#10 The “Names of God”
Series
“JEHOVAH-RAPHA!”
(The Lord That Heals!)
TEXT: Exodus
15:25-26; 2 Kings 5:1-14; 2 Cor. 12:7-9; Gal. 4:12-16; 1 Tim. 4:20; 5:23; James 5:10-11,14-16; 1 Pet.
4:1-2,19
INTRO: Healing is
a subject of great interest, and sometimes great
controversy.
Did you know that you are terminally
ill! Every one is going to
die! We don't like to admit that
truth; we usually reserve that thinking for the one in the hospital dying of
cancer! (In fact it is this truth that enables us to
minister to those who are ill, we our self are all in the process of
dying!)
Men have searched for and proclaimed
great cures for sickness and death; i.e. the fountain of youth, a drug that will
stop the aging process, (now being done in research around the U.S.), and other
miracle cures. The trouble is that
even with the great strides in medicine there is much that man cannot cure, even
though he has found ways of masking symptoms! And even with man’s incredible abilities
there still remain one cell organisms that can outdo him many
times!
Thank God though there is a great
physician! He is "Jehovah-Rapha"
the “Lord that Heals!” God revealed Himself as one who can heal
the most incredible situations, the most horrible of diseases, in both the Old
Testament and the New Testament times.
And since He never changes those promises are still good
today!
ILLUS:
A friend
of mine who was a minister in southern
PROP.
SENT: The Bible teaches us
that God still heals today, in answer to prayer and trust in Him and that His
answer will be the one that we need the most even when it is not always the one
we expected!
I. PAST HEALINGS Assorted
texts
A. Old
Testament Num.
21:4-9; 2 Kings
5:1-14
1. Moses & Serpents Num.
21:4-9
a. This illness was related to
disobedience and sin, this is not
always the case with all sickness, but sickness can at times be related to
disobedience.
b. The people became ill from
poisonous snakes, many died.
c. God intervened however and
provided the means of healing; conditions for healing however required
obedience, humility and repentance.
It was clearly God who brought healing to the
people.
d. The people’s obedience was a
sign of repentance, and their humility to obey brought them into God’s healing
power.
2. Naaman's healing 2 Kings
5:1-14
a. Naaman is an interesting
example because he is not even Jewish, though his wife had a Jewish slave that
served her. He becomes seriously
ill with leprosy or some kind of serious skin disorder the Bible calls
leprosy.
b. It was his wife’s Jewish
slave that tells her that her husband Naaman could find healing through the
prophet of God’s help … 5:3"She said to her
mistress, If only my master would see the prophet who is in Samaria! He would cure him of his
leprosy."
c. Naaman like so many thought
that healing would be accomplished through some mystical or magical means: 5:11 “But Naaman went
away angry and said, "I thought that he would surely come out to me and stand
and call on the name of the LORD his God, wave his hand over the spot and cure
me of my leprosy.”
Naaman expected a wave of the hand and he would be healed!
Instead he had to humble himself
and learn obedience to God’s Word.
d. When he obeyed however, God
wonderfully healed him!
5:14 “So he went down and dipped himself in the Jordan seven
times, as the man of God had told him, and his flesh was restored and became
clean like that of a young boy.”
e. His sickness was NOT the
result of sin; it was just a part of the general nature of being
human.
B. New
Testament Gospels; Acts 28:7-9
1. The Gospels contain many
healings.
a. Lepers were
healed.
b. Withered hand was
restored.
c. Woman who continuously bled
was healed.
d. Peter's mother-in-law was
healed.
e. Jairus' daughter was raised
from the dead!
f. Blind eyes were opened,
deaf ears were restored, lame could again walk, etc. (Too numerous examples to put
here!)
2. Publius' father on Island of Malta
as well as the others on the island.
28:7 “There was an estate nearby that belonged to Publius, the
chief official of the island. He
welcomed us to his home and for three days entertained us hospitably.
28:8 His father was sick in bed, suffering from fever and
dysentery. Paul went in to see him
and, after prayer, placed his hands on him and healed him.
28:9 When this had happened, the rest of the sick on the
island came and were cured.”
II. PURPOSE IN SUFFERING 2 Cor. 12:7-9; Gal. 4:12-16; 1 Tim.
4:20, 5:23
A. Old
Testament
Job
1. Teach Job and his friends of God's
greatness.
a. Sickness can serve a purpose
for a time.
b. It helps us understand the
nature of our humanity, and the nature of God better.
2. Reveal God's glory and
power.
3. To humble man and reveal our need
to trust God.
B. New
Testament
1. Preach the grace of
God.
a. Healing would demonstrate the
reality of the Messiah’s coming.
b. Healing would confirm the
Gospel.
c. Healing would demonstrate the
grace of God.
2. To reveal God's glory and
power. John
9:1-3 (blind
man)
3. To humble. (Paul's thorn in flesh to keep him from
being puffed up!) 2 Cor. 12:7
a. In Paul’s case it was to keep
him humble because of his great revelations.
b. It also kept him depending on
God’s power, not pride.
ILLUS: Paul wrote
as if every Christian had experienced signs and wonders. -- Gordon Fee. "Paul and His Times," Christian History, no.
47.
4. To help us understand those who
suffer, to identify with others who suffer. (Sickness is only one type of suffering,
there are many types as you probably know!)
C. People
Who Suffered 2 Cor. 12:7-9; Gal. 4:12-16; 1 Tim. 5:23; 2 Tim.
4:20
1. Paul. 2 Cor.
12:7-9
a. Thorn was “in
flesh!” (Greek word means physical - as flesh that
was around bones)
b. Paul's illness at
(1. Occasion for
preaching.
(2. States clearly he was physically
ill!
2. Trophimus. 2 Tim.
4:20
a. A companion with Paul on one
of his missionary journeys – he became seriously sick.
b. Because of an illness Paul
had to leave Trophimus behind in
c. Though many were healed under
Paul’s ministry, evidently Trophimus here was not, Paul had to leave him behind
and continue ministry without him on this occasion. Why God healed so many others Paul
prayed for and not here we don’t know.
3. Timothy. 1 Tim.
5:23
a. Timothy was having constant
stomach problems. (Probably
dysentery)
b. Paul also mentions his other frequent illnesses. (Physical) 5:23 “Stop
drinking only water, and use a little wine because of your stomach and your
frequent illnesses.” (Underline mine for
emphasis)
4. There are many others who suffered
physically though not from illness.
Seems ironic that Paul had seen so many healed under his ministry and yet
here was his protégé Timothy who evidently struggled with physical issues a lot
– without being healed supernaturally.
Paul encourages Timothy to use wine
medicinally.
a. But this did not dissuade
Paul from praying for the sick and seeing many healed
supernaturally!
b. This is a mystery why some
are healed while others are not, yet the pattern is to pray for the sick that
they be healed … many will be IF we pray!
No one will be if we don’t!
All those healed in the Scripture were healed BECAUSE someone prayed
first.
5. Psalm
23:4 “Walk through the valley of shadow
of death … he is with me.”
This promise in the Old Testament implies God’s presence in
the shadow of death, the times of sickness and
disease.
III. PURPOSE IN HEALING Mark 16:15-18; James
5:10-16
A. Witness
to the Gospel
Mark 16:15-18
1. Backs up the message that was
preached and points to Christ.
Healing would be a sign of the Gospel message being
true.
a. This is why missionaries
often see such great miracles on the cutting edge of the
Gospel.
b. This was true with Jesus ...
He was on the cutting edge all the time!
c. Not done for a show or just
to make us feel better, healing was done for a purpose. (Jesus refused the demand of the Pharisees
to do a miracle for them so they would believe, they only wanted a show, not to
believe!)
2. Signs follow believers Mark
16:15-18
a. Even here signs follow those
who are preaching the Word throughout the world ... signs confirming the
message! 16:20 “Then the
disciples went out and preached everywhere, and the Lord worked with them and
confirmed his word by the signs that accompanied it.”
ILLUS: When I
travel to the interior of
b. These signs are promised not
to an individual believer but to the believers as a group, God's people together
will see these things happen, not that any one individual alone will have these
all happen to him, “to them” (... plural in
Greek)
c. These signs shall continue
until the end! (That means today, yes healing is a real
thing even today!)
B. Witness
of God's Grace James
5:14-16
1. Symbol of oil is the symbol of
God's grace.
a. Grace is given, not demanded
or owed.
b. Idea is that in sickness we
come to receive in grace our healing not by demanding it! If demanded it is no longer
grace!
c. It may be that suffering may
go on for a time before healing, notice context: James
5:10-11
(1. Patience is a virtue often realized
through suffering!
(2. Even Job had to be patient, but God
did heal him later!
(3. Keep praying ... though it has been
some time you have suffered, God's grace will come, note verse 11, God has some reason for it that will make
you a better Christian in the end!
d. Sometimes healing comes
delayed, not immediate.
2. What is significant here is that
James says when you are sick to CALL for the elders of the church to pray over
you! There is healing
available. The prayer of faith can
bring healing, it is possible.
a. This would not be a biblical
text if it wasn’t available!
b. There would be no sense of
doing this if healing wasn’t possible!
c. The text mentions BOTH
forgiveness and healing is possible!
ILLUS: "Philip
James Spener had a son of eminent talents, but he was perverse and extremely
vicious. All means of love and
persuasion were without success.
The father could only pray, which he continued to do, that the Lord might
yet be pleased to save his son at any time and in any way. The son fell sick, and while lying on
his bed in great distress of mind, nearly past the power of speech or motion, he
suddenly started up, clasped his hands, and exclaimed, 'My father's prayers,
like mountains, surround me!' Soon
after his anxiety ceased, a sweet peace spread over his face, his malady came to
a crisis, and the son was saved in body and soul. He became another man. Spener lived to see his son a
respectable man, in public office, and happily married. Such was the change of his life after
his conversion." -- N. E.
Puritan -- Charles Haddon Spurgeon, The Quotable Spurgeon, (Wheaton: Harold Shaw
Publishers, Inc, 1990)
3. Why has this been so ignored by the
church today when God has made it available?
a. Most of the time we ignore it
because we are uncomfortable worrying about the possibility of someone NOT being
healed.
b. Well, no one will be healed
if we don’t pray in faith, for “without faith it is impossible to please God” …
and by praying in faith someone just might be healed! Wouldn’t that be
wonderful!
c. Maybe we should worry about what will happen
if someone DOES get healed!
IV. PROGRAM FOR HEALING James 5:14-16; 2 Chron. 16:12; 1 Pet.
4:19
A. Prayer
& Faith James 5:14-16
1. Pray believing God's best will be
done!
a. To pray means to ask
specifically what you need.
b. Faith means to trust that God
will give you what you need! (Even if the answer is different than what
you thought you needed, it will be what you need
most!)
ILLUS: My
responsibility is to pray, God's responsibility is to heal. If he chooses not to
do so, then he's responsible for that. -- John Wimber, Leadership, Vol. 6, no.
2.
2. Seek God first!
2 Chron.
16:12
a. Asa sought help only (NIV) from
the physicians.
b. Idea: It is not wrong to go to a doctor, but
go to the great physician first! (Might save time and
money!)
c. Prayer of faith will cause
the sick person to hear from God, and God will raise him up!
James 5:15
(1. Sometimes it is
immediate.
(2. Sometimes it is
later.
(3. Ultimately all of us will be healed
of the ultimate illness (death); we will be resurrected! (The ultimate
healing!)
(4. Some who have followed the
scriptures here and have not been healed shouldn't necessarily feel guilty that
it is them, it may be God hasn't yet finished His purpose in our
suffering.
(5. No matter when, we should always
pray for healing, believing God will heal, and then allow God to be God and to
trust in Him!
B. Thanksgiving & Trust 1 Pet.
4:19
1. Trust God when you don't
understand!
2. Be thankful even in suffering,
knowing this, that the trial of your faith will work patience, and when patience
has had her perfect work we will be mature! (James
1:2-4) (And sickness like nothing
else tries your faith!)
3. God's greatest healing is
perfecting us into the image of His son!
4. It is like gold going through fire,
the fire purifies gold making it more valuable and
usable.
5. Physical sickness may bring
spiritual healing and not just physical healing! 1 Pet.
4:1-2
ILLUS: I recently
read a story by a woman who said that as a girl she was poor. She said, "I grew up in a cold water
flat, but I married a man who had money. And he took me up to a place where I had
flowers, and I had gardens, and I had grass. It was wonderful. And we had
children.
"Then suddenly I became physically
sick. I went to the hospital, and
the doctors ran all sorts of tests. One night the doctor came into my room,
and with a long look on his face, said, 'I'm sorry to tell you this. Your liver has stopped
working.'
"I said, 'Doctor, wait a minute.
Wait a minute. Are you telling me that I am dying?'
And he said, 'I, I can't tell you
any more than that. Your liver has
stopped working. We've done
everything we can to start it.' And
he walked out.
"I knew I was dying. I was so weak; I had to feel my way along
the corridor down to the chapel of the hospital. I wanted to tell God off. I wanted to tell God, 'You are a shyster!
You've been passing yourself off as
a loving God for two thousand years, but every time anyone begins to get happy
you pull the rug out from under them.' I wanted this to be a face-to-face
telling off of God.
"And just as I got into the center
aisle of the chapel, I tripped, I swooned, and I fainted. And I looked up, and there stenciled
along the step into the sanctuary, where the altar is, I saw these words: LORD,
BE MERCIFUL TO ME A SINNER. I know God spoke to me that night. I know he did."
She didn't say how God
communicated this to her, but what God said was, "You know what this is all
about. It's about the moment of
surrender; it's about bringing you to that moment when you will surrender
everything to me. These doctors,
they do the best they can, but they only treat. I'm the only one who can cure
you."
And she said, "There with my head
down on my folded arms in the center of the chapel, repeating, 'Lord, be
merciful to me a sinner,' I surrendered to God. I found my way back to my hospital bed,
weak as I was.
"The next morning, after the
doctor ran the blood tests and the urinalysis and so forth, he said, 'your liver
has started working again. We don't
know why. We don't know why it
stopped, and we don't know why it started up again.' And I said in my heart, but I know. Oh but I know. God has brought me to the brink of
disaster, just to get me to turn my life over to him." -- John Powell, "Prayer as Surrender," Preaching Today, Tape
No. 108.
a. The most important healing we
can realize is not just the physical!
b. Too often we limit healing to
the physical realm which is only a temporal thing, what greater healing than for
God through sickness to bring about an eternal healing
spiritually!
c. Physical healing is always
temporary ... it is still “appointed until man once to die and after that to face
judgment!” Heb.
9:27
d. Spiritual healing however has
an eternal quality to it! Even if
our bodies continue to decay, our destination is eternity with
God!
e. In fact physical healing is a
testimony of the fact that if God can heal us physically, He can also heal us
spiritually!
ILLUS: Remember
the man who Jesus forgave his sins; then upon being questioned about doing this
He healed the man to demonstrate that forgiving sins was greater, and if He can
do that, He can do the lesser (Mark 2:1-12)
6. God still heals
today!
a. Sometimes it is
physical.
b. Sometimes it is
spiritual.
c. Sometimes it is
both!
d. However, His power and love
are the same!
e. Don’t be afraid to come to
Him for healing, he is still "JEHOVAH-RAPHA" the “Lord that
Heals!”
CONCLUSION:
God is a God of
healing! There are many kinds of
healing, He asks that we ask Him for our healing and then trust in Him to heal
in the time and way that will be for our best interest, He will heal us because
He is "JEHOVAH-RAPHA" the “Lord that
Heals!”