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August 11, 2020 8:00 am
Today on Fellowship in the Word pastor Bill Gebhart challenges you to become a fully functioning follower of Jesus Christ. Notice my soul was talking to wait in silence for God only that the sermon don't you wish yours was that short, my soul, wait in silence for Godot receive human operate on yourself to make yourself spiritually helping yesterday. Both the creature and the congregation joining us today on this additional Fellowship in the Word pastor Bill Gebhart Fellowship in the Words the radio ministry of Fellowship Bible church located in Metairie, Louisiana that's going pastor Bill Gebhart now is once again he shows us how God's word meets our world. Evan O'Neill came was born in Pennsylvania. Just as the Confederacy was taking Fort Sumter.
His father was a major general in the Union Army and in fact had received a bravery metal in the battle of Gettysburg his mother Elizabeth was a medical doctor in a day where there were very, very few women who practice medicine from his father. He inherited courage and valor from his mother a love for medicine. Evan O'Neill came became one of the most innovative surgeons of his day. In the 1920s. He became convinced that far too many surgeries are being performed by giving general anesthesia and he was convinced that the surgeries could have been done with local anesthesia's claims encountered a great deal of skepticism from the medical community so Dr. Kane decided he would prove his point, he had preformed nearly 4000. Appendectomies in his career and he decided that this next act by adapting me that he would do would be done only with a local anesthetic. So on February 15, 1921, he decided to perform the surgery he had selected his patient carefully. He didn't put them to sleep and he began to work slicing through the skin and the tissue he found the appendix and remove the appendix and he so the man back up. The surgery was a complete success. The patient said that he had experienced only minor discomfort. By the way, the name of the patient was Dr. Evan O'Neill came here perform the surgery on himself.
After that, by the way, Dr. Kane received a lot of notoriety as we go through life, we sometimes become were almost always infected with unhealthy attitudes, toxic habits, infectious sins, we are exposed to a lot of spiritual contamination as we live out our lives. What that does is that leaves us depressed and discouraged in angry and bitter and fearful and anxious, all those things. And while it is helpful to have others perform surgery on us when we are spiritually suffering, like having friends to encourage us and if need be. Having seeking out professional counseling. I don't believe we could ever become a spiritually healthy as we could be through those two routes only.
I believe that what we need to discover is what Dr. Evan O'Neill.
Kane discovered when it comes to your spiritual health. You need to learn how to perform spiritual surgery on yourself.
Open your Bibles to first Samuel chapter 23, the context will be David Young, David David, who won so obscure of a teenager that when Samuel went to Jesse's house. His own father forgot to mention them as one of the sons he went from that obscurity to having Samuel whisper in his ear that you will be the next King over all of Israel won a thing for teenager to hear and anyone, and slew Goliath and so everybody knew who he was.
He became a hero in the land. Everything was going great. He's a talented young man is invited to King Saul's court. He plays instruments he sings for the getting and was only one rub with the whole thing the paranoid King Saul hated David and decided he was going to kill David so what you read is David running and Saul chasing and it goes on for quite some time and here's an incident where David is in the wilderness of Ziff and he has been running from Saul in verse 14 it said. David stayed in the wilderness in the strongholds and remained in the hill country in the wilderness of Ziff and Saul saw him every day.
But God did not deliver them into his hands, and now David became aware that Saul would come out to seek his life while David was in the wilderness of Ziff at Horace.
David is having a bad spiritual day.
Who would want the king to chase you down your young men you're thinking this may be my last day.
Just imagine the stress the things of cause anxiety, worry, all those things in our lives. And so here comes a friend alongside. In verse 16 it says and Jonathan saw son arose and went to David at Horace and he encouraged him in God, that's interesting.
He encouraged him in God. Don't miss that praising God because is a context to how Jonathan encouraged him didn't say hey I'm with you no matter what. I'll be here for you. Things always work out eventually. He encouraged them in God because notice what he said he said to them, do not be afraid because of the hand saw my father shall not find you and you will be king over Israel and he says and I will be next to you and Saul. My father knows that all how did he encourage them. He basically just reiterated what Samuel the prophet had told David you will be king. He encourage them. Sometimes when were spiritually struggling. It's great to have a friend come alongside and encourage you. By the way I said earlier that sometimes we need professional counseling. David received professional counseling if you may.
You see is when David became king he went to a really dark spot is life. You know it it's famous he committed adultery with Bathsheba and then he basically orchestrated the murder of her husband Uriah the Hittite not because David was king and nobody would mess with David. He was able to cover that sin up even if people knew it. No one ever mentioned it.
And so David for about a year covered up the sin in his confessional Psalms of the later road.
David said I was in misery.
That whole year under tremendous guilt under tremendous conviction, but it covered at all.
So God decided maybe what David needs is professional counseling and so he sent them a professional that I wasn't a professional therapist. He was a professional prophet and his name was Nathan Noll.
Nathan was sent by God to speak to David now you can just imagine whenever you go publicly in a king's court and say to that King your dirty rotten scoundrel normally speaking.
You probably die in that court to confront a king like that you would never probably ever be able to survive.
So maybe went to the court and he did have an ingenious methodology. Nathan knew that David was a shepherd and so I make and said to them, David Ike, I tell you historian it was that when your profit go it give me a story.
He said unto story about first of all, a man who had just a little lamb.
That's all he had ever that's what he owned one of David was a shepherd, just one yeah and there was this other guy and he had a whole bunch of sheep big flock of sheep and then when he decided to do is he would go and steal that one little lamb will by the time he gets that David thinking back to shepherding. They said that man should die and Nathan pointed his finger David and said that man is you. And that's really what caused David to come out of the spiritual funk that he was in and decided he would confess and acknowledge his sin before God and before man. So David had both friends to encourage them and he had a professional counselor not want to go to chapter 30 of her.
Samuel though, and show you something else. In chapter 31st Samuel this is doing with the Amalekites, who David is fighting with David and his army of trying to encounter the Amalekites.
The Amalekites are trying to encounter them in verse two it says and they took captive the Amalekites came to the city and it says and they took captive the women and all who were in it, both small and great without killing anyone and they carried him off and went on their way so they went into a city. David's men were his families were everything else and they took all the women. All the children into captivity which assured be mean slavery when David and his men came to the city, behold, it was burned with fire, and their wives and their sons and their daughters have been taken captive and then David and the people who were afflicted with him lifted their voices and they wept until there was no strength in them to weep, then gone completely into the grieving process.
This is just that you lost a son, you lost all your sons lost a daughter you lost all your daughters you lost all your family, you lost your neighbors. You lost your friend everybody.
And so there is this tremendous outpouring of grief and mourning that goes on. It even says now David's two wives had been taken captive and hit a woman the just politeness and Abigail the widow of Mabel that, like now, here's what happens. Moreover, David was greatly distressed because the people spoke of stoning him, it says for the people were embittered. Each one because of the sons and daughters while talk about a bad day you lose your own family you lose your own friends you love all those children's pictures in your mind all taken off likely in the captivity to become slaves and now the people. It's typical of the grieving process. Anger turned outwards. One of the early stages when we grieve and they need an object of their anger and their anger is David and so they say you brought us here. You put us in this situation. You know what I think we had a stone you to death know you talk about a bad spiritual day and unhealthy spiritual day.
David is having one. But notice the difference. Jonathan doesn't show up. Nathan doesn't show up. It says in the next sentence, but David strengthened himself in the Lord his God. David committed surgery on himself. He strengthened himself. Notice he was in his spiritual vulnerability with you the fall of the sermon spiritual sickness, but now he has bought himself back to health, and he did it to himself because he operated on himself and again. Notice it says he strengthened himself in the Lord his God just what Jonathan did Huntley do that. How does that work. How does it happen to me now to Lamentations Lamentations chapter 3 very famous passage Lamentations chapter 3. Written by Jeremiah. Jeremiah would had a lot of spiritually sick days. I can imagine there's any character in the Bible and less like the be the Jeremiah jeremiad is an interesting man. He was a prophet before the exile the exciting thing for Jeremiah was God called him and told him that since you been in your mother's womb. I have decided you will be my prophet, that sounds really good. That sounds impressive in any said to him at all. By the way just one little Asterix.
No one will ever believe anything you say and all the people will hate you and that was Jeremiah's life. That's why he is called the weeping prophet. He has a lot of bad days. What Jeremiah's about to operate on himself.
He doesn't have any friends to encourage them because not many professional counselors about guest operating himself and so in verse 19 of chapter 3 says he says remember my affliction and my wondering. The warm wood in the bitterness. He said surely my soul remembers and is now bowed down within me basically saying this, Lord, my life stinks. I am spiritually in a bad place. I need to remember that. And then he says something watch this I recall, to my mind all the sudden he says wait I recall something I started thinking differently. I recall something in my mind. He said this, I recall my mind. Therefore, I have hope. All of a sudden he does the surgery on himself, and he goes from despair to hope and he does it by simply telling us. I recall something in my mind what is recall what it is the Lord.
Lovingkindness is indeed never cease. That's the great word has said it means love loyal love, grace, mercy, patient's forgiveness is the most impregnated word of the Old Testament is you. I remember that your love for me never ceases.
I'm having a terrible day but your love for me never ceases.
He says for his compassion never fails. They are new every morning great is your faithfulness.
The Lord is my portion, says my soul. Notice what he says I got it I was able to turn it around.
I operator myself. I remembered who you are and I remembered what you do and how you think about me and whenever I did that performing surgery myself. All of a sudden a set of despair.
I'm having hope the let me see how this works with David telling me to Psalm 62 and David is going to do it. I remember one of the key ways to describe what faith does. I know this seems a little bit boring and daunting to us, but if you said faith does what to me you only can use one word pastor one word faith waits. That's what faith does. There's nothing in the world that takes more faith than waiting to see that's the measure of your faith is waiting and so Jeremiah said it. I watched David pick up on it. He says in verse one, my soul waits in silence for God only from him is my salvation. He only is my rock and my salvation.
He's my stronghold.
I shall not be greatly shaken notice.
Now he says my soul within me is waiting and he's going to say a few things about God is going to say that what his soul was doing. He's experienced this exercising his faith with waiting because God is his delivery salvation. God is his rock verse five he says my soul waited in silence for God only for my hope is from him.
He only is my rock and my salvation, my stronghold, I shall not be shaken decent on God, myself, salvation of my glory. Rest the rock of my strength, my refuge is in God, trust in him all the time so people, he says, pour out your heart before him. God is a refuge for us. Now he says I'm waiting now this is interesting.
He's once again operating himself, but I think some, it's really fascinating is verse five when he says my soul waited in silence for God only. This is not a prayer. David is not praying here. David is preaching. Notice my soul at least talking to wait in silence for God only. That's a sermon. Don't you wish yours was that short, my soul, wait in silence for God only you see if human operate on yourself to make yourself spiritually healthy. You have to be both the preacher and the congregation. You see, sometimes you have to talk yourself.
That's what Dave is doing is talking to himself, my soul, you need to wait in silence. In fact, he then goes that in verses 11 and 12 it says once God is spoken twice. I heard this that power belongs to God and lovingkindness is yours, O Lord, for you recompense a man according to his work. That's kind of fascinating. What is it today was remembering. He's remembering the word of God. He's remembering truth about God, it notice he says, you know, I know you said this, I'm back. I think you said this at least twice.
I think that's his fastening said what your power belongs to you. He said, and lovingkindness is yours, O Lord, you see, that's what David is doing his conclusion in all this, as he preaches to himself.
The surgery on himself is you know what I will be shaken. See, I will not be shaken. I am not going to let my spiritual struggles get in my way of my spiritual walk. Is he. Sometimes we are friends to encourage us in every once in a while we may have a professional help us along the way.
But if you're ever to be spiritually healthy. You have to learn operate on yourself spiritually. That's what has to happen to elements and operating yourself one. If the weight I know you just hate that Psalm 46 has been one of my favorite songs ever since I converted to Christ, but be still and know that I am God plans that hard. You see, that is really hard.
Just be still and know that I am God wait if you trust me. Wait and that hard and white so hard because we don't trust.
That's what makes it so hard for us time after time he shows his faithfulness. But the next time you're in a spiritual struggle. It's like I want to wait. I want the eye we needed. Now I need it now. I need it now. So you have the idea waiting and then you have to bring to mind the truth of God what is God said about my situation.
What is God said when we do that hope returns to her heart were healthy. The surgery is a success.
See, what's the surgical tool that you would use then it's interesting if you go to physical operating room thing of the things you see their scalpels and scissors and calipers and forceps in sponges and sutures in one to sterilize stuff is all over the place.
What you do surgery with in the word of God.
What's the surgery diaper for myself spiritually told me to Hebrews 4 Hebrews in the New Testament, chapter 4, the context of the instrument is found in verse 11. The entire book of Hebrews is a great book in the New Testament is that there are believers that the writer of Hebrews is writing too hard, discourage with her life. Most of them have been Jewish believers.
In other words, their heritage is Jewish state converted to Christ they are messianic Jews. The problem that they've had is now for 20 years the Jewish community is hated them and ostracized so they brought their friends a foster family.
They lost their businesses. They've also been persecuted by the Greeks and Romans their discourage group of people so the writer is writing to them because what they decided on their own, or at least he caught wind of his or thinking you know what maybe we ought to go back to Judaism is everybody likes us back there and he says don't you dare do that and then he decides is going to use an analogy, he compares them and us to the Exodus generation and it's kind of interesting, and his basic premises.
This, yes, you were saved in Egypt because you run the blood of the Lamb at the Passover and you were. As Paul said baptized when you went through the Red Sea, you get a sense saved. Now you're on your way to the promised land. Land flowing with milk and honey. But he said you know what I'm worried about.
Just like that generation almost all of you are going to die in the wilderness you be saved to be out of Egypt, out of the world that you're never going to make it to the spiritual life that God meant for you to have you to die in the wilderness. That's what he keeps wanting them, he says what you really want to do is get into the wilderness and he calls that the faith rest life I life spiritually, flowing with milk and honey. So in verse 11, he says, therefore let us be diligent to enter that rest, so that no one will fall pieces from following the same example of disobedience a day. He says let me explain how you get there and for the sake of the sermon you get there by performing surgery on yourself. That's how you get there faster broke apart on the radio ministry of fellowship in the world. If you ever miss one of our broadcasting or maybe you just like the message one more time. Remember the good or great website called one place.com that's one place.com and you can listen the Fellowship in the Word online event website you will find on with today's broadcast but also many of her previous audio programs as well have Fellowship in the Word.
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