The other day I took Shannon to her pediatrician because she had been having stomach pains. I noticed how the nurse took Shannon’s vitals—weight and temperature. Afterwards the doctor came in and asked Shannon to sit up on the gurney. Dr. McDaniel listened to Shannon’s heartbeat and breathing. She asked Shannon to lay back and began pressing the tips of her fingers gently into Shannon’s stomach. She then looked into Shannon’s eyes, ears and throat.
Why did she do all this? She was attempting to diagnose Shannon’s problem. She was looking for indicators, which might help her to understand why Shannon wasn’t feeling well.
This is what physicians do. They perform an examination, diagnose our problem and then prescribe a solution.
Many people avoid seeing a doctor. Some haven’t had a checkup in years. Perhaps they just didn't have the time or the money.
But, some just don’t want people touching them and probing them and looking over them. Others are fearful of doctors.
There are some examinations that you just want to avoid. I don't know of anyone who jumps for joy when it is time to see the dentist.
As I entered into my forties there is an exam that men over forty should have. I dread this exam with every ounce of emotion I have.
Some people avoid seeing a doctor because they just don’t like to be told there is something wrong.
The Bible teaches that Jesus is our “Great Physician.” Luke 5:31-32 reads, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.”
Jesus is telling us that there are those who are spiritually sick.
There are those who have cancer of the soul.
There are those who have AIDS (Adam's Inherited Disease of Sin)
There are those who are terminally ill with the disease of sin.
Many people consider Jesus as the Great Physician but just like a medical doctor there are some who haven’t seen Doctor Jesus for a checkup for years. But it's not because they have no money—His services are free, paid for at Calvary.
Some just don’t want Dr. Jesus touching them and probing them and examining them. Others just don’t like to be told that there is something wrong with them.
Just like with a medical doctor, there are diagnostics that can be performed that will shed light on a person's spiritual condition. In Psalm 26:2, the psalmist says, “Examine me, O LORD, and try me; Test my mind and my heart.”
There are operations and procedures that Dr. Jesus can perform that can make a person whole.
(Psa 51:7 NKJV) Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
(Psa 51:8 NKJV) Make me hear joy and gladness, That the bones You have broken may rejoice.
(Psa 51:9 NKJV) Hide Your face from my sins, And blot out all my iniquities.
(Psa 51:10 NKJV) Create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a steadfast spirit within me.
(Ezek 36:25 NKJV) "…I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols.
(Ezek 36:26 NKJV) "I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.
(Ezek 36:27 NKJV) "I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them.
Today we are taking a trip to the Doctor’s office. I’ve made an appointment for everyone to attend. The doctor’s fee has already been paid. There’s no HMO. No co-pay. No insurance is required because of the assurance we have in the blood of Jesus Christ.
Let’s go into the examination room. The Holy Spirit is the Doctor’s assistant. Furthermore, there is no need to strip down to your socks because the Holy Spirit can see through all that stuff anyway.
He can see through your façade.
He can see through your makeup.
He can see through our pretense.
He can see through our “front” for the Bible says,
"…the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account." (Hebrews 4:12-13)
As one enters the examination room and jumps up on the examination table his prayer should be:
“Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me, and know my anxieties; And see if there is any wicked way in me, And lead me in the way everlasting.”
Dr. Jesus walks in the room and begins His examination. His eyes are like a flame of fire, penetrating even to the dividing of one’s soul and spirit, joints and marrow. He probes deep into the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight.
But He also is a gentle and compassionate physician. He knows that we are but dust. Psalms 103:13 says, "As a father pities his children, So the LORD pities those who fear Him. For He knows our frame; He remembers that we are dust."
The first person enters the room. Jesus begins his examination and quickly finds a problem.
Irregularity - a.k.a. Irregular church attendance habits
This person has a severe case of irregularity. Dr. Jesus detects that this person has developed a habit of not attending church regularly—he’s become irregular. Jesus reminds this person that He, the Son of God, has made a way for this person to have an intimate relationship with God the Father. Jesus quotes from Hebrews chapter 10:
(Heb 10:19 NKJV) Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus,
(Heb 10:20 NKJV) by a new and living way which He consecrated for us, through the veil, that is, His flesh,
(Heb 10:21 NKJV) and having a High Priest over the house of God,
To help his patient get rid of his irregularity in this area Doctor Jesus prescribes him a lifetime supply of “Milk of Magnification.”
1.) Draw near to God with a true heart – worship God
(Heb 10:22 NKJV) let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.
2.) Hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering – hold fast to the Word of God
(Heb 10:23 NKJV) Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful.
3.) Consider one another as we assemble together – make fellowship a priority
(Heb 10:24 NKJV) And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works,
(Heb 10:25 NKJV) not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.
This person leaves and the next person comes in having a common ailment. There’s no doctor more skillful than Dr. Jesus. He pinpoints the problem immediately.
Ministerial Paralysis – Unwillingness to serve in the local church
Jesus reminds his patient that the church is the body of Christ. It is not merely an organization but an organism of people jointly fitted and held together by that which every joint supplies. The church grows only as each individual part works properly.
When a Christian fails to do his or her part, the whole body suffers—much like your entire body would feel the impact if you had stubbed a toe.
Dr. Jesus goes on to tell His patient that when he doesn’t serve in the local church he is rejecting his God-given gift, given not only for the necessity of it’s use in ministry but in order that God would be glorified as it is being used.
(1 Pet 4:10 NKJV) As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.
(1 Pet 4:11 NKJV) If anyone speaks, let him speak as the oracles of God. If anyone ministers, let him do it as with the ability which God supplies, that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belong the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.
There are many people in our church today that have ministerial paralysis. They come to church but they are paralyzed. They can't seem to do anything. They always want people to cater to them but they don't lift a finger to help when things need to be done. When there are ministry needs and other things that need to be done, they can't seem to get their legs to move out of their seats to serve.
You know who some problems lead to another. For example, if your resistance is low, you are more susceptible to having other problems. There is another disease that is plaguing the church. This disease lowers the spiritual resistance to other diseases that wage war against the soul.
The next person entering in the examination room has a bad case of carnalzheimers disease. Paul says in Romans 8:6, "For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace."
Carnalzheimers Disease – Being led by the flesh
Carnalzheimers disease is a degenerative disease of the Christian’s mind caused by an insufficient study of the Word of God and characterized especially by premature spiritual deterioration which can led to certain death.
(Rom 8:5a NKJV) For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh…
(Rom 8:6 NKJV) For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.
Carnality is following the propensities or preferences of the flesh. The flesh can be described as the sinful tendencies that exist in man, most of which are related to bodily appetites and ambitions.
(1 Cor 3:1 NKJV) And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual people but as to carnal, as to babes in Christ.
(1 Cor 3:2 NKJV) I fed you with milk and not with solid food; for until now you were not able to receive it, and even now you are still not able;
(1 Cor 3:3 NKJV) for you are still carnal. For where there are envy, strife, and divisions among you, are you not carnal and behaving like mere men?
The remedy for this disease is to live according to the Spirit.
(Gal 5:16 NKJV) I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.
Before this patient leaves the examination room Jesus gives him a word of counsel. Since Carnalzheimers disease is a degenerative disease of the Christian’s mind, the battleground is in the mind. Jesus reminds His patient of the exhortations of the Apostle Paul:
Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. (Romans 12:2)
For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ… (2 Cor 10:4-5 NKJV)
And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God…(Eph 6:17 NKJV)
The next person comes in and begins to complain of her symptoms. She says to Dr. Jesus, “Jesus the problem really isn’t with me, it is my community. My community has gone down hill over the last several years. Crime is up, divorce is rampant. The number of children born of unwed mothers is growing.
Jesus tells this woman, “The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few.” The problem isn't with your community as much as it is with you. You have what I call, “An impaired witness.”
Impaired Witness – Faith in Christ is not shared with others
God commands and equips believers to be a witness of Christ’s grace to the world:
(Mat 28:19 NKJV) "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
(Mat 28:20 NKJV) "teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." Amen.
Acts 1:8 "But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth."
When the early church was faithful in their witness the community benefited. The members of the community were recipients of God’s blessing through the church.
(Acts 2:46 NKJV) So continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart,
(Acts 2:47 NKJV) praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved.
The witness of the church wasn’t only accomplished as they shared the Gospel; it was accomplished as they lived out the Gospel and ministered to their community.
Acts 2:44 Now all who believed were together, and had all things in common,
Acts 2:45 and sold their possessions and goods, and divided them among all, as anyone had need.
As they witnessed in tangible ways, the Spirit of God moved on the hearts of those who not only heard the Gospel but saw it lived out and they were saved.
You and I cannot complain about the crime on our streets if you are not willing to go out on the streets with the Gospel.
We cannot complain about how sinful members of our family are if we are not willing to share the love of Jesus with them.
We should not complain about all the mess that goes on at work if we are not letting the light of Jesus Christ shine through our lives.
This woman leaves the examination room with a renewed vigor to not only tell about the Lord of Christ but to demonstrate His love in her life.
The next person enters the examination room. Jesus looks with compassion into the eyes of this person and diagnoses the problem.
Communion Exclusion Syndrome – No Communion with the Lord or His people
In 1787, when John Wesley was 84 years old, he wrote a tract called, "The Duty of Constant Communion". His 1787 tract was a rewrite of the tract he had penned 55 years earlier in 1732.
In his tract, Wesley tells his readers it is the Lord's command that we come to his table. "Do this in remembrance of me. Do it." It's an imperative, not a suggestion. Jesus Christ commands us to come to his table. It is therefore the obligation of everyone who believes in him to obey him and come.
Then Wesley adds a footnote. On the eve of his death Jesus told his followers that he would not call them servants, since a servant merely obeys without being admitted intimately to the mind and heart of the servant's master. But because he himself, Jesus continued, has drawn his followers most intimately into his mind and heart he calls them not servants but friends. (John 15:15) "Now", says Wesley, "if our Lord draws us so intimately into his mind and heart as to call us friends, surely we can't turn down his final request. What friend turns down his dying friend's final request?"
When Jesus was in the upper room sharing that last Passover meal with His disciples what an intimate setting it was. Our Lord was about to go through the most intense suffering that any man before or since has endured. His suffering would separate Him for the first time in all eternity from His Father. He would take upon Himself the guilt of our sin and pay sin's penalty which was death.
Before He did all this He speaks these words to His disciples:
(Luke 22:15 NKJV) … "With fervent desire I have desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer;
(Luke 22:16 NKJV) "for I say to you, I will no longer eat of it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God."
(Luke 22:17 NKJV) Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and said, "Take this and divide it among yourselves;
(Luke 22:18 NKJV) "for I say to you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes."
(Luke 22:19 NKJV) And He took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, "This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me."
(Luke 22:20 NKJV) Likewise He also took the cup after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is shed for you.
Communion Exclusion Syndrome is no longer having a desire to commune with your Friend and Savior, Jesus Christ. It is not wanting to express the love and devotion one would to someone who has saved their life from destruction.
If a person has no desire to commune with the Lord at His table just once a month, what makes you think they are serious about Him any other day of the month?
Don’t get me wrong. I am not saying that by taking communion you automatically become spiritual or that only the spiritual takes the Lord’s Supper.
In 1st Corinthians 11 Paul has to chasten believers who came out for the Lord’s Supper but with the wrong motive. He writes, "…when you come together in one place, it is not to eat the Lord's Supper."
So attending Communion doesn’t make you spiritual--You come already spiritual.
What if you are not spiritual? Get spiritual. What if you are not right with God? Get right with God. You got this group of Christians who miss Communion because they aren’t living right.
They know what the Bible says about taking the cup in an unworthy manner.
They know that the Bible says, "whoever eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord." But they forget the command that follows which says, "But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup."
I can tell you that in the almost eight years of our church' s existence, not many who have missed communion have come asking that I serve them Communion.
This tells me that many are not taking this commandment of our Lord Jesus seriously. It also tells me that many people miss Communion because the very observance of the Lord’s Supper forces them to reckon with their sin and sinful lifestyle. Rather than to take communion in their sinful state and risk the chastening hand of the Lord—they skip out.
Taking Communion “worthily” would mean for the person to repent of his or her sin and come clean not only with God but also with man..
The next person has to be dragged into the examination room.
“I don’t need to go” they say. “There is nothing wrong with me” they grumble. “He’s too busy, He doesn’t have time to see me” “He doesn’t know what I’m going through”
This person has the dreaded condition called Soteriokuriosphobia.
Soteriokuriosphobia – Fear of dependence on the Lord
After Jesus calms this person down He tells him the story of a 17-year old who wrote the following words:
"Our heart, reason, history, and the work of Christ convince us that without Him we cannot achieve our goal, that without Him we are doomed by God, and only Christ can save us."
These were deep and sensitive thoughts for a 17-year-old, revealing spiritual wisdom that few attain. He had been baptized into the Lutheran church in 1824, at age six, and was confirmed at 16. Now, to graduate from high school, he had been required to write an essay on a religious subject. He chose to explore "The union of believers with Christ, according to St. John's Gospel (John 15:1-14), an exposition on its basic essence, its absolute necessity and its consequences."
The fruit of our union with Christ, he continued, is our willingness "to sacrifice ourselves for our fellow man." And the "joy which the Epicureans in their superficial philosophy sought in vain... is a joy known only to the innocent heart united with Christ, and through Christ to God."
The 17-year-old's name was Karl Heinrich Marx, but by 1844, nine years later, he had abandoned any Christian devotion he may have once felt. In fact, his militant atheism and philosophical ideas of man's struggle for a classless utopia free from the numbing effects of religion, established him as one of the most influential figures of the 20th century.
Many of us start off running the Christian race. We depend upon God for everything. We pray about everything. But as time goes on we depend less and less on Christ and more and more on ourselves. It progresses to the point where soteriokuriosphobia sets in. We have gotten so used to supplying our own needs and making a way out of no way for ourselves that we are afraid to depend on the Lord.
When trials come when only seek the Lord when our back is against the wall.
When problems occur we would rather ask a friend then to go to God's Word.
When pain and heartache comes out of habit we look for something to sooth us--a bottle, some pills or even food, as opposed to taking it to God in prayer.
We fear depending on the Lord because many times the Lord tells us something we don't want to hear like "no" or "wait." Instead of being disappointed, we get what we want, when we want, how we want, through our own means.
Perhaps this is why credit cards are so popular. Plastic is power. Dependency is a sign of weakness.
Jesus wants us to depend on Him.
He wants us to realize that He is the source of our strength. This is why He tells us to abide in Him:
(John 15:4 NKJV) "Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.
(John 15:5 NKJV) "I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.
We also fear depending on the Lord because we think that He is undependable or unreliable. This is why we need to know His Word. His Word speaks of His character. His Word tells us what He is like and what He will and won’t do.
Our problems come when we ask God to do for us what He already said He won’t do. It is when we petition God for something that He said that is not His will; we think that God is at fault. The fault is that we didn’t know His will because we didn’t know His Word.
Jesus wants us to depend on Him and we express dependency when we pray.
(1 John 5:14 NIV) This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.
(1 John 5:15 NIV) And if we know that he hears us--whatever we ask--we know that we have what we asked of him.
Prayer demonstrates our dependence on God. It is an acknowledgment that He is the Father of those who have surrendered their life to His Son Jesus. It is an acknowledgement of His power, holiness majesty. It is a recognition of our sinfulness and need for daily cleansing. These are the characteristics of the Lord’s prayer:
Jesus teaches us in Luke 11, "When you pray, say: Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven. Give us day by day our daily bread. And forgive us our sins, For we also forgive everyone who is indebted to us. And do not lead us into temptation, But deliver us from the evil one."
Jesus says ‘When you pray, say…” In other words Jesus is not giving us a prayer to pray but is presenting us with a model, template or an outline of how we ought to pray when we do pray. After Father’s Day we will be examining this model.
