Episode Transcript
[00:00:01] Amen.
[00:00:02] Can somebody shout Jesus.
[00:00:05] Jesus.
[00:00:06] Hallelujah. Praise God. Thank you. Thank you. Megan and the worship team, you can have a seat. God bless you. Thank you for being here. Good morning.
[00:00:16] Glad to have you. Next week, as you probably already heard, we are having a combined fifth Sunday worship service.
[00:00:25] At what time?
[00:00:27] 10:45. 10:45.
[00:00:30] Not 10:55. I know some of you don't get here till 10:55.
[00:00:34] It's 10:45 and we're gonna end that service. We're going to celebrate four baptisms. Baptisms. Amen. Yeah, four baptisms.
[00:00:45] So I'm talking to the preacher this week to see if he can shorten his message so that we can get all those baptisms in.
[00:00:52] But baptism is a beautiful picture.
[00:00:55] Beautiful picture of a changed life.
[00:00:58] Because when we baptize, we lay the person in the water under the water, kind of symbolizing. Is that the word?
[00:01:09] It paints a picture of not only was Christ in the grave, but we are in the grave with him because he died for our sins.
[00:01:19] And then when we come up out of the water, especially with the water rushing over our face, it's like because of Christ we are washed new to live a new life, a different life, a better life. Not a perfect life, but a God centered life.
[00:01:33] Beautiful picture.
[00:01:37] For those next week who will be celebrating that, we'll be praying this week. Pray for them for what God wants to do in their life. It's not because they went in the water and came out of the water that their lives are changed is because they believed in Jesus that their lives are changed. We get to celebrate that together as a church as we have both congregations, both at 9:00 o'clock and 10:45. So looking forward to that. But also next week we're going to be kicking off a new series. New series is I Love My Church.
[00:02:07] This series is really all about me because I want to talk about what I love about our church and really about not only our church, but really the church, the church of Jesus Christ, the one that Jesus gave his life to establish.
[00:02:21] And so many of you, I would say maybe 20, 25 of you have already turned in a survey. We'd love to know if you love your church, what is it that you love about the church? That's the question. I love my church because.
[00:02:35] And maybe as you think about that and your journey with us as a church, because you love your church, then what? Because I love my church. I fill in the blank. So we'd love to hear what you have to say. You could turn that in at the welcome Center. And we expect to read many of these responses over these next five weeks. And so looking forward to hearing how you might love your church as well. This morning, Megan mentioned that this is kind of our designated end of day 21. We've been in three weeks of prayer, and we have been doing a healing service at the end of those 21 days of prayer. So today is a healing service, but every Sunday really is an opportunity to find healing from Jesus. Every day, literally, is an opportunity for you to go before God, bring your cares, your concerns, the things you need, freedom from, the things you need, deliverance, the sins that need to confess, and the healing in your body and relationships that you need. You can do that every day.
[00:03:35] But in our services, we always set aside a time at the end, a response time, to come and be prayed. Maybe it's something prayed for, something that God says in the service, but it's also to bring those other things to God in prayer. And we're going to do that this morning, especially because we're going to be looking at a passage of scripture as we wrap up our series on the book of Exodus, looking at the faithful, prayerful servant of God, Moses.
[00:04:04] Now, I don't know if you know this, but Moses has been faithful as the leader that God called him to be. We're gonna find in numbers, chapter 21, which is where we're gonna be teaching from this morning, that in that chapter, Moses continues to be the faithful leader out of response to the call that God placed on his life to lead the people of Israel. He's faithful to finish that job, even though because of his own actions earlier, he will not actually be able to go into the promised land that he has been charged to lead the people out of Egypt to the promised land. But he's gonna miss that, but he's still gonna be faithful in fulfilling his calling. Not only that, he's gonna be prayerful for the people to intercede again for them because of their own actions that are gonna result in the death of. Of many.
[00:04:55] And then Moses as the servant, he's the one who continues to obey, to follow the instructions that Yahweh gives him. And the instructions that he follows this time are going to bring healing to the people he leads. So let's pray and we'll get into God's word. Father God, we say thank you for the opportunity to open your word again. I pray that you cause it to come alive, because your words are life.
[00:05:22] Your words lead to life, God, you lead to life, Jesus. You gave your life in order to give us life. So I pray God this morning that your word would encourage us.
[00:05:36] Your word would help us to realize that, God, you are a healing God in so many ways. And we're going to be reminded of that this morning. But we're also going to have an opportunity to, to come to you at the end of the morning. So God, would you continue to speak to our hearts in Jesus name.
[00:05:57] Amen.
[00:05:59] Amen. So I'll begin by reminding us of the journey that we've been on with Israel as they have come out of Egypt.
[00:06:08] It's been 40 years.
[00:06:10] When we get to numbers, chapter 21, it's been 40 years.
[00:06:16] You know, in that first year, we know that after the plagues, God led Israel out of Egypt. And for two months, which is much of what we studied in the book of Exodus in the life of Moses. For two months they traveled to Mount Sinai. You can see, I hope you can see some of the black lines starting up in the far left where it's the yellow dot that goes down to that Red Sea peninsula, then across the Red Sea up to the red triangle, which is Mount Sinai. And then they're going to be travel on after they camp in Mount Sinai, which is where they spent about a year camped at Mount Sinai. You might remember the golden calf incident. You might remember the giving of the ten Commandments and the tablets twice, because Moses ended up breaking the first one out of his discouragement. By the way, Moses went up and down Mount Sinai seven times.
[00:07:18] Remember the walk? I mean, it wasn't just a little, you know, down the block. It was up the hill seven times up and down. And finally, which we didn't really study, but God gives Moses the instructions for building the tabernacle to represent him worship. And they built it during that time that year, about a year they were at Mount Sinai. Then you can see the blue line travels up through Ebenezer Geber. However, you say that to Kadesh Barnea, that took about another month or two to travel north.
[00:07:56] Then at the end of their second year, while they were still up and around Kadesh Barnea, Moses sent out 12 spies into Canaan to see if it was time. You guys remember the story, right? It was in numbers 14.
[00:08:15] And as they went out for 40 days, they came back with a report.
[00:08:20] And there were two of those spies who gave a good report and said, yeah, we should go. We can take it. God is with us. It's ours.
[00:08:28] But there were 10 other of those explorers who came back with a faithless a bad report.
[00:08:36] And they said no, the people are too big. They're powerful, their cities are huge. We'll never be able to take them.
[00:08:45] To which God responds. I'm gonna read you what God says in numbers 14. It's not gonna be on your screen, but I wanna read it to you.
[00:08:52] God tells Moses, so tell them, as surely as I, God live, I will do to you, the people of Israel, the very thing I heard you say.
[00:09:04] In this wilderness, your bodies will fall.
[00:09:09] Every one of you, 20 years old or more who has grumbled against me.
[00:09:15] Not one of you will enter the land. I swore with an uplifted hand to make your home.
[00:09:22] Except Caleb and Joshua. Those are the two spies who gave the faith filled report.
[00:09:29] As for your children, I will bring them into to enjoy the land that you have rejected.
[00:09:36] But as for you, your bodies will fall. That is you'll die in the wilderness.
[00:09:44] So instead of going in and responding and say yeah, we're going to take it, we're going to go now.
[00:09:51] The people rallied around those 10 and God said, so be it.
[00:09:56] So for 38 years they wandered in and around that area, not getting into Edom, but up and down Kadesh Barnea, up to maybe the Red Sea, the Mediterranean Sea and back down and they eventually getting over to Mount Hoar.
[00:10:15] So 38 years in the wilderness until that first generation all die.
[00:10:22] So after wandering around, they return, Israel does to Kadesh Barnea.
[00:10:27] And then Moses asked Edom to let Israel pass through again. 38 years later, Moses sends messengers to the king of Edom.
[00:10:38] And he says, hey, can we pass through your land? We know we're going to, we're. We're going to be going through your territory. We let us pass through, we'll stay on the main roads. We will not eat from your fields or from your vineyards. And if we do, we'll, we'll pay back anything we, we damage.
[00:10:56] Can we pass through? And the king says no, as a matter of fact, the king assembles an army and sends him out to say, hey, we're business. You can't come through our territory without battle.
[00:11:07] So Israel had to turn back towards the Red Sea and travel a long way around. You can see it's represented on the map there. Up there. Kadesh Barnea, down to Mount Hor.
[00:11:18] At this point they had to travel down to Ezion Gibir, Gibir, and then take the long route up to Canaan.
[00:11:27] This is where we pick up the story in Numbers. Chapter 21, verse 4 says this. Then the people of Israel set Out from Mount Hor, taking the road to the Red Sea to go around the land of Edom.
[00:11:41] But the people grew impatient with the long journey.
[00:11:47] And once again, I had the once again.
[00:11:51] And they began to speak against God and Moses. This was no doubt a discouraging.
[00:12:01] I mean, they've been wandering for 38 years, and it was about time. Moses saying, it's time we're going to be making our way into Canaan. But you're told, no, you can't just go straight up. You've got to take this long, roundabout way.
[00:12:13] So it was discouraging maybe what they haven't learned. And I hope that maybe we do that anytime we face something in our life that is discouraging, that discouragement, sure, we can let it get us down, but we can also see it as an opportunity to trust God, to trust him again when things aren't going exactly like we think they should.
[00:12:35] See, literally, my friends, the Israelites still have the same God, the same God that brought the plagues and led them out of Egypt, that has been with them, continuing to sustain them with manna and quail, that still, the pillar of cloud and the pillar of fire are still with them at this point. The pillar of cloud and fire don't dissipate, don't go away until they actually are in the promised land.
[00:13:03] The same God is still with them from the beginning, and he would continue to provide and guide them, even though there's a setback, and he'll do that even for us. Verse 5 goes on to say, this is what they did. They began to speak against God and Moses. And they said, why have you brought us out of Egypt to die here in the wilderness?
[00:13:29] Where have you heard that before?
[00:13:31] Right?
[00:13:32] That's their chief complaint. My friends, this is 40 years later.
[00:13:37] They're still complaining about the same stinking thing.
[00:13:44] So they complained, there is nothing here to eat and nothing to drink. And we hate this horrible manna.
[00:13:53] Again, it's 40 years.
[00:13:55] These people are still grumbling and complaining.
[00:13:59] Not that any of us have ever done that, right?
[00:14:01] We don't. Still grumbling, complaints. I like we look back and say, well, the last five years of God's provision, it's not been that good.
[00:14:11] Been kind of boring, minimal, same old, same old. Nothing really good. God has given and providing. We never say that, right?
[00:14:20] The truth is in all of us, we want what they, whoever they have.
[00:14:28] We want what they drive, we want what they wear. We want what they eat. We want to eat where they eat.
[00:14:38] We want to Live where they live.
[00:14:40] We want to go on vacation where they go on vacation.
[00:14:44] And some people are saying, vacation, I haven't had a vacation in a long time.
[00:14:49] But we're all like that. We're wanting something else. And so is this generation.
[00:14:54] This generation sounds a lot like the old one that are now walking in the wilderness. And if they continue in their father's footsteps, they're gonna be no more equipped or ready in their heart and their attitude to go into Canaan and into the promised Land because they are having the same heart issues that their forefathers or their fathers had.
[00:15:24] They are wandering in the wilderness all this time because 10 spies brought back a bad faithless report. And they rallied around that lack of faith report.
[00:15:36] So God said that that generation must all fall in the wilderness before Israel can pass into the promised land.
[00:15:45] But listen, friends, Yahweh does not require perfection.
[00:15:53] He doesn't require perfection. Sometimes if you read the Bible, it sounds like he requires a whole lot. And he does. He asks a whole lot.
[00:16:02] But he doesn't require perfection because no one is perfect. He knows that from the very beginning. The two people who maybe were closest to perfection, they chose sin that has infected all of us.
[00:16:16] The only person who lived sinless was Jesus himself, who was God himself. So God is not asking for perfection.
[00:16:24] Reality is he's plenty gracious and plenty long suffering. As we've seen, he has been with the Israelites. Amen.
[00:16:32] Very gracious and long suffering. What he asks for is faithful people.
[00:16:38] Faithful people who will love him, who will surrender to him, who will hopefully grow in their love and dependence on him.
[00:16:49] Trusting him, trusting in his presence, in their lives, trusting for his goodness, for their lives.
[00:16:59] In the New Testament, we read that God loves to give good gifts to his children, to those who ask, and I would add, and who trust that God has always has their best interests, our best interests in mind all the time. He always has your best interest in mind and his purposes in your life and his purposes in the world. He always has that in mind.
[00:17:28] But these Israelites, we're like them. We're just like them. And when I'm reading this story again 40 years later, still complaining, I asked myself as I was reading it, I paused, I said, what's it gonna take for these numbskulls? What's it gonna take for them to finally get it, to unite and to get on God's plan? Because God has a purpose to bring them into the promised Land, into a better way.
[00:17:55] Well, verse six picks up and says this. So in response to their complaining and declaring, we hate this manna, verse 6. So the Lord sent poisonous snakes among the people and many were bitten and died.
[00:18:20] Then the people came to Moses and cried out, we have sinned. We've sinned by speaking against the Lord, Yahweh, and against you.
[00:18:32] Pray.
[00:18:34] Pray that the Lord will take away the snakes.
[00:18:37] So Moses prayed for the people.
[00:18:41] The Lord sent poisonous snakes is what the Bible says.
[00:18:46] Some translations say the Lord sent fiery serpents, probably because the bite burned.
[00:18:54] Right?
[00:18:56] But it seems harsh to me out of response to complaining that God sent poisonous snakes.
[00:19:04] But my friends, think about it.
[00:19:06] I think this is certainly a lesson for us.
[00:19:09] There can be consequences for continued complaining that God isn't doing for you the way you think he should.
[00:19:26] I don't know if he's going to send poisonous snakes, but sometimes he will let things happen. Right. As a result of our faithlessness.
[00:19:36] Now listen. Persistent prayer. We've been in a season of prayer.
[00:19:40] Persistent, persistent prayer many times is called for.
[00:19:48] We pray again and again. But that's not complaining. When we keep voicing the same prayer, God calls us to ask him again and again. Because when we do, we're simply voicing a need, maybe sometimes a want. We're voicing a need to God. And that's okay because that demonstrates faith and trust in God. We keep asking him because we're seeking him for the answer, not trying to figure it out ourselves or simply give up on our need and turn to complaining.
[00:20:24] But I think in this situation, the snakes coming, I think it came at a critical point in the journey of Israel to Canaan because it got the people's attention.
[00:20:38] See, my friends, literally, they can count the months till they're going to step into the Promised Land. They didn't necessarily know the timeframe, but we know now from history that they were probably within 11 months of actually going into the promised land.
[00:20:55] But two things needed to happen before they got to that point.
[00:21:00] The first thing is this.
[00:21:02] The remaining members of that faithless generation that had placed them in the season of wandering to begin with.
[00:21:11] They have to all die.
[00:21:14] They all have to die. As a matter of fact, some Bible scholars think their commentary is God sent the serpents. Not to mention that the snakes were already in that area anyways. It was known for snakes that God sent the snakes so that the rest of those of that generation who needed to die would die because God said, that's going to happen.
[00:21:39] That's the punishment of that generation for their faithlessness. And God was ready. God was Ready to finish what he started 40 years ago to take Israel into their own nation, the land that he promised to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob and to Jacob. So two things had to happen. The remaining people had to die of that generation. The second thing is this.
[00:22:03] He needs to get their attention because they're about to face some harsh times when they get into the promised land.
[00:22:11] And so he needed to unite the people, to turn them back to trust in Yahweh.
[00:22:19] And in this situation, that was accomplished with the sending of these snakes. So the people, when the snakes came, they were bitten and many were dying.
[00:22:31] The people cried out, we should always cry out and acknowledge our sin like they did. When we get things wrong and we turn against God and we blame God for things. And they ask Moses to intercede for them again.
[00:22:43] How many times do they keep going back? Moses, go to the Lord, pray to God.
[00:22:49] So he did.
[00:22:51] And as I said at the beginning, at the end of this service, we're gonna have an opportunity for you to come and pray. We're gonna have four prayer team members who are gonna be here to hear your needs and your requests and to join you in taking them to God again.
[00:23:05] Okay? Verse eight is gonna continue.
[00:23:10] So what's the answer?
[00:23:12] What's the answer for them? Verse 8 goes on. It says this.
[00:23:16] Then the Lord told him, make a replica.
[00:23:19] Told him, that's Moses. God told Moses, make a replica of a poisonous snake and attach it to a pole. And listen to this next part.
[00:23:29] All.
[00:23:30] All who are bitten will live if they simply look at it.
[00:23:39] So Moses made a snake out of bronze and attached it to a pole.
[00:23:43] Then anyone who was bitten by a snake could look at the bronze snake and. And be healed.
[00:23:54] He says all they had to do was simply look. Simply look.
[00:23:59] I want everybody to take a moment. Everybody look over here on the stage. Look over to this cross, right? Everybody glance over this way, right? Now, let me ask you, is anybody forgiven of their sins? Are they made right with God because they simply glanced at.
[00:24:18] At two pieces of wood?
[00:24:21] Just because they glanced at it? So what is. What does this simply look and be healed? What's he saying to them?
[00:24:30] When those bitten by the poisonous snake, when they simply believed. When they believed what Yahweh said. What did Yahweh say? Yahweh said, make a replica of a poisonous snake and attach it to a pole, and all who are bitten will live if they simply look and believe what I say.
[00:24:56] It required some measure of faith, did it not?
[00:25:02] The people were saved.
[00:25:05] Not by Doing anything but by simply looking at a bronze snake set on a pole.
[00:25:13] But yet they had to trust. They had to believe what Yahweh said.
[00:25:19] Yahweh said, no matter how foolish, no. However simplistic it might seem, just look at the pole.
[00:25:28] Believe.
[00:25:29] But look at the pole.
[00:25:32] God could have said, hey, anybody who is bit, they come up and they rub the bronze snake and they'll be healed. Or Moses will carry it around, he'll touch you.
[00:25:43] God could have said that, but he didn't. He said, all you have to do is look and believe. What? I said that if you look, you'll be healed.
[00:25:59] I think some in that day, I presume that some perished because even after the poll was up, because they refused to believe what God said. They said, that's stupid, that's foolish. I'm not gonna look at a stick with a bronze snake on it, and that's gonna do anything. So I think some people perished, but many lived.
[00:26:27] If a person, for example, who had recently been bitten or a person who was almost at their death's door had looked, believe what Yahweh said, they would live.
[00:26:39] There was no case, no snake bite, too difficult, that couldn't be healed.
[00:26:47] There was no limit, no saving power that was represented in that pole with the snake. There is no limit to the saving power.
[00:27:00] No limit.
[00:27:02] Every single person. It's not like, hey, the first thousand people that call 1-800- okay? There was no limit. It was for anyone who would believe and look, they would live.
[00:27:16] My friends, a relationship with Yahweh has always required a measure of faith.
[00:27:26] Not about what we do, but about what we believe and who we believe in.
[00:27:32] Always required. It begins with a small measure.
[00:27:37] And hopefully over time, that faith grows. That's God's hope. That's my hope for us.
[00:27:44] But some amount of faith is necessary to live.
[00:27:49] It was true in this situation we're reading, and it's true for each of us, even today.
[00:27:55] Even Jesus himself referred to this actual story that we're studying this morning while he was having a discussion with Nicodemus in John chapter three.
[00:28:05] Nicodemus wasn't really grasping this teaching Jesus had about being born again.
[00:28:11] And so Jesus decided to present it to Nicodemus in a different way, as an object lesson from a story no doubt that Nicodemus had known since childhood.
[00:28:23] Here's how it reads. In John, chapter 3, verse 14, Jesus said to Nicodemus, just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up.
[00:28:38] That everyone who believes may have eternal life. That everyone who believes, everyone who looks to, who trusts and believes, may have eternal life in him. Jesus is drawing a clear parallel between the two.
[00:28:55] Just like those who believed what Yahweh said, then look to the snake and you will live.
[00:29:04] He's saying now to Nicodemus, Nicodemus, the Messiah, the Son of Man, must also be lifted up on a pole.
[00:29:13] And everyone who looks to him and believes will have eternal life.
[00:29:20] You see, this has always been Yahweh's desire. His desire is expressed in verse 16. For God so loved the world, God so loved the world that whoever believes in him, whoever looks to him shall not perish but have eternal life.
[00:29:41] Men being saved from death by looking to a snake on a pole required some measure of faith. Yes, just as believing that the Son, that the death of one man suspended on a cross would require some faith so that their sins could be forgiven and they can receive the promise of eternal life.
[00:30:06] Both situations the individual needed to appropriate for themselves. They needed to believe for themselves. They need to invite God's healing power for themselves.
[00:30:21] And just to finish out that those verses understand, verse 17 says, for God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world.
[00:30:30] Quite the opposite, but to save the world through Him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned.
[00:30:39] Whoever looks to him, whoever trusts in him is not condemned. But whoever does not believe thinks it's too foolish to just believe in a man that was hung on a cross 2000 years ago. Too much foolishness.
[00:30:54] Those who do not believe, they stand condemned already because they already been bitten by the sin bug.
[00:31:00] We all have.
[00:31:03] They stand condemned already because they have not believed.
[00:31:07] In the name of God's one and only Son.
[00:31:10] There's a question of looking through these few verses is where? Where are you looking?
[00:31:16] Where are you looking in your life when you need healing?
[00:31:21] Sure, when you need a broken relationship restored, when you need to overcome some kind of sin, of addiction, you need to be free to deliver from something. Where do you look for hope and meaning and purpose in life?
[00:31:40] Friends, salvation truly is the ultimate healing, the ultimate healing. And we all need the forgiveness Yahweh offers to us through Jesus. We all need it.
[00:31:52] But where do we look for that ultimate spiritual healing, for the hope and the purpose that it brings?
[00:32:00] I hope that you are looking to the man on the cross.
[00:32:05] And then when we go through those other times in life where difficulty comes and we need deliverance, we need freedom from the, perhaps the hurts, the habits and the hangups, the things that are done to us that mark our lives, those hurts, those habits, those addictions, those fatal flaws, if we could call them that in our lives, those habits that we just can't seem to set aside.
[00:32:34] Where do we look for deliverance?
[00:32:38] We might look to well meaning self help books written by flawed humans.
[00:32:44] Right? We might look to another human being or another person who's broken, who doesn't quite got it figured out either.
[00:32:51] As if they're going to be the answer to the brokenness we're feeling.
[00:32:56] But rather we ought to be looking to the man on the cross.
[00:33:01] So I asked this do you have something that one, you need to confess to God to be made right with God, to restore relationship with God. Maybe if you're here this morning and you've never given your life to Jesus and you need to acknowledge, you need to call out the truth that I've done wrong, I've sinned and it's offense to God and it separates me from him and I want to believe in him.
[00:33:23] Confess to God.
[00:33:28] In our prayer guides that we've been assembling these last three weeks, there's a few copies still out on the table if you'd like to take them and be praying over them in the next couple weeks. There are a few things that are also mentioned on there marriages and couples that they would know Jesus and live and love him.
[00:33:44] Broken marriages and broken relationships. Usually there's something that's gone wrong, something needs to be confessed to God and then probably to the individual. So that restoration.
[00:33:56] Maybe there's something that you need to confess if you're one of these kinds of people who are working on a relationship. Somebody else wrote God would draw that God would draw children to himself and open their eyes to believe and love the truth in God's word.
[00:34:10] That God would draw people to himself. Someone is praying for that. Like I said, if you don't know Jesus young or old, maybe you come this morning and we pray.
[00:34:21] Maybe you need to be freed from something else.
[00:34:26] What is it that you need to be freed from? In our prayer lists, things like this. The strength to help me forgive myself and those who have wronged me.
[00:34:35] That needs a big deliverance because those things keep us down, they keep us self loathing, they keep us self guessing and we carry those burdens around. They turn to bitterness, they turn to ugliness that shows up in our lives.
[00:34:51] Jesus can free us from that.
[00:34:54] So someone said they need to work on the grief of losing a dad in this past year.
[00:35:01] Man.
[00:35:02] They need God to comfort their Heart.
[00:35:05] Others are asking for mental health for a friend and a breakthrough in depression and addiction.
[00:35:11] Jesus can free and deliver.
[00:35:15] Do you need that? This morning another one said that God would set me free from lust and anger and God would give me strength to flee those things in the name of Jesus, let that individual, let those individuals in this room hearing this message be set free. Jesus, Maybe we need to heal from something else, something physical.
[00:35:45] One person wrote just two words, back problems in the name of Jesus. Back problems be healed.
[00:35:55] Let this person's body, whatever is happening in their back, in their muscles, in their vertebrae. God, let it be healed. Let it be made whole in this moment in Jesus Name somebody praying for healing from pneumonia and the healing of an esophagus.
[00:36:14] Someone is praying for a person with a kidney infection, praying for their health and for them to draw closer to God's word and have a desire to read God's word. God, bring healing, but bring the spiritual, the ultimate healing of salvation and a hope of a relationship with you.
[00:36:36] What do you need to be healed from.
[00:36:43] My friends? God is a healing God.
[00:36:47] I said God is a healing God.
[00:36:50] Exodus 15, verse 26 says this God speaking. He says, I am Jehovah, Rapha. I am the Lord who heals.
[00:37:03] And there's a lot of views on healing. So I want you to know one of the things that I believe as a pastor, and even our church, our denomination believes it comes from a biblical understanding of healing.
[00:37:15] God is a healing God.
[00:37:18] So I'm going to. Our prayer team is going to. I hope that you will pray big miracle believing prayers, because God is a healing God.
[00:37:29] And we pray with an expectation that because God is a healing God, he will answer our prayers.
[00:37:39] He will always answer our prayers. He may not answer as we desire, but he always answers as he desires.
[00:37:51] I think one of the keys to knowing God intimately as the healer is first to recognize that the greatest healing Jesus offers is salvation.
[00:38:06] It's a spiritual healing for our lives.
[00:38:10] It's not physical healing. That's not the greatest healing. It's not mental healing, though he does that.
[00:38:16] It's not emotional or relational healing, though he does heal those things too.
[00:38:22] The greatest healing is the spiritual healing, because Jesus came first and foremost to heal our broken relationship with Yahweh, the One who made us, and to restore that relationship. That's the ultimate healing. And every other form of healing flows out of that and certainly points back to that.
[00:38:45] Jesus wants more than anything else for you to know him personally.
[00:38:51] And I suggest that every answer from God always points back to himself and back to the ultimate spiritual healing.
[00:39:01] Even when he says, no, not now, not in that way, always pointing us back to himself.
[00:39:09] Our worship team is going to lead us. We're going to have a closing couple songs together. I'm going to ask the prayer team if they would come.
[00:39:17] And you might want to come forward. You want to kneel by yourself. Might take one of us by the hand as a prayer team. And when you do, share with us, why are you coming? Do you want to confess something?
[00:39:27] Are you looking for freedom or deliverance from something? Do you need a physical healing in some way, a relationship you want restored? Let us know and we will pray.
[00:39:38] God sized miracle believing answers. Amen.
[00:39:44] So go ahead and stand and let's worship, but let's also respond to God.
[00:39:49] Sa.
