Thank you for listening to this message from
Lifehouse Church. Good morning, good morning.
Turn somebody, tell them you almost made it to
2026. You're getting close. Give them a high
five, shake their hand, do something crazy, hug
their neck. Come on, we're almost there, right?
2025 is almost behind us. 2026 is on the way.
It is good to have you here this morning and
worshiping and praying. I love all the community
that takes place here at Lifehouse. In here,
in the square, outside the church, we hear about
it all the time, people getting together, connecting,
and really following Jesus together. We think
that is incredibly important. But this morning,
on this last Sunday of 2025, can you believe
it, right? Anybody else, this year flew? Yeah?
Some of you are like, I can't wait until this
year is being over. Come on, raise your hand
if that's you. You're like... Thank God it's
over. It's done. All right. But we're heading
this morning on this last Sunday of 2025. We're
heading to John chapter 5. So you can begin to
turn there. And as you're turning this morning,
I'm going to just take a few minutes to do a
little bit of a rewind of chapter 4. I preached
on this last week or the week before on chapter
4. I want to do a little rewind on all that that
I preached. And sometimes when we do that. It's
good to get the back story to understand the
story that you're about to tell. How many know
there's always a story behind a story, right?
There's always a story. Hearing a story before
the story sometimes helps you understand the
bigger picture of what's going on. Over the holidays
here, over Christmas, our grandchildren have
been with us. We have five wonderful grandchildren.
They're all under the age of 10. And when they
get playing, we've got an area downstairs where
they go play. They get playing down there. They
just get lost in playing. But sooner or later,
it happens. One of them comes upstairs. It's
usually one of them that think they're the policeman
of the whole bunch, right? And they come up,
and they've got to tell the story. And they're
like, you know, they're just sitting there. They're
just all sitting there crying. They're like,
they're all being mean to me, right? Now, how
many of you know there's more to the story? Come
on, right? They're all being mean to me. So you
go down and you start to investigate. You talk
to the other four grandchildren. They're like,
well, yeah, they're being mean to them. We're
being mean to them because they hit us with a
hockey stick, right? You know, something along
those lines. You know, there's always a story
behind the story. And it's good sometimes to
catch up or to get a recap on what happened in
the chapter before to help you unfold what's
going to happen in the chapter that you're getting
in. So we're going to do a little recap. So in
John chapter 4, Jesus is traveling north. Judea
through Samaria to Galilee. Let me say that again.
He's in Judea. All right, think of it as an Oreo
cookie. All right, we're just coming out of the
holidays. Jesus is on the bottom layer of the
cookie, right? He's in the south. He's traveling
from Judea. He's going to go through Samaria.
That's the double stuff, all right? That's the
white part. He's going to go through Samaria,
and then he's going to head up to Galilee, and
he's traveling to the northern part of Israel.
While he's traveling north, Jesus makes his stop
in Samaria. Him and his disciples, his followers,
they're following along. They stop at a well,
the well of Jacob. And while they're there, they're
going to get a drink. They're going to take a
break. And Jesus sends his boys, right, the disciples,
to town to get some food. While he's there, he
has a talk with a woman who comes to the well.
A Samaritan woman comes to the well. And Jesus
begins to talk to her. And he says, you know,
I've got water that if you drink of this water,
you will never ever thirst again. And she's like,
I want to know about that kind of water because
I'm tired of carrying water. And he begins and
he continues on. And he starts to tell her everything
that she has ever done. That's what the Word
of God says. That's what Jesus says. He begins
to unfold prophetically. Jesus tells her everything
that she's ever done. And she is so convinced
that he's not only a prophet, but that he's actually
the Jewish Messiah that is talked about, that
she sets down her pot, she runs back to the city,
and she begins to tell the men of the city, hey,
I met a man who's told me everything I've ever
done. And she is so convincing in what she's
speaking to these men that they... They virtually
leave the city and come out and they meet Jesus
at that same well. And they begin to try to find
out for themselves. And they become convinced
that he is something more than a prophet. And
they invite him to stay for two more days. They
believe that he's the Messiah. They believe that
he's the Christ. They believe that he's God's
son. And the Word of God says that as he speaks
to the Samaritans, that many come to believe
on Jesus. Now, you've got to understand something.
The Samaritans are not friends with the Jews.
As a matter of fact, Jews don't talk to Samaritans.
Samaritans don't talk to Jews. And Jesus and
his disciples are there. Now, I believe this
personally. I believe that Jesus was beginning
to teach his disciples something. He had very
Jewish disciples, okay? They were all Jewish.
And he began to teach them that we're going to
go outside the circle of our Jewish community
and we're going to begin to share the gospel
with everybody. Jesus leaves that area of Samaria,
right? That's in the middle. He leaves that area
of Samaria, and he comes into the area of Galilee.
And this is the area where he previously did
his first miracle, where he turned water into
wine. And as he enters there, a man from Capernaum
comes up. He's actually a nobleman from Capernaum,
and his son's about to die. He wants Jesus to
come. He wants him to heal him. And Jesus says,
just go ahead and go on your way. Your son's
going to be fine. He lives. He didn't even need
to go. He speaks this, and the boy is healed
that very hour. This is the second miracle that
takes place in this area of Galilee. Jesus leaves
this location and begins to head towards Jerusalem,
where we pick up today. And you might say, well,
why did you give us all that, right? All these
accounts that we read in chapter 4. Well, because
all these things begin to help us understand
that Jesus has very strategic objectives while
he's taking his disciples and he's training them.
First is to preach the kingdom of God to everybody,
everywhere. He's bringing the kingdom. He's talking
about salvation is near. It has come near you,
which is him himself, right? Salvation is there
before you. Jesus is Messiah. And secondly, he's
training his disciples. the minister and spread
the gospel because he's not always going to be
with them. He wants them to see what he's doing.
He wants them to hear the truth. He wants them
to hear the mysteries. He wants them to live
the life that he's living and minister the same
way so that when he's gone, they carry the torch
so that they can adequately minister to others.
So in John chapter 5, it gives us one more opportunity
to look at a truth that Jesus is going to bring
out. Something that he's going to teach the disciples
that we need to hear as well. Amen? So, listen,
I gave you like a half an hour to get to John
chapter 5. Are you there? All right, great. John
chapter 5 verse 1 says this. After this, there
was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to
Jerusalem. Now there was in Jerusalem by the
sheep gate a pool, which is called in the Hebrew
Bethesda, having five porches. In these lay a
great multitude of sick people, blind, lame,
paralyzed, waiting for the moving of the water.
For an angel went down at certain times into
the pool and stirred up the water. And whoever
stepped in first after the stirring of the water
was made well, whatever disease they had. Now,
if you read up on this a little, some speculate
that this was a Jewish legend. That took place.
But I'm going to take it in God's word. It doesn't
say it was a legend. As a matter of fact, there
were people all around this pool. There's five
porches around this pool. This was a big pool
area. And there were people all over waiting
for the water to stir it. The word of God says
what the word of God says, right? For it says
an angel went down at a certain time into the
pool and stirred up the water. And whoever stepped
in, it was like first come, first serve. Whoever
stepped in first after stirring the water was
made well of whatever disease. So there were
people, sick people laying all around this pool
just waiting for the water to stir so they could
get in. Verse 5 says this, now a certain man
was there who had an infirmity 38 years. How
many of us have a long time to be sick? I'm lying
to you after 38 minutes. Truth, right? Dixie
will confirm she's a Bernard, right? 38 years.
And when Jesus saw him lying there and knew that
he had already been in that condition a long
time, he said to him, do you want to? Say, do
you want to? Do you want to? Turn to somebody
beside you and say, do you want to? That's a
pretty open -ended statement, right? Do you want
to be made well? That's what he says to him.
And the sick man answered. He said, sir, I have
no one to put me into the pool when the water
is stirred up. But while I'm coming, another
steps down before me. Jesus said to him, rise,
take your bed, and walk. And immediately the
man was made well, took up his bed, and walked.
And that day was the Sabbath. The Jews therefore
said to him, who was cured? It's the Sabbath.
It's not lawful for anyone to carry your bed.
He answered them, who made me well said this
to me, take up your bed and walk. And they said
to him, who is the man who said to you, take
up your bed and walk? But the one who was healed
did not know who it was. For Jesus had withdrawn
a multitude being in that place. Afterward, Jesus
found them in the temple and said to him, See,
you have been made well. Sin no more, lest the
worst thing come upon you. The man departed and
told the Jews that it was Jesus who made him
well. Jesus comes into Jerusalem during a time
of a Jewish feast. It's busy. There are people
around. There's a festival going on. People are
everywhere, and Jesus heads right to the pool
called Bethesda, near the Sheep Gate in Jerusalem.
And when Jesus arrives, the pool is surrounded,
just like I said a little earlier, with diseased
people, people that are lame, people that are
paralyzed, people that are struggling with something,
you know, some kind of infirmity. And Jesus doesn't
begin to preach a sermon there. I'm thinking
he's walking into this place where there's a
captive audience of people, maybe hundreds around
that are sick and need healing, and Jesus healed
all the time everywhere he went. You know, I'm
thinking in my head, why didn't Jesus come in
here and begin to preach the sermon? He's already
got an audience there. They're already gathered,
right? But he doesn't. He walks right past everybody,
goes right to a guy who's had an infirmity for
38 years. Do you ever read the Bible and go,
hmm? Come on, do it with me. Go, hmm? Hmm? Yeah.
I'm like, hmm? Like, why didn't Jesus? Because
there's other places where Jesus preaches and
teaches, and he heals everybody. And I'm thinking,
this is a perfect opportunity. They're all in
one place, right? They're gathered. Why did he
do this? he goes right by everybody else to a
man who was sick and diseased for 38 years, right?
And this guy is so diseased, he's to the point
he can't even get to the water fast enough when
the water does stir. He's desperate for some
help when the water stirs. A guy who's been to
every doctor probably spent all his money trying
to get well. Years, not days, not weeks, not
months, years waiting, believing, hoping. That
he's going to get healed somehow. Years waiting
to feel whole and to feel complete and free of
disease. Years. And all of a sudden, on a random
day, a man who he does not know walks up to him
and asks him just one question. Jesus comes up
and says, do you want to be made well? One question.
Jesus doesn't come up and introduce himself.
He doesn't come up and say, hey, I'm Jesus, right?
I'm the Messiah. He doesn't come up and ask this
man all about his problem. He doesn't try to
get a long history of when this all started and
how did it progress and how did you get to this
point, right? Jesus walks up to a guy that does
not know him at all and says, do you want to
be made well? And at first read, when you're
looking at this passage, that seems like a little
bit of a ridiculous question to ask in this place,
right? In this place. Of course the guy wants
to be made well. That's why everybody's there.
That's why they're all sitting around the pool,
right? How many of you wasn't hanging out there
at the pool to get a tan? Right? He wasn't working
on the bronze tan. He wasn't there relaxing the
cool of the day, you know, and sipping on a lemonade
and just hopping in the pool and getting out
when he gets a little overheated. That's not
why he was there. This pool was the equivalent
to hanging out at the ER at your local hospital.
All right? How many of you have ever gone to
the ER, and when you get in there, everybody's
sick, and you look around, and you're thinking,
they're a lot sicker than I am. Maybe I'm just
going to leave, right? I don't know if I came
in here sick, but I'm probably going to leave
here sick. I'll take my chances with whatever
I brought with me coming into this place. That's
what this was. There were people everywhere.
So why does Jesus walk up, pass everybody up,
and ask one question, why do you want to be healed,
to one guy? I think he was teaching his disciples
something. I really do. I believe the first step
of healing in any area of our life begins with
the want to. Any area of your life that needs
wholeness, wellness, health, healing of some
kind, it all begins with the want to. The journey
of healing cannot even begin in our lives without
the want to factor. Do you want to be made well?
By me, Jesus. We need to have the want -to factor.
If we want Jesus to do something in our lives,
we have to want him to do it. We've got to have
that desire. We cannot get to a place of wholeness
and health in Jesus without a want -to factor
in our lives. Turn to somebody beside you and
shake them because they might want to sleep.
Tell them, do you want to? Come on. Do you want
to? You've got to have the want -to. If you want
to be made well. Do you want to be healed of
whatever's plaguing your body? Causing pain,
discomfort, frustration, right? Do you want to
be healed of what's plaguing your mind? That's
circling. How many of you circle in your mind?
When those thoughts begin to intrude, they just
keep coming back, right? You want to be healed
by it? You want to be healed by what's crushing
your soul, your spirit? Do you really want to
be healed? It's a want -to factor. I know it
sounds like a given, right? It sounds like a
senseless question to ask. And I know we might
all have asked, absolutely I want Jesus to heal
whatever I got going on, right? I want to be
whole in whatever is not so whole right now in
my life. Of course I want that. Of course. But
it's not as obvious as it sounds. Because yes
to the question with Jesus, do I want to be made
well? With Jesus entails more than just a wish
to be healed. Yes to Jesus, the question, right,
do I want to be made well by Jesus, includes
am I willing to do what Jesus says next to be
healed. When we're talking about Jesus in his
statement, yes to Jesus' question of do you want
to be made well includes a willingness to do
what Jesus says to do next. We all like the no
strings attached approach to give me whatever
I want or whatever I need in the moment. Amen?
Am I the only one? Come on, let's just be truthful.
We all want the Christmas present every single
day of our lives. Wouldn't that be amazing? You
got up and there's a present for you on the table
every single day, right? Not once a year you
didn't do anything to deserve it. You didn't
do anything. It's just right there. It's why
millions of people play the lottery to win the
1 point, what was it, 1 .6, 1 .8, 1 point something
billion dollars, right? It's because they want
what they want when they want it with no strings
attached. Jesus gave me, Jesus, you know, I just
want this. Just give it to me. Just give it to
me, please, right? Or stomp, stomp, stomp, kind
of like my grandchildren do sometimes, right?
Just give it to me. They throw, how many of you
know what a pitch and a fit is? Anybody know
what I'm talking about, right? We call it an
ever -living fit. I don't know what that means,
but somehow that's higher in the ranks, all right?
You can pitch a fit, but if you pitch an ever
-living fit, that's a whole different level,
right? Give me what I want, the snack, the candy,
the toy, whatever it is. I'm going to pitch an
ever -living fit. Jesus was teaching his disciples
something. This is how it works in the kingdom
of God, right? Understand something. It is Christ
who provides the power. It is Jesus Christ who
supplies the resources. He has the answer. His
hand is not short in supplying anything that
you need. Any healing that you need, he's available
and can do it. He has all the resources at his
disposal. He can speak the world into existence.
He can fix anything that you've got going on.
He's just looking for somebody who wants to be
made well, who's going to say yes, and they're
willing to do what's next. Jesus asked this man,
do you want to be made well? And when he was
convinced that this man actually wanted to be
made well, Jesus commands this man to do one
thing. Jesus said to him in verse 8, rise, take
up your bed, and walk. And the word of God says
it immediately. The man was made well, took up
his bed, and walked. When Jesus asks me if I
want to be made well, I have to ask myself the
question, am I willing to do what Jesus is going
to say next? He's got the power. He's got the
presence. He can do it in a word, but am I willing
to do what he's calling me to do next? What if,
what if that man would have said, I just don't
want to get up, Jesus. I don't want to do it.
I've been here this long. I'm not picking up
my mat. That's illegal to do on the Sabbath day.
That's why it mentions it in there, right? You
weren't allowed to pick up your mat on the Sabbath
day. I can't do it, Jesus. What if he never attempted
to move? I've been in this condition so long,
Jesus. I don't even know who you are because
he didn't even know his name, right? You know,
you're just some guy that walks through the middle
of the crowd. You got some other guys following
you. You know, you're this joker who come up
to me and ask this question of me. This one question,
who are you anyway? Why don't you just go away
and let me alone in my misery? He could have
done all those things. But Jesus asked one question,
do you want to be made well? This guy doesn't
know, it's Jesus. He doesn't know he's talking
to the Son of God. And Jesus says, rise up. I
think the moment, I don't know this for certain.
I'll tell you when something's my opinion and
when it isn't. But when he said, when Jesus saw
that he wanted to be made well, I think the moment
that man tried to move, the moment that man began
to listen to the command of Christ to rise, take
up your bed, healing his body. And he stood up
and he grabbed his mat. This man met Jesus. Look
at it. Jesus, look at him in the eye. Look at
him in the eye of a stranger. Truly. And had
enough faith into the man who was talking to
him to follow his command. Rise, take up your
bed, and walk. And he did what he hadn't done
in years. He walked out different. I believe
Jesus was teaching his disciples. I think he
was showing them because he could have preached.
He could have healed everybody in that place.
He had the power to do it. He had the power to
do it. If we want to be made well in any area
of our lives, we've got to be willing to do what
God says to do next. You see, yes to Him, to
Christ, and being made well means I've got to
be willing to do what's next. His next command,
His next instruction, the next thing that God
says in the Word of God as you're reading it.
Amen? It's true. I can't tell you how many people
that have asked me to pray over them as a pastor.
And I knew in my heart, they wanted to be made
well in an area, but I knew in my heart they
weren't willing to do what God was going to say
to do next. I knew it, right? Sometimes I just
wanted to stop and say, let's not waste our time.
Your time, my time, anybody's time, right? They're
not willing to walk away from the toxic relationship
that they're in. They're unequally yoked. Man,
I used to run into this all the time when I was
a youth pastor. That was 100 years ago, I know,
but it's still the same principle, right? You
know, when I was a youth pastor, they're unequally
yoked. They're dating somebody that's not a believer.
And I'm like, you know, hey, the Word of God
is clearness. And the next step is just to follow
what Jesus said. They don't want to do it. And
they want to be whole and healthy and well in
their relationship, but they're not willing to
follow what God says. They won't follow his command.
They won't follow his word. They won't follow
the prompting of the Holy Spirit that's tugging
on their heart, telling them to do this or do
that, right? They won't forgive somebody, right?
And they won't. They won't. They won't forgive
someone or they don't want to offer forgiveness
of any kind. They just want what they want. Stomp,
stomp, stomp. And you've got to be willing to
do what Jesus says next. We're about to launch
into reading God's Word over the course of this
next year. Do you know why some people don't
read the Word of God? They don't want to know
what God's Word has to say because it's going
to tell you what to do next a lot of times. They
don't want to read it. Ignorance is bliss. They're
just looking for the quick fix. A lot of people
chase the presence of God and ignore the Word
of God. They'll chase the presence of God, but
they'll ignore the Word of God. You can't do
it. Sometimes I think, you know, and again, this
is my opinion. I'm only going to throw two opinions
in today, and you can take this. This doesn't
cost you anything, and you can just chuck it
if you want to, right? But sometimes I think
when somebody comes to God like that, if God
made him well in the middle of their disobedience
to him, wouldn't he actually be kind of enabling
bad behavior? We've got to be willing. We've
got to be willing to do what God says next. Jesus
was teaching his disciples. I'm going to ask
the worship team to come. He was teaching them.
If we want to be made well, we've got to be ready
to do what God tells us to do next. Let me give
you a biblical example of what I'm talking about,
and then we're going to get ready to take communion.
If I want to be made well spiritually in my life,
if I'm in need of spiritual healing because,
well, I'm not well, I'm sin sick. Because that's
what sin does. Sin separates you from God. Sin
makes you sick. And the first question that Jesus
is going to pose to my sin -sick heart, right,
if you're caught in sin and you're away from
God, he's going to ask you, do you want to be
made well? Because he's the only way to get well,
right? We cannot be saved from sin if we don't
believe that sin's killing us in the first place.
That sin brings death into our lives. That sin
separated me from God. So the first question
we ask, or the spirit of God or God, Jesus himself
asks, do you want to be made well spiritually?
And hopefully the answer is yes. I know I'm sin
sick, Lord. I know I'm far from you. I want to
be made well. I want to be that. But what does
the word of God say happens next? Well, you can
go to Romans 10, 9 and 10. It says this, that
if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus
and believe in your heart that God raised him
from the dead, you will be saved for with the
heart one believes unto righteousness and with
the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
So step one is, I let Jesus know that I'm willing
to be made well spiritually, right? That I believe
in him, and I believe that he's the way to salvation,
the way to health, and that he shed his blood
for my sins, and he paid the price I can't pay,
right? I believe all that. But step two, we overlook
a lot of times. Oh, step two is that we confess
Jesus as Lord. That's a whole other ballgame.
The first one is all the power of God in your
life to wash you clean of sin. The second one
is that I'm going to make him Lord and I confess
him as Lord. Do you know what it is if somebody's
Lord in your life? That means they're number
one. That means that you're going to listen to
what they have to say. You're going to follow
what... The way that he tells you to live. Lord
means that he is a number one in our lives. And
if we're going to, we got to believe, right?
We love that part because that's all him washing
us clean. But then you got to confess him as
Lord. He's Lord if you stand. Water baptism.
One of our favorite times that we have water
baptism. It's about a public confession, right?
As Jesus as Savior and Lord. This is the way
I'm made spiritually whole and well. We love
the unconditional part of God's love. We really
do. But a lot of times we miss the conditions.
God's love is unconditional. His blessing and
favor is always conditional. Read your Bible.
It'll tell you. Always. Can't get away from the
love of God. You can go to the depths of hell.
You cannot get away from the love of God. And
his desire for you. But his blessing and his
favor and what he's going to do in your life,
it is conditional. Your miracle, your healing,
your wholeness could be just on the other side
of your obedience to what God says next. And
you're like, really good. Communion is about
remembering the price that Jesus paid. that first
part that I talked about that you cannot do on
your own. That first part of Jesus died for your
sin. He paid the price that you could not pay
for sin because it was death. That's what communion
is all about. But as we take communion today,
I want us to ask ourselves the question, am I
willing to do what's next? Am I willing to do
what's next? So I'm asking you to bow your heads.
I want you to take a moment. The Word of God
says we should always take community in an orderly
manner. And I want you to ask yourself the question,
if you're in the house this morning, and you
got sin in your life, and you're separated from
God, this is the moment in time when you, Jesus
made it so easy, this part of it. He paid the
price for all of it. It's paid in full, actually.
All you have to do is receive it. It's the gift
of God. And if you want to be reconciled to God,
if you want to be in relationship with God, that's
you in the house this morning. You've never done
that. Just raise your hand up, put it back down.
I'm going to lead you in a prayer. That's all
I'm going to do. Get in the house. All right.
For all the rest of you, I want you to hear.
I don't know whether you need wholeness and healing
in your life. I don't know if it's in your mind.
I don't know if it's in your soul. You've been
injured. Man, your mind, will, and emotions are
a mess. I don't know if it's a physical need.
So many other things. Financially, ask yourself
the question. Am I going to say yes to the one
dude? Do I want him to heal me? Do I want him
to make me whole? And am I willing to do what
he tells me to do next? Serious question. Father,
I come to you today. I thank you for each one
in the house. Lord, I believe. God, when you
walked, Jesus, when you walked past all those
other sick folk, and Lord, you went to this man
who was willing. God, to the man at the pool
of Bethesda who you asked the question, do you
want to be made well? And he said, yes, he do.
He actually didn't even say it. You saw it in
him. And the next thing you did is you commanded
him to stand, rise up, and take his mat. And
he did. And Lord, you healed him. God, we come
with hearts ready. Lord, for the next thing you
speak to us. Lord, we know that you have the
power to supply the healing. We know that you
have the power to supply the wholeness in our
life. But am I willing to do what's next? Lord,
I ask for each person in this house, as we get
ready to launch into 2026, to answer that question,
I will do whatever you tell me to do next, Jesus.
Whether it's in your word, whether the Holy Spirit
reveals it to me, however you choose to show
me. In Jesus' name, amen. I can't think of a
better way to go into 2026 than hearing the word
of God. Right? Whether it's through the written
word or the revelation of God through the Holy
Spirit in your life, I can't think of a better
way to launch into 2026. Because whatever you
need to be holding is just on the other side
of what God's calling you to do next. Amen? to
this message from Lifehouse Church. We pray that
you were impacted powerfully by this message.
If you have been personally affected by our ministry
and you would like to partner with us as we love
God, love people every day, visit our website
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