Collegedale Camp Meeting 2023: Expanding His Kingdom

Georgia-Cumberland Conference

Lessons from the Great Physician

Greg Steinke

The Greatest Physician of All Time

Alright, so for those of you just coming in, that link right there at the top, if you type that into your phone or your iPad or whatever you want to type it into on your browser, you have my document, okay?

And I'm really excited about this session, about our whole 6 series.

I've really made some huge discoveries in my own journey that I hope to share with you today.

And it has everything to do with the power of Jesus to help us with our healing.

And I see this happening over and over as we minister to different people, God's ability to work in people, and we need to understand this as his believers.

So for the first session, we're going to introduce who the greatest physician of all time is.

And then, next session, we're going to talk about his supporting medical staff and the gifts and the amazing things that Jesus gave them through the power that he bestowed through the Spirit.

And then the third session and the fourth session and the fifth session, we're going to be doing some case studies in the Gospels to glean some very important spiritual truths for healing.

You know, the spirit is so important when it comes to improving our health.

And it's something that I think we need to emphasize more.

And then on our sixth session on Sabbath, we're gonna look at lifestyle medical ministry today.

You know, I'm involved in a clinic and we're very much about this.

And we want to encourage all of us to be about this.

And so we want to give you some principles to hone your own skills.

So the number of miraculous healings that are depicted in the gospel stories of Jesus Christ is unparalleled in history, right?

Jesus was no doubt the greatest physician of all time.

He took the hardest cases, the cases every other physician had given up on.

Hundreds, if not thousands, waited on him daily.

If the patient placed their confidence fully in him, he would heal them.

I can just use my, I don't know, use this here.

It says here that Christ was the greatest medical missionary of all time that ever lived.

You know, and many of us have experienced miracles in our lives.

Who's been to experience a miracle perhaps in your life?

You know, but the miracles today are maybe of a slightly different character many times than before, right?

You know, there are miracles of the nature that we're going to study that still occur, but much of the time it occurs slightly differently.

This story I entitled, The Orange Construction Barrel That Saved My Life.

So I was just finishing my classes in college.

And I was having to have that dealt with by an oral surgeon.

And so I was going to downtown Vancouver, I'm from the Vancouver, British Columbia area, on a regular basis to have checkups and so on.

And I was coming back right during spring break on the freeway, traveling about 70 miles an hour in my mom's Mercury Sable.

Next thing I know, bam, I'm hitting a large orange construction barrel.

I come to, I start to get my wits about me, I turn to my, I look to my right and there's a lady going off an exit that is not looking where she's going, she's looking at me with the look of horror on her face.

And as I look forward, I see the freeways turning to the left, and there's a whole wall of concrete right in front of me that I'm about to run straight into.

I put my hands back on the wheel, somehow I'd lost my possession of the wheel, and screeched the car back onto the freeway.

And I look in my rear view mirror, there's no signs of construction, there's no sign that there was any reason why an orange construction barrel should be there.

What would have happened if I had run into that concrete beam as a college student.

You know, you have these kind of moments when you realize, wow, only providence could have done that.

He must think that there's a reason for my life.

And so with Jesus' ministry, as you see at the last there, and you're welcome to read through this in total at your leisure time.

Jesus' ministry when he was on earth was different.

And so we have 4 questions I'm hoping to cover.

I'm not sure we'll have time to get through them, but you have the document.

During his earthly ministry up to number 1, why did God give Jesus power to heal diseases?

Number 2, what was the primary reason why people sought out Jesus during his earthly ministry?

Number 3, in addition to physically healing us and bearing our sicknesses, what example was Jesus the great physician for us during his ministry that is essential for our healing.

So what example was he that is essential for our healing?

And number 4, is the lesson of unifying spiritual health and physical health important today?

All right, And so we'll look at this now.

Why did God give Jesus power to heal diseases?

Number 1, to attest that Jesus was from God.

Number 2, Second point, to fulfill Scripture.

Third point, to demonstrate his power to forgive sins.

Fourth point, to demonstrate God's attitude toward us.

So if you look at Acts 2.22, I don't know if you brought your Bibles today, but Acts 2.22 says, Jesus of Nazareth, so this is Peter's speech, Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested by God to you by miracles, wonders, and signs which God did through him in your midst as you yourselves know." Okay, so you can see there that what was the purpose?

To attest means to provide or serve as clear evidence of.

So the miracles provided or served a clear evidence of God's working through Jesus, okay?

Jesus says the same thing himself in John 5.

I mean, if you've ever, if you ever want to take time in Scripture, read John 5.

Try to understand what's happening there.

It is really, really important to the whole story of Jesus.

And so in John 5 it says, the very works that I do bear witness of me, that the Father has sent me.

Well, he said it because he had just performed a miracle, and that miracle was healing the man at the Pool of Bethesda.

And so I want to look briefly at that story.

So if you turn to John 5, you can see that in that story, let's just read it really quickly.

After this there was a feast of the Jews.

Now there went up to Jerusalem, I'm sorry, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.

Now there is in Jerusalem by the sheep gate a pool, which is called in Hebrew Bethesda, having 5 porches.

His Supporting Medical Staff

All right, we're so glad you came back and We're excited about the second session here Where we're going to be talking about The the idea that we can learn from what Jesus did.

And again, I put a URL shortener on this.

And if you want this document, you can go ahead and get it at this URL shortener.

And we're actually not going to do this tenth 1.

Okay, so, it's supporting medical staff, you know.

Jesus spent time teaching his disciples how to heal the sick throughout his ministry.

It's 1 of the main purposes of the ministry, actually.

And we focus a lot on the gospel, and we should, in terms of the preaching part, but I think this is under-emphasized, and so I'm going to emphasize it today, in terms of the disciples' aspect here.

So we're going to look at some texts and sort of begin, you know, increasingly build the case here.

Well, it should be 9 now because the tenth 1 is actually for next session.

We'll get through these faster than last time.

But, anyways, I want to just kind of introduce you to what we're going to be talking about.

So, who were Jesus' supporting medical staff?

Hopefully, if you're familiar with Scripture, you have a fairly good idea of that.

What healing power were his disciples given during Jesus' ministry?

After Jesus' resurrection, what healing power did he promise his disciples?

What healing power were the disciples given after the ascension, Jesus' ascension?

Why does fallen man generally lack the power to perform miracles?

What has changed from the time of the early disciples to now?

What is Christ's reaction to those who apparently perform miracles but disobey God?

What did, did Jesus ever refuse to perform miracles?

At times prophets were sought for healing before Jesus came.

How did those experiences compare to that of Jesus?

Well, we're not gonna have too much time to explore that.

And what are the kind of illnesses that most people are suffering with today, and how do they compare to illnesses in Jesus' time?

And what kind of expectations should believers have in regard to healing today?

Okay, so this I remember talking to my mom I was telling my mom about some of these things we're gonna be talking about and that was her first question What about today?

So we'll try to do our best to cover that but I think you have to understand the kind of background and the other material before you can understand it well.

So, you know the disciples, but I just wanted to, I just threw a couple words in, and in various little phrases and words of characteristics that people typically describe the disciples as.

Very similar to you and I, if you're, if you're, if we're going to be honest about it, right?

Peter, impulsive, quick-tempered, outspoken, strong-willed, headstrong, etc, etc.

Andrew, you know, doesn't have a lot bad to say about him, but, you know, was Peter's brother.

James and John, the sons of Zebedee, are well known for being the sons of thunder, and explosive tempers, intolerant at times.

There's several disciples slow to understand, specifically noted in the scripture to be slow to understand what Jesus was up to, he ended up as a very potent preacher for God.

Bartholomew, we don't have a lot of information about.

We do know that he was from Cana of Galilee and that Jesus called him an Israelite indeed, and who is no deceit, and so, because of his praying under the fig tree, and so on.

And so you can see through there, Thomas obviously was cynical and prone to negativity, you know, doubted Jesus after his resurrection.

Levi Matthew, a tax collector, need we say more?

You know, And then some of these other ones we don't know as much about.

They were just kind of mentioned in passing.

But there they are, you can see some of the traits.

Simon the Zealot, we don't know much about him, but we know that Zealots were fanatical, reckless haters of the Romans.

So a lot of characteristics that you might describe as being typical of people like us, right?

Maybe you wouldn't describe yourself that way, but maybe talk to the people who know you.

And I know that I have my own weaknesses.

Alright, so we struggle with self-will and emotion and passion and ambition and one-upmanship and so on and so forth.

You know, and Jesus gave them 3 and a half years of training, which is kind of interesting, because as a physician I get 4 years of training, typically, and I just want to share with you a little story from that.

So I wasn't raised as a Christian at all.

My parents were raised Christian, sometimes Christian, but they had long left the church.

And my grandfather started visiting me as a teen and had had a massive impact on my life.

He was a missionary, a physician from Nigeria.

And I started to really pursue what a Christian life was like.

And so, you know, got through college, and the Lord was leading me to some kind of humanitarian activity, some kind of effort to help others.

I really got the impression from my early understanding of, you know, all things Christian, that was something that would be fulfilling and would be honoring to God and I sensed this calling.

And so what happened was I had went ahead and applied to different medical schools.

I applied to, I was living in British Columbia, I applied to the local school in British Columbia, which cost $4, 000 a year.

And I was praying a lot, And I said, Lord, what's your will here?

And I decided to just go ahead and apply to La Melinda University School of Medicine, which my uncle had graduated from, as I found out over time, and my grandfather.

But the problem there was it was somewhere, I forget exactly the number, but $30, 000 plus a year.

And so that was a hard kind of contrast there.

And so, You know, applied, went through that whole process.

And amazingly, I got an interview at Loma Linda, but not at University of British Columbia.

And it's fascinating how that happened, where there was 1 little glitch that occurred and I was ineligible for University of British Columbia.

And so I go down to have my interview in Loma Linda and sit down with the dean of admissions and he's looking over my stuff and he's like, oh, you're from Langley, British Columbia.

And he's like, oh, I see that, you know, the last 2 years of my schooling I went to an Adventist school and that was a miracle in itself.

But he said, oh, I see that you went to the school that my brother's at.

And he said, yeah, he's a bus driver there.

And he said his name and I was like, oh, that was my bus driver.

And it was amazing because while I was in college, you know, if you're getting ready for college or you're in college, you have this, at least I did, had this kind of understanding that there was a real chance I wasn't going to achieve my kind of utmost goal, right?

So I thought to myself, well, I better have something I'm going to fall back on.

And so I had figured out that maybe I could become an emergency medical technician and and that was you know less training less rigorous and so I had ended up Calling that bus driver and saying hey, you know for me to become an ambulance driver, I need the same license as a bus driver, would you teach me how to drive bus?

And so I had developed quite a good relationship with him.

Little did I know that it would have a huge impact later.

And so while I'm at that interview, and the dean of admissions finds out that I know his brother, turns out he calls his brother right up as soon as the interview's over, and asks him about me.

And I guess he gave a good recommendation, because my grades were not, like, you know, as good as they could have been, because of, you know, it's just, you know, it's interesting, when you don't have a Christian background, you have so much apathy, and you don't have necessarily the motivation you should have, right?

And as the Lord began to impact my life, it was kind of high school and then going into college, I really started to apply myself, because I could sense that God had a bigger calling for me.

And so my grades went up a lot during college, and was eventually doing very well, but I had a couple bad years there.

And so I was kind of worried that I might not get in because of that, but the Lord worked the way through, and I got into medical school.

In fact, probably some people say it's harder to get in than it is to go through the actual schooling, which is probably true in so many ways.

Because once you're in, they do almost anything they can to keep you there, even if you're struggling.

All right, so that was providential in my mind, and a real kind of, that God was directing, and that he was going to make this training happen.

And I believe that was what was happening with the disciples too.

So question number 2, what healing power were his disciples given during Jesus' ministry?

So I included a passage here from Mark 3.

Cleansing the Defiled

Okay, well, I guess we're trying to stay on time, so I'm glad for those of you who are here.

We usually have people coming in as we go.

I'm sorry I didn't have that ready this time.

I'll try to finish it at the end for you guys so you can all have this.

I just don't have the link quite ready yet for this session, but of course I have the material.

We're just going to get it all ready here.

I don't know why it's struggling to come up.

So now we're going to talk about, we're going to start getting into the specifics of the healing ministry of Jesus.

In terms of his actual healing efforts, and it's just really pretty remarkable what Jesus did.

These are some great stories, So I thought that you'd find this interesting.

So as soon as I get back, sorry about this.

Okay, so here's a list of the stories that Jesus did.

We don't have time to go through all 4, but we're going to go through 3 of them.

So, we're going to look at a couple examples of Jesus tending to those who were defiled, right?

This idea of defilement is still strong in our society today.

Those people who feel like they're like everyone's turned their back on them.

And then the next session after that, we're going to look at the distressed.

We're going to go through some of the stories, and you can see I highlighted the ones we're going to go through.

And then we're going to look at the dead, and look at a couple things like that with that 1.

So we're going to look at the story of the leper, the story of a paralyzed man, and of the blind.

We don't have time to go through all 4 of them.

Alright, We'll just start with the leper.

Okay, so let's go ahead and start on this part here.

Okay, so, you know, all 3 synoptic Gospels tell us about Jesus healing a leper, right?

You know, when you think about skin, I mean, 1 of the most beautiful things is skin, right?

Not only does it have beauty that you see with it, but if you didn't have that, I don't know if you've ever seen someone's face with the skin off.

My mom used to work with a surgeon who did those kind of procedures.

We're so used to seeing emotion in a person's face.

And the other thing about skin as you study skin is that it's so amazing.

On the 1 hand it's porous, you can rub creams on your skin and it goes right on into your body and you can cut on it and take things off if you need to.

It's both able to retain heat and remove it.

And so for you to have your skin messed up, it's a big deal.

Anyone ever had a skin issue that kind of bothered them a little bit?

You know, for most of us nowadays, when we get a skin issue, we don't fear, oh no, this might be leprosy.

But just think about the context back then.

Here you have a situation where people know very little about their health, we went over that.

They know very little about the causes of disease and here now they have some kind of lesion forming on some part of their skin.

And with the issue of leprosy such a big deal in that society, you can imagine the fear and trembling that begins into someone's mind as they stare at this lesion on their skin, this rash or whatever they would describe it as.

Because leprosy was the most dreaded disease by far.

It was considered incurable, contagious, and repulsive to everyone.

It became a symbol of the outcast, that marred skin.

And to the Jews it was a sign of God's judgment, right?

Series

Lessons from the Great Physician

His Supporting Medical Staff

Transcript

Parent Series

Parent Conference

Sponsor

Recorded

Attachments

Chad Kreuzer Weekend 2022

The Psychology for Health & Healing

57m

A Joyful Heart/Source of Resilience

Tired and Alone: How to Live an Abundant Life, While Avoiding Burnout in Medicine and Ministry

59m

Breakout Session A

A Combined Work – Physicians & Ministers

54m

Breakout Session C

The Cutting Edge: Getting Back to Our Calling

1h

The 21st Century Challenge

5. Who Needs a Right Arm

1h 6m

The Gospel of Health

1h 7m

AMEN 2006 Plenary Sessions

From Medical Practice to Ministry: The Experience of the Bluegrass Clinic

40m

Plenary

Busyness, Spirituality, and Vision

55m

Dave Fiedler: Thoughts on Thinking - A Brief History of Adventist Thought

Kellogg vs. the Ministry: A Century of Collateral Damage

58m

Beat Diabetes, Prediabetes, & Overweight

Beat Diabetes, Prediabetes, & Overweight - Part 3

1h 15m

After Hours

Sharing Our Faith Without Apology

51m

The Cost of Being a Medical Missionary

The Cost of Being a Medical Missionary Part 1

31m

Sound Doctrine