There is a Balm in Gilead

Thank you for listening to this message from the ministry of Morse Corner Church in Leverett, Massachusetts. Morse Corner is a non-denominational church that is committed to the preaching and teaching of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Our church was founded in 1896 by two students of the famous evangelist D .L. Moody. We seek to encourage and edify the body of Christ through the proclamation of God's word through the ministries of the local church.

If you'd like more information, visit our website morsecornerchurch .com. We hope you enjoy the message. His fame went throughout all Syria and they brought to him all sick people who were afflicted with various diseases and torments.

Jesus Heals All Kinds of Disease and Affliction

Notice it doesn't say they just brought the easy cases to Jesus. Oh, that's too hard. He can't do it. No, they brought all, right? You see the word all? They brought to him all sick people. Various diseases and torments and those who are demon possessed, epileptics and paralytics.

So you can almost break it down into two types of illnesses. There's people who have disease and illnesses, problems in their body, right? That's one problem. And then there's other people. Their body is fine, but the problem is in their mind or it's psychological.

So some people deal with issues in their physical body. Others deal with psychological issues. And the psychological issues are just as bad, sometimes can even be worse than the physical issues. But Jesus was able to what?

Heal them all. And when Jesus healed people, these are not just psychosomatic healings. You know, some of the healing crusades that take place, you know, I can't say that God has never healed anyone. But you have to understand that sometimes people get a rush.

They get a rush of adrenaline and you maybe you've seen those videos of people. They get up and they they throw their crutches and their jump. Yeah, I can't say that God has never healed anyone like that.

But sometimes, yeah, you get that rush of adrenaline. You're you're kind of caught up in the moment. And, you know, the next day, some of those people are still in the same aches and pains that they had before.

So, yeah, there is sometimes there's healings today that you don't really know if it's legit or not. But Jesus, all his healings were what? One hundred percent legitimate. Also, Jesus had the ability to cast out demons.

At the name of Jesus, the demons fled. Now we see the term epileptic. And this is sort of a sensitive topic. So I'll try to approach it in a delicate way. But the King James Version, some of you, a lot of people have still used the King James Version.

And what does it say in the King James Version? Some of this might be politically incorrect, but the King James Version calls this lunatic. A man who is a lunatic. You say, well, that's not the same thing.

You know, someone who has epilepsy is not someone who's mad. Well, here's an article I pulled offline. It says the old fashioned understanding of the word lunatic referred mainly to epilepsy and madness.

So there's those problems with the body. And then there's the problems that they didn't really know where it came from. Right. So there's epilepsy.

There's madness.

And then there's demon possession. And, you know, sometimes they all get kind of lumped together. And, you know, we need to be careful about it because they're not all the same type of a thing. But back then they really didn't know.

So they had a word that would sort of cover a lot of this. You know, this has gone to the modern day. How many of you have talked about or heard someone talk about how when there's a full moon.

Right.

People who work in hospitals sometimes will say, I don't know if they're kidding or not. But I've heard health care professionals say, you know, when there's a full moon. Yeah, sometimes people do act out.

That used to be the word lunatic in the Greek. And as it goes through the languages, it was also called being moon struck. Used to be an ancient belief right up until the 1700s that the moon is what caused people to have these sort of fits.

Or, you know, those psychological things that people couldn't explain. They thought the moon influenced anything. That's ridiculous. But, you know, it probably isn't true. But, you know, back then they didn't really know.

The point is, all that to say this. The scripture teaches that whether it's a psychological condition and they didn't know what it was, what to call it. Jesus was able to bring full healing to people who needed it.

Someone had problems in their body. They couldn't walk. Jesus was able to bring full healing. And then the next day and the next day, you know, it never came back. Full healing. Wouldn't you love to have full healing in your body?

You know, the older I get, you know, you feel the aches and pains. And, you know, we don't have less issues the older we get. We have more. So if you're not dealing with it now, you will. Because it's part of life.

It's part of life under the sun. It's part of living in a world that's under the curse. It's something that everybody deals with. But some people deal with it and it's a much more serious thing. But I can tell you that there is hope in the Lord Jesus Christ.

There is hope. There is hope. So because of this, verse 25, great multitudes followed him from nearly every direction. So now as we get into the application of all this, great, people were healed of all diseases back then.

But what about now? What about me? What about people today that are dealing with these things? Well, my simple piece of advice would be if you have a need, no matter what it is, if you have a need, bring your need to Jesus.

He's still the great physician. You know, there are those cults or, you know, these fringe groups that tell their people don't seek out a doctor. Pray and just get your healing from prayer. Don't seek.

That's not what the Christian church says. I'm saying don't seek out a doctor. But the first thing you should do is what?

Pray.

If we really believe God is who he says he is, if Jesus is who he said he is, if we do believe that he has the ability to heal, we should come to him first with prayer. 1 Peter 5, verse 7 says, casting all your care upon him for he cares for you.

Another translation puts 1 Peter 5, 7 this way, casting all your anxiety upon him for he cares for you. If you suffer from anxiety or depression, seek Christ. If you suffer from acute pain, seek Christ.

Whether you are praying for a miraculous healing, or maybe you're just trusting in the overall sovereignty of God to give you the grace to get through it. Seek Christ. Studies prove, and I think we know this just from personal encounter, but studies prove the statistics show people who pray are much better off.

People who pray have a higher rate of survival. People who pray have a greater chance of overcoming addiction. People who pray, when compared to those who don't, typically people who pray live longer, and in general, they're happier people.

You know, just having the hope that there is life beyond the grave makes all the difference. Prayer can be a powerful thing. And of course, there are endless testimonies of people out there who will say, I prayed to the Lord to remove this temptation, to remove this psychological problem, this addiction.

We had a guy here years ago, and he gave his testimony. He was in a hotel room, all strung out on cocaine and who knows what else. And his words, he said he prayed for deliverance. God delivered him that day.

He didn't have any withdrawals, and he doesn't have the desire to do it. Now, would that be a miracle if that happened?

Yeah.

And again, I realize you can't believe every claim, and there's, again, yes. Unfortunately, there are people who make it up. There are charlatans out there who will say things that's not true. The problem is that sort of taints, maybe it's a small number of people who really were healed.

It sort of causes you to be skeptical about all of it. There's too many testimonies of people who said, God healed me. And there are some cases where the doctors have no real response. But the point is Jesus can still heal, and I believe he does.

But then sometimes we have to recognize sometimes he will allow adversity, and he will keep us dealing with something to shape and mold us into the person that he wants us to be. You remember the Apostle Paul, he had the thorn in the flesh.

And he prayed three times that the Lord would remove it. And he didn't. He said, my grace is sufficient for you. So, God allowed Paul to deal with this thorn in the flesh. And he had bad eyesight. It might have been the same thing.

But it was to keep Paul humble. And sometimes God will allow us to go through things to make us more like who? And that's how you have to look at it. If you have a struggle, if you have an illness, if you have a disease, maybe God is allowing you.

He's not healing you because he's using this to make you more like Christ. What does the Bible say about Jesus? He was a man of sorrows. Alright, let's turn to Isaiah chapter 53. And we'll close there.

Christ's Suffering, the Balm in Gilead, and Healing in the Atonement

But even though Jesus was a man of sorrows when he died on the cross facing the worst pain anyone could imagine.

He died.

And then what?

He rose again. New glorified body that no one could ever touch. Death, disease could never touch again. You know, we have that same hope. The hymn writer. But before we get the physical healing, there has to be spiritual healing.

The hymn writer of the song, balm in Gilead. You know what a balm is? Something that soothes, it heals. The hymn writer wrote these words. There is a balm in Gilead to make the wounded whole. There is a balm in Gilead to heal the sin sick soul.

If you can pray like Peter. If you can preach like Paul. Go home and tell your loved ones. He died to save us all. There is a balm in Gilead to make the wounded whole. There is a balm in Gilead to mend the sin sick soul.

Look at Isaiah 53 starting in verse 4. It says, surely, speaking of Christ. Some 700, 800 years before he was even born. Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows. Yet we esteem him stricken, smitten by God and afflicted.

But he was wounded for our transgressions. He was bruised for our iniquities. The chastisement for our peace was upon him. And by his stripes we are what? By his stripes we are healed. Is there physical healing in the atonement?

You know what the answer is? Yes, yes. If not in this life, in the life to come. So whatever you are dealing with in your body, in your mind, in your spirit. Whatever you are dealing with. If you take it to Christ.

If you seek Christ. The promise is you will be healed. Miracles are very rare.

It's true.

There's a small number of people who receive miraculous healing in this life. It still happens. But if you don't receive it in this life. It's such good news that you're going to receive it in the life to come.

Revelation 21, 4 and 5 tells us that God will wipe away every tear from our eyes. There shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain for the former things have passed away.

There's going to be some memories, things you go through in this life. When you're in glory with the Lord, completely forgotten. It's like it never happened. All the pain, the suffering. Like it never took place.

Full healing from the Lord. Revelation 21 then says he who sat on the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said to me, write for these words are true and faithful. The healing ministry of Jesus Christ.

All the things we read about. Healing the paralytic. The epileptic. These words are true and faithful. So, in conclusion, Jesus is still the great physician. Take your needs to him. He cares. Casting all your care upon him.

For he cares for you. Thanks for listening. I'm Pastor Michael Grant from Morris Coronet Church. If you'd like to listen to the complete message, or if you'd like more information about the ministry, visit our website, morriscoronetchurch .com.

We'd love to have you join us some Sunday morning here in Leverett. Until next time, may the grace of God be with you.