Jehovah Rophe: The Lord Who Heals

It's possible for God's people to be going through the same hardships when we adopt the worldview of the unrighteous. Dr. Tony Evans talks about why a worldly attitude sets us up for more worldly problems. If life turns bitter on you, you want to make sure you're operating under His statutes and His commandments even when it doesn't make sense. Celebrating 40 years of faithfulness, this is The Alternative with Dr. Tony Evans, author, speaker, senior pastor of Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship in Dallas, Texas, and president of The Urban Alternative. Life can be pretty bitter sometimes, so who wouldn't want to sweeten things up by finding a way to heal the hurts in our lives? Well, that's Dr. Evans' subject as he takes us to Exodus 15 for today's lesson.

Let's join him. The growth of hospitals, clinics, counseling centers, psychiatrists, and psychologists give stark reality and testimony to the pain, the hurt, the sickness, the brokenness of our lives. The need to be made well because something is broken physically, emotionally, situationally is a need we all have. Our name for God today deals with that—Jehovah Rafe, the Lord who heals. It is taken from a situation coming right off of a great miracle. Verse 22 of Exodus 15 says, then Moses led Israel from the Red Sea.

We all know about the Red Sea. But right after coming to the Red Sea, the second line of verse 22 says, they went out into the wilderness. Now, nobody wants to go through the wilderness, but there was no other way to get to Canaan. So they went three days in the wilderness and found no water. When they came to Marah, verse 23, they came to Marah, but they could not drink the waters of Marah, for they were bitter. And so they did what we do when things don't work out like we want, verse 24, they grumbled.

They are three days away from their miracle. It don't take long to move from thanksgiving to complaining, from celebrating, getting your tambourine out, getting your temple out, getting your dance on, celebrating, having a special fellowship with the sisterhood, to saying, I'm tired of this mess. It says the waters were bitter, undrinkable, unusable.

And so they grumbled. What we gonna do? What we gonna drink? How we gonna make it?

Times are tough. Please notice that the miracle and the problem were both dealing with the same thing. Water. Water. They had just come through water, but they're running up on a water problem. Why are they grumbling? They're grumbling because they have a water problem with no visual solution. But wait a minute, three days earlier, they had a water problem with no visible solution, before God opened up the Red Sea.

It doesn't take long to forget what God can do, because it doesn't take long to forget what God has done. They both involved the same problem. They were en route to their future, having come off of their praise, and they ran into a dilemma, and things had gotten bitter. Why were they allowed to go through this problem? Verse 25, there He made for them a statute and regulation, and there He tested them. It was about a test. Water was simply the means of testing. God will always test to see whether you paid attention to what He revealed.

He tested them at Myra to see whether they were paying attention and to reveal Himself as your source. Then Moses cried out to the Lord, and the Lord showed him a tree, and he threw it into the waters, and the waters became sweet. Well, I'd call that an unorthodox way to unpollute a polluted water. But then I'd call splitting Red Seas up as an unorthodox way of getting over the water. See, at the Red Sea, there was no way out. They couldn't see the solution. They said, Moses, you brought us out here to die. He didn't let them see it, because he didn't want it seen.

And the reason he didn't want it seen is because he wanted to show out and show off and show up in a way that he could only be the one who got the credit for resolving this bad situation. And that leads to His name, verse 26. And He said, if you will give earnest heed to the voice of the Lord your God, and to do what is right in His sight, and give ear to His commandments, and keep all of His statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you which I have put on the Egyptians, for I, the Lord, am your healer. Jehovah Rapha. He used this water to teach them a lesson. And the lesson was about His name.

And His name, Jehovah Rapha, is I am the Lord your healer. What's the name got to do with what they just went through? You came up to some water that was bitter, polluted. It was diseased. I turned that thing around, and what was diseased and polluted became usable and fresh. But I didn't send you through that test just so you could get water. I sent you through that test to learn something new about me. I want to tell you a name I've never told you before. I want to explain something about me to you. I am Jehovah Rapha, the Lord who heals you.

And so I can give you a point of reference for my name. He says in verse 25, I will put none of the diseases on you which I have put on the Egyptians. I am the Lord your healer. Egypt would not have had those ten plagues that cost them all that mess, all those lives, if they would have left their God for the true God. But what they went through, you shouldn't be going through, because I'm the true God, and I am the Lord your healer.

Let me put it another way. It's possible for God's people to be going through the same hardships of the unrighteous when we adopt the worldview, the idolatry, the mindset, the lifestyle of the unrighteous. Just because you saved doesn't keep you from that disease.

When you adapt their perspective, their worldview, their God orientation. Some of us shouldn't be going through some of the stuff our unsaved relatives are going through. But because we've adopted the worldview of our unsaved relatives, and they're getting the repercussions of their worldview, because we've joined their worldview, we've joined their problems. Some of us shouldn't be having the issues that our co-workers have. Now, life is going to have problems in this world.

You're going to have trouble. But some of us shouldn't be having it this much, this long, this deep, this way, except we've adopted their worldview. He says, I don't want what's happening to them happening to you. And that is because you have become full of their worldview. Idolatry was a worldview. It was either going to the wrong God or compromising the right God.

He says, that's why I want you to follow my statutes and my ordinances. Now, there is some theology that says, if you're saved, you shouldn't get sick. And people who purport that, when they do get sick, sneak the private rooms and private hospitals so nobody knows they're sick.

Okay? And I know that for a fact. Of course, with that logic, you shouldn't die because you're not supposed to even get sick. That's not what he is saying, the Lord is saying, nor is that true. When the Bible talks about God's healing, it is talking about it in relationship to the sin that caused the problem.

When the Bible talks about the death of Jesus Christ, it talks about the death of Jesus Christ addressing our sin, therefore healing our sickness. Probably in our medicine cabinets, we got a little something for anything. Okay? We've got a whole bunch of stuff, stuff for help of sleep, stuff for a cold, stuff for a cut. We got a medicine cabinet to address all these problems.

Okay? If it's serious enough, you want a prescription. But you can't get a prescription unless you get doctoral authorization. A doctor's got to authorize a prescription, because that's some serious medicine. That's medicine that's designed to go deeper than over-the-counter. You take what the pharmacist gives you because you believe the doctor knows what he's talking about. If you get a prescription and then lean to your own understanding, I don't think this will work. This doesn't make sense.

I don't like this. He says, take it twice a day. I'm going to take it every other day.

You lean to your own understanding. Then don't get mad at the doctor that you're not getting better. God says, the lesson I want to teach you, admirer, that if you will follow my instructions, my way, doing it according to my guidelines, you'll get my healing. But don't get upset that you're not getting healed physically, emotionally, circumstantially, relationally when you're not taking my medicine, you're taking your medicine, your cousin's medicine, your uncle's medicine, your auntie's medicine, your makeup medicine. You're taking your medicine and getting mad at me, you're not getting better. You're getting on the telephone discussing with your guy friend, your girlfriend, what you ought to be taking when I told you to do it this way. And then he gave them an object lesson. He said, Moses, take the tree and throw it in the water. Now, I know you don't understand that medicine. They won't teach you that at any medical college.

They won't tell you that at any water purification plant, because this does not go along the lines of what is acceptable in purification water systems of the culture. But I am Jehovah and I am your healer. And even though this is an unorthodox approach, I want you to take my approach and watch what I can do with your bitter situation. Not only did the water become better, the water became sweet. We'll hear more about how God can sweeten up your life when Dr. Evans continues our message in just a moment. First, though, you can dig even deeper into today's subject with the help of Tony's popular devotional book, Experience the Power of God's Names. When you learn the deep meaning behind the many ways God is referred to in the Bible, you'll find out there's a description that matches up to any situation you find yourself in. Experience the Power of God's Names will help you make daily discoveries about what those names mean and what they tell us about how God wants to relate with us. Just make a contribution to help us keep Tony's teaching on this station, and we'll get a copy on its way to you along with a special bonus, the full-length versions of all 14 messages in Volumes 1 and 2 of Tony's current series, Knowing God's Names.

They're perfect to review on your own, share with your church, or use with your Bible study or small group. This special double offer ends tomorrow, so don't wait. Get the details and make the arrangements today at tonyevans.org or call our 24-hour resource request line at 1-800-800-3222, where we have friendly team members standing by day and night to help with your resource request.

That's 1-800-800-3222. We'll have more of today's message right after this. Impactful, amazing, intense, thought-provoking. That's how just a few students describe their experience since enrolling in the Tony Evans Training Center. The best part is the Training Center is wherever you and your online connection are. Going beyond a Sunday sermon, these compelling Bible study courses take a much deeper look at Scripture, the Bible's writers, social issues of today, and so much more. Log on today to learn more at tonyevanstraining.org. tonyevanstraining.org.

Explore the kingdom anytime, anywhere. We have in our community a number of things designed to make things better. For example, up the street there is a car wash. It goes in dirty, and it comes out clean. Up the street there's cleaners. You take your dirty clothes in, and they come out clean. There are hair salons.

You take your dirty hair in, and it comes out clean. We come to hear the voice of God and say, we'll think about it. I ain't sure about that. I don't know about that.

I got my own way of handling that. That's why the car can be clean, the hair can be clean, the clothes can be clean, and the saints can be dirty, because we don't want to do what He says do. And we wonder why there's no healing occurring. Jeremiah chapter 30 verse 13 and 17, I will restore you, and I will heal your wounds.

Egypt was full of diseases because they were full of idolatry. The key to your healing is your submission to divine authority based on His word, addressing anything in our lives that is in contradiction to that word. That is the key. A lady one day left her son her car. He was just new driving the car and new driving, and he made a mistake and lost the key. He lost the key to the car and was lost with the car.

He called and he said, Ma, I lost the key, and I don't know where I am. She said, Son, on the dashboard is a Bible. I need you to get the key from your situation in the word. Mom, I don't have no time for no Bible.

I'm lost, and I can't find my key. She said, Son, pick up the Bible, because the key to your situation is in the word. Mom, I'm tired of all that word stuff. I'm in a real-world situation, and you're coming with that Bible stuff. Boy, will you just shut up and open up the word.

All right, Mommy, open up the Bible. There was the spare key in the word. See, the key to what you're looking for, even though you don't think it's located there, the key to your lost situation, the key to your lost circumstance, the key to your healing has already been deposited in the statutes, the commandments and the ordinances and the illumination that they give, because this illumination, you wouldn't have been able to cut off a tree and throw it in the water.

That was a specific answer to a specific problem that didn't come from something previously given. What you will often find in the word is a backup principle, but what you find from the Holy Spirit is illumination to specific application. See, the Bible will not always give you the specific application. It will give you the undergirding principle confirming the illumination to the specific application that the pharmacist gives based on what the doctor has prescribed. So God the doctor writes the word, but the pharmacist writes on it two times a day, and he gives you the specific application to your situation.

The Holy Spirit will illuminate you to a specific application, which may be different tomorrow when you run into another problem, but it will all be based on the prescription that was written. God can turn bitter in the sweet. I don't know how it is down here in Texas, but in Baltimore, Maryland, where I was raised in the summer, almost every Saturday, my father brought home watermelon, big juicy red watermelon. He sliced it open and sliced us a piece. You know what we did with that watermelon? Put salt on it. Now, I don't know if you've ever put salt on watermelon, but you put a little salt on it. Now, that does not seem to be a direct correlation to salt and watermelon.

Those seem to be two separate things that ought not be mixed, but anybody who's been there and done that, understand that when you put some salt on some watermelon, it takes what's already juicy and makes it juicier. What looks like doesn't make sense and belong there. When you put it there, it does something to what's already there to make it better than it was when you first started. Sometimes God has salty ways of dealing with situations that don't look like they make sense, but when you apply it, He is able to take it and turn it into something better. And that's why I love verse 27, because verse 27, He concludes and says, Then they came to Elam, where there were twelve springs of water, seventy-date palms, and they camped there beside the waters.

Wait a minute, wait a minute, wait a minute. We started with water. There was a Red Sea and there was no way out. We went to problem water to see if they learned the lesson from the sea water. When God gave them the principle and then gave them His name, the Lord your healer, the next place they ran into was Elam, with twelve springs of water and seventy-date trees.

Watch this now. He didn't let them get to Elam by skipping Myra. He didn't let them know Elam was next.

They would never have gotten to Elam until they learned the lesson from Myra. And what did they find in Elam? They found twelve. They found twelve springs of water. Twelve springs of water. How many tribes are there in Israel?

There are the twelve tribes of Israel. So that meant each tribe had their own spring. Do you know what a spring is? A spring is not just water. A spring is water flowing.

And when water keeps flowing, it stays fresh. You see, God delivered them at the Red Sea. He taught them at Myra, but then He showed He can do exceedingly, abundantly above what you can ask or think at Elam. He led them from deliverance to see I've come to give you life and to give it to you more abundantly.

A lot of you are saying, Lord, I can't get to Elam. God is saying because you haven't learned from Myra. But as soon as I can get your attention at Myra, I'd love to take you to Elam where I got your own spring, your own private spring. But you say, does God have a private spring for me? According to John chapter 70, He does. Because John 7 says, and the Holy Spirit is a well within you that is bubbling over so that there is a river flowing out of your life. God's got your own spring.

But not only did they have their own spring, it says they had 70 day trees. That meant they had some shade. They meant they had some covering while they nibbled on the goodness of God. I don't know how you feel, but I feel good. Because I know that the God who delivered me, who's going to teach me at Myra and tell me He's my healer, has something better for me if I keep on going. So you better hurry up and learn at Myra so you can make your way to Elam and be able to sit under your own shade tree and be able to drive from your own spring and talk about the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Oh, you ought to bless the name of the Lord because God is good in the midst of our struggles, our hurts, our pain, and our circumstance. Dr. Tony Evans, talking about how God can take the parts of our lives that are bitter and make them better, part of his current series called Knowing God's Names. Now, copies of today's lesson are available on both CD and as a digital download, and you can get all 14 messages in this powerful two-volume collection if you contact us right away and make a donation to support Tony's ministry.

When you do, we'll say thanks by sending you the complete two-volume collection. And as an extra bonus, we'll also include Dr. Evans' devotional book I told you about earlier, Experience the Power of God's Names. Just visit tonyevans.org for all the details. Again, tonyevans.org. Or call our 24-hour resource request line at 1-800-800-3222. Again, 1-800-800-3222. You know, sheep aren't especially bright animals, and they don't get along too well without proper care. Well, tomorrow, Dr. Evans will wrap up a series on Knowing God's Names as he focuses on how the Lord shepherds his flock, namely us. Hope you'll tune in. The Alternative with Dr. Tony Evans is brought to you by The Urban Alternative and is celebrating 40 years of faithfulness thanks to the generous contributions of listeners like you.