Caller: I enjoy your program. I would like to know about James chapter 5 verses 13 through 16. Would you explain that to me?
Pastor Doug: We'll read that for our listeners. We've got people driving pick up trucks down the road and we like them to hear the Scripture. 'Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing songs. Is there anyone among you sick? Let him call for the Elders of the church and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the sick and the Lord will raise him up and if he's committed sins, they'll be forgiven.' Is that the verse you wanted?
Caller: That's what I wanted - yes.
Pastor Doug: Okay. Well you said verse 16 too?
Caller: Yes.
Pastor Doug: 'Confess your trespasses to one another and pray for one another that you might be healed. The effect of fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.'
Caller: Well I was wondering does that apply to us today? Now I have a Sunday school teacher he thinks anointing with oil doesn't apply to us today.
Pastor Doug: If you use that philosophy that Scripture doesn't apply, then you can start throwing out your Bible one book at a time.
Caller: This is what I was wondering too. He said the prayer of faith but not the anointing with oil - you know what I mean. It sort of threw me.
Pastor Doug: Yeah well I believe that - first of all, the oil doesn't heal but the oil is a symbol of the Holy Spirit that does heal. And when the Lord says to anoint with oil He means that just as much as He means it when He says baptize with water. And so we're going to start saying 'well you know we don't really need to do water baptism because that doesn't apply today'? Well I think you've got to do what the Bible says and we use olive oil in our church, we anoint people, we have prayer over them and I've seen miracles - so I believe in these things.
Caller: Do you think that when you get sick you should go and call for the Elders of the church and have them anoint you with oil before you go to the hospital or doctor or anything?
Pastor Doug: Not necessarily. If a person falls down and has a heart attack I would call 911before I call the Pastor, because the Lord tells us to use the resources that He's made available. If I get a sore throat I'm not going to call my Pastor to come and have prayer. I think my body has got the senses God's provided that would help take care of that problem but for more serious things, absolutely.
Caller: Right. Like if I was to go to the hospital for an operation. Would it be scriptural for me to go and be anointed before I went into the hospital for the operation?
Pastor Doug: Yeah absolutely.
Caller: Okay that's what I was wondering. So then you think that that is very popular for today, to be anointed with oil?
Pastor Doug: Well I believe this principle is the principle that God gives us from James that is valid today, 100% valid and I recommend people believe in every word of God. That's what Jesus says. Man doesn't live by bread alone but every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. And this is the word of God.
Caller: That's the way I look at it too. It sort of threw me you know when you said that because I've always believed in getting anointing but I had changed churches and went to a different denomination.
Pastor Doug: I'd like to recommend that you send for a booklet that we've got that deals with the subject of health and healing. It's called, You Wouldn't Do This - and it's a lesson that deals with health. You call our resource center at 800-835-6747 and we'll send that to you John. We're going to rush along because we've got a couple of minutes and several callers.