Pator Wayne Cordeiro and Pastor Jon Burgess
August 12, 2018 - W1832

PASTOR JON BURGESS:Today, we'll be talking about healing that comes through Sabbath. I am so excited about continuing our Divine Rhythm series and stepping into the rhythm that God has for us: His Word sets our rhythm and determines our pace; His Truth sets us free from lies that hold us down! Pastor Wayne and I had something different in mind for this weekend’s message, but God said, “Nope, you’ll be talking about healing because I want my people healed!”

Cyndi and I had a few pieces of furniture that didn’t fit into our house so she posted them online to sell, and a man named Michael came by and bought them. We moved the furniture into his van; he said that he was in the military and had a war injury that acts up when he’s relaxed or not focusing on anything. I said, “ Would you mind if I prayed for you right now?”

So, right in front of his van, on my curb, I laid hands on him and prayed that God would heal him from whatever was causing the seizures! God met us on that curb! I said to Michael, “Hey, God bless you, and thank you so much for your sacrifice and service for our country." I love that God heals when, how, and whoever He wants—understanding that we serve a God who heals! Healing usually happens as unscheduled events, such as, in…

John 9:1-5,14 NIV says, “¹As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. ² His disciples asked him, ‘Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?’ ³ ‘Neither this man nor his parents sinned,’ said Jesus, ‘but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him. ⁴ As long as it is day, we must do the works of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work. ⁵ While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.’ ¹⁴ Now the day on which Jesus had made the mud and opened the man’s eyes was a Sabbath.”

Last week we talked about stepping into God’s Divine Rhythm of prioritizing the Sabbath day (the first day after creation) by setting it aside for God. (According to religious law, no work was to be done on the Sabbath.) But by healing on the Sabbath, Jesus was reminding us of what He was about to do through the Cross—to reverse the curse of sin that brought sickness, disease, death—and to access connection with God called Communion and Healing through Him!

God wants to teach us to get His perspective when horrendous things happen to us that we didn't see coming, but God did! Sabbath is a reminder to slow down for God’s signals. Here are things that we can do…

1. Red Light: Stop And Turn Your Bad Report Into A Prayer Request

Because life brings many bad reports, the Sabbath reminds us that every bad report is an opportunity to show God’s faithfulness…  

2 Kings 19:10-12,14-16, NIV, says,¹⁰ “Say to Hezekiah king of Judah: ‘Do not let the god you depend on deceive you when he says, ‘Jerusalem will not be given into the hands of the king of Assyria.’ ¹¹ Surely you have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all the countries, destroying them completely. And will you be delivered? ¹² Did the gods of the nations that were destroyed by my predecessors deliver them…’¹⁴ Hezekiah received the letter from the messengers and read it. Then he went up to the temple of the Lord and spread it out before the Lord. ¹⁵ And Hezekiah prayed to the Lord: “Lord, the God of Israel, enthroned between the cherubim, you alone are God over all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth. ¹⁶ Give ear, Lord, and hear; open your eyes, Lord, and see; listen to the words Sennacherib has sent to ridicule the living God.”

A bad report may cause us to feel as if we missed it, and we don't know how it will turn out! But we can turn to the One who made us, who sees the beginning from the end! Let me introduce this lower case situation to my upper case Savior!

2. Yellow Light: Yield Your Timetable To God’s Prophetic Promises

Often when we have the pressure of a bad report, we want God to take care of it now. We don’t want to yield. The wrong question is “How long will it take?” The right question is, “What does my God promise He will do?” Philippians 1:6, NIV says, “being confident of this, that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion...” God will finish what He started!

Habakkuk 2:1-3 NIV says, “¹I will stand at my watchand station myself on the ramparts;I will look to see what he will say to me, and what answer I am to give to this complaint.²Then the Lord replied:“Write down the revelationand make it plain on tabletsso that a herald may run with it.³ For the revelation awaits an appointed time; it speaks of the end and will not prove false.Though it linger, wait for it;it will certainly comeand will not delay.”

When we yield our timetable to God, we can experience the same boldness that Paul and Habakkuk did. What has God spoken over you? Hold on to that word until it comes to pass—God speaks through scriptures and from those praying over you. Sabbath reminds us to slow down long enough to actually hear His voice!

Finally, our favorite light—the green light! Focus on God's strength not on your disease or sickness…

3. Green Light: Go Forward With A Focus On God’s Strength

Habakkuk 3:16-19 NIVsays, “¹⁶I heard and my heart pounded, my lips quivered at the sound; decay crept into my bones, and my legs trembled. Yet I will wait patiently for the day of calamity   to come on the nation invading us.¹⁷ Though the fig tree does not bud   and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen   and no cattle in the stalls,¹⁸ yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my Savior.¹⁹ The Sovereign Lord is my strength   he makes my feet like the feet of a deer, he enables me to tread on the heights.”

Habakkuk is saying, I will thank God before my circumstances change. What is God doing through this? Can we keep moving even when we can't see the mountaintop? That’s what happens when we focus in on God’s strength instead of our weakness!

Pastor Wayne, through his story of what's happened to him most recently, will help us overcome and apprehend the healing that God has for all of us. Take a look.

[Video]

PASTOR JON: We are launching a series Divine Rhythm and the difference between daily routine and a divine rhythm: A daily rhythm is dependent on everything going the same, a surface type of peace. A divine rhythm is a dependency upon Jesus Christ in the middle of difficult challenges and unexpected news. Daily routines are good but life is constantly throwing curve balls at us!

PASTOR WAYNE: For the last year or so, I haven’t felt well. This December, I was very ill so the doctor put me on antibiotics—they didn’t help. I went for a battery of tests. Doctor did a biopsy in a painful area and found that I have cancer. That was a bolt of lightning from left field! I kept thinking, it can’t happen to me, I’m healthy, strong and invincible…   

The first week I couldn’t sleep. Suddenly, you come face to face with your mortality—you’re finite, not Superman. You come to grips that you’re not here that long. You talk about it, pray, tell people, and preach. When it happens to you, it nails you, and you struggle big time!

After a week, I settled down and thought, “Wait a minute, I am not on my own.” 1 Corinthians 6:20 says, “You were bought with a price,” so my body belongs to Jesus, and what He wants to do with it, He’ll do. I really think this is for the glory of God!

The question He put on my heart is, “Who is in control?” I thought God is in control! He is good! At this point, I don't have the luxury of hindsight. Everything is before me. I'm facing this brand new. If I do radiation, it's five days a week for two months; so everything is changing. I realize I’m fragile, and my plans are in God’s hands—He can change it just like that!

I’ve been researching like crazy, talking to different oncologists, getting second and third opinions, and seeing what stage it's in—it's in the intermediate stage, not low, but not high. So I need to get moving on it!

PASTOR JON: Once I got over the shock, I marveled at the care of our God: He made sure that your son, Aaron, moved there just days before the news came and was with you when you received the news. And your daughter, Abby, came the day after you received the news. I saw that as the Lord's confirmation saying, “Wayne, I am in control.”

PASTOR WAYNE: God knew this before time began so He's good with it. I'm not! But the neat thing is that I must remember that even in the midst of a challenge with no hindsight, God is good and is in control. I must rest. It doesn't mean that I am exonerated from my responsibilities.

When I asked, “Why is this happening, woe is me,” the Lord said, “No, you've got to get off the defense and get on the offense—take the initiative and run after it!” Paul's words came to mind in I Corinthians 9:24b NIV, “Run in such a way that you get the prize.”We have responsibilities even while you're trusting God for His sovereignty—it's a partnership! Jesus didn't create us to just sit and observe while He does the work. The word commission in Matthew 28 (the Great Commission) means we're doing this mission together. I want God to do His part; and He expects me to do mine!

PASTOR JON: So your daily routine will obviously be completely different, but your divine rhythm continues to be the same. As you trained us these many years to stay in your devotions and accountability, stay connected to family, be obedient to what God's asked you to do—that's your part. He does the heavy lifting. You can't heal cancer but He can!

PASTOR WAYNE: I understand that God may be telling me to slow down a bit because I had prayed, “God if You need to use a two?by?four, you can.” I didn't think it would come in this form! I determined, “Is my faith fragile or is it fiercely dependent upon my God?”

PASTOR JON: In Habakkuk 3, in the middle of nothing going right (the crops were failing, no fruit on the trees, the barns were empty), he still said. “I choose to rejoice.”

PASTOR WAYNE: A lot of times we've given the Lord our marriage, health and thoughts, but we must give it to Him everyday—what we said last month would not suffice today. The commitment you made on your wedding day will not suffice in your marriage today.

Worship is a large part of our relationship with the Lord. This is my go?to song when I really need to reconnect to the Lord. It reminds me how important it is to give Him afresh.

[Singing with guitar:] "Lord, I give you my heart, I give you my soul. I live for you alone.

Every breath that I take, every moment I'm awake, Lord, have your way in me.

Lord, I give you my heart. I give you my soul. I live for you alone.

Every breath that I take, every moment I'm awake, Lord, have your way in me.”

My prayer is that people will see that God is in control; that His promises are as true—in tough times as in good times; from the bottom of the valley or on the mountaintop; when you're happily married or when you’re not; when you’re struggling with finances or rich as can be—His promises are the same for every single one of us! God's promises are as potent and as powerful in both cases. If you're going through tough times and you're in the valley, His promises are ever true. God is in control and He is a good God. Don't ever let go of that!

PASTOR JON: You don't want people feeling sorry for you, but you want them rallying around and saying, “I'm standing with you in prayer.” That's what came through so well in what you just shared—about what God is doing through this.

PASTOR WAYNE: This is for God's glory. He's the One who knows the way and how to get me there. If our questions are based on faith and we cooperate with God, watch the commission take place (together with Him) so healing and glory comes.

PASTOR JON: The Lord's words to you were so good and sweet. I’ve got this.

PASTOR WAYNE: Fear births inaction; faith is the beginning of action that says, “God, you're still in control.” Sometimes He takes everything away so we realize that Jesus is all we need—when Jesus is all we’ve got. He's all I’ve got!

PASTOR JON: Well, I love how soon after getting this news you’re already able to move forward in this kind of faith, teaching the rest of us what to do. Instead of panicking, you responded in prayer—that's exactly what we need!

PASTOR WAYNE: I wish I could say it came easily, but I lost a lot of sleep! Until two days ago I was extremely fatigued, trying to process everything. Some people ask, "Wayne, are you a person of faith?" I say, "Yes, I am, but it did not come easily or quickly.”

It doesn't matter how deep the valley you're going through, stay with your devotions because the Word of God will echo in your heart and soul. The Bible says the Holy Ghost will bring back to remembrance the things you have heard. Well, if you haven't heard much lately and haven't been storing or archiving anything, what's the Holy Spirit bringing back? If you have an archive of the Word of God, the Holy Spirit will season your thoughts, and you will ask better questions that will prompt a better perspective that ushers you to better faith.

[End video]

Study Questions

1. Name some times when you were in a valley and how you handled it.

2. Share some of the times when you have seen God work miracles.

3. Share some answered prayers.

4. How is your focus more on a Divine Rhythm rather than a Daily Rhythm?

5. Is your faith bigger than your fear?