 With that said, we're going to be looking in Mark chapter 7 verses 31 through 37. So I'll begin reading at verse 31, read to verse 37, give you my introduction and move into the study. Mark chapter 7, beginning at verse 31. Again, departing from the region of Tyre and Sidon, he came through the midst of the region of Decapolis to the Sea of Galilee. Then they brought to him one who was deaf and had an impediment in his speech. And they begged him to put his hand on him. And he took him aside from the multitude and put his fingers in his ears. He spat and touched his tongue. Then looking up to heaven, he sighed and said to him, Ephata, that is, be opened. Immediately his ears were opened and the impediment of his tongue was loosed. And he spoke plainly. Then he commanded them that they should tell no one. But the more he commanded them, the more widely they proclaimed it. And they were astonished beyond measure, saying he has done all things well. He makes both the deaf to hear and the mute to speak. And so as this binormal way of approaching a passage, I'll give you a little bit of context, give you some of the things that are taking place, some of the things that had previously taken place that has led up to this. And then we'll move into the verses that we'll be studying today. I'll begin by saying and reminding you that Jesus has been in the north of Israel and he's been so, been there for some time. It has been at least a year that he's been in that region and he and his men have been constantly ministering. As he's been with them, they have slowly grown to see more of who he was. When Jesus walked on water, they said to him, you are the son of God. After feeding the 5,000, they saw him confront those who had wanted to force him to be king. And they heard him challenge the people to eat his flesh and drink his blood. And the people didn't understand that. They didn't know what he meant. And so many began to walk away from them. They said, this is a hard saying. Who can understand? And the result was, from that time on, many of his disciples left. Many of his disciples had deserted him. When Jesus asked his men if they were going to go, we see how Peter had spoken and he had spoken out on behalf of the others. And in John 6, verses 68 and 69, Peter said, Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. Also, we have come to believe and know that you are the Christ, the Son of the living God. I believe, and I've shared this many times in the past, that that is a question that you, as a Christian, may hear from the Lord. I'm assuming that you will. Perhaps you already have. And he doesn't ask you just once. It may come many times over a lifetime following the Lord. And the question will be, do you also want to go away? Because when we go through life, especially as newborn believers, we believe that everything's going to go great from that point on. And we fail to realize that the way that the Lord begins to work into us, character, is going through trials and sometimes afflictions. Sometimes we'll go through disappointments and pains, hurts and sorrows, and we don't know what's going on. And when we got saved, we felt so good. We thought, oh Lord, all of my sins have rolled off of my shoulders. I feel so great now. And then we begin to go through hard times, difficult times, and you may hear the Lord whisper to you, perhaps some in this room have. And he may say to you, do you also want to go away? And I love the way that the Apostle Peter responded because he said, where would we go? You have the words of eternal life. And so that's what's taking place. His men are not going away, but many of those who are fair weather followers of you. Well, people who are coming to him for the wrong reason, in the case of those who had walked away, they had desired him to be a king. They had said, this is a man who can feed us whenever we need. This is man who gives to us our health care. He can heal us whenever we need a need of health care, of healing. They wanted him for the wrong reason. They didn't want him for Messiah to save them from their sins. They wanted him because he provided for them. And he told them that. He said, you're following me because I fed you and you were filled. And that's why he said, the food that you're eating, you're laboring for the food that won't last. You need to receive that which will, which is to partake fully of him. And that's what he meant when he said, eat of my flesh and drink of my blood. Well, when he had said that to them, many walked away, followed him no more. And that's why he asked his men, will you also go away? And they said, no, we won't. So over time, and this is how it works in the spiritual world. Over time, we grow to have a deeper understanding of who the Lord is. And so that's what was taking place with his men. As he's been with them and ministered before them, they've heard the things he has said and all. They're growing to have a deeper understanding. They see his miracles. They hear his deep and profound teaching. And so they're becoming prepared, prepared to be an ambassador to the world. And so Jesus has been ministering with his men in what is today Lebanon, in the region of Tyre and Sidon. And while he was in that area, we saw how that he ministered to a Gentile woman, a Canaanite. How that she had come to him on behalf of a daughter who was severely demonized and had asked him to please deliver my daughter. We saw how he had done that. Her humility and her faith was a welcome contrast to the unbelief in Israel. So Jesus has left. He's left the area of Tyre. He's moved north through Sidon. And then he went to the Southeast. That gave him added time to spend with his disciples. And he's moving towards a region called the Decapolis. Now Decapolis is a Greek word that simply means the 10 cities. And these cities were centers at that time of Greek culture as well as Greek religion. They were located east of the Sea of Galilee and they were home to many Gentiles. And the Gentiles who lived in that area were idolaters. They honored Greek gods like Zeus and Aphrodite, Artemis and Dionysus. And we saw his ministry. We saw how his ministry was open to those who were not necessarily, they weren't from Israel. We saw how his ministry is open to the Syrophoenician woman. And we see how he's willing to reach them. His main ministry, as we've seen, was to the lost sheep at the house of Israel. But he intended to reach Gentiles, which fulfills what the Old Testament prophet Isaiah says in Isaiah 45-22 where he wrote, Turn to me and be saved all you ends of the earth for I am God. There is no other. Isaiah 65 verse 1, I revealed myself to those who did not ask for me. I was found by those who did not seek me to a nation that did not call my name. I said here I am, here I am. And so Jesus has been ministering in the area. And as mentioned a moment ago, he has delivered a man from a legion of demons. Now after he had, he had delivered this man from these many demons, many wanted him to leave. Mark 5.17 says they began to plead with him to depart from their region. Although many had wanted him to leave, the man's deliverance had shaken the people. And the man begged Jesus that he might be able to go with him. But Jesus wouldn't allow that. He told him, go and tell others of what has happened. And in Mark 5.20 it says he departed, began to proclaim in Decapolis all that Jesus had done for him and all marveled. So without internet, without the television, without newspaper, radio, word got out about Jesus Christ. And the people in the area are made aware of him. And they've been hearing of what he can do. And I've often believed that the real key to reaching a world isn't simply using the newspapers and TV. I think those are great mediums to do it. And radio, you can reach many people with the gospel, of course. And I thank God for those things, the internet and all of that. But effective way to reach your area, an effective way to even reach out to the world is for the church to be charged up with the things of God and to take those things out and to share those things with friends and family, co-workers or neighbors, students that they go to school with in the variety of things we have opportunities to be able to share in. And so that's what happened. These people had seen some great thing taking place. This man had been demon-possessed. People were aware of him. He had been in the tombs. He had cut himself, cried out. They were aware of this man. And now there he is seated at the feet of Christ in his right mind. And then he's sent out to go and proclaim what Jesus Christ can do. And the decapolis has begun to become aware of Jesus Christ of Nazareth. And that amazing work caused people the desire to see him. And now he's returned. Matthew 1530 says, great crowds came to him, bringing the lame, the blind, the crippled, the mute, and many others, and laid them at his feet. And he healed them. Even though they were idolaters, they could not help but recognize what God had done. They knew that their idols were incapable of helping them. In 1 Samuel 1221, we read, do not turn a wave after useless idols. They can do you no good, nor can they rescue you, because they are useless. And these idol worshipers, these idolaters, were aware of the fact that their foreign God that they worship could not do anything. But this one, Jesus Christ can. And that's what's taking place. Now, he's been healing the lame. He's been healing the blind, the crippled, the mute, who were sick with various diseases, cast out many demons, and he didn't allow the demons to speak because they knew him. They now bring a man to Jesus, a man who was deaf, a man who was suffering from a speech impediment. Notice verse 32, how it says, then they brought to him when he was deaf and had an impediment in his speech, and they begged him to put his hand on him. Now, this miracle is recorded only in the Gospel of Mark. It's not found in any of the other Gospels. When you read your Bible, you'll note that the New Testament will record somewhere around 37 miracles that were performed by Jesus Christ. And you'll note that he never performed a miracle to satisfy their doubts or to yield to demands. In Matthew 12, 38 through 40, it says, some of the Pharisees and teachers of the law said to him, teacher, we want to see a sign from you. And he answered a wicked and adulterous generation asked for a sign. But none will be given except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. You see, his works were intended to draw them to a realization that he is the Messiah. In John 5 36, Jesus said, I have testimony weightier than that of John for the works that that the Father has given me to finish. The very works that I am doing testify that the Father has sent me. And so Jesus came not to be a miracle worker alone. He came in order that he might draw people to faith in his Father, to know him so that he might bring them to God. And so this is what's taking place. He's not doing miracles on demand. What he's doing is miracles to draw them to the Father. And so this is happening. Verse 32 again, they brought to him when he was deaf and had an impediment in his speech. Now it says they brought to him. So I want to point that out to you because the bringing of people to Jesus now has become common. In Mark 132, it says that evening after sunset, the people brought to Jesus all the sick and demon possessed. In Mark 2 verses 3 and 4, it says they came to him bringing a paralytic who was carried by four men and when they could not come near him because of the crowd, they uncovered the roof where he was. So when they had broken through, they let down on the bed that who was the one who was paralytic. In Mark 6, 53 through 56, it says when they had crossed over, they came to the land of Gennesaret and anchored there. And when they came out of the boat immediately, the people recognized him, ran through the whole surrounding region and began to carry about on beds those who were sick to wherever they heard he was, wherever he entered into villages, cities or the country, they laid the sick in the marketplaces and begged him that they might just touch the hem of his garment and as many as touched him were made well. And so people were now not only coming, but they're bringing their friends. His reputation of compassion and mercy has preceded him. Matthew tells us what Jesus did just before he fed the 5,000. In Matthew chapter 14 verse 14, it says when Jesus went out, he saw a great multitude. He was moved with compassion for them and he healed their sick. Mark 6, 34, speaking of the same event says that Jesus was moved with compassion, so he began to teach them many things. What Jesus would do is he would heal and he would teach. His compassion moved him to do that. His compassion moved him to heal, but healing was only temporary. His compassion also moved him to teach because teaching and they're receiving what he had to say had eternal reward. What good does it do a person to be completely made whole and still go to hell? And so Jesus would do that to demonstrate he had power over illness, but what he wanted to do is to save the person and he did that through his message. In John 5, 24, he said, I say unto you, he who hears my word and believes in him who sent me has everlasting life and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life. In John 8, 51, he said, very truly I tell you whoever obeys my word will never see death. So yes, his compassion moved him to heal, but his compassion also moved him to teach. Well, in verse 32, they brought to him when he was deaf and had an impediment in his speech. So he's somewhere there probably on the eastern shore of the Sea of Galilee. It seems that he had become deaf and could speak only with great difficulty due to an illness. It wouldn't have been probable that he would have learned to speak while deaf. And so Mark includes this miracle once again to highlight Jesus as Messiah. He used a word that referred to one who could not speak without difficulty. The word impediment here is translated mute. It's dumb. The word dumb, stutterer, somebody who has difficulty speaking, someone who has a speech defect. But the word dumb has been used over the years to speak of the one who is mute or incapable of speaking. And one commentator points out that the word is used in Isaiah 35. In Isaiah in the Old Testament chapter 35 verses 3 through 6, it says, strengthen the weak hands and make firm the feeble knees. Say to those who are fearful hearted, be strong, do not fear. Behold, your God will come with vengeance with the recompense of God. He will come and save you. Then the eyes of the blind shall be open. The ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. Then the lame shall leap like a deer, and the tongue of the dumb sing. For water shall burst forth in the wilderness and streams in the desert. And so this miracle is again pointing Jesus out as Messiah according to Isaiah. So notice what's taking place in verse 32. They beg Jesus to put his hand on him. And when it says they beg that, that speaks of an urgency. The lanon of his hand is actually symbolizing God touching man. Jesus often laid hands on people. It visibly revealed that God would actually touch a human being. In Mark 141, Jesus laid hands on a leper and cleansed him. In Mark 6.5, Mark says that Jesus laid hands on a few sick people. And so what they're asking for is a touch from God. And they still are, by the way. People still are. Not just a healing, but there are many people. I'll share something later on with you, but there are many people that are hungry for a touch from God. I think that if we watch the news constantly, you can get brainwashed into believing that people aren't interested. And that's simply not true. That's not true. There are a lot of people. And you know what we're noting also now? We're noticing that there are a lot of younger people who are wondering about God. They're actually hungry to know about Him. I know that when we watch the news or hear reports or whatever that it can appear that everything is lost, but it's not. I think one of the things that the enemy has a tendency of doing is trying to brainwash us into believing that there's no hope, that there's no way things can change. Remember we're in spiritual warfare. Remember that. And during World War II, you might remember that there was a woman in Japan who was called Tokyo Rose. And Tokyo Rose would actually go online on the radio, and she would speak to the GIs, and she would tell them it's all lost. Everything's over. Give up. You might as well give up. It was propaganda. And it was going over the airways, and sometimes it would despair at the American troops because they're hearing that all of these bad things are happening, when in fact the United States was busy winning the war. The enemy's that way. Guys, never forget that. He whispers to you, sometimes shouts to you. What's the point? Why do you do this? You don't need to do this. It's all nonsense. This is fantasy. This isn't real. Look at the real world. Look what's going on. Look at the things that are happening here in the United States. And a lot of Americans, you know, they've been stuck in their house for a long time. They don't go out. They're afraid of people now, and they're afraid of everything that's going on because you are constantly being bombarded with lies. But Jesus Christ is still on the throne. Jesus Christ is still healing people. He really is. He's still moving, and we have to be aware of that. We can't give up. We can't give up because this is our time to shine. Whenever things become dark, God gives us the ability to be a light in a dark place. Don't forget that. Don't forget that. My brother watched me for a couple of years. He just watched me because he said, you can't possibly be a Christian. I've seen you go through so many things. This is just another one of your fads. And he watched, and he watched, and he watched until he came to faith in Christ because I never went back to that, to what I used to be. And he saw that. And there are people watching you too. There are people who have heard you speak, and they've said, they've heard you say, I'm a Christian, and they've watched you too. You may not be aware of it, but they have. And as they watch, they see your consistency, and they see your life. And eventually, perhaps, they'll even give you opportunity to share a little bit more with them about Jesus Christ. Now, these people are begging for a touch from God, and people today still are. You see, by Jesus, God touched man. And as Jesus would touch man, it revealed compassion and it revealed love. And that's why they brought those who were suffering to him because they wanted God to touch him. Well, in verse 33, it says to us concerning this one, he took him aside from the multitude and put his fingers in his ears. He spat, touched his tongue, looking up to heaven. He sighed and said to him, if I thought that is be opened immediately, his ears were opened. The impediment of his tongue was loosed. And he spoke plainly. He took him aside. So Jesus immediately responded to the man's need. Now, it's important to notice that this man did not come alone. Mark tells us that they brought to him one who was deaf and one who had an impediment. These were Gentiles living in a culturally pagan area, but they knew that Jesus could heal. How about us? Do we believe that the Lord can still move? You see, the faith of these Gentiles should awaken us as believers to exercise our own faith. When you look in the scriptures, you see that there's more than one Gentile, more than one non-Jew that Jesus ministered to. We see in Matthew 8, for example, there's a man he's referred to as a Roman centurion and he had come to Jesus on behalf of a young servant boy that he had. He had said to Jesus, Lord, I'm not worthy for you to enter under my roof. He said, speak but the word, my servant shall be healed. Jesus said, I haven't seen this kind of faith even in Israel. And that was from a centurion, a Roman. In John chapter 4, we have a Samaritan woman. A Samaritan woman that Jesus had an appointment with. The scripture said in John 4 that he needed to go into Samaria. And while his men were off getting some food, we know the story. This woman came with her water carrier and she started to fill that jug with water. And Jesus said to her, give me something to drink. And that started a conversation. She had a natural need that Jesus appealed to. And see, he said, give me something to drink. How is it that you, being a Jew, ask a drink of me, a woman of Samaria? And then John has to tell us the Jews have no dealings with Samaritans because the Samaritans to them were hybrids because they were partially Jewish and partially foreign. And so they had created their own religion. They had created their own scriptures. They had created their own temple of worship. They had done all of this because the Jews rejected them. And there's this rabbi talking to this woman. And that's why she says, how is it that you, being a Jew, ask a drink of me, a woman of Samaria? Because the Jews have no dealings with Samaritans. And that's when Jesus had that famous conversation with her. If you knew who it is who was speaking to you, you'd have asked for living water and I'd have given it to you. You don't have any vessel to draw water with. How is it that you're going to give me this living water? And he says, you can go and get your husband. You have no husband. Well, in this you have spoken true because you've had five and the one you're shacking up with right now is not your husband. And they had this long conversation and the woman says, come and see a man who told me everything I've ever done. Can this be Messiah? It was a Samaritan who did that. Remember in Mark chapter five, I already mentioned this man. He had the demonized man there in the in the gatherings and he proclaimed in Decapolis all that Jesus had done for him. And then recently we saw the Syrophoenician woman. She had come and spoken to the Lord Jesus Christ in need. Her daughter was severely demonized and Jesus has spoken to her and what would appear to us at least is kind of a rough way. You know, it's not me to take the children's bread and give it to dogs. She said, even the little dogs eat the crumbs from the master's table. A crumb from God is all I need. I'm not asking for more. Please help me. And you see this, you see how the Lord responds to people's needs and and these are Gentiles. They're in a culturally pagan area yet they know that the Lord Jesus Christ can do something. Again, when given opportunity, we should share with people what God has done for us. So Jesus is ministering to this man. What is it that he does? Well, notice with me in verse 33, it begins very simply. He took him aside from the multitude probably to make him feel at ease so that there are no distractions. What that reveals though is that Jesus is paying personal attention to this man. And in doing so, he was following what Scripture said concerning the treatment of those who are deaf. You might find it interesting that there's actual Scripture that tells us how to treat those who are deaf in the Old Testament in Leviticus in chapter 19, verse 14. It says, you shall not curse the deaf or put a stumbling block before the blind. You shall fear your God. I am the Lord. He was unable to hear. He was unable to speak clearly. And that obviously made life very hard. He would have become habituated to being ignored or impatiently listened to. Whenever you're speaking to someone who is deaf, I've had the occasion on numerous times to do so. And I've actually had it said to me that when you're speaking to the deaf, they may have someone there next to you who's doing the signing, but you should look at the deaf when you're speaking to them, not the person doing the signing. You speak to the deaf person and the person doing the signing is communicating on your behalf. Why is that? Because you're showing them respect. They're used to people just looking the other way and not even showing them any attention. And so you learn to do this. And that's what Jesus was doing. Jesus was speaking to them. And I've had people say, thank you for looking at me while you're speaking. I've had them say that to me. Thank you for looking at me while you're speaking. And that's what Jesus was doing. Took him aside. This guy was used to people ignoring him, not giving him attention, not giving him any care. And remembering that during that day, demons cause people to become deaf and mute. You'll see that in Scripture. Jesus dealt with that more than once. And in Luke 1114, it says he was casting out a demon that was mute. When the demon had gone out, the mute man spoke and the people marveled. In Mark 9, 25, it says, Jesus saw that a crowd came running together. He rebuked the unclean spirit saying to it, you mute and deaf spirit. I command you, come out of him and never enter him again. So what Jesus is doing is using nonverbal signals to communicate what he's about to do. He's making it clear that he's about to act on this man's behalf. This could be a way of provoking anticipation and faith in the man. Notice verse 33, he goes on to say, and he touched his ears. Well, when he touched his ears, it shows that he knew what the problem was. He made the man know that he knew it wasn't demonic, as some may have thought. And then he goes on in verse 33 to say, he spat, touched his tongue. Again, that would be a visual illustration of what he was about to do. He's going to loosen his tongue. In verse 34, it says, looking up to heaven, he sighed. This indicated to the man the origin of the healing. He was pointing to God, God is about to heal you. Now, remember, Jesus had been accused of doing miracles by the power of Satan. In Mark 3, 22, it says, the scribes who came down from Jerusalem said, he has beelzebub, and by the ruler of the demons, he casts out demons. So in looking up to heaven, he's showing that the power came from God. Notice verse 34, he sighed. So when he sighs, that reveals his compassion, his love for the man. And in sighing the way he did, he showed this poor man that he cared about him. Isaiah 53 verse 4, surely he has borne our griefs, carried our sorrows. So without words, Jesus demonstrated he knew what the problem was. He clearly showed that he would do something. He provoked the man's faith. He revealed what he would do. He revealed that this miracle was of God. And he revealed the compassion and love of God. Verse 34, he said to him, e fatah. That's an Aramaic word. It's an ancient language that Jesus would have spoken also. It means be opened. So he spoke with an authority, and his desire was immediately accomplished. Remember when they were in the midst of the storm on the sea? Remember how Jesus told the wind and the sea, peace be still? And I mentioned to you that when he said peace be still, he was literally saying, shut up, be muscled, be silenced. Well, he told the sea to be silent. But here he gave a command to the deaf man's ears, be opened. And immediately, verse 35, his ears were opened. The impediment of his tongue was loosed. His ability to hear immediately restored, as was his ability to speak plainly. He was able to hear perfectly, and he could speak clearly. The impediment of his tongue was loosed. And that's an interesting thing to say. Notice verse 35, the impediment of his tongue was loosed, and he spoke plainly. The word impediment in this scripture is an interesting word. The word impediment here is speaking about it being released. It's the Greek word desmos, and it speaks of shackles. It can be used to refer to a straight jacket or chains or bonds. And when it speaks concerning the impediment of his tongue being loosed, he's speaking concerning the imprisoned tongue, the imprisoned tongue, the tongue that had been imbonded, the tongue that had been shackled. The tongue that was in a straight jacket is now loosed to be able to speak freely. And that's what takes place. The man immediately receives a healing, and he is hearing, and he is speaking perfectly. Like it says in Psalm 33, verse 9, he spoke, it was done. Now, what would he be saying undoubtedly? What would he be saying? He would be saying, thank you God. There had have been an attitude of gratitude, we used to say, a word of thanks. Like it says in Psalm 35, 18, I will give you thanks in the great assembly. I will praise you among many people. What would you do if you were able to finally hear again, be able to speak plainly? Oh my God, thank you so much. Your heart would be overflowing with gratitude. May I say this very briefly? I really think that it is very wise for us as Christians to remember what we once were, to remember what we once were, because you know what happens? I've seen it sometimes as believers begin to, well, I'm not that way anymore, and we can become self-righteous. We can think like, I don't know how you could do that. How could you be that way? I've seen that. We have to be careful with that. Why? Because we can become self-righteous. We can become judgmental. How can you do that? I've done that, and I've done worse. I know how you can do that, because I've done that. My human nature, when it's free to do whatever it has wanted to do, has gotten me into nothing but trouble. You lie, I can lie better. You steal, I probably could steal better. You use bad words, I create bad words, you know? That's a fact, you know? When I was in high school, this is, when I was in high school, I was on the track team, and and the coach, the coach said Rosalind says the fastest guy in the school, but he's got the dirtiest mouth of any person I've ever heard. And when he said that, I wanted to live up to it. So whenever coach was near me, I used the most profane things, I strung words together, just to see if I could make him blush. So dirty words were part of my vocabulary, you know? So I know that life. I lived that life, done those things. I've drunk, I've obviously, for a long time, yes, I've awakened in my own vomit. Yes, I've almost overdosed more than once. Yes, I've been there. And so I'm not going to be the guy who later on says, I don't know how you can do that. No, I know how you can do that. I probably could show you how to do it better. Seriously, seriously. So you never get to that place. And when God sets you free, you ought to talk about that too, don't you think? God set you free, man. God set you free. God forgave you of your sins. God cleansed you from all unrighteousness. God gave you so much. And he hasn't finished yet. You know, when I looked down, I see my girl, my wife, she wouldn't have dated me if she knew me in the world. Of course she wouldn't have. She was warned about me by her daddy. You know, you don't want to go out with guys like that. And I don't blame him. It would have been true. She should never have gone out with me as a non-believer. I wouldn't have treated her the way she deserved it. But when you're saved, your life is transformed. I don't forget where I came from. I don't glory in it. I regret so much. And sometimes the Lord has to remind me I'm forgiven because it costs so much pain to me and others. I haven't forgotten. But that depth of sin, I learned that no matter how deep I go, God's grace goes deeper. I discovered that. And I discovered he could lift my feet out of that myry clay and he could put me on a solid rock. And that's Jesus Christ. So what are you going to do? What are you going to do when God works in your life? It doesn't say this. I don't have any doubt in my mind that this man praised the Lord for what he had done. Now notice in verse 36 how it goes on. He commanded them that they should tell no one the more he commanded them, the more widely they proclaimed it. Now this has happened before in Mark 143 through 45. Jesus sent them away at once with a strong warning. See that you don't tell this to anyone. But go show yourself to the priests. Offer the sacrifices that Moses commanded for your cleansing as a testimony to them. And instead he went out and began to talk freely, spreading the news. As a result, Jesus could no longer enter a town openly, but stayed outside in lonely places. Yet the people still came to him from everywhere. So he said, don't do this. Why? Because he wants to have opportunity to minister freely. Well, they marveled at what he had done. But the reaction was disobedience. And in disobeying, they stole blessings from others by missing the point. You see, he came to save, not simply to physically heal. His ministry was more than healing the body. He came to save. He came to save people from the judgment that was coming. We may not realize it, but there is something worse than being physically impaired. That which is worse is dying in your sins. Jesus healed a crippled man, John writes of him, and a pool called Bethesda, which is there in the city of Jerusalem. We've been to that pool many times. The pool of Bethesda. There was a belief. It isn't scriptural that it was actually occurring, but there was a belief that because of the pool that they had there that an angel would come. That was the belief. It would stir up the water, and the first one to enter in would be healed of their infirmity. It'd become a superstitious belief. And people would cap out by this, waiting for the stirring of the water. And Jesus was there at this particular pool. And there's the man that's laying close by it. And Jesus approaches the man. You all know the story of this. He says, you want to be healed? Well, why am I here? The reason I'm here is, yes, I want to be healed. But before I can make my way there, crawl into it, somebody always beats me. Somebody always gets in before me. You want to be healed? I'm not asking the reason you haven't been. What I'm asking you is if you want to be. I think that sometimes we can be habituated to a certain lifestyle and think that that's the only life we'll ever have. And I'll always be at least trying to be better, but do you want to be healed? Is the question not what is hindering you? Do you want to be? And that's a different question, Charlie. And then Jesus, the Bible tells us Jesus healed this man. And the man had an amazing experience with the Lord. And he got up and took a mat and left and disappears. And other things begin to take place. But Jesus, according to John 5.14, found him. This man had been crippled for 38 years. And he found him in the temple. And this is what Jesus said to him. See, you have been made well. Sin no more, lest a worse thing come upon you. What is worse than laying on a mat for 38 years? Going to hell. Going to hell is worse. Going to hell is worse. When my mother spent her last year of life on planet earth, mama laid on a bed for her last year. She had fallen down and broken her back and it never healed. My mother had been ill from the time she was 24 years old. So her entire young life, almost from her young life at 24, until when she died. Her entire life was one illness after another. My mama had lupus. My mom had rheumatoid arthritis. My mother had epilepsy, a variety of things. And my mom was less than 30 because of the different kind of medications she took for her epilepsy. It had a bad effect on her. She didn't have a single cavity, but the doctor had to remove all of her teeth. Before she was 30, my mom was wearing dentures. And I watched her. I watched her. You know, as her son, I mean, I cared about her. Then when she developed lupus, the pain that you would feel, I can still remember my father calling me and saying, Dave, can you please pray for your mama? She's in such pain. And I'd hear my mom. I could hear my mom in the background screaming, screaming in such agony, screaming, Jesus, help me. And so mama fell down and she broke her back. She had a bag that they had to attach to her because she had eaten some cashews or pistachios. And because of the medications she was taking, her lining of her stomach had become very, very vulnerable and it was ripped open. So they had to apply a bag to her. And I can still remember her last year she went through dementia. So her last year she didn't remember us. Before that happened, she was talking to me. My mama was a person who liked to tell people about Jesus after she got saved. That's the number one love she had besides my father. So she liked to tell people about the Lord and now she can't move. She can't go anywhere. Can't do anything. She fell helpless and hopeless. So I would talk to my mom every week and Wednesdays and on Sundays, she lived in New Mexico. Now we call her to talk to her. And Dave, I feel so useless. I'm unable to share with people anymore. And I said, you know, mom, I said, you are a prayer warrior. You're a prayer warrior. You love to pray. You love to talk to God. I said, you've been confined to a bed and I know you wish that you could get up and I know you wish you could go and speak, but you can't. But mama, God has given you at least the opportunity to to barrage heaven with your prayers. I said, mama, you pray for me. You've prayed for this church. You you pray that God would bless my wife, my children. And God has answered your prayers. Never feel that you're useless. You see, sometimes people can feel useless. Some of you may feel useless. What am I doing with my life? I've got nothing going for me. Nothing's happening. You know, no, no, if the Lord has saved you, He has given you ministry. And that ministry is unique to you. It's what God wants you to do. And with my mom, I shared with her mama, no, you need to you need to you need to you need to pray. You know, and then I told her just before she died, Marie and I went to go see my mom and she died a little while after that. But I went and spent some time with her. And and I told her, I said, mama, I want you to know something. I've never told you this. I said, let me tell you it now. I said, the way that I teach is really reflection of the way you taught me. See, my mama was a storyteller. My mom was always telling stories. The way she would communicate to me even as a child was stories. David, she said, sometimes your prayers may not be answered. She says, it's like the little girl who prayed that God would give her red wings. And and God never did. And so she told her mother, God doesn't answer prayer. He didn't give me my red wings. And the little girl stopped praying because God didn't give her her red wings. My mom told me this. She said, and then one day, the little girl was on her way to her first prom and she had an open back dress. And the mother said, you remember when you used to pray for red wings? And the little girl said, yes. She said, aren't you glad that he didn't give you those red wings? Because how do you think it would look right now with your gown? So that was my mom. My mom would tell me stories, teach me things like that. And that's how I teach. That's how I teach. So I told her. I said, Mama, I learned to teach through you. And you have been a minister in my life. That's what made my life what it is. Don't feel that you're useless. Don't feel that God isn't using you. He is. And God will, because he's a God who will take a vessel that is open for use. He will fill it with himself. And then that vessel gets broken. So he may pour out on other people. And that's what the Lord does. God has a way of teaching us and loving us and saving us. And so even though we may not be healed of whatever it is that we have gone through, you know what? You may not have healed my body, but he certainly healed my soul. And I'll be with Jesus rejoicing. And that's why we have to share the gospel. That's why Jesus said to that man there in the temple whom he had healed, sin no more, less a worse thing may come upon you. There is something worse than being physically impaired. And as this takes place, finally, verse 37, they were astonished beyond measure, saying he has done all things well. He makes both the deft here and the mute to speak. When you get an opportunity, share. When you get the opportunity, speak. They said of Jesus who is Messiah, he does all things well. That word well speaks of that which is excellent or beautiful. And so this is one Jesus who does all things beautiful. He had set free the man with the legion of demons in that area and he healed this man. And truly they're saying this man is an excellent man. He is unmatched by others. And that's who you worship and take the opportunities when the Lord gives so that you can reach others. Marie and I yesterday went to a mall. It's a version of purgatory for me. We were in a mall yesterday. I was doing my time. And as we were walking, we went by a particular booth and I have my Star of David with a cross in it. And the man at the booth was Jewish. So as we walked by, he says, hey, I noticed and he started a conversation with me. So Marie and I are talking with him. Nice guy. As we're talking to him, he asked me some questions. Why do you have the Star of David when you have that cross? I said, well, it has a cross. He goes, oh, yes. Why? And I said, oh, why? That's opportunity. So I said, well, because Jesus, my Messiah, is Jewish. And we had a conversation that lasted about 20 minutes. Now, he was trying to sell me something, but we had a long conversation. And Marie and I just having a nice time with this guy. Nice guy. And we shared a few things. You know, I wasn't shoving Jesus down his throat. I'm not that kind of evangelist. I just talked to you and insert things and talk that way. And we're having a conversation. And he's got a young woman who's his helper. I think she was Egyptian, Egyptian. Before we leave, he says to me, he's a young guy. He says to me, he goes, will you pray a blessing upon me in the midst of this small? Will you pray a blessing on me? And I said, no, you pagan. No, I said, I said, of course. Yes. And so he puts his hand over his head because he's from Jerusalem. And I told him, I've been to Jerusalem many times. Oh, really? We conversing about that. Why do you go? Because I'm a pastor and I take my sheep with me to go because we love Israel. You love Israel. All of them. He says, they're pretty hard, you know, I know. But yes, of course. So he says, at the end of the conversation, this Egyptian woman and this Jewish man, will you pray a blessing on me? And I said, I'd be honored to pray for you. He grabs a little Egyptian over. Come here. You're getting prayed for too. So I'm assuming she's Muslim and he is Jewish. He puts his hand over his head because you cover your head in prayer when you're Jewish. So he didn't have his, his hat. So he put his hand over his head. They're in the middle of a mall with all of these people walking by. There's this man humbly, young man, humbly. And I got my hand on him. And I have my hand on this woman. And I prayed, Father in Jesus' name, I pray that their eyes would be open to see you. She prayed a little bit. And then, may God, may you bless him with the knowledge of you. And so I prayed a blessing on him. And he says, thank you very much. He says, I'll even give you my price for these. No, I'm not going to buy it. He really did. No, I'm not going to buy that. But see, when you have opportunity, take it. Take the opportunity. You don't have to argue somebody into the kingdom. You just need to love the Lord in front of them. And they will say, Hmm, concerning Jesus, he does all things well. He does all things well. Because that is the God we serve, a God who does all things excellently. He does all things well. That's our God. We will go back by the way, and I will visit with them some more in the future. And Father, we ask that you would work.