Serving and Healing

Our natural instinct after God has touched us is to find a way to serve God by serving others. God can touch our lives in many ways. Healing is just one of the ways that God can touch us.

Today’s scripture from the gospel of Mark is about being a servant. The story is told in the gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke. It is interesting that all of the scriptures talk about what happened after the synagogue. The scriptures start when Jesus and the disciples are leaving church. There’s a message here that God’s work starts when we walk out the church doors into the world.

The scripture from Mark 1:29-39 reads “As soon as they left the synagogue, they went with James and John to the home of Simon and Andrew. Simon's mother-in-law was in bed with a fever, and they told Jesus about her. So he went to her, took her hand and helped her up. The fever left her and she began to wait on them.”

Luke 4: 38-41 tells us that “Jesus left the synagogue and went to the home of Simon. Now Simon’s mother-in-law was suffering from a high fever, and they asked Jesus to help her. So he bent over her and rebuked the fever, and it left her. She got up at once and began to wait on them.”

In Luke’s gospel, Jesus was asked to help Simon’s mother-in-law. In Matthew’s gospel, Jesus touched her hand and he rebuked the fever. Each one emphasized a special part of the story. The disciples saw a woman with a high fever and asked Jesus for help. Jesus touched her hand. He rebuked the fever. She was healed. She immediately felt that she should serve Jesus and those who had compassion for her.

Service is one of the spiritual gifts. Simon’s mother-in-law had the gift of service. We overlook the gift of service because it is not flashy, but it is so important. In fact, Jesus taught us about being a servant. He led by example. At his last supper, Jesus washed the feet of his disciples. Simon’s mother-in-law felt gratitude for being healed. Her natural response was to serve Jesus and the disciples.

We need to be ready and willing to serve. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. Ephesians 6:7 tells us to “serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not men.” 1 Peter 4:11 says “If anyone speaks, he should do it as one speaking the very words of God. If anyone serves, he should do it with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power forever and ever. Amen.”

We show people that we love them when we are willing to be a servant in their time of need. We are showing God’s love to them. We are being the hands and face of Jesus Christ to them because God is using us to serve our family, friends, and even strangers. God appoints us to his service. In the case of Simon’s mother-in-law by serving she “is not only supplying the needs of God's people but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God.” (2 Corinthians 9:12) We give our time, our talents, and our tithes to God. We serve God by serving those in need and those who need God’s love.

According to Ephesians 4:1-7, 11-13 “As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to one hope when you were called— one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it. …
It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.”

We are all on body of Christ when we use the gifts that God has given us. Some of us will be teachers or preachers. Some of us will serve silently those that are in need, but we are all equal in our service. We are all one body of Jesus Christ. In 1 Corinthians 12 it says that we can’t all be eyes or ears or hands. Our physical body is made up of many parts. We need the ears to hear, the eyes to see, the tongue to taste, and the hands to touch. If we only had eyes, how would we walk? If we only had ears, how would we feel? All parts of our physical body are equal. All parts of Christ’s spiritual body are equal. A person visiting a shut-in is just as important as the person preaching the gospel. A person bringing food to the sick is as critical to God’s kingdom as the teacher. Each one is showing God’s love in a critical and important way.
The scripture continues in Mark 1:32 “That evening after sunset the people brought to Jesus all the sick and demon-possessed. The whole town gathered at the door, and Jesus healed many who had various diseases.”

People were drawn to Jesus because of the stories of healing of the sick. In fact, the whole town gathered to see Jesus heal all kinds of diseases. Jesus wanted people to stay on the message about the gospel of peace and love. It is natural for people to be attracted to the signs, miracles, and wonders, but they need to believe without seeing the miracles.

I love seeing people in need, praying for them, having Jesus hear the prayer, Jesus healing the sick, and rejoicing when the sick are healed. I believe in the gifts of healing. The gifts of healing are one of the Spiritual Gifts just like the gifts of serving, teaching, or preaching. The gift of serving is just as vital a gift and equal to the gifts of healing.

Acts 28:27b-28 states “We pray you will see with your eyes, hear with your ears, and understand in your heart, and in turn, God will heal you. Therefore, I want you to know that God’s salvation has been sent to you and you will listen.”

I visited a friend at Franklin Memorial last week. He has cancer in both lungs. We studied a lot of the healing scriptures in Luke. We read about the woman touching the hem of Jesus’ cloak. She reached out for Jesus in faith. Jesus felt the power of the Holy Spirit leave him when she touched him. Luke 7:7-10 tells about a Roman Centurion who was concerned about his servant who was about to die. The Roman Centurion asked Jesus to “But say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, 'Go,' and he goes; and that one, 'Come,' and he comes. I say to my servant, 'Do this,' and he does it." When Jesus heard this, he was amazed at him, and turning to the crowd following him, he said, "I tell you, I have not found such great faith even in Israel." Then the men who had been sent returned to the house and found the servant well.
In the story of the Roman Centurion, Jesus was not near the servant, but the servant was healed. I believe unity of faith is critical to praying for healing. The woman who touched the cloak of Jesus was unified in her faith with Jesus. The Roman Centurion was unified in his faith with Jesus for a servant who was at a distance. We don’t know if the servant had faith. We just know that the Roman Centurion believed that if Jesus spoke the words of healing, that the servant would be healed.

In Luke 5, we have the familiar story of the four men cutting a hole in the roof to lower their paralyzed friend down to Jesus. The scripture tells us that “the power of the Lord was present for Jesus to heal the sick.” It was the unity of faith of the four men who carried their friend to be healed. The four men had the unity of faith to have a common purpose. They believed that if they could get the paralyzed man to Jesus that their friend would be healed. They were right.

In each of these stories, the situation was different, but the results were the same. The person who needed healing came to Jesus in one, the person was carried to Jesus in another by his friends, the person who needed healing was at a distance, and in the case of Simon’s mother-in-law, Jesus and his disciples came to her to heal. The common threads in these stories are faith, love, hope, and compassion.

Mark 1:35-39 the story continues “Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed. Simon and his companions went to look for him, and when they found him, they exclaimed: "Everyone is looking for you!" Jesus replied, "Let us go somewhere else—to the nearby villages—so I can preach there also. That is why I have come." So he traveled throughout Galilee, preaching in their synagogues…”

Jesus needed to pray to regain his spiritual strength after healing so many people. He also set the example for us that we need to find time to pray to get closer to God and regain our spiritual strength so we can go out and serve God using our spiritual gifts. Jesus also wanted to go to the nearby villages to preach the gospel. He states that preaching the gospel is the reason that he has come.

Each of us needs to find what it takes to renew ourselves spiritually. Praying to God, singing praise songs, worshiping together are just a few of the ways to renew ourselves spiritually. Also, when we are using the spiritual gifts God has given we are energized in a wonderful way. I’d like to close with these words from Isaiah 40:31 “but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.” Let us hope in the Lord and soar on wings like eagles as we go out into the world to serve our fellow man. Amen.