October 6, 2025 • 43 mins
In this powerful sermon, Guest Speaker Michael Rondon dives into John 5, exploring the story of Jesus healing a man paralyzed for 38 years at the Pool of Bethesda. Titled "Do You Want to Be Made Well?", the message challenges listeners to reflect on their own desire for spiritual and physical healing. Michael emphasizes Jesus’ personal approach, meeting individuals in their brokenness, as seen in encounters with Nicodemus, the woman at the well, and the paralyzed man. He unpacks the significance of hope, perseverance, and trusting God’s goodness, even when answers are "no" or "not yet." Drawing from the broader context of the Gospel of John, Michael encourages the congregation to find life in Jesus alone, live a legacy that points others to Him, and prepare for eternity. The sermon also highlights the power of God’s sovereignty and the call to serve the "one" in front of us, inspiring believers to remain expectant and faithful in their walk with Christ.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:01):
Morning church.
How are we doing?
Good to see you.
Second service.
All right.
Before we jump into our studythis morning,
I wanted to share an update from PastorCarl.
He's been sending text here and there.
He sent one this morning.
He was saying they were doing church from,like, midnight to two hour time, 2 a.m..
(00:23):
And so sharing the gospel,
sharing the good news, encouragingthe new leaders and churches and pastors.
And so he sent us thisas he's finishing up his time, he says,
thank you for your prayers.
It was a great day in the front linechurch.
I preached and it was so fun.
And I love that that hit me.
(00:44):
I share this with first service.
I just think, and I mean thisin the most respectful way.
But Pastor Carl, it's like that giddy
child who's so excited,it's like this expected Christmas morning.
Like, that's how your pastor feels
about sharing the gospeland the good news of Jesus.
Yeah, I think that's called.
I've only known him a
year and a half,but I'm very grateful for his leadership
(01:07):
because he'll get up and he'llboldly proclaim Jesus and teach the gospel
and walk through Scripture in a waythat is so informative and helpful.
But then he walks the walk, right?
He's not is not talk with him.It is. It is a lifestyle.
It is.
It is an all in mentality.
But then he went on to say,
he said this one man said, you coming heremeans so much.
People praying is one thing, butyou coming and speaking to the unbelievers
(01:31):
in our community, it shows us thatother Christians are here with us, right?
They're not alone.
And he said, we believe that step by step,
Ukraine will become a Christian nationwith other Christians.
And then this was Carl's just messageto the church you this morning.
Thank you, flip side, for your courage.
Thank you flip side for your prayers.
(01:51):
Thank you.
Flip side for your generosityand your ministry.
Right.
The giving that you will part of thosewho partner with Excel,
planning these churches, equippingthese pastors and just walking alongside,
people in
a really difficult situationand circumstance and bringing hope.
And Carl said, you're changing the world.
People are coming toJesus and churches are being planted.
(02:14):
And so if you can continue to pray
for Carl, continue to pray for the leadersthere as he he also said this.
He says now, even 18 hourtrain ride to Poland.
So pray for him in his travels.
But keep praying for Ukraine.
Keep praying for the church. Keeppraying for. For what God's doing there?
This this revival of sorts.
And we'll just keep checking.
I'm sure Carl will give us updates
(02:34):
when he gets back and pictures and videos,but yeah, he's super encouraged and
it sounds like God has done a really coolwork in Ukraine the last two weeks.
All right.
For our study this morning, if you haveyour Bibles, turn to John five for Isaiah.
I see some high school face in the room.
It's going to be a little bit of reviewfor you, but I'm I modified it a little.
Our high school,our junior high high school students
(02:55):
are going through the Gospel of Johnthis fall.
And I just think,
this, thisthese first five chapters, we're
only five chapters in as a youth ministryhave been impactful to me.
And this morning,we're going to be just in John five.
But I want to putI want to put this on the screen.
(03:18):
This is kind of what I'm titlingthe Teaching this morning
or or what we're kind of whatI wanted to focus on.
It's this do you want to get well?
Do you want to get well?
That's a big questionfor believers in the room.
That's a big question for the unbelieversin the room. But do you want to get well
know I want to I also want to
frame this morning through the lensthat Pastor Carl shared with us.
(03:41):
You know, 2 or 3,
I guess, maybe a month ago now, life,legacy and eternity life legacy.
Eternity.
And so, as you know, right,the New Testament starts
with the four GospelsMatthew, Mark, Luke and John.
And I love that there's a breadthand then there's this fullness
as we read all four Gospels,because they're not the same.
They share some similar stories,
(04:01):
but they also share some very uniquestories to that particular gospel.
And as we look at, as we lookat the gospel, we we get to see Jesus.
I think in four ways.
We get to see Jesus as Messiah and King.
He's the Lord of Lords.
We also get to see himas at times depicted as this lowly servant
come to save the lost,
to die for his creation.
(04:24):
We see him at times,as the Son of Man, right?
We see the humanity side of Jesusas he's fully human.
We also see the divine side.
We see him that he is fully God.
He's the Son of God.
And so I was really convicted this weekto, you know, I
sometimes we getting this I read Matthew,I read Mark.
We've had him once we've heard them alland it's like, no, there's so much more.
And what I love about John specificallyhow God inspired John to write his gospel,
(04:47):
is that he has fewer miracles, but almost
all of them are uniqueto just this gospel.
And so if you haven't read John,you missed a ton of really impactful
ministry that Jesus is sharing.
And so I guess before
we jump into five, I want toI want to share
the main message John has for this gospel,because we're not going to get there.
(05:07):
It's John 2031and this is the gospel summed up.
It says this,but these are written that you may believe
that Jesus is the Messiah, Son of God,
and that by believingyou may have life in his name.
I love the order of operationshere, right?
First, our goal is to believe ourselvesand help others to believe
(05:28):
that Jesus is the Messiah.
He is the Lord. He is King.
He is the author,the Omega, the beginning and the end.
He is God like.
That's our main focus in life is to
is to believe that with all of our heart,soul, mind and strength.
But then the second part I thinkis so important and something maybe we
get dropped off
is that we're supposed to find lifein only his name.
(05:49):
How often are we looking for a purposeand identity and love and all these things
and all these different spaceswhen we need to?
Firstly, start with Jesus,that who we find life in and through.
And so I love thatthat Jesus has finished the work.
And now it's our job through the HolySpirit, to walk closely with Jesus.
To what? Nearto him? To look more like him.
(06:10):
To sound more like him.
To act more like him, to repent often.
And so I just think as welook at John five,
I think this is a good framework to have.
This is the gospel that we would onesee Jesus as Messiah and to find life
only in his name,
not through our athletic abilities,not through our knowledge,
not through our marriage, not toanything else.
We find life only in the name of Jesus
(06:31):
and something I share with our studentsa lot.
Two things I share with them.
I say, hey, we're jumping into a texton a Monday night.
Don't forget what we read prior, right?
So don't forget John one,John two, John three, John four.
Before we get to five and two,find yourself in the text.
Find yourselfbecause God is speaking uniquely to you.
(06:52):
And so my encouragement to youthis morning is find yourself in the text.
How is God speaking to you individually?
Now, before we jump into five,I just want to give you a quick,
overview from one, two, three and fourbecause I think it'll help us with five.
And so I love John one one.
This main takeaway,it says in the beginning
was the word, and the word was God,and the word was with God.
(07:12):
Right?
John is connecting.
John one one to Genesis one one.
Right.
He's connecting itbecause in the beginning
God created the heavensand the earth, right?
So, so John is saying right off the top,as you are introduced to Jesus
and who he is, you need to knowhe is eternal, that he is God, that he is.
He is divine.
It's just that's the first thingI want you to know about this Jesus person
and character that he is God.
(07:35):
He is Messiah.
And then we get
into John two and it's really a fun story.
Jesus and his mother and his disciplesat a wedding in Cana.
And I was thinking to myself,how many people can say Jesus was at their
wedding and with his mother and discipleslike Holy Spirit was present?
Not mine, of course, but.
And yours.
(07:55):
But Jesus was physically there.
And it says that Mary comes to Jesus.
And she said, hey, there's a problem.
They run out of wine.
We need you to figure that out.
As a mom talks to a son like,you know, hey, figure it out.
Well, you know, we need some help here.
And Jesus is like, he has thisinteresting interaction with his mother.
It's like, it's not my time.
And thenI love it's just a little side note, but
(08:17):
Mary turns to the servants who were thereand says, whatever Jesus says, you do.
And then Jesus.
Eventuallyhe changes this water into wine.
And there's this really cool symbolof of this abundance
that Jesus saved the best for last,that that his blood and wine are these
the symbol of, of of, of usbeing forgiven our sins much.
Right. And why we celebrate communion.
(08:37):
But I love what I take away from John,too, is Mary's words.
Mary says to the servants,Whatever Jesus says,
you do,it isn't that our charge as believers?
Whatever Jesus says, we do,
if he says go, we go.
If he says stop, we stop.
If he says encourage and serve and give,we do those things.
And so I love that we can just miss that.
(08:58):
But John, to do andgo and speak as Jesus does.
And then we get
John three four and fiveand it's testimony, testimony, testimony.
Right.
And I think it just highlightsthe power of testimony
and also how personal our God is,because he wasn't going to meet
Nicodemus, the woman at the well,and this paralyzed man where they are.
(09:19):
Right.
Nicodemus was this religious leader,devout Pharisee, Sanhedrin.
He checked every box.He was the teacher of Israel, right?
Big dog had it all right.
But he he saw something in Jesus.
He saw that Jesus was different.
He knew that he was from God.
And so by the cover of night,because he had a lot to lose,
he went and met with Jesus andand he had this really cool interaction
(09:40):
where, whereJesus is trying to communicate to him
and share with him what it meansto be born again, what it means to put
your hope and your faith in your trust inJesus for the forgiveness of your sins.
Ultimately, talking about the cross he'stalking about about not finding hope
anywhere else, not in your own standingand not anyone else's.
Not in being the teacher of the law,
not in being in the Sanhedrin,of being a Pharisee. That's not enough.
(10:01):
And I love that
Jesusjust meets meets Nicodemus where he is.
And then if you go to the end of John,
Nicodemus is one of the individualsthat helps you.
This down from the grassprepares him for burial.
You can see his life is transformedbecause Jesus met him
in his time of need,saw it, and spoke right into his life.
And that's what Jesus does for ustoo, right?
He is a very personal God.
(10:22):
And then in John four, Jesus had thisinteraction with a woman at the well.
Right? And it's this, Jesus is traveling.
He's thirsty, is the well of Jacob,and she's a Samaritan, and he's a Jew.
And he asks his, hey,can you give me some water?
I'm thirsty.
And she's so put off by it.
She's like, we don't associate.
We're enemies. We're not friends. Like,why are you asking me for water?
She's just like,she's unsure about this whole interaction.
(10:45):
And it leads to this again,deeper connection between Jesus
and this woman of of.
Because he cuts right to the core.
He says, hey,I know what you're going through.
I know you've you've had many husbands,
and the one you're withnow is not your husband.
I know you're looking for love.You're looking for acceptance.
You're looking for connectionin all these wrong places.
Let me give you living waterthat will quench that thirst
(11:05):
of the things you're looking forin all the wrong places.
Right?
And the power isto just say, you know what,
Jesus, you're enough for me, right?
The power that that is to
to not just say it, but to live it out,to proclaim it, to believe it.
And then she goes and shares her testimonywith her people in her village.
And they believe, and they invite Jesusto come and speak and many more believe.
(11:26):
But I think it shows
the power of testimony, but it also showshow incredibly personal our God is
that he meets the very high rankingreligious leader, and then this lowly
woman who's just strugglingand sin and lost and a little bit broken.
And so whereverwe are on that spectrum of people
that God is going to meet us individually,that's who he is.
(11:46):
And we see that here in John five, Jesusis going to beeline for this individual.
He's going to he's going to meet him.
He's going to process life with him, andhe's going to he's going to challenge him.
And so I want to
I want to roll through.
We're going to look at the first ninescriptures in John five this morning.
They'll be on the screen behind me.
But let's let's start with verse one.
(12:06):
It says sometime later, Jesuswent up to Jerusalem
for one of the Jewish festivals.
Now there is in Jerusalem nearthe Sheep Gate, a pool
which in Aramaic is called Bethesda,
and which is surroundedby five covered colonnades.
Here a great number of disabledpeoples used to lie
(12:28):
the blind, the lame, and the paralyzed.
One who was
there had been an invalid for 38 years.
When Jesus saw him lyingthere, and learned that he had been
in this condition for a long time,he asked him, do you want to get well?
Which seems like a silly question of like,
of course,I've been paralyzed for 38 years, but
(12:50):
I think there's there's layers tothis. Do you want to get well
for seven, sir?
The invalid replied.
I have no one to help mewhen the water is stirred.
So something's going on, right?
We need a little more contact,
but something's going on in this water,
so I have no one to help meget in the water when it's stirred.
When I try to get in,someone else goes down ahead of me.
Verse eight says, Then Jesus said to him,get up with a sword.
(13:12):
Get up, pick up your mat and walk.
And at once the man was cured.
He picked up his mat and he walked right.
So just so that we'rewe have the same kind of visual picture
of what's going on here.
There's a festival, a feast, there'sthis something's going on in Jerusalem.
And so if you were of age,you had to bring your sacrifice.
And in the in the story tells us right
(13:34):
there, there's this sheep gatewhere you would go give your offering.
You'd go give your sacrifice. Right.
And then near that was a pool.
And it's called the Pool of Bethesda,which can be translated as House of mercy.
And so what I love is
there's those who are blind, who are lame,who are paralyzed, who are struggling
with physical disabilities,all hanging out at this pool.
(13:55):
And Jesus,I just get to see the House of mercy.
We get to see the mercy of Godon full display.
I'm sure.
Jesus looked outand his heart was just broken.
But what I love is how intentional Godis in Scripture, right?
As we know,Jesus was our offering at that sheep gate
near this house of mercy,
where Jesus is saying, I'mgoing to help heal this world of whatever
disability you have, whatever whatever'splaguing you, I'm going to heal you.
(14:19):
And so just in this little spotin Jerusalem,
you have the sheep gate where Jesus says,our sheep are offering unblemished lamb,
going to slaughter for us for our sinsin this house of mercy.
And so even in these little minor details,
we see God talking about the gospeland talking about truth.
Right?
Just always I don't know, itjust hit me this week of how intentional
our God is in Scripture.
(14:40):
But what I was reading was
some scholars believe that this wasactually it wasn't a true story.
Because if you
if you look if you feel a physical Bible,my Bible jumps from verse 3 to 5.
There's no verse four.
And so what I learned is thatscribes went in and and wrote that in.
It wasn't in early manuscripts.
It was, it was,it was written for context.
So there was that.
And then they couldn't find this pool.
(15:01):
And so there was some doubt with Israel,is it not?
Is this gospel valid? Is it not?
And so they end up actuallyfinding the pool.
And what they found was a massive pool.
I was reading thatmaybe I think it was an Olympic size pool.
Just imagine a huge pool
and remember there's a festivaland there's a feast going on.
And so Jerusalem would have swollen up.
There would have beenjust so many people in the city.
(15:23):
And so maybe even more than normalaround this pool at this time.
And so you could think maybe hundredsand hundreds and hundreds of people
at this pool
waiting for the House of mercyto be redeemed, for them to receive
this blessing, of being curedof whatever ailment they have.
And I want to read you verse four.
It says
in mind, just a footnoteI don't have on the screen, I apologize.
(15:45):
It says from time to timean angel of the Lord would come down
and he would stir up the waters,
the first one into the pool.
After each such disturbance would be curedof whatever disease they had.
And so I
was thinking of my own walk, my own faith.
As I process this out, how much I thinkI robbed God of His glory.
(16:08):
Sometimes you read these and you're like,oh really?
That happened.
An angel actually descended,
and then you read in other partsof Scripture where we're an Isaiah 38.
God used figs to help with infected boils,like why figs?
And the number 21 venomous snakeswere attacks neutralized to him
that gazed upon this bronze snakethat would be saved.
And then you have you have,
(16:29):
Naaman. Right. He had leprosy.
And God said, go dip yourself in the waterbunch of times and you'll be healed.
It'll go away.
And so I was really convicted.
I want to put on the screen for you
to think about in your own faithand own walk that because he's God,
he has the power to
heal what is broken, to correctwhat is wrong, and to help us in our need
and ultimately accomplishwhatever he wills.
(16:51):
And so I was just convictedthe last couple of weeks.
Our students went throughthis two weeks ago
that I need to not put a ceilingor a cap on God.
Not not not expect him to show upwhen I want, how I want,
and the way that I want,and that way I think
we rob God of glory because he's like,Michael, I can show up however I want.
People just grab my cloakand they were healed.
I laid my hand, I spit in the dirt,put it on their eyes, and he was.
(17:13):
He could see for the first time ever.
Like God can work in waysthat we cannot even fathom.
I heard one pastor say,if you can get behind Genesis one one
where God literally created
everything out of nothingbut just his words,
you can believe anythingand everything else in scripture.
It's all believable.
If you can get behind Genesisone one that God created with his words.
(17:34):
And what I love is that
we get to see this gentlemanwho hadn't walked in 38 years.
His body still respondedto its creator voice.
He said, get up and walk.
And he could.
After 38 years, I joked, the first serviceI played soccer last night,
I was like cramping.
This morning I could barely get upand this guy hadn't walk for 38 years
and he just got up and walked.
(17:54):
It's amazing what our God can do.
But back to the gentleman, right?
So paralyzed for 38 years,
he can't get into the water.
He said, Jesus, I want to be healed.
Of course I do.
But people are rushing around me.
I can't get to the water first.
And so I got to think, imagine.
Can you imagine for a second? Sit.
Sit in his position?
(18:17):
Can you imagine his pain?
Can you imagine his frustration?
I'm like, I'm trying to get there.
I'm trying to get there.
Or maybe the helplessness.
Now I think I'm praying for somethingfor six months.
Oh my God, where are you?What are you doing?
This gentleman, 38 years,38 years of waiting.
(18:37):
38 years of maybe tomorrow, 38 yearsof maybe next year
being trampled over.
But I also thinkthere had to be a little hope.
Why would you stick around for 38 years
if not for some sliver of hope?
And it got me thinking.
I hope this week
I want to put this on screen for youto process in your faith, in your walk.
(18:59):
I think hope can be a powerful giftfrom God,
but only when it's aimed in the way,in the direction of God.
Hope can be a powerful gift when aimedin the way, in the direction of God.
It can help us get upwhen we don't want to,
not throw in the white flagto continue on day after day after day,
even though there's a struggleor there's a there's an ailment
or there's a frustrationor there's a sin that we can't get past.
(19:21):
Hope is that giftthat says Michael, keep going,
keep going, keep going, don't give up.
And so process outthat out in your own faith.
What does hope look like for you?
How is it an action for you?
And I thinkit leads to this inevitable question.
And I
and it's a tough one to vulnerable one.
(19:43):
And it's thiswhat do we do with what we hope for?
Doesn't happen.
What are we doing?What we hope for doesn't happen.
We're earnestly seeking God and His face,and we're submitting to him.
And we're in Scriptureand in prayer, in community.
We're serving, we're giving our tithing.
We're doing all the thingswe're checking every box.
And it's like, but God,why are you not answering my prayer?
Why are you not showing up for mein this way?
(20:03):
Like, how do you and I respond
when God saying, Michael,no, we're not yet.
No to whateveryou're asking me or not yet?
How do we respond?
How do you respond?How do you sit in that reality?
And for myself,
humbly, I say thisas I'm trying to figure this thing out,
(20:23):
I think the challenge is to not get a hardheart
towards God, to not say, God, why not?
This is not fair. How could you?
I mean, just think of think of Genesisand Joseph's story.
Never once in Joseph's accountis it recorded.
God, I don't deserve this.
He was sold into slavery by his brothers,made his way to pawn for his home,
(20:45):
accused of being inappropriatewith his wife, which was false.
Found himself in prison.
There are two.
There's a prisoner that got upset.I'll remember you.
That dude forgot Joseph sat in prisoneven longer.
Right?
Then he finds himself
second in command of all of Egypt,and in that way able to save his family.
Who arewho are back right where he's from.
When there's a severe faminethat hits like,
(21:07):
we don't know how God's going to workand how he's going to show up
and how he's going toperform, but we know he will.
Amen.
Yes, sir.
But that that challenge usto not get a hard heart,
to not lose that vulnerability with Godbecause he's not showing up
how you want him to show up.
And when you want him to show up.
And here's the second challenge, I think,and this one can be easily hidden,
(21:31):
easily disguised is don't spirituallyjust start going through the motions.
Don't spiritually keep showing up
tithing and offeringand going to church and serving.
But there's no real intimacy with God.
There's no real expectancythat God's going to show up.
There'sno real personal connection with God.
You're just going through the motions.
I think that's also a dangerous placeto be as a believer
(21:52):
who can be jaded and frustrated andand we can just again throw our hands up.
And thisguy's testimony is so challenging.
I mean, he has hope after 38 years
that God will show up for him.
I'm going to keep waiting on the Lord.
I'm going to keep on the Lord.I'm going to keep waiting on the Lord.
And so in that way,I think this about this story,
(22:14):
that this story is a story of hope,
but it's also a story of waiting.
And it's a story of seeking Godand not losing our heart
to be expectant, to say yes, father,
you are going to show up,
right?
You're going to show up.
And so process that out.
What does hope look like for youin the name of Jesus?
(22:36):
What is waitinglook like for you in the name of Jesus?
What is what is seeking God?
When you've been waiting for a long time,look like in the name of Jesus,
there's our big, very
vulnerable,challenging, don't have healthy answer
questions.
The story
is a story of hope and I love that.
Sometimes it God saying, no, Michael,I know you're praying for
(22:59):
and it makes sense to you,but no or not yet.
I need you to wait on me.
I need you to trust me.
I need you to to to submit to meand know that I am God
and I am in control, and I am good,and I'm going to work it out.
And that's where that faith just comes into say, all right, Lord, I'll wait.
As difficult as it is, I will wait.
(23:19):
And I know there'sa lot of waiting in this room
on all kinds of things,whether it be marital,
kids, job, home,
there's so much waitingand so much frustration and so much,
Defeat at times I it exists,
but thankfully the cross is complete.
(23:41):
And like we gowe go back to the verse off the top.
We gotta find life in Jesus.
Only in Jesus.
And so when the no.
One, not yet,we get to really display our faith.
But I want to go back to verse six,and I want to put it on the screen
for you this morning,
and I want you to ask yourselfthis believer, nonbeliever,
(24:01):
do you want to be made well,
right. Again, I said, it seems silly.
I wrote it in my Bible.
It's a silly question,but it's profound because.
I don't think she's asked dumb questions.
I don't think he asked redundant question.
I don't think he askedquestions that don't matter.
And so I think as I'm processing,because what I do in one way in
which I prepare is
(24:21):
I read and ask questionsor even ask questions, read
and ask questions,and then go learn from other pastors
who've been teaching and preachingand doing it for longer than I have.
But I think that this is the reality.
I know it has been for parts of my lifethat there are
some peoplewho don't want to be made well.
They're just like, no,I want to hold that grudge, I do.
I want to hold that grudge.I don't want to.
They don't deserve my forgiveness.
(24:43):
They don't deserve it. Right?
We hold grudges. We do.
I do want to gossip.
It makes me feel good,
right?
I want to be bitter. I want to be angry.
I want to be hurt because it protects me.
It drives me.
It keeps me, sane, like I want.
I want these things.I don't want to be made. Well,
I sometimes we lean in and we give into sin and temptation, and we
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and we allow ourselvesto live in these ways where we justify it.
And again, I'm not. This is my story.
I live here all the time.
Oh my goodness.
To be made well,we have to humble ourselves.
We have to say sorry to our spouses
even if we're not wrongor especially when we are wrong.
Like we have to stop living intentionallyin sin.
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To take up our cross
daily like that is so challenging.
We have to submit to God.
I mean, pastor crossesall the time, right?
We're slaves to Christ. We're slaves.
We were boughtat an incredibly high price,
no higher
price than the Son of God than Jesusgoing to the cross for you and for me.
There's no takes vaccine.
So we were purchased.
We are his,
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you know,whether you submit to that or not.
We're his.
And if we're if we're saying yes,I want to be healed, we got to say yes
to Jesus and no to so many other things,so many other things.
We often think as we process this out
for the no are not yet.
When you feel like Godmaybe is taking something
(26:12):
or is challenging us or is teachingus, maybe it's Michael.
Do you love that thing?I took more than you love me.
You love that experiencemore than I took than me.
Do you love that opportunitymore than you love me?
And it's it's really challengingconviction of my heart's saying, well,
maybe I did or maybe I do.
There's an opportunityfor me to repent of that.
I don't want to love those things outsideabout, you know, my my love for Jesus.
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Because again,life is found in him, in him.
And so that's a challenge for all of usto say,
no, Lord, I'm going to submit to youand I'm going to be okay if you take
and if you moveand if you do challenge and if you
make things a little uncomfortable.
So I'll throw on screen again,
it's a questionthat I ask myself all week.
Do you want to be made well?
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So the answer is yes.
Jesus is going to come in and get rid ofall the crap, all the muck, all the junk.
But that's when the real war happens,right?
For the unbelievercomes to repentance and faith.
Now that you have the fleshand you have the spirit, and they're at
they're at war with each other,that's real.
Because we want to please the spirit.
We also want to please the flesh.
(27:18):
And it's this whole dependance
on God, every moment of every day
that Jesus is more important than anythingand everything else.
And I love my wife and kids dearly,
but I have to put Jesus firstso that I am better for my life.
I am better for my kids, right?
So Jesus
challenges this gentleman,do you want to be made well?
(27:38):
And Jesus is talking physically,but he's also talking spiritually.
Do you want to be made well?
And then I love verse seven.
This is his response, sir.
I have no one to help me get into the poolwhen the water is stirred.
I says it says while I'm trying to getin, someone else gets down ahead of me.
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And Jesus, I think he's he's he'sstanding there front of this guy,
knowing his way, knowing his authority,knowing his glory.
And he's like, I have another way, man.
Like, don't get so fixed on the external.
I'll get so fixed on this pool.
I know you put your hope and trust inthe angel of the Lord who's coming down.
Who is still of God, is still good.
(28:20):
But I think, can that be you and me?
Sometimes we're so hyper focused
and fix it on something else that we missJesus right in front of us,
whether it be through a Sunday morningor whether it be through
a conversation with a spouseor a coworker, or a friend or a neighbor,
or an interactionat the grocery store or whatever.
But Jesus, as we've seen,shows up with figs and heals.
Water heals. Just his words.
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Heals like Jesus can show up in anyand every way he wants to.
So why not through a casual conversationlike why not through
talking to a buddy at the gymor on the soccer field?
You can show up in anyand every way he wants possible.
So this it just unlocksthis infinite possibility that we can find
God in every interactionwe have all day long.
For the rest of our lives.
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And so it's that idea to be expectantand to not say, I don't see you,
God is to say, I'm going to look for you,God, I'm going to find you today.
God, I want to submit today to you, God.
That Jesuswas right in front of this guy's face.
And you still looking at the pool past him
now, just like, no, like,just be present with me right here.
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Let me take care of you. Let me heal you.
Let me provide for you.
And I think that I've been processing
this out to in terms of ministry.
And one pastorI, I listened to from time to time,
he says walking this walk as believersis just one beggar helping another beggar.
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Just one person to pin on yourselfin another person depend on Jesus.
And I think I've been reallyconvicted this week
to to see the one in front of me,Jesus on Nicodemus.
He saw the woman at the welland he sees this gentleman around.
There's hundreds and hundredsof other people that he could have,
he could have gone to,but he went to this guy.
Jesus sees the needs of one.
He sees the individualright in front of you.
And so that's a challenge for youand for me.
Who's the one that you need to servethe one that you need to provide for,
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the one that you need toyou need to walk alongside?
Who is that one in your life?
Start with your family,with your neighbors, with your community.
Who is that one here at church?
Who is the one when you hearTrisha get up like, hey, join us.
Like we're going to three services.
We need some support, we need some help.
And maybe that's for you. Maybe it's not,
but pray about it.
What does God have for you?Who is the one?
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What is the ministry?
What is itup to you right in front of you.
This is one bigger helping,another bigger.
I told Jamie for usthis to have a Bible study Monday
nights and bleeds into the youth groupa little bit,
and she was talking about getting upon stage and getting a little nervous.
And I joke with I was like, I getI get nervous every single time
I get up here with you guys,like I get with youth. And it's easy.
I get up in front of youand I'm super nervous for some reason.
(30:50):
I don't know what it is,but God said, do it, so I'm gonna do it.
And so
if it's nervousness or if it's frustrationor if it's lack of qualifications,
like Carl says, say yes on the frontand then we'll figure out the rest.
Like jump into a ministryhere, serve somewhere.
I liken serving to working out right.
You have a really long night.
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Kids are up all night.
You're exhausted. But,you know, you need to go work out.
You're like, dang,I know the energy. I can't get there.
And then you go work out and you sweatand you feel so much better after.
I think that serving,
you're like, man, I got to take awaytime from my wife and my kids.
I it's that's difficult.
But then when I leave YouTube, I'm like,it was the freaking best.
Like, I love this. It's amazing.
I think that serving rightyou do have to sacrifice.
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You do have to say no to other things.
But then you leave and you're like,this is awesome.
I love this and so shameless plug thereif you want to serve, join us.
But I want to ask another question.
I don't know the answer,but I want to ask you.
I want you to process.
Have you ever felt stepped over?
Have you ever felt stepped over?
(31:53):
Right. Only one person got healedand they got in that water.
The first person in.
I think that we asked that question of Goda lot.
I God, what did I lose thisor why did I not experience it?
Why is my son struggling with bullying?
Or why was my daughterhaving to go through that?
My spouse?
Why have your health stepped over,
not provided for your prayers,not answered
(32:17):
right?
A little bit of frustration
and I kept coming back to this same songthis week.
It's called refinerand it's one of those either love or hate.
It's like a 12 minutes sign.
So sometimes I love that songknowing like, jeez, Louise,
I've heard the same lyricfor like 14 minutes.
I need to turn it off.But it's a great song
in terms of processing,waiting when we get a no or not Yet.
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I'm not going to
sing it for you,but I'll tell you the lyrics.
It says you're a refiner.
I'm sorry, you're a fire.
The refiner. I want to be consumed.
It says I want to be tried by fire.
I want to be purified.
You take whatever you desire.
Lord, here's my life, right?
(32:59):
And we think right to be refined.
There's fire and heat involved.
It may feel uncomfortable to be refined,but that's our charge.
Not to be refinedand made more into the image
and likeness of Christ.
You're a fire Lord, the refiner.
But I still want to be consumedbecause I have lots of rough edges
(33:19):
and I want to look more like you. Jesus.
I want to talk more. I'll let you. Jesus.
And so I need tobe in the fire a little bit.
I do,
and so maybeit's not running from the fire and saying,
all right, God, what do you have for mein this fiery season?
What am I supposed to learn here?
I don't like it. It's uncomfortable.
But if the outcome isI look more like you, Jesus, than not.
I'll gladly sit in thisbecause here's my life, right?
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That's the posture we're supposed to have.
Easier said than done, of course,but that's the posture to look more like
Jesus.
And so here's kind of my takeawayas I process that out is this,
that you and I,
when we don't understand what God is doingor why we're in the season we're in,
we have to cling to the realitythat God is good all of the time.
If we can cling to that reality, that,all right, God, this season's tough,
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but I knowand remember when you showed up here
and when you provided thereand when you were helping me through this.
If we can cling to that, that God is good.
Same as Joseph, same as Daniel, thatGod is good amongst our circumstances.
Yeah, life is tough, but God is good.
It's going to help us to have that hope.
And that gift of hopeis going to keep us going.
It's going to keep us going.It's going to keep us going.
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This is the reality that God is goodall the time.
Can we hold on to that long enoughfor God to work and move
and allow us to mature in Christ likeness?
And then verse eight and nine,if we jump back into the text,
Jesus with authority says, get up,
pick up your mat and walk.
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And at once his body was healed.
Just in those few words again.
Can you imagine?
From the brain
to the spine to the legs, that he couldphysically just do that, right?
Just get up and walk and then to havethe muscle ability to physically do it.
And this dude just walks off.
I don't know, I've read this a lotand it's just like,
(35:11):
just gloss over like,oh god, use it on the miracles.
Like what?
Don't rob garbage glory.
Sit in this realitythat God is amazing. Again.
Like I said,
this body still remembersits creators voice,
and it still remembers like the authoritythat God has in its life,
whether it's sinful and broken and knowsyes or not.
Our our body,you know it's creator's voice.
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Get up and walk.
This guy's restored.
And then just to kind of finish the story,
the Pharisees are frustratedbecause it's a Sabbath
and they're annoyed,but they don't want to give God the glory.
And there's this whole back and forth and
and then verse 14,I want to share that with you.
I don't have it on the screen,but it says,
This is Jesus talking to this gentleman.
See, you are well again,like you're physically well again,
(35:56):
but stop sinning or somethingworse may happen to you again.
It's speaking to your your physicalhealth. But where are you at spiritually?
Where are you putting your hopeand your faith in your trust spiritually?
Again, it's that same questiondo you want to be made well?
Do you want to be made well?
I just I'm kind of blown away
by by God's sovereignty here,his authority, his graciousness to heal.
(36:19):
And I want to put this on the screenand kind of circle back
to what Carl threw outmaybe three weeks ago or four weeks ago.
Life, legacy and eternity
and process that through this story,
life, legacy and eternity.
Because as I process this story out,
the story isn't just about a manbeing healed.
(36:40):
It's about a bigger picture of Jesusbringing abundant lives.
He's calling us to live a faithful legacy.
He's preparing us for eternity with him.
That's the story
of life, legacy and eternity.
I mean, think live for a second.
Jesus meets us in our brokenness
(37:00):
and he speaks life into us.
He speaks life into you,and he speaks life into me.
And here's this kind of application.
I process it out that Jesuswants to breathe new life into us.
He wants to heal our hearts.
You know, it's a store of hope,and he wants to give us purpose right now.
What does that purpose look like foryou and him in union together?
What does that purpose look like?
(37:21):
He wants to bring you abundant life
about legacy.
Jesus calls you to live in a waythat points others back to himself.
That's the legacy.
The work is finished. Jesus did it.
We're just called to to share the goodnews and share the gospel.
And so our
application,our kind of our processing is,
(37:44):
is what legacy are we leavingbehind in the name of Jesus?
What legacy are we leaving behind?
And I love this.
Do we carry bitterness?
Do we carry frustration? Do we?
Do we carry the hurt?
Or do we carry our mat as a witnessof God's glory and power in our lives?
You can carry bitterness and be justified.
There's a lot of letdowns in life.You can carry frustration.
(38:04):
You can carry the pain.
It exists, and it's not a constant likewe all experience all of these things.
It's real.
Or we can say,all right, God, I'm going to leave.
You're good all the time.
I'm going to carry this manas a witness of your power
and your authorityand your might and your faithfulness
and your goodness and your loveand your whatever.
Right.
Like we can just sit in the powerof God and carry that mat.
(38:27):
And then eternity.
Jesus secured your faithbeyond this world,
life with him forever.
And it's
this idea that I knowwe all want physical healing,
but that's temporary.
Physical healing is temporary eternity.
That's what we look forward to,and that's what
we have to have our heartsbroken towards this world.
(38:48):
Eternity. Who can we help save?
Not because we're doing the work,or just because we're walking in lockstep
with Jesus and sharing his goodness.
He did the work.
Physical healing is temporary.
Salvation is eternal.
Jesus didn't come to fix bodies.
He came to save souls, came to save souls.
And he says, Michael, I want to use you.
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I want, I want,I want you to go and I want you to do.
I heard one song, it, you know, ithighlights.
Like God, there'sso much brokenness in this world.
I don't know,the lyrics just came to my head.
And so there's so much brokennessis so much hurt, there's so much pain.
And he said, yeah, I know I'm sending you.I've given you my spirit.
Go and heal in my name.Go and live in my name.
Go and provide in my name.
(39:30):
Going and bring encouragement in my name.
I know there's brokenness and hurt,but go.
I've given you the same spiritthat Rose used from the dead.
It lives in you,the same authority, same power.
Go and do.
And so it's coolthat Pascale on our behalf and excel
and what God's doing has goneand he's going and doing
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and I know many of you dohere locally and on missions,
but that's our encouragement
this morning to is to not lose hope,
to not go through the motions, tonot to not have a hard heart towards God.
That when the enters, no
or not yet to be to to sit in the realitythat God is good all the time,
to not give in to the temptation to say,you know what?
This isn't fair.
I'm done.
(40:11):
Live a life like Joseph.
Live a life like Daniel.
Ultimately, live a life like Jesus.
And I want to do a little bit of you.
See stuff with you this morning as we wrapup every week, we come together.
So we'll be together tomorrow night.
Dinner games, worship, teaching.
And then we go to small groupsin the night. Right.
And I always give leaderssmall group questions.
And so I want to put this questionon the screen for you this morning.
(40:34):
This is what our,what our leaders and kids do every week.
Because how many times you go homeand you have lunch and you take a nap
and you wake up, be like,what did we talk about at church?
I already forgot, I we're in John five,but what the heck do we talk about?
And so I have these put it out for you
there in the back of the roomthere in the welcome center.
Take it if you want it as a bookmark
in your in your Bible,or just take a picture of it.
These are five questionsfor you to answer this week.
(40:56):
How for you to process the text?
And the first one is this.
The man at the pool waited 38 years.
How do you think his hope and expectationschange over time?
And what does that teach usabout waiting on God?
Question two Jesus asked,do you want to be healed?
Why do you think he asked that?
And what might that questionlook like in your own life right now?
(41:17):
Question threethe man was focused on the pool
instead of Jesussitting right in front of him.
What are some pools or distractionsor false hopes
that we tend to focus on instead of Jesus?
Question for
have you ever felt like God showed upfor someone else, but not for you?
How do you wrestle with those momentswhile still trusting God's goodness?
(41:38):
And the last one is, as the story showed,Jesus noticing the one person
in the crowd,
how can we live like Jesus
and see the one that golfingright in front of us?
So challenging questions and good, honestI think processing questions.
And so if you want one, take one please.
Pascal will be back with us.
We're going to get to hear fun storiesand celebrate with him next week.
(42:01):
So come on back. But let's pray.
And we're going to do one more songtogether. This morning
okay?
God, you are good.
We thank you for your faithfulness.
We thank you that.
You are patient with us.
We thank you that you are personal.
We thank youthat you are loving and kind God.
And we thank you that you havesought us out and you have redeemed us.
(42:23):
You have made us a new creation.
Lord, help us to be bold in thatnewness and to live for you
and to process what you have for us.
When the answer is
no, we're not yet to live in the realitythat we don't have all the answers.
But God, you are good.
Help us, Lord, to encourage each otherand to see the one
(42:44):
that you have called us to serve,
and to see you right in front of our face.
Lord God, we want to give you glory
and we want to repentfor the sins of our lives.
Lord,
please continueto inspire us to lean in as a community,
to be in your word
and to be in service of others.
(43:06):
We thank you for this morning,for this space.
We pray thisall in your name, Jesus. Amen.
Morning church.
How are we doing?
Good to see you.
Second service.
All right.
Before we jump into our studythis morning,
I wanted to share an update from PastorCarl.
He's been sending text here and there.
He sent one this morning.
He was saying they were doing church from,like, midnight to two hour time, 2 a.m..
(00:23):
And so sharing the gospel,
sharing the good news, encouragingthe new leaders and churches and pastors.
And so he sent us thisas he's finishing up his time, he says,
thank you for your prayers.
It was a great day in the front linechurch.
I preached and it was so fun.
And I love that that hit me.
(00:44):
I share this with first service.
I just think, and I mean thisin the most respectful way.
But Pastor Carl, it's like that giddy
child who's so excited,it's like this expected Christmas morning.
Like, that's how your pastor feels
about sharing the gospeland the good news of Jesus.
Yeah, I think that's called.
I've only known him a
year and a half,but I'm very grateful for his leadership
(01:07):
because he'll get up and he'llboldly proclaim Jesus and teach the gospel
and walk through Scripture in a waythat is so informative and helpful.
But then he walks the walk, right?
He's not is not talk with him.It is. It is a lifestyle.
It is.
It is an all in mentality.
But then he went on to say,
he said this one man said, you coming heremeans so much.
People praying is one thing, butyou coming and speaking to the unbelievers
(01:31):
in our community, it shows us thatother Christians are here with us, right?
They're not alone.
And he said, we believe that step by step,
Ukraine will become a Christian nationwith other Christians.
And then this was Carl's just messageto the church you this morning.
Thank you, flip side, for your courage.
Thank you flip side for your prayers.
(01:51):
Thank you.
Flip side for your generosityand your ministry.
Right.
The giving that you will part of thosewho partner with Excel,
planning these churches, equippingthese pastors and just walking alongside,
people in
a really difficult situationand circumstance and bringing hope.
And Carl said, you're changing the world.
People are coming toJesus and churches are being planted.
(02:14):
And so if you can continue to pray
for Carl, continue to pray for the leadersthere as he he also said this.
He says now, even 18 hourtrain ride to Poland.
So pray for him in his travels.
But keep praying for Ukraine.
Keep praying for the church. Keeppraying for. For what God's doing there?
This this revival of sorts.
And we'll just keep checking.
I'm sure Carl will give us updates
(02:34):
when he gets back and pictures and videos,but yeah, he's super encouraged and
it sounds like God has done a really coolwork in Ukraine the last two weeks.
All right.
For our study this morning, if you haveyour Bibles, turn to John five for Isaiah.
I see some high school face in the room.
It's going to be a little bit of reviewfor you, but I'm I modified it a little.
Our high school,our junior high high school students
(02:55):
are going through the Gospel of Johnthis fall.
And I just think,
this, thisthese first five chapters, we're
only five chapters in as a youth ministryhave been impactful to me.
And this morning,we're going to be just in John five.
But I want to putI want to put this on the screen.
(03:18):
This is kind of what I'm titlingthe Teaching this morning
or or what we're kind of whatI wanted to focus on.
It's this do you want to get well?
Do you want to get well?
That's a big questionfor believers in the room.
That's a big question for the unbelieversin the room. But do you want to get well
know I want to I also want to
frame this morning through the lensthat Pastor Carl shared with us.
(03:41):
You know, 2 or 3,
I guess, maybe a month ago now, life,legacy and eternity life legacy.
Eternity.
And so, as you know, right,the New Testament starts
with the four GospelsMatthew, Mark, Luke and John.
And I love that there's a breadthand then there's this fullness
as we read all four Gospels,because they're not the same.
They share some similar stories,
(04:01):
but they also share some very uniquestories to that particular gospel.
And as we look at, as we lookat the gospel, we we get to see Jesus.
I think in four ways.
We get to see Jesus as Messiah and King.
He's the Lord of Lords.
We also get to see himas at times depicted as this lowly servant
come to save the lost,
to die for his creation.
(04:24):
We see him at times,as the Son of Man, right?
We see the humanity side of Jesusas he's fully human.
We also see the divine side.
We see him that he is fully God.
He's the Son of God.
And so I was really convicted this weekto, you know, I
sometimes we getting this I read Matthew,I read Mark.
We've had him once we've heard them alland it's like, no, there's so much more.
And what I love about John specificallyhow God inspired John to write his gospel,
(04:47):
is that he has fewer miracles, but almost
all of them are uniqueto just this gospel.
And so if you haven't read John,you missed a ton of really impactful
ministry that Jesus is sharing.
And so I guess before
we jump into five, I want toI want to share
the main message John has for this gospel,because we're not going to get there.
(05:07):
It's John 2031and this is the gospel summed up.
It says this,but these are written that you may believe
that Jesus is the Messiah, Son of God,
and that by believingyou may have life in his name.
I love the order of operationshere, right?
First, our goal is to believe ourselvesand help others to believe
(05:28):
that Jesus is the Messiah.
He is the Lord. He is King.
He is the author,the Omega, the beginning and the end.
He is God like.
That's our main focus in life is to
is to believe that with all of our heart,soul, mind and strength.
But then the second part I thinkis so important and something maybe we
get dropped off
is that we're supposed to find lifein only his name.
(05:49):
How often are we looking for a purposeand identity and love and all these things
and all these different spaceswhen we need to?
Firstly, start with Jesus,that who we find life in and through.
And so I love thatthat Jesus has finished the work.
And now it's our job through the HolySpirit, to walk closely with Jesus.
To what? Nearto him? To look more like him.
(06:10):
To sound more like him.
To act more like him, to repent often.
And so I just think as welook at John five,
I think this is a good framework to have.
This is the gospel that we would onesee Jesus as Messiah and to find life
only in his name,
not through our athletic abilities,not through our knowledge,
not through our marriage, not toanything else.
We find life only in the name of Jesus
(06:31):
and something I share with our studentsa lot.
Two things I share with them.
I say, hey, we're jumping into a texton a Monday night.
Don't forget what we read prior, right?
So don't forget John one,John two, John three, John four.
Before we get to five and two,find yourself in the text.
Find yourselfbecause God is speaking uniquely to you.
(06:52):
And so my encouragement to youthis morning is find yourself in the text.
How is God speaking to you individually?
Now, before we jump into five,I just want to give you a quick,
overview from one, two, three and fourbecause I think it'll help us with five.
And so I love John one one.
This main takeaway,it says in the beginning
was the word, and the word was God,and the word was with God.
(07:12):
Right?
John is connecting.
John one one to Genesis one one.
Right.
He's connecting itbecause in the beginning
God created the heavensand the earth, right?
So, so John is saying right off the top,as you are introduced to Jesus
and who he is, you need to knowhe is eternal, that he is God, that he is.
He is divine.
It's just that's the first thingI want you to know about this Jesus person
and character that he is God.
(07:35):
He is Messiah.
And then we get
into John two and it's really a fun story.
Jesus and his mother and his disciplesat a wedding in Cana.
And I was thinking to myself,how many people can say Jesus was at their
wedding and with his mother and discipleslike Holy Spirit was present?
Not mine, of course, but.
And yours.
(07:55):
But Jesus was physically there.
And it says that Mary comes to Jesus.
And she said, hey, there's a problem.
They run out of wine.
We need you to figure that out.
As a mom talks to a son like,you know, hey, figure it out.
Well, you know, we need some help here.
And Jesus is like, he has thisinteresting interaction with his mother.
It's like, it's not my time.
And thenI love it's just a little side note, but
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Mary turns to the servants who were thereand says, whatever Jesus says, you do.
And then Jesus.
Eventuallyhe changes this water into wine.
And there's this really cool symbolof of this abundance
that Jesus saved the best for last,that that his blood and wine are these
the symbol of, of of, of usbeing forgiven our sins much.
Right. And why we celebrate communion.
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But I love what I take away from John,too, is Mary's words.
Mary says to the servants,Whatever Jesus says,
you do,it isn't that our charge as believers?
Whatever Jesus says, we do,
if he says go, we go.
If he says stop, we stop.
If he says encourage and serve and give,we do those things.
And so I love that we can just miss that.
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But John, to do andgo and speak as Jesus does.
And then we get
John three four and fiveand it's testimony, testimony, testimony.
Right.
And I think it just highlightsthe power of testimony
and also how personal our God is,because he wasn't going to meet
Nicodemus, the woman at the well,and this paralyzed man where they are.
(09:19):
Right.
Nicodemus was this religious leader,devout Pharisee, Sanhedrin.
He checked every box.He was the teacher of Israel, right?
Big dog had it all right.
But he he saw something in Jesus.
He saw that Jesus was different.
He knew that he was from God.
And so by the cover of night,because he had a lot to lose,
he went and met with Jesus andand he had this really cool interaction
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where, whereJesus is trying to communicate to him
and share with him what it meansto be born again, what it means to put
your hope and your faith in your trust inJesus for the forgiveness of your sins.
Ultimately, talking about the cross he'stalking about about not finding hope
anywhere else, not in your own standingand not anyone else's.
Not in being the teacher of the law,
not in being in the Sanhedrin,of being a Pharisee. That's not enough.
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And I love that
Jesusjust meets meets Nicodemus where he is.
And then if you go to the end of John,
Nicodemus is one of the individualsthat helps you.
This down from the grassprepares him for burial.
You can see his life is transformedbecause Jesus met him
in his time of need,saw it, and spoke right into his life.
And that's what Jesus does for ustoo, right?
He is a very personal God.
(10:22):
And then in John four, Jesus had thisinteraction with a woman at the well.
Right? And it's this, Jesus is traveling.
He's thirsty, is the well of Jacob,and she's a Samaritan, and he's a Jew.
And he asks his, hey,can you give me some water?
I'm thirsty.
And she's so put off by it.
She's like, we don't associate.
We're enemies. We're not friends. Like,why are you asking me for water?
She's just like,she's unsure about this whole interaction.
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And it leads to this again,deeper connection between Jesus
and this woman of of.
Because he cuts right to the core.
He says, hey,I know what you're going through.
I know you've you've had many husbands,
and the one you're withnow is not your husband.
I know you're looking for love.You're looking for acceptance.
You're looking for connectionin all these wrong places.
Let me give you living waterthat will quench that thirst
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of the things you're looking forin all the wrong places.
Right?
And the power isto just say, you know what,
Jesus, you're enough for me, right?
The power that that is to
to not just say it, but to live it out,to proclaim it, to believe it.
And then she goes and shares her testimonywith her people in her village.
And they believe, and they invite Jesusto come and speak and many more believe.
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But I think it shows
the power of testimony, but it also showshow incredibly personal our God is
that he meets the very high rankingreligious leader, and then this lowly
woman who's just strugglingand sin and lost and a little bit broken.
And so whereverwe are on that spectrum of people
that God is going to meet us individually,that's who he is.
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And we see that here in John five, Jesusis going to beeline for this individual.
He's going to he's going to meet him.
He's going to process life with him, andhe's going to he's going to challenge him.
And so I want to
I want to roll through.
We're going to look at the first ninescriptures in John five this morning.
They'll be on the screen behind me.
But let's let's start with verse one.
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It says sometime later, Jesuswent up to Jerusalem
for one of the Jewish festivals.
Now there is in Jerusalem nearthe Sheep Gate, a pool
which in Aramaic is called Bethesda,
and which is surroundedby five covered colonnades.
Here a great number of disabledpeoples used to lie
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the blind, the lame, and the paralyzed.
One who was
there had been an invalid for 38 years.
When Jesus saw him lyingthere, and learned that he had been
in this condition for a long time,he asked him, do you want to get well?
Which seems like a silly question of like,
of course,I've been paralyzed for 38 years, but
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I think there's there's layers tothis. Do you want to get well
for seven, sir?
The invalid replied.
I have no one to help mewhen the water is stirred.
So something's going on, right?
We need a little more contact,
but something's going on in this water,
so I have no one to help meget in the water when it's stirred.
When I try to get in,someone else goes down ahead of me.
Verse eight says, Then Jesus said to him,get up with a sword.
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Get up, pick up your mat and walk.
And at once the man was cured.
He picked up his mat and he walked right.
So just so that we'rewe have the same kind of visual picture
of what's going on here.
There's a festival, a feast, there'sthis something's going on in Jerusalem.
And so if you were of age,you had to bring your sacrifice.
And in the in the story tells us right
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there, there's this sheep gatewhere you would go give your offering.
You'd go give your sacrifice. Right.
And then near that was a pool.
And it's called the Pool of Bethesda,which can be translated as House of mercy.
And so what I love is
there's those who are blind, who are lame,who are paralyzed, who are struggling
with physical disabilities,all hanging out at this pool.
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And Jesus,I just get to see the House of mercy.
We get to see the mercy of Godon full display.
I'm sure.
Jesus looked outand his heart was just broken.
But what I love is how intentional Godis in Scripture, right?
As we know,Jesus was our offering at that sheep gate
near this house of mercy,
where Jesus is saying, I'mgoing to help heal this world of whatever
disability you have, whatever whatever'splaguing you, I'm going to heal you.
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And so just in this little spotin Jerusalem,
you have the sheep gate where Jesus says,our sheep are offering unblemished lamb,
going to slaughter for us for our sinsin this house of mercy.
And so even in these little minor details,
we see God talking about the gospeland talking about truth.
Right?
Just always I don't know, itjust hit me this week of how intentional
our God is in Scripture.
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But what I was reading was
some scholars believe that this wasactually it wasn't a true story.
Because if you
if you look if you feel a physical Bible,my Bible jumps from verse 3 to 5.
There's no verse four.
And so what I learned is thatscribes went in and and wrote that in.
It wasn't in early manuscripts.
It was, it was,it was written for context.
So there was that.
And then they couldn't find this pool.
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And so there was some doubt with Israel,is it not?
Is this gospel valid? Is it not?
And so they end up actuallyfinding the pool.
And what they found was a massive pool.
I was reading thatmaybe I think it was an Olympic size pool.
Just imagine a huge pool
and remember there's a festivaland there's a feast going on.
And so Jerusalem would have swollen up.
There would have beenjust so many people in the city.
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And so maybe even more than normalaround this pool at this time.
And so you could think maybe hundredsand hundreds and hundreds of people
at this pool
waiting for the House of mercyto be redeemed, for them to receive
this blessing, of being curedof whatever ailment they have.
And I want to read you verse four.
It says
in mind, just a footnoteI don't have on the screen, I apologize.
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It says from time to timean angel of the Lord would come down
and he would stir up the waters,
the first one into the pool.
After each such disturbance would be curedof whatever disease they had.
And so I
was thinking of my own walk, my own faith.
As I process this out, how much I thinkI robbed God of His glory.
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Sometimes you read these and you're like,oh really?
That happened.
An angel actually descended,
and then you read in other partsof Scripture where we're an Isaiah 38.
God used figs to help with infected boils,like why figs?
And the number 21 venomous snakeswere attacks neutralized to him
that gazed upon this bronze snakethat would be saved.
And then you have you have,
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Naaman. Right. He had leprosy.
And God said, go dip yourself in the waterbunch of times and you'll be healed.
It'll go away.
And so I was really convicted.
I want to put on the screen for you
to think about in your own faithand own walk that because he's God,
he has the power to
heal what is broken, to correctwhat is wrong, and to help us in our need
and ultimately accomplishwhatever he wills.
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And so I was just convictedthe last couple of weeks.
Our students went throughthis two weeks ago
that I need to not put a ceilingor a cap on God.
Not not not expect him to show upwhen I want, how I want,
and the way that I want,and that way I think
we rob God of glory because he's like,Michael, I can show up however I want.
People just grab my cloakand they were healed.
I laid my hand, I spit in the dirt,put it on their eyes, and he was.
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He could see for the first time ever.
Like God can work in waysthat we cannot even fathom.
I heard one pastor say,if you can get behind Genesis one one
where God literally created
everything out of nothingbut just his words,
you can believe anythingand everything else in scripture.
It's all believable.
If you can get behind Genesisone one that God created with his words.
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And what I love is that
we get to see this gentlemanwho hadn't walked in 38 years.
His body still respondedto its creator voice.
He said, get up and walk.
And he could.
After 38 years, I joked, the first serviceI played soccer last night,
I was like cramping.
This morning I could barely get upand this guy hadn't walk for 38 years
and he just got up and walked.
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It's amazing what our God can do.
But back to the gentleman, right?
So paralyzed for 38 years,
he can't get into the water.
He said, Jesus, I want to be healed.
Of course I do.
But people are rushing around me.
I can't get to the water first.
And so I got to think, imagine.
Can you imagine for a second? Sit.
Sit in his position?
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Can you imagine his pain?
Can you imagine his frustration?
I'm like, I'm trying to get there.
I'm trying to get there.
Or maybe the helplessness.
Now I think I'm praying for somethingfor six months.
Oh my God, where are you?What are you doing?
This gentleman, 38 years,38 years of waiting.
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38 years of maybe tomorrow, 38 yearsof maybe next year
being trampled over.
But I also thinkthere had to be a little hope.
Why would you stick around for 38 years
if not for some sliver of hope?
And it got me thinking.
I hope this week
I want to put this on screen for youto process in your faith, in your walk.
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I think hope can be a powerful giftfrom God,
but only when it's aimed in the way,in the direction of God.
Hope can be a powerful gift when aimedin the way, in the direction of God.
It can help us get upwhen we don't want to,
not throw in the white flagto continue on day after day after day,
even though there's a struggleor there's a there's an ailment
or there's a frustrationor there's a sin that we can't get past.
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Hope is that giftthat says Michael, keep going,
keep going, keep going, don't give up.
And so process outthat out in your own faith.
What does hope look like for you?
How is it an action for you?
And I thinkit leads to this inevitable question.
And I
and it's a tough one to vulnerable one.
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And it's thiswhat do we do with what we hope for?
Doesn't happen.
What are we doing?What we hope for doesn't happen.
We're earnestly seeking God and His face,and we're submitting to him.
And we're in Scriptureand in prayer, in community.
We're serving, we're giving our tithing.
We're doing all the thingswe're checking every box.
And it's like, but God,why are you not answering my prayer?
Why are you not showing up for mein this way?
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Like, how do you and I respond
when God saying, Michael,no, we're not yet.
No to whateveryou're asking me or not yet?
How do we respond?
How do you respond?How do you sit in that reality?
And for myself,
humbly, I say thisas I'm trying to figure this thing out,
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I think the challenge is to not get a hardheart
towards God, to not say, God, why not?
This is not fair. How could you?
I mean, just think of think of Genesisand Joseph's story.
Never once in Joseph's accountis it recorded.
God, I don't deserve this.
He was sold into slavery by his brothers,made his way to pawn for his home,
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accused of being inappropriatewith his wife, which was false.
Found himself in prison.
There are two.
There's a prisoner that got upset.I'll remember you.
That dude forgot Joseph sat in prisoneven longer.
Right?
Then he finds himself
second in command of all of Egypt,and in that way able to save his family.
Who arewho are back right where he's from.
When there's a severe faminethat hits like,
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we don't know how God's going to workand how he's going to show up
and how he's going toperform, but we know he will.
Amen.
Yes, sir.
But that that challenge usto not get a hard heart,
to not lose that vulnerability with Godbecause he's not showing up
how you want him to show up.
And when you want him to show up.
And here's the second challenge, I think,and this one can be easily hidden,
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easily disguised is don't spirituallyjust start going through the motions.
Don't spiritually keep showing up
tithing and offeringand going to church and serving.
But there's no real intimacy with God.
There's no real expectancythat God's going to show up.
There'sno real personal connection with God.
You're just going through the motions.
I think that's also a dangerous placeto be as a believer
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who can be jaded and frustrated andand we can just again throw our hands up.
And thisguy's testimony is so challenging.
I mean, he has hope after 38 years
that God will show up for him.
I'm going to keep waiting on the Lord.
I'm going to keep on the Lord.I'm going to keep waiting on the Lord.
And so in that way,I think this about this story,
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that this story is a story of hope,
but it's also a story of waiting.
And it's a story of seeking Godand not losing our heart
to be expectant, to say yes, father,
you are going to show up,
right?
You're going to show up.
And so process that out.
What does hope look like for youin the name of Jesus?
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What is waitinglook like for you in the name of Jesus?
What is what is seeking God?
When you've been waiting for a long time,look like in the name of Jesus,
there's our big, very
vulnerable,challenging, don't have healthy answer
questions.
The story
is a story of hope and I love that.
Sometimes it God saying, no, Michael,I know you're praying for
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and it makes sense to you,but no or not yet.
I need you to wait on me.
I need you to trust me.
I need you to to to submit to meand know that I am God
and I am in control, and I am good,and I'm going to work it out.
And that's where that faith just comes into say, all right, Lord, I'll wait.
As difficult as it is, I will wait.
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And I know there'sa lot of waiting in this room
on all kinds of things,whether it be marital,
kids, job, home,
there's so much waitingand so much frustration and so much,
Defeat at times I it exists,
but thankfully the cross is complete.
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And like we gowe go back to the verse off the top.
We gotta find life in Jesus.
Only in Jesus.
And so when the no.
One, not yet,we get to really display our faith.
But I want to go back to verse six,and I want to put it on the screen
for you this morning,
and I want you to ask yourselfthis believer, nonbeliever,
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do you want to be made well,
right. Again, I said, it seems silly.
I wrote it in my Bible.
It's a silly question,but it's profound because.
I don't think she's asked dumb questions.
I don't think he asked redundant question.
I don't think he askedquestions that don't matter.
And so I think as I'm processing,because what I do in one way in
which I prepare is
(24:21):
I read and ask questionsor even ask questions, read
and ask questions,and then go learn from other pastors
who've been teaching and preachingand doing it for longer than I have.
But I think that this is the reality.
I know it has been for parts of my lifethat there are
some peoplewho don't want to be made well.
They're just like, no,I want to hold that grudge, I do.
I want to hold that grudge.I don't want to.
They don't deserve my forgiveness.
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They don't deserve it. Right?
We hold grudges. We do.
I do want to gossip.
It makes me feel good,
right?
I want to be bitter. I want to be angry.
I want to be hurt because it protects me.
It drives me.
It keeps me, sane, like I want.
I want these things.I don't want to be made. Well,
I sometimes we lean in and we give into sin and temptation, and we
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and we allow ourselvesto live in these ways where we justify it.
And again, I'm not. This is my story.
I live here all the time.
Oh my goodness.
To be made well,we have to humble ourselves.
We have to say sorry to our spouses
even if we're not wrongor especially when we are wrong.
Like we have to stop living intentionallyin sin.
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To take up our cross
daily like that is so challenging.
We have to submit to God.
I mean, pastor crossesall the time, right?
We're slaves to Christ. We're slaves.
We were boughtat an incredibly high price,
no higher
price than the Son of God than Jesusgoing to the cross for you and for me.
There's no takes vaccine.
So we were purchased.
We are his,
(25:51):
you know,whether you submit to that or not.
We're his.
And if we're if we're saying yes,I want to be healed, we got to say yes
to Jesus and no to so many other things,so many other things.
We often think as we process this out
for the no are not yet.
When you feel like Godmaybe is taking something
(26:12):
or is challenging us or is teachingus, maybe it's Michael.
Do you love that thing?I took more than you love me.
You love that experiencemore than I took than me.
Do you love that opportunitymore than you love me?
And it's it's really challengingconviction of my heart's saying, well,
maybe I did or maybe I do.
There's an opportunityfor me to repent of that.
I don't want to love those things outsideabout, you know, my my love for Jesus.
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Because again,life is found in him, in him.
And so that's a challenge for all of usto say,
no, Lord, I'm going to submit to youand I'm going to be okay if you take
and if you moveand if you do challenge and if you
make things a little uncomfortable.
So I'll throw on screen again,
it's a questionthat I ask myself all week.
Do you want to be made well?
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So the answer is yes.
Jesus is going to come in and get rid ofall the crap, all the muck, all the junk.
But that's when the real war happens,right?
For the unbelievercomes to repentance and faith.
Now that you have the fleshand you have the spirit, and they're at
they're at war with each other,that's real.
Because we want to please the spirit.
We also want to please the flesh.
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And it's this whole dependance
on God, every moment of every day
that Jesus is more important than anythingand everything else.
And I love my wife and kids dearly,
but I have to put Jesus firstso that I am better for my life.
I am better for my kids, right?
So Jesus
challenges this gentleman,do you want to be made well?
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And Jesus is talking physically,but he's also talking spiritually.
Do you want to be made well?
And then I love verse seven.
This is his response, sir.
I have no one to help me get into the poolwhen the water is stirred.
I says it says while I'm trying to getin, someone else gets down ahead of me.
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And Jesus, I think he's he's he'sstanding there front of this guy,
knowing his way, knowing his authority,knowing his glory.
And he's like, I have another way, man.
Like, don't get so fixed on the external.
I'll get so fixed on this pool.
I know you put your hope and trust inthe angel of the Lord who's coming down.
Who is still of God, is still good.
(28:20):
But I think, can that be you and me?
Sometimes we're so hyper focused
and fix it on something else that we missJesus right in front of us,
whether it be through a Sunday morningor whether it be through
a conversation with a spouseor a coworker, or a friend or a neighbor,
or an interactionat the grocery store or whatever.
But Jesus, as we've seen,shows up with figs and heals.
Water heals. Just his words.
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Heals like Jesus can show up in anyand every way he wants to.
So why not through a casual conversationlike why not through
talking to a buddy at the gymor on the soccer field?
You can show up in anyand every way he wants possible.
So this it just unlocksthis infinite possibility that we can find
God in every interactionwe have all day long.
For the rest of our lives.
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And so it's that idea to be expectantand to not say, I don't see you,
God is to say, I'm going to look for you,God, I'm going to find you today.
God, I want to submit today to you, God.
That Jesuswas right in front of this guy's face.
And you still looking at the pool past him
now, just like, no, like,just be present with me right here.
(29:24):
Let me take care of you. Let me heal you.
Let me provide for you.
And I think that I've been processing
this out to in terms of ministry.
And one pastorI, I listened to from time to time,
he says walking this walk as believersis just one beggar helping another beggar.
(29:44):
Just one person to pin on yourselfin another person depend on Jesus.
And I think I've been reallyconvicted this week
to to see the one in front of me,Jesus on Nicodemus.
He saw the woman at the welland he sees this gentleman around.
There's hundreds and hundredsof other people that he could have,
he could have gone to,but he went to this guy.
Jesus sees the needs of one.
He sees the individualright in front of you.
And so that's a challenge for youand for me.
Who's the one that you need to servethe one that you need to provide for,
(30:07):
the one that you need toyou need to walk alongside?
Who is that one in your life?
Start with your family,with your neighbors, with your community.
Who is that one here at church?
Who is the one when you hearTrisha get up like, hey, join us.
Like we're going to three services.
We need some support, we need some help.
And maybe that's for you. Maybe it's not,
but pray about it.
What does God have for you?Who is the one?
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What is the ministry?
What is itup to you right in front of you.
This is one bigger helping,another bigger.
I told Jamie for usthis to have a Bible study Monday
nights and bleeds into the youth groupa little bit,
and she was talking about getting upon stage and getting a little nervous.
And I joke with I was like, I getI get nervous every single time
I get up here with you guys,like I get with youth. And it's easy.
I get up in front of youand I'm super nervous for some reason.
(30:50):
I don't know what it is,but God said, do it, so I'm gonna do it.
And so
if it's nervousness or if it's frustrationor if it's lack of qualifications,
like Carl says, say yes on the frontand then we'll figure out the rest.
Like jump into a ministryhere, serve somewhere.
I liken serving to working out right.
You have a really long night.
(31:11):
Kids are up all night.
You're exhausted. But,you know, you need to go work out.
You're like, dang,I know the energy. I can't get there.
And then you go work out and you sweatand you feel so much better after.
I think that serving,
you're like, man, I got to take awaytime from my wife and my kids.
I it's that's difficult.
But then when I leave YouTube, I'm like,it was the freaking best.
Like, I love this. It's amazing.
I think that serving rightyou do have to sacrifice.
(31:32):
You do have to say no to other things.
But then you leave and you're like,this is awesome.
I love this and so shameless plug thereif you want to serve, join us.
But I want to ask another question.
I don't know the answer,but I want to ask you.
I want you to process.
Have you ever felt stepped over?
Have you ever felt stepped over?
(31:53):
Right. Only one person got healedand they got in that water.
The first person in.
I think that we asked that question of Goda lot.
I God, what did I lose thisor why did I not experience it?
Why is my son struggling with bullying?
Or why was my daughterhaving to go through that?
My spouse?
Why have your health stepped over,
not provided for your prayers,not answered
(32:17):
right?
A little bit of frustration
and I kept coming back to this same songthis week.
It's called refinerand it's one of those either love or hate.
It's like a 12 minutes sign.
So sometimes I love that songknowing like, jeez, Louise,
I've heard the same lyricfor like 14 minutes.
I need to turn it off.But it's a great song
in terms of processing,waiting when we get a no or not Yet.
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I'm not going to
sing it for you,but I'll tell you the lyrics.
It says you're a refiner.
I'm sorry, you're a fire.
The refiner. I want to be consumed.
It says I want to be tried by fire.
I want to be purified.
You take whatever you desire.
Lord, here's my life, right?
(32:59):
And we think right to be refined.
There's fire and heat involved.
It may feel uncomfortable to be refined,but that's our charge.
Not to be refinedand made more into the image
and likeness of Christ.
You're a fire Lord, the refiner.
But I still want to be consumedbecause I have lots of rough edges
(33:19):
and I want to look more like you. Jesus.
I want to talk more. I'll let you. Jesus.
And so I need tobe in the fire a little bit.
I do,
and so maybeit's not running from the fire and saying,
all right, God, what do you have for mein this fiery season?
What am I supposed to learn here?
I don't like it. It's uncomfortable.
But if the outcome isI look more like you, Jesus, than not.
I'll gladly sit in thisbecause here's my life, right?
(33:41):
That's the posture we're supposed to have.
Easier said than done, of course,but that's the posture to look more like
Jesus.
And so here's kind of my takeawayas I process that out is this,
that you and I,
when we don't understand what God is doingor why we're in the season we're in,
we have to cling to the realitythat God is good all of the time.
If we can cling to that reality, that,all right, God, this season's tough,
(34:06):
but I knowand remember when you showed up here
and when you provided thereand when you were helping me through this.
If we can cling to that, that God is good.
Same as Joseph, same as Daniel, thatGod is good amongst our circumstances.
Yeah, life is tough, but God is good.
It's going to help us to have that hope.
And that gift of hopeis going to keep us going.
It's going to keep us going.It's going to keep us going.
(34:27):
This is the reality that God is goodall the time.
Can we hold on to that long enoughfor God to work and move
and allow us to mature in Christ likeness?
And then verse eight and nine,if we jump back into the text,
Jesus with authority says, get up,
pick up your mat and walk.
(34:50):
And at once his body was healed.
Just in those few words again.
Can you imagine?
From the brain
to the spine to the legs, that he couldphysically just do that, right?
Just get up and walk and then to havethe muscle ability to physically do it.
And this dude just walks off.
I don't know, I've read this a lotand it's just like,
(35:11):
just gloss over like,oh god, use it on the miracles.
Like what?
Don't rob garbage glory.
Sit in this realitythat God is amazing. Again.
Like I said,
this body still remembersits creators voice,
and it still remembers like the authoritythat God has in its life,
whether it's sinful and broken and knowsyes or not.
Our our body,you know it's creator's voice.
(35:34):
Get up and walk.
This guy's restored.
And then just to kind of finish the story,
the Pharisees are frustratedbecause it's a Sabbath
and they're annoyed,but they don't want to give God the glory.
And there's this whole back and forth and
and then verse 14,I want to share that with you.
I don't have it on the screen,but it says,
This is Jesus talking to this gentleman.
See, you are well again,like you're physically well again,
(35:56):
but stop sinning or somethingworse may happen to you again.
It's speaking to your your physicalhealth. But where are you at spiritually?
Where are you putting your hopeand your faith in your trust spiritually?
Again, it's that same questiondo you want to be made well?
Do you want to be made well?
I just I'm kind of blown away
by by God's sovereignty here,his authority, his graciousness to heal.
(36:19):
And I want to put this on the screenand kind of circle back
to what Carl threw outmaybe three weeks ago or four weeks ago.
Life, legacy and eternity
and process that through this story,
life, legacy and eternity.
Because as I process this story out,
the story isn't just about a manbeing healed.
(36:40):
It's about a bigger picture of Jesusbringing abundant lives.
He's calling us to live a faithful legacy.
He's preparing us for eternity with him.
That's the story
of life, legacy and eternity.
I mean, think live for a second.
Jesus meets us in our brokenness
(37:00):
and he speaks life into us.
He speaks life into you,and he speaks life into me.
And here's this kind of application.
I process it out that Jesuswants to breathe new life into us.
He wants to heal our hearts.
You know, it's a store of hope,and he wants to give us purpose right now.
What does that purpose look like foryou and him in union together?
What does that purpose look like?
(37:21):
He wants to bring you abundant life
about legacy.
Jesus calls you to live in a waythat points others back to himself.
That's the legacy.
The work is finished. Jesus did it.
We're just called to to share the goodnews and share the gospel.
And so our
application,our kind of our processing is,
(37:44):
is what legacy are we leavingbehind in the name of Jesus?
What legacy are we leaving behind?
And I love this.
Do we carry bitterness?
Do we carry frustration? Do we?
Do we carry the hurt?
Or do we carry our mat as a witnessof God's glory and power in our lives?
You can carry bitterness and be justified.
There's a lot of letdowns in life.You can carry frustration.
(38:04):
You can carry the pain.
It exists, and it's not a constant likewe all experience all of these things.
It's real.
Or we can say,all right, God, I'm going to leave.
You're good all the time.
I'm going to carry this manas a witness of your power
and your authorityand your might and your faithfulness
and your goodness and your loveand your whatever.
Right.
Like we can just sit in the powerof God and carry that mat.
(38:27):
And then eternity.
Jesus secured your faithbeyond this world,
life with him forever.
And it's
this idea that I knowwe all want physical healing,
but that's temporary.
Physical healing is temporary eternity.
That's what we look forward to,and that's what
we have to have our heartsbroken towards this world.
(38:48):
Eternity. Who can we help save?
Not because we're doing the work,or just because we're walking in lockstep
with Jesus and sharing his goodness.
He did the work.
Physical healing is temporary.
Salvation is eternal.
Jesus didn't come to fix bodies.
He came to save souls, came to save souls.
And he says, Michael, I want to use you.
(39:10):
I want, I want,I want you to go and I want you to do.
I heard one song, it, you know, ithighlights.
Like God, there'sso much brokenness in this world.
I don't know,the lyrics just came to my head.
And so there's so much brokennessis so much hurt, there's so much pain.
And he said, yeah, I know I'm sending you.I've given you my spirit.
Go and heal in my name.Go and live in my name.
Go and provide in my name.
(39:30):
Going and bring encouragement in my name.
I know there's brokenness and hurt,but go.
I've given you the same spiritthat Rose used from the dead.
It lives in you,the same authority, same power.
Go and do.
And so it's coolthat Pascale on our behalf and excel
and what God's doing has goneand he's going and doing
(39:50):
and I know many of you dohere locally and on missions,
but that's our encouragement
this morning to is to not lose hope,
to not go through the motions, tonot to not have a hard heart towards God.
That when the enters, no
or not yet to be to to sit in the realitythat God is good all the time,
to not give in to the temptation to say,you know what?
This isn't fair.
I'm done.
(40:11):
Live a life like Joseph.
Live a life like Daniel.
Ultimately, live a life like Jesus.
And I want to do a little bit of you.
See stuff with you this morning as we wrapup every week, we come together.
So we'll be together tomorrow night.
Dinner games, worship, teaching.
And then we go to small groupsin the night. Right.
And I always give leaderssmall group questions.
And so I want to put this questionon the screen for you this morning.
(40:34):
This is what our,what our leaders and kids do every week.
Because how many times you go homeand you have lunch and you take a nap
and you wake up, be like,what did we talk about at church?
I already forgot, I we're in John five,but what the heck do we talk about?
And so I have these put it out for you
there in the back of the roomthere in the welcome center.
Take it if you want it as a bookmark
in your in your Bible,or just take a picture of it.
These are five questionsfor you to answer this week.
(40:56):
How for you to process the text?
And the first one is this.
The man at the pool waited 38 years.
How do you think his hope and expectationschange over time?
And what does that teach usabout waiting on God?
Question two Jesus asked,do you want to be healed?
Why do you think he asked that?
And what might that questionlook like in your own life right now?
(41:17):
Question threethe man was focused on the pool
instead of Jesussitting right in front of him.
What are some pools or distractionsor false hopes
that we tend to focus on instead of Jesus?
Question for
have you ever felt like God showed upfor someone else, but not for you?
How do you wrestle with those momentswhile still trusting God's goodness?
(41:38):
And the last one is, as the story showed,Jesus noticing the one person
in the crowd,
how can we live like Jesus
and see the one that golfingright in front of us?
So challenging questions and good, honestI think processing questions.
And so if you want one, take one please.
Pascal will be back with us.
We're going to get to hear fun storiesand celebrate with him next week.
(42:01):
So come on back. But let's pray.
And we're going to do one more songtogether. This morning
okay?
God, you are good.
We thank you for your faithfulness.
We thank you that.
You are patient with us.
We thank you that you are personal.
We thank youthat you are loving and kind God.
And we thank you that you havesought us out and you have redeemed us.
(42:23):
You have made us a new creation.
Lord, help us to be bold in thatnewness and to live for you
and to process what you have for us.
When the answer is
no, we're not yet to live in the realitythat we don't have all the answers.
But God, you are good.
Help us, Lord, to encourage each otherand to see the one
(42:44):
that you have called us to serve,
and to see you right in front of our face.
Lord God, we want to give you glory
and we want to repentfor the sins of our lives.
Lord,
please continueto inspire us to lean in as a community,
to be in your word
and to be in service of others.
(43:06):
We thank you for this morning,for this space.
We pray thisall in your name, Jesus. Amen.
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