Gentile, he had a deep love for the Jewish people. In our story he is credited with building a synagogue, a place of worship, for the Jewish people. The Roman centurion’s valued servant is sick and about to die. Learning about Jesus, the centurion sends some of the Jewish elders to ask Jesus to come heal his servant.
The Roman centurian's son.
The Roman centurion didn’t consider himself worthy to have Jesus come under his roof. As Jesus approaches his home he sends messengers to Jesus and says in Luke 7:6-8 (NIV), "Lord, don’t trouble yourself, for I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. But say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, 'Go' and he goes; and that one, 'Come' and he comes. I say to my servant, 'Do this,' and he does it." Amazed by the centurion’s profound faith, Jesus makes the centurion’s servant well.
A widow's son.
But then without further elaboration, we are whisked away to another scene. In Luke 7:11-17 Jesus is approaching the town of Nain when he happens upon a funeral procession. A dead person is being carried out to burial, among a large crowd. On this particular day the deceased is accompanied by his grieving mother. She was a widow who had once buried her husband, and now she was burying her only son.
Luke 7:13-14 (NIV)tells us that the moment Jesus saw the procession and the grieving mother, "...his heart went out to her and he said, 'Don’t Cry.' Then he went up and touched the coffin, and those carrying it stood still." Interrupting a funeral, and especially touching the coffin of the deceased, were considered major breaches of Jewish law and customs! After touching the coffin, Jesus says to the corpse in Luke 7:14 (NIV), "Young man, I say to you, get up!" Can you imagine how outrageous it must have been for Jesus to interrupt a funeral procession, touch the coffin, and then tell the deceased to get up! Luke 7:15-17 (NIV) says, "The dead man sat up and began to talk, and Jesus gave him back to his mother. They were all filled with awe and praised God. 'A great prophet has appeared among us,' they said. 'God has come to help his people.' This news about Jesus spread throughout Judea and the surrounding country."
The healing of many as a sign to John the Baptist.
In Luke 7:19 some of John the Baptist’s disciples ask Jesus if he is the promised messiah, or if they should expect someone else. In Luke 7:21-23 (NIV) we read, "At that very time Jesus cured many who had diseases, sicknesses and evil spirits, and gave sight to many who were blind. So he replied to the messengers, 'Go back and report to John what you have seen and heard: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor. Blessed is the man who does not fall away on account of me.'"
Jesus rebukes the wind and water.
Over in Luke 8:22-25 a sleeping Jesus is with his disciples in a boat when a furious squall comes down the lake. The boat was being swamped and Jesus’ disciples, many of whom were experienced fishermen, sense that they are in great danger. Frantically waking Jesus up from his nap, they say in Luke 8:24-25 (NIV), " 'Master, Master, we’re going to drown!' He got up and rebuked the wind and the raging waters; the storm subsided and all was calm. 'Where is your faith?' he asked his disciples. In fear and amazement they asked one another, 'Who is this? He commands even the winds and the water, and they obey him.' "
Jesus casts a legion of demons out of a man.
You can keep reading through the rest of the chapter. In Luke 8:26-39 Jesus casts a legion of demons out of a man into a herd of pigs.
A twelve year old girl.
In Luke 8:40-56 Jesus is asked to heal a twelve year old girl who is dying. While he is standing there, a woman who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years simply touches Jesus and is completely healed. As Jesus sorts out who touched him, word is sent that the twelve year old girl had died and Jesus need not be bothered any further. Arriving at the house of the little girl, Jesus tells everyone to stop wailing and mourning. Taking the little child by the hand he tells her in Luke 8:54 (NIV), "My child, get up!" In Luke 8:55-56(NIV) we are told, "Her spirit returned, and at once she stood up. Then Jesus told them to give her something to eat. Her parents were astonished but he ordered them not to tell anyone what had happened."
Jesus demonstrates that healing is at the very heart of who God is.
What are we to make of these fantastic stories? There are dozens of them in Luke’s book. Here is what I want you to write in your outline. Jesus demonstrates that healing is at the very heart of who God is. God is all-powerful and all-loving. No matter who we are or what we have done, andno matter how grave our situation may be, God has the power, the love, and the desire to heal us.
Here is a point worth pondering.The question for us today is not if God will bring healing into our lives, but rather how he will bring healing and when.Let’s spend some time talking abouthow and when Christ brings healing into our lives.
How does Christ bring healing into our lives?
A few years ago, I was at the bookstore and found a book by Mark Pearson called Christian Healing: A Practical and Comprehensive Guide. I’ve always a little bit skeptical of some of the religious fanaticism that exists in Pentecostal circles, so I purchased the book. It is a treasure drove of insight. He talks about the ways in which God brings healing into our lives today.
God brings healing through medicine or science.
A lot of people don’t realize that the author of the gospel of Luke was a physician. As a doctor, Luke was fascinated with the healing ministry of Jesus Christ. He offers lots of details about people’s conditions and the extent to which they are healed. Long after Christ’s death we find reference toLuke in Colossians 4:14 (NIV) as,"our dear friend Luke, the doctor....." Evidently, he was still practicing medicine long after Christ’s death.
One way God brings healing into our lives is through physicians like Luke. All truth is God’s truth. Science and medicine teach us great lessons about our bodies; the impact of diet, exercise, and stress which are the root causes behind our symptoms. Physicians are a gift from God. Medicine and science are gifts from God. Physicians will tell you that they don’t cause healing, they merely facilitate it. At the end of the day, they recognize that God begins where science ends.
God brings healing through Christians, his body.
In Ephesians 1:22-23 (NIV) the Church, which isall Christians collectively, are described as the body of Christ, "...the fullness of him who fills everything in every way." When Jesus Christ was physically, bodily, present on earth, he personally brought healing into people’s lives. But after Jesus ascended into heaven, you and I became Christ’s physical body on earth. We are his hands and his feet, his healing touch.
Often God chooses to bring healing into people’s lives through our ministry. This is why it is so important that we discover our spirituals gifts. We are the great physician’s tools, his instruments of healing. God’s healing power works through us as we serve in his name. We are his body.
God brings healing through obedience.
In the Bible we are told that the wages of sin is death. Ultimately, sin is the cause of all sickness and death. Rebellion against God has terrible consequences. In 1 Corinthians 11:27-30 Paul connects sickness and disobedience together. A reason that many people in the Church at Corinth were weak, sick, and some had died was because they were dishonoring Christ’s sacrifice with their lives.
Over in Romans 1:27 Paul describes how people receive in themselves the due penalty for their sins; in this case, sexual sins.A big reason that God commands obedience is to bring immediate healing into our lives. Sin produces weakness, sickness, and death. Obedience brings strength, health, and life.
God brings healing through prayer.
In Mark 16:17-20 Jesus' disciples minister in the authority of Christ’s name. In Christ’s name they drive out demons, speak in new tongues, pick up snakes, drink deadly poison without getting hurt, and place their hands on sick people and make them well.
In John 14:12-14 (NIV) Jesus tells his disciples, "I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it."
Jesus Christ invites us to invoke the power of his name, through faith, to bring healing into our lives and ministry. After this sermon we are going to give you the opportunity to, in the name of Jesus Christ, invite God’s healing into your life. God brings healing into our lives through science and medicine, his Church, our obedience, and through prayer. We should pursue every avenue of healing, starting with prayer.
When does Christ bring healing into our lives?
There are many Christians who do not believe that Jesus Christ heals today. I cannot tell you how many times I have sought God’s healing on behalf of other people through prayer. Right now I am praying for a close family member to be healed. When we don’t get results, our tendency is to doubt God’s power and his love. We conclude, "God can’t. God won’t. It’s not his will. Maybe he doesn’t even exist."
I don’t feel any need, whatsoever, to make excuses for God. His ways are not always our ways. His ways can be mysterious and beyond our comprehension. What I would like to do is stir up your thinking a little about healing. The Bible gives us a deeper perspective on why we don’t always experience the healing we desire.
In your outline you will see a list of ten reasons why people don’t always experience the healing touch of Jesus Christ. The real goal is to get you into a Life Group this week where you can reflect on these things and consider how they might be a factor in your life.
We forget that healing is multi-dimensional.
In the Bible Jesus clearly teaches that God wants us to love him with all our heart, mind, body, strength, and soul. Most of our prayers focus on healing the body, but God wants to heal our heart, will, desires, cravings, thoughts, feelings, and emotions. Ultimately, God wants to heal our souls. The soul trumps all. And sometimes to heal the soul, God has to let our bodies suffer pain.
I don’t know about you, but when I am in pain I think more about God than I do at any other point in my life. I wish that weren’t true,but it is! Are you looking fixated on one type of healing? Or are you looking at the totality of what God is doing?
We misdiagnose the problem.
In Romans 8:26 we discover that when we do not know what to pray for, the Holy Spirit intercedes on our behalf with groans that words cannot express. Maybe our problem is that we have the wrong diagnosis. Maybe we are asking for the wrong thing.
Could it be that the thing we believe we need most, the physical healing of our bodies, might be the very last thing we truly need? When we pray the Holy Spirit seeks the absolute best thing for us, in accordance with the will of God. The groaning of the Holy Spirit may be one hundred eighty degrees opposite from our groans.
We limit God to one method of healing.
In Luke 5:17-26 (NIV) the paralytic is lowered before Jesus, through a roof, by his friends. The paralytic expects to hear those words, "Get up and walk!" But the first words he hears out of Jesus’ mouth are, "Friend, your sins are forgiven." When I read the gospels I am struck by the fact that when Jesus heals a person, he never does the same thing twice. Some people are healed by merely touching Jesus. Some people are healed when Jesus touches their coffins. One guy was healed after Jesus spit into some mud, wiped it on his eyes, and told him to go wash. Jesus heals on his terms and not our terms. That is why I am skeptical of faith healing services. God cannot be put into a box. He heals in his time and in his own way.
We counteract God’s healing.
Why didn’t the psalmist experience healing? In Psalm 38:3 we discover that it was because of his sins. God’s desire is to bring healing into our lives, but too often we’d rather hold onto the sins that are producing weakness, sickness, and death in us. God honors our choices. We reap what we sow. If we sow life, we reap life.If we sow the seeds of death, we reap the consequences of death.
We secretly desire sickness.
In John 5:6 (NIV) this guy asks to be healed, but Jesus asks him, "Do you want to get well?" Let’s face it. Our sickness can quickly become our identity. A lot of us like the sympathy that our sickness evokes from others. "People pay attention to me when I am sick. They listen to me. They visit me. They care for me. They serve me. They stop living their lives and focus on me."
Victims love their sicknesses because it affords them a sense of power of others. They don’t ever have to change. They can keep being sick, hurt, stressed out, sad, addicted, and depressed. We sabotage Christ’s healing by holding onto our victim status.
We expect instant results.
We miss God’s purpose.
In your Life Groups this week, you’ll take a look at 2 Corinthians 12:7-10 where Paul discovers that God has a deeper purpose for his life, manifestedthrough his suffering. In 2 Corinthians12 Paul marvels how God’s strength is perfected inPaul's ownweakness.
We receive a call to go home.
In John 14:1-3 (NIV) Jesus says, "Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and task you to bewith methat you also may be where I am."
About a month ago my grandma passed away. She spent the last year in the nursing home. She was diabetic, on dialysis, too weak to walk, and too weak to have surgery. Gangrene was settling into her feet and working its way into her bones. Despite all her suffering, she was filled with joy over the thought of going home to heaven. I rarely meet people excited about dying, but she was excited. Before she died, she told me with a smile that Christ was coming to take her home.
As Christians, we shouldn’t fear death or be troubled by death. It’s the beginning of a new life with God, not an end to the only life we’ll ever know. One day all of us will be called home and that is a good thing.
We lack confident trust.
Sometimes God truly wants to heal us, but we don’t have enough faith.
We focus on thenow versus the not yet.
The Bible is very clear that things are not now as they one day will be. We are just beginning to experience the full reign of Christ in our world. One day, every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus is the Lord.One day, the last trumpet will sound and the dead in Christ will be raised, and ultimate victory over death will be claimed. But until that day, we live by faith, trusting in the healing touch of Jesus Christ.
A modern day healing!
This week Jim and Karen Bettison, missionaries in Africa, sent us an e-mail update. There was a woman named Mariama who had a tumor in her mouth that was so huge, she was an outcast because of it. Two women missionaries heard about her and decided to drive her three days to Monrovia in Liberia, where the Mercy Ship was docked on its last journey. The Mercy Ship is a Christian floating hospital that travels to third-world ports all over the world, offering miracle surgeries, specializing in facial deformities, and medical care otherwise unattainable for the local population.
It took hours for them to convince Mariama to walk down the stairs for the surgery. She was told that white people like to eat black people. How should she know differently? After the successful surgery, Mariama was driven back to her home town to be greeted by the elders there. She was nervous. Would people accept her? Would they even recognize her? She had been an outcast for twenty years. As she approached the market, several people began to whisper and stare. Soon a huge crowd gathered and the excitement and astonishment grew. They could hardly believe their eyes!
"Is that really her? Where is she? Let me see! Let me see! She is beautiful! No one ever would have believed this was possible! The curse has been taken away! Praise God! Come and see! It really is her! Mariama, you are healed! Tonight, everywhere, in every village for miles around, the people will be talking of this unbelievable thing that has happened! This is a day people will remember!"
The huge crowds that just two weeks ago had turned away from her and ran when she walked by, refusing to touch her or even greet her, now ran toward her. Everyone wanted to shake her hand and tell her how happy they were to see her.
The missionaries took the opportunity to tell the astonished crowds, the elders, officials, and religious leaders about the love and grace that motivated them to bring Mariama all the way to Monrovia to be healed. They told them about the great physician, Jesus Christ.
Jesus, the great physician, demonstrated that healing is at the very heart of who God is. God is all-powerful and all-loving. No matter who you are or what you have done, no matter how grave your situation may be, God has the power, the love, and the desire to heal you. The question for us today is not if God will bring healing into our lives, but rather how he will bring that healing, and when. Let’s go to God and seek that healing.