WEBVTT 00:00:00.400 --> 00:00:07.259 Good morning. So, not a cozy group today. Looking 00:00:07.259 --> 00:00:10.960 around and I'm going, either you guys have chosen 00:00:10.960 --> 00:00:13.220 not to take Memorial Day weekend and go camping 00:00:13.220 --> 00:00:17.780 or doing something fun, or you're smart. Because 00:00:17.780 --> 00:00:20.059 everybody else is gone doing that. And I just 00:00:20.059 --> 00:00:24.839 got to tell you a story I heard. So the Turner 00:00:24.839 --> 00:00:28.640 GC, I think there's like seven or eight guys. 00:00:28.780 --> 00:00:32.359 Is that right? He's doing the math back there. 00:00:32.420 --> 00:00:35.240 They're all bear hunting. And this is a place 00:00:35.240 --> 00:00:37.880 they've gone every year. Well, the word is that 00:00:37.880 --> 00:00:40.200 it was so cold, they all had to snuggle into 00:00:40.200 --> 00:00:42.939 one tent, and they didn't sleep all night, and 00:00:42.939 --> 00:00:46.079 it's snowing like crazy. So just for the record, 00:00:46.140 --> 00:00:49.719 we're in a better place right now. Anyway, so 00:00:49.719 --> 00:00:52.439 I hope to get one. That would be awesome, or 00:00:52.439 --> 00:00:55.159 two or three, whatever. But right now, all of 00:00:55.159 --> 00:00:57.060 them they've seen are a long ways away. So, hey, 00:00:57.119 --> 00:00:59.840 before we get into... unpacking God's Word together, 00:00:59.979 --> 00:01:04.379 I want to start with a question. And I like it 00:01:04.379 --> 00:01:06.340 because we're a little cozier this morning, but 00:01:06.340 --> 00:01:08.680 still you're going to have to speak out. But 00:01:08.680 --> 00:01:11.420 we need to do this every so often. So, you know, 00:01:11.439 --> 00:01:14.319 our verse for the church where we get our name 00:01:14.319 --> 00:01:16.680 radiant is Psalm 34, verse 5. It says, Those 00:01:16.680 --> 00:01:19.400 who look to the Lord are radiant. Their faces 00:01:19.400 --> 00:01:22.420 shall never be ashamed. And it's this idea that 00:01:22.420 --> 00:01:25.680 we as a people, no matter where we're at, no 00:01:25.680 --> 00:01:30.829 matter what walk in life we're at, That we purposefully 00:01:30.829 --> 00:01:35.230 fix our eyes on Jesus. And the Bible says that 00:01:35.230 --> 00:01:38.730 changes us. It changes us. And I know that for 00:01:38.730 --> 00:01:42.829 certain. When I'm not in God's word or I'm just 00:01:42.829 --> 00:01:44.989 kind of doing my own thing over here, there's 00:01:44.989 --> 00:01:47.290 a whole lot of change that happens in my life. 00:01:47.829 --> 00:01:51.730 I'm not being made more and more like him. But 00:01:51.730 --> 00:01:55.200 when I'm... I'm running to him. My eyes are fixed 00:01:55.200 --> 00:01:57.340 on him. I'm in his word. There's change that 00:01:57.340 --> 00:01:59.859 happens. And so I think it's really important 00:01:59.859 --> 00:02:04.760 as we look together at Jesus that if God is doing 00:02:04.760 --> 00:02:08.139 that transformative work in your life, as your 00:02:08.139 --> 00:02:11.319 eyes are on him, that we declare it. We have 00:02:11.319 --> 00:02:15.300 several Sundays ago that we do a thing called 00:02:15.300 --> 00:02:17.800 Thank You, Jesus. But this one, I just want to 00:02:17.800 --> 00:02:21.699 ask us this morning, As you're fixing your eyes 00:02:21.699 --> 00:02:27.419 on Jesus, what change is happening in you? What 00:02:27.419 --> 00:02:30.560 are you seeing that transformation taking place? 00:02:30.659 --> 00:02:33.479 What's changed for you? It may be simple. It 00:02:33.479 --> 00:02:37.319 may be a perspective. But it may be massive too. 00:02:37.520 --> 00:02:40.099 It may be in your marriage. It may be in a lot 00:02:40.099 --> 00:02:41.560 of things. So I don't want to fill your mouth. 00:02:41.740 --> 00:02:44.060 Does anybody have anything like that this morning? 00:02:44.939 --> 00:02:47.740 That you would say, you know what? I know as 00:02:47.740 --> 00:02:50.849 I fix my eyes on Jesus. Change is happening, 00:02:50.990 --> 00:02:57.030 and I can see it. Anybody? Yeah. What's that? 00:03:00.189 --> 00:03:03.650 Okay, so the way you react today is different 00:03:03.650 --> 00:03:05.569 than what it used to be before. So different. 00:03:05.689 --> 00:03:08.330 Very good. What else? Yeah, way back there. Real 00:03:08.330 --> 00:03:23.539 loud. Yes. Hope is bubbling out as a result of 00:03:23.539 --> 00:04:12.349 it. Good. Yeah. Anybody else? Yeah. Craig. Right 00:04:12.349 --> 00:04:15.050 on. And I know the rest of this story, too, is 00:04:15.050 --> 00:04:16.589 the reason you're here is because those kids 00:04:16.589 --> 00:04:20.089 said, Dad, come to church. Praise God. Yeah. 00:04:20.649 --> 00:04:30.269 Right on. What else? Yeah. Yeah. That's a big 00:04:30.269 --> 00:04:34.470 one. Yeah. Changes the way you see other people. 00:04:35.589 --> 00:04:37.930 And some of that's because we start seeing other 00:04:37.930 --> 00:04:40.449 people through the lens of Jesus, don't we? Yeah. 00:04:40.889 --> 00:04:51.870 Good. Anybody else? Hmm. More thankful. Good. 00:04:52.029 --> 00:04:58.209 Reese. What's that? You're healthier. Yeah. Good. 00:04:59.370 --> 00:05:09.470 Anybody else? Anybody else? So that's it. Okay. 00:05:09.899 --> 00:05:11.759 Let's pray together. If you don't have the Bible, 00:05:11.879 --> 00:05:14.560 the blue Bibles, they're on the back there. Please 00:05:14.560 --> 00:05:17.839 grab one, take it. It's yours to take home. They're 00:05:17.839 --> 00:05:19.579 on the back tables there. But let's pray together, 00:05:19.759 --> 00:05:27.360 and then we'll jump into God's Word. Lord, as 00:05:27.360 --> 00:05:31.279 we journey through John together, we continue 00:05:31.279 --> 00:05:36.660 to ask you to do a work in our hearts. Help us 00:05:36.660 --> 00:05:42.389 see it. and apply it even in a deeper way maybe 00:05:42.389 --> 00:05:45.790 than we've have in the past lord we just ask 00:05:45.790 --> 00:05:52.689 that that you'll even if it's painful that you'll 00:05:52.689 --> 00:05:55.509 do a work in us and so holy spirit we just give 00:05:55.509 --> 00:05:58.850 it to you today and we give this morning to you 00:05:58.850 --> 00:06:04.250 amen all right so as you know we are walking 00:06:04.250 --> 00:06:07.649 verse by verse through john and we're in john 00:06:07.649 --> 00:06:09.720 chapter five so you can turn there but Before 00:06:09.720 --> 00:06:11.620 we get into that, I want to tell you a story. 00:06:12.639 --> 00:06:16.699 When I was about 10 years old, I can clearly 00:06:16.699 --> 00:06:21.379 remember that everything inside of me, this moment, 00:06:21.500 --> 00:06:23.740 when everything inside of me, and I can remember 00:06:23.740 --> 00:06:26.540 the place I was standing, I can remember it right 00:06:26.540 --> 00:06:29.379 down to very vividly. So here's what was going 00:06:29.379 --> 00:06:32.579 on. So inside of me, I didn't want to submit 00:06:32.579 --> 00:06:38.399 to what my parents were telling me to do. I knew 00:06:38.399 --> 00:06:42.259 that was coming. I don't exactly know what it 00:06:42.259 --> 00:06:48.319 was, but I had an agenda and it was being blocked 00:06:48.319 --> 00:06:56.800 and I was just angry. But I very vividly remember 00:06:56.800 --> 00:06:58.800 the reaction I had and so if you can kind of 00:06:58.800 --> 00:07:01.500 picture, it happened inside my kitchen living 00:07:01.500 --> 00:07:04.240 room and I went outside and I was just inside 00:07:04.240 --> 00:07:08.060 because my... agenda was being blocked right 00:07:08.060 --> 00:07:12.160 and so as i went outside i walked out the door 00:07:12.160 --> 00:07:15.439 and i kind of going out and i turned around with 00:07:15.439 --> 00:07:18.459 everything angry inside of me just to respond 00:07:18.459 --> 00:07:20.920 like in the way that i felt like i could express 00:07:20.920 --> 00:07:26.720 myself i turned around and went like that and 00:07:26.720 --> 00:07:29.720 in that moment guess who was looking at me in 00:07:29.720 --> 00:07:37.750 the window him Didn't go well the rest of that 00:07:37.750 --> 00:07:47.189 day. My little dark heart was exposed. He probably 00:07:47.189 --> 00:07:50.350 remembers the sin I was committing, but I sure 00:07:50.350 --> 00:07:53.129 remember the response afterwards too. See, down 00:07:53.129 --> 00:07:57.550 through human history of mankind, mankind has 00:07:57.550 --> 00:08:01.430 rebelled over and over against authority. That 00:08:01.430 --> 00:08:05.360 is part of our story, right? It's part of your 00:08:05.360 --> 00:08:07.879 story. It is definitely part of my story. That 00:08:07.879 --> 00:08:10.920 inside of me, there's this desire to push against 00:08:10.920 --> 00:08:14.459 authority. Starting with Adam and Eve. Right 00:08:14.459 --> 00:08:19.779 back in Genesis 3. The pattern demonstrated is 00:08:19.779 --> 00:08:22.300 that people didn't want to answer to the one, 00:08:22.360 --> 00:08:27.459 no one, including God. Original sin, that's what 00:08:27.459 --> 00:08:30.699 it started. God had a plan, said, this is what 00:08:30.699 --> 00:08:32.840 I want you to do, this is what I don't want you 00:08:32.840 --> 00:08:35.940 to do, and they said, I know better. I don't 00:08:35.940 --> 00:08:38.720 want to submit to that. See, this is the pattern 00:08:38.720 --> 00:08:41.779 of the whole Testament, isn't it? Over and over 00:08:41.779 --> 00:08:43.340 and over. I know, Craig, you're reading right 00:08:43.340 --> 00:08:45.120 through it, right? It's the pattern. You see, 00:08:45.220 --> 00:08:48.960 it's just like, really, more of this? They just 00:08:48.960 --> 00:08:51.340 rebel against God. and it doesn't go well, so 00:08:51.340 --> 00:08:53.399 then they cry out to God, and then God says, 00:08:53.480 --> 00:08:55.240 okay, I'll rescue you, and then they rebel against 00:08:55.240 --> 00:08:58.519 God, and it's just this constant cycle, and if 00:08:58.519 --> 00:09:01.320 you wonder why all those really rough, hard stories 00:09:01.320 --> 00:09:03.399 in the Old Testament are there, it's, I think, 00:09:03.399 --> 00:09:05.080 part of it is just to remind us that we can't 00:09:05.080 --> 00:09:09.580 do this on our own, and so there's this pattern 00:09:09.580 --> 00:09:14.080 of rebellion, and it's in my heart, and I know 00:09:14.080 --> 00:09:18.320 it's in your heart. We struggle with it. And 00:09:18.320 --> 00:09:21.399 only the miracle of the supernatural work of 00:09:21.399 --> 00:09:25.720 God in our hearts allows us to turn from our 00:09:25.720 --> 00:09:30.080 rebellious ways and to submit to Jesus as Lord 00:09:30.080 --> 00:09:35.559 and Master over our life. That's still our struggle 00:09:35.559 --> 00:09:38.440 today. It's what you and I live in, and it is 00:09:38.440 --> 00:09:42.080 only possible to have victory in that through 00:09:42.080 --> 00:09:46.580 the supernatural work of God. And so, the Gospel 00:09:46.580 --> 00:09:52.049 of John, It's calling us to believe in Jesus. 00:09:52.250 --> 00:09:54.129 We've talked about that. The difference between 00:09:54.129 --> 00:09:57.429 believing that Jesus existed and actually believing 00:09:57.429 --> 00:10:00.970 in Jesus is a different thing, right? It's letting 00:10:00.970 --> 00:10:04.070 go. It's saying, God, I believe in you, Jesus. 00:10:04.350 --> 00:10:06.529 But it's not just that we believe in Jesus. We 00:10:06.529 --> 00:10:12.629 believe in him as our Savior and our Lord. Baptism, 00:10:12.629 --> 00:10:15.450 which we'll be doing at Eklutna here at our camp 00:10:15.450 --> 00:10:19.269 out. If you've never been baptized, this is kind 00:10:19.269 --> 00:10:21.909 of a plug also for you to listen and say, I need 00:10:21.909 --> 00:10:24.350 to step forward in faith in this. But baptism 00:10:24.350 --> 00:10:28.789 is this picture of our submission to Jesus as 00:10:28.789 --> 00:10:31.190 Savior and Lord. In fact, we ask the question 00:10:31.190 --> 00:10:34.230 when you're baptized. We say, to who is Jesus 00:10:34.230 --> 00:10:38.690 to you? And your response, if this is real, is 00:10:38.690 --> 00:10:43.659 Jesus is my Savior and my Lord. What John does 00:10:43.659 --> 00:10:46.779 is he is going to expand what this Jesus is. 00:10:46.840 --> 00:10:49.740 Now, he's calling us in the book of John to continue 00:10:49.740 --> 00:10:53.659 to come to, do you really believe in Jesus? Is 00:10:53.659 --> 00:10:56.899 Jesus big to you? Not that he exists, but that 00:10:56.899 --> 00:11:03.159 is he your Lord? Is he your Savior? So we like 00:11:03.159 --> 00:11:05.440 the idea of Jesus being our Savior, don't we? 00:11:05.860 --> 00:11:09.539 That's great. I mean, he did all of it for me, 00:11:09.559 --> 00:11:14.240 and it's free. He rescued me. We love that part. 00:11:14.500 --> 00:11:17.580 And it's important to love it. But we struggle 00:11:17.580 --> 00:11:22.460 with the Lord part the most. We really struggle 00:11:22.460 --> 00:11:27.720 with allowing Jesus, letting Jesus be Lord of 00:11:27.720 --> 00:11:33.220 our life. So there's a shift in John that happens 00:11:33.220 --> 00:11:39.639 in chapter 5. There's this opposition to Jesus 00:11:39.639 --> 00:11:42.759 as Lord. That's the shift. Up to this point, 00:11:42.860 --> 00:11:46.440 he's wonderful. And now you see this shift that 00:11:46.440 --> 00:11:50.299 happens in opposition to him being who he says 00:11:50.299 --> 00:11:54.500 he is, and he says he is Lord. And so there's 00:11:54.500 --> 00:11:57.799 this tension. And Jesus is establishing his authority 00:11:57.799 --> 00:12:03.200 in our lives. And if he does that, as we do that, 00:12:03.259 --> 00:12:07.169 people don't like it. Now, here's the truth is, 00:12:07.169 --> 00:12:10.570 is that people love to call Jesus, oh, he's a 00:12:10.570 --> 00:12:13.169 good teacher. You know what? When Jesus called 00:12:13.169 --> 00:12:19.549 himself, he said, I'm God. He establishes authority, 00:12:19.830 --> 00:12:22.330 and whether we like it or not, this is the tension 00:12:22.330 --> 00:12:24.289 point that we all struggle with. We love him 00:12:24.289 --> 00:12:27.110 as Savior because he's helping us, but do we 00:12:27.110 --> 00:12:32.950 really love him and treat him as Lord? So let's 00:12:32.950 --> 00:12:36.720 look at verse 1. As we look at these verses today, 00:12:36.879 --> 00:12:40.740 Jesus is in charge. This is part of what's going 00:12:40.740 --> 00:12:43.059 on. Jesus is saying, I'm basically in charge. 00:12:44.600 --> 00:12:49.480 And the sign or the miracle reveals the authority 00:12:49.480 --> 00:12:52.340 and the deity of Jesus. Remember, all the signs 00:12:52.340 --> 00:12:54.659 and miracles you see in the Gospels are all pointing 00:12:54.659 --> 00:12:58.240 to his authority to give through the glory of 00:12:58.240 --> 00:13:01.480 God and showing us who he is. And so these signs 00:13:01.480 --> 00:13:04.980 and miracles show us the... authority and the 00:13:04.980 --> 00:13:08.059 deity of Jesus. Okay, so look at verse 1. After 00:13:08.059 --> 00:13:12.279 this, a Jewish festival took place, and Jesus 00:13:12.279 --> 00:13:15.200 went up to Jerusalem. By the way, you're going 00:13:15.200 --> 00:13:17.100 to see this all the time, because Jerusalem is 00:13:17.100 --> 00:13:19.860 elevated way up here, and everywhere you went, 00:13:19.879 --> 00:13:21.720 you had to go up to Jerusalem, so that's why 00:13:21.720 --> 00:13:24.399 it says it that way. By the Sheep Gate in Jerusalem, 00:13:24.440 --> 00:13:30.740 there is a pool called the Seda in Aramaic, which 00:13:30.740 --> 00:13:35.620 is It has five colonnades. Within it, they lay 00:13:35.620 --> 00:13:40.379 a large number of disabled, blind, lame, and 00:13:40.379 --> 00:13:45.240 paralyzed. Okay. I think the reason why John 00:13:45.240 --> 00:13:47.120 lays this out is he wants us to get a visual 00:13:47.120 --> 00:13:49.799 image of what's going on here. Picture this. 00:13:49.879 --> 00:13:53.860 Can you picture this scene? It's a sad picture 00:13:53.860 --> 00:13:56.059 of brokenness. You have these pools and they're 00:13:56.059 --> 00:13:58.600 colonnades and they're just basically a big open 00:13:58.600 --> 00:14:05.029 area. And there are just sick and blind and hurting 00:14:05.029 --> 00:14:09.990 people laying all over. Kind of a rough place. 00:14:10.470 --> 00:14:13.889 It's a place of brokenness, but it's also a picture 00:14:13.889 --> 00:14:19.629 of those wanting to be healed. But why are they 00:14:19.629 --> 00:14:24.669 there? Why are they there at these pools? See, 00:14:24.669 --> 00:14:26.769 I think it is because they believe that there's 00:14:26.769 --> 00:14:31.360 some kind of hope. of healing in these pools, 00:14:31.539 --> 00:14:35.379 and so they're there. But notice in your Bibles, 00:14:35.399 --> 00:14:37.340 there's a verse that's missing. Which one is 00:14:37.340 --> 00:14:43.039 it? Because verse four, it's not there. So the 00:14:43.039 --> 00:14:45.480 reason it's not there is that most New Testament 00:14:45.480 --> 00:14:48.840 scholars believe that this verse four is not 00:14:48.840 --> 00:14:51.879 original, and it was added later in the margins 00:14:51.879 --> 00:14:56.230 of the manuscript to by a scribe trying to copy 00:14:56.230 --> 00:14:58.110 or explain what was going on as he was copying 00:14:58.110 --> 00:15:00.549 the text so verse four if you look down in those 00:15:00.549 --> 00:15:02.169 bibles we send out there it's actually right 00:15:02.169 --> 00:15:05.370 down at the bottom and at the page but this is 00:15:05.370 --> 00:15:07.730 what it says and i think it's important to look 00:15:07.730 --> 00:15:09.490 at it because it helps give us a little context 00:15:09.490 --> 00:15:13.230 it says waiting for for the moving of the water 00:15:13.230 --> 00:15:16.250 because an angel would go down into the pool 00:15:16.250 --> 00:15:19.149 from time to time stir up the water then the 00:15:19.149 --> 00:15:23.629 then the first one to get who got in after this 00:15:23.629 --> 00:15:26.600 water stirred up was recovered from whatever 00:15:26.600 --> 00:15:30.480 ailment they had. Okay. Even though this most 00:15:30.480 --> 00:15:33.080 likely is not the original text, it does show 00:15:33.080 --> 00:15:37.059 us what may have been going on or what they may 00:15:37.059 --> 00:15:40.539 have believed was going on. So they believed 00:15:40.539 --> 00:15:42.679 that if something would happen, the water would 00:15:42.679 --> 00:15:44.779 get all stirred up, and if you could get in first, 00:15:45.039 --> 00:15:50.139 chances are you would get healed. Okay? So look 00:15:50.139 --> 00:15:54.279 at what verse 5 says. One man who... One man 00:15:54.279 --> 00:15:57.340 was there who had been disabled for 38 years. 00:15:58.799 --> 00:16:02.340 When Jesus saw him lying there and realized he 00:16:02.340 --> 00:16:05.320 had already been there a long time, he said to 00:16:05.320 --> 00:16:11.460 him, do you want to get well? Here's the scene. 00:16:12.659 --> 00:16:15.799 Jesus sees a man. Now, he sees a lot of people, 00:16:15.899 --> 00:16:19.720 right? And he doesn't go in and go, whoosh, you're 00:16:19.720 --> 00:16:22.850 all healed. Could have. But he sees this one 00:16:22.850 --> 00:16:27.610 man who is struggling, and he's hopeless. He's 00:16:27.610 --> 00:16:30.509 been disabled longer than Jesus has been alive. 00:16:32.370 --> 00:16:36.309 Think about that. And Jesus looks at the man 00:16:36.309 --> 00:16:39.429 who is surrounded by all these other struggling 00:16:39.429 --> 00:16:42.549 people, and he asks a very curious question. 00:16:42.750 --> 00:16:45.549 And I want you just to think about why. Do you 00:16:45.549 --> 00:16:49.230 want to get well? What kind of question is that? 00:16:51.080 --> 00:16:55.440 Ugh. Right? Do you want to get well? Why would 00:16:55.440 --> 00:17:02.179 Jesus ask this kind of question? Maybe what Jesus 00:17:02.179 --> 00:17:07.500 was asking could go something like this. If you've 00:17:07.500 --> 00:17:09.980 lived your whole life for 38 years this way, 00:17:11.180 --> 00:17:14.700 you have learned how to survive and how to have 00:17:14.700 --> 00:17:20.930 your needs met. If I heal you, Your life will 00:17:20.930 --> 00:17:24.710 radically change. See, the old will be gone and 00:17:24.710 --> 00:17:27.809 a new reality will come. Are you ready for that? 00:17:29.470 --> 00:17:34.930 Are you ready for that? In response to Jesus' 00:17:35.089 --> 00:17:38.329 question, I don't know the exact reason, but 00:17:38.329 --> 00:17:40.869 Jesus asks this very odd question. Like, of course 00:17:40.869 --> 00:17:43.170 he wants to be healed, right? You would think. 00:17:43.230 --> 00:17:46.529 That's why he's there. Here's the man's response. 00:17:47.329 --> 00:17:52.049 Sir? See, guys, look at verse 7. Sir, means he 00:17:52.049 --> 00:17:55.730 doesn't know who Jesus is at this point. He just, 00:17:55.809 --> 00:17:57.329 there's a man, come on, do you want to be healed? 00:17:57.950 --> 00:18:02.289 Sir, the disabled man answered, I have no one 00:18:02.289 --> 00:18:04.730 to put me into the pool when the water's stirred 00:18:04.730 --> 00:18:08.390 up, but while I'm coming, someone gets down, 00:18:08.509 --> 00:18:15.029 goes down ahead of me. That's my excuse. Evidently, 00:18:15.029 --> 00:18:17.589 the man was hoping Jesus would help him get into 00:18:17.589 --> 00:18:20.950 the water at the appropriate time. Like, I could 00:18:20.950 --> 00:18:24.910 use your help, Jesus. But Jesus had other plans, 00:18:25.109 --> 00:18:30.529 which he usually does. Look at verse 8. Get up. 00:18:32.109 --> 00:18:36.309 Huh? Get up, Jesus told him. Pick up your mat 00:18:36.309 --> 00:18:42.049 and walk, or bed. Instantly, the man got well, 00:18:42.170 --> 00:18:47.009 picked up his mat, And started walking. 38 years. 00:18:48.930 --> 00:18:52.809 Boom. Just like that. Think about the authority 00:18:52.809 --> 00:18:58.390 of Jesus just for a minute. Think about the authority 00:18:58.390 --> 00:19:01.849 of Jesus in this moment and in the man's life. 00:19:02.869 --> 00:19:09.789 Two things. Jesus came to him. He didn't even 00:19:09.789 --> 00:19:13.500 ask to be healed. In fact, He didn't even know 00:19:13.500 --> 00:19:17.559 who Jesus was. But Jesus came to him, and he 00:19:17.559 --> 00:19:21.279 says, you. There's a lot of sick people around, 00:19:21.440 --> 00:19:26.480 but he just chose him. See, Jesus has the authority 00:19:26.480 --> 00:19:28.980 to break into your life and to heal you if he 00:19:28.980 --> 00:19:36.420 wants to. He has the authority to do that. Has 00:19:36.420 --> 00:19:41.410 Jesus stepped into your life? When you were not 00:19:41.410 --> 00:19:46.670 even looking for him. Is that true, Craig? That's 00:19:46.670 --> 00:19:49.130 what's happened, right? I love that about your 00:19:49.130 --> 00:19:51.190 story, that recently God has broke into your 00:19:51.190 --> 00:19:53.829 life. Did you go pursuing him or did he come 00:19:53.829 --> 00:20:00.289 after you? This is what Jesus does. Maybe he's 00:20:00.289 --> 00:20:03.930 just brought somebody else into your life to 00:20:03.930 --> 00:20:08.299 point you to this Jesus. I think the second thing 00:20:08.299 --> 00:20:11.200 is that Jesus has authority to heal, to bring 00:20:11.200 --> 00:20:15.140 wholeness. He can do it. We should be praying 00:20:15.140 --> 00:20:17.240 for healing. We should be praying for physical 00:20:17.240 --> 00:20:19.220 healing, emotional healing, spiritual healing, 00:20:19.279 --> 00:20:21.700 whatever that is. We should be asking God for 00:20:21.700 --> 00:20:25.759 that because he can and does have authority in 00:20:25.759 --> 00:20:28.559 those areas. That's why we go to him and say, 00:20:28.579 --> 00:20:32.099 help us. Let's keep going. There's a lot of the 00:20:32.099 --> 00:20:36.319 story still to go. Second part of verse 9 starts 00:20:36.319 --> 00:20:41.019 this way. Now, that day was the Sabbath. So Jesus 00:20:41.019 --> 00:20:45.920 said to the man who had been healed, so the Jews 00:20:45.920 --> 00:20:48.359 said to the man who had been healed, this is 00:20:48.359 --> 00:20:50.400 the Sabbath. The law prohibits you from picking 00:20:50.400 --> 00:20:54.079 up your mat. This is the shift in the story right 00:20:54.079 --> 00:20:58.700 here. Can you believe this? These Jews come to 00:20:58.700 --> 00:21:00.720 him, and we know they're the religious leaders. 00:21:00.900 --> 00:21:03.700 They come to him, and they don't celebrate what 00:21:03.700 --> 00:21:06.619 Jesus has done. You've been sick for 38 years. 00:21:06.940 --> 00:21:10.339 Why are you holding your mat? It just doesn't 00:21:10.339 --> 00:21:14.660 make any sense. But that's what they do. I mean, 00:21:14.720 --> 00:21:19.059 he's been this way for 38 years. They obviously 00:21:19.059 --> 00:21:24.299 know who this cat is. But instead of rejoicing 00:21:24.299 --> 00:21:28.079 and celebrating what Jesus... what Jesus had 00:21:28.079 --> 00:21:35.140 done, they complain about his bed mat. Man, I 00:21:35.140 --> 00:21:36.720 could go down some bunny trails on this one right 00:21:36.720 --> 00:21:39.019 here, but I'm not. We'll stay focused. Because 00:21:39.019 --> 00:21:40.680 we could talk a lot about legalism and what it 00:21:40.680 --> 00:21:45.099 does in this moment, right? I believe Jesus chose 00:21:45.099 --> 00:21:48.839 to heal this man on this specific day to make 00:21:48.839 --> 00:21:51.099 a point to the religious leaders. He could have 00:21:51.099 --> 00:21:53.740 picked any other day. He could have said, just 00:21:53.740 --> 00:21:56.259 get up. But no, he said, get up, pick up your 00:21:56.259 --> 00:22:00.579 bed. Stinky old bed. Why? He's making a point. 00:22:01.799 --> 00:22:06.839 So he wants them to see their lack, them, meaning 00:22:06.839 --> 00:22:10.240 the Jewish leaders, he wants them to see the 00:22:10.240 --> 00:22:13.019 lack of submission to God and his authority. 00:22:14.380 --> 00:22:17.859 They were more concerned about their rules, about 00:22:17.859 --> 00:22:23.339 their desires, than it was God's ways and his 00:22:23.339 --> 00:22:27.609 rules. Jesus was throwing down a challenge flag 00:22:27.609 --> 00:22:31.670 in a sense of whose authority mattered most in 00:22:31.670 --> 00:22:39.329 their life. Is it their own authority or is it 00:22:39.329 --> 00:22:43.170 God's authority? Jesus is saying, I am the authority. 00:22:43.970 --> 00:22:48.809 I am Lord. This should be the question that you 00:22:48.809 --> 00:22:54.589 and I are asking. Whose authority matters most? 00:22:54.730 --> 00:22:57.130 Is it my authority or is it God's authority? 00:22:57.750 --> 00:23:04.210 Is it his ways or is it my way? So they confront 00:23:04.210 --> 00:23:05.829 the man, these Jewish leaders. They confront 00:23:05.829 --> 00:23:08.509 the man instead of celebrating with him and this 00:23:08.509 --> 00:23:12.569 is his response. Look at verse 11. He replied, 00:23:12.950 --> 00:23:15.890 the man who made me well told me pick up the 00:23:15.890 --> 00:23:21.900 man and walk. Who is this man who told you? Pick 00:23:21.900 --> 00:23:25.240 up your mat and walk. They asked, but the man 00:23:25.240 --> 00:23:28.819 who has been healed did not know who he was because 00:23:28.819 --> 00:23:32.880 Jesus had slipped away into the crowd that was 00:23:32.880 --> 00:23:37.160 there. So he goes, I don't know, but it worked. 00:23:37.940 --> 00:23:40.079 Like, why are you calling me out on this one? 00:23:40.180 --> 00:23:44.339 I think if he has authority, at this point, he'd 00:23:44.339 --> 00:23:46.500 be like, why are you asking me this question? 00:23:46.720 --> 00:23:49.519 Can't you see I can move? Like, something changed. 00:23:50.170 --> 00:23:52.970 But they were concerned about his obedience to 00:23:52.970 --> 00:23:59.549 the rule. So the man doesn't even know who healed 00:23:59.549 --> 00:24:02.470 him, and the religious leaders who are upset 00:24:02.470 --> 00:24:07.589 that he healed him, the man on the Sabbath. So 00:24:07.589 --> 00:24:09.049 let's just talk for a second about the Sabbath. 00:24:09.730 --> 00:24:12.529 What's going on here? See, the Sabbath comes 00:24:12.529 --> 00:24:15.509 from the second, starts in the second chapter 00:24:15.509 --> 00:24:18.970 of Genesis, where... which is where God created. 00:24:19.150 --> 00:24:21.970 He worked six days, but on the seventh day, he 00:24:21.970 --> 00:24:27.430 rested. God entered into this Sabbath rest and 00:24:27.430 --> 00:24:32.470 is still in that rest. Even while he is upholding 00:24:32.470 --> 00:24:37.509 the earth by his power, he works and he remains 00:24:37.509 --> 00:24:40.650 in his Sabbath rest. So it's a picture of God 00:24:40.650 --> 00:24:44.529 resting after working. And later, God gave the 00:24:44.529 --> 00:24:49.019 law to his people. To have a day of Sabbath rest 00:24:49.019 --> 00:24:55.380 to reflect on his rest, on what we have in him. 00:24:55.980 --> 00:24:59.000 And so Sabbath was a time of celebration each 00:24:59.000 --> 00:25:02.859 week. You have worked hard for six days, but 00:25:02.859 --> 00:25:05.660 on the seventh day, you were free to focus on 00:25:05.660 --> 00:25:09.940 God, to rest, to celebrate his presence, to celebrate 00:25:09.940 --> 00:25:17.039 his power. It was a time of joy. With Jesus, 00:25:17.059 --> 00:25:20.359 God's presence and power were on display in the 00:25:20.359 --> 00:25:25.960 Sabbath. With Jesus, God's presence and his power 00:25:25.960 --> 00:25:30.859 were on display seven days a week. And so he 00:25:30.859 --> 00:25:33.500 comes in, and so I think Jesus deliberately picks 00:25:33.500 --> 00:25:36.900 the Sabbath to say, look, are you resting in 00:25:36.900 --> 00:25:41.299 me? Am I the focus point? Because I am. I'm the 00:25:41.299 --> 00:25:45.980 one that actually made the Sabbath for you. Jesus 00:25:45.980 --> 00:25:49.140 chose to heal this man on this specific day to 00:25:49.140 --> 00:25:53.839 make a point, to point something out to these 00:25:53.839 --> 00:25:56.700 religious leaders. It's kind of like a major 00:25:56.700 --> 00:26:00.099 flex by Jesus. Like, hey, I wanted them to see 00:26:00.099 --> 00:26:04.859 that their lack of submission to God and His 00:26:04.859 --> 00:26:07.799 authority is the same thing. When they don't 00:26:07.799 --> 00:26:09.619 submit to me, they're not submitting to God. 00:26:10.579 --> 00:26:13.660 And so there's this major flex that I'm the one 00:26:13.660 --> 00:26:16.019 that's the authority. And Jesus has every right 00:26:16.019 --> 00:26:17.759 to do that, and so he's doing that with these 00:26:17.759 --> 00:26:20.359 guys. Look at verse 14. And after this, Jesus 00:26:20.359 --> 00:26:25.099 found him in the temple and said to him, again, 00:26:25.880 --> 00:26:28.460 I'll get to this in a second, see, you are well. 00:26:29.859 --> 00:26:31.660 You're not sinning anymore, so that something 00:26:31.660 --> 00:26:34.019 worse might happen to you. And guys, there's 00:26:34.019 --> 00:26:36.240 a lot of people that take this verse and kind 00:26:36.240 --> 00:26:38.400 of run with it down some bunny trails, but we're 00:26:38.400 --> 00:26:40.240 going to try to stay, I think, to the main point. 00:26:40.359 --> 00:26:42.079 There are a few things that really stand out 00:26:42.079 --> 00:26:46.390 here in this verse. First is that Jesus finds 00:26:46.390 --> 00:26:50.450 the man in the temple. Now you go through a transformation. 00:26:50.509 --> 00:26:52.750 You don't know what God has done. I think what 00:26:52.750 --> 00:26:54.829 this happens, this man goes, man, something supernatural 00:26:54.829 --> 00:26:58.210 happened. I can't explain this. God, what's going 00:26:58.210 --> 00:27:03.150 on here? So where does he go? He goes to the 00:27:03.150 --> 00:27:06.670 temple. And that's where Jesus shows up to him. 00:27:08.829 --> 00:27:11.009 He seems to know that there's something miraculous 00:27:11.009 --> 00:27:14.089 and I gotta go there. And that's where Jesus 00:27:14.089 --> 00:27:16.630 finds him. The second thing is that, again, Jesus 00:27:16.630 --> 00:27:21.569 pursues him. He finds him. And he quietly does 00:27:21.569 --> 00:27:25.190 it. He says, look, you're different now, aren't 00:27:25.190 --> 00:27:28.029 you? It's like I've changed you. The old is gone. 00:27:28.130 --> 00:27:32.109 The new has come. You see what's happened? And 00:27:32.109 --> 00:27:35.589 the third is that Jesus calls him to a new way 00:27:35.589 --> 00:27:38.690 of living. Don't live like you used to. Don't 00:27:38.690 --> 00:27:43.019 go back to sinning. I've given you, we know this 00:27:43.019 --> 00:27:45.380 now, that when we are in Christ, we are given 00:27:45.380 --> 00:27:48.400 a whole new identity to live in. Don't go back 00:27:48.400 --> 00:27:53.400 to that. He is now in Christ. The old is gone. 00:27:53.700 --> 00:27:56.099 The new has come. Let's stay there. Let's go 00:27:56.099 --> 00:28:01.960 there. If Jesus has saved you, live like you 00:28:01.960 --> 00:28:05.460 belong to Jim. That's the point. If he saved 00:28:05.460 --> 00:28:09.700 you, Is he your savior? If he saved you, live 00:28:09.700 --> 00:28:12.200 like you belong to him. Don't go back to the 00:28:12.200 --> 00:28:16.759 old way of doing it. Which, frankly, I think 00:28:16.759 --> 00:28:18.940 we all struggle with every day, don't we? We're 00:28:18.940 --> 00:28:22.839 rolling back to the old ways. Look at verse 15. 00:28:24.740 --> 00:28:27.700 The man went and reported to the Jews that it 00:28:27.700 --> 00:28:31.980 was Jesus who had made him well. Therefore, the 00:28:31.980 --> 00:28:36.859 Jews began persecuting Jesus because he was doing 00:28:36.859 --> 00:28:40.579 these things on the Sabbath. And Jesus responded 00:28:40.579 --> 00:28:44.519 to them, my father is still working, and I'm 00:28:44.519 --> 00:28:48.140 also working also. This is why the Jews began 00:28:48.140 --> 00:28:53.660 trying all the more to kill him. Not only was 00:28:53.660 --> 00:28:56.900 he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling 00:28:56.900 --> 00:29:03.279 God his own father, making himself what? Equal 00:29:03.279 --> 00:29:10.069 to God. And so this is a big deal. Here in the 00:29:10.069 --> 00:29:13.690 book of John, we see this major shift. And it's 00:29:13.690 --> 00:29:16.710 a showdown that's going to begin to take place 00:29:16.710 --> 00:29:19.930 between those religious leaders and Jesus over 00:29:19.930 --> 00:29:24.650 his authority on who he is. The religious leaders 00:29:24.650 --> 00:29:28.029 of Israel are faced with a decision. Will they 00:29:28.029 --> 00:29:32.450 submit to the authority of Jesus as Lord? Or 00:29:32.450 --> 00:29:35.599 will they rebel against his authority, and choose 00:29:35.599 --> 00:29:40.640 to live for themselves and their ways. Will they 00:29:40.640 --> 00:29:43.819 follow Jesus as Savior and Lord, or will they 00:29:43.819 --> 00:29:47.519 follow their own ways? And that is the question. 00:29:47.619 --> 00:29:49.680 That's what we struggle with, isn't it? That's 00:29:49.680 --> 00:29:52.759 what I struggle with. It may not be as blatant. 00:29:52.799 --> 00:29:54.940 Maybe it's like, today I'll choose to do it my 00:29:54.940 --> 00:29:58.359 way. And so it's a daily process. The battle 00:29:58.359 --> 00:30:05.819 exists in our life, just like it exists for those 00:30:05.819 --> 00:30:11.599 pharisees each day we have to decide if we will 00:30:11.599 --> 00:30:15.039 submit to jesus as lord now it doesn't mean you 00:30:15.039 --> 00:30:16.720 lose your salvation that's not what it's about 00:30:16.720 --> 00:30:18.880 it means that this is the journey you and i on 00:30:18.880 --> 00:30:22.039 that we need to constantly remember who he is 00:30:22.039 --> 00:30:24.660 and what he's done and then and what it's made 00:30:24.660 --> 00:30:27.859 me to be who he's made me to be and the question 00:30:27.859 --> 00:30:31.099 is are we living as his children are we living 00:30:31.099 --> 00:30:35.369 in this new identity And if so, there's got to 00:30:35.369 --> 00:30:40.509 be a place of constant surrender. When we know 00:30:40.509 --> 00:30:42.670 we've sinned, do we confess our sin? Do we repent 00:30:42.670 --> 00:30:47.190 of that sin? Sin is doing it my way. And God 00:30:47.190 --> 00:30:51.730 says, no, do it my way. And so that's what our 00:30:51.730 --> 00:30:55.650 lives consist of, regular surrender. One of the 00:30:55.650 --> 00:30:57.589 commentaries called Exalting Jesus Commentary 00:30:57.589 --> 00:31:00.109 had this to say. I love how they said this. Our 00:31:00.109 --> 00:31:05.740 hearts are a battlefield. Two opposing forces 00:31:05.740 --> 00:31:10.619 clash violently each day. Our desires for autonomous 00:31:10.619 --> 00:31:15.559 self -rule engages in a fierce battle with an 00:31:15.559 --> 00:31:18.180 appropriate desire to submit to the lordship 00:31:18.180 --> 00:31:22.839 of Jesus Christ. Regardless of who we are or 00:31:22.839 --> 00:31:25.819 what situation we are in, we must diligently 00:31:25.819 --> 00:31:30.299 fight to obey Christ, putting to death our desires 00:31:30.299 --> 00:31:34.779 to be in charge. Putting to death our desires, 00:31:34.920 --> 00:31:41.700 be in charge. See, it's a battle we can win only 00:31:41.700 --> 00:31:44.920 by the powerful work of Christ within us. It's 00:31:44.920 --> 00:31:51.119 possible to put to death those things. But it 00:31:51.119 --> 00:31:54.799 requires the work of God in us and saying, God, 00:31:54.839 --> 00:31:59.200 I need you. So I want to conclude today by returning 00:31:59.200 --> 00:32:02.819 to... What is represented in baptism? We talked 00:32:02.819 --> 00:32:05.559 about this earlier already. The two questions, 00:32:05.700 --> 00:32:12.359 is Jesus your Savior? Is Jesus your Savior? Because 00:32:12.359 --> 00:32:14.099 you're going to declare, if you stand up, if 00:32:14.099 --> 00:32:16.299 you haven't been baptized yet, that's what we're 00:32:16.299 --> 00:32:18.980 asking you to do. What is it? Who is Jesus to 00:32:18.980 --> 00:32:22.299 you? Is he your Savior? Meaning, is what he did 00:32:22.299 --> 00:32:24.920 on the cross sufficient for you? Like, he took 00:32:24.920 --> 00:32:27.420 your sin? You don't have to do it. He did it 00:32:27.420 --> 00:32:29.619 for you. In fact, there's nothing you can do 00:32:29.619 --> 00:32:32.299 to earn your favor with God. God has done it 00:32:32.299 --> 00:32:35.660 all for you. He's Savior. He's Lord. He's your 00:32:35.660 --> 00:32:43.240 Redeemer. Is Jesus your Savior? And then second, 00:32:43.359 --> 00:32:49.500 is Jesus Lord? Meaning, all things are surrendered 00:32:49.500 --> 00:32:52.500 to His ways, not your own. And that's really 00:32:52.500 --> 00:32:57.720 hard for Alaskans. We like Him our way. And I 00:32:57.720 --> 00:32:59.799 mean all things. That doesn't mean you get it 00:32:59.799 --> 00:33:01.579 right all the time. That means that you start 00:33:01.579 --> 00:33:03.880 from this place where you're saying, God, what 00:33:03.880 --> 00:33:09.559 is your desires? Your will be done. We don't 00:33:09.559 --> 00:33:12.339 like that line very much. At least I don't. Your 00:33:12.339 --> 00:33:16.180 will be done. Not Caleb's, but Lord, your will 00:33:16.180 --> 00:33:22.539 be done today. And as we daily go to battle with 00:33:22.539 --> 00:33:25.950 that question, The posture is, God, your will 00:33:25.950 --> 00:33:30.910 be done. That's how we live it. I say, actually, 00:33:31.009 --> 00:33:33.750 one of the reasons why I think we continue to 00:33:33.750 --> 00:33:36.589 come back to communion, why we need to come back 00:33:36.589 --> 00:33:39.130 to communion every week, why we celebrate it 00:33:39.130 --> 00:33:41.950 here, is that we remember that Jesus did what 00:33:41.950 --> 00:33:44.630 he did for us. He gave up everything. He's our 00:33:44.630 --> 00:33:48.109 Savior. But then he's calling us to be saying, 00:33:48.210 --> 00:33:52.920 hey, I am also your Lord. And so, My body was 00:33:52.920 --> 00:33:56.980 broken for you. My body, I submitted all of my 00:33:56.980 --> 00:34:02.859 life for you. My blood was shed for you. Now, 00:34:02.920 --> 00:34:09.320 as you come, surrender to me. As we take communion 00:34:09.320 --> 00:34:11.340 today, I want you to think about that as we go 00:34:11.340 --> 00:34:14.579 through communion. Got all of it for you. And 00:34:14.579 --> 00:34:23.489 pray, man, you guys can come up. Lord, all of 00:34:23.489 --> 00:34:25.829 us are in different places in our church. We 00:34:25.829 --> 00:34:28.630 know that. You know every one of our hearts. 00:34:28.670 --> 00:34:30.469 You know every one of us, what we're dealing 00:34:30.469 --> 00:34:32.989 with. And for those in the room, maybe, Lord, 00:34:33.050 --> 00:34:37.730 that have never surrendered to you as Savior, 00:34:37.969 --> 00:34:44.809 I bring today, Lord, that that will happen. And 00:34:44.809 --> 00:34:47.030 Lord, for us who are struggling maybe in this 00:34:47.030 --> 00:34:50.730 room to continue to surrender to your authority 00:34:50.730 --> 00:34:54.739 in our life, Right where we sit today, may our 00:34:54.739 --> 00:34:58.840 prayer be, God, I surrender all. All to you, 00:34:58.900 --> 00:35:00.179 Jesus, I surrender today.