Date of Sermon Delivery: 22. 5. 2022

Place of sermon Delivery:  Delhi, India

Sunday Worship Service

Speaker: Jatin Bisht

Title- Do you want to be healed?

Bible- John 5:1-9 

Key verse – 9

1.After this there was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.

2Now there is in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate a pool, in Aramaic called Bethesda (House of mercy), which has five roofed colonnades. 

3In these lay a multitude of invalids—blind, lame, and paralyzed.

4 for an angel of the Lord went down at certain seasons into the pool and stirred up the water; whoever then first, after the stirred up the water, stepped in was made well from whatever disease with which he was afflicted

5.One man was there who had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. 

6. When Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had already been there a long time, he said to him, "Do you want to be healed?" 

7.The sick man answered him, "Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up, and while I am going another steps down before me."

8.Jesus said to him, "Get up, take up your bed, and walk." 

9.And at once the man was healed, and he took up his bed and walked. Now that day was the Sabbath.

I greet you all in the name of Jesus Christ.

I hope everyone is doing well this morning.

But still, I want to ask you, are you happy with this new morning?

In Psalm 30:5b, David says, weeping may last for the night, but a shout of joy comes in the morning.

Maybe you had trouble, a problem, disease, responsibility, a hard time, or more than that. You might have cried last night, but today is a new morning. Keep your hope in Jesus. Because his love is everlasting and unconditional.

 

Last week we went to Metro Vihar, and I can bear the summer season, but that day it was very hot, I cannot express the hot wind with my words.

But being the creation of God, we must take responsibility for taking care of our environment.

We should plant more trees around us and we must avoid those things which impact our nature. Do not be a selfish believer, but take care the environment.

Today, before we move into the scripture, we will watch a short movie called "Lame Man." https://youtu.be/QhirAYf29VE

Let’s pray.

Thank you, our lovely and living God, for this beautiful day, Lord, please come and be our shepherd right now. We ask that you protect us, guide our minds, and lead our hearts into your living word. surrender ourselves to your hand. We pray in the name of Jesus Christ.

Amen.

 

In today's scripture, there is one man, who had a long-term problem. That might be in your life or even my life too.

It would be a depression problem, it would be a medical condition, it would be over addiction to something (overnight playing games, addiction to phones, addiction to social media, addiction to bad movies, addiction to overspending time on unnecessary things), it would be financial issues, it would be laziness, it would be overeating, over committing, over spending and it seems like that will never go away. It is like an ongoing challenge, even if some of us love it.

 

However, many times we are forced to think that now there can be no change, but this morning, I want to encourage you that there can be change in the name of Jesus Christ.

Amen

Let us lead ourselves in the words of the Lord.

John 5:1-9

When Jesus left Jerusalem in verse 3 of chapter 4. He left the Jewish leaders who were attacking Jesus, so Jesus left Jerusalem and went to Samaritan area, he spent some time in Samaria, then he continued north up to Galilee.

Now Jesus was coming back to Jerusalem for a feast.

It was a requirement of all Jewish males to attend the various feasts.

Jesus, as a Jewish man, was always obedient to the word of God, so he did not want to miss it.

John did not explain here, what the feast was. But it was a time of celebration, and Jesus came back to Jerusalem. 

He came to Jerusalem through the sheep gate. It is a gate in the wall of the city of Jerusalem. It was on the north side of the temple, to the rear of the temple.

This gate is where the sheep would be brought in for sacrifices, but here John focuses more on the pool, which is located near the sheep gate.

In Hebrew, the name of the pool was Bethesda. Bethesda means "house of mercy."

 

If you see verse 3-4, there were a multitude of sick people (blind, lame, and paralyzed)  

These people made their way to the pool or they were brought there because many people in Jesus’ time believed that the water in this pool had healing power.

It was said that an angel stirred up the water in the pool from time to time, and as soon as the water was stirred, the sick people waiting near the pool would rush to get into the water.

Whenever the water began to bubble up, they believed that whoever got into that water first would be healed.

So around Bethesda pool, all these all-sicked people were sitting, waiting, hoping to be the first.

And as soon as they buddled up into the water, the race started, and whoever could get into that water first might be healed.

But there was one man, who had been an invalid for thirty-eight years.

When Jesus saw him lying there, Jesus knew that he had been sick for a very long time.

Jesus said to him, "Do you want to be healed?"

Do you want to get well?

This question is like you are in the hospital and the doctor is asking you, do you want to be cured?

Or you have not eaten food for many days and someone is asking you, "Will you eat?"

A big yes will come, of course.

By the way, yesterday we went for food distribution. We distributed food more than 300 people. It was a very loving time for me, I could see the lovely smile in those gloomy faces.

I can not give anything to you, for your services. But the one who is living, Jesus Christ, will surely bless you.

Which is much better than my food, and my service. And thanks to all of you who have supported us through prayer.

 

So when Jesus asked the sick man, do you want to be healed?"

In verse 7 the sick man answers, "Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up, and while I am going, another steps down before me."

But Jesus said to him, "Get up, take up your bed and walk," and when he was healed, he took up his bed and walked.

 

A man, who had been sick for 38 years. A man suffered from a disease without Jesus Christ for 38 years. Maybe he had seen Jesus Christ. But today he has listened to the words of Jesus properly, today he has given himself fully to the way of Jesus.

The moment he came into the presence of Jesus, everything changed for this man.

 

Maybe we will not all be physically sick, but if you look at yourself properly, you will find that you are sick somewhere, maybe in your spirituality, maybe in your character, maybe in your words, maybe in your thinking, or in your emotions.

 

As Jesus asked this man, in the same way he asked us, do you want to be healed?

 

I hope we will all say, "Yes, I want to heal." But I want that from today’s message, we may give more emphasis to knowing why I have not been healed from such things, habits, thoughts, behaviour, or disease?

 

This man had been sick for 38 years, could not walk. But in just a moment in the presence of Jesus, everything changed.

why did this problem persist with him?

Discouraged-The longer a problem persists, the more discouraged. Maybe this sick man, tried a lot to reach up to the pool but always failed. And now he does not want to try. Now he has fixed in his mind the word that he will not be able to get healing. He will not be able to come out, and he wants to live in it.

You prayed, but the problem isn't going away. You prayed but nothing happened. You tried your best but nothing worked. So, you have become discouraged.

You tried to work on your marriage and prayed, but did not get any better. You prayed about some physical problem that you had. You tried to meet with a doctor, but you did not get any better answer. And on that point, we thought it was what God had for me.

 

Excuses—the longer a problem persists, the more excuses. When we are not able to do something, we start to make excuses, because it helps us to feel better. We can put the blame on someone else rather than ourselves.

same thing this sickened man did. Jesus, I did not have anybody to help me get into the water. I tried to get there, but I could not walk. I tried to walk, but these people pressed me. Jesus, I am completely helpless. No one helps me.

But he could go closer to the pool with some effort. He might not be able to walk, but he could go through his knees. He could tie himself up by rope and pull himself, he could solve the problem.

But this man, excused that no-one helped me.

I went to the doctor, but the doctor did not try to treat me well.  I do not have job because I did not receive a good education. The longer a problem persists, the more excuses we make.

 

Compensate – the longer a problem persists, the more it compensates. We do not want to do work in us. We do not work in our spiritual life. We do not want to work in our practical life. We take it lightly. But as the problem persists, the more compensation we have to pay. If we think that it is a simple thing to get angry, remember that we have to pay for some compensation for it.

 

Dear brothers and sisters, always remember that we cannot change the problem until we recognise it.  Many times, we know we have a problem but we do not want to work on it. If I am lacking spiritually, and if I am not praying to God, then somewhere I am not recognising my problem. Then discouragement is there, excuses are there, and we have to pay some compensation. O Jesus, no-one loves me, all people hate me, but do we try to find where the problem is? never.

But what do we do? We say I will also not love him/her.

Jesus asked this man. Do you want to be healed? Why did Jesus ask him like this?

Because Jesus knew that he just needed help, but he did not want help.

Therefore, Jesus asked, "Do you want to be well?"

Do you?

Because honestly, some people does not want, because they have become used to living with the discouraged things, excuse idea and later on they pay compensation in tears, emotion, and regret.

Many times, we want to be in an uncomfortable place even though we know there is a comfortable place. Am I right?

We know what the right thing is but still do the wrong thing because we are habitual and comfortable in that uncomfortable zone.

So, this morning, Jesus asks, "Do you want to be well?"

Ask this question to yourself.

Do I really want to get well?

Many time our own self is barriers of our healing. We get discouraged, we make excuses, , we try to tolerate things that we should not.

But Jesus asks you this morning, do you want to be well? This man said, "Look, I do not have anyone to help him." But Jesus said to him, "Get up, pick up your mat and walk."

Jesus is not asking you what your problem is, how is your spiritual life, how is your financial life, how is your job going on, how is your character, how bad or good you are. because he knew everything about us.

But this morning, a simple question he asked

Do you want to be healed?

What will you say to him?

May the Lord Jesus bless you by hearing his living word.

Amen