A Complete Cure

In the message “God’s Provision” we saw that our limited faith often restricts our prayers and therefore limits what God accomplishes in our life. Many times we fail to even ask because we’re fearful of a negative response; “You do not have, because you do not ask God” (James 4:2). Then there are times when God answers but our limited faith refuses to accept His solution. We have God’s response but we never take the steps to follow His direction.
Naaman was the army commander of a kingdom northeast of Israel. He was a very successful soldier, but he had been afflicted with leprosy. At the suggestion of one of his servant girls, Naaman traveled to the home of the prophet Elisha so he might be cured.
2 Kings 5:10-12
“Elisha sent a messenger to say to him, ‘Go, wash yourself seven times in the Jordan, and your flesh will be restored and you will be cleansed.’ 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. Are not the rivers of Damascus, better than any of the waters of Israel? Couldn’t I wash in them and be cleansed?’ So he turned and went off in a rage.”
Naaman was an important and proud man. He was offended when Elisha sent a messenger who told him to wash in the dirty Jordan! Naaman thought he had wasted his time, but one of his servants stated a simple yet profound truth: “If the prophet had told you to do some great thing, would you not have done it? How much more, then, when he tells you, ‘Wash and be cleansed’!” (2 Kings 5:13).
Naaman made the decision to obey. He dipped himself seven times in the Jordan river and came out of the water completely cured.
How often does our limited faith or pride keep us from being “cured”? We ask God to heal the broken areas of our life, and He says; “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength” (Mark 12:30). But in our abundance of “wisdom,” we conclude there must be more – some “great thing” which will heal or give our life meaning. We pray again, and God simply replies; “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding” (Proverbs 3:5).
Today we will make a choice. We will choose our own path, which allows our “disease” to spread, or we will put aside our pride, follow God’s direction and be cleansed. True healing can only begin with the free gift of forgiveness through faith in Jesus. A life of purpose can only be found as we seek to glorify God in all we do. Let’s receive His gift and live a life of loving obedience as we trust Him with ALL our heart. Let’s praise Him with every step and receive a complete cure.

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God’s Provision

During the ministry of Elisha, a widow came to him for financial help. Creditors had threatened to take her two boys as slaves if she didn’t pay her debt, but all the woman had left was a little oil. Elisha told her how to miraculously multiply her oil and pay her bills…and in the process bring great glory to God.
2 Kings 4:3
“Go around and ask all your neighbors for empty jars. Don’t ask for just a few. Then go inside and shut the door behind you and your sons. Pour oil into all the jars, and as each is filled, put it to one side.”
The woman gathered empty jars and began to fill them from her one small jar of oil. She continued to fill the jars until each one she collected was full; “Then the oil stopped flowing” (2 Kings 4:6). The woman was able to sell the oil and pay her debt.

Notice that the oil stopped flowing as soon as the last jar was full. If the woman would have collected half as many jars, the oil would have stopped flowing when the collected jars were filled. And if she would have collected twice as many jars, the oil would have continued until every last one was full. God’s provision was equal to the number of jars she collected – equal to the number of jars she believed God would fill.
In our limited understanding of God we often place artificial restrictions on what we think He can accomplish, and our prayers become reduced to what we believe is actually possible. In this sense, our low level of faith has limited what God provides. Hundreds of years after Elisha we read about Peter walking on the water toward Jesus; but Peter never would have stepped out of the boat if confined to the realm of his own understanding. Peter left room for God to work beyond what he could understand.
Please do not read this message as a formula for worldly prosperity; God’s Word never teaches that we are all to be rich with material wealth! But God does desire for each of us to trust Him beyond the bounds of our best analysis, and to draw closer than what we believe is ever possible. Peter didn’t need to understand how the atomic structure of water might be altered to provide stability, he simply needed to know with certainty that Jesus was calling; “Lord, if it’s You, tell me to come to You on the water” (Matthew 14:28).
We serve an Awesome God – more awesome than we will ever comprehend; “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts” (Isaiah 55:9). We must never believe there is a problem too big for God to handle; “He is able to do immeasurably more…” (Ephesians 3:20). Let’s pray with a faith that truly believes our Father is the Creator and Sustainer of the Universe; and let’s refuse to place limits on God’s provision.

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The Lord is God – Follow Him

Soon after entering the promised land of Canaan, the children of Israel forgot about God and all He had done. They soon began to worship the false gods of Baal and the love-goddess, Asherah. It seemed like every generation from that time forward was tempted into worshipping these false gods.
About five hundred years later, God rose up Elijah to be His chosen spokesman – His prophet. The Israelites were still being enticed to worship other gods, and the time had come for a direct confrontation between Elijah and the many false prophets of Baal: “Now summon the people from all over Israel to meet me on Mount Carmel. And bring the four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal” (1 Kings 18:19).
Elijah and the false prophets were to pray to their respective gods, with the “winner” determined by how the prayers were answered: “You call on the name of your god, and I will call on the name of the Lord. The god who answers by fire – He is God” (1 Kings 18:24). But prior to calling on the Lord, Elijah gave a challenge for the people of Israel to make a commitment.
1 Kings 18:21

“How long will you waver between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow Him; but if Baal is God, follow him.”
Elijah prayed, and God answered with enough fire to remove any and all doubt. The people clearly saw the hand of the Lord and readily made their choice: “The Lord – He is God! The Lord – He is God!” (1 Kings 18:39).
We face the same challenge today. However, instead of two or three choices, we now have many gods which continually entice us into worship – many gods who desire our time and energy. The world offers a long list of “worthy” candidates: television, money, power, prestige, sex, drugs, food, sports, internet, education…the list goes on. “These gods, who did not make the heavens and the earth, will perish from the earth and from under the heavens” (Jeremiah 10:11). Who (or what) is truly worthy of our worship?
The challenge today is simple. If the Lord is God – follow Him. If we have recognized our sinful condition, repented of our sin and asked Jesus to be our Savior, then we must continue by being transformed into His likeness – we must follow Him. We cannot allow the “distractions” in life to become our god. We must devote our heart, soul, mind and strength to loving our Heavenly Father, and commit ourselves to whatever tasks He has given us to accomplish. Our choice is clear, and our response must be boldly decisive: The Lord is God – Follow Him!

The Core Message of the Bible

~ Isaiah 53:5-6 ~

If one were to ask, “What is the core message of the Bible?” a number of answers might be given. For example, one of my favorite one-word descriptions of the Bible is “forgiveness.” Another good one-word description of the Bible would be “salvation.”

The Old Testament book of Isaiah is a fascinating book in many ways. The subject of Isaiah is Jesus Christ. His book has been called, “The Gospel before the Gospel.” Others have described Isaiah, who prophesied primarily to Judah, as the “Prophet of Grace”—what a New Testament ring that has! Chapter 53 provides one of the clearest prophecies of the death of Christ found in the Old Testament.

The book of Isaiah has also been called “The Bible in miniature” for several reasons. For example, it is well-known that the book of Isaiah is divided into two major parts consisting of the first 39 chapters and the last 27 chapters—the Bible has 39 chapters in the Old Testament and 27 chapters in the New Testament. The first 39 chapters of Isaiah can be summarized as “Isaiah—the Prophet of God’s holiness” which corresponds to the message of the Old Testament. The final 27 chapters we see “Prophet as the Servant of the Lord” directly relating to the message of the New Testament.

Someone has written the following concerning Isaiah 53: “Isaiah 53 is the central chapter of the central section of the central division, and the central verses of this central chapter enshrine the central truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.”

These two verses—Isaiah 53:5-6—should be familiar to all Christians. “But Jesus Christ was pierced for our rebellion, He was crushed for our sins, and He was beaten so we could be healed and made whole. He was whipped so we could be restored and made complete. All of us, like sheep, had strayed away—we had left God's paths to follow our own. Yet the LORD laid on Him the sins of us all.”

Law vs. Grace, 5 of 12

~ Means to an End vs. the Solution ~ 

 

introduction:  The Apostle Paul wrote the Book of Galatians to the believers of this local church at a time when they were beginning to reject the gospel of grace and were instead moving backward toward obedience of the Mosaic Law as the means of winning favor with God. Paul’s purpose in writing was to point out the dramatic differences between Law and Grace. 

Means to an End vs. the Solution

“But before faith came, we were kept under guard by the law, kept for the faith which would afterward be revealed. Therefore the law was our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith. But after faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor” (Galatians 3:23-25).

summary:  The bottom line of understanding Law vs. Grace is a theology of “DO or DONE!” Are you still trying to DO things to earn your salvation, or do you understand that it was DONE for you on the Cross of Calvary by Jesus Christ—you only need to accept/trust His provision on your behalf?

“Being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus” (Romans 3:24). “Not by works of righteousness which we do, but according to His mercy He saves us” (Titus 3:5a). 

 

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Law vs. Grace, 4 of 12

~ Curse vs. Blessing ~

introduction:  The Apostle Paul wrote the Book of Galatians to the believers of this local church at a time when they were beginning to reject the gospel of grace and were instead moving backward toward obedience of the Mosaic Law as the means of winning favor with God. Paul’s purpose in writing was to point out the dramatic differences between Law and Grace. 

Curse vs. Blessing

LAW  ~  “Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree’ [Deuteronomy 21:23]” (Galatians 3:13). 

GRACE  ~  “That the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith” (Galatians 3:14).

summary:  The bottom line of understanding Law vs. Grace is a theology of “DO or DONE!” Are you still trying to DO things to earn your salvation, or do you understand that it was DONE for you on the Cross of Calvary by Jesus Christ—you only need to accept/trust His provision on your behalf?

“Being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus” (Romans 3:24). “Not by works of righteousness which we do, but according to His mercy He saves us” (Titus 3:5a). 

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Law vs. Grace, 3 of 12

~ Works of the Flesh vs. the Work of the Spirit ~

 

introduction:  The Apostle Paul wrote the Book of Galatians to the believers of this local church at a time when they were beginning to reject the gospel of grace and were instead moving backward toward obedience of the Mosaic Law as the means of winning favor with God. Paul’s purpose in writing was to point out the dramatic differences between Law and Grace. 

Works of the Flesh vs. the Work of the Spirit

LAW  ~  “Are you so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, are you now being made perfect by the flesh?” (Galatians 3:3). 

GRACE  ~  “This only I want to learn from you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? Are you so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, are you now being made perfect by the flesh? … That the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith” (Galatians 3:2-3, 14).  

summary:  The bottom line of understanding Law vs. Grace is a theology of “DO or DONE!” Are you still trying to DO things to earn your salvation, or do you understand that it was DONE for you on the Cross of Calvary by Jesus Christ—you only need to accept/trust His provision on your behalf?

“Being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus” (Romans 3:24). “Not by works of righteousness which we do, but according to His mercy He saves us” (Titus 3:5a). 

 

For more information, Prayers and counseling you can contact,