Sickology
Psychologists study the human mind. Biologists study life. Sociologists study society and social behavior. Paleontologists are scientists who study fossils of animals to learn about what the earth was like many years ago. Jesus must have been a Sickoligist. Everywhere he went he was constantly surrounded and followed by sick people. Blind folks, mute folks, lame folks, leprous folks, even dead folks. Never a stop without sickness. Never a day’s journey without disease. He must have had a good understanding about sickness. Over the next few weeks, I want us to revisit some encounters that the greatest Sickologist that ever lived had with some sick folks and see if we can’t learn some Sick Truth!
The first account I want us to go back to is found in Luke 6:6-11:
6 Now it happened on another Sabbath, also, that He entered the synagogue and taught. And a man was there whose right hand was withered. 7 So the scribes and Pharisees watched Him closely, whether He would heal on the Sabbath, that they might find an accusation against Him. 8 But He knew their thoughts, and said to the man who had the withered hand, “Arise and stand here.” And he arose and stood. 9 Then Jesus said to them, “I will ask you one thing: Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do evil, to save life or to destroy?” 10 And when He had looked around at them all, He said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” And he did so, and his hand was restored as whole as the other. 11 But they were filled with rage, and discussed with one another what they might do to Jesus.
There are several things that we can learn from this account. I want to mention a couple very quickly and then I want to focus on one main truth.
1. Sometime our miracle isn’t as much about faith as it is about obedience.
Haven’t you been told that you didn’t get the breakthrough, the healing, the blessing because you didn’t have enough faith? Where is this man’s faith revealed? He only obeyed. Stand here. Stretch hand. Healed. We take too much credit sometimes. Our faith level can be another way for us to take credit for God’s work. It was my faith. It was my belief. No it is God! Just simply obey the command and healing takes place. This wasn’t about the man’s faith, it was about Jesus’ power. I am not saying we shouldn’t have faith. We are commanded to do so. I am not excusing lack of faith! We have God that we can believe in. I am just saying if we aren’t careful we begin to trust our faith level more than we trust our God! Our faith doesn’t excuse disobedience.
2. We mistake, substitute, or confuse our location for our condition.
Where was this man? He was in church! But he was still handicapped. Still broken. Still messed up. How many of us have mistaken or substituted our location for our condition? We are in the right place week after week and so we put on the smile and the front, but our condition has not changed! You can be in church every week of your life and still be withered, still be shriveled up, still be less than whole! Just being in the right location isn’t a substitute for being in the right condition! We have settled! I am glad you are located here. However, I am more concerned about your condition being addressed and changed! We have too many crippled church folks running around! It is time to check our condition. I am convinced that most of us if we are not careful become like the Pharisees. We come to watch rather than worship. We think our location makes up for our condition!
3. We are more concerned about reputation than healing.
Jesus commands the man to stretch forth his hand. Notice Jesus didn’t specify which hand. So . . . why didn’t he stretch out his good hand? You may think that is a stupid question, but that isn’t exactly what we do.
We have been trained to put our best foot (hand) forward. Never let them see you sweat. Never let them see weakness. Fake it till you make it. Too blessed to be distressed. Don’t’ we try to cover up the things in our life that stink or the things that are broken? Remember what Mary and Martha said to Jesus when He wanted to uncover Lazarus? Lord, he has been dead four days by now he stinks. Yes, but the only way to get life again is to uncover what stinks. Jesus is always trying to uncover the stinky things in our life.
We must come to the place in our lives where we are more concerned about being healed than we are about being revered.
This man would have forfeited playing catch with his son. This man would have been sentenced to a life of less. This man would have suffered stares and ridicule if he had been more worried about what people thought than he was about being healed! What’s more important your reputation or you’re healing? So what if someone discovers that you’re not all they thought you were? So what if someone discovers you didn’t have it as together as they thought you did? Revered or healed? It is our choice!
4. Sometimes healing requires exposure!
The sickologist teaches us that sometimes healing requires exposure. Jesus comes into contact with a man with a withered hand. It was obvious to everyone that the man had an issue because the religious leaders begin to watch Jesus closely to see what he will do. His hand is withered. Something strikes me as interesting in this account though. Notice that Jesus speaks to the man, stands him in the center of the room and then commands him to stretch forth his hand. The man obeys and stretches out his withered, ugly, deficient, mangled hand right in front of God and everybody. How insensitive was the Sickologist? He commands the man to expose his weakness and brokenness for everyone to see!
God will not heal what we continue to hide!
I am here to declare that you can stretch forth your good hand, you good side, your good act, your good façade all you want and you will never be healed, never be free, never be whole. If the man had stretched the other hand out I don’t believe he would have been healed.
The only way to receive the touch that Jesus has for you is to stretch forth your brokenness. You have to be willing to expose your weakness. You have to be bold enough to uncover your problem and extend it for God and everyone to see. I am asking you to extend your mess. Uncover your problems. I am asking you to expose your weakness. I am asking you to reveal your pain.
I am asking you to learn from Paul in 2 Corinthians 12:9, “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. 10That 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.”
Your strength won’t get you to God. He will reach out to you when you reach out with your weakness. You have to be real. Real broken. Real hurt. Real angry. Real depressed.
The most used people in Scripture were folks who walked with a limp, stuttered through their sentences, and had anger issues! Broken people whose brokenness was exposed in front of everyone!
You must be real and recognize that your pain is obvious and there is no reason to hide it any longer. Jesus didn’t take him to a back room or out of sight. It is time for you to stand up and rip the cover off. Rip the mask off. Jesus is saying, “I see that hand, but do you?”
Proverbs 28:13 says, "He who conceals his sins does not prosper, but whoever confesses and renounces them finds mercy."
The Sick Truth this morning is that you can be made whole. Your withered area of life can be made whole. Your brokenness can be restored. However, you have to be willing to be real, authentic, vulnerable so that Jesus can touch you!
Prayer:
