October 4, 2026

I'm going to preach today a message that was on my heart earlier this year, and I haven't preached it.

And I started compiling some thoughts and some notes.

And I never want to be insensitive toward anyone who's dealing with a physical, emotional, or psychological condition in any way that minimum minimizes or magnifies the condition in a way that people feel like something's wrong with them or there's no hope.

But how many understand we all go through certain things at certain times?

And often it's the elephant in the room with us.

We can't go anywhere that we're not dealing with that.

And we can conceal a matter.

We can put it under under a curtain or we can put it in a way, and but we're dealing with that condition.

It's not always outwardly.

Sometimes it is, but many times it's an inward condition.

And I feel like that often we speak on spiritual conditions that we deal with, but we don't really address the physical, physical or the emotional conditions that many people are going through.

And God wants to address the whole person, right?

God wants to deal, his word deals with the whole man.

And today I'm dealing with a physical condition, but it could be other conditions that you could relate to today.

So if you don't have anything physically going on, don't dismiss this.

Just ask the Holy Spirit to speak to you.

Amen?

Because he will speak to us today.

And I'm so glad that you're here.

I'm glad that I'm here.

Aren't you glad to be in the house of God?

Look at somebody, smile real big at them, say, I am so glad you're here.

Amen.

It would be awkward for me just to stand up here and preach to Sister Pat or Sister Angela, but we're here together.

Mark chapter 1.

Mark 1 · chapter mention

We were in Mark 1 last week, but we're going to move a little further into the chapter.

How many remember last week we dealt with the kingdom of heaven and entering into the kingdom through repentance?

That simply just means you change your mind, you change your attitude, and you've come to the Lord, and you know that he's the answer.

Well, I'm here to tell you today the answer has not changed.

He's still the answer.

And in Mark chapter 1, verse number 40, we'll just read a couple of verses this morning.

Mark 1 · chapter mention

Mark chapter 1, verse 42, when you have it, say amen.

Mark 1:42

And there came a leper to him, beseeching him, and kneeling down to him and saying unto him, speaking of Jesus, If thou wilt, thou can, thou canst make me clean.

And Jesus, moved with compassion, put forth his hand and touched him, and said unto him, I will be thou cleansed.

And as soon as he had spoken, immediately the leprosy departed from him, and he was cleansed.

Father, I thank you for the word of God.

I thank you for the people that are here today.

God, I ask that you would help me to speak your word in such clarity and simplicity, Lord, that we'll all be benefited by it.

I pray, God, that our hearts will be open, our minds attentive to what you would say to us.

That God, anything that we may be dealing with or anything we may be facing in the future, that God, you would prepare us, Lord, to receive the answer that you would give us today.

And that we'd walk with you in faith and with gladness and thanksgiving.

We pray this in the mighty name of Jesus.

Amen.

The truth that this man has in his life or had in his life he was dealing with, it is as real for us that at any given moment there are going to be conditions in our lives that are out of our control.

There are going to be things that we face in our lives that we're at the mercy of God to help us, to deliver us, and to heal us.

And you may be struggling with the question that this man struggled with today.

I know God can, but is he willing?

I know that God has the power, the ability, I know he has the wherewithal to heal and to raise people up, but is there something in my life that I have going on in my life that I know God can, but maybe he won't do it?

I believe that the enemy would often come against us and we we see what's wrong or what's going on, and we'll feel that, well, God's not concerned about that in my life like he is concerned about it in your life.

God seems to want that to be in my life because it's a type of punishment.

And I've heard the question before: if God is a good God, why doesn't he just heal everybody?

Or why doesn't he fix all things at once?

If he's a good God, why does he allow bad things to happen to good people?

I've got a friend right now that's been dealing, he's been diagnosed with ALS for uh simply a year, a little over a year.

And his wife posts on Facebook quite often about what they're going through, and I see the I see the pressures that they're going through.

I feel the inadequacy to speak into that.

I feel the, I feel that they're going through something that only God and they can walk through together.

But I see their faith in Jesus Christ.

And I'm astounded at their perseverance in the faith that they will not accuse God of wrong.

They've simply said, God, if you get glory out of us going through this disease, then God, we accept whatever your will is.

I know that God can use anything for good.

I hope you believe that today.

That God can use the worst of conditions for something good in your life.

It's not that God is punishing you because he doesn't answer your prayer.

There's a purpose in the pain.

There's a reason that God allows certain things in our life.

He could shield us from everything.

He's God, he could do that, but he's allowed certain things to come, and we have to figure out or know why God is allowing this in our life with faith operating in our life when we go through it.

See, when this man comes to Jesus, he believes that he can heal him.

He says, I know you can do it, but are you willing to do it?

So the question is not, is he able?

But the question is, is he willing?

In Mark chapter 11, 24, Jesus said, Whatever things when you ask, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you received them and you will have them.

Mark 11 · chapter mention

Have you been asking God for something?

Have you ever prayed and it seemed like the answer tarried?

Have you ever prayed and didn't have an answer to what you were asking God to do?

In that very moment, your faith is active.

You are waiting on the Lord.

The Bible says, wait upon the Lord.

Be of good courage.

Don't faint when you wait upon God.

Keep on asking God, keep believing God.

God is sustaining you in that moment.

And the question is not, can God do it?

The question we struggle with is God ever going to do it?

Will God ever move in my life?

I know he can, but will he?

Is he willing to do that?

And we're struggling with an answer that we should know today.

That God is always willing.

God's always willing to help us.

God's always willing to move on our behalf.

Now, you'll never be good enough to merit the favor of God because in all honesty, we are all flawed human beings.

Somebody knows this porner.

You got flaws.

Amen.

You you may be good in some areas, but some areas you struggle in, and you're just flawed in that area.

But the goodness of God goes beyond our limitations.

It goes beyond our wrongs, our failures, our faults, our misgivings, whatever you want to call it.

God knew everything about you when he sought to save you, and he's not done working on you now.

So you've got to settle the question today: is he willing to help me?

And the answer today is unresolved.

Yes, God is willing to help you through any circumstance, any situation or problem.

The timing is where we struggle.

Amen.

He's an old-time God, but some that sometimes he waits four days late.

Amen.

If you remember what when when the Bible says that Jesus' very own friend was sick.

Remember that?

And they sent word to Jesus saying, Your friend whom you love is sick.

You need to come now.

And the Bible says that Jesus on purpose waited a while.

What was he doing?

He said, There's some glory that is to be known that God has the power to raise the dead.

God has the power to do the impossible.

And so he purposely waited for four days until he said, Lazarus is sleeping.

We must go that we can awake him.

And they said, Well, he's doing good if he's sleeping.

And Jesus plainly said, He's dead.

But I'm gonna go, we're gonna raise him up.

Some days we look at things in our life and we say, God, this in my life is killing me.

This in my life is destroying me.

I know that you can, but God, will you help me today?

And I want you to know the enemy of faith is not doubt, the enemy of faith is unbelief.

Have you ever struggled with doubt?

I have.

We struggle with doubt, but unbelief is simply knowing that God can do anything.

He is, there's nothing impossible with God, and I will never say that something is impossible for God.

If he can raise the dead and open blind eyes, he can do anything.

If he can save a sinner and bring him out of a pit of all this sin and all this corruption and change his life and make him a new man, he can do anything.

And so when we find the enemy of our faith, unbelief, coming against us, we need to put that away from us.

And we may struggle with doubt, but never allow unbelief to settle into your life because it will bring destruction.

Unbelief keeps us from moving into the promises of God because it says that God cannot perform his word in our lives.

James 1, 6 says, Ask in faith, nothing doubting.

You gotta prepare your heart when you come to God with expectancy.

Right?

You expect God to answer you before you come to him in prayer.

I'm here to feign your faith this morning.

Jesus can do anything, he is willing to do anything, but we must come to him expecting him to help us.

The Bible says that this man knelt down before Jesus.

He was imploring him, Lord, help me.

And this means to ask earnestly.

It means he was begging him for help.

And he's feeling anxiety that Jesus is gonna say, I can't help you today.

I won't help you today.

He's fearful that Jesus is gonna say, No, you deserve this disease.

He could see it in his mind that Jesus looked at him and walked away and he's left in his condition.

But the Bible is saying that Jesus is standing before him, and when he's asking him, Jesus is ready to help him in that very moment.

Here's what the Bible says about the warfare of our mind.

When it's met with the uncompromised word of God, it breaks the stronghold of fear and doubt and unbelief off of our lives.

I'm gonna read a very familiar scripture.

I know you've probably heard it thousands of times, but let's read it once more in Romans 8, verse 28.

Romans 8:28

I know God can, but will he?

Well, let's look at Romans 8 verse 28 and read this scripture.

Romans 8:28

What does it say?

It says that we know that all things.

Underline that, all things.

Work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called.

Notice this, I want you to underline these three words, according to, four words, to his purpose.

According to his purpose.

There are gonna be some things in our life that God has not brought upon us, but he has allowed it for a purpose.

What is that purpose?

That purpose is gonna change how you view God through everything else that comes in your life.

It is going to glorify God, it's gonna lift him to a place because it is God ordained that you be in this moment at this time.

Notice what this word purpose means in the Greek.

It means or it suggests a deliberate plan.

My goodness.

You mean God, you deliberately allowed this man to contract the disease of leprosy?

We thought you were a good God.

But the word says that all things were together for the good.

You know, if he had never had leprosy in his life, he may have never knew the power of God to heal him, to deliver him.

And do you think that someone that was delivered from leprosy would walk away from Jesus and never serve him another day of their life?

I believe that this purpose in his life was to allow him to come to God and not only receive healing for his body, but to change his very outlook on eternity that now he knows the man who is the king of kings and the lord of lords, and he makes a choice.

I'm gonna follow that man for the rest of my life.

One bad moment can change your eternity.

Amen.

I'm not really thankful.

The Bible says, in everything give thanks.

Right?

Does anybody ever have trouble thanking God for something?

When I wake up in the morning and this left knee tells me when I get out of bed that it's gonna hurt today, and I hobble through the room to the coffee pot.

I'm not saying, Lord, thank you for this knee that's hurting.

But I'm thankful I know the one who can help me through the day because he can help me to make it through anything.

I'm thankful that I can call upon Jesus.

I'm thankful that I can trust him.

And I know that he can help me, and I know that he's willing to help me.

You say, Well, that's nothing compared to what I'm going through.

Whatever the things you're going through, you need to know that it's there for a purpose, and the purpose is to show the glory of God in your life and the help of Jesus Christ over whatever you're facing.

It matters to God.

And you matter to God.

Are you with me today?

Twelve occurrences in the New Testament.

This word purpose is defined as God's eternal purpose relating to our salvation.

Our personal salvation was not only well planned, but demonstrates God's divine faithfulness as he awaits the day that he's going to reveal the great plan of his church when he brings us all back home to be with him.

There is a purpose in everything we go through, and I must always know and always remind myself that if I can get to Jesus with my problems, if I can get to Jesus with my needs, and if I can get before him, I know that he's willing to help me.

I just must make known my needs to God.

Jesus, the Bible says, reached out and touched him.

Now, in the Levitical law, it was against the law to even touch a leper.

But Jesus answered this man's question with an action.

He touched it.

God is not afraid to touch what most people won't touch.

Amen.

God's not afraid of messes.

God is not intimidated by anything that the world says is too far gone.

God will reach down to the deepest muck and mire of sin and pull out a man or a woman and set them on the right path and change their life completely.

Jesus touched him to show us that the law, which says that it was, you couldn't have physical contact with him, Jesus was actually above the law.

He was free from the law because he is the lawgiver.

But he kept the law.

He's not breaking the law saying that God, but when he touched him, immediately the life of God, but I'm telling you, that leper leprosy immediately is gone.

Lord.

How many wants it immediately in your life?

That pain in your back, right?

That pain that you've been dealing with, the bones that are aching.

God, I just touched me immediately.

That worry and fear and turmoil that I can't get out of my life, immediately gone.

He's the same today.

He can do it.

But oftentimes there's a purpose in you going through this, and it's working out an exceeding great reward in your life that that faith is active in God.

I'm here to tell you, don't begin to think this is going to, I got to go through life like this, it never changes.

If you do, you do.

But let me tell you, He'll give you grace to bear up under it.

I hear a lot of people, it's, and they're saying, let it be on earth as it is in heaven.

That means there's no sickness in heaven.

There'll be no sickness on earth.

Well, let's go, let's leave now and go to the hospital.

Right?

Let's go get all those people that are sick right now out of the hospital.

You will go through things in life, church, but nothing you go through is above God's power to heal, to deliver, or at least to give you the grace to get through it.

Amen.

He'll give you grace.

And so what Jesus is saying, He's answering the if question with an action.

He touched him.

See, God is not unconcerned about our needs.

And the Holy Spirit reminded me this morning as I was getting ready for church.

He reminded me that God created the seasons.

Aren't you glad the seasons are changing?

We survived summer barely, right?

Right?

Our grass is all burnt up.

The only green grass is where the septic lines are running, right?

Everything else is burnt up.

Brother Gary's been mowing dust when he mows, right?

In most people's yards.

It's like, I'm here, but there's really nothing to do but weeds, right?

But I'm telling you what, the seasons are changing.

We're coming to the end of summer.

Autumn's already came according to the calendar.

And what we're feeling are cooler mornings, right?

The seasons are changing.

And I'm telling you, just as they change in life, they'll change in your life.

As they change in the in the earth and natural, they're going to change in your life.

You're going to go from being a teenager to a young adult, right?

To a to an adult, and then you're going to be coming to midlife.

Have you ever heard that middle age?

That's what mom says about us.

We're not old, we're middle-aged.

I said, Well, I guess I'm halfway to 112.

Right?

But the season changed along with life.

I I didn't have pains back then, I have now.

I didn't have struggles.

I used to have now they're gone.

God brings me through it.

Some things leave you.

Pick up other things along the way.

The changing seasons remind us that we're not in control.

News flash.

We're not in control.

What we experience sometimes, we we feel that we're not in control, and the truth is we're not.

The seasons bring about change because.

God created the seasons and he holds all things together.

Genesis 8:22, as long as the earth endures, seed time and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night will never cease.

Genesis 8:22

And because these things are set in motion, we know the God who set them in motion will never change.

But just hold on.

No matter what we endure, we find that he's willing to help.

The Bible says he's long-suffering and compassionate.

And so I want to encourage you today, no matter what you're battling, no matter what's standing in front of you, no matter what's in your mind or in your heart, that you're asking, will he help me?

I know he can.

Will he help me?

I want to encourage you today to come with assurance to God.

Come with confidence to God.

The Bible says in Hebrews that we boldly approach the throne of grace because we know we're his children.

I can go to my mom and dad's house, always honor them and knock on the door because I don't want to come in and be an inappropriate situation, right?

That's their house.

If dad decides to walk from the bathroom to the to the kitchen, he doesn't put his bathrobe on, I don't want to surprise him or myself, right?

So I knock on the door.

And then when I'm invited in, I go in.

But how many understand that if there's anything that I want, all I have to do is ask.

If I want a cup of coffee, I say, can I have a cup of coffee?

Most of the time they're going to ask me first, can I have a cup of water?

Can I have something to eat?

And you know what they're going to say?

Gladly, we'll give you whatever we have.

That's what happens when we come into the household of God.

We come boldly before the throne of God.

We say, Father, I'm here with a need.

And he says, Tell me what you need.

I'm willing to help you.

And you say, Lord, I'm struggling with this.

And God says, I'm going to give you grace to help you.

I'm not going to remove it all at once, is what he told Paul.

Paul said, three times I asked the Lord, remove that thorn in my flesh, in my side.

I said, Lord, remove it from me.

And God says, Paul, I'm not going to remove that from you, but what I will, I will exchange some grace for you.

And he says, My grace is sufficient.

I'm going to give you everything you need to get through this life, even carrying that burden that you don't want in your life.

And I'm here to encourage the church that God will never change.

If he helps one, he'll help another.

And if he did it for Paul, he'll do it for you.

The Bible says that the Lord will never leave us nor forsake us.

He gives us grace to bear up under what he allows, and he will not leave us powerless to our circumstances.

The life of Jesus, Paul says, also may be manifest in our body when we go through these troubles.

Oh, can you imagine when you stand before God and He does a video clip?

Just runs the tape, right?

Of things that you've gone through that nobody knows about, and you're in your prayer closet, and you're praying to God and you're trusting God and you're calling out to God, and God says, Let me show you this person right here, what they went through and how they made it through, and the testimony of their perseverance.

Anyone ever read about a man in the Bible named Job?

Anybody?

The Bible says there was a certain day that God asked Satan a question.

Have you considered my servant Job?

That there's none like him in all the earth.

Man that hates evil, he's upright, fears God.

The devil answered, he said, I've thought about Job.

But he said, There's this one thing, God, I can't even test him because there's a hedge that you got around him.

You know what that tells me?

He's been trying to get Job for quite a while and he couldn't get through.

But the Bible says that God said, I tell you what, he said, I've got full confidence in Job.

I know what kind of man he is.

And he said, I'm going to remove that hedge for a while, and I'm going to allow you to do a few things to test him and try him, but only so much.

And every time the devil fell with Job, God said, Okay, I'll give you a little bit more leeway.

You can try this because the devil said, I know if you let me do this, I'll take it.

You know what was right about it?

God knew the end of Job, that Job would stand for God, that Job would not deny God.

And at the end, God said, For your troubles, Job, I'm gonna pay you back more than you ever lost, because Job knew that God was faithful and God proved that he was faithful in his life.

If you've lost anything, because the enemy came against you, know that if God restored Job's fortunes, he can restore yours.

But you gotta expect it.

You gotta believe.

That unbelief saying, I know he can, but I know he won't, is locking the doors of God's blessings in our lives.

Now that doesn't mean I want to be careful.

That doesn't mean that we won't be persecuted.

I was reading in Acts this week, and I don't know how many times I came across the word persecuted, persecuted, persecuted.

What does that mean?

It ain't good.

That means trouble.

That means that the enemy was after him.

He is after you.

But the truth is, there is nothing the enemy can do to stop the church of Jesus Christ.

There's nothing the enemy can do to stop you if you're faithful in the things that God asks you to do.

What happens in the Bible tells us that the fires cannot burn you, the lions cannot eat you, and death cannot destroy you.

If you believe in Jesus Christ and in his word, it doesn't matter what you go through, you can have assurance that he will help you through anything.

So the lesson I learned out of this today is when I come to Jesus Christ, knowing that he can help me, don't question if he will help me.

Right?

I'm becoming in boldly, saying, I know you can help me, and I know you will.

Amen.

I look at these young people and I think about the old saying is that they don't want prayer in school.

And the question wasn't, will there be prayer in school?

They said there will always be prayer in school as long as there's exams.

You can't keep me from praying.

You can't keep me from believing.

You can't keep me from trusting God.

I want to encourage you today that the Bible says that God has put this treasure in earthen vessels or jars of clay, that the excellency may be of God and not of us.

And if you'll read before in that chapter, Paul says, We've suffered all these kinds of persecution, we've been through all these things, but he says above all that God has put this treasure in us that you may know it's not me, it is him.

It's not you, it is Jesus Christ in you, the hope of glory.

I just believe if he did it for him, he will do it for me.

God wants to touch you today.

See, the question isn't, is he willing?

He is willing.

It's just the question is, God, how are you working through this?

See, I want to be careful because people like my friend that's walking through this sickness in faith, I never want them to feel that they're outside the will of God.

Because that falls under that verse 28.

There is a purpose in God allowing that.

And we don't know what it's gonna be until God reveals it.

He's got five children.

I don't know what God's gonna do in those children to carry him through this ALS, and if he takes him home, allows that disease to end his life.

You don't know what God's gonna do through those five kids.

And Kimberly.

He's working in those children.

His neighbors are watching his faith.

I'm watching his faith.

I I put on a post the other day I said, You make me want to be a better husband and a better dad, a better human being.

Does that mean I'm lousy?

No, it just means the bar was set a little bit higher when I looked at him what he's going through, and I thought, how will I respond?

If that were me.

Church, he is willing to help you today.

How do we receive help?

Exactly as this man did.

We come to Jesus and we implore.

We ask.

And then we expect.

Jesus reminds me today, he says, we have not because we don't ask.

So let's conclude this sermon and stir our hearts to be seekers of God.

Don't be afraid to ask him.

Don't be afraid to seek him, and don't be afraid to knock on that door.

Because he's waiting on you.

Amen.

Stand with me today.

On the way to church this morning as we were praying, I was in thaw.

As I pray, I think.

As we drove up, I could see the church in in sight.

The Bible says that Jesus says that my father's house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations.

Not just a house of preaching or a house of singing, but a house of prayer.

And it's time for us to begin to pray.

Like we've never prayed before.

That those who wonder, will God help me, will find that He will help.

Amen.

And what better way that we the church say he helped me?

And if he helped me, he will help you.

So we're examples that he will help us.

So today, if you're here and you have a need, we're gonna pray.

Right now, we're gonna pray.

So bow your heads with me.

If you want to come forth, we'll pray with you in these altars.

There's no fear in the love of God.

Father, I pray right now for this church, for every person that's in this building.

God, only you know our hearts, only you know what we're dealing with, only you know, God, what we're facing or what we will face.

And God, you know the question, Lord, that the enemy would propose to us, Lord that would declare that you're not willing to help us.

But God, we expose that lie today through the word.

And we declare, Lord, that you are willing because your word declares that.

And so today, Father, we ask you, Lord, that you begin to move the things that need to be moved, God, that you begin to break every stronghold of thought that the enemy has put on our minds, all the discouragement, all the doubt, all the unbelief that he's tried to overwhelm us with.

And God, that you begin to stir in our hearts an expectancy to receive the very thing that we're asking you for.

And God, whatever you allow in our lives that you don't remove, God, you said in your word that there's grace for us, Lord, that you will yoke us with you, God, that we will be yoked with you, that your burden will become light because, Lord, you are bearing the load.

And I pray today, God, right now, that the burdens begin to be lifted.

Lord, the people begin to feel the help of the Holy Spirit in their life.

And God, the joy, the peace, and the and the revelation of your word begin to work in our moments right now, that there is a purpose for what you allow in our lives.

And God, I speak over this congregation today, the truth of Scripture, Lord, that whom the Son makes free is free indeed.

And Lord, that you heal to the uttermost.

So, God, today, as we come to a close of this service, let your Holy Spirit, Lord, begin to work in each one of us individually and begin to work corporately, Lord, in this church.

We give you all the praise, honor, and glory.

For we ask it in Jesus' name.

Amen.