DATE: APRIL 26, 2011
THE TEXT: JOHN 11:1
THE MESSAGE: BY HIS STRIPES WE ARE HEALED
OPENING PASSAGE: JEREMIAH 23:16-32
OPENING PRAYER: OH GOD WHO AM I BUT A FEEBLE WOEFUL MAN THAT I SHOULD DECLARE THE PURITY AND RIGHTEOUSNESS OF YOUR HOLY AND INERRANT WORD. YOUR WORD IS SO PERFECT AND BEAUTIFUL AND I AM SO NOT. YOU KNOW ME GOD, YOU KNOW MY HEART AND YOU KNOW WHO I AM, AND SO I PRAY THAT YOU WOULD SPEAK THROUGH ME IN ORDER THAT I NOT FAIL TO COURAGEOUSLY, BOLDLY AND RIGHTFULLY REVEAL WHAT YOU HAVE TO SAY TO US THIS EVENING. FATHER I PRAY THAT OUR EARS AND HEARTS WOULD BE COMPLETELY TRANSFIXED UPON YOU WITHOUT DISTRACTION. IT IS IN OUR KING, OUR LORD, THE SAVIOR OF OUR SOULS NAME CHRIST JESUS THAT WE PRAY. AMEN!
We live in a day and age in which pseudo doctrines that is to say false teaching are infiltrating, permeating and spreading like cancer from the very heart of American churches. Lies, deception and perversion of the scriptures are being spewed forth as a flood from the very pulpits which claim to stand for the truth of God’s holy and inerrant word. These fraudulent doctrines are both dangerous and destructive, they are not be dealt with passively or with a nonchalant attitude. The bible warns us to be diligent, attentive and extremely careful about the doctrines we are teaching and believing. In Titus 2:7-8 it says, 7 in all things showing yourself to be a pattern of good works; in doctrine showing integrity, reverence, incorruptibility,
8 sound speech that cannot be condemned, that one who is an opponent may be ashamed, having nothing evil to say of you. In Titus 2:1 it says that we are to speak things which are proper for sound doctrine. In 1 Corinthians 13:6 it says that love rejoices in truth. In Hebrews 13:9 the bible warns us not to be carried away by all kinds of strange teachings. In 2 Timothy 2:15 the bible commands us to correctly handle the word of truth. In Proverbs 13:5 we are told that we are to hate falsehood. In James 3:1 the bible warns against teaching the word of God apart from being called to it, for those who teach it are held under a more strict judgment. And just listen to the words of the Apostle Paul in Galatians 1:6-9 where he says, 6 I marvel that you are turning away so soon from Him who called you in the grace of Christ, to a different gospel,
7 which is not another; but there are some who trouble you and want to pervert the gospel of Christ.
8 But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed.
9 As we have said before, so now I say again, if anyone preaches any other gospel to you than what you have received, let him be accursed. And also in Acts 20:29-31 the Apostle Paul spoke these heart wrenching words:
29 For I know this, that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock.
30 Also from among yourselves men will rise up, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after themselves.
31 Therefore watch, and remember that for three years I did not cease to warn everyone night and day with tears.
And so it is evidentially clear that the word of God is not to be trifled with, it is not to be toyed with nor is it to be twisted in any way. This is the inspired and inerrant word of the living God; His word is to be treated seriously and prayerfully, it is to be pondered with deep contemplation and consideration. It has no equal and is to be treated as such, we don’t look at the bible the same way we look at a novel, magazine, historical reference or the such. The saints of old poured out their own blood giving their lives in martyrdom that you and I would have the privilege of holding the word of God in our hands for the hope of it being within our hearts for the salvation of our very souls. May fire from heaven consume this man or any other man who wickedly and carelessly trifles with the word of God.
I say all of this with a somber, contrite, broken and prayerful heart to lead us into tonight’s message which I have titled:
BY HIS STRIPES WE ARE HEALED
1 Now a certain man was sick, Lazarus of Bethany, the town of Mary and her sister Martha.
Contrary to popular belief Christians do get sick, now you might think a statement like that is not necessary to make. But believe it or not there is an entire movement in Christendom that is committed to the teaching that sickness for the believer should not be, because it was provided for in the atonement of Christ. This false doctrine has opened up the flood gates for so called healing ministries and the sales of thousands and thousands of books; not to mention such objects as handkerchiefs and oils which are promised to bring healing. Instead of healing these ministries bring false hope and shaken faith. Such ministries for the most part do not care for the sheep of God, they care for what the sheep of God have in their wallets and purses but that is about the extent of their care. If they spent as much time studying the scriptures as they do scheming and scamming the church would not be as sick as it is today.
Instead of putting in the sweat and tears that come with study, they skim, twist and pervert the word of God for personal gain. They have gone the way of Simon the sorcerer, attempting to turn a profit in the name of God. The apostle Peter had stern words for him. And so let us look at Simon the sorcerer in order that we may get some insight into what God would say to those who desire to use godliness for personal gain. And so turn with me in your bibles to Acts 8:9-24
Acts 8:9-24
9 But there was a certain man called Simon, who previously practiced sorcery in the city and astonished the people of Samaria, claiming that he was someone great,
Although it is true that the word sorcerer often refers to drugs in the bible, it is not so in this case, a different Greek word is used which means magic. Anyone that deals in magic is either using deception or they are being used of the devil. And I am of the opinion in this case that it was demonic due to the overview of the entirety of this text. This one was claiming that he was someone great, what he claimed can be seen in the following verse, and so in verse ten it says:
10 to whom they all gave heed, from the least to the greatest, saying, "This man is the great power of God."
It is not possible to know what sort of magic this man was performing, but what we do know is that it seduced the entire crowd; both intelligent and ignorant, both rich and poor, both great and small. He also was claiming to be the “great power of God” that was the someone great mentioned in verse 9. And so I have to assume whatever this man was doing, it had to be more than an illusion to deceive so many. And so I am of the opinion that his power came from the devil which is evidenced by his great amount of pride in saying that he was the great power of God; there is only one great power of God in human flesh and that is Christ; this Simon was another type or foreshadow which points to the antichrist which is still to come.
And I do not believe it is much of a stretch to say the same for most of the things that are being passed off as healing ministries today, they are either deception through human means or they come straight from the power of Satan. Don’t get me wrong, hear me rightly; I am not saying that God does not or cannot heal in a miraculous way today. I am just saying that it seems to be happening all too often; and what makes a miracle a miracle is the fact that they are rare and they are rarely on man’s time schedule.
Notice in verse 10 of this account in the book of acts that it says they all gave heed; meaning to listen or pay attention to; it is a dangerous thing when people pay attention to signs and wonders more than they do to the word of God, for that opens up opportunity for fraudulent ministries, wolves in sheep’s clothing and false faith healers. And by the way towards the end of the age before Christ’s return it says of the antichrist that many will be deceived giving heed and worshiping him as the great power of God; the apostle Paul said that there would be a great falling away, otherwise known as the great apostasy.
Notice in verse 11 that it repeats the fact that the crowd heeded him, and it was because he had astonished them with his sorceries for a long time; he had captured there undivided attention, he had confounded their minds, they were in total amazement, they could not take their eyes off of him, it was like they were in a trance. And it says that this went on for a long time; and so he had control over their mind, time and money; they were enslaved to this one who boasted of great and mighty things. If you have ever watched these healing conferences on television you will see not much has changed in these thousands of years; and why should the devil change? What the devil has been doing has been working so why change? That is the power of Satan.
But now we move onto verse 12 where we shall see the power of Christ, it says there that through the preaching about heaven and the name and authoritative power of Jesus Christ through Philip, the same people who were captivated and enslaved to Simon the sorcerer were suddenly shaken out of their trance, delivered from darkness into light, turned from sorcery to the everlasting God; they believed and were baptized. What happened? Why the seemingly sudden and quick turnaround for this crowd which for so long had been enslaved by black magic? That is the power of Christ, though you live your whole life hypnotized, mesmerized, fascinated and captivated by sin; in a moment just by the mere mention of His name you are able to be awakened, aroused and delivered through the preaching of the gospel which is the power unto salvation. These sheep herd the shepherd’s voice and they no longer had a desire to follow after Simon the sorcerer but were drawn by the irresistible grace that the Father pours out abundantly on His elect. We don’t know how long it took Simon to gather such a following, but we do know that are text says that he had astonished them with his sorceries for a long time.
How frustrating it must have been for Simon the sorcerer to lose this crowd to Christ the conqueror How could he possibly compete with this one whom he could not even see, and so as the old adage goes if you can’t beat them join them, and that is exactly what he did in verse 13 where it says, then Simon himself also believed and was baptized, continuing with Philip, being amazed by the miracles and signs which were being done.
Let me tell you Simon no more believed than many who go to church today, he no more repented of his sins than many who go to churches today. You see he never turned from his old self; you might say, but he was no longer practicing magic, but I tell you the truth magic was not the thing that he was trusting in, magic was just a tool to use in order to get what he really wanted, and what did he really crave? Money and fame; the exact same thing that most so called healing ministries crave after, your money and your time; and now Simon’s motivation as we will see is the same, Simon has not changed at all, old things had not passed away, all things had not become new, he was not a new creation in Christ Jesus.
And so now if you will skip down to verses 17 and 18 in this account with me you will see that they travelled to Samaria to where some believers were that they were ministering to them, laying hands on them that they should receive the Holy Spirit. Now this is when the light bulb went off in Simon’s mind, he started connecting the dots and figured out that the miracles and signs were made possible by the power of the Holy Spirit. And so he being a shrewd businessman attempted to exchange one power for another, but unlike Satan he would find out that God could not be bargained with, nor could his power be controlled by man. You might remember earlier that I told you that fame and money captivated Simon’s heart, well there is one more thing that he was not willing to let go of and that is control.
Simon figured that it would be worth it for him to lose some money in order to purchase the power of God in order to have future financial gain; and so in verse 18 Simon offered the apostle’s money for as verse 19 says that he may be given the power of the Holy Spirit. But in verse 20 Simon the sorcerer was rebuked with strong language by Simon the apostle otherwise known as Peter. In essence what Peter said there was to hell with you and your money. Peter exposed the corruption of Simon’s thinking in that he thought he could purchase God; and again there is such a parallel today in that people go to church weekly putting money in the tithe collection, having not committed their life to Christ, such an act is pure wickedness; and to some God says to hell with you and your money. In verse 21 the Apostle Peter continues with his strong language by saying you have neither part nor portion in this matter, for your heart is not right in the sight of God; in other words Simon had no business in the things of God, more specifically, he had no part in the Holy Spirit pertaining to salvation. It is the Holy Spirit who brings life which is the opposite of perishing. And so in verse 22 Peter tells Simon to turn from his wickedness and turn to God in prayer for forgiveness of his evil heart. In verse 23 Peter says that he sees that Simon is completely enslaved to sin; Simon may have claimed to be baptized as a believer, but Peter said that he was poisoned by bitterness and bound by iniquity. In verse 24 Simon was so terrified that he proved himself to be a false convert by asking Peter to pray for Him; you see one thing every non believer knows is this fact, that God does not hear sinners, in other words their prayers are in vain, they fall on deaf ears.
Simon was a picture of everything that is false with Christianity today, a fraudulent profession of faith, his lust for greed and fame and his magical power which he claimed to have come from God. Simon the sorcerer serves as a warning to all those who would deceive the multitude in the name of God.
That all being said let us turn back to our text in John 11:1:
1 Now a certain man was sick, Lazarus of Bethany, the town of Mary and her sister Martha.
There are many in Christian circles who claim that sickness shows a lack of faith, they will say things like if you had enough faith you would be made well. And although it is true that faith in Christ healed some throughout the bible, nevertheless there are others who were not healed who also had faith. And so let us look at some verses that back up what I am saying.
Matthew 25:34-40
34 Then the King will say to those on His right hand, 'Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:
35 for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in;
36 I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.'
37 Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink?
38 When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You?
39 Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?'
40 And the King will answer and say to them, 'Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.'The Lord points out in this text that believer’s do get sick, nothing about healing is mentioned, only the visiting of the sick which brings comfort and encouragement to the soul.
1 Timothy 5:21-25
21 I charge you before God and the Lord Jesus Christ and the elect angels that you observe these things without prejudice, doing nothing with partiality.
22 Do not lay hands on anyone hastily, nor share in other people's sins; keep yourself pure.
23 No longer drink only water, but use a little wine for your stomach's sake and your frequent infirmities.
24 Some men's sins are clearly evident, preceding them to judgment, but those of some men follow later.
25 Likewise, the good works of some are clearly evident, and those that are otherwise cannot be hidden.
Now verse 23 is what we are looking at, now just to give you a little background on Timothy, His mother and grandmother were praised by the Apostle Paul for their sincere faith in (2 Timothy. 1;4-5). He was a companion of the Apostle Paul; he had great zeal for the faith. He was an excellent preacher with a gentle spirit. Timothy contributed greatly to the establishing and spreading of the Christian faith. The Apostle Paul called Timothy his own son in the faith in (1 Timothy 1:2). After Paul was beheaded, history tells us that Timothy had John as his teacher. But when John was exiled from Ephesus to the island of Patmos, Timothy remained in Ephesus as that church’s pastor.
I tell you all of this because in (1 Timothy 5:23) it says that Timothy had frequent infirmities or sicknesses. Here was a man whose faith could not be doubted and yet he was often sick; and what was Paul’s solution, it wasn’t to have a healing seminar, but rather drink a little wine for the stomach’s sake.
2 Timothy 4:20
20 Erastus stayed in Corinth, but Trophimus I have left in Miletus sick.
And so another of Paul's co-workers, Trophimus, was left behind in Miletum sick. And neither was he supernaturally healed.
2 Corinthians 12:7-10
7 And lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure.
8 Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me.
9 And He said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness." Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
10.
And so in this case we have the mighty Apostle Paul with some sort of affliction. Three times he asked God to take away this problem, but the Bible says God refused to do so. Paul was told that this infirmity was something God wanted him to have for his spiritual well-being. Upon learning this, Paul bowed to God's will and wisely said: Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ's sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
This is a perfect example for Christians today. We should pray for healing and release from trials and difficulties, but when God does not heal, we must bow to His will and accept that sickness or trial as something from the divine hand. This is not lack of faith; it is submission to the sovereignty of Almighty God.
Now some may argue that Paul's infirmity was not a sickness, but the Greek word translated "infirmity" in 2 Corinthians. 12:9 (astheneia) is elsewhere translated "sickness" (Matthew. 8:17; John. 11:4) and "disease" (Acts 28:9). To say that Paul's infirmity in 2 Corinthians chapter 12 was not a sickness is not proper biblical interpretation but an act of desperation.
James 5:13-16
13 Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing psalms.
14 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.
15 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.
16 Confess your trespasses NU-Text reads Therefore confess your sins.to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much
This passage describes a private healing situation rather than a public healing meeting and it says nothing about someone who has the gift of healing; it refers simply to the elders of the church.
James 5 describes the method of healing that is effective throughout the church age, but to say that James 5 guarantees’ healing in every circumstance is contrary to the cases we have seen in the New Testament in which God did not heal sickness.
So where did the false doctrine of physical healing find its roots if the scriptures teach so clearly that the elect do indeed get sick? Well it is a central teaching of the Pentecostal-Charismatic movement (T.D Jakes, Joel Osteen, Creflo Dollar, Joyce Meyers, Oral Roberts, Derek Prince, Kenneth Hagan)
All of these preachers and many more belong to the Pentecostal-charismatic/ word of faith movement teaching that God's will is always to heal all sickness, disease, and infirmity, and that Christ's death guarantees that believers should live without these ailments if only they have enough faith, meet certain other conditions, or even give financially to a ministry or teacher so God will "see their faith" and "give them their miracle."
God does heal and can perform miracles as He pleases. He has not, however, removed us from the sin-cursed world in which we live or redeemed our bodies from the curse of sin and death - as He has redeemed our spirits. Christ bore our sickness and infirmities, and He has absolute power to heal and restore at will, but even in His will, believers still suffer pain, sickness, calamity, infirmity and even still in some countries today, martyrdom. He chooses to heal some and not others in His sovereignty and for His own glory. Even so-called "faith-healers" and their families get sick, suffer diseases and infirmities, and eventually die. Not until Heaven will we receive new everlastingly-perfect bodies. Until then we should pray for healing (and follow biblical direction regarding healing), seek medical treatments, live wisely and strive for good health trusting that God is sovereign and knowing that nothing can harm us unless He allows it. And no man or women on earth has the right, scripturally or otherwise, to even imply that by giving financially to any ministry or teacher, God will look favorably upon them and grant their healing or miracle.
And so where in the bible do these false teachers base their claim of health, wealth and prosperity for the believer, mainly from one verse found in the Old Testament. And so let us turn in our bibles to:
Isaiah 53:3-5
3 He is despised and rejected by men, A Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.
4 Surely He has borne our grief’s And carried our sorrows; Yet we esteemed Him stricken, Smitten by God, and afflicted.
5 But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed.
Verse 5 is the verse that many of the before mentioned false preachers use to justify their ministries in which they fill their pockets with so many unsuspecting people’s livelihoods. “By His stripes we are healed”.
On the face of it, one might think their argument might be difficult to refute or disprove, but not so fast, let us turn in our bibles to:
1 Peter 2:18-25
18 Servants, be submissive to your masters with all fear, not only to the good and gentle, but also to the harsh.
19 For this is commendable, if because of conscience toward God one endures grief, suffering wrongfully.
20 For what credit is it if, when you are beaten for your faults, you take it patiently? But when you do good and suffer, if you take it patiently, this is commendable before God.
21 For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow His steps:
22 "Who committed no sin, Nor was deceit found in His mouth" Isaiah 53:9
23 who, when He was reviled, did not revile in return; when He suffered, He did not threaten, but committed Himself to Him who judges righteously;
24 who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness--by whose stripes you were healed.
25 For you were like sheep going astray, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.
Verse 24 is our key verse in this passage; where it says: who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness--by whose stripes you were healed.
The Apostle Peter applied Isaiah 53:5 to salvation from sin; and so, the healing spoken of in Isaiah 53:5 is the spiritual healing of the soul from sin.
Isaiah 53:5 is also quoted in Matthew 8:17, in connection with Christ's healing ministry, but this does not support the teaching that Christ's death guarantees physical healing for the believer. The Lord Jesus Christ did not heal to provide an example for Christians to follow. His healing miracles were for the purpose of authenticating His Messiah-ship; attested to by many passages in scripture (Luke 7:19-23; John 5:36; 6:14; 7:31; 9:30-32; 10:37-38; 11:42; 14:10-11; 15:24; 20:30-31; Acts 2:22).
ROMANS 8:22-25 reminds us that we will not receive our glorified state until Christ returns. Until then we are subject to the trouble and death of this sin-cursed world, and that includes sickness.
Once we have had a chance to study the entire eleventh chapter of John we will come to find out the healing, or rather the raising of dead Lazarus is ultimately about God being glorified in it and Christ being glorified through it. Now that is a far cry from what most of the modern day healing ministries are hoping for; they desire to glorify self through the pilfering and robbery of silver and gold, seeking much fame and fortune and using the name of God to do it; they are but thieves and robbers, wolves in sheep’s clothing, they are but a hireling who cares not for the sheep of God. John chapter eleven is about the power of Christ to raise the dead, and the foreshadowing of Christ Himself rising from the dead. It is also about the weakness of man in all of his sickness, unbelief, stinking up tombs in which he lays dead in trespasses and sins.
And so as you leave this evening I pray to God that you receive discernment from on high to recognize those who desire to steal glory from God and steer clear of their teachings while teaching others to do the same! For the love of Christ I pray. Amen!
