As Reunion continues to react and respond to the call of “It’s Just Time”, we see there is more to be done here than dragon-slaying and delivering the world from all evil. Because it is clearly in the job description, the efforts and the mission of righteous resistance does not end or go away until both us and this world passes away! And that truly is all good – so we will continue to fight the good fight of faith against demonic forces and evil opposition. But knowing that it’s just time for even more…
It’s also just time for healing and hope to become part of our ministry and mission – along with the manifestation and unleashing of God’s power in us here on earth. In Luke chapter 13, when the Pharisees told Jesus to leave Jerusalem because Herod was trying to kill him – He responded to the evil that had attached itself to the culture, religion, the oppression of all ages with three things:
Overcome Demonic Forces and all Evil with Good
Provide Healing and Hope
Complete the Mission I Have Been Given
Through the circumstances of our viral outbreak and national fear pandemic, we are now treading in deep political mistrust and suspicion, with an ever-widening economic volatility and disparity. Instead of uniting, far too many are dividing – and that is what demonic and evil opposition does when it has found a vehicle and platform to attach itself to.
Divides communities, destroys trust, demolishes all hope in humanity.
But healing that brings hope, and hope that brings healing restores it all.
Just after Easter we embraced the message and mission of Luke Chapter 13:31.
The second mission in that message Jesus gave to the Pharisee’s was “I am going to heal the sick.”
We clearly know that from John’s Gospel, Jesus intended for His followers to follow His lead in this mission – and He gave us the command to do greater things in His name and by His authority. Listen to James the brother of Jesus talk of the expectation and provisions of healing and hope.
James 5:14-16
Are any of you sick? You should call for the elders of the church to come and pray over you, anointing you with oil in the name of the Lord. 15 Such a prayer offered in faith will heal the sick, and the Lord will make you well. And if you have committed any sins, you will be forgiven. 16 Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results.
We begin with the biblical knowledge that healing and hope are a message and mission for us today – It’s Just Time.
So, I would like for us to start this process with this biblical truth.
Healing that brings Hope – Hope that brings Healing
Jesus knew that – He was that.
He healed the sick so God the Father would be glorified and that hope would come to those who had suffered. However, in reality He was also the hope that brought the healing. And faith in Him gives access to both.
That God was redeeming and reconciling the world through Jesus is clear. But how?
The obvious answer of course was in His death and sacrifice for our sin. But let’s listen to the Messianic prophet Isaiah…
Isaiah 53:25
My servant grew up in the Lord’s presence like a tender green shoot, like a root in dry ground. There was nothing beautiful or majestic about his appearance, nothing to attract us to him. 3 He was despised and rejected—a man of sorrows, acquainted with deepest grief. We turned our backs on him and looked the other way. He was despised, and we did not care. 4 Yet it was our weaknesses he carried; it was our sorrows that weighed him down. And we thought his troubles were a punishment from God, a punishment for his own sins! 5 But he was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins. He was beaten so we could be whole.
So, what did Jesus do while He was living that for two thousand years could make people pay attention to the death of just one man?
He healed to bring Hope and He gave Hope to bring healing.
Yes, He taught as no one else taught, He loved as no one else loved, he gave what no one else could give… Healing that brings Hope, and Hope that brings Healing.
Mark 5:21-43
Jesus got into the boat again and went back to the other side of the lake, where a large crowd gathered around him on the shore. 22 Then a leader of the local synagogue, whose name was Jairus, arrived. When he saw Jesus, he fell at his feet, 23 pleading fervently with him. “My little daughter is dying,” he said. “Please come and lay your hands on her; heal her so she can live.”
24 Jesus went with him, and all the people followed, crowding around him. 25 A woman in the crowd had suffered for twelve years with constant bleeding. 26 She had suffered a great deal from many doctors, and over the years she had spent everything she had to pay them, but she had gotten no better. In fact, she had gotten worse. 27 She had heard about Jesus, so she came up behind him through the crowd and touched his robe. 28 For she thought to herself, “If I can just touch his robe, I will be healed.” 29 Immediately the bleeding stopped, and she could feel in her body that she had been healed of her terrible condition.
30 Jesus realized at once that healing power had gone out from him, so he turned around in the crowd and asked, “Who touched my robe?”
31 His disciples said to him, “Look at this crowd pressing around you. How can you ask, ‘Who touched me?’ ”
32 But he kept on looking around to see who had done it. 33 Then the frightened woman, trembling at the realization of what had happened to her, came and fell to her knees in front of him and told him what she done. 34 And he said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace. Your suffering is over.”
35 While he was still speaking to her, messengers arrived from the home of Jairus, the leader of the synagogue. They told him, “Your daughter is dead. There’s no use troubling the Teacher now.”
36 But Jesus overheard them and said to Jairus, “Don’t be afraid. Just have faith.”
37 Then Jesus stopped the crowd and wouldn’t let anyone go with him except Peter, James, and John (the brother of James). 38 When they came to the home of the synagogue leader, Jesus saw much commotion and weeping and wailing. 39 He went inside and asked, “Why all this commotion and weeping? The child isn’t dead; she’s only asleep.”
40 The crowd laughed at him. But he made them all leave, and he took the girl’s father and mother and his three disciples into the room where the girl was lying. 41 Holding her hand, he said to her, “Talitha koum,” which means “Little girl, get up!” 42 And the girl, who was twelve years old, immediately stood up and walked around! They were overwhelmed and totally amazed. 43 Jesus gave them strict orders not to tell anyone what had happened, and then he told them to give her something to eat.
Two miracles of active faith; one healing that brought hope, and the other, hope that brought healing.
Jesus loved and offered healing to people – people of all cultures, religions, oppression and age.
He loved and offered healing to people divided because of culture, religion, oppression and age…
He loved and offered healing to people that did not trust because of culture, religion, oppression and age.
He loved and offered healing to people who had become hopeless in their life circumstances. Christ’s physical and psychological healing of Jews and Gentiles were symbolic of His love and spiritual healing for all.
Christ loves and offers healing of relationships between people of differing ideologies and political views — a healing that comes as people move forward to love and forgive each other, accepting one another in Christ’s name.
Jesus loves and offers spiritual healing to all individuals, cultures, nations, and religions that will believe and honor Him.
Absolutely nothing has changed about that.
Jeremiah 29:11-13
For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. 12 In those days when you pray, I will listen. 13 If you look for me wholeheartedly, you will find me.
We can see the healing and hope He gives is for our future, but not exclusively for the future: Christ offers healing now today to individuals, communities, cities, nations – healing and transformation.
Psalm 46:1-3
God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore, we will not fear though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble at its swelling.
The Church of Jesus Christ, can see some of that fallout of humanity before our very eyes. The threat and reality of sickness and real hopelessness attacks not only physiological well-being, but psychological and emotional health as well. Most mental health experts say that the symptoms of the two should not be treated separately, but as holistically as one. There is significant clinical evidence and supportive research that both physiological and psychological health has a direct impact one to the other. Jesus knew this – and that is in part why He healed the sick the way He did.
Healing brings Hope – Hope brings Healing
Yes, it was a sign to unbelievers. Yes, it was to glorify the Father. But also healing the sick both physiologically and psychologically was to restore health and hope to people of all culture and religion, oppression and age.
Jesus knew these combined sicknesses and afflictions that break people down… mind and body, and then ultimately the human spirit that reaches for God.
That is why Jesus comes to us with healing and hope and that is why we hear His response, “I’m going to heal the sick.”
When the sick recover physiologically or psychologically and are made whole – there is hope.
There is hope not only for the one who was afflicted and troubled, but for everyone who is a witness or knowledgeable of that healing.
When Hope comes, faith is strengthened and the sick, diseased, and ill are healed and delivered.
It’s Just Time for Reunion bring this kind of healing and hope to all that Jesus brings to us.
Until this moment, the circumstances and landscaping for bringing hope to our affluent American culture through physiological and psychological healing in Jesus name has truly been an interesting and challenging proposition. Here are a few talking points as we consider our Christ given mission to healing and hope.
One
Because of the continued advance of modern medicine and medical breakthroughs in digital transplant technology, internal medicine, surgical procedures and prosthetics, and advanced physical and psychiatric therapy we have had the privileged blessing of access and availability to the finest medical healing practices in the world. We can even have a facetime diagnosis or misdiagnosis with a full treatment plan with some physicians now.
Two
Even with skyrocketing insurance premiums, 5K deductibles, encrypted procedure coding, embedded billing classifications, and of course the pre-existing condition coverage plans creating medical money pits we that actually has become a greater challenge for most Americans than they’re health. Many just opt to ignore treatment or disregard symptoms and health concerns simply because the process is just too difficult and overwhelming. In spite of all that frustration and concern, mainstream America has had access to needed and preferred resources and so we just have not had a sense of hopelessness or the conscious need for believing in or practicing a prayer of faith. Generally speaking there just hasn’t been enough interest, desperation or difficulty to seek God for a divine healing or supernatural intervention.
Three
We can access a prescription treatment protocol for almost any physical or mental illness – prescription drugs are the fuel for our nation’s economic engine so they will always be available and accessible. We have a plan for managing our pain, our illness, our disease.
We also can self-research; create our own natural, organic or holistic approach to a healthy lifestyle and naturopathic remedies. Most of those are almost biblical anyway right? The point is that we can find almost endless options for sickness, disease, and illness.
Those are legitimate and logical talking points and they truly represent some of the greatest miracles, blessings and resources of our lifetime. They represent the prosperity of our great nation. Hundreds of generations before us never had the availability of what I would describe as a miraculous reality.
But, it certainly appears that at least physiologically and psychologically this is no longer the case.
We have all witnessed a new reality – one without most of those miracles, blessings, and resources. We witnessed a new reality without live church, sports, or entertainment; no school, no work, no dining out, no catching a movie or hanging out at the local watering-hole; not being able to buy anti-bacterial hand sanitizer, toilet paper, napkins, paper-towels, beans, red-meat, baking flour, or even bleach.
We couldn’t find masks, gloves, respirators, generators, and when we saw the empty shelves day after day some of us even panicked. The nation of freedom and boundless had no freedom and very limited access to those resources.
Yes, there is hope – and there is a hope that brings healing.
But, where do we go from here, and what does that look like when it’s not certain what tomorrow holds?
Well, it’s just time to really know for certain who holds tomorrow. Was that just a song or is that a reality?
I think most have seen enough now to know that we are going to need to put our hope and trust in someone or something other than ourselves, our celebrities, our politicians, and our social media platforms.
We have seen enough to know now that we are going to have to have faith and belief in the God who heals and brings hope to all when what you thought you had can’t be had.
We have seen enough to know that it could all still be there, but we just can’t have it.
Healing that Brings Hope – Hope that Brings Healing
About Reunion Community Church
Located in Peoria, AZ, we are a non-denominational Christian church. We love God and teach His Truth. We invite you, your family and friends to join us on the faith journey, growing closer to one another, the Christian community of believers at Reunion, and most importantly with God. Read more about the timeless Truth we build our lives and faith in Christ on HERE.
We are conveniently located just off the 101 on 83rd Ave and Cactus Rd. Join us on Sunday mornings, Weds. evenings, and throughout the week at our small groups, meeting in homes around the Valley, including Surprise, Glendale, Peoria, Phoenix, Goodyear, Litchfield, and more. Connect with us on Facebook and YouTube
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