-
Healing Power Of The Church
Contributed by Mark Mitchell on Jan 22, 2023 (message contributor)
A YOUNG couple got married and was on their way home from the honeymoon. A tractor-trailer pulled out in front of them suddenly and the young groom swerved to avoid it. The car went into a tailspin and crashed. The groom was okay, but his new bride was bleeding profusely. He knew if he didn’t get his new wife to a doctor, she was going to die. He got out of the car and saw a sign just a little ways away: “The Office of Dr. Rufus Jones—Internal Medicine.” He picked up his beloved and struggled up the hill toward the doctor’s home. He began knocking on the door. An old man came to the door and the groom said, “Dr. Jones?”
The man said, “Well, yes?” He said, “My wife is bleeding. She’s dying. Please save her!” Much to this young man’s surprise, Dr. Jones said, “I’m sorry, son, I can’t help you. You see, son, I stopped practicing medicine many years ago. I don’t have any equipment here. I don’t have medical supplies. I stopped practicing medicine a long time ago.”
Distraught with frustration and grief, the young man said, “Dr. Jones, if you can no longer help hurting people, then please take down the sign.”
We’ve got a world out there bleeding to death. We tell people to come to the church where we offer Dr. Jesus, the medicine of the Holy Spirit, and the healing power of the Word of God. We tell people to come to the hospital. But if we’re not going to be the hospital, then we need to take down the sign. There’s no need in having a sign that says “Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship, Church of the Living God,” if when people show up, they don’t get surgery. Let’s either be the real hospital or take down the sign. Let’s not have everybody thinking that we’re a hospital and practicing physicians and when they show up they die at our doorstep because we stopped being a church a long time ago.
Let’s be the church—the authentic representation of that which Christ gave His life for.159
Evans, Tony. Tony Evans' Book of Illustrations (p. 64). Moody Publishers. Kindle Edition.
Related Sermon Illustrations
-
Spurgeon (1) Wrote, " I Think I May Say To Every ... PRO
Contributed by Michael Raisbeck on Jul 18, 2003
Spurgeon (1) wrote, " I think I may say to every person whom I am addressing,-If you are yourself saved, the work is but half done until you are employed to bring others to Christ. You are as yet but half formed in the image of your Lord. You have not attained to the full development of the ...read more
-
A Speaker In Colorado Was About To Address A ...
Contributed by Bruce Howell on Jan 3, 2005
A speaker in Colorado was about to address a gathering of businessmen and women. Sitting a the head table, he turned to the real estate salesman on his left and said, "So, how are things going for you?" "Terrible," he answered. "Haven¡¯t you heard about the strikes? 80% of the people in this ...read more
-
Experience In The Christian Walk Is To Be A ... PRO
Contributed by Paul Wallace on Oct 12, 2005
Experience in the Christian walk is to be a learning tool. You don’t learn truth by just mentally remembering it, you learn it by experiencing it in your life. God teaches you his word though experience. Sometimes stressful ones. What is the difference between a typewriter and a computer??? ...read more
-
I Read One Time About How Shipbuilders Back In ... PRO
Contributed by Brian La Croix on Oct 15, 2005
I read one time about how shipbuilders back in the days of sailboats would prepare the masts for their ships. They would go to the forest and find an appropriate tree, then they would clear out all the surrounding trees and leave that one standing, leaving it exposed to the wind and ...read more
-
A Sunday School Teacher Had Just Concluded Her ... PRO
Contributed by David Moore on Jan 17, 2007
A Sunday School teacher had just concluded her lesson and wanted to make sure she had made her point. She said, "Can anyone tell me what you must do before you can obtain forgiveness of sin?" There was a short pause and then, from the back ...read more
Related Sermons
-
Is Physical Healing/Deliverance Guaranteed/Provided For In The Atonement?
Contributed by Dr. Craig Nelson on Nov 14, 2017
A detailed look at the Atonement in relation to physical healing.
-
The Church Of The New Testament - Part 6 Series
Contributed by Sam Mccormick on Feb 14, 2018
Part 6 - While still in its infancy, the church began to experience serious problems. Problems in the church from inside and outside sources seem to be a common element that plagues Christians in every age. What is the solution?
-
What Jesus Touches, He Changes. Series
Contributed by Jeff Strite on Apr 24, 2016
His name had been Saul, but that - along with his entire life - was changed when he met Jesus. What changed him and what can we learn from his experience?
-
Anointed With Fresh Oil
Contributed by John Gaston on Nov 3, 2016
I don't like things that are stale. They taste sour, limp, bitter, etc. Many Christians are stale! They got the Spirit years ago, but none lately. God wants us to have a FRESH experience of the Spirit. He promises us FRESH OIL!
-
What Do You Have? Series
Contributed by Jeff Strite on Jan 14, 2018
Peter said to the lame man "such as I have give I thee". What did he have to offer that made the difference that day, and what do WE have that can make the difference today?