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Christian Life Church
December 28, 2025 at 9am & 11am
The wounds you carry will attract others – make sure they are the kind who help, not hurt, not hinder and who walk with you toward healing, not just share in the pain.
Locations & Times
Christian Life Church Columbia
2700 Bush River Rd, Columbia, SC 29210, USA
Sunday 8:00 AM
FLIES & THE MOST HIGH December 28, 2025
SCRIPTURES
Isaiah 53:4-5 “Surely he took up our pain and carried our sorrows; yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted.But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; The punishment that brought us peace was on him, and with his wounds we are healed.”
Isaiah 53:4-5 Young's Literal Translation “Surely our sicknesses he hath borne, And our pains he hath carried them, And we have esteemed him plagued, smitten of God, and afflicted. And he is pierced for our transgressions, bruised for our iniquities, The chastisement of our peace is on him, And by his bruise there is healing to us.”
Psalm 147:3 “He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.”
Jeremiah 30:17 “For I will restore health to you, and heal your wounds,’ declares the Lord.”
Psalm 34:18 “The Lord is close to the brokenhearted; he rescues those whose spirits are crushed.”
The Existence of Wounds
1/ Everyone Has Them.
Wounds from loss // from failure(s) // from betrayal // from disappointment // etc.
The question is not whether you have them, but what you will do with them.
2/ Left untreated, they become points of vulnerability.
Untreated wounds don’t stay neutral.
The danger is not that we have wounds, but it’s when wounds are left unattended. Wounds that are ignored shape how we think and react, what we trust and what we avoid.
Generally speaking, avoidance actually delays healing.
3/ Concealment is NOT treatment.
We find more-so that God doesn’t heal what we hide – He heals what we bring to Him.
One of the most challenging things in Scripture is that Jesus often asks us to say out loud what we’d rather keep quiet.
Time doesn’t heal all wounds — treatment does.
The Woundmates of Wounds
1/ Intruders
Open wounds attract intruders (i.e. gnats, ants, mosquitoes and flies).
Like these intruders, our adversary is attracted to open wounds.
1 Peter 5:8 “Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.”
A lion looks for the weak. Flies look for the wounded. Same strategy, different image.
Satan is actively looking for open wounds to exploit.
2/ Infection
Wounds untreated are prone to infection.
Externally
Ecclesiastes 10:1 New Living Translation “As dead flies cause even a bottle of perfume to stink, so a little foolishness spoils great wisdom and honor.”
Ecclesiastes 10:1 The Message “Dead flies in perfume make it stink, and a little foolishness decomposes much wisdom.”
Flies [Intruder] + foolishness [neglect] = infection
Something small can spoil something valuable. It doesn’t take a massive sin or trauma. An untreated wound is enough.
When our wounds aren’t treated, they spread.
Internally
Ephesians 4:27 “Neither give place to the devil.”
Hebrews 12:15 “See to it that no one falls short of the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many.”
Internal wounds, left unhealed, are like an infection in the soul.
Untreated wounds invite “woundmates”—bitterness, anger, disillusionment, and sin—that can spread.
3/ Inhabit
If infected wounds go too long without treatment, they invite intrusion.
What we refuse to heal, the enemy tries to inhabit.
The enemy doesn’t need permission to tempt — but he looks for permission to stay.
Genesis 4:7 “Sin is crouching at the door, eager to control you. But you must subdue it and be its master.”
Wounds aren’t sin, but they can be sin’s doorway if ignored.
4/ Individuals
Wounds attract individuals (curious individuals, concerned individuals, critical individuals, caring individuals, and comparable individuals).
The wounds you carry will attract others – make sure they are the kind who help, not hurt, not hinder and who walk with you toward healing, not just share in the pain.
The Work of the Healer
1/ Jesus sees your pain.
He sees. He cares.
2/ Jesus stops for the wounded.
The crowd may keep moving — Jesus stops.
3/ Jesus shares in our suffering.
He walks with us through the pain and the process.
4/ Jesus substitutes our sorrows.
He takes our sorrows and gives us Himself.
5/ Jesus supplies the treatment.
He is the source, He strengthens the soul.
The Way Forward
1/ Acknowledge the wound.
Mark 10:51 “What do you want Me to do for you?”
Named pain can be healed; hidden pain stays in charge.
2/ Allow the treatment.
Healing may involve discomfort, correction, or waiting — but never harm.
Jesus isn’t out to punish — He presses to heal.
3/ Apply trust daily.
Healing is often a process, not a moment.
Treatment without trust doesn’t fully heal.
4/ Acquire help from the body.
God often binds wounds through community, not isolation.
James 5:16 “Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.”
Galatians 6:2 “Share (or carry, or bear) each other’s burdens, and in this way obey the law of Christ.”
Wounds we carry alone heal more slowly than those shared with trusted companions.
5/ Accept what remains.
There can be great purpose in the pain.
SCRIPTURES
Isaiah 53:4-5 “Surely he took up our pain and carried our sorrows; yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted.But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; The punishment that brought us peace was on him, and with his wounds we are healed.”
Isaiah 53:4-5 Young's Literal Translation “Surely our sicknesses he hath borne, And our pains he hath carried them, And we have esteemed him plagued, smitten of God, and afflicted. And he is pierced for our transgressions, bruised for our iniquities, The chastisement of our peace is on him, And by his bruise there is healing to us.”
Psalm 147:3 “He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.”
Jeremiah 30:17 “For I will restore health to you, and heal your wounds,’ declares the Lord.”
Psalm 34:18 “The Lord is close to the brokenhearted; he rescues those whose spirits are crushed.”
The Existence of Wounds
1/ Everyone Has Them.
Wounds from loss // from failure(s) // from betrayal // from disappointment // etc.
The question is not whether you have them, but what you will do with them.
2/ Left untreated, they become points of vulnerability.
Untreated wounds don’t stay neutral.
The danger is not that we have wounds, but it’s when wounds are left unattended. Wounds that are ignored shape how we think and react, what we trust and what we avoid.
Generally speaking, avoidance actually delays healing.
3/ Concealment is NOT treatment.
We find more-so that God doesn’t heal what we hide – He heals what we bring to Him.
One of the most challenging things in Scripture is that Jesus often asks us to say out loud what we’d rather keep quiet.
Time doesn’t heal all wounds — treatment does.
The Woundmates of Wounds
1/ Intruders
Open wounds attract intruders (i.e. gnats, ants, mosquitoes and flies).
Like these intruders, our adversary is attracted to open wounds.
1 Peter 5:8 “Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.”
A lion looks for the weak. Flies look for the wounded. Same strategy, different image.
Satan is actively looking for open wounds to exploit.
2/ Infection
Wounds untreated are prone to infection.
Externally
Ecclesiastes 10:1 New Living Translation “As dead flies cause even a bottle of perfume to stink, so a little foolishness spoils great wisdom and honor.”
Ecclesiastes 10:1 The Message “Dead flies in perfume make it stink, and a little foolishness decomposes much wisdom.”
Flies [Intruder] + foolishness [neglect] = infection
Something small can spoil something valuable. It doesn’t take a massive sin or trauma. An untreated wound is enough.
When our wounds aren’t treated, they spread.
Internally
Ephesians 4:27 “Neither give place to the devil.”
Hebrews 12:15 “See to it that no one falls short of the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many.”
Internal wounds, left unhealed, are like an infection in the soul.
Untreated wounds invite “woundmates”—bitterness, anger, disillusionment, and sin—that can spread.
3/ Inhabit
If infected wounds go too long without treatment, they invite intrusion.
What we refuse to heal, the enemy tries to inhabit.
The enemy doesn’t need permission to tempt — but he looks for permission to stay.
Genesis 4:7 “Sin is crouching at the door, eager to control you. But you must subdue it and be its master.”
Wounds aren’t sin, but they can be sin’s doorway if ignored.
4/ Individuals
Wounds attract individuals (curious individuals, concerned individuals, critical individuals, caring individuals, and comparable individuals).
The wounds you carry will attract others – make sure they are the kind who help, not hurt, not hinder and who walk with you toward healing, not just share in the pain.
The Work of the Healer
1/ Jesus sees your pain.
He sees. He cares.
2/ Jesus stops for the wounded.
The crowd may keep moving — Jesus stops.
3/ Jesus shares in our suffering.
He walks with us through the pain and the process.
4/ Jesus substitutes our sorrows.
He takes our sorrows and gives us Himself.
5/ Jesus supplies the treatment.
He is the source, He strengthens the soul.
The Way Forward
1/ Acknowledge the wound.
Mark 10:51 “What do you want Me to do for you?”
Named pain can be healed; hidden pain stays in charge.
2/ Allow the treatment.
Healing may involve discomfort, correction, or waiting — but never harm.
Jesus isn’t out to punish — He presses to heal.
3/ Apply trust daily.
Healing is often a process, not a moment.
Treatment without trust doesn’t fully heal.
4/ Acquire help from the body.
God often binds wounds through community, not isolation.
James 5:16 “Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.”
Galatians 6:2 “Share (or carry, or bear) each other’s burdens, and in this way obey the law of Christ.”
Wounds we carry alone heal more slowly than those shared with trusted companions.
5/ Accept what remains.
There can be great purpose in the pain.