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Beyond Health

Is physical health enough in this world to give us a happy life? What about as we get old and die? Clearly at death physical health has failed us, whether a child who dies of leukemia or an infection, a mother dying in childbirth or an older man or women who die of old
age. Further even in this life the issue of having to live life is filled with health issues. Each year millions of people die from malnutrition, HIV, malaria and tuberculosis. Millions also die form cancer and heart disease. Most of these deaths are not quick but slow deaths. Many people are blind, death or cannot speak or have other disabilities from lack of immunizations. We want these health issues to be lessened as the cost of disease can be great in many ways. It can cost us financially and even bankrupt a household. Disease burden of any of the above diseases can seriously alter a family household and even a community. These are not small issues. We want to do what we can do to help lessen disease and its burdens on us.

But…does health meet our deepest needs and can health alone provide us with a happy life and give us eternal life?The answer to the latter question is clearly no. What the first, a happier life?  The answer to this is yes and no. Most people are more happy when they are not burdened down by disease and the financial and emotional cost it brings. Yet does it bring happiness to the deepest needs of our lives?  That is where the spiritual message of the Jesus Christ becomes important.

However, before we look at spiritual health did Jesus Christ care about physical health? Yes he did. Many times in the Bible it is stated Jesus had compassion on people and healed them. For example, ‘When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them and healed their sick (Matthew 14.14, one of the books of the Bible).’  He healed often and he did this because he had compassion on them.  However, Jesus healed for compassionate purposes but he also healed for another more important purpose. That purpose is to have life in him, i.e. Jesus Christ. What does this mean? This is spelled out very clearly in the gospel of John in the Bible, ‘ Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book.  But these are written that you may[a] believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you
may have life in his name (John 20.30,31).’ Jesus healed to help people have a healthier physical life because he had compassion on him. However, Jesus also healed (the ‘miraculous signs’ mentioned above) so that people would know that he was the Christ the Son of God and that by believing in his name they would have new life in Him, which will give us eternal life with Jesus Christ in heaven.

How do we get this new life in Jesus Christ? There are four steps to consider and then respond:

I. God

Creator – Genesis 1:1 “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.”

Loving – 1 John 4:16 “God is love.”

Holy – 1 John 1:5 “God is light; in Him there is no darkness at all.” – Habakkuk 1:13 “Your eyes are too pure to look on evil, you cannot tolerate wrong.”

II. Man

Created for relationship with God – Genesis 1:27 “God created man in His own image.”

All have sinned, relationship with God broken – Romans 3:23 “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”

Sin deserves death penalty – Romans 6:23 “The wages of sin is death.”

III. Christ

PERSON: God-Man
Fully God – John 1:1 “In the beginning was the Word (Jesus Christ) and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”
Fully human – John 1:14 “The Word (Jesus Christ) became flesh and
lived among us.”

WORK: sinless & miraculous life, atoning death, powerful resurrection – Matthew 20:28 “The Son of Man (Jesus Christ) came not to be served but to serve and to give His life as a ransom for many.” – 1 Corinthians 15:3-4 “Christ died for our sins according to the
Scriptures, he was buried, he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures.”

SIGNIFICANCE: atoning sacrifice for eternal life…THE ONLY WAY TO GOD -1 Peter 3:18 “For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God.” – John 14:6 “I am the way and the truth and the life; no one comes to the Father except by me.”

IV. Response

Grace: Salvation by grace through faith – Ephesians 2:8-9 “For it is by grace you have been saved through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast.” – Acts 16:31 “Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved.”

Repent from sin – Acts 17:30 “God commands all people everywhere to repent.”

Acknowledge by faith that Christ died in your place – Romans 5:8 “God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

Call on the name of the Lord – Romans 10:13 “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

Eternal life – John 3:16 “God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”

These steps are present in the Dr. Luke recordings for you to listen to and share with others.