I ministered this message from the book 7 Kinds of People You Cannot Help by Dr. Mike Murdock. As I preached this word, my heart was not to expose people for the sake of embarrassment, but to help us locate ourselves before the Lord. There are moments when God sends truth into our lives not to condemn us, but to rescue us.
Sometimes we are asking God for deliverance, but the highest level of deliverance is knowledge. Jesus said, “You shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” (John 8:32).
There are times when it is not a demon problem; it is a knowledge problem. It is not always warfare around you; sometimes it is wrong thinking within you. But the moment truth enters, light enters. The moment light enters, bondage begins to lose its power.
In Matthew 13:3–9, Jesus speaks about the sower who went out to sow. The same seed fell on different kinds of ground, but the result was different because the soil was different. The seed revealed the ground. In the same way, the Word exposes the condition of our hearts. My prayer is simple: Lord, make my heart good ground.
There are people you can love, pray for, counsel, and encourage, yet they remain unchanged because they refuse the posture that allows help to work. Here are seven kinds of people you cannot help.
1. You cannot help someone who refuses to admit they have a problem
You cannot heal what someone keeps hiding. A doctor cannot treat a patient who refuses to reveal the pain. A lawyer cannot defend someone who hides the facts. In the same way, spiritual help begins with honesty.
James 4:6 says, “God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” Pride keeps people bound because they would rather appear whole than become whole.
True freedom starts when I can say, “Lord, I need help.”
2. You cannot help someone whose conscience has been seared
Paul speaks about people “having their own conscience seared with a hot iron” (1 Timothy 4:2). When the conscience becomes seared, a person loses sensitivity in an area where God is trying to correct them.
Conviction is not God attacking us. Conviction is God rescuing us. When the Holy Spirit still corrects me, I thank God that I am still reachable. The danger is not that God speaks too much; the danger is when we no longer tremble at His voice.
3. You cannot help someone who refuses to reach
Desire is proven through pursuit. Blind Bartimaeus did not sit quietly when Jesus passed by. He cried out, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” (Mark 10:46–52). His pursuit proved his desire.
The woman with the issue of blood also pressed through the crowd because she made up her mind that her condition would not be her conclusion (Mark 5:25–34).
If I truly want change, I will reach. I will pursue wisdom. I will ask questions. I will position myself where help is flowing.
4. You cannot help someone who refuses to listen and follow instruction
Proverbs 1:5 says, “A wise man will hear and increase learning, and a man of understanding will attain wise counsel.”
Some people do not want counsel; they want confirmation. They have already made up their minds, and they only want someone to bless what God never instructed.
Instruction that is never followed becomes wasted access. Teachability is one of the greatest signs that someone is ready for change.
5. You cannot help someone who disregards godly authority
Hebrews 13:17 says, “Obey those who rule over you, and be submissive, for they watch out for your souls.”
Authority is not there to destroy you; it is there to protect order. In every environment, there is authority: in marriage, in the workplace, in the church, and in the Kingdom. Where there is order, there is peace. Where there is honor, there is access.
We must learn to discern who God has placed in our lives. Your breakthrough is often connected to people you must learn to honor.
6. You cannot help someone who rejects the Bible as the standard of truth
2 Timothy 3:16–17 tells us that all Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for doctrine, correction, and instruction in righteousness.
If the Bible is no longer the standard, then opinion becomes the throne. But my feelings cannot lead me into freedom. Truth leads me into freedom. I do not change truth based on my experiences; I allow truth to become my experience.
7. You cannot help someone who believes you are their problem
When someone has already decided that you are the enemy, they will reject even the truth that could deliver them. Stephen preached truth in Acts 7, yet the people resisted him because their hearts were already set against him.
Sometimes the issue is not the message; it is the offense in the listener. If I believe everyone else is my problem, I will never take ownership for my growth.
Closing
The purpose of this word is not to look around and identify everyone else. The purpose is to ask, “Lord, where am I?”
Am I hiding a problem? Have I become insensitive to conviction? Have I stopped reaching? Have I ignored instruction? Have I dishonored authority? Have I lowered the standard of Scripture? Have I blamed others for what God wants to heal in me?
The beautiful thing about God is that one moment of truth can change your life forever. Change does not always need to be a dramatic, weeping moment. Sometimes it is simply, “Lord, now I see.”
There is no guilt, no shame, and no condemnation in Christ. There is an invitation to grow. You can have a better marriage with the same spouse. You can have a renewed life with the same circumstances. You can become different because your mind has been renewed.
May we become good ground. May truth take root in us. And may we be people who are not only loved by God, but also teachable enough to be helped by God.
