Kerry Shook - Step Into The Miracle
I heard about an elderly man who was brand new to a senior living center, and as soon as he walked in the door, he saw across the room an elderly woman who just stared at him, and she just couldn't take her eyes off of him. And then, later that night at dinner, he noticed a couple of tables over that same elderly woman was just staring at him all through dinner. And that night was bingo night, and he noticed that the woman just kept staring at him all through bingo night.
And so, finally, he walked over to her and he said, "I can't help but notice, but you're staring at me, you've been staring at me ever since I got here". And she said, "I'm so sorry for staring at you, I have, I've been staring at you the whole time. It's just that you look just like my fourth husband". And he said, "Well, how many husbands have you had"? And she smiled at him and said, "Three". You gotta have a vision, to look forward, to see that change can happen to you.
You see, we're concluding the series "Now or Never," it's all about experiencing the change that you've been waiting for, and it really does take just seeing what can be, you have to see what can be and just imagine what God can begin to do in your life. Now, John 5 is where we see Jesus work a miracle that changes a guy's whole future, the whole trajectory of his life was changed when he met Jesus. So, stand in honor of God's Word, and I'll just read it, just follow along with me.
"Some time later, Jesus went up to Jerusalem for one of the Jewish festivals. Now there is in Jerusalem near the Sheep Gate a pool, which in Aramaic is called Bethesda and which is surrounded by five covered colonnades. Here a great number of disabled people used to lie, the blind, the lame, the paralyzed. One who was there had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him lying there and learned that he had been in this condition for a long time, he asked him, 'Do you want to get well?' 'Sir,' the invalid replied, I have no one to help me into the pool when the water is stirred. While I'm trying to get in, someone else goes down ahead of me. Then Jesus said to him, 'Get up! Pick up your mat and walk.' At once the man was cured; he picked up his mat and walked".
You can be seated. Here we see a man who was in a hopeless situation for 38 years, he needed a miracle to change his situation, he needed a miracle to get him unstuck, he had been stuck in this hopeless situation for 38 years. Now, the Scripture says here he was paralyzed physically, but a lot of people today are paralyzed relationally, that is, they experience the same relationship problems over and over again. And then they go to a new relationship and they experience the same problems because the problem is them.
And some people are stuck in a relationship rut, they just keep going through the same issues, the same struggles in the relationships, and they never seem to change. Some people are paralyzed spiritually, they are stuck in a character rut and there is a devastating, destructive habit that they just can't seem to ever break free from. They're always stuck in the same character defects and sins and struggles, and it just seems like they will never, ever get over it, that they'll never have victory. Some people are paralyzed emotionally, that is, they're stuck in a past hurt and it keeps them from moving forward in the present. Some people are paralyzed financially, and they always find themselves back in the same situation, the same financial situation over and over again, they keep making the same financial mistakes, having the same financial problems time and time again.
Now, every one of us have areas of our lives that we've been stuck in for a long time and it seems like we'll never be able to get through it. But no, that's a lie from the enemy, it's not true. For, you see, just like this man at the Pool of Bethesda, God wants to help you get unstuck. It's not the pool, it's God's power, but we have to cooperate with God's power in order to change. God wants to change me, God wants to change you, God wants to get us unstuck in those areas that we get stuck in, the problems we keep having over and over again, he wants us to get unstuck, but I have to co-operate with God's power. It's not the pool, it's God's power, but I gotta cooperate with God's power so I can experience the miracle that lifts me off the mat. How do I do that?
This passage tells us there are a couple of things I have to do to cooperate with God's power to change. First, I have to stand up and stop making excuses. In John 5:8, it says, "Jesus told him, 'Stand up, pick up your mat and walk!'" So the first thing Jesus tells this guy is to stand up. Jesus was asking him to do the most unnatural, awkward thing he could ever ask him to do, and that was to stand up after being confined to laying down for 38 years, it's the most unnatural thing for him to do. And Christ always asks us to stand up before he starts the miracle, he'll ask us to stand up and obey before he starts the miracle, and it feels awkward. He may ask you to do something that doesn't feel natural, that doesn't feel like it's easy. It may feel uncomfortable, but when you stand up and you obey God, the miracle starts.
You see, a lot of people think when you want change you just pray for God to change you, pray for God to change the situation and instantly it changes, and everything just flows and everything just goes so well. Everything works out perfect, all the barriers just fall away, all the doors just open, everything is so natural and just works so well. No, that's not usually the way it happens. God asks us to take a step and then he opens the door, God asks us to stand up and then he takes the barrier out, he always asks us to stand up before, not after, he starts the miracle. We have to take that stand and to trust him just a little bit, and it's usually something that's a little awkward, it doesn't feel natural.
And when we stand regardless of if it makes sense to us or if it feels ok or if it's awkward, when we do it anyway and obey God, the miracle starts, he gives us the strength and the miracle starts. Change always starts when you obey God and you stand up, even if it doesn't make sense, even if it doesn't feel comfortable. You see, there's a myth out there that says, when you're praying for God to give you a miracle over an addiction or destructive habit, that you pray and God just takes it out of your life and you never have to deal with it again, and that's usually not the way God works. Usually the way God works is, he says, "Just stand up and I'll give you the strength to stand up, just take a step and I'll give you the strength for that step, I'll give you the strength for one step, one step at a time, one day at a time, one moment at a time".
But we wanna run 3,000 steps ahead, we say, "God, give me the power for the next 30 years, everything's changed, so I never have to worry about that again, I don't have to deal with that again, that struggle is gone out of my life. Thank you, God". And God says, "I'll take care of you for the next 30 years, but I'm just gonna give you the strength for one step. I'm gonna give you the strength for the next step and, when you take that next step, you'll have the strength for it. And then I'll give you the strength for the next step and the strength for the next step and the strength for the next step".
And 30 years later, you'll look back and you'll be where you never dreamed or imagined you could ever be. Or a couple of years later, you'll look back and you'll go, "Wow, look what God has done in my life, I never dreamed I would be in this place, I never dreamed that God could do something like that with my life, I never dreamed that I could get unstuck from that situation, and now look where I'm at". You see, when you take that stand after you've been stuck for a long time, it's gonna feel awkward, it's gonna feel unnatural, but you take the step regardless of what it feels like, you have to risk awkwardness. If it doesn't feel natural, that's ok because God wants to do something supernatural in you, where you take the step regardless of what people think, regardless of what it feels like, and then God gives you his power and his strength.
Now, I want you to notice the most unusual thing about this miracle, in John 5:6, Jesus asked the man a really strange question. "When Jesus saw him lying there and learned that he had been in this condition for a long time, he asked him, 'Do you want to get well?'" I mean, what kind of question is that? It's almost offensive, I mean, this guy has done everything he can to somehow get to the Pool of Bethesda. And he's right there, he's homeless, he has no shelter, he's staying there all the time just because he has a little bit of hope that maybe he'll be the first in the water and he can get healed. And he never leaves there, he stays right there, because he wants to be healed, right? Of course, he wants to be healed, right?
Well, not so fast. You see, sometimes we get so stuck in our dysfunction for so long that we get real comfortable with it, we're so stuck in our dysfunction for so long that it starts feeling normal. You see, we know we're in a mess, but we know that mess, we're familiar with that mess, and we're not quite sure what will happen after the miracle, and we get afraid to change, we get afraid to experience the miracle. And this man was right there and Jesus said, "Do you want to get well, do you want to change, do you want that breakthrough"?
And I think that's what he asks us today, do you wanna change, do you really wanna change, do you really want that breakthrough, do you really want to get unstuck? And we think, "I know what this is, this is a mess, I don't like it, but at least I'm familiar with this mess, I don't know what's gonna happen after the miracle, I don't know if I can trust God with my life. Or what if everything changes and God messes up my life? What if everything changes and I go down a path that's just awful and miserable? I don't know that I can really surrender to God and trust him with everything. Yeah, I would like to not be in this mess, but I'm not sure about the miracle. And God wants us to be able to trust him and surrender, otherwise we stay in the mess and we can't experience the miracle".
So Jesus says, "Do you really want to change"? Now notice the man's response to Jesus's question in verse 7. "'Sir,' the invalid replied, 'I have no one to help me into the pool when the water is stirred. While I am trying to get in, someone else goes down ahead of me.'" So, when Jesus asked him, "Do you wanna get well"? He doesn't say yes, he doesn't say no, he just starts giving this excuse. He says, "Of course I wanna get healed but, you know, here's the thing, Jesus, I don't have any friends here to throw me in the water when the waters are stirred. All these others, they got friends, they get them into the water, and I've got no one here, no one cares about me. I mean, I've got the biggest problem of all, and I mean, it's really bad, you may not understand how hard it is. I can't even walk, I can't even get into the pool, and I've got no one who really cares about me.
Hey, the other day there was this guy with a skin rash and he got in the pool first. I mean, I can't even get off the ground and this guy does a triple somersault into the pool just for clear skin. I mean, it isn't fair, it's just not fair. I mean, I've got all these barriers, you gotta understand". So, he doesn't, after Jesus asks him, "Do you wanna get well"? He doesn't say yes, he doesn't say no, he just goes into this litany of excuses, and I can relate to that unfortunately. The other day, I took my oldest son Ryan for a guys's getaway and I got this "Airbnb," I got it because I had a nice spa, a hot tub, and I thought, "That'd be good at the end of the day, just hang out".
But when we got there, I realized that it was two little "Airbnb's" right together with a shared hot tub. And that night, we're all excited about getting into the hot tub and we looked out, and all the lights were out out there. We go, "That's really weird, the hot tub light's out, everything's out". And then we look closer and it was a man and a woman all cuddled up in the dark out there. And I go, "That's not fair, this is a shared hot tub, they can't do that. They could be on a second honeymoon, I don't care, that was my hot tub too". And I said, "Ryan, what we gotta do is just go out there and sit between him and go, 'Hey, where y'all from? How's it going? Isn't this great, the set up here? We can share this hot tub and turn the lights on.'"
And Ryan said, "You do it, Dad, but I'm staying here. They got there first, they have it," you know? You see, I think it's unfair when I don't get in the hot tub first, this guy thought it was unfair that he couldn't get into the water, he had a pretty good excuse, but I usually don't. And God says to me, "Do you wanna get well"? And I say, "Well, you don't really understand, Lord, all these barriers. I mean, it's really tough, I mean, this is a huge problem. And of course, I wanna break through, but I mean, you don't understand what's led me here, and I've got all these problems others don't".
And God says, "Do you wanna really have victory over that sin that you struggled with for so long"? "Of course, Lord, but," and God says, "Well, then you need to tell someone that you trust, because, then, when the truth comes out, it sets you free, when you share the truth, it sets you free. Don't you wanna be free"? "Of course, Lord, but I don't have anyone to share with like that, I don't have any friends I can trust. Other people may have a friend that will really encourage them and not condemn them, and really help them along, but my sin is so shameful I don't have anyone like that, so I really can't do that".
And we make all these excuses. Do you really wanna get over that hurt that's been holding you back? And God says, "I know you didn't cause it and I know you've been hurt so deeply, and I know it's not your fault and it's not fair, but now it's your responsibility to let go of the resentment". It's like, "God, you don't know how they hurt me, do you really understand what they did? If I let go of the resentment, then I'm letting them off the hook". And God says, "No, you're not, you're giving them to me to take care of it, and I need you to forgive for your sake". "But God, you don't understand, really, I mean, I can't do that". We always make these excuses, and that's why he says, "Do you want a change, do you want a breakthrough, do you really want a miracle that lifts you off the mat"?
Well, that's what he asked this man, and the man made excuses and continued on, and he was just stuck. The man gave Jesus all these excuses that he listed off, really it was all the barriers he listed off to why he didn't have the miracle, to why he wasn't healed. He just gives all these barriers because he was focused on the barriers, and he didn't see that the bridge to the miracle was right there in front of him. And we get so focused on all the barriers to our miracle that we don't see the bridge to the miracle, Jesus Christ, is right there, if you're a Christ follower, he's right in your life to give you his power. It's so easy for us to focus on the barriers and miss the bridge to the miracle.
If I want real change, I've got to stand up and stop making excuses, but then, there's another thing we find in this passage, you gotta step out of your comfort zone to experience the miracle. Step out of your comfort zone and you'll experience the miracle. Jesus, after the man made excuses, just ignored them. He didn't say, "Oh, tell me more". No, he just stopped him and he said this, in John 5:8, "Then Jesus said to him, 'Get up! Pick up your mat and walk.'" Jesus said, "Pick up your mat".
Now this man had probably had that mat for 38 years. I mean, it was something that made him just a little more comfortable as he was confined to the hard ground for 38 years. At least he had a little mat to make him just a little more comfortable, it was sort of his comfort mat, it's probably his security blanket. And Jesus says to him, "You take that mat and you roll that mat up because you're never gonna need that old comfort mat again after what I'm getting ready to do. I'm getting ready to heal you and to change you, and you're gonna walk out of this place in a new direction. So you can give up that old comfort mat, you can just roll it up, it's over, you'll never need it again, you're moving to a new place with my glory and my power, I'm getting ready to work a miracle and you won't need that mat".
But you can choose the mat or the miracle and sometimes we want to hold on to our comfort mat, we all have them. My grandkids all have these "Stuffiez". You know what I'm talking about, these stuffed animals that just kinda help them feel better and comfort them when they take naps or when it's bedtime. They love their "Stuffiez," they carry around their "Stuffiez," they just drag their "Stuffiez" through the mud and you gotta wash those "Stuffiez" a lot, they're pretty filthy. And my granddaughter, Mary Love, her "Stuffiez's" named Alison, I don't know why she got a human name, I'm not sure, but she takes Alison with her, and of course, always naps, she's got to have Alison to comfort her.
And my grandson, Lincoln, his is called Lucky, and that "Stuffie" is very unlucky, it looks kind of like a dishrag, too, it's kind of weird. But anyway, Lucky gets all torn up pretty quickly, but they all have their "Stuffiez," Honey and Mimi, and they gotta have their "Stuffiez" or they can't take a nap. Now it's ok for kids to have their "Stuffiez," but a lot of times, as adults, we still have our "Stuffiez". You know, we hold on to them, you know, "I gotta hold on to this, you know, This gives me a lot of self-esteem. I gotta hold on to this, because this makes me feel more important, I gotta hold on to this, because this is something that I just can't let go of, this is something that I trust in".
And we all have our "Stuffiez," we all have our comfort mats, but he pulls our comfort mat out from under us because he loves us. He doesn't want you to miss the miracle, he doesn't want you to miss his best for your life, he doesn't want you to settle for good when he's got his best, he wants to work the miracle that lifts you off the mat and takes you to a whole new level where you understand God knows what's best for you. But we struggle surrendering our comfort mats because we don't trust God, we're not sure that he really has our best interest in mind, we're not sure that he even has the power to give us what we really need, we're not sure that God knows best.
But Ephesians 3:20 tells us, "Now glory be to God, who by his mighty power at work within us is able to do far more than we would ever dare to ask. Or even dream infinitely beyond our highest prayers, desires, thoughts, or hopes". Some of you need to print this out when you get home and put it up somewhere where you'll see it, meditate on it, memorize it, this is God's promise to you. This man couldn't even imagine being off that mat, he couldn't even dare to dream of what it would be like to be able to walk. You can't blame him, he'd been stuck in that situation, confined to the concrete for 38 years. You can't blame him, he couldn't even begin to see what it would be like to be in a whole new place in a different situation, but God wants you to experience it.
And maybe, today, you can't really imagine being free from that destructive habit, you can't even imagine getting through that giant barrier that keeps holding you back, you can't even imagine what it would look like to experience the miracle that lifts you off the mat. And God says to you, "It's ok, because I wanna do a miracle in your life that you would never even imagine, dare to ask or dream of. That's my plan for you". It's so much higher than your plan, God wants the best for you so much more than you want the best for yourself, but we have to learn to trust him, to give up that comfort mat.
Now, look at John 5:8, "Jesus said, 'Get up! Take your bedroll, and start walking.' The man was healed on the spot. He picked up his bedroll and walked off". Jesus, thirdly, said, "Start walking". I imagine, when he started walking, he was real wobbly at first, I imagine it looked a little awkward at first, but he started walking. Don't wait until every circumstance is perfect in your life before you start taking steps of faith, you just start walking.
The Christian life is like riding a bicycle, once you stop, you fall over, so you just keep walking, you just keep pedaling, even if you're wobbly, that's the way you go, you gotta keep walking forward and taking steps of faith, and he gives you the strength for the next step. If you take your step of faith, God will give you the strength for that step, and, here's the amazing thing, obedience brings blessing. And God commands us to do that to show that we love Christ, and obedience brings blessing. And when you take one step of faith and obey God, he takes you to a whole new level, and it's amazing what he does, the blessings that he pours out.
Now, I want you to look at this last verse, and by the way, the Pool of Bethesda literally means pool of mercy, pool of mercy. I'm so glad that God's pool of mercy flows over us, that we could never earn or deserve, even when we can't dream of what it would be like to actually change, even when we can't figure it out, even we can't change ourselves and we keep trying to. And God mercifully pulls the comfort mat out from under us and still gives us the miracle through his overflowing mercy and his ocean of love. I'm so grateful for that.
In 1 John 4:18, "There is no room in love for fear. Well-formed love banishes fear. Since fear is crippling, a fearful life, fear of death, fear of judgment, is one not yet fully formed in love".
Fear is crippling. This man was crippled physically, but many of us get crippled with fear and it keeps us from stepping out in faith and experiencing what God wants. We're afraid to risk awkwardness, we're afraid to be uncomfortable, we're afraid of what God might do because we don't trust him, and so fear is crippling. Maybe it's the fear of rejection, maybe it's the fear of disconnection, maybe it's the fear of being disliked, maybe it's the fear of being all alone, not having anyone who really cares, maybe it's the fear of death, maybe it's the fear of judgment. There are all kinds of fears that keep us stuck and overwhelmed with worry, but here's the thing, the opposite of fear is love, not faith, love.