We ought to commit the chorus
of that song to memory and sing it often. Living, he loved me. Dying, he saved me. Buried, he
carried my sins far away. Rising, he justified freely forever. One day, he's coming. Oh, glorious
day. That would just be a blessing
to us to have that song on our hearts all the time. When you
turn to Exodus chapter 15, our subject for this evening is healing. Healing. Look at the last phrase
of verse 26. For I am the Lord that healeth
thee. Now what a name for our Savior. Jehovah Rapha. I am the Lord that healeth thee. Now, you know that in the Old
Testament there are seven different Jehovah's. All names of the Lord
Jesus Christ, which give us some idea of who and what He is to
His people. Jehovah Jireh, the Lord will
provide. You know what that tells us?
Everything He requires of me, He provides. Jehovah Nisi, the
Lord our banner. He is our flag. He is our message. We preach Him. Jehovah Shalom, the Lord, our
peace. Now the Lord doesn't just give
me peace. He himself is my peace. Jehovah Raha, the Lord is my
shepherd. And because my shepherd is the
Lord, I shall not want anything. Jehovah Tzidkenu, The Lord, our
righteousness. He is my righteousness before
God. That just makes me feel good.
Delights my heart. He is my righteousness before
God. Jehovah Shama, the Lord is present. You know, he's present all the
time. He's always there, whether we feel it or not. He's always
present. And Jehovah Rapha, I am the Lord
that healeth thee. Now, if you're sick, if you're
sick, you're interested in a doctor, aren't you? Now, it may be that
you don't like doctors all that much when you're well, but when
you're sick, you become interested in a doctor. Now, you want a
doctor that could do something for you. Now, I believe the New
Testament commentary on this name of our Lord, Jehovah-Rapha,
is this. The whole need not a physician,
but they that are sick. Aren't you thankful that the
Lord presents himself to us as a physician? Who needs a physician? Sick people. People who are sick. I love that scripture. He healed
them who had need of healing. When we're sick, I don't care
if I'm talking about sick in body, sick in mind, or sick in
soul. What a blessing to know Jehovah
Rapha. I am the Lord that healeth thee. I look back at verse 22 of Exodus
chapter 15. So Moses brought Israel from
the red sea and they went out into the wilderness of sure. And they went three days in the
wilderness and found no water. Now, three days earlier, the
children of Israel had passed through the Red Sea. And you
can bet this was still on their mind. And I'm sure they were
on a high thinking about what all the Lord had done for them.
And they were going through the wilderness just three days after
passing through the Red Sea. And they came into a place called
Shur, S-H-U-R. And I thought, what is the significance
of that? Well, this Hebrew word, shur, is the same word that's
translated wall. They came to a wall. They came to a place where they
could not move. Now, perhaps they thought all
their trials were over, but they found out they were wrong in
a big way three days in the wilderness. without water. Now you think
of how severe that would have been and they come into a wall. No water. Now, let's go on reading. They
found no water. This was their wall, verse 23.
And when they came to Marah, they could not drink of the waters
of Marah, for they were bitter. Therefore, the name of it was
called Marah. Now, finally, they come up on
some water. They'd gone three days without
water. And now they come up on water and they think, well, our
problems are over now. They were very happy. I mean, everything
seemed to be great. So they come to these waters,
going three days without drinking. And the waters were bitter. They
were so bitter. They could not drink them. So the people became overwhelmed
with discouragement. Verse 24 says, the people murmured
against Moses saying, what shall we drink? They were discouraged. They were overcome with unbelief.
And I, They had no excuse for it. I mean, look what all they've
experienced. Was there any reason why they shouldn't trust the
Lord at this time after all He demonstrated to them? I mean,
they'd just seen the Red Sea parted and they walked through
it as on dry land. They had no reason for their
unbelief at this time, but they had it, didn't they? They had
it. And they were very discouraged. As a matter of fact, we know
from verse 25 that this was a test. And he cried unto the Lord, and
the Lord showed him a tree, which when he cast it down into the
waters, the waters were made sweet. There he made for them
a statute and an ordinance, and there he proved them, or he tested
them. This was a test. Now, they failed the test. As
a matter of fact, think about this. Whenever the Lord tests
you, when have you ever got an A? Every time I'm tested, I find
out just how weak I really am. Sometimes I might say like David,
my mountain stands strong, but when I'm tested, I find out how
weak I am. Now they were tested at this
time and they failed the test. At any rate, they begin to murmur. You know, there's not one commendable
thing that could be said about them after all they'd seen. Yet
when they come to this wall, they forget everything. And they
began to murmur. Let's look at verse 25. Now they
had been complaining and murmuring to Moses. What shall we drink?
And what does Moses do at this time? And he cried unto the Lord. Now, when you hit a wall, When
there are no windows, there are no doors to get through. There's only one thing to do.
Cry to the Lord. He cried to the Lord. Now, no doubt Moses was exasperated
at this time, so he did the only thing he could do. He cried to
the Lord. Now, you know what? We want to
know what prayer is. Prayer is crying to the Lord. That's as
good a definition as you're ever going to find of prayer. It's
crying to the Lord. And you cry to the Lord because
you've hit a wall and there's nothing you can do about it.
You can't get over it. You can't get through it. There's
not one blessed thing you can do. You know, the only thing
you truly pray about is stuff that you don't have any control
over and can't do anything about. That's when you begin to pray. As long
as you can do something, you don't really But when you're at this
wall they were at, he cried to the Lord. And you know what he
demonstrated at this time? He demonstrated his dependence
on the Lord. Nothing I can do. I'm totally
helpless. There's not one thing I can do about this water, about
making these bitter waters sweet. Nothing I can do. I'm totally
dependent upon you. He demonstrated his dependence
upon the Lord and he showed that he really believed the Lord who
was the only one who could do anything for him. Verse 25. He
cried unto the Lord, and the Lord showed him a tree. A tree. Now, I don't have any doubt that
this points to another tree. I started to say, as a matter
of fact, I have in my notes, Here's the answer to every question,
and here's the solution to every problem. But you know, I don't
so much need to have my questions answered, and I don't so much
need to have my problems solved. I mean, I'd like to have my questions
answered. I'd like to have my problems solved, but what I need,
I need to be saved. I need the Lord to do something
for me. That's what I need. And this is where this tree comes
in, who his own self bear our sins in his own body on the tree. Now let's go on reading. And
he cried unto the Lord and the Lord showed him a tree. Evidently
he couldn't see it until the Lord showed it to him. And when
the Lord showed it to him, he saw it, which when he had cast
it into the waters, the waters were made sweet. Now they were unable to drink
of these waters. They were so bitter. This speaks
of our inability. This speaks of our helplessness.
They were unable to drink of these waters. But Moses has shown
this tree. He bore our sins in his own body
on the tree. This tree was cast into those
bitter waters. And what happened to those bitter
waters? They were made sweet. They were made to be what they
were not. And here's what the cross accomplished.
Here's what the tree of the Lord Jesus Christ accomplished. We
were made to be what we were not, what we're not. We're not
righteous. We're not holy. We're not just
before God. I can go on and on with what
we're not. We're not lovely to God. We're not holy before God. By nature, we're not. That's
just the fact. We're not. We're not. But when
that tree is cast down, that represents the cross of the Lord
Jesus Christ. We're made to be what we're not. I am holy by the cross of the
Lord Jesus Christ. I am. He is my holiness. I am
just before God. I am pure before God. I am righteous
before God. I'm made to be what I'm not. And that's what the Lord did
by his work on the cross. This tree was cast into these
bitter waters and these bitter waters were made sweet. There he made for them a statute
and an ordinance, and there he proved them, there he tested
them. You know, knowing that makes every bitter thing sweet. If you really believe this, that
you are what you were not, and that he did it without your help
by his work on the cross, that makes every bitter thing sweet. I love Scott Richardson's statement,
ever since I heard the good news, I've never heard bad news. He makes every bitter thing sweet. Now they were taught some things
from this. Perhaps they thought after the Red Sea, all would
be easy. They were wrong, weren't they?
Remember this, in the world you shall have tribulation. They
were taught their utter dependence upon the Lord at all times through
this. Now, when they were walking through the Red Sea on dry land
and they saw the water as a wall on either side and they were
walking through, don't you reckon they had some understanding of
their complete dependence upon the Lord? They knew it was only
the power of God and the will of God that was holding up those
waters, and they knew it was an absolute miracle that they
were making their way through. They were totally dependent upon
the Lord at that time, but they found out they're just as dependent
at this time too. And all times were completely
dependent upon the Lord. And they were also taught the
Lord's use of means. He could have just made water
appear, or he could have just willed it, and that water would
have been no longer bitter, it would have been sweet. But he
had this tree cast into the water. Now, I would have guessed he
would have used Moses' rod to do that, wouldn't you? He used
Moses' rod for everything else. That's how I would have guessed
it, but he doesn't. And what that reminds me of is
he doesn't always do things the way we think he would. Aren't
you glad it's that way? He doesn't always do things the
way we think he would. And I think that's great. Now
he uses means. He uses means in healing our
bodies. Now, if you're sick and you're
healed, he healed you, but he uses means. We're going to talk
a little bit about that more in a moment. He uses means in
healing our spiritual sicknesses, the word. prayer, preaching,
all kinds of means. But how clearly, this is how
He truly heals us. By His stripes, by His stripes,
you are healed. Now, He tested them at this time. Let's go on reading, verse 25.
There He made for them a statute and an ordinance And there he
proved them, or he tested them. Now look at verse 26. And he
said, If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of the Lord
thy God, and wilt do that which is right in his sight, and will
give ear to his commandments and keep all his statutes. I
will put none of these diseases upon thee, which I brought upon
the Egyptians, for I am the Lord that healeth thee." Now here
we're given some very clear instruction. First, it has to do with hearing. Diligently hearken to his voice,
diligently hearken to his word. Remember, faith cometh by what? Hearing. Be swift to hear, slow
to speak, slow to pop off, slow to wrath, slow to get, no, be
swift to hear. Oh, may God make me a true hearer,
not somebody that's just not speaking because he's waiting
for his turn to speak, but someone who really listens, listens to
the word of God. He said, if thou shalt hearken
diligently to my word and do what's right in my eyes. Now,
how in the world am I supposed to do what's right in his eyes?
Well, there's only one way that can be done. Without faith, it's
impossible to please God. But with faith, you please God. You do that which is right in
his eyes. That's right in His eyes. As
far as that goes, everything you do is right because believing,
you're justified. Now, He says you're to do that
which is right in His eyes, keeping His commandments, believing His
gospel, hearing His gospel, believing His gospel, loving His people.
Those are His commandments. You're to keep His commandments.
And He says in doing this, in hearkening unto His voice, doing
that which is right in His sight and giving ear to His commandments,
and keep all his statutes. He says I'll put none of these
diseases upon thee which I put on the Egyptians for I am the
Lord that healeth thee. Now here's why I'm not going
to put these diseases on you that I put on the Egyptians because
I am the Lord that healeth thee. Now healing is something everybody
is interested in. If you're physically sick, oh,
it's difficult to be sick. Some of you know something about
that. Some of you don't know much about it yet. You will.
But when you're sick, you are interested in being healed. Lord,
heal me. If you're sick in body, you want
him to heal you. If you're sick in mind, if you're
emotionally sick, then you know that you're a mess. You're a
mess. Your thinking is wrong. You're
emotionally sick. And what you want to do? You
want the Lord to heal your mind. There's certainly something to
being sick in the mind, and we know that, but you want your
mind healed. And oh, if your soul is sick,
if you're sinful, if you're full of sin, and you just say, I'm
sick, I'm sick, I'm a sick sinner, you want to be healed of your
sin disease. Everybody is interested in this
thing of healing, either physically, emotionally, or most especially,
spiritually. They that be whole need not a
physician, but they that are sick. And the Lord is the Great
Physician." Isn't that a precious name of our Lord? The Great Physician. My Great Physician heals the
sick. The lost He came to save, for
me His precious blood He shed, for me His life He gave. our
great physician now let's talk about it in all three aspects
first if you're sick in body if you're sick in body not there's
only one thing to do ask the lord to heal you ask is any sick let him pray
ask the lord to heal you now understand he might not do it
And if you die of your sickness, you're going to get plumb healed,
aren't you? You're really going to be healed then. But when you're
sick, you want to be healed and you ask the Lord to heal you.
Now don't despise the use of means. You know, in James chapter
5 where he says, is any sick, let him call the elders of church,
let him pray on them, anointing them with oil in the name of
the Lord. Now, I don't, I don't, when somebody's
sick, I don't come and get oil out and spread it on them and
so on. I don't feel comfortable doing that because I don't think
that's what that passage of scripture is talking about. What that scripture is
talking about is the use of means. It's medicine. Use the medicine. Whatever it is, use the medicine
that God provides. Remember how oil was used to,
when that, the man laying half dead on the road and they came
in and they poured in oil and wine? It's the use of means.
Remember when Hezekiah was sick? What did they do? They took a
lump of figs. God said, take a lump of figs
and put it on the wound and he was healed. It's the use of means.
We use the use of, I wanna use, listen, I've used all kinds of
uses of means. I mean, Lord has brought me through many things
in that sense, but I use the means. And if you're healed though,
it's really not the means that heals you. It's the Lord who
heals you. You know that, but you use the
means. And is he sick? Let him pray. Let him pray. Ask the Lord to
heal you. But understand you're gonna die
of something. You already know something. Sick of mind. Emotional
problems. He is the great physician. He is the wonderful counselor,
and His counsel is so infinitely above and beyond any human counselor. He is the one to go to, the wonderful
counselor. And let me say this, the most
therapeutic, the most emotionally healthy thing in the world is
faith in Christ. It really is. It does what nothing
else will do. Are you sick in mind? Go to the
wonderful counselor. Sick of soul? Sin sick? Well, he reminds us, I am the
Lord that healeth thee by his stripes. We are healed. And I
love the way Peter puts it. When Peter quotes that passage
from Isaiah 53, he says, by whose stripes you were healed. I am healed of all my sin disease,
of all my sin sickness by the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Well, how? How? He's removed the sin. That's
how. He's removed the sin. So I don't have any sin before
God. I have nothing but righteousness. By his stripes we are healed."
Jehovah Rotha, the great physician. Now, I know something about sickness. I went to the doctor, oh, it's
been six weeks ago, four weeks ago, six weeks ago. It was just
the skin doctors to take one of those little things off my
head, pre-cancer things. I'd never seen him before. He
started looking over all my records. He said, buddy, you used up eight
of your nine lives. I mean, I can't believe you're
still here, you know, because I've had nephrotic syndrome.
I've had kidney problems. I've got a shunt in my head.
I've had cancer twice. I've had an esophagectomy. I've
had a splenectomy. I've had a thoracotomy. I've
had all these hideous sounding things. I mean, I've had a lot
of stuff done to me. I know something about doctors.
As a matter of fact, I went to my doctor today to have my blood
work. It was all fine. It was my regular
checkup. And I was thinking about doctors.
And I said to Dr. Metcalf, I said, I want you to
know I appreciate you. I appreciate a good doctor. I'm
thankful for a good doctor. He's a good doctor. I mean, as
a matter of fact, if I could exemplify, I said, I'd use you
as an example. You're what a doctor ought to
be, in my opinion. One of those Kodak moments. I'm just thinking
about how much I appreciate it. Doctors do this. But when you
want a doctor, first of all, you want a doctor who has some
ability, don't you? Well, this physician
is all powerful. He has all the ability in the
world. And no sickness, no disease that
you have is something that he can't handle. He is all powerful. And you want a doctor who is
qualified. I don't want to go to a doctor
that doesn't have a proper education. I'm not going to do it. If somebody
says, well, I'm a doctor. And I say, well, where were you
educated? Well, I don't have any education. I'm not going to it. I want somebody
who's well qualified, who knows what they're talking about. I'm
not going to go to a doctor that's a quack, that doesn't have any
education. I just don't have any need for
that. Well, this doctor is well qualified. I want a doctor with some experience.
You know, when we picked out a doctor, Paul and Paul here looked for
a doctor for me for this esophagectomy. They looked for a doctor who'd
done this surgery many, many, many times. And it turns out
this fellow that did this surgery on me had done it 2,000 times.
I want a doctor with some experience, someone who's done it a lot.
This great physician has experience. He's got all the experience in
the world. Now, another thing you want out
of a doctor, you want a doctor with a high success rate. I mean,
if you go to the doctor and says, well, I've done this surgery
and I've done this procedure and half the time it works, I
wouldn't feel too good about it. If he even said 90% of the
time it works, it wouldn't make me feel that great. I want someone
who has a high success rate. Well, this physician, the Lord
Jesus Christ, has a 100% success rate. He has never failed. Everybody that he sets out to
heal, he heals. He's never messed up a case. Now, I also like a doctor who
is compassionate. I want him to be tender with
me, compassionate with me. I tell you what, when you're
sick, you feel vulnerable, don't you? You feel helpless. You don't
know what to do. And you want someone who is compassionate. Well, the scripture says regarding
our great physician, he's touched by the feeling of our infirmities. And I want a doctor who I'll
never hear him say, no point in coming back. I've done all
I can do. That won't do me any good at all. I have to have a
doctor who will always receive me and who will never say, I've
done all I can do, but one who does it all. That's the kind
of doctor I need. The great physician, Jehovah
Ratha, I am the Lord that healeth thee. And we want a doctor that
will give us medicine that works. He has a medicine. You know what
the name of that medicine is? Grace. It always works. Now, when you go to a doctor,
he says, I'm Jehovah-Rapha, I'm the Lord that healeth thee. When
you go to a doctor, and Lynn can testify to this. She likes
to go to the doctor with me, because quite often when the
doctor says, how you doing? I say, fine. Well, that's not
what you tell a doctor. Oh, I'm hurting. I'm in bad shape. I'm going to start telling him
what's wrong with me. And when you come into a doctor,
be honest. I'm talking about the doctor.
It's good to do this with a physical doctor. Tell him what's wrong
with you. Tell him your symptoms and so on. But when you come to the physician
of souls, Bear your heart before Him. Be honest before Him. Tell Him every symptom. Confess
your sin before Him. Confess your need of Him. Be
honest with this doctor. There's no point not being, is
there? He knows it all anyway. He knows everything about you
all together. He knows you much better than
you know yourself. He knows you through and through.
There's no point not being honest. Come before this doctor as a
sinner needing his help. It's kind of like going into
surgery. When you go into surgery and they put you under, you are
completely in their hands, aren't you? Completely. Now isn't that a good place to
be with the Lord Jesus Christ? Completely in His hands. I am Jehovah Rapha, I am the
Lord that healeth me. He doesn't offer healing. He's
not like one of these phony religious healers who says, if you have
enough faith, you can be healed. No, He heals. And listen to this, every child
of God, every believer, you are healed. You may feel sick, but
you're healed. By His stripes you were healed. You've already been healed. What a wonderful physician we
have. Isn't it wonderful to have the
Lord Jesus as our Jehovah Rapha? I am the Lord that healeth thee.
Are you sick in body? Go to Him. Are you sick in mind? Go to Him. He's the wonderful
Counselor. There's nothing that He's indifferent
about. Cast all your cares upon Him,
for He careth for you. Be careful for nothing, but in
everything by prayer and supplication make your requests be made known
to God. And the peace of God that passes all understanding
shall keep your soul through the Lord Jesus Christ. Thank
God for Jehovah. He still heals those who have
need of healing. Would that be me? Would that
be you? Let's pray.