Sitting at the Feet of Jesus: We find Healing
Matthew 15:29 – 31
As we enter into September we enter into a new series of messages titled, “Sitting at the Feet of Jesus”. Over the course of the next several Sunday mornings and evenings we will investigate what folks found at the feet of Jesus. My hope and desire for each of us as we enter into this series is that each of us will spend both quality and quantity of time at the feet of Jesus.
The late Bruce Thielemann, pastor of Pittsburgh’s First Presbyterian Church tells, the story of a clergy friend Southern California who knew a woman who had been in a mental hospital many years suffering from extreme depression. She used to just sit on a bench every day staring at the earth—no conversation, no response. One day a new doctor who’d never seen her came down the hall and greeted her. He said, “Good morning!” She made no reply. “What is your name?” he said. No answer. “Well, my name is Doctor Heven, H-E-V-E-N, and I’ll be by to see you again tomorrow.” Then he started away.
“But she lifted her head and said to him—and because he did not know the patient, he did not know how remarkable it was that she was saying anything at all—‘What did you say your name was?’
“He said, ‘Heven, H-E-V-E-N.’”
“Now, somehow in the confused process of that wounded mind, the woman confused the word Heven with the word Heaven, and she thought of God’s love made know to us in Christ. The next day she said to everyone she met in the hospital, ‘This is the day which the Lord has made.’ And the day after that, ‘Yea, I walk through the Valley of the Shadow of Evil, but I fear no evil.’ Within six days she was saying, ‘I can do all things through Christ Who strengthens me.’ Within five weeks she had been released from the hospital, and for the last fourteen years she has been carrying out her responsibilities as a leading teacher in Southern California”
It seems that the number of diseases we are subject to as human beings is endless. There are so many kinds of diseases, disorders, and dysfunctions that doctors can barely keep track of them all. And new ones are being added all the time [AIDS - now the leading cause of death worldwide among people age 25-44, according to the World Health Organization] [CDC journal - "Emerging Infectious Diseases"].
Does God care about that? Is he moved by sickness and disease? And if so, what can we expect Him to do about it? What promises has He made concerning our physical health and well-being?
This morning we are going to consider the compassion of Christ as He minister’s to those who are sick and hurting. I believe the awesome, healing power of Jesus is the same, “Yesterday, today, and forever.” What we see Jesus doing some 2,000 years ago, He can do today. Do you believe this morning???
Matthew 15:29 – 31
29Jesus left there and went along the Sea of Galilee. Then he went up on a mountainside and sat down. 30Great crowds came to him, bringing the lame, the blind, the crippled, the mute and many others, and laid them at his feet; and he healed them. 31The people were amazed when they saw the mute speaking, the crippled made well, the lame walking and the blind seeing. And they praised the God of Israel.
1. Coming to Jesus
a. Where ever Jesus went He drew a crowd.
i. Folks were naturally drawn to Jesus.
ii. For wherever Jesus was amazing things transpired.
1. Whether they were present when Jesus was teaching, and how He spoke as one with authority.
2. Whether they were present when Jesus was healing folks of various diseases.
3. Whether He was confronting the religious leaders of His day.
b. Some may have been drawn to Jesus, wondering if He is the promised Messiah spoken of in Isaiah 35:5 & 6
5 Then will the eyes of the blind be opened and the ears of the deaf unstopped. 6Then will the lame leap like a deer, and the mute tongue shout for joy. Water will gush forth in the wilderness and streams in the desert.
i. Having heard of the miracles of Jesus folks wanted to see for themselves the miracles of Christ.
ii. Having heard of the miracles of Jesus folks wanted to experience for themselves the healing touch of Christ.
iii. Only the promised Messiah could do what Jesus was doing, the miracles themselves testify to who Jesus was.
c. Matthew tells us that great crowds came to Jesus on this occasion.
i. We can tell by what is said that folks were coming to Jesus to experience healing.
ii. When folks hear of what Jesus has been doing, and how He is able to heal every manner of disease, they are drawn to Him.
1. As a matter of fact it says that some were brought to Jesus for healing.
2. These were the folks that cared enough for someone to bring them to Jesus.
Reminds me of the story of the men who brought their paralytic friend to Jesus - Mark 2:1 – 4
1A few days later, when Jesus again entered Capernaum, the people heard that he had come home. 2So many gathered that there was no room left, not even outside the door, and he preached the word to them. 3Some men came, bringing to him a paralytic, carried by four of them. 4Since they could not get him to Jesus because of the crowd, they made an opening in the roof above Jesus and, after digging through it, lowered the mat the paralyzed man was lying on.
When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven.”
6Now some teachers of the law were sitting there, thinking to themselves, 7“Why does this fellow talk like that? He’s blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?”
8Immediately Jesus knew in his spirit that this was what they were thinking in their hearts, and he said to them, “Why are you thinking these things? 9Which is easier: to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up, take your mat and walk’? 10But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins ….” He said to the paralytic, 11“I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home.” 12He got up, took his mat and walked out in full view of them all. This amazed everyone and they praised God, saying, “We have never seen anything like this!”
a. This morning as we voiced our prayer needs and concerns, we too brought folks to Jesus.
b. In order for us to bring people to Jesus we must believe He is able to work in their lives and bring about a miracle.
c. God is able to heal sickness, disease, broken hearts, broken marriages, broken relationships … if it’s broken He can fix it this morning.
d. I will suggest that the reason these folks brought others to Jesus or came themselves was they believed He was able to make a difference in their lives.
i. Faith is the substance of thing hoped for, the evidence of things unseen.
ii. Although they could not fathom how Christ could make a difference in these folks lives, they believed, or they would not have come to Him.
1. Did you come believing this morning?
2. Our God is able to do exceedingly and abundantly, beyond all we could ask or imagine.
Say that with me this morning:
Our God is able to do exceedingly and abundantly, beyond all we could ask or imagine.
a. It takes faith to come to Jesus in this way.
i. Doctors tell us it is incurable – God says it’s not!
ii. Doctors tell us there is nothing they can do – The great physician tell us there is nothing He cannot do.
1. Nothing is impossible for God.
2. Nothing! Absolutely Nothing – Is impossible for our God.
3. Do you believe that this morning?
b. It takes humility to come to Jesus in this way.
i. In order for us to come to Jesus we have to admit we need God’s help.
1. Why is this so difficult?
2. Because for far too long we have lived with a sense of self sufficiency.
3. For some, we have become too dependent upon doctors and medicine.
a. Understand that God has given them the ability to treat our bodies, and bring out healing in many ways.
b. However, far too many call the doctor, before they call out to God.
ii. God desires for His children to come to Him, and He is gracious to work and minister to our lives in so many ways.
1. God never turns a deaf ear to one who comes to Him earnestly believing in who He is and what He can do.
2. However God works in ways that are beyond our understanding.
a. I have told folks that sometimes God heals us by taking us home to be with Him.
i. When a believer passes from this life to the next, he or she will no longer experience sickness or pain.
ii. For the believer, death is the ultimate healing experience we will no longer face pain, sickness, and there will be no more dying.
b. The good news for you this morning, if you entered into this worship service not knowing Jesus as Lord and Savior of your life – you can leave here this morning experiencing God’s greatest healing.
Some of you have probably heard me tell that when I was five the doctors had given up hope on me, I had a whole in my heart (heart murmur) that would end my life here at the ripe old age of five. God healed that heart problem, later when Angie and I started attending church for Tony’s sake, I realized I once again had a whole in my heart except this time it wasn’t a physical whole, it was a spiritual whole, there was a God shaped whole in my heart, a whole that could only be filled by Him. The Spirit of God brought about conviction and I turned away from a life of sin and embraced Jesus as Lord and Savior of my life. Once again I experienced the healing touch of God.
No matter what you may be facing today, no matter what type of healing you may need to experience, Jesus has the power to Heal!
2. Power to Heal
a. People came to Jesus with every imaginable ailment.
i. The lame
ii. The blind
iii. The crippled
iv. The Mute
v. And many others …. Etc …
b. Each of these ailments had no medical cure.
i. There were no surgeons there were no medications there was nothing available to minister to the physical needs of this folks.
1. Many of these health issues do not have a cure or surgery for today.
2. There are something’s that only the touch of Jesus can take care of.
ii. However, what they found at the feet of Jesus was far greater than anything any man could or any prescription could do.
c. As folks came to Christ with every imaginable ailment they experienced the power of God.
Luke recounts a similar incident in Luke 6:17 -19
17He went down with them and stood on a level place. A large crowd of his disciples was there and a great number of people from all over Judea, from Jerusalem, and from the coast of Tyre and Sidon, 18who had come to hear him and to be healed of their diseases. Those troubled by evil spirits were cured, 19and the people all tried to touch him, because power was coming from him and healing them all.
1. They experienced the power of God as He touched their bodies.
2. They experienced the grace of God.
a. When God manifests a miracle in our lives it is an act of grace.
b. We do not deserve it, we cannot earn it we cannot do anything to manipulate God to work a miracle in our lives.
c. When God works His miracle in our lives it an extension of His grace, His unmerited favor, as a demonstration of His great love for you and me.
3. They experienced the compassion of God.
a. God loves us, and is concerned about all that we go through in this life.
b. As Jesus is healing folks for three days upon the mountain, we see His compassion for those who are hurting.
c. God’s heart goes out to those who are hurting, we see it in the life and ministry of Jesus as He reaches out to heal the sick of every illness.
d. Folks ask why we don’t see as many miracles today.
i. I would suggest there are several reasons.
1. First, we have not because we ask not.
Several years ago, on New Year’s Day, a beautiful float in the Tournament of Roses parade suddenly sputtered and quit. It was out of gas. The whole parade was held up until someone could get a can of gas. The amusing thing was this float represented the Standard Oil Company. With its vast oil resources, its truck was out of gas. (Steve Blankenship, Edmond, Oklahoma, Leadership, Vol. 6, no. 1; www.PreachingToday.com)
For me, that float describes a lot of Christians. They power of God to work in their lives is available to them, all they need to do is to draw from the power of God available to them through prayer.
2. Secondly, we have not experienced the miracles they did in the past because we simply do not place our faith in Him to work a miracle in our lives.
a. To me this is the most dangerous reasons.
b. Without faith we cannot and will not please God.
i. Without faith fear and doubt run ramped.
ii. Without faith we cannot experience a miracle from God.
c. When was the last time you asked God by faith for a miracle in your life or in the life of someone you know?
i. Nothing absolutely nothing is impossible for our God.
ii. We simply need to place our faith in Him and allow Him to be God in our circumstances.
1. Remember the lame began to walk.
2. The deaf could hear
3. The mute could speak.
4. All by the power of God manifested by faith in Jesus Christ.
3. I would suggest that sometimes if we are honest, we are not really praying, we are simply going through the motions.
a. Prayer can become nothing more than words, if we are not careful.
b. When we go to God we need to earnestly seek Him, His will, and His power for our lives and those we are interceding for.
c. We must pray believing that God loves us and what to work in our lives as only He can.
Many missed out on miracles in Jesus’ hometown, because they lacked faith to believe in who He was. Mark 6:4 – 6
4Jesus said to them, “Only in his hometown, among his relatives and in his own house is a prophet without honor.” 5He could not do any miracles there, except lay his hands on a few sick people and heal them. 6And he was amazed at their lack of faith.
i. Makes you wonder how many miss out on a miracle, because they fail to place their faith in Christ and what He is able to do in their lives.
ii. Did you come believing this morning? Or did you simply come today as part of your weekly tradition.
Now as the power of God is revealed as folks experience God’s healing touch they respond in praise.
3. Wowed to Worship
a. Our text this morning says that as people were healed they were amazed.
i. They came to Christ in faith believing in a miracle.
ii. Sitting at the feet of Jesus, entering into the very presence of God, they found wholeness and healing.
iii. However they were wowed by the impossible becoming a reality in their midst.
1. Only God could work such miracles in people’s lives.
2. These miracles were a testament to God’s presence with them.
b. As they saw God working miracles they began to praise Him.
i. When we consider all that God has done in our lives it is only natural for us to praise Him.
1. It is a shame these days we don’t have testimony services like we used to in the past.
2. Folks, used to go on and on about how God had manifested a miracle in their life.
ii. Somehow, we have lost the sense of awe and wonder in the goodness of God and it is reflected in how little we truly praise Him.
1. This morning, everyone who has experienced a miracle in your life raise your right hand!
2. Now the difficult question, “When was the last time you shared your testimony with someone else?
a. When was the last time you shared your miracle with another, so that their faith may grow? So that they may believe????
b. When was the last time you praised God for His goodness?
i. I mean really praised God!!!!
ii. Too many folks are worried about what others will think, did you ever give consideration to what God thinks when you don’t give Him the praise He is do?
c. You’ve probably heard me say, we don’t have testimony services in the church anymore, we only have moanies.
i. We moan about this thing or that!
ii. We moan about this pain or than!
iii. We moan about this struggle or that!
iv. When was the last time you took your need to God and asked Him to do the impossible in your life????
This morning in closing, I can testify to the goodness of God in my life! He has healed my physical body, and He has healed me spiritually so that I can be called His son. He has been good to me beyond what I deserve, and He is worthy of my praise.
***** Prayer *******
This morning, …..
• I don’t know what you are going through, but I know the one who can work in your life!
• I don’t know what is broken in your life? (physical need, spiritual need, emotional need, or relational need). I do know the one who can bring healing!
• I don’t know what your greatest need is today, but I do know the one who can meet it.
If you believe that God can work in your area of need this morning, won’t you simply come to Jesus this morning?
Won’t you allow me to come along beside you and pray that God would manifest His miracle in your life?
Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever! If He worked miracles some 2,000 years ago, He can do it today! If you believe He can, won’t you come this morning!!!
Sitting at the Feet of Jesus: We find Healing
Matthew 15:29 – 31
1. _______________ to Jesus
a. When folks hear of what Jesus has been doing, and how He is able to __________ every manner of disease, they are drawn to Him.
b. Our God is able to do __________ and _____________, beyond all we could ask or imagine!
2. _______________ to Heal
a. Each of these ailments had no medical ___________.
b. As folks came to Christ with every imaginable ailment they experienced the _________ of God.
c. When was the last time you asked God by faith for a _____________ in your life or in the life of someone you know?
3. ________________ to Worship
a. Our text this morning says that as people were healed they were _____________.
b. Somehow, we have lost the sense of ________ and __________ in the goodness of God and it is reflected in how little we truly praise Him.
c. We don’t have _____________ services in the church anymore, we only have __________.
