SO TODAY WE WILL CONCLUDE

Transcription

1 PART 7 June 12, 2011 It would be our plea today that You would take over every part of us our spirit, our soul and our body that Your glory would be known throughout the world because of those who have been called according to Your name. And it would be our prayer this morning that as we leave, we wouldn t leave Your house talking about the music or about the preacher, but talking about Jesus, in Whose name we pray. Amen. Over the last several weeks we have been in the midst of a series entitled Can t Wait Til Sunday. This title reflects the idea that there is something so attractive, so appealing and alluring about a New Covenant church which is fashioned after the biblical model, that God s people can t wait to get into His presence in that house of God. Gene Francis, our high school minister and one of our venue worship leaders, commented this week on the subtitle of our series, 7 Characteristics of An Irresistible Church, saying that this was the first time in the six years he has been here that we have ever used a number in our sermon series title. That s true. We have chosen not to limit our teachings with titles like seven steps to a healthy marriage, or six steps to a better you, mostly because we believe God is the Gospel the good news and we explore Scripture to find the Gospel in every page, then we preach on that revelation. Yet these seven characteristics are important enough to us that we want to set them apart, not as our essentials of faith, but as unique characteristics which make church irresistible when they are practiced in a healthy, balanced and biblically accurate way. SO TODAY WE WILL CONCLUDE OUR SERIES with healing and hope, characteristics which are woven into the fabric of almost everything we do as the people of God.

2 Ultimately at the heart of any question about healing and hope in God s church is the question, What will you do about God and what He says about Himself? THE HEART OF THE MATTER Today s text from the book of Daniel begs the question, What will you do about God? It was the question that King Nebuchadnezzar and four men from Judah Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego all had to answer. And ultimately at the heart of any question about healing and hope in God s church is essentially the same question, What will you do about God and what He says about Himself? IDOLATRY So let s see what God has for us today as we look at the story of five men in Babylon. DANIEL CHAPTER THREE 1 King Nebuchadnezzar made an image of gold, ninety feet high and nine feet wide, and set it up on the plain of Dura in the province of Babylon. (NIV) There is arrogance and then there is King Nebuchadnezzar arrogance! Some in their arrogance may think they are important, but then there is the man who in his arrogance built a ninety foot high gold idol of himself. So King Nebuchadnezzar s decision about God was to turn himself into a god and to place a huge statue of himself on the plain of Dura, where the rubble of that statue remains to this day. The Fruit of Misplaced Desire We might not expect to begin a discussion of the healing of persons by reading about idolatry. But innate in each human being is the desire to be religious, and throughout all of Scripture we see that in their effort to be religious, people placed their affection on, or worshipped, either the One true God or something else. And all of us will need to make the same choice. We can worship God, or we can worship something we create as an idol to replace Him. T he best example I have seen of this was during my college days when I was on a mission trip to Brazil. We were in a small town where the people had idols outside of their homes, and each one was created by its owner to represent a different deity. Some of us found that interesting, so we began walking down the road to see the different idols. However, in Brazil, as in Florida, the weather changes within minutes, so what had been gorgeous weather suddenly turned into a hide-your-smallchildren-they ll-drown downpour. So we immediately started looking for a place where we could be out of the rain. BUT at the same time, all the people were running out of their homes into the rain to cover up the statues of their gods. I remember that the campus minister who was with us said, Now there is a picture of irony. They are hiding their gods from the rain that our God created! The Baals Throughout all of Scripture we read about a person or people who designed and created their own deities. Some had become so focused on a good gift God had given them that instead of giving God the glory for the gift, they turned the gift into a god. Those false gods are most frequently referred to in Scripture as baal or baals and the terms represent either a particular god or an entire category of gods. Elijah s encounter with Jezebel at Mt. Carmel is a good example. 1 At that time, the baals were gods that represented something good that God had given 1 1 Kings 18 2 June 12, 2011

3 to the people sexuality, food, agriculture, water yet instead of thanking God for the good gift, the people created a god in the image of that gift. So they had a statue for sexuality, or a statue for agriculture, and then began worshipping the created thing instead of the Creator. Paul That is exactly what Paul was referring to in Romans one, where he was commenting on men who suppress the truth by their wickedness, (v. 18) and said, 21 For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. 25 They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator who is forever praised. Amen. God s Desire It is important to realize that idolatry is one of the most basic issues with which God is concerned. This is why God said in Exodus twenty when He gave the ten commandments to Moses, 2 I am the Lord your God Who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. [It was my gracious act that saved you.] He then said, 3 You shall have no other gods before Me. 4 You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. 5 You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me. 23 Do not make any gods to be alongside me; do not make for yourselves gods of silver or gods of gold. From the very beginning of the proclamation of God s standard for His people, He has been saying, I am the only One. Do not place your affection or your worship on anything else. Be certain that I Some had become so focused on a good gift God had given them that instead of giving God the glory for the gift, they turned the gift into a god. receive the glory; make certain that all of your attention is focused on Me. So idolatry is a foundational issue in Scripture, and it is one of the issues that God is the most concerned about. FOUR MEN OF JUDAH Exiles In Babylon The men of Judah in our story today knew the Scriptures and the priorities of their God. Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego had been removed from the tribe of Judah and the land of Judah in the Great Exile, when Babylon conquered Israel and dispersed the people. They were among what most historians think are a group of about seventy-five who were moved into the courts of King Nebuchadnezzar and elevated to places of authority over provinces in Babylon. Yet, despite their positions, they knew they were in a dangerous land. Interpretation of a King s Dream In chapter two of Daniel we read that, like Joseph, Daniel had the ability to interpret dreams. After King Nebuchadnezzar s magicians, enchanters, sorcerers and astrologers were unable to tell the King what he had seen in his dream, or to provide an interpretation for it, the Lord revealed the dream and its interpretation to Daniel. Once Daniel began the interpretation by telling Nebuchadnezzar that he had dreamt about a statue made out of a variety of metals, and that the head of gold represented Nebuchadnezzar himself, it seems the king quit listening, because immediately afterward he had the gold statue made of himself. 3 June 12, 2011

4 Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego were steeped in God s truth and submitted to God s authority. And so when their time of trial came, they were prepared. Daniel had been foretelling the conquering and the fall of the world empires at the feet of Jesus, but it seems that Nebuchadnezzar was too focused on creating an idol in his own image to pay much attention. IN TIME OF TRIAL A Command To Worship As we return to chapter three of Daniel, the men of Judah are in their positions of authority and esteemed by King Nebuchadnezzar. The cultural context is one of idolatry and foreign gods, and it was not uncommon for people to create statues of their deities, even in their own image. Thus King Nebuchadnezzar didn t create an idol to represent agriculture, rain or sexuality; he created one in his own image. Then he liked that idol so much that he began to change the rules about how people would worship, and he was about to call the men of Judah to do something they knew they couldn t do. We pick up in verse two. 2 He [King Nebuchadnezzar] then summoned the satraps, prefects, governors, advisers, treasurers, judges, magistrates and all the other provincial officials to come to the dedication of the image he had set up. Verse three then repeats the same information, that the leadership of Babylon came for the dedication of the image the king had set up. There are two purposes for repetition in Scripture. The first is to assure understanding of information of great importance, and the second my favorite is to mock, as we see here. So the repetition here is to say in essence, Can you really believe that all these people came to see this huge gold statue? 4 Then the herald loudly proclaimed, This is what you are commanded to do, O peoples, nations and men of every language: 5 As soon as you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipes and all kinds of music once the orchestra strikes up you must fall down and worship the image of gold that King Nebuchadnezzar has set up. 6 Whoever does not fall down and worship will immediately be thrown into a blazing furnace. This was not uncommon among the kings and the rulers in biblical times. For instance, the Caesars often imprinted their image on money, pictures, or statues, and the people were commanded to bow to the image any time they encountered it. That is why Jesus, after He asked whose image was on a coin, said, Give to Caesar what is Caesar s and to God what is God s. 2 So Nebuchadnezzar was merely following the practices of all the rulers of the time. He set up a standard and drew a line in the sand. 7 Therefore, as soon as they heard the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp and all kinds of music, all the peoples, nations and men of every language fell down and worshiped the image of gold that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up. Faithful To The One True God 8 At this time some astrologers came forward and denounced the Jews. They said to King Nebuchadnezzar, O king, live forever! It is always good to begin with a little flattery King, you are going to live forever 10 You have issued a decree, O king, that everyone who hears the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipes and all kinds of music must fall down and worship the image of gold, 11 and that whoever does not fall down and worship will be thrown into a blazing furnace. 12 But there are some Jews whom you have set over the affairs of the province of Babylon Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego who pay no attention to you, O king. So the three men to whom Nebuchadnezzar had given authority were ignoring the command. They neither serve your gods nor worship the image of gold you have set up. 13 Furious with rage, Nebuchadnezzar summoned Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. So these men were brought before the king, 14 and Nebuchadnezzar said to them, Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, that you do not serve my gods or worship the image of gold I have set up? 2 Matthew 22:20-22; Mark 12:13-15; Luke 20: June 12, 2011

5 15 Now when you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipes and all kinds of music, if you are ready to fall down and worship the image I made, very good. But if you do not worship it, you will be thrown immediately into a blazing furnace. Then what god will be able to rescue you from my hand? Nebuchadnezzar drew a very clear line in the sand. It would have been very easy for the men to think, I ll bow down, and when they are praying to their god, I ll just pray to my God. No one will ever know and I won t be burnt. Don t we sometimes justify our reaction to culture and encounters with people that way? We think, I ll talk their language and act like I agree with them, but I really don t. I just don t have the energy for conflict right now. It would have been very easy, and possibly even understandable in the eyes of some, for Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego to have faked their worship to avoid the punishment. But they knew how important the issue of idolatry was to God. They knew that all of humanity all of creation was created for God s glory. And so to bow down to any idol or anyone but the one true God was to give someone else the glory. Prepared For Time of Trial 16 Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to the king, O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. 17 If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and he will rescue us from your hand, O king. 18 But even if he does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up. This is a very important spiritual lesson. There is no question that trials and tribulations come, and we have no excuse for being unprepared. Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego were steeped in God s truth and submitted to God s authority. And so when their time of trial came, they were prepared. One of the primary reasons among many that God gave us His Word the way He did, is so that we might be prepared for life. This is why every epistle in the New Testament begins with proclaiming the importance of God and giving thanks for the people True freedom, true flourishing, comes when we are under and submitted to God s authority. in the church, and then continues with teaching the people of God how to live in a world that often offers injustice and pain how to love your wife; how to love your children; how to submit to bosses; how to work in the world; how to worship God in church. Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego came from a land where they had lived with the freedom to worship the One true God. Yet then they had been exiled, and although they didn t know what they would face, they were prepared for what was going to happen. And most importantly, they submitted to authority. They submitted to Daniel s authority. Daniel had taught them, trained them and raised them up; he had discipled them; and they were ready for their own battle. The lie of the serpent to Adam and Eve wasn t, Eat of that fruit; it s delicious. It was, You don t need authority. Go ahead and eat that fruit because you ll find true freedom if you are outside of God s authority. So Adam and Eve ate the fruit and they found that bondage came when they were outside of the authority of God. One of the great biblical principles is that true freedom, true flourishing, comes when we are under and submitted to God s authority. Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego understood this. They had submitted, discerned, and been discipled. They had grown in their faith, and so when life came at them, when they had to face the furnace, they were prepared. They replied to King Nebuchadnezzar, Throw us in the furnace. We trust our God. We have seen His faithfulness. We know He is with us. We know He is for us. 19 Then Nebuchadnezzar was furious with Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, and his attitude toward them changed. He had promoted them, but now he was angry. He ordered the furnace heated seven times hotter than usual... 5 June 12, 2011

6 There is a deep well to draw from for faith in the midst of your trial, and that is the goodness of God. You know you have lost your cool when you become completely irrational. The king thought he would make the furnace hotter so he could punish the men longer, but that isn t really how that works! I m not sure he quite understood that and commanded some of the strongest soldiers in his army to tie up Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego and throw them into the blazing furnace. 21 So these men, wearing their robes, trousers, turbans and other clothes, were bound and thrown into the blazing furnace. Don t miss verse twenty-two: 22 The king s command was so urgent and the furnace so hot that the flames of the fire killed the soldiers who took up Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego... When I get to Heaven, I hope God will give me a glimpse into history past to catch the look on the faces of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego when the soldiers who were leading them to the furnace were engulfed by the flames. If they didn t have any faith before that, they most certainly had to be thinking, Okay, I can handle this now. But then, and these three men, firmly tied, fell into the blazing furnace. Most people believe the furnace was a hole in the ground with a clay cover over the top of it and an area beneath where the fire could be stoked to increase the heat. Unharmed and Exalted 24 Then King Nebuchadnezzar leaped to his feet in amazement and asked his advisers, Weren t there three men that we tied up and threw into the fire? They replied, Certainly, O king. 25 He said, Look! I see four men walking around in the fire, unbound and unharmed, and the fourth looks like a son of the gods. 26 Nebuchadnezzar then approached the opening of the blazing furnace and shouted, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, servants of the Most High God, come out! Come here! So Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego came out of the fire. And remember that group of people in the beginning, the officials of Babylon who reported them? They have returned and the satraps, prefects, governors and royal advisers crowded around them. They saw that the fire had not harmed their bodies, nor was a hair of their heads singed; their robes were not scorched, and there was no smell of fire on them. This is why Scripture tells you that they were wearing all of their clothes when they went into the furnace. If you have ever been around a campfire, or even worse, if your house has ever caught on fire, you know that there is no getting that stink out of your clothes. The clothes worn by God s people did not smell at all. 28 Then Nebuchadnezzar said, Praise be to the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, who has sent his angel and rescued his servants! They trusted in him and defied the king s command and were willing to give up their lives rather than serve or worship any god except their own God. 29 Therefore I decree that the people of any nation or language who say anything against the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego be cut into pieces and their houses be turned into piles of rubble, for no other god can save in this way. 30 Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego in the province of Babylon. Get this. They were already promoted. They were already heads of a province. Why does Scripture list all of the hierarchy multiple times? Because when Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego were promoted this time, they were made head over all of those officials. They had authority over their enemies. 3 GOD IS GOOD Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego had stared into the fiery furnace, walked through it, come out and been promoted by God for remaining faithful through the trial. God was redemptive, just as He always has been throughout all of history. This was a moment of unbelievable stress and trial for 3 Psalm 18:47; 47:3; 81:14 6 June 12, 2011

7 When God s people believe that the Spirit of God still moves, restores and heals, there is always a danger that they will turn the good gift of God into an idol instead of understanding that the purpose of the gift is to proclaim the goodness of God and to bring glory to His name. Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, and it serves as a beautiful illustration for us of what to do in times of struggle. Let me draw your attention back to verse seventeen. 17 If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego said to Nebuchadnezzar, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and he will rescue us from your hand, O king. 18 But even if he does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up. They were saying, We believe God is going to save us, BUT even if He doesn t, He is still God. We talk about healing and hope. There is a deep well to draw from for faith in the midst of your trial, and that is the goodness of God. Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego understood that God s character is always good and thus His intentions towards His people are always good. And so when this came at them and they were requiring restoration, they said, We believe in faith that God will save us, but even if He doesn t, God is still good, and we can rest in that truth. HEALING The Error of Idolatry One of the ways we can err in our behavior towards healing is to turn the healing itself into an idol. In Numbers 21:4-8 we read that when God s people were in the desert they were being bitten and killed by poisonous snakes. The people ran to Moses, their intercessor, and asked him to pray that the Lord would take the snakes away from them. Moses did, and God told him to make a snake and put it up on a pole so that anyone who was bitten could look at it and live. So Moses made a bronze snake and put it up on a pole. Then when anyone was bitten by a snake and looked at God s good gift, he was healed. It is an amazing story. The serpents threatened the people and bit them; they looked at God s good gift, and they were saved. But something happened between Numbers and 2 Kings eighteen. In 2 Kings eighteen, Hezekiah had become the king and the Scriptures say: 3 He [Hezekiah] did what was right in the eyes of the LORD, just as his father David had done. 4 He removed the high places, smashed the sacred stones and cut down the Asherah poles. He broke into pieces the bronze snake Moses had made, for up to that time the Israelites had been burning incense to it. God had given the people a good gift to save them and they began to worship the good gift instead of thanking God for the gift and giving Him the glory. In a church such as ours that believes so deeply in healing, there is a danger that the people would turn healing into an idol. But we would never do that, right? We would never say, The Spirit didn t move like we wanted Him to today, so something must be wrong. We would never say, That wasn t great worship because God didn t show up in the way that we thought He was going to show up. We would never say something like that. The truth is that when God s people believe that the Spirit of God still moves, restores and heals, there is always a danger that they will turn the good gift of God into an idol instead of understanding that the purpose of the gift is to proclaim the goodness of God and to bring glory to His name. The Error of Denial Even more dangerous I believe is the other side of the spectrum, and that is to completely deny healing. Scripture is filled with opportunities to read and learn about God s desire to heal His people 7 June 12, 2011

8 In Isaiah, which may be one of the most profound books in all of Scripture, the prophet says in chapter fifty-three, verse five, that it is by the wounds of Jesus we are healed. There may be some debate about whether or not that means physical healing, that by the wounds of Jesus we are healed may only mean a spiritual healing of a broken body. 1 Peter 2:24 repeats the declaration, by His wounds you have been healed, but perhaps that healing also refers to only a spiritual healing. Surely He took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows... and by his wounds we are healed. The Will of God The will of God is a mystery to us, and most of us spend our lives trying to discern what God s will is for our lives. Deuteronomy 29:29 speaks of two facets of God s will: The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may follow all the words of this law. The Secret Will of God The secret will of God would include things which are hidden and known only to the Father, like the time at which Jesus is going to return. 4 There are lots of places throughout Scripture which fall into the category of the secret will of God. 5 The Revealed Will of God Then there are things which God chooses to reveal to His people, and among them are the two purposes of Jesus coming. Isaiah 53:4, 6 HOWEVER, Matthew 8 tells us, 16 When evening came, many who were demon-possessed were brought to him, and he drove out the spirits with a word and healed all the sick. 17 This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah: He took up our infirmities and carried our diseases. SO LET THERE BE NO QUESTION that embodied in the atonement work of Jesus is the redemption and the healing of soul, spirit AND BODY. If you deny that, you deny one of the major narratives in all of Scripture. Jesus drove out the spirits with a word and healed all the sick. This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah: He took up our infirmities and carried our diseases. Matthew 8: Matthew 24:36; Acts 1:7 5 Proverbs 25:2; Romans 11:33-34; 1 Corinthians 2:16 8 June 12, 2011

9 God is so invested in your spirit, soul and body you ll never ever be able to comprehend it. Jesus Came to Save Sinners Out of the deep compassion of the Father s heart, He sent His Son, Jesus the Christ, first to save sinners. And if Jesus had come and only turned a bunch of sinners into saints, it would have still been the most remarkable event in all of human history. Jesus Came to Heal But He came for a second purpose. His deep compassion for broken sick people drove Him towards those people, and when He encountered them, He healed them and set them free. All of Scripture echoes that Jesus purpose on earth was to save sinners, Go and sin no more, 6 AND to heal sick people, One thing I do know, I was blind, but now I see! 7 God is so invested in your spirit, soul and body you ll never ever be able to comprehend it. IMPLICATIONS FOR REYNOLDA So what does this mean for us as a church? Our belief that Jesus came to save sinners and heal people manifests itself in three ways. A Heart For The Hurting Sickness and brokenness entered into the world through the sin of one man, Adam, and in the beginning God made a plan and a provision through Jesus to restore. God s deep compassion for the sick and the hurting was best revealed in Jesus during His earthly ministry as He healed people almost everywhere He went. And because God has a heart for the hurting, so do we. Conviction That People Can Be Healed We believe that people can be healed, so we pray for the sick according to James five, 14 Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him 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 him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven. 16 Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective. In Scripture it is written about Jesus that a bruised reed he will not break and a flickering flame he will not snuff out, 8 meaning, He would not be severe, unforgiving, or cruel; He would heal, pardon and strengthen, and we minister to the damaged soul with that conviction in mind. Ministry In Support of Fulfilled Destiny Healing is a ministry that flows out of the love and compassion of Jesus, and it is always moving toward transformation and engagement in a meaningful destiny. No one was created by accident. God heals people because He loves them and because He wants them to fulfill His destiny for them for His glory. So we see in Scripture the two resounding truths about God s revealed will, that Jesus came to save sinners and to heal the sick. Thus we pray in faith that both be done. We would never pray without faith for salvation, and neither will we do so for sickness. 6 John 8: John 9:25 8 Isaiah 42:3; Matthew 12:20 9 June 12, 2011

10 Although I do not know why everyone is not healed, I do know the heart of God is revealed in Jesus, Who saves sinners and heals sick people. So I pray like that is true, and I pray with faith in God s goodness. PURPOSE OF HEALING Let us never forget, Church, the purposes of healing. Healing is first and foremost a sign to authenticate the Gospel and to show that the Kingdom of God has come. Jesus came with signs and wonders so that no one would ever question whether or not He was the Messiah. And God still works through His people with signs and wonders so that no one will ever question whether or not He is the One true God. So healing enables hearts to be drawn to Jesus, and God to be glorified. To bring comfort and health to those who are ill, demonstrating God s mercy toward those in distress. To equip the people of God to do His work in the world as physical impediments are removed. To bring glory to God as people see physical evidence of his goodness, love, mercy, power, wisdom, and presence. IMPORTANT QUESTIONS Why isn t everyone healed? I am finally at a place in my life where I can answer that question authoritatively: I don t know. I don t know. I do not know why everyone is not healed. I believe every believer will be healed, either on this side of eternity or the other. But I just don t know why everyone is not healed now. And when I don t know, I go back to what I do know to be most true in the world, and that is that God is good. Like Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, I believe God is going to save me, but if He doesn t, He is still good. He is still God. How then should we pray? With an enormous amount of faith. Why do we pray for people to be healed? So that faith will grow and increase. We have a four-year old son, Adam. When we pray for Adam, we never pray, God please don t send that kid to hell. No, we pray in faith this way: Thank You God that Adam is going to come to saving faith at an early age, and it is completely biblical to pray in faith for healing the same way. 9 Thank You, Lord, that you are going to heal this person from the top of their head to the bottom of their feet. And for those of us who believe deeply in the sovereignty of God, sometimes that can make us squirm a bit. And I have to admit that at some points in my life I have struggled with the idea of binding God s sovereignty by praying in faith that God is going to heal somebody. God, I believe You are a healer. Heal this person in the name of Jesus. But in my own heart I came to realize that rooted in the idea that I wanted to leave God s sovereignty open to God was some measure of belief that God wasn t all good; that when God was working out His sovereignty in my life there was some chance He would be good, but also some chance He would not be good. Since I wanted to leave that up to Him, I sometimes would pray, God, if it be Your will, save me, but God, if it is not Your will, kill me. Not exactly, but that is essentially what I was saying. Therefore, although I do not know why everyone is not healed, I do know the heart of God is revealed in Jesus, Who saves sinners and heals sick people. So I pray like that is true, and I pray with faith in God s goodness. 9 3 John 2 10 June 12, 2011

11 If my words could bind the sovereignty of God, what a power that would be. But I trust that God s sovereignty is so rooted in His goodness that I don t have to mistrust it. Thus I can pray like Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, God, I believe You are going to heal me, but if You don t, I still believe You are good. And that builds faith in me. I pray for lost people, Lord, thank You that they are going to come to saving faith. And I pray for sick people, God, thank You that You are going to heal them from the top of their head to the bottom of their feet. Praying in that way builds faith, and it is rooted in that which I know to be most true in Scripture, that God is good and He loves His people. HOPE FOLLOWS HEALING I deeply believe that every part of Scripture, from the beginning to the Amen at the end, is God s historical work in redeeming and restoring His people, first in saving their souls, then in making them whole again. That is why hope follows healing. The hope is rooted in the fact that God is a healer. The hope is rooted in the fact that God saves sinners. The hope is rooted in the fact that God redeems the broken. The hope is rooted in the fact that God restores the wounded. So what you see then is a pattern in Scripture of a redemptive God Who is working out His good sovereignty in the world, revealing His nature first through Jesus and now through us. IF YOU HAVE NEVER ACCEPTED JESUS AS YOUR SAVIOR, know that the first reason God s Son came to this earth was so that you would never have to die, which is the penalty for sin. The Word of God tells us that everyone is a sinner because sin entered the world with the first man, Adam. But praise God, Romans 5:17 says that Jesus came to save sinners from the consequences of their sin. And we believe in faith that God is doing a good work in you, that He is still on His throne; He is still in charge of this world. Romans 10:13 says that if you call upon His name, meaning you profess faith that God s Son has risen from the dead, you will be saved. It is the deepest conviction of my heart that God saves people who call on His name. MAYBE YOU ARE A WOUNDED REED, that a relationship, or a parent, or a child, or something in your life has so deeply wounded you that you just can t get past it. Whatever it is for you, believe in faith that God is a healer, because the most accurate testimony we have of His heart is His Son, and His Son saved sinners and healed people. I draw my faith from the testimony of His Son, and I believe He will heal you and I believe He is good, because God saw a lost and dying world, broken because of sin, and sent His Son so that we might be restored, restored to the image of God the Father, in Whose image we were created. And that is the Gospel! God, we thank You that we can trust Your character, that we know that every page of Scripture reveals that Your intentions and Your purposes are good and perfect. And God, there are things we don t understand; there are things You have left hidden a mystery until the end of time; but God, never let us question Your heart. Never let us question how deeply You love us. God, how much You must love us that to save us from the punishment we rightly deserve, Lord, You sent Your Son, Who died in our place for our sins and in doing so, by His stripes we are healed. God I ask that if there is someone with a heart that lacks faith, You would give that person faith; if there is a heart that lacks assurance of salvation, that You would give that person the assurance. God if there is a heart that lacks hope, I pray that You would heal that woundedness. God it is the deepest conviction of my heart as I read Your revealed word, that You sent Your Son to save sinners and to heal the sick. And because of that, Lord, we rightly proclaim the shed blood of Jesus has set us free. Let us never miss that profound truth, Lord. Let us never lack trust and let us never cast judgment. Oh Lord, help us to always draw deeply from the well of Your love. And God, if there be those in this place this morning who have never accepted You as Savior, let today be the day of their salvation. Call them forth out of darkness into light. Or if there be people who are broken, those who are wounded, those whose flame is flickering, Lord, breathe new life into that. Lord, help them to step forth in faith and believe that You are a healer, that You love them, that You 11 June 12, 2011

12 created them for a great destiny, and that You are good and You are God, that those are two things which will never change. You are our healer, Lord. Let us be healed by the stripes of Jesus, in Whose name we pray, Amen. We celebrate the one true God, Who is God and Who is good! As you leave here today, know that God sent His Son to save sinners and to heal sick people. We are a church that deeply believes that. And as you go, go knowing that your God and your church love you. Let s close with a blessing. May God the Father, Who created you for an unbelievable destiny, and Jesus the Christ, the Son of the Living God, Who died in your place for your sins to save your soul and to set you free, and the Holy Spirit, Who lives in you so that He might work through you, be with you now and always. And all God s people said, Amen! 2200 Reynolda Road Winston Salem, NC, Phone: is Pastor for Families and Young Adults at Reynolda Church. He is married to Merri and they have two children, Adam and Ellie. Pastor Chris may be contacted at clawson@rcstaff.org