Important To Be Impotent

Greater Faith, 3/21/10

Praise&Worship

Acknowledgments

Scriptures john 5:1-13

Title: too important 2b impotent, victim to victor, Rising, my potential found me

Theo. Not recognizing deliverance when it comes.

In your face blessing that u cant see.

Limited view of God (illus. Samuel looking for new king, appearance but God= shepherd

Background

Running conflict with the religious leaders: Sabbath
Leaves Judea to travel to Galilee ( hometown)
He makes Samaria stop

Woman at the well..
Samarian / Jew conflict
Living water discussion
Many came to Christ b/c of this one woman

Leaves Samaria on his way to the feast in Jerusalem.

Meets the official whose son is dying

Runs into a man sitting by the pool of Bethesda
Bethesda: was used for ceremonial washing. Know = miracle water

Tell the story

· coming by pool side for 38yrs. Waiting for a miracle.

· Mythology of troubled water (angel 1x/yr stirring the waters with healing power)

· Impotent folks= blind, lame, and paralyzed (physical and spiritual)

· Large group of impotent folks gathered with the hopes of getting to the pool first

· Isn’t it amazing that even 2000+ years, like today, ago lame folks like to hangout.

o I’m not referring to physical disability, I’m talking about folks that have not vision for their lives, folks that are paralyzed by life’s circumstances and folks that are just plain lame.

o Crack heads hangout together, alcoholics, hang out together, gossipers like to be in the company of other gossipers.

o That’s why it’s important examine the crowd you running with, b/c if you look around you and folks around you are lame, blind or paralyzed you are on your way to impotency.

o just look at the directions the people you surround yourself with are going, if they are taking a bus to nowhere, guess what bus you are on.

o Back then they found the pool of Bethesda, today they find a pool hall or bar. Talking about how hard life is and how no one wants to help them.

· Impotent folks like to come together b/c they like company when they are having their pity party.

· Def. Impotent gk= astheneo, which is the word we get English word asthenia, which mean weakness or feeble. It’s a medical term that is used for the sick in body.

· Impotency as we know it today has to do with a man’s ability to perform.

· There are three main causes of impotency,

o Physical: diabetes

o Psychological : anxiety, depression or problems in our relationships

o Lifestyle; smoking, drinking

· This condition affects our self-esteem

· When we talk about impotency today, we are talking about impotency of the mind, body and soul.

· In our text we have this man that the bible calls impotent, which means he has reached a place in life where he is unable to do certain things and he depends on others to care for him.

· In our text we have a brother…

· In our text we have a sister…

· Too many brothers, have become paralyzed by life’s circumstances that we depend on our woman to take care of us…

· And sister, there are too many of you looking for a sugar daddy..

· Impotent people have feeble emotion, they are unstable.

· I know some of you have friends or relatives so emotional that you always singing that Michael Jackson tune, “ and I don’t know whether to laugh or cry…”

·

· And I know some of you are saying Rev. you shouldn’t be so hard, but I have a problem with a man, or a woman, that have been trying the same thing for 38yrs with no results.

· This man is not to bear all the responsibility for his lack of progress, b/c he had enablers.

· Folks that were willing to help him hide behind his weakness and to cover up his flaws.

· I know you care for the brother, but it’s time you get tired of the lame excuses and help him to himself by showing him how to be another. You are always bailing her out of trouble, and know you wonder why he’s so irresponsible

· You don’t let your children learn to cook, clean or struggle with the things of life and you are baffled they keep running back to you for help at age 40.

· You always bail them out and pay their bills and know you are perplexed at how financial incompetent they are.

· Stop enabling the folks around you.

· Mr. Bethesda, never figured out how to get to the pool after 38yrs. He was so depended on someone else to carry him. He never imagined the possibility of doing for himself.

· I use to see and hear this story, as a healing story, but I discovered that this story is more about personal responsibility and deliverance.

· Jesus just didn’t want to heal the man, he wanted to deliver him from himself.

· He wanted to expose the man’s self destructive, self deceptive ways

Rev. how could you say that.

· 1st. this was an ineffective routine for 38yrs

Jesus ask the man,” do you want to be made whole”

· Theo. On whole = not just healed, not just physical but, mind, body and soul..

· Do you want to achieve what you never thought would be possible for your life

· The man refuses the gift by complaining\

· He didn’t answer Jesus’ question, instead he points to his inability, he points to what he’s been on able to do and then he tops it off with blaming others.

· “ sir, I have no one to CARRY me to the pool

· Sometimes folks don’t want to be heal, b/c they like the attention of being sick

· And so when Jesus offers a way out we try to convince why it wouldn’t work

Limited View of God

· Not only was this man physically impotent, disabled, but his faith was impotent as well

· Narrow view of how God can bless you

· Theo. Of angel with one blessing

· He didn’t know Jesus or have a relationship with him (told the Jews he didn’t know his name)

· When you have superficial relationship with God, you will live a life full of frustration.

· You blame others, why you are not making any progress in life.

· You but your trust in man and not God. “ no one will carry me”

Getting Up

· Jesus, blows up his spot. And tells him what he didn’t really want to hear

· Rise, get up, take up your bed and walk.

· The word of God broke through his self deception and gave him a new possibility

· Before he could make another excuse, his atrophied muscle throw him on his feet.

· Theo. On man’s response

o No gratitude, thanksgiving

o No praise, no testimony

o Didn’t want to follow Jesus

o Interviewed by the Jews

o Meet in synogue, = When to the religious leader

· This man’s healing was more than physical

· Jesus told him Get up, the gk = egiro. = up from sleep, up from dead to life,

· The same gk word as that used matt 26;46 disciples falling asleep in Gethsemane

· Mark 4:26 parable of the kingdom seed: ground-> sleepsà rise up from sleeping nite and day

· His problem was more a problem of his soul, his thinking and his body

· Theo. Jesus called him from sleep, he calls him from the dead

This man realized Jesus missed up his game;

He couldn’t depend on:

His momma make his dinner
Girlfriend to work two jobs to pay the rent
Couldn’t keep borrowing his friends car and not give them any gas $
He had no more excuses.
God gave him the power to create new possibilities for his life

God doesn’t desire that you in stuck in a position of impotence

· Where you cant help yourself

· Where u have to wait for someone else to bless you

· Where you have to wait on someone

o to come lay hands on you

he wants you to get up and realize th you are already blessed,

you can do all things…

paralyzed

blind without vision for you life