Everyone
needs a doctor at one time or another. At
some point or another you will need some help.
We may want to believe that we will never have to go to the doctor or
the hospital, but the fact of the matter is we will all need to sooner or
later.
I got my arm broke when I was playing football in the eighth grade at
Crichton Junior High School in Quinwood, WV.
My arm had a compound fracture that could not be easily set. I was taken to Fairlea, to Ronceverte, and finally to
Pinceton Hospital before a doctor could be found who had the ability to get my
broken arm back into place. I
was tired of traveling, but now I am glad that my parents and doctors
continued to work on my arm and move me around until they found someone that
could help me.
In the church we deal with a different type of illness that effects the
whole person. It isn’t just
limited to the physical or the spiritual, but it is a soul sickness that
infects the whole. It is called
sin. There is truly only one
known doctor that can heal this illness.
He is the great physician and his name is called Jesus.
When he came He ran into opposition from those who didn’t like what
He was doing. This is the story
of one such encounter. Jesus is
the great physician and now we are the people who have been given the
opportunity to serve.
Luke
5:28 (KJS) And he left all, rose up, and followed him. 29 And Levi made him
a great feast in his own house: and there was a great company of publicans
and of others that sat down with them. 30 But their scribes and Pharisees
murmured against his disciples, saying, Why do ye eat and drink with
publicans and sinners? 31 And Jesus answering said unto them, They that
are whole need not a physician; but they that are sick. 32 I came not to
call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. 33 And they said unto
him, Why do the disciples of John fast often, and make prayers, and likewise
[the disciples] of the Pharisees; but thine eat and drink? 34 And he said
unto them, Can ye make the children of the bridechamber fast, while the
bridegroom is with them? 35 But the days will come, when the bridegroom
shall be taken away from them, and then shall they fast in those days. 36
And he spake also a parable unto them; No man putteth a piece of a new
garment upon an old; if otherwise, then both the new maketh a rent, and the
piece that was [taken] out of the new agreeth not with the old. 37 And no
man putteth new wine into old bottles; else the new wine will burst the
bottles, and be spilled, and the bottles shall perish. 38 But new wine must
be put into new bottles; and both are preserved. 39 No man also having drunk
old [wine] straightway desireth new: for he saith, The old is better.
Who
are the spiritually sick?
They that are whole need not a physician; but they that are sick. 32
I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.
Does
the doctor make house calls
or do the sick come in for an appointment?
Will
the doctor go into the rooms of the sick?
Do today’s spiritual physicians make house calls?
Do we go out to those who live in the world that need the Lord in their
lives or do we sit and wait for them to come in? What should we do?
Stay
in touch with the great physician through prayer.
Now
that we await the return of the Lord we can stay in touch through prayer.
We must stay in touch and in relationship.
The disciples could eat and talk with the Lord in person, but now we
are in touch through the gift of the Holy Spirit.
New
Wine in Old wine skins? What does this have to do with healing? The old wine skins are the Pharisees who couldn’t see the
reason for Jesus’ going to sinners. They
couldn’t accept the new way that Jesus was introducing.
The danger we face today is getting so set in our traditions that like
the Pharisees we become hardened and unbendable to the Spirit’s touch.
It would be like today’s doctors saying no to new medicines and
techniques that have transformed our modern medicine philosophies.
We have to continue to stay fresh, up to date, and in touch with the
great physician who will bring in the new wine.
He will push us out as the new wine ferments it expands and transforms
the wineskins to meet the new expectations.
With
the modern society in which we live we have to stay touch with the lost to
connect them to the Savior, who is the One who can truly help them.
Opening the doors of the church for the lost to come in with their
problems.
Will
we be new or old wine skins? Will
we be the those who go out to bring in the lost and the needy?
If we will then we will be with the Lord.
Think of those tonight who need the Lord. Do you know anyone like that?
How can the Lord use you to bring them to his hospital?