As we continue in our series on Dynamic Disciples and Dynamic Discipleship our focus this month has been on The Word of God.
When I preached here earlier this month we considered the verse from Matthew 4:4 People do not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God. (See http://www.sermoncentral.com/sermons/hindrances-to-god8217s-word-dean-courtier-sermon-on-discipleship-202744.asp)
I encouraged each of us to not allow anything to hinder us in Hearing the word of God, Reading the Word of God or Studying the Word of God.
I also encouraged each of us to Memorise parts of the Word of God to encourage us and build our faith.
The Word of God can lead us, guide us, comfort us, change us and transform us.
This morning on this Healing and Wholeness Sunday, we are going to consider together the truth that it is the Word of God that heals us and saves us.
Why do we have a specific day dedicated to Healing and Wholeness?
In many ways today is no different from any other day and perhaps that is where the problem is...
Our Sundays can feel so routine - our expectation is the same - being church together is something we can do on auto-pilot.
Be honest, when your alarm clock went off this morning, were your expectations of today the same as every other Sunday?
Or did you rush out of bed with an expectancy that God would do something special today?
We know God is the same yesterday, today and forever - but we specifically set aside the fifth Sunday of the month as Healing and Wholeness Sunday so that we can be reminded that God is still God and He is able to perform miracles today.
God can bring healing and wholeness to your life today.
God can change your circumstances today.
God can work a miracle in your life right now.
To focus our thoughts and expectations this morning let’s consider God’s Word together.
Listen as I read Psalm 107 from The Message Paraphrase.
Psalm 107 The Message (MSG)
107 1-3 Oh, thank God—He’s so good!
His love never runs out.
All of you set free by God, tell the world!
Tell how He freed you from oppression,
Then rounded you up from all over the place,
from the four winds, from the seven seas.
4-9 Some of you wandered for years in the desert,
looking but not finding a good place to live,
Half-starved and parched with thirst,
staggering and stumbling, on the brink of exhaustion.
Then, in your desperate condition, you called out to God.
He got you out in the nick of time;
He put your feet on a wonderful road
that took you straight to a good place to live.
So thank God for His marvelous love,
for His miracle mercy to the children He loves.
He poured great streams of water down parched throats;
the starved and hungry got plenty to eat.
10-16 Some of you were locked in a dark cell,
cruelly confined behind bars,
Punished for defying God’s Word,
for turning your back on the High God’s counsel—
A hard sentence, and your hearts so heavy,
and not a soul in sight to help.
Then you called out to God in your desperate condition;
He got you out in the nick of time.
He led you out of your dark, dark cell,
broke open the jail and led you out.
So thank God for His marvelous love,
for His miracle mercy to the children He loves;
He shattered the heavy jailhouse doors,
He snapped the prison bars like matchsticks!
17-22 Some of you were sick because you’d lived a bad life,
your bodies feeling the effects of your sin;
You couldn’t stand the sight of food,
so miserable you thought you’d be better off dead.
Then you called out to God in your desperate condition;
He got you out in the nick of time.
He spoke the word that healed you,
that pulled you back from the brink of death.
So thank God for His marvelous love,
for His miracle mercy to the children He loves;
Offer thanksgiving sacrifices,
tell the world what He’s done—sing it out!
23-32 Some of you set sail in big ships;
you put to sea to do business in faraway ports.
Out at sea you saw God in action,
saw His breathtaking ways with the ocean:
With a word He called up the wind—
an ocean storm, towering waves!
You shot high in the sky, then the bottom dropped out;
your hearts were stuck in your throats.
You were spun like a top, you reeled like a drunk,
you didn’t know which end was up.
Then you called out to God in your desperate condition;
He got you out in the nick of time.
He quieted the wind down to a whisper,
put a muzzle on all the big waves.
And you were so glad when the storm died down,
and He led you safely back to harbour.
So thank God for His marvelous love,
for His miracle mercy to the children He loves.
Lift high your praises when the people assemble,
shout Hallelujah when the elders meet!
33-41 God turned rivers into wasteland,
springs of water into sunbaked mud;
Luscious orchards became alkali flats
because of the evil of the people who lived there.
Then He changed wasteland into fresh pools of water,
arid earth into springs of water,
Brought in the hungry and settled them there;
they moved in—what a great place to live!
They sowed the fields, they planted vineyards,
they reaped a bountiful harvest.
He blessed them and they prospered greatly;
their herds of cattle never decreased.
But abuse and evil and trouble declined
as He heaped scorn on princes and sent them away.
He gave the poor a safe place to live,
treated their clans like well-cared-for sheep.
42-43 Good people see this and are glad;
bad people are speechless, stopped in their tracks.
If you are really wise, you’ll think this over—
it’s time you appreciated God’s deep love.
Wonderful words, that highlight the truth that whatever circumstance or situation we find ourselves in we can trust our God to care, to bless, to move, to act, to deliver, and to heal.
Psalm 107 is, above all, a song a poem that speaks of the power of God.
Despite the transgressions of the people, God forgives them.
God turns a desert into pools of water and there He lets the hungry dwell.
God performs miracles and delivers and Heals.
There is so much in this Psalm but I want us to focus on verse 1,19 and 20
Perhaps a more recognisable translation from the NLT is this:
Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; His faithful love endures forever.
“Lord, help!” they cried in their trouble, and He saved them from their distress. He sent out His word and healed them
These words are a record of what God had done, but they also speak of what He is doing, and what He will continue to do in the lives of His disciples.
Praise God those words are as true today as they were when inspired by the Holy Spirit, King David wrote them.
It would be easy for us to assume that was then and this is now.
It is so easy for us to ignore the truth that our God is the same yesterday, today and forever.
God was and is and will continue to be Good and faithful to His people.
His love for us is continual and eternal.
God can bring healing and wholeness into your life today.
Throughout the Bible there are amazing accounts of miraculous healing.
Maybe you like the idea of God healing, you’ve read about it, prayed about it, but perhaps you have not yet experienced healing in your own life.
Maybe your even a little be skeptical about God answering prayer for your healing or wholeness.
Do you have faith in the faithful loving God of this Psalm?
If God answers a prayer for Healing, a prayer for wholeness in your life would you praise Him or try to rationalise or explain it away?
God can just speak a Word, move by the Power of His Word and His Spirit, and our lives can be transformed.
Do you feel like you are wandering in the wilderness?
Are you struggling in your own strength or in desperation are you crying out to God?
Are you willing to let Him in love lead you onto the right path?
Do you feel like you are confined in a dark place?
Does it feel like you are being tossed from side to side in the middle of a stormy ocean?
Do you need God to speak the Word that will calm the storm in your life?
Is there a wasteland in your life that needs to become a pool of fresh water?
Friends, this morning, right now you can experience and appreciate God’s endless love and mercy.
Right now He can speak a life changing word over your life.
Will you trust Him?
Will you ask Him to speak that life transforming Word?
When we trust God, when we allow Him to move, when we ask Him to work in our lives,
when we allow the Holy Spirit to minister to us,
when we allow God to do what only He can do,
then we will experience His touch on our lives,
we will experience life-changing transformation,
we will experience miracles.
Today God can impact each and everyone of us by the Power of His Word.
Maybe you feel like its impossible for your situation to change.
If your relying on your own ability or your own strength then it probably is.
But in God’s strength - in His might, in His love,
in His Grace, by the Power of His Word,
all things are possible.
Our God is the God of the impossible.
The miracles that occurred in Bible times, can and do still occur today.
Our God is the same God that spoke this universe into existence.
Our God is the God that hung the stars in space.
Our God is the God that formed you in your mothers womb.
Our God is the God that knows you better than you know yourself.
Our God is the God who loves you and cares for you and has promised never to leave or forsake you.
Our God is the God of miracles and He can heal today.
Whatever situation, circumstance, trial, problem, illness, relationship issue, or problem you have, or another member of your family has, or a friend has – a Word from God will make a difference today.
He can heal and restore – He can make the broken whole, the sick well, God can heal today.
Our faith is rooted and grounded in Jesus our Lord and Saviour.
Have faith in Jesus Christ the Word of God.
Jesus is your bread when you are hungry.
Jesus is your Comfort when you are lonely.
Jesus is your Peace when you are feeling tense.
Jesus is your Rest when you are feeling weary.
Jesus is your Joy when you are feeling sad.
Jesus is your Strength when you are weak.
Jesus is your Living Water when you are thirsty.
Jesus is your Wisdom when you are confused.
Jesus is your Protection when you are endangered..
Jesus is your Supply when you are empty
Jesus is the Living Word that God sent into the world.
Have faith to move beyond how the circumstances and situations make you feel.
Have faith to believe Jesus is able to bring healing and wholeness to your life.
As we come to our time of prayer, believe, trust, walk in faith not by sight.
God can answer prayer in many different ways
He can transform you,
He can work in your circumstances and situations.
He can work in your trials and tribulations.
He can bring victory and blessing.
He can work in you by the Power of His Spirit.
He can work in you by the Power of His Word.
This morning, will you listen to God’s voice?
Will you hear God’s Word to you?
Will you let Him minister to your need?
Will you ask Him to bring the Healing and Wholeness that only He can bring to your life?
God is able to bring Healing and Wholeness into every aspect of your life. Emotional, Physical, Spiritual.
God does not change, His Word does not change, the same creative power that created this universe, brings transformation, healing and wholeness to our lives today.
Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good;
His faithful love endures forever.
“Lord, help!” they cried in their trouble, and He saved them from their distress. He sent out His word and healed them
Hear God speak and let His Word bring healing and wholeness into your life today.
