Camp Devo - the part you play

So far this week, we have really emphasized our faith being active. So often we think that if we just let go of something in our life, then we will magically end up close to Jesus.

Unfortunately, becoming close to Jesus is not something that just accidently happen, or something where you will wake up and realize you have gotten closer to Him.

In our relationship with Jesus, we have to actively seek to walk in obedience.

I think all of us would say that we want to be close to Jesus. We all would say that we want to not have any major sin struggles, and life is going great. Unfortunately, that is not the case for a lot of us.

As we talked about on night one, a major aspect of your faith that will help you get there is having people around you to help push you in your walk.

I want us to jump over to John 5. We will start in verse 1 and read through verse 9.

John 5:1–6 CSB

1 After this, a Jewish festival took place, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. 2 By the Sheep Gate in Jerusalem there is a pool, called Bethesda in Aramaic, which has five colonnades. 3 Within these lay a large number of the disabled—blind, lame, and paralyzed. 5 One man was there who had been disabled for thirty-eight years. 6 When Jesus saw him lying there and realized he had already been there a long time, he said to him, “Do you want to get well?”

Jesus finds this man who had been unable to walk for 38 years. That was most of his life.

What does Jesus ask him?

do you want to get well?

Obviously, if we were this man, and we had not been able to walk for 38 years, our answer to that question would be immediately yes.

Let’s see what the man answers.

Verse 7. John 5:7

John 5:7 CSB

7 “Sir,” the disabled man answered, “I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up, but while I’m coming, someone goes down ahead of me.”

We already established that if we were in this situation, we would be immediately shouting yes, we want to be healed.

But the man answers not with a yes, or an excited or hopeful answer, he answers with an excuse.

He responds to Jesus with a reason that he can’t do what Jesus has asked him if he wanted.

You see, back in this day, they believed that this pool would heal you if you were the first person in it if it bubbled up.

Since this man couldn’t walk and had nobody to carry him, he thought that there was no way he could get to the pool in time for healing.

So Jesus asks this man if he wants to walk, and he responds to Jesus by telling Him its not possible.

Let’s look at what Jesus tells him in verse 8. John 5:8

John 5:8 CSB

8 “Get up,” Jesus told him, “pick up your mat and walk.”

Most of us know this story, and we know what happens, but I want you to think about if you were that man.

You just told Jesus why you weren’t able to be healed, yet He tells you to get up and walk.

The man is now faced with a choice. Does he stay there paralyzed for however many years, hoping someone comes along to carry him to the pool first, or does he trust the words of this stranger who has just asked if he wanted to be healed and told him to walk?

Believe it or not, most of us find ourselves in this exact same situation.

We come into camp with some preexisting thing that we have been battling. That could be a sin struggle, that could be a family situation, that could be mental health, whatever that is for you, almost all of us have come into this week with something that weighs on us.

The great thing about Jesus is that He has asked us all the same question.

Do you want to get well?

Jesus has asked all of us this question.

Just to demonstrate this, I want us to do a little observation.

Put your heads down and eyes closed.

Raise your hand if you came into this week carrying something…. Ok, keep your hands up, but open your eyes and look around. See how many people are in this same situation.

Put your heads down and eyes closed.

Raise your hand if you have been struggling to be consistent in your time with the Lord…. Ok, keep your hands up, but open your eyes and look around. See how many people are in this same situation.

Put your heads down and eyes closed.

Raise your hand if you are battling a sin struggle that you feel like you can’t beat…. Ok, keep your hands up, but open your eyes and look around. See how many people are in this same situation.

Put your heads down and eyes closed.

Raise your hand if you are battling mental health or tough family dynamics…. Ok, keep your hands up, but open your eyes and look around. See how many people are in this same situation.

The point of this is to show you that you are not alone in this. You are not the only one that is experiencing the hardships that come from a broken world.

This should also show you that you are not much different than the man that Jesus met at the pool.

Most of us have something weighing us down or crippling us that we would love to get rid of.

Jesus has asked all of us if we want to be well.

Unfortunately, most of the time our answers match up with the man from Bethesda.

He told Jesus he couldn’t be healed because he had nobody to carry him.

Our answers might look a little different, but they are all reasons that we tell Jesus we can’t be healed.

“Jesus, I can’t beat this sin because I am too far gone”

“Jesus, I can’t control my anxiety”

“Jesus, I have too much going on in my life right now”

“Jesus, I can’t have peace until I move out”

Whatever your excuse is, most of us are really good at telling Jesus why we can’t be healed.

Despite our excuses, Jesus still gives an invitation to step into breakthrough.

Look at verse 9: John 5:9

John 5:9 CSB

9 Instantly the man got well, picked up his mat, and started to walk. Now that day was the Sabbath,

Jesus told the man to get up and walk, and He has called all of you to do the same.

This is the part you play in your healing. Ultimately, we know that it is only through Jesus that healing or freedom are possible, but this is where it becomes an active faith.

That man could have laughed at Jesus and not tried to get up. Why would he, he hasn’t walked for 38 years?

But, he decided to take the invitation that Jesus has given him, and the same is possible for all of you.

Whatever burdens or weights you are carrying, you can be free from them today. Jesus has invited all of us to walk in freedom.

The catch is, you have to trust Him enough to pick up your mat.

It doesn’t matter how long its been or how much of a long shot, the power of Jesus really shines when you make your faith active.

That is the invitation for today. Jesus is calling all of us to walk in freedom.

Hear His call, and take the step you need to pick up your mat.

If you guys need anything at all, any of our leaders would love to talk or pray with you.

We would also love to see you guys be there for each other and your bunkmates are a fantastic place to start with that.

As we saw earlier, our struggles aren’t as unique as they feel, and having community around you makes it much easier to walk with the Lord.

As we close, I’m going to ask you to spend just a little bit of time praying about what step of obedience Jesus is calling you to take today.