Stretch Out Your Hand

I feel something so strongly in my spirit today,

and God spoke to me this week, and he brought

me back to this passage, and I just want to be

a blessing to somebody today. I want to minister.

Mark 3, verse 1, it reads this way, and he entered

Mark 3:1

the synagogue again, and a man was there who

had a withered hand. So they watched him closely,

whether he would heal him. on the Sabbath so

that they might accuse him. And he said to the

man who had the withered hand, step forward.

Somebody say step forward. And he said to them,

is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to

do evil, save life or to kill? But they kept

silent. And when he had looked around at them

with anger, being grieved by the hardness of

their hearts, he said to the man, stretch out

your hand. And he stretched it out and his hand

was restored as whole as the other. Today, I'm

going to preach with God's help. Stretch out

your hand. Stretch out your hand. Someone say,

stretch out your hand. I'm going to invite you.

I want you to unite with me in prayer right now

for God to do the impossible in our midst. I'm

going to invite you to close your eyes. If you

want to lift your hands, you can do that. If

you want to extend your hands this way, you can.

But I want you to, with faith today, I want you

to unite in prayer and let's believe God to do

something in our midst. Father, we love you today.

We thank you for your presence that is abiding

in this place. You were waiting for us. The moment

that we stepped in, you were already here, God.

Father, but we're not just here just to sing

and have a good time, but to be strengthened,

changed, convicted, empowered by the word. And

I pray, God, that you would anoint the ears and

the hearing of all that are gathered today, God,

so that this word would fall on good ground.

Father, right now, I declare healing in this

place. I declare restoration in this house right

now, God, of the mind, body, his soul, and spirit,

God. God, from the crown of someone's head to

the soles of their feet, God, I declare emphatically,

Lord, restoration, God, and miracle power in

their life today. Oh, hallelujah, God, I declare

it, God, right now. And I bind, God, every spirit,

God, contrary, every foul, every resistance,

Lord. In the name of Jesus, God, and I declare,

God, that your will be done on earth as it is

in heaven today, God. We live you, Lord. Why

don't we give God some glory right now? Come

on, why don't we praise God in advance? Hallelujah.

Thank you, Jesus. Thank you, Lord. Thank you,

God. In Jesus' name, in Jesus' name. Amen. Amen.

You may be seated in God's presence. Oh, hallelujah,

Jesus. Help me today, Holy Ghost. The miracle

that we read in this text is probably familiar

to many of us, and it's certainly not the most

dramatic miracle or healing that Jesus performed

in his ministry. Here we have a nameless man

who is not living with a life -threatening situation.

There's no sense of urgency. It's not a race

against time like we've seen in other miracles

that Jesus performed in which time was of the

essence. It was critical, urgent, or perhaps

Death had already come, but in this case, what

we find is just an individual with a crippling

dilemma in his life, a physical need that had

affected his entire way of life. But again, it

was one of those things where it wasn't life

-threatening. He wasn't in ICU. He wasn't on

life support. They hadn't pronounced him dead.

He just had a crippling problem in his life.

He just had a withered hand. And he showed up

that day to the synagogue, which was a place

to come and hear the word of God. It was a religious

place for the Jews to come and be taught. the

Torah, we taught the law. And so he was there,

perhaps like he had been every other Sabbath

prior to that. The text would lead us to believe

that the man had a habit of being there, that

he was a regular attender, that he was someone

who had the practice of being at the synagogue.

And so in many respects, this was just, Any other

Sabbath for him? Went through his routine and

got ready, washed up, put on his Sabbath best,

and went into the synagogue to hear the word.

Perhaps he sat in his typical seat, did his normal

routine, greeted people, did the thing that he

normally does. All the while, he is cradling

this secret. in his life and doesn't announce

to anybody that he's got a problem. Doesn't come

in, you know, seeking attention. In fact, the

nature of his problem was one that he could hide

and perhaps mask from others knowing what was

going on. It wasn't like he was incapacitated.

It wasn't as if though he was blind and needed

someone to guide him. There was nothing on the

surface that would announce to the public or

others that he had a need in his life. So he

was able to just, I guess you could say, slip

under the radar. Just come to the synagogue Sabbath

after Sabbath and worship and listen and all

the while. being broken at the same time. And

if you think about it, it's not so different

from what happens today, even in the church.

You know, it's possible to go to church Sunday

after Sunday and still not get what you need

from God and still be cradling something in your

life that has withered, that is hurting, That

needs healing. Week after week, same routine

like this man, and not be completely healed.

Totally free or whole in your life. And after

a while, what begins to happen, the longer you

live with a condition, whether it's physical,

mental, emotional, the longer you live with a

condition, the more you begin to accept it, its

place in your life, you accommodate. You make

concessions for it. You excuse its presence in

your life. You just learn to live with whatever

that is. You learn to live with that problem.

You learn to live with that dilemma and just

accept it as normal. This is just the way it

is. Like we say, you know, it is what it is,

right? This is just my lot in life. Maybe this

is just the thorn that God won't remove, or this

is just my life. This is what I'm going to have

to deal with. And so you get to a point as time

goes on where, if we're being honest, you don't

even expect anything to change anymore. Oh, I'm

going to need some help today. You don't even

expect it. You don't even pray for a miracle.

You just stop asking or you stop believing. Your

mind just kind of goes somewhere else, even when

the preacher makes that altar call or even when

that moment comes in front of you. It's just,

you know, you learn to just sidestep or dodge.

You know, that's not for me. That that's not

my word or that's not because this is just my

reality. And I'm just going to have to cradle

this thing. I'm just going to have to deal with

whatever this is. And so the longer time goes

on, we just begin to accept those things. And

I believe that that is probably what this man

did. You know, not like he was complaining. He

wasn't even calling out like others did. You

know, son of David, have mercy on me. He just

was minding his own business. Going to church,

being a good, you know, just a good Sabbath attender

and doing what he's supposed to do and probably

not bothering anybody, minding his own business,

you know, checking in, checking out. You know,

he had his routine, and he was there not expecting

anything to happen, but little did this man know

that God had an appointment with him. Little

did this man know that on that day, And then

he woke up, brushed his teeth. Well, I don't

know if he brushed his teeth. Hopefully he did.

Amen. Brushed his teeth. Amen. Combed his hair

with the good hand that he had. Or maybe his

wife helped him. And we're going to go to church

today. He just went out of religious duty. This

is what we're supposed to do. This is what I've

been taught to do. This is what I've been trained

to do. So we're going to church. If he had kids,

we're all going. Even if you don't want to, you're

going. Get in the car. We're going to church.

And so this was his mindset. But little did he

know that on that day, God had pointed him out.

God had marked him. God had set that day aside.

That on this day, it would be like no other day

that had ever occurred in this man's life. Because

on this day, different than all the other days,

Jesus was going to be in the house. And any time

Jesus is in the house, my friend, that changes

everything. Oh, I wish I had a witness here today.

I said that changes everything. When Jesus is

in the house, let me tell somebody today, anything

can happen. I said anything could happen. Now,

if it's just me in the house, you might be disappointed.

If it's just your neighbor in the house, that

might fail you. But if Jesus is in the house,

I don't care how big, how ugly, how problematic

your situation is in your life. If Jesus is here,

anything is possible. So Jesus walked into the

synagogue that day, not just to preach a sermon,

but to perform a miracle, to heal and restore.

But I want us to just kind of set the temperature

for you in that room today, for you to understand

that while this man's miracle or his need Doesn't

rise to the level of urgency or importance as

others that we read in the Gospels. There are

some surrounding circumstances in that synagogue

on that day that almost counted him out. That

almost got in the way between him and his restoration.

And so the background to the miracle, there's

a few things to consider. I want us to consider

the religious background. The religious background.

Because as we read, you cannot read this short

passage, and it occurs in all the other Gospels.

You cannot read this short passage, all the Gospels

except for John. You cannot read this short passage

and not, if you really invest in the reading

of it, feel that there is some tension in the

room. Almost so thick you can cut it with a knife.

As Jesus walks into the synagogue. He immediately

realized not everyone is happy that he's there

that day. Not everyone is happy that he's there.

There were some Pharisees that were in the synagogue

that day, and these Pharisees were up to no good

in the sense that they were not there to believe.

They were not there to really learn or change

or respond to the word. They were there to resist

and to find fault with what was going on. They

were there as kind of like detectives and policemen

to watch what was happening. And they were investing

their time more into inspecting what was happening

instead of benefiting from what was happening.

And they wanted to catch Jesus. They wanted to

catch him in a mistake so that they can accuse

him of blasphemy. They can accuse him of whatever

it is that would discredit his ministry. And

these Pharisees were very religious people, ultra

-religious, in fact. They were experts in the

law. They knew it frontwards and backwards. These

were people who invested their whole life into

studying, practicing, and regulating the laws

of Moses. And so when Jesus steps into the scene,

He obviously threatened to upend all of the things

that these that these men who many of them were

were hypocritical in their in their life, because,

you know, while they were like policing others

and being the you know, the the watchmen of the

religious community were hiding dead men's bones,

you know, behind them said they they had issues

of their own that they were not publicizing.

But but the case being they were there that day.

And they wanted to catch Jesus in a mistake so

that they can discredit him and accuse him and

say, ha, he's not the man you think he is. And

they were religious. And this was the context,

the religious context. Now, this is an important

part of the story. We're going to get to some

of the good stuff later and the restoration and

the miracle, but it's important to understand

the forces that are at work in this story and

how they were working against Jesus Christ. Now,

there's nothing wrong with religion. Even the

Scripture says that pure religion is undefiled

before God. Amen. What happens, however, is that

religion can become bad if and when it misses

the higher mission of Christ. When we become

so religious or so routined or predictable in

our spirituality that we try to put God in a

box. Help me, whole legos today. We try to limit

what God can do and how he can do it. Amen. And

this is where religion can come bad because,

you know, we can even become religious about

our religion. We can become religious about,

well, it's got to be this way and it's got to

be that way and it's got to be. Now, God's a

God of order. We understand that. But there comes

a point in time where God is God and he will

at times move in such a way that doesn't always

line up or doesn't always move according to our

expectations. And so what Jesus did is he challenged

these people. He said, is it lawful? Because

they had an issue with him working on the Sabbath

because that was supposed to be a day of rest,

not supposed to do anything. So he asked them,

is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good? Or to

do evil. To save life or to kill. And he's posing

this simple but profound question to them. Like,

what is more important today? That we be strict,

ardent followers of, you know, just by the letter

of the law to the point that someone misses their

miracle? And look, the Bible says they kept silent.

They kept silent. Why? Because they knew the

answer. But they didn't want to confess it. The

answer was, well, of course it's okay to make

an exception sometimes. Of course it's okay.

The law is not greater than a life being saved.

And so they kept quiet. They didn't say nothing.

No amens, no nothing. Not going to say nothing.

I'm not even going to wink at him. Because they

knew in their hearts. that they were wrong but

they couldn't they didn't want to they didn't

want to project that because they had an image

to uphold they had a persona they had this idea

that they wanted that you know we're superior

we're better you see many times god wants to

operate He wants to heal. He wants to deliver.

This is where I'm going. I'm going somewhere

with all of this. He wants to move. Amen, somebody.

He wants to perform. He wants to move in our

midst. He wants to deliver. He wants to set free.

But the religious mindset can become an unbelieving

mindset and says, well, now is not the right

time. A religious mindset can become an unbelieving

mindset that says, well, it's not the right Sunday.

You're not the right preacher. They didn't sing

the right song. It's not the right temperature.

It's not a revival weekend. They didn't bring

the brother, you know, who does this or that.

It's not the right day. I'm not even wearing

the right outfit. Oh, my God. I didn't bring

my running shoes today. Hallelujah. Well, you

got to bring them in the car at least. Hallelujah.

You know, and we have all these parameters that

we put. And what we're doing unknowingly is putting

God in a box. And say, no, no, no, you can't

move. Not today. I got plans after service. God

can't move like that right now. You know, and

so we've. We've got all these things that could

get in the way of what God wants to do. And this

is why we ought to, every time we come into the

house of God, have an open agenda. Amen. A blank

slate for what God can do in our life. Because

this could be the day. I feel this in the heart.

This could be the day right now. Could be the

moment that God blesses you in such a way that

erratically transforms the rest of your life.

I wish I had a believer here this afternoon.

Clap your hands and give God some praise today.

And so Jesus didn't fit into their paradigm,

their box. And so that's why they rejected it.

And there are other times Jesus could not perform

many miracles in certain places because of the

unbelief. And the same thing can happen today.

So this is the background, the religious background

that Jesus is in the middle. But even that cannot

stop a move of God. I mean, he did get angry.

You read it. Jesus got angry. He was grieved

by the hardness of these people's hearts. He

said, man, why are you resisting so much? And

he got grieved. But he said, you know, I'm going

to show you something anyhow. I'm going to show

you I'm God. And so today, we're taking the limits

off of God. Hallelujah. We're saying, God, our

prayer needs to be, God, have your way. Do what

you want to do, Lord, in my life. And then there

are the personal things, personal background

that this man is dealing with. And I told you

that his need was not urgent or life -threatening,

but it was still life -crippling. And for him,

It was everything. This is the man who learned

how to function with a withered hand. Luke's

gospel tells us it was his right hand. And he

had accepted this condition, learned to live

essentially with one hand tied behind his back.

And this hampered his life in several ways. I

want to point out a few of them for you today.

I could go kind of deep into each one, but I'll

just sort of highlight them for you. to see how,

regardless of how insignificant it seems on the

surface, this man's life was affected. Missed

opportunities. Missed opportunity. His calling

and career, both secularly and religiously or

spiritually, were crippled by his unused potential.

You realize, just like today, many of the tools

are made. with a right -handed person in mind.

I don't know how many left -handers I have out

there. I know my son is one. We've got another

over here. There's some stores where you can

go and buy left -handed scissors. If you're a

right -handed, you don't even think about that.

Most scissors are made for right hands. You've

got to buy left -handed scissors to do that.

And back then, everything was made for the right

hand. So, unless he had custom -made tools and

all that, which I doubt he did, he was limited.

Made it impossible for him to fulfill his potential

and his calling, even if he can think it, dream

it, imagine it. He couldn't materialize it in

his life because he had one hand tied behind

his back. Some of you today are dealing with

something that's withering your sense of purpose

and your potential. You say, ah. Now, pastor,

it's nothing but, is it? Because are you living

life with one spiritual hand tied behind your

back? Oh, my God. Unable to reach your potential

in the Lord. Secondly is his relationships were

affected. The right hand, just like it is today

in many cases, is the hand that we extend to

greet, to shake someone's hand, to offer a hand.

And without that hand, it limited his ability

in social situations. Imagine every time somebody

put out their hand to greet him. Hey, God bless

you, brother so -and -so. And he's like, oh,

you know, he doesn't know about my other hand.

Imagine the awkwardness. So what does someone

like that begin to do? Avoid situations where

they have to shake people's hands. So he's probably

the... First one to leave. Why? To avoid having

to talk about, explain the hand. Then I got to

go into the whole story of how it happened. I'd

rather not even get into it. I'd rather just,

you know, avoid it. And so imagine his relationships

were strained because of that hand. Ah, now we're

starting to see how this could have isolated

him in some ways and kept him guarded and lonely

and afraid to be, you know, misunderstood or

judged or shamed because of that hand. And maybe

there is somebody today that because of the crippling

problem in your life, physically, spiritually,

mentally, it has limited your ability to connect

in fellowship and relationship. and connection

with other people, with the body of Christ, with

your loved ones, with your spouse, with your

family, with your children. But let me tell you,

when God restores that area of your life, it'll

restore everything else in your life. Your relationships

will get restored. Your marriage can be restored.

Hallelujah. Even his worship is affected by it.

Think of it. He couldn't lift both hands. We

take that for granted, don't we? The worship

leader said, lift your hands. And our hands go

up. Imagine when they said lift your hands. You

see the scriptures all throughout the Psalms.

There were Psalms and there was times of rejoicing,

lifting up of the hands. And when it's time to

lift the hands, well, he's only got one. And

I think God accepted that one hand. I don't think

God rejected his worship because he only had

one hand to lift, but this is more about how

the man felt about it. The fact that, man, I

really wish I could give God more of my worship.

I envy the way that brother lifts up both hands,

holy hands in the synagogue. I envy the way that

family holds hands. Oh, you see, the husband's

got one hand in the air, and then he holds his

wife with the other hand. Oh, I wish I could

do that. But he couldn't do any of those things.

Why? Because he had a withered hand and it affected

his ability to worship God the way that he really

wanted you. And I said, maybe somebody today

feels spiritually stuck like you're giving God

incomplete worship. I really were. I can really

worship the way that I want to. I wish I can

really give God more of my praise and more of

my worship. But this problem, this crippling

thing in my heart, in my life, in my spirit is

not allowing me to give. the real worship that

I want to give him. Oh, but today you can lift

up whatever worship you've got. You can give

God even in the midst of your pain, even in the

midst of your problem, and you'll watch how God

will begin to move in the other areas of your

life. But when God restores you... When God heals

that withered place in your life and in your

heart and in your car, when God heals it, he's

going to restore your ability to worship him

in a whole new dimension. Worship him. Can you

imagine the next Sabbath he went to church? Can

you imagine? He was probably like this, jazz

hands, right? He's like, I'm back. Can you imagine

his hands? Who's that brother back there? I don't

know who he is. He kind of looked like brother

so -and -so from last week. He said, yeah, but

he's got both hands lifted, and he won't stop

shaking them. Hey, when God. heals your life,

when he heals your heart, you worship him in

no other way. Somebody bless him right now. Somebody

lift up the name of Jesus today. Just give me

a few more moments of your time. Hallelujah.

Broken blessings. I'll try to go a little quicker

through these ones. The right hand was the hand

used to transfer blessings throughout the Old

Testament. This was the Hebrew custom that fathers

would bless and would transfer wealth and all

sorts of things. Even financial transactions

were done with the right hand. Signatures with

the right hand. And so without his right hand,

he is limited in his ability to give, to impart,

and to bless. And maybe perhaps you feel that

way today. Oh, but God wants to restore your

ability to bless again. He wants to restore your

ability. Hallelujah. When he heals you, the door

to being a blessing is going to be reopened in

your life. Oh, hallelujah. And let's get to the

last one, which was strength. He had a loss of

strength. In the Bible, the right hand was symbolic

of power and authority. Oh, the right hand. The

Bible says Jesus sitting at the right hand of

God. There's something about the right hand that

represents salvation and power and authority.

And when that hand was withered in his life,

it represented a withering of strength and power

in his life. This man felt powerless. He felt

enabled in his life and in his home. But the

moment that God began to restore him on that

day, all of a sudden his power came back. of

a sudden, he's got a renewed sense of strength

in his life. All of a sudden, he believes, I'm

not just going to barely hang on anymore. I'm

not just going to barely make it anymore. I'm

not just going to be hanging on by a spiritual

thread anymore. I'm going to rise up. Hallelujah.

He shall renew my strength. I'm going to walk

and not be weary. I'm going to run and not faint.

That's my God. He shall give me the strength

of eagles wings. And these are the things that

would come back to his life in these moments

that God was there in. in the synagogue to deliver

him, to restore him. Oh, there is so much we

can look at these things, so many things that

we can relate to our own life, but the keys to

receiving our miracle today, the key, number

one, is you got to step out. Somebody say, step

out. Come on, shout, step out. The Bible says

that he said to the man who had a withered hand,

step forward. In other words, if you want what

I want to give to you, if you want to be restored

in your hand, if you want to be restored in your

life, then you're going to have to step out from

where you are. You're going to have to step out

of the place where you've been. You're going

to have to step out of your predictable routine

that you've been used to. You're going to have

to step out of the same seat and the same room.

and the same people that you've been around.

You're going to have to step out of the familiar

ritual, step out of your predictable behavior.

In other words, you're going to have to do something

different that you're not accustomed to doing.

You see, so many times we want God to bless us

and move upon our lives, but we want him to do

it on our terms. We want him to do it in a way

that brings minimal disruption and minimal convenience

to our lives. But God said, if you're going to

be here, If your mind and your spirit and your

body is going to be set free today, then you've

got to be willing to step forward. You've got

to be willing to put it all on the line. You've

got to be willing to say, God, I'm willing for

you to bless me today. So many times we miss

what God's wanting to do, not because he's unwilling,

but because we're unwilling to be obedient. When

God says step out, you've got to step out. Oh,

hallelujah. Can't tell you how many times I've

seen people miss divine moments with God, miss

holy moments, sacred moments of healing and deliverance

simply because they don't want to do anything

different than what they normally do. You say,

well, why can't God just bless me where I am?

Can I preach like I want? here today, somebody

say, go ahead. Why can't God just bless me where

I am? That's just not how God works. You got

to talk to Naaman. And Naaman, if you want to

ask Naaman, how do you get rid of your leprosy,

Naaman? He said, well, you're going to have to

step into the river, my friend. You're going

to have to put down your prestige. You're going

to have to lower your power. You're going to

have to remove all your garments and step into

the river and do something a little different

when God says to do it. Bartimaeus, do you want

to see again? You betcha. I want my sight back.

Well, you're going to have to throw aside your

garment if you want to get your sight back. Bartimaeus,

lame man at the pool. Jesus said, do you want

to be made? And he said, yes, I do. He said,

arise, pick up your bed and walk. The Holy Ghost

is calling somebody out today. I wish you would

pray in the spirit. He's calling somebody out

today. He's calling you out of your conformity.

He's calling you out of your comfort. He's calling

you out of your boundaries. God is saying, if

you want a different outcome, then you've got

to do something different. Don't be so predictable.

Come on, hallelujah. Don't just sit back and

wait for something to happen. Your God is in

this place, and he's saying, step out! From among

them. Come on, can we pray just for a moment?

As the keyboard comes and gets ready. Come on,

can we worship the Lord for a moment right now?

I'm going to invite somebody right now. Come

on. Why don't you begin to entertain his presence

right now? Come on, hallelujah. Come on, God's

talking to you. Why don't you begin to worship

him right now? Why don't somebody in this house

begin to heed? Come on. Why don't you begin to

heed the word of the Lord and begin to respond

in stepping out? your son. Hallelujah. Hallelujah.

Come on. God is working right now. I know it's

hard in here. I know it's not this and it's not

that. But God is working right now. Come on.

Come on. I need somebody to go there in the spirit

right now. Oh, my God. My God. My God. Somebody

right now. God's calling you to step out. I don't

know what it is, brother or sister, but you've

got to step out of that mindset that you've been

in. Some of you have been in a spiritual funk.

You need to step out of that funk today. You

need to say, I'm not going to let another Sunday

go by and not get my miracle. I'm not going to

let another Sunday go by and me not get healed

in my mind or in my body. my God, I've got to

step out. I'm not willing for this moment to

pass me by. You said, brother, why is it so important,

brother Jacob? I'll tell you why. It's about

obedience, brother. It's about obedience, sister.

Imagine if the man had just sat there and said,

well, I heard what the preacher said, but I'm

not going to get up because why should I anyways?

I'm comfortable right where I am. Oh, when Jesus

says, Sammy, this man said, whoa, I've got to

step out. I can't be I can't be joking around

with God. I can't be playing games with God.

I can't be, you know, you know, playing hard

to get with God. And so he steps up. And then

the second key is this. Not only must you step

out today, brother or sister, who shot. How many

of you feel the Holy Ghost right now? Come on.

Come on. Hallelujah. Do I got a real witness?

You feel the Holy Ghost today? Not only do you

got to step out, you also got to stretch out.

Someone say stretch out. Jesus said, all right,

now that you've stepped out, now that you've

stepped forward, you've put yourself in a position

to receive. Now you've got to take that withered

hand. Take that thing, brother or sister, that

you've been hiding. Take that problem, that crippling

problem. You got to stretch it out. I'm sorry.

But you're going to have to become vulnerable.

I killed it for somebody right there when I said

that. Pastor, you had me until you said that.

But you got to become vulnerable. Imagine what

this man was feeling. Like, Jesus, can you just,

like, heal me undercover? You want me to do what?

You want me to put my business out there for

everybody? You want to put my hand, my withered

hand, my weakness, my struggle, my pain? My condition.

Lord, I'm the one who prays for people I don't

get prayed for. And that's the problem. Sometimes

we need God to touch us. So he extends his hand

and watch as he extends his hand. Jesus didn't

have to pray again. Jesus said, okay, church,

now I want everybody to hold hands and we're

going to shout real loud. You know how we do

it in Pentecostals, right? He didn't do none

of that. As the hand went out, the dude was like,

oh, OMG. My hand is as whole as the other. Would

you stand on your feet today? Can I tell you

this afternoon that if you'll just step out in

faith today, God says, show me. that sick show

me the part of your life that needs to be healed

that needs to be restored that needs to be revived

that needs to be whole again show me stretch

it out