Introduction

Welcome, beloved, to another time of sharing in the Word of our Lord. It is always a joy to gather with you, to sit at the feet of our Master, and to drink from the wellspring of His wisdom. We are here today, not by accident, but by divine appointment, called to reflect upon a passage from the Gospel of John. A passage that speaks to us about healing, about excuses, and about faith.

In the words of John Stott, "Faith is a reasoning trust, a trust which reckons thoughtfully and confidently upon the trustworthiness of God." Today, we are called to reckon thoughtfully and confidently upon the faithfulness of our God, as we consider the story of a man healed by Jesus at the pool of Bethesda.

Hindrances to Healing

In the story we just read, a man had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. He was at the pool of Bethesda, a place where healing was known to occur. Yet, despite his long-standing condition and his proximity to a source of healing, he remained unhealed. It's worth asking ourselves why this was the case.

The man's first response to Jesus' question: "Do you want to get well?" was not a simple "yes", but an explanation of why he couldn't. He said, "I have no one to help me into the pool when the water is stirred. While I am trying to get in, someone else goes down ahead of me." This man had allowed his circumstances to become a hindrance to his healing. He saw his lack of assistance and the competition from others as insurmountable obstacles.

We do the same: We too can allow our circumstances to become hindrances to our healing. We may feel that we lack the resources, the support, or the opportunities we need. We may feel that others are always getting ahead of us. But in doing so, we may be overlooking the very source of our healing, just as the man at the pool did.

Jesus didn't accept the man's excuses: Instead, He commanded him to "Get up! Pick up your mat and walk." Jesus was calling the man to take action, to step out in faith, and to stop allowing his circumstances to dictate his reality. This is a call that extends to us as well. We are called to rise above our circumstances, to take action, and to trust in the healing power of Jesus. We are called to stop making excuses and to start walking in faith.

The man at the pool was not just hindered by his circumstances; he was also hindered by his mindset. He had been an invalid for so long that he had come to identify himself as such. His condition had become a part of his identity. This is a common trap that many of us fall into. We allow our conditions, our struggles, our failures, and our past to define us. We see ourselves as victims, as losers, as hopeless cases. But this is not how God sees us. God sees us as His beloved children, as victors, as overcomers.

Jesus' command to the man to "Get up! Pick up your mat and walk" was not just about physical healing; it was also about identity transformation. Jesus was calling the man to shed his old identity as an invalid and to embrace a new identity as a healed and whole person. We too are called to undergo this identity transformation. We are called to stop seeing ourselves through the lens of our conditions and to start seeing ourselves through the lens of God's love and grace.

The man at the pool was not just hindered by his circumstances and his mindset; he was also hindered by his lack of faith. When Jesus asked him if he wanted to get well, the man didn't express any faith in Jesus' ability to heal him. Instead, he focused on his inability to get into the pool. We too can be hindered by our lack of faith. We may doubt God's ability or willingness to heal us. We may focus on our problems instead of on God's promises. But faith is not about denying reality; it's about affirming a greater reality - the reality of God's power and love.

Jesus' command to the man to "Get up! Pick up your mat and walk" was a call to faith. Jesus was calling the man to believe in His power to heal and to act on that belief. We too are called to this kind of faith. We are called to believe in God's power and love, and to act on that belief. We are called to walk by faith, not by sight.

He had been at the pool for a long time, waiting for someone to help him into the water. But he had become so accustomed to his condition and his situation that he had stopped striving for change. We too can fall into this trap of complacency. We may become so used to our conditions, our struggles, our failures, and our past that we stop striving for change. We may settle for less than God's best for us. We may become comfortable in our discomfort.

We too can overcome these hindrances: We too can encounter Jesus and be transformed. We too can rise above our circumstances, transform our identities, exercise faith, and break out of complacency. We too can "Get up! Pick up our mat and walk."

Halt the Habit of Excuses

As we continue to reflect on the story of the man at the pool of Bethesda, we find ourselves confronted with a stark reality ... View this full PRO sermon free with PRO