WEBVTT - 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