The Principles of Healing
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Sunday School | Principles of Healing
Pastor Andrea Myles
Foundational Scriptures: Jesus is the Source
Jesus was received and approved of God - the unblemished lamb and through Him, we are healed!
Acts 2:22-24 (AMP)
22 “Men of Israel, listen to these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a Man accredited and pointed out and attested to you by God with [the power to perform] miracles and wonders and signs which God worked through Him in your [very] midst, just as you yourselves know— 23 this Man, when handed over [to the Roman authorities] according to the predetermined decision and foreknowledge of God, you nailed to a cross and put to death by the hands of lawless and godless men. 24 But God raised Him up, releasing Him and bringing an end to the agony of death, since it was impossible for Him to be held in death’s power.
Acts 3:14-16 (AMP)
14 But you disowned and denied the Holy and Righteous One and asked for [the pardon of] a murderer to be granted to you. 15 But you killed the Prince (Author, Originator, Source) of life, whom God raised [bodily] from the dead. To this [fact] we are witnesses [for we have seen the risen Christ]. 16 And on the basis of faith in His name, it is the name of Jesus which has strengthened this man whom you see and know; and the faith which comes through Him has given him this perfect health and complete wholeness in your presence.
John 16:7 (AMP)
7 But I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper (Comforter, Advocate, Intercessor—Counselor, Strengthener, Standby) will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him (the Holy Spirit) to you [to be in close fellowship with you].
Lesson #1 - I have Access to Healing
Acts 2:36 (KJV)
36 Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made the same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ.
He is Lord: Kurios (Greek)
Yahweh | Healer
Supreme | The Almighty, One with Dominion
Sovereign to the Universe | Absolute Authority
Ruler, One with Power | United with Him
Governor | Son of a Father
Knowing that He is Lord carries weight and puts life into perspective.
Isaiah 66:1 (MSG)
“Heaven’s my throne, earth is my footstool. What sort of house could you build for me? What holiday spot reserve for me. I made all this! I own all this!” God’s Decree.
1 Kings 8:27-28 (AMP)
27 “But is it possible that God would really live on earth? Why, even the skies and the highest heavens cannot contain you, much less this Temple I have built! 28 And yet, O Lord my God, you have heard and answered my request:
He is Christ: Christos (Greek)
Definition: The Messiah, The Chosen One, the Anointed One
It is through the shed Blood of Jesus that we are healed.
Isaiah 53:5 (KJV)
5 But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.
Lesson #2 - Healing is not about feelings, it's about faith and partnership.
Healing is demonstrated by faith and partnering with the word of God.
Matthew 8:5-8 (Jubilee) 5 And when Jesus was entering into Capernaum, a centurion came unto him, beseeching him, 6 and saying, Lord, my servant lies at home paralyzed, grievously tormented.7 And Jesus said unto him, I will come and heal him.8 The centurion answered and said, Lord, I am not worthy that thou should come under my roof; but speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed.
Lesson #3 - Healing is not earned, it is received.
El Shaddai - God Almighty, All-Sufficient God
Mark 10:46-52 (KJV)
46 And they came to Jericho: and as he went out of Jericho with his disciples and a great number of people, blind Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, sat by the highway side begging. 47 And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out, and say, Jesus, thou son of David, have mercy on me. 48 And many charged him that he should hold his peace: but he cried the more a great deal, Thou son of David, have mercy on me. 49 And Jesus stood still, and commanded him to be called. And they call the blind man, saying unto him, Be of good comfort, rise; he calleth thee. 50 And he, casting away his garment, rose, and came to Jesus.
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It Don't Take All That: Discovering the Simplicity of Divine Healing
There's a profound truth that often gets buried beneath layers of religious complexity and spiritual skepticism: healing is available, accessible, and simpler than we think. When we strip away our doubts, our elaborate formulas, and our endless conditions, we discover that accessing God's healing power requires less of our striving and more of our faith.
Access Granted: Your Invitation to Wholeness
The book of Acts opens a window into a transformative moment in history. Peter, once a frightened fisherman who denied knowing Jesus three times, stands boldly before a crowd declaring that "God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ." This wasn't just theological rhetoric—it was a proclamation of power and access.
That word "Lord" carries immense weight. In Greek, it speaks of Yahweh—the self-existent One who needs no creator, no permission, no validation. He is supreme, sovereign, absolute in authority. He is the ruler with dominion over everything that exists.
Isaiah captured this magnitude perfectly when he wrote that heaven is God's throne and earth is merely His footstool. He's so vast that no building can contain Him, no ideology can fully describe Him, no religion can hold Him, and critically—no diagnosis can stop Him.
This is where healing begins: with understanding who stands ready to heal you. He's not practicing medicine on you like you're some experiment. He is the Great Physician, and His track record is flawless.
Our God isn't limited by insurance networks or healthcare systems. He's not confined by legislation, regulation, or the constraints of time and space. He doesn't need pre-authorization or referrals. He is El Shaddai—the All-Sufficient One.
Solomon understood this paradox when he dedicated the temple, asking, "Is it possible that God would really live on this earth? Even the skies and the highest heavens cannot contain you, much less this temple I have built." Yet despite His immeasurable greatness, He listens to our prayers. He's mindful of us.
This is the beautiful tension of our faith: He's big enough to hold the universe in His hands, yet intimate enough to walk with you through your doctor's appointment, sit with you in your valley, and know the number of hairs on your head.
Faith Over Feelings: The Partnership Principle
Understanding that Jesus is both Lord and Christ changes everything about how we approach healing. "Christ" isn't His last name—it's His title, His identity as the Anointed One, the Messiah, the Chosen Champion.
When we encounter the Hebrew understanding of this term, we find something unexpected: it means to pardon, to spare, to forgive. What does forgiveness have to do with healing? Everything.
Remember the paralyzed man whose friends lowered him through a roof to reach Jesus? Before Jesus addressed the man's physical condition, He said, "Your sins are forgiven." This wasn't a detour from healing—it was the foundation of it.
Isaiah prophesied it clearly: "He was wounded for our transgressions, bruised for our iniquities. The chastisement of our peace was upon him, and by his stripes we are healed."
In the old covenant, priests had to repeatedly sacrifice unblemished animals to atone for sins. Blood had to be sprinkled on the mercy seat again and again. But one sacrifice was good enough for all time—the blood of Jesus. That blood doesn't just cover sin; it releases healing.
Sometimes the greatest barrier to our healing isn't our physical condition but our spiritual condemnation. We replay our failures, rehearse our mistakes, and disqualify ourselves from God's goodness. But Scripture declares: "There is therefore now no condemnation to them who are in Christ Jesus."
Healing requires partnership—a alignment with who God is and what He's already accomplished. It's not about mustering up the right feelings or achieving some emotional state. It's about faith: believing what God says about you more than what your circumstances scream at you.
The Suffering That Leads to Sufficiency
The term "El Shaddai"—God Almighty, the All-Sufficient One—appears 48 times in Scripture. Interestingly, it shows up most frequently in the books of suffering: Lamentations and Job.
We don't discover God's all-sufficiency on beds of comfort. We find it in the furnace of affliction, in the valley of shadow, in the wilderness of waiting.
Job endured 42 chapters of relentless suffering—physical, emotional, relational, financial. Yet in one verse, God restored double what Job had lost. That's the testimony we hold onto: weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning. God will restore the years the locusts have eaten.
El Shaddai steps into our stories when we're at our breaking point. He meets us in divorce, in addiction, in loneliness, in despair. He doesn't wait for us to clean ourselves up. He comes to us in our mess and declares, "I am enough."
The Cry That Changes Everything
Blind Bartimaeus sits by the roadside, trapped in a cycle of begging and emptiness. Every day, the same routine. Every day, the same disappointment. Then he hears that Jesus is passing by.
Despite the crowd telling him to be quiet, Bartimaeus cries out louder: "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!"
Jesus stops. He calls for the blind man. And Bartimaeus does something profound—he casts away his garment and rises.
He threw away his shame. He threw away his poverty mindset. He threw away the identity others had assigned him—"blind Bartimaeus," a man whose condition came before his name.
Sometimes we need to cast away what we've been wearing: the labels, the limitations, the lies. We need to rise and come to Jesus without pretense, without pride, without trying to look put-together.
Bartimaeus couldn't see physically, but he could hear spiritually. And that hearing activated his faith.
It Don't Take All That
The message is simple but revolutionary: You don't need elaborate rituals. You don't need to earn your way to healing. You don't need to figure everything out first.
You need to hear Jesus is passing by and cry out. You need to cast away what's holding you back and rise. You need to partner with the One who is both big enough to hold the universe and intimate enough to hear your whisper.
Cancer is not Lord. Depression is not Lord. Anxiety is not Lord. Poverty is not Lord. Jesus Christ is Lord, and He has already secured your healing through His blood.
The question isn't whether healing is available. It's whether you'll reach for it. Will you cry out like Bartimaeus? Will you believe that one touch from Jesus can change everything?
It really don't take all that—just faith, just surrender, just saying yes to the One who has already said yes to you.
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So listening and partnering alongside of us when it comes to healing.
Now, the thing about healing is there's almost a balance of healing when we think about the topic of healing.
Most of the time, even in the church, healing can be somewhat of a taboo.
Some can kind of be a little skeptical about healing, whether it's something that is possible, especially as we face different situations.
It could be physical, it could be emotional, financial, and then we also see,
You know, areas where maybe, you know, I've experienced the healing and I believe in the healing power of the blood.
And so my prayer today is as we get into this message that you would just lean a little bit further in faith.
Somebody look over at your neighbor and say, just lean a little bit, just lean a little bit.
Just lean a little bit in faith, believing God for healing.
Can you pray with me?
Father, we're just so grateful for your word.
We're grateful for the blood of Jesus that brings us healing from all manner of sickness and disease.
Lord, even as this word goes forth, I decrease that you would increase.
Lord, we pray that you would get the glory out of every word that is spoken.
We decree that there will be miracles, signs, and wonders that follow your word.
Father, we're just bringing our faith and our expectation up to another level, believing that you would meet us here.
Father, we pray for a fresh wind of your anointing
to sweep through the house, oh God.
Lord, that you would bring, Father, our hearts and our minds to you and that we would be changed by the power of your word.
It is in Jesus' matchless name we pray.
Somebody say amen.
Oh, I feel the Holy Ghost.
Hallelujah.
Hallelujah.
Amen.
I'm going to be teaching today.
Y'all going to help me teach, right?
Because I'm a preaching teacher, but I'm going to try to teach.
And so when I get too excited, keep me on track by just saying, teach, Andrea, teach.
Try that with me.
Teach, Andrea, teach.
Okay.
So the topic of our lesson today, it's a three-part lesson.
It's called...
principles of healing, and the subtopic is, it don't take all that.
Tell your neighbor, it don't take all of that.
It don't take all of that.
It don't take all of that.
So we're gonna get into our first lesson, lesson one.
Lesson one says, I have access to healing.
Somebody say access.
access.
So it's interesting that access is available to all of us.
We all have access to healing.
And when we look in the book of Acts, that's how we're going to set the scene for this first lesson.
We find ourselves in the second chapter, the 36th verse.
Now Acts was written by the physician Luke.
Isn't that interesting?
He was a doctor.
We're talking about healing and the first lesson today opens up with this context of scripture teaching us about the Acts of the Apostles.
On the scene of this word is the apostles that were in the upper room in the earlier chapter.
They were baptized in the Holy Ghost.
They were on fire for God.
And they were beginning to see miracles and signs and wonders.
And this text opens up.
Peter is preaching this fiery message.
And he says,
that God hath made that same Jesus, somebody say same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ.
It's so interesting about this text because Peter was talking to a people who just a few chapters before, Peter was running away, denying the Lord three times.
It was the same Peter who earlier as we read through Matthew, Mark, and Luke, Peter was a fisherman.
He was called by the Lord.
And even earlier in Luke, he saw firsthand miracles from Jesus.
He was there when the woman was healed with the issue of blood for 12 long years.
He was there to see the fishes and the loaves feed the thousands.
And even in the book of Luke chapter four, he was there coming out of church with Jesus, the disciples.
And as they gathered at his home afterwards,
Peter's mother-in-law had a fever and Jesus spoke to that fever and the fever had to go.
How many of you know that that power still resonates today?
That if you just have one word, God can speak to your situation and your situation must let you go.
Peter preached that fiery message, y'all, and he began to say that this same Jesus is both Lord and Christ.
He took them through the messianic journey of Jesus because some were still skeptical.
Did you know you can come to church and still be skeptical?
You can come to church and go to Bible study and be in a small group and still be skeptical.
And so
But Peter preached and he told them this same Jesus.
This one was not just a carpenter's son, but he was the son of the living God.
And Peter preached this fiery message to tell them that he was no longer in the grave.
How many of you know that he is no longer in the grave?
He was no longer on the grave, but he had became both Lord and Christ.
Somebody say Lord and Christ.
So this prophecy that even Joel had, he began to prophesy and Zechariah and Isaiah, they prophesied about this same Jesus and the Lord rose him from the dead and he came back with all power in his hand and he came back as both Lord and Christ.
When we hear about the word Lord in the Greek, it breaks down.
I'm going to give a little bit of meaning to that.
It means that he is Yahweh.
He is self-existent.
Nobody had to create him.
He is not a figment of imagination.
He is not an old wives tale, but he told Moses in the book of Exodus, I am that I am.
He is supreme and sovereign to the universe because nobody's above him.
He is ruler, one with power, and a governor because nobody can dictate him.
He is a healer, the almighty, one with dominion, absolute authority because nobody is as bad as he is.
He is united with him, son of a father, because nobody can stand beside him.
And I come to tell somebody this morning that all of those terms, they have weight on it.
Oh, you ought to come in alignment that there is a weight to my God.
Hallelujah.
And when you know who he is, it put everything else in perspective.
Isaiah had an encounter with the Lord and he prophesied.
He put it into a better perspective like this.
In the 66th chapter, he says, thus saith the Lord, the heaven is my throne and the earth is my footstool.
And he goes on to say, where is the house that you build unto me?
And where is my place of rest?
In other words, he's so big that brick and mortar cannot
contain him.
He's so big that ideology cannot describe him.
Religion cannot hold him and a diagnosis cannot stop him.
He is not a doctor or a practitioner.
He is not practicing on you.
You are not a guinea pig, but he is the great physician and he's the great I am.
Forever Sunday.
Our God is not limited by our HMOs and our PPOs.
He is not subject to Blue Cross, to Sutter or Kaiser.
He is not confined by legislation, regulation, time or space, co-pays or insurance, but he is El Shaddai.
In 1 Kings, they wrote it like this, but it is possible.
Is it possible that God would really live on this earth?
Why?
Even the skies and the highest heavens cannot contain you, much less this temple I have built.
That's what Solomon said.
He said, and yet, O Lord my God, you have heard and answered my request.
Another version says, you will listen to the loud cry
cry and the prayer which your servant prays for you today.
Do I have a witness in the house?
He's so big, but he comes to see about me.
He's so big, but he'll go with me to the doctor's appointment.
He's so big that he'll walk with me on my job.
He is a big God, and yet he's still mindful.
I
Who art man that thou art so mindful of him?
He's mindful of your going in and coming out.
He's mindful of your hard days and your rough times.
He's mindful from the valley to the mountaintop.
He is a mindful God.
Somebody say amen.
I'm just trying to get you to see, church, how big our God is.
You better start telling your little bitty problems about how big your God is.
Come on, cancer is not Lord.
Depression is not Lord.
Sickness is not Lord.
Anxiety is not Lord.
Divorce is not Lord.
But Jesus Christ and him crucified, he is Lord.
What about Sunday?
Somebody say, He's Lord.
He's Lord.
Whatever you're in, it might be a battle.
It might be the worst storm of your life.
I come to tell you right now, He is Lord.
He will slip on the side of your road and you'll have tears all down your face and He'll remind you, Lord, I am with you always.
Sunday, even to the ends of the earth, I'm with you.
Somebody look at your neighbor and say, He's with you.
He's with you.
You don't have to go through this battle alone.
He's with you.
He's your healer.
Somebody keep me on track and say lesson two.
Y'all ain't doing me right now.
Lesson two.
Healing is not about feelings.
It's about faith and partnership.
Somebody say faith and partnership.
It's about faith and it's about partnership.
So those terms we just went over, him being supreme, you ought to come into partnership with him.
You ought to come in alignment with the weight of who he is.
He was both Lord and he is Christ.
Christ broken down in the Greek meaning Christos.
He is the Messiah.
He is the champion.
chosen one.
He is the anointed one.
And that word in the Greek, it breaks down when we hear it in English.
We hear Christ, but make no mistake about it.
Christ is not his middle name.
It is not his nickname.
It is not his hashtag or his Twitter handle.
It is not a man.
He is not a strategy.
He is not an energy or a vibe.
He is not a trend.
He is not an ATM
He is not your genie in the bottle.
He is not your flavor of the month.
He is not your backup plan.
Oh, I wish I had a witness.
He is the plan.
He is the alpha and the omega, the beginning and the end.
Oh, I feel the Holy Ghost right there.
Somebody in here know him.
Oh yeah, he is my plan.
Hallelujah.
He writes my story.
Hallelujah.
He is the author and the finisher of my faith.
Can you say amen?
It's interesting when we find that word Christos and we look at it even in the Hebrew, we find the word salak.
And that means to pardon or to spare.
And it's interesting, it also means to forgive.
And we may ask, well, what does that have to do with this healing?
I'm glad you asked that question because you're such a good Sunday school student.
It's so interesting that when we find the word forgiveness as it even translates in the Hebrew with the word Christ, we find ourselves earlier in the book of Luke, amen, and we find that there was a testimony of a paralyzed man.
This man had no way to get to Jesus.
Oh, but he was connected to community and the community helped him to reach Jesus.
They were able to lower him
down into the sanctuary where he can receive his healing.
Oh, I feel the Holy Ghost on that.
You ever had somebody pray for you when you could not pray for yourself?
You ever had somebody cover you
When you were broken and in despair, you ever had somebody come and see about you?
Hallelujah.
That's why it's so important to be connected to community.
Amen.
And even it was interesting because he told them your sins are forgiven.
Somebody in the room today needs to know that your sins are forgiven.
that they are forgiven.
Hallelujah.
The worst thing we could ever do is not forgive our own self.
Hallelujah.
But God wants us to forgive ourselves.
Hallelujah, Jesus.
Because there are instances, amen, where we allow condemnation to separate us from God.
But I hear the word of God that says, there is therefore now no condemnation to them who are also in Christ Jesus.
Amen.
Isaiah prophesies about him this way in chapter 53.
He says, but he was wounded for our transgressions, bruised for our iniquities.
The chastisement of our peace was upon him.
And by his stripes, say that with me, church, we are healed.
There is power in the blood of Jesus.
There is healing in the blood of Jesus.
It is through his shed blood that we have remission of our sin.
Back in the book of Leviticus, the priest had to take an unblemished animal, a goat or a lamb, and they had
to take it as a sin offering and they had to sprinkle the mercy seat with the blood of that unblemished animal to atone or forgive us of our sins.
But how many of you know that there was one sacrifice that was good enough?
It didn't, now the sacrifice of animals did not work back then and I know it couldn't work today.
Can y'all imagine if we had to do that today?
I tell you, it wouldn't be no more animals in the zoo.
It wouldn't be no more Harris Ranch foster farms.
The whole entire meat department would be cleared out.
We'd all have to be vegan, but thank God for the blood.
Oh, some of us can say that because I know I messed up.
I need the blood.
I know I did not make the right decision.
I need the blood.
I know I didn't parent the first child right.
Come on, where my first child parents at?
But the blood of Jesus, he covers us.
Hallelujah.
Somebody give him glory.
See, we only got one person in the house trying to keep me on track.
She said, teach.
Lesson number three, thank you for keeping me on schedule.
He says, healing is not earned, it's received.
Healing is not earned, it's received.
When we find the term El Shaddai, somebody say El Shaddai.
El Shaddai meaning God Almighty, all sufficient God, amen.
That term is used over 48 times in the Bible, but the two books that it's used in the most is the books of suffering and that being Lamentations and the book of Job.
Isn't that interesting where we find his all-sufficiency and almighty strength?
We find it not on the celipostopedic.
We don't find it on the comfort end, but we find it in the presence of his suffering.
Paul said that if I would suffer with him, I would know him in the power of his resurrection and in the fellowship of his suffering.
Oh, somebody had to go through some suffering in the house of God.
Well, I can't.
I came to know him as my bridge over troubled water.
I came to know him as my leading post.
I came to know him as El Shaddai.
And I knew him when I didn't have the answer.
I knew him when I was broken.
I knew him when I was hurt.
I knew him when I couldn't call mama and I couldn't call daddy.
But I said, it's me, oh Lord, standing in the need of prayer.
Amen.
It's interesting that we find that term El Shaddai.
Job had to go through aggressive and reoccurring and symptomatic and back-to-back suffering.
He had to go through trial and physical and physical and relational and emotional and financial, amen, suffering.
Has anybody had to suffer a while?
I know we preach this new gospel where everybody is amen on a bed of roses.
But there's some things that we had to suffer.
My God.
There's a valley that we had to go through.
But I'm so glad.
My God.
that he meets us in the valley I'm so glad that we don't have to walk alone I'm so glad that even in the text of Job it's interesting how he suffered 42 chapters y'all 42 chapters of suffering but the Lord took one tiny verse in there and said that he restored double over Job's life
Oh, that's a word for somebody.
I don't know what chapter you're in.
You might be in the chapter of heartbreak.
You might be in the chapter of suffering.
You might be in the chapter of pain.
But how many of you know the scripture says, weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning.
How many of you know he will turn?
He will turn your midnight into dancing.
He will give you beauty for ashes.
I hear Joel say, and I will restore unto you the years, my God, and everything that the locusts, the canker worm, and the palmer worm has taken.
Somebody say amen.
Amen.
Okay, y'all going to mess me up.
Thank you.
Teach.
Teach.
El Shaddai.
El Shaddai came in and stepped on the scene with Job.
Has he ever done that for you?
I can testify that El Shaddai, the all-sufficient one, he stepped into my story.
When I was after 25 years of marriage going through a divorce, he stepped in with emotional healing and strength.
I'll tell you my story that El Shaddai stepped in over 26 years ago when I walked down
down that aisle to the altar and I heard him call, call me to a place of love and a place of refuge and I had the long Newports in my pocket, y'all.
Y'all remember those?
The long ones.
I had those in the back of my pocket.
Oh, but I'm so glad that he didn't let that stop me from receiving his love.
And I gave my life to him.
And over 26 years, he snatched the taste of addiction out of my mouth.
I don't know what has you bound, but I come to tell you that he will snatch you.
He will snatch things that try to keep you bound.
He will snatch, snatch you from the hand of the enemy.
His name is El Shaddai.
Somebody keeping me on schedule, y'all.
We got to get up out of here.
But growing up in the 80s, there was this movie.
It was called Rocky.
Y'all remember that movie?
and you had to watch the whole movie to see what was gonna happen after he called Adrian 50 times?
Adrian, where you at, girl?
I mean, come on.
What was interesting about that movie is in the boxing arena, they have over 17 weight classes.
They have strong weight and featherweight, lightweight and middleweight.
Y'all remember heavyweight in the days of Mike Tyson, they had heavyweight.
And they set up these fights and these matches by classification because they want to ensure that there is an equal opponent.
But somebody say he's big.
I come to tell you somebody where they can't find a match for him.
Cancer is not a match for my God.
Depression is not a match for my God.
It's a fixed fight because he's big.
He's bigger than sickness.
He's bigger than pain.
He's bigger than disease.
Somebody say period.
Period.
You got to put a period, oh my God, on your sickness and say that my God, he is able to do exceedingly, abundantly, above all that we could ever ask or think.
Mark chapter 10.
It's about a story of blind Bartimaeus.
They came to Jericho and they went out of Jericho with his disciples and a great number of people.
Blind Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, sat by the highway side begging.
And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out.
And he said, Jesus, thou son of David, have mercy.
Is there a cry out in the house of God today?
Jesus, have mercy on Venezuela.
Jesus, have mercy on my marriage.
Jesus, have mercy on my sickness.
Jesus, have mercy on my loneliness.
Come on.
But the Bible says that when he, amen, cried out, many charged him that he'll hold his peace and he cried out even more.
Somebody said more.
He cried out more a great deal.
And he said, thou son of David, have mercy on me.
And Jesus stood still, my God, and commanded him to be called.
And they called the blind man saying unto him, be of good comfort, rise.
Did you hear me?
He said, rise.
He called him and he casting his garments, he rose and came to Jesus.
This is a testimony about blind Bartimaeus.
This is a testimony about somebody who was blind and stuck in a cycle.
And every day he would go to this highway begging and begging and coming home empty.
I don't know who you are, but you get on the highway.
We ain't gonna talk about how you drive when you get there.
But like blind Bartimaeus, sometime we can go out and come back empty.
We can go to work and come back unfulfilled.
We can even come to church and come back empty.
Help me, Holy Ghost.
We can come and do all the things, whether it's the mom role, the dad role, the season that you're in.
We can do all the things.
Like blind Bartimaeus, it may not be the lack of natural sight, but the lack of spiritual sight.
But something happened that day with blind Bartimaeus.
Blind Bartimaeus couldn't see, but he could hear.
And the Bible says that when he heard Jesus, that he began to cry.
Since when did we get to a place, church, where our makeup and our Maybelline means more than it does to get into the presence of God?
Amen.
Since when did we get to that place, church, where our status and who we are, it matters more than getting in the place of God.
But blind Bartimaeus, he wasn't worried about that.
The Bible says that he cast his clothes on the floor.
He threw away his shame.
He threw away his hurt.
I can imagine he threw away his poverty mindset.
He threw away the way that they spoke about him.
They put his condition before his name.
Amen.
I don't know what they've been calling you.
I don't know what you've been ascribing to, but I hear the scripture that says he that is in Christ is a new creature that all things will pass away and behold, all things will become new.
What could we learn from a blind man this morning?
Could we learn that maybe sometimes I still don't see clearly?
Like the man that didn't have the capacity to see.
And Jesus, he spit on the ground and put his hand on his eyes and he asked him, how you see?
And he said, I see men as trees walking.
But Jesus said he touched him again.
Maybe under the sound of my voice, you need another touch.
Maybe under the sound of my voice, you've been going in a season and not able to see.
You thought, oh, if I have enough in my 401k and you have that number and you're still not full.
Maybe you thought if I have kids and if I have a family and if I have all these things, but I hear the scripture, seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all of these things will be added.
So as we close our eyes and we bow our heads, Father, we're thankful.
We're so grateful that you can reposition our faith like you did the day that you encountered blind Bartimaeus.
That you can reposition us.
That even in the face of the opposition that says it don't take all that.
That we will have the courage to step forward and say, I need more.
That was blind Bartimaeus' testimony that day.
I need more.
I don't want to go through the routine of life, standing in the highway, empty.
Standing on the board at work, empty.
Standing as a mom, as a dad, as an aunt, as an uncle, empty.
But Lord, I need another touch.
I'm gonna give this call to those who say, you know, like blind Bartimaeus, I heard something different today.
That was blind Bartimaeus.
I heard something different today.
I hear that Jesus is passing by.
And maybe you may be thinking, well, Lord, I kind of have a little butterflies.
I'm going to be nervous and I don't want anybody to see me.
But the Bible says the day you hear his voice, harden not your heart.
So I'm going to ask you if you would partner with me and if you would raise your hand if you're ready for change and you're ready for salvation and you're ready to take that next step and you say, I'm tired of being sick and tired.
I don't want to figure it out myself.
I see hands that are lifted up all over the room in the name of Jesus.
I'm tired and I want a new walk with the Lord.
This is for the one I've never accepted you, Lord God, in my heart.
Or it's been a while and I need to rededicate my heart to you.
If you would join me and slip that hand up proudly like Blind Bartimaeus did.
He didn't care who saw him.
He didn't care.
He said, Lord, I know that I'm standing in need of you.
I know I need you.
And if you've raised your hand and you've confessed him as your personal savior, then we believe that you got born again.
And so we all rejoice all over the room.
Can we put our hands together for those that decided to give their life over to the Lord?
Hallelujah.
Hallelujah.
And we're going to come alongside you and we're going to pray this prayer of faith.
All of us are going to join with a host of angels in celebrating the best decision that you've ever made.
Amen.
Is there a witness?
That's the best decision that you have ever made.
And so we're going to pray this prayer of salvation together on the count of three.
One, two, three.
Dear Lord Jesus, I know that I am a sinner and I ask for your forgiveness.
I believe you died for my sins and rose from the dead.
Right now, I turn from my sins and invite you to come into my heart and life.
I want to trust and follow you from this day forward.
I confess you as my personal Lord and Savior.
Thank you for saving me.
In Jesus' name, amen.
Come on all over the building.
Let's celebrate.
Let's celebrate what the Lord is doing as we can stand.
Can we stand as we get ready to pray and dismiss?
There may be some here...
They say, well, I get that, but I still need more.
The prayer ministers are here.
You don't have to leave here like you came.
They're here to pray with you and for you.
Our arms are wide open, church.
We are a community.
We are a family.
It's real life.
We deal with real life stuff, and we do life together.
So I want to encourage you right after we dismiss to come.
If you feel and you sense the Holy Spirit that is guiding you to come up for prayer, it can be the best decision of your life is prayer.
We're going to touch and agree for healing as we close and then we'll be dismissed.
Father, in the name of Jesus.
We thank you for your healing power.
We thank you for your word that comes to set the captive free.
You said, it is not by might nor by power, but by my spirit, says the Lord.
So Father, we pray that your spirit would move in this place.
We pray that the shackles of addiction will be broken.
We pray that the captive will be set free.
We pray that you would give us clarity and understanding and that Father, you would bring us to a closer walk with you.
Lord, we speak.
Healing in the name of Jesus.
We plead the blood of Jesus right now, and we declare healing from the crown of our heads to the sole of our feet.
We are healed by your stripes.
We are healed by the shed blood of Jesus.
We are forgiven of our sins, God, and we have access to you.
We can come to you.
We don't have to do a form or fashion, but you said we have access, so we come.
We come in the name of Jesus.
Open our hearts that we may receive a closer walk with you.
It is in Jesus' name that we pray.
Let the church say amen.
Amen.
One more thing before you leave.
If you prayed that prayer with us, we believe that you were born again.
Please see our friend Jeff in the back so he can walk you through next steps and we can be able to put a gift in your hand.
Amen.
Please come for prayer.
Amen.
And we're grateful for what God is doing.
May God bless you and keep you is our prayer.