DON’T Let Your Wounds WIN // Death, Defeated (Part 3) // Pastor Drew

Heat. Heat.

Amen. Good morning. Who's grateful to be

here?

Let's go. Uh I I don't know about you

guys, I as a dad of teenagers who are uh

one teenager, only one. only one and I'm

I'm working through that myself. But uh

uh who who are wanting more and more and

more things and needing more and and

everything's just getting more

expensive, right? I I now understand why

my parents when I was like 12 years old

was like, "You need to get a job." And

uh and they did. They had me I started

becoming a paper BOY WAY BACK IN the day

when there were these things called

newspapers.

Literal paper. It was made out of and

you'd get it on your porch and it was

amazing. I was one of those kids. Do we

have any other former paper boys out

there? Come on. We got a couple of us.

Yes. Let's go. We are a rare breed. And

uh I remember I would in order to make

this thing fun, I would uh I'd wrap up

the newspapers and I'd toss them out and

then I'd I'd get going and there was a

couple hills. I'd ride my bike and I'd

I'd have the newspaper like bag that

held it just hanging over my handles.

And I'd ride my bike and every once in a

while I'd get to a great hill. You know

what I'm talking about? And not a not an

uphill, that's a bad hill. I got to a

downhill. And there was one uh right

when I was done, my my newspaper bags

were empty and I start going down the

hill and my bags just start flapping in

the wind. I'M LIKE, "YES, I'M FLYING."

RIGHT. AND how fast can I go? And I'm

just I'm having a blast, right? I'm 11

I'm 112, something like that. And I'm

just I'm flying down this thing. And

then I notice one of my bags gets caught

in my front tire.

And I go,

I should probably stop. And I flew. MY

FRONT TIRE, BOOM, JUST STOPPED. It did

not slow down. It did not hit the like I

just and I remember flying over the

handles. I closing my eyes and then

getting back up. I because I remember my

wheel stopped like right over a street

grate and and I'm like 20 feet beyond

that. And so I just I slid and I'm

hurting. I got I got myself all down my

arm, my hip, all this stuff. I go back

to the house. I just I I like walk my

bike and I limp my way there. And uh and

and my older brother, Mason Milikin,

who's here in the room right now, I just

want to highlight. I love you. Thank

you. HE SAYS, "WHAT HAPPENED?"

AND I GO, I tell him the stories like,

"Oh, wish I could have got that on

video." And he walks away. That was it.

That was the whole thing. That's all he

said. Uh anyway, so it was like it had

to been like springtime because there

was still gravel all over the side of

the streets. And I just I was covered in

dirt and gravel and sand. And uh I

remember my mom having to like pick out

the gravel from my hip. It was the worst

right here. And I got this nasty scar.

And uh from it. But every what what what

I find is that every scar has a story.

And you may have a story. I would I I'd

love to have even after service today

when you go out to lunch, we say Sunday

lunches are for the church. So find

someone here that you may know or you

may not know very well and grab lunch

with them after. Maybe even invite them

over to your house if you got the

flexibility to do that and talk share a

couple good wound stories, right? What's

your best scar story that you got? Uh,

but today I want to talk about as we're

going through our death defeated series,

I want to talk about the the title of

the sermon is don't let your wounds win.

Don't let your wounds win.

This is as Jesus is coming out of the

resurrection

after Easter Sunday, we get to follow

him. And in fact, today what I want to

do is if we can open up in our Bibles to

John chapter 20. John chapter 20

John 20 · chapter mention John 20 · chapter mention

starting in verse 19. And what we're

going to be talking about is how Jesus

doesn't deny your pain. He enters it, he

heals it, and he turns it into a

testimony

and how what he does after his

resurrection and how he reveals himself

shows us this. So this is actually on

the evening of the first day of the

week. So this is the day Jesus rose from

the grave that morning. It is still

brand new and fresh. The rumor mill is

still getting out there. And some of the

disciples have seen him. Not all of them

have. And this is this is where we are

in John chapter 20 verse 19 says on the

John 20:19

evening of that first day of the week

when the disciples were together with

the doors locked for fear of the Jewish

leaders.

Jesus came and stood among them.

He's just there all of a sudden. He's

just in the room, right? Like

resurrected Jesus. He ain't hiding

nothing. Everybody knows he's the

Messiah already. And so he's like I'm a

teleport. That's what I'm going to do,

right? I don't know. I DON'T KNOW WHY HE

like he just appears in the room and uh

and he says he stood among them and

said, "Peace be with you." After he said

this, he showed them his hands and his

sides and his side. And the disciples

were overjoyed when they saw the Lord.

See, what's the very first thing that

Jesus shows when he comes and he meets

his disciples?

He shows them his wounds, his scars. He

shows them the marking to go, I am the

one. I am the one that was up on the

cross. I am the one that you have

followed. I am that is me. Is it's the

same wounds that show you

who I am and reveal to you my testimony.

And there's a few key lessons that I

want to pull out about lessons from the

scars of Christ that I want us to

highlight today. And the first thing

when he shows his scars, the first thing

that we see is that it that the pain

was real,

right? I don't know about you guys, I've

had times where uh in fact, it was last

January of 2025. We were doing a case

cleanout and we come here and we are

like making sure that everything's

getting set up right and or reorganizing

our portable systems and equipment and

all that stuff. And I don't know, I

don't remember what it was. I was back

there. I'm running. I'm needed up here

and I'm like, you know what?

I'm an athlete.

Who needs these stairs over here? So, I

jump up here and I did it successfully.

And I was like giving myself a round of

applause in my own head. I was like,

"Come on, Drew. Good job." So, I'm like,

"I CAN DO IT AGAIN." And so, I did it

again. And like I don't remember how

many times I did it, but at one point my

foot goes and I missed it. And my shin

goes, "I GOT YOU. DON'T YOU WORRY."

Right into the corner OF THE BRICK.

RIGHT. THAT BRICK RIGHT THERE. I STILL

got an issue with him. And I I popped up

and I was like, "That hurt." Ah, man.

Okay. But, uh, I I got to keep going.

And so, I didn't I didn't think as much

about it. I just like your shin's

sensitive, right? And I just I felt like

I was being a baby because I was like

that hurt bad. And uh a week later I saw

like I had a scab and it was still

there. Three weeks later it was still

there. Six weeks later it was and I was

like maybe I did hurt myself. Like maybe

I And still today I got like my shin

goes like

like it's got this little dent right

there because of this mark that I got

here. And I realized that the pain I was

feeling was real.

The things that I had experienced

was real. The scars on the hands and the

side and the feet of Jesus

reveals the depths of the pain. And

that's what that's what I want to I I

believe before we start on anything else

about your wounds won't win, before we

talk about anything else, we need to

acknowledge

what is actually

going on inside of our hearts.

We need to acknowledge the pain we have

experienced and encountered. to know it

may not be bad as the person uh there

some other story that you've heard but

your wounds your hurt is real and I find

it incredibly

incredibly curious

Jesus the healer of all things

he who created the body itself

he who who partnered with the father in

breathing galaxies into exist resistance

that Jesus when he's resurrected and

he's healed, he chooses to keep the

scars.

Isn't that crazy? He chooses to keep the

scars because God cares about your

hurts.

He cares about your wounds again and

again and again. We see this in

scripture. One of the first times we see

it is in Exodus when uh when Israel is

enslaved and they're crying out to God.

And Exodus 3:7 said, "The Lord says,"I

Exodus 3:7

have indeed seen the misery of my people

in Egypt. I've heard them crying."

He's heard your crying and I am

concerned about their suffering.

Not my suffering,

not my benefit. He says, "I am concerned

about them. I am concerned about you."

He comes and he sees what you have going

on in your own heart.

I'm amazed that the story of Lazarus,

the shortest verse in the whole Bible,

comes there and it just says, "Jesus

wept." And it all it it blows me away

because Jesus wasn't crying and then

goes, "Oh, you know what? Actually, I

got an idea. what if we just raise him

from the dead? He knew this was coming.

And the prayer he prays even after that,

he literally says in the prayer like,

I'm praying this prayer out loud so that

everybody else can hear. I'm praying it

for them. I'm not even really praying it

for me. Like you and I, we already know

this. And uh and he and he prays this

prayer and then he says, "Lazarus, come

out." So he knew he was that that

Lazarus was going to be raised from the

dead. Yet his heart, seeing the weeping

and the sadness of the people around

him, he wept not because it was

hopeless, not because he was mournful,

but because they were.

He sees

where you're at.

He sees your story. He sees your pain.

And in the darkest moments that I've

ever had, some of the most comforting

things he said to me is, "I've been in

this pit that you're in. And I've been

deeper in it than you even are right

now. Let me walk you out of it."

And it's the most comforting thing that

I ever had when when I when I feel like

sometimes maybe I'm just being a baby.

Maybe I'm just making a big deal out of

something. And and and he's like, "I see

where you're at. I see what you're going

through and I see that it may not be the

problem that that you're trying to

compare it to, but what you are

experiencing is deeply real. You ever

heard someone else go through something

and you're like, I've been through like

50 times worse than that and have a hard

time giving compassion to it.

Jesus

has been through infinitely more than we

will ever go through

and he enters it with deep compassion.

He says, "I see your hurt

and I show you that I came not just to

live the perfect stainfree

uh hurtfree

life that doesn't that's uninvaded by

anything in my heart, that people don't

come against me, that I am victorious in

all things." That's what I think God

coming to this earth in the flesh would

look like. Yet he comes in this

humility, in this brokenness, in this in

being all facing all this rejection, a

lot of it coming from his own family.

Did you know a lot of his family didn't

even believe that he was the Messiah

until he resurrected?

His own family thought he was crazy.

This is THIS IS THE TYPE OF REJECTION

that Jesus is walking through in this

moment in order to say, "I'm with you. I

feel your pain." So that the God who we

worship is not just up there going, "Oh,

that stinks. The world is really broken,

isn't it, man? You guys really messed

this up." We have,

but he's come in the mess with us.

And the first lesson

is that scars, hurts, wounds, they are

real.

Your past abuses, your past traumas,

maybe rejections, insecurities that you

have, Jesus sees them,

he gets them, and he wants to bring them

to life. And but just like just like any

injury, just like any sickness, the goal

is not to stay with the wound. So the

second thing that we see is that the

scars of Christ are healed.

So hurt demands

healing.

>> Yeah. How often do we not

How often do we just keep our hurt? I

was just uh I I I I heard someone say,

"Oh, no. Listen, they uh I I don't I

don't go to the hospital. I don't go to

the hospital. You don't understand.

There's this doctor that was really mean

to me. And so now that I'm sick, now

that I'm hurt, I don't go because I got

I got hospital hurt."

Hold on. Right. Like I don't I don't go.

I had a really mean waitress one day. So

I got restaurant hurt. I don't go to

restaurants anymore.

Yet guys, how often do we do that with

church with people who are giving

imperfect? Like we love we want to stay

in our wounds. I'm not saying it's not

legitimate. I'm saying we have to move

past the hurt. The hurt demands a

healing.

>> See, healing isn't pretending that it

never hurt. It's just stopping the

bleeding.

Come on.

>> I've got to I got to I got to stop

letting this thing own me.

This is And I I I think about uh a

pastor that I was under and he tells a

story about when he was younger and uh

he was running around outside barefoot

and he gets steps on something. It was a

toothpick and he gets this toothpick

just right inside of his foot and uh and

he goes to his dad and his dad's like,

"Suck it up. Pull it out." Right? AND

HE'S LIKE, "OKAY, OKAY, I'M GOING TO

TRY." AND HE PULLS IT OUT AND HE can

tell that like it just had like it

wasn't even a full toothpick. It just

had a sharp edge. Little did he know it

was a full toothpick and part of it

still left in there. And so he goes,

"Man, that hurts." And he's walking

around with this limp for a long time

and it just starts getting nasty and

swollen and green and p and he's like

he's like barely walking. The pain only

gets worse and worse and worse until

eventually he has to cut that thing open

and get the act to get the rest of the

toothpick pulled out. We have to let the

the words and the light and the hope of

Christ come into our wounds and pull out

the old things in order to get us into

healing.

>> There's some old I believe there's some

old things that God says if you want

healing of this, you got to let me

create a little incision.

You got to let me start to dig out this

infection.

And it's not going to feel good. It's

not an easy thing.

But if you want to be able to stand in

healing,

I must be allowed into the hurt.

Healing only comes from the healer.

Psalm 47:3 says, "He heals

Psalms 47:3

the brokenhearted

and he binds up their wounds." Jeremiah

Jeremiah 17:14

17:14 says, "Heal me, oh God, and I will

be healed. Save me and I will be saved

for you're the one I praise." I can be

confident that if I invite him in, if I

say,

"All right, I've had all these things

that I give to you. I give I I give all

of this like the easy areas of my life.

I give the things in my life that I like

to give. I give the areas of my life

that I'm really looking for improvement.

But this one this one's scary to me.

This one's hard for me. I don't

necessarily want to do I don't want to

walk through that forgiveness. I got to

be honest. I don't I don't want to walk

through the healing of this. I kind of

have become stuck to this. And healing

is something that had we have to go

through it again and again and again.

That's why Jesus says you forgive 70* 7

times because it's a it's a multitude of

completion. It's 7* 10. Seven is

completion. 10 is multitude. So it's a

multitude of a completion. And you got

to do that to a completion times seven.

Again, I got to forgive and I got to

work through that until I actually reach

a place of forgiveness. And then later

when it gets stirred back up and my

heart begins to go, don't you remember

again? And I got to walk through it

again. See this this scar that I

developed on my hip from that accident.

I had so much gravel in there that a

year later I I kept seeing this stuff

that like like I'd almost get these like

zits on it and I' and I'd pick at it and

then there would be gravel and my skin

is pushing gravel out for 20 years.

Over 20 years I still would go, "Oh man,

I'm getting another piece of sand. I'm

getting another something out coming

out." Like literally this is it's and it

wouldn't wouldn't be like nasty and

grotesque. It wasn't anything like that.

But the whole idea was that you're my

body was still walking through the

healing process again and again and

again and again. And you guys, we have

to receive the healing process of

Christ. Not just once and say done,

done. There's a big one. There's an

initial big one. But then I got to enter

back in.

>> Got to go. God, continue to remove the

rest of the junk out of my heart that I

have from this and heal me from this yet

again.

See, Jesus, his scars reveal. He didn't

stay in the grave. And praise God, he

didn't.

And so, he didn't invite us into a life

where we're stuck in a grave as well.

step out of the grave with him. Name the

wounds that you have and then give them

to Christ. But here's the problem. A lot

of times we're really good at naming our

wounds and really bad at giving them to

Christ.

In fact, the the next thing that I find

is

from the lessons of the scars of Christ

is in John 20. We're going to pull up

John 20 and he what he does is Thomas

then moves into this like doubting and

all the disciples say we saw him and

Thomas is like y'all are crazy. That's

not like I watched him die. And so he

says, "I I won't believe it until I see

a man that bears the same scars and I

can put my finger in his side." And that

that is until I see that I will not

believe. And Jesus shows back up in John

20 26. says a week later, about 8 days

later, Monday, 8 days after Easter, it

says his disciples were in the house

again and Thomas was with them through

though the doors were locked, Jesus came

and stood among them and said, "Peace be

with you." Then he said to Thomas, "Go

ahead, put your finger right here. See

my hands. Reach out your hand and put it

into my side. Stop doubting and believe.

Guys, I believe that's a word for

someone in here. Just stop doubting and

believe. We got so much that we're like

at some point we got to get to the we

got we got to get some questions

answered with God. I get that. But at

some point I have to go into and go okay

I am going to now step in with 60%

confidence with 80% confidence and I'm

going to let the rest be faith

>> and I'm going to stop doubting and I'm

going to step into belief. He said stop

doubting and believe. Thomas said my

Lord and my God. And he recognized

without even having to touch any of the

wounds. And Jesus told him, "Because

you've seen me, you've believed, but

blessed are those who have not seen and

yet still have believed."

So what we what we see here is that

Thomas is obsessed

not only with his own hurt of all this

all this pain, not being hurt by Jesus,

but being hurt by the expectations that

he had on Jesus. And then Jesus didn't

meet those. Now he's dead. And he's

like, I gave my whole life to this

thing. I kind of hinged everything on

it. I thought it was going to be

amazing. I thought I was going to sit

beside the next king that was going to

conquer Rome. And man,

I'm not. NOW I'M STUCK HERE LOCKING

myself in room to room and only moving

at night, hiding and running away from

everybody because I'm I'm in danger and

I don't know what to do. And now he's

stuck here.

and he's stuck in his wounds and he's

like until I see Christ's wounds,

I will not believe. I won't step into

the healing. And Jesus shows us that

sometimes sometimes and it's because of

our lack of faith sometimes we have to

see his wounds first

in order to step into the healing that

he has for us. for us to see that he is

with us. He's been in the pain in the

pit with us and that we can find

healing. That the pain was real.

Hurt demands healing. But then the third

piece is your wound is not your name.

that the the wound that I have, it's so

easy to go I'm I've been I've carried

this wound for so long that I know how

to operate with an open wound on my

side.

Anybody been like that? Right? Like I

know how to I I I broke my my dominant

arm and so now I've learned how to

operate with my with my left hand.

Right? I like I I've learned how to do

it and now I'm more comfortable doing it

this way and now I just I I can do it

and I can stay there and that's all

right. And the reality is is that so

many people we create an identity out of

something that's supposed to be a

victory

>> and we've identified with our wounds and

our hurts. Do you want to know the

number of times I walk up to people and

whether the the saddest is to parents

when they say, "Hello, this is my child.

He's got ADHD. And I'm like that. Don't

introduce your kids like that. Parents,

please listen to me. Speak life

>> into the people around you,

>> right? Please don't introduce yourself

that way. Like the number of times I

have people come up to me and they're

like, I can't. You're like, I don't even

want to be here because like I got so

much social anxiety that I don't and I'm

like, what's your name? I didn't even

get that answer, right? like I would

love I recognize the pain but I don't

want to identify in it.

>> I don't want to live in that thing. I

have to then realize that I have been

created my identity is for healing not

for hurting.

>> Can we restore an identity that's not

built on wounds and traumas and issues?

In fact, that's the problem that when we

have secular counseling, it's like,

well, I don't have a place to put this

pain. I don't have a place to put this

trauma and so I just come to terms with

it. If I don't have Jesus to put it at

the feet of him and actually be healed

by it, then I just got to come to terms

with it. Oh, there's your diagnosis.

There's your problem. Now you just

introduce yourself with that and stay

with that for THE REST OF YOUR LIFE

WHERE YOU INTRODUCE YOURSELF. I AM

broken

>> and I stopped there.

Keep in mind

we recognize here the brokenness of

every single person. That's why our very

vision statement is imperfect people.

>> But we don't stop there.

>> And a perfect God. We step with our

imperfections. We step with our hurts.

We step with our wounds. We step with

our sicknesses. And we step into the

light of Christ. And he says, "I will

redeem this.

I don't have to CREATE AN IDENTITY BASED

OFF OF WHAT THAT PERSON DID to me.

>> You have a healing set before you.

>> Will you Will you receive it? And it is

so hard when I've become so comfortable

and I've become so aware and I know who

I am and I know how to handle the world

around me when I have this thing that I

get to almost use as a crutch or as an

excuse or as a like like and now I've

got to go to Christ and I just got to

tell people I'm sorry. I'm I probably

made a mistake there. I probably messed

up and I'm just I'm broken and I need

Jesus. And he is healing me and he has

healed me and I'm still walking through

the sanctification of the renewing of my

mind.

>> So, thank you for your grace in this as

I continue to take another step forward

in my healing process. That's a heck of

a lot better than sorry, I'm a broken

mess. We end there. Deal with it.

Yeah. How often does the world tell us

to do that?

>> Guys, the ways of Christ are so

opposite. The ways of Christ are so

different. See, hurt is the identity of

the enemy.

Healing is the identity of the savior.

Jehovah Rafa, Lord is my healer. Wounds

that happen to you are not who you are.

Build your identity in your healing

and the process of that in the victory

that is coming in Christ not the hurt in

every accountability. That's what it's

about. It's about the whole idea of

learning how to see myself the way that

Christ made me and the way the direction

that Christ is leading me towards

instead of seeing myself for where I am

and where I was. If I go everywhere in

my life walking like this, I'm gonna get

nowhere.

>> I'm gonna find myself with more hurt

than I was before because I'm so focused

on where I was. I can't drive with my

eyes in the rearview mirror. I use that

as an example as a I know where I've

been, but I don't focus on that. I focus

on the direction of where Christ is

leading me. Can we step into an identity

of purpose? And it's so easy to it's so

easy it's so easy to accidentally get

stuck identifying

with this stuff, right? Like for for me,

I've had I've had I've had so many so

many things in my life that that my

heart has then clung to as well maybe

maybe that is true. Maybe they were

right. I had a mentor of mine say you

are a waste of my time. a pastor of

mine.

I've had I've had time I've had deals

that I felt like I made with God and I

felt like he didn't hand hold up his end

of the deal.

I've had moment I've had so much times

where I was like, "God, I'm being

faithful. WHERE ARE YOU?"

AND I'VE HAD TO walk alongside Morgan

when she has spent 11 years in THE SAME

SAME CYCLE, SAME PROBLEM AND SAME LIVING

IN THIS PLACE WHERE I'M LIKE, "MAN, THIS

IS REALLY HARD." And I say, I'VE SEE YOU

LIKE I've said this to her a thousand

times. I'm like, it's like you're a CEO

being asked to flip burgers, right? Like

you are you are c you GOT THIS THING

INSIDE OF YOU. AND YES, I can. Yes, I

will. Yes, I'll faithfully do this. But

man, like the the the the areas where

she was allowed to been be be able to

take some freedom and then pulled back

and it just made it hurt even more.

There's so many things that we can then

identify with and we can claim that as

like, well, maybe the mentor was right.

Maybe I'm not capable. Maybe I am stuck.

Maybe I am a waste of time. Maybe God

didn't hold up his end of the deal.

Maybe I'm just I'm not able to be the

person that I thought I was. And yet,

here's the reality. I don't create my

identity in my wound. I don't create it.

I look at where God has me right now.

I give myself the grace that he has

given to me

and I take a step forward.

But God, heal my heart. Heal my mind.

Heal the sicknesses that are inside of

me.

And in the same way that a bone that

once was broken becomes stronger because

of it, my healing

will create a strength within me

that will change not only me

but can change the people around me. And

I know that. That's how I know when I'm

when I'm set into a healing when and I'm

I'm actually fully there. when it

doesn't hurt anymore when something

pokes at it, right?

When instead I'm like, "Oh my goodness,

you just poked at a thing that I've seen

victory and now I want to give that to

you." Because the fourth thing that we

learn from the scars of Christ is that

every scar has a story.

Your hurts and your wounds were not

purposed to stay where you're at, but to

actually be a testimony of God's

redemption, his restoration, and his

healing.

Every scar has a story. Your past

doesn't disqualify you. It equips you.

every single testimony,

no matter how broken, no matter how how

many times it has taken to find the

victory, guys, God wants to have you

walk in the victory and then use your

mess, to step into the mess of someone

else and to say, "Look at my scars,

but they're not wounds anymore.

I

I've been able to step into the healing.

Guys,

I believe I believe there's there's so

many powerful testimonies in this room.

Can we get a second? If I if if you got

a testimony of overcoming substance

abuse, can you put your hand up and keep

it up for a second? Come on. If you got

a testimony of healing a wound of

abandonment, can you put your hand up

and keep it up? If you got a testimony

of restoration from self harm or suicide

attempts or suicidal thoughts, put your

hand up. If you're multiple of these,

you can put a second hand up. If you got

a testimony of forgiving an abuser, a

manipulator, or an offender, put a hand

up. If you got a testimony of maybe it's

even paying off a major debt over

$10,000, right? Something like that. Put

a hand up if you got if you got a

testimony of healing from the loss of a

spouse, a sibling, a parent, or a child.

Put a hand up. If you've got a testimony

of walking through a chronic, terminal,

or long-term illness of some sort, put a

hand up. If you got a testimony of

massive LIFESTYLE CHANGES FROM

SINFULNESS to Christian living, put a

hand up. Now, please, please, I want you

to take a second. Look, keep your hands

up. Keep your hands up. Take a second.

Look around. I built this list

intentionally because guess what?

I don't have one of these. I got a

testimony of overcoming addiction.

I got a testimony of overcoming

depression and suicidal thoughts. I've

got a testimony of overcoming anxiety

that has me crippled and paralyzed on

the ground. I got a testimony of seeing

God use me in weaknesses, of seeing God

use me in areas that I never thought he

could. I got so many different

testimonies, but none of these,

none of these ones. None of these. You

guys, keep your hands up. KEEP YOUR

HANDS UP. IF THAT'S YOU, YOU CARRY A

SCAR AND A STORY THAT I'LL NEVER BE ABLE

TO SHARE.

You carry a testimony THAT THE PEOPLE

BESIDE you need. Amen.

>> And what I want to do is I want you can

put your hands down, but I want for

those of you who go, "Man, I've got the

the wound, but I don't have the

testimony yet."

Would in faith

you see those hands and know that if God

can do it for them, he can do it for me.

>> I know it. And that's I want to bring up

a testimony that I cannot share. I want

to bring up a testimony if Mark can come

on up. I want to bring up a a scar story

that Mark has that I cannot share. It is

not my story. It is not my scar.

But I believe that this story, if we

listen intentionally, that is going to

minister to you. Come on up, Mark.

So, I just want to start with a verse

here. Uh, this is Isaiah 53:5. Uh, it

Isaiah 53:5

says, "But he was pierced for our

transgressions. He was crushed for our

iniquities. The punishment that brought

us peace was on him, and by his wounds,

we are healed." So, I want to share with

you a bit about my story. Uh, when I was

growing up, um, I had a really busy

family. Um, they did the best they could

with with, uh, the kids. And uh by the

time I was nine, I was actually

experiencing a lot of really heavy

depression. Um and I was isolated a lot.

I spent most of my time by myself uh

until it got to the point where um I

needed to go to therapy. I needed to be

on anti-depressants just to try to get

through the day. Uh, by the time I was

13, um, I actually walked up to my mom

one Sunday afternoon and I said, "Mom, I

think I'm going to take my own life."

And she said, "Okay, we're going to the

hospital." Went to the hospital. I was

is uh sent to a psychiatric unit for 10

days. Within those 10 days, I had a

pastor from the church come visit me. uh

he drove an hour and a half all the way

from where he lived down to the hospital

to share with me for 20 minutes. Uh what

he got to tell me was that um no matter

how alone I feel, I am not alone. God is

always with me. He got to share with me

um that the Lord is close to those who

are brokenhearted and he saves those who

are crushed in spirit. Uh that's Psalms

Psalms 34:18

34:18.

Uh he shared with me that God knew who I

was before I even entered this world. Uh

he shared with me that Jesus was sent to

the cross and he had me in his mind. He

knew who I was and he knew why he was on

that cross. He was there to save me and

he was there to save you.

uh he shared with me that if I could

just imagine close my eyes and think

about Jesus on the cross and looking me

in the eyes and telling me I love you

and I want you.

Um John 15:13 says there's no greater

John 15:13

love than this to lay down one's life

for one's friend and Jesus tells us that

we are his friends and that's exactly

what he did for us. Uh so while the

following years of my life weren't easy

um going through depression and anxiety

all through my adolescence and even into

my adulthood I went into them with the

understanding that Jesus called me by

name.

Uh Isaiah 531

says do not fear for I have redeemed

you. I have summoned you by name and you

are mine.

So that small conversation changed the

trajectory of my life. Uh that little

conversation changed my life from now

I'm covered in self harm wounds all over

my arms to now these are just wounds

from the past that God has healed me

from.

I don't have to walk into this life um

by myself because I'm with God and I

don't have to reflect on the hurt that

I've experienced and live in that

because God set me free from that. Um I

believe that if you are in a similar

situation or you've experienced

something like that, God has healing for

you. And I just want to share with you

that now uh since then I'm actually out

of that and I'm in a place in my life.

God has taken me from that into a place

where I get to help other people for my

career. I get to do this day in and day

out helping other people go through the

things that I've gone through. And

that's all because God healed me and he

saved me. So, I would really encourage

you if this is you or someone you know,

encourage them to get some prayer. Uh we

have our prayer banner right over there.

If you need prayer, please come get some

prayer today. Thanks. Come on. Can we

give a hand for Mark?

Amen.

God has a plan for your life and the

enemy does too.

He's got a plan and he wants to turn

your pain into a prison.

That'll keep you there for years and

years and years.

But Jesus turns your pain into a

platform,

into an opportunity to then be able to

your your your wounds now become your

witness.

And this

see I I I'm blown away by this story.

Nine years old. Nine years old starting

with deep depression. I can't imagine.

And now he lives and his job is sharing

about the victory of the scars that he

bears.

Isn't that incredible?

See, our wounds

may tell us how big our hurting is, but

our scars declare how great his healing

is.

You got a big scar. Praise God. You got

a big testimony.

You've got a big victory that you get to

declare.

>> If we can pull up Isaiah 53:5 again.

Isaiah 53:5

This is this is and as can we stand up

here as we as we read this.

This is incredible.

I think this is

400 or 700 years before Jesus

before Jesus comes to this earth. And it

says he was pierced for our

transgressions, for our sins. He took on

our punishments. You don't have to own

the marks. He already carries the marks

for us. He was crushed for our

iniquities. The punishment that brings

us peace because I deserved the

punishment.

that that punishment that was the only

thing that could be bring a just peace

between my sin and God's righteousness

was on Jesus. By his wounds, we are

healed.

>> Isn't that incredible?

>> Think about that. By his wounds,

by his blood, by his scars, I now can

experience

healing. Mark is living in a testimony

because of the wounds of Christ that

have brought him into healing.

Death

has been defeated. Amen. Amen.

>> Amen.

Because Jesus kept his scars,

you don't have to keep your wounds. And

I want to offer that today. I want to

give this opportunity for a response.

Whether you're in this place, there's

probably a couple different responses.

Maybe you need to for the first time

ever welcome God's healings into deep

wounds. And you're like, I haven't

pursued healing in this and I got a deep

wound.

What I want to do is I want to offer

come up. There's something there's

something the altar the the there's

nothing special about this carpet up

here. There's nothing special about the

bricks up here. But there is something

special about stepping into Christ and

saying here you go. Here is my and

literally having a physical response to

it. And I want to invite you to come up

if this is your response. Maybe you need

to welcome God's healing into deep

wounds in your life. maybe wounds that

have been open or wounds that you

haven't fully healed and you need to let

him remove some of the old things. Maybe

you need to transfer your identity from

hurt, from broken to healed

from

a a a mess to a restoration

progress process that God is doing. Or

maybe you need to submit your scars to

become a story.

Maybe you've got your own wounds and

you're like, I just kind of I keep it.

God's healed it. God's done his thing.

And he says, I one of the first things

he did is he showed his scars.

Not to highlight how bad the pain was.

Don't you see how much I hurt? Don't you

see what you guys allowed happen to me?

Don't you see what what No, it was.

Don't you see? I am living in the

resurrection and your scars bear a

story.

And so if that's any of if you're any of

those, you need to welcome God's healing

into a deep wound. You need to transfer

your identity from hurt to healed or you

need to submit your scars to become a

story. Would you come on up? And you

don't have to specify. Come on up. Which

one? Go ahead. Come on up. I see it.

Let's go. Let's go. Come on, guys. We

see God doing great things here. Come on

up. COME ON UP. YOU'RE NOT ALONE IN

THIS. YOU DON'T HAVE TO BE ALONE in

this. And what I want to do, we can

let's close your eyes and I want to

begin to pray. I want to begin to pray

over those who are coming. If you need

to come while everybody's eyes are

closed, begin to come. Step out of your

seat and begin to come. Say, "God, I

give you my wounds. God, I give you my

scars. God, I give you my identity. I am

no longer stuck in this thing. I'm no

longer staying in this thing. Lord,

would you and then would our prayer

team, would our spiritual leaders begin

to go around and gather around these

people? You are not alone in this. You

are not alone in this. Lord, I pray. Go

ahead on your own. Keep praying. Keep

praying over that in your own words.

Just loud enough for you to be able to

hear. By his wounds, you are healed. By

his wounds, God, I pray that there is a

healing in this place. God, I pray you

would heal minds. God, I pray you would

heal hearts. God, I pray you would heal

sicknesses. God, I pray you would heal

stories. God, I pray you would begin to

redeem the old things. You have redeemed

us, God. And you say, "Come to me and I

will heal. Come to me and I will renew

your story. Come to me and I will make

you new."

Father God, I pray please, please,

Father God,

in this moment,

we look at your scars.

In this moment,

we come to the foot of your cross

and we ask that by your wounds, would

you heal? God, I pray for a supernatural

move in this place.

I pray for a supernatural move.

I believe right now I just I I believe

that there's still some people in their

seats right now that God wants to do a

healing in your heart and you know it.

And I believe there's even people in

here that know

that know that about you

or maybe think that that may be the

case. And if that's you, I just what I

see is just privately in your own like

having a friend place their hand on your

shoulder. Even if you just if you just

put your hand up a little bit and just

and if you see someone with a hand up,

would you put your hand on their

shoulder if they're like, "Man, this

this wound is just I don't necessarily

want to come up, but man, I'll I'll take

a little I'll just take some support.

You don't have to be alone. I see I I

believe that God wants to do a healing

even in some of these seats right now.

Would you place a hand on the shoulder

of the person next to you that may be

going through some healing, that may be

needing some some of the spirit to

restore the things inside of their own

hearts. Father God, I pray I pray God

that there would be no limit to your

healing. There would be no limit to your

working. Father God, would you minister

here?

Would you perform a miracle?

God, I believe

in the name of Jesus

that the past testimonies that have

carried such deep power

over those in this room that have

stirred up so much emotion, that have

stirred up so much hate,

they would lose their power.

They would submit to your authority.

If you've

if you've lived in a healing, a victory,

would you just begin to pray that over

this atmosphere,

your own witness, the witness of your

old wounds, your scars have become a

story. Would you just begin to pray that

over here? Whatever it is that you may

have that you you can speak into life

from from that there's victory from

depression, there's victory from

anxiety, there's there's victory from

hurt, there's victory from traumas,

there's victory from abuse. it's here

and God wants to do it. Would God, Lord,

would you move? Would you establish that

in the name of Jesus?

Then what I want to do here

is as you're praying there, there may be

a moment, but what

Ecclesiastes

4 talks about this. It says that this

world wants to break you. This life

wants to break you.

And Ecclesiastes 4:12 says, "One may be

Ecclesiastes 4:12

overpowered,

but two can defend themselves. Two are

stronger, but a cord of three strands is

not quickly broken."

Do not do not try to step into this

thing on your own. The cord of three

strands is me going to the father and

then partnering with a community around

me. Those are the three strands. me

giving my all. Me coming in humility. Me

coming with vulnerability for to God and

to ask for his healing. A place for me

to put all my trauma, to put all my

pain, to put all my hurts. And I place

it at the foot of his cross. I set it at

the foot of his throne. And I leave it

there. And then I have people around me,

that third strand that will walk with

me, that'll help remind me about the

victory that he has me in and will help

have me stand up when I don't have the

strength to stand up. Lord, I pray for a

victory in community. Step into the

community. Find a group. Find a mentor.

Find someone here that you can get their

number and you can connect with them

before you leave. Share something at

lunch today cuz God has got a victory.

He has already defeated death and your

wounds will not win. Amen. Amen. Come

on, let's give a hand for the word of

the Lord.