SERMON FOR SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 2011

Grace and peace to you from God our Father and from our Lord Jesus Christ.

A few months ago, in one of our evening Bible studies, the question of healing was raised: does God still heal? One of the men was convinced that God can and does still heal, and he had a lot of questions about this. And so finally, I asked him to read a book that I felt could explain both healing and prayer for him. I gave him a copy of William Vaswig’s book, I Prayed, He Answered. In the book, Vaswig, a pastor from California, tells the story of his teenage son, Philip, who was diagnosed at age eighteen as being paranoid schizophrenic. The doctors told Vaswig and his wife that their son would probably never be entirely well, and that it would likely take eight to ten years of weekly psychotherapy before they would even begin to see any improvement.

Pastor Vaswig and his wife had been praying for Philip for years, as had his entire congregation—but no healing occurred. Then Vaswig’s wife suggested that they contact a woman who, years earlier, had written a book called The Healing Light. Vaswig was skeptical, but because he was desperate he wrote a letter to the author, a woman named Agnes Sanford.  She agreed to meet with Vaswig and his son and when she did, she prayed for Philip—and for Pastor Vaswig.

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Grace and peace to you from God our Father and from our Lord Jesus Christ.

Dr. D. A. Carson, author, theologian, and seminary professor, posed a question in his book on Paul’s prayers, titled A Call to Spiritual Reformation. His question was “What is the most urgent need in the church of the Western world today?” He went on to give us some of the answers that have been suggested by the church:

• Some say our greatest need is for sexual purity. One poll found that a majority of unmarried people in the church between the ages of 20 and 35 are involved in sexual affairs. Another study found that 40% of teenagers actively involved in their churches are engaged in premarital sex. We regularly hear of pastors who have ruined their ministry through moral failures. One of the biggest problems in the church today involves the question of how to deal with clergy involved in homosexual relationships. And to top it all off, we have what Carson refers to as the “technicolor celebration of lust and violence” that regularly enters our Christian homes through television, movies and internet.
• Others, however, think that the greatest need in the church today is that of integrity and generosity in financial matters. Individuals cheat on their taxes and corporate financial scandals are routinely reported in the daily news. Church members often seem to feel little sense of responsibility or compassion for those both inside and outside of the church who lack the basic necessities of life.
• Still others think that what the church needs most is more evangelism and mission. With many people in our own communities who do not yet know Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior, we must admit that we are not particularly effective at reaching out to the unchurched—not to mention the countless millions in other parts of the world. Even when we make the effort to reach out to others, less than 5% of people who make a profession of faith persevere. And, Carson says, of those who do remain committed to the church, the majority are likely to think of Christianity as “something to add to their already busy lives, not something that controls, constrains, and shapes their vision and all of their goals.”
• So if this is true, then perhaps the greatest problem facing the church today is one of discipleship.
• Or perhaps the real problem is our worship services or our lack of Bible studies, or youth programming—and the list could go on and on.

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Grace and peace to you from God our Father and from our Lord Jesus Christ.

Last Sunday I challenged you to pray about what God is calling this congregation to achieve in the coming year—in the coming years, really, but let’s begin with this year. What is He asking us to do that will glorify His Holy Name in great and mighty ways, that will shine His light into the world, that will make more of Him and less of us?

As I prayed about this during the past week, God led me to the Book of Acts. There, in the second chapter, we read that the disciples of Jesus gathered together after He ascended into heaven and “devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayers” (Acts 2:42). And as they continued to do these things, we read that “many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles” (Acts 2:43).

Then, as Peter and John were going up to the temple to pray, they encountered a lame beggar and they healed him, after which Peter gave a sermon. People gathered around, wanting to hear more. And then, at the beginning of chapter 4, we read that “as they were speaking to the people, the priests and the captain of the temple and the Sadducees came upon them, greatly annoyed because they were teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection from the dead” (Acts 4:1-2). So Peter and John were arrested and thrown into jail until the next day, when they were brought before the “rulers and elders and scribes … with Annas the high priest and Caiaphas and John and Alexander, and all who were of the high priestly family” (Acts 4:5-6).

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A TALE OF TWO KINGS

Grace and peace to you from God our Father and from our Lord Jesus Christ.

Our Scripture readings this morning tell us the story of two kings—both of them great. But it’s hard to imagine two kings, or two kingdoms, more different. Solomon, the third king of Israel succeeded his father, King David, on the throne. When the Lord asked King Solomon what He should give him, Solomon asked for wisdom, for “an understanding mind” so that he could “discern between good and evil” (I Kings 3:9)—and the Lord granted his request.  In addition to wisdom, the Lord promised him “riches and honor, so that no other king [would] compare” (I Kings 3:13).  During his reign, Israel became a world power, making King Solomon the richest and most powerful man in the world.

Immediately after this passage comes the story where Solomon demonstrates his great wisdom when two women come before him, both claiming to be the mother of an infant. Solomon order the baby cut in half, at which point the real mother told him to give the baby to the other woman.

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Grace and peace to you from God our Father and from our Lord Jesus Christ.

This morning we hear the story of the magi—the wise men who traveled from the east to find the king of the Jews so that they could worship him. They found him in Bethlehem, they worshipped him, and then they left to return to their home in the east.

They came all that way, traveling perhaps for months to get there, and when they arrived, they worshiped Him, offered Him gifts—and then left. In Luke’s gospel, we hear of the shepherds who had come to the stable. They, too, came, spent time in the presence of the infant Jesus—and then left, telling everyone what they had seen.

Why didn’t they stay? Why didn’t they remain with the Christ child? And why, throughout the gospels, do we see this pattern repeated?

• When Jesus healed the paralytic, he told him, “’Rise, pick up your bed, and go home.’ And he rose and went home” (Matthew 9:6-7).
• When the twelve apostles wanted to stay with Him, He sent them out.
• After Jesus healed the demoniac, the man begged Him to take him with Him. But Jesus refused. (Mark 5:18).

But there seems to be a pattern here. When Jesus sent them away, what happened?

• After the paralytic was healed, he “went out before them all, so that they were all amazed and glorified God” (Mark 2:12).
• Jesus didn’t allow the demoniac to go with Him, but instead told him to “go home to your friends and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you” (Mark 5:19).
• After Jesus healed two blind men, “they went away and spread his fame through all that district” (Matthew 9:31).
• When Jesus healed a leper, He sent Him away to the priest. But the leper “went out and began to … spread the news” (Mark 1:45).
• When Jesus met the Samaritan woman at the well, He told her that He was the Christ, and she “left her water jar and went away into town” to tell everyone (John 4:28).

In each of these cases, the person who had been touched by Jesus—the person who had encountered the living God—longed to remain in His presence, but when Jesus sent them away, they could not keep quiet about what had happened. They had to tell everyone they saw.

That’s what happens when you encounter the living God. It changes you.

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