538. Luke's Gospel - Chapter 4 (#4) - Jesus Spoke to the Fever - April 24, 2024

[00:00:00] Welcome to Wisdom Today. My name is Bill Kelley and I'll be your host. In this podcast we will be exploring the book of Proverbs.

[00:00:16] Open and Prayer Father God I thank you for anyone listening to this

[00:00:25] podcast today. Lord I pray that You give everyone ears to hear and a heart to receive everything

[00:00:32] You have in store for them today. I ask this in Jesus' name, Amen. This is Proverbs 24

[00:00:40] beginning in verse 1. Do not be envious of evil men, nor desire to be with them, for their

[00:00:48] heart devises violence and their lips talk of trouble making. Through wisdom a house

[00:00:56] is built, and by understanding it is established. By knowledge the rooms are filled with all

[00:01:04] precious and pleasant riches. A wise man is strong, yes a man of knowledge increases strength,

[00:01:13] for by wise counsel you will wage your own war, and in a multitude of counselors there

[00:01:21] is safety. Wisdom is too lofty for a fool, he does not open his mouth in the gate. He

[00:01:30] who plots to do evil will be called a schemer. The devising of foolishness is sin, and the

[00:01:38] scoffer is an abomination to men. If you faint in the day of adversity your strength is

[00:01:46] small. Deliver those who were drawn toward death and hold back those stumbling to the

[00:01:54] slaughter. If you say surely we did not know this, does not he who weighs the hearts consider

[00:02:02] it? He who keeps your soul, does he not know it? And will he not render to each man according

[00:02:11] to his deeds? My son eat honey because it is good and the honeycomb which is sweet

[00:02:20] to your taste. So shall the knowledge of wisdom be to your soul. If you have found it there

[00:02:28] is a prospect and your hope will not be cut off. Do not lie in wait, O wicked man, against

[00:02:37] the dwelling of the righteous. Do not plunder his resting place, for a righteous man may

[00:02:45] fall seven times and rise again, but the wicked shall fall by calamity. Do not rejoice when your

[00:02:55] enemy falls, and do not let your heart be glad when he stumbles. Lest the Lord see it and

[00:03:03] it displease him, and he turn away his wrath from him. Do not fret because of evildoers,

[00:03:13] nor be envious of the wicked, for there will be no prospect for the evil man. The lamp of the

[00:03:20] wicked will be put out. My son fear the Lord and the king. Do not associate with those given

[00:03:31] to change, for their calamity will rise suddenly, and who knows the ruin those two can bring.

[00:03:40] These things also belong to the wise. It is not good to show partiality in judgment. He who says

[00:03:50] to the wicked, you are righteous. Him the people will curse. Nations will abhor him,

[00:03:58] but those who rebuke the wicked will have delight, and a good blessing will come upon them.

[00:04:07] He who gives a right answer kisses the lips. Prepare your outside work, make it fit for yourself

[00:04:16] in the field, and afterward build your house. Do not be a witness against your neighbor without

[00:04:25] cause, for would you deceive with your lips? Do not say I will do to him just as he has done

[00:04:34] to me. I will render to the man according to his work. I went by the field of the lazy man,

[00:04:44] and by the vineyard of the man devoid of understanding, and there it was, all overgrown

[00:04:52] with thorns. Its surface was covered with nettles. Its stone wall was broken down. When I saw it,

[00:05:01] I considered it well. I looked on it and received instruction. A little sleep, a little slumber,

[00:05:10] a little folding of the hands to rest. So shall your poverty come like a prowler,

[00:05:18] and your need like an armed man. Friends today, I'd like to take a closer look at verse 10,

[00:05:28] and Proverb 24 verse 10 says this, If you faint in the day of adversity, your strength is small.

[00:05:39] Friends we will take a closer look at that verse prior to closing today, but what I'd like to do

[00:05:46] is continue our study in the Gospel according to Luke, and on Monday's podcast I left off on

[00:05:56] chapter 4 verse 37. So we are going to pick up right where we left off. We are in chapter 4,

[00:06:06] and we're beginning in verse 38. This is entitled Peter's Mother-in-Law Healed. Now he arose from the

[00:06:17] synagogue and entered Simon's house, but Simon's wife's mother was sick with a high fever, and they

[00:06:26] made requests of him concerning her. So he stood over her and rebuked the fever, and it left her,

[00:06:38] and immediately she arose and served them. Friends the first point that I would like to bring up

[00:06:46] is that Jesus spoke to the fever. I want to say that again, he spoke to the fever. He did not pray

[00:06:57] to God, he did not pray to his father that she would be healed. He spoke directly to the fever.

[00:07:06] And friends Jesus is the example for us today. Now if you have something going on in your body,

[00:07:18] you might ask what should I do? And most people will go to the pastor and ask for prayer and

[00:07:27] pray that they would be healed. Is that what Jesus did? Absolutely not. Jesus is the example

[00:07:36] for us today, and if we are a disciple or follower of Jesus, we should do what he did when he was on

[00:07:45] the earth, and in this particular case he spoke to the fever and immediately she rose and served them.

[00:07:59] So friends whenever there are healings in the Bible they happened immediately,

[00:08:07] and there was no prayer at all. Jesus simply spoke to the item that he wanted to be whole.

[00:08:18] In this particular case it was a fever, and when he spoke to the fever it immediately

[00:08:26] left her. And friends that means that we can speak to our bodies today. We can speak if we have a fever,

[00:08:39] and you can talk to the fever in your body, and we can follow the example that Jesus set for us.

[00:08:49] Let's go to verse 40. When the Son was setting, all those who had any that were sick with various

[00:09:00] diseases brought them to him, and he laid his hands on every one of them and healed them.

[00:09:10] Now I'm going to pause right there. The second point that I would like to bring up

[00:09:15] is that Jesus healed all who came to him. Now friends there are some denominations today

[00:09:28] that believe that healing went out with the last of the apostles, and they believe that Jesus can

[00:09:39] heal, but they go by the doctrine, if it be thy will. And friends this passage of Scripture makes

[00:09:51] it perfectly clear that the will of God is that everyone be healed. This verse says that every

[00:10:00] one that came to him for healing was healed, every single one. In the Gospel of Matthew it

[00:10:07] happens three separate times. It says, and all who came to him were healed. So friends we do not have

[00:10:18] to be guessing and asking if Jesus wants everyone to be healed. We don't need to ask that.

[00:10:28] Let's make further reference by going to 2 John, and that is one of the books in the Bible

[00:10:36] that only has one chapter. But verse 2 says, I wish above all things that you prosper and be

[00:10:47] in good health even as your soul prospers. So friends this is clear as well. He wants us all

[00:11:00] to be healed. Let's go on to verse 41, and demons also came out of many crying out and saying,

[00:11:12] you are the Christ, the Son of God. Now friends I am reading out of the Nelson study Bible,

[00:11:22] and I want to read the commentary in my Bible for verse 41. It says, you are the Christ, the Son

[00:11:34] of God. This confession unique to the Gospel of Luke shows the close connection Luke makes

[00:11:46] between Jesus' sonship and Messiahship. I really want to be totally clear on that point. Luke is the

[00:12:00] only Gospel which truly makes that clear. Let's continue, and he rebuking them did not allow them

[00:12:13] to speak, for they knew that he was the Christ. So friends Jesus not only healed people, Jesus also

[00:12:25] delivered people from unclean spirits who had gone in to their body and literally taken possession

[00:12:37] of them. Let's go on to verse 42. Now when it was day he departed and went into a deserted place,

[00:12:49] and the crowd sought him and came to him and tried to keep him from leaving them. But he said to them,

[00:13:02] I must preach the kingdom of God to the other cities also, because for this purpose I have been sent

[00:13:13] and he was preaching in the synagogues of Galilee. Now let's go back just a bit and I'd like to go

[00:13:20] over my third point of the day, and the crowd tried to prevent him from leaving them. Friends

[00:13:30] when people saw the majesty of Jesus, when he saw the miracles that he did in front of them,

[00:13:41] they wanted him around. They knew he could take care of them. They knew if they had an illness

[00:13:50] or disease, or even an unclean spirit that he would deliver them and heal them from anything

[00:14:01] that was going on in their body. Now at this point what I'd like to do is go to his individual

[00:14:11] disciples. He had 12 of them and Jesus was warning them and letting them know that there is going to

[00:14:22] come a time when I am no longer going to be here with you. And they didn't want to hear that,

[00:14:31] and whenever he said that they would like change the discussion, change the topic that was going on.

[00:14:39] But finally, if we go to the gospel of John, I'd like to go to chapter 16 and go over this passage

[00:14:49] of scripture with you. Because Jesus knew that his time was coming and he wanted to let the

[00:14:58] disciples know that it was going to be okay. So I'm going to begin in verse 5 and go through verse 15,

[00:15:11] but this entire passage is entitled The Work of the Holy Spirit. Let's begin in verse 5. But now

[00:15:22] I go away to him who sent me, meaning God the Father. And none of you asks me where are you going?

[00:15:33] But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart. He could tell

[00:15:42] that the disciples were concerned and worried about the fact that he would be leaving. Nevertheless,

[00:15:51] I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away,

[00:16:01] the helper will not come to you. But if I depart, I will send him to you. Now friends,

[00:16:12] I would like to go over this detailed commentary for verse 7. It says the disciples must have thought.

[00:16:22] How can it be to our advantage to be alone? The Romans hate us because they see us as

[00:16:31] disturbors of the peace. The Jewish leaders hate us because they see us as blasphemers. You alone,

[00:16:42] and he's talking to Jesus, love us, and you are leaving us. So Jesus explained the benefits

[00:16:51] of his departure. When Jesus left, the believers would have number one, the provision

[00:16:59] of the Holy Spirit. And the detail of that is found between verses 7 and 15.

[00:17:07] Number two, the potential of full joy. And friends, if you want to read this further today,

[00:17:17] that is verses 16 through 24. The third benefit, the possibility of fuller knowledge. And that

[00:17:27] is described in verses 25 through 28. And the fourth benefit, the privilege of peace. And that

[00:17:37] is explained in verses 29 through 33. Now where it says I will send him, Jesus explained that the

[00:17:48] Holy Spirit will convict the world and communicate truth to the apostles. When he said to you,

[00:18:00] he means the Holy Spirit would not be given to the world but to believers. The coming of the

[00:18:08] spirit would be more profitable to believers than even the physical presence of Christ. And

[00:18:16] the main reason why is, listen to this, since the spirit could dwell in all believers at the same time.

[00:18:27] Now friends, I will pick up in John chapter 16 at the same place tomorrow. But before we do that,

[00:18:38] let's go back to our proverb of the day, Proverb 24 and look at verse 10 for just a moment.

[00:18:46] If you faint in the day of adversity, your strength is small. Now I want to go back to our lesson today.

[00:18:58] When Jesus was where he was and he had healed all of these people or when the disciples learned

[00:19:07] that Jesus was going to be going, they feared amongst themselves. This verse is telling us if

[00:19:17] you faint in the day of adversity, your strength is small. And friends, this is what I am going over

[00:19:28] in John chapter 16 today. Because he sent the Holy Spirit to dwell inside each and every one of us,

[00:19:41] we now have the ability to overcome adversity. It's important that you really get that into your

[00:19:55] spirit. The call to action today is do you understand the importance of having the Holy Spirit in your

[00:20:06] life? And if you're not totally sure, I invite you to come on tomorrow as I close out the explanation

[00:20:16] of this very important concept. Friends, I will never end a podcast without giving anyone

[00:20:24] an opportunity to receive Jesus as their Lord and Savior. If there's anyone listening today and you've

[00:20:32] never taken that step, I invite you to repeat a simple prayer after me today. Jesus, I confess

[00:20:40] that I am a sinner and in need of a Savior. I believe that you are the Son of God. You came

[00:20:48] to earth and died on a cross and were buried. On the third day you rose from the dead

[00:20:56] and now sit at the right hand of God the Father. Jesus, I invite you to come into my heart.

[00:21:04] I ask that you lead me and guide me from this point forward. I make you my Lord and Savior.

[00:21:12] Friends, if you repeated that prayer, I believe that you now are in the family of God. I believe

[00:21:20] that you can go directly to Him with anything you have need of. He will hear your prayer and

[00:21:27] He will answer you. Now may the Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord make His day shine

[00:21:35] upon you and be gracious to you. The Lord lift up His countenance upon you and give

[00:21:41] you peace. Friends, please join me again tomorrow as we further explore wisdom today.