Healing and Wholeness

Let's pray together, shall we, as we sit.

Heavenly Father, we thank you for your word,

and Lord, we thank you that the Lord Jesus taught

that your word is truth,

and that your truth can set people like us free.

And so, Father, we ask now that in this quiet hour

you would send your Spirit,

that we might discern your truth,

and your truth would indeed free us

to be the people you call us to be,

in Jesus Christ our Lord.

Amen.

I want to preach to you from that amazing verse

in chapter 5 of James, which we just had read to us,

where it tells us that the prayer of a righteous man

is powerful and effective.

I think in the authorised version of the Bible,

which some of you are old enough to remember,

it says,

the fervent effectual prayer of the righteous man availeth much.

You're looking so blankly at me,

that actually is English, right?

And what I want to talk to you about this morning,

and it's a bit like trying to,

it's something about healing and wholeness,

given that after communion,

those of you who would like some prayer for healing

will be invited to receive prayer for that.

Perhaps I should just say to you that

I have to, sadly, have to leave this service early,

not because anybody has offended me,

just to kind of kill speculation.

Before I realised the time of the church had changed to 11.30,

we'd arranged to meet up with some people at 12.30,

and we couldn't meet anyway.

So I'd be slipping out, but it's nothing personal.

Atul Govander, in his excellent book called

On Being Mortal,

compares the death of his grandfather,

who died at the age of 109,

when he fell off his bicycle in New Delhi

and was hit by a truck.

Compares that with the death of his aunt,

who had emigrated to America

and died on her own at the age of 71,

in a side room in a hospital

with tubes coming out of her every orifice,

alone.

And he speculates at the beginning of the book,

I should explain that he is a world-famous geriatrician.

He looks after those of us who are in our senior years.

One of his conclusions is,

the reason why his grandfather

lived such an amazing life to the age of 109,

was that his social networks ran very deep

and were very profuse.

Whereas his aunt who'd emigrated

into another country,

had virtually no social networks,

and ended up dying young

and dying alone.

So what I want to talk to you about today

is something that is a little tricky for us

to get our heads around, I think,

in our nation where we're all so individualistic,

and that is,

what is the collective power of a local church

in helping people be healed

and become whole?

And when you start to think about becoming whole,

it'd be a brave person

that would put their hand up this morning

and say,

I don't need to be healed at all.

You may not have a physical complaint,

but the chances are,

you've got your baggage,

as we say,

from the past that affects you today.

All of us needs to be healed

in that sense.

I think James,

when he wrote his epistle,

and you'll notice that it seems like,

you know, like some of the epistles

end with a bit of just kind of closing remarks,

you know,

give my love to Tychicus,

you know,

and that kind of comment.

No, the last chapter of this epistle

is actually the profound focus

of the epistle.

If we were to read the whole lot,

and I know you wouldn't like that,

but if we were to read the whole lot out loud,

you would see

that the first four and a half chapters

of the epistle of James

are describing something very significant,

which I want you to try and catch a vision of

this morning,

and that is

the amazing potential of a local church,

which is righteous,

and which is faithful.

That is to say,

a local church

where collectively

we are committed to live the life

that God wants for us together,

and faithful,

in that we start to believe

in a way that's different

than the way we previously believed.

The fervent,

effectual prayer

of the faithful man

availeth much.

The Bible says that

if you're not feeling so great,

and to be fair,

there were no GPs at the time,

and some of you speculate,

no, there are any left today,

I know that.

Were there any,

there were no GPs there,

but when you were sick,

the natural thing

for the Christian community

was to invite the elders

of the church around

who would bring the oil

of anointing with them,

and would pray for you,

and anoint you.

And clearly,

James had this expectation

that when that happens,

in a righteous community,

a church that's seeking

to live righteously,

James expected

that those prayers

would be heard,

and that people

would be healed.

As so much one could say,

I sometimes feel

that talking about

healing and wholeness

is like trying to pray,

pray see Tolstoy's

War and Peace

in 50 words.

But I just want to say

two other things

by way of introduction.

The first is this.

I want you to understand

that there is something

called common grace.

There are two kinds of grace

in the New Testament.

One is saving grace.

That's what Paul's on about

in Ephesians chapter 2,

Ephesians 2:8

verses 8 and 9,

when he says,

but it is by grace

you have been saved

through faith.

This is not of your own doing,

so that none of you

can boast.

If you're a Christian,

you are a Christian

entirely at the initiative

of God

and his gracious

approach to you.

That he loves you

even though in your heart

you know you don't

deserve that love.

But then there is

common grace.

Common grace explains

why the Christian church

doesn't have the monopoly

on doing good

in our society.

There are lots of people

who do great things

in our society

and we thank God

for them.

Some of those people

are doctors

and surgeons.

And you might like

to ask yourself

this question

and it's a

kind of false dichotomy

that's been set up

in certain parts

of the church.

But if you had

appendicitis,

would you be more likely

to ask the elders

of the church

to come round

and pray for you?

Or would you get down

the emergency room

and get operated on?

My suspicion is

that most of you

would say the second

and the really discerning

amongst you

would say both.

Both.

Prayer

and the doctor's stuff.

You remember

in John chapter 9

John 9 · chapter mention

there was this

sounds really awful

to us doesn't it

especially in kind

of COVID times

that here's a

blind man

and Jesus

starts to heal him.

Before he heals him

Jesus spits

in the mud

and mixes up

this paste

and then

can you believe this?

Puts the paste

on the guy's eyes.

I mean I have such

a clean enough

obsession.

I would be retching

at that point.

Right?

Why did Jesus do that?

It's a great question

and the answer

is very simple

and very profound.

Jesus did that

because that was

a common

so far as they knew

about medicine then

that was a common

medical practice.

They believed

that sliver

and certainly

alluvial mud

had healing properties.

What's the meaning

of that?

It means that

Jesus doesn't think

that kind of

medical practice

is in opposition

to prayers

for healing.

Get appendicitis

say your prayers

but make sure

you get down

the emergency room

and get operated on.

It's not faith

or medicine

and yet

I have been in meetings

believe me

when people

have been told

to give up

their medication

because to take it

is being faithless.

As a member

of this church

as a matter of fact

I was in a meeting

with him

and the preacher

told him

that he needed

to give up

his diabetic medication.

I mean

how irresponsible

is that?

Common grace

explains

why there is

a lot of good

that goes on

in this world

which Christians

don't have

their hands on

and it also

explains

why God

heals some people

who have no faith

whatsoever.

Directly.

I've never forgotten

when I was

in Slough

there's a place

you know

where

they have a bumper

sticker

that says

the best view

of Slough

is in your

rear view mirror

and

I ministered

there

in an

amazing

little

local church

it truly

was a

spiritual

experience

being there

but

one morning

I got a call

from one of

my older

ladies

who said

she'd had

a call

from a lady

on her

estate

who was

going for

an operation

for breast

cancer

that morning

I had never

heard of her

my old lady

in the church

knew of her

because

I think

she cleaned

for her

at some

point

so we

went around

there

and we

laid hands

on her

and we

anointed

her

and we

prayed for

her

and she

goes off

to the

hospital

and she

gets there

and the

anaesthetist

in the room

and the

surgeons

there

all kind

of

gowned

up

in his

scrubs

and he

gets his

pencil out

and starts

to draw

on her

apparently

that's what

they do

and then

he says

would you

mind

I just

want to

give you

a final

medical

examination

physical

examination

just to

make sure

that we're

going to

do the

right

procedure

so he

gives her

a physical

examination

and he

goes out

of the

room

comes back

with the

consultant

the consultant

gives her

an examination

he says

where did you

say the

lump was

she said

in my

right breast

he said

there is

no lump

there

send her

for a

scan

by lunchtime

she was

home

no

operation

now

I'd like

to say

we were

so pumped

up with

faith

when we

prayed for

her

that that

didn't

surprise

us

at all

truthfully

we were

shocked

and as

far as

we know

this woman

had no

faith

whatsoever

and of

course

our great

expectation

was

now she's

been healed

by God

she's going

to throw

herself at

his feet

at the

throne of

grace

and she'll

walk with

him

forever

more

never saw

her

again

never

clapped

eyes

common

grace

explains

that

God

delivers

some

grace

into

this

wide

world

that

explains

a lot

of

things

that

in many

ways

seem

inexplicable

so what

are we

to learn

from

James

James 5 · chapter mention

chapter

5

the

first

thing

that I

want to

say

is

and I

can't

emphasize

this

point

enough

is

that

I

don't

think

James

believed

that

trying

to

heal

people

was

kind

of

manipulating

them

I

would

regard

myself

manipulative

behavior

as getting

cross with

somebody who

was ill

because they

didn't have

enough

faith

that would

be a

terrible

thing

to do

and you

know

when I've

been visiting

the states

I've often

been jet

lagged and

wide awake

in the

middle of the

night

flicking

through channels

on the

television

and you

come to

the

televangelists

amazingly

weird

people

as far

as I

can best

see

they'll

tell you

stuff like

send in

your

hundred

dollars

put your

hand on

the

television

screen

and receive

your

healing

right

I don't

know how

much money

has been

wasted

doing that

but I

would

clearly

that is

just very

very

manipulative

and

the

ministry

of healing

is not

about

manipulating

and

yeah

so

let's

just go

on and

think for

a moment

about

James'

advice

here

text is

the prayer

of a

righteous

man

is powerful

and effective

do you

believe

that the

local

church

could

become a

place

that kind

of accelerated

healing and

wholeness

a bit

like

a greenhouse

accelerates

growth

hopefully

and protects

the plants

that are

within it

could a

church

could you

imagine

that our

church could

be like

this

that the

strength of

our social

network

as a

congregation

could in

itself

just be

a healing

thing

could the

church be a

microcosm

of a healthy

and whole

society

which takes

me to

a very

important

question

and that

is

does our

society

by the

way it

is

make you

ill

today

writing in

the Sunday

Times

Rod Little

who I know

is strong

stuff

for some

of you

but writing

there about

how in the

70s we had

a very

different

approach

so there

was

you know

the 70s

was the

birth of

awfully

unhealthy

food

sugar

loaded

fat

loaded

food

and

some of

you remember

those

Finder's

crispy

pancakes

I can see

the look of

ecstasy on

your faces

as I even

mouth them

and thick

crust

pizzas

and all

that stuff

and yet

back in

the day

only one

child in

30

had

obesity

issues

drive the

clock

forward to

today

it's one

in three

children

who have

those issues

we know

that

mental health

is on the

increase

of course

this is in

part because

we're better

at diagnosis

of course

it is

there was

a time

when

I can

remember

in my

school

the kind

of thing

there was

you eat

what you're

given

you eat

what you're

given

there's no

kind of

messing around

saying well

if you don't

like that

have a

Mars bar

or whatever

eat what

you're given

and I can

remember kids

in our

school

and I can

remember

children around

our table

our own

children

and you

know the

message was

sit there

until you

finished it

we may

have

completely

psychologically

damaged them

in the

cause of

that

but somehow

it worked

and there

is a

well I mean

this is a

very telling

verse here

I think

James is

we didn't

read this

but it's

in the

early part

of chapter

5

James

writes

this

before he

starts to

write about

healing

he says

the

cries

sorry

you have

lived

on earth

in luxury

and self

indulgence

you have

fattened

yourselves

in the

day of

slaughter

and he

could have

written that

in the

Sunday

Times

today

couldn't

he

see there

is something

fundamentally

unhealthy

about our

society

somebody once

wrote

to do

well in a

sick society

isn't a big

deal is it

and what

would be the

antidote to

that

might it

be a

local church

where people

were committed

to righteous

living

where people

were committed

to faithful

discipleship

and that

in itself

I think

would just

create a

kind of

micro

climate

for people

to get

better

and remember

we all

need

healing

so I

said that

James

if you

look at

it in

terms of

chapter 5

being the

kind of

key

finale

of his

letter

then

the first

four chapters

talk about

seeking wisdom

about persevering

faith

about faith

in action

about how

favoritism

should not

exist in

the church

how the

church should

not just

bang on

about faith

but should

go and do

good works

for people

chapter 3

oh my

goodness

how many

churches

does this

bring down

watch your

tongue

eliminate

gossip

chapter 3

also talks

about the

two kinds

of wisdom

the wisdom

that leads

to wholeness

and the wisdom

that leads

to destruction

chapter 4

submit to

God

and be

humble

excuse me

if we

could make

just small

changes

in the way

we are

together

and understand

that discipleship

is a collective

responsibility

of course

it's about

you

but it's

about us

it's about

us

together

and the

way we

are with

each other

so what

could you

do

well you

could

honestly

face up

to the

question

is my

life

truly

righteous

life

or are

there

behaviors

and habits

that I

keep away

from the

rest of

the world

that I

don't talk

to anybody

about

because

basically

if I

even start

to focus

on them

I just

feel ashamed

do you

live

a righteous

life

because

you have

some

feel for

God's

word

and

therefore

you know

what God

expects of

you

if you

want to

walk

with him

maybe

you could

step up

your commitment

to read a bit

more of that

Bible

and apply

it to your

life

and what

about

faithfulness

how many

times

have you

have I

said

amen

to a

prayer

thinking

to

ourselves

quietly

good luck

with that

how can

we develop

together

the kind

of faith

that was

expectant

that truly

believed

that God

through Christ

in the power

of his Holy

Spirit

can work

through

vessels

like us

and do

his work

here on

earth

wouldn't

that be

a different

kind of

church

wouldn't

that be

a church

where there

was openness

and transparency

I note

there

that James

says

confess your

sins

to one

another

you're an

ex-Roman

catholic

you know

that the

only person

you're supposed

to go

and confess

your sins

to is the

priest

notice

James

confess your

sins

to one

another

that church

in Slough

I kid

you not

we went

through a

short time

it was just

a season

that happened

in our

worship

where people

did start

to confess

their sins

to one

another

and

it could

get out

of hand

if I'm

being truthful

about it

it's not

helpful

if

there's a

man sitting

opposite a

girl

in the

group

who starts

to confess

his lust

and sin

for that

particular

girl

by name

it wasn't

great

but there

is something

about that

kind of

openness

and transparency

you know

we live in a

culture

don't we

now

where we

have to

talk

about

everything

but we

find it

most difficult

to talk

about the

things

that might

really be

messing

us up

and some

of you

are sitting

here

saying

well

you've

got to

be careful

with this

ministry

of healing

stuff

you really

do

because you

can't

let people's

expectations

down

well I get

that

it's

understandable

anxiety

but on the

other hand

even when we

go to the

doctors

the doctor

doesn't always

make us

better

doesn't it

it doesn't

mean we

won't go

back to

the doctor

ever again

might think

about changing

our doctor

why are we

oversensitive

about that

bearing in

mind that I

said we're

not here to

manipulate

people

we're here

to try and

allow God

to work

through us

to deliver

healing and

wholeness

I can't

promise

that you

will all

live to

the age

of 109

and be

cycling

through

Cleveland

when you

die

for I

would love

to believe

love to

think

love to

see

that as a

member of

this church

you made

your contribution

to ensure

that this

house

was a

house of

healing

and a

house of

wholeness

where people

got better

where people's

behaviors were

refashioned in

the power of

the spirit

and I can't

think anybody

would be against

that

so why don't

we go and

do

in the name

of our amazing

God

Father

Son

and Holy

Spirit

the people

who agreed

said together

Amen

Amen

Thank you.