Helps for Daily Life 5

TELL YOUR FRIENDS ABOUT THE WEBSITE BIBLE STUDIES!

(www.growingtogetherinchristslove.org)

BIBLE STUDY 2: HELPS FOR DAILY LIFE

 

A SERIES:  THERE IS HOPE

LESSON 5: John 5:1-18   DO YOU FEEL YOU NEED A MIRACLE?

 

 

John 5.1-18 (KJV)

^{1 “}After this there was a feast of the Jews; and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.  ²Now there is at Jerusalem by the sheep market a pool, which is called in the Hebrew tongue Bethesda, having five porches.  ³In these lay a great multitude of impotent folk, of blind, halt, withered, waiting for the moving of the water.  ⁴For 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.  ⁵And a certain man was there, which had an infirmity thirty and eight years.  ⁶When 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?  ⁷The 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.  ⁸Jesus saith unto him, Rise, take up thy bed, and walk.  ⁹And immediately the man was made whole, and took up his bed, and walked: and on the same day was the sabbath.  ¹⁰The Jews therefore said unto him that was cured, It is the Sabbath day: it is not lawful for thee to carry thy bed.  ¹¹He answered them, He that made me whole, the same said unto me, Take up thy bed, and walk.  ¹²Then asked they him, What man is that which said unto thee, Take up thy bed, and walk?  ¹³And he that was healed wist not who it was: for Jesus had conveyed himself away, a multitude being in that place.  ¹⁴Afterward 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.  ¹⁵The man departed, and told the Jews that it was Jesus, which had made him whole.  ¹⁶And therefore did the Jews persecute Jesus, and sought to slay him, because he had done these things on the Sabbath day.  ¹⁷But Jesus answered them, My Father worketh hitherto, and I work.  ¹⁸Therefore the Jews sought the more to kill him, because he not only had broken the Sabbath, but said also that God was his Father, making himself equal with God. 

In these verses, we encounter a man who is in need of a miracle.  It is altogether true that someone who are reading these words this very moment is in need of a miracle.  Times have been getting more and more complex.  You are exceptionally aware of the circumstances of your life are that have brought you to this meticulous point of impasse.  You know that a miracle from God is the only thing that is going to make any difference in your life and help in any way.

 

INTRODUCTION

 

PERHAPS YOU FEEL YOU NEED A MARRIAGE MIRACLE.  Tensions and the stresses of life in general have brought about a detachment in the relationship with your beloved spouse.  You have stood by powerlessly and now hopelessly it seems and watched a once close and intimate relationship slowly depreciate before your very eyes.  You are heartbroken and feel that if something positive does not come to pass and if measures do not transform, if circumstances do not reverse themselves your marriage is not going to endure this storm of life.  You and feel you are in need of a marriage miracle.

 

PERHAPS YOU FEEL YOU ARE IN NEED OF AN EMPLOYMENT MIRACLE.  It appears that occupation you have had where your were faithful for so many years is going to be terminated.  The economy is in horrific shape and you have no genuine feasible prospects at this point in time.  If something does not change very soon you are going to be absent a job and you need an employment miracle.

 

PERHAPS YOU NEED A FINANCIAL MIRACLE.  You have always been one conscientious and serious about paying your debts.  You have daily financial requirements in order to support your family and put food on the table and maintain a roof over their heads.  There are some some deadlines coming up.  There are some notes are coming due.  There are some monthly bills that need to be paid.  Maybe your 401-K has hit the bottom and you are getting geared up to retire.  If something does not happen you are not going to be able to retire.  You really need a financial miracle.

 

MAYBE YOU NEED A PHYSICAL MIRACLE.  You have been comparatively healthy most of your life, but the other day when you went to the doctor you received some disconcerting news from some tests.  The doctor talked to you and gave you some alternatives for you to think about in dealing with your physical condition.  None of those options seem very optimistic at this point.  You thought these are the kind of things that happen to other people and not to you; nevertheless, here you are in a physical quandary you never dreamed of and it is going to be obligatory for you to make some life altering resolutions.  You need a physical miracle.

 

In this true story was an actual man who came to the Lord Jesus Christ and what happened to him is what needs to happen to everyone when we are in need of a miracle and truly expect to experience a miracle.  This man met

Jesus at his point of need and we need to meet Jesus there also.

 

The man’s name is not mentioned in these verses.  We are just simply told in verse 5 that it was a certain man.  He is unidentified.  We will not know his name until we get to heaven.  He is just one of the crowd.  He has come to the pool of Bethesda.  So as we go along, may I suggest, for the sake of getting personal with this wonderful story, that you put your name there in the place of this “CERTAIN MAN”.

 

We are told a little bit about that pool in verse 2.  It was near the sheep gate.  It was a pool that had five porches.  Those who have been to the Holy Lands on tour tell me that when you go to Israel they will take you to St. Anne’s Church which is near where that sheep gate was.  The city of Jerusalem had a number of gates that you could go through.  THE SHEEP GATE was one of them where they would bring in the sheep to be carried to the sheep market.  There the sheep would be purchased and many of them would be carried over to the temple to be sacrificed.  So near the “THE SHEEP GATE” which is called the “GATE OF SACRIFICE”, where the lambs of sacrifice were bought and sold, was this particular pool, “BETHESDA”.

 

Around St. Anne’s Church they have found two pools and they have found five porches.  In addition, in that area they have found a faded fresco which is a picture of an angel who is moving the water.  Therefore, it is believed that this is the pool that is referred to in these verses of Scripture.

 

The name “Bethesda” means “House of Mercy.”  How interesting that at the “Gate of Sacrifice” there is a pool which is the “House of Mercy”.

 

Here is a man sitting at the pool of   “BETHESDA” – “THE HOUSE OF MERCY” and we are told in verse 3 that he was just one part of a great multitude.  There were a lot of people there.  When you look at the people there you will ascertain that it was not the normal crowd that people would like to be around necessarily.  Here are real victims, here are people who have real needs, people who have real problems, a great multitude of impotent folks.  People who have all kinds of problems.

 

Today we want it different from that, do we not?  We want everything to be perfect.  We want perfect people.  We want people with perfect bodies, athletic chiseled bodies.  We want somebody that has a personal trainer to help them have an ideal body.  We want people with stable personalities.  We want the sophisticated and the polished.

 

Yet here lay a great multitude of people who had all kinds of needs.  By the way, these are the very people that Jesus left heaven and came all the way to this earth to die on the cross for.

 

Sometimes you will go to a church and you will find that there are a lot of people that are members there or people that attend there who have a lot of problems.  You may find that there are many people there who have shattered lives.  You may find that there are many people that are struggling.  That just goes to show us that a Church is not a trophy case for the display of perfect saints.  It is a hospital for the nurture and the care and the healing of hurting saints.  That is what a church is all about.  That’s why we are here.

 

Unfortunately, you will find that a lot of members in some churches do not want to have these kinds of people around.  Nevertheless, I want to tell the saint and sinner alike, it is a compliment when a church draws attention of people who have needs.  It is a congratulation to the church when there are people who come who have problems.  When people come who have hurts and when people come who have need of miracles in their life.

 

This man is one of a multitude of people who have special needs.  So let’s zoom the camera lens in a little closer on the Scriptures for a moment because I want to call you attention first of all to:

 

INTERPRETATION AND EXPLANATION

 

I.          A NEEDFUL MAN.  The Bible says he was “A CERTAIN MAN.”  Now don’t forget to put your name in that space.  [Billà Aliceà Georgeà Sallyà]  He was there and he had an infirmity.  That is, he had a sickness for 38 years.  You will notice that this man is a powerless man.  It says in verse 3 that it was a multitude of impotent folk.  That word is used in Romans 5:6 where it describes our condition before God.  It says we were without strength.  What a picture that is of what sin does to us and how the disease of sin gets hold of us.  Here is a man who is without strength.

 

A.        THIS MAN WAS POWERLESS.  It is interesting to notice that in verse 14, this man’s particular physical ailment was due to his personal sin.  Look at what Jesus said to him later on after the cure.  “Behold, thou art made whole; sin no more lest a worse thing come unto thee.”  Jesus is saying you were sick in the first place because of a problem of sin in your life.  That is not always the case.  One point of disagreement I have with the faith healers today is right at this point.  Sickness today is not always a direct result of personal sin.  If you question that, read the Gospel of John, 9th chapter, and read about the man who was born blind.  The disciples asked Jesus, “Lord, who did sin because this man was born blind?  Did he sin or did his parents sin?”  Jesus basically said, “Neither one, but that the glory of God might be made manifest in him.”  

 

Not all sickness is due to personal sin.  Ultimately we know that all    sickness is due to sin.  Coming out of the Garden of Eden, among many of the ill effects that flowed out of that disastrous experience was the whole problem of sin and sickness.  One of these days when Christ comes and we are in the glorious heavenly city, there will be no more sin; therefore there will be no more sickness.  It is true that in some instances people are sick because of personal sin.  This is one of those instances.

 

When you read in the Bible about different diseases, many times these diseases are illustrations of what sin is like and the devastating effects of sin.  Look at verse 3, it tells us the kind of folks who were there.  “Blind, halt (lame), withered (dried up, waiting for the moving of the water).  Blindness is a picture of sin because sin blinds us to the things of God.  Blinds us to what life is all about.  The Bible says the God of this world hath blinded the eyes of them that believe not.

 

The word, “HALT”, means to be limping, to be crippled.  Sin is a crippler.  It keeps people from knowing how to walk and how to live life.  Withered sin has a way of drying up your life and wasting your life.  How many people’s lives are wasted today by the devastating effects of sin?

 

Think about all of the havoc that sin reeks in the lives of people today.  Think of all of the heartache.  Think of all of the shattered homes.  Think of all the turmoil.  Think of all of the conflict.  Think of all of the embarrassment.  Think of all of the disaster.  All of the things that sin brings into the life of a person.  Here is a man who is powerless.

 

B.        THIS MAN WAS HELPLESS.  He is sitting there at the pool of Bethesda.  I do not know how long he had been sitting there or how long he came there.  Maybe not all of the 38 years, but evidently he had been coming for a long, long time and had been sitting at that pool.

 

In the oldest manuscripts the 4th verse is not found.  I’m reading and studying from the King James text.  Nevertheless, in verse 7 it makes reference to the troubling of the water.  In verse 3 it talks about the moving of the water.  Therefore, it is altogether possible clear to me that this is exactly what happened.  From time to time an angel would come down and would trouble the water and there seemed to be some kind of healing power in the troubling of that water.

 

Therefore, here is a man sitting by a pool waiting for something to happen.  Is that you?  Some of you have been sitting by some of the pools of this old world waiting for something to happen.  From time to time something does happen.  There are certain social provisions in life and you read success stories from time to time.  Something gets stirred up.  Some people get better.  I’m glad and thankful for it.  If there is something that helps a person on alcohol, get off of alcohol, I am grateful.  If there is something that helps a person get off of drugs, I am grateful.  Nevertheless, you may be sitting by the wrong pool.  You may be waiting for the moving of the water at the right place.

 

This man is basically helpless.  He is evidently a cripple.  He cannot walk.  In verse 7 he says “I have no man when the waters trouble to put me in the pool; but while I am coming another steps down before me.”  It was every man for himself.  Does that sound like the day in which we live?  Everybody for himself.  Just get yours and do not worry about anybody else.

 

This man said “I do not have any man.”  “I have no man.”  Isn’t that a sad statement?  It reminds me of the statement David made in one of his psalms when David said, “No man cares for my soul”.  That is a sad thing.  Are you sitting there today saying, “Nobody cares anything about me?  I live and go about my work and my day and people do not care if I am alive or dead.  They do not care if I am there or not there.  Nobody cares for me.”  

 

APPLICATION

 

LET ME ASK THE CHURCH LEADERS AND MEMBERS SOMETHING?

 

Some of you who are teaching boys and girls and children, in Sunday School, do those boys and girls know that you care?  Do you know that little boy that came to your class last week for the first time?  Do you know if He came out of a bad situation?  Do you care enough to find out?  Have you bothered to take the time to check on him this week?  Have you thought about giving him a phone call?  Do you care about him enough that you have made a visit to his home?  Who is going to care about these boys and girls in this world if God’s people don’t care?

 

All of you who attend services faithfully and truly worship God and pray for people, do you notice people who are usually there that are absent or do you give attention to visitors when they come?  Do you care about those who are absent in worship to call or visit them to see if they have a need and to let them know they were missed.  Do you care enough about visitors to go out of your way to make any and every visitor know they are welcome and have a special place in every service?

 

Those of you who are deacons, you are the Pastor’s co-laborers in the ministry of the church.  You are not a board and you are not bosses but you are ministers.  Do you care enough about the church family and every person who enters the doors of the church to stay in contact with them to make sure they know they are loved and cared for?  If someone leaves the church do you care enough to go and talk to them and find out what the problem is and try to make reconciliation and pray with them?  Do you look after your Pastor in every way possible and let him know in word and in deeds that you love and respect him as God’s undershepherd of the church?

 

God has placed you in a place, no matter where it may be, where there are thousands of needy hurting people all around you.  You have the tools, you have the message, you have the opportunity to reach out and care for people in the name of Jesus Christ.  Of All People We Need To Care.  We all know somebody who needs Jesus.  

 

C.        THIS MAN WAS HOPELESS.  He has been in this situation for 38 years.  The book of Proverbs says, “Hope deferred maketh the heart sick.”  Think about it.  Thirty-eight years and no cure.  Thirty-eight years he could not walk.  Thirty-eight years there was no help for him.  He has come to the point where he has lost all hope in life.  Maybe there is somebody reading and studying this and you need a miracle but you have lost all hope.  You have just about given up.  For this man the pool of mercy has become a pool of misery.  He is a needy man.

 

INTERPRETATION AND EXPLANATION

 

Nevertheless, He meets:

II.        A POWERFUL MASTER.  This man said “no man cares for my soul.”  However, there was one man who cared for his soul and his name was Jesus.  There is one man who cares who is a master, a great physician.  His name is Jesus.  Nobody may have cared about this man for all of these years.  Nobody may have cared about this man at that pool until Jesus came walking up.  When Jesus gets on the scene there is somebody who cares.

 

I can promise you from my own life experience that no one ever cared for me like Jesus.  The words of that old song we would sing in Worship services long ago says it better that I – look at what it says.

 

“I would love to tell you what I think of Jesus,--- Since I found in Him a friend so strong and true;

I would tell you how He changed my life completely,---He did something that no other friend could do.”

 

“All my life was full of sin when Jesus found me,---All my heart was full of misery and woe;

Jesus placed His strong and loving arms about me,---And He led me in the way I ought to go.”

 

“Ev’ry day He comes to me with new assurance,---More and more I understand His words of love;

But I’ll never know just why He came to save me,---Till someday I see His blessed face above.”

 

“No one ever cared for me like Jesus,---There’s no other friend so kind as He;

No one else could take the sin and darkness from me,---O how much he cared for me.”

 

Look at this picture of Jesus.  I love teaching and preaching about Jesus.  All of the Bible is about Jesus.  I made up my mind a long time ago that wherever I’m teaching and preaching in the Bible, that before the study or message was over, I would beat a path to Jesus.  I really do enjoy reading and studying these scriptures that directly have to do with Jesus coming on the scene and with Jesus doing something.  This is one of them.  Jesus comes walking through that sheep gate.  Jesus would be the Lamb of God who would take away the sins of the world.  Jesus came walking into that pool.  Jesus Christ is the Great Physician who can bring about miracle-working cures in the lives of individuals.

 

Let’s take a look at this powerful man Jesus.

A.        JESUS SEES.  “When Jesus saw him…”  (Verse 6)  Jesus sees this man.  He sees.  Did you know Jesus saw you this morning?  Jesus saw your yesterday.  Whatever you may go through in the morning, whatever challenges you may face tomorrow, whatever problems you have been going through at your house Jesus sees and he cares. 

 

B.        JESUS KNOWS.  “When Jesus saw the man and knew. . .”  You go to the doctor and they will pull your name up on the computer and they will pull your record out and tell you all of your medical history.  Jesus never had to refer any computer.  Jesus never had to pull out any records, anywhere.  Jesus Christ knows everything about you and me.  He knows all about it.  He knows what your need is today.  Jesus sees the man and he knows that he has needs.  He knows all about him.

 

C.        JESUS SEARCHES.  He is going to search this man’s heart.  Jesus says an amazing statement in verse 6.  “Wilt thou be made whole?”  Putting it in our vernacular today, “Do you want to get well?”  IS that not an astonishing statement!  Here is a man who for thirty-eight years has been sick.  Here’s a man who has been coming to a pool, hopeful that he will get well.  Here’s a man that the desire and hope of his life is that he wants to get well and Jesus says, “Do you want to get well?”  Of course, Jesus, he wants to get well.  What are you talking about?

Do not be so hasty.  Did you know that there are some people who find ill health to be convenient?  Some folks, if you do not want to know how bad they are doing, do not ask them how they are doing.  Some people rather enjoy poor health.  For some people it has become a convenient crutch.  It is an attention getter.  It is an opportunity for self-pity.  

The same thing is true in the spiritual realm.  Do you want to get well?  There are some people in the spiritual realm and the question really is do you want to change?  Not everybody wants to change.  Some of have been in a life of sin so long you have gotten adjusted to it and you think it is normal.  You let somebody walk into some offices in this city and if they do not drink liquor and they do not run around with women and they do not cuss and all that kind of stuff people look at them and say, “My gracious alive, how abnormal can you get?”  They have been in sin so long they think that is what life is all about.  They think that is normal life.

They do not want to change.  You would like a miracle today to get you out of your financial problem.  You would like a miracle today to get your wife to not leave you as she as threatened to do.  You would like a miracle today to straighten out some trouble you are in, but you don’t really want to change your lifestyle.  Am I right?  Am I telling the truth?  Am I not?

 

THERE IS THE SOVEREIGNTY OF GOD.  Here is another thing I want you to notice.  Jesus asked the man, “Will you?”  In doing that Jesus addresses the man’s will.  “Will you be made whole?”  Divine omnipotence never runs roughshod over the human will.  I believe in divine sovereignty.  The Bible clearly teaches the sovereignty of God.  God is sovereign over all.  When it is all said and done, God’s will is ultimately going to be done.

 

THERE IS THE WILL OF MAN.  I also believe in the freedom of the human will.  God, in His divine sovereignty, has chosen to give to man a will.  You have a will.  You have the ability to choose.  God does not run roughshod over your will.  God appeals, but He does not attack.  God moves, but He does not mug.  God extends His grace, but God does not impose His grace.  You have a will.  You have a choice in the matter.

Sitting right there in your seat today you have a choice.  If you decide to, if you will to, you can be lost forever.  If you absolutely insist on it, you can die and spend eternity in a devil’s hell.  God has given to you a will.  “Will you be made whole?

 

JESUS SEES.  JESUS KNOWS.  JESUS SEARCHES.  

D.        JESUS SAYS.  Look at verse 8, “Jesus saith unto him. . .”  He gave three quick, clear, crisp commands.  Keep in mind that here’s a man who has been sick for 38 years.  Here is a man who has been unable to walk for 38 years.  Jesus says, “Rise, take up your bed, walk.”  “Rise” do the impossible.  Do what he could not do before.  “Take up your bed” do not leave any provisions for a relapse.  “And walk” literally the word walk means, “walk around now, start doing what you have not been able to do for 38 years”.  

 

APPLICATION

 

Jesus Christ gives power where power was previously not.  Jesus Christ can give you the ability to live for Him.  You got a drug problem?  Jesus can give you power over it.  You got a drinking problem?  He can give you power over it.  You got a lust problem?  He can give you power over it.  You got a disposition problem?  He can give you power over it.

 

The Apostle Paul said one time that “God has enabled me, having put me into the ministry.”  He was saying “where God put me, He gives me the power to perform.”  Christ can give you the power to be everything He wants to save you to be.

 

INTERPRETATION AND EXPLANATION

 

In this true story we have seen A NEEDFUL MAN and A POWERFUL MASTER.  Then finally we see:

III.       A WONDERFUL MIRACLE. 

 

A.        THIS MAN WAS CURED.  Look at this cure in verse 9, “And immediately”.  That means suddenly.  That means on the spot.  The man was made whole.  He is cured.  He takes up his bed and walks.  He is immediately cured.  God can do a miracle in your life.  He can change your life instantaneously.  You may have rolled out of bed this morning lost in your sin.  You can go to bed tonight forgiven and set free.

You may be sitting there paralyzed by sin.  You can walk away freed by the power of Jesus Christ.  Jesus Christ gives instantaneous cures to the sin problem.

 

B.        THIS MAN WAS CRITICIZED.  Look at the last part of verse 9, “And on the same day was the Sabbath”.  What was the Sabbath?  Well it wasn’t today.  Sunday is not the Sabbath.  You can call it the Christian Sabbath if you desire.  However, literally speaking, Sunday is not the Sabbath.  Saturday is the Sabbath.  It commemorated God’s act of creation.  The seventh day was the day of completion, the day God rested after His work of creation.

 

Jesus healed this man on the day of the Sabbath and it says in verse 10, “The Jews therefore said unto him that was cured.”  Here is a man who for thirty-eight years has had a sickness.  For thirty-eight years has not been able to walk.  Wouldn’t you think everybody would be happy?  Wouldn’t think everybody would rejoice in the cure of this man?  Yet, here come the religious police.  They say to him, “Today is the Sabbath.  You cannot walk around with your bed rolled like that.  It is against the rules.”  

 

Every time people get saved, I think about new converts and I say, “Oh, Lord, I hope they do not meet some Christians I know.”  There are always those who will try to rain on anyone’s parade.  They will say, “What are you so happy for?  You will get over it.  Sit down; you are disturbing the worship service.  You are too excited.  You have too much joy.  You are too free.”  

 

It does not matter what anybody says.  All that really matters is, if you are in need of a miracle today and you meet the Lord Jesus Christ and He gives you a miraculous cure, that is all that really matters.  Ninety-nine point nine percent of the people are going to be happy and rejoice with you.

 

The Bible says that there will be rejoicing in the presence of the angels of heaven over one sinner who repents.

 

C.        HE IS CHALLENGED.  Verse 14 Jesus finds him in the temple.  That’s a pretty good sign right there, isn’t it?  Now that the man is cured, you find him in the temple.  Am I saying that you have to join the church in order to be saved?  No.  I m not saying that at all.  However, I am saying that there is a pretty good evidence that a person has been changed in his life and loves the Lord and now loves the church.  It is inconsistent to me for someone to say, “I love Jesus, but I’m not interested in the church at all”.  The Bible says “Christ loved the church and gave himself for it.”

 

Christ has saved me and the least I can do is be involved in His church.  That’d the easy part.  I’m not saying you’re not saved if you don’t join the church.  I’m not saying you are not saved if you don’t attend church.  However, I’m saying to you that’s the easy part of the Christian life.  If you cannot do that, does it not raise at least a little question in your mind about the reality of your experience with the Lord?

 

God the Father did the creation work and it took a miracle.  Now, he does the salvation work and it takes another miracle.  If you need a miracle, no matter what that miracle may be, may I challenge you to Meet Jesus today?

To find more help in receiving Jesus Christ as your personal Savior please go to the Bible Study Title Page “ETERNAL LIFE”.  Please send me an email and respond to me about any decision for Christ you make so that I may pray for you.  Feel free to send me any questions, comments, or responses you may have as well.  For those who are already Christians I invite you to also please let me know of any decisions you make in your Christian life for Jesus.  Feel free to send me any questions, comments, or responses you may have and let me know if the Bible Studies are helping you.  [rfdenning1951@gmail.com]

ALWAYS REMEMBER!

The support of your local Church ministry and the ministry of your Pastor should be the first priority of your Christian life and your service to the Lord.  Be faithful to prayerfully prepare and attend Sunday School and Worship Service this Sunday and participate in worship as your Pastor preaches the Word.  Do not forget to give the Lord at least your TITHE through your local church from your gross income – that is your first fruits.  Any other other giving is an offering to a ministry unto the Lord.  Honor the Lord in all you do and with all that you have.  Always remember that everything you have and all you are belongs to the Lord.  It is on loan to you – so manage it well!  There will be an audit one day!  Make sure the Books Balance!