History Repeats Itself
(James 5:13-18)
February 24, 2002
Introduction:
• When we hear the phrase “History Repeats Itself” we normally assume that is a negative thing.
• Granted, some things in History do repeat themselves and they are negative.
• [Illustration: Show picture of leisure suit, and other odd things from the past. comment on some things in History we definitely do not want to be repeated]
• The Old Testament is full of stories of how the Israelites went through a cycle of rebellion, repentance, and then deliverance by God. The book of Judges is a good example of that.
• Nevertheless, there are some things in History that DO repeat themselves and are very positive.
• In 1974 a lady approached then Pastor Meredith Garrett and asked for prayer for healing in accordance with James 5:14. She had a growth on her jaw and simply believed that if she was sick she was to obey the teaching of God’s word and call the elders of the church together to anoint her with oil and pray for her healing. To make a long story short, she was healed and this was verified by a doctor.
• That event in 1974, catapulted Bayview Baptist Church into the Charismatic Renewal movement and it was a turning point for the ministry of the church.
• That kind of history is worth repeating! God is still in the business of repeating that kind of history here and will continue to do so in the future.!
• Let’s look closely at this sometimes controversial passage of Scripture and see what God has to say about Prayer and healing today.
Two Facts of Life (v. 13)
1. Suffering/Sadness—Pray.
2. Happiness—Sing Praises. [Illustration: Sing If You Are Happy And You Know It with congregation]
Two More Facts of Life (vv. 14-16)
1. Sickness
a. We are commanded to ask for prayer and pray for one another when we get sick.
[Illustration: The simple teaching of James 5 had long struck fear into my “Southern Baptist” pastoral heart…Sick people read the Bible in hopeful simplicity. It was inevitable that someone would one day sit in my office and sak me to pray this prayer—and expect it to work! Roger Barrier from The Kingdom and The Power, chapter 8 p. 219.]
Pastor Barrier went on to tell the story of a lady with cancer who came to him for prayer. He relates his struggle of not knowing what to do. Eventually he calls his deacons and they anoint her with oil and pray for the woman. During the prayer meeting nothing happened. However, early in the morning hours the next day the lady was awakened by a strange sensation over her body. The Lady was healed!]
2. Sin
a. We are commanded to confess our sins to each other.
b. Sometimes, and I repeat sometimes sin that is not dealt with can be a hindrance to healing.
Ps 38:1-3
O LORD, rebuke me not in Your wrath,
And chasten me not in Your burning anger.
2 For Your arrows have sunk deep into me,
And Your hand has pressed down on me.
3 There is no soundness in my flesh because of Your indignation;
There is no health in my bones because of my sin.
When Prayer gets results
1. You have to ask to receive.
[Illustration: Researchers at Columbia University conducted the study with 199 women at an in vitro fertilization clinic in Korea. Unknown to the patients and their doctors, groups of strangers from the US, Canada, and Australia were asked to pray for their success in getting pregnant.
Pictures of patients in the test group were sent to the people praying when the women began hormone treatment and prayer continued for the next three weeks. No one knew which group was which until the three weeks was up.
The patients in the study were all undergoing in vitro fertilization, an assisted reproduction technique in which a man’s sperm, and a woman’s eggs are combined in a laboratory dish, where fertilization occurs. The resulting embryo is then transferred to the uterus to develop naturally. According to the latest statistics from the American Society of Reproductive Medicine, the success rate of in vitro fertilization averages 22.8 percent live births per egg retrieval.
To the surprise of the researchers, the women who were prayed for ended up with a significantly higher pregnancy rate than those who were not prayed for. "About 50 percent got pregnant in the prayer group and about 26 percent in the non-prayer group," the lead author of the report, Dr. Roger A. Lobo, Columbia’s chairman of obstetrics and gynecology said on Good Morning America. The study appears in the current Journal of Reproductive Medicine.]
2. You have to confess and renounce all known sin.
3. You have to ask in faith.
[Illustration: History Repeats Itself
(James 5:13-18)
February 24, 2002
Introduction:
• When we hear the phrase “History Repeats Itself” we normally assume that is a negative thing.
• Granted, some things in History do repeat themselves and they are negative.
• [Illustration: Show picture of leisure suit, and other odd things from the past. comment on some things in History we definitely do not want to be repeated]
• The Old Testament is full of stories of how the Israelites went through a cycle of rebellion, repentance, and then deliverance by God. The book of Judges is a good example of that.
• Nevertheless, there are some things in History that DO repeat themselves and are very positive.
• In 1974 a lady approached then Pastor Meredith Garrett and asked for prayer for healing in accordance with James 5:14. She had a growth on her jaw and simply believed that if she was sick she was to obey the teaching of God’s word and call the elders of the church together to anoint her with oil and pray for her healing. To make a long story short, she was healed and this was verified by a doctor.
• That event in 1974, catapulted Bayview Baptist Church into the Charismatic Renewal movement and it was a turning point for the ministry of the church.
• That kind of history is worth repeating! God is still in the business of repeating that kind of history here and will continue to do so in the future.!
• Let’s look closely at this sometimes controversial passage of Scripture and see what God has to say about Prayer and healing today.
Two Facts of Life (v. 13)
1. Suffering/Sadness—Pray.
2. Happiness—Sing Praises. [Illustration: Sing If You Are Happy And You Know It with congregation]
Two More Facts of Life (vv. 14-16)
1. Sickness
a. We are commanded to ask for prayer and pray for one another when we get sick.
[Illustration: The simple teaching of James 5 had long struck fear into my “Southern Baptist” pastoral heart…Sick people read the Bible in hopeful simplicity. It was inevitable that someone would one day sit in my office and sak me to pray this prayer—and expect it to work! Roger Barrier from The Kingdom and The Power, chapter 8 p. 219.]
Pastor Barrier went on to tell the story of a lady with cancer who came to him for prayer. He relates his struggle of not knowing what to do. Eventually he calls his deacons and they anoint her with oil and pray for the woman. During the prayer meeting nothing happened. However, early in the morning hours the next day the lady was awakened by a strange sensation over her body. The Lady was healed!]
2. Sin
a. We are commanded to confess our sins to each other.
b. Sometimes, and I repeat sometimes sin that is not dealt with can be a hindrance to healing.
Ps 38:1-3
O LORD, rebuke me not in Your wrath,
And chasten me not in Your burning anger.
2 For Your arrows have sunk deep into me,
And Your hand has pressed down on me.
3 There is no soundness in my flesh because of Your indignation;
There is no health in my bones because of my sin.
When Prayer gets results
1. You have to ask to receive.
[Illustration: Researchers at Columbia University conducted the study with 199 women at an in vitro fertilization clinic in Korea. Unknown to the patients and their doctors, groups of strangers from the US, Canada, and Australia were asked to pray for their success in getting pregnant.
Pictures of patients in the test group were sent to the people praying when the women began hormone treatment and prayer continued for the next three weeks. No one knew which group was which until the three weeks was up.
The patients in the study were all undergoing in vitro fertilization, an assisted reproduction technique in which a man’s sperm, and a woman’s eggs are combined in a laboratory dish, where fertilization occurs. The resulting embryo is then transferred to the uterus to develop naturally. According to the latest statistics from the American Society of Reproductive Medicine, the success rate of in vitro fertilization averages 22.8 percent live births per egg retrieval.
To the surprise of the researchers, the women who were prayed for ended up with a significantly higher pregnancy rate than those who were not prayed for. "About 50 percent got pregnant in the prayer group and about 26 percent in the non-prayer group," the lead author of the report, Dr. Roger A. Lobo, Columbia’s chairman of obstetrics and gynecology said on Good Morning America. The study appears in the current Journal of Reproductive Medicine.]
2. You have to confess and renounce all known sin.
3. You have to ask in faith.
[Illustration: I have often wondered what James meant by the “prayer of faith.” I do not delude myself into thinking that I understand the depths of what he had in mind—not event the shallow water of meaning behind this prayer. However, I offer these insights into the “prayer of faith” as a result of my own prayer, practice, and practical experience. Faith is based upon a word from God. Faith is not positive thinking. It is not a great leap into the unknown. It is not believing something so strongly that we make it come true—or that God must do what we believe will happen…Faith rests on the facts of the Word of God. It must not rest on emotions or feelings. Roger Barrier from The Kingdom and The Power, Chapter 8 p. 225]
