1 00:00:01,960 --> 00:00:05,800 Have you ever heard someone say the God of the Old Testament 2 00:00:05,800 --> 00:00:08,440 seems so different from God in the New Testament? 3 00:00:09,280 --> 00:00:10,600 Maybe you've thought this yourself. 4 00:00:10,600 --> 00:00:15,160 God in the Old Testament seems harsh and demanding and even 5 00:00:15,160 --> 00:00:19,480 cruel, but God in the New Testament seems loving and 6 00:00:19,480 --> 00:00:24,000 gracious and merciful and kind. The sermon series that we're in 7 00:00:24,160 --> 00:00:29,080 bridges the Bible. It explains how his name is the 8 00:00:29,080 --> 00:00:31,880 same in the Old Testament, in the New Testament, that his 9 00:00:31,880 --> 00:00:36,240 heart, his character, his nature is the same across all time. 10 00:00:36,240 --> 00:00:40,440 He's the same God with the same power and the same promises to 11 00:00:40,440 --> 00:00:44,240 everyone who believes in him in all times, including right here 12 00:00:44,400 --> 00:00:48,160 today and you and me. I want to welcome all twelve of 13 00:00:48,160 --> 00:00:51,040 our locations, those joining online and inside. 14 00:00:51,240 --> 00:00:54,600 We are so glad that you are a part of this church and this 15 00:00:54,600 --> 00:00:59,200 mission to make Jesus Christ known, to make this region the 16 00:00:59,200 --> 00:01:01,640 hardest place on planet earth to get to hell from. 17 00:01:02,240 --> 00:01:04,800 And if you're new around here, I want to give you a special 18 00:01:04,800 --> 00:01:07,400 welcome. We are so glad that you came. 19 00:01:08,800 --> 00:01:14,200 Well, one of the names of God that underscores the fact that 20 00:01:14,200 --> 00:01:17,960 he is the same God from Old Testament to New Testament is 21 00:01:17,960 --> 00:01:23,200 the name Jehovah Rapha. Say it with me, Jehovah Rapha or 22 00:01:23,200 --> 00:01:26,080 Yahweh Rapha. It's a Hebrew word that means 23 00:01:26,080 --> 00:01:31,680 the Lord who heals. Now I bet when you think about 24 00:01:31,680 --> 00:01:35,240 the Lord who heals, your mind goes to Jesus. 25 00:01:36,120 --> 00:01:38,680 Because, after all, besides being a great teacher, Jesus was 26 00:01:38,680 --> 00:01:42,560 known as an incredible healer. He cleansed lepers. 27 00:01:43,000 --> 00:01:46,240 He unstopped deaf ears. He opened blind eyes. 28 00:01:46,240 --> 00:01:49,520 He gave them you to voice. He rebuked fevers. 29 00:01:49,720 --> 00:01:53,200 He made withered hands whole. He put the paralyzed back on 30 00:01:53,200 --> 00:01:54,840 their feet. He casts out demons. 31 00:01:55,040 --> 00:01:58,880 He delivered people from the powers of darkness, and he cured 32 00:01:58,880 --> 00:02:00,960 chronic hemorrhaging. He restored the ear of his 33 00:02:00,960 --> 00:02:03,680 attacker. And he raised the dead back to 34 00:02:03,680 --> 00:02:06,040 life. But wait a minute. 35 00:02:07,160 --> 00:02:11,320 Where did the revelation of Jehovah Rapha come from? 36 00:02:12,400 --> 00:02:18,880 Oh, it was in the Old Testament. And oh it was early in the Old 37 00:02:18,880 --> 00:02:21,880 Testament, the second book out of the 39 books of the Old 38 00:02:21,880 --> 00:02:28,920 Testament, the book of Exodus. And I bet that some of you are 39 00:02:28,920 --> 00:02:32,040 thinking this is great. Oh I need some healing in my 40 00:02:32,040 --> 00:02:34,600 life. But I also bet that some of you 41 00:02:35,560 --> 00:02:38,160 are maybe not feeling the same way. 42 00:02:38,600 --> 00:02:43,520 Some of you have questions, some of you have frustrations. 43 00:02:44,560 --> 00:02:48,600 Because if God's a healer, why didn't he heal the person that I 44 00:02:48,600 --> 00:02:52,800 prayed for? If God's a healer, then why 45 00:02:52,800 --> 00:02:54,520 don't we see more healings today? 46 00:02:55,200 --> 00:02:59,120 If this Jehovah Rapha thing's true, why don't we see it around 47 00:02:59,120 --> 00:03:01,840 us and we just hear stories about distant places where that 48 00:03:01,840 --> 00:03:03,720 happened or just back in Bible times? 49 00:03:03,880 --> 00:03:07,360 Or is there something wrong with me that I don't have enough 50 00:03:07,360 --> 00:03:11,400 faith to be healed? I want you to know that anytime 51 00:03:11,400 --> 00:03:14,760 God reveals himself by a name, which he only does in a few 52 00:03:14,760 --> 00:03:21,120 times, that it's an indication of his nature, and it's a pledge 53 00:03:21,440 --> 00:03:25,000 of a promise. So what we're going to do today 54 00:03:25,360 --> 00:03:28,760 is we're going to go back to the original story where God first 55 00:03:28,760 --> 00:03:30,440 revealed himself as Jehovah Rapha. 56 00:03:30,960 --> 00:03:34,040 Because not only does God want us to hear the revelation that 57 00:03:34,040 --> 00:03:37,840 he's Jehovah Rapha, but he also revealed himself to to us in 58 00:03:37,840 --> 00:03:42,080 this way with a story. And the story has details that 59 00:03:42,080 --> 00:03:45,480 teach us lessons to help us answer the questions that we 60 00:03:45,480 --> 00:03:48,040 have that are keeping us from trusting in him so that we'll 61 00:03:48,040 --> 00:03:51,880 fully believe in his revelation as Jehovah Rapha today. 62 00:03:52,000 --> 00:03:55,040 So here we go, the book of Exodus, Exodus chapter 15, 63 00:03:55,040 --> 00:03:59,880 verses 22 to 26. Then Moses LED Israel from the 64 00:03:59,880 --> 00:04:03,120 Red Sea and they went into the desert of shore. 65 00:04:03,880 --> 00:04:07,040 For three days they traveled in the desert without finding 66 00:04:07,040 --> 00:04:09,320 water. When they came tomorrow, they 67 00:04:09,320 --> 00:04:11,200 could not drink its water because it was bitter. 68 00:04:11,600 --> 00:04:12,920 That's why the place is called Mara. 69 00:04:12,920 --> 00:04:17,600 Mara in Hebrew means bitter. So the people grumbled against 70 00:04:17,600 --> 00:04:20,200 Moses, saying, What are we to drink? 71 00:04:21,480 --> 00:04:25,120 Then Moses cried out to the Lord, and the Lord showed him a 72 00:04:25,120 --> 00:04:27,920 piece of wood. He threw it in the water. 73 00:04:28,280 --> 00:04:31,320 The water became fit to drink there. 74 00:04:31,320 --> 00:04:35,480 The Lord issued A ruling and instruction for them and put 75 00:04:35,480 --> 00:04:39,080 them to the test. He said if you listen carefully 76 00:04:39,080 --> 00:04:41,920 to the Lord your God and do what is right in his eyes, if you pay 77 00:04:41,920 --> 00:04:45,200 attention to his commands and keep all his decrees, I will not 78 00:04:45,200 --> 00:04:48,080 bring on you any of the diseases I brought on the Egyptians, for 79 00:04:48,080 --> 00:04:51,280 I am the Lord Jehovah who heals you. 80 00:04:51,840 --> 00:04:55,400 Rafa. Well, the first lesson that God 81 00:04:55,400 --> 00:04:57,880 wants us to catch in the story came from the first verse. 82 00:04:58,240 --> 00:04:59,680 Let's go back and look at verse 22. 83 00:04:59,680 --> 00:05:04,440 It says for three days they traveled in the desert without 84 00:05:04,480 --> 00:05:08,440 finding water right out of the gate. 85 00:05:08,760 --> 00:05:12,720 That seems to contradict the declaration that he is Jehovah 86 00:05:12,720 --> 00:05:16,040 Rapha, the Lord who heals. Because why did he wait three 87 00:05:16,040 --> 00:05:18,040 days? I mean, if he's Jehovah Rapha, 88 00:05:18,360 --> 00:05:21,360 why not give him water on the first day and every day 89 00:05:21,360 --> 00:05:24,680 thereafter? It's because God is teaching us 90 00:05:24,680 --> 00:05:28,600 a lesson about what it means to trust and know Jehovah Rapha. 91 00:05:28,880 --> 00:05:33,000 The first lesson is our timing isn't always God's timing. 92 00:05:34,600 --> 00:05:38,480 Why didn't God heal the person you prayed for, at least here on 93 00:05:38,480 --> 00:05:40,880 earth? I can't answer that question for 94 00:05:40,880 --> 00:05:44,640 sure, and nobody can. But it could be that God's 95 00:05:44,640 --> 00:05:47,240 timing was different than your own timing, but his timing is 96 00:05:47,240 --> 00:05:49,840 still better. You know, I have a sister, 97 00:05:49,840 --> 00:05:55,920 Jessica, and she was a quadriplegic and for 35 years 98 00:05:55,920 --> 00:06:00,680 our family prayed and prayed and prayed that Jessica would walk 99 00:06:01,520 --> 00:06:10,000 and now she can in heaven. Just because God's timing wasn't 100 00:06:10,000 --> 00:06:13,240 our timing does not change the fact that He was the one who has 101 00:06:13,240 --> 00:06:15,920 healed her and she is well now for all of eternity. 102 00:06:16,320 --> 00:06:20,640 But then there are times when he does heal immediately, and his 103 00:06:20,640 --> 00:06:26,360 timing is now. In 2010 we were living in 104 00:06:26,360 --> 00:06:29,000 Princeton, NJ. I was a campus ministry there 105 00:06:29,680 --> 00:06:32,800 and the campus ministry was going great. 106 00:06:33,120 --> 00:06:36,800 And we were about to go on a week long retreat, taking a 107 00:06:36,800 --> 00:06:40,480 couple 100 students up to Vermont and we were so excited 108 00:06:40,480 --> 00:06:41,960 about it. I was going to be driving a van 109 00:06:41,960 --> 00:06:43,600 up there along with the rest of the caravan. 110 00:06:43,600 --> 00:06:46,000 I was going to be leading worship for that week. 111 00:06:46,000 --> 00:06:48,200 And Karen and I were out to dinner the night before we were 112 00:06:48,200 --> 00:06:50,760 supposed to leave for this trip. And we're so excited. 113 00:06:50,760 --> 00:06:53,000 Just talking in anticipation. What's God going to do? 114 00:06:53,000 --> 00:06:55,840 Because it had been the ministry had more than doubled in a year 115 00:06:55,840 --> 00:07:00,200 and Scott was on the move. So we got home after dinner, we 116 00:07:00,200 --> 00:07:04,400 get our finished getting stuff ready and I told Karen I got to 117 00:07:04,400 --> 00:07:09,720 go lay down. I'm not feeling good and I call 118 00:07:09,720 --> 00:07:12,200 her over a little bit later like hey, can you bring me some 119 00:07:12,200 --> 00:07:14,400 blankets? I'm just shivering cold and I've 120 00:07:14,400 --> 00:07:18,840 got this awful fever and I've got 5 blankets on me and I can't 121 00:07:18,840 --> 00:07:21,720 get warm. And at the same time our 122 00:07:21,720 --> 00:07:23,840 daughter, our one year old daughter at the time, Annalise, 123 00:07:24,200 --> 00:07:27,480 was sick with a fever as well and Karen remembers how sick she 124 00:07:27,480 --> 00:07:28,960 was because the temple was so high. 125 00:07:29,120 --> 00:07:34,680 It was 104.5° fever. And so all of a sudden our 126 00:07:34,680 --> 00:07:38,800 excitement turns to doom and we're like, Oh no, what are we 127 00:07:38,800 --> 00:07:40,400 going to do? Like who's going to drive? 128 00:07:40,600 --> 00:07:42,920 Who's going to lead worship? And we're going to totally miss 129 00:07:42,920 --> 00:07:47,040 out on all this. But a few moments later, after 130 00:07:47,040 --> 00:07:49,240 having those thoughts of despair, I thought, wait a 131 00:07:49,240 --> 00:07:53,440 minute, we got to at least pray like Karen, let's call all of 132 00:07:53,440 --> 00:07:55,760 our friends, text all of our people on the team, all the 133 00:07:55,760 --> 00:07:58,320 people from church we can think of, and let's pray and see what 134 00:07:58,320 --> 00:08:00,320 God would do. And so she starts praying 135 00:08:00,320 --> 00:08:03,840 fervently, and not too long goes by, maybe an hour or two, I 136 00:08:03,840 --> 00:08:06,360 don't remember exactly how long. I start shedding blankets. 137 00:08:06,800 --> 00:08:09,200 I'm starting to feel better. She's telling me from the other 138 00:08:09,200 --> 00:08:10,880 room. Annalise's fever is starting to 139 00:08:10,880 --> 00:08:14,640 go down. We slept through the whole 140 00:08:14,640 --> 00:08:21,960 night, woke up, no fever, no symptoms, and we went on that 141 00:08:21,960 --> 00:08:25,680 retreat and God did incredible things that I still remember to 142 00:08:25,680 --> 00:08:28,120 this day. And about 1/2 a dozen students 143 00:08:28,120 --> 00:08:32,159 gave their lives to Jesus for the very first time on that 144 00:08:32,159 --> 00:08:36,480 retreat. And I got to say, Jehovah Rapha 145 00:08:36,480 --> 00:08:39,480 is the same yesterday, today, and forever. 146 00:08:40,320 --> 00:08:44,039 His timing might be faster than we think, it might be slower 147 00:08:44,039 --> 00:08:47,200 than we think, but it does not change the fact that He is the 148 00:08:47,200 --> 00:08:52,280 Lord who heals. But I got to tell you something 149 00:08:52,280 --> 00:08:56,360 else. Sometimes things can go from bad 150 00:08:56,360 --> 00:08:59,160 to worse. You see that in this story. 151 00:08:59,600 --> 00:09:01,760 They've got three days no water in the desert. 152 00:09:01,760 --> 00:09:04,400 Not a good scenario. They're on their way through the 153 00:09:04,400 --> 00:09:07,280 desert and they see off in the distance in Oasis and they're 154 00:09:07,280 --> 00:09:08,440 thinking, oh, wait, there's water. 155 00:09:08,440 --> 00:09:09,960 There's a source of water. We're going to be OK. 156 00:09:10,400 --> 00:09:11,800 Things are going to turn around and get better. 157 00:09:12,600 --> 00:09:15,800 They go to the water, they get down to drink it, and it's 158 00:09:15,800 --> 00:09:18,120 bitter water. In fact, it's so bitter that 159 00:09:18,120 --> 00:09:21,840 it's undrinkable. Why? 160 00:09:22,360 --> 00:09:24,480 Why? If he's Jehovah Rapha, he's the 161 00:09:24,480 --> 00:09:26,440 God who heals. Why didn't he heal the water 162 00:09:26,440 --> 00:09:29,840 before they got down to drink it and not after? 163 00:09:31,440 --> 00:09:33,200 Because there's a detail. There's a lesson. 164 00:09:33,200 --> 00:09:36,120 Jehovah Rapha wants us to understand and think about it 165 00:09:36,120 --> 00:09:38,960 this way. What did the people do in their 166 00:09:38,960 --> 00:09:44,400 journey for those three days? Did anyone cry out to God in 167 00:09:44,400 --> 00:09:47,160 their pain? Did anyone turn to him and say 168 00:09:47,240 --> 00:09:50,920 Lord help us out? Did anybody say God give us the 169 00:09:50,920 --> 00:09:52,920 strength that we need to get through this? 170 00:09:52,920 --> 00:09:59,480 Know they were completely self reliant and God allowed them to 171 00:09:59,480 --> 00:10:03,800 learn what life is like when you try to do things on your own. 172 00:10:05,440 --> 00:10:10,720 Maybe the reason that your life seems to go from bad to worse is 173 00:10:10,720 --> 00:10:14,040 that God is lovingly trying to get your attention. 174 00:10:15,040 --> 00:10:19,480 He's letting you taste the bitterness of sin so that you'll 175 00:10:19,480 --> 00:10:22,320 go to Him for the rivers of living water. 176 00:10:23,160 --> 00:10:26,800 You know, I grew up in church and here in the Bible and about 177 00:10:26,800 --> 00:10:30,160 God and all these things, but I didn't realize how bad I needed 178 00:10:30,160 --> 00:10:33,160 Him until I tasted the bitterness of life without Him. 179 00:10:34,680 --> 00:10:36,720 Maybe it's the things that you've done, or maybe it's the 180 00:10:36,720 --> 00:10:39,800 things that have been done to you that have soured life's 181 00:10:39,840 --> 00:10:43,360 water for you. But the lesson here is that God, 182 00:10:43,360 --> 00:10:48,480 and only God can change the water of our lives from bad to 183 00:10:48,480 --> 00:10:52,920 good. And there's a deeper lesson that 184 00:10:52,920 --> 00:10:56,480 God's teaching us through all of these things we've seen so far, 185 00:10:56,680 --> 00:11:02,360 and that is that the healing we need goes beyond physical 186 00:11:02,360 --> 00:11:04,160 healing. Because you probably heard this 187 00:11:04,160 --> 00:11:06,520 at 1st and you're thinking cancer, heart disease, or 188 00:11:06,520 --> 00:11:09,600 something else bodily. But what we're learning in this 189 00:11:09,600 --> 00:11:14,680 story is that the promise of Jehovah Rapha is that he can and 190 00:11:14,680 --> 00:11:19,440 wants to heal the deepest needs in our lives that go deeper than 191 00:11:19,440 --> 00:11:21,320 physical things that are spiritual things. 192 00:11:21,320 --> 00:11:24,560 I mean, think about this story. Who in the story is sick? 193 00:11:24,840 --> 00:11:26,360 Is there anybody sick in the story? 194 00:11:27,400 --> 00:11:32,160 No, but they are in desperate need. 195 00:11:34,360 --> 00:11:38,960 In John chapter 6, Jesus is doing his Jesus things and 196 00:11:38,960 --> 00:11:41,480 there's over 5000 people who are there with him. 197 00:11:41,480 --> 00:11:44,280 They've been there with him all day and he wants to feed them. 198 00:11:44,280 --> 00:11:46,080 He doesn't want to send them away to have to go find 199 00:11:46,080 --> 00:11:47,960 something to eat. So he tells his disciples, hey 200 00:11:48,480 --> 00:11:50,360 we're doing this and what do we got to eat? 201 00:11:50,400 --> 00:11:53,120 And they say hey we got 5 loaves of bread and we got 2 fish. 202 00:11:53,120 --> 00:11:54,520 And Jesus, like, I can work with that. 203 00:11:55,360 --> 00:11:59,480 And he multiplies it and he feeds over 5000 people with 204 00:11:59,480 --> 00:12:03,960 leftovers. What a miracle, Jehovah Rapha. 205 00:12:04,960 --> 00:12:06,480 Well, the people go away that night. 206 00:12:06,480 --> 00:12:09,960 They come back the next day and they're looking for food again. 207 00:12:10,640 --> 00:12:16,120 And this time Jesus says no, Why? 208 00:12:16,960 --> 00:12:21,280 If he's Jehovah Rapha, why won't he give them food again this 209 00:12:21,280 --> 00:12:26,080 day? It's because Jesus knew that 210 00:12:26,080 --> 00:12:30,240 they wanted physical food, but what they needed was spiritual 211 00:12:30,240 --> 00:12:33,840 food. What they wanted was temporary 212 00:12:33,840 --> 00:12:37,600 blessings, but Jesus knew they needed eternal life. 213 00:12:38,440 --> 00:12:42,080 See, the miracles in Jehovah Rapha is meant to point us to 214 00:12:42,080 --> 00:12:44,760 faith in him. And they missed the point of the 215 00:12:44,760 --> 00:12:47,520 miracle. And maybe you've heard of 216 00:12:47,520 --> 00:12:51,480 miracle stories around the world where missionaries are and and 217 00:12:51,560 --> 00:12:54,760 you hear all these like wonderful multiple stories about 218 00:12:54,760 --> 00:12:57,200 how God does this. Why is that? 219 00:12:58,480 --> 00:13:04,480 Because God, a lot of time uses miracles to validate the truth 220 00:13:04,520 --> 00:13:07,440 of the gospel and to point people to something greater, a 221 00:13:07,440 --> 00:13:10,720 deeper need to look to Jesus as Lord and Savior. 222 00:13:11,640 --> 00:13:16,200 But he doesn't continue to do that, at least with the the same 223 00:13:16,200 --> 00:13:18,920 amount of frequency. He still does it, as I've 224 00:13:18,920 --> 00:13:22,080 testified earlier, but not with as much frequency. 225 00:13:22,200 --> 00:13:24,640 Because He doesn't want us to live on miracles. 226 00:13:24,640 --> 00:13:27,720 He wants us to live on faith in a relationship with Him. 227 00:13:29,320 --> 00:13:33,160 Parents, you love to provide for your kids needs as they're 228 00:13:33,160 --> 00:13:34,320 growing up. It's great. 229 00:13:34,320 --> 00:13:36,280 It's part of one of the things that you look forward to. 230 00:13:36,280 --> 00:13:40,920 But as your kids get older and they're adults, what do you want 231 00:13:40,920 --> 00:13:44,920 from them? You want a relationship like you 232 00:13:44,920 --> 00:13:47,320 want them to come over to your house and just want to hang out 233 00:13:47,320 --> 00:13:49,720 with you and not just come over looking for a handout every 234 00:13:49,720 --> 00:13:52,840 time. You want them to call you up and 235 00:13:52,840 --> 00:13:56,320 say, hey, how you doing? Not just, hey, I need something 236 00:13:58,920 --> 00:14:04,080 Now, don't misunderstand me. I am not saying that God doesn't 237 00:14:04,080 --> 00:14:06,680 meet Our Daily Bread, doesn't give us things, doesn't meet our 238 00:14:06,680 --> 00:14:08,720 tangible needs, doesn't want to heal as physically all those 239 00:14:08,720 --> 00:14:10,200 sorts of things. It's still true. 240 00:14:10,400 --> 00:14:13,080 But there's a bigger lesson that Jehovah Raphael wants us to 241 00:14:13,080 --> 00:14:16,040 hear, and he wants us to. He wants to meet our deepest 242 00:14:16,040 --> 00:14:18,280 needs. He wants us to know that a 243 00:14:18,280 --> 00:14:22,040 relationship with him is the greatest thing that we can have. 244 00:14:22,400 --> 00:14:26,080 And it's far more important to God and to us that we get the 245 00:14:26,080 --> 00:14:30,240 Spirit spiritual healing that we need so that for all of eternity 246 00:14:30,240 --> 00:14:33,320 we can be with him in heaven, so that we do have no physical 247 00:14:33,560 --> 00:14:36,760 needs where there is no pain, no sadness, no sickness, no 248 00:14:36,760 --> 00:14:41,640 heartache at all. Well, there's another lesson 249 00:14:41,640 --> 00:14:44,360 here that we learned from Jehovah Rapha in this story, and 250 00:14:44,360 --> 00:14:48,320 it's back in verses 24 and 25. Let me read it to you. 251 00:14:48,360 --> 00:14:54,280 So the people grumbled against Moses, saying, what are we to 252 00:14:54,280 --> 00:14:56,680 drink? Then Moses cried out to the 253 00:14:56,680 --> 00:15:00,800 Lord, and the Lord showed him a piece of wood, and he threw it 254 00:15:00,800 --> 00:15:02,680 in the water, and it became fit to drink. 255 00:15:03,480 --> 00:15:08,400 So here we go, The people grumbled and Moses prayed. 256 00:15:09,480 --> 00:15:10,720 People grumbled. Moses prayed. 257 00:15:10,720 --> 00:15:15,440 Let me ask a question, which one was more effective? 258 00:15:15,440 --> 00:15:21,240 And another question, if I could, Which one are you doing 259 00:15:21,240 --> 00:15:25,920 more of? When we taste the bitterness of 260 00:15:25,920 --> 00:15:30,320 life, will we pout or will we pray? 261 00:15:32,200 --> 00:15:36,160 Will we cuss and rage or will we call on His name? 262 00:15:37,400 --> 00:15:42,640 Will we wallow and cower or will we trust in His power? 263 00:15:43,400 --> 00:15:47,000 Will we forget that He's with us or will we remember His promise? 264 00:15:47,560 --> 00:15:50,720 Will we bellyache and bitterness or will we believe in His 265 00:15:50,720 --> 00:15:52,960 goodness? Will we look at our 266 00:15:52,960 --> 00:15:56,000 circumstances or will we lift our eyes to the Lord? 267 00:15:56,240 --> 00:15:59,800 Will we say woulda, shoulda, coulda or will we say my God is 268 00:15:59,800 --> 00:16:07,360 Jehovah Rapha? And whether we grumble or 269 00:16:07,360 --> 00:16:12,400 whether we pray also reveals a lot about our relationship with 270 00:16:12,400 --> 00:16:14,560 God and what we actually believe about him. 271 00:16:17,240 --> 00:16:20,320 You know the reason why the people grumbled in this story? 272 00:16:21,840 --> 00:16:25,120 It's because they didn't believe that God was real. 273 00:16:25,600 --> 00:16:27,760 They didn't believe God really cared about them. 274 00:16:27,760 --> 00:16:30,840 They didn't really believe in his presence, in his power right 275 00:16:30,840 --> 00:16:33,640 there with them. They were living outside of 276 00:16:33,640 --> 00:16:39,600 their relationship with him. They had a relationship with 277 00:16:39,600 --> 00:16:42,120 him, but they weren't living like it was real. 278 00:16:42,120 --> 00:16:44,280 And check this out. You know, they went three days 279 00:16:44,280 --> 00:16:46,000 in the wilderness. You know where they came from 280 00:16:46,000 --> 00:16:50,120 three days earlier, the Red Sea, like one of the greatest 281 00:16:50,120 --> 00:16:52,840 miracles God has ever done on planet Earth. 282 00:16:52,840 --> 00:16:57,000 He literally moved waters so that they could walk through dry 283 00:16:57,000 --> 00:16:59,160 ground and escape from their enemies and go to where God was 284 00:16:59,160 --> 00:17:01,640 taken. And so just three days later, 285 00:17:01,880 --> 00:17:05,560 they need water and they forgot that he's the water mover and 286 00:17:05,560 --> 00:17:07,560 that he could probably give them the water that they needed. 287 00:17:09,160 --> 00:17:11,560 That's just like us sometimes. And you know what we call this? 288 00:17:12,480 --> 00:17:14,480 This is called practical atheism. 289 00:17:15,480 --> 00:17:18,400 It's where, oh, in theory, we believe in God and we're 290 00:17:18,400 --> 00:17:21,119 Christians and we can answer all the right questions about who he 291 00:17:21,119 --> 00:17:23,480 is. But in practice, practically day 292 00:17:23,480 --> 00:17:26,200 in and day out, there's nothing about our lives that actually 293 00:17:26,200 --> 00:17:29,600 shows that we believe in his power, his presence, His promise 294 00:17:29,600 --> 00:17:32,040 that the name of Jesus really does have power. 295 00:17:32,440 --> 00:17:36,920 We don't show it because when things come our way, we don't 296 00:17:36,920 --> 00:17:40,120 turn to him right away. We don't spend time developing 297 00:17:40,120 --> 00:17:42,800 our relationship with him. We just live our day-to-day 298 00:17:42,800 --> 00:17:45,360 lives like it's just us and the world around us. 299 00:17:46,160 --> 00:17:52,000 But the reason that Moses prayed is because he was living inside 300 00:17:52,000 --> 00:17:56,880 his relationship with God. He believed with all his heart 301 00:17:57,480 --> 00:18:00,920 who his God was. He knew what God could do. 302 00:18:00,920 --> 00:18:04,400 He remembered it, and he called upon him to do it. 303 00:18:05,240 --> 00:18:09,040 So we got to be quick to go to God in prayer. 304 00:18:09,320 --> 00:18:13,160 We got to let it be our first reaction, not our last hope. 305 00:18:14,480 --> 00:18:19,480 Dads, when your kids do the same thing that you asked them not to 306 00:18:19,480 --> 00:18:22,840 do 100 times, you got to be quick to go to God in prayer. 307 00:18:24,440 --> 00:18:29,680 Moms, when your husbands do the same thing that you asked them 308 00:18:29,680 --> 00:18:32,960 not to do 100 times, you got to be quick to go to God in prayer. 309 00:18:36,400 --> 00:18:38,480 Husbands and wives, life's going to come at you fast. 310 00:18:38,480 --> 00:18:42,240 You got to be faster to your knees, young people. 311 00:18:42,760 --> 00:18:47,240 The world, the devil and sin wants your soul. 312 00:18:47,360 --> 00:18:51,480 You got to be with God to defend against every evil attack. 313 00:18:51,720 --> 00:18:54,880 If you're in the valley right now, now is not the time to give 314 00:18:54,880 --> 00:18:57,960 up on God. Now's the time to cry out to him 315 00:18:58,160 --> 00:19:04,360 all the more. And even if he doesn't answer 316 00:19:04,360 --> 00:19:08,800 your prayer the way you thought he would, does not change the 317 00:19:08,800 --> 00:19:11,960 fact that he's Jehovah Rapha. In fact, you will gain through 318 00:19:11,960 --> 00:19:19,640 that a greater trust, a greater peace, a greater perspective and 319 00:19:19,640 --> 00:19:24,040 contentment in your situation by the power of God. 320 00:19:26,080 --> 00:19:29,960 Did you notice how God answered Moses prayer to heal the water 321 00:19:29,960 --> 00:19:32,320 for the people? Look again in verse 25 it says 322 00:19:32,640 --> 00:19:33,880 then Moses cried out to the Lord. 323 00:19:33,880 --> 00:19:36,440 The Lord showed him a piece of wood, he threw it in the water 324 00:19:36,440 --> 00:19:38,000 and the water became fit to drink. 325 00:19:39,280 --> 00:19:40,920 I love it when the Bible makes you laugh. 326 00:19:42,600 --> 00:19:44,880 I mean, you got to think about this situation. 327 00:19:44,880 --> 00:19:47,760 Moses is praying and this is a desperate situation. 328 00:19:47,760 --> 00:19:50,640 You got an angry mob. They're not just hangry like 329 00:19:50,720 --> 00:19:53,080 hungry and angry. They're they're like about to 330 00:19:53,200 --> 00:19:56,040 die of starvation or thirst and they're angry. 331 00:19:56,040 --> 00:19:58,000 And so Moses is praying. God help me out. 332 00:19:58,000 --> 00:20:00,880 What do we do? Do something and God shows him a 333 00:20:00,880 --> 00:20:04,680 piece of wood and he's like, I got to be mishearing you. 334 00:20:04,680 --> 00:20:08,600 God like this can't be wood. What's what's this going to do? 335 00:20:09,720 --> 00:20:11,880 But he. Does it? 336 00:20:11,880 --> 00:20:14,440 Anyway, He grabs the wood, he throws it in and you got to 337 00:20:14,440 --> 00:20:16,640 think about what the people are saying to Moses. 338 00:20:16,640 --> 00:20:18,640 They're like, great Moses, good idea. 339 00:20:18,640 --> 00:20:20,720 Let's throw stuff in the water. Like that's going to change 340 00:20:20,720 --> 00:20:21,960 anything. If there's a rock over here, you 341 00:20:21,960 --> 00:20:23,520 want to throw that in, How about some sand? 342 00:20:23,520 --> 00:20:24,760 How about, hey, we can throw lots? 343 00:20:24,760 --> 00:20:26,880 Are we angry at the water? Is that why we're like beating 344 00:20:26,880 --> 00:20:32,760 the water with all this wood and stuff, But God healed the water 345 00:20:33,400 --> 00:20:37,080 through the piece of wood. What does this teach us about 346 00:20:37,080 --> 00:20:39,800 Jehovah Rapha? It teaches us that God heals 347 00:20:40,240 --> 00:20:45,640 sometimes through means. God could have healed the water 348 00:20:45,640 --> 00:20:47,560 in lots of different ways, really spiritual ways. 349 00:20:47,560 --> 00:20:49,400 He could have everybody come around the water, extend your 350 00:20:49,400 --> 00:20:51,560 hands while I pray, and the water gets healed. 351 00:20:52,120 --> 00:20:55,520 He could have Moses touch the tip of the staff on the water 352 00:20:55,520 --> 00:20:57,920 and and it would be healed. He could have had an Angel come 353 00:20:57,920 --> 00:21:01,400 down and hover over the water and it could have healed. 354 00:21:01,720 --> 00:21:06,440 God chose a piece of what? Because sometimes God heals 355 00:21:06,440 --> 00:21:10,320 through means. Does medicine heal through God's 356 00:21:10,320 --> 00:21:11,280 power? Absolutely. 357 00:21:11,280 --> 00:21:15,160 Does God use counselors to heal emotionally and relationally and 358 00:21:15,160 --> 00:21:16,160 things like that? Yeah, he does. 359 00:21:16,160 --> 00:21:19,120 Does does God heal through diet and exercise? 360 00:21:19,120 --> 00:21:22,440 He absolutely does. Just because God uses someone 361 00:21:22,440 --> 00:21:26,720 else or something else doesn't change the fact that he is the 362 00:21:26,800 --> 00:21:34,840 ultimate healer. And there's another part of this 363 00:21:35,160 --> 00:21:37,760 He heals through means that we got to catch. 364 00:21:37,760 --> 00:21:38,880 We got to think about for a minute. 365 00:21:38,880 --> 00:21:42,200 And that is that sometimes the means he chooses to work in our 366 00:21:42,200 --> 00:21:46,720 lives looks weird, you know, throwing a piece of wood into 367 00:21:46,720 --> 00:21:49,920 the water. Well, here we are. 368 00:21:49,920 --> 00:21:53,560 And we're gathered at all these beautiful rooms where we're 369 00:21:53,560 --> 00:21:56,200 worshiping God, these great lights, sound, all this sort of 370 00:21:56,200 --> 00:21:56,960 stuff. This is awesome. 371 00:21:56,960 --> 00:21:59,200 But if you're here for the first time, you're kind of wondering 372 00:21:59,200 --> 00:22:02,240 like what in the world's up with the hot tub in the corner or the 373 00:22:02,240 --> 00:22:05,000 tub at your location? Like do people just like to get 374 00:22:05,000 --> 00:22:07,120 a bath every once in a while? Is it like a dual purpose? 375 00:22:07,120 --> 00:22:09,680 Like, hey, it's a party room, hot tub night on Friday night 376 00:22:09,680 --> 00:22:16,200 and church and Sunday morning? Well, God says repent and be 377 00:22:16,200 --> 00:22:20,040 baptized and you'll have your sins forgiven and you'll receive 378 00:22:20,040 --> 00:22:24,680 the gift of the Holy Spirit. It might seem weird around here 379 00:22:24,920 --> 00:22:30,600 to raise your hands as you're praising God in song, but God 380 00:22:30,600 --> 00:22:34,480 meets you when you do it. It might seem weird to come 381 00:22:34,480 --> 00:22:36,760 forward to the steps and pray in front of this whole crowd of 382 00:22:36,760 --> 00:22:39,600 people, but a weight lifts off you when you do it. 383 00:22:40,240 --> 00:22:43,120 It might seem weird to bring up Jesus to your friends out of the 384 00:22:43,120 --> 00:22:47,120 blue, but somebody's eternity can be changed when you do it. 385 00:22:47,600 --> 00:22:51,400 It might seem weird to praise God even more in your deepest 386 00:22:51,400 --> 00:22:55,080 darkest pains, but God gives you a peace that passes 387 00:22:55,080 --> 00:22:59,880 understanding when you do it. Even if God tells you to do 388 00:22:59,880 --> 00:23:03,640 something weird, don't doubt what he will do on the other 389 00:23:03,640 --> 00:23:10,480 side of your obedience. There's an important part to 390 00:23:10,480 --> 00:23:13,200 this revelation of Jehovah Rapha that we have to catch and that's 391 00:23:13,200 --> 00:23:15,880 that it's a conditional promise that means we have a part to 392 00:23:15,880 --> 00:23:20,160 play to realize the promise of the Lord who heals verse 25 and 393 00:23:20,160 --> 00:23:23,520 26 again, they're the Lord issued A ruling and instruction 394 00:23:23,520 --> 00:23:27,840 for them put them to the test. He said if you listen carefully 395 00:23:27,840 --> 00:23:30,960 to the Lord your God and do what is right in his eyes, if you pay 396 00:23:30,960 --> 00:23:33,800 attention to his commands and keep all His decrees, I will not 397 00:23:33,800 --> 00:23:36,320 bring on you any of the diseases I brought on the Egyptians, for 398 00:23:36,320 --> 00:23:40,720 I am the Lord who heals you. So all four of those conditions 399 00:23:40,720 --> 00:23:42,720 right there are boiled down to basically two things. 400 00:23:42,720 --> 00:23:44,760 Make sure you're listening to the word of God and make sure 401 00:23:44,760 --> 00:23:48,600 you're doing what it says. Now you might be asking yourself 402 00:23:48,600 --> 00:23:50,560 like though this was in the Old Testament and if you know 403 00:23:50,560 --> 00:23:52,080 anything about the Old Testament, he just said it 404 00:23:52,080 --> 00:23:53,000 there. It's like there's a lot of 405 00:23:53,000 --> 00:23:55,280 decrees, a lot of commands you got to keep. 406 00:23:55,280 --> 00:23:57,640 Like what does this mean for us? What does this mean for me 407 00:23:57,640 --> 00:23:59,040 today? How can I know that I can have 408 00:23:59,120 --> 00:24:03,560 Jehovah off as my healer? Well, Jesus answered that 409 00:24:03,560 --> 00:24:06,600 question in John chapter 6 verse 28 and 29. 410 00:24:07,720 --> 00:24:13,480 They asked him, what must we do to do the works God requires? 411 00:24:14,400 --> 00:24:21,000 Jesus answered the work of God is this to believe in the one he 412 00:24:21,000 --> 00:24:25,360 has sent. So today the promise of having 413 00:24:25,360 --> 00:24:28,920 God as your healer will be met if you believe in the one whom 414 00:24:28,920 --> 00:24:31,640 he has sent. Who is Jesus? 415 00:24:32,680 --> 00:24:37,240 If you want Jehovah Rapha, not just the name, but the power and 416 00:24:37,240 --> 00:24:40,200 the promises for the healing of your whole self, mind, body, 417 00:24:40,200 --> 00:24:43,760 soul, and spirit, and for this life and for all of eternity, 418 00:24:43,880 --> 00:24:47,880 you need to believe in Jesus. You need to turn your life over 419 00:24:47,880 --> 00:24:49,320 to him. You need to take him as your 420 00:24:49,320 --> 00:24:52,640 Lord and Savior, and you need to surrender to his will for your 421 00:24:52,640 --> 00:24:56,440 life. And this point answers that 422 00:24:56,440 --> 00:24:59,920 other question that we raised, which is what kind of faith do I 423 00:24:59,920 --> 00:25:01,520 have to have? What level of faith? 424 00:25:01,520 --> 00:25:03,680 What sort of faith does it take for me to be healed? 425 00:25:04,040 --> 00:25:06,480 Faith indeed is required to be healed. 426 00:25:06,640 --> 00:25:11,600 But what kind of faith? Jesus just told us it's faith in 427 00:25:11,600 --> 00:25:15,320 Jesus whom the one that the Father has sent, the one who has 428 00:25:15,320 --> 00:25:17,640 all authority, the one who commands the winds and waves, 429 00:25:17,640 --> 00:25:20,920 the one who raises the dead, the one for whom nothing is 430 00:25:20,920 --> 00:25:23,240 impossible. If you have that kind of faith, 431 00:25:23,600 --> 00:25:28,800 Jehovah Rapha is your God. If it took a special kind of 432 00:25:28,800 --> 00:25:33,320 faith or an additional sort of faith to experience Jehovah 433 00:25:33,320 --> 00:25:36,680 Rapha is your God, then Paul would not have had the thorn in 434 00:25:36,680 --> 00:25:41,120 the flesh that he wrote about. He had this thorn in the flesh, 435 00:25:41,240 --> 00:25:42,920 which is some sort of physical malady. 436 00:25:42,920 --> 00:25:46,000 We don't know exactly what it was, but it bothered him. 437 00:25:46,440 --> 00:25:48,960 And so he prayed multiple times. He wrote about this in Second 438 00:25:48,960 --> 00:25:51,040 Corinthians. He prayed multiple times that 439 00:25:51,040 --> 00:25:54,560 God would remove it, that God would heal it, but God didn't 440 00:25:55,600 --> 00:25:57,320 because sometimes there are things that Jehovah Raphael 441 00:25:57,320 --> 00:25:59,840 wants to do that go beyond the physical and temporary blessings 442 00:26:00,000 --> 00:26:04,000 that we're asking for. And so this is what the Lord 443 00:26:04,000 --> 00:26:06,560 said to Paul in Second Corinthians 12/9. 444 00:26:06,880 --> 00:26:11,520 The Lord said to me, my grace is sufficient for you from my 445 00:26:11,520 --> 00:26:16,080 power. My power is made perfect in 446 00:26:16,080 --> 00:26:20,640 weakness. When you trust in Jesus as your 447 00:26:20,640 --> 00:26:24,760 Lord and Savior and as your Healer, you will have the 448 00:26:24,760 --> 00:26:30,160 confidence that He will do whatever's best for you, whether 449 00:26:30,160 --> 00:26:33,520 it's in this life, for the next, and whether it's in this body or 450 00:26:33,520 --> 00:26:38,440 not. Well, the last lesson that we 451 00:26:38,440 --> 00:26:42,400 see here in this story has a veiled reference in the story, 452 00:26:42,400 --> 00:26:44,960 but it is crystal clear throughout the rest of 453 00:26:44,960 --> 00:26:47,160 Scripture. I want to read verse 25 to you 454 00:26:47,160 --> 00:26:49,240 one more time, but in a different version. 455 00:26:49,800 --> 00:26:53,080 It says this. Then he Moses cried out to the 456 00:26:53,080 --> 00:26:56,120 Lord. The Lord showed him a tree and 457 00:26:56,120 --> 00:26:58,280 he threw it into the waters and the waters became sweet. 458 00:26:59,080 --> 00:27:02,320 So I just read from the NASB version of the Bible, which is 459 00:27:02,600 --> 00:27:07,560 the the most literal English version of the Bible today. 460 00:27:08,280 --> 00:27:11,600 I've been reading from the NIV. Great versions, just just a 461 00:27:11,600 --> 00:27:13,560 different approach in philosophy of translation. 462 00:27:14,280 --> 00:27:16,640 But if you're especially observant as I read that, you 463 00:27:16,640 --> 00:27:21,240 notice the difference that it used the word tree instead of a 464 00:27:21,240 --> 00:27:23,760 piece of wood. And so I kind of like, oh, I 465 00:27:23,760 --> 00:27:26,200 wonder if this is significant. So I do a little bit more 466 00:27:26,200 --> 00:27:29,160 research and literally the word, the most accurate translation of 467 00:27:29,160 --> 00:27:33,760 that word in Hebrew is tree, not just like a log or a limb or a 468 00:27:33,760 --> 00:27:38,560 stick. Why might that be significant? 469 00:27:39,960 --> 00:27:48,560 First Peter chapter 2 verse 24. He Jesus himself bore our sins 470 00:27:48,560 --> 00:27:54,520 in his body on the tree, that by that we might die to sin and 471 00:27:54,520 --> 00:27:58,600 live the righteousness. By his wounds you have been 472 00:27:59,000 --> 00:28:02,800 healed. And first Peter was written in 473 00:28:02,800 --> 00:28:06,360 8060, thirty years after Jesus's death and resurrection, and he's 474 00:28:06,360 --> 00:28:10,360 quoting in that verse from Isaiah written 700 years before 475 00:28:10,360 --> 00:28:12,840 Jesus. And Isaiah said, But he is 476 00:28:12,840 --> 00:28:15,920 pierced for our transgressions. He was crushed for our 477 00:28:15,920 --> 00:28:18,160 iniquities. The punishment that brought us 478 00:28:18,160 --> 00:28:24,480 peace was on him. By his wounds we are healed and 479 00:28:24,480 --> 00:28:29,440 Isaiah is building on the revelation of Jehovah Rapha 1500 480 00:28:29,440 --> 00:28:33,840 years before Jesus, where God said I am the Lord who heals 481 00:28:33,840 --> 00:28:37,520 you. He is the same God with the same 482 00:28:37,520 --> 00:28:43,600 power and the same promises for Moses, for Isaiah, for Peter, 483 00:28:43,600 --> 00:28:46,800 and for everybody within the sound of my voice who trusts in 484 00:28:46,880 --> 00:28:57,800 Jesus. God chose a tree, and he took 485 00:28:58,200 --> 00:29:04,800 all the bitterness of our sins and all the bitterness of our 486 00:29:04,800 --> 00:29:09,920 past and all the bitterness of our losses and our fears and the 487 00:29:09,920 --> 00:29:14,720 bitterness of death itself. And he put all the bitterness on 488 00:29:14,720 --> 00:29:20,600 his Son to bear on a tree of death so that everything that 489 00:29:20,600 --> 00:29:25,360 tree touches turns to life. And when you take the tree of 490 00:29:25,480 --> 00:29:28,760 Jesus into your life, Jehovah Rapha will turn the water of 491 00:29:28,760 --> 00:29:31,880 your life from bad to good and from bitter to sweet. 492 00:29:32,200 --> 00:29:34,040 We're moving to a time of decision. 493 00:29:41,080 --> 00:29:44,640 I want to talk to those who are here today, those online who 494 00:29:44,640 --> 00:29:48,200 have not yet started an intimate personal relationship with 495 00:29:48,280 --> 00:29:50,520 Jesus. You haven't yet had that 496 00:29:50,520 --> 00:29:56,520 spiritual healing. I bet that you are here today. 497 00:29:56,520 --> 00:30:00,440 You're listening today with the absolute best of intentions, I'm 498 00:30:00,440 --> 00:30:03,400 assuming, and I bet I'm right, that you want to be a better 499 00:30:03,400 --> 00:30:06,040 person. You want to be a better husband 500 00:30:06,040 --> 00:30:08,960 or father, a better mother or wife, a better son or daughter. 501 00:30:10,880 --> 00:30:15,680 But I need you to know, and God wants you to know that you have 502 00:30:15,720 --> 00:30:21,400 a spiritual sickness that you cannot heal, that in fact we all 503 00:30:21,560 --> 00:30:24,720 have a spiritual sickness. The whole human race is plagued 504 00:30:24,880 --> 00:30:28,600 by this invisible cancer called sin. 505 00:30:29,680 --> 00:30:33,160 And we can't heal ourselves of sin. 506 00:30:34,480 --> 00:30:38,720 No one can. But God tells us in His Word 507 00:30:39,200 --> 00:30:43,280 that there is a spiritual transaction that happens in a 508 00:30:43,280 --> 00:30:45,600 moment for you to have your sins removed from you. 509 00:30:47,640 --> 00:30:51,200 And you may not even realize when it happens or how God does 510 00:30:51,200 --> 00:30:53,360 it. But on the other side, if you'll 511 00:30:53,360 --> 00:30:56,520 trust him, you'll see a know that it's happened. 512 00:30:57,040 --> 00:30:59,320 And what do you have to do to it? 513 00:30:59,320 --> 00:31:02,200 Step into and experience that spiritual transaction. 514 00:31:02,280 --> 00:31:04,880 Let me tell you, the word of God makes it very clear. 515 00:31:04,880 --> 00:31:09,440 Romans chapter 10 verse 9, if you declare with your mouth that 516 00:31:09,440 --> 00:31:13,680 Jesus is Lord and you believe in your heart that God raised him 517 00:31:13,680 --> 00:31:16,360 from the dead, that he died for your sins and rose again three 518 00:31:16,360 --> 00:31:20,640 days later, it says you will be saved. 519 00:31:21,200 --> 00:31:25,240 And check this out. The Greek word for saved in the 520 00:31:25,240 --> 00:31:28,360 New Testament, the original way it was written is the exact same 521 00:31:28,360 --> 00:31:34,360 word that's used for healed. If you want to be healed from 522 00:31:34,360 --> 00:31:39,320 your spiritual sickness, declare that Jesus is Lord and your Lord 523 00:31:39,520 --> 00:31:42,920 Believe that God raised him from the dead and that what he did on 524 00:31:42,920 --> 00:31:46,720 Calvary's cross 2000 years ago can change your life today. 525 00:31:49,480 --> 00:31:55,080 There's another passage like that that's in, I'm sorry, in 526 00:31:55,080 --> 00:32:02,960 Acts chapter 2, and it says if you repent and be baptized for 527 00:32:02,960 --> 00:32:06,640 the forgiveness of your sins and for the gift of the Holy Spirit. 528 00:32:07,760 --> 00:32:11,880 Let me tell you something. You cannot go from having sins 529 00:32:12,120 --> 00:32:16,840 to gradually not having sins. Either you've got them or you 530 00:32:16,840 --> 00:32:19,520 don't have them. Either you're guilty of them or 531 00:32:19,520 --> 00:32:22,400 you're forgiven of them. And you can't gradually move 532 00:32:22,400 --> 00:32:24,600 yourself along that spectrum. Only God can do it. 533 00:32:24,600 --> 00:32:27,800 And he says repent, be baptized, and I'll wipe away your sins. 534 00:32:27,800 --> 00:32:31,080 I'll erase them, take them as far from you as the east is from 535 00:32:31,080 --> 00:32:33,960 the West. And he also says you'll receive 536 00:32:33,960 --> 00:32:37,400 the gift of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the power of 537 00:32:37,400 --> 00:32:40,200 God living inside of you. And if you're not a believer in 538 00:32:40,200 --> 00:32:42,600 Jesus Christ, you don't have him living inside of you. 539 00:32:43,000 --> 00:32:45,280 You can't. I can't give you the Holy 540 00:32:45,280 --> 00:32:47,600 Spirit. You can't somehow work yourself 541 00:32:47,600 --> 00:32:49,960 up or gradually move to having the Holy Spirit. 542 00:32:49,960 --> 00:32:53,960 Only God gives the Holy Spirit and he says repent and be 543 00:32:53,960 --> 00:32:56,200 baptized and you'll receive the Holy Spirit. 544 00:32:56,320 --> 00:32:59,720 You'll have the power of God to enable you to start changing 545 00:32:59,720 --> 00:33:02,480 your life and living the way that you really long to live and 546 00:33:02,480 --> 00:33:04,680 that God wants to bring about in you. 547 00:33:06,800 --> 00:33:10,640 So today is the day that you can step into that. 548 00:33:10,640 --> 00:33:12,760 You can take hold of that in just a minute. 549 00:33:12,760 --> 00:33:14,720 We're going to stand and we're going to sing, and some people 550 00:33:14,720 --> 00:33:16,480 are going to come to the steps and pray, and you can come 551 00:33:16,480 --> 00:33:19,760 forward right over there by the baptistry under that screen and 552 00:33:19,760 --> 00:33:22,720 you can tell the person there, I want to give my life to Jesus. 553 00:33:22,720 --> 00:33:25,520 I want to get baptized. I am ready to make him Lord and 554 00:33:25,520 --> 00:33:28,920 Savior and have him as Jehovah Rapha and everything else that 555 00:33:28,920 --> 00:33:31,320 he promises to be for those who trust in him. 556 00:33:31,320 --> 00:33:35,080 Would you do that today? Don't leave this place until you 557 00:33:35,080 --> 00:33:36,960 do. It'll be the greatest decision 558 00:33:36,960 --> 00:33:41,760 you've ever made in your life. And to those who are Christians, 559 00:33:43,360 --> 00:33:48,240 I want to say to you, to all of us, life is full of challenges 560 00:33:48,240 --> 00:33:51,520 and bitterness sometimes, but are you bearing it alone? 561 00:33:52,000 --> 00:33:55,680 Have you been just going through life being a practical atheist 562 00:33:55,680 --> 00:33:58,320 and not bringing what you need to God? 563 00:33:58,320 --> 00:34:00,720 Are you wandering through the wilderness and you haven't even 564 00:34:00,720 --> 00:34:02,880 thought to pray about what you're dealing with? 565 00:34:03,600 --> 00:34:08,080 Come this morning and get down on your knees and say, God, I 566 00:34:08,080 --> 00:34:10,560 need you. I need you to meet my needs 567 00:34:10,600 --> 00:34:13,199 because he wants to not only meet your physical and temporary 568 00:34:13,199 --> 00:34:14,760 needs, he wants to meet your spiritual needs. 569 00:34:14,760 --> 00:34:16,440 He wants to meet your mental and emotional needs. 570 00:34:16,719 --> 00:34:19,960 Whatever you're carrying today, whatever you came in with today, 571 00:34:20,360 --> 00:34:23,760 bring it to him in prayer. And the Bible says come to the 572 00:34:23,760 --> 00:34:26,960 throne of grace with boldness, with confidence. 573 00:34:27,120 --> 00:34:29,480 He loves it. He's waiting for you to come, 574 00:34:30,159 --> 00:34:32,719 but there isn't. If you've got to come forward 575 00:34:32,920 --> 00:34:36,280 and say, God help me with this and let him take it from there. 576 00:34:38,040 --> 00:34:42,920 And the last thing that I want to say, if you've been bitter, 577 00:34:44,120 --> 00:34:48,600 if you've been carrying around resentment towards God because 578 00:34:49,159 --> 00:34:52,639 you prayed for somebody whom you loved and God didn't heal them 579 00:34:52,639 --> 00:34:56,920 the way that you thought he would, would you come this 580 00:34:56,920 --> 00:34:59,760 morning and release that over to him. 581 00:35:00,760 --> 00:35:07,880 Do not let that disappointment drive a wedge and keep you from 582 00:35:07,880 --> 00:35:11,480 the God who loves you. Just come and say, God, I don't 583 00:35:11,480 --> 00:35:18,040 understand, but I do trust you and I want you as Jehovah Rapha, 584 00:35:18,040 --> 00:35:21,440 whatever that looks like. Would you stand with me and 585 00:35:21,440 --> 00:35:24,160 pray? And as I pray, I want to ask you 586 00:35:24,160 --> 00:35:28,880 to bring in your minds and bring to the Lord whatever need you 587 00:35:28,880 --> 00:35:34,040 have right now. As I pray, Godfather, Son, Holy 588 00:35:34,040 --> 00:35:37,920 Spirit, we believe that you're Jehovah Rapha, God, we believe 589 00:35:37,920 --> 00:35:40,840 your words that you are not a man, that you would lie, that 590 00:35:40,840 --> 00:35:42,600 you're the same yesterday, today, and forever. 591 00:35:42,600 --> 00:35:46,320 And so, God, I know that you can and will and want to meet every 592 00:35:46,320 --> 00:35:47,800 single need that's here right now. 593 00:35:48,120 --> 00:35:51,840 And God, we just trust you to do it the way that you know is 594 00:35:51,840 --> 00:35:53,280 best. But I pray that we would come 595 00:35:53,280 --> 00:35:56,360 with expectation right now in our response for what you're 596 00:35:56,360 --> 00:35:58,080 going to do. We would play our part of 597 00:35:58,080 --> 00:36:00,800 putting our faith in you, and you would do your part of 598 00:36:00,800 --> 00:36:03,560 healing and working in our lives in ways that go beyond our 599 00:36:03,560 --> 00:36:05,760 understanding. In Jesus name, Amen.