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First Alliance Church Weekly Sermons
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Wednesday May 06, 2020
Wednesday May 06, 2020
“Anatomy of an Illness: The Church’s Ministry of Healing”
John 9:7 (Conclusion)
I First, sickness gets our attention and it gets the attention of Jesus (9:1).
II Second, sickness makes us uncomfortable (9:2).
III Third, sickness is caused by alienation (9:2).
IV Fourth, oftentimes our best theological or commonsense explanations for sickness are not good enough (9:3a).
V Fifth, sometimes sickness happens for a good reason, so that God can be glorified in our life (9:3b).
VI Sixth, all believers in Jesus are called to help sick people find health (9:4).
VII Seventh, sickness is a work of the kingdom of darkness; healing is a work of the Kingdom of light (9:5).
VIII Eighth, the how of healing is very important (9:6).
IX Ninth, sickness can be overcome by divine healing, but healing does not happen without some action on our part (9:7).
-This verse makes four key points:
A. First, Jesus told this man to go.
B. Second, Jesus told him to wash.
C. Third, Jesus did not ask this man to e________________ his f___________.
1. That is significant, because there are times when Jesus ___________ ask a person to do just that.
a. First, there is the example of J______________.
b. Second, there is the example of the two blind men in ___________________ chapter ________.
c. Third, we have the instructions found in J____________ chapter ____________ which tell the church how to carry out the ministry of healing.
2. But Jesus did not ask for an e__________________ or confession of faith on this occasion. Jesus did not ask the man ________________ before he healed him.
3. Sometimes we do not have the _____________ to convey what it is we actually believe. That does not really matter, however, because we always have _______________ which we often carry out without thinking, and these actions will make _____________ what it is we truly believe.
4. The blind man did not know __________ he was going to the Pool of Siloam, except that someone told him to do that. He did not have any _________________, but still he went.
D. Fourth, and finally, something e_________________ happened to this man.
1. The man born blind came home seeing because he __________ when Jesus said, “Go,” and he ____________ when Jesus said “Wash!”
2. What Jesus asked the blind man to do was not ____________, but neither was it ____________________.
3. To obey the instructions of Jesus always brings _________________.
4. Remember: divine healing is not faith in ____________; divine healing is faith in ___________.
Saturday May 02, 2020
Saturday May 02, 2020
“Anatomy of an Illness: The Church’s Ministry of Healing”
John 9:7 (Part 3)
I First, sickness gets our attention and it gets the attention of Jesus (9:1).
II Second, sickness makes us uncomfortable (9:2).
III Third, sickness is caused by alienation (9:2).
IV Fourth, oftentimes our best theological or commonsense explanations for sickness are not good enough (9:3a).
V Fifth, sometimes sickness happens for a good reason, so that God can be glorified in our life (9:3b).
VI Sixth, all believers in Jesus are called to help sick people find health (9:4).
VII Seventh, sickness is a work of the kingdom of darkness; healing is a work of the Kingdom of light (9:5).
VIII Eighth, the how of healing is very important (9:6).
IX Ninth, sickness can be overcome by divine healing, but healing does not happen without some action on our part (9:7).
-This verse makes four key points:
A. First, Jesus told this man to go.
B. Second, Jesus told him to ____________.
-What is the significance of this instruction by Jesus?
1. First, some believe that what Jesus is doing here is simply to repeat an _________ ________________ miracle of healing.
a. N_______________ went to see E______________ in 2 Kings chapter 5.
b. While there is some s______________ between the Old Testament miracle and John chapter 9, the circumstances in our text are too d_____________.
i. First, Jesus is not a _______________ like Elisha, he is M________________.
ii. Second, the man born blind is not a _______________, as Naaman was.
iii. Third, Naaman ___________ to be healed.
iv. When the man born blind is told by Jesus to go and wash in the Pool of Siloam, he does not ___________ at all.
2. Second, some believe that Jesus sends this man to wash in order to symbolize being _____________ from _______.
a. The Bible has a lot to say about the cleansing power of ______________.
b. This would mean that Jesus is not only planning to heal the man’s b______________, but he is also going to heal the man’s s____________.
c. But that does _______ fit here:
i. First, Jesus has already made clear in the f_________ three v_____________ of this chapter that the man’s blindness has nothing to do with sin.
ii. Second, if the washing symbolizes being cleansed of sin, and the need to be washed is because Jesus put _______ in the man’s eyes, that would make Jesus the s_____________ of the man’s sin.
3. Third, the washing could represent what we would call c_______________ or r______________ cleansing.
a. Ritual cleansing is using water to represent something which is true in the _________________ world.
b. Ritual cleansing was very important to Nazirites. A Nazirite was a person who was consecrated, or s_________ a__________, to serve God in a specific _______ for a specific period of _______.
c. I believe this man is told by Jesus to immerse himself in the Pool of s______-ness. He is to leave behind his old life, a life in which he did n___________ but sit and beg all day.
d. This man becomes, not just a happy healed person, but a powerful a_________________ for Jesus.
e. This miracle shows us that we must stress the fact that Jesus does not heal us simply to make us f__________ g___________ again.
f. We need to remind people that when God heals, he heals to take us from a place of l_____________ availability for service to a place of g_________________ availability for service.
Tuesday Apr 28, 2020
Tuesday Apr 28, 2020
“Anatomy of an Illness: The Church’s Ministry of Healing”
John 9:7 (Part 2)
I First, sickness gets our attention and it gets the attention of Jesus (9:1).
II Second, sickness makes us uncomfortable (9:2).
III Third, sickness is caused by alienation (9:2).
IV Fourth, oftentimes our best theological or commonsense explanations for sickness are not good enough (9:3a).
V Fifth, sometimes sickness happens for a good reason, so that God can be glorified in our life (9:3b).
VI Sixth, all believers in Jesus are called to help sick people find health (9:4).
VII Seventh, sickness is a work of the kingdom of darkness; healing is a work of the Kingdom of light (9:5).
VIII Eighth, the how of healing is very important (9:6).
IX Ninth, sickness can be overcome by divine healing, but healing does not happen without some action on our part (9:7).
-This verse makes four key points:
A. First, Jesus told this man to go.
1. Why did Jesus issue this command to the blind man to go?
a. First, he commanded him to go to get the blind man out of his rut.
b. Second, he commanded the blind man to go in order to motivate him to seek w_______________ for himself.
1. This guy in John 9 is doing nothing: he did not s________, he did not c___________ a tree, he did not unroof a r___________, he did not even a_______ Jesus to heal him.
2. There is a popular idea about God today and this idea is that, if there is a God, we need do ______________ at all to bring ourselves into line with his purposes or plans for us.
3. This means that all we need to do is to simply sit back and absorb his __________ and __________________.
4. The Bible does say that there are two blessings which do belong to everyone who is born into this world: _______ and ___________.
5. The Bible does, however, refer to many other blessings which do require some action on our part if we want to r_____________ them. In other words, there are things for which we must ___________.
6. And the most important thing for which people need to ask God is to be ____________, to be delivered from the power of ________ and ___________.
7. It is clearly the teaching of God’s Word that it is not by ____________ something that we are saved. Yet, at the same time, the Bible makes it clear that what we do ________________ greatly.
8. The solution which the Bible provides is that we come to God by ______________, not by works, but after we have come to God there is ____________ for us to do, but this work is not our own. It is a work orchestrated and empowered by __________ for his glory.
9. I believe Jesus is working in this blind man by getting him off his recliner and on to the road which will lead to a r__________________ with Jesus and s___________ for the Kingdom of God.
10. Leaving people where they are is what I believe can happen when we ignore the ministry of _______________.
11. I love the words of Oswald Chambers, who said, “Never try to explain God until you have obeyed him. The only bit of God we can __________________ is the bit we have _______________.
Saturday Apr 25, 2020
Saturday Apr 25, 2020
“Anatomy of an Illness: The Church’s Ministry of Healing”
John 9:7 (Part 1)
I First, sickness gets our attention and it gets the attention of Jesus (9:1).
II Second, sickness makes us uncomfortable (9:2).
III Third, sickness is caused by alienation (9:2).
IV Fourth, oftentimes our best theological or commonsense explanations for sickness are not good enough (9:3a).
V Fifth, sometimes sickness happens for a good reason, so that God can be glorified in our life (9:3b).
VI Sixth, all believers in Jesus are called to help sick people find health (9:4).
VII Seventh, sickness is a work of the kingdom of darkness; healing is a work of the Kingdom of light (9:5).
VIII Eighth, the how of healing is very important (9:6).
IX Ninth, sickness can be overcome by divine healing, but healing does not happen without some a_______________ on our part (9:7).
-This verse makes _________ key points:
A. First, Jesus told this man to __________.
1. It would take t________ and a lot of e________________, for the blind man to make his way to the Pool of Siloam, because he was just as blind, every step of the way, as he was when he first b___________.
2. Why did Jesus issue this c__________________ to the blind man to go?
a. First, he commanded him to go to get the blind man out of his r________________.
1. A rut is a h____________ or p_____________ of behavior that has become dull or unproductive, but which is very hard to c______________.
i. “A rut is just a ____________ with both ends knocked out.”
ii. Jesus Wants him to break out of that d_______ e______ existence.
iii. “Problems are often God’s way of p____________ us out of our rut.”
iv. And being in a rut is not only a bad thing for a blind man, it is a bad thing for _________________ as well.
2. Could it be that the reason many of us have not experienced God’s healing power in our life is because we have crawled into the rut of a particular sickness and now our very i_____________________ is tied up with that sickness?
3. What the doctor says may be ____________; it may be God’s will for us to lean on his ____________ in dealing with a particular sickness.
4. Nevertheless, throughout his ministry Jesus encountered many people who suffered sicknesses and disabilities which Jesus did not expect them to t__________________.
b. Of course, it is not just sickness we learn to tolerate. We may have also learned to tolerate a lack of s______________ g___________ in our life.
c. A rut is a place of b__________________ and r_______________ and d_____________.
Wednesday Apr 22, 2020
Wednesday Apr 22, 2020
“Anatomy of an Illness: The Church’s Ministry of Healing”
John 9:6 (Part 3)
I First, sickness gets our attention and it gets the attention of Jesus (9:1).
II Second, sickness makes us uncomfortable (9:2).
III Third, sickness is caused by alienation (9:2).
IV Fourth, oftentimes our best theological or commonsense explanations for sickness are not good enough (9:3a).
V Fifth, sometimes sickness happens for a good reason, so that God can be glorified in our life (9:3b).
VI Sixth, all believers in Jesus are called to help sick people find health (9:4).
VII Seventh, sickness is a work of the kingdom of darkness; healing is a work of the Kingdom of light (9:5).
VIII Eighth, the how of healing is very important (9:6).
-What do we learn from this verse?
A. First, we see that how Jesus healed was in accordance with God’s will and in accordance with the principles of the Kingdom of Light.
B. Second, we see that how Jesus healed was not by manipulation.
C. Third, we see that how Jesus healed is something we should never ignore.
1. The first thing we need to see about the “how” of this healing is that Jesus did it un___________________.
a. In other words, Jesus did it without the man ever a______________ him.
b. What this means, therefore, is that God was intervening in the blind man’s life in a way he could not have c________________ at that moment.
c. So, how do we explain this? Jesus didn’t give this man the opportunity to ask for help, because the man did not have the k____________ or a___________ to ask for himself.
2. The second thing about the how is that Jesus did it be repeating the work of ____________________.
a. Irenaeus was one of the greatest theologians of the early church and he said that John’s emphasis, as he wrote this account, was not on the ______________, but on the _____________.
b. Why would Jesus use a method of healing on this occasion which recalled what God did when he created life? … What makes this man’s blindness stand out? It is the fact that this man wasn’t simply blind, he had been blind __________ __________. In other words, he had n________ e________ had the ability to see.
c. That means that this healing isn’t a healing of r_______________; this is a gift of ___________________.
3. The third thing about the how is that it involved all _________________ members of the ________________.
a. Since Jesus talks about ___________ as a way of referring to the Spirit, and since ______________ is water, and since Jesus uses the saliva to make a kind of salve out of dirt to apply to the man’s eyes, it appears that the ___________ ____________ is also involved in this healing.
b. The a______________ o__________, used in the church’s healing ministry, symbolizes the work of the Holy Spirit.
c. Furthermore, when the elders anoint and pray for someone, they l________ their h___________ on them, and that also emphasizes the work of the Holy Spirit.
d. Details in Scripture are there for a r________________; details matter because details can change h_____________ and m____________.
Saturday Apr 18, 2020
Saturday Apr 18, 2020
Dwell
Verse 1
Though a thousand may fall at my side
Though the enemy war against me
I will not fear the terror by night
I will hide in the shadow of Your wings
Chorus
I will dwell in the shelter of the Most High God
I will rest in the beauty of Your presence
Your faithfulness is a shield and my great reward
I will not be afraid
I will trust in the Lord
Verse 2
You have set me securely on high
You deliver me out of darkness
And when evil surrounds my life
You commanded Your angels to guard me
Bridge
No weapon formed against me will prosper
No weapon formed against me will prosper
No weapon formed against me will prosper
Says the Lord
(REPEAT)
Aaron Keyes | Jess Cates © 2011 Thankyou Music
CCLI License # 1631159
Saturday Apr 18, 2020
Saturday Apr 18, 2020
“Anatomy of an Illness: The Church’s Ministry of Healing”
John 9:6 (Part 2)
I First, sickness gets our attention and it gets the attention of Jesus (9:1).
II Second, sickness makes us uncomfortable (9:2).
III Third, sickness is caused by alienation (9:2).
IV Fourth, oftentimes our best theological or commonsense explanations for sickness are not good enough (9:3a).
V Fifth, sometimes sickness happens for a good reason, so that God can be glorified in our life (9:3b).
VI Sixth, all believers in Jesus are called to help sick people find health (9:4).
VII Seventh, sickness is a work of the kingdom of darkness; healing is a work of the Kingdom of light (9:5).
VIII Eighth, the how of healing is very important (9:6).
-What do we learn from this verse?
A. First, we see that how Jesus healed was in accordance with God’s will and in accordance with the principles of the Kingdom of Light.
B. Second, we see that how Jesus healed was not by m__________________.
1. Before we talk about what Jesus does, we need to see what Jesus does ________ do:
a. First, he does not i_________________ himself to this man.
1. In other words, he does not give a G____________ p_________________.
2. Jesus does not p___________ to this man.
b. Second, Jesus does not bring up the issue of the man’s p________________ n___________.
c. Third, and perhaps most important of all, he does not ask the man if he w__________ to be h_____________.
1. The reason this is important is because some have the idea that healing was just a m_________ to an e________.
2. These people believe that Jesus healed in order to get the a______________ of people, so that they would listen to his p____________________ of salvation.
3. There are times when Jesus heals someone and that person does b___________ in him, but there are also numerous times when there is _____ indication that the healed person becomes a follower of Jesus.
4. This doesn’t make sense to us. We believe that Jesus should have used healing to e_________________.
d. Why Did Jesus ________ use miracles to make people believe in him?
1. First, because Jesus knew that miracles could not g_________________ genuine faith.
2. Second, because Jesus healed for another reason: he healed, not to make people believe, but because he had c___________________ on people.
C. Third, we see that how Jesus healed is something we should never i___________.
1. We may think that we do not need to know the how, just the e_________ r_______________.
2. Not only in John’s Gospel, but throughout the New Testament we are given a great many d_____________ about how the miracles of Jesus were carried out.
3. The fact that the Gospel writers, when they recount miracles, tell us how the miracle was carried out, reminds us that Jesus was not a m____________________.
4. We need to do more than just casually read God’s Word; we need to ___________________ God’s Word.
Thursday Apr 16, 2020
Thursday Apr 16, 2020
“Anatomy of an Illness: The Church’s Ministry of Healing” John 9:6 (Part 1)
I First, sickness gets our attention and it gets the attention of Jesus (9:1).
II Second, sickness makes us uncomfortable (9:2).
III Third, sickness is caused by alienation (9:2).
IV Fourth, oftentimes our best theological or commonsense explanations for sickness are not good enough (9:3a).
V Fifth, sometimes sickness happens for a good reason, so that God can be glorified in our life (9:3b).
VI Sixth, all believers in Jesus are called to help sick people find health (9:4).
VII Seventh, sickness is a work of the kingdom of darkness; healing is a work of the Kingdom of light (9:5).
VIII Eighth, the __________ of healing is very important (9:6).
-What do we learn from this verse?
A. First, we see that how Jesus healed was in accordance with God’s __________ and in accordance with the principles of the Kingdom of ___________.
1. We are about to come to the actual miracle of Jesus healing this man, but before we get to that, John reminds us once again that this act of healing happened because of what Jesus j_________ s__________.
2. The fact that Jesus heals this man immediately after his words in verses _____ and _____ makes three things clear:
a. First, the act of healing which Jesus is about to perform is the kind of thing ___________ sent Jesus to do.
b. Second, this work of healing is also the kind of act Jesus says ___________ must do while it is still _________, before night comes.
1. Satan only attempts to pervert those things that are ______________.
2. Therefore, the reason many are perverting the ministry of healing is because healing is a g__________ work of God for the g___________ of his creatures.
c. Third, God the Father is just as interested in meeting the physical needs of people as ______________ was.
1. The Old Testament does not give us the c_____________ picture of God the Father. That is what ___________ came to this earth to do.
2. This means that Jesus wants us to know that showing c_____________ through healing is God’s idea.
3. God wants for sickness and disease to be d_____________ in the life of each person.
Saturday Apr 11, 2020
Saturday Apr 11, 2020
“Defeating the Status Quo” (Conclusion)
In the first century “life as usual” for the people of Israel included poverty, illiteracy, hunger, sickness, and being under the thumb of the Roman empire. “Life as usual” is what we mean by the status quo, and for Israel the status quo was depressing, to say the least. But then Jesus came, and through his teaching and healing and feeding the hungry, he overcame many of the most negative elements of the status quo. Then he was put to death on the cross, but what followed his violent and humiliating death brought about the greatest reversal of the status quo the world has ever seen. In what ways did the resurrection of Jesus defeat the status quo?
I When we look at the Passion Story, we see, first, that Jesus said No to the status quo of lying to protect oneself.
II When we look at the Passion Story, we see, second, that Jesus said No to the status quo of hating those who hate us.
III When we look at the Passion Story, we see, third, that Jesus said No to the status quo of separation.
IV Finally, when we look at the Passion Story, we see, finally, that Jesus said No to the status quo of ______________.
A. There is no better illustration of what status quo means than the human m_________________ rate. The Latin term status quo literally means “the state i_____ w______________.”
1. We are all on a journey toward ____________.
2. Sartre said that there is no ____________ from this life with its inevitable death sentence. He called us “beings t___________ death.”
3. The more we try to hold on to each day, the ______________ each day seems to slip away.
B. There is only one foundation that can enable us to die in __________________, and that foundation is the resurrection of Jesus.
1. Oftentimes, at Easter, we talk about all the historical evidence for the resurrection of Jesus, but the most obvious evidence is staring us in the face: that evidence is ___________.
2. There was no Christian ______________ and there was no Christian ________________ before the resurrection of Jesus.
3. Christianity was only a tiny movement when Jesus died, and when he died his followers looked for ________ to __________ into to escape the same fate Jesus had experienced, and that fate was being _________ to a cross.
4. If Jesus had not walked out of the tomb, there would have been nothing powerful enough to t_________________ the fear of a tiny ragtag band of followers into the w_________________ force that Christianity is today.
V When the status quo is changed, it does not take long until the ________ change becomes the _________ status quo. But here is what is so amazing about Jesus: the changes he brought about are still just as profoundly r____________ today as they were two-thousand years ago.
Saturday Apr 11, 2020
Saturday Apr 11, 2020
“Defeating the Status Quo” (Part 3)
In the first century “life as usual” for the people of Israel included poverty, illiteracy, hunger, sickness, and being under the thumb of the Roman empire. “Life as usual” is what we mean by the status quo, and for Israel the status quo was depressing, to say the least. But then Jesus came, and through his teaching and healing and feeding the hungry he overcame many of the most negative elements of the status quo. Then he was put to death on the cross, but what followed his violent and humiliating death brought about the greatest reversal of the status quo the world has ever seen. In what ways did the resurrection of Jesus defeat the status quo?
I When we look at the Passion Story, we see, first, that Jesus said No to the status quo of lying to protect oneself.
II When we look at the Passion Story, we see, second, that Jesus said No to the status quo of hating those who hate us.
III When we look at the Passion Story, we see, third, that Jesus said No to the status quo of s___________________.
A. The separation that troubles the human race today began with r______________ against God and the decision to d______________ his Word.
1. As a result of their disobedience, Adam and Eve were separated from e_________ o___________.
2. But what caused their separation from each other was the fact that they had first separated themselves from __________.
3. God is holy and will not t____________ the sin of rebellion.
B. Since it was the sin of disobedience which caused our separation from God and from each other, Jesus had to find a way to r____________ our sin.
1. Matthew and Mark tell us that when Jesus breathed his last, “the curtain of the temple was torn in two from ________ to ___________.”
2. This curtain hung in the temple for one reason: to separate sinful human beings from the p____________ of God.
3. When Jesus died, he offered to God a p___________ sacrifice, the sacrifice of his perfect and s_______________ life.
4. The curtain was v______________ ripped in two – it was s____________ to show that nothing can now close off our a___________ to God.
C. That is why we can now overcome the separation that exists between us and the ___________ around us, because Jesus ended the separation between us and ____________.