Faith Free Will Baptist Church

Posts Tagged ‘Healing’

*PIGS OR PEOPLE*
(Luke 8:26-39)

After a day of teaching in Capernaum Jesus and His disciples get in a boat and head across the Sea of Galilee to Gadara.  Suddenly a storm swept across the Sea so severe that the disciples feared for their lives.  No doubt they were trying to do all they could to ensure safety, but finally they  go to Jesus who is asleep and says “Master we perish”.  Jesus rebukes the wind  and sea and a great calm comes.
*The disciples seeing this made a great comment (vs 25  Read)
*Soon they would see an even greater miracle: Jesus would still the storm that had swept the soul of a wild man.
Notice three thoughts revealed:
(1)    The condition of the man
1)He was demon possessed (vs 27)
*His mind and will were taken over by evil
*What brought this about?  Your guess is as good as mine.  Maybe drink, it has destroyed thousands, maybe wicked life.
*Whatever the reason he was in this condition because of sin.
*Sin had bound him, possessed and ruined him.
*That body which was designed to be the temple of God had been made a den of devils.
2) He was naked
*Adam and Eve were naked and not ashamed until they sinned and then they tried to hide themselves by fig leaves.
*From that day men have tried to cover their nakedness by the own efforts.  But you are naked before God.
*The God who fashioned your body, The God who know your thoughts, The God who knows every secret you have, The God who is no respecter of persons, The God you’ve refused, you will be judged one day by Him.
3) He was homeless
*He lived among the tombs, away from friends, separated from God
*You without Christ are homeless.  (Eph 2:12  Read)
4) He was uncontrollable (vs 29  Read)  (Matt 8 ) says he was “fierce”
*Maybe folks have tried to help you, but you break the vows you’ve made, sin is holding you.  You want to do better but can’t.
5) He was cruel to himself  (Mark 5:5 ) “cutting himself with stones”
*Sin always cuts, tears the soul, the devil will always take you further than you want to go.
*There is no hope or rest outside of Christ.
(2) The complaint of the people
(vs 31-33) Tells us Jesus cast out the devils, whom  then entered the pigs and they committed “hogicide”
(vs 34-37) Tells us those responsible for the pigs care go and tell in the city what has happened.
*They found the wild man calm, in his right mind, sitting clothed with Jesus.
(He had been delivered from the Kingdom of Darkness into the Kingdom of God’s Light  (Col 1:13) )
Notice (vs 37  Read)
1)    A man was saved but hogs were destroyed.  They were not interested in the man but the profits they would lose: (Mark 5) about 2000 pigs
2)    They were more interested in cash than in Christ, in gold rather than God.  Told Jesus to leave.
Question: Have you barred Jesus from your home, your work?
Do you see Him as an interference with my life, my plans, my family, then I’d still rather be a Christian.
(3)The command of Jesus (vs 38,39  Read)
*Listen, this man who once wanted Jesus to leave him now wants to be with Jesus wherever He goes.
Jesus says “Go home and tell what great things God hath done for thee”.
*Notice three words of great importance (vs 39) “and he went”
*He who was once a loser for the devil is now a trophy of God’s grace
You may not be as far gone as this man, but you are still lost.  Will you let Jesus transform your life?

*THE ULTIMATE SACRIFICE*
(John 12:1-8)

According to (Matt 26) Jesus had come to the house of Simon the leper, but I believe he had been healed before this time.  John tells us that the person doing the serving was Martha and Lazarus who had been raised from the dead was present.  When the meal is completed, Mary took a very expensive ointment and anointed Jesus as preparation of His death.
*The ointment is in reality a very costly perfume, equal to a year’s wages.
*Mary’s sacrifice proved that she thought there was nothing too good for her Lord.

(Three thoughts on sacrifice:)
(1) What is sacrifice? Dictionary defines it in various ways:
1) The act of offering the life of a person or animal in the place of another.
2)  Selling or giving up something for far less that it’s value.
3) In baseball a person sacrificing himself in order to advance a runner.
*A sacrifice means different things to different people.
*I read a story of a father who thru great sacrifice gave his daughter a very generous weekly allowance on the condition that she keep good records of how she spent it.  At the end of the month he inspected her expenditures and noticed that about 25% of her money spent was list as OTLK.  He asked his daughter about this.  “Well, its this way, sometimes I forgot to write it down immediately and when I did go to record it, I could not remember the exact amount so I wrote OTLK.”  The father asked “But what does OTLK means”.  She replied “Only The Lord Knows”.
*This is also true when it comes to sacrifice.  We think we have sacrificed but the Lord knows.
(Psl 4:5) “Offer the sacrifices of righteousness and put your trust in the Lord.”
To live righteously means we must sacrifice some of the activities of this world.

(2) What constitutes a sacrifice?
*In order for a sacrifice to be classified as such, it requires three things:
1) It must be freely given.  If you are forced to do something it is not freely given.
(Psl54:6)  “I will freely sacrifice unto thee, I will praise thy name, O Lord, for it is good.”
*A sacrifice from an unwilling heart will not be accepted.
2) A sacrifice must be completely given.
*We have too many “Let’s make a deal” Christians.  God is not looking for your ability but for your availability.  We cannot try to meet God halfway.  He doesn’t work that way.  (Rom 12:1   Read)
(Mark 12)  “widow who gave all she had”
3) A sacrifice must be given at cost
*It may not be much of a sacrifice to give $100.00 but what if asked to give $1000.00.  (II Sam 24)  King David has a tremendous desire to make a sacrifice to the Lord to save Israel from God’s judgement.  He sees a great estate of a man named Araunal and seeks to buy it.  After hearing what David wanted it for the man tries to give it to him plus the animals but David refuses and answers (vs 24  Read).

(3) Does Jesus’ sacrifice meet these requirements?
*Let us look and see if the sacrifice that Jesus made at Calvary qualifies.
1) Was His sacrifice freely given?  (John 10:15  Read)
*Could Jesus have come down from the cross?  Listen to His words in (Matt 26:52,53  Read)
*His love for us caused Him to freely lay down His life.
2) Was His sacrifice completely given?  (Rom 5:6-8  Read)
*Even though we did not love Jesus, even though God knew that we would reject Him, He laid down His life.
(Heb 10:5) “A body thou has prepared for me”
3) Was His sacrifice given at cost?
(Matt 20:28)  “Even as the Son of Man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister and to give His life a ransom for many.”
(I Tim 2:6)  “Who gave Himself a ransom for all to be testified in due time.”
*We understand ransom, when a person is kidnapped and a person demands money to release them.  Satan holds men in bondage, Jesus paid the price to set us free.
4) Christ’s sacrifice is that it required the shedding of blood.  (I Pet 1:18-20  Read)
*It cost Jesus the gold of His blood to bring about our salvation.
(Heb 9:22)  “and without shedding of blood is no remission”

Beloved:  Whether you realize it or not, you have broken God’s law (Rom 3:23) “for all have sinned” and punishment is demanded.  But the law allows for an innocent substitute.

(Jesus Christ stepped out of eternity and died for you.  The Ultimate Sacrifice.

*THE MASTER’S TOUCH*

(Matt 8:1-15)

The Lord Jesus had just completed the Sermon on the Mount and as He makes His way down from the Mount of Beatitudes a great crowd follows Him.

*Three events illustrate our sermon title:

1) Vs 1-: A leper asked Jesus to heal him, cleanse him of his leprosy.

2) Vs 5-13: A Centurion comes and asked Jesus to heal his servant.  He say he himself is unworthy

for Jesus to come to his house, but for Jesus to simply speak the word. The Lord Jesus praises

his faith in (Vs 10).

3) Vs 14-15: The healing of Peter’s mother-in-law.

*In this message I want us to see the power that results in the Master’s touch.

(Four thoughts on the importance of the Master’s touch:)

(1) The importance of faith

*Each of three individuals believed Jesus could help them.

1) The leper

2) The Centurion

3) By Jesus being invited into Peter’s home reveals belief in healing.

Two questions that we must answer:

1) What part does faith have in the healing process?

*There are very few: In any examples in the Bible individuals who were healed without the belief that Jesus could heal them.

*(John 9)  The blind man healed and though it is not mentioned he had some faith to go wash his face as Jesus told him.

2) What part does faith have in the saving process?

*Absolutely everything.

(Eph 2:8,9  Read)

*You must believe that Jesus is able to save you and He will save you if you will ask Him.

(2) It is often a need that brings a person to Christ.

*In each of these stories it was a specific need that brought the person to Christ.  It is often the case that when things are going good we do not think about Christ, heaver or hell.  But when things go badly we begin to think about spiritual matters.

*Researchers have found there are times when peope are more receptive to the Gospel than at other times.

1) Been observed that young couples seem to attend church immediately after birth of a baby.

2) Been observed those who move are likely to visit a church.

3) Following a divorce, are open to the Gospel seeking healing from a broken relationship.

4) During a crisis such as death of a family member or friend, loss of job, loss of good health.

*After Sept 11,2001 church attendance increased which indicates tragedy can sometimes bring people to Christ.

(3) The importance of a touch.

*In the natural it is impossible to measure the importance of a touch.  It may be a hug, a handshake, a hand on a shoulder.

*But nothing can be compared to the touch of Jesus in a person’s life:

1) The leper: Jesus touched him and he went away whole.

2) A blind man: A man who had never looked upon the beauties of this world touched by Jesus and

he went away seeing.

3) A crippled man: Jesus touched the withered limb and he left leaping and praising God.

4) A demon possessed man: Came out fo the tombs, the Master’s touch changed this mad man

giving him a right mind.

5) A widow woman: Weeping over a dead son yet the Master’s touch changed her tears of sorrow to

tears of joy as Jesus raised her son from the dead.

(4) When the Lord Jesus touches you, you will never be the same.

*(Acts 4)  As Peter and John stood before the Priests, the Ruler of the Temple and Sadducees (vs 13)

“They took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus”.

*How sad that many church members show no difference in their lives compared to those unsaved.

Someone came to the great preacher Sam Jones and asked him “Sam, when a person gets saved, don’t you think he ought to live differently?” Sam  said “No”. The fellow got upset and said “What do you mean, no?”  Sam replied “There’s no ought about it.  When a man gets saved he will live differently”.

(II Cor 5-17  Read)