It’s got to be the whole picture all together. John 14:12 Jesus said “I tell you the truth. Anyone who has faith in Me will do what I have been doing. He’ll do even greater things than these because I am going to the Father.” So that’s why it has to agree 100% with the life and ministry of Jesus. It has to look like Him because He is the low mark of where we should be. He said you’ll do greater works than these. Right? So until my life and ministry looks like Jesus I’m not satisfied. And then once it does look like Jesus I’m still not satisfied because I’m allowed to go more. That was His promise. That’s not pride. It’s a fulfillment of His prophecy.
AUDIENCE: Amen.
ART: You see pride is when you think higher of yourself than you ought to. But what often happens is we say no, no, no that couldn’t be true of me. You know I could never do anything like Jesus. And really what you’re doing is you’re exalting your opinion above God’s opinion and that’s called pride. But when Jesus says you’ll do greater works and you agree yes, I will do greater works you’re submitting your opinion to God’s opinion and that’s called humility. Fair?
AUDIENCE: Amen, amen.
ART; So don’t worry. Like Romans 12 says don’t think of yourselves more highly than you ought to. That doesn’t mean don’t think of yourselves highly. Don’t think of yourselves more highly than you ought. Fair? Okay. You’re children of the king. You’re a royal priesthood and a holy nation. You see? A people belonging to God. So don’t back off on who He’s made you to be. Now and the last one that it works. You know in James 2, we’re shown that it’s possible, I’m sorry, it’s NOT possible to have faith without action accompanying it. Verse 26 says in James 2: “Faith without works is dead.” So again it has to work.
There’s got to be something there. So let’s look at some healing theology that matches these four things. All right? Number One, let’s start with a concept that agrees 100% with the entire Bible. In Isaiah 53:5 the prophet said this about Jesus. “He was pierced for our transgressions. He was crushed for our iniquities. The punishment that brought us peace was upon Him and by His wounds we’re healed.” Now first of all I want to say something that doesn’t quite apply to this but it does apply to that passage. Some of you are thinking I’ve got my condition because of some sin that I committed and I deserve to have this. Maybe it’s a sexually transmitted disease. Maybe you’ve got lung cancer cause you smoked all your life. Maybe, I don’t know what it is, but you think that your condition is because did something sinful. And that may be true. Maybe you do deserve it. But I’ll actually tell you the truth. You deserve worse because the Bible says the wages of sin is what?
AUDIENCE: Death.
ART: Death. So yeah, you deserve worse than sickness. It’s by God’s grace you’re not dead. So here’s the good news. By His stripes we’re healed but even before that it says He was wounded for our transgressions. There is no wounding that you need for your transgressions if you will submit that to Jesus.
AUDIENCE: Amen. Amen.
ART: There is no bruising you need for your iniquities if you will submit that to Jesus.
AUDIENCE: Amen.
