Do you want to be well? This weekend Pastor Steve Andres continued our FACE TO FACE series with a message about the stories that define us.
John 5:5-6
One man had been an invalid there for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him stretched out by the pool and knew how long he had been there, he said, “Do you want to be well?”
After such a long season of hardship and disappointment, the man who has longed for healing is face to face with the Healer. What can we learn from the way that Jesus interacts with him?
1) Jesus addresses his foundation.
The stories that we tell ourselves about ourselves define our future. After Jesus asks him a simple question, the man responds with a story about frustration and defeat. Before the man could receive his miracle, his mindset would need to change.
2) Jesus addresses his feelings.
The danger in discouragement is that it steals our hope. Our prayers become tame, and our dreams get domesticated. Yet, in spite of his discouragement, the man at the pool kept showing up, and that created space for God to work!
1 Corinthians 15:19
And if our hope in Christ is only for this life, we are more to be pitied than anyone in the world.
But we don’t have a hope for this life alone, we have a RESURRECTION HOPE! And that hope translates to courage. So the Apostle Paul continues:
1 Corinthians 15:58
Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.
The enemy wants pain to paralyze you. He wants you to give up. He doesn’t win if you're hurt, he wins if you quit. But we have a RESURRECTION HOPE, and that hope gives us courage to keep showing up.
3) Jesus addresses his faith.
STRONG FAITH is about power, but LONG FAITH is about perseverance. After many years of hoping, Jesus arrives and simply tells the man to take his mat and walk. The mat that had been the symbol of brokenness and marginalization now became the symbol of God’s overruling goodness and power.
This is the Gospel message! When Jesus chose the cross, He transformed it into a symbol of our forgiveness and freedom, and because He triumphed over sin and death, our stories can be redeemed and transformed!
