And he entered again into the synagogue; and there was a man there which had a withered hand. And they watched him, whether he would heal him on the sabbath day;that they might accuse him. And he saith unto the man which had the withered hand,Stand forth. And he saith unto them,Is it lawful to do good on the sabbath days, or to do evil? To save life, or to kill? But they held their peace. And when he had looked round about on them with anger, being grieved for the hardness of their hearts,he saith unto the man,Stretch forth thine hand. And he stretched it out: and his hand was restored whole as the other. Mark 3:1-5

Introduction

Our text reveals to us that Jesus had recently been to the synagogue which is why it states that Jesus entered again into the synagogue. It is safe to assume that the man who had the withered hand must have been in the synagogue the first time Jesus went there and was not healed. I also believe that the man would have heard about the miracles that Jesus had performed and would have had raised expectations hoping to receive his healing when Jesus showed up at the synagogue. Jesus came and left the synagogue and the man remained in the same condition. Have you ever gone to church hoping to receive your miracle and you come back home the same way? Please note that the man probably didn't know when next Jesus would visit the synagogue but he remained faithful and continued to go to the synagogue. This is a clear statement of a man who had decided to worship regardless of his condition. Whether or not God healed him, he was committed to serving God regardless. Do you only go to church because of what God can do for you? Will you still serve God even if he doesn't answer you?

Prayer

Father, I ask for the grace to worship and serve You in my local assembly even if my prayers remain unanswered. I declare that I choose to serve you not for what YOU can do for me but because I love you LORD. Father, I declare my service to YOU will not be based on what I can get from YOU in Jesus Name