FBCPS
Sermons, teachings, and podcasts from First Baptist Church in Powder Springs, Georgia.
FBCPS
The Healing You Need | John 5:5-17
What does it mean when God doesn't heal? In this powerful exploration of John 5, we encounter a man who had been disabled for 38 years—waiting hopelessly by a pool rumored to have healing properties. Out of thousands gathered there, Jesus singles out this one man, asks a seemingly cruel question, and then performs an instantaneous miracle.
But the story doesn't end with physical healing. When religious leaders criticize the healed man for carrying his mat on the Sabbath, we see how legalism blinds people to God's work. Later, when Jesus finds the man in the temple, He reveals that physical healing was never the ultimate goal—spiritual salvation was.
Through personal stories, including the pastor's journey with his daughter Brooklyn who has cerebral palsy, we discover that God's purpose in healing goes far beyond physical comfort. Sometimes the most powerful testimony isn't "God healed me" but "God hasn't removed this difficulty, and I still trust Him completely."
The truth is that our healing isn't based on the power of our prayers or the size of our faith, but on God's sovereign purpose. Whatever limitation He leaves in our lives becomes an amplification of His love in the lives of others. As the Apostle Paul discovered with his own "thorn in the flesh," God's grace is sufficient when He chooses not to heal.
Whether you're facing physical illness, emotional trauma, or mental health challenges, this message offers hope that transcends circumstances. God sees you, knows your pain, and is working—even when you can't see it. The question isn't if you have enough faith to be healed, but if you have enough faith to remain faithful even if healing doesn't come.
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We're excited to be in church this morning and to see you and all of your smiling faces. I know we missed many of you last week because of the whole storm Sunday, tornado Sunday. We've got a lot going on in 2025. We've had snow around here, we've had tornadoes. We've had power issues in here. We've had heat around here, we've had tornadoes. We've had power issues in here. We've had heat issues over in the sanctuary. It's like you know, on any given Sunday, which chapter of Revelation are we living today? Right, and so you just you never know, but it is so good to see all of your smiling faces as we continue in our series together. I need a miracle. Look at somebody right now. Yes, I need a miracle. We've been going through this series together, as you see, and, guys, this is not advancing, so I'll let you do that for me, but you can see the schedule that we've been going through the month of March with I need a miracle. We've been talking about when your storm won't stop. We talked about when your sin won't stop Last week, when you're waiting on your miracle, today, when you need to be healed, and next Sunday, when you need renewing in your life. I just want to thank you for all of the stories that you have been submitting so I can tell the stories throughout my sermon and we can hear what God is doing in one another's lives. I've got some other stories this morning from you that I cannot wait to tell. I want you to know that as a reminder, right outside is our. I Need a Miracle wall the. I Need a Miracle wall, and that is your. I Need a Miracle wall wall the. I Need a Miracle wall, and that is your. I Need a Miracle wall so that we can be the correct people, walk by, stop by and pray over every miracle. In fact, next Sunday night, as you'll see on the screen, we're going to have our Worship and Prayer Night on March the 30th, 5pm in here. We're inviting the sanctuary service to come. We want you to come. We want you to come. We want you to come. We want you to come. We want you to come. We want you to come. We want you to come. We want you to come. We want you to come. We want you to come. We want you to come. We want you to come. We want is gonna be here. Pastor Allen Davis is gonna be here with us and for anybody, as James chapter five tells us to do anoint them with oil and pray over them.
Speaker 1:Now, that isn't in any special. The power's not in the oil. Now that isn't in any special sauce, the power's not in the oil. To be honest with you, I've heard it said before and I believe it's true. To be honest with you, there's no power. The prayer is in the God that you pray to. You believe that, and God do the work. Now I have seen a part of planting people with oil and I've seen them healed. The other view as well. Also, I've had my little girl a girl, little girl, a girl. Our last church we had an unbelievable prayer over her. I would have thought, but she didn't do it. Why? Because that wasn't God's plan and purpose for her life. So all of that to say, scripture tells us to do this and we leave the results to God.
Speaker 1:This morning we wanna talk about we're in this series and on miracles. I need a miracle and maybe you're feeling that in your life that you need a miracle, or you know someone that needs a miracle in their life. I know my family. We need a miracle. We pray every single day for our baby girl, for God just to miraculously, instantaneously heal her.
Speaker 1:We remember, back at six months old, that she wasn't reaching those physical milestones. I've told you a little bit about all. The other little six-month-olds were rolling over. She wasn't rolling over. Gets to nine months, all the little nine-month-olds were sitting up. She wasn't sitting up One-year-old, all the other one-year-olds were up, walking, running around and she again, even at that time, could not roll, could not sit, could not walk.
Speaker 1:We remember taking her to a neurologist where they did an MRI and the report came back. Clear Neurologist said we don't know what it is, but we need to figure this out. And so finally she said something just doesn't seem right. The neurologist went back and personally read the MRI report and she found a tiny little white spot on the right side of Brooklyn's brain that affected the left side of her body. And the neurologist said we believe that it is, we believe that it's cerebral palsy. And we can just remember. We can remember being devastated on that day. We can remember on that day we were just weeping, and not for ourselves but for our little girl. And even on that day we just began praying for a miracle.
Speaker 1:So let me ask you what miracle is it that you need God to do in your life. What healing is it that you need God to do in your life or someone else's? Typically, there are three areas of healing that we all need. Number one it could be physically. It could be a diagnosis, it could be a disease, it could be a disability, it could be a disorder in your life, it could just be a difficulty. Or maybe it's emotional healing that you need. Maybe you're dealing, you're struggling with grief, fear, anxiety, guilt or shame. Or maybe it's mentally mentally that you are struggling, going through difficulty that God needs to heal you of stress, depression, trauma, maybe even PTSD. Maybe even you're struggling with suicidal thoughts or tendency.
Speaker 1:This morning I want to talk to you about how I titled this sermon the Healing that you Need, or maybe better titled, the Healing that we All Really Need. Open up with me to John chapter five. John chapter five is one of the most unique, strangest healing stories of the Bible. Last week, when we talked about Jesus feeding the 5,000, it was a miracle story that was found in all four gospels. This was actually a story that is only found in John chapter five In all the Bible, just this one place. The healing that you need.
Speaker 1:Number one that I want you to see here is the desire for healing. Typically, those who need healing have a deep, desperate desire for healing. Everyone say desire. John, chapter five, verse five, says this. It says one man was there. One man was there who had been an invalid for 38 years. Now where was this man? This man was at this place.
Speaker 1:It was a pool. You'll see it on the screen. It was actually two pools. They were both pools were larger than an Olympic-sized swimming pool today, had five covered porches around it, including the middle, and what people would do is they would bring the blind, they would bring the deaf, they would bring the lame, they would bring the paralyzed, they would bring the disabled to these pools. And typically, on a daily basis was about 300 disabled people around these pools. But in this case it was a special day, it was a Jewish feast.
Speaker 1:It was a Jewish feast, it was a holiday, and so probably around these pools could be as many as 3,000 disabled people, and the legend goes that when the pool would start to bubble up, then they would all dive in the pool, believing that the first one to dive in would be healed. The legend said that it was probably an angel that would be stirring it up. But also we know that that pool was fed by a spring and so it was probably a spring that was bubbling it up and they were probably just believing that it would heal them and they would jump in for healing. We don't exactly know, because the Bible doesn't exactly tell us what was happening, but honestly it doesn't matter, because the point of the passage is healing doesn't come from a pool, it comes from a person and his name is Jesus. If you believe that, say yeah.
Speaker 1:So here's what's interesting is, we don't know much about this man. It says that there was one man there. We don't know him, we don't even know his name. We only know him by his problem. But here's what's beautiful that, out of maybe 3,000 people, jesus didn't just see the crowd, he saw the man. He walked up to this one person in the same way that Jesus sees you.
Speaker 1:If you ever feel unseen, if you ever feel forgotten, if you ever feel overlooked, when you come across passages like these, it's a reminder in your life that Jesus sees you. He knows you, he knows what you're going through, he knows the difficulty that you're dealing with, he knows the healing you need. He knows the struggle you have and Jesus sees you and he loves you and he cares about you. And it's interesting here that he was probably. Theologians tell us that he was probably the man in the worst condition out of all of these thousands of people, and Jesus walks up to the one in the worst condition, showing the compassion of Jesus, no matter what it is that you are dealing with in your life.
Speaker 1:And it says there was one man. He was there. He was an invalid for 38 years invalid. I just want you to see that that is not a word that God uses for people. That was the word that the world called people with a disability back then invalid or, think about it culturally invalid to society. I want you to know that I have a nephew. His name is Josh. I want you to know that I have a nephew. His name is Josh.
Speaker 1:Over 20 years ago, my sister and brother-in-law adopted him from the Ukraine At just two years old. When they went over to the Ukraine, josh had a congenital condition that left him with only one functional hand. Even as a toddler he was self-conscious, pulling his sleeve over his arm to hide what the world might see as a limitation, but what Josh didn't know was that God already had a better written story for his life. My sister and brother-in-law went to the Ukraine specifically wanting to adopt a child with a limb difference, believing that God had a purpose for whatever child that was going to be for their life. Fast forward now, after they adopted him. Now we're 20 years later. Josh Yowie has graduated high school. He has graduated college, he has earned his master's degree, he has authored three books, he's contributed to history textbooks, he's now a college professor and he's preparing to become a pastor, and doing it all with one functional hand.
Speaker 1:In other words, don't let the world label you according to your limitation. You are not invalid to God. You're valid, you're valuable and you are made for his purpose in your life. Put your hands together for how God loves to use people. In verse six, the Bible says when Jesus saw the man, remember Jesus sees him out of the crowd and Jesus sees you. Jesus saw him lying there and he knew that he had already been there for a long time. Jesus knows where you are, he knows what you're going through, he knows the way you feel, he hears your prayers, he loves you.
Speaker 1:And Jesus asked the man do you want to be healed? Now, at first glance it seems and it sounds like such a cold question for this man. Of course he wants to be healed. Jesus, he's at the pool to be healed. He's been an invalid for 38 years. What kind of a cruel question is that? But maybe Jesus is asking the man. Maybe he's saying this whole pool thing, man, this whole pool thing is a sham. This whole pool thing is a scam. This whole pool thing is fake. Maybe Jesus is asking the man do you want what's real in life, in other words, everything that the world is offering us, that is, according to healing, it's all really just fake, because only God is the one who can truly fully heal in life. God is the one who gets all of the glory. So maybe a better way that Jesus was asking the question was, instead of do you want to be healed? Maybe Jesus is really getting at why do you wanna be healed? Do you wanna be healed? Maybe Jesus is asking for your good only, or Jesus is asking do you wanna be healed for my glory too? Do you want me to be able to use you?
Speaker 1:John, chapter five, verse seven, says the sick man answered him. Sir, I have no one to put me in the pool when the water is stirred up. While I am going into the pool, someone else steps down before me. He said, sir Jesus. Someone else steps down before me. He said, sir Jesus, I don't even have anybody to put me in the pool. Now we know from what it seems this man could not have gotten there by himself. Someone had to take him there to the pool. But then they probably just what it looks like is they just left him. This is home for me. Maybe it does for you.
Speaker 1:Had we lived in this time, had we lived in this area, you better believe I would have had Brooklyn at this pool. I would have taken her to the pool, I would have taken her to the edge of the pool, I would make sure that she would be the first one in. Why? Because there's no hurt like kid hurt. When your kid hurts, you would do anything to take it away from them and you do everything in your power. That's why we take her to all of her therapy appointments. That's why we take her to all of her doctor's visits. That's why we do everything we possibly can for God to do a work in her life. And isn't it amazing that Jesus is the only one who can take the hurt from us, because he is the only one that gives us hope for healing. Jesus is your only hope for healing. Everyone say hope. Jesus is your only hope for healing.
Speaker 1:Here's what is fascinating to me Isaiah chapter 35, you ever thought about this? Isaiah chapter 35 says pronounces the blind will see, the deaf will hear, the lame will leap and the desert sand will become a pool of refreshing water. It looks like John 5 is this prophetic fulfillment of Isaiah 35, not about a pool, but about Jesus, who's coming on the scene to heal people of their diseases, to heal people of their infirmities. In other words, jesus sees you, he knows what you're dealing with, he knows what you're praying for, he knows the help you need. But let me say to you today maybe you're at the point where you don't even pray for your healing anymore, or the person you know, maybe you've given up and maybe God has brought you here today to remind you that Jesus hasn't given up, that he still sees you, or he still sees that person, that he's still working.
Speaker 1:I love that song. We're going to sing it next week the song that says even when you don't see it, he's working. Even when you don't feel it, he's working. He never stops. He never stops working. So number one is the desire for healing. Number two is the God of healing. Everyone say God, the God of healing.
Speaker 1:Verse eight, john 5, eight, says this Jesus said to him get up, take your bed and walk. Now. Here's what's interesting. So Jesus is speaking in the same authoritative voice as when he was creating all of the universe. So the same voice that calls the planets into existence and the sun into existence and the stars into existence and you and I into existence is the same authoritative voice that Jesus looks at the man with compassion and he says get up. In other words, his body had to respond to what Jesus was commanding him to do and after and after 38 years of a disability, this man stood up because Jesus healed him in an instant. I wanna remind you this morning that God can heal you instantaneously, or God can heal you over time. God has all the power in the world. God can do anything he wants to do. He is omnipotent. There is nothing that God cannot do outside of sin, outside of his will. The question is, what is his plan, what is his timing and what is his purpose? I heard a pastor say this past week that what we call modern marvels of medicine or pills and surgeries and therapies they would have called divine miracles a thousand years ago. Because we see people recover more. We see people healed more today from sicknesses, diseases and all these type things than people ever have before in human history.
Speaker 1:Someone wrote their story and it said in the fall of 1979, my parents were in seminary when my mom, pregnant with twins, went into unexpected premature labor in their apartment. With no time to get to the hospital, my dad had to deliver both babies at home with the help of 911. When the paramedics arrived, my parents were devastated to learn that my sister, melissa, was stillborn. He said I was barely clinging to life at just four pounds two ounces. They rushed me to the NICU. I was placed on life support. The doctors told my parents that my survival would take a miracle. For six weeks my mom visited and prayed over me daily, believing God for healing, but I wasn't gaining weight until doctors tried an unconventional feeding method, inserting tubes into my ears and my neck to nourish my body, and this person said miraculously, it worked. I grew strong enough to go home, though I still wonder what life would have been like if Melissa had survived. I'm grateful for the gift of life that God gave me and the promise that I will see Melissa again in heaven One day.
Speaker 1:They said God still does miracles. I'm living proof. Put your hands together right now for the miracles that God continues to do. I just find it interesting that Jesus said get up, take your bed and walk. In other words, I think what Jesus is saying this when I heal you, when I do a work in your life, when I help you, he's saying the whole purpose is ultimately not just for you. He says the whole purpose is for me, that you go and do ministry, for me, that you go and help others in the same way that I have helped you. So what do you do? As we're talking about all month long, when you need a miracle, you'll see it on the screen.
Speaker 1:Number one I want to encourage you, as your pastor believe God can do the miracle. That's your faith. Believe that there is no miracle that he can't do. Believe that God can do the miracle. Number two pray that God will do the miracle. We don't pray that God. We don't pray that he can. We know that he can. We pray that he would, but we don't know what his will is, so we believe that he can. We pray that he will. Number three we praise God if he does the miracle. Number four we worship God if he won't do the miracle. Why? You'll see it on the screen. God doing the miracle displays his power. God not doing the miracle displays his wisdom. So I wanna encourage you this morning Maybe God has brought you here to hear this I would encourage you to never lose faith that God can heal you or someone else in an instant.
Speaker 1:Never stop praying that God can heal miraculously, instantaneously. Whenever you're praying for, either yourself or someone else, I would encourage you to always make that a part of your prayer, because even when you are praying for the sick, pray that God would heal them fully, right then, right there, in that instant. Why? Because we don't believe in an age of healing. We believe in a God of healing. We don't believe in an age of miracles. We believe in a God of miracles, and God always calls us to pray for the impossible that only he can do. God is calling us to be people of faith. We pray that God would do the miracle. We pray that God would do the impossible and we leave the results to God. Number three not only do we see the desire for healing or the God of healing, but, number three, we see the enemy of healing. Everybody say enemy. This is crazy. You won't believe what just happened. John 5, verse 10.
Speaker 1:So the Jews said to the man who had been healed it is the Sabbath and it is not lawful for you to take up your bed and walk. Can you believe it? I mean, what is wrong with these people? That this man has been an invalid, he's been paralyzed, he's been lame, he's been immobile for 38 years and finally Jesus comes on the scene, looks at him and says get up, take your bed and walk. And the man walks away and everyone is praising God, right, except for these Pharisees who run up to the man and they don't celebrate. What do they do? They complain and they complain. You should not have taken up your bed. Do you know why they did that?
Speaker 1:See, the Pharisees came up with an additional 39 laws outside the Bible. So these are man-made laws, man-made rules, and basically the Pharisees said if you just obey these 39 rules, then you won't even get close to disobeying the Bible. The problem is that's legalism. Everybody say legalism. That is religion, that is not faith. See, the Bible says we're not supposed to add to the Bible, that we are supposed to obey the Bible, believe the Bible and live the Bible out, but we're not supposed to add to it. They were adding to it. And do you realize that the very last man-made law they wrote was you're not to carry anything on the Sabbath. So they ran up to this man, not that he broke the word of God, but that he broke the law of man because he was carrying his bed on the Sabbath that Jesus told him to carry.
Speaker 1:You realize that there are churches today where God is working and where people are celebrating, but there's a pocket of people that are complaining. They're complaining because they're not getting church the way that they want it or they're not getting church the style that they prefer, and so, instead of celebrating all that God is doing, they start complaining. In other words, they are not all happy about the miracles that God is doing, not all happy about the miracles that God is doing. They're all mad about the human rules that are being broken and I pray that God continues to protect us and I pray that God continues to preserve us from being that kind of church. In fact, I want to encourage you that if you ever have a concern about our church not a complaint, complaining what do you do? You go to people. They can't fix it. But if you have a concern, what do you do? You come up to one of our pastors. If you're not sure who to come up to, come up to me. Your pastors love you.
Speaker 1:We wanna hear every single concern and all I ask you is, if you have a concern that you have a verse to back your concern up, can I get an amen that you don't have a man-made rule or man-made tradition to back your verse up? Why? Because this church is not gonna be what I want and this church is not gonna be what you want. This church is gonna be what Jesus wants. Can I get an amen? And so we want to bring. I want you to feel the freedom bring, so we want to bring. I want you to feel the freedom bring your concerns that you have, as long as you have a verse of scripture and as long as you have prayed about it for 24 hours. This is not my church, it's not your church, it's Jesus' church. Verse 11, it says.
Speaker 1:But Jesus answered. I'm sorry, the sick man, the man that was just healed, answered them saying verse 11, the man who healed me. That man said to me take up your bed and walk. They asked him well, who is the man who said it to you? Take up your bed and walk. Now, the man who had been healed. He did not even know who it was. He didn't know who Jesus was. He didn't know that Jesus, the son of God, had just healed him, for Jesus had withdrawn as there was a crowd in the place.
Speaker 1:Now, notice here's what's so interesting to me is that Jesus healed and Satan, the enemy, was able to take their eyes off of the healing that Jesus had done. But you know, what often happens in our lives Is that Satan often takes your eyes and my eyes off of Jesus. When Jesus chooses not to do the healing, satan will start to lie to you and lie to me, like God doesn't really love you, or else he would have healed. You don't really believe in God, or else God would have really healed. Satan will lie to you and say if you really had enough faith, god would have really healed. Satan will lie to you and say if you really had enough faith, god would have really healed. Or Satan will say in fact, the whole reason you need healing is because of the sin that you've done in your past. So my question is what if God doesn't heal? What if God doesn't do the miracle? Does that mean you don't have enough faith? Does that mean that God is not hearing or answering your prayers? Does that mean you're not saved? Because people will question your salvation, people will question your devotion, people will question your faith if God's not answering your prayers. And then what will happen is you will start to question God.
Speaker 1:But I want you to see what happened in the Apostle Paul's life 2 Corinthians 12, verse eight. The Apostle Paul said three times, which means continuously I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it the thorn in his flesh, the difficulty in his life, whatever infirmity it was, we don't even know. Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. So Paul is begging God, he's praying for a miracle, whatever it is. God, would you take this thing from me? In verse nine.
Speaker 1:But Paul said but God said to me, jesus said to me my grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. Therefore Jesus said. Paul said I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. In other words, jesus will leave limitations in my life and Jesus will leave limitations in your life because it is the weaknesses within us that we get to see the power and the strength of God on display and be manifested through you. In other words, if God did not leave any weakness in you, then we would have no reason to trust in Jesus. But when he leaves those weaknesses in you, there is would have no reason to trust in Jesus. But when he leaves those weaknesses in you, then it is those weaknesses that keep us dependent upon our relationship with Jesus. Because verse 10 says verse hardships the persecutions, the calamities. Because when I am weak in me then I am strong in Jesus. Jesus loves to leave things in our life that we may even disagree with. And the whole reason is Jesus is saying because that's the area of your life that I want to use the most, that I wanna put my power on display the most.
Speaker 1:John, chapter nine, verse one. It says as Jesus passed by, he saw a blind man from birth and his disciples asked him rabbi, this guy's blind. So who sinned? Somebody sinned, was it the man, the blind man, or was it his parents that he was born blind? Jesus answered it was not this man that sinned and it was not his parents that sinned, but that the works of God might be displayed in him. Difficult things to happen to occur, to be brought into your life, because God wants to reveal his work, often through the weak things, through the difficult things, through the limitations in our lives.
Speaker 1:I want to remind you God's healing is not based on the power of your prayer, but on the purpose of his plan. God's healing is not based on your godliness. If you were just more godly, god wouldn't answer you. No, god's healing is not based on your godliness. God's healing is based on his grace. Your healing is not based on the size of your faith, but on the size of your God. And the question is what does God want?
Speaker 1:While Jesus did tell people that their faith would make them well, that does not mean that a lack of faith means a lack of healing. It's not that you, if you get enough faith, or even if you get the words right, that you'll be healed or God will do the miracle. Rather, you ask God and you trust him with his plan. While some may ask if you have enough faith to be well, a better question may be do you have enough faith in God to remain sick? Even Jesus prayed. Father, if it is your will, let this cup pass from me. Not my will, but your will be done. God will always keep something in your life to keep you on your knees, so you'll see it on the screen. Never let the enemy distract you from what Jesus is doing. God is too perfect not to have a purpose in your life.
Speaker 1:Listen to this story. I never thought I would turn away from God, but I found myself in the worst storm of my life. My marriage was struggling. I felt lost. On October 10, 2013, I had a heart attack. Not long after, I made a choice that would bring even more pain and destruction than I could have ever imagined. I walked away from God and, before I even realized it, satan had taken a hold of my life. For months I battled alone, ashamed and broken, struggling to believe that God could ever forgive me. But in my lowest moment I cried out to him. He met me with grace and mercy and love, and it has taken 11 years of daily surrender, prayer and seeking his restoration. But God has been faithful every step of the way. Through the prayers of friends, the healing of my marriage and the power of God's forgiveness, I now know his grace is final and forever. If you feel lost, you're not alone. Don't let go of God's hand ever. He is still writing your story. Put your hands together for this church member who wrote that for you. Lastly, and I'm done, number four the purpose of healing. Everyone say purpose. What is God's purpose in healing? Verse 14.
Speaker 1:Afterward Jesus found the man of the temple. This is crazy, because the man was paralyzed. He was not even allowed into the temple by the Jews. They would not allow the blind, the deaf, the lame, the paralyzed, the disabled to even go into the temple because they would be seen by the Jews as not good enough for God. And so this man gets healed. And where's the first place he goes? I don't think he walked, I think he ran. I think he ran straight to the temple because he finally got to go into the temple of God, the presence of God around the people of God, and I just believe that he just shouted in worship, in glory, in praise for what Jesus had done in his life. Afterward Jesus found him in the temple and said to him see, you're well. And the man didn't know that Jesus had healed him until this moment.
Speaker 1:And then Jesus said something so profound, the entire point of the passage. Jesus said go and sin no more, that nothing worse may happen to you. See, at the pool Jesus healed him physically, but in the temple Jesus healed him, saved him spiritually. When Jesus said go, sin no more, jesus is not calling this man to be spiritually perfect. It's not a sinless perfection. Rather, it is a new spiritual direction on his life. Jesus said go and sin no more. In other words, live for me so that nothing worse may happen to you. What could possibly be worse than being the worst off disabled man in the entire country, going to hell?
Speaker 1:When we found out about Brooklyn's diagnosis, I started praying. Michelle started to pray and just prayed every single day, many times a day, that God would heal her. And then it hit me, because God convicted me. I am praying for her physical healing more so than her spiritual salvation. Why do I care about the physical things, which we should, but why do I care about them more than the spiritual things You've heard me say before, brooklyn may never walk on this earth, but she walks with Jesus because she's given her life to him. And I wanna encourage you whatever there is in your life or the life of someone else, the enemy wants to use it in you to distract you, to keep you from Jesus. So maybe you have a hard heart towards him, or maybe you're dealing with doubt and you're dealing with fear.
Speaker 1:If Jesus isn't answering this prayer, then is Jesus answering any of my prayers? If Jesus isn't listening to me in this way, is Jesus listening to me at all? And I just want to remind you that the purpose of healing, that Jesus is saying yes, I'm listening to you, but it all must be from the purpose of God. John 5, 17, the last verse Jesus answered them. My father is working and I am working. In other words, just because Jesus doesn't answer that prayer doesn't mean that Jesus isn't answering any prayer. Doesn't mean that Jesus isn't listening, doesn't mean that Jesus doesn't love you, doesn't mean that Jesus doesn't care. It just means that Jesus has a greater plan and that he loves to use the weak and the powerless areas of our life to put his glory and his power and his love on display. So life isn't about us, but life is all about him.
Speaker 1:So what do we do when God heals? What is our response? You'll see it on the screen. We go and worship Jesus like the man went to the temple. We live in repentance like Jesus called him to go and sin no more. We share the gospel like the man went and told the Jews it was Jesus, and we reveal the work of God. Jesus and his father are still working. But then my question is what should our response be? Even when God doesn't heal You'll see it on the screen we still worship Jesus. We live in repentance. We still on the screen. We still worship Jesus. We live in repentance. We still share the gospel. We still reveal the work of God.
Speaker 1:Here's the deal. If God chooses to heal Brooklyn, her healing will be a testimony. If God doesn't heal Brooklyn, she will still be a testimony. If God doesn't heal Brooklyn, she will still be a testimony. If God chooses to heal you, he gets the glory. Why? You'll see it on the screen. Whatever limitation God leaves in your life is to be an amplification of his love in the lives of others.
Speaker 1:I think there's something even more powerful than telling a miracle story. I think there's something even more powerful than telling a miracle story. I think there's something even more powerful than you saying look at what happened in my life and God came in and God healed me, or God did a miracle and boom, here I am. Here's the only thing. I think that is more powerful. Here's the difficulty in my life, here's what I'm struggling with, here's what I have to live with, here's what I'm struggling with, here's what I have to live with. And God has chosen not to heal or do the miracle, but I still trust him, I still worship him, I will still live for him because he is good and he is worthy of our lives, no matter what he chooses to do.
Speaker 1:I'm gonna ask you all to bow your heads and close your eyes. Maybe God brought you here this morning, today to restore your faith in a God of miracles who can do any miracle, and to remind you you need to continue to pray for God to do the miracle. And maybe God brought you here today to also remind you you need to continue to pray for God to do the miracle. And maybe God brought you here today to also remind you that his will and his plan and his purpose is always best, and if he chooses not to, he's still trustworthy and he's still good. And maybe you came today and God is working in you and God is speaking to you, and God is calling you by name, and God is revealing to you that today is the day of your salvation, and today is the day that you finally give yourself and you just trust him with your life and he forgives you of your sin and he puts a spirit in you and you live your life for him.
Speaker 1:I can't pray this prayer for you and I can't save you, but I can walk you through it and you can pray it, and it's the one prayer that Jesus promised that he will always say yes, as long as you mean it. Right here, right now, you can pray and you can say dear Jesus, I believe in you, I need you, and you can say, jesus, I believe that you died on the cross for my sins and I pray that you would forgive me of all my sin. And you can say, jesus, I believe that you rose from the dead, I believe that you're alive, I believe that you're real and, jesus, I give my life to you. The Bible says that if you call on the name of Jesus as the Lord of your life, you will be saved. Call on him right now and say Jesus, be my Lord, be my God, be my God, be my Savior, and he promises to save you instantaneously, to do the ultimate miracle in you forever. Jesus, we believe that we love you and we pray these things in Jesus' name.
Speaker 1:And all God's people said would you put your hands together for anybody that made that decision, that prayed that prayer? We just wanna say welcome to the family. We're so thankful you made the best decision of your life. Our worship team's going to come out. I want to ask us all to stand at this moment and I want to encourage you that. I just want to encourage you right now, as all of your life has been working up to this point, to this day, to this moment, that this would be the moment that you pour all of yourself out in worship to him, that you just recognize that nothing else matters, that Jesus sees you, that Jesus is listening, his eyes are on you and Jesus is receiving your personal worship right now. I wanna encourage you just to worship him from the depth of your soul. In this song that we're singing about the miracles that God continues to do in our lives. Let's worship Jesus right now.