Bulletins - Spring City Fellowship

- - Psalm 150:3NIV2011
At Your Name
Always Only Jesus
Holy And Anointed One
With All I Am
There Is A King
Our Theme for 2025 is “Live Like Jesus”
It comes out of a simple desire to follow Jesus - and to learn better what that means.
We are spending the entire year in the Gospel of Matthew.
We began by going very slowly through twelve verses at the beginning of chapter five, known as the beatitudes.
We skipped ahead to chapter 25 and moved through the teachings and narrative of Jesus’ Passion, leading up to His death and resurrection.
Then we went back to chapter five to pick up where we left off.
Most of the rest of our time in Matthew will be spent examining the way that Jesus describes the renewed life that we have in Christ.
We talked about being salt and light - a demonstration to the world of who God is.
We also talked about living as a changed person - how our orientation toward God changes the way we relate to others and our attitude toward life in general.
Jesus continues to teach about what that transformed life will look like and how we will be different - He calls it bearing “good fruit.”
But what about divine healing?
Didn’t Jesus miraculously heal who crowds of people as part of His ministry on earth?
Is that also part of the renewed life?
We know that Jesus saves our souls, but does that also extend to our bodies?
Romans 8:11 NLT
11 The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. And just as God raised Christ Jesus from the dead, he will give life to your mortal bodies by this same Spirit living within you.
So we can pray and ask God for healing.
But why does it happen sometimes and for some people, but not for other people?
I have examples of both from my own life.
By the time I was 19 I had been involved in five motor vehicle accidents, any one of which could have taken my life. I was hit by a car when I was five; run over by a motorcycle when I was seven. Hit by a car again when I was riding my bike at the age of thirteen. Wrecked a car when I was seventeen and wrecked a motorcycle when I was nineteen.… And I’m still here!
The accident at the age of thirteen was probably the most remarkable example of healing. I was crossing the road on my bike and a car ran a stop sign. The impact was directly on my right leg. I was diagnosed “compound fracture of the right tibia”. Basically, two and a half inched of bone were crushed and scattered throughout the muscle.
I ended up at Pottstown Hospital. My Parents wanted me transferred to Phoenixville but were denied. There was a doctor at the time there who was utilizing a new technology; a live video x-ray. He put the bone back together piece by piece. I was told it was the first surgery of its kind. Any other doctor would have elected to amputate given the severity of the injury. We were told that I might not walk normally, but it would likely be better than a prosthesis. As you know, most of you never knew that I had this injury because my leg is nearly perfect except for the scars.
That was something of a miracle, both the circumstances that brought me to that hospital, the surgery and the better-than- expected recovery.
There are probably dozens of similar stories all around this room.
God heals:
Through the ordering of circumstances.
Through doctors, technology and a myriad of medical and therapeutic interventions.
And also directly, supernaturally and inexplicably.
But I also have a story of a healing that did not come; as least in the way that I expected.
Most of you know and I have shared it before, that my first wife died after a fourteen month bout with cancer. She believed that she would be healed - supernaturally. But we still followed her doctors advice and followed through with the prescribed treatment. The treatments were never never presented to us as a cure, only an attempt to slow down or stop the progression of the disease. We knew that only God’s direct intervention could heal her.
We had hundred, perhaps even thousands of people praying. Some of you were among them. We had a prayer team at our house every evening for a half- hour paying for her. She had a book of healing scripture prayers that she prayed every morning. On days when she was too weak, I prayed them with her or for her. I saw how she would get stronger as she prayed those prayers.
She passed away suddenly, while we were traveling. It was unexpected, at least by me. However, even though my mind could not make sense of what was happening, my spirit was at peace and God miraculously arranged the circumstances around me so that I hade everything I needed. And I was able to do what I needed to do in an extraordinarily short amount of time.
Could God have healed her? Certainly? Yet He was not. absent because there were so many other little miracles that testify to His Presence and involvement.
I can’t tell you why God didn’t heal her directly or through the doctors. But I know He was there. And ultimately, she is healed - one way or another.
I know that some people have difficulty accepting the concept of “ultimate healing”.
I find it comforting - though I might not have come to that conclusion if things had gone differently.
This is a difficult topic - and I don’t pretend to understand it all.
However Matthew chapter eight gives us some helpful pointers in the right direction.
God is willing to heal, but healing requires faith, and that ultimately, healing is for everyone.
God is willing to heal.
Matthew 8:1–4 ESV
1 When he came down from the mountain, great crowds followed him. 2 And behold, a leper came to him and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, if you will, you can make me clean.” 3 And Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, “I will; be clean.” And immediately his leprosy was cleansed. 4 And Jesus said to him, “See that you say nothing to anyone, but go, show yourself to the priest and offer the gift that Moses commanded, for a proof to them.”
God always wants to heal.
Many people, when they pray for healing, pray, “Lord, if it be your will...”
This leper came to Jesus and used the same word “If you are willing, you can heal me.”
In one sense, this makes sense if we understand God’s “will” to be that God knows the big picture of our lives and understands how miraculous or even instantaneous heling would support or interfere with that plan.
But I think that many times we assume that “if it be your will” means, “if you want to, you can heal me.”
This puts God in the position of being the “mean parent” who would sometimes withhold something good from His children:
Perhaps, on one hand, because He knows that what we think is good is not really what best for us.
Or on the other hand, because they perceive God as stern or angry and we don’t deserve his favor.
Or even more accurately, in our heads we are thinking “if it be your will - according to your plan” but our hearts are wondering “does God even WANT to heal me?”
I can assure you that God WANTS to heal you and ultimately, it is exactly according to his plan for us and for the world.
God’s plan is to make all things new in Christ, including the earth and even our bodies.
Romans 8:18–21 NLT
18 Yet what we suffer now is nothing compared to the glory he will reveal to us later. 19 For all creation is waiting eagerly for that future day when God will reveal who his children really are. 20 Against its will, all creation was subjected to God’s curse. But with eager hope, 21 the creation looks forward to the day when it will join God’s children in glorious freedom from death and decay.
Suffering, disease and death are not part of God’s original plan and they are going to be eliminated in the final restoration.
God loves us, and He wants what is good for us!
He has a plan to undo the damage and restore all things.
Unfortunately, we are not there yet - but we are on our way.
So it is possible that we can enjoy some of that future glory, even now!
Jesus’ healing ministry accompanied His proclamation that the Kingdome of God has begun.
Healing is one of the benefits of the Kingdom.
And whenever we see God healing people, it is evidence that God is present and active.
And it points to the fact that God is restoring the goodness of His creation in the earth.
Healing accomplishes a purpose beyond the immediate healing.
Notice that when Jesus healed the leper, He sent him, not out into the crowd, but directly to the leaders of the priests.
Matthew 8:4 CEV
4 Jesus told him, “Don’t tell anyone about this, but go and show the priest that you are well. Then take a gift to the temple just as Moses commanded, and everyone will know that you have been healed.”
It is not that Jesus did not want people to know that He had healed a leper.
He wanted specific people to know first - the priests.
The priests were part of the plan that God had put in place to ensure the health and safety of the community.
However, In Jesus’ day many of the priests were more preoccupied with politics and enjoying the prestige of their office.
Jesus wanted to remind them that God’s purpose is restoration and they have a role in that plan.
By offering the prescribed sacrifice, they would be forced to make the announcement of this man’s healing.
And everyone would know that God heals lepers.
What about your situation or mine?
When we don’t see healing happen; do we get discouraged, thinking that God must not want to heal us?
Or do we rather assume that God must have a way that He wants to do it which will be the most beneficial for what He is ultimately trying to accomplish - the restoration of all things?
You may hear some people say, “whatever brings God the most glory”
And you might hear that as “whatever makes God happy”
As if our suffering would ever make Him happy.
“God’s glory” is that future glory of restoration that the Bible talks about.
It is a glory that we are destined to share with Him.
And surrendering our will “for His glory” is not and admission of defeat, but a declaration of ultimate victory.
His victory - and ours too.
I would refer you back to last weeks message were we affirmed that God is good.
And that we must prioritize His purpose and perspective.
If we are going to participate in what God is doing in the earth.
All of this is part of what we call “faith.”
Healing requires faith.
What is faith?
Hebrews 11:1 NKJV
1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
I have usually heard preachers give this verse as a definition of faith.
However, as a Bible scholar, I think it is more likely that the writer to the Hebrews is assuming that his audience already knows what faith is and that he is adding to their understanding.
After all, he is writing to the “Hebrews” the people of God.
They would have understood faith as being a covenant word.
Faith is exactly what they are - a people who belong to God because they are in covenant with God.
Obedience, loyalty, relationship and trust are all part of the definition of faith.
In fact, you have heard me say it before - faith and faithfulness are the same word in both Greek and Hebrew - the difference is determined by context.
The “unseen” part is referring to the fact that what God has planned is not yet fully realized.
Chapter eleven will go on to refer to God’s actions in the past as further evidence of what He will accomplish in the future.
So faith is not just about believing - but about knowing God and trusting God.
Faith is not “making” ourselves believe something.
Nor is it about removing all doubt from our minds.
It is about cultivating confidence in our relationship with God.
Let’s keep this definition in mind as we consider the role of faith in healing.
Faith brings us into alignment with God’s authority.
Matthew 8:5–9 ESV
5 When he had entered Capernaum, a centurion came forward to him, appealing to him, 6 “Lord, my servant is lying paralyzed at home, suffering terribly.” 7 And he said to him, “I will come and heal him.” 8 But the centurion replied, “Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof, but only say the word, and my servant will be healed. 9 For I too am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. And I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes, and to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”
This is an amazing story - Jesus uses a Roman Centurion to teach a lesson on faith.
Matthew does not use the word “faith” until a few verse later, the word here is authority.
Authority in the NT is defined as the rightful power to act, possess or control.
In the Roman world, authority means you get to make things happen.
This man is not a Jew, he doesn’t understand faith like the Jews would, but he understands authority.
And what is more, he knows that he only has authority because he is part of something much bigger than himself - the Roman Empire.
He tells Jesus that he knows Jesus can heal his servant because he recognizes Jesus as having authority.
In other words, “I know you can make something happen”
That something is beyond human knowledge and understanding.
Because he recognizes that Jesus is part of something bigger than this world - bigger than himself or anything that we can see.
He doesn’t know about faith - but he understands authority and he recognized that there is an authority even greater that the Roman Empire.
SO without even knowing about faith, he exercises faith.
He aligns himself with God by trusting Jesus to do what he cannot do.
He invoked a greater allegiance with Jesus than that of Rome.
For the Jews of Jesus’ day, it would have been unthinkable that a Roman soldier could be more right with God than a Jewish citizen.
After all they were “the bad guys.”
But “bad guys” can turn into “good guys” when Jesus transforms them.
Faith transcends all barriers.
Matthew 8:10–13 ESV
10 When Jesus heard this, he marveled and said to those who followed him, “Truly, I tell you, with no one in Israel have I found such faith. 11 I tell you, many will come from east and west and recline at table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven, 12 while the sons of the kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” 13 And to the centurion Jesus said, “Go; let it be done for you as you have believed.” And the servant was healed at that very moment.
We tend to think that the point of this passage is that Jesus can heal without actually going and touching the person.
But for Matthews audience, the truly remarkable thing here is that Jesus would even consider the request of a Roman Centurion.
And then Jesus goes even further and holds this guy up as an example of faith.
In fact, he has more faith than any Jew Jesus has ever met.
Ouch! - That has to hurt.
You see the Jews are looking for a day when God will right all of the wrongs.
And there will be such a day!
Justice will finally prevail.
Victims will go free and all of the oppressors will be punished.
God’s people will be on the inside and everyone else will be on the outside.
Jesus is essentially saying, “you got it wrong if you think that you will be on the inside because you are a Jew and this guy will be on the outside because He is a Roman.
Faith transcends all of our human categories.
Psalm 24:1 ESV
1 The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein,
God loves the whole world.
The whole world belongs to God.
God chose a people for himself to be a starting point, not a dead end.
Are we still talking about healing - yes.
Let me tie this all together.
When a person is suffering, it tends to narrow our focus.
What is it we say, ”why me?”
We think that God’s decision to heal or to not heal;
to heal miraculously and immediately or to heal ultimately and eternally,
well, we think it has primarily to to with us.
Maybe God doesn’t like me enough?
Maybe I’m not praying and believing hard enough?
Maybe it’s because I messed up and disobeyed God.
Or ...maybe it’s not about you at all!
Maybe it is about what God is doing and you fitting into it all.
Maybe what you are going through is really bigger than you and bigger than all of us?
Joni Erickson Tada became a quadriplegic through a tragic accident in her late teens. Though confined to a wheelchair, she uses it as a platform to minister to thousand of people world wide who suffer with some form of limitation or disability. Sure, she has prayed for healing and she knows that one day, one way or another, she will be. But in the mean time, she doesn’t let it stop her from serving God’s greater purpose for her life.
Joni is quoted as saying, “the greatest good that suffering can do for me is to increase my capacity for God.”
Now that is faith!
In fact, that statement makes no sense unless you understand that connection to God is primary to everything else in your life.
And connection to God is the very definition of faith.
Healing is for everyone.
When you have the bigger picture in mind, you realize that healing is not just for you or about you - it is for everyone.
Even if God chose to heal you of something - yes, that was for you, but it wasn’t just for you or about you.
You have a testimony to share - a tool that use can use to tell people about God.
Or if you have to go through something that is really hard and it doesn’t turn out the way you want it to.
You still have a testimony to share as God is with you through it - and it is still a tool that you can use to show people God’s faithfulness.
It is all in how you look at it.
The Jews of Jesus’ day thought that God’s promise of restoration was only for a select few.
If the Kingdom of God is depicted as an ancient fortress, they saw themselves as being on the inside and everyone else was on the outside.
Healing was considered a sign of God’s favor - that meant you were on the inside.
People like the leper in our story were on the outside, not just figuratively, but literally.
They were considered cursed - rejected by God.
And as such, they were also rejected by those who believed themselves to be on the inside.
Matthew tells the story of Jesus’ healing ministry in a way that intentionally blows apart the distinction.
Not only does Jesus heal a leper - definite outsider.
Then he heals the servant of a Centurion - extreme outsider!
The next person he heals is Peter’s mother-in-law - wait what?
Healing is for those who are serving Jesus.
Matthew 8:14–15 ESV
14 And when Jesus entered Peter’s house, he saw his mother-in-law lying sick with a fever. 15 He touched her hand, and the fever left her, and she rose and began to serve him.
I have heard people say that miraculous healing only happens where the gospel is being spread as evidence of the power of God.
Granted, there might be something to it, because, just observing where we see the most reports of healing, it would seem to be true.
But I also think that such a statement limits our expectation of what God wants to do among us in the way of healing.
Jesus healed Peter’s mother-in-law.
He didn’t say - come to my healing service so I can do it in front of the crowd.
Contrary to everything I have been saying - this healing seems to be a personal and private matter.
She was sick at home, Jesus was there, so He healed her.
And the only greater purpose that we see in the text was so that she could finish making dinner.
I think it is important to balance the idea of healing serving some greater purpose with the observation that sometimes that greater purpose is just so that we can keep on serving Jesus.
Sometimes we talk about healing with the kind of desperation that treats sickness as if it were the ultimate enemy and death as if it were final.
Death is not the worst thing that can happen to you.
Death is just a passage into a fuller life with God.
Death without Jesus is the worst thing that can happen!
The Apostle Paul gives the right perspective:
Philippians 1:21–24 ESV
21 For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. 22 If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell. 23 I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better. 24 But to remain in the flesh is more necessary on your account.
Are we praying for healing because we are afraid of suffering or dreading death?
That is not the Christian perspective according to Paul or any number of Christian witnesses down through the centuries.
Death and suffering are not to be avoided; they are rather seen as the path to glory.
The reason we pray for healing is only that we might fulfill our calling in Christ.
After all, who wouldn’t want to get to their reward early?
I think that the level of comfort that we enjoy in the modern world has inverted our view of suffering and of healing.
Most Christians through the centuries have despised this life and sought for the life beyond this world.
Today, we prize our life and health above everything else and avoid sickness and death as if it were the ultimate curse.
Christians, up until recently, spoke often of heaven, of Jesus return and consoled themselves with the thought of God’s ultimate restoration.
Christians today want Jesus to come to us on our own terms.
We expect God’s blessing to be evident here and now.
And we fear death as this great unknown - as if Jesus existed only in the past or the present and not in the future.
I think we need to reconsider what we think is “the gospel”.
Is the gospel about Jesus making my life better?
Or is the gospel about me giving my life for Him? - because He deserves it!
Healing is part of the gospel.
Matthew 8:16–17 ESV
16 That evening they brought to him many who were oppressed by demons, and he cast out the spirits with a word and healed all who were sick. 17 This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah: “He took our illnesses and bore our diseases.”
Most of the time I have heard this passage preached, the emphasis was on the word “all” as if that were a guarantee that Jesus is going to heal everyone immediately.
As I look at this passage in its context, it seems to me that this is a picture which reinforces the promise that God will eventually restore all things and that the time for this has already begun.
Jesus unveils the mystery of what God will do and is doing to make things right.
The oppressors are not the Romans - they are the demonic forces behind the violent world-dominating powers.
And Jesus evicts them like a bad tenant.
Just as God created the world with a word, He can recreate it with just a word.
Jesus was not afraid of human weakness.
He did not repel sickness and death - in fact, he bore it.
He took it head-on and went through it - for us!
Death no longer has the final word.
Healing is possible.
In fact, it is more than possible - it is inevitable!
Whether we go through suffering and death or are delivered from it is not a matter of God’s preference or ours.
It is a matter of which is the better path toward God’s purpose.
And remember, His purpose is to restore all things n Christ!
Questions for reflection:
What can we learn from the example of the leper and the Roman Centurion about approaching Jesus with our needs? What does it mean to truly trust in God's authority over our healing and our lives? What steps can we take to strengthen our faith so that it aligns with God’s authority in our lives?
How can we reconcile the idea of God wanting to heal us with the reality of unanswered prayers for healing? How do we cultivate a deeper relationship with God that reinforces our faith and trust in His healing power? How can we shift our perspective to embrace God’s ultimate plan for restoration rather than focusing solely on immediate healing?
How does understanding God's desire for restoration change your view of suffering in your own life? In what practical ways can we help those around us who are suffering or in need of healing? How can our personal stories of healing or the lack thereof serve as testimonies to others?
- - Romans 8:11ESV
- - Matthew 8:1–4ESV
- - Romans 8:18–21ESV
- - Matthew 8:4ESV
- - Hebrews 11:1ESV
- - Matthew 8:5–9ESV
- - Matthew 8:10–13ESV
- - Psalm 24:1ESV
- - Matthew 8:14–15ESV
- - Philippians 1:21–24ESV
- - Matthew 8:16–17ESV
You Hold It All Together
Carry The World

Psalm 150:3NIV2011

God is willing to heal.

God always wants to heal.

Healing accomplishes a purpose beyond the immediate healing.

Healing requires faith.

Faith brings us into alignment with God’s authority.

Faith transcends all barriers.

Healing is for everyone.

Healing is for those who are serving Jesus.

Healing is part of the gospel.

Questions for reflection:

What can we learn from the example of the leper and the Roman Centurion about approaching Jesus with our needs? What does it mean to truly trust in God's authority over our healing and our lives? What steps can we take to strengthen our faith so that it aligns with God’s authority in our lives?

How does understanding God's desire for restoration change your view of suffering in your own life? In what practical ways can we help those around us who are suffering or in need of healing? How can our personal stories of healing or the lack thereof serve as testimonies to others?

Romans 8:11ESV

Matthew 8:1–4ESV

Romans 8:18–21ESV

Matthew 8:4ESV

Hebrews 11:1ESV

Matthew 8:5–9ESV

Matthew 8:10–13ESV

Psalm 24:1ESV

Matthew 8:14–15ESV

Philippians 1:21–24ESV

Matthew 8:16–17ESV