IT MUST BE THE LORD'S WORK! 17 And he came down with them, and stood in the plain, and the company of his disciples, and a great multitude of people out of all Judea and Jerusalem, and from the sea coast of Tyre and Sidon, which came to hear him, and to be healed of their diseases; 18 And they that were vexed with unclean spirits: and they were healed. 19 And the whole multitude sought to touch him: for there went virtue out of him, and healed them all. (Luke 6:17-19) TEXT The text explains how the world reacts to the Lord's Work .Luke is recording events for the Gospel Record, however, he is also recording these healings in his medical journal .Luke’s medical practice served Jew and Gentiles. He was also Paul’s doctor. Luke points out that Jesus was healing people of their physical problems, but the text also points out that being healed spiritually was more important than the physical healings. The world was enamored by the healing ministry of Jesus! INTRODUCTION It has always been said... that when you have a serious medical condition... get a second opinion. The general practitioners will send you to see a specialist for an extremely serious case in his area .But, what do you do when the doctor needs a doctor? What should you do? Houston Texas in the late 90s,hundred of medical doctors filled a conference room to hear Herbert Benson, the chair of the Harvard Medical School ,open a conference on Spirituality and Healing. Dr. Benson posed a questions to the doctors .He said, 'how many of you have been operating and things got so out of control that the only reason your were successful is that the Lord intervened. At least 99.99 % of the doctors raised their hands; I was in Houston that morning to witness that for myself. It was a humbling experience. In 1944, John Hopkins Hospital , Brother Vivien Thomas a young black man at the time ,had to assist in this operation. He took over the scalpels and operated with his eyes closed. He could feel blood vessels and arties better than he could see them. The enigma was that he did not have a medical degree or a college degree either. When the operation was completed, the chief surgeon said, it was perfect. He said,'it must have been the... Work of the Lord!' It was in the early 60s, the Rev. Julius Cheeks was in the hospital. Rev. Cheeks was a man filled with the Holy Spirit. The doctors said ,call your family; you don’t have very long for this world. He told the doctors that he was waiting for his... last doctor to come. They were confused and puzzled. All his medical doctors... had agreed that ...they could not help him. He said,' I am waiting for Dr. Jesus!' It was said, that about 12:00 midnight the nurse reported seeing a visitor in his room. The nurse came by to find out who his visitor was. H e said, he was talking to his doctor and his name was ...Dr.Jesus! He told them that this doctor said... every thing was going to be okay. Was it the... Work of the Lord? Was it something that God did? Is Jesus still practicing medicine today? Was it luck? Could it be a coincidence? It could have been an anomaly!Larry Dossey,M.D.,says,"Prayer is good medicine." YES!JESUS IS STILL OPERATING! WE DON'T HAVE TO GO TO HARVARD TO UNDERSTAND THAT! IT IS THE LORD'S WORK! Well ,Harvard Medical School felt that there were too many cases of Jesus practicing medicine, all over the world. So, they decided to do a scientific investigation. It is happening so much; it is statistically significant. In other words, it is not luck, there is a causal variable. Harvard Medical School does a Spirituality &Healing conference each year .Check it out for yourself! DO YOU KNOW HIM? HAVE YOU TRIED HIM? HAS HE BEEN GOOD TO YOU? THE LORD’S HELPER BROTHER VIVIEN THOMAS On November 29, 1944, a small, frail child was wheeled into an operating room at the Johns Hopkins Hospital for the first attempt to treat tetralogy of Fallot, a congenital heart malformation that robs the blood of oxygen. This life-threatening condition is often signaled by a bluish or "cyanotic" cast to the skin, hence the term, blue baby. The procedure joined an artery leaving the heart to an artery leading to the lungs, in an attempt to give the blood a second chance at oxygenation. It was the first blue baby operation and came to be known as the Blalock-Taussig Shunt. Vivien T. Thomas was a key player in pioneering the anastomosis of the subclavian artery to the pulmonary artery .The surgical work he performed with Alfred Blalock paved the way for the successful outcome of the Blalock-Taussig shunt. In January 1930, Vivien Thomas, a young African-American who was forced for lack of funds to leave his first year of college, came to work for Blalock in his laboratory. At that point Blalock's increasing obligations were cutting into the time he could spend in the laboratory and he needed a surgical assistant. A more fortunate choice could not have been made. Vivien Thomas learned to perform the surgical operations and chemical determinations needed for their experiments, to calculate the results, and to keep precise records; he remained an invaluable associate throughout Blalock's career. Thomas supervised the surgical laboratories at Hopkins for over 35 years, and in 1976 he was appointed instructor in surgery at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. In 1979, upon his retirement, he became instructor emeritus of surgery. Vivien Thomas's achievements were widely recognized by his colleagues. In 1976, he was awarded the honorary degree Doctor of Laws, by the Johns Hopkins University . THE LORD’S WORK! Luke was one of the twelve disciples of Jesus and the Gospel writer. He was also a medical doctor. Jesus had just recently completed the selection process for his disciples. Luke had the opportunity to observe Jesus in his early ministry. The religious leaders, scribes, community leaders, and legal authorities were having difficulty understanding the amazing works of this man. They began to complain among themselves. Jesus had upset the status quo! He had become the center of attention. These community leaders were having a problem ,because the great works of Jesus had undermined their influence in society. Jesus was taking medical cases that were ...too advanced for ...doctors at that times .He was healing all manner of disease. The doctors of the law met with him to ask questions; they were overwhelmed with his wisdom. They wanted to know by what authority he could do these amazing things. Where ever Jesus went, he drew large crowds. People came for basically two reasons. They wanted to become his disciple (learner) or they were seeking an opportunity to be healed. We are still seeking Jesus 2000 years later for the same reasons. Jesus healed lame legs and gave them strength. He reached his hand to blind eyes and gave them sight. He touched weak minds and restored order. He forgave sins and cast out demons setting people free from spiritual, emotional, and physical bondage. Thus, Jesus is healer of both body and spirit. In other words,he is a heart fixer and a mind regulator!He brings peace to a troubled mind! SPIRITUAL SICKNESS The greatest problem facing the world to day is spiritual sickness. Spiritual sickness can be an eternal problem. Some of the major spiritual ills are hate, false doctrines, violence, pride, greed, racism, deceit, fear; just to name a few. We can not be healed physically all the time ,but we can overcome these spiritual vices. Paul said, “Love is a more excellent way.†WHOLENESS HEALING Jesus sees wholeness as the well-being of the total person: psychological, spiritual, physical. There is no separation of body and spirit because Jesus understands them as bound together in a living unit. Jesus understands that whenever our psychological and spiritual life is out of balance, we can not find peace. The song writer says, "This joy that I have the world didn’t give it to me.†Remember,when Jesus touched the blind man,he reported seeing two lights.He saw the sun light and he saw the Holy Light. THE LORD’S AUTHORITY (Isa 61:1 NKJV) "The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon Me, Because the LORD has anointed Me To preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives, And the opening of the prison to those who are bound; (LUKE 4:18) Jesus went into a synagogue one Sunday Morning. He was asked to read the scripture .He read the above scripture and closed the strolls. He then said,' this scripture has been fulfilled.' This prophecy was written 750 years before the birth of Jesus. The Lord sent him to heal the brokenhearted and to proclaim liberty to the captives. IT MUST BE THE LORD’S WORK! IT MUST BE THE LORD’S WORK! DO YOU KNOW HIM? HAVE YOU TRIED HIM? HAS HE BEEN GOOD TO YOU!! IT MUST BE THE LORD’S WORK!!! Rev.Esco Yancey,Jr.
