Telling the Truth

Guest (Male): Today we're hearing from Stuart Briscoe in his message, "Jesus Cured the Sick." It's from his current series of messages, "What Did Jesus Do?" First, in their new five-message series, "Fighting Unseen Forces," Stuart and Jill show you straight from God's Word how you can stand strong against your spiritual enemy and live victoriously in Christ.

We'll send you a copy of this resource as our thanks for your support today to help others experience the life of abundance God wants them to have in Jesus. So call today to request your copy of "Fighting Unseen Forces" at 1-800-889-5388. That's 1-800-889-5388, or you can give online at tellingthetruth.org. Now, I'm going to get out of the way and let Stuart talk to you about what Jesus curing the sick can mean for you.

Stuart Briscoe: Today we're going to look into Luke chapter 4. In Luke chapter 3, we have the account of Jesus being baptized, of the Holy Spirit descending upon him in bodily form. As he was anointed for ministry on that occasion, he then in the fullness of the Spirit is led by the Spirit into the desert, and there he confronts the evil one, and in the power of the Spirit, he comes out of that encounter triumphant.

After he left the desert, he made his way back into Galilee and moved around in the region of Capernaum, that is on the northern end of the Sea of Galilee. And apparently, he engaged in a number of miraculous activities there, including healings, dealing with physical ailments and exorcising demons. After he had spent some time in Capernaum, he went back to his hometown of Nazareth.

And as was customary for him, he went into the synagogue on the day of worship, and he was handed one of the scrolls from the big rack of scrolls in which the scriptures were kept, and he was invited to read. They gave him the scroll of Isaiah. He turned to Isaiah chapter 61, and he began to read the first two verses. I'm reading now from Luke chapter 4, verse 18.

This is what he read: "The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor." Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down.

The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him, and he said to them, "Today, this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing." And the atmosphere was electric. That's not in the Bible; that's my commentary. The atmosphere was electric. Why? Because he had read from the ancient prophecy of that great, great prophet Isaiah, and he had applied that prophecy to himself.

What he was saying, in effect, was this: "For hundreds of years, you have been reading from this venerable scroll. For hundreds of years, you have been looking forward to the time when the prophecy of Isaiah would be fulfilled. Ladies and gentlemen, I have news for you: Today, the fulfillment of this ancient prophecy is about to begin, and it will begin through me. And the Spirit of the Lord has anointed me."

Now, when he said, "The Spirit of the Lord has anointed me," he meant first of all that he had been set apart as a prophet who was going to speak authoritatively God's word. But he not only quoted from Isaiah 61; he quoted from Isaiah 58. And in Isaiah 58, we read that the one who would make this proclamation is also the one who would accomplish it himself.

And so what Jesus was saying when he announced, "This scripture is fulfilled in your hearing today," he was announcing, "Not only am I the anointed prophet, but I am the anointed Messiah through all this will come to pass. Ladies and gentlemen," he said, "this is what you've been waiting for." And so what Jesus is claiming is this: "I am Messiah. I'm introducing the great promised Messianic age when God's favor will be made available to men and women."

And God's favor will be made to men and women in all manner of ways. Some of you will have physical problems, and God's grace will deal with those physical problems. Some of you will be deeply crushed in spirit, and God's grace will deal with those things. Some of you are struggling with the bondage of sin and you need to know the liberating power of forgiveness, and the message of grace is applicable to you too. This day, these things are about to begin in your experience.

So what did Jesus do? He claimed superlative things concerning his own ministry. Now then, immediately, he was challenged by the people of Nazareth. The challenge was basically this: "Listen, you're saying all kinds of big things here, but physician, why don't you heal yourself? Don't just give us all this talk. Come on, deliver. Do something here. We hear that you've done all kinds of miracles down there in Capernaum. How about doing some miracles here? There's a credibility problem here."

Now, we have to admit that the words that you speak are full of grace. That doesn't mean that he was speaking graciously to them. What it meant was his words that were speaking had a profound impact that they could not deny. But even though they could not deny the impact of what he was saying, they were unwilling to embrace it. They were resistant to it. They were highly skeptical of him. And they said, "You give us a miracle."

And he didn't. And he explained to them in a somewhat ambiguous way why he didn't. He said, "Listen, when Elijah went to Zarephath, there were lots of impoverished people there, but he only did a miracle for one of them. And when Naaman came from Syria to Elisha, there were lots of lepers in the world, but only Naaman was healed." And the point that he's making is this: that God does miracles as and when he chooses, not when people demand them.

And God does his miracles as and when he chooses, not when people demand them, when those people, like Naaman the Syrian and the widow of Zarephath, are prepared to humble themselves in abject dependence upon God and say, "God, in your sovereign mercy and grace, look upon me in my need and intervene." And what he's saying to the people of Nazareth, in effect, is this: "And you do not fit into that category. No miracles for you."

There are people who demand miracles when they demand them, and they expect to pull a string and Jesus jumps. And Jesus is not a puppet on a string; Jesus is the Lord on the throne, perfectly capable of intervening in the affairs of men. Perhaps the miracle may be a suspension of the laws that he created, or more likely, a miracle is the introduction of the laws that he created of which we are ignorant.

Some people say they have difficulty with miracles. I've never understood why. The biggest miracle of all time was the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. And Paul challenged some people on this issue, and this is what he said: "Why do you think it incredible that God would raise the dead?" And there's no answer to that question because if God is God, there's nothing incredible about God being God.

And so they demand the miracle, and the answer is no. And they are incensed, and they try to assassinate him. Welcome to the ministry, Jesus. They try to throw him off a cliff. Now, if you go to the city of Nazareth, it's quite a booming city now, but there is one feature that is unmistakable: there is a steep incline and a precipitous cliff. And every time I've seen it, I thought to myself, "I wonder if that's where they tried to kill him at the very beginning of his ministry."

Well, the whole point of this is to find out what Jesus did. What did Jesus do? Well, the answer is that he effected a variety of cures in specific ways. And let's be clear about these cures. After he had had his confrontation in Nazareth, he went back to Capernaum. When he got to Capernaum, he went to the synagogue there. There was a man who was possessed by a demon. It's called an evil spirit. Actually, the word is unclean.

Unclean. It was gross. It was obscene. It was horrible. It was vicious. It was a satanic dynamic that was in control of this wretched, wretched man. The demon, the power in this man, challenges Jesus and says, "We know who you are. You've come to destroy us." And Jesus says to the demon, "Be quiet. Come out of him." And immediately the demon leaves him.

This is what we call an exorcism, nothing to do with Hollywood. This is an exorcism, and the demon comes out of him, and the man, we are told, is left in their midst unharmed. Remember the question: "Have you come to destroy us?" The question is "Have you come to destroy the demon? Have you come to destroy the man that the demon is possessing?" And the answer is "No, I've come to get rid of the demon so that the man will not be destroyed, that he might be released."

And the reaction of the people is fascinating. They said, "We never saw a word like this. We never saw a word like this." Now, that's critical to the story. You see, you would expect in a situation like that where you've got this guy going wild, he's going bananas, he's full of satanic powers and everybody's very scared about it, but fascinated by it and curious about it.

And Jesus comes in and he rebukes the spirit, the spirit goes, and the man is healed. You'd expect the people to say, "Wow, hey, did you see that? Hey, do another one, Jesus, do another one." That was not their reaction. Their reaction was, "We never heard a word like this." What intrigued them, the eyewitnesses, what intrigued them was the authority of Christ over the powers of darkness.

What intrigued them was the authority of Christ over the powers of darkness, and he rebuked those powers that would ruin and mar and hinder human beings from being what God intended them to be.

Guest (Male): Keep listening because there's more to come from Stuart Briscoe, part of the teaching team that makes up Telling the Truth. You can't always see it raging around you, but every day, you're locked in a battle that threatens your spiritual, emotional, and relational well-being. Spiritual warfare is very real, and you can't afford to sit this fight out.

Your spiritual enemy will stop at nothing to keep you from experiencing the abundant and impactful life you're called to in Christ. But you can stand strong in Jesus and the power of his Spirit. And Stuart and Jill want to show you how straight from God's Word by sending you their new five-message series, "Fighting Unseen Forces."

We'll send you this encouraging series as thanks for your gift to help people around the world hear the message of Jesus through broadcasts like this one today. Your gift of support helps Telling the Truth carry the message of God's love to people across the globe so they can experience life in Christ. Call today to request your copy of "Fighting Unseen Forces" when you give. 1-800-889-5388. That's 1-800-889-5388, or you can give online at tellingthetruth.org. Here's Stuart again to talk to you more about Jesus curing the sick.

Stuart Briscoe: What intrigued them was the authority of Christ over the powers of darkness. What intrigued them was the authority of Christ over the powers of darkness, and he rebuked those powers that would ruin and mar and hinder human beings from being what God intended them to be. What he's simply getting across is this: The kingdom has come, and I am the King, and I am in charge.

And there is nothing that affects a human being physically, emotionally, spiritually, psychologically, that I am not greater than—which is a dreadful sentence, but you get my drift. There is nothing in the whole of human experience over which I, as King of the Kingdom, am not Lord and Master. That was his point. And as he engages in this mighty act of curing these people, exorcising the demons, the people begin to get the drift of what he is saying.

And what he's saying in effect is this: "I will engage in curing people, and I will engage in exorcising people, and I will engage in doing whatever is necessary for people to begin to grasp the fact that the Kingdom has coming, that I am the King, and things are going to be different. This is the day of the Lord's favor." Now, what did Jesus do then? What Jesus did was simply this: He engaged in all kinds of activities in order that people's understanding of who he was, of what he'd come to do, might be sharpened in their thinking.

So we ask the question "What did Jesus do?" And part of the answer to the question "What did Jesus do?" is this: He engaged in all kinds of activities that were part and parcel of the announcement, the proclamation of the day of grace and the coming of the Kingdom. He engaged in all kinds of activities that were illustrative of deep spiritual realities.

For that's what the signs were all about. When he opens the eyes of the blind man, it is in order that he might explain to them, "I am the light of the world." When he raises Lazarus from the dead, it is in order that he may explain to them, "I am the resurrection and the life." All that I am doing here in these miraculous events is illustrating the underlying spiritual things that you need to be concerned about.

What else was Jesus doing? What else Jesus was doing was very, very obvious: He was responding out of a heart of compassion with the deepest of human need. Let me suggest to you some things that Jesus would do, and see if we can make application as to what we should do. And the first one that comes so loudly and clearly to me in this whole thing is this: that we should be looking at people as holistic entities.

That we should recognize that people are physical, they are emotional, they are psychological, and they are spiritual, and these things are inextricably bound up in each other. Here's a second thing, I believe. The Lord Jesus was very, very careful to make sure that there was a definite equation between word and deed. When he engaged in the deed, it was in order that he might then demonstrate the power of the word.

When he had something to say, he would then illustrate it in deed. He did not do the one without the other. What would Jesus do today? I believe he would treat people holistically, and I believe he would also make sure that there was a clear equation between word and deed. I also believe that an application of this is that we should be very, very careful that we do not affirm too much and deny too little, and deny too much and affirm too little.

Now, if that sounds complicated, let me assure you it is. But you can chew on it; don't gag on it, chew on it. It is possible for us to affirm too much and deny too little. It is possible for us to deny too much and affirm too little. Let me tell you the kind of extremes we get into. There are some people who will say categorically, "The day of miracles is over." They're wrong.

There are some people who will say, "God is in the healing business, and he will heal everybody, at any time, under any circumstance. And if you are not healed, it is either because you've got a demon, or it's sin, or lack of faith." And they're wrong. If we look at Scripture holistically, we will begin to discover that there were some situations where God did heal and there was some where he didn't heal.

And that it is not necessarily a matter of faith; it is a matter of who you put your faith in. Some people have faith in faith. Some people fall in love with love. They're both equally nonsensical. Having faith in faith won't do anything for you. It's who you have your faith in that matters. And the one you have faith in is the sovereign Lord, who is the King of the Kingdom, who is interested not just in fixing your immediate problem quickly and cheaply and painlessly, but a God who is interested in working in your life in order that the glory of the Kingdom might be manifested.

So what can we expect Jesus to be doing? We can expect him to be dealing with people in such a way that the message of the Kingdom is clear, that people are treated holistically, that there is a clear equation between word and deed, and that people are being addressed at the point of their deepest need because the sovereign Lord is working out his purposes.

What would Jesus do? I think what he would do would be go around and announce the Kingdom. I think he would illustrate it by demonstrating his authority in all areas of human need, where men and women in simple faith would trust on him sovereignly to be gracious to them. I think he would have deep concern and compassion for people.

And I think he would teach them that it's just possible that they're overlooking the fact that the miracle of healing is constant health. I've gone through years of one healing after another. It's called health. And one day, God will let me join the human race, and it won't be quite so easy. And then one day, he'll let me get better.

Guest (Male): Stuart returns with some closing thoughts in a moment. But first, between the pressures of paying bills, taking care of your family, and keeping up with a chaotic calendar, it's easy to feel outnumbered and overmatched. And those are just the visible challenges you face each day. The unseen forces of evil can make life seem even more overwhelming, threatening your spiritual, emotional, and relational well-being.

But you're not without help and hope. And in their new five-message series, "Fighting Unseen Forces," Stuart and Jill Briscoe show you how you can live victoriously, knowing that with Christ and his Spirit, you're never alone. This new series is our thanks for your gift of support to help more people experience life through the resources and teaching of Telling the Truth.

Generous friends like you keep broadcasts like this one today going, even reaching people in places that are closed to the gospel. So if you haven't given before, now is a great time to jump in and help keep God's Word going out around the world to you and many others. And remember to request your copy of "Fighting Unseen Forces" when you call and give. Just call 1-800-889-5388. 1-800-889-5388, or you can give online when you visit tellingthetruth.org. Now, here's Stuart to answer some questions and give you more insight into today's topic.

Stuart, if I pray to be delivered from a problem or an illness and nothing happens, what should I do?

Stuart Briscoe: There's a very interesting assumption in this question. If I pray to be delivered from a problem or illness and nothing happens, what should I do? The assumption is if I don't get the kind of answer that I want, nothing is happening. Well, that clearly is not the case. If we ask God for something, surely we recognize that God is perfectly free to respond in different ways.

One way in which he would respond would be "Yes, certainly." Another way would be "Not now." Another way would be "Absolutely no." Another one might even be "You've got to be kidding." In other words, God is perfectly free to answer in all kinds of ways. So I would not accept the underlying premise of the question that if we don't get a yes answer, nothing is happening.

God works according to his own timetable. And he does answer our prayers. And he answers our prayers in the way that is best for us and fits into his grand cosmic plan.

Guest (Male): And would you say that working hard to please people is not the same thing as loving them?

Stuart Briscoe: Working hard to please people is certainly not the same thing as loving them. I can work very, very hard to please somebody—that is, give them what they want when I know perfectly well it's not the best thing for them. Now, if I'm interested in loving a person, what that means is I am primarily concerned about their well-being.

All right, what pleases them may not be what is primarily the best thing for their well-being. And so what is it that I'm trying to do? Am I just trying to keep them happy, or am I looking further down the road? Instead of immediate gratification, perhaps, for this person so that they'll be happy because they got their own way or they got what they wanted, is it possible that a really loving thing to do is to say, "No, I'm sorry. I think that would be very unwise for you to go there, to do that, to enter into this relationship. And I know it's going to be hard for you to hear this, but I love you. And because I love you, I want the best for you. And so you're not pleased with me, but this is the best thing for you. I love you." I think that's the way to go about it.

Guest (Male): Thanks, Stuart, for answering these questions for us. Before we go, we want to remind you that this month, when you give to support Telling the Truth broadcasts like this one today, we'll send you Stuart and Jill Briscoe's five-message series, "Fighting Unseen Forces." This powerful new series will help you stand strong in Christ and in the power of his Spirit against the enemy, so you can live victoriously each day.

Please request your series when you call 1-800-889-5388. 1-800-889-5388, or you can give online when you visit tellingthetruth.org. Thanks for joining us today on Telling the Truth with Stuart and Jill Briscoe.