Leaving the Comfort Zone
Notes
Transcript
Leaving the Comfort Zone
Leaving the Comfort Zone
John 5:1-15
2 Now there is at Jerusalem by the sheep market a pool, which is called in the Hebrew tongue Bethesda, having five porches.
5 And a certain man was there, which had an infirmity thirty and eight years. 6 When Jesus saw him lie, and knew that he had been now a long time in that case, he saith unto him, Wilt thou be made whole?
We find Jesus going to the down and out the sick and the hurting
a fulfillment of OT prophecy
18 The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised,
.We find out in v1 that some time has passed between the events of chapter 4 and the beginning of chapter 5.
Jesus is now back in Jerusalem, attending a feast of the Jews.
We do not know what this feast was, only that Jesus was there joining in.
We see there is a pool with five porches or colonnades in the city near the sheep gate called Bethesda, or literally ‘house of mercy.’
This pool is near the temple, probably next to the gate the sheep are sold for the sacrifices at the temple.
Leaving the comfort Zone
Jesus would go to the lame and hurting masses....
If you look at the life of Christ he never went to the comfortable desirable places
Samaria- the outcast jews
The Gaderian - The the tombs
The woman - Mary Magdalene (former demon possessed)
The poor
The unclean - 10 leprosy contaminated men
Really if you want to be comfortable then don’t follow Christ’s Life
Illustration-
Going to the prisons
Going the pregnancy center
Going to the city mission
Befriending a battered wife
Adopting foster child
ladies and gentlemen its not all about having fun and living the american dream
let me tell you about the american dream for some:
Waking up to wonder who was in you mothers room last night
Wondering if dad is going to come home drunk
Wondering where your next meal is going to come from
Wondering if you relatives are going to take advantage of you
living in a 500K home to find out you dad is leaving your mother
Ladies and Gentlemen- we need to go the uncomfortable places ......
I. Hurting Masses
I. Hurting Masses
1 After this there was a feast of the Jews; and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. 2 Now there is at Jerusalem by the sheep market a pool, which is called in the Hebrew tongue Bethesda, having five porches. 3 In these lay a great multitude of impotent folk, of blind, halt, withered, waiting for the moving of the water. 4 For an angel went down at a certain season into the pool, and troubled the water: whosoever then first after the troubling of the water stepped in was made whole of whatsoever disease he had.
At this pool v3 says, lie a multitude of invalids, blind – lame – and paralyzed.
Illustration - a corner in Erie
Homeless in PHL
We hear no detail that public opinion was shocked that so many needy people congregated at this pool, so this must have been a normal occurrence.
And it does not surprise us one bit to find Jesus at this pool among such a crowd “…for where should the Great Physician be found if not in the place where the sick are gathered?”
17 When Jesus heard it, he saith unto them, They that are whole have no need of the physician, but they that are sick: I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.
Did He not come to seek and save the lost? Indeed He did, so to see Jesus among such a needy multitude is natural.
Apparently the pool of Bethesda was known as a place where miracles of healing occurred.
Whether these miracles took place throughout the year, or only at certain times, such as on feast days, we do not know.
Many believe this was a superstition and not ordained by God.
But the Bible nowhere teaches this kind of superstition, a situation which would be a most cruel contest for many ill people
The earliest manuscripts omit these words which appear to be a late insertion to explain why the pool water was “stirred” (v. 7).
People believed that an angel came and stirred it. According to local tradition, the first one in the water would be healed. But the Bible nowhere teaches this kind of superstition, a situation which would be a most cruel contest for many ill people. \
Surrounding the pool were a large number of sick people who had come with the hope of being cured. Some were blind, others lame, and still others were paralyzed. These various types of infirmity picture sinful man in his helplessness, blindness, lameness, and uselessness.
These people, suffering from the effect of sin in their bodies, were waiting for the moving of the water.
Their hearts were filled with longing to be freed from their sicknesses, and they earnestly desired to find healing.
They lingered round that uncertain, disappointing water, though the Son of God was present.…
5:4 The narrative here is not sufficient to satisfy our curiosity. We are simply told that an angel went down at a certain time and stirred up the water.
The first one who was able to get into the water at that time was healed of his sickness. You can imagine what a pathetic sight it was to see so many people in need of help, struggling to get into the water, and yet only one being able to receive healing power.
Illustration of a horrible scene...
Desperate people wanting to rid themselves of various alments ....
Illustration of hurting masses -
Go into many neighborhoods you will find - neglect, children that are digitally connected all day, drugs, sexual abuse, alcoholism, etc....
Dont we need to go to the Hurting masses ...
They need Christ too...
Javante mom - welfare, many boyfriends, abused as a child, uneducated and very obese....
Where does the church fit into her life.....
II. The Helpless Man
II. The Helpless Man
5 And a certain man was there, which had an infirmity thirty and eight years. 6 When Jesus saw him lie, and knew that he had been now a long time in that case, he saith unto him, Wilt thou be made whole?
When we leave the comfort zone we find a single person to minister to ...
This man could not even get near the water
For almost 40 years her could not walk ...
The crowd was hurting he was hopeless
Could not help himself
Illustration of helpless - in all reality thats is when we are all at before we come to Christ.
So many of us tell God I am good ...
Notice Jesus knew his condition and he had been there a long time.
Now we must look at the man (5:5). He had been there a very long time.
John says it was thirty-eight years, half a lifetime. It may be he had been brought there in his teens and left there to make the best of things.
We can imagine how hope deferred had made his heart sick, how his expectations during his first months at the pool had given way to despair and then to dull acceptance of his fate.
One by one, with the passing of years, his friends had left him. Now he was abandoned, evidently paralyzed. Unable to move, he had become a fixture. Days came and went; days became months; months became years.
Others, stronger and more agile than he, were always ahead of him when the waters were “troubled.” Yet he clung to his pathetic belief in the miraculous healing power of the pool.
But it was not for him. As for the thought that some priest or prophet would offer to help him into the pool—well, he knew enough about organized religion by now to know that it had its forms and rituals, its attendants, ministers, and devotees.
But much good that was ever likely to do him.
How can we measure the misery of this man? He had no friends, no family. His companions were life’s victims: blind people, lame people, people withered up inside and out. All their hopes had shrunk to the chance they had of outsmarting the others and being first in the pool.
Here was institutionalized misery, unending poverty.
Do you want to get well? was designed to focus the man’s attention on Him, to stimulate his will, and to raise his hopes.
III. The Healing Miracle
III. The Healing Miracle
7 The impotent man answered him, Sir, I have no man, when the water is troubled, to put me into the pool: but while I am coming, another steppeth down before me. 8 Jesus saith unto him, Rise, take up thy bed, and walk. 9 And immediately the man was made whole, and took up his bed, and walked: and on the same day was the sabbath.
See Christ at work ...
You leave the comfort zone you will see miracles
You will see lives changed
You will the the unthinkable happen
5:7 The answer of the sick man was rather pathetic.
For years he had lain by the pool, waiting to get in, but every time the water was stirred up, there was no one to help him.
Every time he would try to get in, someone else got there ahead of him.
This reminds us how disappointed we are if we depend on our fellow men to save us from our sins.
vs 8 - is a game changer
Stop it - you conditions is not going to be determined by getting into the water faster
It will be changed by listing to me
The healing miracle came because you listened to Christ.
40 yers of superstition and religion has gotten you no where.
Take up thy bed and walk....
The change came when had a different focus.
Listen to Christ
Illustration - when I was in school i want in algebra II class ..
Math made no since to me at all … my teacher Barry Phelps said stop listening to your friend and all the negativity about math .... hew showed me the simple logic for algebra word problems .... and the rest was different.
I had to listen to a different voice .....
This man was healed because he obeyed Christ ...
5:8 The man’s bed was a pad or light mattress. Jesus told him to rise, carry his pad, and walk. The lesson here is that when we are saved, we are not only told to rise, but also to walk. The Lord Jesus gives us healing from the plague of sin, and then He expects us to walk in a manner worthy of Him.
5:9 The Savior never tells anyone to do a thing without giving the power to do it. Even as He spoke, new life and power flowed into the body of the invalid.
whole - greek sound and healthy
Dont use limbs - unhealthy no strength - knee surgery
This was a miricle
He was healed immediately. It was not a gradual recovery. Limbs that had been useless or weak for years now throbbed with strength. Then there was immediate obedience to the word of the Lord. He took up his bed and walked. What a thrill it must have been for him to do this after thirty-eight years of sickness!
This miracle took place on the Sabbath, the seventh day of the week—our Saturday.
The Jewish people were forbidden to do any work on the Sabbath. This man was a Jew, and yet at the instruction of the Lord Jesus, he did not hesitate to carry his mattress despite Jewish traditions regarding the day.
IV. The Heavenward Response
IV. The Heavenward Response
10 The Jews therefore said unto him that was cured, It is the sabbath day: it is not lawful for thee to carry thy bed. 11 He answered them, He that made me whole, the same said unto me, Take up thy bed, and walk. 12 Then asked they him, What man is that which said unto thee, Take up thy bed, and walk? 13 And he that was healed wist not who it was: for Jesus had conveyed himself away, a multitude being in that place. 14 Afterward Jesus findeth him in the temple, and said unto him, Behold, thou art made whole: sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee. 15 The man departed, and told the Jews that it was Jesus, which had made him whole.
leaving you comfort zone allows you to witness a heavenly response
Dont miss this - where did jesus find the healed man?
Do you know what one of the blessing of leaving your comfort zone is?
You get to witness change lives in people...
This poor man sitting by the pool waiting for the stirring of the waters for decades now can be found in the House of God......
You get to see how his life changes his family tree
you get to a man leading others to Christ
Folks when we get out of ur comfort zone we can turn a community upside down
Illustration - Casino operator
Saved - now in church, loves his wife, raised his kids on the word of God , now is a local homebuilder
Someone left their comfort zone to go to him and look at the change...
14 Afterward Jesus findeth him in the temple, and said unto him, Behold, thou art made whole: sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee.
He was in the temple.
He ran to the God of Israel .
When we witness God
we want to worship
We want to fellowship with others
We want to be where God is working
Are you willing to go the the uncomfortable places?