WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:04.839 I decided to do something today. I decided to 00:00:04.839 --> 00:00:11.660 give you the greatest testimony of all. That 00:00:11.660 --> 00:00:16.260 of Jesus Christ himself. And I want you to see 00:00:16.260 --> 00:00:21.120 exactly how he went about praying for the sick. 00:00:21.539 --> 00:00:27.160 His method. Exactly what he did. We have no greater 00:00:27.160 --> 00:00:31.399 example. There is no greater authority than the 00:00:31.399 --> 00:00:36.159 very Son of the living God. Know that. So stop 00:00:36.159 --> 00:00:38.020 whatever you're doing now for a very few minutes. 00:00:38.159 --> 00:00:41.979 That's right, honey. Put down that broom. That 00:00:41.979 --> 00:00:43.719 maybe you're down on your knees scrubbing the 00:00:43.719 --> 00:00:48.380 floor. Just that's right, honey. Like Mama used 00:00:48.380 --> 00:00:52.359 to say about the dirty dishes, they'll be there 00:00:52.359 --> 00:00:57.259 when we get home, and they always were. So just... 00:00:57.500 --> 00:01:01.700 Relax a bit, because the next few minutes may 00:01:01.700 --> 00:01:05.420 be very profitable to you. And while I'm talking, 00:01:05.480 --> 00:01:09.040 you get out your Bible and turn to the 8th chapter 00:01:09.040 --> 00:01:14.280 of Matthew. Jesus had just finished preaching 00:01:14.280 --> 00:01:18.439 the greatest sermon that was ever preached. No 00:01:18.439 --> 00:01:25.120 sermon that has ever been preached by the world's 00:01:25.120 --> 00:01:29.489 greatest orator. No theologian who has ever stood 00:01:29.489 --> 00:01:32.650 behind the pulpit has ever preached a sermon. 00:01:32.790 --> 00:01:37.530 No bishop has ever preached a sermon comparable 00:01:37.530 --> 00:01:42.989 to the sermon that is recorded in the seventh 00:01:42.989 --> 00:01:46.269 chapter of Matthew, that the greatest sermon 00:01:46.269 --> 00:01:51.810 ever preached. We cannot question the theology 00:01:51.810 --> 00:01:57.459 of the one who preached it. we cannot take issue 00:01:57.459 --> 00:02:03.439 with it. Because the one who preached it was 00:02:03.439 --> 00:02:08.139 absolute authority, the very son of the living 00:02:08.139 --> 00:02:14.460 God. And the last verse of that seventh chapter 00:02:14.460 --> 00:02:20.860 always intrigued me. He had just finished preaching 00:02:20.860 --> 00:02:23.620 that sermon, and this is what the word said. 00:02:24.590 --> 00:02:32.449 And he taught them as one having authority and 00:02:32.449 --> 00:02:38.430 not as the scribes. But even though he taught 00:02:38.430 --> 00:02:41.569 them as one having authority and even though 00:02:41.569 --> 00:02:47.949 the people were astonished at his doctrine, they 00:02:47.949 --> 00:02:53.110 were literally awed by that which left his lips. 00:02:54.349 --> 00:02:58.090 He still had to go out and prove his authority. 00:02:59.069 --> 00:03:04.110 He had to still make proof of that which he taught 00:03:04.110 --> 00:03:10.729 by his deeds and by his action. All right, that 00:03:10.729 --> 00:03:14.710 follows now. And in chapters 8 and 9 of this 00:03:14.710 --> 00:03:18.150 gospel, we have nine manifestations of his power. 00:03:18.490 --> 00:03:22.330 And these arrange themselves naturally into three 00:03:22.330 --> 00:03:31.740 groups. Groups of three each. He gave three illustrations 00:03:31.740 --> 00:03:34.460 of his power. And immediately afterwards, we 00:03:34.460 --> 00:03:38.919 find the effect produced on the people by what 00:03:38.919 --> 00:03:46.259 they saw. I know the Bible teaches that believe 00:03:46.259 --> 00:03:53.900 and ye shall see. But human nature still reverts 00:03:53.900 --> 00:03:59.840 to the opposite. They say, let me see, and I'll 00:03:59.840 --> 00:04:04.919 believe. Then Jesus continues with three other 00:04:04.919 --> 00:04:07.979 illustrations of power, and again the effect 00:04:07.979 --> 00:04:12.400 produced. Finally, three further illustrations 00:04:12.400 --> 00:04:15.919 of power, and once again the effect produced. 00:04:16.770 --> 00:04:19.850 Now, in looking at these two chapters, let us 00:04:19.850 --> 00:04:23.790 be very careful not to imagine that Jesus Christ 00:04:23.790 --> 00:04:28.290 presented himself to the people and asked them 00:04:28.290 --> 00:04:32.209 to observe what he was able to do. He did not. 00:04:33.629 --> 00:04:35.870 After finishing that sermon, he did not stand 00:04:35.870 --> 00:04:42.250 before them and say, Now, follow me and see my 00:04:42.250 --> 00:04:46.660 great power. He did not boastfully present himself 00:04:46.660 --> 00:04:54.720 and say, now behold my power and what I am able 00:04:54.720 --> 00:05:02.079 to do. No. There was nothing theatrical in these 00:05:02.079 --> 00:05:07.360 manifestations of power. Nothing. I want you 00:05:07.360 --> 00:05:11.660 to see that. And we need to come back to this 00:05:11.660 --> 00:05:18.519 glorious truth. There was not one thing theatrical 00:05:18.519 --> 00:05:24.540 about these manifestations of power. They were 00:05:24.540 --> 00:05:32.519 absolutely natural, normal, necessary, and beautiful. 00:05:35.040 --> 00:05:39.240 Oh, when you look back on it, when you read, 00:05:39.339 --> 00:05:46.420 you see how natural. Jesus was in his dealing 00:05:46.420 --> 00:05:52.199 with humanity and how natural was the effect. 00:05:54.279 --> 00:05:58.819 Oh, that's marvelous. The first three illustrations 00:05:58.819 --> 00:06:01.699 were those of the cleansing of the leper. This 00:06:01.699 --> 00:06:05.040 is all found in the 8th chapter of Matthew. Then 00:06:05.040 --> 00:06:09.420 the healing of the centurion's servant. And then 00:06:09.420 --> 00:06:14.879 the restoration of Peter's wife's mother. And 00:06:14.879 --> 00:06:18.579 immediately afterwards, a man said to him, Teacher, 00:06:18.899 --> 00:06:23.959 I will follow thee whithersoever thou goest. 00:06:26.259 --> 00:06:29.139 Then moving beyond the realm of the physical, 00:06:29.360 --> 00:06:33.319 he proved himself master of the elements in the 00:06:33.319 --> 00:06:37.120 stilling of the storm, master of the great world 00:06:37.120 --> 00:06:41.040 of spiritual forces as he cast out the demons. 00:06:42.410 --> 00:06:47.629 master of disease and its source of sin, as he 00:06:47.629 --> 00:06:54.209 cured the palsy and forgave sin. And immediately 00:06:54.209 --> 00:07:00.509 after these things we read, they were of prayed 00:07:00.509 --> 00:07:06.850 and glorified God. That's the reason I still 00:07:06.850 --> 00:07:14.819 say that There can be no manifestation of the 00:07:14.819 --> 00:07:20.959 power of God in the healing of sick bodies without 00:07:20.959 --> 00:07:25.860 seeing the greatest of all miracles, the forgiveness 00:07:25.860 --> 00:07:33.420 of sin. Sin and sickness go hand in hand. Had 00:07:33.420 --> 00:07:36.259 there not been sin, there never would have been 00:07:36.259 --> 00:07:41.920 sickness. come into the world until there was 00:07:41.920 --> 00:07:47.160 sin. You just cannot separate one from the other. 00:07:47.500 --> 00:07:51.060 In exactly the same way that wherever there is 00:07:51.060 --> 00:07:55.660 healing, the healing power of Almighty God, you 00:07:55.660 --> 00:08:01.819 will also find the forgiveness of sin, which 00:08:01.819 --> 00:08:05.480 is the greater of the two miracles. All right. 00:08:05.540 --> 00:08:08.600 Now turn, if you will, please, to that eighth... 00:08:08.759 --> 00:08:13.600 chapter of Matthew. When he was come down from 00:08:13.600 --> 00:08:16.600 the mountain, great multitudes followed him, 00:08:16.740 --> 00:08:21.399 and behold, there came a leper and worshipped 00:08:21.399 --> 00:08:28.920 him, saying, Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make 00:08:28.920 --> 00:08:35.120 me clean. That was all that he said. That was 00:08:35.120 --> 00:08:43.509 all that he prayed. It was that simple. Lord, 00:08:43.549 --> 00:08:52.610 if thou wilt, thou canst make me cleave. You 00:08:52.610 --> 00:08:58.870 know, the thing that gets me most is that, so 00:08:58.870 --> 00:09:03.230 far as we know, after Jesus had preached that 00:09:03.230 --> 00:09:07.029 masterpiece, the greatest sermon that was ever 00:09:07.029 --> 00:09:12.940 preached, The first one to approach him. The 00:09:12.940 --> 00:09:18.980 first one to believe him to the point of action. 00:09:19.779 --> 00:09:29.899 Not only amazed by what he heard, but so completely 00:09:29.899 --> 00:09:35.139 believing what he said and believed him to the 00:09:35.139 --> 00:09:41.919 point of action was this leper. And his simple 00:09:41.919 --> 00:09:51.080 response, Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make 00:09:51.080 --> 00:09:56.720 me clean. And Jesus put forth his hand and touched 00:09:56.720 --> 00:10:05.480 him, saying, I will. Be thou clean. And immediately 00:10:05.480 --> 00:10:11.080 his leprosy was cleansed. Just five words spoken. 00:10:11.759 --> 00:10:26.500 I will be thou Klee. Oh, I tell you. If we're 00:10:26.500 --> 00:10:31.039 coming to the king, first of all, we must know 00:10:31.039 --> 00:10:38.450 what we want. the prayers that storm heaven are 00:10:38.450 --> 00:10:45.370 brief. I mean that. I get a little leery of some 00:10:45.370 --> 00:10:50.389 of these folk who have to pray so long and pray 00:10:50.389 --> 00:10:54.590 so loud. I don't quite understand it, honest. 00:10:55.250 --> 00:11:01.049 When they pray so loudly, I always have the feeling 00:11:01.049 --> 00:11:03.899 that... They think that God needs healing for 00:11:03.899 --> 00:11:06.720 his ears, that he must be a little deaf or something. 00:11:08.519 --> 00:11:11.500 Now, I'm not being sacrilegious when I say that. 00:11:12.059 --> 00:11:16.840 But I can't quite understand all this loud praying 00:11:16.840 --> 00:11:23.220 and loud shouting to get God to hear. And it's 00:11:23.220 --> 00:11:29.980 like that. And these long prayers. I still... 00:11:31.240 --> 00:11:39.399 contend that there may be a place for the longer 00:11:39.399 --> 00:11:46.720 prayer, but when you and I get desperate, I believe 00:11:46.720 --> 00:11:52.700 that it only takes a few words to make contact 00:11:52.700 --> 00:11:57.080 between the individual and God. And it's just 00:11:57.080 --> 00:12:00.830 like that. There's a place for the adoration 00:12:00.830 --> 00:12:03.629 and the pouring out of the heart. But it's when 00:12:03.629 --> 00:12:06.809 a man knows what he wants that he takes hold 00:12:06.809 --> 00:12:10.889 of God. Lord, if thou wilt or thou canst make 00:12:10.889 --> 00:12:15.169 me clean, it's hardly a prayer. It's a statement, 00:12:15.450 --> 00:12:22.409 an affirmation, a cry of need. And next, his 00:12:22.409 --> 00:12:29.450 attitude was submissive. He worshipped. All his 00:12:29.450 --> 00:12:35.889 cry was an honest one. Why question the willingness 00:12:35.889 --> 00:12:39.870 of Jesus? Because the man was not sure that Jesus 00:12:39.870 --> 00:12:43.429 would be willing. He was honest enough to say 00:12:43.429 --> 00:12:47.070 so. He admitted that he knew that Jesus had all 00:12:47.070 --> 00:12:50.350 power. He knew that. He had confidence in his 00:12:50.350 --> 00:12:55.289 ability. But he was very honest when he admitted 00:12:55.289 --> 00:12:58.490 that he wasn't sure that Jesus was... willing 00:12:58.490 --> 00:13:04.090 to give him what he wanted. If we look closely, 00:13:04.269 --> 00:13:09.250 we see that this man had learned a lesson. And 00:13:09.250 --> 00:13:16.070 that is that the will of Jesus is supreme. If 00:13:16.070 --> 00:13:21.809 thou wilt, thou canst. He did not question his 00:13:21.809 --> 00:13:26.340 power. It is not that he questioned his willingness 00:13:26.340 --> 00:13:32.000 unkindly, but he recognized that it must be as 00:13:32.000 --> 00:13:40.019 he willed. To state it boldly, the Master Jesus 00:13:40.019 --> 00:13:45.000 Christ could not possibly do other than answer 00:13:45.000 --> 00:13:50.399 this man as he did. Jesus had come to claim the 00:13:50.399 --> 00:13:54.659 surrender of the will, and the man yielded. Oh, 00:13:54.759 --> 00:13:57.100 that's wonderful. Do you want to know something? 00:13:57.600 --> 00:14:04.940 When the man's will bent to the will of Christ, 00:14:05.279 --> 00:14:12.340 then Christ's will touched the man's will. And 00:14:12.340 --> 00:14:14.820 through that contact, there was communicated 00:14:14.820 --> 00:14:19.980 to him the power and the virtue of the Lord Jesus 00:14:19.980 --> 00:14:30.250 Christ. That's it. Then he sent him away, telling 00:14:30.250 --> 00:14:33.149 him not to tell anyone of this great miracle, 00:14:33.269 --> 00:14:40.190 to keep silent about it. Why? I'll tell you exactly 00:14:40.190 --> 00:14:45.690 why. He said to him now, See thou tell no man, 00:14:45.850 --> 00:14:51.610 but go thy way, and show thyself to the priest. 00:14:53.320 --> 00:14:56.200 and offered a gift that Moses commanded for a 00:14:56.200 --> 00:15:03.259 testimony unto them. Uh -huh. Do you want to 00:15:03.259 --> 00:15:07.879 know why I always say to you now, your healing 00:15:07.879 --> 00:15:11.100 is wonderful, and we know how real is the power 00:15:11.100 --> 00:15:14.120 of God, but you go back to your doctor and you 00:15:14.120 --> 00:15:18.740 have it verified. Because when you're healed, 00:15:18.860 --> 00:15:23.809 you not only think you're healed, I don't have 00:15:23.809 --> 00:15:27.929 to tell you that you are healed. When God heals 00:15:27.929 --> 00:15:32.330 your body, you can stand any physical test. You 00:15:32.330 --> 00:15:35.769 can go to any doctor and have it verified. You 00:15:35.769 --> 00:15:43.649 can have x -rays, cardiogram, anything. God isn't 00:15:43.649 --> 00:15:49.690 a fake. He doesn't fool. It isn't something that's 00:15:49.690 --> 00:15:56.480 just in your mind. It's done. So Jesus said to 00:15:56.480 --> 00:16:01.860 him now, don't tell anyone until after first 00:16:01.860 --> 00:16:06.840 of all, you go and show yourself to the priests. 00:16:07.919 --> 00:16:13.139 Tell them what happened. Tell them what you've 00:16:13.139 --> 00:16:20.700 done. Have it verified by them. So you see, we 00:16:20.700 --> 00:16:26.429 are absolutely... biblical, scriptural, when 00:16:26.429 --> 00:16:30.429 we tell you to have your healing verified. Because 00:16:30.429 --> 00:16:33.169 this is one thing that has brought so much reproach 00:16:33.169 --> 00:16:41.429 on divine healing. It's because some evangelist 00:16:41.429 --> 00:16:45.490 said, now go your way, you're healed. And maybe 00:16:45.490 --> 00:16:49.009 the person wasn't healed at all. And then that's 00:16:49.009 --> 00:16:52.470 the thing that brings reproach on the gospel. 00:16:53.070 --> 00:16:59.049 on the Lord Jesus Christ, and on this teaching 00:16:59.049 --> 00:17:04.049 of spiritual healing. You didn't know that was 00:17:04.049 --> 00:17:08.190 there, did you? Sure. There it is. All right, 00:17:08.190 --> 00:17:12.009 now. The next case is that of a man coming to 00:17:12.009 --> 00:17:16.309 Jesus not for himself, but for another. And the 00:17:16.309 --> 00:17:20.849 first fact to be noticed is this. He stated his 00:17:20.849 --> 00:17:26.940 need. And then Jesus said, I will come and heal 00:17:26.940 --> 00:17:31.400 him. Now, in reading the New Testament, nothing 00:17:31.400 --> 00:17:35.500 is more wonderful than the tremendous assumptions 00:17:35.500 --> 00:17:41.619 of Jesus. The man came to him in trouble. Christ 00:17:41.619 --> 00:17:45.880 did not say, I will come and see what I can do. 00:17:52.220 --> 00:17:55.279 heal him. There was perfect confidence in himself. 00:17:56.400 --> 00:18:03.380 It was the quiet but the dignified voice of a 00:18:03.380 --> 00:18:09.339 great authority. The centurion said, Lord, I'm 00:18:09.339 --> 00:18:12.799 not worthy that thou shouldest come under my 00:18:12.799 --> 00:18:16.740 roof, but only say the word and my servant shall 00:18:16.740 --> 00:18:25.319 be healed. Notice the centurion's Speak the word 00:18:25.319 --> 00:18:30.059 and my servant shall be healed. You don't even 00:18:30.059 --> 00:18:35.480 have to come to my house. I won't even ask you 00:18:35.480 --> 00:18:44.779 to come. He had such confidence in Jesus. He 00:18:44.779 --> 00:18:49.210 said, speak the word. That's all that's necessary, 00:18:49.430 --> 00:18:56.049 and my servant shall be healed. And then notice 00:18:56.049 --> 00:19:00.710 his philosophy of authority. For I am also a 00:19:00.710 --> 00:19:04.769 man under authority, having under myself soldiers. 00:19:05.369 --> 00:19:08.269 And I say to one, go, and he goeth. And I say 00:19:08.269 --> 00:19:11.430 to another, come, and he cometh. And to my servant, 00:19:11.549 --> 00:19:16.420 do this, and he doeth it. The centurion was not 00:19:16.420 --> 00:19:20.140 putting himself into contrast with Jesus, but 00:19:20.140 --> 00:19:24.099 he was saying, what is true of me is true of 00:19:24.099 --> 00:19:28.900 thee. Thou art also under authority. And because 00:19:28.900 --> 00:19:33.000 thou art under authority, thou art also able 00:19:33.000 --> 00:19:38.000 to exercise authority. Oh, that's wonderful. 00:19:39.200 --> 00:19:42.579 And the scripture says, so when Jesus heard it, 00:19:42.660 --> 00:19:48.799 he marveled. Now, the word marveled does not 00:19:48.799 --> 00:19:51.920 mean necessarily that he was surprised, but that 00:19:51.920 --> 00:19:56.319 he admired the man's faith, that it startled 00:19:56.319 --> 00:20:00.440 him by comparison with the faith of other men. 00:20:01.420 --> 00:20:04.059 What was it in that faith of the centurion at 00:20:04.059 --> 00:20:07.960 which Jesus marveled? Probably the intelligence 00:20:07.960 --> 00:20:15.980 of it. And I mean that seriously. intelligent 00:20:15.980 --> 00:20:24.079 faith. And it's just like that. And I believe 00:20:24.079 --> 00:20:29.759 that Jesus marveled at the intelligence of the 00:20:29.759 --> 00:20:32.940 man's faith. We hear an awful lot about simple 00:20:32.940 --> 00:20:36.599 faith. But here is a man whose faith is based 00:20:36.599 --> 00:20:42.029 upon a true philosophy of life. With the leper, 00:20:42.190 --> 00:20:45.589 it was a consciousness of a great need in himself 00:20:45.589 --> 00:20:53.049 and a great might in the master. But when the 00:20:53.049 --> 00:20:58.690 centurion came, Jesus marveled at his intelligent 00:20:58.690 --> 00:21:02.710 faith and said, Verily I say unto you, I have 00:21:02.710 --> 00:21:06.730 not found so great faith, no, not in Israel. 00:21:08.619 --> 00:21:12.180 It was a moment of great joy for Jesus. But with 00:21:12.180 --> 00:21:16.119 the joy, a great shadow came, for he saw the 00:21:16.119 --> 00:21:19.680 conclusion of the very children of the king who, 00:21:19.759 --> 00:21:22.140 disobedient to the king, should be cast out. 00:21:24.460 --> 00:21:29.819 Now see something that to me is very remarkable. 00:21:38.109 --> 00:21:44.049 The leper. And he was healed. But he did not 00:21:44.049 --> 00:21:51.130 use the same method in healing the servant of 00:21:51.130 --> 00:21:58.390 the centurion. He did not touch him. No, ma 'am. 00:22:00.190 --> 00:22:06.769 No. Jesus said unto the centurion, Go thy way. 00:22:07.630 --> 00:22:13.690 And as thou hast believed, so be it done unto 00:22:13.690 --> 00:22:19.630 thee. And his servant was healed in the selfsame 00:22:19.630 --> 00:22:28.730 hour. That's our Lord. God bless you.