We were just dealing with an issue here recently in the fellowship, and we were talking with someone and sharing with them and they were almost surprised, and I think it’s something that should be spoken to every one of us:  repentance is not just a “get out of jail free” card.  Godly sorrow, we all know in Second Corinthians, requires a clearing of ourselves; amen?  And most acts of repentance, when clearly revealed and understood in a conflict between two parties, most acts of repentance should have with it some form of restitution.  I can’t wreck your car and just go, “I’m sorry.”  Amen?  “Well, I repented.”  That doesn’t fix my car.  We read the Old Testament, we see plenty of different laws that were presented back then (amen?), of what happened if you even just borrowed something from one of your brothers, and you borrowed their ox, and he dies.  “Aw brother, I’m sorry, man.”  “Sorry nothing.  Where’s my ox?”  Amen?  Sometimes there were surcharges and we pay back multiple times.  And we’re living in a time in Christianity, people that are in covenant with God, and think, “Well you know, if I don’t have any restitution with God, why with man?”  First of all, He doesn’t need anything; amen?  First of all, we have a debt we cannot pay.  And so, when we go out sharing this gospel and telling people you have a debt man, you can’t pay it but Jesus paid it for you.  We’ve all heard the different Scriptures and examples:  Weren’t ten healed?  How is it that only one returned to say thanks?  Well, in the heart of God it should be ten, but let’s at least be that one; amen?  It doesn’t matter what anybody else is doing, I’m going to be the one that turns and comes back and says, “Thank you, Lord, for giving unto me.”

The apostle ministering these great truths to a number of the churches, trying to establish these foundational truths, talks to the Galatians and we know that in Galatia here, one of the problems they were dealing with was a works mentality, adding to the grace of God, works, these Judaizers that were still trying to hold some of the church believers under the law.  Paul reminds us of this aspect of this great gospel, this good news of the Redeemer; that substitutionary stepping in of Jesus on our behalf to pay the price for our sins.  Isaiah 53 makes it clear:  He not only bore our sins; He bore our sickness and our diseases; amen?  Let’s not let the doctrine, the biblical truth and revelation of divine healing, get away.

We need to become zealous; we need to be pursuers of the miraculous healing of our bodies because of the finished work of Jesus Christ.  And it is so difficult to pray in faith with a medical answer for everything that we’re facing.  Just like it’s difficult to pray the blessing over our food.  We cannot pray, “Give us this day, our daily bread,” out of need.  We can pray it out of hearts and the spiritual principle of thanksgiving.  We can pray it out of obedience because the Scriptures say if we receive it with thanksgiving, we can partake of what’s before us and God will bless it.  But we cannot—there’s not a person in this room that can pray that prayer out of necessity.  What am I saying?  Our faith is being eroded by so many “blessings,” we’re so “blessed.”