The Pool Don't Heal

Introduction

JOHN THE APOSTLE WROTE THIS BOOK AND OUT OF ALL THE MIRACLES THAT CHRIST PERFORMED, HE CHOSE TO WRITE DOWN ONLY SEVEN. I BELIEVE JOHN WAS LED BY THE HOLY SPIRIT TO WRITE DOWN JUST THOSE SEVEN

* Miracle 1 – Water into wine ()

* GRACIOUSNESS (OF GOD) - These six stone jars normally held water used for used for ceremonial cleansing, an important part of Old Covenant life.  Now they contained wine, which is often associated with the New Covenant due to the Lord’s Supper. But not just any wine but superior best tasting wine possible. This was symbolic of the mission of Christ; changing the empty way of man’s religion into a living, joyful, relationship with the Lord, as demonstrated by the wedding celebration.

* Miracle 2 – Healing the official’s son ()

* Grace and faith – because one member of a household believed, not only was his son healed but the whole house got saved

* Miracle 3 – Healing at the pool of Bethesda ()

* Growth – in his natural self he was able to get just to the edge of the water for over 38 years but not get in and be healed. But not until he looked up to see Jesus, was he able to be healed. [PARENTHETIC PIN – Jesus asked him if he wanted to be healed first. If you love being in your misery then God loves it. He won’t do for you what you don’t want done for yourself]

* Miracle 4 – Feeding of the 5,000 ()

* Grants – the people wanted food and Jesus fed them with 12 baskets left over. Likewise He will GRANT us anything that we ask or think as long as we keep our minds stayed on Him.

* - And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us: 15 And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of Him

* Miracle 5 – Walking on water ()

* Greatness – God is able to conquer any storm in our lives if we but reach out our hands to Him

* Miracle 6 – Healing the man born blind ()

* "Go" - this man's healing came only by obeying Jesus' command to go to the pool of Siloam and wash the mud off his eyes

* An encounter with Jesus will cause the blindness to fall from your eyes and you to see possibly for the very first time who He really is; Lord of Lords and King of Kings

* Miracle 7 – Raising Lazarus from the dead ()

* GATHERS - A symbolic representation of what happens to believers when they die. (Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?” ()

Body

The Misery

Pool of Bethesda

5 porches full of sick, lame, blind, deaf. All kinds of misery

Jesus walked thru their midst but no one came to Him like the woman with the issue of blood

No one sought Him out or cried Jesus have mercy on me

Why? Because they were so focused on pool that they never looked up to see the Deliverer

So focused on their misery that they failed to see the Messiah

So focused on their suffering that they never saw the Son

[POINT] IT DOESN’T MATTER WHAT WE GO THROUGH, OUR MISERY WILL CONTINUE UNTIL WE LOOK UP AND SEE JESUS

The Man

The man is wallowing on his pallet (5:1–8).

a. The misery beside the waters (5:1–5): A man who has been an invalid for 38 years lies there on his bed.

b. The moving of the waters (5:6–7): The man tells Jesus he believes that when the waters are supernaturally stirred, they will heal him, but his infirmity prevents him from entering

38 years of suffering

Came to the pool to get in the water but was never able to get in first

Impotent = infirmity = weakness

What weakness do you have in your life?

Emotional?

Mental?

Spiritual?

Ask yourself What’s the one thing that you would want to be free of?

The Messiah

Pool of Bethesda – Bethesda means house of mercy or house of grace (= the church). This was a place where healing was expected. But the reality is that healing won’t begin until Jesus walks in!

Jesus comes along and asks the man a strange question: “do you want to be healed?”

The man should have shouted out ‘yes’ at the top of his lungs but instead he says, ‘I have no man…’

Why don't we say yes when God asks if we want to be healed?

3 Reasons - Excuses, Effort, Experience

Excuses - He had been in that sad condition for so long that his will was as paralyzed as his body

1. its not my fault i'm in this condition. its someone else's fault

a. I know God can heal but this situation is different

b. I know God can take away my strongholds but my situation is different

c. I know God can take the taste of nicotine from me but He doesn’t know how stressed I get

d. I know God can keep me from lying all the time but its easier than telling the truth

e. I believe fasting works for most people but it doesn’t really work for me

f. I believe in tithing but it doesn’t work for me

2. Effort

a. Jesus didn’t just say to the man, ‘be healed.’ Rather He said for him to take up his bed and walk. In other words, he was asking him if he was willing to put some effort into it to be healed?

b. Here’s the problem, this man might have gotten comfortable in his misery

c. Just like some of us can get comfortable in our sins and weaknesses

d. In the spiritual realm man’s great problem is that either he does not recognize he is sick (cf. ; ) or he does not want to be cured. People are often happy, for a while at least, in their sins.

[POINT] Part of the effort of being healed of our weaknesses is having the desire to change. If your tired of being:

e. functional in dysfuntionality

f. comfortable in unhealtiness

g. trying to live with it and would rather be delivered from it than you must have the desire to change

3. Experience - get out of your traditional mindset

a. There’s a possibility that for you to be healed, you might have to step out of your comfort zone

i. Might have to raise your hands

ii. Might have to get on your knees

iii. Might have to open your mouth and shout

The Miracle

And so Jesus tells the man to take up his bed and walk.

In an instant, atrophied muscles were healed

Brittle bones received strength

Nerves began to fire up and the man got up and was healed!

[FINAL POINT] YOU CAN LOOK AT THE POOL AND STAY IMPOTENT OR LOOK TO JESUS AND BE HEALED

THE POOL REPRESENTS CHURCH WITHOUT GOD

You can stay by the pool all you want to and just be happy in your misery

Be satisfied with you weakness

The pool represents going thru the motions of church but nothing is ever changed

The pool represents going thru the motions of church but nothing is ever changed

The pool represents playing church rather than living As the church

But for those who have the desire, those who want something more, those who are tired of their weakness, tired of their infirmity, they won’t look to the pool, they’ll look to Jesus

But for those who have the desire, those who want something more, those who are tired of their weakness, tired of their infirmity, they won’t look to the pool, they’ll look to Jesus

James 4:8 AV

Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.

Here lies a man - the pool on one side and Jesus on the other:

the healing is not getting in the pool, its drawing closer to Jesus

draw nigh unto God and He will draw nigh unto you

Churches are messed up because folk come to the pool but don't draw closer to the Savior

The pool don’t heal Jesus heals

The pool don’t deliver Jesus delivers

the pool don’t set the captives free Jesus sets us free

you can go to every conference, seminar and meeting

you can go see this name and that name looking for your healing

but i’m here to tell you that if you really want to be free of your weakness you got to go to Jesus!!