No. 66 - BINDING UP THE WOUNDS By: John J. Blanchard Saturday, May 21, 2005 I would like to start by turning to Luke chapter 10. It is the story of the good Samaritan. It is always a useful and helpful thing to read to put us in the right frame of mind about loving our fellow man. Read Luke 10:25-37. This wonderful parable has been used to teach people about compassion for their fellow man (their neighbor) for a long, long time. We can see here obviously that we need compassion for everyone that we meet and that it is our duty to mitigate their suffering. We should put ourselves at risk, if necessary. Perhaps the priest and the Levite were afraid that they might also fall among thieves if they stayed there too long. They were afraid for themselves. They were selfish and were not willing to sacrifice themselves, possibly to their own harm. Because of that they did not even bind up the wounds of a man who was helplessly beaten and laying in the street. But the Samaritan was willing to take a chance and put himself at risk and to bind up the poor man’s wounds and care for him. That is why I have titled this sermon “Binding Up The Wounds” because I want to talk about binding up wounds. In the world there are many Samaritans. In the Bible Samaritans are basically non-Jews or people of mixed religion. Last December there was that huge tsunami in the South Pacific and people of mixed religions from around the world were acting as good Samaritans to help those stricken. There are many unsung heroes working today as volunteers in Iraq. We often see the soldiers who have given their lives, but there are many volunteers. There are Red Cross workers, Red Crescent workers and volunteers that are helping to rebuild Iraq. Many of them are laying down their lives for these total strangers. If you were to turn to Africa and look there, there are many people putting themselves at risk of catching strange diseases like Ebola or AIDs while they work with poor people who are suffering. Indeed around the world we have many Samaritans helping people who are in poverty, people who are suffering from disease or drug addiction or depression. Whatever the case may be, there are many Samaritans who are sacrificing their time, their money and sometimes their very lives in order to help their neighbors. Yet Jesus Christ here was talking to the Pharisees and to His disciples when He gave this parable, so we need to look even deeper. The world at large understands this. Many of them do, and they are willing to give of themselves to others, so there must be even deeper lessons here for the Church. The story line goes something like this: a certain man was traveling from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among thieves. They stripped him and left him naked. They wounded him, and that wound was like striking or a stroke, a pounding it says (if you look up the definition), or to inflict calamity in his life. Then those thieves left him half dead, barely alive. A certain priest saw him and walked around because the priest was more concerned about himself than the victim. If you were to look up the term priest, you would find that is a priest who serves in the temple, so that was a high-ranking priest. This was a man who knew the scriptures. This was a man who worked in the very physical temple of God at that time. Likewise the Levite who walked by (who was also more concerned for himself) was a descendant of the tribe of Levi, which is the priestly tribe. So this is another man who is very familiar with the scriptures, yet when he saw this helpless victim, he did not help. He was more concerned for himself. The Samaritan (which is a non-Jew or, as I told you earlier, a person of mixed religion) was moved to compassion. Not only did he put himself in peril (he put himself in harm’s way), he sacrificed of his own possessions. He put wine and oil on this man’s wounds and bound them up so they would stop bleeding. He took care of them and took the dirt out of them. He helped the man to heal. Then he provided shelter for the man until he could get well. This is the example that Christ gave to show how we are to love our neighbors. This is a parable, but this Samaritan has gone down in history. I am sure this has happened at different times in history. This is a parable of the way we are supposed to treat people. It is a beautiful story if you are the Samaritan. If you are the priest or the Levite, this is more or less a condemnation. Therefore, to be beautiful in our lives, we must have the story of the good Samaritan be us, someone willing to help our neighbor. THE BODY OF CHRIST FROM JERUSALEM TO JERICHO I want to back up now with some of the definitions that we just read and look at parts of this parable once again. If you would, please turn to verse 30. “Then Jesus answered and said: ‘A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, who stripped him of his clothing, wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead.’” This man was traveling from Jerusalem to Jericho. So I thought let’s do more than look up the Greek meaning of the words thief or priest or Levite. Let’s check into these terms. Jerusalem obviously is the city of peace. That is what that means. Spiritual Jerusalem is a type of that city of peace. It is the actual city. That is a city on a hill. If you would, turn to Hebrews chapter 12. This spiritual Jerusalem is spoken of. We will read verses 22-24. Here Paul is telling the Hebrews that when they came in contact with the Church, they came in contact with the heavenly Jerusalem, a spiritual city in a place where the saints are registered in heaven. So this is a very special city. Turn, if you would, to Galatians 4:26. “…but the Jerusalem above is free, which is the mother of us all. For it is written: ‘Rejoice, O barren, you who do not bear! Break forth and shout, you who are not in labor! For the desolate has many more children than she who has a husband.’ Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are children of promise. But, as he who was born according to the flesh then persecuted him who was born according to the Spirit, even so it is now. Nevertheless what does the Scripture say? ‘Cast out the bondwoman and her son, for the son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with the son of the freewoman.’ So then, brethren, we are not children of the bondwoman but of the free.” We have come into contact with a spiritual Jerusalem, which is the home of the free (those who have been set free from their sins). It is the home of the registered saints. It is nothing less than the Church of God. This is a spiritual dwelling place where Jesus Christ is the chief cornerstone, and where He is preparing a place for His body (the body of Christ, the Church). So here you could say that this man who was walking from the Jerusalem (the city of peace) was walking toward Jericho. Could this be a type of Jesus Christ leaving the heavenly Jerusalem and coming down and working with mankind (becoming the body of Christ)? If you were to take a look at the word Jericho (Yeriychoh in the Greek and the Hebrew), you would find that it means “its month.” It comes from the word yareach which means the moon or a lunation and related to the word ruwach which is breath or life, perception and understanding. So you have the city of peace on the one hand and a man headed toward a city that is known to be the moon or a lunation of the moon which has breath and life, perception and understanding. This is the actual definitions of those two city names. That man fell among thieves and was beaten and left half dead. We know about the moon representing the Church and the moon reflecting the light of the sun. And we do know that Christ is in the midst of His Church in the entire time that the Church eras are at work. Christ is in the midst of them for the 1,260 days. We know that. In the midst of the lunar month as the Church goes through its cycles He is in the midst of its lunations, you might say. Let’s turn to Revelation chapter 1 to verify that in scripture. Read Revelation 1:12-16. Obviously this is Jesus Christ. Continue reading verses 17-20. So Jesus Christ stands in the midst of the seven Church eras. He is in the midst of the moon and its lunations because that is the body of Christ. That is His body, and it is to reflect His light. Since this is the body of Christ, (we can see here in Revelation) it is not too far fetched to say that there is something bigger in that parable than just loving your neighbor as a physical person to another physical person. He was talking to His Church. The Bible is basically written to the Church. We can see by the condition of the Church today that it really needs some Samaritans. This is not far fetched. We know that God has many deep meanings in His word. We want to review this a little more closely now, to see if we are on to something here and if there really is a bigger meaning here. SYMBOLISM OF WINE What did the good Samaritan apply to the wounds of the stricken individual (to his body)? None other than wine and oil. We need to look at why wine and why oil? Why didn’t he just wash the wounds with water, or why didn’t he just throw the man on his animal and take him to emergency services (wherever that would be) for help? No, the good Samaritan put on wine and oil. Turn, if you would, to John chapter 15. We are going to look at the meaning behind wine and oil. Jesus Christ says here in John 15:1, “‘I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser.’” What is wine? Isn’t wine fruit of the vine? Yes, wine is the fruit of the vine. So Christ says here, “‘I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away, and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit.’” Continuing in verse 3: “‘You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned. If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.’” Analyzing those eight verses we can see that Christ is the vine and we are the branches. The Father is the vinedresser taking care of the vine. The branches are to bear fruit, and in a vineyard you will find it is grapes. Grapes are the fruit that the vine bears. What do they do with the grapes? They make wine. The wine is very important to God because that is the fruit He is seeking. He is trying to have fruit from the vine. What flows through the vine must also flow through the branches. So the sap and the juice that makes the grapes which eventually lead to the wine are what is flowing through that vine and into the branches. In verse 3 that is exactly what we are told. Verse 3: “‘You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you.’” We find that you are connected to a vine as a branch and are made clean by what is flowing through the branch, and what is flowing through the branch is the word of God. Let’s back up and read those first three verses again. John 15, verses 1-3: “‘I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away, and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you.’” The branches are made clean by the word, and the word is what is flowing through the vine into the branches. This is confirmed in verse 7. “‘If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you.’” Christ says now if you are connected to Me as a branch, the word that is in Me flows through you. Because that word flows through you, you will bear much fruit, and you will be made clean. Is this not what we are reading here? Of course it is! That is what we are reading. His truth bears fruit, in other words, by helping us get clean and it gives us life. What flows through our veins? Blood flows through our veins. The life is in the blood, as the Old Testament says. It is in our blood that the heart pumps, and also the sustenance that the body needs is pumped through the whole body. Christ is saying when the branch is connected to Me, what flows through you like blood is My word. That word and My life is a perfect sacrifice, and I was willing to shed My blood for you. Turn, if you would to Matthew 26. Now we can start to see why Christ chose certain symbols at the Passover (His last supper, as it is called). In Mathew 26 this is at the Passover. Read Matthew 26:26-30. It is very interesting. Christ said you must take this cup and drink of it. This is like My blood which will be shed for the remission of sins. He took the vessel, which was a cup showing that His vessel (His body) would shed its blood, and it would become like wine that would make us clean. It would also be the same as His words, which He was speaking to them. He said when you imbibe of My words, you are drinking of My cup and that will flow through your veins (through your body, your mind, your spirit) and give you life. Indeed, your vessel will have the opportunity to have eternal life, and His words are the truth. So the truth in our vessels is what gives us life. It comes from the word of God and from His sacrifice which makes us clean. To be constantly cleansed, that word must stay pure within us. If you look at the concept of shed blood being like wine, the physical blood that is in your body and my body must be constantly cleansed or else we would die. It must be constantly cleansed. It goes through certain organs of the body that clean it up and make it possible for the blood to take on oxygen (the ruwach, life). Without that oxygen in the blood we would also die. When God the Father and Jesus Christ designed the human to run on blood and He said the life is in the blood, They knew well in advance that the fruit of the vine (the truth of God living within us) would be like blood to us. It would give us life, which is why Christ said drink of My cup and it will be like My blood for you. It will wash away your sins and cleanse your blood (cleanse your life) and make you clean. The upshot of that is we have to keep maintaining a pure spirit within us and use God’s word to get cleaner and cleaner all the time so as to bear much fruit for God. Go back to John chapter 15 again. After Christ spoke of the true vine and the word dwelling in us and cleansing us, He went on to say the following. Read John 15:9-17. Now we understand this concept of being a branch on the vine, and His word flowing through us which is cleansing us and helping us to bear fruit. He wants that ultimate fruit to be love, compassion and a willingness to lay down our lives for our fellow man. Now we can see why Jesus Christ chose wine (a symbol of His blood and His compassion that should be flowing through our veins) as what this man applied to the wounds of that beaten and stricken man along the road. This is interesting because this also shows us that not only are we to have love and compassion for our fellow man, but by doing so we can pass this on from one person to the next. We do this also by teaching the pure word of God. We can pass on the help of the Holy Spirit and indeed the Holy Spirit to the next generation! This is how the seed of God, the Spirit, has been passed down ever since the first Pentecost. Whenever a person has hands laid on, is baptized and receives the Holy Spirit, he gets cleaned by the blood of Christ. Then the truth starts flowing in their veins (in their mind and their heart). They begin to bear fruit for God. So this gets passed on. For confirmation of that turn to I Corinthians chapter 11. I Corinthians 11, verse 23: “For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you…” Paul says I received something that I gave to you people in Corinth and just what was that? “…that the Lord Jesus on the same night in which He was betrayed took bread; and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, ‘Take, eat; this is My body which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of me.’ In the same manner He also took the cup after supper, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.’ For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death till He comes.” Paul says I passed on what I received from Christ (the blood of Christ) so that you can bear fruit and be part of the new covenant (this new agreement between God and man). Turn, if you would, to Hebrews chapter 9. Verse 16: “For where there is a testament, there must also of necessity be the death of the testator.” That would be Jesus Christ to make that new covenant. “For a testament is in force after men are dead, since it has no power at all while the testator lives. Therefore not even the first covenant was dedicated without blood.” There is a comparison here to the first covenant (the first agreement) and second covenant with mankind. The first had to be sealed in blood and sacrifices of animals, and their blood was to try to keep the people clean. The second covenant with Jesus Christ and His shed blood also required shed blood to make it active, the death of the testator. Hebrews 9, verse 19: “For when Moses had spoken every precept to all the people according to the law, he took the blood of calves and goats, with water, scarlet wool, and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book itself and all the people, saying, ‘This is the blood of the covenant which God has commanded you.’ Then likewise he sprinkled with blood both the tabernacle and all the vessels of the ministry. And according to the law almost all things are purified with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no remission.” Meaning there is no remission of sins. Therefore to become part of the agreement with God (to become part of the body of Christ), we must be cleansed by shed blood. Then He must dwell within us (in essence His blood, His truth and His word) and flow in our veins in order for us to go forth and bear fruit, which would be spiritually the vine getting lots of beautiful grapes on it to make Jesus Christ’s wine. When He returns, he will be able to share in that wine with His bride. That is what He was showing in the parable of the good Samaritan. SYMBOLISM OF OIL We are learning here that the wine and the oil that the good Samaritan used had much symbolism behind it that is very real in the life of a Christian. We need to have oil as well. What was that oil from the good Samaritan? It is the same word used for olive oil. Olive oil is the fruit of the olive tree, which is the fruit of the Holy Spirit working in us. We are also olive trees, as we will read in just a moment. We have the wine being the truth of God that we have to drink of and have flow through our veins and the Holy Spirit that must work in the tree to bear fruit. The wine and the oil work together bringing healing (the remissions of sins), and it can be passed on through love for our fellow man. Turn, if you would, to Psalms chapter 52 to confirm the idea that we are like olive plants to God. This is a Psalm of David. Read Psalm 52:1-7. Now in contrast David goes on to say in verse 8, “But I am like a green olive tree in the house of God; I trust in the mercy of God forever and ever. I will praise You forever, because You have done it; and in the presence of Your saints I will wait on Your name, for it is good.” There is a contrast with evil people speaking their own thoughts (their own divisive and destructive words). And instead of relying on God’s gracious mercy, His tenderness and His love, they are forcing their own thoughts upon people. They are harming people and leading people astray. David said I am not like that. I am like a green olive tree. I am bearing fruit for God with the rest of the saints. We can see that we are a type of olive tree to God, because that is where the oil comes from. Olive oil comes from the olive tree. The tree, once again, must have the Holy Spirit working in it to have olives, which is the fruit of the tree. It can be squeezed in life to press out the oil. What does that oil do? That oil in the olive tree is the fruit that gives us the ability and the strength to make our lamps burn brightly. It is what is contained in our vessels. If we were to go back and read about the ten virgins, we know that there is a vessel that needs to have oil in it to keep the lamps burning brightly. Therefore, it is the fuel for the fire to burn within us. That fire illuminates the truth for other people as we come in contact with them. Oil and wine have tremendous significance. Jesus Christ was not just uttering a little story for the sake of a story. There was a lot of meaning in the parable of the good Samaritan. If you would, turn to Psalm 128, and we will continue along this line just a little bit more. Read Psalm 128:1-6. This is good physical knowledge, of course, to have a family that is productive, healthy and trying to do right. But the concept of Jesus Christ marrying His bride and bringing forth children (the city of peace, that spiritual Jerusalem) can also be brought in here. Those who want to dwell there and be rewarded by God will be like olive plants and their children like olive plants bearing fruit for God. It is a wonderful concept, and David understood that he wanted to be like an olive tree and not like a wicked person pronouncing stiff judgment on other people and speaking wicked words. He wanted to be like oil. Let’s see in Hosea how oil and wine work together. Hosea chapter 14 verse 4: “‘I will heal their backsliding, I will love them freely, for My anger has turned away from him. I will be like the dew to Israel; he shall grow like the lily, and lengthen his roots like Lebanon. His branches shall spread; his beauty shall be like an olive tree, and his fragrance like Lebanon.’” This is speaking to the Church when it is restored to spiritual Israel, when it has turned away from backsliding and it is bearing fruit for God. It will be like a very fragrant olive tree. Continuing in verse 7: “‘Those who dwell under his shadow shall return; they shall be revived like grain, and grow like a vine. Their scent shall be like the wine of Lebanon.’” God says when we are bearing fruit and we turn away from our sins (from our backsliding ways), He becomes like dew to us so that we can bear fruit for him. Then we become like a very fruitful and fragrant olive tree. We become like a vine that is producing lots of wine. So this is how we live. How we turn to him and turn away from our sins is what makes it possible for us to be a fruitful vine and a fruitful olive tree for God. Continuing in verse 8 of Hosea 14. “‘Ephraim shall say, “What have I to do anymore with idols?” I have heard and observed him. I am like a green cypress tree; your fruit is found in Me.’ Who is wise? Let him understand these things. Who is prudent? Let him know them. For the ways of the Lord are right; the righteous walk in them but transgressors stumble in them.” We need to get this right. If we are doing it wrong, we stumble over the word of God. We become an unfruitful tree and an unfruitful vine, and therefore we have to be pruned off and burned in the fire. If we are being fruitful, God the Father will also take care of that vine and that tree and prune it to bear more fruit. This means He has to press the tree to force out the oil to make sure we have lots of oil in our vessel to make our lamp burn brightly. It is important to get this right, brethren. It is important to apply this knowledge to our Church today because the poor, beaten, suffering body of Christ in the last days needs some people to act like the good Samaritan. They need to bind up some wounds to help the Church recover to get rid of these weeping sores on the body of Christ. We need to apply the wine and the oil (the love, compassion and the truth) to help the victim get the energy it needs to be revived. I want to look at some scriptures now that will confirm this concept in our minds and help us realize the significance in our time to get this right. SHEPHERDS MISTREAT THE FLOCK Turn to Ezekiel chapter 34. Read verses 1-10. Here Christ is talking to the shepherds who should be caring for the sheep for Him. He says you have not bound up the broken. That means the injured. You have not healed the sick. You have not fed them when they were weak and hungry. He said you have ruled with cruelty. In essence, the body has been beaten by those who should be caring for it. That is what Christ is saying here. It is not me. I am just reading God’s scriptures. We understand these are predominately scriptures for our time. We have known this for years, brethren. Continue in Ezekiel 34 and read verses 11-22. Christ vows to take care of His flock (His Church). There are shepherds who have more or less down trodden the sheep and fed them poor food, but also indeed there are sheep who have harmed each other. But we are shown here that before He actually steps in and wrests the flock from the shepherds, He gives us fair warning of what He will be looking for. He is looking for shepherds and sheep who will bind up each other’s wounds and who will apply wine and oil to heal those wounds and help the body of Christ to get better and not sicker. SATAN WOUNDED THE CHURCH Turn, if you would, to Isaiah chapter 1 where it describes the condition of the Church today in quite a bit of detail. Read Isaiah 1:2-6. Often times we have applied this to the nations of the world (the descendants of the physical tribes of Israel). Brethren, they do not know their God. They have long since departed from God and are striving to get back in many cases. It is the Church who knew their God, and it is the Church who, when we look out there, is wounded and sick from head to the foot. It is full of wounds, bruises and putrefying sores. This is the condition of the body of Christ. If you were to look up those words in the Hebrew, sores is the Hebrew word makkah which means a blow or a wound, from the word nakah which means to strike, a smiter or to give stripes. You can picture Satan pounding on the Church, brethren, inflicting wounds as God allows Satan to punish the Church in the hopes of correcting the Church to turn back to Him. This is the condition of the Church today and why it is so full of wounds (peoples’ sins). We have been overcome by Satan and by the sins within the Church causing these putrefying sores. That word putrefying comes from the Hebrew word tariy which means to be moist or dripping, hence like fresh wounds. We see that Satan is constantly pounding the Church, hitting us with our sins. It is damaging the body of Christ, causing wounds that are dripping and need attention. They need to be bound up. They need to have ointment put on them. They need to have the wine of the truth (the blood of Christ) applied to them. They need the oil of the Holy Spirit as a balm on these sores. The Church needs to be taught love and compassion like the good Samaritan had and use that love and compassion with one another. The Church is half dead just like the man that the Samaritan came upon! It is half dead. Unfortunately, rather than helping the poor victim, many of the priests and Levites are pounding on the victim, pounding on one another and tearing the body apart letting Satan use them as the scourge cords on the body of Christ. Just as Jesus Christ was physically beaten because of the Pharisees working with the Romans two thousand years ago, today we have Pharisees within the Church. They use everything from government institutions to sue brethren, to the media to slander brethren, to pulling the Church apart seeking a following after themselves. This pulling apart of the body to gather a following after one’s self is damaging the body. It is harming the sheep and scattering them, proverbially on a dark and cloudy day amongst all the hills of the world. We know the hills and the mountains we currently dwell underneath are Satan’s hills and Satan’s mountains. We have to stop this behavior, brethren, and help one another by binding up each other’s wounds, washing each other’s feet and helping one another. I want to take a few lessons for this from the Book of Matthew so that we can get busy on this and help the body of Christ heal as soon as possible. There is not much time to waste, brethren, for Christ will come upon us like a thief in the night and take us by surprise. He is going to want to know who was like the Samaritan and who was like the priest and the Levite who left the victim lying bleeding in the street. It is a serious matter, and we need to learn from these. It is not just a story. Read Matthew 18:1-14. God’s sheep matter a lot to Him. We do not want to be a shepherd, sheep, ram or goat that is causing offense, harming the sheep and inflicting wounds. We do not want to be in the position of not helping bind them up and not putting wine or oil on these wounds or helping the victim to heal. Turn, if you would, to Matthew chapter 24. We will continue in the vein of offenses here. Read verses 10-13. Especially here in the last days, brethren, there are lots of offenses and lots of things to cause people to grow cold in their love. Offenses hurt and offenses cause wounds. They cause blood to drip and putrefying sores to set in. They cause bitterness of heart, anger and resentment. These are all the things that can destroy the body of Christ. We need to do the things that will prevent those offenses from occurring in the first place, and once they have occurred, get out the wine, the oil, the balm and the ointment to fix those wounds. This will bind them up to heal the body of Christ. Now let’s read in Matthew 24 where Jesus Christ speaks about His temple. Verse 1: “Then Jesus went out and departed from the temple, and His disciples came up to show Him the buildings of the temple. And Jesus said to them, ‘Do you not see all these things? Assuredly, I say to you, not one stone shall be left here upon another, that shall not be thrown down.’” Of course, physically that occurred in 70 A.D. when the temple was thrown down and the stones thrown apart. We know that we are living stones for God that He is building into a spiritual temple in a spiritual city called Jerusalem. Here in the last days this beautiful temple has been torn apart. There is hardly a stone left upon a stone. It is no accident that Christ went on to say that many shall be offended and many will hurt one another. He said the love of many will grow cold. One of the chief ways that the stones are torn apart, brethren, is by offenses, by smiting one another and by false teachings so that the blood flowing through the veins of the Church is not pure anymore. It is mixed with harmful things. When a human being gets a virus or a bacteria flowing through their veins, it can destroy the body and kill the person. It can cause sores to pop out on the body and organs to fail. This is what is happening to the body of Christ spiritually. The blood that is flowing through the veins is no longer pure. The body is beating one another up and tearing each other apart, causing numerous offenses, and not very many fingers are being lifted to heal them. Turn, if you would, to Matthew 24:45. “‘Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his master made ruler over his household, to give them food in due season?’” Here we are talking about Ezekiel 34 where the shepherds are to feed the sheep and the sheep are to care for one another as well. Continue in verse 46: “‘Blessed is that servant whom his master, when he comes, will find so doing. Assuredly, I say to you that he will make him ruler over all his goods. But if that evil servant says in his heart, “My master is delaying his coming,” and begins to beat his fellow servants, and to eat and drink with the drunkards, the master of that servant will come on a day when he is not looking for him, and at an hour that he is not aware of, and will cut him in two and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites. There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’” We see Christ has delayed His coming a bit. We were all hoping Christ would come before Mr. Armstrong would pass away, and He did not. The Church was not ready. The Church was given some extra time to get ready, and Christ was waiting for His bride to get cleaned up. The Church needed to get rid of the putrefying sores, get rid of these wounds and get bound up. Instead it has become worse and worse until the body has been left half dead. If you look at the story of the ten virgins, five vessels have no oil. Five have no oil to get their lamp burning anymore. What has done this? The things that have been tearing the Church apart have caused this. They are the offenses, the lack of forgiveness, the lack of the truth of the word, the adulterating of the truth, the anger and the resentment between Church groups, between the ministry and between people. It has caused so many wounds, the body is almost unrecognizable! It is a sad state of affairs, but it is not going to last. When Christ returns, He is going to want to know who has been doing the smiting and who has been trying to bind up the wounds. Lots of God’s servants have been beating one another and causing these wounds. It has led to the stones of the temple to fall down and be damaged. Satan in a sense is trying to turn things around on God. If you were to go back in the Old Testament and study the Book of Joshua and look at the story of Jericho, you would find that Jericho (the lunations of the moon) in one sense was Satan’s city at that time. God was showing that prior to entering into the Promised Land Satan’s system would come crashing down. In a way in the last days Satan has done that to God’s Church. The temple has come crashing down. He is mocking God. He was able to get within the body of Christ, cause all of these sores and beat the Church with many stripes, and the Church would not repent. It would be poor, blind, wretched, naked and miserable. If you remember, the man walking to Jericho was beaten and left naked. They stripped him. Laodicea is left stripped and naked as well. There is no clothing. It has been beaten, it is full of putrefying sores and it needs somebody to come along as a Samaritan with some wine, oil and bandages. It needs to be given decent housing until they can be healed. God has news for all who have been smitten and all who have been smiters. He will snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. What we see out there that the body of Christ has gone through and what has happened to that body is not going to last. God says I will come on that dark and cloudy day, and I will gather those up who do care. I will bring them together, and I will feed them. They will be victorious with Me. I will judge among the sheep and among the goats. I will judge My shepherds, and I will take My flock at their hand. I will examine My sheep, and I will see if they have been beating My sheep or if they have been healing My sheep, feeding My sheep or starving My sheep. I will see if they have been messing up their pasture or giving them good food, fouling their water or giving them good clean pure water. I will see who has been helping the blood flow through the veins of My body to stay pure, to stay healthy and strong and who has not. He will carefully examine His sheep, and He will judge those responsible for damaging the body of Christ. THE MOST POWERFUL TOOL FOR HEALING Brethren, I am telling you right now from God’s word, the most powerful tool that we have for healing is forgiveness. Turn, if you would to Matthew chapter 6 where we find the model prayer. Read Matthew 6:9-15. The vinedresser prunes the vine and takes care of the vine, but if the vine is poisoning other parts of the vine, God says I will judge you as you judge. If there is no forgiveness from you toward your fellow sheep, I cannot forgive you. You are all part of the vine. I have to treat you justly the way you treat others. At this time, brethren, we need lots of forgiveness in the Church. It is the main balm that will heal. The Church is full of shepherds who have not forgiven each other and who have pounded each other, like I say, in the media and in different other avenues. They have slandered one another. There are many sheep within the body of Christ who will not forgive and forget. They harm one another. They slander one another. God says this has to stop. The chief way to stop is with forgiveness. With forgiveness we remove the power of Satan, for it can no longer accuse. He uses us to accuse one another. What God is looking for at this time, brethren, is good Samaritans to help the body which has fallen among thieves and has taken a heavy beating. Will we pass by and do nothing because of fear of harm? Or will we pass by and do nothing because we are selfish? Or will we take care of our fallen brethren, of the body that is bleeding? Will we take of our wine and our oil and tenderly care for the wounds, the wounds that are actually on Christ’s very body (the body of Christ, the Church)? It would be a shame, brethren, if God had to bring in strangers to the faith to finish getting the bride ready to clean up the Church, but there are indications that to a certain extent that is going to happen! Strangers in the world who know how to be good Samaritans may be called at the last minute to finish the plan of God and get ready for the Millennium because we have not shown how to bind up each other’s wounds. What we need to do now and do it quickly is look for the wounds on the body of Christ. We need to put wine and oil on them, bind them up, forgive one another and get ready to show our Maker the condition of the sheep that we have had contact with. We need to get ready to show our Maker, our Chief Shepherd, how we have cared for His flock.