are you sick? then why?...

james asks another question in 5.14 (ms), are you sick? another great characteristic of the early church was that it was a healing church.

tertullian wrote midway through the third centuray that no less a person than the roman emperor, alexander severus was healed by anointing at the hands of a CHRISTian called torpacion and that in his gratitude the emperor kept him as a guest in his palace until the day of his death. so to ask if you were sick showed that the church was interested in those who were sick.

now the word "sick" in greek, literally means "without strength". it means that you are totally wasted, you are fatigued, bedridden, unable to work. not just acid indigestion or postnasal drip. it is a serious illness here that would keep a person from actually working. it's the word most frequently used for illness. he's talking about a serious illness here.

as you read through the bible you will see three different kinds of sickness.

there is the sickness for death. that kind of sickness GOD allows to take us on home to be with HIM. there will be an illness someday that you will never recover from because GOD doesn't want you to live indefinitely. if every sickness could be healed by faith then anybody who had a lot of faith would never die. there is a sickness for the purpose of taking you on home.

then there's a sickness for discipline. this is covered in 1 corinthians 11:28-32 where they were abusing the LORD's supper. and paul said, because they were abusing the LORD's supper some of them were sick. the LORD sometimes will discipline you because you are out of the will of GOD. when we sin it does bring sickness into our lives.

and then there is a kind of sickness for the glory of GOD. the sickness for the glory of GOD is a sickness that GOD has allowed in one's life simply because HE wants to heal you of it and let it be a testimony of HIS power to the world.

JESUS in john 11 is sent a message that HIS good friend lazarus was sick. and verse 4 (ms) says, when JESUS got the message, HE said, "this sickness is not fatal, or a sickness for death, it will become an occasion to show GOD's glory by glorifying GOD's SON." then HE healed him and it brought glory to GOD.

there are three kinds of sickness: sickness for death, sickness for discipline, sickness for the glory of GOD. the last is the kind GOD wants to heal.

now sickness without a doubt is a time to pray. if it is for death, then you need to get ready to meet GOD, to make sure you have a right relationships with HIM. then if it is for discipline you need to confess what you have done, and stop doing it. make sure you are following the will of GOD. and then you need to pray for healing if the sickness is for HIS glory. no matter what kind of sickness it is, it is imperative that you connect to GOD through prayer.

just some thoughts from the front porch...