Every believer has a mighty Helper. Even the weakest child of God can make this claim. In today’s post, we take a look at one area where the Spirit of God will lend His aid on your behalf as we continue Roaming through Romans.
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In this episode, we look at the man who was healed at the Pool of Bethesda from a different angle. We ask the question, ‘How would you have ministered to this invalid man who was sick for thirty-eight years if you were walking in Jesus sandals?
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John Flavel said, ‘It is easier to declaim, like an orator, against a thousand sins of others than it is to mortify one sin, like Christians, in ourselves; to be more industrious in our pulpits than in our closets; to preach twenty sermons to our people than one to our own hearts.’ 1 Mortifying sin was Paul’s subject here in Romans 8:12-13. What can we learn about how to put this into operation in our everyday lives?
In this episode, we look at the way Jesus ministered healing to one man at the Pool of Bethesda. By a manifestation of gifts of the Spirit, Jesus gave both hope and healing to a man who had been sick thirty-eight years. What Jesus did for this one man, He will do for you.
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What is a Christian? In the Letter to Diognetus, which dates back to the second century A.D., an anonymous writer describes a strange people who are in the world but not of the world.
“Christians are not differentiated from other people by country, language, or customs; you see, they do not live in cities of their own, or speak some strange dialect. They live in both Greek and foreign cities, wherever chance has put them. They follow local customs in clothing, food, and other aspects of life. But at the same time, they demonstrate to us the unusual form of their own citizenship. “They live in their own native lands, but as aliens. Every foreign country is to them as their native country, and every native land as a foreign country.
“They marry and have children just like everyone else, but they do not kill unwanted babies. They offer a shared table, but not a shared bed. They are passing their days on earth, but are citizens of heaven. They obey the appointed laws and go beyond the laws in their own lives.”
“They love everyone, but are persecuted by all. They are put to death and gain life. They are poor and yet make many rich.”
“They are dishonored and yet gain glory through dishonor. Their names are blackened and yet they are cleared. They are mocked and bless in return. They are treated outrageously and behave respectfully to others.”
“When they do good, they are punished as evildoers; when punished, they rejoice as if being given new life. They are attacked by Jews as aliens and are persecuted by Greeks; yet those who hate them cannot give any reason for their hostility.” The word “Christian” has lost much of its meaning in our culture. It means “Christ in one.” 1
In this episode, we look at Jesus healing on the Sabbath Day. Since Jesus operated under the Old Covenant, the question invariably arises, why did He minister this way?
Port Authority Police Department officers Will Jimeno and John McLoughlin were the last two people rescued from the World Trade Center after the September 11 terrorist attack. For Will Jimeno, that tragic day represents a defining moment in his Christian faith. Jimeno, McLoughlin, and three other officers entered Tower 1 to rescue civilians. But when they got inside, the building collapsed. McLoughlin and Jimeno were pinned under large blocks of concrete rubble and twisted steel. The other three officers were killed. For the next ten hours, Jimeno and his partner fought pain and thirst inside a concrete tomb swirling with dust and smoke. At times, ruptured gas lines would hurl fireballs into the ruins, threatening to burn the two men to death. In another terrifying moment, heat from the fireballs “cooked off” the ammunition inside the firearm of a fallen officer, sending fifteen bullets ricocheting around the chamber.
Jimeno’s hope began to falter. “I was exhausted. I had done everything as a police officer that I could do, and everything as a human being,” he said. “I just knew I was going to die.” Just then, Jimeno saw a figure coming toward him through the rubble. “He wore a glowing white robe and a rope belt,” Jimeno said. “I couldn’t see his face, but I knew it was Jesus.” The vision filled Jimeno with hope. “I had this resurgence of the will to fight,” he said. Turning toward McLoughlin, he yelled, “We’re going to get out of this hellhole!” Several hours later, U.S. Marines and NYPD rescue workers lifted the men out of their concrete prison. The events of that day have given Jimeno a new perspective on the brevity of life. He noted that, even if a person lives to be ninety years old, that’s only a little over thirty-two thousand days. “It’s not that many,” Jimeno said. “You have to do good and do right with the small period you have in between.” 1 Jimeno had a vision of Jesus. The Lord enabled him to momentarily be in the Spirit. Paul references the phrase in the Spirit in Romans 8. What can we learn from Paul about this place called ‘In the Spirit’?
In April 2000, a boy named Nathan was in a near-fatal car accident while trying to avoid a deer. When he arrived at the hospital, he had a broken leg, spinal cord damage, numerous lacerations, and a collapsed lung. To stabilize him, doctors put him into a drug-induced coma. Nathan was in a coma for four days, but when the drugs were discontinued, he didn’t come out of the coma. That night Nathan’s father prayed and read the Bible to him, repeating the words Jesus said to Lazarus: “Come forth.” You’ve got to fight. You’ve got to wake up.” The next morning he came out of the coma. The parents were beside ourselves with joy. But the spinal cord damage was a major concern. Nathan had a fracture in his neck, the same vertebra that actor Christopher Reeve had injured several years ago. The doctors gave Nathan a protective neck collar to prevent further separation of the vertebrae. He was in danger of full or partial paralysis.
For two weeks Nathan prayed earnestly for healing. One night as he was falling asleep, he heard and felt a popping in his neck. The next morning physicians performed three sets of X-rays to see if the vertebrae were continuing to separate. Instead, the tests showed that the vertebrae had fused back together. The doctors were stunned; there was no medical explanation for the healing. Three months after the accident, doctors cleared Nathan to resume his participation in athletics, including football, wrestling, and track and field. 1 Our God is a healing God. He is a miracle worker and He will do a miracle for you.
According to the Greek dictionary, carnality means to have the nature and characteristics of the flesh (or more simply, it means “fleshly”). What, then, is the flesh? Sometimes it refers to the whole material part of man (1 Corinthians 15:39; Hebrews 5:7), and based on this meaning, carnal sometimes relates to material things like money (Romans 15:27) or to the opposite of our weapons of spiritual warfare (2 Corinthians 10:4). But the word flesh also has a metaphorical sense when it refers to our disposition to sin and to oppose or omit God in our lives. The flesh is characterized by works that include lusts and passions (Galatians 5:19–24; 1 John 2:16); it can enslave (Romans 7:25); and in it is nothing good (Romans 7:18). Based on this meaning of the word flesh, to be carnal means to be characterized by things that belong to the unsaved life (Ephesians 2:3). 1 The Apostle Paul addresses carnal mindedness particularly in Romans chapter eight. Let’s take a look.
In the USA, at the declaration of independence, only 5% were Christians. By the Civil War, the figure rose to 12%. At the turn of the century, 1/4 of the people included Christians. Billy Graham told reporters in 1977 that 40% of Americans claim they have been born again, and 95% of young people believe in a personal God.1 The number of people who claim to be religious is staggering. But there’s a difference between being religious and being divinely, supernaturally spiritual. Jesus was never religious. He didn’t act religious. He didn’t talk religious. He didn’t have a bumper sticker on His camel. He didn’t have rosary beads hanging from His donkey’s neck. He was not a pious prophet. He was uniquely spiritual and highly effective in His ministry to the sick. And here’s the marvelous truth. You can be just like Him.
Romans chapter eight has several ‘who or what’ we have ‘in Christ’ positional statements. The entire chapter includes what Jesus has done for us as well as information we need to access His finished work through the vital ministry of the Holy Spirit. In today’s post we are going to look particularly at verse five in relation to what it says about flesh versus spirit.
It’s important to shut down certain voices like sinful thoughts. You don’t argue with those thoughts. You don’t examine those thoughts, you just cut them off in Jesus name. It is scriptural to talk to your soul. David, if you remember, told his soul to bless the Lord (Psalm 103:1). In last week’s podcast, we also talked about the multitude of arrows hitting the soul. The point being, we often live overloaded lives. How many irons in the fire can you have before it affects your ability to divide spirit and soul? How much mental angst can we have before our heads are roaring so much we can’t hear our hearts? For this series finale, let’s go down two separate tracks as we look at the important idea of slowing ourselves down so we can better hear our hearts.