Finding Focus for Your Faith
John 5:1-18
Intro:
Many accidents are caused by people who are talking on their cell phones. They carry on conversations, and their focus is on the conversation instead of on the road ahead of them. So often we too, have our focus on something or someone instead of where it should be and that is on Christ.
I. The Focus vs1-7
Ill. Survey: How many of you have ever walked into the bathroom of the opposite sex?
A couple of weeks ago, my wife and I had to go to Mobile, and on the way home we stopped by Wal-mart in Daphne. After a few minutes in the store we noticed that Isabella began to leak through her diaper. So I walked Kathryne around the store while Lysandra went to change Isabella’s diaper. Lysandra walked into an empty bathroom and headed straight over to the changing station. As she is changing the diaper she hears the door open and, out of the corner of her eye, she sees about an 8 year old boy in his baseball uniform. She thinks to herself, “Come on mother, this boy is a little too old to bring in the women’s restroom with you. I think he can go by himself.” She continues with her business, and the door opens again. She thinks to herself again, “Those footsteps sound an awful lot like men’s shoes.” She gathers the courage to look over and what she sees frightens her. URINALS!!! She said, “Am I in the men’s restroom?” To which the man replied, “Yep.” She began to apologize, “I am so sorry! I’ll be out in a minute.” She finished changing the baby and got out of there quickly. A few minutes later she came up to me and said, “You’ll never guess what I just did!” I looked at her face all bright red and said, “You went in the men’s restroom didn’t you.”
My wife went into the men’s restroom, because she was so focused on the leaky diaper that she didn’t notice the little picture on the door wearing pants. Similarly all of these sick people had their focus on something else besides what they should have. They were all watching the pool waiting for it to stir so they could dive in hoping they are the first one in. No one even noticed that Jesus had come by. He had to get the attention of this man. Many times the sick made their way to Jesus or yelled to Him as He passed by.
Examples: Woman with the issue of blood, lame man let down through the ceiling, and Blind man at the gate.
Example of losing focus: Peter walking on the water. Peter’s focus started off where it should be, and that is on the Savior, but he then noticed the storm all around him and the waves crashing, and his focus was shifted from the Savior to the storm. Many of you are facing tough times and situations. Is your focus on those storms, or on the one who can calm them?
When his focus was on waiting for an angel to stir the water then on Jesus, he made excuses for why he couldn’t be healed. He blamed others instead of taking personal responsibility.
II. The Faith vs. 8-9
Jesus drew his attention to where it should have been, and that is on the Savior. Notice that this man had been crippled for 38 years. He had been at this pool for some time hoping to be the first one in the pool when the water was troubled. But there were many people there waiting for a miracle and it seems that every time the water was troubled that he is never the first one in. It was him against a great multitude (vs. 3). Jesus comes up to this man. Jesus sought him out. Jesus simply told the man to stand up and pick up his bed and walk, something the man hadn’t done in 38 years, but he obeyed, and why did he obey, because he believed. God wants to do great things in us and through us, but we have to trust Him to do those things. We must rest in Him like He is our only hope. This man had no other chance to be healed. He was never going to be the first one to get in that pool when the water was troubled. Everywhere Jesus went He did great things. He healed people, because of their faith. Over and over again we hear Jesus say, “Thy faith hath made thee whole.” In Hebrews ch. 11 we see many great things that were done, because people had faith in God. One of the modern day heroes of faith is George Mueller. George Mueller started many orphanages without raising the funds to do so. He simply trusted God to do the work and keep it going. On more than one occasion God provided for those orphans in a miraculous way. On one occasion they had no food to feed the orphans and yet George gathered all the orphans around the table and began to thank the Lord for the food. At the end of the prayer, he said, “Amen”, and that’s when they heard a knock at the door. A truck with milk and food had broken down just down the road and all the food was going to spoil so the driver gave it to the orphans. All because George Mueller believed that God would take care of His children.
Do we have that kind of faith, where we can take all of our problems and trust the Lord to take care of them?
III. The Fallout vs. 10-18
A. The Sabbath. vs. 10-11
Today was the Sabbath day, and the Jews notice a man walking down the street carrying his bed, which was against the law. The Jews’ focus was also off of where it should be. They also had no faith. They were trying to earn favor with God by keeping the law. They were looking to organized religion instead of to a relationship. So this guy is caught carrying his bed on the Sabbath day, and he says, “This guy healed me and told me to take up my bed and walk so I did.”
B. The Slip vs. 12-13
“Well who is this guy that healed you?” “I don’t know, he slipped out.”
C. The Son vs. 14-18
A little while later Jesus confronted the healed man, and told him to sin no more. The healed man went back and told the Jews that it was Jesus that had healed him. The Jews were outraged and persecuted Jesus wanting to kill Him. Then Jesus claims to be God and really makes them mad. There are all kinds of reactions to Jesus. Jesus claimed to be God, and all of the Jews knew it. Jesus is God. We have a God who can do great things in our lives. He knows what we are going through. He knows the problems that we face.
Concl.
Where is your focus tonight? Are you focused on the dirty diaper or the sign on the door? Are you focused on the storm or the Savior who can calm it? redirect your focus to the Lord.
