REVIEW
In our current series entitled “How To Be Made Whole,” we are learning not only how it is the Lord’s will for our whole man to be made whole, but also how this can occur. But, you know, it’s not good enough just to know God wills something. There are a lot of things that God wants and doesn’t get. For example, do you remember how Jesus – the One who said what He heard the Father saying – said, “O Jerusalem, O Jerusalem … How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing!” (See Matthew 23:37)? Notice how Jesus said that there was something that the Lord wanted to see happen. He willed to gather the children of Israel under His wings, protecting & providing for them. However, they were not willing to let that happen. This shows us that God’s will doesn’t always come to pass just because He wants it. No, He will never usurp our will to get His. So as we’ve seen, God’s will is certainly that our whole man be sanctified completely and be made whole. But it’s not automatic. We need to also be willing for that to happen. Amen? So that’s what we started off this series of teachings learning – how Jesus, in the story of the man healed at the Pool of Bethesda, asked him, “Do you want to be made whole?” We learned how this question is foundational for all of us being made whole – Do we really want it? Because since God wants it for us, we can have it if we just want it too. But since then, we’ve looked at a couple of other examples of how others were made whole. In other words, we looked at specific examples of how those who did indeed line themselves up with God’s will obtained their healing & wholeness. We did this, knowing that these things are recorded for our instruction, teaching us that if we do what they did, we can be made whole like they were. Amen? So we looked at the Healing of the Ten Lepers and saw how, while all ten of them were cleansed from their leprosy, one of them (a Samaritan) returned to the Lord and was made whole. We spent a couple of weeks on this story, learning what this Samaritan did to get something more than his friends. Then, over the past two weeks, we’ve looked at another story in the Gospels where healing occurred – Blind Bartimaeus. In this story, we learned some powerful truths about how one obtains wholeness from the Lord – such as, the importance of getting the Lord’s attention, crying out no matter what the voices around us and within us are saying, throwing aside those beggar’s garments, and learning to look up. I’d encourage you that if you have missed any of these teachings to go back and listen / watch to them as they contained vital, Scriptural keys to being made whole. But now let’s go back over to our keynote verse for this series – First Thessalonians 5:23 – where we learn about God’s heart to see our whole man made whole. Again, this verse reads – “Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” We’ve already pulled out from this verse some powerful truths – the first one being how this verse reveals to us that we are a three-part being – spirit, soul, and body. Paul said here that this is who we are “completely” and “wholly.” Therefore, God wants you and I sanctified and preserved in all three parts of who we are. Isn’t it awesome, saints, to know that God cares about our entire, whole man. No, it’s not just the spiritual things that He wants taken care of. Sure, He cares about our spirit and our eternal & inward condition, but He cares about the body too. Yes, He wants us just as physically healthy as we are spiritually healthy. Not only that, but he cares about our soul’s condition as well. That means he wants that part of us that makes us who were are (i.e. our life) to be made whole as well. So this includes everything! Yes, every part of us has the potential for being healed & whole, set apart and kept. Amen! We’ve also noted how the word “may” at the beginning of this verse indicates that while it’s possible for this to happen, it may or may not. And that is completely dependent on what we were talking about earlier – whether we line our will up with God’s will. We also learned how by throwing the word “Himself” in there, the apostle Paul is showing us that this process is going to completely be the Lord’s doing. In other words, the Lord is not going to need any of our help sanctifying us or preserving us. While we must believe, the work is all His to do it. Therefore, all the glory is all His too. So let’s get into another truth from First Thessalonians 5:23: Notice how Paul described God here as the God of peace. Now if you’ve paid attention, there is several different virtues that our God is the God of. But most of the time, He is called this – the God of peace (Romans 15:33, 16:20, Philippians 4:9, 2 Thessalonians 3:16, Hebrews 13:20). And I think that is significant. You see, I don’t know if most Christians would refer to God in this one way if given the choice. We might call Him the God of love or the God of power, but the Scriptures refer to Him this way far more than any other virtue. So the question then is, why? Why is peace the primary way God is described. Well, when one comes to understand what peace really is, it becomes clear. You see, peace is not just some state of mental tranquility. Nor is it just an absence of war & conflict. Peace can include these things, but the peace the Scriptures reveal to us carries more of the idea of wholeness. This idea originated in the Old Testament when God revealed Himself to Gideon as “Jehovah Shalom” – the Lord is peace. You see, the Hebrew word “shalom” didn’t describe peace as we like to use it. It described “completeness, soundness, wellness, as in welfare, health, and prosperity.” It came from the root word “salem” which described something being perfect, complete, or whole. In fact, I love one expositor’s description of “shalom” as “nothing missing & nothing broken.” So this sounds a little bit more like the subject at hand, doesn’t it? When we speak of the God of peace, we speak of the God of wholeness, soundness, and completeness. He is not the God of brokenness, but of wholeness. In other words, He is not in the business of brokenness; He’s in the business of wholeness! REBUKING THE FEVER So today, I would like us to look at another instance of Jesus’ healing & making someone whole. And this one is probably not one of the first one’s folks will think of, nor is there a ton of Scriptural real estate given to it, but it’s a great example nonetheless – the healing of Peter’s mother-in-law. Did you even know that Jesus healed Peter’s mother-in-law? Now you know, there are some people who believe this is why Peter wound up denying the Lord those three times, right? You might ask why – because Jesus healed his mother-in-law. LOL! No, in all seriousness, Peter evidently had a great mother-in-law because of what we see about her in this story. So let’s dive into it – In fact, this story is told in three of the four Gospels – Matthew 8, Mark 1, and Luke 4 – but we are going to just look at Luke’s account (Luke 4:38-39) because of something Jesus specifically does in this story. Now in Luke 4:38, notice how this account begins with “Now he arose from the synagogue.” It would be good for us to back up and read what happened in the synagogue right before this account of healing because it ties into what we are going to be talking about today—the authority that we have to command the powers of darkness to leave (Compare verse 35). Then we are told that Jesus entered Simon’s (Peter’s) house: So evidently Peter had a house. I think a lot of us have imagined that when guys like Peter went on to follow Jesus, that they got rid of all they had. After all, isn’t this the price of discipleship – to sell all you have and follow Christ. But you would have to add to the Bible to say that this is what everyone who becomes the Lord’s disciple is called to do. Evidently, Peter still had his house even though he didn’t get to stay there much. You know, having things like transportation and houses are tools. Being blessed with things is not a bad thing. They are tools with which God blesses us with in order to bless others with. I mean, where would Jesus have gone if Peter did not have a house? In fact, in Mark 1:29, this account of this story called it the house of Simon & Andrew. So what we see here is that not only was this Simon Peter’s house, it was also Andrew, Peter’s brother’s house too. On top of that, evidently Peter’s mother-in-law also lived there as well. So what I take away from this is the Lord’s heart to make whole everything in our house. Amen! Yes, the Lord cares about everything which concerns us – our people, our things, etc. All that is within our house, Jesus can and will make whole! And why? Because He loves and favors us! Know this today, church! Because you are highly favored by your heavenly Father, He wants to “perfect the things which concern” you (See Psalm 138:8). That means that God will take care of everything in our “house” – everything that is part of our lives and that we value. Amen! The next thing we see in this story is that Simon Peter’s wife’s mother was “sick with a high fever” Now it is interesting to note the word that Luke uses for “sick” here because the King James Version says, “taken with.” It comes from the Greek word sunecho which literally means “to hold together” or “to grip tightly.” It was also used in Luke 8:45 to describe how the crowds hemmed Christ in, in Luke 19:43 to describe an army surrounding Jerusalem, and in Luke 22:63 to describe the soldiers holding Jesus in order to beat Him. This gives us an interesting picture of certain sicknesses, doesn’t it? The high fever she had, had her hemmed in. It surrounded her, attacking her like an army. It gripped her and held her so that it could beat her. This doesn’t sound like sickness is our friend, does it? No, sickness and disease are not a blessing; it is our enemy! And it seeks to oppress, defeat, and destroy us! Here is a good analogy: Notice that the King James Version says, “taken with.” There have been some very popular movies released in the past several years with the title, “Taken.” Spoiler alert: In these movies, the story is basically of this man’s family being individually taken captive and how this man (Liam Neesan) is on a mission to recover them. Well, in these couple of movies, first his daughter and then his wife was “taken” against their will, were forced to go with and do what these people who kidnapped them wanted, etc. So my point is that when we are “taken,” then our free will is not involved—which is always how God does things. Therefore, it should be rather obvious to us that sickness that attempts to take us captive, not giving us a choice, is not from God. For example, there are those who try to make things like paralysis out to be God’s will for them—citing these things as their “cross to bear.” No! These things cannot be what Jesus was referring to when He said, “take up your cross and follow me.” And do you know why? It’s because Jesus said to take it up. So if you do not have the option to either pick it up or lay it down, then it cannot be your cross. Amen? No, the “cross” that Jesus was referring to in these passages of Scripture is an obvious reference to denying ourselves and laying our life down for the cause of Christ; it’s not our wheelchair, our walking cane or any other ailment that we cannot simply just lay down when we decide to. So when someone comes to you and says, “No, this wheelchair is just my cross to bear,” just ask them to prove it and get up and walk - because, again, if it is your cross, then you can take it up or lay it down by your free will. And this is exactly how you can tell what is God’s will for you to walk through: Just ask yourself the question: Naturally speaking, do I have a choice to go through this or is it being forced on me against my will? The Good Shepherd (Jesus) leads and guides. The bad cowboy (the thief) ropes and binds. Luke also tells us that it was a “high fever”: So as Dr. Luke was known for doing, he gives a little more detailed description of the affliction. So in other words, she had an extremely high temperature. So how did Jesus deal with this high fever? Well, the way most Christians who even consider the spiritual side of things would deal with it, this might mirror the last phrase in verse 38 – “and they made request of Him concerning her.” In other words, we would pray for them, making a request of God to take the fever away. But that’s not how Jesus dealt with it. Verse 39 tells us that “… He stood over her and rebuked the fever …” Now to “rebuke” does not mean to simply say, “I rebuke you.” No, to “rebuke” something means to chide it, to ridicule it, to correct from a position of authority. But I want you to notice what He was specifically rebuking here. Jesus was actually addressing the fever! He was not chiding Peter! He was not ridiculing his mother-in-law! He was not even rebuking the devil, per se! Get this: Jesus was talking to the fever! Amen! But a good question is: Can fevers hear? ... Well, Luke 4:39 goes on to tell us, “… and it left her.” So evidently fevers can hear! And if fevers can hear, then you can bet the bank that tumors can hear, colds can hear, headaches can hear, etc. Yes, church, Jesus talked to things like trees (Mark 11:14 & Matthew 21:19), the wind, the sea (Mark 4:39 & Luke 8:24), and even encouraged His disciples to talk to the mountains (Mark 11:23)! In that latter example, Jesus said in Mark 11:23-24 that we shall speak to the mountain. He didn’t say that we pray to God about the mountain. And that’s the problem a lot of times when it comes to healing. In many cases, Christians are praying to God to heal the person. No, there is a time to pray and there is a time to say! More times than not, we are to actually speak to the sickness, take authority over it, and command it to leave in the name of Jesus. This honor and privilege have all the saints! (see Psalm 149:9) TALKING TO OUR GIANTS So the way to see these mountains removed is to speak to them. But did you know this is how we see our giants removed as well … One of my favorite examples of this in the Scriptures is in the story of David & Goliath (See First Samuel 17:4-54): In this example, David had a giant just like all of us have our giants. These are things that we are confronted with that must be overcome in order to progress in our walk with God. Now it is important to understand that this story is a real-life example of an encounter between a young shepherd boy and a massive giant warrior who lived on the earth. So this definitely happened. However, it is also a type & shadow of something that we all will face in our lives. No, we are not all going to face a literal giant in the flesh, but we will face things that will seem “giant” to us. And the key here is facing these insurmountable issues that come against us and not shying away from them like the majority of the soldiers of Israel were doing upon David’s arrival. So in this story, we are told that Goliath came to present himself before the armies of Israel for 40 days and verbally taunted them twice a day. So not only was Goliath’s appearance intimidating, but his words made Israel “dismayed and greatly afraid” (vs.11). Now how many of you can relate to this? How many of you have had the enemy come at you for around this many days straight, harassing you in your heart & mind, in an attempt to make you “dismayed and greatly afraid”? I’m sure we’ve all had this “giant” come against us at different times in our lives. Then David came on the scene and there were several things that he did in this event that we can do as well to counter our own giants. The first thing he did was realize that Goliath was not just defying the army of Israel, but he was defying the armies of the living God. David realized Israel had a covenant with God and that meant that God was bound to give them the victory over these Philistines. You see, in a covenant, when one of the parties went into battle the other fought with them. Therefore, David knew that because of Israel’s covenant with God, that this “uncircumcised Philistine” (i.e. this Gentile who did not have a covenant with God) was no match for him. You see, this is what the enemy will do: He doesn’t always come at you directly. He will put thoughts in your mind that defy the armies of the living God. In other words, he will bring accusations about God Himself, and he will attempt to slander God’s people. And sometimes when that happens, it’s easy to agree with him. Why? Because it’s not personal. It’s not aimed at you. But I just love what David did when he heard these blasphemous words. He took it personal! You see, David could have just ignored these words and gone on his merry way. But he didn’t. He recognized the error that was being spoken in his ears, and he was also hearing of the benefits that would come to the one who would do something about this giant. Church, this is a beautiful illustration of how we all ought to be hearing in our hearts. We first need to able to recognize the spirit of error when it rears its ugly head, and we also need to hear the voice of truth, which if we are hearing correctly, will oftentimes remind us of all of God’s benefits. I’m reminded of the 103rd Psalm where David spoke to his own soul, telling it to bless the Lord. But he also told his soul to do something else, didn’t he? He also said, “And forget not all His benefits …” So if I’m hearing from God, this is something I will be hearing – about all of the benefits I have in Christ, not all of the fears of what I can’t have or won’t get. Those lies have to be correctly discerned in our minds so we can do something about them when they come. Amen? But then guess what other voices piped up? The voice of his brother trying to take the wind out of his sails, accusing him of things like pride and having bad motives. Have you ever heard anything like this inside of you? Is there a voice that tries to condemn & accuse of things? You need to know something today – those voices are not of God. They are the voice of doubt & unbelief. So guess how David dealt with his brother’s accusations? He first spoke back to him and then he turned from him and kept on inquiring about what these benefits were. Amen! Church, that is how you deal with those naysaying voices inside of you: You speak to them and then turn your back on them and continue saying the right things! Amen! Doesn’t this sound familiar with what Blind Bart did when those voices were trying to get him to be quiet? Yup! The Bible says that he cried out all the more! The next thing we see in this story is that David’s words where heard - they told Saul. Verse 31 specifically says, “Now when the words which David spoke were heard, they reported them to Saul; and he sent for him.” One takeaway from this verse is that yours and my words are heard too. It may not seem like it at times. It may feel like our words are falling to the ground. But our faith-filled words are most definitely heard. And because of that, those “Sauls” then will try to bring us back to reality. In verse 33, we see what those voices in our mind will tell us – “You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him; for you are a youth, and he a man of war from his youth.” Yep, that’s what the unbelief will tell us – “You can’t do that! And let me tell you why …” So how did David deal with these words (i.e. thoughts) of doubt? He recalled those memories of his past victories. Yes, he not only recounted how he was used by God to kill a lion and a bear who, in the natural, seemed to be impossible victories, but he also spoke back to those words of doubt, telling them about what God had done for him. So, remember: Declaring our past victories will spark faith in us for the current giant in our life. We need to build memorials in our lives that call to remembrance all the things God has brought us through and then speak them! So after David got the “good to go” from king Saul, which was miraculous in and of itself because, you have to remember, if David lost, they would have all become the servants of the Philistines, yet he let David be their representative. So Saul was essentially putting all his eggs in one little basket – namely, this youthful, little basket named David. So David’s confidence must have been very convincing, and true faith will be just that – it’ll sell. So then we see, in verses 38-39, how Saul wanted David to wear his armor for this confrontation with Goliath, but David declined and made the decision to go into it just wearing his own spiritual armor. Church, this is an important point: We do not need to try and fight our own battles wearing what maybe worked for someone else. That’s not the best way to get victory. The weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but they are mighty through God (See Second Corinthians 10:3). In other words, we just need to get our weaponry from the Lord. Sure, others can offer good advice, and there is some safety in the multitude of counselors, but the things that will bring us victory will be the help we receive directly from God. Never forget that. And in the next verse (verse 40), we are told how he got his weaponry. He went to the brook and gathered five smooth stones. So what do these symbolize? I see them as those words from God that we receive from the brooks of His presence. Yes, they are rhema’s that you and I can receive that are washed in the water of the Word. In other words, they are those truths, instructions, and direction we get from the Holy Spirit that are refined by Him, making them as spiritually aerodynamic as they need to be. We need to hear from the Holy Spirit, saints! These are the smooth stones that will be used to slay our giants. It’s not going to be other people’s weapons. Our victory will come straight through what the Lord naturally gives us through His Spirit. Then we see how David drew near to the Philistine … And we are told that Goliath looked at David and “disdained him.” This resulted in him beginning to roar like a lion, trying to put fear in David’s heart. And Goliath said something that the enemy still says today – “Come to me and I will give your flesh to the birds of the air and the beasts of the field” (vs.44). In other words, “Come on! Try and take me on! Try and believe for your wholeness! Try it, and I’ll take even more away from you and leave you with nothing!” So, what was the enemy trying to do to David here? He was trying to put a picture in David’s head of what would happen to him if he confronted this giant. This illustrates to us how the enemy will try and use our imagination against us. If he can get us to ponder those pictures of defeat in our minds, then our faith will grow weaker. You see, it has been well-said that the word F.E.A.R stands for “false expectations appearing real.” And the way that these false expectations appear real is in our mind and our imagination. On the other hand, if God can get us to ponder images of victory in our minds, then we will grow in faith and, therefore, will receive what God has for us. You see, we have to see it in here (i.e. in your heart and mind) in order to see it out here (i.e. in the natural)! So, what did David do when Goliath was trying to paint that picture of defeat in him? Did he just stand back and do nothing? No, David verbally responded to those fear-filled images by creating faith-filled images in himself! I just love what David said in response to his giant in verses 45-47 – “You come to me with a sword, with a spear, and with a javelin. But I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. This day the Lord will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you and take your head from you. And this day I will give the carcasses of the camp of the Philistines to the birds of the air and the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel. Then all this assembly shall know that the Lord does not save with sword and spear; for the battle is the Lord’s, and He will give you into our hands.” He essentially told his giant, “Yeah, you’ve come at me with pain, hurt, and heartache. But I’m coming at you in the name of Jesus!” Do you hear the confidence there? And it gets even stronger when David said what he did next … He said, “The Lord will …” and “I will …” This is faith-talk, saints! And it’s what determines whether things “will” happen or not. Yes, in verse 46 alone he used the word “will” three times – “the Lord will deliver you into my hand,” “I will strike you and take your head from you,” “I will give your carcass…” David had tremendous confidence and boldly confessed what would happen before he ever saw it happen. But again, this is what David was able to see: We are told that he saw Goliath dead in this valley with birds and wild beasts eating his carcass. Saints, it would do us good to sometimes just close our eyes and imagine ourselves being able to do things that have seemed impossible. When we start seeing it through the eyes of faith then we will start seeing it with the eyes of our head! So all of this led to the big face to face with his Goliath: Verse 48 begins to tell us how the talk was over, and it was “go time!” And we see how it only took one stone to slay Goliath and we are even told how “there was no sword in the hand of David” (verse 50). What the Holy Spirit is wanting us to see there is how the battle is not ours, but it belongs to the Lord. In fact, this is something you see the Lord repeat over and over in the Scriptures from the Lord defeating Pharoah’s army for the children of Israel to God giving Jehoshaphat a supernatural victory. You see, it is easy to gravitate towards thinking that we need some help in the natural to get victory over our obstacles, but that’s not true. All we need is the Lord. Now if the Lord tells you that something else is needed, then yes. But generally, you will find that our victories come through us not needing to fight with our own armor. CONCLUSION Church, we must also learn to do these things David did as we face the giants in our lives. Mind you, this defeat of Goliath is what positioned David for what he had been anointed to do. So a lot of times, us reaching our full purpose & calling is going to come through us tackling our giant. But I believe this story teaches you and I how to see that mountain – our giant obstacle – removed and moving past the mediocrity of where most Christians live. But if we are going to take anything away from this story of David vs. Goliath, know this: The best way to counter these giants is to speak faith-filled words – to rebuke the thing that is hemming us in and binding us up. Why do I say this? It is because before David ever tried to take on Goliath, he first spoke faith-filled words. This is why I just love a quote I heard from Mark Hankins! He said, “Never run at your giant with your mouth shut!”–to which I give a hearty ‘Amen!” So church, whatever the mountain / giant is that seems to be keeping us from getting “over the hump,” know that these things are removed from our lives by us taking authority over them and speaking to them. Speak to that depression and tell it – “You are not going to rule my life anymore, depression. It is written, I am free indeed in Christ Jesus. He has redeemed me from you.” Speak to that fear and say, “Fear, you have no hold on me. The Scriptures say that I am no longer in bondage to you. I have a spirit of faith, not a spirit of fear.” Yes, church, speak to that mountain. Curse the fig trees that aren’t bearing fruit. Bless the ones you desire to bear fruit. Use the power that is in your tongue to bring life to what needs it and to bring death to the giants that need to go. You have the authority & dominion over your garden just like Adam did. You have the power to frame your world with your faith-filled words just like God did. That small rudder has the power to steer your life to get you to the other side. Amen!
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