First Alliance Church ATL

04-25-20 Kevin Goins - John 9:7, Part 1

“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_____________.

04-22-20 Kevin Goins - The Church's Ministry of Healing, John 9:6 pt 3

“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____________.

Dwell

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

04-19-20 Kevin Goins - The Church's Ministry of Healing, John 9:6 pt 2

“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.

04-16-20 Kevin Goins - The Church's Ministry of Healing, John 9:6 part 1

“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.

 

04-12-20 Kevin Goins - Defeating the Status Quo, Conclusion

“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.

04-11-20 Kevin Goins - Defeating the Status Quo, Part 3

“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 ____________.

04-10-20 Kevin Goins - Defeating the Status Quo, Part 2

“Defeating the Status Quo” (Part 2)

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 h___________ those who h_________ us.
A. Good Friday is the time when we recall the s_____________ of Jesus. The Gospels tell us that there were m___________ aspects to that suffering:
1. We tend to emphasize the p_______________.
2. If we know our New Testament theology, we also recognize the s_______________ aspect of his suffering.
3. But we often forget the r__________________ aspect of his suffering.
a. Jesus didn’t suffer in p_____________.
b. The crowds around the cross did not praise Jesus for who he w_______, they cursed him for what they b__________ him to be in that moment. They saw him as:
1. a would-be p______________ leader
2. a m___________ unstable person
3. a f______________.
c. The crowd could not accept the necessity of the c_____________.

B. But Luke says that from the cross Jesus looked out at these h_______-filled people and said, “Father, f___________ them for they do not k__________ what they are doing.”
1. But that was not only the attitude of Jesus as he hung on the cross, refusing to hate the haters was his p______________ way of dealing with life.
2. And what is even more shocking is that he expects _______ to do the same.

04-09-20 Kevin Goins - Defeating the Status Quo Part 1

“Defeating the Status Quo”

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.
A. The religious leaders wanted to kill Jesus because he claimed to be the long-awaited Messiah, but they knew the Romans would not allow them to execute Jesus for r________________ reasons.
1. So, they accused Jesus of p______________ wrongdoing by saying that he claimed to be the King of the Jews.
2. The Romans punished rebellion, or treason, as a c______________ crime. In other words, they e______________ anyone who claimed to be any kind of King.
3. That is why Pilate asked Jesus the question, “Are you a King?” That is the only thing that m______________ as far as Pilate was concerned.
B. In John 18:37 Jesus says to Pilate, “You are right in saying I am a King.” There are two things here that are very much u___________________:
1. First, Jesus got himself into a f___________ predicament by saying that he was indeed a king.
2. The second thing that is unexpected is that there seems to be a non sequitur here. A non sequitur is when a statement does not f__________ logically from a previous statement.
3. Jesus admits to being a king and then, in the middle of the sentence, he suddenly changes the subject to t___________.
4. I believe that what Jesus is doing here is to shine some light into the darkness of P_____________ life and career.
5. Jesus speaks as if being born a King and telling the truth are o_______ and the s_________ thing.
6. Jesus was not only speaking to Pilate, second, he was speaking to all the people who would read the G______________. He was letting us know that we can t___________ him.
7. Jesus understood that if anyone claiming to be the Savior sent by God ever spoke a lie, then we could never be c___________ of our salvation.
8. What Does all this mean to us? It means that lying to protect ourselves is a part of the status quo that we must learn to f________________.

 

04-06-20 Kevin Goins - The Church's Ministry of Healing, John 9:5 pt 3

“Anatomy of an Illness: The Church’s Ministry of Healing”

John 9:5 (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).

This verse makes 4 very important points:

A. First, Jesus came to this world to be our light.
B. Second, healing is a work of the Kingdom of light.

C. Third, sickness is a work of the kingdom of _________________.

1. We said that sickness is the end-product of _____________________.

a. Adam and Eve had _______ and un-______________ access to God.

b. Since God is the only one who has the power to give life and to heal, to be separated from God is to be confined to the land of ________________ and ____________.

2. Suddenly, there is something in the world of sickness that is a potential threat to ______________________.

a. If we have never been aware of it before, we should be able to see it now: something is ____________.

b. What is wrong is that there is _______________ in the first place.

c. We are sick today because there is _______________ in this world.

d. God did not send ______________ into this world; he did not send _______________ into this world; and he did not send ______________ into this world. By choosing __________ over ___________ we opened the door to all these things.
D. Fourth, we are to fight against the kingdom of darkness, and all its devices, including _________________.

1. While Jesus is in the world, he will minister the light of God’s healing ministry, but when he leaves this world that light will need to be kindled by his _________________.

2. While it is day, before the night comes, we must do the work that Jesus did, and one huge aspect of his work was the ministry of _____________.

3. Jesus has the power to heal, but he also has the power to see to it that __________ ___________ is done in our life.

a. Sometimes he causes God’s will to be done by ____________ us and sometimes he causes God’s will to be done by making us _________________ over a sickness which he does not remove.

b. Then, again, healing may be his ________ for you.

c. With Jesus all things are _______________, even if they ________________ impossible in the past.

4. There are victories to be won: s_________________ victories, e__________________ victories, m_________________ victories, f_____________________ victories, and there are victories of ________________ healing to be won.

5. How sad it would be to refuse to believe Jesus for the wonderful thing he ____________ to do for us!