Acts 14:8

There sat a certain man at Lystra, impotent in his feet, being a cripple from his mother's womb, who had never walked. The same heard Paul speak, and Paul, steadfastly beholding him and perceiving that he had faith to be healed, said with a loud voice, "Stand upright on your feet." And he leapt and walked.

When the people saw what Paul had done, they lifted up their voices, saying in the speech of Laconia, "The gods are come down to us in the likeness of men." They called Barnabas Jupiter and Paul Mercury, because he was the chief speaker. The priest of Jupiter, which was before their city, brought oxen and garlands to the gates and would have done sacrifices with the people. When the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard of it, they rent their clothes and ran in among the people, crying out, "Sirs, why do you do these things? We also are men of like passions with you and preach unto you that you should turn from these vanities unto the living God, which made heaven and earth and the sea and all things that are therein."

In times past, God suffered all the nations to walk in their own ways. Nevertheless, He left not Himself without witness, in that He did good and gave us rain from heaven and fruitful seasons, filling our hearts with food and gladness. When these sayings scarcely restrained the people from doing sacrifice unto them, let's pray.

Father, we ask that as we look into Your Word, You would continue by Your Spirit to teach and instruct us. Lord, I pray that even by Your Spirit right now, You would soften our hearts from all the different things of this week. Help us to be able to fix our attention upon You to hear from You. I pray this in Jesus' name, and all God's people agreed, saying, "Amen." You can be seated.

As Barnabas and Paul continue on their first missionary journey, you'll remember that they had come into the region of Iconium in the last few verses. In chapter 13, at the end of the chapter and the beginning of chapter 14, we saw last week how the unbelieving Jews in that region had stirred up the Gentiles.

And caused their minds to be evil affected against Barnabas and Paul. There was a plot to kill them, a plot to take them outside the city and stone them. When Paul and Barnabas were made aware of this plot, using the wisdom that God had given to them, they decided to move on. They moved to the cities of Lystra and Derbe, which are in the region of Lyconia. This whole area is called Galatia. You may recognize the word Galatia because that is the area to which Paul writes his first letter, the letter to the Galatians.

Now, Paul and Barnabas are in Lystra and Derbe, ministering in these areas. Their typical method was to go into the synagogues of these regions on the Sabbath day, where they would be given an opportunity to preach. Paul was the primary speaker. He would stand up and declare the works of God through His Son, Jesus Christ, and the salvation that we have in Him. This would either cause a revival or a revolt. Sometimes, a large group of people would thrust them out of the synagogue.

Jesus had a similar reception when He went to His own city, Nazareth, as recorded in Luke chapter 4. You may remember that He read from the scroll of Isaiah, specifically Isaiah 61, which all the Jews of His day recognized as a messianic passage. He told them that this was fulfilled in their hearing today, and they did not like that. They dragged Him outside of the synagogue, wanting to throw Him over a cliff and kill Him. Jesus experienced a similar effect in some places as Paul does.

As we follow Paul's ministry through the rest of the book of Acts, we will see that there are many times when a significant revolt arises against him. This passage in Lystra and Derbe will be no different. We read in verse 8 that there was a certain man at Lystra. A certain man. I may be the only one, but I always find it interesting to observe the progression that takes place in many of these passages we are reading.

When we come here, Luke, the author of the book of Acts, begins to tell us about a certain man who was in Lystra. No name is given, and no age is provided. We are not told much about him except that he is an unnamed, probably unimportant individual. For most people, this man did not even register in their thoughts as they walked past him during the day; they probably never even noticed him. However, as the story develops, even in this one verse, another layer is quickly added, and the plot thickens. We read that he was...

Impotent in his feet, or disabled literally in his feet, there was a certain man who was unable to function and work. If we were to stop there, we might wonder where he got this disability. How did he come to be in the position he was in? Was it something of his own doing? How long had he been infirmed? How long had he been sick?

We read further that he was a cripple from his mother's womb. This man had never been able to walk, as it tells us in verse 8. He was just a certain guy, no name given, impotent in his feet. He was disabled and crippled from his mother's womb, never able to walk. If we ended our study there, all we would know is that there was this certain man who was crippled in the region of Lystra and Derbe.

There are many individuals in our own community, right here in Escondido, who fit that same description. Oftentimes, we overlook them. Generally, in our society, we do our best to take care of individuals who are lame or maimed from birth. In fact, we try many different medical routes. We seek to find the best surgeons to correct it if we can, if there is a medical way. We want to try and fix it.

However, if there is no medical way to fix this infirmity, this problem, or this disability, we seek to provide some means for them to be mobile. We get them the best wheelchair we can find, or whatever it may be, to give them the greatest quality of life here in our nation. We even go a bit further in our public areas, in our schools, and in our shopping centers to make things easily accessible for those who are disabled and in a similar position to the man in Lystra.

They didn't have that in his day. They didn't have electric wheelchairs or easily accessible areas to navigate with a wheelchair. But in our day, we do. As a result, many times, those of us who do not have those infirmities or disabilities tend to overlook people who do. Do we not? I see a lot of people nodding out there.

We often do not think about those in those situations. Whether consciously or subconsciously, we have a tendency to miss, neglect, or ignore people who are in similar positions of need. For many, it is not until we go south of the border that we are really confronted with people in those situations. Or if you go on a short-term mission trip to China, India, or the many developing nations in Africa, we begin to see the reality of their circumstances.

You begin to see these kinds of infirmities in a different light. You're very much confronted with them more so than we are in our society here in America. I can see some of the people who have been on teams with us overseas; they're nodding. They recognize that.

Here, as a result of seeking to take care of it medically early on or making areas easily accessible to people who are disabled, or providing them with wheelchairs, we often have a tendency to overlook these issues. We glance over so many things in a day. However, when you go south of the border or to India or China, you see it right away. These people are in need and in difficult situations.

When we were in Mozambique just a couple of weeks ago, we saw a number of both children and adults who were crippled from their mother's wombs, never able to walk, work, or even take care of themselves. Many of them resort to a life of begging in these countries because that is the only place where their disability might actually be an advantage.

In Jesus's day or in Paul's day, the same sort of thing occurred. They didn't have the modern technology that we have today. They didn't have wheelchairs or easily accessible roads and stores. Oftentimes, these individuals didn't have many people to take care of them because the people of the day were focused on taking care of themselves. As a result, they would resort to a life of begging.

We see this when Jesus ministered to those who were beggars and were sick and infirmed. Oftentimes, He would heal them. In Acts chapter 3, we see an example of this. Remember when Peter and John were going up to the temple about the hour of prayer? They saw a man who was lame from his mother's womb. What was he doing there? He was sitting by the gate called Beautiful, begging for alms, hoping that someone in charity would take care of his needs.

Peter looked at him and said, "Look at me." The man fastened his eyes upon Peter. Peter continued, "Silver and gold I don't have, but what I do have I give to you in the name of Jesus. Rise and walk." He took him by the hand and raised him up.

We are not unfamiliar with healings in the scriptures, nor with people who are lame, maimed, and in difficult situations like this. Now, Paul comes upon a certain man there in Lystra, and we are going to see this miracle take place. But before we jump into how Paul ministered to this man in his physical need, it's important for us to consider and remember why Paul was in the city of Lystra in the first place. Notice what it says in Acts chapter 14.

In verse 7, it says that Paul and Barnabas were preaching the gospel in that city. Healing is important, and I don't want to diminish its significance as we see it in the Scriptures. I believe that God can and still does heal in a miraculous way. You will find some churches today that claim they do not believe in the spiritual gifts being active. I do, and Calvary Chapel does as well. I have seen people healed, and I know that God can still heal people.

However, we must recognize that when Jesus commissioned His disciples, He did not send them out specifically to heal. In Matthew chapter 10, if you turn there briefly, Jesus gives His disciples power and sends them out into the region of Judea, among the Jews. He tells them in Matthew chapter 10, verse 7, "As you go, preach, saying, 'The kingdom of heaven is at hand.'" But that's not the only command He gives them. He provides a multifaceted commission. He instructs them to preach that the kingdom of heaven is at hand, the very same message that He had been preaching.

Then, in verse 8, He adds, "Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils. Freely you have received, freely give." Here, healing is indeed part of the commission given to Jesus' disciples in Matthew chapter 10. However, this is not the final word on the commission. To find the final word, we must go to the end of the book of Matthew, specifically Matthew chapter 28.

If you have been a part of Calvary Chapel for any length of time, whether at this location or another, you are likely familiar with Matthew chapter 28, verses 19 and 20. These verses are often quoted and probably memorized because we discuss them frequently here. In Matthew chapter 28, verse 19, Jesus gives what is known as the Great Commission. He says, "Go ye therefore and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you. And lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age."

Notice the commands that Jesus gives to His disciples as He prepares to depart. This occurs just before His ascension into heaven, and we can piece everything together about this.

The situation as Jesus was with His disciples on the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem can be pieced together from the Gospels of Mark, Matthew, Luke, and John, as well as from the Book of Acts. He says, "Go and teach all nations." That's the first command and commission He gives to them: to go and teach all nations, baptizing them. After they have been taught and have believed, they are to be baptized in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Then, they are to continue teaching or discipling them to observe and do all the things that He has commanded.

It is important to recognize that nothing is said in Jesus' Great Commission about healing. If you're taking notes this morning, it is crucial to understand that the primary mission Jesus has sent us, as His disciples and as His church, is to teach all nations, to preach the Gospel, and to disciple the saved. That is what He has called us to do. God is more concerned about man's eternal destination, his eternal home, than He is about this temporal home. Amen? Therefore, His primary commission is to go and preach the Gospel.

We also need to look at the last words of Jesus in the Gospel of Mark. If you turn in your Bibles to Mark, chapter 16, you will find an interesting passage of Scripture. We could spend our entire study this morning discussing it because there is a lot of debate about verses 9 through the end of the chapter. Many modern-day scholars and Bible teachers will tell you that these verses are not supposed to be in your Bible because they are not found in the "best" Greek manuscripts.

Before we even look at this, I want to read to you how Mark would end if we removed these verses from chapter 16. If you took out the verses that many modern scholars say shouldn't be there, the Gospel of Mark would end like this: "And they, the women who went to the tomb, went out quickly and fled from the tomb, for they trembled and were amazed. Neither said they anything to any man, for they were afraid." It would end there.

Do you really think that Mark, inspired by the Holy Spirit, would end the Gospel of Mark with the women going to the empty tomb and running away afraid? I don't think so. If you begin to study this and look at a lot of the historical evidence, as well as much of the manuscript evidence, you will find that these last verses, from verse 9 through verse 20, are indeed significant.

Most of the manuscripts indicate that these verses were actually inspired by the Lord and written by Mark in the Gospel of Mark. I want you to focus on verses 15 through 18 of this passage in Mark chapter 16. Mark 16, verse 15, sounds very familiar to what we find in Matthew chapter 28. Again, we are piecing the whole story together.

He that believes and is baptized shall be saved, but he that believes not shall be damned. Notice verse 17: "And these signs shall follow those that believe. In my name shall they cast out demons. They shall speak with new tongues. They shall take up serpents, and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them. They shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover."

Now, notice Jesus' primary command to His disciples in this passage was to go and preach the gospel to every creature. I remember Raul Rees telling a story about how he was driving with Mike McIntosh somewhere in Europe. They came over a hill, and Mike told Raul to stop the car. Mike jumped out of the car and ran over one of the hills to a big flock of sheep. Raul watched Mike as he was out there for a couple of minutes. When Mike came running back, he said, "What are you doing?" Mike replied, "Hey, Mark 16 says to preach to every creature, so I went and preached to the sheep out in the field."

I remember a number of years ago, we had a couple of avocado trees in my mom's backyard, and neither of them were bearing any fruit. One afternoon, my mom went out there and preached to those trees. She said, "If you don't bear fruit, I'm going to cut you down and throw you into the fire." Let me tell you, the next season, they did bear fruit. I'm not kidding you; they bore fruit. They eventually died after that, and we cut them down, but they did bear fruit that next season.

So, they shaped up. Preach the gospel, He says, to every creature. That was the primary command that Jesus gave to His disciples in Mark chapter 16. He said to them, "These signs shall follow you." And what is one of the signs we read of there? Verse 18.

Lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover. These signs shall follow those that believe in My name. In My name, they shall cast out devils. They shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.

As we've talked about many times and as we've studied through the Gospel of John and the Book of Acts, we see that oftentimes miracles are given by God to authenticate the message. There are many instances where God specifically allows some sort of healing or miraculous event to take place to substantiate the words. The works are associated with the words that are spoken.

Here is Paul in a very Gentile region among the Greeks, who believed in many gods, as we see in this passage of Scripture. He is preaching the gospel and notices a man who is lame. He doesn't know all the backstory; he just knows that this man is lame. We will see how God heals him through the ministry of Paul the Apostle. I believe this miracle was primarily given to authenticate the message that Paul was preaching.

These signs shall follow those that believe. I highly encourage you to be one of those who is on the go preaching the gospel if you want to see God move in a miraculous way. This is what we see in every one of these passages: go and preach the gospel, and these signs shall follow you as you go.

Many people sit in churches for twenty years and wonder why they never see any miraculous events. They ask, "Why do I never see someone healed or raised from the dead?" Get out of your chair and go, and you will see God move in a powerful way. I see Pastor Pat nodding his head because he has seen miraculous events. I have seen God move in a miraculous way. Pastor Mark, Pastor Richard, and every single one of us who have stepped out and moved to see God work have witnessed His power.

Every single person who goes with us on mission trips sees God move in a miraculous way. Yes, there are naysayers all across our nation—liberal, modern scholars saying that God doesn't do miracles anymore, that the works ended with the apostles and the gifts of the Spirit. That’s because those individuals just sit in offices all day. They need to get out and go, and they will see God move in a powerful way.

These signs shall follow those that believe. In verse 9 of Acts chapter 14, we read that this same lame man heard Paul speak. Now, we don't know where this was taking place. Was it in a synagogue?

Quite likely, remember, Paul's ministry would normally begin in the synagogue in a city. So perhaps this lame man was Jewish, or maybe he was just a Gentile God-fearer. Perhaps he recognized that those Jews are sometimes charitable on the Sabbath day, so he positioned himself to receive some sort of charity. Whatever the case, there he was, hearing Paul preach.

As Paul was preaching, it says in verse 9 that he steadfastly beheld him and perceived that he had faith to be healed. He said with a loud voice, "Stand upright on your feet." And he leapt and walked.

I find the circumstances surrounding this healing to be interesting. This certain lame man had no hope apart from the power of God. If you're taking notes, you may want to write that down: he had no hope apart from the power of God. He had probably seen physicians before. Perhaps he had even gone to some of the soothsayers or healers of the day, but nothing had been helpful to him. He lived in a very Greek region where they had all kinds of temples to different gods and maybe even brought sacrifices to some of these gods, hoping and anticipating that some sort of power might come and heal him. But at this point, here was this man with absolutely no hope aside from the power of God.

Now, I believe one of the biggest problems that we have here in the West today, and one of the primary reasons that people often say, "Where are all the miracles that God said He would perform?" is that many well-meaning believers and Christians desire to see God move in a powerful way. However, I believe that one of the primary reasons we don't see it is that we have dozens, if not hundreds, of other methods and options. If someone is sick, or if someone faces a financial hardship, or encounters some difficulty at work, whatever it may be, we have so many other options. We don't need God. Why turn to God when you have all these other things to trust in?

There's an interesting verse that comes to mind in the book of Isaiah. If you want to turn back to the Old Testament, there is Isaiah chapter 2. God is speaking to His people through the prophet Isaiah.

Notice what God says to His people 2,700 years ago in Isaiah 2, verse 5. God says, "O house of Jacob, come ye and let us walk in the light of the Lord." Therefore, the prophet states that God has forsaken His people, the house of Jacob, because they are replenished from the east and are soothsayers like the Philistines. They please themselves and the children of strangers.

Their land is also full of silver and gold; neither is there any end to their treasures. Their land is full of horses, and there is no end to their chariots. Their land is also full of idols. They worship the work of their own hands, that which their own fingers have made. The mean man bows down to the great man, and the great man humbles himself. Therefore, forgive them not.

Look at verse 6 again for a moment. I want to read it to you from another translation. The English Standard Version says, "God, you have rejected your people, the house of Jacob, because they are full of things from the east and of fortune tellers like the Philistines. They strike hands with the children of foreigners."

The observation of Isaiah in his day was that the people of Israel had magicians and soothsayers from the east aplenty. They had wealth of gold and silver, along with other treasures. They had horses and chariots for their defense. They had false gods that they bowed down to and worshipped. The people of Israel had everything 2,700 years ago. They didn't need God.

When they got sick or encountered military opposition, they figured, "Hey, we have horses and chariots to take care of that military problem." If someone got sick, they thought, "Well, we have magicians from the east to handle those things."

Now, fast forward 2,700 years to the year 2009. We see the same thing here in America. When something comes against our nation, like a terrorist attack, do we turn to God? No, we say, "Hey, we have nuclear bombs. We'll take them out." When the stock market crashes and starts to fall apart, we think, "Oh, don't worry. We have government systems and assistance to take care of all this stuff. Everything will be fine." If you lose your health, don't worry; we'll have government health care in no time. Everything will be fine.

You see, we don't need God, do we?

You see, if tomorrow I'm driving along and my transmission dies on my car, and if I've got $10,000 in the bank, I may be frustrated and a little bit upset, but I'm probably not going to be too worried. I probably won't cry out to God, will I? However, in places where there's no other option and no other hope but God, people completely cast themselves upon Him, with full faith, hope, and trust that God can take care of their situation. And you know what they see? God never lets them down. He always takes care of them.

I believe that, in a lot of ways, we in the West—not just America, but Western Europe as well—have come to a place today where we just don't need God to miraculously move. In fact, Western Europe even more so than America has reached this point. On the flip side, I will say that the church desperately needs God to move in a miraculous way. We cry out to God that He would do so.

This man in Lystra heard Paul preach the word because Paul was doing what God had commissioned him to do. God had given Paul power by the Holy Spirit, just as He had named Peter and the rest of the apostles and disciples. Because of this power that God had given him, and because of the boldness of faith that Paul had, he probably could have had a really impactful healing ministry in the first century. Yet, wherever he went, he didn't do that. Why? Because his primary calling was to preach the gospel. In fact, Paul even says in the book of 1 Corinthians, "I did not come to baptize, but to preach the gospel." That is what the Lord has called me to do.

As he preached, something about this lame man grabbed Paul's attention. Those of you who have never had the opportunity to teach God's word may not understand this, but Don, Pat, and the other guys here who have taught God's word will completely understand. As you're teaching God's word, as you're up here speaking, I can be speaking about God's word.

Something will grab my attention, and that just keeps distracting me. I keep seeing something over here. Yet, the Lord is able to continue to help me preach His word. I believe that's kind of what took place here. Paul is preaching the gospel, whether he's in a marketplace or in a synagogue, and this lame man, something about him grabbed Paul's attention.

He beholds this man, and if you look at the original language, it means that he fixed his focus upon him. As he fixed his focus upon him, he gives him what would seem to be an incredible command: "Stand up. Stand up." Now, that's boldness. That's faith, isn't it? What was it about this man that made Paul perceive? Notice it says in Acts chapter 14 that he perceived the man had faith to be healed. I wonder what it was about this man that said to Paul, "That guy has faith to be healed." Was it the anticipation that this guy seemed to have? Or perhaps God gave a word of knowledge to him. Maybe God spoke to Paul and said, "That man is to be healed." Whatever it was, Paul saw it.

The other interesting thing about this, as we read in Acts chapter 14, is that he beheld him and perceived that he had faith to be healed. He said with a loud voice, "Stand upright on your feet." The man leapt and walked. Whose faith was it that caused this man to be healed? Was it the faith of Paul to say, "Stand up," boldly proclaiming and commanding him to do so? Or was it the faith of the man who was being healed to actually obey and stand up?

This is an often-asked question, and understandably so, because people want to know how someone can be healed of an infirmity. Whatever it may be, is it the faith of the person praying for them? Is it the faith of the person being prayed for? If I pray for someone to be healed and they're not healed, does that mean I didn't have enough faith? Or maybe it means they didn't have enough faith. Perhaps I should exhort them to have faith, or maybe they should look at me and exhort me, "Hey man, have faith; I'm supposed to be healed." Clearly,

I need to be bold in a situation to pray for God to heal and have faith in God that He would. The other person also needs to believe that God can and will heal. However, it's not faith that heals; it's God who heals. We are asking God to move, whether it's a big situation or a small situation. It is God who is the one who works, and we look to Him and trust in Him.

Now, in the Gospel of Mark, chapter 6, we see that Jesus was restrained from miraculously ministering among the people of Nazareth because of their unbelief. This raises the question: Is God's working activated by our faith? These are the big questions that many Christians struggle with and battle with. Perhaps you've been one of those people who has been prayed for to be healed and you haven't been healed. Or maybe you've prayed for someone to be healed and they were not healed. You struggle with the question, why? Why didn't it happen?

Sadly, there have been instances in some churches where a person comes forward to be healed, to be prayed for, and they are not healed. In such cases, those ministers or that church may say, "Well, you just didn't have enough faith," or "There's sin in your life." As some of you know, Pastor Chuck Woolley spoke at our last men's retreat a number of years ago. He had open-heart surgery due to some blockages. The night before his surgery, a group of believers from another church in his area, out there in Indio, came to him and said, "Oh, Pastor Chuck, can we pray for you?" He replied, "Absolutely, I'll take all the prayer I can get."

They began to pray, "Lord, reveal the sin that's hidden in Chuck so that he would be healed of this condition." He stopped them right there and said, "Oh, wait a minute. Tomorrow, I'm going into an operating room. They're going to shave my chest. The doctor is going to take a scalpel and cut my chest down the middle. They're going to use something called a spreader to break my ribs open and reach into my chest. You don't think I haven't confessed every possible sin that I've ever committed or thought?"

Sadly, a lot of times people say, "Well, it's just because you don't have enough faith; that's why you're not healed," or they claim, "You've got hidden sin in your life." I have come across tear-filled Christians who have been affected by these misconceptions.

Even in my short time in ministry, I have encountered people who haven't been healed from whatever infirmity it may be. Someone told them it's because of some sin in their life, and they are trying to figure out what it is. I don't see that in the Scriptures. It is clear, and even Pastor Eric shared the scripture this morning from Isaiah chapter 59: "Your sin has separated you from your God."

I would say, yes, it's a good thing to ask God, as David did, "Search me, God. See if there is any wicked way in me." However, if He doesn't reveal anything by His Spirit and you've confessed your sins to Him, I trust that you are walking in line with Him. It's not dependent upon my faith, and it's not dependent upon your good works. God is the one who heals.

Remember, there was a man that Jesus came to in Matthew chapter 17, I believe it was, after He came off the Mount of Transfiguration. There was this man with a demon-possessed child, and his disciples had tried to cast this demon out of him. It really makes you wonder what they tried to do to cast this demon out. I can't even imagine what kind of torture they may have put him through.

When Jesus approaches, the boy falls on the ground and begins to convulse, and his father cries, "Lord, help my son." Jesus tells him, "If you believe, all things are possible to him who believes." The father responds, "Lord, I believe, but help my unbelief." You see, he had a lack of faith; his faith was small.

I'm glad that Jesus said, "If you have the faith of a mustard seed, you'll say to this mountain, 'Be cast into the sea,' and it will be cast into the sea." What does that mean? I've heard studies about the mustard seed, and they break down all the details about it. Have you seen a mustard seed before? It's small—very, very small. Yet it can accomplish great things.

I believe what the Lord is saying there is that you just need to have a little faith in a big God who is able to move in a powerful and miraculous way. So, I mean, the question is: do we not see the miraculous very much in our nation because we don't have enough faith? Perhaps, as I said, we just have too many things to trust in, so we don't turn to God. When that unanticipated bill comes, as I've said many times before, we turn to the MasterCard instead of the Master God. We don't look to Him for help.

We don't look to Him for whatever need we have. However, it's also conceivable that God is moving in miraculous ways in our nation right before our eyes today. I don't think He often gets the credit for it; He doesn't get the glory for it. When God moves in a miraculous way in a hospital situation, they actually have a term for it on the medical chart: spontaneous resolution. We can't attribute it to God. In fact, if a miracle takes place right there and the doctor sees it, a lot of times when you say, "Doctor, it was a miracle," they try to figure out some way that it happened. So we don't credit God with these things.

There's a funny movie that came out a few years ago called "Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?" It's an interesting tale about three friends who broke out of prison and all the different things they encounter. At the very end of the movie, they're about to be hanged for their crimes, which they had been pardoned for the night before. The main character falls on his knees, and the other two guys, who have been touched by God in the movie, witness this. But this guy, who has been hardened, falls on his knees and cries out to God. You think, "Oh, the great conclusion. He's finally turned to the Lord. God save us, have mercy upon us." Just then, a great wave of water comes and overtakes them. The whole valley they are in is flooded. In the next scene, they are floating along in the water, having been saved from being hanged. His two friends say, "The Lord did it!" But he responds, "You dummies! Don't you know the state of Louisiana was flooding this here valley?" You see, God moved, but he insists there must be some other explanation.

I read an article in Newsweek a number of years ago when I was still in high school. It was a whole article describing the miracles of Exodus from a scientific standpoint. They claimed it wasn't the Red Sea, but the Reed Sea, which is only about ankle to knee deep. They said a great east wind came and blew that water, allowing them to walk across the Reed Sea. It was a miracle, you know? The bigger miracle is that the entire army of Pharaoh died in knee-deep water. They try to explain away all these things.

Have you ever watched any documentaries about biblical events on the History Channel? Let me give you a word of advice: don't. You'd be coming in here...

With all kinds of crazy questions and things that mean nothing, some Bible scholar tells you that the burning bush was actually just a fissure of gas that opened up, lightning struck it, and it lit on fire. From Moses' position, it kind of looked like the bush was burning. Maybe he was overcome with the fumes and thought he heard a voice. This is just absolute foolishness. They say we're foolish, yet they come up with all this craziness. You see, we don't attribute the miracles that God does a lot of times to God.

Speaking of Louisiana, from the story of "Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?" A few years ago, in 2004, I was visiting some friends there in December of 2003. I rented a car. I've rented cars before, and many of you have as well. You know that question they ask you as you're filling out the paperwork: "Sir, would you like to have the extra insurance?" How many of you say, "No, no thanks"? Most of us do. Every other time I had rented a car before that, I said, "No, I don't need that." But on that occasion, there was this little thought that sparked through my mind, and I thought, "Yeah, I think I'll buy that."

Three days later, I was driving on the highway, hydroplaned across the freeway at 45 miles per hour, spun out, and ran into another car. The following day, after I totaled that brand new Nissan truck, I went to the rental place, handed them the keys, filled out the paperwork, and paid my $130 for the rental vehicle. That was the last I had to hear about that. Now, the other guy that I ran into sued me, and that's another story. The police department wanted to arrest me and all that good stuff. But I see God's hand in that situation to buy that insurance. God spoke to my heart just in that little thought. I would have never bought that. An extra $20? I didn't think I needed that. I wasn't going to get in an accident. I will buy that forever.

Just this last Friday night, a couple of nights ago, I was away for a couple of days, and I got a call from my wife. She said, "Our air conditioning's broken." Back when we bought our house in October, our real estate agent, Inky, who goes to our church, gave us wisdom from the Lord. She said, "There's this warranty policy for a year that covers your appliances. I think you should buy it." Now, you all know that if you bought a house...

You're spending thousands of dollars, signing away thousands of dollars. Another $355 comes up, and you think, "I don't want to pay that." But I just believed, well, that's wisdom from the Lord. So tomorrow, I'll be calling the warranty company to take care of the air conditioning. I see the Lord's hand in those things. You see, I see God's hand in these little things that a lot of times we just say, "Oh, that's a coincidence."

I've heard it said before, and I've shared it before: the rabbis say coincidence isn't kosher. There's no such thing as coincidence. God moves, and when we begin to recognize God moving in the small things and we trust Him in those little things, we'll be more faithful to trust Him in the larger things. God desires to show Himself faithful on behalf of those whose hearts are loyal to Him.

Paul looked steadfastly at this man and said, "Stand up on your feet," and the man stood to his feet. He said this to a lame man. Did Paul just blurt this out? Did he just kind of on a whim say, "Stand up!"? Or did God give him a word of knowledge? I believe that God did give him a word of knowledge at that moment: this man has faith to be healed. So Paul said, "Stand up."

If you would turn in your Bibles to James chapter 5, a passage that, if you've studied healing before, you've probably read. James chapter 5, verse 15. We'll actually start in verse 13. The Apostle James says, "Is there any among you that is afflicted? Let him pray. Is any merry? Let him sing songs. Is any sick among you? Let him call for the elders of the church and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up. And if he has committed sins, they shall be forgiven him. Confess your sins one to another, your faults one to another, and pray for one another, that ye may be healed. The effectual and fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much."

Now, after speaking about prayer and faith-filled prayer, an effectual prayer, he gives us an illustration. James uses an example from the Old Testament. Notice the example he uses; it's from 1 Kings chapter 18.

He says, "Elijah was a man subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months. And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit."

Now, that's a very interesting example that James uses to prove that effective prayer avails much. He says Elijah was a guy just like you and me. There's nothing special about Elijah, except he prayed diligently that it would not rain, and it didn't rain for three and a half years. Then, after that, he prayed that it would rain, and it rained.

If you go back and study the full story in context, in 1 Kings chapter 18, something interesting you'll find. Elijah didn't wake up one day and just say, "I think we need a drought," and start praying that it wouldn't rain. No. God spoke to him and told him to pray that it wasn't going to rain. You see, God gave him a word of knowledge, and he prayed that it would not rain. He prayed in faith. Why? Because he had the word of the Lord saying it wasn't going to rain.

So, he prayed for those three and a half years that it would not rain, and it did not rain. At the end of it, you know what? God spoke to him and said, "Hey, Elijah, it's going to rain. Go and pray." He had the word of the Lord, and he could pray in faith, and God brought rain, an abundance of rain.

Now, it didn't happen immediately. If you remember the story, he began to pray and told his servant to go up on the top of Mount Carmel. He said, "Go up and look towards the west and see what you see." The servant came back and said, "I don't see anything." Elijah told him to go up again, and again, the servant reported, "I don't see anything." This happened seven times, and finally, he came back and said, "I see a cloud like a man's hand." Elijah then said, "Okay, go tell the king it's going to rain."

The effective and fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much, but he had the word of the Lord, and he could pray in faith.

You know, there have been a couple of occasions where I've prayed for people for healing, and the Lord has spoken to my heart, "I'm not going to heal this person." It's a dreadful thing, and it's hard for us to handle. But there are those times when God says, "I'm not going to heal this person."

On the other hand, there have been a couple of occasions where I've prayed for someone, and the Lord has spoken to my heart, "I'm going to heal this person." You know what? I can pray in faith, having the word of God, and I've seen God move.

In miraculous ways, I believe that Paul was given a word of knowledge from the Lord here. He prayed with faith that this man would be healed, and he commanded him to stand up, and the man stood up.

Now, there's a danger in this, and I've seen it firsthand. There are a number of people within different places in the church who believe that praying and petitions to God are good, but what we really need to do is command God. That's dangerous, and I don't see that in Scripture. I've seen people pray for healings in such a way that they command that this happen. The interesting thing is that there are many times when healing doesn't come, and people walk away questioning, "Maybe I didn't have enough faith," or "Maybe I have hidden sin." They think, "It must have been me; I'm the problem." Or perhaps God just said no.

There are other times when we come before God and say, "Lord, heal me of this headache," and He says, "Take an aspirin." Sometimes, God gives us wisdom in the situation. I hurt my back a number of months ago when we were moving into our house. I had several people pray for my back, and then one day, someone came up and said, "I really think you should go see the chiropractor." I thought, "Okay, I'll go see the chiropractor." You know what? It helped. I believe that was a word of knowledge from the Lord.

There are times when God says no, and we don't like no. I have a ten-month-old son who doesn't like no. The other night when I got home, there were some sandals on the floor at the foot of the stairs. He crawled over, and both my wife and I said, "Ethan, no." He looked back at us and did this, and then he turned back around and went for the sandals again. We said, "Ethan, no," and he turned around and went, and then he reached back for them. I said, "Ethan, no," and he turned around and started crying. He doesn't like no.

How many of you like no? I don't see any hands. God says no, and He gives us the grace to handle it when He says no. You know what? There are times when maybe a day, two days, a year, or three years come along, and you look down the road and say, "Lord, thank You."

For saying no, we must remember that God's ways are higher than our ways. He has plans that we don't often understand, but He is at work. When He works, we should credit Him for the work and give glory to Him. Just because we don't immediately see something happen doesn't mean He is not working, and it doesn't mean that He is not there.

I have also met some believers and unbelievers who say, "I tried that Jesus thing. It didn't work for me." When I ask what they mean by that, they respond as if Jesus is some sort of button you push to make everything better. They might say, "I prayed for my uncle that he wouldn't die, and he died. So, I don't believe in God." Really? God didn't do what you wanted Him to do, so you don't believe in Him?

You see, God is not your genie in a bottle; He is our Father in heaven, amen? He desires that we trust in Him and turn to Him in every situation. If you are one who will trust in Him in that way and turn to Him in every situation, you will see Him work. Maybe not every single time immediately, but you will see Him work. Then you'll be one of those people that everybody says, "Man, you're nuts! You're preaching to all the avocado trees because you trust God." Amen?

Let's stand and pray together. Father, I do thank You that You are our Father in heaven, our God, the King of kings and Lord of lords. I pray, Lord, that You would help our unbelief because every single one of us here today has areas in our lives of unbelief. Perhaps it's even the greatest sin that we struggle with—having a hard time trusting You. But Lord, You are trustworthy. You are faithful. Even when our faith is small, You are strong. And Lord,

I thank You that Your working is not dependent upon my believing. But, Lord, in some way, Your working is unleashed when I trust in You. So, would You help me this week and today to trust in You? We ask it in Jesus' name. Amen.

Those feelings of comfort from another or their love can be a source of strength.