Trust Me I'm Trying!

0:00:01.920 --> 0:00:04.480 Hey, this is Stephen Ferdick. I'm the pastor of Elevation 0:00:04.720 --> 0:00:06.760 Church and this is our podcast and I wanted to 0:00:06.760 --> 0:00:09.720 thank you for joining us today. Hope this inspires you. 0:00:10.080 --> 0:00:12.280 Hope it builds your faith. Hope it gives your perspective 0:00:12.320 --> 0:00:14.640 to see God is moving in your life. Enjoy the 0:00:14.640 --> 0:00:22.759 message now, John Chapter five, verse seven, Sir, the invalid reply, 0:00:23.400 --> 0:00:26.120 I have no one to help me into the pool. 0:00:26.160 --> 0:00:30.880 When the water is stirred. While I am trying to 0:00:30.960 --> 0:00:36.880 get in, someone else goes down ahead of me. You're 0:00:36.880 --> 0:00:38.879 gonna love this because you've been wanting to say this 0:00:38.960 --> 0:00:40.839 anyway on my title, and I'm gonna let you say 0:00:40.840 --> 0:00:43.279 it right now. And because I'm telling you to say it, 0:00:43.560 --> 0:00:45.720 you will have permission to say it. Look at the 0:00:45.760 --> 0:00:48.199 person next to you and tell them this, and tell 0:00:48.240 --> 0:00:52.839 them in a convincing way, say trust me, I'm trying. 0:00:55.000 --> 0:01:00.920 I'm trying. You may be seated. I promise I am. 0:01:01.200 --> 0:01:06.240 I really am trying. I know I don't always hit 0:01:06.280 --> 0:01:11.520 the mark, but I really am trying. Because for me, 0:01:11.600 --> 0:01:15.639 I have a rule, especially as a boss the people 0:01:15.640 --> 0:01:18.560 that work for me, is that I always try to 0:01:18.600 --> 0:01:21.600 make it a point never to punish somebody who's trying 0:01:21.640 --> 0:01:24.840 to be proactive. I feel like if somebody makes a 0:01:24.880 --> 0:01:28.960 mistake because they took it a little too far, that's 0:01:29.000 --> 0:01:33.440 a little Jesus. Jesus. Let Peter cut Malcus's ear off 0:01:33.440 --> 0:01:36.000 in the garden and put it back on like mister 0:01:36.000 --> 0:01:39.800 Potato had. But I think he liked Peter because Peter 0:01:39.840 --> 0:01:42.400 wouldn't just sit around. Peter was like, all right, I 0:01:42.800 --> 0:01:45.440 can do something about this. The spirit is willing, the 0:01:45.440 --> 0:01:47.840 flesh is weak, and I'm about to use my flesh 0:01:47.920 --> 0:01:51.760 to cut off. And that's a really interesting thing, isn't it. Now. 0:01:51.760 --> 0:01:56.320 The kids will call somebody a tryhard It is like 0:01:56.560 --> 0:01:59.800 a way of saying, you know, if it looks like 0:01:59.840 --> 0:02:02.960 you you try too hard on your outfit. And I 0:02:03.000 --> 0:02:06.840 get that, but I like people who will give it 0:02:06.880 --> 0:02:10.799 a level of effort, and even if they miss, they 0:02:10.840 --> 0:02:16.359 swing so big. I've always liked people like that. I 0:02:16.400 --> 0:02:18.280 thought I should tell you this. If I ever come 0:02:18.360 --> 0:02:21.720 up here to preach and I don't do good, which 0:02:21.760 --> 0:02:26.200 I'm sure happens, it won't be because I didn't try. 0:02:26.639 --> 0:02:28.480 So if you ever see me up here struggling in 0:02:28.480 --> 0:02:34.320 this pulpit and you're like, I don't really understand this one. 0:02:35.000 --> 0:02:36.600 I think I see what he was trying to do. 0:02:36.680 --> 0:02:40.200 Did you catch that? Number one is probably your fault 0:02:40.200 --> 0:02:41.919 because you didn't pray enough before you came to church. 0:02:42.919 --> 0:02:50.320 That's kiddy, But trust me, I'm trying, and I think 0:02:50.360 --> 0:02:56.040 sometimes it can be frustrating when you are giving your 0:02:56.080 --> 0:02:59.960 best effort, but what is required of you is beyond 0:03:00.200 --> 0:03:01.959 your ability. And I'm gonna try to ignore this fly 0:03:02.000 --> 0:03:04.359 buzzing around my head. But touch somebody and say, I'm trying, 0:03:04.440 --> 0:03:13.840 I'm really trying. I'm really You must have had to 0:03:13.919 --> 0:03:17.360 really trust Jesus to follow him when he walked the earth. 0:03:17.400 --> 0:03:19.600 People say, oh, I wish I could have followed Jesus 0:03:19.600 --> 0:03:22.959 and walked with him. You know. Now it's harder because 0:03:23.200 --> 0:03:26.160 God is not visible like that, and it would have 0:03:26.200 --> 0:03:30.840 been so cool. No, wouldn't It would have been so 0:03:31.600 --> 0:03:37.000 difficult to trust Jesus and he was always getting in 0:03:37.120 --> 0:03:43.040 so much trouble. He was always explaining his actions and 0:03:43.080 --> 0:03:47.480 his intentions after the fact, and what that required from 0:03:47.520 --> 0:03:51.880 his disciples was just this crazy amount of trust. I'm trying. 0:03:51.960 --> 0:04:00.960 I'm really trying. I mean, oh, colcha, whatever you do, 0:04:01.120 --> 0:04:07.240 just pray for me. Do them all do them all. 0:04:07.360 --> 0:04:10.720 Let's back up and see why he's feeling so feisty today. 0:04:10.760 --> 0:04:13.920 Sometime later, verse one John chapter five, Jesus went up 0:04:13.920 --> 0:04:17.040 to Jerusalem for a feast of the Jews. Now there's 0:04:17.080 --> 0:04:21.479 in Jerusalem, near the Sheepgate a pool which in Aramaic 0:04:21.640 --> 0:04:25.839 is called bethesda, means house of mercy, and it's surrounded 0:04:25.839 --> 0:04:30.440 by five covered colonnades or porches. Here a great number 0:04:30.440 --> 0:04:34.200 of disabled people used to lie, the blind, the lame, 0:04:34.839 --> 0:04:38.600 and the paralyzed. It's important to note before I go 0:04:38.680 --> 0:04:42.040 on that this is a specific dwelling place for people 0:04:42.040 --> 0:04:45.719 with physical infirmities. And the reason I point that out 0:04:45.800 --> 0:04:48.560 is because I'm going to make some spiritual parallels to 0:04:48.640 --> 0:04:51.880 the physical infirmities that are mentioned in this passage. But 0:04:51.920 --> 0:04:54.000 I don't want us to miss the historicity for the 0:04:54.040 --> 0:04:57.160 sake of application. I think that would be irresponsible Bible teaching. 0:04:57.839 --> 0:05:01.560 The people who were at this particular hospital, if we 0:05:01.560 --> 0:05:04.680 can even call it that, it was more like a 0:05:04.680 --> 0:05:09.200 public service. This pool was not a resort pool. Nobody 0:05:09.400 --> 0:05:12.479 is bringing you little umbrellas in your drink at this pool. 0:05:12.760 --> 0:05:15.440 This is a crowded pool and is pushing and shoving 0:05:16.040 --> 0:05:18.400 and word has it that if you can get in 0:05:18.480 --> 0:05:22.680 the pool when the angel stirs the water intermittently, you 0:05:22.680 --> 0:05:26.120 can get healed. And this puts certain people who have 0:05:26.240 --> 0:05:30.560 certain disabilities and an advantage over others. For instance, it 0:05:30.640 --> 0:05:34.200 said there were the blind, the lane, and the paralyzed, 0:05:34.760 --> 0:05:37.040 And so if you're a blind man by this pool, 0:05:37.360 --> 0:05:39.560 you can probably feel your way to the edge of 0:05:39.560 --> 0:05:42.240 the pool, so that when there's an opportunity to get 0:05:42.279 --> 0:05:44.520 in and be healed, you'll be the first one there. 0:05:45.279 --> 0:05:47.760 But if you're paralyzed, it puts you at a disadvantage 0:05:48.440 --> 0:05:50.719 because even if you get yourself to the edge of 0:05:50.760 --> 0:05:53.320 the pool, there's a chance that someone else can pull 0:05:53.360 --> 0:05:57.000 you back. You are powerless. And that's an interesting thing 0:05:57.080 --> 0:06:02.240 about life. I was out at the ballfield last baseball 0:06:02.240 --> 0:06:06.279 season and I saw this really good dad with a 0:06:06.320 --> 0:06:12.680 fanny pack. He didn't look happy, he didn't look like, 0:06:12.800 --> 0:06:16.479 you know, these are the days making memories. He didn't 0:06:16.520 --> 0:06:19.320 look sealfie ready. But you know, I liked about him. 0:06:20.160 --> 0:06:23.160 He was carting this wagon. He looked like he had 0:06:23.160 --> 0:06:26.240 some snacks first kids, and maybe he was on snack 0:06:26.320 --> 0:06:29.839 duty that day, and I just admired him because he 0:06:29.960 --> 0:06:33.640 was trying. I watched him pull that wagon up the hill. 0:06:34.360 --> 0:06:37.120 I thought about it, how he was trying. He was 0:06:37.160 --> 0:06:39.680 sweating all through his shirt. You could tell he came 0:06:39.720 --> 0:06:42.880 straight from work. It wasn't a baseball shirt. He must 0:06:42.880 --> 0:06:44.760 have had the wagon that he packed the night before 0:06:44.800 --> 0:06:46.479 because he didn't have time to change the shirt. But 0:06:46.520 --> 0:06:49.120 he just came out there. Shirt was untucked on one side, 0:06:49.960 --> 0:06:51.880 looked like he spilled a little something on the collar, 0:06:53.120 --> 0:06:55.880 and he was sweating through it. But he was trying. 0:06:57.200 --> 0:06:59.640 And I've always loved the scripture that says that Jesus 0:06:59.640 --> 0:07:01.599 looked at one man and he loved him. I thought 0:07:01.600 --> 0:07:05.560 about that a lot lately, how Jesus would show up 0:07:05.560 --> 0:07:08.720 to a place and look for somebody who was at 0:07:08.720 --> 0:07:15.040 a disadvantage. I kind of imagine him walking around the 0:07:15.080 --> 0:07:20.400 pull at Bethesda, and I'm sure his disciples were shocked 0:07:21.320 --> 0:07:24.560 that he would waste time with a bunch of people 0:07:24.600 --> 0:07:27.840 who they would call crippled. That's not a PC term, 0:07:27.840 --> 0:07:30.720 but that's how they would have put it. Sickness was 0:07:30.720 --> 0:07:35.200 connected to spiritual disorder in this time. Judaism in the 0:07:35.200 --> 0:07:39.040 first century made a strong connection between your spiritual condition 0:07:39.120 --> 0:07:42.080 and your physical condition. So like if you had money. 0:07:42.080 --> 0:07:46.000 That was a proof that you were living right. That's 0:07:46.000 --> 0:07:48.000 how they thought about it. We know that's not always 0:07:48.080 --> 0:07:51.160 the case. We know a lot of times some of 0:07:51.200 --> 0:07:53.760 the greatest people who are the most faithful to God, 0:07:54.320 --> 0:07:56.160 they might not live in a big house on earth, 0:07:56.160 --> 0:07:58.320 but we'll probably be cleaning their toilets in heaven for 0:07:58.360 --> 0:08:01.880 the treasure that they're storing up after this life. And 0:08:01.960 --> 0:08:04.520 yet there's this tendency to just judge things by the 0:08:04.560 --> 0:08:08.840 physical always for all of us. So I kind of 0:08:08.840 --> 0:08:14.480 picture him Jesus walking around and asking questions. One interesting 0:08:14.480 --> 0:08:16.080 thing that's in the text. Let me show you this 0:08:16.120 --> 0:08:18.080 real quick. It's too cool for me, just a reference. 0:08:18.080 --> 0:08:20.840 I want to make sure it's very vivid. Yeah, is 0:08:20.920 --> 0:08:25.200 that one who was there verse five had been an 0:08:25.280 --> 0:08:30.600 invalid for thirty eight years and when Jesus saw him 0:08:30.720 --> 0:08:36.320 lying there and learned. Now, what stood out to me 0:08:36.360 --> 0:08:40.720 about that text wasn't that Jesus saw him. What stood 0:08:40.720 --> 0:08:42.719 out to me about this text wasn't that the man 0:08:42.760 --> 0:08:46.120 had issues. We all have issues, and frankly, we all 0:08:46.120 --> 0:08:49.080 have areas of paralysis. And I'm going to talk about 0:08:49.120 --> 0:08:52.400 yours in seven minutes, So buckle in and get that judgmental, 0:08:52.440 --> 0:08:56.800 look off your face because I'm coming for you. On 0:08:56.840 --> 0:08:59.959 this particular occasion. What stood out to me is Jesus learned. 0:09:01.559 --> 0:09:05.080 I didn't think he could do that because he's the 0:09:05.160 --> 0:09:08.280 image of God, He's the wisdom of God. How can 0:09:08.320 --> 0:09:13.439 the wisdom of God learn information? I figured that he 0:09:13.520 --> 0:09:16.800 must have been walking around asking how about her? How 0:09:16.840 --> 0:09:21.320 long has she been here? Somebody said, well, she just 0:09:21.360 --> 0:09:26.560 got here last week. She said, nah, not her? How 0:09:26.559 --> 0:09:29.559 about him? How long has he been like that? The 0:09:29.920 --> 0:09:34.920 blind guy right there? Yeah, is recent, it's recent. It's 0:09:34.920 --> 0:09:38.000 been it's been two months, I think two months, two months, 0:09:38.600 --> 0:09:43.200 Jimmy two months, yeah, two months, two months in three days? Yeah, 0:09:43.200 --> 0:09:48.160 two months in three days? No, No, no, not him? 0:09:48.280 --> 0:09:55.240 How about that one? Three years? We'll see. Put him 0:09:55.240 --> 0:09:59.520 on standby because he's looking for somebody to heal. He's 0:09:59.559 --> 0:10:03.600 looking for somebody who can experience a miracle. He's looking 0:10:03.679 --> 0:10:09.320 for a platform to demonstrate his power. How about him? 0:10:09.559 --> 0:10:13.560 Five years? Eh? How about her? Seven? How about that guy? 0:10:13.640 --> 0:10:16.959 How long's he been like that? Nine years? Eh? Getting closer? 0:10:17.280 --> 0:10:20.760 How about him? And finally somebody figures out how it's like, Well, 0:10:20.880 --> 0:10:22.840 if you want somebody who's been here a while, I 0:10:22.880 --> 0:10:28.760 see what you're doing. Thirty eight years long enough that 0:10:28.880 --> 0:10:33.079 he has given up hope that anything can ever be different, 0:10:35.160 --> 0:10:40.680 And Jesus learned that there was one. I'm gonna try 0:10:40.720 --> 0:10:43.400 so hard not to cry when I say this to you. 0:10:44.040 --> 0:10:48.080 But verse five says one who was there had been 0:10:48.120 --> 0:10:51.600 an invalid for thirty eight years. What does it mean 0:10:52.120 --> 0:10:56.240 that Jesus, who only had three years to do ministry 0:10:56.600 --> 0:10:59.719 and was on his way to a feast, would come 0:10:59.760 --> 0:11:04.680 by for one? Does it mean? Could it mean that 0:11:04.800 --> 0:11:08.160 out of everybody that I'm preaching to today, out of 0:11:08.240 --> 0:11:11.160 everybody that made a decision to show up at a campus, 0:11:11.840 --> 0:11:15.160 that God might want the one in the back who 0:11:15.200 --> 0:11:19.200 got here twelve minutes late, pulling a wagon, just trying 0:11:19.320 --> 0:11:23.440 to get through the week. Could it be that God 0:11:23.559 --> 0:11:25.720 is looking for the one who had the worst week, 0:11:26.520 --> 0:11:30.160 the worst upbringing you, the one that other people said 0:11:30.280 --> 0:11:33.600 could never be anything, the one who has gotten so 0:11:34.000 --> 0:11:38.040 used to how it is, this is really what happens 0:11:38.040 --> 0:11:41.280 in life. You get so used to how it is 0:11:42.520 --> 0:11:46.280 that you cannot recognize that how it used to be 0:11:47.080 --> 0:11:51.280 is no longer what's in front of you. All right, 0:11:51.320 --> 0:11:53.360 So let's work on this a little bit bring in here, 0:11:53.440 --> 0:11:56.160 Jesus says, Now, when you get to heaven, you'll probably 0:11:56.240 --> 0:11:58.440 be shocked who's there and who's not. How many agreed, 0:11:58.640 --> 0:12:00.959 there's going to be some people in heaven that are 0:12:00.960 --> 0:12:07.320 going to shock us, like WHOA she made it? That 0:12:07.400 --> 0:12:10.079 must have been like a thief on the cross deathbed 0:12:10.200 --> 0:12:16.480 kind of she got in right under the wire. WHOA 0:12:16.640 --> 0:12:20.640 they made it. I thought they believed weird stuff. They 0:12:20.640 --> 0:12:23.440 were new age, and they made it. I think we're 0:12:23.440 --> 0:12:28.600 going to be surprised who's there and who's not, because 0:12:28.600 --> 0:12:32.400 I think we're always surprised who God picks and who 0:12:32.400 --> 0:12:38.280 he uses and who he doesn't. One was there who 0:12:38.280 --> 0:12:41.439 had been lying there for so long that you can 0:12:41.520 --> 0:12:44.280 even tell in his response and the questions Jesus asked 0:12:44.320 --> 0:12:50.280 him that he had he had gotten tired of trying. 0:12:52.280 --> 0:12:56.080 My message today is for anybody who's tired of trying 0:12:56.120 --> 0:13:00.360 in an area of your life. Tired of try trying 0:13:00.800 --> 0:13:06.320 to repair a significant relationship, tired of trying to be 0:13:06.440 --> 0:13:11.800 open so that you can experience relationships, Tired of trying 0:13:12.160 --> 0:13:14.880 to overcome the thing that you keep going back to, 0:13:15.240 --> 0:13:17.400 and it's been since you were even in your teens. 0:13:17.679 --> 0:13:21.440 And now you're a grown man. I edited it for YouTube, 0:13:21.720 --> 0:13:25.080 and now I'm tired of trying because there was a 0:13:25.160 --> 0:13:27.680 time where I tried to get people to help me 0:13:28.000 --> 0:13:30.439 to get into the pool, but now I found out 0:13:30.480 --> 0:13:32.839 that there's no one to help me. Now, what's mind 0:13:32.840 --> 0:13:36.520 blowing about the situation at the pool at Bethesda is 0:13:36.559 --> 0:13:39.960 how many different ways I have heard this preach that 0:13:40.080 --> 0:13:44.920 completely contradict the heart of God. For instance, when Jesus 0:13:44.960 --> 0:13:47.000 comes up to the man and learn that he had 0:13:47.040 --> 0:13:49.800 been lying there and he had been in this condition 0:13:50.240 --> 0:13:55.080 for a long time. Pause, how many of y'all have 0:13:55.200 --> 0:14:02.439 been in a certain condition for a long time. Jesus, 0:14:02.520 --> 0:14:04.520 I need help. There's three honest people in the church. 0:14:06.200 --> 0:14:08.160 And I forgot I was coming out to speak to 0:14:08.200 --> 0:14:10.720 the perfect saints, the ten out of ten a plus saints. 0:14:10.720 --> 0:14:12.720 I forgot I was talking to the all stars today. 0:14:12.720 --> 0:14:14.560 I thought I was coming to elevation where they're not 0:14:14.600 --> 0:14:18.080 afraid to be real in your name, Amen, how many 0:14:18.160 --> 0:14:21.520 of y'all have had certain patterns of thinking that have 0:14:21.600 --> 0:14:27.920 been negative for a long time. I mean a long time. 0:14:28.240 --> 0:14:30.160 I don't know how old the man was, but thirty 0:14:30.200 --> 0:14:34.080 eight years. Trust me, I'm thirty nine is a long time. 0:14:34.360 --> 0:14:38.120 This is the entire span of my natural life. And 0:14:38.160 --> 0:14:42.400 for so long he's been unable to move that now 0:14:42.480 --> 0:14:46.520 he cannot recognize the help that is standing right in 0:14:46.560 --> 0:14:50.480 front of him. And Jesus asks a question that I 0:14:50.520 --> 0:14:54.920 have often heard misinterpreted when he says, do you want 0:14:55.360 --> 0:14:58.120 to get well? Tone is everything. That's why you can't 0:14:58.160 --> 0:15:03.360 text every conversation because tone is everything. Sometimes you need 0:15:03.400 --> 0:15:07.520 to pick up the phone and call people because completely 0:15:07.560 --> 0:15:09.920 depending on the tone is how you see the heart 0:15:09.920 --> 0:15:12.840 of Jesus. I always read it for a long time. 0:15:12.960 --> 0:15:16.760 Like Jesus said, do you want to get well? I 0:15:16.840 --> 0:15:19.480 almost see him now like he's got something in his 0:15:19.520 --> 0:15:23.400 back pocket and he's sneaking around the pool looking for somebody. 0:15:23.440 --> 0:15:26.040 They say God helps those who help themselves, but I 0:15:26.080 --> 0:15:29.720 almost see Jesus looking for somebody who can't. And he's like, 0:15:29.800 --> 0:15:33.080 I see you caught in the situation. You want to 0:15:33.120 --> 0:15:39.200 get well? And the man has every reason to be suspicious. 0:15:40.600 --> 0:15:43.560 Can you imagine how many people have taken advantage of 0:15:43.640 --> 0:15:49.480 him in almost forty years of suffering. How many hustlers 0:15:49.520 --> 0:15:52.600 have come through the pool at Bethesta trying to sell 0:15:52.600 --> 0:15:56.240 a magic potion or some bubbling water. Hey, I got 0:15:56.320 --> 0:15:58.560 some cream men, put it on your legs. I promise 0:15:58.600 --> 0:16:02.960 it's blessed. Hey, man, I promise you. I'll bring you 0:16:03.000 --> 0:16:04.640 to the pool. I'll push you in when the water 0:16:04.720 --> 0:16:07.160 starts bubbling. Just give me half now and half after 0:16:07.200 --> 0:16:09.360 the move. I promise you I can carry you in. 0:16:09.440 --> 0:16:13.360 I got you. How many times did somebody make him 0:16:13.360 --> 0:16:19.480 a promise? Because it seems cruel to Christ the expression 0:16:19.480 --> 0:16:22.200 of the love of God would stand over a man 0:16:22.240 --> 0:16:26.000 who couldn't move and ask him such a ridiculous question. 0:16:27.440 --> 0:16:33.480 Do you want to lose weight? But yeah? Do you 0:16:33.680 --> 0:16:39.480 want to be happy? Well yeah? Do you want to 0:16:39.520 --> 0:16:44.480 be able to live at peace without anxiety? Well? Yeah, 0:16:44.760 --> 0:16:50.520 what you're selling? I heard this spiel before I tried 0:16:50.560 --> 0:16:55.280 that diet. How many y'all tried that diet before I 0:16:55.360 --> 0:17:00.960 put a meditation app on my phone? Y'all, To be 0:17:01.000 --> 0:17:04.520 honest with you, I got four meditation apps on my phone. 0:17:04.680 --> 0:17:08.680 I tried all of them. I either fall asleep or 0:17:08.720 --> 0:17:11.840 my leg starts doing like that. I can't do it. 0:17:11.840 --> 0:17:15.639 Everybody tells me to meditate. The Bible says meditate, Russell 0:17:15.680 --> 0:17:19.879 Brand says meditate. Joe Rogan says, meditate. Everybody's telling me 0:17:19.920 --> 0:17:22.760 to meditate. I tried it. I really did try it. 0:17:23.000 --> 0:17:27.120 They also taught me about portion control. I tried portion control. 0:17:27.440 --> 0:17:30.000 How many all tried. Somebody told me one time, they said, 0:17:30.119 --> 0:17:34.040 here's how you stay at an ideal waight when you're 0:17:34.080 --> 0:17:37.760 full stop eating. My only problem I never found full. 0:17:41.280 --> 0:17:46.640 That gauge got broken somewhere in my childhood. I never 0:17:46.720 --> 0:17:50.240 felt full, so I kept eating. I tried that. Oh. 0:17:50.359 --> 0:17:53.960 They say, if you don't complain, you will feel more 0:17:54.119 --> 0:17:58.920 connected to God. I tried it, but I found out 0:17:58.960 --> 0:18:03.239 sometimes if you don't come, nothing changes. I tried so 0:18:03.440 --> 0:18:06.040 hard not to complain. At one time, I was gonna 0:18:06.040 --> 0:18:08.639 go seven days without complaining, and I thought, if I 0:18:08.680 --> 0:18:11.080 could do it, I could make a sermon out of it. 0:18:11.640 --> 0:18:13.400 I thought I could call it, you know, seven days 0:18:13.440 --> 0:18:16.439 a week of worship or something like that. I tried 0:18:16.640 --> 0:18:21.320 so hard not to complain for seven days. What happened 0:18:21.400 --> 0:18:26.080 was and this is so embarrassing to admit to you. 0:18:26.760 --> 0:18:30.960 The more I tried not to complain externally, because sometimes 0:18:31.000 --> 0:18:35.159 you can fix the symptom. Now I'm in the text, 0:18:36.119 --> 0:18:39.680 you can fix the symptom and stop trying to complain. 0:18:40.080 --> 0:18:42.000 But the root of it what happened to me was 0:18:42.400 --> 0:18:46.160 I went five good days without complaining, but on day 0:18:46.320 --> 0:18:51.399 six the walls of Jericho came tumbling down. A day early, 0:18:52.000 --> 0:18:56.360 everything in my path was, Oh, it was a tornado, 0:18:56.840 --> 0:19:01.080 it was a downpour. Because when you fix it's a symptom, 0:19:01.440 --> 0:19:06.080 but don't address the system that created the symptom, the 0:19:06.320 --> 0:19:21.200 end is worse than the beginning. You want to get well, well, yeah, 0:19:21.280 --> 0:19:28.000 I'm trying. When you get to heaven, you'd be surprised 0:19:28.000 --> 0:19:31.560 who's there and who's not. But one thing you write 0:19:31.640 --> 0:19:36.520 might really be shocked about this dude, whoever he is 0:19:36.560 --> 0:19:40.160 in John five, is going to have a long line 0:19:40.320 --> 0:19:44.840 of preachers waiting to apologize to him for how we 0:19:44.960 --> 0:19:51.320 misinterpreted his story in John chapter five. Oh, I've heard everything. 0:19:52.720 --> 0:19:55.679 I've heard. It said that in thirty eight years the 0:19:55.720 --> 0:19:58.439 man should have been able to crawl or roll his 0:19:58.520 --> 0:20:01.639 way to the edge of the pool. Yeah, like that 0:20:01.680 --> 0:20:04.760 will work, because now somebody stronger than you is just 0:20:04.800 --> 0:20:06.640 going to pull you back at the moment you're still 0:20:06.680 --> 0:20:10.400 powerless to fall in at the right time. And besides, 0:20:11.640 --> 0:20:18.200 when has Jesus ever taunted someone into transformation? You really 0:20:18.280 --> 0:20:21.800 think that's the spirit of the Savior. Some of us 0:20:21.840 --> 0:20:26.159 do we really picture God like standing over us in 0:20:26.200 --> 0:20:29.200 our minds, our concept of God like. You don't want 0:20:29.200 --> 0:20:35.479 it bad enough. If you would have done it different 0:20:36.240 --> 0:20:38.119 when they were eight, they wouldn't have been in so 0:20:38.200 --> 0:20:40.959 much trouble when they were eighteen. See, you screwed them up. 0:20:41.720 --> 0:20:43.600 That's what God sounds like to a lot of us. 0:20:43.840 --> 0:20:46.240 So it's no surprise that when we hear Jesus say 0:20:46.440 --> 0:20:48.359 do you want to get well? He says it with 0:20:48.440 --> 0:20:51.280 a snarl. You know, do you even want to get well? 0:20:51.480 --> 0:20:54.200 Do you even lift? Are you even serious? I mean, 0:20:54.320 --> 0:20:56.400 prove it if you do, if you want to get well, 0:20:56.440 --> 0:20:59.840 say I want to get well? So why did he 0:21:04.400 --> 0:21:08.159 Why did he ask the man do you want to 0:21:08.200 --> 0:21:11.359 get well? Before he helped him get up and walk? 0:21:13.040 --> 0:21:16.680 And as I prayed through that this week, I realize 0:21:17.560 --> 0:21:21.439 that before Jesus could help him walk, he had to 0:21:21.480 --> 0:21:30.800 help him want. I don't know who this is for, 0:21:31.760 --> 0:21:35.080 but God is dealing with your desires in this season 0:21:35.080 --> 0:21:40.240 of your life. You have been disappointed over and over 0:21:40.560 --> 0:21:45.800 and over again, and every time you try, nobody notices, 0:21:46.480 --> 0:21:50.760 and every time you try, you come up short, sickness 0:21:51.040 --> 0:21:55.280 is cyclical. It comes around, it goes around, you're well 0:21:55.320 --> 0:21:57.440 for a little while, and then it's the same thing 0:21:57.480 --> 0:22:00.679 all over again. But this time it's only worse because 0:22:00.720 --> 0:22:03.600 now not only are you back where you started, but 0:22:03.680 --> 0:22:05.720 you have less hope that it is ever going to 0:22:05.720 --> 0:22:08.840 be different, because you've cycled through it one more time 0:22:09.200 --> 0:22:13.320 just to realize. Well, I guess I'm just a cynical person. Well, 0:22:13.359 --> 0:22:16.680 I guess I'm just a negative person. I guess nobody 0:22:16.720 --> 0:22:19.960 in my family was meant to go to college. I guess. See, 0:22:20.040 --> 0:22:23.480 when you hang around the colonnades with people who are sick, 0:22:24.160 --> 0:22:27.679 sickness becomes normal to you, and it starts to be 0:22:27.840 --> 0:22:31.320 easier for you to just accept the condition than to 0:22:31.480 --> 0:22:36.480 challenge it, because to challenge the condition means to risk disappointment. 0:22:37.040 --> 0:22:42.119 And some of us have tried, got blocked, tried, got blocked, tried, 0:22:42.480 --> 0:22:45.399 got blocked. And now people see you and they assume 0:22:45.480 --> 0:22:48.800 that you don't care. No I care. I cared, and 0:22:48.880 --> 0:22:52.159 I cared so much, but they didn't care back. And 0:22:52.240 --> 0:22:55.320 I tried so hard and I still got looked over. 0:22:55.680 --> 0:22:59.720 And don't you know, it's hard when your expectation has 0:22:59.800 --> 0:23:03.719 been damaged by disappointment. It's a slow damage. It's a 0:23:03.760 --> 0:23:07.080 slow tearing of the muscle fibers. It is a slow 0:23:07.160 --> 0:23:10.680 deterioration of your hope by disappointment. It is not one 0:23:10.720 --> 0:23:14.680 event that creates it. It's over and over. I tried, 0:23:14.920 --> 0:23:18.440 and I tried, and I smiled, and I stayed, and 0:23:18.480 --> 0:23:21.879 I cooked, and I parented and I disciplined and I 0:23:21.960 --> 0:23:24.720 showed up and I didn't care. And the man has 0:23:24.800 --> 0:23:27.800 finally gotten to a place, I believe where he is 0:23:27.960 --> 0:23:35.840 tired of trying. Are you? It's supposed to be the Sabbath, 0:23:37.160 --> 0:23:41.360 It's supposed to be a day of rest. Why did 0:23:41.400 --> 0:23:44.639 Jesus stop by the pool on the day of rest 0:23:45.680 --> 0:23:50.040 to perform a miracle? You're not supposed to work on 0:23:50.400 --> 0:23:56.679 the Sabbath. This may offend you, but it won't be 0:23:56.680 --> 0:24:03.359 the first time this offends you. Your metal detector has 0:24:03.400 --> 0:24:05.520 turned up to level ten anyway, and you need to 0:24:05.560 --> 0:24:07.520 just turn it down. Y'all. Notice, we live in a 0:24:07.560 --> 0:24:10.840 gotcha culture, outrage culture. Just nobody can say anything. You 0:24:10.840 --> 0:24:12.880 can't say anything anymore, And the more the people try 0:24:12.920 --> 0:24:14.439 to help us, the more we crucify him if they 0:24:14.480 --> 0:24:16.520 say the wrong thing. Have you noticed that. This is 0:24:16.520 --> 0:24:19.480 how they treat Jesus. He heals the man on the Sabbath, 0:24:20.760 --> 0:24:23.679 and all that anyone can talk about is that he 0:24:23.720 --> 0:24:27.280 did it on the wrong day. So this is what 0:24:27.280 --> 0:24:31.400 I don't want to say. It was gonna offend you. 0:24:31.400 --> 0:24:33.080 You thought that was what was gonna offend you. No, no, 0:24:33.080 --> 0:24:36.960 no, no no, no no. Jesus walks up on the Sabbath 0:24:37.800 --> 0:24:42.200 and when he tells the man in verse eight, get up, 0:24:43.400 --> 0:24:48.199 pick up your mat, and walk, he is trying to 0:24:48.240 --> 0:24:52.520 get the man to break sabbath. So Jesus walks up 0:24:52.560 --> 0:24:57.760 to the pool, looks around and asks the man, what's 0:24:57.840 --> 0:25:01.600 going on in your heart right now? Because before I 0:25:01.640 --> 0:25:05.240 can help you walk, I have to heal your will. 0:25:05.320 --> 0:25:08.400 So here's what Jesus does that we don't like. He 0:25:08.480 --> 0:25:18.679 calls BS, he calls watch this, He calls BS, and 0:25:18.720 --> 0:25:20.919 I don't know what you're thinking about right now, but 0:25:21.000 --> 0:25:28.000 I'm talking about broken system. See. Now, there's one thing 0:25:28.040 --> 0:25:30.280 in the verse. There's one thing in the verse that 0:25:30.359 --> 0:25:34.840 doesn't make sense unless you understand the historical context. When 0:25:34.840 --> 0:25:37.800 the man says, I keep trying, I keep trying to 0:25:37.800 --> 0:25:40.520 get down there, but I can never be first. I'm 0:25:40.600 --> 0:25:43.280 not fast enough. In fact, I can't move at all. 0:25:43.760 --> 0:25:48.159 I keep trying, but every time I try, something blocks me. 0:25:48.359 --> 0:25:52.080 And Jesus says, that's because the system is broken. If 0:25:52.119 --> 0:25:54.400 you'll notice, give me a verse four of the scripture. 0:25:54.400 --> 0:26:05.040 I forgot to read it. John five four Jared. It's 0:26:05.080 --> 0:26:12.359 been a long week, you know, staff events. Jared. Where's Jared? 0:26:15.160 --> 0:26:20.480 Can you get him? Yeah? I need him. Verse four 0:26:20.520 --> 0:26:27.960 unlocks the whole thing. We can wait. This man waited 0:26:27.960 --> 0:26:37.520 thirty eight years. We can wait three minutes. Uh, the manuscript, 0:26:37.520 --> 0:26:40.640 you don't have it. It's not in the manuscript. It's 0:26:40.680 --> 0:26:46.960 not available. Oh. They they added that verse later. H 0:26:47.520 --> 0:26:51.359 it's not even in the original manuscript. They added a 0:26:51.400 --> 0:26:57.000 scripture later, they added a verse to explain the situation. 0:26:58.920 --> 0:27:00.800 It didn't make sense, so they had to add you 0:27:00.800 --> 0:27:03.440 can go back to your job now. They had but 0:27:03.520 --> 0:27:05.280 come here real quick, real quick, real quick, real quick. 0:27:06.080 --> 0:27:09.399 So a lot of times when a situation in my 0:27:09.480 --> 0:27:15.480 life doesn't make sense to me, I add averse. I 0:27:15.600 --> 0:27:20.040 add averse. You know how we do? It's like, okay, 0:27:20.880 --> 0:27:24.520 Rather than deal with it, I would rather explain it 0:27:24.560 --> 0:27:28.000 in a way that excuses me from having to deal 0:27:28.040 --> 0:27:31.200 with it. There's a reason. Verse four isn't in there 0:27:31.600 --> 0:27:34.720 because it's not in there. There's some stuff that you're 0:27:34.720 --> 0:27:38.520 putting in your story that doesn't belong there because God 0:27:38.560 --> 0:27:46.160 didn't speak it, and it's not true anymore. You go back, 0:27:48.000 --> 0:27:52.200 see what the man said reflects a broken system, and 0:27:52.240 --> 0:27:56.320 it reflects a bad story. That's another bs. The devil 0:27:56.359 --> 0:27:59.560 has got some of us telling ourselves some really bad 0:27:59.640 --> 0:28:02.520 story worries, and this man has been telling himself a 0:28:02.600 --> 0:28:06.800 story thirty eight years. No one wants to help me. 0:28:07.119 --> 0:28:10.080 Everybody's out to get me every time I try. No 0:28:10.160 --> 0:28:12.600 one wants to help me. Everybody's out to get me 0:28:12.960 --> 0:28:16.320 every time I try. So here comes Jesus. He doesn't 0:28:16.359 --> 0:28:19.879 know Jesus. He's never met Jesus. Jesus is new to 0:28:19.960 --> 0:28:23.520 the scene. Jesus hasn't even done the Captain D's miracle yet, 0:28:23.640 --> 0:28:27.040 that's in John chapter six. He hasn't even gotten familiar 0:28:27.080 --> 0:28:29.880 with this guy yet. He hasn't even had an opportunity 0:28:29.920 --> 0:28:33.240 to unpack the whole historicity of his situation. So he's 0:28:33.240 --> 0:28:37.200 standing in front of Jesus and he's rightfully skeptical because 0:28:37.200 --> 0:28:40.520 he's in a broken system where the religious leaders are 0:28:40.560 --> 0:28:43.080 trying to let the first ones in and keep the 0:28:43.160 --> 0:28:46.160 rest back. And unless you keep the law this good, 0:28:46.280 --> 0:28:51.240 you can't be healed. Of course, he's stuck. He's stuck 0:28:51.280 --> 0:28:55.280 in a broken system. So are some of us. He's 0:28:55.280 --> 0:28:58.200 stuck in a bad story, and so are some of us. 0:29:00.040 --> 0:29:05.440 We've inserted versus that aren't even there to explain why 0:29:05.480 --> 0:29:08.920 we are the way we are. We think is our 0:29:09.000 --> 0:29:13.400 job to suffer. You know, suffering for Christ and for 0:29:13.440 --> 0:29:15.440 the good of others is one thing, and sacrifice this. 0:29:16.400 --> 0:29:18.640 But to suffer the shame that He already took away 0:29:18.680 --> 0:29:21.840 from you is to snatch back what he nailed to 0:29:21.880 --> 0:29:26.440 the cross. It is not your job to suffer like that. 0:29:26.440 --> 0:29:30.080 That's a broken system. I'm telling you, men and women 0:29:30.080 --> 0:29:32.920 of the Most High God. Religion is a broken system. 0:29:34.000 --> 0:29:36.320 That's why Jesus went for one to show you this 0:29:36.360 --> 0:29:39.440 is a relationship. I want to deal with you one 0:29:39.480 --> 0:29:42.040 on one. I want to speak to you like a person, 0:29:42.360 --> 0:29:44.760 not like you're some kind of project, not like you're 0:29:44.800 --> 0:29:54.320 some kind of defect. I don't have anybody to help me. 0:29:55.480 --> 0:30:00.720 Trust me, I'm trying. I really try it. If you 0:30:00.800 --> 0:30:03.280 knew how hard I was trying, you wouldn't make fun 0:30:03.320 --> 0:30:05.920 of me like that and ask me do I want 0:30:05.920 --> 0:30:10.960 to get well? I don't have any help? And see 0:30:10.960 --> 0:30:16.800 that was true five minutes ago, but the situation has changed. 0:30:19.240 --> 0:30:22.160 What he said used to be true. It was true 0:30:22.200 --> 0:30:25.920 for a long time. And then Grace shows up at 0:30:25.920 --> 0:30:32.360 the pool at Bethesda. Five porches. Five is the number 0:30:32.400 --> 0:30:37.440 of Grace always symbolism. There's levels to this text. We 0:30:37.520 --> 0:30:41.080 could preach a series on this text. Now Grace is 0:30:41.120 --> 0:30:47.040 here in what used to be true isn't true anymore? 0:30:48.440 --> 0:30:51.560 Are you still stuck in something that used to be 0:30:51.600 --> 0:30:58.760 true but it isn't true anymore? I bet he would 0:30:58.760 --> 0:31:03.480 be tired thirty eight years of fighting off the vultures, 0:31:03.480 --> 0:31:07.080 in thirty eight years of looking out for yourself. And 0:31:07.120 --> 0:31:10.360 you kind of have to live that way until Grace 0:31:10.400 --> 0:31:14.800 becomes the dominant reality in your life. And then Jesus 0:31:14.800 --> 0:31:20.200 comes into your life and everything changes. But sometimes we 0:31:20.320 --> 0:31:26.840 keep living off of the old story, the bad story. 0:31:27.400 --> 0:31:36.680 No one will help me and Jesus like I'm someone. Now, 0:31:36.680 --> 0:31:42.960 the question is this, how did Jesus command the man 0:31:43.840 --> 0:31:49.320 to get up if the man couldn't walk in the 0:31:49.320 --> 0:31:55.600 first place. A careful reading of the text will reward 0:31:55.680 --> 0:32:01.520 us in this moment. One interpretation is that his healing 0:32:02.480 --> 0:32:07.160 was his reward for obedience. That's religion. It's a bad 0:32:07.200 --> 0:32:12.120 story because the fact of the matter is, if trying 0:32:12.160 --> 0:32:15.000 harder could have made me better, I'd be better by now. 0:32:16.760 --> 0:32:21.400 I tried that, diet, I tried that. I wasn't going 0:32:21.480 --> 0:32:23.400 to do this, and I wasn't going to do that, 0:32:23.600 --> 0:32:25.800 and I wasn't going to do the other. You've tried 0:32:25.840 --> 0:32:29.720 that already, and if it could work, it would have 0:32:29.760 --> 0:32:35.800 worked by now. So the man said, I'm trying, and 0:32:35.920 --> 0:32:43.959 Jesus said, trust me. Get up, take up your mat 0:32:44.840 --> 0:32:53.600 and walk. I'm trying, Jesus said, and trust me. I'm trying. 0:32:55.320 --> 0:33:03.920 Trust me. That's the real task is to trust. That's 0:33:03.960 --> 0:33:08.160 always been the real work. John Chapter five is in 0:33:08.240 --> 0:33:12.760 a text about being lazy. Come on, get up, make 0:33:12.880 --> 0:33:16.040 up your bed, get on the treadmill, go get them tiger, 0:33:16.320 --> 0:33:18.560 this is your day. This is not a pep talk. 0:33:20.400 --> 0:33:24.800 This is a complete reversal of the systems of this world. 0:33:25.600 --> 0:33:31.320 It is a contrast of works and grace. That's why 0:33:31.440 --> 0:33:34.600 it had to happen on the Sabbath. The moment that 0:33:34.680 --> 0:33:37.880 he picked up his mat, he was doing work, and 0:33:37.960 --> 0:33:40.960 the moment that he was doing work. It made everybody 0:33:40.960 --> 0:33:44.080 who was in power mad because he wasn't supposed to 0:33:44.080 --> 0:33:47.720 do work. The whole reason that Jesus showed up for 0:33:47.800 --> 0:33:53.160 one person was that he wanted to overturn an entire system. 0:33:53.520 --> 0:33:57.120 There is one situation in your life right now that 0:33:57.160 --> 0:34:01.000 God is trying to use and by a dress this situation, 0:34:01.240 --> 0:34:05.320 I promise you it's gonna change the whole system because 0:34:05.400 --> 0:34:08.880 up until this point, you've been trying trying. I'm trying 0:34:08.920 --> 0:34:11.320 to love God. I'm trying to bring war. I'm trying 0:34:11.320 --> 0:34:13.520 to read my Bible, I'm trying to eat my Broucoli. 0:34:13.680 --> 0:34:15.799 I'm trying to be a nice person. I'm trying to 0:34:15.840 --> 0:34:18.399 be kinder, I'm trying to do better. And God said, 0:34:18.440 --> 0:34:22.960 I see you trying. Will you trust me? Will you 0:34:23.040 --> 0:34:27.239 trust me enough to get up when you feel like 0:34:27.320 --> 0:34:30.600 you can't get up, to praise me when you don't 0:34:30.640 --> 0:34:33.440 feel like you want to praise me? Do you trust 0:34:33.480 --> 0:34:37.960 me enough? I know you've been trying, but do you 0:34:38.080 --> 0:34:41.000 trust me? This is a trust moment, This is a 0:34:41.040 --> 0:34:49.759 trust decision. Sometimes my trying gets in the way of 0:34:49.800 --> 0:34:57.439 my trusting. And this man got up because he had 0:34:57.440 --> 0:35:01.279 been healed, and you keep thinking that you will be 0:35:01.360 --> 0:35:05.200 healed if you can get up, but you can't, and 0:35:05.239 --> 0:35:09.680 you're trying, and you're trying. And here's what's so funny 0:35:09.680 --> 0:35:13.760 about the text to me. The man said, I'm trying, 0:35:14.640 --> 0:35:21.520 and Jesus said, so am, I I'm trying to help you. 0:35:23.440 --> 0:35:27.359 I knew you couldn't reach that water. I knew you 0:35:27.400 --> 0:35:30.560 grew up in a really, really hard environment and there 0:35:30.640 --> 0:35:33.400 was some abuse. And I know you're trying to be 0:35:33.440 --> 0:35:35.960 a better man than your dad was, or I know 0:35:36.040 --> 0:35:37.719 that you're trying to be a better mom than your 0:35:37.719 --> 0:35:39.960 mom was, or I know you're trying to figure things 0:35:40.000 --> 0:35:43.000 out when the complexities are greater than anything you've ever seen. 0:35:43.239 --> 0:35:48.359 I see you trying, and I'm trying. Since you can't 0:35:48.360 --> 0:35:56.120 get to the water. I brought water to you. And 0:35:56.200 --> 0:36:01.000 what it does when you get up and you do 0:36:01.080 --> 0:36:05.800 what you didn't think you could do, It shocks the system. 0:36:06.040 --> 0:36:08.200 God said, some of you who have been lying in 0:36:08.239 --> 0:36:11.520 your condition for thirty eight years. I brought you to 0:36:11.640 --> 0:36:14.359 church today, not so you could just sing a few 0:36:14.440 --> 0:36:17.400 songs or hear a few words, but I want to 0:36:17.480 --> 0:36:21.320 shock the system. I want to stir up the waters. 0:36:21.880 --> 0:36:28.520 I want to heal. Watch this your will. You've lost 0:36:28.520 --> 0:36:33.319 your will. You've lost your will to be sweet, You've 0:36:33.360 --> 0:36:36.640 lost your will to be forgiving, You've lost your will 0:36:36.840 --> 0:36:39.360 to be whole. You don't even want that anymore because 0:36:39.400 --> 0:36:41.840 you tried to want it. And it hurts to have hope, 0:36:42.080 --> 0:36:45.759 especially when you're disappointed, especially when something gets in your way, 0:36:46.080 --> 0:36:48.799 especially when you keep pumping up against your own brokenness, 0:36:49.120 --> 0:36:53.719 especially when it's rigged against you. And I want to 0:36:54.320 --> 0:36:57.840 help you walk first. I need to help you want 0:37:00.120 --> 0:37:03.759 to want the right things again, for the right reasons, 0:37:05.000 --> 0:37:13.040 to heal your desires by the pool of Bodesda, here 0:37:13.120 --> 0:37:17.640 comes walking living water. That's what he told the Samaritan 0:37:18.200 --> 0:37:22.400 in John four. He said, within you will be rivers 0:37:22.400 --> 0:37:26.560 of living water. So I know you can't get to 0:37:26.600 --> 0:37:32.959 the water. Let the water come to you. You will 0:37:33.000 --> 0:37:37.440 not receive certain things in your life from trying, but 0:37:37.520 --> 0:37:48.760 only by trusting. Then we were at a pool seven 0:37:48.960 --> 0:37:51.880 or eight years ago, and Elijah wanted to swim, and 0:37:51.920 --> 0:37:54.680 we went down there as a hotel pool, and it 0:37:54.719 --> 0:37:58.799 had that pool smell, but we went in anyway. We 0:37:58.960 --> 0:38:01.879 just he was, I guess at that point seven years old, 0:38:01.960 --> 0:38:03.920 so I had to get some energy out, so we 0:38:03.960 --> 0:38:05.840 got into the pool. As soon as we got in, 0:38:05.960 --> 0:38:09.879 the doors busted open. The hotel manager said, hey, sir, 0:38:10.880 --> 0:38:14.239 I advise you to get out of that pool. I said, why, 0:38:14.520 --> 0:38:16.880 it's like the middle of the day. I'm like, stupid 0:38:16.960 --> 0:38:18.960 hotel rules. You know, I'm not one to really like 0:38:19.040 --> 0:38:21.480 stupid rules. I'm like, it's the middle of the day, 0:38:21.640 --> 0:38:24.439 there's nobody here. I am a registered guest, and about 0:38:24.480 --> 0:38:27.360 the time I'm in the middle of my imaginary speech. 0:38:27.400 --> 0:38:30.040 I'm usually nice externally. It's just what happens on the 0:38:30.040 --> 0:38:33.680 inside that makes me go to hell. But I said, 0:38:34.440 --> 0:38:36.799 I said, about the time I was about to say 0:38:36.800 --> 0:38:38.880 what I was about to say, he said, we just 0:38:38.920 --> 0:38:47.040 shocked it. I said, well, next time, we'll give you 0:38:47.120 --> 0:38:49.920 notice before you come. I don't want to shock your pool. 0:38:50.080 --> 0:38:56.440 He said, no, he said, sometimes the water, you know, 0:38:56.719 --> 0:39:00.600 once a week or something, has to have a treatment. 0:39:01.520 --> 0:39:06.719 We call it shocking the pool because when the chlorine 0:39:06.760 --> 0:39:10.360 combines with the I really don't want to tell you 0:39:10.400 --> 0:39:15.040 all this that's in this pool. This is an hotel 0:39:15.120 --> 0:39:26.360 pools or bacteria, sweat other fluids, pool fluids, hotel pool fluids. 0:39:28.880 --> 0:39:34.240 So once a week we got to shock it. Once 0:39:34.280 --> 0:39:39.560 a week. I come to church because sometimes my heart 0:39:41.120 --> 0:39:48.920 gets mixed up with some substances, some contaminants, some disappointments. 0:39:50.080 --> 0:39:53.480 Sometimes this world pollutes me. So when I come to church, 0:39:53.680 --> 0:39:59.680 please understand, I'm coming to treat my disappointments because I 0:39:59.719 --> 0:40:03.480 need living water and I don't want to die by 0:40:03.520 --> 0:40:06.520 the pool. So I came to church. And I don't 0:40:06.560 --> 0:40:08.160 know if you came to church for this reason. I 0:40:08.160 --> 0:40:10.919 don't really know why you came. But tell somebody, shock 0:40:11.000 --> 0:40:14.520 the waters. Jesus said, I came down to the pool 0:40:14.560 --> 0:40:18.320 in Pithesta, not just to look around and go home 0:40:18.760 --> 0:40:22.160 and pray a nice prayer. But I came to this pool, 0:40:22.200 --> 0:40:25.799 this house of mercy, to shock the waters. And it 0:40:26.040 --> 0:40:29.520 just might be that God brought you here this week 0:40:30.000 --> 0:40:33.759 because you've been in a state of disappointment. But God said, 0:40:33.800 --> 0:40:37.160 I'm about to shock the waters. I'm about to stir 0:40:37.280 --> 0:40:40.000 it up. You don't have to wait for an angel, 0:40:40.520 --> 0:40:42.560 you don't have to wait for somebody to get out 0:40:42.560 --> 0:40:44.840 of your way. You don't have to wait for a 0:40:44.920 --> 0:40:50.000 situational improvement. And we beheld his glory, the fullness of 0:40:50.040 --> 0:40:54.279 the Father, full of grace and truth. Living water is 0:40:54.360 --> 0:41:05.400 in the house. Trust me, I'm trying to bless you. 0:41:05.560 --> 0:41:09.160 I hear the voice of the Lord. Trust me. I'm 0:41:09.320 --> 0:41:14.160 trying to help you raise those kids. Trust me, I'm trying. 0:41:14.200 --> 0:41:17.440 You say, well, well, God doesn't try to do anything. 0:41:17.480 --> 0:41:19.720 He either does or he doesn't. Then why did Jesus 0:41:19.719 --> 0:41:21.640 go to Nazareth? And it says he couldn't do many 0:41:21.680 --> 0:41:30.600 miracles there? He tried to, but they tripped. I believe 0:41:30.640 --> 0:41:33.560 there are many for whom this message is just another 0:41:33.600 --> 0:41:39.240 Bible message. I believe there are some and maybe even few, 0:41:40.200 --> 0:41:43.839 that this is a definitive word for your life. You 0:41:43.880 --> 0:41:47.200 have been like that man. You have been paralyzed in 0:41:47.239 --> 0:41:50.520 an area of your life for a long time, and 0:41:50.600 --> 0:41:54.880 you've been trying. But you've been bitter for eight years 0:41:55.760 --> 0:41:59.160 over what the business partner did, and you keep trying. 0:42:00.680 --> 0:42:06.160 This is not about trying. This is about trust. You've 0:42:06.200 --> 0:42:08.440 been going back and forth and back and forth and 0:42:08.480 --> 0:42:13.040 back and forth for so long, and today God is saying, 0:42:14.400 --> 0:42:21.960 let the water come to you. Father. We declare this 0:42:22.960 --> 0:42:28.920 our sabbath, where we rest from our labor and enter 0:42:29.040 --> 0:42:34.360 into your grace, with everyone standing and no one moving 0:42:34.800 --> 0:42:39.520 at every location. If this has been a season for 0:42:39.600 --> 0:42:45.040 you of frustration, a season of you going to the 0:42:45.080 --> 0:42:48.360 pool over and over, and you've been blocked so many 0:42:48.400 --> 0:42:53.640 times now that quite honestly, you don't need just God 0:42:53.680 --> 0:42:56.840 to heal your legs, or to heal your bank account, 0:42:58.440 --> 0:43:03.040 or to just heal that one compulsive area in your life. 0:43:03.160 --> 0:43:04.920 But you need Jesus to do what he did for 0:43:04.960 --> 0:43:07.319 that unnamed man in John chapter five and heal your 0:43:07.400 --> 0:43:14.720 will and help you to want him again. The place 0:43:14.760 --> 0:43:19.360 to start is not pretending the man was healed partially 0:43:19.400 --> 0:43:24.560 because he was honest. I keep trying every time I 0:43:24.640 --> 0:43:32.239 try something someone, but there's a greater someone. There is 0:43:32.320 --> 0:43:38.080 a greater power than anything that you are struggling with 0:43:38.120 --> 0:43:43.239 that's pulling against you. This takes faith to trust him, 0:43:44.600 --> 0:43:46.520 to really believe that he made you like he wants 0:43:46.520 --> 0:43:50.480 to make you as short as he wanted to make you. 0:43:50.480 --> 0:43:52.400 You grew up in as small or as big of 0:43:52.400 --> 0:43:54.040 a town as he wanted you to grow up in. 0:43:54.320 --> 0:43:57.920 It takes trust, and all your life God has been 0:43:57.960 --> 0:44:02.560 trying to position you. All your life. God has been 0:44:02.560 --> 0:44:06.080 bringing things into alignment so that you can serve His purpose. 0:44:07.719 --> 0:44:12.040 And now he saying, trust me if this has been 0:44:12.040 --> 0:44:15.720 your word today, and there is an area of paralysis 0:44:15.760 --> 0:44:18.479 in your life. I want you with your head bowed, 0:44:18.480 --> 0:44:20.279 your eyes closed, and not looking around. You know, this 0:44:20.400 --> 0:44:22.600 man could have spent the rest of his life thirty 0:44:22.600 --> 0:44:27.439 eight more years talking about somebody else, somebody else, everybody else, 0:44:27.480 --> 0:44:30.760 somebody else. And sometimes that's what keeps us from getting 0:44:30.760 --> 0:44:33.719 what we need from God. Is somebody else? What will 0:44:33.760 --> 0:44:36.279 somebody else think? But when you come to the point 0:44:36.280 --> 0:44:38.759 where you've been trying long enough and you really just 0:44:38.840 --> 0:44:41.640 want to surrender to the mystery and give God everything 0:44:41.640 --> 0:44:43.799 that you are and everything that you're not, you don't 0:44:43.800 --> 0:44:46.640 mind lifting up your hands. So if this is your word, 0:44:46.719 --> 0:44:48.799 just lift up your hands for living water in this 0:44:48.880 --> 0:44:54.200 moment and shock the waters. Shock the waters. Worship shocks 0:44:54.200 --> 0:44:59.080 the waters. Worship stirs up the complacent heart. Worship realigns 0:44:59.120 --> 0:45:03.239 your affections and reconfigures your desires so that what you 0:45:03.360 --> 0:45:06.920 want is what God wants for you. Shock the waters today. 0:45:07.200 --> 0:45:11.360 You've gotten stagnant, you've gotten complacent, You started blaming everybody 0:45:11.360 --> 0:45:14.520 and everything. And this is not a time to try harder. 0:45:15.239 --> 0:45:21.960 It's a time to trust more to you and to 0:45:22.000 --> 0:45:27.280 say yes, I'll get up if you help me. I'm trying. 0:45:29.040 --> 0:45:36.200 Trust me. I'm trying. I'm trying to trust God, but 0:45:36.239 --> 0:45:39.560 I can't see him. I'm trying to trust God, but 0:45:39.640 --> 0:45:45.200 sometimes he feels far away. Why won't he speak to me? 0:45:45.239 --> 0:45:48.640 Why won't he helped me? He says, I'm trying. I'm 0:45:48.680 --> 0:45:50.919 trying to show you my presence. I'm trying to put 0:45:50.920 --> 0:45:56.279 people around you. I'm trying to help you. I'm here. 0:45:58.600 --> 0:46:01.759 You just are used to it. You're used to doing 0:46:01.800 --> 0:46:05.480 it alone, so you keep doing it alone. You keep 0:46:05.480 --> 0:46:11.120 telling yourself this story. You keep living in this system. 0:46:11.280 --> 0:46:17.480 But trust me. Thank you for joining us. Special thanks 0:46:17.480 --> 0:46:20.040 to those of you who give generously to this ministry. 0:46:20.400 --> 0:46:23.319 Is because of you that this ministry is possible. You 0:46:23.360 --> 0:46:25.759 can click the link in the description to give now, 0:46:26.320 --> 0:46:30.200 or visit Elevationchurch dot org slash podcast for more information 0:46:30.719 --> 0:46:33.880 and if you enjoyed the podcast, you can subscribe. You 0:46:33.920 --> 0:46:35.960 can share it with your friends. You can click the 0:46:35.960 --> 0:46:38.279 share button, take a screenshot and share it on your 0:46:38.280 --> 0:46:41.279 social stories and tag us at Elevation Church. Thanks again 0:46:41.280 --> 0:46:47.440 for listening. God bless you