The fingerprints of sickness is found everywhere. In every country, In every continent, In every state, In hot countries, and in ice-cold climates, In civilized nations and savage tribes, men-women and children alike get sick and die. Let us further observe, that all kinds of men get sick; meat-eaters, vegetarians, weak men, muscle men; all are eventually victims of sickness. Sickness is among all classes. Grace does not lift a believer above its reach. Riches will not buy exemption from it. Rank cannot prevent its assault. Kings and subjects, masters and servants, rich and poor, learned und unlearned, teachers and scholars, doctors and patients, preachers and members, all are eventually overtaken by this great foe. Sickness is of every sort and discription. From the crown of our head to the sole of feet we are liable to disease. There are more different kinds of sickness then we dare to count. No part of this complex human body is exempted. The heart stops, lungs collapse, liver degenerates, bones deteriorate; your brain will forget who you are. But not only is that sickness among humans, animals get sick also. Plants wither up and die. Th stars of heaven, when they’ve blink enough they too fall to the earth. Birds of the air get sick and fall to the ground. The fish of the sea get sick and die within the waters from whence they cometh. Sickness is often one of the most humbling and distressing trials that can come upon man. Medicine while helping one part of the body, will damage another. Sickness can unnerve the strongest man and confuse the holiest of men. Sickness is not preventable by nothing man can do. It will run down the fastest track star. It will break down the strongest weight lifter. It will tackle the greatest running back. Yes, the suppose faith-healers do not have enough faith to avoid sickness. No one is exempt. The universal prevalence of sickness is one of the indirect evidences that the bible is true. No where else can we find the answer. We must not be bamboozled by modern day medicine and technolgy that promises that man will out-live sickness. Sickness came not by the hands of the Almighty but by the failure of man to obey his creator. Sickness is a direct derivitive of human sin. Sin is a result of man trying to become God. But salvation is what happen when God became man. Sickness is an alien intruder that has dethrone man from his original position. If there had been no fall, there would be no sickness. When Christ die upon the cross, he heal our sin-sick souls but our bodies remain in a deteriorating state. But I say to you today, that strange as it may seem; there is some good in sickness. In our text this morning, we find that Lazurus’s sickness was not punitive but was to the glory of God. We must further observe that God loved Lazurus and still he became sick. Sickness is not neccessarily an indication of Divine abandonment. It may sometime be for the chastening of the saint or for the glory of God. In Theology, there is a doctrine called Theodicy, in which Theologians try to dfend the goodness of God amid the sufferings of the world. But I tell you to day that God needs no defence. He is sovereign and owes an answer to no one. Lazurus’s sickness did not cause Christ to move faster, nor this it alter the purpose of God. The principle here is that God will sometimes restore before from death or He will revive the soul subsequent to death. God will either remove the pain from the person or He will remove the person from the pain. We see Lazaruses everywhere in life, there are Lazuruses in nursing homes, there are Lazuruses in hospitals, there are Lazaruses hospices, there are Lazaruses on death beds and yes there are Lazaruses here today. I submit to you today, that sometimes we will have to live with sickness. Paul, Timothy, Tropomous and many others ministered amid illnesses. Let us consider what good is sickness:
A. SICKNESS HELPS TO REMIND MEN OF IMPENDING DEATH.
Most men live as though they are not going to die. They follow business and pleasures as if earth was their final. home. They plan and scheme for the future, like the rich fool. But I submit to you today, that a heavy dose of sickness will sober us up quickly.
B. SICKNESS HELPS TO MAKE MEN THINK SERIOUSLY OF GOD, THEIR SOULS AND THE HEREAFTER.
In times of health most people worship with thier back to God. But sickness will make us worship God face to face. Anything that causes men to think about God is a good thing.
C. SICKNESS HELPS TO SOFTEN MEN’S HEARTS, AND TEACH THEM WISDOM.
It express the hallowness and emptiness of what the world calls good. Sickness will cause us to hold money with a loose hand.
D. SICKNESS HELPS TO LEVEL AND HUMBLE US.
Man is naturally proud and high-minded. Many ten to look down on other. They secretly flatter themselves that they are better than others. But a sick bed is a mighty tammer of such foolishness. A sick bed cause us to face both: God and our fellow-man.
E. SICKNESS WILL TRY EVERY MAN’S FAITH RELATIVE TO ITS QUALITY.
The weight of sickness will inspect the strength of our foundation. Many who worship during smooth waters of health are useless during the tidal waves of sickness. The storms of winter will brings out the defects in our buildings. Again, anything that discovers our foundations is in itself a good thing.
F. SICKNESS KEEPS US PRAYING FOR OURSELVES AND OTHERS.
We find ourselves more conscious of the sick who were there all the time. Often it takes our own sickness to awaken us to our sense of duty. Prayer meeting becomes our main stay during sickness.
G. SICKNESS SOMETIMES WILL BRING GLORY TO GOD. Examples: Lazarus and the blind man. Jhn. 11:4 and Jhn. 9:3.
H. SICKNESS WILL SHOW FORTH THE POWER OF GOD TO HEAL WHEN HE WILLS TO DO SO.
The sensationalist believes that they can make God heal. The cessationalist believes that God does not heal. But the prayerful child of God knows that God can heal at anytime,in any place,and any person that He wills to heal. I do not believe that God heal with respect to certain ministries and ministers. God need no help in being God. Observe men call the sick to them in large auditoriums but Jesus met the sick where ever they were; on the streets, side the road, in the graveyards, at water-wells, on sick beds etc. Remember He healed them not for a love gift or a seed offering but because He love them. Beloved when it is your lot to live with sickness, remember God promised to be with us, even unto the end of the age. Moreover there is nothing that we will ever go through that God is unaware of, He sees and He knows all.
Conclusion: Our light afflictions on this side pales in comparison to the things that God has in store for us. My brother, my sister, be patient and trust the perfect will of God.
May God Bless and Keep You
Pastor Rodney L. Johnson Sr.,
Historic Bethlehem Baptist Church
Hwy 18
Hahnville, La. 70057
