Michael Youssef - Healing From Jesus
In 1964, I publicly announced that I renounced my citizenship in the kingdom of Satan, and submit myself to the kingdom of God. On that day, not only I was invited to be member of his kingdom, but his kingdom began to live in me. On that day that I said yes to King Jesus, in effect I was saying, "Your rule over me is supreme". That I no longer in control of my life, but he is. That I no longer the captain of my ship, he is. That I'm no longer the master of my destiny, he is. That I'm no longer the king of my castle, he is. That I'm no longer the sovereign over my affairs, he is. That is the kingdom of God or the rule of God in the lives of his children. And every one of you who know the Lord Jesus Christ, you've done the same thing. The theme of the kingdom of God is the theme that our Lord Jesus Christ constantly, constantly, constantly talked about.
In fact, Mark tells us in chapter 1 that when he began his ministry, Jesus said, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe the gospel". In every miracle that our Lord Jesus performed, the every occasion that he had to teach, and to preach and every demonstration of his supernatural power, he clearly explained and talked about the kingdom of God. The kingdom of God, the rule of God is in the heart of his children, is in the heart of the elect of God, in the heart of all the church of Jesus Christ made of every nation, tribe and language. That is the rule of God, the kingdom of God but it will be fulfilled completely fully with our own eyes, we'll see it when he returns to rule and reign in his kingdom.
Now, we're gonna see this very clearly in today's message. And so turn please to Luke chapter 13, we're gonna go from verses 10 to 21. In the context of this Jesus's teaching on the kingdom of God, it was the healing of this woman on a Sabbath day. This woman who needed, desperately needed healing. And what Jesus is saying to his hearers and indeed is saying to every one of us who are listening, he is saying that we must enter into the kingdom of God. Now, how? By turning away from false religion, and false belief system, and yielding to the Holy Spirit. By rejecting the kingdoms of the world and embracing his kingdom, his rule over us. By stopping to live by our rules and obeying his.
Look with me at the text please. This dear woman who is bent over in pain, I know you've probably seen people like that. You don't see them much in the United States, but you see them a great deal overseas. They're literally bent over and they cannot even turn around unless the whole body turns around to see. She was doubled over. That's exhibit A, was exhibit A of the vital importance of being set free by Jesus. Spiritually, set free from the slavery of sin and Satan into the freedom of the Son of God. Hear me right, please. Worse than her physical affliction was her social stigma 'cause you remember in the last message, we saw how the Pharisees, the Jews in the time of Jesus had a faulty belief system. They believed that every physical infirmity, that every disease, that every sickness, every suffering is a result of sin and therefore it is the consequences of their sin. And they presume that all suffering is basically bring about the judgment of God.
And therefore a person's physical suffering made them to be an outcast, because these pompous, arrogant, self-righteous people when they did not experience suffering, they said, looked at people and said, "Ha ha ha, they're sinners, I'm not". And that is why Jesus needed to deal with that false belief system. She was an outcast. Listen to me. When everyone gave this woman a wide berth, Jesus welcomed her. While everyone avoided her, Jesus loved her. When everyone would have been embarrassed to be associated with her, Jesus laid his hands on her and healed her. While people rejected her, Jesus broke the evil spirits hold over her. She became completely and totally healed. Oh, then came the rulers of the synagogue.
Look at verse 14, with no gratitude to God, and praise to God, and thanksgiving to God, for his supernatural healing and miracle, they attack Jesus for healing on the Sabbath. But they were too coward to confront Jesus face to face so they were talking to the people, "Look at him, look at him. Couldn't he do that all week long? Why does he have to do it in the Sabbath"? These synagogue leaders, instead of praising God, glorifying God because of this miracle, they criticize Jesus. These legalistic Pharisees instead of thanking God for his mercy, and thanking God for his grace, and thanking God for his goodness, for a desperately needing woman, they became, here's the word, literal the word indignant. In other words, they were furious with Jesus for the miracles, why? He broke, listen carefully, the man made rule. The man made rule.
This is not the Word of God, this is not the Old Testament, this is not the commandment. It's so incredible when you think about it, because these Jewish leaders did not deny the miracle. They did not deny, they actually confirmed the supernatural work of Jesus. But instead of them believing in Jesus, their hearts were hardened. "You hypocrites". Verse 15, why? Because even their own rabbinic interpretation of the commandments. This is not the commandments, is their own interpretation of the commandments. It's not authoritative Word of God. This is dangerous brethren, listen to me. Even their own interpretation of the commandments said that you can take an animal on a Sabbath for feeding and drinking. Even so the animal can carry the load as long as they themselves don't carry it on the Sabbath, the animals can.
And here's what Jesus saying, you see the frustration in our Lord. He's saying, "If this is your interpretation about the Sabbath regarding animals, that you can feed them, and you can give them a drink on the Sabbath, how much more this Jewish woman, the daughter of the covenant, how much more this daughter of Abraham and her desperate need"? What better day to free her from the load of pain, and guilt, and suffering than the Sabbath? What better day to set her free than the Sabbath? What better day to receive forgiveness, and healing, and restoration than the Sabbath? What better day to give her eternal rest on the day of rest? This confrontation with the Jewish leaders reveal how heartless legalism is, it's heartless. How hypocritical ritualistic religion is. How unreasonable false religion is. The source of all true love.
You know there's the true love not the mushy stuff that they talk about. The source of all true love is Christianity. The source of all true compassion is Christianity. The source of all true wisdom is Christianity. The source of all true blessings for our society is Christianity. Listen, I'm telling you, I mean just start studying history, you'll discover that Christians started all the healing movement, all the hospital movements, all the orphanage movements, all the education movements, all started by Christians and it was a Bible believing Christian who for 23 years became alienated from his family, became alienated from his friends and colleagues in parliament in England, but for 23 years because of his biblical conviction, he did away with the horror of slave trading and his name is William Wilberforce.
But even Bonaparte, he was not a Bible believing Christian, okay, so you understand that but I wanna read to you what he said, okay, so that you understand what I'm saying. He said the following. I told you he was very modest. "Alexander the Great, Caesar, Charlemagne and I myself have founded empires. But upon what do these empires depend? Force, force. Jesus alone founded his kingdom upon love and to this millions would die for". End of quote. Now beloved, this woman's healing is analogous of God's sovereign work of salvation, in every one of our lives and for those whom he's trying to reach with his love of salvation and the gospel of Jesus Christ, this is a metaphor of what Jesus came to do for Israel because the Bible said "He came to his own, but his own received him not. But then to everyone who have received him, he gave them the power to be called the children of God".
He will bypass all the self-righteous arrogant people, and he'll become so close to the humble and broken of heart, those who are burdened by sin and they know it and they want to repent of their sins. He bypasses those who think that they can save themselves, and that they have the power to do that, and he reaches to those who confess their helplessness in saving themselves. He bypasses all those who think that their freedom is a way to be free from God and from his Word and he reaches down to a repentant, humble, broken spirit. Immediately after this, Jesus, after healing this woman, look at verse 18 with me please Luke 13. Immediately goes into the kingdom of God because it's relevant here. "What is the kingdom of God like"? Indeed he was asking, "Well, what is the future rule of God in the hearts of men and women 2,000 years from now" when he was speaking. What is the rule of God in the hearts of men and women, boys and girls are gonna be like 2,000 years from now?
In the sense, what is the future of the true church of Jesus Christ? Those who will accept Jesus for hope and healing. What will the 21st century church be like? You see many of the Jewish people in the time of Jesus, they thought that he came in order to deliver them from the yoke of Rome, from servitude to Rome. But when he failed to do so, when he did not do what they wanted him to do, when their expectations were not met, when they discovered that Jesus's kingdom is a spiritual kingdom, that Jesus's kingdom is an eternal kingdom, they rejected him, they rejected him. Except for a handful of disciples. That's the mustard seed. That's the mustard seed. Even after the resurrection, there were 500 eyewitnesses to the resurrection, 500. And on the day of Pentecost, there were only 120 people there.
Think about this with me 120 people, very tiny. From a human perspective, it's a very pathetic number. Is not much to show for three years plus of ministry of Jesus, his closest followers, his inner circle where there were only 12, one of them actually was a traitor. Far from being an inspiring movement, a big crowd in the stadium shouting the praise of Jesus, it was a tiny, tiny, tiny, tiny beginning. Even that handful of disciples, they did not anticipate the kingdom of God to be a spiritual kingdom. They thought still gonna be earthly kingdom with power and authority, splendor. They did not comprehend what the kingdom of God is all about. Even the disciples, like all their other countrymen, the disciples expected external kingdom, power, trappings of power.
Verse 18, he asked the question, "What is the kingdom of God like"? Verse 19, he gives us the answer, a mustard seed, the tiny, tiny, tiny seed. He chose that instead of a grain, or barley, or any other. It's the smallest. The small seed grows into the largest garden plant. The smallest seed grows sometimes up to 15 feet high, but what's really more important that smaller seed grows to give shelter to many birds so they can nest in it. That is the kingdom of God, where you and I belong to. Jesus wanted his disciples to understand that his kingdom viewed from an external and visible perspective is so small, but eventually it will expand to include every language, every tribe, and every nation. This kingdom not very impressive at all in the beginning, and yet the time is coming when hundreds of millions will follow Jesus.
This handful of disciples they were so insignificant and yet it was said of them, they've turned Rome upside down. The obscure beginning of his kingdom gave way to a global force for God and for good. They're not so distinguished by power, and majesty, and splendor and public display of glory, it is now global. You would not even imagine back then that millions of people would be glad to die for Jesus. I met some of them. Every time the persecution heats up, the numbers of Christian multiplies. This is a prophecy by our Lord here that the rule in the hearts of men and women will grow, and grow, and grow, and grow, and grow out of all proportion to its beginning. So much so that when the Lord returns in glory, the Bible said he'll return with multitudes unnumbered numbers.
For the Bible saith, "The kingdom of this world become forever the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ and he will reign forever and ever and ever". In spite of its humble beginning, the kingdom of God will be enlarged to become a mighty force, a mighty force just as the prophets have prophesied and envisioned. And remember in the end, God will establish his Son as the king of kings and the Lord of all lords. It will shatter the nations. His rule will shatter the nation, and he will rule over them with a rod of iron. His righteous reign will flourish and there'll be true peace. And I don't know about you, I can't wait. Isaiah predicted in Isaiah 53, "His reign was spread abroad". Look at verses 20 and 21 with me please Luke 13. "And again Jesus said, 'What shall I compare the kingdom of God? It's like a leaven which a woman took and hid in three measures of flour, until it was all leavened.'"
I've seen that with my eyes when my mother puts that little leaven inside the dough. Small dough. Now, next morning it's way, way overflowing in the jar. Now while the previous parable that Jesus gives us about the mustard seed emphasized the external growth of the kingdom, this parable of the leaven emphasized the internal influence of the kingdom of God. This tells me, no matter how powerful the influence of evil may appear now, no matter how visible the influence of evil may appear now, no matter how mighty the influence of evil appears now, no matter how daunting the influence of evil appear now, the positive influence of the kingdom of God is much greater. Oh, it might not be apparent, might not be visible, might not be clear to some, it might not grab the headline news, even maybe mocked and scorned or it may rejected and attacked. It may be falsely accused and named names but make no mistake about it. Make no mistake about it. It is quietly working its way in the nations.
Listen to me, soon you'll see with your eyes the power of the kingdom of God manifested. Soon you'll see that same Jesus who is now mocked in the media and by Hollywood, will soon reign and rule with an iron scepter. Will you soon see how he is gonna appear with power and great glory. You will one day, soon, with every eye is gonna see him. And those who pierced him will mourn that one day soon they will bow to his majesty. One day soon they will confess him Lord of all. One day soon they will see him judging his enemies and make him to be his footstool. And that day, might be sooner than any of us think. And that is why I never miss the opportunity of saying come to him now while the door of opportunity is open. Come to him now and face him as your Savior in the end, not as your judge. Today is the day, now is the hour.