Through Moses\u00bb simp\u00adle pray\u00ader \u00abOh God, heal her\u00bb, Miri\u00adam was hea\u00adled of lepro\u00adsy. Even today, God\u2019s holi\u00adne\u00adss heals. Sin\u00adce the first time man ques\u00adtio\u00adned God in the Gar\u00adden of Eden, ill\u00adness has been part of our exis\u00adtence on earth. When we pray for heal\u00ading, we do so with the gre\u00adat cer\u00adtain\u00adty that God always heals \u2013 some\u00adti\u00admes in the now, one hundred per cent tomorrow.<\/p>\n
After his encoun\u00adters with the holy God, Moses\u00bb face sho\u00adne so bright\u00adly that he cover\u00aded it with a cloth. He was sanc\u00adti\u00adfied by the holi\u00adne\u00adss of God. One day the\u00adre was a fami\u00adly quar\u00adrel with sis\u00adter Miri\u00adam, who was a pro\u00adphe\u00adtess, and brot\u00adher Aaron, who was a priest. The two siblings spo\u00adke dis\u00adpa\u00adra\u00adgin\u00adgly about Moses\u00bb wife becau\u00adse of her brown skin colour. Howe\u00adver, it was pro\u00adba\u00adb\u00adly less about racial issues and more about Moses\u00bb spe\u00adcial pro\u00adphe\u00adtic posi\u00adti\u00adon. \u00abThey asked: \u00abHas the Lord real\u00adly only spo\u00adken through Moses? Has he not also done it through us?\u00bb And the LORD<\/span> heard\u00bb (Num\u00adbers 12:2 NLB<\/span>). Envy, jea\u00adlou\u00adsy and com\u00adpe\u00adti\u00adti\u00adve\u00adness are the par\u00adents of this ques\u00adti\u00adon. Moses bears this humi\u00adlia\u00adti\u00adon quiet\u00adly: \u00abMoses was very hum\u00adble; the\u00adre was no one on earth more hum\u00adble than he\u00bb (v.3 NLB<\/span>). So he lea\u00adves the mat\u00adter to the Lord. \tMiri\u00adam was hea\u00adled of lepro\u00adsy (Gene\u00adsis 12). What was the cau\u00adse of the dise\u00ada\u00adse? What was her con\u00adtri\u00adbu\u00adti\u00adon to the heal\u00ading? What was Moses\u00bb contribution? Through Moses\u00bb simp\u00adle pray\u00ader \u00abOh God, heal her\u00bb, Miri\u00adam was hea\u00adled of lepro\u00adsy. Even today, God\u2019s holi\u00adne\u00adss heals. Sin\u00adce the first time man ques\u00adtio\u00adned God in the Gar\u00adden of Eden, ill\u00adness has been part of our exis\u00adtence on earth. When we pray for heal\u00ading, we do so with the gre\u00adat cer\u00adtain\u00adty that God always heals\u2026<\/p>","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":7220,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","wpfc_preacher":[23],"wpfc_sermon_series":[90],"wpfc_sermon_topics":[],"wpfc_bible_book":[],"wpfc_service_type":[12],"class_list":["wpfc_preacher-matthias-altwegg","wpfc_sermon_series-heilig-heilig-heilig","wpfc-sermon-single","post-7209","wpfc_sermon","type-wpfc_sermon","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","wpfc_service_type-gottesdienst"],"acf":[],"sermons_blog_filters_topics":"\t\t\t\t
\nIll\u00adness in a fal\u00adlen world
\nThe con\u00adse\u00adquen\u00adces of this attempt\u00aded coup were devas\u00adta\u00adting for Miri\u00adam. After a brief dia\u00adlo\u00adgue in which the Lord reaf\u00adfirm\u00aded Moses\u00bb spe\u00adcial posi\u00adti\u00adon, she tur\u00adned white as snow with lepro\u00adsy. Ever sin\u00adce God was first ques\u00adtio\u00adned by man in the Gar\u00adden of Eden, ill\u00adness has been part of our exis\u00adtence on earth. Sin is the cau\u00adse of ill\u00adness. Sin means put\u00adting your trust in some\u00adthing other than God.
\nI recent\u00adly came across two tra\u00adgic sto\u00adries. In the maga\u00adzi\u00adne Auf\u00adAt\u00admen 1\/2023, Mir\u00adjam, mother of three school\u00adchild\u00adren, descri\u00adbes how her hus\u00adband Sebas\u00adti\u00adan fell ill with can\u00adcer and died at the age of 42. Almost at the same time, I read about a fami\u00adly of six in the Eas\u00adter edi\u00adti\u00adon of the news\u00adpa\u00adper \u00abVier\u00adtel\u00adstun\u00adde f\u00fcr den Glau\u00adben\u00bb. The father named Eli\u00adas, a secon\u00adda\u00adry school tea\u00adcher, died of a pul\u00admo\u00adna\u00adry embo\u00adlism on 1 Decem\u00adber 2021 at the age of just 41. Sebas\u00adti\u00adan and Eli\u00adas \u2013 two fami\u00adly men in their prime \u2013 fall ill and die. This is the sad rea\u00adli\u00adty in a fal\u00adlen world. And what does God do? Nothing?
\nAt one point, Jesus asks whe\u00adther the eigh\u00adte\u00aden men who were kil\u00adled by a fal\u00adling tower were the grea\u00adtest sin\u00adners (Luke 13:4). \u00abNo. I tell you again, unless you rep\u00adent and turn back on your way, you will peri\u00adsh in the same way\u00bb (Luke 13:5 NLB<\/span>). In Miriam\u2019s case, fate struck direct\u00adly and imme\u00addia\u00adte\u00adly after she missed the mark. Howe\u00adver, this is not the case in the vast majo\u00adri\u00adty of cases. Ill\u00adness and sin\u00adful\u00adness do not run par\u00adal\u00adlel in a per\u00adson. Nevert\u00adhel\u00adess, ill\u00adnesses belong in the cate\u00adgo\u00adry \u00abcon\u00adse\u00adquence of the fall of man\u00bb.
\nHeal\u00ading in a fal\u00adlen world
\nTo be holy means to be who\u00adle, com\u00adple\u00adte and hea\u00adled. The holy God heals! It was the same with Miri\u00adam. \u00abAnd Moses cried out to the LORD<\/span>, \u00abO God, heal her\u00bb \u00bb (Exodus 12:13 LUT<\/span>). The heal\u00ading did not hap\u00adpen imme\u00addia\u00adte\u00adly. But after seven days, Miri\u00adam was allo\u00adwed to return to the Israe\u00adli\u00adte camp in per\u00adfect health. God\u2019s self-image is: \u00ab[\u2026] I am the LORD<\/span> your phy\u00adsi\u00adci\u00adan\u00bb (Exodus 15:26 LUT<\/span>).
\nDoes God always heal? The sto\u00adries of Sebas\u00adti\u00adan and Eli\u00adjah, as well as thou\u00adsands of other expe\u00adri\u00aden\u00adces, show that God does not always heal. If Jesus had assu\u00admed that heal\u00ading was always available, he would not have prai\u00adsed his fol\u00adlo\u00adwers in the Last Jud\u00adge\u00adment: \u00abI was sick and you hea\u00adled me\u00bb (Matthew 25:36 NLB<\/span>), but rather: \u00abI was sick and you hea\u00adled me\u00bb. And if God always hea\u00adled, no one would die. Age\u00ading is a form of phy\u00adsi\u00adcal decay. Cell divi\u00adsi\u00adon slows down, the skin beco\u00admes flab\u00adbier, the hair on your head falls out, your eye\u00adsight dete\u00adrio\u00adra\u00adtes. The who\u00adle thing leads inex\u00adorab\u00adly to death. As Paul sta\u00adtes: \u00abFor we know that the who\u00adle crea\u00adti\u00adon has been groa\u00adning with us until now, as with the pains of child\u00adbirth\u00bb (Romans 8:22 NLB<\/span>). The qua\u00adli\u00adty of a church is not first and fore\u00admost demons\u00adtra\u00adted by how powerful\u00adly it heals, but by how lovin\u00adg\u00adly it accom\u00adpa\u00adnies sick people.
\nI am con\u00advin\u00adced that imme\u00addia\u00adte heal\u00ading is by no means always effec\u00adti\u00adve. Some\u00adti\u00admes the holy God also wants to set us right. The\u00adre are also ill\u00adnesses that we our\u00adsel\u00adves cau\u00adse. For exam\u00adp\u00adle, bit\u00adter\u00adness in the heart can lead to psy\u00adcho\u00adlo\u00adgi\u00adcal or phy\u00adsi\u00adcal com\u00adplaints. Recent\u00adly the\u00adre was a pro\u00adgram\u00adme on Swiss tele\u00advi\u00adsi\u00adon about nut\u00adri\u00adti\u00adon. As an exam\u00adp\u00adle, they show\u00aded a for\u00admer ice hockey play\u00ader who only beca\u00adme healt\u00adhy by chan\u00adging his diet. Others have joint or back pro\u00adblems becau\u00adse they don\u2019t move enough. In such cases, a spon\u00adta\u00adneous cure would be an inad\u00admis\u00adsi\u00adble short\u00adcut that would not help to achie\u00adve a las\u00adting impro\u00adve\u00adment in qua\u00adli\u00adty of life. We should defi\u00adni\u00adte\u00adly ask our\u00adsel\u00adves the ques\u00adti\u00adon of our own respon\u00adsi\u00adbi\u00adli\u00adty in the event of illness.
\nAnd yet: the holy God sanc\u00adti\u00adfies and heals! At the time of Moses, lepers had to live out\u00adside the camp becau\u00adse the dan\u00adger of spre\u00ada\u00adding the dise\u00ada\u00adse was too gre\u00adat. Jesus, on the other hand, defied this con\u00adven\u00adti\u00adon and hea\u00adled lepers by tou\u00adch\u00ading them. The holy is stron\u00adger than impu\u00adri\u00adty. That is why it is important to con\u00adnect sick peo\u00adp\u00adle with the holi\u00adne\u00adss of God. I am inspi\u00adred by the simp\u00adle pray\u00ader of Moses: \u00abOh, God, heal them!\u00bb No ten-point pro\u00adgram\u00adme, no magi\u00adcal for\u00admu\u00adla, just a simp\u00adle, con\u00advin\u00adced appeal to the Lord. It is the pray\u00ader of a man who regu\u00adlar\u00adly expo\u00adses hims\u00adelf to God\u2019s holi\u00adne\u00adss. His humi\u00adli\u00adty and aut\u00adho\u00adri\u00adty grew out of this sanc\u00adti\u00adfi\u00adca\u00adti\u00adon. The\u00adse are the basic requi\u00adre\u00adments for a heal\u00ading ministry.
\nWith regard to the king\u00addom of God, we live in the \u00abalre\u00ada\u00addy\u00bb and \u00abnot yet\u00bb. We can alre\u00ada\u00addy expe\u00adri\u00adence the power of God\u2019s new world in a sym\u00adbo\u00adlic way and yet we are not yet expe\u00adri\u00aden\u00adcing God\u2019s king\u00addom in its full\u00adness. The heal\u00ading of the sick is a har\u00adbin\u00adger of the new world, which we can alre\u00ada\u00addy expe\u00adri\u00adence in a sym\u00adbo\u00adlic way, but unfort\u00adu\u00adna\u00adte\u00adly not yet across the board. We expect that healings will also take place in our midst. We want to crea\u00adte space for this and pro\u00admo\u00adte pray\u00ader for the heal\u00ading of the sick.
\nHeal\u00ading in a new world
\nSebas\u00adti\u00adan dies at home, in Mirjam\u2019s arms. One of the sons later says: \u00abWe always pray\u00aded that the can\u00adcer would be bea\u00adten. Now the can\u00adcer is dead and dad is ali\u00adve.\u00bb Eli\u00adas\u00bb room\u00adma\u00adte wri\u00adtes: \u00abOur pray\u00aders for heal\u00ading were ans\u00adwe\u00adred, albeit in dif\u00adfe\u00adrent ways. Eli\u00adas will never have to suf\u00adfer again.\u00bb The wife of the decea\u00adsed Eli\u00adjah says: \u00abWe are not stop\u00adping at Good Fri\u00adday. We go over to Eas\u00adter. That was always very comforting.\u00bb
\nIs this cheap con\u00adso\u00adla\u00adti\u00adon for the after\u00adli\u00adfe? Is it sim\u00adply an expres\u00adsi\u00adon of dis\u00adap\u00adpoint\u00adment and a weak con\u00adso\u00adla\u00adti\u00adon that God did not heal? For me, the most important sen\u00adtence in the Bible on the sub\u00adject of heal\u00ading the sick is: \u00abAll the\u00adse peo\u00adp\u00adle belie\u00adved until they died wit\u00adhout having recei\u00adved what God had pro\u00admi\u00adsed them. But they saw from afar what had been pro\u00admi\u00adsed to them and rejoi\u00adced, for they had reco\u00adg\u00adnis\u00aded and testi\u00adfied that they were only sojour\u00adners and stran\u00adgers here on earth\u00bb (Hebrews 11:13 NLB<\/span>). When we pray for the sick, we do so with gre\u00adat con\u00advic\u00adtion that God\u2019s holi\u00adne\u00adss heals. That is why we pray with Moses wit\u00adhout ifs and buts: \u00abOh God, heal!\u00bb In pray\u00ader and in faith, we bring sick peo\u00adp\u00adle into cont\u00adact with God\u2019s holi\u00adne\u00adss. In doing so, we focus not only on tem\u00adpo\u00adral life, but also on eter\u00adnal life. One of Elijah\u2019s sons says: \u00abThe loss is gre\u00adat. At first I shou\u00adted at God: \u00abWhy are you doing this? Then peace came. The grief is the\u00adre, but the\u00adre is no hope\u00adl\u00adess\u00adness.\u00bb Does God always heal? Yes, he does, but not always in the tem\u00adpo\u00adral life. From God\u2019s point of view, our sal\u00adva\u00adti\u00adon is abo\u00adve heal\u00ading. That is why Wil\u00adhelm Busch once said: \u00abIt is bet\u00adter to belong to Jesus para\u00adly\u00adsed and to be a child of God than to jump into hell with two healt\u00adhy legs!\u00bb
\nIf you are not hea\u00adled despi\u00adte pray\u00ading for the sick, this is not a sign that God has for\u00adgot\u00adten you or does not love you. The deep\u00adly woun\u00added and aban\u00addo\u00adned Hagar pray\u00aded: \u00abYou are a God who sees me\u00bb (Gene\u00adsis 16:13 LUT<\/span>). God sees your need, He hears your cries and devi\u00adses a res\u00adcue plan that will one day be rea\u00adli\u00adsed. We want to be a church that not only prays for the sick, but also accom\u00adpa\u00adnies them. \u00abI was sick, and you cared for me\u00bb (Matthew 25:36 NLB<\/span>). Ask God whe\u00adther He wants to tell you some\u00adthing through your ill\u00adness. Should you chan\u00adge some\u00adthing in your life? Recon\u00adci\u00adle with someone? Work through your life sto\u00adry? Howe\u00adver, it is important to main\u00adtain a holy com\u00adpo\u00adsure in this ques\u00adtio\u00adning pro\u00adcess. If God wants to tell you some\u00adthing, He will do so in such a way that you under\u00adstand. But if you don\u2019t hear any\u00adthing in your suf\u00adfe\u00adring, then let Him pray for you again and wor\u00adship the Lord in awe. It is part of the mys\u00adte\u00adrious holi\u00adne\u00adss of God that we do not under\u00adstand ever\u00ady\u00adthing. And dif\u00adfi\u00adcult times in par\u00adti\u00adcu\u00adlar are invi\u00adta\u00adti\u00adons to God\u2019s glory.
\nMy mum recent\u00adly had to have an ope\u00adra\u00adti\u00adon on her hand. When I asked her how she had got on, she said: \u00abI pray\u00aded so hard that she would\u00adn\u2019t need an ope\u00adra\u00adti\u00adon.\u00bb Howe\u00adver, she then hap\u00adpi\u00adly repor\u00adted that she felt extre\u00adme\u00adly safe and sup\u00adport\u00aded during the ope\u00adra\u00adti\u00adon. The invol\u00advement of a doc\u00adtor and the expec\u00adta\u00adti\u00adon of heal\u00ading by God are not con\u00adtra\u00addic\u00adto\u00adry. The ques\u00adti\u00adon is rather what we put our trust in. It says about King Asa: \u00abIn the 39th year of his reign, Asa was aff\u00adlic\u00adted with a foot ailm\u00adent. Yet even in this serious ill\u00adness he did not seek help from the LORD<\/span>, but only from his phy\u00adsi\u00adci\u00adans\u00bb (2 Chro\u00adnic\u00adles 16:12 NLB<\/span>). He trus\u00adted the doc\u00adtors more than the LORD<\/span> and that sea\u00adled his downfall.
\n
\nGod\u2019s holi\u00adne\u00adss always heals \u2013 some\u00adti\u00admes in the now, one hundred per cent tomor\u00adrow! Based on this con\u00advic\u00adtion, we want to offer the pray\u00ader for the sick dili\u00adgent\u00adly in the see\u00adtal chi\u00adle. We expect heal\u00ading \u2013 we lea\u00adve the timing to God. The evening wor\u00adship ser\u00advice is the per\u00adfect ves\u00adsel for this. We want to do this ser\u00advice like Moses: With the sple\u00adndour of God\u2019s glo\u00adry on our faces, hum\u00adbly, in all sim\u00adpli\u00adci\u00adty and with full con\u00advic\u00adtion of faith.
\n
\nPos\u00adsi\u00adble ques\u00adti\u00adons for the small group
\nBible text rea\u00adding: Deu\u00adte\u00adro\u00adno\u00admy 12 and Hebrews 11:13<\/p>\n
\n\tHow would you descri\u00adbe the con\u00adnec\u00adtion bet\u00adween sin and illness?
\n\tWhat is the poten\u00adti\u00adal of ill\u00adness? What could be the reason when heal\u00ading does not hap\u00adpen despi\u00adte prayer?
\n\tAs an affec\u00adted per\u00adson, how could you deal with the fact that the dise\u00ada\u00adse does not go away despi\u00adte pray\u00ader? How should non-affec\u00adted peo\u00adp\u00adle deal with affec\u00adted people?
\n\tRead Hebrews 11:13, what impact does this ver\u00adse have on our pray\u00aders for healing?<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"