Do You Want To Get Well?

What makes the sun so smart? A million degrees.

Bought a coffee at a local diner, thought it tasted like mud, turns out it was fresh ground. 

I wanted to buy a candle holder, but the store didn't have one. So I got a cake.

Afraid? Believe? Doubt? Today... he'd been sick for 38 years...Well?

Do you have an ongoing problem?

Listen to this message thru lens of any long term problem you have...not short term things that come and go..: Headaches, Medical, Depression.

And it might not just be medical things… maybe its

Overeating, Overspending, Overcommitting, Addiction alcohol...smoking pot.. crayons.. I don't know what you kids do nowadays..., Relationship.

John 5:1-9

John 5:1–9 NIV

1 Some time later, Jesus went up to Jerusalem for one of the Jewish festivals. 2 Now there is in Jerusalem near the Sheep Gate a pool, which in Aramaic is called Bethesda and which is surrounded by five covered colonnades. 3 Here a great number of disabled people used to lie—the blind, the lame, the paralyzed. 4 5 One who was there had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. 6 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?” 7 “Sir,” the invalid replied, “I have no one to help me into the pool when the water is stirred. While I am trying to get in, someone else goes down ahead of me.” 8 Then Jesus said to him, “Get up! Pick up your mat and walk.” 9 At once the man was cured; he picked up his mat and walked. The day on which this took place was a Sabbath,

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 Some time later, Jesus went up to Jerusalem for one of the Jewish festivals. 2 Now there is in Jerusalem near the Sheep Gate a pool, which in Aramaic is called Bethesda and which is surrounded by five covered colonnades. So here we have a pool by the sheep gate...Im just saying, whoever planned this city did a bad job, I don't think I want to swim in a pool by the sheep gate... its kind of like ... it ruins it...a natural body of water3 Here a great number of disabled people used to lie—the blind, the lame, the paralyzed. [4] What were they doing there? tradition... angel stired... water bubbled... first one would be healed...5 One who was there had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. 6 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?” That almost seems like an insulting question... broke guy...do you want $100 bucks... hungry guy...do you want some pizza.... asking me if I want some c…coffee 7 “Sir,” the invalid replied, “I have no one to help me into the pool when the water is stirred. While I am trying to get in, someone else goes down ahead of me.” 8 Then Jesus said to him, “Get up! Pick up your mat and walk.” 9 At once the man was cured; he picked up his mat and walked. John 5:1-9a

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A moment, in the presence of Jesus changed everything for this man…

Swim pool by sheep gate

Lets talk about problems that persist

I see three significant challenges for problems that persist....

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THE LONGER A PROBLEM PERSISTS 

THE MORE DISCOURAGED YOU BECOME.    (38 yrs)

It just won't go away... you try what you thought would help it and it just doesn't go away..

Remember, this man was trying everything he could think of, he was sitting at the pool waiting for his moment… it was the only solution he knew that he could have to get better and he was giving it his all by waiting…

Maybe Live with an addiction for years… Bad marriage… Health issue…

Tried—can’t change—not getting better—

To the point where you just believe thats what God has for you... and you’re too afraid to do anything else, you just believe this is God’s will, and we heard that in the words of the man at the pool, He just assumed that was how he was going to be left which kind of leads us to our second point. The longer a problem persists…

b.THE MORE EXCUSES YOU MAKE.

    Ultimately it will make you feel better if you can put the blame off on someone else...we can just wash our hands of it... He said… remember, he had been this way for 38 years, and we said he was doing all he knew how to do he had heard the traditions and knew this pool may be what would offer him relief for his pain and misery, but when Jesus asks if he wants to be well, he has excuses, he says

Sir, I have no one to help me in pool…Water is stirred—run by me.

And he is basically saying, I Can’t walk—I don't want to be hard on this guy, I've never been an invalid.. but maybe he could do something... roll… Scoot… inchworm… Edge rolled into egg…

And we get to this place and we have excuses…

MY marriage can’t get better… my Husband won’t change,

Can’t get good job no degree, 

I can’t get any thinnger… No time to exercise, T

I can’t get mentally healthier… I tried counseling,

I tried that church business...I went for two weeks...nothing changed!

And we just come up with excuses… we tried what we could think of, maybe not really hard, but we tried it and it didn’t change immediately so we just gave up.

I am sure you are familiar with people like this in your life… and this is REALLY something you see as a pastor, a lot of people will come in to church because their family invited them during a discouraging time, or they remember their family bringing them to church as a child and that spurs this idea we need to get to church, and we think church is this pill that will fix it immediately and in some cases that is the way Jesus does it, but we just see people run away,

but one thing that should encourage you with those examples of hte church are the people that come are those who have been invited…

And the last thing

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The longer a problem persists THE MORE YOU LEARN TO COMPENSATE.

Some of you are excelling at compensating for an issue in your life...

Functional alcoholic sure it puts a stress on your marriage...sure your kids feel the stress of it... but professionally, no one notices...and I have seen this over and over in ministry and you always tend to find out about it when its too late…

Exist in dysfunctional marriage,

And we get to this place where we May not like your circumstances—used to them—manage them.

You cannot change what you are willing to tolerate.

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Maybe that’s one reason Jesus asked, “Do you want to be well?”

You can’t help someone who needs help—only someone wants help. x2

What is the biggest hindrance of faith? (Worry, Doubt, Fear)

We talked about this a bit last week, The familiar is the enemy of faith: Accepting what is—could be.

Always been unable walk. Avg student.

Dated wrong type. Bad relationship with dad, Spiritual doubts.

Takes faith to step away from familiar.

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Healing will not begin until your desire is bigger than your disability.

You're just used to living the way you are, and the spirit would ask you today, do you want to be made well...Do you really want to get better?

Want to get out of debt? No—shopping is drug of choice.

Free of addiction—comfort in your chains. And we don’t want to let it go, we may pray for it but we really don’t want that healing… Jenny Story

Some people are more comfortable in the known misery than they are in the unknown... I may be uncomfortable in this misery but at least I know what to expect....

You cannot change what you are willing to tolerate until your desire to change is bigger than you disability..

Sometimes what God is going to do is turn your Misery into ministry (Celebrate Recovery)

Read a story about a man who had been an alcoholic for 38 years started @ 13 - 51 .... prayed for it.. but never truly wanted it… and then it just clicked for him and he knew something had to be different and he desired something different, and he used the misery of that addiction to start an amazing ministry to help people caught with similar problems… a little ministry known as Celebrate recovery…

and its amazing because the lady I was telling you about earlier, Jenny, she ended up staying at teen challenge for a year after helping other women come to terms with their addictions and problems.

i dont care how long you have been down.. with the power of christ you are not out… I dont care how long you have been in bondage...with the power of christ you can still get out... I dont care how long it has been that you gave up on something with God he can help you get over it,,,that which was his greatest misery, is now his ministry.... when God heals you, there will be no one that is a better evangelist for Him..

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And remember, he had said No one will help me into the water.

John 5:8–9 NIV

8 Then Jesus said to him, “Get up! Pick up your mat and walk.” 9 At once the man was cured; he picked up his mat and walked. The day on which this took place was a Sabbath,

8 Then Jesus said to him, “Get up! Pick up your mat and walk.” 9 At once the man was cured; he picked up his mat and walked. John 5:8-9a

Jesus heals the guy and there are basically three things...

first, he didnt even ask to be healed...second, he did nothing to earn or deserve it... and thirdly, the healing did not happen in the way he thought it would....

This is why one of the million reasons why your lifes purpose should be to press in to the heart of jesus...

(Get close to Jesus—do things you didn’t even ask him.)

we cant earn it, we're not good enough for it...its because of his goodness and his grace....

if i ccould just get in the water... it didnt come that way...

some of you are waiting for the healing to come in such a certain way... and Im here to tell you that your healing may not keep coming through the water... aybe hes bringing it throgh the living water....

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Jesus essentially said…

I DON’T WANT TO HEAR YOUR EXCUSE. I WANT TO SEE YOUR FAITH.

I want to see you stand up... I am going to do for you what you couldnt do for you but I want to see you stand up and do whtat you can do... and  i want see our faith to do what for 38 years you couldnt do.. i want you to have the courage and the faith to step away from the familiar, becasuse often times the greatest hinderance to faith is the familiar....

Throw away cigs, Tell your lifegroup, Call for counseling.

if Some small tweak would have worked—would have done it!

For some of you, you are going to experience healing instantly....for some of you.....

I’m not going to carry you—you have to get up and walk.

REST—I want to get well.

Jesus will do his part—now you do yours

When you are worried—Why Are You So Afraid?

When you need a miracle—Do You Believe I Can Do This?

When you have a problem—Do You Want to Be Well?

When you have spiritual doubts—Why Do You Doubt?