God Made Me This Way?

Do You Want to Get Well?

Overcoat covered with taped papers

Jesus Christ asked a question to a paralyzed man before Jesus healed him, it is the very question he asks each of us today. “Do you want to get well?”

John 5:6 NLT

6 When Jesus saw him and knew he had been ill for a long time, he asked him, “Would you like to get well?”

This man had been paralyzed for almost thirty eight years. He wasn't just paralyzed physically, he became paralyzed emotionally. He was alone in the world. He had no hope.

How many of us can relate to this man at the pool of Bethesda? Those times when we are paralyzed. Paralyzed with fear, grief, pain, anxiety, or a host of other things?

Jesus Christ gets right down there in the muck and the mire of our lives and asks us “Do you want to get well?” This paralyzed man responds in a way that may sound familiar this morning.

John 5:7 NLT

7 “I can’t, sir,” the sick man said, “for I have no one to put me into the pool when the water bubbles up. Someone else always gets there ahead of me.”

“I can’t.” Now, it was believed that if you were placed in the pool while it was bubbling, that you could be healed. I get it, the man is paralyzed, he cant put himself in the pool. It is his immediate answer that we are all to familiar with: “I can’t.”

The man then goes on to blame his circumstances and those around him. Yet his mindset is “I can’t.” How often are we saying to God, when he asks us if we want His healing “I can’t.”

We can become comfortable in the darkness brothers and sisters. It can become a familiar spirit, that darkness and the defeated attitude is not the Holy Spirit. It is not Jesus Christ alive in us. Anything not of God comes from somewhere. Those things come from the enemy.

Emmanuel, God with us, Jesus Christ, made a special trip to meet this one man. To show the world the healing power, the compassion, the mercy, and the grace of God.

Jesus Christ made a special trip for you and me this morning. He left his rightful place in the Kingdom of Glory to save you and me.

Do you want to be healed? YES! I CAN’T, BUT HE CAN! We must be willing to be part of that healing. We make the choice to believe Him or this world. To believe Him or the enemy. We must follow Him and obey him. Look at what happens next.

John 5:8 NLT

8 Jesus told him, “Stand up, pick up your mat, and walk!”

The man did not know he was healed until he got up. If he had just laid there believing that all was lost that all was hopeless, he would not have known the healing power of God. We must be active in our faith! Not make excuses why we can’t.

God Made Me This Way

Something I have said, and many other believers who are being honest have said, is “God Made Me This Way and I am not going to change.” This comment is usually used to preface the reason someone is actively sinning, or not acting in the will of God

This is a prideful, egotistical, arrogant, self-centered, and immature view. It is true that God loves us right where we are, where we are in our walk, but God does not condone sinful behavior. God did not make us sinful.

Genesis 1:26 (NLT)

26 Then God said, “Let us make human beings in our image, to be like us.

God’s plan was to make you and me in the image of the Trinity. Anything outside of the Living Word, God, Jesus Christ, and Holy Spirit is a result of human choices and human nature.

That generational curse we talk about about does not mean we inherit the spiritual sins of our fathers, it means that our choices are going to affect not just us, but those around us,and future generations.

We see it today: Disease, sickness, depression, addiction, a host of disorders. Most of which can be traced back to choices that have been made throughout human history.

If it is outside of the character of God, if it is outside the character of Christ, GOD DID NOT MAKE YOU THAT WAY! The truth is that we are, in this flesh, the product of a broken world.

Does God make people:

Prideful, egotistical, arrogant, hateful, angry, hurtful, liars, cursors, depressed, anxious, or sick?

No! To believe such things corrupts the very message of Jesus Christ.

What happens is we want God to change based on our feelings rather than changing our lives to match the truth of God. What I mean is that if a certain sin is okay with me, based on how I feel, then it should be okay with God. As long as it is not what that guy or gal is doing!

James 1:13 NLT

13 And remember, when you are being tempted, do not say, “God is tempting me.” God is never tempted to do wrong, and he never tempts anyone else.

Temptation in and of itself is not a sin. All sin starts with temptation. Temptation does not come from God. People are always blaming someone else for tempting them and leading them to sin. This behavior goes all the way back to the garden.

Adam blamed Eve, Eve blamed the serpent, the serpent blamed God. Man blames woman, spouse blames spouse, children blame parents, parents blame children, the list is endless.

We say things like: “If it hadn’t been there, I wouldn’t have done it!” “If you hadn't done this, I would not have done that!” “You made me do it!” We try and justify our choices and actions so we can feel better about ourselves. So we can be right, so we can be vindicated. Even when we know we are wrong.

The point is that if we want to get well, we must repent turn away from what we know to be wrong and turn to Jesus. Stop blaming God, stop blaming others, and bring our struggles to the cross, to the feet of Jesus Christ. He is there to walk through the fire with us, but we must walk with Him.

Matthew 11:29–30 NLT

29 Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.”

Our LORD and Savior, Jesus Christ, is telling us that as we walk with Him, these things (overcoat) diminish! The yoke of this life becomes lighter as we learn to live kingdom life.

As the fruit of the Spirit of Christ blooms in us, the internal conflicts and struggles are replaced by the peace, joy, and strength of God. The struggle in the flesh may seem unbearable at times. You can do all things through Christ who gives you strength.

If you do not know Jesus Christ as your LORD and Savior this morning, make today that day! Simply ask Him into your heart and your life. Let’s pray and then head down to the lake for some baptisms!