The Sickness Excuse (Part II)

ISSUE: ‘I don’t feel like going to work.  I’ll just call in sick!’

“Now a certain man was there who had an infirmity thirty-eight years.  When Jesus saw him lying there, and knew that he already had been in that condition a long time, He said to him, ‘Do you want to be made well?’ The sick man answered Him, “Sir, I have no man to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up; but while I am coming, another steps down before me.”  John 5:5,6 , New King James Version

RESEARCH AND STUDY

Let me direct that same question to you – do you want to be made well, yes or no? You might ask, “What kind of question is that?”  It’s actually a very legitimate one because there comes a time when you’re going to have to ask yourself do you really want to be healed or have you been enjoying the excuse, attention, pity, and lifestyle your sickness has garnered you.

Have you ever pretended or extended your sickness to get out of doing something you didn’t want to do?  Sure, we all have.  Because when someone’s sick, we tend to excuse them from their responsibilities.   We let them get away with not completing their assignments.  Corporate America has even allocated a few times a year when you’re paid to be excused from your assignments and responsibilities – they call them ‘sick days.’  The medical field has even designated seasons of sickness; they’re referred to as the ‘cold or flu season.’

But when Jesus posed the question to the man that had been sick for thirty-eight years, he got three excuses; “Sir,(trying to sound all pitiful) I have no man to put me into the pool (excuse #1) when the water is stirred up; (excuse #2) but while I am coming, another steps down before me (excuse #3).” 

Notice Jesus heard the all three excuses but did Jesus say, “You’re right, call in sick!” or “They sure did.  You need to call Morgan & Weisbrod to get your disability started.”  No, Jesus said, “Rise, take up your bed and walk.”  In other words, ‘Don’t nobody want to hear all that.  Get up!  Clean this mess up and do what God created You to do!’ 

My hope is that you no longer use the sickness excuse but that you’ll rise.  Prayerfully you’ll no longer excuse the sickness in your body to the point that you continue to allow pain the right to continue to oppress you and that you’ll take your healing, walk, and do what God created You to do.

YOUR ASSIGNMENT

Ask God to forgive you for all the times you used the sickness excuse. 

RESOURCES

http://flcbranson.org/listseries.php?xml=QuestionsAboutHealing.xml

Healing: Do You Want To Be Made Well?

ISSUE: ‘Are you sick because God is punishing you, trying to teach you something, or because its His will?’

Now a certain man was there who had an infirmity thirty-eight years.  When Jesus saw him lying there, and knew that he already had been in that condition a long time, He said to him, ‘Do you want to be made well?’

John 5:5,6 , New King James Version

RESEARCH AND STUDY

Do you want to be made well? Then the first thing you must do is settle it in your heart that it is GOD’S WILL for you to be healed and be made well.  I know that seems a bit elementary, but many believe God is punishing them and that’s why their sick.  Others think He’s trying to teach them something.  Some are even convinced that it’s God’s will, that He wants them to be sick. 

Let’s jus think about that for a minute.  If He’s punishing you, then when is the punishment up - when you get healed?  Well, what if you get healed and do the same thing you did that you thought He was punishing you for in the first place?  Does that mean you’re supposed to be sick for the rest of your life?

Okay then well if He’s teaching you something, then what did you learn?  I’ve even heard some preachers teach that sickness is a good teacher.  But the Bible teaches that the Holy Spirit is our teacher (John 14:26); so is the Holy Spirit supposed to teach us how to be sick?   

If it’s God’s will for you to be sick, then why are you taking medicine and going to the doctor trying to get better?  If it’s His will that you be sick, stay sick.  Stop taking those prescriptions and going to the doctor and sit down some where and stay sick for Jesus!

But if in fact God ISN’T punishing you or trying to teach you something and that it’s NOT His will that you be sick, then, you’re going to have to make up your mind and settle that issue in your heart. Because if you continue to believe that it is God’s will for you to be sick and you’re taking medication at the same time, then you’re disobedient and once again, by default, need to be punished with more sickness. 

So what is God’s will?  God’s will is in His Word and His Word says in Isaiah 53:5 that, ‘…He was wounded for [YOUR] transgressions, He was bruised for [YOUR] iniquities; the chastisement for [YOUR] peace was upon Him, and by His stripes [YOU]  ARE HEALED.’  That’s God’s will. PERIOD.

YOUR ASSIGNMENT

Re-read this issue a few more times if you’re sick.  Pray and ask God to reveal His will for you – in the Word! Go over Isaiah 53:5 and insert your name or the word ‘my’.  “But He was wounded my Staci’s trangressions.  He was bruised for my…’ Make it personal.  Look up the words transgressions, iniquities, chastisement. 

RESOURCES

http://flcbranson.org/listseries.php?xml=QuestionsAboutHealing.xml

The Subtleties of Complaining (III) : Complaining When You're Commenting

ISSUE: ‘I’m just making casual conversation!’

‘nor complain, as some of them also complained, and were destroyed by the destroyer.’  I Corinthians 10:10

RESEARCH AND STUDY

Do you realize how often people complain in casual conversation? Remember, complaining means to protest, whine, find fault, nitpick, nag, object, and criticize.  But you can be engaging in small talk and someone will comment about how hot it is.   Ask someone how they’re doing and you’ll get a litany of ailments.  Compliment someone and they’ll tell you how inexpensive the item you just complimented really is.  Let’s not even bring up President Obama and the economy.  The common denominator in each example – complaining.   You may not have intentionally set out to complain, but by your casual conversation you ended up there. 

Or let’s use another example of commenting when you’re actually complaining. Say for instance a man is unattractive. The object of his affection commented to her friends he was so ugly that he looked like a backyard frog.  What she said – was it a complaint or a comment?  If you answered both, you’re correct.  We learned in our last issue that another definition of complaining means to curse and when you curse you are saying something bad about someone. So you see her comment while having a casual conversation with her friends was actually a complaint. 

Others complain or speak bad about people or situations because they feel that by doing so they’re telling it like it is. True, but that doesn’t make it right or that you were suppose to tell anything at all. God once told me to keep my penetrating observations to myself.  Remember when our parents told us that ‘if you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all’ – that’s sound advice. 

Once again, 1 Corinthians 10:10 says, ‘…some of them complained and were destroyed by the destroyer.’  Remember, destroy means to lose.  So let me ask you a question.  If you knew that every comment, fly remark, or witty repertoire you took part in would result in you actually losing something, would you say it?  Yeah, you might but know your verbal assaults will cost you something.

YOUR ASSIGNMENT

Listen to yourself, I mean really listen.  Pay attention to how much of your day is spent casually commenting.   Ask yourself, ‘will these conversations cause me to lose something?’  If so, ask God to forgive you and ask Him for grace for your casual conversations. 

PRACTICAL APPLICATION

Enlist your relatives, friends, and co-workers.  Take up a collection every time one of you complains.  The person with the fewest occurrences wins!

RESOURCES

https://ww2.micahtek.com/nexolive/nShop_Detail.cfm?zItem=527&CFID=31573023&CFTOKEN=61596017

Complaining (II) : Is Arguing the Same as Complaining?

ISSUE: ‘I like to argue.’

‘nor complain, as some of them also complained, and were destroyed by the destroyer.’  I Corinthians 10:10

RESEARCH AND STUDY

There are several components to complaining; one of which is arguing.  According to Wikipedia, when you argue you are trying ‘to persuade someone, by giving reason or evidence for accepting a particular conclusion.’  Simply put, you have opinions or ideas in which you see as right and you want to persuade other people to do or think the same way you do.  If however, those people don’t share those same opinions or ideas, you become combative.  So much so that you’ll raise your voice, work your neck, use hand gestures, throw objects, or become verbally or physically abusive.

You might ask, what does arguing have to do with complaining?  Well, complain means ‘to protest, whine, find fault, nitpick, nag, object, and criticize’ to name a few.  So when you argue, aren’t you usually protesting, nagging, or objecting to what they said, did, or were intending to do?  Weren’t you trying to loudly persuade them?  Thus by default and quite subtly, arguing is a component of complaining.

But remember I Corinthians 10:10 says that when ‘some of them complained’, the destroyer destroyed.  Destroy means to lose – so when you complain, you’ll lose and when you argue, you’ll lose.  But what?  The grace needed to persuade in that situation. 

I know there’ll be times when you’ll be tempted to argue.  I mean you can’t let them talk to you like that.  But at the end of the day, what’s more important; that you won the argument or that you lost God’s grace?

YOUR ASSIGNMENT

Pay attention to the situations, people, or things that cause you to complain or argue. Write them down if you need to.  See if you notice a pattern.  If so, pray and ask God how to handle those situations. 

Complaining

ISSUE: What’s wrong with complaining?

‘nor complain, as some of them also complained, and were destroyed by the destroyer.’  I Corinthians 10:10

RESEARCH AND STUDY

According to scripture, when ‘some of them complained’, they ‘were destroyed by the destroyer.’ Destroy means ‘to perish’ or ‘lose’.  Thus when you complain, ‘loss’ will occur. But what will you lose?  The grace needed to overcome in that situation.

Why?  Because when you complain you are speaking the destroyer’s language and thus invoking his ability to work in your life.  What you complain about will begin to work against you because you are now directing his words toward that object, person, or situation and not God’s word.  And without God’s word, there will be no grace available to ensure victory over whatever or whomever brought about the situation in the first place.

Whenever there’s an opportunity to complain, ask God for grace not to.

YOUR ASSIGNMENT

Ask God to begin to reveal to you the subtleties of complaining.  Ask Him to bring it to your attention every time you complain and then pray for grace.