Man's Greatest Sickness

It seems like the church here and even our whole nation have been hit hard with sickness. Many have struggled with things like flu, COVID, strep throat, RSV, or the crud. Others have had surgeries, heart issues, falls, etc. Some cannot even get in the hospital because the hospitals are so full. The reality is some have passed away from these or other problems. I do not want to make light of the suffering that so many have gone through or experienced lately, but I do want to talk about a far more dangerous sickness than the common cold, flu, or COVID. That is sin.

Sin sickness is a universal problem (Romans 3:23). Everyone you know has been touched in some way by this disease. The problem with sin is not that it causes a cough or congestion but a separation from God (Isaiah 59:1-2). What might be some symptoms of this sickness in your life? One might be being more concerned with what you want versus what God wants. Another might be living contrary to the word of God. Another might be not being able to see Jesus in your life. The root of these problems is sin.

If you do not treat your physical sickness, it can get worse. If you do not treat your spiritual sickness, it will get worse. How do I treat this sin problem? The only solution is Jesus. Jesus is the only one who has never been infected with this sin problem therefore He could offer His life as a perfect sacrifice. In His blood we can be washed from our sin. When we come to Jesus, we will need a heart transplant. We will need to have our old heart of sin taken out and put in a heart for Jesus.

If physical sickness is not cured, it can lead to death. If sin sickness is not cured, it will lead to death, death being an eternal separation from God. Jesus has done everything He can to fix your sin problem. The question is, will you let him in your life through faith and obedience?

How Did Jesus Glorify God?

- How did Jesus glorify God?

         Isaiah 53 : 11; John 9 : 4; Philippians 2: 5 - 8; Matthew 20: 20 - 28; Acts 10 : 38

         Examples: Matthew 8 : 14 - 17; Matthew 14 : 13 - 21

- What did Jesus teach?

         Matthew 23 : 11 - 12; Matthew 25 : 24 - 40; Mark 9 : 33 - 35

- What does the New Testament teach:

         Romans 12 : 11; Galatians 5 : 13 - 14; I Peter 4 : 10 - 11

- Can you think of any other verses?

- How do I have the heart of a servant?

- Who and how can I serve outside of church?

- How can I serve in the church or with the church?

- What hinders me from serving?

- What is my purpose in serving?  Matthew 5 : 16

- Reminders: Galatians 6 : 9 - 10; I Corinthians 15 : 58; Matthew 25 : 21

Do You Like Me? Check Yes or No

I think most of us would say that we love our spouse. That would be a biblical thing to say (Titus 2:4; Ephesians 5:33). If we do not, then we need to repent and love them as the Bible teaches. The question I want to ask is: do you like your spouse? Is there a difference? I think so. I can love someone and do the right thing but not like them and, in turn, do it for the wrong reason.

Why is this even a concern? When you are dating, you like each other and want to spend time together so you can get to know each other better. You usually marry someone you like. What happens? Life. Now that you are married, you live together, and it is hard to live with people. You do things a certain way, and they do it another way. You cannot go out to eat all the time so someone needs to fix food, but you both work. You do not live at your parents’ house so someone needs to do laundry and clean. Someone needs to work so you have money to buy things. You do not always see eye to eye on how to spend that money. There is sickness and financial struggles, etc. Then kids. We go from the couple that went to ballgames or hiking or vacations or whatever your things were to people having to deal with life. And life can be tough. When we do not become one (Genesis 2:24) by working together, we can start working against each other and become roommates at best and at worst enemies.

I want to challenge you to enjoy each other (Proverbs 5:18). Yes, I know that is talking about more than going to a movie or dinner together, but I think we need to step away from life sometimes and enjoy each other. It does not have to be a week long or expensive. But the joy you find in each other can keep your love strong.

My thanks to Adam Faughn for his thoughts that inspired this article.