At the end of this message, what I want is simple. I want your expectations for healing to be fulfilled, and I want your confidence in Christ to be settled. I want you secure in your salvation, with no lingering questions about where you stand with God.
Salvation is not just about going to heaven someday. Salvation is everything Jesus has already provided for you. As we walk through Scripture together, you are going to hear one word over and over again. Believe.
In Matthew 24, the disciples asked Jesus what the signs of His coming would be. Jesus answered them by first saying, “Don’t let anyone mislead you.” Before He mentioned wars, earthquakes, or famines, He warned about deception.
Matthew 24:4–8 (NLT)
“Don’t let anyone mislead you, for many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Messiah.’ They will deceive many. And you will hear of wars and threats of wars, but don’t panic. Yes, these things must take place, but the end won’t follow immediately… But all this is only the first of the birth pains, with more to come.”
Most people fixate on the chaos, but Jesus started with deception because deception is the real danger. We live in a time where there is massive confusion about Christ, about truth, and about how we are supposed to walk as believers. The church itself has often been deceived, and that deception has consequences.
John 14:6 makes the issue very clear.
John 14:6 (NLT)
“I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.”
That statement does not leave room for alternative paths. We can be loving and peaceful toward people, but we cannot accept lies. Every person is created by God, but not every belief system leads to God. If it is not Christ, it is not truth.
We see churches today praying together across religions, calling one another brothers and sisters, but we have to ask an honest question. Who are we praying to? Unity without truth is not biblical unity.
Scripture warns that a little corruption affects the whole thing. Jesus and Paul both used this picture because it is true. A little yeast works through the entire batch.
That is why Jesus laid out clear steps for correction within the church. When sin is left unaddressed, it spreads. This is not about being harsh or unloving. It is about protecting truth and freedom.
We are not weak. We carry the Holy Spirit of God. We are meant to be a place people run to for healing, freedom, clarity, and truth. Everything we need has already been provided in Christ.
John 6:29 tells us exactly what God is asking from us.
John 6:29 (NLT)
“This is the only work God wants from you: Believe in the one he has sent.”
Belief is not passive. Real belief produces fruit. If we believe Jesus, our lives will reflect it. Our actions, words, and priorities will line up with what we say we believe.
Paul addresses division directly in 1 Corinthians.
1 Corinthians 1:10–13 (NKJV)
“Now I plead with you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing… Is Christ divided?”
Paul calls out the tendency to align ourselves with labels and leaders instead of Christ. Today, we see this play out through denominations that preach different messages from the same Bible. To the outside world, this makes no sense.
Jesus prayed for unity in John 17, and Ephesians 4 calls us into unity of the faith. That unity is based on truth, not preference.
Some of my intensity comes from experience. I was raised Catholic and later attended churches that gradually removed the Holy Spirit, healing, and correction in favor of growth and comfort.
I lived in deception for a season. I went to church and then went out partying afterward, believing I was fine because no one ever challenged my lifestyle. That deception almost cost me everything.
This is not about preference or comfort. This is about eternity.
The captives are not somewhere far away. They are in our families, at our jobs, and in our neighborhoods. People are depressed, hopeless, and taking their own lives because no one is telling them the truth.
I’ve watched what happens when honesty meets surrender. I once challenged a man who openly rejected Jesus to go home and say exactly what he thought to God. Days later, he came back baptized and transformed. God does not need religious language. He responds to honesty.
Jesus said, “Follow me.” That is not complicated. If Jesus would not do it, neither should we. Surrender allows God to give us His best.
Sacrifice has always created provision. Old Testament sacrifices created temporary atonement. Jesus’ sacrifice created full provision.
Genesis is not poetry or mythology. God calls it history.
Genesis 1 lays out creation in order, with purpose and authority. God spoke, and it was so. Everything reproduces according to its kind. Everything was finished, and God rested.
If we cannot believe what God says about creation, how will we believe Him about salvation, healing, or redemption? Belief starts at the beginning.
John 1 makes this unmistakably clear.
John 1:1–5, 14 (NKJV)
“In the beginning was the Word… All things were made through Him… And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.”
Jesus was not a late addition. He was present from the beginning. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit have always been in unity.
Mark 16 ties belief directly to action.
Mark 16:15–18 (NKJV)
“These signs will follow those who believe… they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.”
This authority did not expire. Jesus said it, and just like creation, it was so.
I have watched animals obey spoken authority. I have seen danger stopped by command. I have seen healing begin when prayer was spoken without fear.
We are not responsible for outcomes, but we are responsible to speak. The Word is sent. God does the work.
Matthew 10:7–8 (NKJV)
“And as you go, preach, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ Heal the sick… Freely you have received, freely give.”
The kingdom grows through obedience. One person tells another, and lives are changed.
If we believe, we will act. Love compels us to serve, to speak, and to engage. Silence is not neutrality. It is agreement with deception.
Jesus is not weak. He is the strongest man who ever lived. He endured the cross and conquered death.
The question is simple. Are you prepared to receive everything He has provided, or will you hold back because belief feels uncomfortable?
You must choose whom you will serve.
