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Howdy, Pastor Mark here.

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I wanted to say thanks for tuning in
and joining us for our sermon series.

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We're currently in the Book of Acts.

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We're actually going to take
a chunk every year after Easter

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for the next number of years.

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And for those of you
who pray for me or for us,

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those of you who give to the church,
want to say thank you very, very much.

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For those of you
who'd like to get connected

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and be part
of the extended Mars Hill family,

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go to marshill.com/global, we'll sign
you up for a "connect" account.

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That'll get you some free resources

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and allow you to know
what's going on at Mars Hill.

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In addition you can also find 
the study guide for the "Acts" series.

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It was put together by a team 
right here at Mars Hill church.

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We've made it very inexpensive.

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Any of the proceeds 
come back to the church, not to me.

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And we'd love
to have you do a deep study

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with us through the Book of Acts.

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So we love you,
we appreciate you, thank you,

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and thanks for signing up
for a global account.

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Jesus said, "You will receive
power when the Holy Spirit

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"has come upon you,

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"and you will be my witnesses
in Jerusalem

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"and in all Judea and Samaria,

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and to the ends
of the earth."

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What does Jesus'
mission look like here?

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What's his mission here?

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What does Jesus'
mission look like here?

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What does Jesus'
mission look like here?

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What is Jesus' mission here?

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How do I know what
Jesus' mission is?

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Alrighty, Mars Hill,
if you've got a Bible,

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go to Acts 3:1-10.

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It's our sixth sermon
as we enjoy the book of Acts.

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As you're finding that place,

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let me give you a little bit
of an update,

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a family update
for Mars Hill.

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The kids recently got
out of school, and we had

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a big family meeting
at our house on the couch.

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"Hey, what did you
learn this year?

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"What do we have
coming for the summer?

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Here's what to look forward to."

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So, welcome to our couch,

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and here's what we've got
coming up this summer,

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Mars Hill,
for our church family.

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We are finishing our fiscal
year here at the end of June,

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and so our fiscal year
begins in July,

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and then it runs through June,

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and so that's where
we find ourselves.

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And we're hoping
and trusting and praying

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in God's grace
and your generosity

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to help us to finish
this fiscal year well.

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Here's where we
have been most recently.

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Over 9,000 adults a week,
over 2,000 kids a week.

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If children are a blessing,
that's a lot of blessings, amen?

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How many of you are happy
to see little people

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running around Mars Hill Church?

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I sure am.

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Five of them have
the name Driscoll,

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so I really like those the best.

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So, we praise God for all
the people that are part

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of Mars Hill Church,

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but I would point out that
number for you as well.

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Be in prayer as we're seeing
lots and lots and lots

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and lots of kids get born,

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and we want to be
a great church

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that has our facilities
and our leadership structures

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and our families set up so
that we're more than just

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a one-generation phenomenon.

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Really, what we're doing
now is we're developing

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not only our present,
but we're developing the present

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in light of our future.

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And so be praying
for the kids as well.

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As far as those who are giving
any amount, it's about 34%,

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so about 1 in 3.

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So, for those of you who are
giving financially, thank you.

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For the rest of you
who are Christians

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and call Mars Hill home
and are not giving,

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it's a good time to start
and you can help us finish

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the fiscal year very well.

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And the truth is, we're about
even between our giving

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and our expenses.

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The good news is that
over this past year,

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we've actually underspent
our expectations,

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and so we set our budget
and we've really kept

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a close eye on our expenses.

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So we have underspent.
But the bad news is that

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our giving has been even lower
than we were anticipating,

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so we do have
a deficit to make up,

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and we're hoping
to do that right here

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at the end of the month.

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And our expenses, most recently,
are about even to our giving.

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And so if you would be generous
in the next few weeks

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and help us finish strong, we'd
be in a very healthy place.

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We're within striking distance,
but we do need your generosity

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to finish this fiscal year well.

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The ways you can
participate, you can give.

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There's an offering envelope,
you can mail it in.

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The easiest way, and the way
the Driscoll nation does it, is

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online at marshill.com/give.

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That's the easiest way
to go ahead and give,

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and that might be
the best way for you.

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You can also set it up
through a recurring account

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at marshill.com that way.

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It may be like some of you
do with your other things

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you contribute to or
bills that you pay.

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You go ahead and set that up
so that's it's automatic

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every single month.

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And one thing I'd give to you
that we've set as a goal of ours

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as a family every year since
I got saved is, every year

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we try to give more than
we did the year before.

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That's been our constant goal
for Gracie and I since we

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got married some 20 years ago
now. And by God's grace,

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we've been able to do that
and he's answered that prayer

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faithfully every
year for 12 years.

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So, we're always trying
to figure out

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how could we be more generous,

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and it's been a great joy
to see what Jesus has done.

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Here's what's coming
up this summer:

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We're finishing new
curriculum for the kids,

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so be in prayer for that.

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We love children at Mars Hill,
and in addition to the parents

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sharing Jesus with them,

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we want to teach them
as a church family.

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Mars Hill Students is
off to a great start.

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We officially kicked off
Mars Hill Students this year.

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We've been having
more than 400 students a week

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joining us in student ministry,

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including my own kids who love
Adam Ramsey very, very much.

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We recently had our big kick-off

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in the Pacific Northwest,
at least.

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There was over
400 kids out for that.

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And so we've got summer retreats
coming up

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for junior high
and high school kids,

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and the students
are excited about that.

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My kids are registered;
I pray yours would as well.

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And be in prayer
for those students.

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Some of you remember back in
your own life that God

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spoke to you in a specific way

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at a student ministry
event or camp.

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It's a very important
season for us,

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and so be praying
for those retreats.

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Coming up in the fall,
we're going to go through

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the Ten Commandments together,
starting in September.

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And November 5th and 6th,

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we've got the national
Resurgence Conference.

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We've got Rick Warren
and Greg Laurie

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and Matt Chandler
and Crawford Loritts

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and James MacDonald
and Judah Smith

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and Bob Coy
and Levi Lusko.

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We've got a whole bunch of Bible
teachers that'll be with us,

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and we're
going to be simulcasting

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from Downtown Seattle
to Bellevue

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as well as to Reno
as well as to Orlando

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as well as to
Mars Hill Albuquerque.

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So, I'm praying
for 4,000 or 5,000 people

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for that conference,
and you're welcome to join us.

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And here's what we got coming up
this summer: Best Sermon Ever.

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It looks like
Otter Pops, doesn't it?

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That was my first thought.

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Nothing says summer
like a box of Otter Pops.

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So, here's our
summer sermon series.

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And I'm going to be taking
5 weeks out of the pulpit.

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I'm going to get
a little time with the family,

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and also I've got 2 books
that are due to the publisher,

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and we're going to give some of
the lead pastors their break

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as well, and so we're bringing
in some Bible teachers.

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We don't want to take
the summer off;

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we want to give you
the very best we can,

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so we've got Paul Tripp,
Bruce Ware, Wayne Grudem,

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my favorite living
theologian, Larry Osborne,

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who's been a great source
of counsel and friendship,

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and also Pastor Eric Mason

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will be joining us
over those 5 weeks.

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You're going to love
these guys.

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We brought in some
of the best Bible teachers,

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and they're all doctors,

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so they're more educated
than I am.

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So you'll get really good Bible
teaching while I'm gone,

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and then I'll have to up
my game when I come back.

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So, that's where
we find ourselves.

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And today we find
ourselves in Acts.

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Love you, appreciate you, really
excited to teach you today.

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Let me pray
and we'll launch into Acts 3.

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Father God, thank you
for the great year that

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it's been at Mars Hill Church.

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As we end our fiscal year,
I thank you for those who

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have really helped us keep
our expenses down and to be

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good stewards of the resources
which you have entrusted to us.

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I pray we would all be generous
and finish the fiscal year

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strong so that we could make up
the deficit and we could be

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in a good, healthy place as we
prepare for our future.

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Lord God, today I pray
in particular for those

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who are battling illness
and/or injury. And Lord God,

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I thank you that I have
an opportunity today to open

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the Bible and to talk about
suffering and to do so,

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Lord God, in a world that
is filled with suffering,

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and that I get to talk about
a God who has experienced

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suffering and understands.

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So, Holy Spirit, please help me
to teach the Bible and help us

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to learn about Jesus,
in whose name we pray, amen.

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Let me start with this.

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Here's what I did right
before this sermon.

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I texted my son Zac.

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He's 13 years of age.

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He's my oldest son.

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He's our second oldest child.

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I love him with all my heart.

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I call him Buddy Zac.

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He's almost got a bald spot
right here

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because I kiss him here so much.

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You know how
13-year-old boys are,

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you go to kiss them
and they lean away a little bit.

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What they really mean is, "Thank
you for kissing me on the head,

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Dad--just don't do it
in front of my friends."

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So, I love Buddy Zac,
we get along really good,

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and I have spent I don't know
how many hundreds of hours

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in my life doing this
with Zac...

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OK, what am I doing with Zac?

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Playing catch, right?

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This is how we spend much
of our life together, right?

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Playing catch.

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He's been a baseball player
since he was a little boy.

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As soon as he could stand up,

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he grabbed a bat
and went for the tee.

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He's been that kid.

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All three of my boys play ball.

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They love playing ball.

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Zac loves playing
ball the most.

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Last year, he had
a triple header,

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came home and played
wiffle ball for 2 hours.

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That's Zac.

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He plays ball all the time.

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And the reason I texted him this
morning is he's got an injury

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and I can't be with him today.

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He's a few hours away.

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When you've got 3 boys playing
ball and they're in select

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and All Stars and tournaments,
they go separate directions.

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And you've only got 2 parents,
and so trying to figure out

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how to love and serve
and encourage everybody--

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and I don't know
if you know this,

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00:10:15,792 --> 00:10:17,708
Sunday's kind of a work day
for me,

243
00:10:17,792 --> 00:10:19,458
so with tournaments
being on the weekends,

244
00:10:19,500 --> 00:10:20,958
it gets a little
bit complicated.

245
00:10:21,000 --> 00:10:23,167
Well, this time last year,
Zac's team made it

246
00:10:23,208 --> 00:10:26,833
to Cooperstown, which is
the Baseball Hall of Fame, OK?

247
00:10:26,917 --> 00:10:28,667
Made it to
the national tournament.

248
00:10:28,708 --> 00:10:30,458
If they made it
to the semi-finals,

249
00:10:30,500 --> 00:10:33,208
they were gonna play,
I think it was, on ESPN 2.

250
00:10:33,292 --> 00:10:35,208
If you're a 12-year-old boy,
true or false,

251
00:10:35,292 --> 00:10:36,625
that's a big deal?

252
00:10:36,667 --> 00:10:38,125
Oh, that's a big deal, right?

253
00:10:38,167 --> 00:10:40,333
Like, Muslim kids are like,
"We're going to Mecca."

254
00:10:40,375 --> 00:10:42,500
My kids are like, "Hey,
we're going to Cooperstown."

255
00:10:42,583 --> 00:10:44,708
Like, this is
a big trip for them, OK?

256
00:10:44,792 --> 00:10:46,917
Now, Zac, his arm started
giving him trouble before

257
00:10:47,000 --> 00:10:50,833
the tournament and I had
to pull him out off the team.

258
00:10:50,917 --> 00:10:53,000
He could not make the nationally
ranked tournament

259
00:10:53,083 --> 00:10:56,042
that he qualified for with
an All-Star team,

260
00:10:56,125 --> 00:10:58,458
a select team that was
playing out of California.

261
00:10:58,500 --> 00:11:01,500
He made an out-of-state select
team that made it to nationals,

262
00:11:01,583 --> 00:11:04,833
and at the last minute,
he couldn't go.

263
00:11:04,875 --> 00:11:08,792
He was really--I mean,
he was very devastated.

264
00:11:08,833 --> 00:11:11,708
He'd worked so hard
and trained so long.

265
00:11:11,792 --> 00:11:14,125
So, we had to rest
him for 6 months.

266
00:11:14,167 --> 00:11:16,292
He couldn't throw
a ball for 6 months.

267
00:11:16,333 --> 00:11:18,708
Imagine being a boy, can't use
your--he's a lefty--

268
00:11:18,792 --> 00:11:20,833
your left arm for 6 months.

269
00:11:20,875 --> 00:11:24,208
We took him into specialists, we
rested him, we prayed over him,

270
00:11:24,292 --> 00:11:28,083
we slowly brought him back once
the doctor said it was OK.

271
00:11:28,167 --> 00:11:29,833
We thought everything was fine.

272
00:11:29,875 --> 00:11:32,792
The last few weeks, I've
started catching him at home.

273
00:11:32,833 --> 00:11:34,333
He's not yet pitching.

274
00:11:34,375 --> 00:11:38,417
He's playing center field for
a select team. And yesterday

275
00:11:38,500 --> 00:11:41,833
they were playing out of town
a couple hours away.

276
00:11:41,875 --> 00:11:45,125
Grace and I were unable to be
with him because we were over

277
00:11:45,167 --> 00:11:48,167
at another son's tournament
and I had to come back to work.

278
00:11:48,250 --> 00:11:51,583
And I got a call from Zac last
night and he's all choked up.

279
00:11:51,667 --> 00:11:54,083
"Dad, my arm hurts again
in the exact same spot.

280
00:11:54,167 --> 00:11:56,708
I can't play.
What do I do?"

281
00:11:56,792 --> 00:11:58,417
So, this morning,
I'm texting with Zac.

282
00:11:58,500 --> 00:12:00,292
He's worried.

283
00:12:00,333 --> 00:12:02,500
He's 13, like, "Do I have
something permanently wrong?

284
00:12:02,542 --> 00:12:04,792
"Am I going
to be able to play again?

285
00:12:04,833 --> 00:12:07,417
"As we're progressing toward
more advanced tournaments,

286
00:12:07,500 --> 00:12:10,875
is it yet another season
that I need to quit early?"

287
00:12:10,958 --> 00:12:13,083
How many of you, right now,
raise your hand

288
00:12:13,167 --> 00:12:15,417
if you're battling an injury
or an illness.

289
00:12:15,500 --> 00:12:17,167
You're feeling like
Buddy Zac today.

290
00:12:17,250 --> 00:12:18,792
You're battling--OK,
keep your hand up.

291
00:12:18,833 --> 00:12:21,500
How many of you love somebody,
know somebody who's battling

292
00:12:21,583 --> 00:12:23,208
an injury or an illness?

293
00:12:23,292 --> 00:12:24,667
Raise your hand.

294
00:12:24,750 --> 00:12:27,667
OK, pretty much all the hands
are going to go up, right?

295
00:12:27,750 --> 00:12:29,833
All the hands
are going to go up.

296
00:12:29,875 --> 00:12:32,667
We are either battling an injury
or an illness

297
00:12:32,750 --> 00:12:34,500
or we love someone who is.

298
00:12:34,583 --> 00:12:38,125
So, some of you are feeling
like Buddy Zac today, like,

299
00:12:38,167 --> 00:12:40,208
"Not again, what
does this mean?"

300
00:12:40,292 --> 00:12:41,917
And I know
he doesn't have cancer,

301
00:12:42,000 --> 00:12:44,417
and I know it's not
the end of the world,

302
00:12:44,500 --> 00:12:46,417
and I want to keep
it in perspective,

303
00:12:46,500 --> 00:12:47,917
but when you're
a 13-year-old boy,

304
00:12:48,000 --> 00:12:49,417
it's kind of a big deal.

305
00:12:49,500 --> 00:12:51,208
And when you're
the 13-year-old boy's dad,

306
00:12:51,292 --> 00:12:54,000
he's a big deal,
so it's a big deal to you.

307
00:12:54,042 --> 00:12:56,708
And some of you are
in that position that I am.

308
00:12:56,792 --> 00:12:58,917
There's somebody that you
know and love, and man,

309
00:12:59,000 --> 00:13:02,167
you just wish they got good news
and you wish they were OK.

310
00:13:02,208 --> 00:13:05,083
Well, this is
the world that we live in.

311
00:13:05,167 --> 00:13:07,417
Seventy percent of Americans
are on some sort

312
00:13:07,500 --> 00:13:10,417
of prescription medication
for an injury or an illness.

313
00:13:10,500 --> 00:13:13,500
Over half of Americans are
on at least two medications

314
00:13:13,583 --> 00:13:16,417
for an illness or an injury.

315
00:13:16,500 --> 00:13:18,500
Since sin entered the world,

316
00:13:18,583 --> 00:13:20,833
people are suffering,
and they're sick,

317
00:13:20,875 --> 00:13:23,333
and they're struggling.

318
00:13:23,375 --> 00:13:25,792
And the promise
was given 700 years

319
00:13:25,833 --> 00:13:28,833
before Jesus was born,
that his ministry would be

320
00:13:28,875 --> 00:13:33,375
two things: that he would
forgive sins spiritually

321
00:13:33,458 --> 00:13:36,667
and that he would heal
bodies physically.

322
00:13:36,750 --> 00:13:39,500
I'll read this great promise
to you about Jesus' cross

323
00:13:39,583 --> 00:13:42,292
in Isaiah 53:4-5.

324
00:13:42,333 --> 00:13:45,583
"Surely he has borne our
griefs and carried our sorrows;

325
00:13:45,667 --> 00:13:49,583
"yet we esteemed him stricken,
smitten by God, and afflicted.

326
00:13:49,667 --> 00:13:51,500
"But he was pierced
for our transgressions;

327
00:13:51,583 --> 00:13:53,500
"he was crushed
for our iniquities;

328
00:13:53,583 --> 00:13:56,375
upon him was the chastisement
that brought us peace"

329
00:13:56,458 --> 00:13:58,625
--and here's the key phrase--

330
00:13:58,667 --> 00:14:01,875
"and with his wounds
we are healed."

331
00:14:01,958 --> 00:14:03,583
We are healed.

332
00:14:03,667 --> 00:14:10,583
See, sin affects our immaterial
soul and our physical body.

333
00:14:10,667 --> 00:14:15,125
And Jesus comes to forgive
our sin and to heal our soul

334
00:14:15,167 --> 00:14:18,208
but also to heal our body.

335
00:14:18,292 --> 00:14:23,000
So, the people of God, they were
awaiting the coming of Jesus.

336
00:14:23,083 --> 00:14:25,833
"When will this One come, who
will die in our place

337
00:14:25,875 --> 00:14:29,333
"for our sins, that he
will heal our spiritual soul

338
00:14:29,375 --> 00:14:32,000
and he will heal
our physical body?"

339
00:14:32,083 --> 00:14:34,500
Well, then we know that
the Lord Jesus did come

340
00:14:34,542 --> 00:14:36,667
and he did practice healing.

341
00:14:36,750 --> 00:14:39,167
If you're at all familiar
with the what's called

342
00:14:39,250 --> 00:14:42,000
the Gospels--Matthew, Mark,
Luke, and John--they're sketches

343
00:14:42,083 --> 00:14:43,833
of Jesus' life on earth.

344
00:14:43,875 --> 00:14:46,875
They don't record everything he
taught or everyone he healed.

345
00:14:46,958 --> 00:14:48,875
It's a summary.

346
00:14:48,958 --> 00:14:51,500
But even in that--I was doing
some work this week--

347
00:14:51,583 --> 00:14:55,625
there are 27 individuals
that Jesus heals in the gospels.

348
00:14:55,667 --> 00:14:57,917
Twenty-seven people that
are named or explained

349
00:14:58,000 --> 00:14:59,625
that Jesus healed.

350
00:14:59,667 --> 00:15:02,375
And then there's at least
ten groups of people where

351
00:15:02,458 --> 00:15:04,583
we don't sometimes know
the size of the group,

352
00:15:04,667 --> 00:15:06,708
but he just healed
a whole group of people

353
00:15:06,792 --> 00:15:09,917
physically. Physically.

354
00:15:10,000 --> 00:15:13,500
Now, we know that then Jesus
died on the cross

355
00:15:13,542 --> 00:15:15,625
in our place for our sins.

356
00:15:15,667 --> 00:15:18,875
Three days later,
he was healed.

357
00:15:18,958 --> 00:15:21,792
His broken body was healed.

358
00:15:21,833 --> 00:15:25,375
His dead body was resurrected.

359
00:15:25,458 --> 00:15:28,792
Over the course of 40 days,
we read early in Acts 1

360
00:15:28,833 --> 00:15:32,125
that he went around evidencing
his resurrection.

361
00:15:32,167 --> 00:15:34,125
And then he ascended
into heaven.

362
00:15:34,167 --> 00:15:39,625
And the question then was, "Do
we have any access to Jesus now?

363
00:15:39,667 --> 00:15:43,000
"When he was here, we
could walk up to him and ask him

364
00:15:43,042 --> 00:15:44,667
"a question, or if we were sick,

365
00:15:44,750 --> 00:15:47,208
"we could go up to him
and ask for healing.

366
00:15:47,292 --> 00:15:50,292
"But now that he has left,
what does that mean for us?

367
00:15:50,333 --> 00:15:52,333
"Are we abandoned?
Are we orphaned?

368
00:15:52,375 --> 00:15:56,292
"Are we alone?
Can we have access to Jesus?

369
00:15:56,333 --> 00:15:59,917
"Will he forgive us?
Will he heal us?

370
00:16:00,042 --> 00:16:04,500
What relationship does
Jesus have with us now?"

371
00:16:04,542 --> 00:16:08,000
And then the Holy Spirit is
sent to connect Jesus' people

372
00:16:08,083 --> 00:16:11,917
to Jesus so that we could
still talk to Jesus

373
00:16:12,000 --> 00:16:14,417
as if he were here among us,

374
00:16:14,500 --> 00:16:17,708
that we could still inquire
of Jesus for healing as if

375
00:16:17,792 --> 00:16:22,625
he were still present as he
was when he walked the earth.

376
00:16:22,667 --> 00:16:26,917
And we read, then, of what
Jesus' followers started doing

377
00:16:27,000 --> 00:16:29,500
by the power of the Holy Spirit.

378
00:16:29,583 --> 00:16:33,000
And one of the things
that they did was healing.

379
00:16:33,083 --> 00:16:37,500
So, we'll read
in Acts 3:1-10.

380
00:16:37,583 --> 00:16:41,000
What you're going to see here
is that in the book of Acts,

381
00:16:41,083 --> 00:16:43,708
according to my
reading this week,

382
00:16:43,792 --> 00:16:46,667
there are 14 occurrences
of healing--

383
00:16:46,750 --> 00:16:49,583
divine physical healing.

384
00:16:49,667 --> 00:16:51,500
This is the first one.

385
00:16:51,542 --> 00:16:53,208
So, here's the first healing

386
00:16:53,292 --> 00:16:55,917
that is recorded by
Jesus' people unto the power

387
00:16:56,000 --> 00:16:58,125
of the Holy Spirit
in the book of Acts.

388
00:16:58,167 --> 00:17:00,667
You ready?
Let's read it.

389
00:17:00,750 --> 00:17:03,167
"Now Peter and John"--all right,
it's like Batman and Robin

390
00:17:03,208 --> 00:17:04,583
in the Bible, right?

391
00:17:04,667 --> 00:17:06,625
These guys are a big deal.

392
00:17:06,667 --> 00:17:09,167
"Now Peter and John were going
up to the temple

393
00:17:09,250 --> 00:17:12,000
at the hour of prayer,
the ninth hour."

394
00:17:12,083 --> 00:17:15,333
That's about 3 o'clock
in the afternoon.

395
00:17:15,375 --> 00:17:17,417
"And a man lame from"--when?

396
00:17:17,500 --> 00:17:22,000
"Birth"--so this is a life
condition--"was being carried."

397
00:17:22,042 --> 00:17:26,333
So, he is not functional
under normal capacity.

398
00:17:26,375 --> 00:17:29,208
"Whom they laid daily
at the gate of the temple that

399
00:17:29,292 --> 00:17:32,208
"is called the Beautiful Gate
to ask alms of those

400
00:17:32,292 --> 00:17:33,708
"entering the temple.

401
00:17:33,792 --> 00:17:36,208
"Seeing Peter and John
about to go into the temple,

402
00:17:36,292 --> 00:17:37,625
he asked to receive alms."

403
00:17:37,667 --> 00:17:40,208
He's asking them for charity.

404
00:17:40,292 --> 00:17:44,208
"And Peter directed his gaze
at him, as did John,

405
00:17:44,292 --> 00:17:46,833
"and said, 'Look at us.'

406
00:17:46,875 --> 00:17:49,417
"And he fixed
his attention on them,

407
00:17:49,500 --> 00:17:51,625
"expecting to receive
something from them.

408
00:17:51,667 --> 00:17:54,417
"But Peter said, 'I have
no silver and gold,

409
00:17:54,500 --> 00:17:57,500
"'but what I do have
I give to you.

410
00:17:57,583 --> 00:18:00,583
"'In the name
of Jesus Christ of Nazareth,

411
00:18:00,667 --> 00:18:03,167
rise up and walk!'"

412
00:18:03,250 --> 00:18:05,167
Can you imagine
you're driving down the road,

413
00:18:05,250 --> 00:18:08,833
there's a guy on the shoulder of
the road with a sign on a mat,

414
00:18:08,875 --> 00:18:10,333
"Crippled from birth."

415
00:18:10,375 --> 00:18:12,833
You get out at
the red light, and he says,

416
00:18:12,875 --> 00:18:14,833
"How much are you
going to give me?"

417
00:18:14,875 --> 00:18:17,833
You say, "I've got nothing,
but how about you just get up

418
00:18:17,875 --> 00:18:19,208
and walk home?"

419
00:18:19,292 --> 00:18:22,375
And he does.
That's what's happening.

420
00:18:22,458 --> 00:18:24,375
"And he took him
by the right hand

421
00:18:24,458 --> 00:18:25,833
"and raised him up,

422
00:18:25,875 --> 00:18:28,625
"and immediately his feet
and ankles were made strong.

423
00:18:28,667 --> 00:18:33,500
And leaping up"--this guy's
never stood--

424
00:18:33,583 --> 00:18:35,708
"And leaping up he
stood and began to walk,

425
00:18:35,792 --> 00:18:37,208
"and entered
the temple with them,

426
00:18:37,292 --> 00:18:39,833
"walking and leaping
and praising God.

427
00:18:39,875 --> 00:18:43,208
"And all the people saw him
walking and praising God,

428
00:18:43,292 --> 00:18:46,167
"and recognized him as the one
who sat at the Beautiful Gate

429
00:18:46,250 --> 00:18:48,000
"of the temple,
asking for alms.

430
00:18:48,083 --> 00:18:50,000
And they were filled with
wonder and amazement"

431
00:18:50,042 --> 00:18:53,500
--that's language for worship--
"at what had happened to him."

432
00:18:53,583 --> 00:18:57,333
Again, this is the first
of 14 physical healings

433
00:18:57,375 --> 00:18:59,625
recorded in the book of Acts.

434
00:18:59,667 --> 00:19:02,000
There are 28 chapters
in the book of Acts.

435
00:19:02,042 --> 00:19:06,000
Twelve of the twenty-eight
chapters speak of somebody being

436
00:19:06,042 --> 00:19:09,875
physically healed supernaturally
by Jesus' power

437
00:19:09,958 --> 00:19:11,875
through the presence
of the Holy Spirit.

438
00:19:11,958 --> 00:19:15,500
So, what I want to do today is I
want to look at this particular

439
00:19:15,583 --> 00:19:18,292
healing, and then I want to
look at the broad category

440
00:19:18,333 --> 00:19:20,125
of healing.
And this'll be a sermon

441
00:19:20,167 --> 00:19:22,625
that we refer back to as we
continue our study

442
00:19:22,667 --> 00:19:25,125
in the years to come
in the book of Acts.

443
00:19:25,167 --> 00:19:26,625
So, let's start with this man.

444
00:19:26,667 --> 00:19:28,333
Well, here's what
we know about him.

445
00:19:28,375 --> 00:19:30,083
He was, it says,
lame from birth.

446
00:19:30,167 --> 00:19:33,083
He was born with a situation
where he was unable to live

447
00:19:33,167 --> 00:19:34,833
a normal life.

448
00:19:34,875 --> 00:19:38,333
This is a man who had never
stood up on his own two feet.

449
00:19:38,375 --> 00:19:40,833
This is a man who had
never taken a step.

450
00:19:40,875 --> 00:19:42,333
He'd never gone for a walk.

451
00:19:42,375 --> 00:19:45,375
This is a man, when he's
growing up as a child, right,

452
00:19:45,458 --> 00:19:47,125
the other kids
get up and play,

453
00:19:47,167 --> 00:19:48,625
he can't get up and play.

454
00:19:48,667 --> 00:19:51,292
The other kids go out for
recess or sports or hiking

455
00:19:51,333 --> 00:19:55,333
or whatever the case may be.
He never got to do that.

456
00:19:55,375 --> 00:19:57,917
He's the kid who's sitting there
watching the other kids

457
00:19:58,000 --> 00:20:00,375
climb the tree
during the summertime,

458
00:20:00,458 --> 00:20:02,333
and he never has
that opportunity.

459
00:20:02,375 --> 00:20:05,750
What this means as well is he's
probably never going to marry

460
00:20:05,833 --> 00:20:07,333
because he has no income.

461
00:20:07,375 --> 00:20:11,750
He was no way of providing
for his family. And so he

462
00:20:11,833 --> 00:20:15,042
is subjected to a life
of poverty.

463
00:20:15,125 --> 00:20:19,167
They didn't have the kind of
disability or safety net that

464
00:20:19,208 --> 00:20:23,000
might exist for some in our day,
and so he would throw himself

465
00:20:23,083 --> 00:20:26,000
on the generosity
of God's people.

466
00:20:26,083 --> 00:20:28,500
He would stand out--he would
rather sit, I should say,

467
00:20:28,583 --> 00:20:30,750
outside of the temple is
where he was positioned,

468
00:20:30,833 --> 00:20:33,750
and his friends would have to
carry him there day after day,

469
00:20:33,833 --> 00:20:35,542
after day, after day.

470
00:20:35,625 --> 00:20:38,458
This is for a man--
you men get this, right?--

471
00:20:38,500 --> 00:20:42,958
true or false, this is
very difficult for a man?

472
00:20:43,000 --> 00:20:46,250
He can't take himself anywhere.

473
00:20:46,333 --> 00:20:48,250
He can't provide for himself.

474
00:20:48,333 --> 00:20:50,500
He can't tend to himself.

475
00:20:50,583 --> 00:20:53,000
He can't defend himself.

476
00:20:53,083 --> 00:20:58,917
He's completely at the mercy
of others, literally.

477
00:20:59,000 --> 00:21:02,292
So, his friends take him
as they have for years.

478
00:21:02,333 --> 00:21:06,333
We don't know how old he is,
but think every day for years.

479
00:21:06,375 --> 00:21:10,208
You're living in poverty.
You're hoping that your friends

480
00:21:10,292 --> 00:21:13,167
or family love you enough
to pick you up and carry you

481
00:21:13,250 --> 00:21:16,167
and leave you in front of all
of God's people as they

482
00:21:16,250 --> 00:21:18,333
go into worship, and you're
just hoping, trusting,

483
00:21:18,375 --> 00:21:20,875
and praying that God's people
would have mercy on you

484
00:21:20,958 --> 00:21:22,292
and give you some money

485
00:21:22,333 --> 00:21:26,167
so that you can exist
and not starve to death.

486
00:21:26,250 --> 00:21:29,125
This man's in a dire situation.

487
00:21:29,167 --> 00:21:33,333
Along come Peter and John,
and he says, you know,

488
00:21:33,375 --> 00:21:35,292
"Would you like to give?"

489
00:21:35,333 --> 00:21:37,708
And they say, "Silver
and gold we do not have."

490
00:21:37,792 --> 00:21:40,333
So, these guys are not
prosperity teachers, amen?

491
00:21:40,375 --> 00:21:42,000
Sometimes you hear,
"Oh yeah, yeah,

492
00:21:42,042 --> 00:21:43,583
the apostles were all rich."

493
00:21:43,667 --> 00:21:45,625
"Silver and gold I do not have."

494
00:21:45,667 --> 00:21:48,208
OK, that's poverty,
that's not prosperity.

495
00:21:48,292 --> 00:21:49,792
So, they look at the man.

496
00:21:49,833 --> 00:21:52,292
They say, "Look at me,"
so he looks at them.

497
00:21:52,333 --> 00:21:54,500
He says, "Look, I've
got no money for you.

498
00:21:54,542 --> 00:21:56,875
"How about healing?
How about healing?

499
00:21:56,958 --> 00:21:59,500
"That we can do,
by God's grace.

500
00:21:59,583 --> 00:22:02,792
So, stand up, arise,
walk, be well."

501
00:22:02,833 --> 00:22:06,208
God heals the man. And it
says--and sometimes in the Bible

502
00:22:06,292 --> 00:22:08,708
you'll see people
healed slowly over time,

503
00:22:08,792 --> 00:22:10,208
and that is a divine healing,

504
00:22:10,292 --> 00:22:12,125
but here it says "immediately,"
right?

505
00:22:12,167 --> 00:22:14,333
He got up right away.

506
00:22:14,375 --> 00:22:17,375
This is a fulfillment
of Isaiah 35:6,

507
00:22:17,458 --> 00:22:21,333
"Then shall the lame man
leap like a deer."

508
00:22:21,375 --> 00:22:23,500
The promise was given:
when Jesus comes,

509
00:22:23,542 --> 00:22:25,917
a lame man would walk
like a deer,

510
00:22:26,000 --> 00:22:28,583
and here he
is 700 years later.

511
00:22:28,667 --> 00:22:31,500
One other thing
about this story,

512
00:22:31,583 --> 00:22:34,500
it's all in the name of Jesus.

513
00:22:34,583 --> 00:22:37,000
You get that?

514
00:22:37,083 --> 00:22:40,333
"In that name
of Jesus of Nazareth," right?

515
00:22:40,375 --> 00:22:44,000
Now, the name of Jesus is
not like a pagan mantra,

516
00:22:44,083 --> 00:22:49,083
but it's inviting the living
Jesus into that moment, OK?

517
00:22:49,167 --> 00:22:51,125
That's what he's doing.

518
00:22:51,167 --> 00:22:53,708
What he's doing is he's
saying, "Jesus is still alive."

519
00:22:53,792 --> 00:22:56,417
You could talk to him
when he was on the earth;

520
00:22:56,500 --> 00:22:57,917
you could still talk to him.

521
00:22:58,000 --> 00:23:00,750
You could go to him when
he was on the earth;

522
00:23:00,833 --> 00:23:02,250
you could still go to him.

523
00:23:02,333 --> 00:23:04,000
"In the name
of Jesus of Nazareth."

524
00:23:04,042 --> 00:23:07,000
Mars Hill, I need you to know
the strength in the name

525
00:23:07,042 --> 00:23:08,375
of Jesus of Nazareth.

526
00:23:08,458 --> 00:23:10,583
There's a reason
why people will,

527
00:23:10,667 --> 00:23:12,625
when they take
the Lord's name in vain,

528
00:23:12,667 --> 00:23:14,667
they'll take
Jesus' name in vain.

529
00:23:14,750 --> 00:23:17,333
That's the name of power,
that's the name of authority,

530
00:23:17,375 --> 00:23:20,167
that's the name of deity, right?

531
00:23:20,250 --> 00:23:24,417
Philippians tells us that there
is no other name under heaven

532
00:23:24,500 --> 00:23:27,583
by which we can be saved,
that at the name of Jesus,

533
00:23:27,667 --> 00:23:30,583
every knee shall bow, both on
the earth and under the earth,

534
00:23:30,667 --> 00:23:34,292
and every tongue confess that
Jesus Christ is Lord

535
00:23:34,333 --> 00:23:37,125
to the glory of God the Father.

536
00:23:37,167 --> 00:23:39,625
There's something unique
and special about the name

537
00:23:39,667 --> 00:23:41,833
of Jesus of Nazareth.

538
00:23:41,875 --> 00:23:44,333
And so this is inviting
the living Jesus

539
00:23:44,375 --> 00:23:47,167
into that moment so that we
see that, ultimately,

540
00:23:47,250 --> 00:23:48,917
who is it that healed this man?

541
00:23:49,000 --> 00:23:50,333
Was it Peter and John?

542
00:23:50,375 --> 00:23:52,000
Yes or no?

543
00:23:52,083 --> 00:23:54,917
No, it was Jesus from heaven.

544
00:23:55,000 --> 00:23:57,875
Well, this is very
encouraging because again,

545
00:23:57,958 --> 00:23:59,833
Jesus healed when
he was on the earth,

546
00:23:59,875 --> 00:24:01,375
and now he's ascended
into heaven.

547
00:24:01,458 --> 00:24:02,792
Can he still heal?

548
00:24:02,833 --> 00:24:05,500
Yes, because he's still alive,
and now he's ruling and reigning

549
00:24:05,583 --> 00:24:07,708
as sovereign Lord,
and we can come to him,

550
00:24:07,792 --> 00:24:09,708
and he will hear
us and answer us,

551
00:24:09,792 --> 00:24:14,083
and he can actually heal
from his heavenly throne.

552
00:24:14,167 --> 00:24:17,917
And then the result is
that God is worshiped.

553
00:24:18,000 --> 00:24:20,125
So, this man goes into
the temple--and this

554
00:24:20,167 --> 00:24:22,333
would have been the first
time in his life

555
00:24:22,375 --> 00:24:24,500
that he was able
to go into the temple.

556
00:24:24,583 --> 00:24:26,708
There was a restriction on those
with physical disability,

557
00:24:26,792 --> 00:24:29,208
that they were not allowed
into the temple.

558
00:24:29,292 --> 00:24:31,167
He's now able to go
into the temple,

559
00:24:31,250 --> 00:24:32,583
and here's what we see:

560
00:24:32,667 --> 00:24:36,000
As soon as he is healed, he does
not turn his back on God

561
00:24:36,042 --> 00:24:37,375
and walk away.

562
00:24:37,458 --> 00:24:38,875
He sets his face toward God.

563
00:24:38,958 --> 00:24:41,875
He goes into the temple that he
might worship, he might worship,

564
00:24:41,958 --> 00:24:44,292
and praise and celebrate
the goodness of God,

565
00:24:44,333 --> 00:24:47,000
and the other people are
astounded and they do the same.

566
00:24:47,083 --> 00:24:48,417
And so the goal--

567
00:24:48,500 --> 00:24:50,333
the ultimate goal
is not healing.

568
00:24:50,375 --> 00:24:52,667
Healing is the penultimate goal.

569
00:24:52,750 --> 00:24:54,292
It's the secondary goal.

570
00:24:54,333 --> 00:24:57,125
The primary goal is
the glory of God.

571
00:24:57,167 --> 00:25:00,750
And so God is glorified and then
people rejoice with singing

572
00:25:00,833 --> 00:25:03,292
and song and celebration.

573
00:25:03,333 --> 00:25:06,083
That's this particular story.

574
00:25:06,167 --> 00:25:09,417
That being said, as we've
investigated this healing,

575
00:25:09,500 --> 00:25:12,125
let me answer for you now
a whole bunch of questions

576
00:25:12,167 --> 00:25:13,500
about healing.

577
00:25:13,583 --> 00:25:16,208
How many of you, at this point,
have questions about healing?

578
00:25:16,292 --> 00:25:18,708
You're like, "Hey, if we're into
healing, I've got questions."

579
00:25:18,792 --> 00:25:20,708
In the history
of Mars Hill, 17 years,

580
00:25:20,792 --> 00:25:23,500
I don't know if I've ever dealt
fully and thoroughly

581
00:25:23,542 --> 00:25:26,208
in one sermon with healing,
so let me do that today.

582
00:25:26,292 --> 00:25:29,208
And I know as you see this,
some of you will say,

583
00:25:29,292 --> 00:25:30,708
"Well, does God still do that?

584
00:25:30,792 --> 00:25:32,917
"And I have these questions.
And what about me?

585
00:25:33,000 --> 00:25:34,333
"And what about my friend?

586
00:25:34,375 --> 00:25:35,833
"And why are certain people
healed

587
00:25:35,875 --> 00:25:37,208
and not other people healed?"

588
00:25:37,292 --> 00:25:40,167
All of these questions erupt,
so here's what I want to do.

589
00:25:40,250 --> 00:25:43,583
I want to take some time and
I want to answer them for you

590
00:25:43,667 --> 00:25:45,583
because I'm your pastor,
because I love you,

591
00:25:45,667 --> 00:25:47,583
because we're a Bible-believing
church and the Bible

592
00:25:47,667 --> 00:25:49,292
talks a lot about healing.

593
00:25:49,333 --> 00:25:52,417
So, let's work through
some questions together.

594
00:25:52,500 --> 00:25:57,083
First question,
why is there sickness?

595
00:25:57,167 --> 00:26:00,833
Why is there sickness?

596
00:26:00,917 --> 00:26:03,292
I can still remember when
my Grandpa George died.

597
00:26:03,333 --> 00:26:04,875
I've told you stories
about him.

598
00:26:04,958 --> 00:26:06,917
I love Grandpa George
with all my heart.

599
00:26:07,000 --> 00:26:08,917
He and I were really close.

600
00:26:09,000 --> 00:26:11,625
I was around the age of 10
when Grandpa George died,

601
00:26:11,667 --> 00:26:13,083
never forget it.

602
00:26:13,167 --> 00:26:14,625
We were at the funeral,

603
00:26:14,667 --> 00:26:16,833
and the religious leader
got up front

604
00:26:16,875 --> 00:26:19,375
and said something to
the effect of, "Well, you know,

605
00:26:19,458 --> 00:26:21,500
sickness and death,
it's just part of life."

606
00:26:21,542 --> 00:26:23,625
I remember sitting there
as a 10-year-old kid going,

607
00:26:23,667 --> 00:26:25,417
"That doesn't sound right.

608
00:26:25,500 --> 00:26:26,917
"I don't think that
Grandpa George

609
00:26:27,000 --> 00:26:29,125
"should be in a box.

610
00:26:29,167 --> 00:26:30,667
"I don't think that
Grandpa George

611
00:26:30,750 --> 00:26:32,083
"should have gotten sick.

612
00:26:32,167 --> 00:26:34,292
"I don't think that
Grandpa George should have died.

613
00:26:34,333 --> 00:26:36,625
"This doesn't seem normal.

614
00:26:36,667 --> 00:26:41,167
In fact, this seems
radically abnormal to me."

615
00:26:41,250 --> 00:26:45,000
Well, the Bible tells
us that sin and death

616
00:26:45,083 --> 00:26:47,833
are radically abnormal,

617
00:26:47,875 --> 00:26:50,083
that when God made
the world, Genesis 1:31,

618
00:26:50,167 --> 00:26:52,083
he said that everything
was very good.

619
00:26:52,167 --> 00:26:53,875
Everything was alive.

620
00:26:53,958 --> 00:26:56,125
There was no death.

621
00:26:56,167 --> 00:27:00,375
Romans 5:12 talks about
the fall, the result of sin.

622
00:27:00,458 --> 00:27:03,667
"Therefore, just as sin came
into the world through one man,

623
00:27:03,708 --> 00:27:06,333
"and death through sin, and so
death spread to all men

624
00:27:06,375 --> 00:27:08,000
because all sinned."

625
00:27:08,083 --> 00:27:10,833
The first reason why there
is sickness and suffering

626
00:27:10,875 --> 00:27:13,667
is because of sin.

627
00:27:13,750 --> 00:27:17,333
That God is the living God, that
everything God made was perfect

628
00:27:17,375 --> 00:27:20,000
and good,
and there was no death.

629
00:27:20,083 --> 00:27:24,292
And in rebellion against God, we
chose God--we chose to turn our

630
00:27:24,333 --> 00:27:28,000
back on God, and as a result,
we chose death over life.

631
00:27:28,083 --> 00:27:32,208
The result is now that sin has
infected and affected everyone

632
00:27:32,292 --> 00:27:33,833
and everything.

633
00:27:33,875 --> 00:27:36,833
Romans 8 talks about the fact
that all creation is groaning.

634
00:27:36,875 --> 00:27:39,000
It's under this weight
and bondage of sin,

635
00:27:39,083 --> 00:27:41,333
and it's yearning
for its deliverance

636
00:27:41,375 --> 00:27:44,625
back into its intended state.

637
00:27:44,667 --> 00:27:48,792
Friends, there are things that
happen that simply--there is not

638
00:27:48,833 --> 00:27:52,208
a causal effect between
this caused that,

639
00:27:52,292 --> 00:27:55,917
that this caused their cancer,
that this caused their ailment,

640
00:27:56,000 --> 00:27:57,833
that this caused
their miscarriage,

641
00:27:57,875 --> 00:28:00,500
that this caused their leukemia.

642
00:28:00,542 --> 00:28:03,792
There's not always a causal
connection to where we could

643
00:28:03,833 --> 00:28:06,417
say, "This caused this."

644
00:28:06,500 --> 00:28:09,625
What we can do is go all
the way back to Genesis 3

645
00:28:09,667 --> 00:28:11,500
where sin first entered
the world and say,

646
00:28:11,583 --> 00:28:13,333
well, since sin
entered the world,

647
00:28:13,375 --> 00:28:15,292
everything is infected
and affected.

648
00:28:15,333 --> 00:28:17,417
Sin and sickness
and suffering

649
00:28:17,500 --> 00:28:19,333
and death have entered
into the human equation,

650
00:28:19,375 --> 00:28:23,500
and as a result,
things are not as God intended.

651
00:28:23,542 --> 00:28:27,500
And we just need to accept that
sometimes we don't have a close

652
00:28:27,542 --> 00:28:29,500
causal connection, but
the connection goes

653
00:28:29,542 --> 00:28:31,500
all the way back to Genesis 3.

654
00:28:31,583 --> 00:28:35,167
I had this occasion some years
ago with a friend of ours,

655
00:28:35,250 --> 00:28:41,167
Grace and I, a family friend,
beautiful couple at Mars Hill.

656
00:28:41,250 --> 00:28:45,000
She miscarried again,
and I don't know the number

657
00:28:45,083 --> 00:28:49,833
of miscarriages, but they
had endured a very long,

658
00:28:49,875 --> 00:28:54,208
painful list of miscarriages,
and this is a beautiful couple

659
00:28:54,292 --> 00:28:57,167
and a wonderful family,
literally the kind of place

660
00:28:57,250 --> 00:29:00,083
you would want a child
to be raised.

661
00:29:00,167 --> 00:29:02,375
And so we got word of this.

662
00:29:02,458 --> 00:29:05,583
We were on summer vacation with
the kids and I called her up

663
00:29:05,667 --> 00:29:07,000
to check in.

664
00:29:07,083 --> 00:29:09,208
"How are you?
How can we pray for you?

665
00:29:09,292 --> 00:29:10,625
How are you doing?"

666
00:29:10,667 --> 00:29:12,500
And her question was
this, "Pastor Mark,

667
00:29:12,542 --> 00:29:16,208
why does God
keep killing my babies?"

668
00:29:16,292 --> 00:29:19,417
That's how she
felt in the moment.

669
00:29:19,500 --> 00:29:21,208
And I said, "You know what?"

670
00:29:21,292 --> 00:29:23,292
I mean, I was
teared up literally.

671
00:29:23,333 --> 00:29:26,208
"Sweetheart, look, the Bible
says that sin entered the world

672
00:29:26,292 --> 00:29:28,625
"and that everything is
infected and affected,

673
00:29:28,667 --> 00:29:30,875
"and nothing is
the way God intended,

674
00:29:30,958 --> 00:29:35,500
and nothing is the way
that it should be."

675
00:29:35,542 --> 00:29:38,792
When the Bible says, "Who has
known the mind of the Lord?"

676
00:29:38,833 --> 00:29:41,917
we're not supposed to raise
our hand and say, "I do."

677
00:29:42,000 --> 00:29:44,417
It's a rhetorical question.

678
00:29:44,500 --> 00:29:47,000
I said, "So, I'm not
going to pretend to explain

679
00:29:47,042 --> 00:29:48,375
"all of this to you.

680
00:29:48,458 --> 00:29:51,125
"I know the Bible says
that now we see in part,

681
00:29:51,167 --> 00:29:52,625
"then we shall see in full.

682
00:29:52,667 --> 00:29:55,333
"All your questions will be
answered in the kingdom of God.

683
00:29:55,375 --> 00:29:58,333
"Here's what I can tell you
right now: God does not kill

684
00:29:58,375 --> 00:30:00,833
"the babies in the womb
of the Christian mom who's

685
00:30:00,875 --> 00:30:03,125
"looking forward to welcoming
the child into the world.

686
00:30:03,167 --> 00:30:06,167
"What I can tell you is that
sin has infected and affected

687
00:30:06,208 --> 00:30:08,458
"everything, and that nothing is
the way that it

688
00:30:08,500 --> 00:30:10,667
was supposed to be."

689
00:30:10,708 --> 00:30:14,333
Second cause
for sin and sickness,

690
00:30:14,417 --> 00:30:17,125
or sickness rather,
is personal sin.

691
00:30:17,167 --> 00:30:19,958
1 Corinthians 11:30, "This is
why many of you are weak

692
00:30:20,000 --> 00:30:21,542
and ill, and some have died."

693
00:30:21,625 --> 00:30:24,708
Now, sometimes there's
a direct causal result, right?

694
00:30:24,792 --> 00:30:26,625
You're drinking
and driving,

695
00:30:26,667 --> 00:30:29,042
you get in a wreck,
and you break your body.

696
00:30:29,125 --> 00:30:31,042
You say, "Well, there's
cause and effect."

697
00:30:31,125 --> 00:30:32,667
Personal sin and then
personal suffering.

698
00:30:32,708 --> 00:30:34,458
You could see that.

699
00:30:34,500 --> 00:30:36,542
All right, you ate
very, very, very poorly,

700
00:30:36,625 --> 00:30:39,833
and you got diabetes,
or you became obese.

701
00:30:39,917 --> 00:30:43,417
Or you drank too much and you
damaged your liver, right?

702
00:30:43,500 --> 00:30:45,333
There are certain things
you can say--

703
00:30:45,417 --> 00:30:47,833
"Well, I made a choice,
and it had some effect

704
00:30:47,917 --> 00:30:50,042
on my health and well-being."

705
00:30:50,125 --> 00:30:53,750
But sometimes, it's not
just even physically causal,

706
00:30:53,833 --> 00:30:55,833
it's spiritually causal.

707
00:30:55,875 --> 00:30:58,333
So, the situation
in Corinthians is this:

708
00:30:58,417 --> 00:31:00,917
These people are getting drunk,
they're having lots of sex,

709
00:31:01,000 --> 00:31:03,500
they're rebelling against
God, they're disobeying Paul.

710
00:31:03,542 --> 00:31:06,667
They claim to be believers, but
they're living open, defiant,

711
00:31:06,750 --> 00:31:10,333
rebellious lives, and they're
coming to the Communion Table,

712
00:31:10,375 --> 00:31:14,625
the Lord's Supper, which we'll
practice in a little bit.

713
00:31:14,667 --> 00:31:16,292
They're not repenting
of their sin;

714
00:31:16,333 --> 00:31:19,292
they're not
acknowledging their sin.

715
00:31:19,333 --> 00:31:21,500
They're basically spitting
in the face of Jesus.

716
00:31:21,583 --> 00:31:24,917
"You died for my sin so I
get to sin all that I want.

717
00:31:25,000 --> 00:31:27,125
"I don't need to put
my sin to death.

718
00:31:27,167 --> 00:31:30,375
"I can sin that grace
may abound.

719
00:31:30,458 --> 00:31:32,500
"I can do whatever I please,

720
00:31:32,583 --> 00:31:36,917
and you're obligated
to forgive me."

721
00:31:37,000 --> 00:31:39,208
So he says,
"That is why many of you"--

722
00:31:39,292 --> 00:31:41,333
it's not a little list:

723
00:31:41,375 --> 00:31:44,000
there's a lot of funerals
at the church at Corinth--

724
00:31:44,042 --> 00:31:48,000
"are weak and ill,
and some have died."

725
00:31:48,083 --> 00:31:51,208
Sometimes it's spiritual
and you need to not go see

726
00:31:51,292 --> 00:31:55,167
a doctor because ultimately,
the problem is spiritual.

727
00:31:55,250 --> 00:32:00,083
You need to repent of your sin,
and it's God's judgment on you

728
00:32:00,167 --> 00:32:02,875
for your rebellion against him.

729
00:32:02,958 --> 00:32:05,167
Is that you?

730
00:32:05,250 --> 00:32:09,667
Third category
for sickness is demonic.

731
00:32:09,750 --> 00:32:13,125
And we hear of this
many times in the Bible,

732
00:32:13,167 --> 00:32:15,708
but I'll give you one from
the ministry of Jesus.

733
00:32:15,792 --> 00:32:18,500
Matthew 8:16, "That evening they
brought to him many who were

734
00:32:18,583 --> 00:32:22,208
oppressed by demons"--
unclean spirits.

735
00:32:22,292 --> 00:32:26,208
OK, Mars Hill, know this: not
all spirits are holy and good.

736
00:32:26,292 --> 00:32:29,208
There are unholy and unclean
spirits called demons.

737
00:32:29,292 --> 00:32:30,708
They're in rebellion
against God.

738
00:32:30,792 --> 00:32:32,708
If you just open
the door and say,

739
00:32:32,792 --> 00:32:35,208
"I want to be a spiritual
person," you're saying,

740
00:32:35,292 --> 00:32:38,583
"I want to invite demons," so
we need to be discerning, right?

741
00:32:38,667 --> 00:32:42,000
First John tells us not to accept or
believe every spirit but to test

742
00:32:42,083 --> 00:32:46,167
the spirits because not all
the spirits are from the Lord.

743
00:32:46,250 --> 00:32:49,708
"They brought to him many
who were oppressed by demons,

744
00:32:49,792 --> 00:32:52,125
and he cast out
the spirits with a word."

745
00:32:52,167 --> 00:32:55,083
We're not talking about some
crazy exorcism and holy water

746
00:32:55,167 --> 00:32:57,125
and some cross.

747
00:32:57,167 --> 00:33:00,167
It's just the authority
of the truth of the Bible.

748
00:33:00,250 --> 00:33:02,375
"And he healed
all who were sick."

749
00:33:02,458 --> 00:33:04,500
Why were they sick,
Mars Hill?

750
00:33:04,542 --> 00:33:06,000
Demonic oppression.

751
00:33:06,083 --> 00:33:08,833
Some of you will ask, "Can
a believer be demon-possessed?"

752
00:33:08,875 --> 00:33:11,708
No, an unbeliever can be
demon-possessed, owned,

753
00:33:11,792 --> 00:33:13,917
controlled, overtaken.

754
00:33:14,000 --> 00:33:17,000
A believer in Jesus cannot be
controlled or overtaken

755
00:33:17,042 --> 00:33:19,792
by a demon, but they can be
oppressed by a demon.

756
00:33:19,833 --> 00:33:24,792
And sometimes that is with
physical illness or injury.

757
00:33:24,833 --> 00:33:27,708
It's torment, to use
the language of the Bible.

758
00:33:27,792 --> 00:33:29,500
It's torment.

759
00:33:29,583 --> 00:33:33,667
And so by commanding in
the name of Jesus of Nazareth,

760
00:33:33,750 --> 00:33:35,375
the strong name
of Jesus of Nazareth,

761
00:33:35,458 --> 00:33:38,167
those unclean spirits away,
people will be

762
00:33:38,250 --> 00:33:40,917
spiritually delivered
from demonic oppression,

763
00:33:41,000 --> 00:33:46,000
and sometimes also physically
healed as the spirit takes with

764
00:33:46,083 --> 00:33:50,708
them that injury or illness
that they were causing.

765
00:33:50,792 --> 00:33:53,917
So, one of my prayers when I pray
over people all the time

766
00:33:54,000 --> 00:33:56,000
is I pray against
the enemy, his servants,

767
00:33:56,083 --> 00:33:58,917
their works and effects,
and when I command them away

768
00:33:59,000 --> 00:34:00,583
in the strong name of Jesus,

769
00:34:00,667 --> 00:34:02,833
I command that they take
their works and effects

770
00:34:02,917 --> 00:34:08,333
with them: illness and injury,
torment and oppression.

771
00:34:08,375 --> 00:34:11,833
Those are the three primary
categories for why people

772
00:34:11,875 --> 00:34:16,208
become sick. And seven times
that I found in the Gospels,

773
00:34:16,292 --> 00:34:19,667
Jesus heals someone by
commanding an unclean spirit

774
00:34:19,750 --> 00:34:23,333
away from them.

775
00:34:23,375 --> 00:34:25,000
Do you have
any more questions?

776
00:34:25,083 --> 00:34:27,417
We've probably only begun.

777
00:34:27,500 --> 00:34:30,833
"Does healing
replace traditional medicine?"

778
00:34:30,875 --> 00:34:33,500
Now, there was a case in
the news recently where

779
00:34:33,583 --> 00:34:38,083
there was a faith-healing couple
that did not take their child

780
00:34:38,167 --> 00:34:43,000
in for medical treatment
and the child died.

781
00:34:43,083 --> 00:34:46,917
Their second child got sick,
they did not take the child

782
00:34:47,000 --> 00:34:52,708
in for medical treatment,
and the second child died.

783
00:34:52,792 --> 00:34:55,500
Mars Hill, is that
what we believe?

784
00:34:55,583 --> 00:34:59,625
No. No.

785
00:34:59,667 --> 00:35:04,083
We believe in natural medicine
and supernatural prayer.

786
00:35:04,167 --> 00:35:07,125
We believe in both.

787
00:35:07,167 --> 00:35:09,417
The healing that is
recorded in Acts 3,

788
00:35:09,500 --> 00:35:12,667
as well as the remainder of
physical healings in Acts

789
00:35:12,750 --> 00:35:17,417
are written by a man named
Luke who's a doctor.

790
00:35:17,500 --> 00:35:20,625
Anytime the doctor's
teaching you about healing,

791
00:35:20,667 --> 00:35:23,375
he's probably not
anti-doctors, amen?

792
00:35:23,458 --> 00:35:26,375
Can you go out on
the end of that limb with me?

793
00:35:26,458 --> 00:35:27,792
Can we do that together?

794
00:35:27,833 --> 00:35:29,625
Here's Luke, the author of Acts.

795
00:35:29,667 --> 00:35:33,375
He is called
"Luke the beloved physician."

796
00:35:33,458 --> 00:35:35,500
So, who's telling us
about the healing?

797
00:35:35,542 --> 00:35:38,667
The doctor. The doctor.

798
00:35:38,750 --> 00:35:42,000
See, the Bible does not speak in
a negative or a pejorative way

799
00:35:42,083 --> 00:35:44,375
against those who
are in medicine.

800
00:35:44,458 --> 00:35:45,833
It doesn't.

801
00:35:45,875 --> 00:35:48,167
For those of you who
are in the hospice,

802
00:35:48,250 --> 00:35:50,917
for those of you who are
nurses, for those of you

803
00:35:51,000 --> 00:35:53,667
who are doctors, for those
of you who are dentists,

804
00:35:53,750 --> 00:35:55,833
for those of you who
are physical therapists,

805
00:35:55,875 --> 00:35:59,292
for those of you who are EMTs,
we say, "Praise be to God."

806
00:35:59,333 --> 00:36:03,583
Praise be to God that you would
study the body that God made

807
00:36:03,667 --> 00:36:06,583
and that you would, with
discernment and wisdom,

808
00:36:06,667 --> 00:36:09,167
love and serve people
and try to bring healing

809
00:36:09,250 --> 00:36:11,125
in any way you can.

810
00:36:11,167 --> 00:36:13,833
So, no, the Bible is not
against--because the Bible is

811
00:36:13,875 --> 00:36:18,375
for prayer, it's not
against medicine.

812
00:36:18,458 --> 00:36:20,333
It's for both.

813
00:36:20,375 --> 00:36:23,417
And so our encouragement, our
exhortation, would be if you

814
00:36:23,500 --> 00:36:25,500
are suffering from
illness or injury,

815
00:36:25,583 --> 00:36:28,000
someone you know or love is
suffering from illness

816
00:36:28,042 --> 00:36:31,208
or injury, pray for them
and encourage them to get

817
00:36:31,292 --> 00:36:33,417
the best medical care
that they can.

818
00:36:33,500 --> 00:36:35,000
Let's do both, amen?

819
00:36:35,042 --> 00:36:36,667
Let's do both.

820
00:36:36,750 --> 00:36:38,708
It's not an either/or
for us at all.

821
00:36:38,792 --> 00:36:42,708
My own experience is my
medical doctor is also

822
00:36:42,792 --> 00:36:45,500
an evangelical Christian.

823
00:36:45,583 --> 00:36:50,000
Every time I meet with
him, he prays for me.

824
00:36:50,083 --> 00:36:52,833
It's like that.
It's like that.

825
00:36:52,875 --> 00:36:54,417
He says, "OK,
here's your bloodwork,

826
00:36:54,500 --> 00:36:56,917
"and here's where you're
at, and here's your tests,

827
00:36:57,000 --> 00:36:58,708
"and you know,
here's what we see.

828
00:36:58,792 --> 00:37:01,792
"So, here's, you know, here's
what you need to do with your

829
00:37:01,833 --> 00:37:04,000
"diet and your supplements, and
here's what I'm recommending.

830
00:37:04,042 --> 00:37:05,708
OK, now let me pray for you."

831
00:37:05,792 --> 00:37:09,375
It's all of that.
It's all of that.

832
00:37:09,458 --> 00:37:11,333
We don't believe in
just treating the soul.

833
00:37:11,375 --> 00:37:13,333
We don't believe in
just treating the body.

834
00:37:13,375 --> 00:37:15,333
We believe in loving
and serving the person.

835
00:37:15,375 --> 00:37:18,917
But let me say this: if you are
healed through, quote/unquote,

836
00:37:19,000 --> 00:37:21,000
"natural means"
or "supernatural means,"

837
00:37:21,042 --> 00:37:23,417
it's still the grace of God.

838
00:37:23,500 --> 00:37:26,708
Because let's say you're healed
through naturopathic medicine

839
00:37:26,792 --> 00:37:29,125
and changing your diet
and eating healthy,

840
00:37:29,167 --> 00:37:31,083
and the body starts
to recover and heal.

841
00:37:31,167 --> 00:37:33,708
Well, that's from
all that God created,

842
00:37:33,792 --> 00:37:35,917
so that's still a gift from God.

843
00:37:36,000 --> 00:37:38,875
Let's say it's a medical
doctor who has gone to school,

844
00:37:38,958 --> 00:37:40,833
and they've been given
a brilliant mind

845
00:37:40,875 --> 00:37:43,208
and an education, and they
maybe even understand

846
00:37:43,292 --> 00:37:46,833
certain medications
or procedures or surgeries,

847
00:37:46,875 --> 00:37:49,417
that's still from general
revelation and common grace.

848
00:37:49,500 --> 00:37:52,292
That's still, ultimately,
a gift from God.

849
00:37:52,333 --> 00:37:54,625
Let's say it's supernatural
healing that, through prayer,

850
00:37:54,667 --> 00:37:56,708
God just shows up
as the Great Physician

851
00:37:56,792 --> 00:37:58,500
and does something
extraordinary.

852
00:37:58,583 --> 00:38:00,583
That, too, is from the Lord.

853
00:38:00,667 --> 00:38:05,292
God will use different means--
like prayer, like medicine,

854
00:38:05,333 --> 00:38:09,333
like nutrition,
and whatever he would use--

855
00:38:09,375 --> 00:38:12,333
it ultimately is his way of
healing us so that ultimately

856
00:38:12,375 --> 00:38:13,875
we praise him.

857
00:38:13,958 --> 00:38:16,667
That's what we believe.

858
00:38:16,750 --> 00:38:19,917
Here's the next question,
and this one is important:

859
00:38:20,000 --> 00:38:22,083
is all healing from God?

860
00:38:22,167 --> 00:38:24,417
How many of you,
maybe you've been here--

861
00:38:24,500 --> 00:38:28,125
and here's--I want
to be careful with this.

862
00:38:28,167 --> 00:38:30,833
When people are suffering,

863
00:38:30,875 --> 00:38:35,708
they can become panicked,
right?

864
00:38:35,792 --> 00:38:40,125
You could become panicked
to where anything that might

865
00:38:40,167 --> 00:38:44,625
heal you, you're
going to avail yourself to,

866
00:38:44,667 --> 00:38:50,125
particularly if you have
chronic pain, chronic suffering.

867
00:38:50,167 --> 00:38:53,917
You just want it to be over.

868
00:38:54,000 --> 00:38:56,708
The result is that then some
people will start chasing

869
00:38:56,792 --> 00:38:59,208
all kinds of other supernatural,

870
00:38:59,292 --> 00:39:05,875
spiritual means
by which to be healed.

871
00:39:05,958 --> 00:39:09,125
Sometimes this might mean
participating

872
00:39:09,167 --> 00:39:11,417
in another religion

873
00:39:11,500 --> 00:39:14,000
or praying with
someone from another faith

874
00:39:14,042 --> 00:39:17,000
or going to see someone who
says they have a healing gift

875
00:39:17,042 --> 00:39:21,792
but they're not a Christian,
getting involved in what

876
00:39:21,833 --> 00:39:24,667
we would call new age
or integrative spirituality

877
00:39:24,750 --> 00:39:29,125
or some sort of eastern,
non-Christian, non-biblical

878
00:39:29,167 --> 00:39:34,708
spiritual activities
to be healed.

879
00:39:34,792 --> 00:39:37,708
All right, it's a big deal for
us in places like Albuquerque,

880
00:39:37,792 --> 00:39:40,625
where there's the Medicine Man
and there's the Shaman.

881
00:39:40,667 --> 00:39:43,917
I mean, sometimes it
gets very formalized.

882
00:39:44,000 --> 00:39:47,208
Matthew 24:24 says that "For
false christs and false prophets

883
00:39:47,292 --> 00:39:50,208
"will arise and perform
great signs and wonders,

884
00:39:50,292 --> 00:39:54,333
so as to lead astray,
if possible, even the elect."

885
00:39:54,375 --> 00:40:00,500
Here's the point: Satan is
willing to heal you--

886
00:40:00,583 --> 00:40:05,708
Satan is willing to heal you
so that he can condemn you.

887
00:40:05,792 --> 00:40:09,167
Satan is willing to alleviate
your momentary suffering

888
00:40:09,208 --> 00:40:14,333
in exchange for your
eternal suffering.

889
00:40:14,417 --> 00:40:17,333
So be careful, all right?

890
00:40:17,417 --> 00:40:20,333
Pray to Jesus of Nazareth.

891
00:40:20,417 --> 00:40:25,167
Invite God the Holy Spirit,
not just any spirit.

892
00:40:25,208 --> 00:40:27,958
Seek counsel and prayer
from those who love Jesus,

893
00:40:28,000 --> 00:40:31,917
not just those who
say they can heal.

894
00:40:32,000 --> 00:40:33,667
If you read the Bible,

895
00:40:33,708 --> 00:40:35,833
you will see that there
are certain people

896
00:40:35,917 --> 00:40:38,042
who are empowered
to do miraculous feats, right?

897
00:40:38,125 --> 00:40:41,167
In the days of Moses, when he's
coming up against the Pharaoh,

898
00:40:41,208 --> 00:40:43,750
the Pharaoh's magicians
do some pretty amazing,

899
00:40:43,833 --> 00:40:46,625
supernatural things.

900
00:40:46,667 --> 00:40:48,708
There are those who
have supernatural power,

901
00:40:48,792 --> 00:40:52,000
but it's demonic in origin,
and it can deceive people

902
00:40:52,083 --> 00:40:54,542
into thinking that God is
the one who healed them,

903
00:40:54,625 --> 00:40:57,333
when, in fact, it was Satan
who healed them, and it's

904
00:40:57,375 --> 00:40:59,333
leading them away from God.

905
00:40:59,417 --> 00:41:03,875
Our goal is not
necessarily healing.

906
00:41:03,958 --> 00:41:09,625
Our goal is to love Jesus.
And so if we go to Jesus

907
00:41:09,667 --> 00:41:11,875
and he heals us,
we receive that.

908
00:41:11,958 --> 00:41:14,833
If we go to Jesus and he
chooses not to heal us

909
00:41:14,875 --> 00:41:17,333
or not to heal us yet,
we still love Jesus.

910
00:41:17,375 --> 00:41:20,208
We don't abandon Jesus because
healing is now above Jesus

911
00:41:20,292 --> 00:41:21,625
in our priorities.

912
00:41:21,667 --> 00:41:23,125
Do you understand that?

913
00:41:23,167 --> 00:41:25,583
And I want to warn some
of you, because again,

914
00:41:25,667 --> 00:41:27,208
when you're struggling,
when you're sick,

915
00:41:27,292 --> 00:41:29,792
when you're hurting, when
you've exhausted your options,

916
00:41:29,833 --> 00:41:32,208
when you're panicked,
you're just thinking,

917
00:41:32,292 --> 00:41:35,792
"Well, if they can heal me,
then that's--I'll go to them."

918
00:41:35,833 --> 00:41:41,500
No, no, no, no, be careful you
don't chase demonic sources

919
00:41:41,542 --> 00:41:45,125
of potential healing.

920
00:41:45,167 --> 00:41:47,583
Why does God heal?

921
00:41:47,667 --> 00:41:50,667
Well, there's a long list,
but I'll give you five,

922
00:41:50,750 --> 00:41:54,000
and we can take all of these
from Acts 3 in our case study.

923
00:41:54,083 --> 00:41:58,208
Number one, it's an act of love
and mercy to the person

924
00:41:58,292 --> 00:41:59,875
who's suffering.

925
00:41:59,958 --> 00:42:01,958
I mean, you look
at this guy, right?

926
00:42:02,000 --> 00:42:05,375
We kind of get a picture
of him in your mind.

927
00:42:05,458 --> 00:42:10,083
That God would love and heal
him, what a great act of mercy.

928
00:42:10,167 --> 00:42:13,583
For the rest of his life, this
man is a trophy of God's grace.

929
00:42:13,667 --> 00:42:16,583
As he walks around, everybody--
"Hey, do you know who that is?

930
00:42:16,667 --> 00:42:19,083
"God really loved that guy,
and had mercy on him

931
00:42:19,167 --> 00:42:20,500
"and healed him.

932
00:42:20,542 --> 00:42:22,000
"Look at that.
Isn't that amazing?

933
00:42:22,042 --> 00:42:23,375
Look at what God did."

934
00:42:23,458 --> 00:42:26,500
It shows--how loved do you think
that man felt when he stood up

935
00:42:26,583 --> 00:42:29,000
for the first time,
and he knew he was loved,

936
00:42:29,083 --> 00:42:30,417
because where did he go?

937
00:42:30,500 --> 00:42:31,917
He walked right into the temple.

938
00:42:32,000 --> 00:42:34,000
He was walking toward
the presence of God

939
00:42:34,083 --> 00:42:36,125
where it had previously dwelt
on the earth,

940
00:42:36,167 --> 00:42:39,500
and he's going in
to praise God.

941
00:42:39,583 --> 00:42:41,917
It's a sign of love,
it's a sign of mercy,

942
00:42:42,000 --> 00:42:44,417
it's a sign of affection,
it's a sign of compassion

943
00:42:44,500 --> 00:42:46,167
for the afflicted person.

944
00:42:46,250 --> 00:42:48,000
God does love people.

945
00:42:48,083 --> 00:42:51,000
Number two, it validates
God's servant, OK?

946
00:42:51,042 --> 00:42:53,625
True or false, do you
think as a result of this,

947
00:42:53,667 --> 00:42:56,417
Peter and John sort of got
a little more credibility?

948
00:42:56,500 --> 00:42:57,917
"Who are Peter and John?"

949
00:42:58,000 --> 00:43:00,167
"Oh, they're those guys
that healed that other guy."

950
00:43:00,250 --> 00:43:01,667
"Oh, I heard about that."

951
00:43:01,750 --> 00:43:04,500
Sometimes God will allow
a supernatural healing to come

952
00:43:04,542 --> 00:43:06,833
through one of his servants
to validate their

953
00:43:06,875 --> 00:43:09,917
spiritual authority, that they
are representatives of Jesus.

954
00:43:10,000 --> 00:43:12,417
You're going to see that
in the book of Acts.

955
00:43:12,500 --> 00:43:15,125
You're going to see God work
through his servants and then

956
00:43:15,167 --> 00:43:17,500
their credibility is established
because of God's authority

957
00:43:17,542 --> 00:43:19,417
at work through them.

958
00:43:19,500 --> 00:43:23,125
Number three, it reveals
the kingdom of God.

959
00:43:23,167 --> 00:43:26,000
Here's what I need you
to know: God will heal everyone

960
00:43:26,042 --> 00:43:28,708
eventually in the kingdom.

961
00:43:28,792 --> 00:43:31,708
And the kingdom of God is
not yet fully unveiled,

962
00:43:31,792 --> 00:43:34,667
but it has breakthroughs, right?

963
00:43:34,750 --> 00:43:38,500
It has occurrences where
the kingdom of God intersects

964
00:43:38,583 --> 00:43:42,167
with the kingdoms of men, and
the kingdom of God makes these

965
00:43:42,250 --> 00:43:46,125
cameo appearances and shows up
and shows us what's to come

966
00:43:46,167 --> 00:43:49,708
and shows us what Jesus
ultimately has planned for us,

967
00:43:49,792 --> 00:43:52,083
and it causes our hearts
to yearn and long

968
00:43:52,167 --> 00:43:54,167
for his perfect kingdom.

969
00:43:54,250 --> 00:43:57,708
And so, these are little
previews of the kingdom of God.

970
00:43:57,792 --> 00:44:01,875
You know, it's not the same, but
we're in that summer season

971
00:44:01,958 --> 00:44:04,750
of the blockbusters, and before
the big movie comes out,

972
00:44:04,833 --> 00:44:06,792
they run the trailers, right?

973
00:44:06,833 --> 00:44:08,333
"Here's what's coming."

974
00:44:08,375 --> 00:44:10,500
You're like, "Oh, that's
going to be amazing!"

975
00:44:10,583 --> 00:44:12,500
These are like
the trailers, all right?

976
00:44:12,583 --> 00:44:15,500
"The kingdom of God is coming,
and people are going to get

977
00:44:15,583 --> 00:44:18,000
healed like this," but it's
even better than a film.

978
00:44:18,083 --> 00:44:20,208
A guy's walking around
who was lame from birth.

979
00:44:20,292 --> 00:44:21,792
And God's people--"Whoa, OK,

980
00:44:21,833 --> 00:44:23,917
the kingdom of God must be
something amazing!"

981
00:44:24,000 --> 00:44:27,083
And they start longing
for the coming of the kingdom,

982
00:44:27,167 --> 00:44:29,125
which is ultimately
the coming of the King,

983
00:44:29,167 --> 00:44:30,583
the Lord Jesus.

984
00:44:30,667 --> 00:44:33,500
Number four, it
evangelizes non-Christians.

985
00:44:33,583 --> 00:44:38,792
If someone is suffering
and God heals them,

986
00:44:38,833 --> 00:44:41,000
the non-Christians
tend to ask, right?

987
00:44:41,042 --> 00:44:42,875
Now, let me say this:

988
00:44:42,958 --> 00:44:46,125
oftentimes, non-Christians don't
ask a lot of questions about

989
00:44:46,167 --> 00:44:49,667
Christians or to Christians,
but if one of them gets healed,

990
00:44:49,750 --> 00:44:51,833
that changes, amen?

991
00:44:51,875 --> 00:44:56,000
You got a co-worker, oh, they've
been given 2 months to live.

992
00:44:56,083 --> 00:44:58,083
No, they're healed!
They're all better!

993
00:44:58,167 --> 00:44:59,833
No deductible!

994
00:44:59,875 --> 00:45:02,875
All right, the non-Christian
co-workers would be like,

995
00:45:02,958 --> 00:45:04,458
"What happened?"

996
00:45:04,500 --> 00:45:06,583
You say, "Let me
tell you about Jesus.

997
00:45:06,667 --> 00:45:09,417
"At my church, they prayed
over me, and God healed me,

998
00:45:09,500 --> 00:45:10,833
and I'm all better."

999
00:45:10,875 --> 00:45:12,208
It evangelizes, right?

1000
00:45:12,292 --> 00:45:14,625
All of a sudden, non-Christians
are curious about Jesus

1001
00:45:14,667 --> 00:45:16,917
because they're seeing him
at work in someone's life

1002
00:45:17,000 --> 00:45:18,667
in a powerful way.

1003
00:45:18,750 --> 00:45:23,292
And number five, it motivates
Christians to worship.

1004
00:45:23,333 --> 00:45:26,208
OK, what it says is that
when this man was healed,

1005
00:45:26,292 --> 00:45:29,167
he praised God,
and he went into the temple,

1006
00:45:29,250 --> 00:45:30,875
and others
were filled with amazement,

1007
00:45:30,958 --> 00:45:33,125
and they're all praising God.

1008
00:45:33,167 --> 00:45:35,833
It increases
the worship of God's people.

1009
00:45:35,875 --> 00:45:38,000
"Oh, God does love us.
God is good.

1010
00:45:38,042 --> 00:45:40,125
"God is alive.
God is powerful.

1011
00:45:40,167 --> 00:45:43,500
His name is Jesus of Nazareth."

1012
00:45:43,542 --> 00:45:45,708
Those are the reasons
why God heals.

1013
00:45:45,792 --> 00:45:48,417
And there's a lot that is
happening in the healing.

1014
00:45:48,500 --> 00:45:50,667
I'm sure it leads
to more questions.

1015
00:45:50,750 --> 00:45:52,708
Can everyone receive
healing in this life?

1016
00:45:52,792 --> 00:45:56,208
How many of you have seen
a false teaching that says,

1017
00:45:56,292 --> 00:46:00,583
"Everyone can be healed,
and you need to have faith,

1018
00:46:00,667 --> 00:46:03,083
"and if you have enough
faith, you can be healed,

1019
00:46:03,167 --> 00:46:04,875
"which means if
you're not healed,

1020
00:46:04,958 --> 00:46:09,083
it's because you've failed and
you don't have enough faith"?

1021
00:46:09,167 --> 00:46:13,500
As a pastor, might I submit
to you that that is horrific.

1022
00:46:13,542 --> 00:46:16,375
It's the way that
a false teacher says,

1023
00:46:16,458 --> 00:46:21,708
"If it doesn't work,
it's your fault, not mine."

1024
00:46:21,792 --> 00:46:24,208
I want you to believe
that you can be healed.

1025
00:46:24,292 --> 00:46:27,417
I want you to ask for healing,
but I want you to know

1026
00:46:27,500 --> 00:46:29,833
that not every one of you
will be healed.

1027
00:46:29,875 --> 00:46:31,917
Now, I don't know
who will be healed,

1028
00:46:32,000 --> 00:46:34,417
so we're going to pray and see.

1029
00:46:34,500 --> 00:46:38,083
But it's a horrible thing to
tell people one of two things:

1030
00:46:38,167 --> 00:46:40,708
"God used to heal.
He doesn't heal anymore.

1031
00:46:40,792 --> 00:46:42,625
"Don't get your
hopes up."

1032
00:46:42,667 --> 00:46:45,500
Or "God has to heal.

1033
00:46:45,583 --> 00:46:47,917
"He heals everyone,
and if he doesn't heal you,

1034
00:46:48,000 --> 00:46:49,792
"it's your fault.

1035
00:46:49,833 --> 00:46:51,333
"You don't have enough faith.

1036
00:46:51,375 --> 00:46:53,833
"God's in heaven, and if
you just had enough faith

1037
00:46:53,875 --> 00:46:56,625
"to move his hand, his hand
would rest upon you.

1038
00:46:56,667 --> 00:46:58,917
"And if his hand
does not rest upon you,

1039
00:46:59,000 --> 00:47:01,667
it's because your
faith is too weak."

1040
00:47:01,750 --> 00:47:07,667
What a demonic thing to tell
a pregnant mom with cancer,

1041
00:47:07,750 --> 00:47:12,083
as if she doesn't
have enough burden.

1042
00:47:12,167 --> 00:47:14,417
I'll give you two examples
from the Bible.

1043
00:47:14,500 --> 00:47:17,917
2 Timothy 4:20, Paul says,
"I left Trophimus,

1044
00:47:18,000 --> 00:47:19,708
who was ill, at Miletus."

1045
00:47:19,792 --> 00:47:22,833
OK, he's traveling with a guy
and he leaves the guy

1046
00:47:22,875 --> 00:47:25,708
because the guy is sick.

1047
00:47:25,792 --> 00:47:29,125
Do you think Paul had faith?

1048
00:47:29,167 --> 00:47:32,000
He wrote 13, maybe 14 books
of the New Testament.

1049
00:47:32,042 --> 00:47:35,833
If you keep reading the book
of Acts, he's in there a lot,

1050
00:47:35,875 --> 00:47:37,833
including with some healings.

1051
00:47:37,875 --> 00:47:40,833
But he couldn't heal that
guy, so you know what he did?

1052
00:47:40,875 --> 00:47:44,167
Dropped him off to be tended to.

1053
00:47:44,250 --> 00:47:47,292
How about Paul himself?

1054
00:47:47,333 --> 00:47:52,000
2 Corinthians 12:7-9, "A thorn
was given me in the flesh."

1055
00:47:52,042 --> 00:47:54,000
Nobody knows what this is.

1056
00:47:54,042 --> 00:47:55,625
Everybody's debated it forever.

1057
00:47:55,667 --> 00:47:57,833
When we get to heaven,
we'll ask Paul.

1058
00:47:57,875 --> 00:48:01,083
Until then, we'll just put it in
the "I don't know" bucket, OK?

1059
00:48:01,167 --> 00:48:03,083
"A thorn was given
me in the flesh,

1060
00:48:03,167 --> 00:48:04,875
"a messenger of Satan
to harass me,

1061
00:48:04,958 --> 00:48:06,417
"to keep me from
becoming conceited.

1062
00:48:06,500 --> 00:48:08,625
Three times I pleaded
with the Lord about this."

1063
00:48:08,667 --> 00:48:10,000
Did he pray about it?

1064
00:48:10,083 --> 00:48:11,417
Yeah.

1065
00:48:11,500 --> 00:48:13,000
"That it should leave me"--

1066
00:48:13,042 --> 00:48:14,375
he wanted to be healed--

1067
00:48:14,458 --> 00:48:17,000
"But he said to me, 'My
grace is sufficient for you,

1068
00:48:17,083 --> 00:48:19,417
for my power is made
perfect in weakness.'"

1069
00:48:19,500 --> 00:48:22,208
Paul said, "I have
an injury or an illness.

1070
00:48:22,292 --> 00:48:24,500
"I asked Jesus to heal me.

1071
00:48:24,583 --> 00:48:27,125
"He said, 'You'll be fine.
Suck it up.

1072
00:48:27,167 --> 00:48:29,125
Go with it.'"

1073
00:48:29,167 --> 00:48:33,292
That's my translation
of the Greek.

1074
00:48:33,333 --> 00:48:36,625
OK, did Paul lack faith?

1075
00:48:36,667 --> 00:48:38,083
No.

1076
00:48:38,167 --> 00:48:39,667
Did Paul not believe in healing?

1077
00:48:39,750 --> 00:48:41,125
He believed in healing.

1078
00:48:41,167 --> 00:48:43,417
Was Paul used of
others to heal them?

1079
00:48:43,500 --> 00:48:44,875
Yeah.

1080
00:48:44,958 --> 00:48:47,208
Did he heal himself?
No.

1081
00:48:47,292 --> 00:48:48,625
He says, "You know what?

1082
00:48:48,667 --> 00:48:50,208
It kept me from
being conceited."

1083
00:48:50,292 --> 00:48:52,000
That would do it.

1084
00:48:52,083 --> 00:48:54,167
It's very humbling.

1085
00:48:54,250 --> 00:48:59,583
All right, here's the faith
healer with the flu, right?

1086
00:48:59,667 --> 00:49:01,750
Everybody's like, "Really?

1087
00:49:01,833 --> 00:49:03,833
How come you can't
heal yourself?"

1088
00:49:03,917 --> 00:49:06,917
"It keeps me humble."

1089
00:49:07,000 --> 00:49:11,708
Sometimes God won't
heal us for our good.

1090
00:49:11,792 --> 00:49:15,833
Sometimes God won't heal
us because he loves us.

1091
00:49:15,875 --> 00:49:19,417
Sometimes God won't heal us
because even though it might be

1092
00:49:19,500 --> 00:49:22,792
good for our body, it may
not be good for our soul,

1093
00:49:22,833 --> 00:49:24,167
and that's what Paul says.

1094
00:49:24,250 --> 00:49:26,167
He says, "You know,
if everything was great

1095
00:49:26,250 --> 00:49:27,583
"and I was always fine,

1096
00:49:27,667 --> 00:49:29,583
"I might just become
a really arrogant guy,

1097
00:49:29,667 --> 00:49:31,875
"and this really keeps me
humble and dependent on

1098
00:49:31,958 --> 00:49:34,000
the Lord and his grace."

1099
00:49:34,083 --> 00:49:38,500
So no, not everybody
will be healed in this life.

1100
00:49:38,583 --> 00:49:42,833
When will all of God's
people receive healing?

1101
00:49:42,875 --> 00:49:45,208
Here's what we do believe:
all of God's people

1102
00:49:45,292 --> 00:49:46,708
will receive healing.

1103
00:49:46,792 --> 00:49:49,000
The question is, when?

1104
00:49:49,042 --> 00:49:53,917
When will this happen?

1105
00:49:54,000 --> 00:49:56,500
Well, in the kingdom
of God, friends.

1106
00:49:56,583 --> 00:50:02,167
See, just as Jesus suffered
and he died and was buried,

1107
00:50:02,250 --> 00:50:06,500
so God's people will suffer,
will die, and be buried.

1108
00:50:06,583 --> 00:50:10,917
And just as Jesus rose,
conquering sin and death,

1109
00:50:11,000 --> 00:50:14,958
so Jesus' people will rise in
victory over sin and death.

1110
00:50:15,000 --> 00:50:17,125
We'll get a glorified
resurrected body.

1111
00:50:17,167 --> 00:50:18,958
You can read in
1 Corinthians 15.

1112
00:50:19,000 --> 00:50:21,208
It details this.

1113
00:50:21,292 --> 00:50:24,750
And this resurrected body
will be as God intended,

1114
00:50:24,833 --> 00:50:26,542
and the new heaven,
the new earth,

1115
00:50:26,625 --> 00:50:28,625
the new Jerusalem
will be as God created,

1116
00:50:28,667 --> 00:50:31,625
and there will be no more
curse and no more sickness

1117
00:50:31,667 --> 00:50:34,625
and no more sin and no more
Satan and no more demons

1118
00:50:34,667 --> 00:50:38,333
and no more death.

1119
00:50:38,417 --> 00:50:42,000
And Revelation 21:4 says
when that day comes,

1120
00:50:42,083 --> 00:50:43,833
"He"--who's he?

1121
00:50:43,917 --> 00:50:45,250
Jesus.

1122
00:50:45,333 --> 00:50:47,000
I want you to get this picture:

1123
00:50:47,083 --> 00:50:49,417
"He will wipe away
every tear from their eyes."

1124
00:50:49,500 --> 00:50:51,167
Have you ever done
a hospital visit?

1125
00:50:51,208 --> 00:50:52,750
If not, you should.

1126
00:50:52,833 --> 00:50:55,167
Have you ever been
to a children's hospital?

1127
00:50:55,208 --> 00:50:57,125
You need to go.

1128
00:50:57,167 --> 00:50:59,833
Have you ever been with
someone when they died?

1129
00:50:59,875 --> 00:51:03,375
It's a gift to be there.

1130
00:51:03,458 --> 00:51:07,333
As someone is suffering, it's
a wonderful gift to be able to

1131
00:51:07,375 --> 00:51:09,375
literally just put your
hands on their face,

1132
00:51:09,458 --> 00:51:10,875
tell them you love them,

1133
00:51:10,958 --> 00:51:13,333
and wipe the tears
from their eyes.

1134
00:51:13,375 --> 00:51:15,917
When someone is grieving because
someone that they love is

1135
00:51:16,000 --> 00:51:18,875
suffering or dying--I got to do
this with my kids

1136
00:51:18,958 --> 00:51:21,000
and my wife Grace.

1137
00:51:21,042 --> 00:51:24,125
My wife's father died
a few months ago,

1138
00:51:24,167 --> 00:51:29,125
and we were all at his deathbed
as he was suffering and dying.

1139
00:51:29,167 --> 00:51:32,500
I got to put my hands on my
wife's face and wipe the tears

1140
00:51:32,583 --> 00:51:36,000
from her eyes, and I got to put
the hands on my kid's face

1141
00:51:36,083 --> 00:51:37,708
and wipe the tears
from their eyes.

1142
00:51:37,792 --> 00:51:40,500
As I was doing that,
the Holy Spirit brought to mind

1143
00:51:40,542 --> 00:51:43,833
this verse that one day Jesus
is gonna do that for us.

1144
00:51:43,875 --> 00:51:47,333
He's going to put his hands on our
face like a dad who loves his

1145
00:51:47,375 --> 00:51:49,208
kid, like a husband
who loves his wife,

1146
00:51:49,292 --> 00:51:51,667
and he's going to wipe
the tears from our eyes.

1147
00:51:51,750 --> 00:51:53,667
And you know when
we'll cry again?

1148
00:51:53,750 --> 00:51:55,417
Never.

1149
00:51:55,500 --> 00:51:58,375
Those will be the last
tears we ever cry.

1150
00:51:58,458 --> 00:52:01,292
That's the kingdom of God.

1151
00:52:01,333 --> 00:52:03,500
"He will wipe away every
tear from their eyes,

1152
00:52:03,542 --> 00:52:05,792
and death shall be"--
what, Mars Hill?

1153
00:52:05,833 --> 00:52:09,708
It's over.

1154
00:52:09,792 --> 00:52:11,500
"Neither shall
there be mourning."

1155
00:52:11,542 --> 00:52:14,000
No more funerals,
no more crying,

1156
00:52:14,083 --> 00:52:17,125
no more CaringBridge blog posts,

1157
00:52:17,167 --> 00:52:19,500
no more prayer meetings,
no more prayer chains.

1158
00:52:19,583 --> 00:52:22,125
We need it all, but one day
it'll be over,

1159
00:52:22,167 --> 00:52:24,500
and we'll be fine with that.

1160
00:52:24,583 --> 00:52:27,583
"Nor crying, nor pain anymore,
for the former things

1161
00:52:27,667 --> 00:52:29,875
have passed away."

1162
00:52:29,958 --> 00:52:32,167
It won't be like that forever.

1163
00:52:32,250 --> 00:52:35,792
For the Christian, this is
as close to hell as we get.

1164
00:52:35,833 --> 00:52:39,333
For the non-Christian, this is
as close to heaven as they get.

1165
00:52:39,375 --> 00:52:42,125
And the kingdom of God
is a beautiful thing,

1166
00:52:42,167 --> 00:52:45,833
and God's people will be there
together, resurrected forever.

1167
00:52:45,875 --> 00:52:48,625
In the meantime, friends,
here's the last question:

1168
00:52:48,667 --> 00:52:53,625
how should we
minister to the sick?

1169
00:52:53,667 --> 00:52:56,208
If Jesus were alive
on the earth today

1170
00:52:56,292 --> 00:52:59,333
and you were sick,
would you try to get to him?

1171
00:52:59,375 --> 00:53:00,958
Would you?

1172
00:53:01,000 --> 00:53:04,000
How many of you would be like,
"I would book that flight

1173
00:53:04,042 --> 00:53:06,125
and I would stand in that line"?

1174
00:53:06,167 --> 00:53:08,792
How many of you, if it was
somebody you really loved,

1175
00:53:08,833 --> 00:53:11,208
and Jesus was alive
on the earth today, you'd say,

1176
00:53:11,292 --> 00:53:13,333
"You know what?
I'm taking them with me.

1177
00:53:13,375 --> 00:53:15,583
"I'm healthy,
I'm going to do like Acts 3.

1178
00:53:15,667 --> 00:53:17,833
"This guy's buddies
would bring him to the temple.

1179
00:53:17,875 --> 00:53:19,833
"I'm going to be
one of those buddies

1180
00:53:19,875 --> 00:53:21,208
who takes somebody to Jesus"?

1181
00:53:21,292 --> 00:53:23,417
How many of you would
do that right now,

1182
00:53:23,500 --> 00:53:26,167
and even as I say this,
you could think of somebody,

1183
00:53:26,250 --> 00:53:28,917
like, right now, you would grab
your phone, book the flight,

1184
00:53:29,000 --> 00:53:30,417
and you'd leave
early because you

1185
00:53:30,500 --> 00:53:34,125
would go see Jesus right now?

1186
00:53:34,167 --> 00:53:38,708
Here's the good news: you can go
see Jesus and you can take your

1187
00:53:38,792 --> 00:53:44,167
friends to go see Jesus because
he's alive and he's not confined

1188
00:53:44,250 --> 00:53:48,125
to one place: he's sovereign
and can work in every place.

1189
00:53:48,167 --> 00:53:51,208
That's the big idea of Acts 3.

1190
00:53:51,292 --> 00:53:53,208
So, what do we do
in the meantime?

1191
00:53:53,292 --> 00:53:56,625
How do we minister
to those who are sick?

1192
00:53:56,667 --> 00:53:59,417
Number one,
you can pray from a distance.

1193
00:53:59,500 --> 00:54:02,667
I saw in the gospels at least
three times that Jesus didn't go

1194
00:54:02,708 --> 00:54:05,333
to someone who was sick,
he just prayed from a distance

1195
00:54:05,417 --> 00:54:07,333
and healed them.

1196
00:54:07,375 --> 00:54:10,708
How many of you,
you can't be with the person,

1197
00:54:10,792 --> 00:54:13,792
but you can pray
from a distance?

1198
00:54:13,833 --> 00:54:17,625
With my son Zac last
night with his arm trouble,

1199
00:54:17,667 --> 00:54:21,625
he's hours away and I had
to get up and go to work today,

1200
00:54:21,667 --> 00:54:25,792
so I have to pray
from a distance for Buddy Zac.

1201
00:54:25,833 --> 00:54:28,708
His name's not Buddy,
that's just what I call him.

1202
00:54:28,792 --> 00:54:31,083
He's my buddy.

1203
00:54:31,167 --> 00:54:33,000
But you can pray
from a distance.

1204
00:54:33,042 --> 00:54:35,500
This means as well,
in the age of technology,

1205
00:54:35,583 --> 00:54:38,625
this is where social media
posts and blog posts

1206
00:54:38,667 --> 00:54:41,417
and CaringBridge sites and
prayer chains and phone calls

1207
00:54:41,500 --> 00:54:46,208
and texts, they really matter,
right suffering people?

1208
00:54:46,292 --> 00:54:48,875
Even if somebody's far away
and they're praying for you,

1209
00:54:48,958 --> 00:54:51,708
that's a real gift, amen?

1210
00:54:51,792 --> 00:54:56,917
Number two, you can lay hands
on somebody and pray for them.

1211
00:54:57,000 --> 00:55:00,500
We see this repeatedly
in Jesus' ministry

1212
00:55:00,542 --> 00:55:03,583
and in the ministry
of the early Christians,

1213
00:55:03,667 --> 00:55:08,000
right, that they lay
hands on somebody.

1214
00:55:08,083 --> 00:55:10,875
This is that the Holy Spirit
lives in the person,

1215
00:55:10,958 --> 00:55:13,333
and the Holy Spirit's going
to work through that person

1216
00:55:13,375 --> 00:55:16,333
and is going to hear and answer
that prayer for the person

1217
00:55:16,375 --> 00:55:17,708
who is sick.

1218
00:55:17,792 --> 00:55:19,208
And here's what it also does:

1219
00:55:19,292 --> 00:55:21,208
it shows affection
and companionship.

1220
00:55:21,292 --> 00:55:25,083
What's worse than suffering
is suffering alone.

1221
00:55:25,167 --> 00:55:29,125
What's worse than suffering
is suffering alone.

1222
00:55:29,167 --> 00:55:32,000
I mean, sometimes if you
go do a hospital visit

1223
00:55:32,042 --> 00:55:33,500
and somebody's there,

1224
00:55:33,583 --> 00:55:35,917
the only people that have
touched them are doctors.

1225
00:55:36,000 --> 00:55:38,417
And the doctors and the nurses
are doing their job

1226
00:55:38,500 --> 00:55:39,917
and we praise God for them,

1227
00:55:40,000 --> 00:55:42,083
but it's not affection,
it's not warmth,

1228
00:55:42,167 --> 00:55:44,875
it's not a kiss on the head,
it's not an embrace,

1229
00:55:44,958 --> 00:55:48,833
it's not that life-giving,
personal touch because

1230
00:55:48,875 --> 00:55:51,667
they're in a professional role,
which is good and godly,

1231
00:55:51,750 --> 00:55:53,667
but that's different
than a personal role

1232
00:55:53,750 --> 00:55:56,208
or a pastoral role.

1233
00:55:56,292 --> 00:55:58,500
And so physically
touching someone,

1234
00:55:58,583 --> 00:56:00,375
it's an act
of identifying with them

1235
00:56:00,458 --> 00:56:02,583
and having compassion
on them and love for them

1236
00:56:02,667 --> 00:56:06,500
and being there for them
and friendship toward them.

1237
00:56:06,542 --> 00:56:11,333
Number three, we
can anoint people with oil.

1238
00:56:11,375 --> 00:56:14,833
There are times in the Bible
when Jesus

1239
00:56:14,875 --> 00:56:16,500
anoints people with oil.

1240
00:56:16,542 --> 00:56:18,333
Mark 6:14 is one occasion.

1241
00:56:18,375 --> 00:56:20,333
He takes oil, anoints
somebody, prays for them,

1242
00:56:20,375 --> 00:56:21,708
and they're healed.

1243
00:56:21,792 --> 00:56:23,208
You're going to read of this.

1244
00:56:23,292 --> 00:56:25,417
I think it's in
James 5:14 where it says,

1245
00:56:25,500 --> 00:56:26,917
"If any of you are sick,

1246
00:56:27,000 --> 00:56:29,125
"let them go to the elders
of the church

1247
00:56:29,167 --> 00:56:31,833
"and let them be anointed
with oil and pray in faith

1248
00:56:31,875 --> 00:56:34,000
and confess their sins,
and God can heal them."

1249
00:56:34,083 --> 00:56:35,708
Some people think,
"Oh, so the oil

1250
00:56:35,792 --> 00:56:37,125
has some magical component."

1251
00:56:37,167 --> 00:56:38,500
No, it doesn't.

1252
00:56:38,583 --> 00:56:43,333
The oil is--it's a symbol in
the Bible of the Holy Spirit.

1253
00:56:43,375 --> 00:56:46,125
All right, when oil
is poured out,

1254
00:56:46,167 --> 00:56:49,292
it's symbolic of the Holy Spirit
being poured out.

1255
00:56:49,333 --> 00:56:52,000
When oil is placed on someone,
it's an indication

1256
00:56:52,042 --> 00:56:54,917
that the Holy Spirit
has been placed on them.

1257
00:56:55,000 --> 00:56:57,333
Sometimes God will use
physical symbols to reveal

1258
00:56:57,375 --> 00:57:00,167
spiritual truths, and he
does that with oil.

1259
00:57:00,250 --> 00:57:02,583
And it's usually olive oil,
probably, in the Bible.

1260
00:57:02,667 --> 00:57:04,875
So when we anoint
someone with oil,

1261
00:57:04,958 --> 00:57:06,833
what we're doing
is we're welcoming,

1262
00:57:06,875 --> 00:57:09,000
we're inviting the Holy Spirit.

1263
00:57:09,083 --> 00:57:12,167
We're saying, "Holy Spirit,
I love this person,

1264
00:57:12,250 --> 00:57:14,333
"and they are suffering,
and Holy Spirit,

1265
00:57:14,375 --> 00:57:18,167
"we welcome you to come and be
with them, to comfort them,

1266
00:57:18,250 --> 00:57:22,375
and if you choose,
to heal them."

1267
00:57:22,458 --> 00:57:25,917
And some people don't use oil,
and I would say it's because

1268
00:57:26,000 --> 00:57:30,292
they sometimes lack faith
that the Holy Spirit

1269
00:57:30,333 --> 00:57:33,125
will actually want to show up.

1270
00:57:33,167 --> 00:57:35,333
And sometimes faith is
an inward conviction;

1271
00:57:35,375 --> 00:57:37,833
sometimes it's
an outward action.

1272
00:57:37,875 --> 00:57:40,000
And by anointing with oil
or laying hands

1273
00:57:40,083 --> 00:57:43,000
and praying on someone,
it is an act of faith.

1274
00:57:43,083 --> 00:57:48,125
It's an outward demonstration of
an inward commitment, a belief.

1275
00:57:48,167 --> 00:57:50,625
And lastly,
you can minister in faith.

1276
00:57:50,667 --> 00:57:55,000
And it often is said in
the gospels with Jesus

1277
00:57:55,042 --> 00:57:58,833
and the book of Acts with
others that so-and-so had faith

1278
00:57:58,875 --> 00:58:00,500
and was healed.

1279
00:58:00,542 --> 00:58:03,000
Sometimes it says that
the sick person had faith

1280
00:58:03,042 --> 00:58:04,458
and they were healed.

1281
00:58:04,500 --> 00:58:06,917
Sometimes it says that
the friends who brought them

1282
00:58:07,000 --> 00:58:09,833
had faith and the sick
person was healed.

1283
00:58:09,875 --> 00:58:12,125
So, whether you're
the sick person,

1284
00:58:12,167 --> 00:58:15,417
God wants you to act in faith,
or you're the family or friends

1285
00:58:15,500 --> 00:58:19,708
of the person who is sick,
God wants you to act in faith.

1286
00:58:19,792 --> 00:58:22,375
And faith is trusting
that Jesus is alive.

1287
00:58:22,458 --> 00:58:26,833
Faith is trusting that the name
of Jesus of Nazareth is strong.

1288
00:58:26,875 --> 00:58:30,333
Faith is believing that God
hears and answers prayer.

1289
00:58:30,375 --> 00:58:33,917
And faith is trusting
that God can heal,

1290
00:58:34,000 --> 00:58:37,000
and we're asking him to, amen?

1291
00:58:37,042 --> 00:58:42,917
That's what faith is
and that's what faith does.

1292
00:58:43,000 --> 00:58:45,833
So, here are some things
I want to give to you

1293
00:58:45,875 --> 00:58:48,333
as action items, Mars Hill:

1294
00:58:48,375 --> 00:58:51,667
If you came today with
someone who is sick,

1295
00:58:51,750 --> 00:58:55,917
suffering illness or injury,
before the service is done,

1296
00:58:56,000 --> 00:59:00,500
would you please lay
hands and pray over them?

1297
00:59:00,542 --> 00:59:02,792
Number two,
at the end of the service,

1298
00:59:02,833 --> 00:59:04,375
we're going to have
leaders available.

1299
00:59:04,458 --> 00:59:06,417
Guess what they
want to do for you?

1300
00:59:06,500 --> 00:59:08,500
Pray for you.

1301
00:59:08,542 --> 00:59:10,583
You probably saw
that coming, right?

1302
00:59:10,667 --> 00:59:13,500
They want to anoint you
with oil and pray for you

1303
00:59:13,542 --> 00:59:16,500
and lay a hand on you and do
exactly what the Bible

1304
00:59:16,542 --> 00:59:18,625
tells us to do.

1305
00:59:18,667 --> 00:59:21,625
In addition, this week
in Community Group,

1306
00:59:21,667 --> 00:59:25,875
if you are suffering
or you love someone who is,

1307
00:59:25,958 --> 00:59:30,333
your Community Group is going
to spend this week praying,

1308
00:59:30,375 --> 00:59:33,375
praying for each other and those
requests that God

1309
00:59:33,458 --> 00:59:37,292
would bring to mind for
the group to be praying.

1310
00:59:37,333 --> 00:59:40,417
My encouragement to you
would be to write them down

1311
00:59:40,500 --> 00:59:44,500
and to keep some record,
and to persevere in prayer

1312
00:59:44,583 --> 00:59:47,167
and to follow up with those
people, calling, texting,

1313
00:59:47,250 --> 00:59:49,875
e-mailing, getting
together with.

1314
00:59:49,958 --> 00:59:51,833
"I'm praying for you.
How are you doing?

1315
00:59:51,875 --> 00:59:54,833
"How can I be praying for you?
How can I love you?

1316
00:59:54,875 --> 00:59:56,208
How can I support you?"

1317
00:59:56,292 --> 00:59:59,375
So that we can be God's people,
and we can love and encourage

1318
00:59:59,458 --> 01:00:02,417
those who are God's people,
and that others who are not yet

1319
01:00:02,500 --> 01:00:05,542
God's people become
God's people.

1320
01:00:05,625 --> 01:00:08,167
What I'm going to ask
the financial stewards to do

1321
01:00:08,208 --> 01:00:11,167
right now is to collect our
tithes and offerings.

1322
01:00:11,208 --> 01:00:13,667
As they are collecting
our tithes and offerings,

1323
01:00:13,708 --> 01:00:16,958
I want you to give generously,
and here's what I want to do:

1324
01:00:17,000 --> 01:00:19,042
I want to read some
stories for you.

1325
01:00:19,125 --> 01:00:20,750
Would you like some good news?

1326
01:00:20,833 --> 01:00:23,417
How many of you would like
to hear stories of people

1327
01:00:23,500 --> 01:00:25,542
at Mars Hill Church who were
actually healed?

1328
01:00:25,625 --> 01:00:28,208
We're not talking about
missionaries in another country.

1329
01:00:28,292 --> 01:00:30,917
We're not talking about some
church we're unsure about.

1330
01:00:31,000 --> 01:00:33,542
We're talking about people
at Mars Hill Church.

1331
01:00:33,625 --> 01:00:36,750
And I know when it comes to
praying for those who are sick,

1332
01:00:36,833 --> 01:00:39,458
sometimes we can
struggle and lack faith,

1333
01:00:39,500 --> 01:00:43,250
but by hearing that God has
answered the prayers of others,

1334
01:00:43,333 --> 01:00:45,250
it increases our faith to pray.

1335
01:00:45,333 --> 01:00:47,833
I believe that's one
of the reasons we have stories

1336
01:00:47,917 --> 01:00:49,458
like Acts 3 in the Bible.

1337
01:00:49,500 --> 01:00:51,542
As we hear that
this guy was healed,

1338
01:00:51,625 --> 01:00:54,333
it compels us to pray that
others might be healed, amen?

1339
01:00:54,417 --> 01:00:56,667
So here, I'm going
to read some for you.

1340
01:00:56,708 --> 01:00:58,833
So Kim at Mars Hill Ballard,
she says,

1341
01:00:58,917 --> 01:01:00,667
"A few days after
my annual physical,

1342
01:01:00,750 --> 01:01:02,917
"my doctor called
to say he had bad news.

1343
01:01:03,000 --> 01:01:04,875
"I had hepatitis C.

1344
01:01:04,958 --> 01:01:07,667
"I had undergone major surgery
along with a blood transfusion

1345
01:01:07,750 --> 01:01:10,125
"years before and had
contracted the virus

1346
01:01:10,167 --> 01:01:12,000
"through the transfusion.

1347
01:01:12,042 --> 01:01:13,708
"Thus began a series
of treatments.

1348
01:01:13,792 --> 01:01:16,125
"I relapsed after
the first two treatments,

1349
01:01:16,167 --> 01:01:18,333
"but the third treatment
was successful.

1350
01:01:18,375 --> 01:01:21,625
"My children were young at this
time, and I prayed that God

1351
01:01:21,667 --> 01:01:24,417
"would allow me to stay
and raise them to adulthood.

1352
01:01:24,500 --> 01:01:26,625
"The psalms gave me
a vehicle for prayer

1353
01:01:26,667 --> 01:01:28,708
"when I didn't have words
myself.

1354
01:01:28,792 --> 01:01:31,167
"My family and other Christians
supported me with prayer,

1355
01:01:31,250 --> 01:01:33,583
"companionship,
and meals for our family.

1356
01:01:33,667 --> 01:01:35,208
"I thank God every day

1357
01:01:35,292 --> 01:01:37,125
"for giving me peace,
hope, and healing.

1358
01:01:37,167 --> 01:01:39,792
"I've been free of
hep C for 14 years.

1359
01:01:39,833 --> 01:01:41,792
Thanks be to God," amen?

1360
01:01:41,833 --> 01:01:43,333
That's good news.

1361
01:01:43,375 --> 01:01:45,625
Tarren at Mars Hill Bellevue,
"I was diagnosed with

1362
01:01:45,667 --> 01:01:47,792
"Crohn's Disease
as a little girl.

1363
01:01:47,833 --> 01:01:50,583
"I suffered from chronic pain,
was in and out of hospitals,

1364
01:01:50,667 --> 01:01:52,792
"took no less than
20 pills a day,

1365
01:01:52,833 --> 01:01:55,667
"and was told that it was very
unlikely I would one day

1366
01:01:55,750 --> 01:01:57,417
"be able to have kids.

1367
01:01:57,500 --> 01:01:59,333
"Shortly after
becoming a Christian,

1368
01:01:59,375 --> 01:02:01,375
"my husband found
a top-ranked specialist,

1369
01:02:01,458 --> 01:02:03,042
"hoping he'd be able to help.

1370
01:02:03,125 --> 01:02:06,125
"The specialist called a few
days after my biopsy to let me

1371
01:02:06,167 --> 01:02:09,000
"know that not only were there
no signs of current illness,

1372
01:02:09,083 --> 01:02:12,208
"but it was as if I'd
never had Chron's at all.

1373
01:02:12,292 --> 01:02:14,000
He could not explain it."

1374
01:02:14,042 --> 01:02:17,000
We can--we got this book that
tells us how that happened.

1375
01:02:17,042 --> 01:02:19,417
"My husband and I
were speechless.

1376
01:02:19,500 --> 01:02:21,000
"With tears in our eyes,

1377
01:02:21,042 --> 01:02:23,000
"we began praying
our thanks to Jesus.

1378
01:02:23,042 --> 01:02:24,917
"It's been 5 years
since he healed me,

1379
01:02:25,000 --> 01:02:26,583
"I've remained symptom-free

1380
01:02:26,667 --> 01:02:30,708
and have two beautiful,
healthy, little boys."

1381
01:02:30,792 --> 01:02:32,417
Good news.

1382
01:02:32,500 --> 01:02:34,000
Carolyn from
Mars Hill Downtown,

1383
01:02:34,083 --> 01:02:36,667
"My mom, Irene, was diagnosed
with multiple sclerosis

1384
01:02:36,750 --> 01:02:38,583
"while she was
in her late 30s.

1385
01:02:38,667 --> 01:02:41,083
"She was told that her
spine looked like that of

1386
01:02:41,167 --> 01:02:44,000
"a 90-year-old and she wouldn't
live to see 50 years of age.

1387
01:02:44,083 --> 01:02:47,000
"Crying out to the Lord, God did
bring about a miraculous healing

1388
01:02:47,083 --> 01:02:49,417
"within several months,
completely healing her body

1389
01:02:49,500 --> 01:02:51,000
"of this disease.

1390
01:02:51,083 --> 01:02:53,292
"When the doctor looked
at her new spinal x-rays,

1391
01:02:53,333 --> 01:02:55,583
"he simply backed
out of the room, speechless,

1392
01:02:55,667 --> 01:02:58,208
"with fear in his eyes,
knowing that something unusual

1393
01:02:58,292 --> 01:02:59,708
"had occurred.

1394
01:02:59,792 --> 01:03:02,042
"God's healing has remained
and my mom is currently

1395
01:03:02,125 --> 01:03:06,333
an active 74-year-old praying
intercessor to this day."

1396
01:03:06,375 --> 01:03:08,125
Good news.

1397
01:03:08,167 --> 01:03:10,000
This one is one of my favorites.

1398
01:03:10,083 --> 01:03:12,208
Carly, a deacon in Sammamish.

1399
01:03:12,292 --> 01:03:15,208
Those of you who are skeptics,
this is a deacon

1400
01:03:15,292 --> 01:03:18,417
in Mars Hill Sammamish,
so this is true.

1401
01:03:18,500 --> 01:03:20,125
All right, here we go.

1402
01:03:20,167 --> 01:03:23,167
"When I was pregnant with
our first child, Kellan,

1403
01:03:23,250 --> 01:03:26,125
"we went in for a routine
ultrasound to find out

1404
01:03:26,167 --> 01:03:27,708
"the gender of our baby.

1405
01:03:27,792 --> 01:03:29,667
"I wasn't prepared
for what they would find.

1406
01:03:29,750 --> 01:03:32,417
"Our son's entire body was
swollen and he had a large,

1407
01:03:32,500 --> 01:03:35,583
"fluid-filled tumor around
the back of his neck.

1408
01:03:35,667 --> 01:03:38,083
"The doctors gave us
the grim prognosis.

1409
01:03:38,167 --> 01:03:40,708
"They told us our son would
either die in utero

1410
01:03:40,792 --> 01:03:42,667
"or be still-born.

1411
01:03:42,750 --> 01:03:46,083
"When I asked if there was any
chance our son would be born

1412
01:03:46,167 --> 01:03:48,500
"normally and healthy, they said
there was absolutely no hope.

1413
01:03:48,583 --> 01:03:51,000
"They asked us how we
would like to, quote,

1414
01:03:51,042 --> 01:03:53,500
"'manage the pregnancy',
and we informed them

1415
01:03:53,583 --> 01:03:55,417
"there would be no abortion.

1416
01:03:55,500 --> 01:03:57,583
"We would trust in the Lord.

1417
01:03:57,667 --> 01:03:59,833
"We were devastated
but soon turned to prayer

1418
01:03:59,875 --> 01:04:01,500
"as our only hope.

1419
01:04:01,542 --> 01:04:04,375
"Pastor Mark"--that's me--
"called and prayed for us."

1420
01:04:04,458 --> 01:04:07,083
That's why I like this story.

1421
01:04:07,167 --> 01:04:10,500
"Our Mars Hill family reached
out to encourage and pray"--

1422
01:04:10,583 --> 01:04:12,625
just like you're
going to do this week--

1423
01:04:12,667 --> 01:04:15,208
"and soon people we didn't
even know around the world

1424
01:04:15,292 --> 01:04:16,708
"were praying for our son.

1425
01:04:16,792 --> 01:04:19,667
"Every month, I went back in for
more ultrasounds and the doctors

1426
01:04:19,750 --> 01:04:22,125
"were amazed that each time
the tumor was shrinking.

1427
01:04:22,167 --> 01:04:25,125
"The swelling in his body
began to go down as well.

1428
01:04:25,167 --> 01:04:27,625
"Our son was born completely
healthy and whole.

1429
01:04:27,667 --> 01:04:30,000
"He's in Mars Hill Kids today.

1430
01:04:30,083 --> 01:04:32,708
"Nothing was left of the tumor
except some extra skin

1431
01:04:32,792 --> 01:04:35,708
on the back of his neck"--and
some of us have that anyways.

1432
01:04:35,792 --> 01:04:37,208
It's not a big deal.

1433
01:04:37,292 --> 01:04:40,125
"We knew that God had done
a miracle and healed our son.

1434
01:04:40,167 --> 01:04:41,833
He is 10 now."

1435
01:04:41,875 --> 01:04:44,292
He's 10--"and still loves
to hear the story

1436
01:04:44,333 --> 01:04:46,875
"of the miracle God did before
he was even born."

1437
01:04:46,958 --> 01:04:48,625
Good news, right?

1438
01:04:48,667 --> 01:04:50,000
How about one more?

1439
01:04:50,083 --> 01:04:52,625
Ryan, Federal Way,
another deacon.

1440
01:04:52,667 --> 01:04:54,125
"I fell off a 50-foot cliff."

1441
01:04:54,167 --> 01:04:57,333
Just so you know, usually
there's nothing more to say

1442
01:04:57,375 --> 01:04:59,708
after that, right?

1443
01:04:59,792 --> 01:05:01,167
The end.

1444
01:05:01,250 --> 01:05:03,583
Oh, but it continues.

1445
01:05:03,667 --> 01:05:07,708
"I landed on my back in between
two giant tree stumps.

1446
01:05:07,792 --> 01:05:11,417
"I was airlifted to
Harborview Medical Center

1447
01:05:11,500 --> 01:05:13,833
"and was listed
in critical condition.

1448
01:05:13,875 --> 01:05:16,417
"I had broken my back
in three places,

1449
01:05:16,500 --> 01:05:19,417
"had internal bleeding
and renal contusions,

1450
01:05:19,500 --> 01:05:22,083
"my kidneys had severe bruising.

1451
01:05:22,167 --> 01:05:24,875
"The firefighters who strapped
me to a gurney and carried me

1452
01:05:24,958 --> 01:05:28,917
"to the helicopter later told me
most people die after falling

1453
01:05:29,000 --> 01:05:33,417
"10-20 feet, let alone 50.

1454
01:05:33,500 --> 01:05:36,208
"I was scheduled for surgery
to have my spleen removed

1455
01:05:36,292 --> 01:05:39,000
"as it had been split open.

1456
01:05:39,083 --> 01:05:41,292
"Meanwhile, my mother
and some of her friends,

1457
01:05:41,333 --> 01:05:43,708
"along with family,
began praying for me.

1458
01:05:43,792 --> 01:05:46,500
"Before my surgery, the doctor
checked my levels again,

1459
01:05:46,583 --> 01:05:49,083
"and my spleen had been healed.

1460
01:05:49,167 --> 01:05:51,875
"This saved me from needing
to take medication every day

1461
01:05:51,958 --> 01:05:56,083
"the rest of my life, plus I
like my spleen where it is.

1462
01:05:56,167 --> 01:05:58,500
"I was out of the hospital
and walking around

1463
01:05:58,583 --> 01:06:00,500
"in less than a week.

1464
01:06:00,542 --> 01:06:05,625
I have no issues, made a full
recovery because God healed me."

1465
01:06:05,667 --> 01:06:07,333
Good news.

1466
01:06:07,375 --> 01:06:09,333
Father God, I pray
for us right now.

1467
01:06:09,375 --> 01:06:12,417
Lord Jesus, I thank you that
you are willing to heal us

1468
01:06:12,500 --> 01:06:15,792
spiritually, that you are
willing to forgive our sin

1469
01:06:15,833 --> 01:06:18,667
and you're willing to give
us your righteousness.

1470
01:06:18,750 --> 01:06:21,792
Lord Jesus, I thank you for
sending the Holy Spirit to dwell

1471
01:06:21,833 --> 01:06:24,167
in all of God's children.

1472
01:06:24,250 --> 01:06:27,375
Lord God, I thank you that
you are the Great Physician,

1473
01:06:27,458 --> 01:06:29,625
that you can and do heal.

1474
01:06:29,667 --> 01:06:33,625
Lord God, I thank you that
you'll heal some in this life.

1475
01:06:33,667 --> 01:06:36,375
I thank you that you have
healed some in this church.

1476
01:06:36,458 --> 01:06:39,000
I thank you that you
will heal some this week.

1477
01:06:39,083 --> 01:06:42,792
I trust you will heal
some on this day.

1478
01:06:42,833 --> 01:06:45,125
In the strong name
of Jesus of Nazareth,

1479
01:06:45,167 --> 01:06:47,083
we pray against
the enemy, his servants,

1480
01:06:47,167 --> 01:06:48,875
their works and effects.

1481
01:06:48,958 --> 01:06:51,375
We command Satan
and demons and their torment

1482
01:06:51,458 --> 01:06:53,708
and their harm of God's people.

1483
01:06:53,792 --> 01:06:56,333
We command them away
from God's people.

1484
01:06:56,375 --> 01:06:59,917
We ask, Holy Spirit, that you
would fill and heal your people,

1485
01:07:00,042 --> 01:07:02,667
spiritually and physically.

1486
01:07:02,750 --> 01:07:05,833
Lord God, I pray that we would
be a church that, in faith

1487
01:07:05,875 --> 01:07:08,917
and in prayer and in
humility by the grace of God,

1488
01:07:09,000 --> 01:07:12,083
has compassion on those
who are sick and suffering.

1489
01:07:12,167 --> 01:07:14,125
Lord God, if it
is because of sin,

1490
01:07:14,167 --> 01:07:16,167
may we invite them to repent.

1491
01:07:16,250 --> 01:07:19,167
If it is because of the fall,
may we walk with them

1492
01:07:19,250 --> 01:07:20,917
in love and friendship.

1493
01:07:21,000 --> 01:07:24,000
If it is because of oppression,
might we use the strong name

1494
01:07:24,042 --> 01:07:27,000
of Jesus for their
deliverance and healing.

1495
01:07:27,042 --> 01:07:30,208
And Lord God, I pray for
us as a people this week,

1496
01:07:30,292 --> 01:07:33,000
that we would love
and encourage and pray for,

1497
01:07:33,042 --> 01:07:34,625
and serve one another.

1498
01:07:34,667 --> 01:07:37,917
And Lord Jesus, one day when
you return and we rise from

1499
01:07:38,000 --> 01:07:41,792
the dead, we know that all
will be healed forever,

1500
01:07:41,833 --> 01:07:44,417
that the blind shall see,
that the deaf shall hear,

1501
01:07:44,500 --> 01:07:48,208
that the lame shall run to Jesus,
in whose name we pray

1502
01:07:48,292 --> 01:07:50,583
and say thank you, amen.

1503
01:07:52,667 --> 01:07:55,625
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1504
01:07:55,667 --> 01:07:58,708
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1505
01:07:58,792 --> 01:08:01,375
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1506
01:08:01,458 --> 01:08:04,000
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1507
01:08:04,083 --> 01:08:07,583
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1508
01:08:07,667 --> 01:08:10,583
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1509
01:08:10,667 --> 01:08:13,500
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