Participants:
Series Code: THI
Program Code: THI000032S
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00:23 Welcome to another
00:23 episode of Timeless 00:24 Healing Insights. 00:26 I'm Dr. David DeRose. 00:27 As always, 00:28 we long for God 00:29 to be our Instructor. 00:31 With that in mind, 00:31 let's pray together. 00:33 Father in Heaven. 00:35 Your Word is a living Word. 00:37 You spoke through 00:38 holy men of old. 00:40 And You want to speak 00:42 to people today. 00:43 Please do that again 00:44 through Your Spirit 00:45 as we open Your pages. 00:47 We ask In Jesus name, Amen. 00:53 We're going on this journey 00:55 through the Gospel of Mark, 00:56 and we're seeing 00:56 the power of Jesus Word. 00:58 As we're walking 00:59 through Mark 1, 01:00 we've been seeing that 01:01 Jesus sometimes does things 01:03 that may seem strange to us. 01:05 One of those strange things 01:06 that we've been grappling with 01:07 is why does 01:08 Jesus sometime 01:10 forbid people from sharing? 01:12 We found in the closing 01:13 illustration of Mark 1, 01:15 there is a leper that is healed 01:17 and we learn that 01:17 one of the reasons 01:19 that Jesus 01:19 did not have him publish 01:21 the word abroad 01:22 is because Jesus wanted him 01:24 to get a righteous verdict 01:27 so that when he went 01:28 to see the priests 01:29 in Jerusalem, they would say, 01:30 you are all healed. 01:31 And he could say, 01:32 Praise the Lord, 01:33 I've got a clean 01:34 bill of health. 01:35 I can go anywhere I want. 01:36 In all the realm. 01:37 I've been certified 01:39 free of leprosy. 01:41 But Jesus had other reasons 01:43 for enjoining silence. 01:44 Let's look back at this story 01:46 in Mark 1:40 and onward. 01:50 Why else might 01:51 Jesus have told this man 01:53 not to spread 01:54 abroad his healing? 01:55 The book, The Desire of Ages, 01:57 that we've looked at 01:58 in reference to this story, 01:59 I think again 02:00 is right on point. 02:01 Page 264, we read this. 02:04 There were other objects 02:05 with which Christ had in view 02:07 in enjoining silence 02:09 on the man. 02:10 The Savior knew 02:12 that His enemies 02:12 were ever seeking 02:14 to limit His work, 02:15 and to turn 02:15 the people from Him. 02:17 He knew that 02:17 if the healing of this leper 02:20 were noised abroad 02:21 other sufferers 02:23 from this terrible disease 02:24 would crowd about Him, 02:26 and the cry would be raised, 02:28 what? 02:28 That the people 02:29 would be contaminated 02:31 by contact with them. 02:33 The word would get out, right? 02:34 Oh, all the lepers 02:35 are coming to Jesus. 02:36 You don't want to go to Jesus, 02:38 You know you'll be in trouble 02:39 if you go there. 02:40 Even if you get there, 02:42 there's all these 02:43 lepers around there. 02:44 You may not even be able to 02:45 see Jesus, 02:46 and you'll just get leprosy, 02:47 that's all you'll 02:48 get out of it. 02:49 You could see how 02:49 this would not be good 02:50 for Jesus ministry. 02:52 By drawing lepers about, 02:53 and there was 02:54 another problem too. 02:55 It would give occasion 02:56 for the charge 02:57 that Jesus 02:58 was breaking the law. 02:59 He was pulling down 03:01 the rituals. 03:02 This would have further 03:03 hindered His ministry. 03:05 But what I want you to notice 03:06 is what Jesus did 03:07 was remarkable. 03:09 What Jesus did was remarkable. 03:11 He upheld the law, even the 03:14 ritual law. 03:16 He told that 03:17 healed man to do what? 03:19 To go to Jerusalem 03:21 and get the certification 03:23 that he was healed. 03:24 Jesus, by touching the man, 03:27 thus was not showing 03:28 that He didn't regard the law. 03:32 He was showing that actually, 03:34 for those 03:35 who were willing to see it, 03:36 that His healing power 03:40 overcomes sin. 03:42 It overcomes disease. 03:44 And so when Jesus touches you, 03:46 no matter what 03:47 you're dealing with, 03:48 it heals you. 03:49 It has healing power. 03:50 There's nothing 03:50 that you can be holding on to 03:52 that if you surrender to Jesus, 03:54 you will not be cleansed of. 03:56 Unfortunately, unfortunately, 03:58 this man did not follow 04:00 Jesus advice. 04:02 Perhaps he thought he was doing 04:03 Jesus a favor. 04:04 Perhaps he thought 04:05 Jesus was just being modest. 04:06 And it says here 04:08 in the inspired account, 04:09 verse 45 of Mark 1, 04:11 he went out and began 04:12 to proclaim it freely 04:14 and to spread the matter 04:16 so that Jesus could no longer 04:18 openly enter 04:19 the city, 04:20 but was outside 04:21 in deserted places. 04:23 And they came to him 04:24 from every direction. 04:27 This is relevant to us today. 04:30 Remember, remember, 04:32 let the Holy Spirit guide you 04:35 and what your witness 04:35 should be. 04:36 And by the way, don't judge 04:38 anyone else 04:39 as to what 04:39 their witness should be. 04:40 The Holy Spirit 04:41 can guide them as well, right? 04:43 So don't say, hey, well, 04:43 if I was running that ministry, 04:45 you know what? 04:45 Why aren't you give, 04:46 you know, 04:46 I know your ministry is, 04:49 you know, with the youth 04:50 or with, 04:51 you know, community services 04:53 or maybe you, 04:53 you know, you do it, 04:54 but you should be doing it 04:55 this way. 04:56 No, I mean 04:57 if you have some 04:57 good counsel, I 04:58 mean, share it, okay? 05:00 But we don't 05:01 sit in judgment 05:02 of how the Holy Spirit leads 05:03 someone else. 05:05 Now, with that background, 05:07 that's what we're going 05:08 into, right? In Mark 2. 05:10 That's where it's taking us. 05:12 And before we go there, 05:13 I want to ask you a question. 05:16 What do you do 05:20 when you're exposed 05:20 to serious adversity? 05:23 If you were to hear gunshots 05:24 in your neighborhood, 05:25 how many of you, don't raise 05:26 your hands, 05:27 would run toward the gunshots? 05:32 We just heard about that 05:33 terrible hurricane 05:36 that swept through Florida. 05:39 Many people there 05:41 received evacuation orders. 05:44 Some of them evacuated. 05:46 Others did what? 05:48 That's right. 05:48 We're going to stay. 05:49 We're going to ride 05:49 out the storm. 05:52 We saw that a lot in California 05:54 fire season. 05:56 I remember one of the coworkers 05:58 I had there, she had a picture. 06:01 Family stayed during 06:02 the evacuation 06:03 and a picture of flames 06:05 just as high as you can see. 06:07 And and it just looks like, 06:09 you know, 06:10 they're they're goners. Okay. 06:12 But the Lord blessed them. 06:14 And they felt like 06:15 because they stayed, it 06:16 helped save their house. 06:17 It doesn't always end up 06:19 that way, though, right? 06:21 So which group are you in? 06:22 Do you, 06:23 do you tend to run 06:23 toward adversity 06:25 or do you tend to 06:25 run away from it? 06:29 Dobbs, 06:29 some of you may know the name, 06:31 he was a 06:31 foreign correspondent 06:32 for ABC News for many years. 06:35 He wrote a book 06:36 called Life in the Wrong Lane: 06:39 Why Journalists Go In 06:42 When Everyone Else Wants Out. 06:47 Let me tell you what 06:47 he said 06:48 in the preface to his book. 06:50 I call this book 06:51 Life in the Wrong Lane, 06:53 because that's where 06:54 journalists live 06:55 in the one lane 06:57 heading toward a catastrophe. 06:58 Everyone who's normal 07:00 is in the other lane, 07:01 any other lane, 07:02 going the other way. 07:03 They're getting out. 07:06 Think of life 07:07 as a highway, Dobbs says. 07:08 A divided interstate highway. 07:11 And somehow, you've missed 07:13 those omnipresent, red 07:14 “wrong way” signs, 07:17 and you've gotten going 07:18 down the exit ramp 07:19 into the oncoming 07:21 traffic lanes. 07:23 Sounding kind of chilling, huh? 07:26 Is that ever the right lane, 07:27 he asks. No. 07:29 Not for anyone but us. 07:30 In fact, 07:31 we go looking for signs 07:33 saying “wrong way”. 07:34 These are the ones 07:35 that guide us. 07:37 Oncoming 07:38 traffic is our livelihood. 07:41 Now, some of you say, 07:41 Well, that's why I'm not 07:42 in that business. 07:44 I'm asking you to think 07:46 about this for a minute, 07:47 because if you catch 07:49 what Gary Dobbs is saying, 07:50 I think it will change 07:51 your perspective. 07:53 You see, 07:54 how do we feel as Christians, 07:56 if we find ourselves 07:58 what seems like going 07:59 the wrong direction. 08:00 Has it ever been that way? 08:01 Maybe it's some relationship 08:03 that's going the wrong way, 08:04 and you say, like, 08:04 why am I in this relationship? 08:05 How did I ever get into this? 08:06 Some people told me not to go 08:08 this way 08:08 cause ithe wrong way. 08:09 But the Lord was leading you. 08:10 And you 08:11 say, But this doesn't seem 08:13 to be 08:13 working out all that well. 08:14 But I was sure 08:15 God was leading me. 08:17 Remember the emphasis, 08:19 Mark 1:35, 08:21 early in the morning, 08:22 spending time with God. 08:23 If God is leading, 08:24 you keep going forward, okay? 08:26 Now, it does pay to get wise 08:28 counsel. 08:29 There is wisdom 08:30 in a multitude of counselors 08:32 and we can 08:32 sometimes lose our bearings. 08:34 But the point is, 08:36 is it possible, 08:37 is it possible 08:38 that God might have you 08:39 as a special 08:40 correspondent for Him 08:42 or maybe a special ambassador, 08:44 maybe 08:44 as you 08:45 in a terrible work situation 08:47 because He needs a witness 08:49 for Jesus 08:50 in that work situation. 08:51 Is that possible? 08:52 Perhaps even 08:53 at some point in your life 08:55 led you to a bad church. 08:57 Some of you have told me, 08:58 you know, your life history 08:59 and you've been in churches 09:00 that you 09:01 thought were just 09:02 terrible places to be. 09:03 But maybe He wanted you there 09:06 because He wanted your witness, 09:07 or maybe He wanted you 09:08 to have an experience there 09:10 that you would share 09:11 with other people. 09:12 I started to think 09:13 about this myself. 09:15 Because if I were to 09:16 script out my life, 09:17 I would just say, You know, 09:18 this good thing happens 09:19 and this good thing 09:19 I do this for God 09:21 and this is blessed 09:21 this way, and 09:22 God helps me do this 09:23 and this happens. 09:24 That's how I葷cript it out, 09:26 wouldn't you? 09:27 I mean human perspective, 09:28 that's what I would think. 09:30 But God 09:30 often leads us into adversity, 09:32 just like ABC News. 09:34 There are some war 09:35 that just broke out 09:36 and Gary Dobbs 09:37 is flying on a plane 09:38 to get there to cover this 09:40 when everyone else is leaving. 09:41 You get the picture? 09:42 So don't judge God's 09:45 leading in your life 09:46 because it looks like bad 09:47 things are happening 09:48 around you. 09:49 Just press closer to Him. 09:51 He may have a reason 09:52 for sending you there. 09:53 And why this is so relevant, 09:55 as Mark 09:56 1 transitions into Mark 2. 09:59 We just had all these stories 10:00 of Jesus speaking and healing. 10:02 Demons are healed. 10:03 Lepers are healed. 10:04 His Word is going with power. 10:06 People are flocking to Him. 10:07 When you get to chapter 10:08 2, it all changes. 10:10 Yes, Jesus is still healing. 10:11 He's still having 10:12 powerful experiences. 10:14 But now you start seeing 10:15 adversity and conflict. 10:19 What's happening 10:20 is Jesus Healing 10:21 ministry is trying 10:22 to be covered over by Satan. 10:25 He wants people 10:26 to focus on controversy 10:29 instead of 10:29 focusing on the Healer, 10:32 on Jesus. 10:34 Let's look at how it starts. 10:35 Mark 2:1 and 2, it says. 10:38 And when he returned 10:39 to Capernaum, after some days, 10:41 He just He'd been in Capernaum. 10:42 Great successful 10:43 ministry there. 10:44 No sign of any controversy. 10:46 Then He leaves on 10:48 this Galilean ministry, 10:49 and when He comes back, 10:51 things are different 10:52 in Capernaum. 10:53 He returns. 10:54 After some days 10:55 it's reported 10:56 that he was at home. 10:58 And many were gathered 11:00 together, 11:00 so that there was no more room, 11:03 not even at the door. 11:04 And he was preaching 11:05 the word to them. 11:06 Now some may say, 11:07 Well, wait, wait, wait, 11:07 His home? 11:09 Jesus made 11:10 it very clear He 11:11 didn't have a home 11:11 like you and I have, okay? 11:14 You've got a place tonight 11:15 to lay your head, your own bed. 11:17 I trust, to my knowledge, 11:19 all of you are in 11:19 such a situation. 11:20 Maybe there's some of you 11:21 that aren't, 11:22 but most 11:22 all of you have a place 11:24 to call your own, right? 11:25 Jesus did not have that. 11:26 He made it 11:26 clear in Luke 9:58, 11:28 He had no place. 11:30 But He was so connected 11:33 with people 11:34 that there was 11:34 a place in Capernaum 11:36 that He apparently frequently 11:38 spent time at 11:39 that was referred 11:40 to as His home. 11:42 Some think that that perhaps 11:43 was the home of Peter 11:45 and maybe Peter 11:46 living with extended family, 11:48 maybe even 11:49 Andrew's family was there, 11:50 maybe was a central courtyard. 11:51 Some people have have thought 11:53 maybe it was some 11:54 setting like that. 11:55 Others have said, well, 11:56 as this story 11:57 plays out in Mark 2, 11:58 this sounds like a bigger place 12:00 than we think 12:00 Peter was living in 12:01 as a fisherman. 12:03 Whatever the case, 12:04 Jesus connected 12:06 with people in Capernaum. 12:07 They feel like that's His city. 12:10 And as the 12:10 account goes 12:11 on, it says in verse 12:13 3, the Bible tells us 12:14 they came, 12:16 bringing to Him 12:16 a paralytic carried 12:18 by four men. 12:20 And when they could not 12:21 get near Him, near Jesus, 12:23 because of the crowd, 12:24 they removed 12:25 the roof above Him, 12:27 and when they had made 12:28 an opening, 12:28 they let down the bed 12:30 through the roof. 12:32 This is not a conventional way 12:34 to enter a church. 12:35 It's not a conventional way 12:36 to enter a home. 12:38 If you compare Luke's 12:39 account in Luke 5, 12:40 it says they removed the tiles. 12:43 So different 12:44 types of roofs 12:45 were used in antiquity. 12:46 It sounds like it was 12:46 a tile roof. 12:47 And they removed these tiles 12:49 and then down through the roof 12:51 comes the paralytic. 12:54 Four friends 12:56 bringing this man to Jesus. 12:58 Could he have gotten 12:58 there without their help? 13:00 Remember one 13:01 of the things 13:02 about Mark's gospel 13:02 that is healing 13:03 we're talking about 13:04 healing insights 13:05 is the social connections 13:07 that are drawn out 13:07 in Mark's gospel. 13:08 And I really want 13:09 you to see it here, 13:10 because to me, 13:11 I think we could 13:12 legitimately ask a question, 13:13 when did the healing 13:15 actually begin 13:15 for the paralytic? 13:17 When did it actually begin? 13:19 Because many of you know 13:20 how the story plays out. 13:21 We're going to look at it. 13:22 But was he already receiving 13:23 healing on a certain level 13:25 when his four friends 13:26 are carrying him to Jesus, 13:27 bringing him up 13:28 on the top of the roof, 13:29 opening up the roof, 13:30 how is he feeling 13:32 as he sees 13:33 what his friends 13:33 are willing to do for him? 13:36 He was clearly, 13:37 clearly receiving 13:39 social support. 13:40 We call it tangible 13:42 or instrumental support. 13:44 Let me tell you a story. 13:46 I learned about Kevin Penn 13:48 from the medical literature. 13:50 An amazing story, 13:51 41 year old man, 13:53 father, husband, 13:55 got two young sons 13:56 and he gets that diagnosis 13:57 no one wants to get, cancer. 14:00 He has an acute leukemia. 14:03 At the time, 14:03 he was an executive 14:04 in a public utilities company, 14:06 a very detail oriented person 14:09 by virtue of his career 14:10 and just his nature. 14:11 And he actually wrote, 14:13 published 14:14 in one of the nursing journals 14:15 his story 14:17 of dealing with acute 14:19 myelogenous leukemia, 14:21 death sentence 14:21 without treatment. 14:24 He did, he responded 14:25 to the initial treatment, 14:27 but then he relapsed. 14:29 Cancer spreading again, 14:30 and he's got to 14:31 get more treatment. 14:32 He ends up 14:33 with one of those bone 14:34 marrow transplants, 14:35 and this is how he put it, 14:37 conveying how hellacious 14:38 that treatment process 14:40 was is nearly impossible. 14:43 It was terrible, was a terrible 14:44 ordeal, is what he's saying. 14:46 And then he goes on in a 14:49 way that only a 14:50 a very compulsive, detail 14:52 oriented person could do. 14:54 He starts describing 14:56 all that he went through. 14:57 He said, I got 52 high-dosage 15:01 chemotherapy treatments. 15:04 I got 15:04 11 bone marrow biopsies. 15:07 I spent 15:08 114 days in the hospital. 15:11 By the way, that's a long time. 15:13 That's nearly four months. 15:15 He got 10 15:16 total body 15:17 irradiation treatments. 15:20 He even counted the pills 15:21 he took, over 5600 pills. 15:26 Now, I know 15:27 this is going to hit home 15:28 for some of you 15:29 because I've got patients 15:30 who won't even, 15:31 I got big guys 15:32 who won't even go 15:33 and have their blood drawn. 15:34 They say I don't like needles. 15:36 He had over 1300 blood tests 15:39 for this involved 15:40 with this cancer, 15:41 67 blood or platelet 15:44 bags transfused 15:46 and 9 million stem cells 15:47 that he received 15:48 from his brother. 15:50 It's an ordeal, he said. 15:52 This doesn't do justice to it. 15:54 That's what Kevin says. 15:56 He said, All of this 15:57 wasn't very pleasant, 15:58 of course, 15:59 but it wasn't all horrible 16:01 and dark. 16:02 In fact, in looking back, 16:04 I have many positive memories. 16:07 Most of them, perhaps 16:09 even all of them, 16:10 are because of the individual 16:12 acts of kindness I experienced. 16:15 Well, 16:16 what kind of acts of kindness, 16:16 what kind of momentous things 16:18 in a terrible ordeal 16:19 like this 16:20 would make a difference? 16:20 Let's listen to the list. 16:22 A caring smile from nurses 16:26 when they hung the dreaded 16:27 chemotherapy bags. 16:30 Staff quietly 16:31 slipping into the room 16:33 during the night 16:34 so as not to disturb him 16:35 or his family. 16:37 If you ever have been a patient 16:38 in a hospital, right, 16:39 you can relate to that one. 16:41 Giving him a high five 16:43 when in his weakened condition 16:45 he could only do what? 16:46 Walk to the end of the hallway 16:47 and come back. 16:48 Giving him a high five. 16:49 Was that over the top? 16:51 That encouraged 16:52 him and encouraged Kevin, 16:54 encouraging a positive attitude 16:56 at all times. 16:57 One of the nurses 16:58 indelibly impressed on his mind 17:00 this statement, act sick 17:02 and what? 17:03 You'll be sick. 17:05 Act sick and you'll be sick. 17:09 And then he said, 17:11 just providing a shoulder 17:12 to cry on 17:14 when the overwhelming 17:15 gravity of the situation 17:17 became too much to bear. 17:19 Now the story 17:20 of a cancer patient. 17:22 But what about 17:22 the other ordeals 17:23 that we go through 17:24 and the people around us 17:25 are going through? 17:26 How much effort does it take 17:28 to do some of those things? 17:30 Yeah, I mean, 17:30 sometimes they have 17:31 some bigger needs, 17:32 but the whole point is 17:33 there's small things 17:34 that you can do 17:35 right here in the church. 17:37 How do you interact 17:38 with people? 17:38 But I don't know anybody here, 17:40 Pastor DeRose, 17:41 I don't know anybody. 17:42 Well, smile anyway, okay? 17:44 Meet somebody, 17:45 shake their hand. 17:49 Perhaps the most significant, 17:51 the most lasting, Kevin said, 17:53 and certainly the most 17:53 inspiring part 17:54 of a medical professionals 17:56 job is not 17:57 what was learned in school 17:59 or what was read 17:59 in a book, 18:00 instead, 18:01 it is those small, 18:02 unscripted, unexpected 18:04 acts of kindness 18:06 that really matter. 18:08 You know, I'm very grateful 18:09 that we have greeters here 18:10 at the church that welcome you 18:12 when you come in. 18:13 If you didn't slip in 18:14 through the back door, perhaps. 18:15 And, and yet, 18:17 you know what, as important 18:19 as that role 18:19 is, the person 18:21 who doesn't have a role 18:22 as a greeter, 18:23 their greeting often goes 18:25 further than the person 18:26 whose job it was to do it. 18:28 You follow 18:29 along with what I'm saying? 18:30 If someone thinks 18:31 that's your job, 18:31 no matter how nice you are, 18:32 and I'm glad we have 18:33 nice people doing it, don't, 18:34 believe me, don't 18:35 all turn in your resignations 18:36 if you're, you know, greeters. 18:37 We we value you 18:38 and we appreciate that 18:39 that role. 18:40 And that's important. 18:41 But I'm just saying, 18:42 even if you don't have 18:43 an official role, 18:44 what you do, 18:45 those acts of kindness 18:46 make a difference. 18:48 So the question I ask 18:50 in Mark 2, 18:51 was this man 18:52 already being healed? 18:54 But what's even more to 18:55 the point, 18:56 is as 18:57 you read through the account, 18:58 it says in Mark 2:5, 19:00 when Jesus saw what? 19:02 It says, 19:03 when He saw their faith. 19:07 Jesus늝aling power 19:09 only works where there's faith, 19:11 okay? 19:13 We have to accept it. 19:14 We have to accept 19:16 His healing power in our lives. 19:20 And then Jesus says this. 19:22 He says, Son, 19:23 your sins are forgiven. 19:26 Now, let me ask you a question. 19:28 Look in your Bibles. 19:29 Go ahead and look 19:29 right there at Mark 2:5, 19:31 and I want you to tell me 19:32 what does the, 19:34 what does this man say when 19:36 Jesus speaks 19:38 these healing words? 19:40 What does he say? 19:42 Following Mark 2:5, 19:43 tell me, give me a quote 19:45 from this paralytic. 19:50 You're appropriately silent 19:51 because he says nothing. Okay? 19:53 He says absolutely nothing. 19:55 Well, what does that mean? 19:58 Well, what it implies, 19:59 if you come in 20:00 to a doctor's office, 20:01 make it practical. 20:02 At least in my world, 20:04 if someone comes in 20:05 and I say, don't worry, 20:06 I've got it all covered, 20:08 you know, here 20:08 is the dietary 20:09 prescription for, 20:10 you just walked 20:11 through the door. 20:12 You didn't say anything. 20:13 I said, got all covered. 20:14 No problem. Glad you're here. 20:15 Here's 20:16 your dietary prescription 20:17 for your diabetes. 20:19 And if you 20:20 if you don't say anything, 20:22 if you just smile 20:22 and you walk out 20:23 with that prescription, 20:24 you'll say, Wow, 20:24 what an amazing doctor. 20:25 How did he know what I needed? 20:27 That's exactly what I came for. 20:29 But if you came in 20:30 because your kneeurting, 20:31 what are you going to do 20:32 when I give you that? 20:33 What are you going to do? 20:35 You're going to say, 20:36 What's this? 20:37 I'm here for my knee. 20:39 I just hurt my knee. 20:42 Here's why 20:42 I'm telling you this. 20:44 If that paralytic, 20:47 if his greatest need wasn't 20:50 forgiveness of sin, 20:52 he would have objected. 20:54 He would have said, Well, 20:55 thank you, Jesus, 20:56 but that's not why I'm here. 20:57 Can't you see I can't move? 20:59 But he doesn't say anything. 21:01 He accepts 21:02 the fact 21:03 that Jesus knew 21:04 his deepest need. 21:06 And so he lays there, 21:08 I believe, rejoicing in 21:11 freedom from sin 21:14 and freedom from guilt. 21:15 Jesus does the deepest 21:18 healing in this man's life 21:20 first. 21:20 He gives him full 21:21 forgiveness, full 21:23 freedom from guilt. 21:25 This is important stuff. 21:27 We're talking about 21:27 healing insights. 21:29 There's all kinds of studies 21:30 that look at the relationship 21:31 between guilt and health. 21:34 I decided to just look 21:35 what's currently 21:36 being published out there. 21:37 Look 2022 21:39 and a number of studies 21:40 out there. 21:41 This one caught my attention. 21:43 It's 21:44 a study from the Czech Republic 21:47 looking at connections 21:48 between guilt, shame 21:51 and chronic disease. 21:54 These researchers 21:56 came to a conclusion 21:57 after looking 21:58 at a representative sample 21:59 of the Czech population. 22:00 Some 1000 individuals aged 22:03 above 14 to 15 and older. 22:06 They found those 22:07 who felt more guilty. 22:09 So it wasn't shame, was shame 22:10 wasn't the issue. 22:11 So it wasn't like, 22:11 well, I'm ashamed 22:12 you know, 22:12 I grew up on the wrong side 22:13 of the tracks or, 22:14 you know, 22:15 shame was not the issue. 22:17 Guilt was. 22:18 They felt 22:19 they had done something wrong. 22:21 They were more likely to suffer 22:23 from a chronic disease. 22:23 They had feelings of 22:25 of guilt 22:26 that were persisting, okay? 22:29 We could say 22:29 they weren't experiencing 22:31 the forgiveness of Jesus. 22:32 How much difference did it 22:33 make? 5%? 10%? 22:36 How much more chronic disease? 22:38 Here's 22:38 actually data from the study. 22:40 And if you look at this 22:42 this graphic, 22:42 you'll see their likelihood 22:43 of having any chronic 22:45 disease doubled. 22:48 Arthritis, over doubled. 22:52 Cardiovascular disease, 22:53 nearly tripled. 22:55 Depression, 22:56 over four fold 22:57 the risk of being depressed. 22:59 But the highest 23:01 connection they found 23:03 was with cancer. 23:05 Now, this doesn't 23:06 mean you can look 23:06 down this list and say, 23:07 Oh, wow, now I know why all my, 23:09 you know, 23:09 now I know why, you know, 23:10 Auntie Sue has arthritis. 23:12 Now I know why, 23:14 you know, Sister 23:15 Jill has asthma and why, 23:17 you know, you 23:18 no, no, no, 23:19 it doesn't work that way, okay? 23:20 These are multifactorial. 23:22 There's multiple things. 23:23 But the whole point is, 23:24 is that guilt 23:25 is one of the things 23:26 that's undermining our health 23:27 as a society 23:28 and as individuals. 23:30 And Jesus offers the remedy. 23:32 Do you see? 23:33 We can come to Him 23:34 just as we are, 23:35 even if you feel that you 23:36 can't get to Him. 23:42 I told you, though, 23:43 it's not all, praise the Lord. 23:46 Because what's happening 23:48 is the religious 23:49 leaders are now there 23:50 and they're watching 23:52 Jesus녡ery move. 23:54 And when Jesus 23:56 heals this man of his sin, 23:58 they're there to criticize 24:01 His healing ministry. 24:02 And they say, 24:04 Why does this Man 24:05 speak blasphemies like this? 24:07 Who cannot forgive sins 24:09 but God alone? 24:12 Now, this is 24:13 interesting, right? 24:14 They're basically saying 24:16 if Jesus is really doing 24:18 what He says 24:19 He's doing, He's God. 24:23 But they're saying He's not. 24:24 And therefore He can't, 24:25 He can't forgive sins 24:27 because He's not God. 24:27 And so Jesus 24:29 asked this question. 24:31 Why do you reason 24:32 about these things 24:32 in your hearts? 24:33 They didn't speak it out loud. 24:35 Jesus knew their hearts 24:36 and that had to take them 24:37 aback, right? 24:38 Kind of whispering 24:39 under their breath. 24:41 Which is easier, to say 24:42 to the paralytic, 24:43 Your sins are forgiven you, 24:45 or to say, Arise, 24:46 take up your bed and walk? 24:49 So which is easier to say? 24:52 Well, 24:53 I mean, there's different ways 24:54 you could look at it, 24:54 but from the structure 24:55 of the story, 24:57 Jesus is saying it's easier 24:59 to say, in effect, 25:00 your sins are forgiven 25:02 because there's 25:02 no objective way 25:04 that you can evaluate 25:05 that, right? 25:06 So that's the argument 25:07 He's presenting. 25:07 He's saying, well, that's 25:08 you know, 25:09 you could say that's easy. 25:09 Anybody could say that 25:11 and not have the 25:11 authority to do it. 25:13 But what about to say, rise, 25:15 take up your bed and walk? 25:18 What about that? 25:20 How difficult is that? 25:22 And so Jesus says, 25:23 so that you may know, 25:25 that you may know 25:26 that the Son of Man 25:28 has power on Earth 25:29 to forgive sins. 25:30 He then turns to that man 25:32 and He does what? 25:33 He says, I say to you, Rise, 25:36 take up your bed 25:37 and go to your house. 25:38 Now, what's 25:39 remarkable about 25:40 this is not only that 25:41 Jesus has the authority, 25:43 the ability, 25:44 the power to speak healing, 25:47 but He is depending on the man, 25:49 right? 25:50 He's saying, you get up. 25:53 And what if the man said, 25:54 But I can't. 25:55 You see? 25:56 And it comes back to a point 25:58 that we raised earlier. 25:59 God's Word is so powerful. 26:01 It's only if we resist it. 26:04 It's only 26:05 if we determined to resist it. 26:06 If you're saying, Well, 26:07 I don't know 26:07 if I have enough faith. 26:08 No, just act on 26:09 what God's saying. 26:10 Just trust Him 26:11 and you'll be healed. 26:13 Euthes. 26:13 His call to act immediately. 26:15 Let me make one final point 26:17 on this note as we wind up. 26:19 And that is, just like 26:22 in medical circles, doctors 26:24 bemoan noncompliance, okay? 26:27 We'll give 26:27 patients instructions 26:28 and they won't do it. 26:29 I was just thinking 26:30 about a patient the other day. 26:31 She had very 26:32 high triglycerides. 26:33 I instructed her 26:33 about her diet. 26:34 I gave her some supplemental 26:36 Omega 3 fats to help her. 26:38 When I saw her back, 26:40 she had not 26:41 followed my counsel. 26:43 She wasn't taking 26:43 the supplements. 26:45 She had them, 26:45 but just hadn't 26:46 started taking them. 26:47 It was like a month. 26:48 Do you think it helped her? 26:50 Did you think it helped 26:50 to have those 26:51 in her medicine cabinet? 26:53 No. 26:54 It's the same with Jesus, okay? 26:55 When Jesus dispenses healing, 26:57 when He offers you forgiveness, 26:59 when He offers you healing, 27:00 what do you have to do? 27:01 You have to accept it 27:03 and put it into practice 27:04 in your life. 27:05 When you do that, 27:06 you'll see the healing power 27:09 of Jesus at work in your life 27:11 and in your relationships. 27:16 Let's pray one more time. 27:18 Father in Heaven. 27:19 Thank you again 27:20 that Your Word 27:21 speaks with power. 27:22 Thank you for speaking 27:23 to our hearts. 27:25 In Jesus name, Amen. 27:28 And we long to help you 27:30 on your journey 27:31 to better health 27:31 spiritually and physically. 27:34 If you're in the Fort Wayne, 27:35 Indiana area, 27:36 we often have public programs 27:38 that you can connect with. 27:40 Check them out 27:40 at 27:41 www.TimelessHealingInsights.org. 27:46 Do you live out of the area? 27:47 No problem. 27:48 We've got free 27:49 health resources programs 27:51 that you can go through online. 27:52 It's all at that same website, 27:54 TimelessHealingInsights.org. |
Revised 2023-04-03