Today, we’re going to continue looking at the theme of hope in our message series “Messengers of Hope.” Last Sunday was Easter and we talked about the hope we can have because Jesus was raised from the dead. The resurrection gives us hope because it shows that God can do the impossible. More importantly, the resurrection gives us hope because Jesus is alive today. Jesus is the ultimate object of our hope. The prophet Isaiah prophesied about Jesus, the coming Messiah and said …
Matthew 12:21 (NIV) In his name the nations will put their hope.
What does it mean to put your hope in the name of Jesus? To put your hope in the name of Jesus is to put your trust in everything that Jesus stands for and is capable of doing. Jesus has all power and all authority in heaven and earth. So we can put our hope in him in any and every circumstance, no matter how seemingly difficult. All too often, people give up hope because they think their particular situation is either too difficult for God or that He is not interested in helping them. The Bible is a book about hope. It shows us what Jesus and the Father are like. Not just what they were like thousands of years ago, but what they are like today.
Romans 15:4 (NIV) For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.
The Bible was written to teach you, to encourage you, so that you might have hope. Jesus said that the whole Bible was about Him. That’s why it can bring hope. The Bible is not just ancient history, it is living, because it describes the living Jesus, who lives to bring hope to this world.
Today, we’re going to be talking about “Hope for Healing.” Jesus’ death and resurrection brought healing from God into our lives. First and foremost, it brought spiritual healing. To those who believe in Jesus and accept His forgiveness of their sins, God brings restoration of a relationship with Him. But, Jesus death and resurrection also brings hope for physical healing in this life and that’s what we’re going to talk about today.
You can’t read very much of the Bible without coming across accounts of God healing people. When we read the Gospels, we see that one of the major ministries of Jesus was healing people’s physical ailments. Yet, many people today have little hope for healing, either for themselves or others. In the Bible, we see that Jesus’ healing power drew many people to Himself and I believe that God wants to do the same today. Not only does God want to see those within the church family healed, He wants to use His church as an agent of healing to a hurting world. God wants our church to bring all kinds of healing to the people of St. Louis. So, today, we’re going to look at one account of Jesus’ healing power to learn more.
Listen to or watch my April 15, 2012 message Hope for Healing.