Pick Up Your Mat and Walk!
John 5:1-9 NIV
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 am 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. The day on which this took place was a Sabbath.
Isaiah 35:5-6 NIV
Then will the eyes of the blind be opened and the ears of the deaf unstopped.Then will the lame leap like a deer, and the mute tongue shout for joy. Water will gush forth in the wilderness and streams in the desert.
The Father’s Heart
1. The Father Wants HEALING for His Children
John 5:6 NIV
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?”
John 5:7 NIV
“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.”
The Father’s Heart
1. The Father Wants HEALING for His Children
2. The Father Wants Us to Abandon Our EXCUSES
His INJURY had become his IDENTITY.
What are the EXCUSES we make?
FAMILIARITY
What are the EXCUSES we make?
FAMILIARITY
FEARS
John 5:14 NIV
Later Jesus found him at the temple and said to him, “See, you are well again. Stop sinning or something worse may happen to you.”
What are the EXCUSES we make?
FAMILIARITY
FEARS
FRACTURES
If you don't HEAL what hurt you, you'll BLEED on people who didn't cut you.
-Isabella De Bruno
Your history may EXPLAIN you, but it does not have to DEFINE you.
John 5:8-9 NIV
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. The day on which this took place was a Sabbath
The Father’s Heart
1. The Father Wants HEALING for His Children
2. The Father Wants Us to Abandon Our EXCUSES
3. The Father Wants Us to Take a Step of FAITH
God, today, I lay down my “I got this” and confess that I need your help. I can’t fix myself. I’ve hurt myself and others, and I need your help. I want a new story. I need to be healed. So, I repent of my sin, and I turn from my plans. I turn to Jesus, who gave His life for me. Jesus Christ, I declare that You are my King and my Savior. I receive what you did for me. Because of Your sacrifice on the cross, I am forgiven and free. I am no longer a VICTIM. I walk in VICTORY because of Jesus! Today, I draw the line. The generational curse stops with me. The cycle of addiction & pain & abuse stops with me. I may have received brokenness, but I will pass on blessing. Excuses will not be my prison. My injury will not be my identity. My strength is in the Lord. Help me to be the man of God and the leader of my home you have called me to be. Teach me what it looks like to be healthy. I will not stay where I am. I will not stay who I am. I will get up & walk into the life You have for me for the rest of my life. I am now blessed to be a blessing. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
Maybe you made a decision to follow Jesus today, or maybe you’re curious what life with Him is all about. Wherever you are on your journey, we invite you to share with us so we can help you discover your next step.
