The Healing Word

Pastor Jack Morris: Friend, there is nobody that can forgive, save, bless, give you peace and eternal life but Jesus. I don't know where you're looking, but you're looking in the wrong places. Today, look to the Lord Jesus Christ. No one can make you happy. No one can do that for you. That's something of the heart, a gift that the Lord Jesus gives.

Guest (Male): Welcome to the Healing Word. Today, Pastor Jack Morris is going to take a look at helplessness—that feeling that these days is all too prevalent in our lives as we face tragedy and opposition from seemingly every side. For a biblical perspective on how to overcome those feelings, let's go to the message for today, "Help for the Helpless."

Pastor Jack Morris: Friend, today I'm going to believe with you that whatever it is you're suffering—emotionally, physically, financially, in a relationship—wherever the suffering is, we're going to believe together. I'm going to believe with you, we're all going to believe together that this will be truly the day the Lord has made, and we will come into contact with Jesus and Jesus into contact with us, and the suffering will cease. He is a miracle-working savior, and he answers our prayers when we take our prayers to him.

Now let's look at this miracle today. As I said, the healing miracles of Jesus. These are the miracles that you checked on that form that you wanted me to preach on. Next week will be the last one. I'll continue to preach miracles. I've always preached miracles from the pulpit here at the Largo Community Church. There will be many more sermons, Lord willing, on the graciousness of our savior meeting the needs of our lives. So next week, we will conclude this particular series.

But there is help for the helpless. If you've been trying so hard or looking to somebody else to help you, or you've been trying to help yourself and it has failed—all of these efforts have failed—oh, please, please listen this morning because there is help for the helpless.

It's the feast of the Jews. Jesus loved to go to Jerusalem and enjoy these feasts with the people of God who celebrated. That's what we were doing just a moment ago: celebrating what God has done. You were popping up, standing up, giving God glory. You were celebrating. Jesus loves that kind of celebration.

There were three feasts that every Jewish male was required to attend every year: the feast of the Passover, the feast of Pentecost, and the feast of Tabernacles. I don't know which one of the feasts that Jesus was at at this time for the healing of the man at the pool, but it was one of those three feasts.

Jesus went to the temple. You know, that's where you can find Jesus. You can find him at church. You can find him in your secret closet. You can find him wherever you are, looking to him, praying to him. That's where Jesus is. He is omnipresent, everywhere present to hear and answer our prayers at any time.

But Jesus had a special love and affinity for the house of God. So he went to the temple, and there was a sheep gate. A sheep gate was like a sheep pen. It was fenced in, and there were the sheep that were going to be sacrificed for the sins of the people. And by that sheep gate, there was a pool of water called Bethesda. Bethesda in Aramaic means house of mercy or house of grace.

And there were a great number of people, invalid, who were at that pool, hoping and believing that an angel was going to come down and move the waters, and the first one that would get in would be healed. Jesus saw these people, but he particularly focused on one man. Now that one man, there must have been surely something in his heart that was reaching out.

The Lord knows who is reaching out. He knows our hearts. He knows who came to church for a purpose, a reason—not just because it's Sunday and I'm supposed to go to church. That's a good reason because it's Sunday and I'm supposed to go, but a better reason is: I'm going to meet Jesus in the house of the Lord on that holy day, that first day of the week.

There were underground springs that caused that water to bubble and to send out those little ripples. This was rather a superstitious thinking that the people had, that an angel was doing this. But that pool has been rediscovered, unearthed. There's a pool there today, and there are underground springs that bubble up that cause that event to happen.

When I read that story, I couldn't help but think of when Karen, my daughter, and I—my daughter lives in Georgia—went down to Warm Springs, Georgia, to a pool that Franklin Delano Roosevelt, our 32nd president, thought had curative properties. Mr. Roosevelt became paralyzed from his waist down in 1921.

He learned of a spring in a little town called Warm Springs, Georgia, and the word was out that there were healing powers there. So in 1924, Franklin Roosevelt—now, he was my parents' favorite president. I was just a tiny little boy when he was president and when he died. I'd heard so much about him and I'd heard about Warm Springs, and I thought, well, I'm going to go to Warm Springs and see that place that my parents' favorite president went and looked to to find healing for his polio condition.

Well, on October the 3rd, 1924, Mr. Roosevelt went to Warm Springs, and the very next day, he got in the water to swim. And almost immediately, one of his legs began to move. Now, he never regained full healing of both of his legs, even that one leg. But immediately, the first time in that pool—and I walked around the pool. There's a little house there, a six-room bungalow painted white called the Little White House. We went through that Little White House and visited the president's home in Georgia.

That pool does not cure anybody of anything. But Mr. Roosevelt felt that it would, and he continued to go there. Actually, he ended up buying that pool and many acres around it. A hospital was built there for the victims who were suffering polio at that time in our history.

And a number of years ago, a lady and her husband visited me over here in the church in that little chapel. She was on crutches. She had had polio. Her parents took her down to that spring, and when she was about seven years old, she had her picture taken with Franklin Delano Roosevelt while he was seated in the wheelchair. Well, I couldn't help but think about that visit to Warm Springs, Georgia, and this spring here in Jerusalem.

Actually, my first cousin's husband preached his last sermon at that pool just about ten years ago, Reverend Wade Sandridge, who founded a church in Thurmont, Maryland. He said that before he died, he wanted to visit the Holy Lands, and he was just a young man in his early 50s. Had no idea that he was going to die, but he did have a heart problem. And he went to Jerusalem, and a few people gathered around, and he talked to those few people about the Lord Jesus, and then that night he went to heaven. What a way to go to heaven!

But here are all these people gathered around this pool, waiting for the pool to bubble and to have ripples and thinking that they could get in, the first one, and there would be healing. The man had been there for 38 years. That's a long time. 38 years. Now, by that time, I suppose just about all hope was gone and he had become resigned to thinking that maybe it's never going to happen.

And that's this thing today. I don't want you to become resigned to your fate in life, to your particular situation, to your hurt, to your pain. Never give up hope! Believe the Lord, trust God. Next Sunday, the title of the message is "Hope for the Hopeless." Today, "Help for the Helpless." So there's help in the Lord. But sometimes we just sort of give up and think, "Well, it is as it is, and it'll always be this way."

I think it was yesterday or the day before, I pulled up my car to a traffic light right behind somebody, and the light was red. Then it turned green and he didn't move. I guess he became resigned, thinking, "This light is never going to turn green. I'm going to be here indefinitely." So I had to beep the horn a little bit to get him going. So today, the Lord is sort of beeping your horn a little bit to help you to look up and believe that God is going to do something.

Now, let me see the hands of those—I'm not going to ask you to stand or say anything—but you need something from the Lord. You may have become somewhat passive, a little bit resigned, almost giving up hope to some degree, but today there's something stirring in you, not the pool, but in your heart, helping you to believe that something special is going to happen, that God's going to answer prayer for you. Let me see your hands.

Oh, praise be to the Lord. There's going to be a great victory today for a lot of you because you're here, you're believing. The word of God is going forth. The scripture said in the Psalms, he sent his word and healed them. So take that word just by faith, reach out and take it. Let it go into your heart. Let it build faith in you because Jesus is here to do something beautiful. Can I hear an amen? Amen. The Lord is here.

Here's the gospel in three words: Jesus saw him. Say those words with me: Jesus saw him. Now say this: Jesus sees me. Jesus sees me. Remember last week when I talked about the woman who had that spinal problem and she was all bent over, and Jesus was teaching in the synagogue and he looked at the audience that he had and he spotted this one woman back there, and he saw her.

There was one woman that came through the great crowd and touched the hem of his garment. You know, Jesus is interested in one person. And that person is you, whoever you are who raised your hand this morning. He sees. Now, the Lord loves crowds. He loves big churches. He loves lots of people. But he's interested in one person.

He was interested in Nicodemus. Nicodemus would come by night, and he told him he must be born again. Jesus was very patient with that man. Jesus was very patient with that lady that reached out and touched the hem of his garment. Jesus was very patient with the woman at the well, with the other woman that was bent over.

Listen, friend, God is not impatient with you. He loves you. You're his child and he wants to do something beautiful for you. And not only does he want to do it, he has the power to do it. He yearns to be gracious to his people. You're his people, are you not? Blessed and washed in the blood of Jesus.

Well, friend, listen, Jesus is not a wordy person. No, he's not superfluous with words. When he speaks, he cuts to the chase. And every word counts. That's why I'm so concerned that the word is heard. There's no interruption. It's the word of God. Jesus is talking, and I must let that word come into my heart.

That's why I put the Bible over my heart. I do that at home! When I'm going to read the Bible during the day, I'll put the Bible over my heart and say, "God, I'm going to listen to you now. You're going to talk to me. I've been talking to you, and now you're going to talk to me." And I listen, and he speaks to me.

This was profound interrogation. Do you want to be saved? Do you want to be forgiven of your sins? Do you want to have joy in your life? Hey, the Lord's asking these questions. Do you really want happiness and joy and peace in this life? Hey, do you want to go to heaven when you die? I'm sure everybody would say, "Yes!"

Well, then Jesus is here to forgive those sins, heal those hurts, give to you the gift of eternal life. But you know, a lot of people will say yes to all of those questions and other questions, but Jesus is now asking: do you really want to be saved? Do you really want to be forgiven? Do you really want to have peace? Do you really? Do you want to get well? That's what Jesus asked this man. Profound.

Adlerian psychology—that's the discipline that I studied under—says there are five psychological priorities: control, comfort, excitement, significance, and assumed helplessness. There are some people they are controllers. They have a propensity to control wherever they are: in the family, in the church, at work, wherever they are they want to control. Oh, it's something when two controllers marry. They both have that psychological priority.

There are other people who want significance. That's their priority, that's their psychological priority. They want to be front and center. They want everybody to see them. They don't want to control anything. They just want everybody to admire them and look at them.

And then there are those whose psychological priority is comfort. They want to be comforted all the time. They'll look for comfort and search for comfort as long as excitement—there are those who are excitement seekers. They're always looking for a party. They're always ready to take a risk, to get the adrenaline flowing. They are excitement seekers. That's their psychological priority.

And then there are others whose psychological priority is assumed helplessness. They don't want to get well. They're going to be sick as long as possible because people are waiting on them, because they can talk about it and complain about it, because they have people serving them. And they're going to stretch that out.

Well, whether Adler, Mr. Adler, Dr. Adler was right or not, I don't know, but I'm inclined to think that there was something going on with this man at the well. Do you want to get well, or are you just a helpless person that people have brought you here every morning for 38 years?

They feed you for 38 years. They assume all your responsibilities for 38 years. At the end of the day, they take you home again. You don't have to do anything for yourself. You're living a good life in the condition you're in. You want to stay in—you know, beggars, some beggars make a pretty good living with the help of the government and then what they get on the street.

Who wants to get a job and have a supervisor or a boss when you can make it pretty good? Do you really want to get well? This is what Jesus was saying. There was a reason he asked that question. Do you really want to get help today? Yes, I believe you do, and the Lord is here to bless you and to help you and to minister to you.

There was a young man in Mark chapter 10, he was a rich young man, very rich. He came to Jesus and he asked him, he said, "Master, what good thing shall I do to inherit eternal life?" The scripture says Jesus really took a liking to him. The scripture says Jesus loved him. And Jesus said, "Keep the commandments." And then he enumerated them: "Don't commit adultery, honor your mother and father," and he went on. The young man said, "Well, I have done that all my life long."

And then Jesus looked at him and said, "One thing you lack: sell what you have and give to the poor. You'll have treasure in heaven. Take up your cross and follow me." The scripture says when that young man heard that, his face dropped. I suppose it was a smile and then it went down. His face dropped.

Now, the Lord doesn't say that to everybody. But to this particular man, the priority of his life was money. This was the God he served. And the scripture says there is only one God that we are to bow before and to serve and to do his will.

And so whatever it is that is taking the priority of your life and your attention, then give it up. Turn away from it. Turn to the Lord. The question is, do you want to get well? There's something we're going to have to do. We're going to have to turn to Jesus in order to get well. And he is the healer that makes us well.

People are thirsting for a better life, but they keep drinking at the cisterns of this world and they keep thirsting. Well, the young man—or I don't know how young he was. He could have been too young because he had been at that pool for 38 years. You know what he said to the Lord when the Lord asked him that question? "I don't have anybody to put me into the pool."

Right away, the Lord realized you are looking to somebody. Either you're looking to self—you can't get in yourself. So now, since you can't do it yourself, you're looking to somebody. Friend, there is nobody that can forgive, save, bless, give you peace and eternal life but Jesus.

I don't know where you're looking, but you're looking in the wrong places. Today, look to the Lord Jesus Christ. No one can make you happy. No one can do that for you. That's something of the heart, a gift that the Lord Jesus gives.

Now, the first thing the man heard was "Do you want to get well?" The second thing Jesus said: "Get up! Come on, get up!" Now, the man was an invalid. He could not get up on his own. But on the authority of the word of God, based on the word—the word of God is strong, healing, almighty.

Get up! Get up, not because you can get up, not because somebody else can get up, but because my word empowers you to get up. Friend, it's the word that you're hearing today that is being read from the Bible. That's the word of God that brings blessing, healing, and wholeness to our lives.

Get up! And then Jesus saw him later that day in the temple. Now, this is a very interesting thing, and I'm going to close now. I know I've been going on a little bit too long, perhaps. But it's been fun up here. And who wants to stop when they're having fun?

Said, "Get up." Well, Jesus slipped away. The man didn't know who it was when the Jewish people asked him, "Who healed you? Who told you to take up your mat and walk?" "I don't know." He didn't even know. He didn't stop long enough to find out. That's why we stopped a little while ago to have a few testimonies. I'd rather say something praising the Lord than to say something "I'm hurt again."

Jesus finds him in the temple and he tells him, "Stop sinning." Perhaps his sin was the sin of ingratitude. When he did find out who healed him, he didn't follow Jesus. He ran off and told the Jews, "His name is Jesus." It was a strange man. Jesus knew it from the very beginning to ask such a strange question of him.

Do you want to get better and to get over it? No, I'd rather keep on pouting, keep on complaining, keep on getting pity and sympathy from everybody. No, friend. Then you're going to get exactly what you get: a miserable, miserable ongoing existence. But today can be blessing. Today can be peace. Today can be healing. Today can be holy. Today can be newness of life in Jesus and only in Jesus. No man can put me in the pool. Friend, no one can help you. You can't even help yourself. But there's one who can. His name is Jesus. His name is Jesus.

Guest (Male): As we learned on today's Healing Word, true peace and happiness can only be found through a relationship with Jesus. And how can you develop that relationship? By reading God's word and praying to him on a regular basis.

I invite you to become a part of a church family, whether it's the Largo Community Church or another Bible-believing congregation, and share in the fellowship and support that's available in gathering with others.

As we conclude today's program, I want to invite you to pray for the ministry of The Healing Word and ask God on our behalf to bless these messages as they minister to hearts all over our nation's capital area and the world. Join us tomorrow for another Healing Word message. Until then, blessings on you.