Carrying A Crutch - Bro Jesse Howell 12-14-2025

Amen. Don't you appreciate the Lord this evening? Amen.

I generally when I exit the poopet, I'm a little

sweaty amen, after preaching, and I just love it whenever

you get into the poolpit, a little sweaty Amen.

Amen.

You just feel a little extra amen, a little extra religious, heymen,

just feel a little extra good.

You know the Lord is visiting with you and you've worshiped. Amen.

You know that you've given God something. Heymen, It's just

been good to be in church with you all.

Amen. Throughout the day today.

I've greatly enjoyed the spirit of the Lord that we've

been made to feel.

Amen.

It's just been a sweet service. It's just been It's

just been a good day in the Lord, hasn't it.

Amen.

I just appreciate what all has been done thus far

in the service, ay been.

I want to say I do miss our pastor. Amen.

I much rather hear him preach this evening, and Amen, God,

but ready listen to him and so we miss him.

But I do want to say I appreciate this opportunity, Amen.

I appreciate the opportunity to preach here in my pastor's poolpit.

A lot of blood sweat and tears has been poured

into this work, Amen, And so I don't want to

fail Amen in my blood, sweat and tears whenever I

fill this gap here tonight, Amen, Amen, I want to

say thank you for the offering and for your giving.

Lord richly bless you.

I don't expect an offering, Amen, but I do appreciate

what each and everyone has done.

Amen. This evening, may God bless you. Amen. You could

turn with me.

Firstly here our golden text will be in the Book

of John, the fifth chapter a.

Man, so we'll read that.

That'll be our golden text this evening. First our reading

will be in the book of Luke. So hold just

place there in John chapter number five. We're gonna flip

over to Luke chapter number five. Luke chapter number five,

verse the starting in verse number eighteen. If you have it,

say amen, all right, that sounds like a good enough

portion of you to get started here. And behold, men

brought in a bed a man which was taken with

a polsy and they sought means to bring him in

and to lay him before him. Look down to verse

number twenty four. But this is Jesus speaking now. But

that ye may know that the son of Man hath

power upon the upon earth to forget sins. He saith

unto the sick of the posy, I say unto thee,

arise and take up thy couch, and go into thine house.

And immediately he rose up before them and took up

that whereon he lay, and departed to his own house,

glorifying God, number twenty six. And they were all amazed,

and they glorified God and were filled with fear, saying,

we have seen strange things today, Amen, flipping over to

our golden text near this evening, John chapter number five,

reading in verse number five. And a certain man was

there which had an infirmity thirty and eight years.

When Jesus saw.

Him lie and knew that he had been now a

long time. In that case, he saith unto him, wilt

thou be made whole? The impotent man answered him, Sir,

I have no man when the water is troubled to

put me into the pool. But while I am coming,

another steppeth down before me, and Jesus saith unto him, rise,

take up thy bed and walk.

And immediately the man.

Was made whole, and took up his bed, and he walked,

and on the same day was the Sabbath, which you

raise your hands to heaven.

And now the Lord to help us. God, we thank

you so much for your goodness and your kindness. God,

I thank you for all that you have done for us.

We thank you, Lord for this opportunity to come before

your presence with thanksgiving.

Lord, to lift up of praise to your name. God.

We thank you for how you've already met with us

here this evening. God, how you've already touched so many lives. God,

we ask for a little space of grace tonight, that

you would anoint the lives of Clay. God, that you

would annoint me to say only the things that you

would have me to say.

God, would you anort the ears of your people.

Lord, help us, Lord to take account of what the

Word of God says.

God, help us to lead this place joyfully, not sorrowfully.

In the name of Jesus, we love you, We thank

you in praise you, and we pray you in the wonderful,

lovely name of Jesus.

Amen and Amen, thank you for standing. Amen for the reading.

Here. For a title tonight, I'd like to use a

simple thought that I feel like the Lord laid upon

my heart, which is carrying a crutch.

Amen.

Noah Webster defines the word crutch as a source or

means of support or assistance that is relied on heavily or.

Excessively in our two texts.

Here this evening, we have been acquainted with two men

who had little to no strength of themselves, and they

relied totally or partially.

And they relied totally.

Or partially on what Scripture defines as a bed or

a couch.

Amen.

What kind of bet it was makes no difference to

their state.

Amen.

It could have been a cloth, or it could have

been a wood frame with a blanket of some sort,

But it makes no different The truth is is they

were nothing without these cots.

Amen.

Firstly, look again with me at the fifth chapter of

the Doctor's Gospel. There the in verse number of eighteen,

the Bible says, and behold, men brought in a bed

a man which was taken with a palsy, and they

sought means to bring him in and to lay him

before him. We learn here that this man has been

taken with a posy. This palsy is simply a state

of paralysis to some or all of the body. It

could this paralysis could have only affected his legs.

Amen.

I don't think it only affected his arms because he

was in this bed, Amen, But it could have paralyzed

his whole body or just a portion of his body.

But this palsy also would bring with it tremors Amen,

that he was unable to control. So his muscles would

would be totally paralyzed and then they would just uh

a spasm ount.

Yeah.

Amen, they were just uncontrolled movements that he was not

able to function him in his daily life because of

this palsy.

Here is Luke.

Here in the Gospel of Luke is someone that can

no longer or never has been able to be himself

or to do for himself. Here, when we find him

in scripture, he's totally dependent on these men that have

carried him. The Bible says he was born afore this gospel.

This this uh this this account here, I believe is

found in three.

Of the gospels. I believe it is Matthew, Mark and Luke. Amen.

John did not cover this gospel.

And if you, if you look and you study, Amen,

lou The other gospels focused on on a smaller realm

of Jesus' ministry. While John Amen, he focused on a

wider range of his ministry. He followed Jesus. I know

they all went with him, But in his writings he

followed Jesus, Amen, further out than some of the other disciples.

Then. Amen.

But this man here in Luke finds himself dependent on

number one, this bed that he lives on.

Amen. In number two, these people that bear him up. Amen.

At this point in his life, he is dependent on

this crutch. If you will, he can't function without this bed.

This bed has become his identity. It has become who

he is. With this bed. Without this bed, he is nothing.

Amen.

Secondly, look with me, and I'm gonna try to move

quickly here this evening.

Amen. Secondly, you can look with me.

In the fifth chapter of the Beloved's Gospel, John, in

verse number seven, he describes this man in the in

by the Bethesda pool as an impotent man. The impotent man,

reading worse number seven, answered him, Sir, I have no

man when the water is troubled to put me into

the pool. But while I am coming, another stepping down

before me.

Amen.

This word impotence simply means lameness or lacking strength to

move about or helpless Amen, or helplessness. You remember that

song the cortet saying, Amen, you may be helpless, asking

me this man was helpless. There was there was nothing

Amen that that that this with him in his state. Amen,

he was very disabled and he was unable to do

many of the things that I'm sure he would like

to do, Amen, or many of the things that he

would see people around him do. But because of this

case that he was in, Amen, he was bound to

this bed.

Amen.

You remember in the Book of Acts, chapter number fourteen,

Paul and barnabas Amen. They also encountered a lame or

an impotent man in the town of Listra.

Amen.

So this was a this is this is pretty prevalent

there in a few of the chapters there, Amen, where

you find people that are that are bound with these

paralysis or or palsies, or or impotent pele, the man

with the withered hand, there's there's disabilities in the written

in the Word of God that God has touched.

Amen.

But the man in John's Gospel has been impotent or

lame for some thirty eight years.

Amen.

Think with me now as this man lays here for

thirty eight years.

Amen. I don't. I don't know if he's spent the

whole thirty eight years.

It's very unlikely there he if he's spent it there

by the pool.

But those around this man, they now know him. Amen.

They now know that when they see this man, they

know where he's gonna be. They know what he's gonna

be doing, Amen, And they know that he when they

see him, he's gonna be on that cot.

Amen.

When they see this man, when they see where he's at,

when they go around where he's at, whenever they lay

eyes on this man, he's gonna be laying in that

bed that he's been laying in for all these years.

He's gonna be laying by that pool that he's been

laying in by for all these years.

Amen.

There's no doubt in my mind tonight that the bed

whereon he now lays has become his identity when the

people describe him in to their neighbor.

Amen. I really figure the conversation with something like this.

You know that man over there by the pool that's

on his bed, That man over there by the pool,

that every.

Time we see him, he's laying on this bed. That

man over there by the be there's the.

Pool that every time I see him, he's leaning on

this crutch.

Amen.

Had this bed had become something that he depended on,

It had become a crutch that he leaned on.

Amen.

Both men in our text felt helpless, no doubt, without

these beds. Amen, they couldn't do what they wanted to do.

They couldn't go where they wanted to go because they

were bound to these beds.

Amen.

And there may be one or two here tonight that

you've been on that bed that you're on for so

long that it has now become your identity. Amen. You

falling back on that crutch for so long that now

whenever everyone sees you, they expect to see you with

that crutch. They expect to see you on that bed.

Amen.

Whenever they lay eyes on you, they figure you're still

leaning on the same crutch.

Amen.

They just expect to see you laying by the same pool,

laying on the same bed. These town people knew when

they've seen this man where he would be.

They just expected it. Amen.

If something don't go your way, something don't go the

way you plan, then your mentality as well. I'll just

lay down here on this bed and I'll just fall

back on this that I've always fall I'm falling back home.

I'll just like the way I've always acted because I.

Didn't get my way. Amen, I'll try. I want the

Lord to help us tonight. Amen. Someone in town does

something that you don't like. Amen. Somebody in town treats

you like you don't like. Amen.

Somebody in the church says something you don't like. So

what you do is you run to the closet and

you pull that same old crutch out, You pull that

same old bed out that you've.

Been laying on for years, that you refuse to get

off of.

And now people see you go to that closet whenever

something don't go your way. They see you pull the

same old crutch out, and they watch you hobble away,

and they say, that's just what they depend on nowadays.

That's just what they do. That's just who they are. Amen.

Your pastor has been talking about our nature. Amen, that's

just the way they are. That's just the way they

act in situations like that. That ought not to be

in the house of God. Amen, that ought not to

be our nature in.

The house of God.

Just to fall back, Amen, to just revert back to

what we've always done.

Amen.

The man here at the Bethesda Pooh told Jesus when

the waters would be troubled, he'd make.

His way there. Amen. I believe he put forth an effort. Amen.

Perhaps he put forth a valiant effort. Amen, because he

told Jesus, when the waters are troubled, hey, I just

can't get there fast enough.

Amen.

He said, when the water's troubled, while I am coming,

another step with them before me. So he tells Jesus,

I try to get there. I'm trying my best to

drag myself along. I'm trying to weigh somebody down and say, hey,

will you help me get to the water. But before

I get there, someone steps in before me, and they

get their healing.

I wondered here this evening, this afternoon, rather as I studied,

if he ever made it so far.

That he was actually submerged before he realized he was

not the first in. I wonder if he ever got

so close that he almost made it. Hey, man, if

somebody was missue, if they got it through the pool

there and they went to throw him in, and right

before he hears somebody gone in first, and when he

came too, he realized I'm in this pool, but I'm

the same man that I was. I'm a still lame

and I've seen people come to the altar when.

The waters are traveled.

And I thought for sure, I thought for sure that

thou would be the night. I thought for sure that

they had made it in.

The pool that night.

But whenever I look around tomorrow, and when I look

the next day, they've crawled right back on the.

Bed that they were on.

They went back to the same crutch that they walked

on for years. I wonder if those around him ever wondered,

will this be the time he gets healed. I wonder

if there was ever those around him that went to

grab him and bring him to the pool, and they

were so excited because they felt like tonight today would

be the day that he would be healed. We have

brothers and sisters in this church that long for the

day that you make it into the pool.

And you quit falling back on the same things that

you've always.

Fallen back on, the same attitudes that you've always fallen

back on, the same friend ships and the same acquaintances

that you've always fallen back on. Think with me, if

this man ever made it to the waters, and whenever

he realizes I still can't move.

I'm in the pool, but I didn't get what I needed.

And he pulls himself up by his own strength or

by some other, and he crawls right back to the

same bed that he laid on for some thirty years,

some twenty years, twenty five years, however long he been there.

He had had this case thirty eight years. But I

don't think his parents put him there as an infant. Amen,

So twenty twenty five thirty years, however, I maybe he

was eight. I doubt it, Amen, But I wonder if

they've seen him go back to the same bed, Amen,

that he had laid on for years. Amen, let's move

on this evening. John chapter five, verse eight and nine.

And Jesus saith unto him, rise, take up thy head

and walk. And immediately the man was made whole, and

took up his bed and walked. And on the same

day was the Sabbath. Amen, Luke, chapter number five, verse

number twenty four. But that she may know that the

Son of Man hath power upon earth to forgive sins.

He saith unto the sick of the palsy. I say

unto thee arise and take up thy couch and go

into thy house Here tonight the words of Jesus is

a promise of mercy.

Amen.

This word bethesda means house of mercy or house of grace.

Amen.

Jesus didn't leave these men on their beds of helplessness forever.

Amen.

He says to them both, he said, rise and take

up that bed. Rise and take up that thing that

you've depended on for so many years. Rise and get up,

get the victory over that thing, Amen, that you have

been bound by for so many years. Rise, take up

thy bed and walk. Their story didn't end with their

dependence on their beds. Those cots were no longer their identity.

There's some of us that that court is our identity.

I grew up in this church and I love it

with all of my heart. And there's a good seventy

here tonight that this message probably don't even don't even

touch in any kind of way.

Amen. There's a few of us.

That I have watched. I have watched God try to help.

Then I've watched God try to reach out to you

and try to heal you and to try to pull

you off of that cot. And when God gets done.

When the pastor gets done, when the prayer warriors get done,

you run back to the crutch, and you run back

to the cot. Then you run back to the bed,

and you lie back down like a dog returning to

the vonnet. The story could have ended that way for

these men, But when Jesus gave them the opportunity to

walk away from that cart, and walk away from that bed,

and walk away from that thing you've always done, just

because that's what you do. What I've seen you do

is lay on a cot. What I've seen you do

is lay on a bed. My son a pooh crying

on me. Oh my, Jesus said, rise up and take

up your bed. It's time some of us get some

victory over some attitudes. It's time we get some victory

over some temptations.

You're gonna fight that.

You're gonna lay on that cart your whole life. Is

that gonna be your story? He laid there for thirty

a year.

The way I know that man.

Is lying on the cot helpless, can't help himself.

That's not gonna be my story.

I made up my mind just a few years ago

that I'll get off that cot.

I've been on that cot long enough. I told you

I love you.

I sleep and breathe this church alongside my dad, and

I have no desire to be a pastor, and I'm

not being your pastor tonight, but I cut my teeth

with some of you. That's how you want to be known.

I don't have this in my notes. I'm sorry. Is

that gonna be your identity? That's how you're gonna be known,

Brother Caleb. One day you said, I'm tired of this cord.

I'm tired of the same old place I've been at.

My whole life.

I got that way in my life where I said

I'm tired, I'm acting this way. I'm tired, I'm feared.

What you need is a maid of mind and the blood.

Of Jesus come on. What you need is.

To throw the bed away quite depending on the crutch.

You come through the pool, and I see you kneeling

these altars when the water's traveled, you feel these altars

up and Monday morning and Thursday morning, you go running

and you just get a crunch. You fall back on

the same thing. And I'm not mad, and I'm not

mean tonight, but I want to tell somebody you need

to start carrying a crutch, not using a crutch. I said,

you need to carry a crutch, carry that crutch that

you've laid on.

For so many years.

When Jesus healed these men, the first thing he said

is get up, Get up, Take up, Take up that

thing that you used to depend on, Take up thy bed.

Throw it over your shoulder, and march for heaven. When

will you decide that enough is enough?

And I've made up my mind that I won't go

back to the same things that I keep getting off of.

Pastor preaches and I get up. Pastor don't preach for

a while, and he half brother Jesse preach on a

Wednesday night, and you've lost everything you've had. I understand

that I ain't got half the annoying I pray the

dog one day, I do that I got. My pastor

has amen, But he shouldn't have to plower row every

service just to keep us in line. We should be

spiritually mature enough where our pastor don't have to preach

every single service to us about our crutch and about

our bed, and about.

Bad ways that we've been laying in for so long.

Pastors sick as a dog can't make it a church,

and he's gotta worry about you running back to the

way you were, running back to the way you've always acted,

just because that's what you've done and that's what you

know to do.

Both of these men's when Jesus said.

Take up thy bed and walk, Jesus didn't say leave

your bed right there. Jesus didn't say get off your

bed and leave us sitting right there and go out. Spiritually,

we need to leave that burden lying there.

Amen.

Both of these men obeyed the words of Jesus. They

took up their beds and they walked. Don't you know

when they walked down the highways after they met with Jesus,

and they had that bed strapped.

Across their back because Jesus told them to carry it.

When they walked through the highways, and they walked through

the alleyways, and they walked through the city streets, and

they walked through their job and they walked through Longhorn,

and they walked through Walmart, and they walked through Monsterley

Water and Sewer District. Amen, and they walked through Wilber

Funeral Services. That they've seen that bad thrown across that mass, buddy,

And he said they've got their victory. They're no longer

identified by the cot, They're no longer identified by the crush.

Take up your bed, take up your bad. They walked

through the streets carrying the crush as a testimony. I'm

not who I was. I'm no longer bound by this bad.

I'm no longer bound by this pool. But I've got

the evidence right here. They're not a change man.

I've got the id of this that I'm a new.

Creature in Christ, Jesus, all things have passed away, all

things are become new. I'd like to see some people

leave this church house tonight carrying the thing that wants

carry them as a testimony of victory. Aymen, would I

like to see some soldiers march out of this building

tonight with the victory?

Amen.

I'd like to see somebody, amen, take that crush, take

the way you've always been and the way I've always been.

Say this don't define me no more. I'm not known

die this bed. I'm not known die this God on

this couch. I'm known thy victory. When Jesus met these men,

they were completely dependent on these beds. They were laid

on these beds, and it was who they were, he

was who how everyone identified them and knew them.

Amen.

But when they walked away after God, after Jesus had arise,

take up thy bed and walk. When they walked away,

they walked away with victory.

Amen.

All hat too was one meeting with the Messiah. Then

they left that place with what was once their identity

and what they wants to depended on Amen, as victory.

The man was let down through the roof on a bed,

but he walked out with his bed in tow as

a testimony.

Amen.

He didn't get lifted back up through the roof. He

walked through the crowd. There was a great crowd of

people there that couldn't nobody get in. So they let

him in on a cod and he walked out with

that cod. God can make a way tonight. That's a

thing that you've always fallen back into or fallen back onto, Amen,

can be chained tonight. This message tonight is not a

throwdown on anyone, but it's a message to each one

of us that through God we can obtain a victory

once and for all. We don't have to keep going back, Aymen,

we don't have to be keep repeating the same cycle

over and over and over again, where we do good

and then we fall back, where we do good and

then we fall down.

Amen. The cycle can end tonight. Amen.

You can throw the bed away tonight. You can discard

the crutch tonight. I was reminded, I'm closing tonight. I

was reminded in my study this evening or this afternoon

of the account, they are in acts chapter number three, Amen,

versus number one through eleven, where the lamb lame man

sat begging at the beautiful gate, and he asked alms

of Peter and John.

But you know the story so well.

As Peter and John came up to the temple, Peter said,

look on us, sewer and cold, have I none.

Such as I have give by thee. Amen. So instead

of money, they offered this man healing Amen. And he

accepted that healing. Amen.

He didn't say no, I would just rather a few change,

a few coins, just to get me by for a

few more days.

Amen.

I don't need just pastor to preach one more sermon,

so I can give by for uh one or two

two more days.

Amen.

What we need is a healing, And I don't know

how I can help you tonight, Amen, because Pastor is

precious guts out to us and to us. Amen, this

man here by the gate beautiful accepted Peter and John's offer.

Peter and John said, I don't have no money, don't

have no silver, don't have no gold.

But what I have I give unto you.

This man was healed, Amen, at the mention of the

name of Jesus.

He didn't stay there at the gate begging.

The Bible says when he received his healing, he rose up.

He was chomping, he was leaping, he was praising God.

And let me tell you this.

Do you know where he went? Where was Peter and

John going to the temple? You know where this man went?

Peter John, where are you going? You look like you're

going to the temple. Oh, yeah, that's where I'm going.

I'm going to the temple. I think the man said

that sounds like a great idea. I'd love to go

to the temple. And this man goes with Peter and

John into the temple. Amen, I don't.

Know if he had his his old uh.

I don't know if he had his old uh beggar's

canteen with him still, ay Man, I don't know if

that was if he had that steal in his hand,

where he had sat at the gate for all those

years asking arms amen. But this time, if that canteen

was in his past, he wasn't asking for nobody. Hey, man,

he wasn't begging. That wasn't his identity anymore. He didn't

need the beggar's canteen anymore because he found healing. Suppose

he had it with him as he walked.

Down the aisles of the temple there.

As he walked around the temple, and everyone that looked

around said, is he gonna beg.

Wait, he's walking.

I recognized the canteen, but he's walking. And then he's

not asking for anything. But he's walking and he's leaping,

and he's praising God.

Because the Beggar's.

Canteen was a testimony. Yes I am that man that's

out there. Yes I am that one that lay there.

Yes I am that one. But I'm not paying anymore.

I'm not laying anymore. I'm not falling on that courage anymore.

I've got victory. That's not my identity anymore. Just then,

this evening come to a close. Your story's not over, yead.

The man's story didn't end at the Beautiful Gate. The

man at the Bethesda Pooh.

His story didn't end.

On a.

AMN. The man that was let down through the roof.

His story didn't end on a cot being lifted back

up through the roof. The story is not final yet.

The cot is not final yet. The crutch is not

final yet.

All we need.

All we need is an encounter, a life changing, life

altering encounter with Jesus. If you can get to Jesus,

you can have power over what you once depended on,

the crutch that you just couldn't go without, and you

couldn't be and you you just tried to live without it,

but you couldn't. You tried to do better, you just couldn't.

What you need is the blood of Jesus. What you

need is this, There is a meeting with.

The Son of God.

What you need is to fall at Calvary's foot. Amen,

fall at Jesus' feet, They say, God, I.

Don't want this to be my identity.

I don't want this to be how my uh my

church brothers and sisters know me. This don't have to

be the end of the story. This don't have to

be the end of the story.

What we need is to tell God.

I've tried on my own. I've done what I can do.

I've tried to drag myself to the pool. I've sat

at the gate. I've done what's within my power. I've

asked my friends for help. My friends put a hole

in the roof and let me down. But now, Jesus,

what I need is to meet you. My friends have

done all they can do. My pastor and my pastor's

wife has done all they can do. Now what I need.

Is a meeting with the Messiah. I'm done tonight.

I wonder if we have anybody this evening that would

say I don't want to go down.

Being known.

And I know that just got real pointed for an

altar service. But I don't want to be the one

that when everyone looks at me, they expect to see

me lying on the cot.

I don't want to be the one.

That when they expect they see me, they just expect

me to be out by the church, begging for arms,

just begging for a little something to get them till

the next week, just begging for something to get them.

To the next to the next season. What I want

to do is turned my life and.

Turn what I can't change over to the one that

can change me. Hey man, let's pray this seeming if

you feel like I feel like I've delivered my birden

this evening Waymen, I love to see somebody leave, not

walking on a crutch, but carrying a crutch out of

this building as a testimony through the miraculous, wonderful power

of God.

Amen.