In the foreword to the book, Fearfully and Wonderfully
Made, Philip Yancey relates regarding someone
attempting to describe the color scarlet to a
person who had been born blind. To that blind
person, the describer declared, well, it's like
the sound of a trumpet. Gansey continues, in
a sense, metaphorical symbols are the only way
for us to grasp spiritual truths, which explains
why the Bible uses them so lavishly. The human
body expresses spiritual reality so authentically
that soon the common stuff of matter will appear
more and more like a mere shadow. The doctrine
of the church is one of the most significant
doctrines we can study in the New Testament.
The church is compared to a body. That analogy
is probably the most frequently used one in the
New Testament. Have you ever wondered why? I
think it's because that analogy shows the relationship
of the members. to each other, as well as to
the head. Furthermore, that analogy shows that
each member has a part in the body through the
gifts given to him, and that growth occurs in
the body when each member does its own part.
We must remember that the church is a living
organism. not merely an organization of people.
The church pulsates with the very life of God
himself. It is true that some churches, so -called,
are merely organizations of people involved in
various activities. They are little more than
social clubs or community service centers. political
action committees. But what I'm talking about
is a local church in the biblical definition
of it. I have written for you on the outline
in your worship folder a possible definition
of what a local church is. We do not have time
to look at this in detail as a study. I commend
that to you. If you have never studied about
the local church in the New Testament, I have
put down the scripture text which would undergird
each of the phrases and clauses in the definition.
But the definition itself reads like this. The
local church is a called out body of believers
in the Lord Jesus Christ in a given area. In
other words, geography enters into what a local
church is. It meets together for worship, fellowship,
and instruction. It must be properly organized,
autonomous from external authority and interference,
and fulfill its mission to glorify God. In other
words, just a group of Christians meeting somewhere
does not constitute a church. For each of the
phrases or clauses in this definition is important
to the total meaning of what a local church is
all about. Now from that definition, let me move
ahead to say this, that a local church may be
healthy or unhealthy spiritually. The church
of Laodicea is an example of an unhealthy church.
As Jesus addresses that church, he tells them
that while they thought they were in great shape,
being rich and wealthy and in need of nothing,
that in fact his diagnosis of their true condition
was that they were wretched, miserable, poor,
blind, and naked. That's a sick church. Another
example of a sick church is found in the city
of Corinth. That church boasted of its gifts,
which it possessed and exercised in abundance.
And yet as the Holy Spirit addresses the church
through the pen of the Apostle Paul, He rebukes
them for their pride, their carnality, their
compromise, their divisions, their immorality,
their self -centeredness, and their abuse of
God's gifts. They were a sick church. But today
I want to talk about a healthy church. What are
the signs that a church is spiritually healthy?
The health of a church is evidenced in its worship.
I'm using that word worship as a key word which
will become an acrostic for us. You see that,
I hope, in your outline. Each of the letters
in the word worship will give us a word which
is a symptom, a sign, of what a healthy church
is. There are seven signs of a healthy church.
And I find these seven signs in one of the New
Testament churches, and that is the church located
in the city of Thessalonica. There are two epistles
addressed to them. I ask you to turn there with
me as we see the seven signs of a healthy body,
a healthy local church. I hope that you will
stay with me because at the end of the sermon
I intend to zing all of it. What is a healthy
church? A healthy church is known, first of all,
by being word -centered. The W in our acrostic
stands for Word. Capital W. It must be centered
upon the Word of God. It must be a doctrinally
healthy church. A church might be known for its
social ministry, its community services, its
friendly spirit, its exciting atmosphere, its
famous preacher, its large or wealthy congregation,
but still be a basically sick church if it is
not centered upon the Word of God. When you are
seeking for a church, if you should move, that
is the kind of a church you should look for first
of all. A church that is centered upon the written
revelation that God has given us in the Bible.
Now, a word -centered church is a church that
will, number one, preach the word. In writing
to Timothy, the Apostle Paul said, preach the
word. The time will come when the people will...
not endure sound doctrine, healthy doctrine,
but will desire to have teachers who will tell
them what they want to hear. So he says, Timothy,
preach the Word there in Ephesus. When preaching
the Word, there are two important aspects that
every pastor should be concerned about. Number
one, he should preach doctrinally. When we come
to the Word of God, we must always be looking
for those doctrines that God has given to us,
the truths that tell us about Him, that tell
us about us, that tell us about the world that
we live in. A church that preaches the Word should
preach it doctrinally, and secondly, should preach
it devotionally. For it is not enough that we
learn with our minds what the doctrines are,
but we must have our hearts drawn near. to jesus
christ we must be drawn in our love to him devoted
to him as a person and so our preaching needs
to be both devotional and doctrinal and i personally
think the best way to do that is to do it expositionally
by the way the church in thessalonica was a word
-centered church you will notice in verse 8 for
the word of the lord has sounded forth from you
not only in macedonia but also in every place
your faith toward God has gone forth. Over in
chapter 2, verse 13, he says, And for this reason
we also constantly thank God that when you received
from us the word of God's message, you accepted
it, not as the word of men, but for what it really
is, the word of God. So the church at Thessalonica
was a church that was founded upon the word of
God, and then it preached the word of God. to
all the area around where it was. A church that
is known for the Word of God is a church also
that will have people committed to the Word of
God. It's insufficient for the pastor or for
the Sunday school teachers to preach the Word.
The people themselves, the members of the church,
must be committed to the Word of God. Several
weeks ago we talked about five levels of commitment.
Every one of you here today is on one of those
five levels. And I would guess that most of us
could probably kick ourselves up a notch in our
commitment. The first level is that of hearing.
You are here to hear the Word of God. That's
level one, and that's good, but it's not really
enough. The next level is that of reading the
Word, doing it ourselves, getting into it. The
level after that is the level of studying the
Word. But even that is insufficient. We must
come to the place of memorizing the Word, the
fourth level. And then that memorization of the
Word of God should lead us to the deepest commitment,
and that is the commitment of meditation. Allowing
the Word of God to transform our minds, to renew
us in our thinking. If a church is going to be
healthy, the people in the church must be committed
to the Word and receive... The word not is just
the word of men, but what it really is, the word
of God, which effectually works in you who believe.
This is chapter 2, verse 13. The only church
that is word -centered is the church that will
stand for the word. In Jude, verse 3, Jude exhorts
us to earnestly contend for the faith, which
was once for all delivered to the saints. There
is a time and a place for every one of us. to
stand for the Word of God. I remember a preacher
saying years ago in a sermon, stand for something
or you will fall for anything. Don't just stand
for something, stand for the Word of God. We're
living in a day when false teaching is erupting
everywhere around us. Stand for the Word of God.
That is the faith, the body of truth that has
been once and for all delivered to the saints.
Stand for it. And then, fourthly, if we're going
to focus upon the Word, we as a church must be
willing to suffer for it. The Thessalonians were.
The Word was delivered to them in the midst of
persecution. Read about it in Acts 17. And after
Paul's departure, that affliction continued,
and Paul reminds them, we were appointed to this.
Never let it seem strange to you that as one
who is willing to commit yourself to the Word
and stand for the Word, that you must then suffer
for the Word that will come. It may come in the
light way of mocking and jeering, or it may come
in a more heavy way. That of physical abuse and
even martyrdom. So however we may be called upon
to suffer for the word of God, let us never think
it to be something strange. As though suddenly
in our generation or in our day or in our place,
we are called upon strangely to suffer for the
word of God. Because that has been the norm for
the last thousands of years since God began to
deliver his word to men. A church that is a healthy
church will be noted for being word -centered,
and it will be preaching the word, be committed
to the word, will stand for the word, and be
willing to suffer for the word. The second key
word that we're looking at is the word outreach.
And our acrostic O represents outreach. A healthy
church will be known for its outreach. The Thessalonians
were. I remind you again of verse 8, which says,
The word of the Lord has sounded forth from you
in every place, including Macedonia and Achaia.
The same thing is said in chapter 3 of 2 Thessalonians.
In that verse, the apostle says, Finally, brethren,
pray for us that the word of the Lord may spread
rapidly and be glorified. You see, Paul's concern
was, that the Word of God should reach out and
spread rapidly and be glorified. And how is it
glorified? By people obeying it, believing on
the Lord Jesus Christ. This is outreach. A healthy
church is one that is involved in evangelism
and discipleship. The two go together, don't
they? Winning people to Christ and then seeing
them built up in their faith. Bringing them to
the Savior. that then they may learn to walk
with him, evangelism and discipleship. A church
that is not involved in outreach is not a healthy
church. That's all there is to it. A church,
if it is to be healthy, must be reaching out
to the lost and seeing people won to the Savior.
And more than in just a local sense, it must
involve the world. A healthy church has an outreach
to the whole earth. It must be a missionary -minded
church. As someone has said, Jesus' last command
should be our first concern. And so it is in
a healthy church. There is an outreach both locally
and across the globe. The third word that would
represent a sign of a healthy church is the word
reproduction. R in worship is for reproduction.
The Thessalonians were that way. Look at verse
6. The apostle says, You also became imitators
of us. I'm back in 1 Thessalonians 1 now, verse
6. It says, You also became imitators of us and
of the Lord, having received the word in much
tribulation with the joy of the Holy Spirit,
so that you became an example to all the believers
in Macedonia and Achaia. What is he saying here?
He's saying that they were a reproducing church.
In the first place, Paul intimates that he had
followed the Lord's example. And then the Thessalonians
had followed his example, those examples set
by his missionary party. In turn, they set an
example for those who were in Macedonia and Achaia
and believed. And so there was a reproduction.
When I think of this term in relation to a healthy
local church, there are three ideas that I have
in mind. One is the equipping of believers. We
talked about this last week, the equipping of
believers so that they will exercise their gifts
in the work of service under the building up
of the body of Christ. This is the kind of reproduction
that all of us should be involved in. Learning
what our spiritual gifts are, then exercising
them. Equipping believers to exercise gifts.
Secondly, multiplying leaders. The Apostle Paul
was concerned about this, for in writing to Timothy,
he said to him, look, Timothy, the things that
I've committed to you, you commit also to faithful
men who in turn will be able to do that. He was
saying, Timothy, raise up leaders. What I have
committed to you as a leader, now you in turn
commit to others that they may be raised up.
This is the second important aspect of reproduction,
and we must see it happen in our church, and
thank God it is happening. For as we are equipping
ourselves and exercising our gifts, God is raising
up those he has appointed for certain places
of leadership within the body. Leadership is
important in any church. And leadership needs
to be multiplied, especially as the church grows.
You know what usually happens in a healthy body?
As people exercise their gifts, as the body grows
spiritually and as it grows numerically, There
needs to be more people who can be freed from
whatever they're doing in the world so that they
can equip other believers. What I'm saying is
that as the body functions, there are certain
people that God then will call out from within
the body to be a part of the staff of the church.
The purpose of the staff is to equip believers
through the work of the ministry. And that kind
of a reproduction will take place as believers
are equipped. Some of them, called of God, will
rise to the point of leadership. and become so
critical in what they're doing that they will
be added to the staff of the church that they
give their full time to reproduction. But then
thirdly, when I think of reproduction in a healthy
church, I'm thinking of branching out in new
branch churches. We are the result of a branching
out of the Edina church. Now on the first Sunday
of March, we're going to celebrate our third
anniversary, and we're planning for a big day.
God willing, at that time, we'll be meeting at
Northwestern and won't even be here in our own
sight, but we're going to make it a big day anyway.
But it's been three years now since there's been
a branch church planted. And it's the burden
of our elders that another branch church be planted
soon. How is that going to happen? It's going
to happen only as we are committed to it, to
see it happen. It's got to happen, first of all,
by our being willing to put some money into it.
One of the reasons that God has been able to
cause rapid growth here in development of this
church has been the willingness of the church
in Edina to invest money here so that we could
afford to have a staff larger than we could support
in ourselves at first. And as we think of another
branch church, part of our vision involves...
establishing a larger staff and that little group
of people will be able to manage it first. We
want to financially support it to get it started,
to move it along. So there can be rapid growth.
It takes that kind of commitment. But it will
also take the kind of commitment that maybe some
of us will need to go to that next location,
wherever it is, for at least a period of time
to begin teaching Sunday school until somebody
comes on board there who can do it. We're giving
some other kind of leadership so that that branch
church can function and grow rapidly. It may
involve our going. One of the reasons that we've,
in some ways, have been struggling in the first
three years has been the lack of willingness
of a lot of people to do that from the church
that began us. Some, thank God, have. And we
have needed more. We're at the place now that
God is raising up leadership right from within
our own ranks, and that's great. But as we started
Branch Church, we must realize that we're going
to need to staff it with leadership for the first
little while. I believe in Branch Churching.
That's part of the cycle of a healthy church.
The people are equipped, you see, and then God
raises up leadership as the equipping takes place.
And then as a church is... Developing and maturing,
it's a natural thing for it to branch out and
to start other churches. The fourth key word
is the word submission. S stands for submission.
How important the submissive spirit is in a church.
And where there is this kind of a spirit, it
evidences spiritual health. The Thessalonians
were this way. They were in submission to the
Lord. In verse 9 it says, regarding their conversion,
that they turned to God from idols to serve.
And I like that. They turned from their pagan
idolatry to God. Actually, I got that reversed.
They turned to God from their pagan idolatry.
But the reason that they turned was that they
might serve the Lord. They wanted to get involved
in ministering. Thus they were submitting themselves
to the Lord, saying, Lord, what will you want
me to do? I think we see this same submissive
spirit in chapter 2, verse 13, where it talks
about how they received the Word. It says, You
received from us the Word of God's message. You
accepted it not as the Word of men, but for what
it really is, the Word of God, which also performs
its work in you who believe. He's suggesting
here the kind of submissive spirit they had to
Paul's teaching. He says, when we spoke to you,
you did not listen to us just as another teacher,
but you heard this word that we presented for
what it really is, the Word of God. And submission
is just all over the place in that verse. The
Thessalonians were saying, Lord, what do you
want us to do? And God was showing them, and
they did it. It does not mention the ordinances
specifically here in this book, that we have
no reason to think that they were different than
the other churches, that they were being baptized
as people believed in Christ, that they observed
the Lord's Supper, those two ordinances or commands
that He's given to us. Then they were concerned
as well about holiness of life and their submission
to God. Over in chapter 4, Verse 3, the apostle
reminds them, now this is the will of God, people.
You're in submission to the Lord, here's what
he wants, your sanctification. That is, that
you abstain from sexual immorality. That each
one of you should know how to possess his own
vessel or body in sanctification and honor, not
in lustful passion like the Gentiles who do not
know God. So he reminds them that in their submission
to God, there's holiness involved. There should
be a difference in the way they would live and
the way that the world would live. They should
not be like the Gentiles who were ignorant of
God. The Thessalonians obeyed the commands of
Scripture. But undoubtedly the Apostle Paul had
taught them, as he had other churches, the principles
of Scripture as well. There are some places where
the Word of God does not give a yea or nay. We
will get into some of these in Romans chapter
14, the first part of 15. These are called the
doubtful or the disputed things, those gray areas,
those cultural matters where the Word of God
does not say you should do this, you should not
do that. What do we do in cases like that? The
answer is that we... apply the principles of
Scripture to determine what we ought to do. One
principle of Scripture is found in Galatians
5 .13. This is an example only, where it says
that our liberty that we have in Christ should
be tempered by love for others, so that we just
do not go out and do our own thing because we
feel we have liberty to do what we want, but
we remember how others... will be affected by
the way that we live and what we do. But there's
another kind of submission here in Thessalonians
I want us to look at in chapter 5 and verse 12.
The Thessalonians were in submission to the Lord,
but they were also in submission to their leadership.
He says, but we request of you, brethren, that
you appreciate those who diligently labor among
you and have charge over you. in the Lord and
give you instruction, and that you esteem them
very highly in love because of their work." So
the Thessalonians were noted for their submission
to those that God had put in charge over them.
That too is a sign of a healthy church. I pity
those churches where leadership and people are
in a tug of war. How tragic are the divisions.
and the hurt that results from that kind of a
situation. And I would suppose that most of us
here this morning have had experience in that.
How I thank God for the kind of spirit that is
a part of our fellowship. And as Ephesians 4
says, we need to guard that, that kind of unity.
It's produced by the Holy Spirit, but we need
to guard it. A spirit of submission is a sign
of a healthy church. Let me move ahead to the
next key word, and that is the word hospitality.
H stands for hospitality. A healthy church is
noted for being friendly and warm. There is a
genuine expression of personal cordiality in
its membership. The people care for one another.
The Thessalonians were that way. Turn over to
2 Thessalonians chapter 3 and notice what Paul
says and what it implies. In verse 10 he says,
Even when we were with you, we used to give you
this order, If anyone will not work, neither
let him eat. For we hear that some among you
are leading an undisciplined life, doing no work
at all, but acting like busybodies. Now such
persons we command and exhort in the Lord Jesus
Christ to work in quiet fashion and to eat their
own bread. But as for you, brethren, do not grow
weary of doing good. Apparently the Thessalonian
people were so well known for their hospitality
and their caring for one another, that some within
the church took advantage of it. And instead
of working and earning their own living, eating
their own bread, they were mooching off other
people. They'd knock on the door about 5 o 'clock
at night, it'd be supper time. Well, of course,
the people would invite them in for dinner. And
maybe it would get late and they'd say, well,
why don't you sleep here? Well, sure, we'll do
that. Next morning they'd get up and knock on
somebody's door about 8 o 'clock in time for
breakfast. They were just going from house to
house, and that's how they were freeloading.
And so the apostle commands that those people
who are like that, if they can work and don't,
they shouldn't eat either. It's not a lack of
hospitality, it's not to care for their needs.
But the custom of the church, and what Paul encourages
them to keep on doing, was simply to care for
one another. And that's how we should be known.
There ought to be the kind of fellowship, and
I think there is developing within our church,
the kind of fellowship where people genuinely
care for each other in needs and sorrows and
weaknesses. There are people who come to our
church from the outside and they say that they
sense a different spirit here. That's encouraging,
but it doesn't mean that we've arrived by any
means. We need to develop. within our small churches
and within our church at large, the kind of caring
hospitality that we see reflected in this healthy
church in Thessalonica. The third, or rather
the next letter that we come to is the letter
I, and it will begin our word interdependence.
A healthy church is noted for its interdependence.
We introduced that word to our thinking a couple
of weeks ago when we talked about the members
of the body. In the first place, of course, there
must be unity among the members of the body.
They need to function as a whole. The Thessalonians
apparently did. In chapter 3 of 1 Thessalonians,
the apostle writes to them regarding Timothy's
report that he had brought. And he says, Timothy
has come to us from you and has brought us good
news of your faith and love. And that you always
think kindly of us, longing to see us just as
we also long to see you. Do you see here the
interdependence that Paul is expressing with
these people? For this reason, brethren, in all
our distress and affliction, we were comforted
about you through your faith. For now we really
live, if you stand firm in the Lord, you see
how Paul is expressing how much he depends on
them, how important they are to him, and of course
he was to them as well. Even the affliction,
the persecution that they had suffered did not
scatter them, it pulled them together. But in
that unity, There is also a diversity, and there
needs to be a ministry to one another. This person
has one ability. Another person has another ability.
That one back there, a third. And as each of
us ministers the gift that God has given us,
the body is made healthy. We see that emphasis
here in Thessalonians. Look in chapter 4, verse
9. Now as to the love of the brethren, you have
no need for anyone to write to you. For you yourselves
are taught by God to what? Right, to love one
another. Notice the one another. Look in verse
18. Therefore, he says, comfort one another with
these words. You see, they were to minister to
each other. They were to take this word about
the coming rapture of the church and the resurrection
of the saints. and encourage other people. Chapter
5 verse 11, therefore he says, encourage one
another and build up one another just as you're
doing. And verse 13, live in peace with one another.
Verse 15, see that no one repays another with
evil for evil, but always seek after that which
is good for one another. You see the point here?
You'll see this again in the second epistle.
He says, be interdependent, minister to each
other, each part doing its own thing. It is sad
to me that there are some people who even come
to our church and come for the preaching and
then leave. If that's all that this church means
to you, you are missing some of the most significant
aspects of Grace Church. And that's sad to me.
John Donne said years ago in his famous poem,
no man is an island entire of itself. God has
not created us as Christians to be self -sufficient
and independent of each other. God intends for
us to plug in, I mean to really plug in, not
just to come to church. but to come and be a
part of the body. That's his plan, for us to
be interdependent. To the extent that we, as
Grace Church, are interdependent, we are a healthy
church. And the final key word is the word prayer.
We begin with the word, we end with prayer. It
seems to me that is a proper balance. To the
Thessalonians, the apostle writes in chapter
5, verse 17, pray without ceasing. And then he
requests in verse 25, brethren pray for us. Apparently
the Thessalonians were a praying church. They
were a church growing and that knowledge of God
comes through quiet waiting upon him. But as
well they were involved in corporate body prayer.
Some of the finest times of prayer that I've
enjoyed have been times when we have shared in
conversational prayer. In that particular method
of praying, there is the sharing of hearts, the
listening to one another, keying off on what
the last person has said as the Spirit of God
directs you. It is a healthy exercise in body,
group prayer. We ought to be known as a praying
church. I'm not sure that we are. This is how
a body draws upon its resources. I personally
thoroughly enjoyed those times of prayer that
we had a few weeks ago as we anticipated God's
direction regarding our expansion. Not many of
us would meet, 30 to 50 of us, but on those Sunday
afternoons there was good fellowship and prayer.
It was a wonderful experience. We need more of
that. As we look to the future and the demands
that were made upon us and the needs that we
have in our expansion, there is not a time, folks,
when we have needed prayer as we need it now.
I pray to God that he will give us the spirit
of prayer and of supplication. A healthy church.
is a praying church. The spiritual health of
a church collectively depends upon the spiritual
health of its members individually. I want to
say that again. The spiritual health of a church
collectively depends upon the spiritual health
of the members individually. I believe it is
accurate to say that no church is more healthy
than its weakest member. Let me illustrate that.
You may have a wonderful heart that is strong
and beats regularly. And you may have lungs that
are unscarred by disease or bad habits. And they
function well. And there may be other parts of
your body that are in good shape, but my friend,
if just one organ like the liver is in trouble,
all of your organs are in trouble because they
can't live without the liver. Now we can have
a church that is 99 % in good health, but if
we have 1 % of our membership that's ill, it
affects our whole church. No church is more healthy
than its weakest member. When a doctor examines
a patient, he normally checks a number of things
before making the diagnosis. He'll perhaps say,
open your mouth and say, ah. Get out his flashlight
and look inside there and perhaps wince a little
bit at what he sees. You begin to worry. Then
he sticks a thermometer in your mouth, and while
he's doing that, he gets out his little light
and looks in your ears and groans. And he'll
feel around under your jowls. Good job. And see
what he can feel here in your glands to see if
they're swollen. He may check out a few other
things, and then he puts them all together and
makes his diagnosis. That's how Jesus Christ
makes the diagnosis of a church. He doesn't look
at the preaching or the teaching and say, well,
that's word -centered, that must be a healthy
church. No, he goes on to look at the outreach.
But he doesn't stop at the evangelism and discipleship
and missions. He looks at the reproduction. Is
this a reproducing church? But he doesn't stop
there. He says, now, is this... a congregation
that is submissive to my Lordship and to the
leadership. He goes on then to check the hospitality.
And having found the results there, he moves
to the interdependence of the members and then
sees whether it's a praying church. And once
he has looked at all of the signs, he makes his
diagnosis as to whether the church is healthy
or it's ill. Now I'm going to zing you. We have
talked about the signs of a healthy church, my
friend. What we've talked about this morning
are also the signs of health in your life and
mine. Are you a word -centered Christian? Are
you a Christian who's reaching out and reproducing
and submissive, hospitable? interdependence,
and praying. You say, well, listen, I do three
or four of those things pretty well. Great. But
what about the other three or four? Because you
see, they're all taken together to measure our
spiritual health. Our church, Grace Church Roseville,
will be no more healthy than the weakest among
us. That gives me, that gives you a great load
of responsibility regarding our personal spiritual
health. Let's pray. Our heads are bowed, our
eyes are closed. We are coming to the close of
the service. I wonder as the Spirit of God exposes
your heart for life in the light of these measurements
of health. As you examine these seven areas and
then pull them together for the final diagnosis,
what does it read for you? Are you an ill, sick
Christian or are you basically healthy? Heavenly
Father, I pray that we may see us as you see
us, deliver us from the deceit of the Laodicean
church, which thought it was wealthy and had
no needs, but when its real needs were exposed
by Jesus, they were poor and blind, miserable
and naked. I pray that we may see ourselves today
as we really are in your sight. So that when
we are exposed to the judgment seat, we'll not
be shocked or ashamed. Our heads are still bowed.
I wonder if there's someone or some few here
who would say today, Pastor Cole, there is sickness
in my life. God has exposed that to me and I
cannot honestly say that my diagnosis is that
I'm a healthy Christian. I want you to pray for
me. Because I want to get to the great physician.
healed. I want to be spiritually healthy. Would
you pray for me? Would you lift your hand? I'm
not going to point you out or embarrass you,
but I want to know I can pray for you. I'm basically
a sick Christian today and I need the healing
of the great physician. Yes. God bless you. Several
others. Anyone else? Oh, Father, thank you for
these who are very honest and humble before you.
And wherein there is illness, I pray that you
will bring healing, deep and complete. We may
walk with you as healthy believers and thus walk
together as a healthy church. In Jesus' name,
amen.