The Hurt Dealer vs. the Hurt Healer
Pastor Glenn Newton
February 20th, 2011
Text: Matthew 12: 22-32
MT 12:22 Then they brought him a demon-possessed man who was blind and mute, and Jesus healed him, so that he could both talk and see. 23 All the people were astonished and said, "Could this be the Son of David?"
MT 12:24 But when the Pharisees heard this, they said, "It is only by Beelzebub, the prince of demons, that this fellow drives out demons."
MT 12:25 Jesus knew their thoughts and said to them, "Every kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and every city or household divided against itself will not stand. 26 If Satan drives out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then can his kingdom stand? 27 And if I drive out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your people drive them out? So then, they will be your judges. 28 But if I drive out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.
MT 12:29 "Or again, how can anyone enter a strong man's house and carry off his possessions unless he first ties up the strong man? Then he can rob his house.
MT 12:30 "He who is not with me is against me, and he who does not gather with me scatters. 31 And so I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. 32 Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come.
This sermon title comes from something I heard last night at the concert, the Pastor who came and gave the invitation to the 15,203 people who were in the Tulsa BOK Center…he gave his personal testimony and it was powerful. He shared how he was born in a mental institution, his mother was an insane, drug addicted prostitute…he was given up for adoption, his new forever family adopted him for $200. He said he remembers feeling so lucky to get a new chance, with a new life…but his new father was not the kind of father you would dream about as a being a good Dad. His Dad would get drunk and beat Tony Nolan, and he would tell him that he wished that he could get his $200 dollars back…he would tell Tony that he wished he would have never adopted him….As you can imagine Tony was in a lot of pain….as he described it last night….the Hurt dealer was messing up his life, his life was full of hurt, hate, drugs, and all the things Satan offers as quick fixes for our pain….but these things just end up bringing more pain.
At the age of 20 years old, in 1989, Tony found himself at the end of his rope, and in church at the invitation of a friend…He heard the Pastor talk about a Heavenly Father who was the Hurt Healer, a healer who Loved Him… A Hurt Healer who Loved Him so much that He sent His One and Only Son to Die of the Cross for Him….Tony Nolan was a desperate, sin scarred man who needed someone to Love him….He found Jesus, He found a Father who would love Him no matter the Cost, He found the One who could heal all the hurts the enemy had inflicted on his life. What a great testimony of Grace and Healing. (Testimony was heard at WinterJam Tour in Tulsa on Feb. 18th, 2011)
First, There is a real Satan who brings the Hurt…it’s what he deals into your life…if allowed a foothold. V. 22-23
MT 12:22 Then they brought him a demon-possessed man who was blind and mute, and Jesus healed him, so that he could both talk and see. 23 All the people were astonished and said, "Could this be the Son of David?"
If you’re here this morning and your feel like you have no value, that somehow your were born a mistake…that somehow God was asleep when you were conceived…. If that’s what you think, if you think those kind of things about yourself…Satan has been dealing hurt into your life, and today is the day to get free, to be set free from the lies that you have been listening too, and believing for too long.
Maybe this morning you’re here and your lonely, you may feel like there is no one out there in this dark, wide open world for you…or at least that’s what it feel like. Maybe this morning you feel like something is wrong with you…. “How come no one will love me?” This morning, I want to remind you that there is one out to destroy you, his mission is to infect your thinking with negative thoughts about yourself so you will look at the world through his negative, painful and self-centered eyes…. Satan wants you to hate yourself…..if you hate yourself today, you have allowed the Pain dealer to do his work in your life and in your heart and mind…. Today it’s time to be healed and let God, the Hurt Healer touch you, and free you to be yourself and be confident in who you are In Christ….YOU are a New Creation through Christ, a person of Great Worth and You need to be reminded of your eternal worth. Don’t listen to the lies for one more second….
Satan works in fear, he works in bitterness, he can work with lies and dishonesty. Satan will weave his hurt into your life through rebellion and dishonoring your parents, Satan, the Hurt Dealer will use friends that you have allowed to influence your thinking, he will use them to break into your mind and heart and when he comes, he doesn’t come with good intentions, his aim is to kill and destroy…everything.
If you have hate in your heart for anyone, the Hurt Dealer can use that very easily to bring the hurt into your life. That hate will manifest itself in all kinds of ways, and it will cause you more damage than you could have ever imagined. Today, there is only one cure for the disease of hate, fear, bitterness, lies and dishonesty, rebellion….Only one Cure….His name is Jesus, and He reaches out to you in Love today….
He knows where you are, He sees the mess that your in…..and He loves you anyway. His love penetrates the deepest hate, the most repulsive rebellion….God sent Jesus to set the captives free, to break the chains in our life…will you allow God to set you free today?
In our passage this morning, the people brought to Jesus a man who was demon possessed, and because of this possession he was blind and could not talk. It seems from the passage that it was the demon possession that actually had caused these physical problems, that is not always the case, but it seems to be here. When you allow Satan a foothold into your life, whether it’s an attitude, whether it’s an addiction, or a lifestyle of sin…..He won’t mess around, he will begin to bring as much pain and hurt as he can, his goal is to destroy you, literally.
Why is that you ask? Simple. He hates you. You were created by God in God’s image, so from the very beginning you were set apart for God’s purpose, and because Satan hates God and everything about God, he hates you.
Reason number two. Satan is a defeated foe. Satan knows that his time is limited, God has created a place called Hell for Satan and all of his demons, that is who Hell was created for, it was never created for you and me. But, Satan knows if he can deceive you, and bring enough hurt in your life and get you to believe his lies….and if you never turn and repent of your sin, then ultimately he will take you with him to an eternity of punishment.
Friends, we have to get out of the sin business. When we allow sin to be apart of our lives, we are messing with eternity, don’t do business with the Hurt Dealer, just like a drug dealer he will hand out freebies, he will promise you a good time….but there are always strings attached, there is always destruction just around the corner….Satan is a liar and he will destroy you the first chance he gets.
Did you notice what happened when Jesus saw this man who had been brought to him?
I didn’t notice the man say anything, in fact he couldn’t say anything, he was mute. The man was blind, he couldn’t even look into Jesus’ face and plead with his eyes for release from this demon possession. What did our Lord and Savior do?
He healed Him. Jesus is the Hurt Healer. He wants to Heal you today. He can heal physically, He can heal emotionally, He can heal our sin sick body and mind, He can heal the whole person today. We are going to pray for healing this morning, only you will know why you are coming down, but I want you to come down and kneel at the alter as a Cry out to God, the Hurt Healer and you tell God what you need healing from, I will come and annoint each one for healing this morning and we are going to pray for the Power of the Holy Spirit to be free to heal, spiritually and physically today. God can do it, you do believe that don’t you?
Will you come and find healing today in Jesus name? Through the power of God’s Word and through the Power of the Holy Spirit, we say yes to the Hurt Healer, we need your healing today! Come and pray, it’s time to turn our lives over to the one who truly Loves us, who Truly has a great plan for us….who wants to give us New Hope and a great Future.
