Well good evening. It's good to be back with you tonight and an honor as always to be preaching out of God's word. We will be back in the book of Matthew took a little detour Saturday night to the gospel of Luke and tonight we'll be back in Matthew and picking up our study where we are at in Matthew chapter Matthew chapter 8. Two Sunday nights ago, we started a study through really nine sequential miracles that Christ performed in this section. This is right after the Sermon on the Mount. If you remember, we said that Christ was performing many miracles before the Sermon on the Mount. And then when He'd come down off the Mount, He is still performing many of these miracles and teaching many of the lessons that we so love today. So we looked at the first two of these miracles, the first one being how that he healed the leper, and then the second one being how that Christ healed the centurion's servant that was sick with a palsy. He was paralyzed. And so tonight we will move to that third miracle, and this will finish up our first section. We call them buckets, the first buckets of these physical ailments that he healed these poor people. So let's look to Matthew chapter 8. I'm going to begin our reading in verse 14. Two verses tonight, but I can promise you we'll go the full length of our service time as we look at these two wonderful verses. Matthew 8, 14 says, And when Jesus was come into Peter's house, he saw his wife's mother laid and sick of a fever. And he touched her hand, and the fever left her, and she arose ministered unto them the title of message tonight is Christ the King's power over the fever Christ the King's power over the fever we could have titled this many things could have said many mother-in-law jokes here but we're not going to do that mine's here with me and I appreciate her for raising her daughter who I love very much and so we're going to stay away from the mother-in-law jokes and we're going to stick to the text tonight and so we'll make sure and do that. So as we study through this text we're going to borrow some of those same headings that we've looked at the two previous weeks and then build just a little bit upon those. It's good to mention right out of the gate here that you will find this account, this healing of Peter's mother-in-law, in three of the Gospels. You'll find it here in Matthew 8. You'll find it over in Mark 1, verses 29-31. And you'll also find it in Luke 4, verses 38-39. And so it's really important as we look at this passage to do what we call read the Gospels synoptically. And that means read these three accounts together and we can get the full story from all three perspectives. Wonderful how the Holy Spirit comprised the New Testament, especially the Gospels in that way. Wonderful way to give us this story. So let's jump right on into our text and first consider the setting. We find the setting in the first part of verse 14 when it says, And when Jesus was come into Peter's house. If you go to Mark chapter 129 you can turn there or we put these up on the overhead because we'll be flipping back and forth quite a bit from Matthew, Mark to Luke. Some of you like doing a Bible drill. We could do that tonight but we'll try to stick to the screens. Mark 129 says, And for with when they were come out of the synagogue they entered into the house of Simon and Andrew with James and John. So from these two passages we know the place that this miracle took place and that was inside of Simon's who was Peter's and Andrew's home and inside of this home was Peter's sick mother-in-law. Now this might Seem a little odd especially in today's context that Peter and his brother and his wife and his mother-in-law all lived in the same home But if you go back to the first century, it's really not that Uncommon and it's getting to be not that uncommon in today's time as things are more expensive and it's just easier for families to co-exist Habitat there in the same home and so many times family had to do this especially back then to survive then if you look at both mark 129 and Luke 438 we can add that this miracle is performed shortly after the Christ, Peter, Andrew, James, and John had left the synagogue. So we put all that together. You've got Christ, Peter, Andrew, James, John, likely Peter's wife, and his sick mother-in-law. And then if you go to Luke 4.38, we get even more information. It says at the end of verse 38 of Luke 4, "...and they besought him for her." So there's even more people inside of this home. You have Christ, Peter, Andrew, James, John, Peter's wife, Peter's sick mother-in-law, and the theys as mentioned in verse 38. So long story short, there's several people inside of this home and more than likely several more outside of this home because large crowd follow Christ everywhere that he went. He's still performing miracles. Matthew 8.1 says, And when he was come down out of the mountain, great multitudes followed him. So there's a lot of people around Christ. There are several people inside of this home. This home was located in the town of Capernaum. and there's just many people here. So that paints for us this setting. Peter's sick mother-in-law is in there. She's very sick, as we will see. Many people inside the home, many people outside the home, located in the town of Capernaum, right there off of the Sea of Galilee. So let's now consider the caring concern. The caring concern, we're told in Luke 4, verse 38, And he arose out of the synagogue and entered into Simon's So it's likely that Jesus had just finished preaching there in the synagogue. It's likely that as Jesus traveled from the synagogue to Peter's home that he healed more people. So you can imagine when you get up and you preach for any length of time, especially if you do it multiple times a day, you will be tired, believe it or not. And then if you're having to physically walk and do some other things, you'll be even tireder. So you can imagine just this massive crowd following Christ from the synagogue to Peter's home, pushing against him. this big massive crowd and requesting him that he heal them. And he did. He performed many miracles, so many miracles that John, in John 21-25, this is amazing, says, And there are also many other things which Jesus did, the which, if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written Amen. That's an impressive statement. You see, our Lord was all about ministry. He was all about the Father's work. So much so that if we was to record everything that was happening, the world could not contain the books. It's unfathomable. How many messages and lessons that he preached that are not even recorded. But yet Matthew tells us, and when Jesus come into Peter's house, he saw his wife's mother laid. So here we have Christ. He's busy ministering. Likely to the hundreds if not thousands surrounding him. and he takes the time to see Peter's sick mother-in-law. This may not seem like a huge deal, but listen to what many Jewish men would pray every single day in their morning prayers. They would pray something like this, Lord, I thank Thee that I was not born a slave, a Gentile, or a woman. You see, in the first century, being a woman was not considered a blessing in the Jewish culture. Women were typically married very young, and a woman could not divorce their husband, even though their husbands could divorce them for just about anything. Women had little to no rights to an inheritance or to property. Women received little to no education. History tells us that women were not allowed to study the sacred text or to pray certain daily prayers. They could not bear witness in court, and they were separated from the men in the synagogues and were not permitted to read out loud. Now all of this was a result of Jewish law and tradition, not God's law. Women actually played a vital role if you go back and read the Old Testament all the way through the New Testament they played a vital role in in the work that God had planned for His people to do, especially in the formation of the early church. But for the purpose of the message tonight, we must know that the context of the day paints a picture of women being very looked down upon. They were only good for maintaining the home or procreation, as some would say. But yet, Jesus saw this woman. He took the time in that context to care for Peter's sick mother-in-law. And he wasn't the only one that saw her. Luke 4, 38 says that they besought him for her. Now that word besought, of course, it means to beg or to beseech or to entreat. So whomever the they's are, they showed that they cared for this woman as well. This is a good reminder for us that no matter what status somebody has in society, we must still care for them. First of all, care for them enough to present the gospel. And second of all, care for them in the fact that if Christ has led them our way, do what we can to help them, especially those of the household of faith. Matthew 25, 40. Says, And the king shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Insomuch as ye have done it, and to the least of these my brethren ye have done it, unto me. You see, Christ was preaching and Christ was demonstrating a caring concern for the least of the brethren by both seeing and healing the most despised of society in the Jewish culture of the day, which was a woman. The caring concern. So we've looked at this setting, what a setting that it was. We've looked at the caring concern of our Lord for this despised woman. Now I want to quickly consider Peter's condoned marriage. His condoned marriage. I don't want to skip over the fact that Peter was married. So look at Matthew 8, 14. says that when Jesus was coming to Peter's house, he saw his wife's mother laid, his wife's mother laid. Now Mark 1.30 says, but Simon's wife's mother lay sick of a fever. Luke 4.38 says that he rose out of the synagogue and entered into Simon's house and Simon's wife's mother was taken with a great In all three gospel accounts, we see the point being made that Peter was married and he wasn't called out for it. And then if you read on into the New Testament, you will find that Peter's wife traveled with him. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 9, beginning in verse 1, Am I not an apostle? Am I not free? Have I not seen Jesus Christ our Lord? Are not ye my work in the Lord? If I be not an apostle unto others, yet doubtless I am to you. For the seal of mine apostleship are ye in the Lord. Mine answer to them that do examine me is this. Have we not power to eat and to drink? Have we not power to lead about a sister? a wife, as well as other apostles, and as the brethren of the Lord, and Cephas. You see, Cephas was another name for Peter. So if you go back to chapter 8 of 1 Corinthians, what Paul is doing is he is laying out Christian liberties. And then you go into chapter 9 where we find this text, and Paul is showing us how to apply those Christian liberties in his own life, which is a representation of how we can apply them in our own life. And in this application, he stated that he had the right to marry if he wanted to, just as the other apostles had. And he made a point to point out that Peter had the right to marry and he did marry and rightfully so. Hebrews 13, 4. says that marriage is honorable in all. Again, God gives us allowance for and actually blesses those who marry. You might say, what's the big deal? Here's the big deal. The Catholic Church teaches clerical celibacy for those who are ordained to the priesthood. And this is totally unbiblical, the fact that they have priests and that they require celibacy. and it's even proved to be unbiblical in the text we're considering tonight. You see, the Catholic Church does and still does today, they still want to add to God's law. That was a problem with Judaism. They continually added tradition after tradition and law after law to God's law that He had inspired through the Holy Spirit holy men to write down what He wanted them to write. And why would they do this? Why would the Catholic Church teach that priests must maintain celibacy? It's because it's something that's maintainable. And if you can maintain something that you want to claim as God's law, then you can base your salvation on your own works. That's what the Jews did and still do to this day. It's a works-based salvation system. What does this lead to? Well, in the Catholic Church, the statistics tell us It's got a higher percentage of child molestation cases, higher percentages of AIDS, all of these things. And what is this? This is a direct result of sin, of adding to the Word of God. When we step out of the bounds that God sets in the Scriptures, in His predetermined law, we are sinning. We're going down that downward spiral that leads to more and more Sin we determine our own fate when we step out of the bounds of God's law led by our own nasty and sinful flesh Now what's interesting is that the Catholic Church? Claims that Peter is the the head of the church or you heard the term vice regent of Christ The head of Christ Church with the Pope being a successor to Peter So go try and figure that one out Peter's married. They require celibacy for their priest, but yet claim that Peter was a vice regent. Makes about as much sense as the Jehovah's Witnesses that years ago claimed that only 144,000 would enter heaven. And then they had to go back and change it. You see, we can't add to God's law. We can't take it away. It has been written, it has been given and no one should add to it. I like to say we can't read in the white spaces of our Bible. We need to stay on the black and red letters if you got a red letter Bible. Stick to the text God gives us and we must not stretch the scriptures past the bounds that he set when he inspired holy men of God to write them. Peter's condoned Marriage so we got the setting the caring concern and then Peter's condoned marriage and number five the life-threatening Fever and yes, I did spell threatening wrong and I did not have time to change it So English majors you can give me a big ol X for that one. Okay life-threatening Fever, let's look back to our text back to verse 18. I And when Jesus was coming to Peter's house, he saw his wife's mother laid and sick of a fever. Now that word fever is derived from a Greek word, and it is per. And per means to be on fire. It means to be ill. It means to have a fever. In the ancient world, a fever was quite dangerous. Why? Because they did not have modern medicines. They were not available. And that resulted in many This fever was so bad that our text tells us that Peter's mother-in-law laid. In layman's terms, this fever had knocked her flat. She could not go on with her necessary day-to-day activities. Luke adds in 4.38, chapter 4 and verse 38, and Simon's wife's mother was taken with a great fever. So Luke uses the adjective great to describe this fever. That word great comes from the Greek word megas and that's where we get our English word mega. So Peter's sick mother-in-law had a mega fever, had a great fever, a very high fever. So if we go back to the first century in New Testament times, what was the likely disease she had? Could have been malaria. If you study malaria, you will find that a person with malaria, their temperature will reach upwards of 106 to 107 degrees Fahrenheit, depending on what place that they are in their disease progression. A patient with malaria will feel very sick, They will shake with chills. They will cough. They will have severe pain in their abdomen. They will have pain in their muscles. They will sweat, have diarrhea, be nauseated, vomit. Their heart rate will be elevated. They will have a headache. They will be mentally confused, pale skin. As malaria worsens, it causes amnemia. I cannot talk tonight. Amnemia. And if it's left untreated, it causes severe health issues leading to organ damage and possibly death. Malaria fits the description of Peter's sick mother-in-law. This disease allows us to get a glimpse into the pain and the agony that she was in. Her life was on the line. She was in a totally dependent state. Unable to walk, unable to talk, unable to move. What is this a picture of? It's a picture of us. Christ. Friends, before the Spirit stirred our hearts and turned us to himself, we were in a helpless state. We were dead in our trespasses and sins, as Ephesians 2.1 says. We were unable to call for help, as Jeremiah 7.13 says. We actually had no desire to call for help, because we were drowning in our own sin, because we were unclean and our righteousness was as filthy rags as Isaiah says in Isaiah 64, 6. We are Peter's sick mother-in-law that must rely on what Martin Luther taught on something that was alien of us, something that was out from us, an alien righteousness. that God must give to us. You see, in our state of despair, we have no hope unless the Spirit moves within us so that we turn to Jesus Christ in repentance and faith. This is a serious fever, a life-threatening fever. Number five, let's look at the healing touch The healing touch, look back with me. I want to begin reading verse 14 to get context, and we'll skip on over to verse 15. And when Jesus was come into Peter's house, he saw his wife's mother laid and sick of a fever, and he touched her hand, and the fever left her, and she arose. I want to notice a few things here from these two verses. First of all, this healing was direct. It was direct. The days of Mark and Luke, they came to Jesus because they could not heal this dear woman. And Jesus responds, I love this, by touching her hands, sort of like the leper. He reached out and touched the leper, and the leper was healed. So there's no question who is doing the healing. The one doing the healing is the very Son of God. He directly healed her, leaving no room for anybody else to take credit for what God was doing. Mark adds in Mark 1 31, And he came and took her by the hand and lifted her up. What love and care and compassion that Christ showed. He didn't just speak for this dear woman to be healed. He came and grabbed her hand and lifted her up. This is a direct healing from our most involved Lord. Not only was this healing direct, but secondly, this healing, it was witnessed. There were witnesses at this healing. Notice that Jesus, it doesn't tell us in Matthew, Mark, or Luke that he cleared the room. Could he have? For sure he could have cleared the room, but it's not recorded. He healed in plain sight for all those that were there that day to see. His work was not to be kept a secret. He wanted all those there that day to know and believe that he was the Son of God and when he spoke he was speaking the words of God that carried with them weight and power and majesty. Thirdly, this healing, it was complete. It was complete. Matthew 8, 15 says that the fever left her. Luke records the fever left her. Mark records the fever left her. And then to prove that it did leave her, both Matthew and Mark both say that she arose. And Luke adds that she ministered. The point I'm trying to make is she did not have the typical fever recovery that we have. You know what you feel like. You feel like borderline lethargic after you had a high fever for several days. You just want to moan and roll around and not do much. This is not what we see here. This fever left her and she got to ministering. This dear woman was not healed by medicine. She was healed by the greatest physician. She was completely healed and she immediately arose. This was an instantaneous complete healing. This miraculous healing. It was a direct and complete healing that was witnessed by many there that day. You know, this is a picture of the healing we receive at salvation. Go to Ephesians chapter 2. I like to read this passage from time to time to just remind me and keep my mind focused on what the Lord has done in me. How thankful that I am. Ephesians chapter 2, beginning in verse 1. And you hath he quickened who were dead in trespasses and sins, wherein in times past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience, among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lust of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath. We were a helpless cause. In verse 4, But God, who is rich in mercy for his great love wherewith he loved us, even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ. By grace are ye saved. and hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come he might show the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness towards us through Christ. And then the well-known way that Paul ends. this passage here, For by grace are you saved through faith, and that not of yourselves it is the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast. For we, those who are saved, for we are his workmanship created in Christ Jesus and two good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them. That's what Christ has done in us and through us at salvation. This healing of this dear lady, it was complete and provided a picture perfect picture for us and how that Christ has saved each one of us and worked through us. This was a healing touch. We've looked at the setting, the concern. Peter's condoned marriage, the life-threatening fever. Now let's consider the immediate service, the immediate service. I love the response of this dear woman. Matthew 8, 15 tells us that after the fever had left, she arose and ministered unto them. Mark 1.31 says that after Christ took her hand and lifted her up, that immediately the fever left her and she ministered unto them. Luke 4.39 tells us that after the fever had left, immediately she arose and ministered unto them. Why was it? that God saw to it to put this statement in all three Gospels. It is to emphasize the result of being healed. To emphasize the result of being saved. This is amazing. This woman had been helped. She had been rescued. She had been touched. She had been healed. She had apparently been previously saved and she's now grateful. This woman's response to the healing she received for Christ is a testament for all saints of all times. Can I ask a very serious and humbling question? Where are we at? and our gratefulness for the Lord's spiritual healing in our life. Why is it that some people have to be just short of begged to serve in the church? Why is it you sometimes feel like you've got a fishing pole and a hook? And you cast out that fishing pole and you try to find that one and you set the hook and you try to reel them in and get them to serve. Why is it that Christ is sometimes not the focal point of our conversations and our interactions with one another? Why is it that Christ does not consume us every single day? Could it be that we have somehow, some way, shape, form or fashion lost a sense of our gratefulness for the work that he has done within us? Could it be that we have forgotten the sense of awe for the miracle that has happened within us? Could it be that we have forgotten that we were dead in our trespasses and sin, but God who is rich in mercy? Could it be that we have gotten our priorities all mixed up and we've placed many things in front of him? Could it be that we're not seeking God's kingdom first in our life? The answer is yes. Yes. And yes to all of these in some way, shape, form or fashion. We've not arrived. I'm not the reason that you need to serve. You're not the reason that I need to serve. A need in the church is not a reason that we need to serve either. Feeling bad because someone may be doing a little bit more or maybe just feeling bad for somebody because they may have too much, that's not a reason to serve either. We serve Christ because we are grateful for what He has done for us. We serve Christ because He reached down in the clay, that dirty, nasty clay, and He got us up out of the pit, and He molded us into what He wants us to be. He saved us from despair. He saved us from eternal punishment in the lake of fire. That's why we serve Christ. That's why we must be grateful. That's our energy. That's our reason. That's our fuel. It's what he has done in us and through us. Don't miss what is happening in our story. One of the most despised people of society, a woman. She was healed. Because she was noticed, she was cared for, she was healed completely. But what did she do? She got right to work. Life is all about service. We serve Christ when we share the gospel. We serve Christ when we biblically parent. We serve Christ when we are a godly mate to the person he has led into our life. We serve Christ in everything we do, whether we eat, whether we drink or whatsoever we do, we do all to the glory of God, not ourselves. Spurgeon said this, and I quote, speaking of the woman that was healed, she felt active enough to rise, energetic enough to work, and we need hardly add grateful enough to wait upon her physician and all his friends. So do we have a constant attitude of gratitude for Christ who lights the fire of service within our hearts? Do we have a willingness to actually serve Him in all the capacities that He has blessed us with and that He has preordained? for us to serve him in. You see, that's what Ephesians 2.10 is getting at. Ephesians 2.10, you can imagine that life is this stream and it's flowing. And it's hard. But Ephesians 2.10, us being His workmanship, us being the one who He has preordained works for us to walk in, that is Him laying those stepping stones across that stream. And we go from one to the next, to the next, to the next, until we reach the other side where He awaits for us. So are we walking on each work that He has planned out for us to do? If we are, we're answering the call of having this attitude of gratitude and serving Him because we love Him. We see the immediate service. What a setting it was. We saw Christ caring, concerned. There's no doubt He loved this dear lady. We saw Peter's condoned marriage, his life-threatening fever that his mother-in-law had, the healing touch, the immediate service. Where do we go from here? How do we apply this text? Because I don't know where you're at tonight. Some may be in despair. Some may be in the pit of life's heartaches and troubles. Can I tell you, just like this woman, Christ is there. Christ, through salvation, has already grabbed your hand and has lifted you up. He's already resurrected you. That's amazing. Don't stay in life's pit of anxiety and worries. Be lifted up by the one who cares. Be lifted up by the one who is ready to demonstrate His perfect strength in our times of greatest weakness. That's what His Word tells us. It's in our times of greatest weakness, our times of greatest despair, that His strength is made perfect, that his strength is put on display for all the world to see. Be lifted up and serve the one who has served us to the greatest degree. By giving his life. To pay for our sins. So we wouldn't have to. Be grateful. For what only he could do. And that he did do. Be grateful for the strength that we receive from Him. Be energized to serve. Be encouraged to study His Word. Be motivated to give of our time and talents and gifts to Him and His work in His church and in His world. The truth of the matter is that the Christian life, and you've heard this time and time again, I have in my own life, it's not a spectator sport. It's not a sport from which we can sit in the stands. Because are those in the stands a part of the team? No, they're not. You see, the Christian life is about being on the team. It's about trusting in our Savior. It's about giving our all so that we can say, as Paul did, I have ran the race. I have fought the good fight. Don't you want to say that on your deathbed? I do. I want to look back and say, I gave my all for my Lord because he gave his all for me. We've been placed where we are at for a reason. We're not here by mistake. God doesn't make mistakes. The last time I looked, we're in the family he wanted us to be in. We're here tonight because he planned for us to be here. We're in the situations when we go outside of those doors because it's a part of his plan. He's either allowed everything to happen. where he's caused it to happen. Every single situation that we are in, as R.C. Sproul says, the devil is God's devil. The devil submits to him. The world submits to him. Our flesh ultimately submits to God. Everything and everybody submits to God. So why do we worry? Sadly, there may be some here tonight or some that we rub shoulders with every single day. There may be some that will be at our Christmas Eve service. There may be some that may watch by live stream that are living life with no godly purpose. You see, if we're living life with no godly purpose, if we're living life for a purpose that is outside of the bounds of scriptures. Chances are we've never been changed. Because when we've been changed, That will manifest in us and through us. We will never be the same. Never. So have you been touched by the Savior through salvation? Have you? If not, repent of your sins. Cry out in faith. Believe that Jesus Christ did come to this earth. that he was fully God so that he could be resurrected and he could pay for our sins. But yet he was fully man so that he could actually be the sacrifice for our sins. Believe that. Believe that he lived that perfect life. Believe that on the cross it was not an act. It was not some big drama. On the cross, all the sins of all the elect was placed on Him. The Father forsook His Son. The Father placed His wrath upon His Son for the sins that we commit still to this day. That's how much Christ loved us. And if we want to be saved, we must believe that. We must believe that he paid the penalty for our sins on that cross. And then we must believe that he was resurrected from the grave on that third day. We must, we must submit to his lordship over our life. He is the boss and we are not. That's true salvation. Where are you at tonight? Are you saved and serving? Are you saved and you've backslidden a little and you need to get back in the middle of that narrow path? You see, we studied the narrow path. If you're truly saved, you'll never get off of that narrow path. Now, it's highly likely that some of us want to tiptoe, you know, on the bumper guard at the bowling alley. Some people want to live right there all their life and I'll never understand it. Get back in the middle. Follow Christ to the best of your ability. Stay on that preordained path for our life. We must. We have no other choice. That's the only right choice for us. Bow with me as we pray. Father, I thank you for allowing us to have some time together tonight. I thank you for each one that is here for each one. Lord, that has. Come through this door today. Father, we've looked at this passage. How did you heal this dear lady? We thank you for your care and compassion. We thank you for planning out these miracles for your son to do so that he could confirm his deity, so that he could confirm that he was the very son of God. Lord, thank you for these works that we read. And Father, now as we enter into this time of invitation, I pray that you would do a work in each of our hearts I pray that each of us would realize that without you, we are nothing. But with you, Lord, we're everything. Father, we love you. Have your way with this time of invitation. We promise to give you all the praise, honor and glory. It's in your son's name that we pray.