TITLE: Sickness Ain't A Sin

Text: Luke 8:26-35 Verse 35 And they went out to see what had been done. And they came to Jesus and found the man from whom the demons had departed sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind.

Mental/Emotional Illnesses: Faith Based or Medical?

Introduction

1. Too many Christians have the idea that suffering mental/emotional illnesses means that we are either sinners or faithless.

2. A Tragedy – Brethren often suffer silently without seeking help because of the stigma.

Physically Sick, BUT Not Mentally/Emotionally Sick? Does This Make Sense?

1. This is like saying that a Christian can suffer from a painful right knee but if they ever say that their left knee hurts, then they have no faith!

2. Cancer or heart attacks are just things that happen to us.

3. But – depression, panic attacks, anxiety disorders, or bipolar are considered by many to be a lack of faith.

Does This Make Sense?

1. Does it make sense when Christians tell others that the answer to depression/bipolar disorder/anxiety disorder is to "get over it"?

2. Is this the answer to cancer? A brain tumor?

3. If not, then why is it the answer to a legitimate medical condition of the mind??

Clinical Depression is Real

1. Approximately 18.8 million American adults, or about 9.5 percent of the U.S. population age 18 and older in a given year, have a depressive disorder.

2. Nearly twice as many women (12.0 percent) as men (6.6 percent) are affected by a depressive disorder each year.

3. These figures translate to 12.4 million women and 6.4 million men in the U.S.

It Won't Go Away

1. A friend's doctor told him concerning his bipolar disorder, "You can no more will away a brain chemical imbalance than you can will away high blood pressure."

2. We will ask for prayers and we will pray publicly for people in the hospital for medical conditions.

3. Why not for mental/emotional medical problems? The answer is because of the stigma involved.

God Understands

1. God made us and knows everything about us.

2. Jeremiah 1:5, "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you."

3. He knows that our bodies break down and that we are sometimes born with deformities or that we inherit medical problems.

4. We all have a date with death (Hebrews 9:27).

5. God truly knows and understands the struggles we endure. He will never shun us. We can come to Him and find comfort in His loving arms.

6. 2 Corinthians 1:3-4 - Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and the God of all comfort, 4 He is comforting us in all our trouble, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in every trouble, through the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.

7. Matthew 6:25-34 – worry, anxiety, fret, emotional wreck

8. Philippians 4:7, "and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

9. Colossians 4:14 Luke, the beloved physician, and Demas, greet you.

General Depression

1. Biblical examples – depressed because of their circumstances in life

   1. Job – did not understand his current misery and suffering

   2. Elijah – harp on tree, no singing while in strange land

   3. Jeremiah – weary of criticism wanted to quit being God's spokesman

   4. John the Baptizer – in jail, wondered if Jesus is the Christ

   5. Jesus - Matthew 26:38 - Soul was sorrowful even unto death

2. God never criticizes and tells them that they are sinning.

3. Instead, He tells them how they can be strengthened through faith, prayer, peace and the power of the Lord.

4. Psalm 91:1-6 He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall rest under the shadow of the Almighty. 2 I will say of Jehovah, my refuge and my fortress; my God; in Him I will trust. 3 Surely He will deliver you from the fowler's trap and from the destroying plague. 4 He shall cover you with His feathers, and under His wings you shall trust. His truth shall be your shield, and buckler. 5 You shall not fear the terror by night; nor because of the arrow that flies by day; 6 nor for the plague that walks in darkness, of the destruction laying waste at noonday.

Lessons

1. God wants all of us to be saved and provides all that that we need to do so.

2. Scripture tells us that this matters more than anything.

3. With God there is always hope.

4. God provides Scripture, prayer, grace, mercy, fellowship and a host of spiritual blessings to edify us and helps us through this life.

5. The power of God strengthens us.

Richard Mansel developed this lesson on Power Point.