John chapter 5, please open your Bibles there to John chapter 5
and we're going to read from verse one to verse 15.
After this there was a feast of the Jews and Jesus went up to
Jerusalem. Now there isn't Jerusalem by the
sheep gate, a pool. Now it's called the sheep Gate.
Just by the way we went there. It's near Saint Anne's Church
where we sing. That's where they would drive
all the the lambs that they would bring them in for the time
of the Passover. So they drive them all through
that way. And, and, and just a little ways
on, not far at all, probably from here to the old trees from
the sheep gate is the pool of Bethesda having five porches.
In these lay a great multitude of sick people, blind lane,
paralysed, waiting for the movement of the water.
For an Angel went down at certain at a certain time into
the pool, stirred up the water. Then whoever stepped in first
after the stirring of the water was made well of whatever
disease he had. Now a certain man was there who
had an infirmity 38 years. When Jesus saw him lying there
and knew that he already had been in that condition a long
time, he said to him, Do you want to be made well?
The sick man answered him, Sir, I have no man to put me into the
pool when the water is stirred, but while I'm coming, another
steps down before me. Jesus said to him, Rise, take up
your bed and walk. And immediately the man was made
well, took up his bed and walked, and that day was the
Sabbath. The Jews therefore said to him
who was cured, it is the Sabbath.
It is not lawful for you to carry your bed.
Actually there was no problem in the law to carry the bed.
But what had happened is the Pharisees and the Sadducees had
added extra traditions to carrying the bed.
And so it was only the traditions of men that was in
breech here, not the word law of God.
Then they asked, who is the man who said to you, take up your
bed and walk? But the one who was healed did
not know who it was, but Jesus had withdrawn A multitude being
in that place. Verse 14 Afterward Jesus found
him, that is the man who'd been healed in the temple, said to
him, these words, see, you have been made well, sin no more,
lest a worse thing come upon you.
The man departed and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had
made him. Well, there are times in our
lives that we sometimes wonder if God knows we we even exist.
I remember coming out of Bible college and all I wanted to do
was go into the ministry and preach and, you know, and there
was no churches open at the time.
And, and I was rather frustrated, frustrated because I
was immature and not ready. And it wasn't God's time.
That's the truth of the matter. As I look back and I felt as if
God, you know, well, God, I've gone through this.
We've sold our house. We've moved up from Dunsra,
we've gone to Bible college. You know, we've changed our
lives. We're seriously about serving
you. We've studied, we've gone
through all this training. What's going on?
You know there are times, and maybe in your life, we seem to
be living in a situation where there appears to be no sign of
change. It's just the same.
We feel hopeless sometimes, friendless, unable to get out of
the hole we find ourselves in, and thus we are alone, even
though we know the Lord. That's the sense that we have.
And this describes a man Jesus met in our texts tonight.
It says after this there was a feast of the Jews.
The words after this tell us that Jesus was acting according
to a predetermined plan and purpose.
After this, I'll do this. So in God's plan, Jesus was to
visit this man. Remember Jesus said I don't say
or do anything other than which my father has commanded me.
I love that man I I pray for that in my life this year that I
would only say and do the things that God has asked me to do.
So after this, these words tell us that Jesus was acting
according to a predetermined plan and purpose.
Your life has a predetermined plan and purpose.
God has 2026 mapped out for you. There were no accidents in Jesus
ministry, His appointments that his Father had planned, He kept
each and every one of them and they had been set long before in
the councils of eternity past. We think of Nicodemus in John
chapter 3, this religious man who comes and Jesus knew he was
coming and he spoke with Nicodemus about being born
again. He said you must be born again.
Nicodemus was a religious man. Jesus said you know the
scriptures, but you don't know the spirit and working of God.
There's the Samaritan woman, John chapter 4.
Jesus sends his disciples off. Jesus waits at the well.
Sure enough, later the women collect their water.
Early in the morning, this woman turns up.
Jesus is there and he starts the discussion.
There's a noble man for Capone. And now this man by the pool in
Bethesda, I want to ask you, is it time for a miracle in your
life? You go miracle.
Well that would be amazing. Much of Jesus ministry was
occupied in the performance of miracles.
The gospels record a total of 35 separate miracles from the
turning of the water into wine. Remember the wedding to Jesus
wonderfully restoring back on the night of his betrayal
Malchus's ear, because Peter had sliced it off and he put it back
on in the Garden of Gethsemane. The miracles of Jesus.
And churches go on about miracles, don't they today?
Come to the miracle service. Come and there's a miracle
service of this and that. The miracles of Jesus were
demonstrations of the power of God, yes, but they were not
performed just to impress. Come out to the miracle service
a curious humanity. The miracles that Jesus did
testified to Christ's divinity. There was a purpose.
They testified of His omnipotence, His power.
They testified of Christ representing God, the revelation
of God and His compassion as He laid his hands actually on
lepers who were unclean, unclean and healed them, and testified
of his dominion over the works of Satan as he would drive out
demonic beings. The man that gathered Gadera,
remember, who lived naked in the tombs of Gadera, chained up,
screaming and cutting himself, and Jesus came and healed him.
What is a miracle? That's a good question.
What's the definition? Henry Thiessen defines a miracle
this way, a unique and extraordinary event, awakening,
wonder brought about by divine power, accomplishing some
practical and benevolent work, and authenticating a messenger
and his message as from God. Is it wrong to desire a miracle?
Well, now we're in the Scriptures and that's where we
get our answers to every question you have.
If you have a question, go to the Bible and look for the
answer. Nowhere in the scriptures do I
find it recorded of Jesus admonishing someone seeking a
miracle. Except to those who doubted his
divinity, Show us a sign. And he's just been doing all
these great Give us a sign. Show us a sign.
By what authority? Those who had already witnessed
miracles at the hand of Jesus this new year, 2026, are you
seeking a miracle from God? I pray you are seeking a miracle
from God. You know what a miracle is.
It's the impossible. If so, God tonight wants to
encourage you how to continue in your faith, to continue trusting
in the power, the wonder and the love of Almighty God.
The writer to Hebrews says this in Hebrews 11/6.
Without faith it is impossible to please Him.
What's the opposite of faith? Distrust, fear.
Without faith it's impossible to please Him.
That's God, for he who comes to God must believe that he is what
that he is almighty God, able, powerful, and that he is what a
rewarder, someone who responds of those who do what, who
diligently, not haphazardly once in a blue moon, seek him.
In Ephesians chapter 3 verse 20, Paul wrote now unto him Speaking
of the Lord that is able to do and I love the wording here
because it just takes us beyond everything we can imagine who is
able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask
beyond or we can even think according to the power that
works in US. In John chapter 14 verse 13,
Jesus said whatsoever you shall ask in my name, that will I do.
Now here's the reason in this verse because there's a reason
that the Father may be glorified in the Son.
There's a purpose and a reason seeking the miraculous God.
I want to see my husband come to Christ, not because I just want
to see him come to cry. Lord, it would demonstrate to
the rest of my family that you are the wonder, the glorious
God. John 1414 says Then if you ask
anything in my name and you're doing it, that the Father may be
glorified in the Son, Jesus says, I will do it.
It's been said that all the parables of Jesus are miracles
of wisdom, and we did a series on the parables and that all the
miracles of Jesus are parables of teaching tonight, this year,
2026. Maybe you're here tonight and
you think, well, God has forgotten me.
I mean, it's nice that you're saying, Keith, and I'm here
because I'm hanging in there. I know it's the right thing to
do, but I feel like God has forgotten me.
If you think you've committed, perhaps you think you and people
can come to church thinking that they've committed the
unforgivable sin. I don't take communion.
I don't stand, I don't worship the Lord.
I'm here because I know I need to be, but I think I've taken a
step one too many. I think I've I've committed the
unforgivable sin. Or maybe you're here tonight and
you've never received the forgiveness of God.
You know about God, you know the Word of God, you've been to
church, you've been to Sunday school, but you have never
personally accepted the forgiveness of God the Father of
all your sins through the death of his Son.
You're religious, you're a good person.
You try, but you've never really sensed unforgiven.
I have been forgiven. Maybe you need a miracle.
I pray that God's precious and powerful word tonight will
strengthen that desire in you, and you will see it come to
pass. There's a background to our
story tonight in John 5. Jesus had come to Jerusalem.
He's passing through the pool of Bethesda.
His father has a plan for him to meet a man, but there's the
means. By the way, House of Mercy,
there were five porches or like patios over the pool area.
Jesus comes across this multitude of people laying
everywhere in all distorted positions and ways and clothing,
helpless folk, many homeless, they're sick and maimed, and
they're laying around this pool. Because it's been heard that
every now and then. And I'm not going to talk about
that because that's not the theme of the story.
Did this really happen or what? But they've heard that there's a
stirring of the water and we can get in.
Well, maybe, you know, I can be healed.
But really, it was a scene of great hopelessness and tragedy.
Tradition said, as I said, that the first one in the pool after
the water I'd been stirred would be healed.
Tradition says that it's interesting that that's what the
law, religion, and man's philosophy always promotes.
Be the first, be the best. Try harder.
That's what religion says. Try harder.
I recommend that you all read Pilgrims Progress and Fox's
book. Book of Martyrs has two other
books in your annual reading this year, Pilgrim's Progress
and Fox's Book of Martyrs. Pilgrim's always trying.
He's trying. He's trying.
Fight your way to the top. And don't forget, God helps
those who help themselves. But here's the point.
That verse actually isn't in the Bible.
You know where it is? It's in the Koran.
Out of all this gathering of people, there's one man that got
the attention of Jesus, and I find this fascinating.
Was he the neediest? Possibly.
Why? Well, we know, John tells us,
that this man had been in the grip of his infirmity for 38
long, desperate years. That's a long time.
How long he'd been laying at the pool we don't know.
He was in himself, not strong enough to drag himself from the
place where he lay under the porches into the pool.
Because they go down these great steps.
There's these. You go to pull the Bethesda.
It's quite deep. You got, you're going to go down
quite a, a, a range of steps to get to the bottom.
He longed to reach the water, but it was always too late and
unable to persuade, because he had no money, he had no power,
no position. He was not not able to persuade
someone to help him, drag him, carry him.
So day after day, week after week, month after month, year
after year, he lay there. 38 years.
He'd been thinking, where's God and all this?
He's forgotten me. Jesus, we're told of verse 6,
sees him, walks over to him and looking down at him because he's
laying on the ground. Ask him this question.
Will you be made whole? That's a fascinating question.
On the surface. You and I, as we read this, we
think that's a strange question. You'd have to agree.
Jesus, out of all this, selects one man.
He didn't preach to everyone. Notice that he didn't say
everyone here, all of you. We're not told that he didn't
heal everyone. He didn't go around.
I'll go to you, to you, to you too.
But he goes to this one person, this one man.
And he asked him a question, which he didn't ask many people,
did he? You want to be made Well, I can
imagine the man's reaction. Put yourself in his shoes or
bed. The look in his face as he
looked up at this stranger. He doesn't know who this guy is.
Who wasn't behind this question? Who is it behind his voice?
He had no idea who it was speaking to him, standing over
him. He didn't know it was the Son of
God. His reply, his first words, Mark
his astonishment, Sir. As though he had said, What do
you mean by asking me a question like that, Sir?
He says. Then he responds, and he, Sir, I
have no man, and the water has troubled to put me in the pool.
While I'm dragging myself there, another steps down before me.
And Jesus just goes straight to this.
And he says this rise one, take up your bed 2.
Three, walk the site. Let me ask you tonight if you'd
been part of the crowd of onlookers and how often I think
we get things wrong when we see things going on.
How many of you would have stopped the widow when she went
to the great silver trumpets that were by the temple and
she's getting all that she had? Would you go?
Hey, stop. Come on, Missus Jones.
Come on. You can't.
You got no money.
You can't throw this in. Would you have stopped?
I think I would have. But the Bible says Jesus
watched. He didn't stop her.
He watched as she threw it in and he blessed her.
I think many times with these we see the not what's going on.
So if you've been part of the crowd of onlookers, would you
have protested what Jesus said? You've asked him would he be
made well? What do you think he's lying
here for? I mean seriously, how could you
say that? Are you cruel?
Why are you picking on him? Because he wants to go down
there. Because he wants to be made
well. He's laying here.
He's laying here well, What happened?
A miracle happened. God moved on.
A lost hope, helpless, hopeless soul.
So the first point is the question, Will you be made
whole? It's very important to
understand this. It's a simple question, it seems
easily dismissed by us as we read over this very glibly.
But the question wasn't so simple.
Jesus didn't ask it for fun, just to fill in a few words in
the Word of God and is indeed. It is in fact sublime.
There are a number of facts within this question that we
need to look at if we would understand a little of Jesus
methods with this man in need of a miracle.
Firstly, Jesus recognised the royalty, that is the sovereignty
of human will. In other words, God doesn't go
against your will. You've got a will and you, you
run it if you wish. Jesus said in the Garden of
Gethsemane. What what we all need to pray at
the end of every prayer, Father, Not my will, but your will be
done. It's probably a prayer.
You need to pray really at the end of every prayer.
Oh no, you shouldn't pray that. The faith preachers would tell
you because this is a lack of faith.
No, it's biblical truth. Jesus prayed it three times.
I reckon it's pretty important. What is God's will in the
matter? Well, I need this.
I want that person. I want to, you know, partner up.
I want to get this if it's your will, because otherwise you will
steer into 2026 and you'll crash, you'll bang into a dead
end. You'll be going somewhere and
God saying I'm not there, I'm not over there.
That's not where I want you to be.
I want you to be in my will. So that's why Jesus asked this
guy, do you want to be my whole for unless he does, Jesus can do
nothing for him. In Matthew chapter 13 verse 58,
Jesus goes back to Nazareth. That's where he grew up.
That's where he did his apprenticeship as a Carpenter
with his dad at the carpenter's shop.
Everyone knew him and it says and he did not mighty many
mighty works there. Why?
Because of their unbelief. If you read in that passage, it
says this is Jesus, He's the son of Joe, he's the Carpenter, He's
the guy that fixed my door. You want me to believe what?
That is something special he did not.
Many works there because of their unbelief.
Sometimes people come to church week after week, they sit under
the word and they change not. And others come to church and
each week God speaks to them powerfully, wonderfully,
ministers to them. Why?
Because it's your will, you hear and you choose whether you're
going to be one of the four soils.
You choose whether I'm not taking anything else or you're
here. And each time the Bible is open
and I sit down the front when I'm not teaching, I'm listening.
I'm sorry, but the message is for me.
And by the way, don't ever say, oh, I wish you know, Bob and
Mary was here. No, they're not here.
You are. You're the one God wants to
speak to about this very topic. Don't worry about somebody who's
not here. And so the man's response back
to Jesus in fact revealed that he never expected to be made
well or whole that he had. In fact, he says, ah, what's he
used? He'd lost hope and heart for.
He said, Sir, I have no man. I'm alone.
There's no one with no one with me when the water is troubled,
no one to help me and others just go before me.
In other words, it's no use asking me such a question.
I've no chance of being made whole.
Jesus question revealed the fact he had lost hope.
But here's the beauty of it. Jesus question however, stirred
something in this man because no one had ever asked him this.
No one ever in the 38 years there.
Oh, do you want to be better? Of course I want to be better.
So no one would ask that. The fact that the man answered
shows that suddenly there was a stirring in this man's heart.
He said you. Yeah, I want to get better, but
I can't get down there. See, it starts.
Embers are being fanned. Stirring in the man's heart of
hope had had been dead. But why did he answer Jesus?
If only, if only I can get down there.
Why didn't this man ask? If I wanted to be made whole?
Why? Why are you asking?
Is something happening here? Who is this guy?
Is this man? Are you going to help me down
the stairs? Perhaps that's what he's
thinking. I think Jesus is fanning the
embers. It says in Matthew 1720 if you
have faith as what mustard seed, nothing will be impossible.
And as we have some of these and I'll give them out tonight if
anyone wants 1, the little canister and that canner
canister that's filled with all mustard seeds.
Jesus says if you have faith as the size of one of these little
seeds, I'll move mountains, mountains.
You see, when Jesus comes to one needing a miracle, maybe you, he
recognises the sovereignty, the royalty of your will.
He is aware in many of us times we sit there and go no use.
That hope is lost. I've prayed, I've tried.
He renews hope by the very fact of his coming, of his stirring
in your life, the very words that you're hearing tonight.
He says, I want to fan that which is dead in your life.
I want you to think about that again.
He requires, however, submission to whatever he shall say.
If the work of God is seeking to give, he is seeking to give is
to be obtained. OK, what's that got to do with
me? What do I need?
Well, in your situation, if you're bound, if you're looking
for a touch from God, Jesus asks you as he did this man.
Well, do you want to be made? Oh, do you want your miracle
answer? Do you want that very thing that
you desire? Pray for hopeful.
Do you want that to happen? Jesus asked that.
James says you have not Why? Because you don't ask for it.
Jesus asked this man a very legitimate question.
Why? Because as unusual as it may
seem, do you want to be made well?
Not everyone wants to be made well.
Did you know that there are people that come to church and
they bring their Ute load, their trail load of problems each week
They sit and they go well with me.
Well with me you pray for me. Well with me.
Thanks for that. Take them out, load them up and
they'll be back next week with the same load of stuff.
It's like the guy that went to the revival and he said, oh,
preacher, preacher, pray, pray for the web of, of sin and my
lie. Oh, H 90 came out.
Pray for the removal of the the web of sin in my life until the
finally the preacher said, shut up.
I'm going to pray for the spider to be killed.
I tell you, I've seen this. We used to witness, Helen would
tell you Saturday nights in Perth, like we'd be out St
witnessing. We used to do a lot of it.
That was part of our Bible training.
It was a an interesting place, streets of Perth.
We came across this character and he, he was a strange man.
He had no shoes and he had jeans and shirt and he would walk
around Perth and he would stop behind a, a rubbish bin, go
through it and then he'd look and he'd walk and rush to the
next bin, hide behind it and he'd go to the next bin and the
next bin. Anyway, he came to church
because we were, we were, we had a church in Perth at that time.
Helen and I was serving there. I was the worship leader there
and he came up the stairs. He came to the service because
we had an outreach put on a film.
I spotted him and someone did the worst thing ever.
They gave him 20 bucks. They said oh, it's the Holy
Spirit handshake. They called it anyway, wow this
is this is good. So next week he comes again.
What's he want 20 bucks? So me and another chap, we
spotted this guy and I said Nah. And we moved him over to a room
and I said to him, are you happy living the way you live?
You like having just what you've got, Dirty shoes and no shoes, I
think. And we said we'll, we'll, we'll
get a job for you. We'll find a place for you to
sleep. We'll get a place for you to
wash and clean. We'll provide the clothes for
you to have. Are you interested?
Would you like to? Would you like to change a lot?
And he took off, ran out of the building.
See, he didn't want that. He didn't want that.
And that's why Jesus asked the question.
And some of us, some of us, we sit in church and we go, Oh
yeah, do you really want to change?
Is that what you really want? What that miracle that you're
asking for? As long as we think we can work
it out on our own, as long as we think we'll figure it out,
figure it out someday, we will never get anywhere.
Because, and as it happens to many of us, God's getter get us
to our knees before we will surrender our will.
We have to be crushed, absolutely shattered, and then
we finally surrender and say, Lord help me now, I can do the
miracle. But this man did want to be made
well. Do you think this man might have
said, you think I'm not? I like laying here amongst these
folk, that I enjoy the fact that I'm crippled.
But he didn't say that, did he? He said it's no use to ask me.
I cannot be made whole. I've tried, can't get in the
water. No one helps me.
I want to be whole but I I never shall.
So it's time for a miracle. Maybe you tonight 2026 have
spoken or thought like this man, I want to live right.
God knows I want to live right. I want to live righteous, but I
cannot. Many a man or woman, young
woman, young man is in that condition.
You want to be right before God, but you've lost all hope.
You've lost all heart. No one can help me.
Don't talk to me about being whole or holy.
I've tried, and every time I trial, I'll fail again, as I've
done in the past. And that is hidden to everybody
else that knows you, except from Christ, who knows your heart.
Jesus says to you where you are right now.
Do you want to be made well? He wants to help you.
Is it appointment time? Jesus walks past everybody and
he's come to you. He's speaking to you tonight
past everybody else, and He's speaking to you.
He wants to help you. Is God stirring not the waters
but your heart tonight to believe, to take you right where
you are now in the quicksand of weakness, The fact that you are
willing to listen even at this moment to His voice, that God's
message is being delivered to you?
Do you want to be made whole? Secondly, then Jesus said to
him, now rise, take up your bed and walk.
Wow. Jesus now passes from the realm
of the mind and the will into the realm of action.
Jesus asked for the impossible. Jesus told this man to do what
he had not been able to do for 38 years.
He says to this man three things all together.
Rise, take up your bed and walk. He doesn't say walk, take up
your bed and rise. But sometimes that is exactly
what we're trying to do, trying to walk before or up.
You can't do it. It's like in the book of
Ephesians, Paul teaches us to be seated in Christ before he tells
us how to walk in Christ, the word rise.
This is the first thing a man must do if he's going to be made
whole. Would you have protested again
if you had been in the crowd? That's impossible, you asking
him to do that. It's unreasonable and I protest
that you have asked him because that's what the enemy does.
Each time you pray for a miracle, Jeremiah chapter 32
verse 17, it says our Lord God, behold, you have made the
heavens and the earth by your great power and outstretched
arm. There is nothing too hard for
you. We used to sing a chorus.
Nothing is too difficult for you.
Nothing is too difficult for you or great and mighty God.
When God tells you to live the Christian life, you go.
I've tried when God tells husbands to love their wives as
Christ loved the church. I've tried when God tells wives
to submit to their husbands is under the Lord.
I don't know about that. When God tells children to
submit to their parents and obey them, Oh no.
When God tells us to resist temptation.
When God tells us to go into the world and preach the gospel.
Here's the thing. It can all be done.
It all those things can be done otherwise.
And here's what you need to hear.
He would not have commanded us to do so.
He will not ask you to do something that he will not
enable you to do. You say that's impossible.
Yes, that's where he comes into it.
But the man is up. He stands while we're arguing
with Jesus. Man, that's a bit rough.
He's saying he's standing up. He's just, he's he's gone with
it. Was I wrong to say impossible?
Certainly not. Was I wrong to say it was
unreasonable? No.
But he is up and he has done the impossible, the unreasonable.
This is the miracle of Christianity.
This is the revelation of Jesus perpetual method with a man.
He is going to heal. I want to ask you tonight, are
you under the grip of some evil passion or some evil habit?
You don't want anyone to know about it.
There was a rich young rule that came to Jesus in Luke chapter
18. He said, Jesus, I've done all
this, this and this. And, you know, I live by the
commandments and yeah, man, I just want to follow you.
And Jesus said one thing you lack, just one, one thing you
lack. Don't sell all that you have.
And then you can follow me. Oh, and he walked away.
What was it that he lacked? The man was an idolater.
He worshipped the love of money and material things more than he
loved God. Otherwise he would say not a
problem. And Jesus said you can keep it,
keep it. Jesus said to the young man,
follow me. What hindered the young man
between his life of self control and his life being controlled by
another? What lay between his wealth?
Jesus said get rid of that, sell it off, give it away.
Jesus brought him face to face with the impossibility.
At that moment, he's like the man on the ground.
I can't do that. Jesus says, yes, you can.
I'm, I'm, I'm allowing you right this moment.
I can't do that. If he'd been the man, he would
just, I can't get up. I just would have stayed lying.
In Luke chapter 6, there's a man in the synagogue.
It's the Sabbath. He's got a withered hand.
Jesus calls him out to the front, tells him that withered
hand, Stretch it out, stretch it out and hold it out.
It's funny, you know the story. Jesus always brings us face to
face with the impossible thing. Why does he do that?
Because that's where miracles begin.
That's where faith begins. Otherwise you do it yourself.
Always this, always this. God asks you to do the
impossible thing. Then Jesus addressed this man's
will. First he says, will you?
Then Jesus said arise, that means that Jesus will is for
this man, then he should be made whole.
That's God's will to God's will was there.
The man had a choice enable God to do his will and miraculously
his life or just stay laying there.
Thirdly, Jesus expected and here's something important and
ongoing change. This is not a one off
experience. Whoa, a miracle here, everybody,
this guy is up. Wow, fantastic.
Who did that? That's Jesus guy.
Wow, that's incredible. So Jesus meets up with this man
later in the temple. Do you think that was like, oh,
bump in oh, are you the no Jesus spots him.
He goes the temple. Hey, Remember Me?
Jesus finds him and thankfully he's in the right place.
It says in John 5 verse 14. Afterward Jesus found him in the
temple and said to him, what? Oh, great to see him, mate.
Good on you. Great.
Good on you. Oh you Walker.
Oh, awesome, good job. No, he added.
See you have been made well then he says this like he said to the
woman caught in the act of adultery.
Forgiven sin no more. Why lest I worst thing come upon
you, which tells us in many Bible commentators saying that
it was the sin in this man's life that had led to this 38
years of infirmity. Jesus said don't go back, this
is more than just you being healed, this is a change of who
you are. Jesus previously had told the
man to take up his bed and walk, get on your feet and walk.
And some people say well I tried Christianity, it didn't work for
me. Listen, Christianity is Jesus
Christ and he will work in the life of any man, woman, boy or
girl who honestly receives him as their Lord and Saviour.
Because if you didn't, if you tried it and it didn't work for
you, there's a couple of things that Jesus would say to you,
like he said to the man and the that he found on the temple.
Did you read the Bible daily after you made your commitment
to Christ? Did you faithfully and regularly
attend church after that? Did you begin a life of prayer,
seeking God, speaking with God every day?
You see, you never tried anything, You just had a
religious experience. Helen and I have people contact
us at different times about certain things and say, well,
you know, I go to Calgary and we, we haven't seen them for
ages. We haven't seen them slotting
into serving at prayer, ministering to others.
As Christians, we need to be in regular, consistent fellowship
in a Bible teaching church and you know, the people that serve
and and and and and give their life to Christ in fellowship.
They never ask for counselling over the years.
It's a busy serving of the Lord. They're too busy in the presence
of the Lord. They don't need any help.
But those who here they're they're the ones that want much
time. Many times.
Let's meet. Oh, I got to meet.
It's urgent. Something's come up, haven't I?
Oh, yeah. But we need to meet.
Can we meet with you? The man who thought he'd been
forgotten by God changed to the man who knew he was forgiven.
From the forgotten man to the forgiven man.
You see, forgiveness is only found at the cross.
It never loses its power or wonder. 1 John 19 says if we
confess our sins, he's faithful and just to forgive us our sins
and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
By the way, that's written to Christians tonight.
Tonight, grace, God's grace calls your name.
God's grace tells you to believe, to rise, and to do that
which appears to be impossible for you to do.
I can't listen to God's grace. God wants you to be a forgiven
man or woman tonight. But for that to happen, we need
to heed the call and we need to cry out to God and say, Lord, I
can't do it on my own just like this man did.
But I'm calling out to you, God, and I'm asking you to help me.
Yes, I'm asking God forgive me. You know what God will do.
He will, Matthew 1625 For whosoever will save his life
shall lose it. Whosoever will lose his life for
my sake shall find it. Jesus said Matthew 1128.
Come to me, all you that labour with what?
I can't do it, it's too hard. I've tried and I heavy laden.
I'll give you what rest, rest. If you call out the Jesus
Christ, then He will forgive you.
If you're willing to turn from your sins, make a clean break
with the past, and begin to follow Him, then you will see
things happen in your life that you never thought were possible.
Miracles, a marriage falling apart, restored.
An addiction that seems too powerful to break can be broken.
God can break it. A behaviour pattern can be
changed permanently by the power of God.
But you have to want it. Do you want to be made well
tonight? Forgiveness for all of us does
exist. It can be found for you.
And here's the deal. No matter what you have done, no
matter what you've done, question is as Jesus stood over
the man, Jesus says to you tonight, will you be made whole
tonight God says it's possible. Right now we are seated.
Make yourself available to God and we'll pray for you.
God has not forgotten you. And Isaiah 4915, the Lord says,
can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have
compassion on the son of a womb. Yeah, they may forget.
And here's the word the Lord says, Yet will I not forget you?
Behold, I have graven thee. Where?
On the palms of my hand. How did he graven you?
On the palm of his hand drove a great nail through it.
It's the same hand in John chapter 10 with the with the
great hole and it says I will protect you.
No one will take you out of my my my clutches.
God's forgiveness can be received by you right now.
A man who thought he had no one had the very Son of God walk up
to him and tonight for you, God has spoken directly by the power
of your the Holy Spirit to your heart.
All right, Genesis chapter 8, the world had been flooded.
The waters had prevailed over the earth for now 150 days.
And then this beautiful verse in Genesis 81 says, and God
remembered Noah tonight. I'm going to pray for you.
Let's pray, Father in the in the seats here tonight.
We too at times we're like a scattered multitude at the pool
of Bethesda. We try, we fail.
We've injured ourselves through poor living.
We have no one. Or tonight, Will you visit each
person here tonight who wills to be made whole, who desires to be
forgiven? Will you walk up to them right
now? Will you speak to their heart
powerfully tonight Lord, and tell them you've come for them
to save them, to forgive them, to heal them and to do the
miraculous in their life. Hear our prayer, answer our
prayer tonight. This we pray in Jesus name and
everyone said Amen, Amen. So if you'd like to be reminded,
if God has spoken to you and something has really happened in
your heart tonight, I'd like to give you one of these little
canisters here that have the mustard seeds in and you can
look at that and go, man, that's the faith.
That's all. Yes, because God does the rest.
God will do the rest.