The Jesus Touch
or,
“The Day No One Remembered Jesus’ Sermon”
Topic: Freedom from Crushing/Debilitating Burdens through Jesus
Thesis: Make Use of the Reality Jesus Sets us Free from Oppressive Burdens
Obviously need to rework the above . . . .
Aim: To motivate people to seek and give healing/releasing freedom in Jesus
INTRODUCTION
A dilapidated, vacant storefront near downtown Monroe is getting a makeover
that could turn the building into a real beauty.
The former Monroe Hobby Shop at 317 S. Monroe St. is being remade into a
sprawling office complex with enough space to hold up to five businesses.
Cincinnati businessman Paul Bartel bought the property in January to house a
statewide distribution center for his Baroque Violin Shop, a full-service shop
that rents, repairs and sells stringed instruments.
After purchasing the storefront and neighboring vacant lot, he began the process
of gutting and rebuilding the structure. Extensive renovations have been ongoing
to rebuild the floor, roof and walls of the structure, which was previously declared
a dangerous building by the city.
Mr. Bartel, who calls himself a "renovator," said the idea is to transform the space into a usable gem with a lot of character.
"We should have something really unique when it’s done," he said. "I like to take things that are pretty run down and make them into something special."
Don’t most of us love stories that take something run down that get turned into something special? That take something
• Broken and give it Healing
• Restore what is beyond Repair
• That Release what is Oppressed
• That Free what is bound
Many of us can identify with not being quite right. With people not accepting us for who we are—afraid that if people REALLY knew us we wouldn’t be welcomed. Maybe that is what draws us to stories of redemption and transformation—even if they are fairy tales like the “Ugly Duckling.”
Let’s take a look at the life of one woman who experienced such redemption and transformation in
LUKE 13:10-17
Jesus teaching: Jesus teaches like no other. The Bible says in several places that crowds are “astonished” at how he teaches, because he has authority, and doesn’t just build off of what other rabbi’s have said. But what I thought was interesting is that NO MENTION is made about WHAT Jesus taught that day. It is as if NO ONE REMEMBERED what he preached. Now, I am not surprised if you don’t remember what I preach—but JESUS???
Maybe it is something about what he did that day? What did he do?
He simply took a woman who had been bound for 18 years, buckled under the weight of Satan somehow, and SET HER FREE! He gave her total freedom that day, with JUST A TOUCH> Don’t we all long for the touch of Jesus? TOTAL FREEDOM:
FREEDOM from her physical torture—after 18 LOOOONG years
FREEDOM Before God: Immediately she began to praise Him
FREEDOM before Man: Jesus called her a “daughter of Abraham” and when
she stood tall before them, it wasn’t just physically that she was tall
and straight. All her shame and pain was whisked away.
FREEDOM from Satan: Somehow he was behind it all and now he longer had a grip on her
FREEDOM Apart from Man’s pettiness and hypocrisy: sometimes we sinfully would rather keep people where they are at. Fortunately Jesus is greater and will give Freedom to us even if others would refuse us.
If we gain nothing else today, we need to grab on to the fact that
Big Idea: Jesus Offers—and Delivers Freedom From the Oppressive Weight of Satan
All evil and sin in this world is the result of our collaboration with Satan, the Father of Lies, who is bent on our Destruction. In one way or another we can trace all evil, all hardship, all disease, all brokenness back to the Garden of Eden, and “the Fall of man.”
Most of us all all too aware of him. And while some are enamored by him—glorying in evil and darkness, his most effective work might be the deception that he is not at work at all in the world. That we don’t see him in anything, especially physical brokenness
The woman that Jesus healed on that Sabbath Day experienced a physical healing—to be sure—she had been bent over for 18 years! But we shall not miss that her crippled state was somehow tied to the work of Satan. However Satan was involved in her malformation, we must never forget that he is alive and at work in many ways in this world, and our battle is not just about the redemption of our physical nature—though all creation and those that are in Jesus Christ will be physically redeemed and transformed on that day, the day of the Lord—but our battle is a spiritual battle that deals with our minds and hearts, with our spirit, our soul!
We pray for healing from cancer, from aneurysms, diabetes, alcoholism and more—and may God give us healing from those! Concerning the miracles we read about in the Bible, NT scholar Darrell Bock had this to say:
As important as miracles are as events in the life of Jesus, they also serve as visual
indications of deeper realities.
• Perhaps the clearest example of this is 5:1-11, where a catch of fish becomes the basis for Jesus’ call to "catch men."
• Feeding of the 4,000 to point out the need of men and women for bread that really sustains them, and to do the will of God
Since his work represents the powerful arrival of the force of righteousness into God’s world, is it any wonder that Jesus must go in hand to hand combat with the forces of evil? In a real sense, the miracles pull back a veil on the cosmic forces at work within creation. Darrell Bock, Luke, p. 146
In our passage today, a woman’s bent over state is healed by Jesus and while this was a very REAL physical healing, the deeper reality is that Jesus is powerful to free us from whatever causes US to live life bent over—so we can stand tall and straight in front of everybody no matter what our past because of Jesus! He is not just powerful, but compassionate and loving as well!
Do you want the healing touch of Jesus in your life? He can touch you too, whether you have never experienced Him in your life, or whether you are a lifelong Christian who has been living with burdens that have bent you over.
Neil Anderson is a respected and sought after counselor and discipler. His main focus is to help people see who they are in Christ and to have spiritual victory over Satan’s many schemes—ones that often affect even Christians.
--ASIDE—
You know, everywhere I live, I encounter Christians who struggle with the lonsesomeness and weight of carrying a past, heavy, burden that they have never been able to let go, maybe even never felt they could share.
And I know that some of you have commented on how hard it is for us—in this body—to be real and transparent with each other. I know there may be exceptions here and there, but the body of Christ
• People who go by His name
• People bought by his blood
• People whose sins are carried on HIS shoulders
• People who were set free for a future filled with hope
• People who were shown compassion
The body of Christ—if no where else—needs to be a place where people are known and free to share their burdens so that they can be healed.
Neil shares the stories of some of the people who have been set Free by Christ in his book “Released from Bondage.”
Jennifer was a girl who started suffering from an eating disorder in 7th grade. She also was a regular “cutter.” She says:
“Everything around me seemed like a dream and everybody was just a character. I thought, Someday, I will wake up, but I won’t know the dreamer. Nothing seemed real. . . During the day I appeared normal and functioned fairly well at school. Nighttimes were weird with a lot of bad dreams and terror. I wept often because of the voices in my head and images and nonsense thoughts that often filled my mind. But I never said a word to anyone. I knew people would think I was crazy . . . (pp. 74-75)
In and out of hospitals, medicated in a way that seemed to muddle things, demonic visitations, suicidal thoughts, it was a friend who called her and kindly but boldly suggested that she had let sins of manipulation, dishonesty, hate, selfishness, and attention seeking go unchecked.
She eventually made a visit to Neil, and started working though the “Steps to Freedom” and was instantly healed of her need to cut herself and even found relief from her eating Disorders.
Nevertheless, she still battled in the coming weeks as she learned to mature as a disciple of Christ and child of God.
Says Neil in his book Victory over Darkness: . . .Foundational issues of matureity in Christ [include] walking by the Spirit and bein sensitive to His leading, and discovering the nature of the battle for your mind, and learn why your mind must be transformed in order to grow spiritually.” (pp.12-13)
Dr. Anderson cautions: We have failed to make a distinction between freedom and maturity in Christian living. There is no instant maturity; it’s a process. But people can be set free instantly.” (p. 13) Your maturity is the product of time, pressure, trials, tribulations, the knowledge of God’s Work, an understanding of who you are in Christ and the presence of the Holy Spirit in your life.” (15)
TRUST Jesus for His Power to FREE you
He can deliver you like no other. People turn to all kinds of things for help—and may get temporary relief, but unless Jesus is involved it will not be complete, nor lasting.
Have you turned to him?
He can give you physical healing. And he does
He can give you emotional and spiritual freedom—and he will.
Sometimes we will have to work at it, but it will always involve the power of Jesus—whether a miraculous release from bondage or his truth to combat lies and weakness that creep in.
Bitterness/Forgiveness, rebellion, pride, “living with” a destructive habit rather than renouncing it, etc. (A lot of this is covered methodically in Neil Anderson’s works)
PRAISE God for FREEDOM in Jesus
STAND TALL because the Lord is on Your side
REACH OUT with the healing touch of Jesus
Anne was a beautiful young girl who was horribly abused as a child. She suffered tremendously into adulthood, carrying the shame and weight of abuse and the reality that she developed wild bizarre thoughts that plagued her often. When she tried to share this with a Christian group once, she recounts: “people sucked in their breath, there was a stiff silence, then someone changed the subject.” (Released, p. 41)
Neil Anderson: Oh how I long for the day when our churches will help people firlmly establish their identity in Christ, and provide and atmosphere where people like Anne could share the real nature of their struggle. Satan does everything in the dark. When issues like this arise, LET’S NOT SUCK IN OUR BREATH AND CHANGE THE SUBJECT. Let’s walk in the light and have fellowship with one another so that the blood of Jesus will cleanse us from all sin.
Let’s Not be like the synagogue ruler . . .
SAMMY MORRIS—RB, Dolphins
"Change is hard for a lot of people, when what you’ve been doing is so
ingrained," Morris says.
He credits his turnaround to finding peace at church.
.. . . . . . .
Morris has a "Grace" tattoo on one arm, referencing "the things God gives you
that you don’t deserve." He has a "Mercy" tattoo on the other, representing
"the things God withholds that you do deserve."
