2002-01-01
Good Morning Faithful Ones,
In yesterday’s message, God led me to speak about watching Him at work in others. We are blessed to be brought into our congregations by a loving Father Who wants us to help each other to serve Him. However while God’s intentions are always righteous, mankind’s reaction to them is only sometimes that way. I have personally seen how sinful responses to God’s sovereignty have caused some pretty painful problems within congregations. While this is not a pleasant topic to discuss, the Lord felt it necessary to stimulate writers like Paul to deal with it in an effort to show believers what to avoid. 1 TIM 5: 21-25, “In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus and of the holy angels I solemnly call upon you to obey these instructions without showing any prejudice or favor to anyone in anything you do. Be in no hurry to lay hands on someone to dedicate him to the Lord’s service. Take no part in the sins of others; keep yourself pure. Do not drink water only, but take a little wine to help your digestion, since you are sick so often. The sins of some people are plain to see, and their sins go ahead of them to judgment; but the sins of others are seen only later. In the same way good deeds are plainly seen, and even those that are not so plain cannot be hidden.”
To put this passage in context, we must remember that Paul was in the process of turning over leadership of the church at Ephesus to his protégé, Timothy. Timothy’s faithfulness had earned Paul’s trust, and so Paul was advising Timothy on how to recognize the causes for problems that come up. This advice is good for all of us and is, I believe, God-inspired. The most important underlying issue is to take time to see a person’s behavior and attitude toward God before dedicating him to God’s service. You may be wondering what this has to do with healing. But, it must be remembered that Jehovah Rapha heals people from their sins when they come to trust and obey Him. Sadly, the potential for sin in quickly giving newcomers church responsibilities is present. An example of this from my own experience was placing a very wealthy lady with time on her hands and a thirst for power on the administrative body of a former church Peter and I attended. Those giving her this responsibility didn’t take the time to get to know her well. There is always the problem mentioned in (24) that some sinful people are very good at not making it easy to see their sins quickly too. It takes time to uncover the source for the trouble, especially if existing church leadership is not watching carefully for it. In the case of this lady and a small number of her friends who were also given considerable power too quickly, the problems they caused led to the splitting of this congregation, transition in the pastorate, and a great deal of spiritual chaos for its members. One writer commenting on this verse gave the example of the behavior of an alcoholic as being “plain to see,” while the behavior of someone secretly engaging in an adulterous affair as “only seen later.” When we have faith in God, we know that He will bring justice whenever there is sinning. However, until He does that, there can be considerable trouble with which to deal. Thus, Paul’s message is for us to take the time to get to know someone before dedicating him to God’s service.
Whether a person suffers from sinfulness or physical ailments not connected with sin, Jehovah Rapha has called the elders of the church to be given authority to anoint people to invoke His healing who seek this service. JAS 5: 13-16, “Is anyone among you in trouble? He should pray. Is anyone happy? He should sing praises. Is there anyone who is sick? He should send for the church elders, who will pray for him and rub olive oil on him in the name of the Lord. This prayer made in faith will heal the sick person; the Lord will restore him to health, and the sins he has committed will be forgiven. So then, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, so that you will be healed. The prayer of a good person has a powerful effect.” Even a person like the lady who caused all the trouble in our former congregation can go in humility before the Lord, confess her sins, repent of them, and ask for God’s healing by having the elders of the church anoint her. In that case she can be forgiven. Those suffering from physical ailments which work to destroy the quality of their lives can request this service and hope for healing as long as their motives are pure and their trust of the Lord in coming to Him is humble and honest. Jehovah Rapha not only has the power to heal but wants to heal those who approach Him openly, humbly, and honestly. What greater examples of this healing can there be but Christ’s comment in MT 21: 31, “I tell you: the tax collectors and prostitutes are going into the Kingdom of God ahead of you,” in the Parable of the Two Sons, or the treasured place that the harlot, Rehab, got in the lineage of David for her faithfulness [HE 11: 31] ? Think of all the times that Christ offered healing even to people who could have been considered His enemies.
While it is painful to have to look at mankind’s sinfulness, it is very comforting to know that Jesus Christ has provided us a way out from under its shackles. He did this with His work at the cross. It is clear to me that in looking at these Scriptures, Jehovah Rapha is asking us to examine our own individual lives and the lives of our congregations to uncover sin in them. Then, He offers to heal us if we are willing to respond in humility and righteousness. We must be willing to confess that sin, and turn away from it. Because of His love for us, there are times when He chooses to bring about miraculous healing from seemingly incurable diseases too. I have seen this happen through my work on our congregation’s prayer chain and in my past work at Mt. Zion Hospital in San Francisco. Our loving Abba guides the hands of surgeons, puts new ideas for cure and management of disease in the minds of researchers, infuses certain individuals with the dream to become healers, authorizes church elders to anoint people, and forgives the sins of those who humbly repent.
PRAYER: O Lord, the love that You have for us extends to using Your power to heal those of us who are repentant sinners and who approach You in humility and openness when we suffer from illnesses. We must understand that our perspective on these matters is lower than Yours, and there will be times when You will not grant healing for righteous reasons we can’t understand. The stories You give us in the Scriptures lead us to recognize that we need to examine our lives and our congregations for the presence of sin. Should we find it, You command us to confess it, repent from it, and ask for Your guidance. We acknowledge that healing comes from You whether it comes to us directly through You or whether it comes through medical personnel and/or church elders whom You have authorized to deliver it. You command us to seek You out in humility and honesty when we are dealing with sin or suffering from its effects. You are our Jehovah Rapha, and we dedicate ourselves to doing this. We can trust You, Dearest Lord, because You want only what is best for us. In Your loving kindness, Your utter righteousness is revealed. We humbly approach You in prayerful adoration, worship, trust, obedience, loyalty, praise, and thanksgiving. In Christ’s name, amen.
Tomorrow, we will continue looking at citations that reveal the interaction between Jehovah Rapha and mankind. Through them Jehovah Rapha reveals more about Himself and His will for us. When we are suffering, we can take enormous comfort in knowing that our Jehovah Rapha wants us to turn to Him and that He has the ability to bring miraculous healing to us. Whether that healing takes the form of forgiveness for sin or eradication of misery from disease, we can rest assured that our Abba loves us enough to make it available to us. Peter and I send you our love too.
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn