John 5:2-9

2. Now there is at Jerusalem by the sheep market a pool which is called in the Hebrew
tongue Bethesda, having five porches.
3. In these lay a great multitude of impotent folk, of blind, halt, withered, waiting for the
moving of the water.
4. For an angel went down at a certain season into the pool, and troubled the water;
whosoever then first after the troubling of the water stepped in was made whole of
whatsoever disease he had.
5. And a certain man was there, which had an infirmity thirty and eight years.
6. When Jesus saw him lie and knew that he had been now a long time in that case, he
saith unto him, Wilt thou be made whole?
7. The impotent man answered him, Sir I have no man, when the water is troubled, to put
me into the pool: but while I am coming, another steppeth down before me.
8. Jesus said unto him, Rise, take up thy bed and walk.
And immediately the man was made whole, and took up his bed, and walked and on the
same day was the Sabbath.

Only Christ can make us whole

Sometimes throughout the course of our lives and this Christian walk we find ourselves with
some challenges, we find ourselves with some issues and we find ourselves some
concerns; things that no matter how hard we may try we just can't seem to overcome on
our own, challenges that almost cripple or even paralyze us, challenges that have kept
us down for so long that it's are no longer just a part of life; but it is our life. We find
ourselves in a place where we're surrounded by people but we still feel all alone, we feel
like we ain't got nobody. Then we begin to get discouraged and wonder if it's even worth
it. That's the position that this man in our lesson text finds himself in. The Bible says that
in Jerusalem there was a pool called Bethesda. Bethesda in the Hebrew language
means “ house of Mercy” and it says that this pool had five porches and on those
porches lay a great multitude of impotent folk, blind people, people dealing with
sickness and hardship in their lives; and it says that there was a great multitude of them
so there were a lot of people here looking for mercy. And it says that these poor people
were waiting for an angel to come down and trouble the water; stir up the water and
whoever stepped into the water first would be cured of whatever disease they had. And
it says that this man had been laying on this porch waiting, now it doesn't tell us how
long he had been waiting there, but it does tell us that he has been dealing with this
issue in his life for 38 long years; that's a long time, that's as long as I've been in this
world, that's a long time to deal with anything. And it also doesn't specify exactly what
his ailment was but from the content in the text we can conclude that whatever his
problem was it caused him to not be able to walk on his own, it had put him in a position
where he had to depend on other people to help him to make his way through life; and it
says that he was laid there at the pool, so obviously someone had to help him get there
in the first place, but they didn't stay there to make sure he was able to get into the pool,
they just dropped him off. It seems like if there was somebody who really had love and
concern for this man then they would have stuck around until the water was stirred to
make sure he was the first to get in so that he could be healed, but we see that there's
only so much that we can expect from people, theres only so much that people are
willing to do; you see when it begins to become an inconvenience or a burden for me I
can drop you off but then I got to go. The bible encourages us to bare one another's
burdens, to bare someone else's burdens means to help them carry the weight, help
them carry the load, but in this man's case he couldn't help himself at all so someone
would have had to carry his entire weight, his whole load, his entire burden and nobody
is willing to do that, we got other stuff to do, I got a life of my own, how long you been
sitting here at this pool; you ain't got right yet, you should be well by now. They were
probably got to the point where they were pulling on him all hard and jerking him around
and just flopping him down on the ground; I'm tired of toting you around, i’m tired of
carrying your weight. John says that this was during the time of a feast so there was a
party going on in town so everybody had some where else to be, they had better stuff to
do; I brought you this far but now I gotta go, good luck. Ain't that how we do sometimes
or how folks do us, I'm here for you, I love you, I'm praying for you, call me if you need
me and we're consistent for a while but after so long we aren't as patient as we once
were, we ain't calling to check on you as often, we let the phone ring a few extra times
before we pick up if we pick up; and that doesn't make you a bad person it just makes
you human. So there's only so much that we can expect man to do for us and there's
only so much that man can do for us. We hear from the doctor when we have loved
ones who are sick and suffering and the doctor comes in and tells us “we've done all
that we can do”, we hear from our bill collectors when we trying to make arrangements;
can't you give me just a little more time “there's nothing I can do”. But out of all the
uncertainty in our lives and all the things that we just don't know, the one thing that we
do know for sure is that our God is able and not only is he able but he's able to do
exceedingly abundantly above all that we can ask or even think according to
Ephesians 3 and verse 20. He’s able to do anything that we ask of him and not only
that but he is able to do more than we even think to ask of him, thats some
power,sometimes we find ourselves in some situations that we just can't see our way
out of, they seem impossible, but we see serve a God who's a way maker he'll make a
way out of no way and make the impossible possible. Over in Genesis chapter 18 and
verse # 14 God asks Abraham a question he asks ”is there anything too hard for the
Lord?” Is there anything too hard for the Lord church? Well just in case you don't know
Jeremiah gives us the answer in Jeremiah chapter 32 and verse 17 when he says “
behold, thou hast made the heavens and the Earth by thy great power and
stretched out arm, and there is nothing too hard for thee. We serve a God who
spoke the heavens and the Earth into existence and we have the nerve to think that our
problems are too big. We spend so much time telling God about how big our problems
are when we should be telling our problems about how big our God is, we spend so
much time telling folk about how bad our situation is when we should be telling them
about how good our God is, let God know that I might not understand but God I trust
you. As I said this was during the time of a feast so this was a time of celebration and
jubilation, now John doesn't specify exactly which feast it was that they were
celebrating, but some speculate that it was the feast of the passover; a time when the
Jews would celebrate their liberation from Egyptian bondage, when they were made
free from slavery, when they were released from the burdens of their Egyptian
taskmasters, they were celebrating a time when they had found their backs against the
wall with no hope so God parted the red Sea, they were celebrating a time when they
found themselves hungry in the wilderness with nothing to eat so God rained down
bread from heaven, they were celebrating a time when they were thirsty with nothing to
drink so God brought water from a rock, they were celebrating their time to move
forward to a better place in life; but in the midst of all of this joy and all of this excitement
and all of this celebration there was depression, there was pain and there was
hopelessness, there were people suffering. This man wasn't celebrating freedom
because he was still a prisoner, he was still a victim of his own circumstances, he was
still on the wrong side of his own personal red Sea, he was still unable to move forward
to a better place in his life because he was still confined to his bed on this porch. We
can look around this room and we see a lot of happy, smiling faces; well dressed and on
the outside it looks like everything is alright, we're all doing great, we're all moving
forward in our lives and nobody knows what's going on behind the scenes, nobody
knows that underneath it all some of us are just sitting on this porch on our bed just
waiting for mercy; there are a lot of hurting people in need of comfort, a lot troubled
people in need of peace, sick people in need of healing, and desperate people in need
of hope; but where do we find hope, how do we find peace how do we find healing and
comfort, how do we find mercy; some of us are struggling spiritually, some of us are
struggling financially, mentally or emotionally and we get frustrated or discouraged and
a lot of times our frustration and discouragement comes from us feeling that we’ve done
all that we can do, we've done all that we're supposed to do, we were where we were
supposed to be, but still I keep leaving the same way I came. I'm still dealing with all of
this stuff. And we start feeling like what's the point, why do I keep coming, why do I keep
trying, it seems like everybody is being blessed except me; WHY!!! That's how this man
had to be feeling; he could have given up a long time ago and just stayed at home, I
mean why not, why keep coming, ain't nobody trying to help me. There's no telling how
many times he had come to this pool and just had to sit there and watch as somebody
else got healed knowing that their blessing just meant another season on this porch for
him. We should be able to celebrate one another’s victories, and we should be able to
rejoice about one another's blessings, but it's hard to be happy for somebody else when
my situation is still messed up, I ain't saying I'm hating I just wish it was me; when is it
going to be my turn, when is it going to be my season. Ecclesiastes 3 says that
there's a season for everything under heaven, a time to be born and a time to die,
a season to plant and a time to pluck up, a season to kill and a time to heal,
(BASEBALL SEASON, FOOTBALL SEASON, GOLF SEASON) that ain't what it say
y'all I'm just making a point; but there's a season for everything, so when is it going to
be my season, when is it going to be my turn, do any of us ever feel like that or is it just
me. Like I'm tired of sitting on this porch feeling sorry for myself because nobody else
does, just watching and waiting on my turn. But through it all, all of the hurt and
discouragement this man still showed a great deal of faith, now we know that Hebrews
11 and:1 says that faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of
things not seen, but what does that mean exactly; it means that faith is our ability and
our willingness to take God at his word and then act upon it. That's why we do what the
Bible says to do and we live the way it instructs us to live because it is the inspired word
of God, this man had faith that God had put healing in this pool that's why he kept on
coming, that's why he kept on trying and it was about to pay off, it says in verse 6 that “
when Jesus saw him lie, and knew that he had been there now a long time in that case”.
You see the Lord sees us and he knows our situation. David tells us in Psalms 34:15
that “the eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous and his ears are open to their
prayers” and he tells us later on in verse # 19 that “ the afflictions of the righteous
are many but the Lord delivers him out of them all”. Church we have to know that
no matter what our situation is, God is still in control not only does he know our
situation, not only does he care about our situation but he wants to deliver us from our
situation; Earth has no sorrow that heaven can't heal, and Christ wants to heal us. He
says that his eyes are on us and his ears are open to our prayers; we have to pray
about our situation, James 5:13 says “ is any among you afflicted? Let him pray;
and that's not always easy because sometimes it feels like it ain't doing no good, we just
pray and pray and ain't nothing happening, but we have to know and believe that our
prayers are powerful and God is listening, sometimes he has to allow us to suffer just so
that we will talk to him; y'all know how we do when everything is good, God can't hear
from us, we so busy enjoying our blessings that we can't take the time to thank him for
the blessing of life; it's like when parents have raised their kids and their children get
older and get their own family and their own life and they get so busy that they just don't
make the proper amount of time to spend and to talk to their parents, momma ain't
heard from you in days ain't seen the grandkids in weeks, but you let them start having
some financial trouble, now the phone ringing off the hook, voicemail, text messages,
emails, dropping by the house unannounced and out the blue, the grandkids been
missing you; probably wouldn't even hug you the grandkids
last time you seen them but now they miss you, and that's how we treat God
sometimes, we just too busy ain't got time just like the song say, but when storms come
into our lives, when trials and tribulations come you can't pull us up off of our knees; we
fall asleep praying, we wake up praying, we praying in the bathroom,we praying in the
car, we praying at work some of us look like we know something about that. 1
Thessalonians 5:17 instructs us to pray without ceasing, to pray without ceasing
means that were praying throughout the good and the bad, the sunshine and the rain,
we got to pray about our situation no matter the situation and not only that but ask
others to pray for us as well; the fervent prayer of the righteous man availith much. Don't
you think this man may have been praying about his situation all the time, not just at the
pool but everyday, that's why he kept coming, because he had hope; “me and the Lord
done talked about this thing, he going to work it out. Jesus could have been anywhere
else, doing anything else everybody else was at the feast, everybody else had just
walked past these poor sick people but Christ didn't walk past them, he walked amongst
them, he is the great physician. Jesus goes on to ask this man what had to sound like
the craziest, most ridiculous question you could ever think to ask someone in this
situation; he asks him “ do you want to be made whole”,do you want to get well? What if
somebody asked us that; do you want to move forward with your life, do you want to be
relieved of this burden that's been keeping you down for so long, do you want to be
made whole? We'd probably start cussing, blank blank of course I want to be made
whole do you know how long I've been sitting on this bed, do you have any idea how
long I've been waiting on this porch, do you think I like having to depend on other
people to tote me around and carry me to the bathroom, why would you ask me
something like that, but Jesus had to ask him this question because the truth of the
matter is that sometimes when we've sat on our bed for so long, when we get used to
sitting on this porch we get comfortable there, we make our way to the pool just so that
we can say we tried, but do we really try. Jesus asked this man do you want to be made
whole, that's a yes or no question, but the man didn't give a yes or a no answer, he
gave an excuse. He says “ sir I have no man, when the water is troubled, to put me into
the pool: but while I am coming, another steppeth down before me”, you see I'm trying
but other folks keep getting in my way, but that ain't what Jesus asked him he asked do
you want to be made whole. Do we want to be made whole this morning church, do we
want to get up off of this bed, do we want to leave this pool and this porch behind or do
we just want to make an excuse and keep leaving the same way we came? This man
made an excuse, he started complaining about what he didn't have instead of
recognizing who he did have, he had God staring him right in the face and didn't even
realize it; we have to start recognizing our blessings church. We'll pray and cry and cry
and pray Lord please send me a blessing, Lord please help me, please deliver me, and
then when the Lord sends our blessing and it doesn't look like what we think it should
look like we won't even acknowledge the fact that we've been blessed. If it's not
something that we can touch,hold, feel or spend then it don't feel like a blessing;
nevermind the fact that he woke us up this morning, some of us in our right mind,
started us on our way and gave us one more shot, one more chance to be made whole,
thats a blessing This man thought his blessing was in the pool but it wasn't, he was still
looking for some man to put him into the water, but in John chapter 7 Jesus says that
from my belly shall flow rivers of living water; he was speaking of the Holy Spirit, the
comforter that he promised to send, that would guide us into all things Christ has given
us hope and comfort and he’s given us guidance; ain't that enough to make us whole; or
are we still looking for something else, somebody else to complete us. Jesus told this
man “ get up, take up your bed and walk!!!!” And the Bible says that immediately the
man was made whole and took up his bed and walked, now this is a man hasn't walked
in 38 long years, it seems like he would've needed to stretch or do some physical
therapy or something, but it says that immediately he took up his bed and began to walk
and I bet you he didn't walk the same way he had walked 38 years ago, I bet he had a
new walk, a new pep in his step, he probably grabbed that bed and took off running, not
only did Jesus tell him to walk but he told to take your bed with you, this bed is your
testimony, you let people see what God has done for you, tell them that this bed used to
carry me but now I'm carrying it when the Lord bring us out of our storms or to a better
place in life we oughta be willing to go out and tell somebody and show somebody our
new walk. You never know how your testimony might help somebody else, it might be
somebody sitting on that same porch on their own bed on the verge of giving up, but
when they see your new walk when they see you carrying your bed that might be all
they need to just hang in there a little longer, it may be all that they need to help them
believe that God's grace really is sufficient, it may be all that they need to see that
maybe God really will be my refuge in times of trouble. Paul says in 2 Corinthians 1:4
that God comforts us in all of our tribulations so that we may comfort those who
are in trouble with the same comfort that we received from God. Sometimes God
allows us to go through some stuff in our lives so that our suffering can be a blessing for
somebody else; we might see somebody walking through the same storm that we just
walked out of and we'll be able to hold an umbrella over their heads during the worst
storm of their lives; you know there's nothing like having someone who can say “hey I
know what you're going through, I know how you feel, this is how God brought me
through”, thats why we’ve been blessed with each other. Christ had given this man a
new walk and a testimony and the first thing he did once he had been made whole was
went to church to give God some praise; nawl he didn't go to the club, you know there
were plenty of new dance moves that had come out over the past 38 years he had
some catching up to do, but that ain't where his mind was, he didn't go looking for a
girlfriend, you know plenty of women had been walking back and forth past him for the
past 3 decades and now he can catch’em, but that ain't where his heart was, he wanted
to go give God some praise, so he went to church and when he got to church he ran
into some messy church folk (Lord help us) he ran into some messy praise police who
didn't care nothing about his blessing, they didn't care nothing about his new walk and
his testimony, never mind the fact that he's walking on his own after 38 long years of not
being able to walk on his own, the only thing they were concerned about was “hey bruh
what you doing carrying this bed around on a Saturday”. You see this was the Sabbath
day, the day of which God had reserved as a day of rest for the Jews, but just like men
do today they took God's word and started adding their own spin to it, to the point where
it just got ridiculous and burdensome to the point that walking around carrying your bed
was considered work, and this man told them yeah I know the laws, I know the rules, I
know I'm supposed to be resting today BUT MY GOD!!!! See church when we've
witnessed God's power up close and personal, when we've seen his grace and his
mercy in action in our lives we become some BUT GOD kind of people, yeah I see you
watching me and looking at me sideways BUT GOD!!!, Yeah I hear you in the corner
whispering and passing judgement on me BUT GOD!!!! Yeah I'm used to you bringing
up my past trying to keep me in my place BUT MY GOD HAS GIVEN ME A NEW
WALK, A NEW LIFE AND A TESTIMONY TO MATCH!!! You see there's a difference
between religious people and spiritual people; religious people want everything to be
ABCD, but spiritual people realize that sometimes it's going to be XYZ, it might even be
PWCD, when God has shown up and showed out in our lives we can’t keep it in a box,
we won’t allow the praise police to put their handcuffs on us, we won’t be able to sit
here and not sing praises to the lord, we won’t be able to sit here and not amen the
preacher when we know he preaching, we won’t be able to sit here on facebook; i’ll like
your pictures later but right now I got to give God the praise, the honor and the glory.
This man was sharing his testimony, he didn’t care what they was talking about. Then
they asked him who told you to do this? See they in the church, but they don’t even
know the lord; and the man tried to show them, but he couldn’t find him, then it says that
later Jesus found him in the temple and told him “ now that you’ve been made whole,
go and sin no more, or something worse will happen to you” So apparently there
was something that this man had done in his past that had led to all these years of pain
and suffering; sometimes we cause our own problems, we cause our own pain and
suffering through our own actions, sometimes it’s stuff that we did years ago, stuff we
might not even remember, but God remembers: we know we reap what we sow; but
Christ has given this man another chance, another opportunity to get it right, we should
be thanking God everyday that he allows us to wake up, every moment that he allows
us to breathe because that’s just him giving us another chance to get it right. These
Jews they wanted to place limitations on God they went on to persecute Jesus because
he had done this thing on the Sabbath and Jesus told them “hey i’m in the family
business, my daddy work and I do too, then it goes on to say that the Jews sought
the more to kill him, so now they were real mad they wanted to kill him even more now
because not only had he done this thing on the Sabbath but he had also just made
himself equal with God; they were mad because he had made himself equal with God
not even realizing that he was God. And church it was this very moment, this very act
and this very conversation that ultimately sent Christ to the cross all because he wanted
to give this man, all because he wanted to give me and you a better life. Over in John
chapter 10 and verse 10 while speaking to a similar crowd jesus told them that “
the thief comes to kill, to steal and to destroy, but I come that they may have life
and have it more abundantly. These people wanted to kill this mans hopes, they
wanted to steal his joy and they wanted to destroy his comfort; but Christ wants to give
us an abundance of hope, an abundance of joy and an abundance of comfort. You
know when we talk about abundance we start thinking about money and stuff, but Christ
ain’t talking about money and stuff, he deals in spiritual blessings, all spiritual blessings;
he wants to give us life, he wants to make us whole. tell God how to heal us all we
need to do is answer the question “ do you want to be made whole”. This man thought
he needed an angel to trouble the water, he thought he needed an man to put him into
the water, but Christ was all that he needed and he’s all that we need. Isaiah says in
Isaiah chapter 55 and verses 8 and 9 “ for my thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways, says the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than
the Earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your
thoughts. We can't think on God's level, our minds aren't capable of that we don't
understand why we have to suffer, if it were left up to us there would be no suffering but
God has a purpose for our suffering:
(We can't understand how God thinks so we give up and when we give up we give up
on God and when we give up on God we give up on ourselves, because without God
we have no hope. Matt 5:45)