Some Thoughts on Healing

And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease among the people. Then His fame went throughout all Syria; and they brought to Him all sick people who were afflicted with various diseases and torments, and those who were demon-possessed, epileptics, and paralytics; and He healed them. Great multitudes followed Him—from Galilee, and from Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea, and beyond the Jordan. Matthew 4.23-25

• Jesus' message was about the Kingdom of God, not healing. (23)
• He healed every kind of diseases and illness with no exceptions. (23)
• Word of this spread and many sick people began to follow Jesus. (24)
• Jesus healed everyone. (24)
• Large crowds followed Jesus. (25)

Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing psalms. Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. Confess yourtrespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much. James 5.13-16

• Prayer should be our constant activity and attitude. (13)
• For healing...

1. Call the elders of the church. (14)
2. Pray over the sick. (14)
3. Anoint the sick with oil. (14)
4. Pray in the name of the Lord. (14)
5. Pray in faith. (15)

• Results...

1. Sick will be healed. (15)
2. Sinner will be forgiven. (15)
3. Earnest prayers will produce results. (16)

Miscellaneous Thoughts and Questions...

• Not everyone gets healed...
• Aren't healing people/ healers a little bit weird?
• Why should we consider healing?
• What is the relationship between faith and healing?
• Didn't healing end at the end of the Apostolic Age?
• "This is my body, broken..." (cf. Isaiah 53.5)
• What should I think about some of the practices of healers?
• Does healing prayer always include touching/ laying on hands?

Wait, Waiter, Waiting: James 5.1-12

All Christians are called to have and exhibit patience. James likens the patience we are to have to...

• A Farmer. (v. 7) The farmer works hard, but there are long periods in which the farmer must exhibit patience. He has to wait for the winter to end so that he can plant. The farmer waits for the seed to grow so that he can reap in the fall. Many of us need to learn patience like this so that we can grow, or mature, spiritually. In addition, we need to learn patience as we wait for God to work in the lives of others. How long we must persevere to see the fulfillment of God's will in our lives.
• The prophets (v. 10). The prophets of the Old Testament spent much of their lives speaking out about the work of God. In fact, some of the prophets even acted out the word of the Lord on occasion. Then there were periods of waiting. They waited on the people to repent. They waited on God to act. You and I are similar in many respects. We are waiting for God to fulfill his promises. We must continue waiting for God to do his work.
• Job (v.11). Like Job, we must learn to wait for the persecution of Satan to end. Satan had taken all that Job had, all that seemed important to him. And although we may never have to endure that level of persecution, Satan does, and will, attack. We need to be patient as we learn to wait. In addition, Job's friends came to comfort him in his time of trouble. However, their comfort turned out to be ridicule. Job's friends, and even his wife, made his suffering even worse. You and I will also be ridiculed by others. We must have patience to overcome.

Procrast-itis: James 4.13-17

To him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin. James 4.17

There are some significant controversies in life. In fact, one of the greatest issues that any Christian faces is this issue of discerning, knowing, accepting and doing God's will. We are constantly in a state of trying to find God's will. And then when we do find it, we struggle with accepting it. Finally, when we know what God's will is, we come to the hardest part. We must always work toward submitting our own will, our own wishes to what it is that God wants for us.

There are many ways that we respond to God's will. Some of them are...

1. Ignoring God's will... Many times we can hear God speak to us, but we do not want to hear what he has to say. We know that if we listen to God we will hear. We know that if we hear God, we may have to change our lives. So we exert a lot of effort into ignoring God completely. We fill our lives with activity, people, noise just so that we do not have to hear what God has to say to us.
2. Disobeying God's will... There are other times when we know God's will, but we make a conscious decision to do something else. How painful it is to know to do God's will and to purposely not do it.
3. Putting off God's will... There are many people who know God's will, but have chosen to procrastinate the fulfillment of it. We want to do what God calls, but not now. We know what we are supposed to do, but are not 'ready' to be completely faithful to God. In fact, sometimes we look upon the call as a great honor without considering the sin it is to delay in obedience.
4. Submitting to God's will... This is the hardest category to fall into. God wants us to follow him, and to do it now.

A Two-Way Street: James 4.1-12

You do not have because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss. James 4.2-3

Prayer, like any other relationship, is a two-way street. There is give and take. You offer something to God, and God offers himself to you.

Prayer Pointers:

1. You don't get answers to your prayers because you ask with wrong motives (v. 2). When praying we must be sure that our requests are aligned with God's will.
2. You don't get answers to your prayers because you ask for the wrong things (v. 3). Somethings we want that we know God does not want for us. Other things we ask hoping that God will give them.
3. You don't get answers to your prayers because you do not ask at all (v. 2). How sad- and true- this is. The first step in receiving an answer from God is to ask.

There are expectations on us as we pray and live our lives.

• Submit to God (v. 7). What God wants should always be the most important thing to us.
• Resist the Devil (v. 7). Too often we succumb to temptation. Satan wants us to slip up, to fail. We must be vigilant with our hearts and minds.
• Purify your heart (v. 8). Focus on the things that are of God and from God. Do not become distracted with the things and the cares of this world. Compare this thought to the words of Philippians 4.8: Whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things.
• Recognize the seriousness of following God (v. 9). We do not need to be in constant mourning. God does not want us to be overly somber, but we must take seriously our commitment to him and his ways.
• Humble yourself (v.10). The greatest struggle that people have is that we think too much of ourselves. God's will is for us to think more of others and of him than we do ourselves.
• Do not speak evil (v. 11). Mind your words at all times. Remember that your thoughts have consequences, but your words move much more quickly to injure.

Oh, Behave!: James 3.13-18

Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show by good conduct that his works are done in the meekness of wisdom. James 3.13

There are two kinds of wisdom in the world. These are outlined very carefully- and thoroughly by James.

There is the wisdom that does not come from God.

• It is earthly wisdom. This wisdom is natural. It comes from what we can see in the natural world.
• It is unspiritual wisdom. This wisdom causes us to reject anything for which we do not have a rational explanation. Miracles, healings and unexplained occurrences all fall victim at this point.
• It is wisdom that comes from the devil. This wisdom could be described as anything that is anti-Christ. Anything that would distract or obstruct your relationship with Jesus is anti-Christ.

There is the wisdom that God produces.

• Wisdom from God produces purity. Those who are filled with the Holy Spirit strive to avoid all evil, or even evil appearances (1 Thessalonians 5.22).
• Wisdom from God produces peace. God's will is for all people to be filled with peace.
• Wisdom from God produces patience. 

This passage compares very favorably to Paul's "Fruit of the Spirit" in Galatians 5.22-23.

Mind Your Words: James 3.1-12

If anyone does not stumble in word, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle the whole body. James 3.2

Sticks and Stones...

Loose lips...

Lying-

• Gossip
• Exaggeration
• "white lies"
• Dishonesty

Swearing-

• Careless talk
• Lord's name in vain
• Profanity
• Coarse language
• Racism
• Rude jokes

Hurting-

• slander
• anger
• contentions
• false teaching

Biblical Uses of the tongue-

• Preach
• Teach
• Pray
• Prophecy
• Tongues 
• Encouragement

Faith vs Works: James 2.14-26

There are a lot of problems that people have with their faith. In fact, the Bible sometimes seem to add to the confusion. Paul emphasizes the role of faith without works. It is grace through faith that allows for salvation (Ephesians 2.8-9). James, on the other hand, teaches that faith will result in good works.

This passage includes discussion of three different ways of looking at faith.

1. Dead Faith (James 2.14-17) There are some people who believe that having the right information is enough. If we study, read, listen and learn we will be saved. James refers to this approach as dead faith. This is a faith that deals with the intellect only.
2. Demonic Faith (James 2.18-20) Other men and women understand that information and intellect are not enough to grant salvation. There also must be emotional involvement as well. The unfortunate part of this is that demons are also aware of the need for belief in God. Intellect and emotions are better than intellect alone, but it is still not enough.
3. Dynamic Faith (James 2.21-26) Intellect, emotions and will are all required to have salvation. We must have the information. We must believe the information. And we must act on the information. We must do something about what we believe.

June 9-19 Jamaica
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November 22 Saturday of Service

You're My Brother: James 2.1-13

Treat People Well

• Our beliefs must control our behavior.
• Our convictions lead to our conduct.
• Your faith creates your function.
• Your religion determines your relationships.
• Your priorities inform your performance.

Treat people well because…

• That’s what Jesus did. (1-4) Remember that Jesus was rejected by all even though he was God himself. There are many people who need our care and concern. Jesus ate with publicans and sinners. He consorted with prostitutes and beggars. He loved (and touched) lepers. Jesus treated all people well. We should do no less.
• Because of God’s grace. (5-7) God's grace is available for all people. God loved the whole world. Every single person is precious in the Lord's sight. This means that we should be treating everyone well, because  we are no better, no more loved, than anyone else.
• God’s word tells us to. (8-11) Loving others- treating them well- is a simple act of obedience. To be doing what the Bible tells us to requires that we be loving others. We must treat other people well.
• We will all face the judgment. (12-13) All of us will have to answer to the same judgment. Each man, woman and child will have to give an account to God himself about how he treated other people. God will evaluate our faithfulness.

 

Faith in Action!: James 1.19-27

 Be quick to hear (v. 19)

• Read the Bible
• Listen to sermons
• Attend Sunday school
• Listen to the Bible on cd
• Listen to Christian radio
• Watch Christian television
• Attend Bible studies

 

Be slow to speak

• Listen more than you talk.
• Think before you speak
• Think about what you are going to say
• Consider all the implications of your actions and words.

 

Be slow to anger

• Hold your temper
• Learn to count to 10

 

Do what your faith teaches you to do… (v. 22)

            Practice what you hear/ preach.

 

Practical steps for putting your faith into action…

• Bridle your tongue. (v. 26- There will be more on this later in James). Do not get caught up in gossip, swearing, negativity, lying.
• Visit orphans and widows. (v. 27) There are more people in need now than at any time that I can remember. Now it appears that it will only get worse. Do not be afraid to care for and share with others who are in need.
• Keep yourself pure. (v. 27) Do not get involved in things that are sinful or displeasing to God. Be careful always. Think about what Jesus would do.

A Different Kind of Test: James 1.1-18

James, the author of this letter, is the half-brother of Jesus. Mary was mother to both Jesus and James. But Jesus was born of the Holy Spirit. James' father was Joseph. Initially, James was opposed to Jesus' ministry. However, after the resurrection, Jesus appeared to James and he eventually became the leader of the Christian movement.


Trials come from God. It is not for the sake of God's information that we are tested. After all, God knows the extent of our faithfulness. But by this testing we can come to know our own level of commitment.

• We will be tested. Verse 2 says "when you meet trials" not if you meet trials. We will be tried and tested.
• Be joyful. How hard is this? But there is a measure of comfort; we do not have to be joyful for the trials, but in them.
• Trials prove our faithfulness to God. When we pass the tests, God sees and knows our commitment to him.
• Trials mature us in the faith. We are built up as we endure. If I am able to endure this trial, the next one will be less of a problem for me.

Abraham is a perfect example of this. God knew that Abraham would obey and sacrifice Isaac, but Abraham grew through this test of his faith.

Prayer is important (v. 5). An important theme of James is prayer. Here James teaches us to

• Ask for wisdom.
• Ask in faith.

Temptation comes from Satan (v. 13). The enemy knows when we are tempted, and exactly what the things are that tempt us. He works hard to distract us and to get us to focus on ourselves.

• We are enticed by the present. When we are tempted, we look at the value, the pleasure that indulging the temptation will get us now. We are tempted through our senses- sight, sound, smell, touch and taste. The problem is that these external temptation can lead to internal sin.
• We should focus on the permanent. Although temptation looks good now, we need to keep the eternal perspective of God in mind. A good time today will not necessarily lead to lasting contentment.

Good things come from God (v. 17). Everything that is worth having comes from the Lord. If it is not lasting, if it is not of value, if it is not good, it does not come from God.