I have my sister with me today and my little niece.
It's the only human being in the whole world that I share the
same DNA with. Yeah.
I mean, you can just come and stand.
Can you believe this came from the same mother and father?
I don't know, I don't know. And but we have the same blood.
It's the only person. This is my oldest friend.
It's been my friend for 58 years and God says that he'll make the
two one. And so actually we have a
biological blood but we under the same blood.
And so God takes all of us from different places, black, white,
rich, poor, young, old, married, single, puts us all together and
he gives US1 blood. And this is the mystery he
breaks. The wall, the dividing.
Wall of hostility. So we will be hostile towards
each other because of our upbringing.
Black against white, English against Afrikaans, young against
old, introverts versus extroverts.
We hostile towards each other because of the prejudice in
which we grow up in. But as we come to the blood of
Christ, we learn how to become one and we humble ourselves.
We serve each other and we look after each other.
We love and pray for one another.
And so it's really, really good to have you here this morning.
And we're doing a series in the book of John.
And if you can turn me, John, chapter 5.
Stephen and Kathy are in lockdown in Qatar.
They went to a conference there. There are bombs exploding over
their heads. Don't feel too sorry.
For them because I I saw my. Friend who's hosting?
Them now because they've all been kicked out of the
accommodation and the friend who's hosting, I said.
How are you? How?
Are Steve and Kathy and he sent me a picture of his Webber bra
with a pork belly inside. And a view of missiles over the
top he. Said we're doing just fine.
So pray for Kathy and Steve to come home to their.
Children will be nice. And that the bombs.
Don't land on them and that they don't eat too much pork belly.
But we're thinking of you, buddy, and we're thinking of.
We're thinking of everybody. At this time, a person.
Came up to me. Last week and they gave me a hat
with Poof Udder on it, Puff uttered.
I said, where are you from? He said.
Puff uttered. I wouldn't give you and it
doesn't say Brits, it says Puff uttered.
So I said don't go offline. Because we are watching you and
Puff Uttered. So I didn't say thank you for my
hat, but thank you for my hat from Puff Uttered.
And for those who are in the room at the back and those who
are online, it's great to have you.
Tony Unsu, my very dear friend Chris and Jess, it's great to
see you at the back there. So let's have a look at John.
Chapter 5 It's a beautiful. Story.
It's a very complicated story. It's a weird story.
If you don't understand it, but let's.
See, and then what we're going to do, we're going to end this
story by just. You're going to leave the church
I'm going to. Sit down.
And you're going to leave? Cool.
Sometime later, Jesus went up to Jerusalem for a.
Feast of the Jews One of the things Jesus came to do was.
To mess with religion and to give us freedom so we don't come
from a set of laws into another set of laws.
You don't. Come from being enslaved.
To sin and money into being enslaved by the church and its
leaders. You get set free from one set of
expectations, and you get set free and the Spirit.
Of God. Lives inside of us and teaches
us how to live. So all these feasts and all
these things get fulfilled in Christ.
Now there was in Jerusalem, near the Sheep Gate, a pool which an
Aramaic is called. Bethesda and which is?
Surrounded by 5 covered. Colonnades.
You think that's weird? There's a.
Pool. I mean, I tell.
The story you Afrikaners have got a place called.
Varambat and when you're not. Feeling so?
Lacquer or you've been. Busy you go to.
Varambat, normally as fat oaks. Go there and then you you sort
of. Walk around the pool and you.
And then there's another place. If Varambat is full, you go to
but. Plus.
And and and then if you want to don't drive so far, you go to a
place called Springs. Springs is closer, and in
Springs is another little town called Dacha Fontaine in
Springs. And if you don't drive,
therefore you go to Bob Fontaine, the Baptist Fontaine.
And but we've got to get around the water and we sort of like
Goof. Around the water like.
That you see those chicks in bottom butt with their small.
Cozies their big tummies. Couple of sores and and they
sort of they they goof around the pool and they float and they
hope that they get better and and you sort of float around the
pool and and you think oh the sulfur the minerals and and you
get out and you and you feel better but when.
You come back to. Work you don't still feel so
like her and then if you really want to go far to to to feel God
in the garden and the flowers you go to bloom Fontaine.
And and there you'll. Feel the water, the flower
fountain. And and you'll feel.
The same. Story doesn't matter what your
problem is, you won't fix it in bottom butt butt plus.
Spring Fontaine, Dacha Fontaine, ASA Fontaine, or Bloom Fontaine.
You'll fix it in Christ. Amen.
You with me?
Where you going on holiday? OK.
Still by. It should be a second Pretoria
they'll connect still by. You.
And are still by forest. Dhonikna fleas by.
It's just all about water with the Afrikaans soaks by play an
urban near Chrissy's mirror. But there's a mirror.
A Mirror's nature Piki, Water I. Was by a mirror and Caicos Ali
water down full on. Piki Pieta.
Chris's mirror, but plus sulfur. It's you don't get better there.
Similar story. OK, don't worry.
I'll get letters from you all the time.
Why are you wearing a hat? Why is your hair long?
God bless you. Write me a letter about but
plus. Here, a great number of disabled
people used to. Lie the blind, the lame, the
paralyzed. One who was there.
Had been an invalid for 38 years.
Measured hanging around butt glass for 38 years when?
Jesus saw him lying. There and.
Learned that he had been in this.
Condition for a long time, he asked him, Do you want to get
well? It's a question I'm going to ask
you today. Do you want to get well?
At times like. This we have some people in our
congregation or in wheelchairs and obviously they want to get
well. And people who are sick with
cancer, obviously you want to get well.
I'm not drawing attention to people who are in our trust, not
in any way unsympathetic to long term.
Illnesses, but this is. A scripture we have to preach.
I've never seen a person come out of a wheelchair.
I deeply desire to see that, Sir, the invalid say invalid,
the invalid replied. I have no one to help me into
the pool when the. Water is stirred.
While I'm trying to get in, someone else goes down ahead of
me. He's lost all hope.
Lost all hope I. Can't get there?
Then Jesus said to him, Get up. Exclamation mark get up from the
bottom of my heart as a pastor who deeply.
Prays for you and loves you dearly.
The two words I. Would love to.
Speak over you today is get up and at the end of the service
I'm going to speak and say get up and I'm going to ask you in
faith to get up. From your seat and to leave with
something of the. Mandate of God to walk in the
wholeness that He bought for you at the cross of Christ.
At once the man was cured. He picked up his.
Mats and he walked the day on which this took.
Place was a Sabbath. Did think that was a
coincidence. He had been there for 38 years.
Jesus could have chosen Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday,
Friday, any time of the year at any time.
But he chose. He waited.
He probably woke up on Monday and thought, I need to do
something. I did on the Sabbath to.
Irritate the religious people. To show them that your
well-being is not in the keeping of rules.
But in the encounter. With Christ, so he waited until
the day that will cause the most affected religious society.
Took place and on that. Day by choice, he.
Chose to heal him. And so the Jew said to.
The man who had been. Healed.
It is the Sabbath the law forbids.
You to carry your mat. Can you believe it?
38 years of freedom and they come back down to a dirty bed.
I mean how? Does that happen?
Five very simple things. The first is this.
Where is your hope? Where is your hope?
Where's your hope? Because if you read some of
these, some of the accounts, it says the Angel of the Lord
stirred the water. It actually says your Bibles
might say the Angel of the Lord stirred the water.
Now if I think of my God, I think and and and and and in my
mind, I'm sitting in my sand thinking, Can you imagine for 38
years lying around the pool and the water stirs and now you're
in a competition with other cripples to get to the water.
And you can imagine the the the Can you imagine what the
different levels of disability? Might be to.
Get to that water and some Bible says the first guy get yields,
the second guy doesn't. So Can you imagine you get there
first, but you get there second, but you crippled but you don't
have it. And so you fall in.
What happens to the second guy that pulls 100 meters long, 30
meters wide and 40 foot deep. So when you get to the edge and
you're not first, you sink to the bottom.
And I think the Angel of the lyrics thought there's no ways
not the God I serve, there's no ways that the God I read about
in the Bible, there's no ways the God that I've served for 40
years would ever put cripples. In a competition.
Nobody put English and. Afrikaans in a competition.
Nobody put black. And White in the competition.
And yet we find ourselves pushing to get ahead, to get to
something, to get the. Prize.
So then, what is the what is the what is the explanation?
How did the world to stir? Who stirred the waters?
Was it the wind that stirred the waters?
Was it a group of people that stirred the waters?
Was it the devil who stirred the waters?
Was it God who stirred the waters?
Or was it just the big farce? But I can.
Tell you this, a swimming pool in a five star hotel will not
allow cripples, lame, mute and the degradation of society.
To come and hang around it because that.
Pool is for the mummies from Moycliffe and the.
Beauties from Boardwalk that was an exclusive pool that had a.
Conduit that flowed underneath it.
To a pool called the Pagan Pool, where the invalids and the
cripples, and the blind and the degraded of society lived.
Like all of us. Before we met Christ.
Because. We don't have access to the top
pool because we all. Want to be.
Part of the inner society, but we all end up around this pool.
Hoping that when the. Waters stir.
We can. Dive in so that.
Maybe we might be accepted into the inner.
Core of the crowd and underneath this was a conduit and they got
those people to pay rent at the bottom of that swimming pool and
they would pay. Rent for their little.
Spot and the guy who controlled the sluice gates and the guy who
was on the side of the pool would be in cahoots.
And he said at. 8:00 tomorrow morning I'm opening the sluice
gate and as he opened the sluice gates the water would go down,
the water would stir. A non sick man would climb in
and say I'm healed. And for 38 years, that man stood
at the. Side of that hoax thinking that.
If I get in there they will be healing friends.
Where is your hope because. Sometimes for 38 years you place
it in a man or in a marriage. Or or in finances, or in a
business or in a. Scheme or in a.
School or in an education or in AI can tell you this every hope.
That is not in Christ will not get you into the pool in time.
And we read. Later in John chapter.
Seven, it says within here, say within here, take your belly.
Within here, within here, within here, say within here, within
here will flow rivers of living. Water Friends.
We don't have to. Try and get into the pool.
The pool. Is already in US, and as we sit
and wait, we. Realize that we are not.
In competition. With one another.
We all. Have the pool.
And when the pool bubbles and me and the pool bubbles.
And Jess and the. Pool Bubbles and Matt and the.
Pool, Bubbles and Thomas, and then Sarah and Laura and my
sister. Belinda and my wife when the
pool bubbles. We start to become a community
of healing. And when we share our gifts,
what you did to me for me today, Matt, it's one of the most
honouring things that's ever done.
For me in in 40 years to. Bring my son up is one of the
most honouring things. And so the pool is inside of you
and you're taking my son. The pool is and now we're
sitting together and people are saying what does it mean for a
father and a son? To work together does.
That make sense friends, you don't have to try.
And get your crippledness to the.
Pool. The pool is already inside of
you. Does that make sense?
The second question I want to ask is who are your people?
Who are your people? You know when.
You hang around invalids. And cripples and blind people
for too long. You start thinking like a
cripple and an invalid and a blind.
Person, and I'm not talking. Physically I'm talking mentally,
I'm talking politically, I'm talking spiritually, I'm talking
emotionally, I'm talking sexually.
This is what? It says in Acts chapter 6.
In those days when the. Number of disciples.
Increasing the Grecian Jews among them complained against
their brave Jews because their widows were being overlooked in
the daily distribution of food. This is a growing church.
We've got some clearing weakness, so the 12.
Gathered all the disciples together.
And said it would not be right for us to neglect the ministry
of the Word of God in order to wait on tables.
Brothers Choose. Seven men from among.
You who are. Known to be.
Full of. The Spirit and Wisdom.
We will turn this. Responsibility over to them and
we'll give our attention to prayer in the ministry of the of
the Word. This proposal pleased.
The whole group, they chose Stephen, a man full of.
Faith and of the. Holy Spirit you can take.
Take it off. There's there's a complaint
taking place. There's a group of.
People that are complaining, you know how they fixed it?
They put somebody at their table that was full.
Of the Spirit, full of hope, full of faith, full of wisdom,
you. Cannot hang around with negative
people because. You're going to go.
Down. And you're going to.
Cripple yourself and it's the. Problem with Alcoholics
Anonymous? Alcoholics Anonymous?
I know they do. Unbelievable.
Work and I know some. Of you are part of it, but the
problem with Alcoholics Anonymous is you hang around
other people. Who've got alcohol problems?
You need to hang around people. That don't have alcohol problems
and the problem. With fatherlessness.
Is that they're all. You know the gangs we see on the
street, friends? Those gangs exist in the church
because there's more chance you've got a surviving on the
ship because they don't have fathers.
And so they form these little gangs and those gangs start
smashing car windows at robots. But the gang starts just because
they don't have fathers. And so they form a gang because
there's more chance of surviving.
And so we form these gangs within our communities Rotary
Club, hoping that we can survive together.
You cannot have dinner with. Unless there is a.
Man or woman of faith present. Otherwise, you will allow the
brokenness of your life to dictate.
The conversation. And Jesus had to come into that
guy and say, hey, do you want to get?
It's 38 years. I've led and I've spoken next to
my neighbor for 38 years and he's got a problem with his leg.
And my other neighbor's got a problem with their eyes.
And this lady's got a problem with this.
And it's just like you just talk.
Yourself into a hole. Let me ask you this, who's your
people? Who's your people?
This is what it says in one. Corinthians 15 do not be misled
bad company corrupts good character and if you hang.
Around with the wrong. People for too long it deeply
effects you, and I believe the people we hang around effects
our inheritance and our future. I.
Want to hang around people that speak into my life, that speak
into my future? Are you with me, friends?
And when you're in trouble, you should run to the church, and
you should hear at least. Somebody here preaching against?
The spirit of this? Age which is a.
Negative. Divisive.
Do not say another word about our government.
Until you have spent 1000 days. Praying for them like.
The Bible says spend 1000 days. Paying for I'm opposing.
Spend 1000 days praying for him before you criticize them again.
Get before because the Bible says we must pray for those in.
Authority. Not criticize them.
Pray for them. Pray.
For them, bless him. Trust God for them.
Amen. Who are your people?
#3.
Do you want to get well? Do you want to get well?
I was reminded. Of a story.
When I preached this last time in the tent, maybe 7 or 8 years
ago, I preached. This chapter of Scripture.
I was busy preaching and I don't, I don't think I get
crossed often in the pulpit, but I just stopped because I've been
driving along husband and road and and Solomon Mcclungu and
there was a man there who had elephant.
Titus. Which was a very Soylent foot.
His foot used to come up like this and his toes were on the
top. He was a very disabled.
Man, and I remember. Preaching the Scripture and I
said I wish, I wish the orthopaedic surgeons in this
church would just say, God here on my hands, I give them to you,
Lord God to serve the city. And I was a little bit agitated
and I finished the service and the people were talking.
And there was a very. Handsome man and a beautiful
wife. Sitting in a chair, I could see
a very distinguished man and I said hi, my name is Rory.
He told me his name and I said can I help you Sir?
He said I'm an orthopaedic surgeon and he said I.
Would like to give my hands to. God, it was one of my holy
moments. It's one of the moments that
defines my time. At 3 CI he then went to that.
Man on the side of the road and he said.
Do you want to get well? And the man said.
No, I. Don't, because my money comes
from my begging and this is what draws.
Attention to my plight. And so the question I ask you
today, friends, is do you want to get well?
You know I have, I have a. Issue in my brain I get
headaches and I realized. This I have a real.
Issue a medical issue? But what the devil does is he?
Jumps onto that issue, so you have a sickness.
And you have what I call. The spirit of infirmity.
It's when the devil distorts the sickness and and what happens.
If you have a long term illness. You don't just have your.
Illness. You have this.
Thing called the. Spirit of infirmity.
And it does. Two things it.
Sets the temperature of every conversation and it becomes the
centerpiece. It draws an enormous amount of
attention. And so if you don't have a dad.
It sets the temperature and it draws attention.
Let me ask you this. Are you ill?
Do you have a? Disability.
Are there parts of your life that need healing?
Yes, they are. Do you want to get well?
If you do, you must remember this.
You are no longer going to be the center of attention, you're
not going to be allowed to beg, and you cannot control the
conversation. Amen.
Let's just put those 4. Areas up relation you want to
get well relationally a lot of relational cripples.
Lots. Been friends with them for 58
years. The reason we exist is not just
for the good times. We've had a couple of bad times.
We're business partners. The times we sit and make
business decisions, I'm strong. So I override and so phone me,
say hey ro, I don't think that was right.
Sorry sis, OK, but I repent. I receive it.
Relationship stays intact. You're prepared to do that.
You want to get well from your relationships.
I've gotten 2 airplanes this week to fix relationships.
Not mine, other people's. The only way you can fix the
relationship is by humbling yourself.
Do you want to get well or do you want that to be the
defining, crippling, invalid status of your life while you go
around and poison everybody about somebody else?
Or do you want to get well and emotional?
We have this thing now called micro bullying.
I want to tell you micro bullying will be here till the
end of the time because men and women want to control each
other. So you're going to have to
decide to put your faith in Christ or to be a victim of
micro bullying for the rest of your life, or to actually get
healed and say Christ is enough. And if they tell me I'm dumb,
I'm stupid, I'm an idiot, I don't do my work in time, I'm
fat, I'm thin, I'm too thin, I'm too fat, I'm too loud, I'm too.
Then I've got to go back to the scripture and say Jesus walked
into my life and he said you're my son and that's enough.
And whatever the micro bully or the macro bully says, my
emotions will stay intact because what God says is says
with a big. S overrides the.
Little S the Spirit overrides the spirit.
But let me ask you this question.
Do you want to get well because life's not fair?
Life's not fair, or you're going to sit at the side of the pool
having negative conversations with the others while you're
waiting for some bubbling brook bottom butt to rise up so that
you can miraculously just get healed.
Amen. Financial financial cripples.
I've realized this. You can heal people financially
by giving them money, but when that money's finished, they're
broken again. You give them more money and
they break again. Unless you teach them how to
participate in God's financial platen, which is different to
the world's pattern of buying and selling.
It's a pattern of sowing and reaping, and unless they take
that. Money you give them.
And put a little bit into the ground, they'll never reap A
crop. And SO2 Corinthians chapter 8
says he was rich. But for our sake, he.
Became poor so that you might be rich.
On the cross there was an exchange.
Between poverty and riches, I don't believe everybody should
be rich. I don't believe the New
Testament talks about prosperity.
I don't think pastors should be rich.
Some can be if God blesses them, but rich is not the issue.
The issue is the ability to have a job to get out of poverty.
To supply for your. Family.
But if you don't participate in God's ways, you'll continue to
be a cripple, looking for handouts, standing at the side
of the pool, waiting for the waters to move.
Amen, You say? Rory, What?
OK. Last point, the two points.
Is it? Rules.
Or is it relational? Is it rules or relationships?
Every Sunday I walk in here with a cup of coffee and every single
Sunday somebody at the door says to me.
You can't take coffee into the auditorium, I say.
That's. Exactly the reason.
I'm taking it in, you say. What should you say?
I can see some of you looking at me thinking I'm going to write
you a letter about your hair, your hat and your bottom butt
and now you can include my coffee.
I can see some of your face and get what I do on purpose.
I worship with my coffee like this while I'm irritating people
to the core. I think it's not right.
I know it's not right. It's wrong.
I know it's wrong. It's not a good example.
I know it's. Not a good example.
But I do it anyway just to. Irritate you?
Why? Good morning, Rory.
Good morning. How are you?
I'm fine. How's your week?
It's awesome. Hey, Rory.
You know coffee? Yeah, we don't.
Like it in the. Auditorium.
Why? Because we're trying to.
Create a space. That's not dirty.
So that. People are not affected by a bad
environment so that they can. Have access to a redemptive God
who can possibly heal them. Oh.
Is that the reason? Or or if you can take coffee
then I can. Also take coffee.
Oh, so we're going to both? Be rule Breakers.
Now that's a stupid example, but the reality is we are more
interested in the rule than we are in the relationship and
Jesus. Healed him on the Sabbath
because he said. Are you more interested?
In the oak carrying. His mat or you more interested
in the fact that he's healed? Guys, we do this because of
people. We do this because of people.
Be gracious with each other. Be gracious with each other and
close your eyes. When Jesus saw him lying there
and learned that he had been in this condition physical,
emotional, sexual, relational, financial for a long time, he
asked him, Do you want to get well, Sir?
The invalid replied, I have no one to help me into the pool
When the water is stirred while I'm trying to get in, someone
else goes down ahead of me. Then Jesus said to him, Get up,
pick up your mat and walk at once.
The man was cured. He picked up his mat and he
walked with your eyes. Closed.
If you want Jesus to start a healing process in your life
today, sexual, emotional, relational, financial, I want to
say to you, get up your mat, pick up your mat, get up, pick
up your mat and walk, walk. Out.
Get in your car and drive home. Can I have someone on the piano?
Today's the end. Today's the end of the emotional
crippleness. Today's the end of the sexual
crippleness. Today's the End.
Because the. Bubbling Brook, the butt glass
of Christ, the Vorum butt of Jesus.
It's going to be unlocked deep inside of your heart.
Don't stay for coffee. Maybe you don't even want to get
in your car. Just go and walk around the
property. I say to you, get up, take your
mats and walk.