QUESTIONS OF HEALTH 3:Diagnosing and Treating

Spiritual Wounds

Dale A. Matthews, MDTeammates

March 11, 2012

THE WOUND OF FRODO

• “Frodo has been touched by the weapons of the Enemy”, said Strider, “and there is some poison or evil at work that is beyond my skill to drive out. But do not give up hope, Sam!”

The Black Riders

Black Riders 2.lnk

SPIRITUAL WOUNDS

• Overwhelming illness• Untimely death (esp.

suicide) of family member or close friend

• Drug and alcohol abuse• Physical, psychological,

or sexual abuse• Exposure to pornography

and excessive violence• Shame and humiliation

DIAGNOSING SPIRITUAL PAIN

• Sorrow, grief• Isolation and loneliness• Lack of meaning or

purpose• Fear and avoidance• Hopelessness and

despair• Anger or bitterness

towards God

TREATING SPIRITUAL PAINInternal Medicine

• Listen without judgment• Use appropriate non-verbal communication• Be sympathetic and empathetic• Identify the underlying feelings (e.g., sadness,

anger, guilt)• Help the person reconcile with others and re-

integrate into society

SPIRITUAL PROBLEMS

• Despair• Addiction• Doubt

OLD TESTAMENTSTORIES ABOUT DESPAIR

• Gen 4:1-16 Cain and Abel• Gen 16; 21:8-21 Hagar• Ecclesiastes Solomon• Job 1:6-12;2:1-8 Job Tested by Satan• 1 Sam 4:4-20 Hannah• 1 Ki 19:1-18 Elijah

NEW TESTAMENTSTORIES ABOUT DESPAIR

• Mark 7:24-30 Syrophoenician Woman• Mark 10:46-52 Blind Bartamaeus• Mark 13:5-37 Signs of the End• Luke 18:1-8 Persistent Widow• Acts 5:17-42 Persecution of Apostles• 2 Cor 11:23-30 Sufferings of Paul

PAUL’S STRUGGLE• When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my

inner being I delight in God's law; but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members.

Rom 7:21-23

PAUL’S DILEMMA…AND SOLUTION

• What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death?

• Thanks be to God—through Jesus Christ our Lord!

Rom 7:24-25

GOD’S PRESCRIPTION FOR DESPAIR: Hope

We rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance, perseverance, character, and character hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit.

Romans 5:2-5

STORIES IN GENESIS ABOUT ADDICTION

• Genesis 3:1-24 Adam and Eve • Genesis 9:20-7 Noah’s Drunkenness• Genesis 19:30-8 Lot’s Drunkenness• Genesis 38:1-30 Judah and Tamar• Genesis 39:2-20 Potiphar’s Wife

OTHER BIBLICAL STORIES ABOUT ADDICTION

• Numbers 25:1-9 Moab’s Seduction• Judges 16:1-22 Samson and Delilah• 1 Kings 21:1-29 Naboth’s Vineyard• Proverbs 23:29-35 The Dangers of Alcohol• Eccles 2:1-11 Solomon’s Search• Ezekiel 23:1-49 Oholah and Oholibah• Daniel 5:1-6 Belshazzar’s Feast• Matthew 4:1-11 The Temptation of Jesus• Luke 15:11-32 The Prodigal Son

GOD’S PRESCRIPTION FOR ADDICTION: Fulfillment

• Do not offer the parts of your body to sin, as instruments of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God…as instruments of righteousness.

Romans 6:13

OLD TESTAMENT STORIES ABOUT DOUBT

• Genesis 22:1-19 Sacrifice of Isaac• Joshua 6 The Wall of Jericho• Judges 4:4-10 Deborah & Barak• Judges 6 Gideon’s Fleece• 1 Kings 19:1-18 Lord Appears to Elijah• 2 Kings 6:8-23 Elisha & Arameans• Psalm 22:1-7 David’s Lament• Isaiah 40:12-31 “Have You Not Heard?”

NEW TESTAMENT STORIES ABOUT DOUBT

• Matthew 8:5-13 Faith of Centurion• Matt 28:16-20 Great Commission• Mark 9:14-29 Epileptic Boy & Father• Luke 1:5-23 Zechariah and Angel• Luke 7:18-28 John’s Disciples• John 20:24-31 Doubting Thomas• Hebrews 11 The “Hall of Faith”

GOD’S PRESCRIPTIONFOR DOUBT: Faith

• If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain. ‘Move from here to there’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you. Matthew 17:20-21

GOD’S PRESCRIPTIONFOR DOUBT: Faith

• Without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.

Hebrews 11:6

FAITH

• So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

2 Cor 4:18

SPIRITUAL EXAMINATION

• Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.

Ps 139:23-24

SEVEN DEADLY SINS

• Pride• Envy• Anger• Sloth• Greed• Gluttony• Lust

CHARACTERISTICS OF SATAN (“The Adversary”)

• A fallen “angel of light” (Isa 14:12-14; 2 Cor 11:14-15)• The tempter (Gen 3; Matt 4:1-11; 1 Th 3:15)• The accuser of the brethren (Zec 3:1; Rev 12:10)• The destroyer (Rev 9:11) and cause of illness (Job 2:7;

Lk 13:16; 2 Cor 12:7)• A liar and murderer (Jn 8:44) and deceiver (Rev

20:10)• A roaring lion (1 Pet 5:8)• Vile (2 Cor 6:15) and wicked (Mt 13)

FALL OF LUCIFER• 12 How you have fallen from heaven,

morning star, son of the dawn! You have been cast down to the earth, you who once laid low the nations! 13 You said in your heart, “I will ascend to the heavens; I will raise my throne above the stars of God; I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly, on the utmost heights of Mount Zaphon.[a] 14 I will ascend above the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.”

Isaiah 14:12-14

THE DEADLY D’s OF THE DEVILH.L. Wilmington

• Disappointment• Discouragement• Despair• Doubt• Disbelief• Distraction• Double-mindedness• Dishonesty

• Deceit• Dullness• Deadness• Delay• Discord• Defilement• Defamation• Disobedience

SPIRITUAL WARFARE

• Darkness vs. Light• Deception vs. Truth• Death vs. Life• Accusation vs. Acceptance• Adversary vs. Advocate• Destruction vs. Creation

PUT ON THE FULL ARMOR OF GODEphesians 6:10-17

• 10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13

PUT ON THE FULL ARMOR OF GOD:Ephesians 6:10-17

• Belt of truth• Breastplate of

righteousness• Footwear of readiness• Shield of faith• Helmet of salvation• Sword of the Spirit• Pray in the Spirit for all

God’s people

PASSAGES FOR SELF-EXAMINATION

• Psalm 51• Matthew 5-7• Romans 12-13• Ephesians 4-5• Colossians 3:1-17• 1 Thessalonians 4• Galatians 5:16-23

PSALM 51

• Do I really know my transgressions against You?

• Do I have a broken spirit and a broken and contrite heart? Do I want my sins to be washed away and cleansed with hyssop?

• Do I really want a pure heart, a steadfast spirit, the joy of salvation, and a willing spirit?

• Will I teach fellow sinners your ways?

MATTHEW 5-7

• God blesses those who are poor in spirit, mournful, meek, hungry and thirsty for righteousness, merciful, pure in heart, peaceful, and persecuted because of righteousness. Am I blessed by God?

• Am I salt and light in the world?• Do I love my enemy? Do I forgive?• Do I worry? Do I judge? Do I seek God?

ROMANS 12-13

• Is my love sincere? • Am I “joyful in hope, patient in affliction,

faithful in prayer”?• Do I bless those who persecute me?• Do I rejoice with those who rejoice and mourn

with those who mourn?• Do I repay evil for evil or do I overcome evil

with good?

EPHESIANS 5

• Do I lead a life of love, just as Christ loved us?• Is there a “hint of sexual immorality, or of any

kind of impurity, or of greed?”• Do I “make music in my heart to the Lord,

always giving thanks”?• Do I love my wife as Christ loved the church?

COLOSSIANS 3:1-17

• Do I set my heart on things above, not on earthly things?

• Do I put to death what belongs to my earthly nature?

• Do I clothe myself with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience? Do I forgive others?

• Do I do everything in the name of Jesus?

1 THESSALONIANS 4

• Do I live to please God?• Do I control my body in a way that is holy and

honorable?• Do I love my brothers and sisters in Christ

more and more?• Do I lead a quiet life, minding my own

business, and working with my hands?• Does my life win the respect of outsiders?

GALATIANS 5:16-23

• Do I live by the spirit? Or do I gratify the desires and show the acts of the sinful nature?

• Do I show the “fruit of the spirit”?• Do I show love, joy, peace? Patience, kindness,

goodness? Faithfulness, gentleness, self-control?

THE WORK OF THE HOLY SPIRIT

• Lives within every believer in Jesus (Rom 8:9) • Directs the thoughts of the believer and leads

to life and peace (Rom 8:6,11), taking away fear (Rom 8:15)

• Allows us to become children and heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, both of his suffering and of his glory

LIVE BY THE SPIRIT

• Those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their mind set on what the Spirit desires. The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace.

Rom 8:3-6

STAND FIRM!

• It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm then, and do not let yourselves be burdened by a yoke of slavery.

Gal 5:1

GOD’S PRESCRIPTION FOR SPIRITUAL PAIN: Grace

• My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.

2 Corinthians 12:9

GOD’S PRESCRIPTIONFOR SPIRITUAL PAIN: Grace

• If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him. If he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times comes back to you and says, ‘I repent’, forgive him.

Luke 17:3-4

SUMMARY

• God loves us and gives us all the gifts we need, including the gift of healing of our minds, bodies, and spirits

• Healing may come in many forms, including medical, psychological, and spiritual treatment

• “God’s ways are not our ways” (Is 55) and His timing is not always our timing

• Many obstacles can block the healing process, but having faith and heeding God’s Biblical “prescriptions” facilitates healing

GRACE AND PEACE

• Grace and peace to you from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ.

Rom 1:7