"Getting Back To Basics" Series

The Ultimate Decision

August 5, 2014

I love getting back to basics or simplifying things. Today, we make things too complicated. This past weekend I had the joy of meeting a friend from Prep School. I had not seen him in 40 years but it was as if we had never stopped meeting. He had told me of an interesting thing that the Headmaster of the school did. Each evening after dinner all the teachers would gather over at the Headmasters house for coffee. I thought they went to drink but no it was just coffee. If you had to teach me all day I would drive you to drink. But during this coffee time he would mingle with all the teachers and get to know what was going on with all the students. The reason he did this was that he did not like formal meetings.

In our world of texting and e mails we have lost the art of real communication. Looking at someone as they talk you can tell more from body language and voice inflection than you can from a lot of other cues. Have you ever received an e mail that was short and too the point and then you thought that person was mad at you? It just so happened they were going into a meeting - should have had coffee.

My point is that if we are not careful then we will lose the very fabric of who we are in cyberspace. Words will become more important than emotions. Words will take the place of spending time in the presence of another. As I was asking the Lord what to write to you this morning He instead asked me this question. “Who do you pray to”? Now I thought that was odd so I started reading my Bible instead. Have you ever had a word from God and then went the other way. I think there was a man named Jonah that did that:)

My back has been so bad lately that I have to think of when I am going to walk someplace. I see the surgeon next week so pray that they can get me in soon. Then I thought about my back and wondered why I could not heal myself. I have tried but then I remember what the apostle Paul said “

2 Corinthians 12:7-10 “or because of these surpassingly great revelations. Therefore, in order to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”

If anyone could heal themselves it would have been Paul but God WOLD NOT heal this thorn. Then I look at another passage:

John 5:5-9a "A man was there who had been ill for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him lying there, and knew that he had already been a long time in that condition, He said to him, “Do you wish to get well?” The sick man answered Him, “Sir, I have no man to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up, but while I am coming, another steps down before me.” Jesus said to him, “Get up, pick up your pallet and walk.”Immediately the man became well, and picked up his pallet and began to walk.”

Did you notice that Jesus did not ask this man about if he had the faith to be healed? No, Jesus had compassion on Him and he healed this man. IF, and I say IF God wants to heal you He will little faith or not. There are some denominations that say your faith is weak if you cannot heal yourself or be healed.Then there are some churches that say if you do not speak in Tongues then you are not saved so people invent ways of speaking in another language to fit in. May we all fall on our knees and ask forgiveness for putting a huge yoke on our fellow brethren. It is Jesus Christ on the cross, killed for our sins and risen again BY THE POWER OF GOD to defat death and for all those who believe will have eternal life.

From the above passages I hope you can see that God’s will is God’s will. He will do whatever He desires. Prayer does bring up before Him the desire of our heart but then it is God’s perfect plan for us whether He will heal us. So when we pray we should now be praying to God IN THE NAME of Jesus.