July 29, 2025 • 24 mins
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
We're broken people.
Speaker 2 (00:01):
Broke describes a lot more about us than our finances,
does it not. Some of us are so broken there's
very little joy left in our life. We are truly shattered,
and we're like the envelope of thirty eight years.
Speaker 1 (00:12):
We don't think healing can come.
Speaker 2 (00:14):
But the problem is you've fouled for the life somewhere
that you could fix yourself. You're in too deep. Now,
it's too late. The only thing's going to solve your
problem is healing.
Speaker 3 (00:23):
Today Today, Today Today with Jeff Fines pasta apologist and
Bible teaching. Hey there, welcome back to Today with Jeff Finds.
My name's Aaron, And in this episode, we're going to
continue a message that we started last time looking at
(00:45):
John chapter five, where we read of Jesus and a
man at the healing pool. The man had been suffering,
broken down for thirty eight years.
Speaker 1 (00:55):
Now.
Speaker 3 (00:56):
This series Broke helps us find hope when we're broke,
whether that's physically, financially, spiritually, or in some other type
of way. Let's join Pastor Jeff in John chapter five
as he finishes this message.
Speaker 2 (01:26):
If Jesus hills this guy, his life's gonna change he's
actually gonna have to get a job now and work
for a living. He's gonna have new challenges that he
never had before. Think about it. He's gonna probably have
sibling rivalry. He's probably gonna meet a girl and get married,
and he's gonna have a mother in law, which is
the biggest challenge known to man. His life will change.
Maybe he's to the point where he's thinking, Man, my
(01:48):
life stinks. But at least I'm used to it. I've
gotten used to it. I've grown comfortable. I've given up
on healing ever occurring thirty eight years now. He doesn't
even realize what he's missing. So his response then is
more of an us than anything else. Verse seven, Sir
the Invalid replied, I have no one to help me
into the pool.
Speaker 1 (02:04):
When the water is thirred. While I'm trying to get in,
someone else goes down ahead of me.
Speaker 2 (02:09):
Now, let me give you a little background. Here's the
legend superstition. There is a spring here, kind of an
Artesian well. The legend was that when the waters are stirred,
it was an angel of God stirring the waters, and
the first one in gets healed.
Speaker 1 (02:25):
Now, Jesus I'm sure.
Speaker 2 (02:27):
Probably just thought, you know, this is so ridiculous what
people will do. So he just loosened and said, look,
do you want to get healed? Is that what you
really want? And the man never answers him. He doesn't say, boy,
would I yeah, my whole life one yeah, Jesus. Here
he just makes an excuse for why he hasn't been
why he's never gotten in the water. First, now, folks,
listen this little pause here. These are not five baity
(02:49):
Kappa excuses. Thirty eight years, guys, wouldn't you think at
one point or another and thirty eight years he'd be
like the other paralytic in the Bible who got four
of his friends to march him up on top of
a roof and lower.
Speaker 1 (03:04):
Him down so he could be with Jesus.
Speaker 2 (03:06):
What do you think he'd go and get four buddies
and say, all right, guys, when the water stir, dumb
me in there.
Speaker 1 (03:10):
Thirty eight years. I mean you, they can't think of
a plan.
Speaker 2 (03:14):
Or with all this money he's made by begging, save
some of it up and bribe.
Speaker 1 (03:18):
About four guys. I'll give you the money if you'll
do this.
Speaker 2 (03:21):
Somewhere along the line he got used to living that way,
or maybe just persist like the Canaanite woman in Matthew
fifteen who basically refused to leave Jesus until Jesus held
her daughter. I'm not going anywhere. Surely after thirty eight years,
he would say, Hey, you rookies, get away from the pool.
I've been here thirty eight years. I'm a veteran. I
go in first, anything ei there's something else by the way.
Speaker 1 (03:43):
By the time, by the time.
Speaker 2 (03:45):
That this happens in Jesus ministry man, he's electrifying the
whole countryside. People are following him. He can't go anywhere.
I guarantee. When Jesus came into this pool, people are
behind him. They're all over him seeking to be healed.
My goodness, guys are being lowered through rooms and even
Romans are asking Jesus to heal. There them are their servants.
Speaker 1 (04:04):
Not this guy.
Speaker 2 (04:06):
He doesn't seek Jesus out, doesn't even ask to be healed.
He even gives excuses.
Speaker 1 (04:10):
Why he's not. And here's the thing, Jeff, where you're
going with it. He got healed. The guy gets healed.
Do you know why? Because there's no formula.
Speaker 2 (04:23):
People approach Jesus with different amounts of faith they got healed.
There's no certain measure of faith required. I'm not saying
that Jesus wasn't impressed with great faith.
Speaker 1 (04:31):
He was.
Speaker 2 (04:31):
He was encouraged by it and inspired by it. But
people with imperfect faith still got healed. In fact, you
go through the whole New Testament, which is what I've
spent most of my life doing trying to gather this information.
People with little to even know faith got healed because
they came into contact with Jesus, and out of his
own mercy, had nothing to do with him, he just
(04:54):
healed them.
Speaker 1 (04:56):
Examples Matthew chapter eight.
Speaker 2 (04:58):
A guy comes to Jesus, doesn't have a lot of
faith in Jesus' compassion, knows maybe that Jesus has some
strange ability, but he says to him in Matthew eight,
verse two, if you are willing, you can make me clean.
In other words, Jesus, I believe you can. I'm just
not sure you want to. And Jesus said, okay, fair enough,
I want to lepers hilled over. In March chapter nine,
the father of a tormented son brings his son to Jesus.
(05:21):
Does not exactly exhibit great faith. Here's what he says
in verse twenty two of Mark nine. If you can
do anything, well, that's not a good.
Speaker 1 (05:31):
Way to start.
Speaker 2 (05:32):
Take pity on us, if it's true, Take pity on us,
and help us.
Speaker 1 (05:36):
If you can. Jesus said, I love it.
Speaker 2 (05:38):
We just can't see sarcasm in the Greek, because Jesus says,
what do you mean?
Speaker 1 (05:42):
What's is if I can business? If I can?
Speaker 2 (05:45):
He says, everything's possible for him who believes. Now, it
does take some manner of belief to get to Jesus.
That's why Jesus said, your faith has made you whole.
It's not a comment on the measure. It's a comment
on somewhat of faith.
Speaker 1 (05:57):
Will get you to go to Jesus.
Speaker 2 (05:58):
Some measure of belief will get you to go to him.
This guy had some measure, but it wasn't great. He says,
I do believe. Help me overcome my unbelief. In other words,
I have a belief. That's why I'm here. It's just
really shallow and weak, and it's associated.
Speaker 1 (06:14):
With a lot of doubt. But help me.
Speaker 2 (06:16):
I think Jesus just smiled and said, okay, fine, and
he held his son Luke Chapter seven, my favorite New
Testament story. Centurion Roman Guy, a Roman dude comes to
Jesus is amazing. He makes his way through the streets
of Capernaum and he says to Jesus, Jesus, my son
or servant.
Speaker 1 (06:32):
We don't know which one because the words hard to interpret.
Speaker 2 (06:34):
Either his son or a servant is over there, away
from us, and he needs to be made well.
Speaker 1 (06:41):
He's sick, and I really love him. Jesus says, Okay,
let's go.
Speaker 2 (06:43):
He says, no, don't need to you just say the word.
You don't even have to be there, just speak, He'll
be healed. It's I think it's the only place about well,
there's two places in the Bible where it says Jesus
was astonished. How do you get surprised if you're the
son of God? That sa another sermon completely. He turns
(07:03):
over to the disciples and he says, guys, I gotta
tell you something. I have not seen faith like this,
even among Israel. My old people don't believe in me
like this Roman dude does.
Speaker 1 (07:14):
That's really cool. I love it. And his servant was
held that very hour. What's your point?
Speaker 2 (07:18):
And Jeff the healings come even though there are varying
amounts of faith, different measures from doubting compassion to doubting willingness,
from doubting ability to almost know faith at all. By
the way, while we're on job, Joe, this guy in
John chapter five, what a character. I can't go through it.
But in the end he actually turns Jesus in to
get in trouble. Well, thanks for nothing. But when Jesus
(07:40):
heals somebody, he does usually make some kind of comment
or like he said to the Canaanite woman, great is
your faith? He said to the Roman centurion. Not great
faith like this have I seen among Israel? This guy,
he doesn't even get commented on his faith. Jesus doesn't
say anything about it because it had nothing to do
with it. Jesus came upon him, had compassion, and healed
(08:03):
him point blank.
Speaker 1 (08:04):
That's it. Okay, okay, Jeff, what's your point? When Jesus heals.
Speaker 2 (08:09):
It's not because somebody had a high degree of certainty
or faith. There seems to be another criterion. What is
the criterion?
Speaker 1 (08:18):
Jesus?
Speaker 2 (08:19):
Jesus and Jesus alone decides, which is why instead of
trying to figure out the formula.
Speaker 1 (08:25):
It's like a thunderbolt coming down out of the sky.
Speaker 2 (08:28):
It's like God said, look, Jeff, stop trying to figure
me out.
Speaker 1 (08:32):
I'm a little bit complex.
Speaker 2 (08:36):
Ask and keep on asking, Seek and keep on seeking,
Knock and keep on knocking.
Speaker 1 (08:40):
That's your job.
Speaker 2 (08:41):
And never stop because the healing may come. And I'm
giving parable after parable in the Bible. It's difficult to
understand because it appears that God is trying to communicate
to me. Persist, never give up, even if you don't
get what you're at. Persist, persist, don't give up. And man,
never be said of us what James said, You don't
have because you didn't ask. You don't have because you
(09:06):
don't ask. That there is power in coming to Jesus
and saying, Lord, heal me. I want to be healed.
I'm broken, I'm destroyed. Put the pieces back together again.
And rogue describes a lot more about us than our finances,
does it not. But here's the deal. God sends revival.
(09:26):
I can tell you, having the time of my life.
I'm like a kid in a candy store right now.
God is doing something special and I see six hundred
and twenty people go public with their faith. I see
almost one hundred come to Christ for the first time.
I see the look in your eyes, that your eyes
are open in a way that haven't been since I
got here.
Speaker 1 (09:45):
I see that you're listening.
Speaker 2 (09:47):
I see that God is communicating that everything belongs to him,
your very heart and soul, your physic, everything is his.
The earth is the Lord's and everything in it. But
I know, as your pastor, that it's a bit money
for a lot of us to take in.
Speaker 1 (10:02):
It's happening so fast. You know why, and we really
want to do the right thing.
Speaker 2 (10:06):
When we hear sermons and when we have difficulty, we
come to that point and it seems like it's short circuited.
Speaker 1 (10:12):
You need to know why.
Speaker 2 (10:14):
Because you're broken and you need fixed or repaired.
Speaker 1 (10:20):
I've seen it a thousand times in my ministry.
Speaker 2 (10:22):
God speaks to us directly, clearly in a message we know,
and we get this overwhelming sense.
Speaker 1 (10:27):
We want to obey. We want to give you everything. God.
Speaker 2 (10:31):
It's hard because we're broken inside. We gotta be fixed.
We got to be put back together again or we'll
never go past this mediocre life.
Speaker 1 (10:42):
Look at the board, Look at it.
Speaker 2 (10:44):
We wrote that first week, we wrote how God has
blessed us with more than we need.
Speaker 1 (10:50):
And then we came back the next.
Speaker 2 (10:51):
Week and we wrote what we're willing to sacrifice in
order that the Kingdom of God may advance in the world.
Speaker 1 (10:57):
I told you I wasn't gonna read them.
Speaker 2 (10:58):
But I got weak and I read a few, and
I found it very interesting. One woman wrote this, I'm
gonna sacrifice. I'm gonna give up my husband's cable. That's
not quite what I had in mind. Those steps are
hard to take. But I want you to know when
(11:20):
you hear truths that we're hearing. When God decides to
communicate to us in a very special way, oftentimes that
truth does not penetrate, deepen our soul to the point
of action.
Speaker 1 (11:31):
Because we're broken. We need repaired.
Speaker 2 (11:35):
And as much as we want to do the good,
the intentions are good, the motivations are pure. I want
you to never forget what I'm about to say as
long as you know me. Remember this Satan is real.
He knows where to get you and the right point
that you get to where you're gonna put that into
your life and you're gonna go another level. You're gonna
(11:55):
cross over. He sucker punches you. He hits you right
in that area that he knows you're weak.
Speaker 1 (12:02):
He's ready as soon as you.
Speaker 2 (12:04):
Say, man, I'm gonna do it, I'm gonna change move.
It comes from the back. You don't even see it coming,
because he knows if he just hammers you there in
the place you haven't been healed, in the place you
haven't given to God. That mother you've never forgiven, that
father who abused you. You keep trying to earn his approval.
He's never gonna give it. That husband that betrayed you,
that illness that's physical, that thing in your life.
Speaker 1 (12:27):
You're addicted to. He just keeps hammering it.
Speaker 2 (12:29):
Every time he says you think you're gonna make changes, No,
you're not, because I'm gonna destroy you right here and there.
Let me tell you can't fix yourself. You're in too
deep now. There's only one answer for you, the grace
of God and Jesus healing you. That's why I say
number one. We're broken people. Some of us are so broken.
(12:50):
There's very little joy left in our life. We are
truly shattered, and we're like the envelope of thirty eight years.
Speaker 1 (12:56):
We don't think healing can come. What happened to us?
What happened?
Speaker 2 (13:00):
Where did we stop believing what happened? My mom and
my dad had a good marriage, but they came to
a point where they were about to divorce.
Speaker 1 (13:12):
Good Christian parents. Yes, it happens to them too. And
I asked my mom, seated on the couch with her
one night, I said.
Speaker 2 (13:18):
Mom, do you love Dad? She didn't answer me first time.
I said, Mom, are you Are you angry with Dad?
I'll never forget a response. She said, Son, I wish
I was angry, because at least then that would be
some emotion.
Speaker 1 (13:32):
I feel nothing. So many of.
Speaker 2 (13:35):
You you feel nothing, man, You feel nothing for anybody.
You don't feel anything for God. You don't know why,
and I can't tell you why. And even if I did,
you just be educatedly sad.
Speaker 1 (13:47):
The only chance you have, the only.
Speaker 2 (13:51):
Chance is to be healed. And until you are, you're
destined for mediocrity. You're destined for defeat. Some of you
on now, some of you in the room. Man, No
matter how many times I talk about this, you still
are addicted to pornography. You've had a couple of good
weeks and then everything comes crashing down or some other
sexual sin or activity that you know you should not
(14:13):
be involved in as a follower of Jesus. Jesus still
loves you, of course he does. But the problem is
you've failed for the life somewhere that you could fix yourself.
You're in too deep. Now, it's too late. The only
thing's gonna solve your problem is healing. Jesus is gonna
have to lay his hands on you and heal you.
(14:35):
You can't fix yourself. You've gone too far. And here's
the beauty of it. Jesus says, come, and there's a
big sign that says perfect faith not essential, Just come.
Come through a series of life circumstances. So many of
(14:58):
you in the room. You're broken. You can't love, you
can't forgive, you can't engage a meaningful relationship. And you
know in your heart that you have a hard time
achieving any level of holiness, even though everything within you
wants to do the good.
Speaker 1 (15:11):
I'm telling you it's because you're broken. You need repair.
Speaker 2 (15:18):
Some of you in the room are even committing or
thinking about committing suicide in a group in a room
like this, Statistics tell us there's about twenty of you
that's right, thinking about it because.
Speaker 1 (15:28):
Your life is going nowhere. You see no hope. I
want to tell you you're.
Speaker 2 (15:32):
Standing right now at the precipice of your life. Things
can change, you can be healed. All you got to
do is step out and come and trust Jesus. He
ask every single one of us in this room this
one question. Do you want to be well? Do you
want to be made well? Then stop making excuses for
why I won't do it, stop putting me in your
(15:53):
little box of theology, and just come to me. That's
what he says. Yes, your life's gonna change. You're gonna
have new experiences and new challenges. But it's the abundant
life you've always wanted to live. But you ever wonder
why you can't cross over, why you can't go to
the next level.
Speaker 1 (16:14):
Jeffer, you're talking demon possession. I want you to listen
to me. I don't believe a demon can possess a believer.
I don't. You're filled with the Holy Spirit. Same people
can't occupy the same house. They can't.
Speaker 2 (16:26):
Jesus said, if I bind the strong man first, I'll
bind him take what belongs. Here's the deal, though, you
start giving Satan back a few areas of your life
and addictions and things. Let me tell you, he may
not possess them, but he'll take control of that little room.
Speaker 1 (16:41):
And you need to be healed. You're in too deep,
you're in too far, and the reality is there's a
whole other group of people in the room. You're like me.
Speaker 2 (16:55):
Now, folks, I don't judge you, so don't judge me,
So watify of your pawer.
Speaker 1 (17:00):
You think I don't have problems. Listen, some of you
are like me.
Speaker 2 (17:04):
And there's times in your life when you enter those
waters of deep depression. And I don't need somebody else
telling me why. There's a long list of reasons. I
don't know why. I can't explain it. I just know
it's real. And I wake up in the middle of
the night in a cold sweat. And there are times
in my life I'm afraid I'm gonna fail as a father,
(17:26):
I'm gonna fail as your pastor that I'm not gonna
have enough money.
Speaker 1 (17:29):
Yeah, that's right, I'm just like you.
Speaker 2 (17:31):
That I'll get to the end of my life and
have a long list of regrets some things I didn't do,
or that my children will grow up and not love
me somehow I wasn't a good father and they just
are not interested in being with Dad.
Speaker 1 (17:41):
That is the greatest fear of my life.
Speaker 2 (17:44):
And I wake up in the middle of the night
and I ache inside, and I long for.
Speaker 1 (17:47):
Those feelings to go away.
Speaker 2 (17:49):
And if one more person comes and tells me why,
I tell you, I think I'm gonna have to repent
of another sin. Look, telling me why is not gonna
help me. That means I'm educated, but I'm still hurting.
I need healings. I need Jesus to heal me. You
need Jesus to heal you.
Speaker 1 (18:08):
That's what we need.
Speaker 2 (18:09):
I can't fix myself. You can't fix yourself. You gotta
be healed. And here's the good news, perfect faith, not essential.
Just come, just come. Where did we forget who Jesus was?
Speaker 1 (18:22):
What happened?
Speaker 2 (18:24):
We think we're smart, We think we don't need him.
Now we've got medical science to heal us.
Speaker 1 (18:30):
Oh no, no, no.
Speaker 2 (18:31):
Some of you received a word that you've got, the
big S word cancer, and you're broken. Your mind is spending,
your heart is racing.
Speaker 1 (18:42):
Jesus is your only hope.
Speaker 2 (18:46):
Now he can heal you in a lot of different ways.
Doctors aren't evil. They're not from the devil, at least
not most of them. Sometimes he uses general providence and
he takes you to the right person at the right time.
Speaker 1 (18:57):
Sometimes it's instantaneously.
Speaker 2 (18:58):
But man, man, surely you know of his compassion and
the fact that his compassion is enough to make you
want to go to him right Some of you have
chronic illnesses. You don't even know how to describe it,
and you know what, You go to the doctor and
he can't tell you why either. It's finally dawned on me.
Doctors aren't omniscient. There's only one who is. And he
says he loves you, and he says, come to him.
(19:20):
Number One, we are broken people. Number two, Jesus can
heal all brokenness.
Speaker 1 (19:23):
Do you know that?
Speaker 2 (19:24):
Do you know that he can heal all brokenness? You say, Jeff,
there's nothing I can do. Yeah, but there's nothing he
can't do. And somewhere along the line you started, I started,
we started severely underestimating the power of Jesus.
Speaker 1 (19:39):
Seek him out.
Speaker 2 (19:40):
Jesus says, I'm Jehovah Jirah. I am the great Provider,
I am the great healer. My identity has been revealed.
I can do all things.
Speaker 1 (19:50):
Come to me.
Speaker 2 (19:52):
Do you want to be made well? He asked, Do
you want to be healed? Stop making excuses for why
I want to do it. Stop saying I don't do
that anymore.
Speaker 1 (20:00):
Come to me.
Speaker 2 (20:01):
Perfect faith not required, Jeff Howe, listen before I give
you that. I also know there's a lot of you
young ladies, and I don't know why it is, but
there's a lot of you facing infertility. You want a
child more than anything else. Jesus loves you and he
knows you're going through that. Your best move is to
(20:22):
come to him and get him involved. Are you saying
He's gonna heal me? And I'm gonna know no, because
there is no formula. Folks, he's the boss.
Speaker 1 (20:31):
But I know this.
Speaker 2 (20:31):
You don't come to him, you won't get healed. You come,
he gets to decide. Some of you are angry with
God because you lost the child. Even then, God says,
come to me and I will nurse you through. I
will help you. I will open your eyes. I will
help you see what I'm doing. Because God takes everything
that happens in our lives and turns it for good
(20:52):
to those who love God, and who are calling according
to His purpose? What do I do, then, Jeff, here's
what you do. Number three, come and seek killing. Oh
that's a good one, Jeff. How do you know that
God knew we'd ask that question, and he knew that
we'dn't need somebody with skin on to help us. And
James writes, and this is long after Jesus now has
(21:14):
ascended to the Father. So don't tell me it's a
different age and God doesn't work that way anymore, because
here's what James tells us to do in verse thirteen.
Is any one of you in trouble, he should pray.
Is anyone happy, let him sing songs of praise. Is
any one of you sick? He should call the elders
of the church. Okay, then, elders, come forward. I want
(21:37):
to call you up. Come on up and line this
front row. The Bible says, call the elders. I'm calling
the elders of the church to the front of the church.
I also want to call people who the elders have
commissioned to work confunction on their behalf. We call them
people with the gift of prayer and service or decision.
Cous I want you to come up front so that
(21:57):
we can obey James. Chapter five, he says, call the
elders of the church to pray over him or her
and annoying him with oil in the name of the Lord,
not oil with symbolic for healing. Nobody's gonna dump a
pound of oil on your head. Don't worry, You'll look fine.
They take one drop of oil, one little drop, and
they post it here in the name of the Father,
(22:19):
the Son, and the Holy Spirit. And we simply are
doing what James tells us to do, annoying him with
oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer
offered in faith will make the sick person well.
Speaker 1 (22:29):
The Lord will raise him up. Interesting Greek word. It
means to raise one's countenance.
Speaker 2 (22:34):
It means that if you come forward and you need
to be healed, and you're prayed for, whatever it is, folks,
whatever relational worry that just debilitate, to just stagnate your life,
fear that grips you, that one thing that the Holy
Spirit brought to your mind when I talked about punching
(22:55):
you in the gut. You can't heal yourself way in
too deep. And if you want your life listen. There's
not a person really in this room that doesn't need
healing somewhere. And he says, call the elders anoint with oil, pray,
and he says he will be lifted up. Sometimes God
provides instantaneously. I'll admit that doesn't seem to be the
(23:18):
rule in my life. I just want to make sure
it's not because I don't believe though, or not because
I stopped coming to him. Sometimes he does it through
general providence. It happens along the way. But here's the
guarantee that you have. He says, Therefore, confess your sins
to each other and pray for each other so that
you may be healed. In other words, if it is
because of sin, just repent.
Speaker 1 (23:37):
You're forgiven.
Speaker 2 (23:39):
The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.
It means that God will release Here's the promise. God
will release his divine energy into your life when the
elders pray for you and anoint you.
Speaker 1 (23:52):
That's the promise.
Speaker 2 (23:53):
God is gonna do something special. I don't know what,
because I'm not God, I'm not the sovereign. Here's what
I know, though, somewhere along the line, man, I don't
know when it happened. You me us together, we forgot
Jesus is Jehovah Jahrah, the great Provider.
Speaker 1 (24:12):
He is the great physician. He is the hill.
Speaker 3 (24:16):
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Speaker 2 (24:31):
You Today, Today, Today, Today with Jeff Fines
We're broken people.
Speaker 2 (00:01):
Broke describes a lot more about us than our finances,
does it not. Some of us are so broken there's
very little joy left in our life. We are truly shattered,
and we're like the envelope of thirty eight years.
Speaker 1 (00:12):
We don't think healing can come.
Speaker 2 (00:14):
But the problem is you've fouled for the life somewhere
that you could fix yourself. You're in too deep. Now,
it's too late. The only thing's going to solve your
problem is healing.
Speaker 3 (00:23):
Today Today, Today Today with Jeff Fines pasta apologist and
Bible teaching. Hey there, welcome back to Today with Jeff Finds.
My name's Aaron, And in this episode, we're going to
continue a message that we started last time looking at
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John chapter five, where we read of Jesus and a
man at the healing pool. The man had been suffering,
broken down for thirty eight years.
Speaker 1 (00:55):
Now.
Speaker 3 (00:56):
This series Broke helps us find hope when we're broke,
whether that's physically, financially, spiritually, or in some other type
of way. Let's join Pastor Jeff in John chapter five
as he finishes this message.
Speaker 2 (01:26):
If Jesus hills this guy, his life's gonna change he's
actually gonna have to get a job now and work
for a living. He's gonna have new challenges that he
never had before. Think about it. He's gonna probably have
sibling rivalry. He's probably gonna meet a girl and get married,
and he's gonna have a mother in law, which is
the biggest challenge known to man. His life will change.
Maybe he's to the point where he's thinking, Man, my
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life stinks. But at least I'm used to it. I've
gotten used to it. I've grown comfortable. I've given up
on healing ever occurring thirty eight years now. He doesn't
even realize what he's missing. So his response then is
more of an us than anything else. Verse seven, Sir
the Invalid replied, I have no one to help me
into the pool.
Speaker 1 (02:04):
When the water is thirred. While I'm trying to get in,
someone else goes down ahead of me.
Speaker 2 (02:09):
Now, let me give you a little background. Here's the
legend superstition. There is a spring here, kind of an
Artesian well. The legend was that when the waters are stirred,
it was an angel of God stirring the waters, and
the first one in gets healed.
Speaker 1 (02:25):
Now, Jesus I'm sure.
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Probably just thought, you know, this is so ridiculous what
people will do. So he just loosened and said, look,
do you want to get healed? Is that what you
really want? And the man never answers him. He doesn't say, boy,
would I yeah, my whole life one yeah, Jesus. Here
he just makes an excuse for why he hasn't been
why he's never gotten in the water. First, now, folks,
listen this little pause here. These are not five baity
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Kappa excuses. Thirty eight years, guys, wouldn't you think at
one point or another and thirty eight years he'd be
like the other paralytic in the Bible who got four
of his friends to march him up on top of
a roof and lower.
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Him down so he could be with Jesus.
Speaker 2 (03:06):
What do you think he'd go and get four buddies
and say, all right, guys, when the water stir, dumb
me in there.
Speaker 1 (03:10):
Thirty eight years. I mean you, they can't think of
a plan.
Speaker 2 (03:14):
Or with all this money he's made by begging, save
some of it up and bribe.
Speaker 1 (03:18):
About four guys. I'll give you the money if you'll
do this.
Speaker 2 (03:21):
Somewhere along the line he got used to living that way,
or maybe just persist like the Canaanite woman in Matthew
fifteen who basically refused to leave Jesus until Jesus held
her daughter. I'm not going anywhere. Surely after thirty eight years,
he would say, Hey, you rookies, get away from the pool.
I've been here thirty eight years. I'm a veteran. I
go in first, anything ei there's something else by the way.
Speaker 1 (03:43):
By the time, by the time.
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That this happens in Jesus ministry man, he's electrifying the
whole countryside. People are following him. He can't go anywhere.
I guarantee. When Jesus came into this pool, people are
behind him. They're all over him seeking to be healed.
My goodness, guys are being lowered through rooms and even
Romans are asking Jesus to heal. There them are their servants.
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Not this guy.
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He doesn't seek Jesus out, doesn't even ask to be healed.
He even gives excuses.
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Why he's not. And here's the thing, Jeff, where you're
going with it. He got healed. The guy gets healed.
Do you know why? Because there's no formula.
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People approach Jesus with different amounts of faith they got healed.
There's no certain measure of faith required. I'm not saying
that Jesus wasn't impressed with great faith.
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He was.
Speaker 2 (04:31):
He was encouraged by it and inspired by it. But
people with imperfect faith still got healed. In fact, you
go through the whole New Testament, which is what I've
spent most of my life doing trying to gather this information.
People with little to even know faith got healed because
they came into contact with Jesus, and out of his
own mercy, had nothing to do with him, he just
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healed them.
Speaker 1 (04:56):
Examples Matthew chapter eight.
Speaker 2 (04:58):
A guy comes to Jesus, doesn't have a lot of
faith in Jesus' compassion, knows maybe that Jesus has some
strange ability, but he says to him in Matthew eight,
verse two, if you are willing, you can make me clean.
In other words, Jesus, I believe you can. I'm just
not sure you want to. And Jesus said, okay, fair enough,
I want to lepers hilled over. In March chapter nine,
the father of a tormented son brings his son to Jesus.
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Does not exactly exhibit great faith. Here's what he says
in verse twenty two of Mark nine. If you can
do anything, well, that's not a good.
Speaker 1 (05:31):
Way to start.
Speaker 2 (05:32):
Take pity on us, if it's true, Take pity on us,
and help us.
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If you can. Jesus said, I love it.
Speaker 2 (05:38):
We just can't see sarcasm in the Greek, because Jesus says,
what do you mean?
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What's is if I can business? If I can?
Speaker 2 (05:45):
He says, everything's possible for him who believes. Now, it
does take some manner of belief to get to Jesus.
That's why Jesus said, your faith has made you whole.
It's not a comment on the measure. It's a comment
on somewhat of faith.
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Will get you to go to Jesus.
Speaker 2 (05:58):
Some measure of belief will get you to go to him.
This guy had some measure, but it wasn't great. He says,
I do believe. Help me overcome my unbelief. In other words,
I have a belief. That's why I'm here. It's just
really shallow and weak, and it's associated.
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With a lot of doubt. But help me.
Speaker 2 (06:16):
I think Jesus just smiled and said, okay, fine, and
he held his son Luke Chapter seven, my favorite New
Testament story. Centurion Roman Guy, a Roman dude comes to
Jesus is amazing. He makes his way through the streets
of Capernaum and he says to Jesus, Jesus, my son
or servant.
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We don't know which one because the words hard to interpret.
Speaker 2 (06:34):
Either his son or a servant is over there, away
from us, and he needs to be made well.
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He's sick, and I really love him. Jesus says, Okay,
let's go.
Speaker 2 (06:43):
He says, no, don't need to you just say the word.
You don't even have to be there, just speak, He'll
be healed. It's I think it's the only place about well,
there's two places in the Bible where it says Jesus
was astonished. How do you get surprised if you're the
son of God? That sa another sermon completely. He turns
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over to the disciples and he says, guys, I gotta
tell you something. I have not seen faith like this,
even among Israel. My old people don't believe in me
like this Roman dude does.
Speaker 1 (07:14):
That's really cool. I love it. And his servant was
held that very hour. What's your point?
Speaker 2 (07:18):
And Jeff the healings come even though there are varying
amounts of faith, different measures from doubting compassion to doubting willingness,
from doubting ability to almost know faith at all. By
the way, while we're on job, Joe, this guy in
John chapter five, what a character. I can't go through it.
But in the end he actually turns Jesus in to
get in trouble. Well, thanks for nothing. But when Jesus
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heals somebody, he does usually make some kind of comment
or like he said to the Canaanite woman, great is
your faith? He said to the Roman centurion. Not great
faith like this have I seen among Israel? This guy,
he doesn't even get commented on his faith. Jesus doesn't
say anything about it because it had nothing to do
with it. Jesus came upon him, had compassion, and healed
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him point blank.
Speaker 1 (08:04):
That's it. Okay, okay, Jeff, what's your point? When Jesus heals.
Speaker 2 (08:09):
It's not because somebody had a high degree of certainty
or faith. There seems to be another criterion. What is
the criterion?
Speaker 1 (08:18):
Jesus?
Speaker 2 (08:19):
Jesus and Jesus alone decides, which is why instead of
trying to figure out the formula.
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It's like a thunderbolt coming down out of the sky.
Speaker 2 (08:28):
It's like God said, look, Jeff, stop trying to figure
me out.
Speaker 1 (08:32):
I'm a little bit complex.
Speaker 2 (08:36):
Ask and keep on asking, Seek and keep on seeking,
Knock and keep on knocking.
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That's your job.
Speaker 2 (08:41):
And never stop because the healing may come. And I'm
giving parable after parable in the Bible. It's difficult to
understand because it appears that God is trying to communicate
to me. Persist, never give up, even if you don't
get what you're at. Persist, persist, don't give up. And man,
never be said of us what James said, You don't
have because you didn't ask. You don't have because you
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don't ask. That there is power in coming to Jesus
and saying, Lord, heal me. I want to be healed.
I'm broken, I'm destroyed. Put the pieces back together again.
And rogue describes a lot more about us than our finances,
does it not. But here's the deal. God sends revival.
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I can tell you, having the time of my life.
I'm like a kid in a candy store right now.
God is doing something special and I see six hundred
and twenty people go public with their faith. I see
almost one hundred come to Christ for the first time.
I see the look in your eyes, that your eyes
are open in a way that haven't been since I
got here.
Speaker 1 (09:45):
I see that you're listening.
Speaker 2 (09:47):
I see that God is communicating that everything belongs to him,
your very heart and soul, your physic, everything is his.
The earth is the Lord's and everything in it. But
I know, as your pastor, that it's a bit money
for a lot of us to take in.
Speaker 1 (10:02):
It's happening so fast. You know why, and we really
want to do the right thing.
Speaker 2 (10:06):
When we hear sermons and when we have difficulty, we
come to that point and it seems like it's short circuited.
Speaker 1 (10:12):
You need to know why.
Speaker 2 (10:14):
Because you're broken and you need fixed or repaired.
Speaker 1 (10:20):
I've seen it a thousand times in my ministry.
Speaker 2 (10:22):
God speaks to us directly, clearly in a message we know,
and we get this overwhelming sense.
Speaker 1 (10:27):
We want to obey. We want to give you everything. God.
Speaker 2 (10:31):
It's hard because we're broken inside. We gotta be fixed.
We got to be put back together again or we'll
never go past this mediocre life.
Speaker 1 (10:42):
Look at the board, Look at it.
Speaker 2 (10:44):
We wrote that first week, we wrote how God has
blessed us with more than we need.
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And then we came back the next.
Speaker 2 (10:51):
Week and we wrote what we're willing to sacrifice in
order that the Kingdom of God may advance in the world.
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I told you I wasn't gonna read them.
Speaker 2 (10:58):
But I got weak and I read a few, and
I found it very interesting. One woman wrote this, I'm
gonna sacrifice. I'm gonna give up my husband's cable. That's
not quite what I had in mind. Those steps are
hard to take. But I want you to know when
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you hear truths that we're hearing. When God decides to
communicate to us in a very special way, oftentimes that
truth does not penetrate, deepen our soul to the point
of action.
Speaker 1 (11:31):
Because we're broken. We need repaired.
Speaker 2 (11:35):
And as much as we want to do the good,
the intentions are good, the motivations are pure. I want
you to never forget what I'm about to say as
long as you know me. Remember this Satan is real.
He knows where to get you and the right point
that you get to where you're gonna put that into
your life and you're gonna go another level. You're gonna
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cross over. He sucker punches you. He hits you right
in that area that he knows you're weak.
Speaker 1 (12:02):
He's ready as soon as you.
Speaker 2 (12:04):
Say, man, I'm gonna do it, I'm gonna change move.
It comes from the back. You don't even see it coming,
because he knows if he just hammers you there in
the place you haven't been healed, in the place you
haven't given to God. That mother you've never forgiven, that
father who abused you. You keep trying to earn his approval.
He's never gonna give it. That husband that betrayed you,
that illness that's physical, that thing in your life.
Speaker 1 (12:27):
You're addicted to. He just keeps hammering it.
Speaker 2 (12:29):
Every time he says you think you're gonna make changes, No,
you're not, because I'm gonna destroy you right here and there.
Let me tell you can't fix yourself. You're in too
deep now. There's only one answer for you, the grace
of God and Jesus healing you. That's why I say
number one. We're broken people. Some of us are so broken.
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There's very little joy left in our life. We are
truly shattered, and we're like the envelope of thirty eight years.
Speaker 1 (12:56):
We don't think healing can come. What happened to us?
What happened?
Speaker 2 (13:00):
Where did we stop believing what happened? My mom and
my dad had a good marriage, but they came to
a point where they were about to divorce.
Speaker 1 (13:12):
Good Christian parents. Yes, it happens to them too. And
I asked my mom, seated on the couch with her
one night, I said.
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Mom, do you love Dad? She didn't answer me first time.
I said, Mom, are you Are you angry with Dad?
I'll never forget a response. She said, Son, I wish
I was angry, because at least then that would be
some emotion.
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I feel nothing. So many of.
Speaker 2 (13:35):
You you feel nothing, man, You feel nothing for anybody.
You don't feel anything for God. You don't know why,
and I can't tell you why. And even if I did,
you just be educatedly sad.
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The only chance you have, the only.
Speaker 2 (13:51):
Chance is to be healed. And until you are, you're
destined for mediocrity. You're destined for defeat. Some of you
on now, some of you in the room. Man, No
matter how many times I talk about this, you still
are addicted to pornography. You've had a couple of good
weeks and then everything comes crashing down or some other
sexual sin or activity that you know you should not
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be involved in as a follower of Jesus. Jesus still
loves you, of course he does. But the problem is
you've failed for the life somewhere that you could fix yourself.
You're in too deep. Now, it's too late. The only
thing's gonna solve your problem is healing. Jesus is gonna
have to lay his hands on you and heal you.
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You can't fix yourself. You've gone too far. And here's
the beauty of it. Jesus says, come, and there's a
big sign that says perfect faith not essential, Just come.
Come through a series of life circumstances. So many of
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you in the room. You're broken. You can't love, you
can't forgive, you can't engage a meaningful relationship. And you
know in your heart that you have a hard time
achieving any level of holiness, even though everything within you
wants to do the good.
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I'm telling you it's because you're broken. You need repair.
Speaker 2 (15:18):
Some of you in the room are even committing or
thinking about committing suicide in a group in a room
like this, Statistics tell us there's about twenty of you
that's right, thinking about it because.
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Your life is going nowhere. You see no hope. I
want to tell you you're.
Speaker 2 (15:32):
Standing right now at the precipice of your life. Things
can change, you can be healed. All you got to
do is step out and come and trust Jesus. He
ask every single one of us in this room this
one question. Do you want to be well? Do you
want to be made well? Then stop making excuses for
why I won't do it, stop putting me in your
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little box of theology, and just come to me. That's
what he says. Yes, your life's gonna change. You're gonna
have new experiences and new challenges. But it's the abundant
life you've always wanted to live. But you ever wonder
why you can't cross over, why you can't go to
the next level.
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Jeffer, you're talking demon possession. I want you to listen
to me. I don't believe a demon can possess a believer.
I don't. You're filled with the Holy Spirit. Same people
can't occupy the same house. They can't.
Speaker 2 (16:26):
Jesus said, if I bind the strong man first, I'll
bind him take what belongs. Here's the deal, though, you
start giving Satan back a few areas of your life
and addictions and things. Let me tell you, he may
not possess them, but he'll take control of that little room.
Speaker 1 (16:41):
And you need to be healed. You're in too deep,
you're in too far, and the reality is there's a
whole other group of people in the room. You're like me.
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Now, folks, I don't judge you, so don't judge me,
So watify of your pawer.
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You think I don't have problems. Listen, some of you
are like me.
Speaker 2 (17:04):
And there's times in your life when you enter those
waters of deep depression. And I don't need somebody else
telling me why. There's a long list of reasons. I
don't know why. I can't explain it. I just know
it's real. And I wake up in the middle of
the night in a cold sweat. And there are times
in my life I'm afraid I'm gonna fail as a father,
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I'm gonna fail as your pastor that I'm not gonna
have enough money.
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Yeah, that's right, I'm just like you.
Speaker 2 (17:31):
That I'll get to the end of my life and
have a long list of regrets some things I didn't do,
or that my children will grow up and not love
me somehow I wasn't a good father and they just
are not interested in being with Dad.
Speaker 1 (17:41):
That is the greatest fear of my life.
Speaker 2 (17:44):
And I wake up in the middle of the night
and I ache inside, and I long for.
Speaker 1 (17:47):
Those feelings to go away.
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And if one more person comes and tells me why,
I tell you, I think I'm gonna have to repent
of another sin. Look, telling me why is not gonna
help me. That means I'm educated, but I'm still hurting.
I need healings. I need Jesus to heal me. You
need Jesus to heal you.
Speaker 1 (18:08):
That's what we need.
Speaker 2 (18:09):
I can't fix myself. You can't fix yourself. You gotta
be healed. And here's the good news, perfect faith, not essential.
Just come, just come. Where did we forget who Jesus was?
Speaker 1 (18:22):
What happened?
Speaker 2 (18:24):
We think we're smart, We think we don't need him.
Now we've got medical science to heal us.
Speaker 1 (18:30):
Oh no, no, no.
Speaker 2 (18:31):
Some of you received a word that you've got, the
big S word cancer, and you're broken. Your mind is spending,
your heart is racing.
Speaker 1 (18:42):
Jesus is your only hope.
Speaker 2 (18:46):
Now he can heal you in a lot of different ways.
Doctors aren't evil. They're not from the devil, at least
not most of them. Sometimes he uses general providence and
he takes you to the right person at the right time.
Speaker 1 (18:57):
Sometimes it's instantaneously.
Speaker 2 (18:58):
But man, man, surely you know of his compassion and
the fact that his compassion is enough to make you
want to go to him right Some of you have
chronic illnesses. You don't even know how to describe it,
and you know what, You go to the doctor and
he can't tell you why either. It's finally dawned on me.
Doctors aren't omniscient. There's only one who is. And he
says he loves you, and he says, come to him.
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Number One, we are broken people. Number two, Jesus can
heal all brokenness.
Speaker 1 (19:23):
Do you know that?
Speaker 2 (19:24):
Do you know that he can heal all brokenness? You say, Jeff,
there's nothing I can do. Yeah, but there's nothing he
can't do. And somewhere along the line you started, I started,
we started severely underestimating the power of Jesus.
Speaker 1 (19:39):
Seek him out.
Speaker 2 (19:40):
Jesus says, I'm Jehovah Jirah. I am the great Provider,
I am the great healer. My identity has been revealed.
I can do all things.
Speaker 1 (19:50):
Come to me.
Speaker 2 (19:52):
Do you want to be made well? He asked, Do
you want to be healed? Stop making excuses for why
I want to do it. Stop saying I don't do
that anymore.
Speaker 1 (20:00):
Come to me.
Speaker 2 (20:01):
Perfect faith not required, Jeff Howe, listen before I give
you that. I also know there's a lot of you
young ladies, and I don't know why it is, but
there's a lot of you facing infertility. You want a
child more than anything else. Jesus loves you and he
knows you're going through that. Your best move is to
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come to him and get him involved. Are you saying
He's gonna heal me? And I'm gonna know no, because
there is no formula. Folks, he's the boss.
Speaker 1 (20:31):
But I know this.
Speaker 2 (20:31):
You don't come to him, you won't get healed. You come,
he gets to decide. Some of you are angry with
God because you lost the child. Even then, God says,
come to me and I will nurse you through. I
will help you. I will open your eyes. I will
help you see what I'm doing. Because God takes everything
that happens in our lives and turns it for good
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to those who love God, and who are calling according
to His purpose? What do I do, then, Jeff, here's
what you do. Number three, come and seek killing. Oh
that's a good one, Jeff. How do you know that
God knew we'd ask that question, and he knew that
we'dn't need somebody with skin on to help us. And
James writes, and this is long after Jesus now has
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ascended to the Father. So don't tell me it's a
different age and God doesn't work that way anymore, because
here's what James tells us to do in verse thirteen.
Is any one of you in trouble, he should pray.
Is anyone happy, let him sing songs of praise. Is
any one of you sick? He should call the elders
of the church. Okay, then, elders, come forward. I want
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to call you up. Come on up and line this
front row. The Bible says, call the elders. I'm calling
the elders of the church to the front of the church.
I also want to call people who the elders have
commissioned to work confunction on their behalf. We call them
people with the gift of prayer and service or decision.
Cous I want you to come up front so that
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we can obey James. Chapter five, he says, call the
elders of the church to pray over him or her
and annoying him with oil in the name of the Lord,
not oil with symbolic for healing. Nobody's gonna dump a
pound of oil on your head. Don't worry, You'll look fine.
They take one drop of oil, one little drop, and
they post it here in the name of the Father,
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the Son, and the Holy Spirit. And we simply are
doing what James tells us to do, annoying him with
oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer
offered in faith will make the sick person well.
Speaker 1 (22:29):
The Lord will raise him up. Interesting Greek word. It
means to raise one's countenance.
Speaker 2 (22:34):
It means that if you come forward and you need
to be healed, and you're prayed for, whatever it is, folks,
whatever relational worry that just debilitate, to just stagnate your life,
fear that grips you, that one thing that the Holy
Spirit brought to your mind when I talked about punching
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you in the gut. You can't heal yourself way in
too deep. And if you want your life listen. There's
not a person really in this room that doesn't need
healing somewhere. And he says, call the elders anoint with oil, pray,
and he says he will be lifted up. Sometimes God
provides instantaneously. I'll admit that doesn't seem to be the
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rule in my life. I just want to make sure
it's not because I don't believe though, or not because
I stopped coming to him. Sometimes he does it through
general providence. It happens along the way. But here's the
guarantee that you have. He says, Therefore, confess your sins
to each other and pray for each other so that
you may be healed. In other words, if it is
because of sin, just repent.
Speaker 1 (23:37):
You're forgiven.
Speaker 2 (23:39):
The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.
It means that God will release Here's the promise. God
will release his divine energy into your life when the
elders pray for you and anoint you.
Speaker 1 (23:52):
That's the promise.
Speaker 2 (23:53):
God is gonna do something special. I don't know what,
because I'm not God, I'm not the sovereign. Here's what
I know, though, somewhere along the line, man, I don't
know when it happened. You me us together, we forgot
Jesus is Jehovah Jahrah, the great Provider.
Speaker 1 (24:12):
He is the great physician. He is the hill.
Speaker 3 (24:16):
You've been listening to Today with Jeff Finds. Next time
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