sermon 22
YOU ARE A DOCTOR
"And he sent them to preach the kingdom of God, and to heal the sick" Luke 9:2.
Read Acts 28:7-10, James 5:15-15
W
e have been commissioned to preach the gospel of grace and to heal the sick. This divine mandate is supreme and powerful. It has made God's own children to be spiritual doctors. It is believed that a spiritual doctor supersedes a medical doctor. A spiritual doctor works by the authority and the grand influence of a supernatural Being.
Near the sea shore where Paul and his co-workers landed after their shipwreck experience at sea, they encountered Publius, the chief official of the Island who owned estate. This man, Publius welcomed them. He also hospitalized them for three days. Unfortunately, Publius' father was seriously sick with fever and dysentery. This kind of sickness might have put Publius in a great worry and in premonition. Perhaps he had gone to different places looking for cure of his father's illness but there was no solution. Though in such area of the Island, it could perhaps be that there was no doctor around and as a matter of fact, the people suffered seriously of their ailments. Publius might harbour in mind some pessimistic feelings towards the state of his father's health. He might be troubled at heart for his father's condition. He had money but his father was afflicted. The joy of being wealthy was drowned by the severe illness which his father was passing through. Yes, this tells us that money cannot solve everything in a man's life. It is better for a man to be healthy and live with two squire meals in a day than to be of good fortune and live with dreadful illness.
When Apostle Paul, the servant of Christ Jesus realized that Publius' father was sick, he went to him straightforward and prayed. Not only that Paul prayed for the sick, he also laid his hands on him and he was instantly healed. This act of laying of hand on the sick suggests the internetworking of power transferring from the doctor to the patient for healing. Once the patient receives the anointing, healing has taken place in an immeasurable way. What a joy that a man has been healed of a fever and dysentery! Once the power of God was wrought and the glory of God was held to the highest degree, those people living nearby the Island could no longer wait to present their sick ones before Paul, and they were all healed. They came with faith and they were made whole. A Christian patient coming to Christ for healing without faith is like someone going to church without his Bible. With the Bible, we hear the mind of God and develop our faith.
Thus, Paul has become a doctor where there is no doctor. Healing is not wrought without a purpose, and the purpose is to give God all the glory. Publius has seen that Paul and his co-workers are servants of God and he welcomed them. We should know that a great reward awaits those who cheerfully give a cup of water to God's servants. As Publius entertained the men of God, he was rewarded too. Kindness was shown unto him, and as a result, his father was healed. His kindness created a platform for healing other sick people living within the armpit of the Island.
YOU ARE A DOCTOR
"And he sent them to preach the kingdom of God, and to heal the sick" Luke 9:2.
Read Acts 28:7-10, James 5:15-15
W
e have been commissioned to preach the gospel of grace and to heal the sick. This divine mandate is supreme and powerful. It has made God's own children to be spiritual doctors. It is believed that a spiritual doctor supersedes a medical doctor. A spiritual doctor works by the authority and the grand influence of a supernatural Being.
Near the sea shore where Paul and his co-workers landed after their shipwreck experience at sea, they encountered Publius, the chief official of the Island who owned estate. This man, Publius welcomed them. He also hospitalized them for three days. Unfortunately, Publius' father was seriously sick with fever and dysentery. This kind of sickness might have put Publius in a great worry and in premonition. Perhaps he had gone to different places looking for cure of his father's illness but there was no solution. Though in such area of the Island, it could perhaps be that there was no doctor around and as a matter of fact, the people suffered seriously of their ailments. Publius might harbour in mind some pessimistic feelings towards the state of his father's health. He might be troubled at heart for his father's condition. He had money but his father was afflicted. The joy of being wealthy was drowned by the severe illness which his father was passing through. Yes, this tells us that money cannot solve everything in a man's life. It is better for a man to be healthy and live with two squire meals in a day than to be of good fortune and live with dreadful illness.
When Apostle Paul, the servant of Christ Jesus realized that Publius' father was sick, he went to him straightforward and prayed. Not only that Paul prayed for the sick, he also laid his hands on him and he was instantly healed. This act of laying of hand on the sick suggests the internetworking of power transferring from the doctor to the patient for healing. Once the patient receives the anointing, healing has taken place in an immeasurable way. What a joy that a man has been healed of a fever and dysentery! Once the power of God was wrought and the glory of God was held to the highest degree, those people living nearby the Island could no longer wait to present their sick ones before Paul, and they were all healed. They came with faith and they were made whole. A Christian patient coming to Christ for healing without faith is like someone going to church without his Bible. With the Bible, we hear the mind of God and develop our faith.
Thus, Paul has become a doctor where there is no doctor. Healing is not wrought without a purpose, and the purpose is to give God all the glory. Publius has seen that Paul and his co-workers are servants of God and he welcomed them. We should know that a great reward awaits those who cheerfully give a cup of water to God's servants. As Publius entertained the men of God, he was rewarded too. Kindness was shown unto him, and as a result, his father was healed. His kindness created a platform for healing other sick people living within the armpit of the Island.
When men of God suffer for Christ, great miracles become evidence that God is still with them. The gift of healing is given to those who trust in God. Healing goes with faith. A patient must come to a doctor with faith in God, and the doctor must as well believe in God for perfection of healing.
Ye are doctors. Apostle James knows this right when he says: "Is any sick among you? Let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord: And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him" James 5:14-15.
Apostle James knows that ordained elders of churches are equally doctors and he summed it up the difference between a doctor and a healer. A doctor, at this context, offers prayers of faith, while the healer is the one that raises the sick up. The only one that raises the sick up is the Omnipotent God. Men of God are doctors but are not healers. A doctor can prescribe some drugs to patients and they get well. What makes them well is not the doctor but the drugs being taken. This is to say, a man of God preaches to patients and the word of God becomes a medicine to them. As they receive the word of God and believe, faith which is geared towards God becomes the great healer. This is in consonance with what the great doctor of doctors says to those that come to him with faith: "thy faith hath made thee whole" (see Matthew 9:22, Mark 10:5, Luke 7:50.)
Brethren, claim the fact that you are a doctor. Pray over your situation, and with faith, you shall get a desirable result. I pray for you right now that whatever may be your infirmity is taken away by God. Whatever that is waging war against your health, marriage, career, and business, by the power of the Most High God is loosed. Total freedom is granted to you from today henceforth, in Jesus name. Amen.
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