Sitting By The Pool
John 5:1-9
Intro: Jesus came to Jerusalem, but he did not go to the up and in to fellowship. He went to the sheep market where the lowly and hurting gathered. They were not all sick alike, but they were all alike sick. They all had not the same problem, but they all had the same need. All needed a physician; all needed a healer. It is a show of the sinner’s position. We may examine one another and declare that we are not as bad as another, but we are all as bad off! The religious and the rebellious, the professional and the prostitute, the dignified and the drunkard, the church member and the Christ-hater, the wealthy socialite and the bankrupt addict, the educated elite and the ignorant fool all have different problems, but they have the same need. All men need Jesus! One man sat by the pool for 38 years and looked with dreamy eyes upon water that he believed would help him, if he could but reach it. Still he was not qualified. Many stare upon the baptismal pool in the same fashion, and they seek to get good enough to journey therein, but they never will. If they were able to get into the pool, the waters would not heal. It was the touch of God’s messenger that healed, and this man needed Jesus.
Notice four things:
I. His Desire (To Be Helped): v. 7, he of course came to be helped! People claim church did not help them, but they came without a purpose. Did you come to get some help today? Did you come seeking God to do something for you? Did you come with expectancy? Did you come to get saved? Did you come to be delivered? Did you come to get answers? Charles Spurgeon came home from church to tell his mother that he had been saved and joined a Baptist church. His mom said, “Charles, I always prayed for you to be a Christian, but not a Baptist.” Spurgeon told his mother, "Well, in God’s usual fashion, he gave you more than you asked for!” If you have come to be helped, you can get more than you ever asked for!
II. His Deficiency (Inability To Save Himself): Nothing of myself I bring, simply to thy cross I cling! You will have to come as the prodigal son in Luke 15- without any notions of being worthy of son-ship. Will you arise and go to Jesus?
III. His Distraction (Looking To The Wrong Source For Assistance): no man will help me in. No man can! Salvation is of the Lord! Churches, preachers, and religion cannot make saints of sinners. That is a supernatural work of God wrought by the Spirit through the blood of Jesus Christ! Now is the time to call on Jesus! Jesus can help you, Jesus alone! It is his blood. I can not add to or take from. All a poor, helpless, hell-bound sinner can do is trust in a Savior! Jesus said:
A. “Rise…” It would have been easy to rise after he was healed, but Jesus sought faith. He does the same of us. You will have to trust that the God who sent his Son for your sins will forgive you and give you a home in heaven!
B. “Take Up Thy Bed”- you are saved for good. Now don’t ever return to where you have been. He carried the bed away to dump it. He could not leave it; he might be tempted to return to it. He could not leave it; others might lie down on it. He carried it away to dump it! Get rid altogether of that old life. Those who Christ has changed should show evidence of a changed life! A saved man is not an old man in a new coat; He’s a new man in an old coat.
C. “And Walk”- show others what God has done for you. Exercise your blessings by demonstrating them to others.
IV. His Deliverance (Two Noteworthy Things):
A. Made Whole All Over; God did it right. He was altogether new.
B. His Healing Was Immediate. The late Rev. Waylen Golden used to say, “God can save you quicker than quick.” Salvation is not a process, or it would never be completed. It is a miracle. You will not straighten yourself up in a lifetime, but God can do it in an instant.
Conclusion: In the lowly sheep market, the shepherd went hunting a lost crippled sheep. He wrought a miracle in his life, and he can do the same for you, your children, and you lost loved ones. Did you come with expectancy of something today? Did you come to get helped today? Now is the time to receive the thing that you came for. Now is the time to do business with God.
