"After this there was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. Now there is in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate a pool, which is called in 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 a certain time into the pool and stirred up the water; then whoever stepped in first, after the stirring of the water, was made well of whatever disease he had. Now a certain man was there who had an infirmity thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him lying there, and knew that he already had been in that condition a long time, He said to him, “Do you want to be made well?”
The sick man answered Him, “Sir, I have no man to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up; but while I am coming, another steps down before me.”
Jesus said to him, “Rise, take up 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 is the Sabbath; it is not lawful for you to carry your bed.”
He answered them, “He who made me well said to me, ‘Take up your bed and walk.’”
Then they asked 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 But the one who was healed did not know who it was, for Jesus had withdrawn, a multitude being in that place.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 him in the temple, and said to him, “See, you have been made well. Sin no more, lest a worse thing come upon you.”
The man departed and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had made him well."
Now we can imagine from this scripture what a sad sight it was there at the Pool of Bethesda that day. The Bible tells us there was a great multitude of people there, and they had all kinds of sicknesses and diseases. Scripture does not tell us why Jesus chose this particular man to receive healing that day but we can imagine that as He walked among the people, He spotted the man off in the distance, and then He made His way over to where the man was lying on a mat there by the pool...and scripture tells us that he was waiting for the water to stir. Now we are not told much about this man, we don't even know for sure what was wrong with him. But whatever it was, we do know that he had been in this condition for 38 years...and so we can imagine that he was probably an older man and that he had become pretty hopeless and pretty desperate, and he was probably full of despair.
I want you to notice the question that Jesus asked the man..."Do you want to be made well?" Most of us can't even imagine that there are people in very desperate situations in their lives who don't really want their circumstances to change. They have become quite comfortable in their misery. They have learned that being sick or diseased or poor or weak...or whatever their particular case might be, that it enables them to receive a certain amount of attention or pity from others...or they can blame their defeated lives on something that happened in their childhood or a person who has hurt them in their past and it's easier to live with the defeat than it is to forgive...and for some people, the defeat they live with every day has been passed down from generation to generation, and they really have no idea what victory in their lives would even look like. Whatever the reason is, often the person has become quite content in their misery. But Jesus came to give us victory...He came to set us free! But in all honesty, unless we desire for our situation to change, God cannot help us. Listen to this man's excuses..."Sir, I have no man to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up; but while I am coming, another steps down before me." He was putting his faith in the stirring of the water..and he saw his case as hopeless because he didn't have another person to help him to get into the water. What he was really saying was, "no, I can't get healed."
All the information I could find about this pool said that the stirring of the water was most probably a local legend...and the legend was that the pool had miraculous healing power...but only the first person to get into the water when it was stirred received healing, so in reality, all of these people had put their hopes in what was considered a superstition. It was more likely that this was a natural spring and the water would move because of underground activity. And here they were waiting for the stirring of the water...they were waiting for some abnormal occurrence to take place before they could receive their healing. And so just at that moment, everyone would scramble to get into the water. And here was this man who could not walk and he was alone and he had no one to help him, and yet time after time this man went down to the pool and waited...and time after time he went away disappointed. And by the time Jesus came along and asked him if he wanted to be healed, all he had were excuses.
I want to share with you 3 things we can take away from this scripture that we must do if we want to receive our miracle from God:
1. We must break out of our superstitions. We must release our ideas and our expectations of how we think that God should take care of our needs. These people expected an angel to come down and stir the water in order for just one of them to receive healing. One thing I have learned is that God will NOT be bound by our imaginary "boxes". He will answer our prayers in HIS time and in HIS way. Our needs will be met on His terms and not on our own. We need to allow God to be God in our lives and we let go our our imaginary superstitions.
2. We must bypass manmade traditions. The religious leaders of Jesus' day had expanded the Law of Moses to include thousands of rules and regulations concerning the Sabbath. By the time Jesus came, they had 39 different classifications of work, and carrying furniture and even providing medical treatment was forbidden under their man-made laws. Jesus told us that He did not come to do away with the law, but that He came to fulfill the law. So the religious leaders were trying to accuse this man of breaking the Sabbath Law by carrying his bed, and they were also accusing Jesus because He was healing people on the Sabbath. But if we are to receive our miracle from God, we must be willing to break out of the traditions of man and receive from God alone.
3. And lastly, we must be obedient to the Word and the will of God. Jesus told the man, "Take up your bed and walk." What if that man had decided that he would wait for the stirring of the water and take his chances. Or what if the man had refused to be healed or to carry his bed because it was the Sabbath? What if the man had not been obedient to Jesus? Many times, even if we don't have a great deal of faith for our miracle, if we will just be obedient to God and do what He asks us to do, God will honor our obedience and that faith alone will release the power of God into our lives so that we can receive what we need from Him.
So let me ask you today? What will it take for you to receive the miracle that God has waiting for you? If you have been praying and praying and can't seem to find the answer you need, could you also be holding on to old superstitions or even to your own expectations from God? Could it be that He wanted to give you the miracle you needed, but you were not open to accept it the way that He desires to give it to you.
And what about traditions? I have heard it said time and again, "But this is the way we have always done it." Could it be that God is trying to move you beyond the manmade traditions that are built into your life and give you victory over that difficulty you have been praying about. Could it be that your traditions or your cultural beliefs or your family background has been holding you back from the miracle that God wants to send to you?
And last of all...are you being obedient to everything you know that God wants for your life. Are you living according to His Word...are you obeying Him in every way that you possibly can? Disobedience is sin, and sin will keep God's blessings and miracles away from your life. Jesus came to the earth to give us victory, but if you are living in disobedience to God, you cannot receive from the Lord. Are you willing to repent and stop sinning against God.
I want to ask you to examine your own heart to see if any of these things are present in your life. And if they are, you will need to renounce superstitions and traditions of men from your life. God has a better plan. Don't wait for some superstition or preconceived idea to come true in order for you to receive from God...He has your answer now.
And lastly, if you are holding unrepented sin in your life, you need to let that go and walk in victory and power in the Name of Jesus. You cannot receive the blessings of God if you are in disobedience to God's Word. If you are holding unforgiveness in your heart, you need to let it go and ask God to give you the power to forgive. God wants to set you free and release a flow of blessings and healing and provision into your life, but He cannot do that if you are holding on to known sin. You must repent of it and turn away from sin. God requires obedience.
My Friend, if you have done that, then you can expect God's blessings and His answers to the needs of your heart to be met in the Powerful Name of Jesus. Let me pray with you now if I may:
Father, in the Powerful and Mighty Name of Jesus...I desire to walk in the power and anointing that You have provided for me. I desire to receive the blessings and the miracles that You have for my life. I want the blessings of God to flow into my life. Therefore, it is my desire right now Lord to lay down everything that would hinder me from receiving from You. I desire to give up my preconceived ideas of how You want to work in and through my life. I forsake every man made tradition that would keep me from being all that You desire that I be, and Father I want to be obedient to You and to Your Word. I want to walk in holiness and to be pleasing in Your sight. Please forgive me for the sins that I have been holding onto...forgive me for all those things that I have not released completely to You so that I could overcome. I give all authority for my life over to You and You alone. Do with me and in me everything that You desire to do. I love You Father and I want my life to be pleasing to You...in Jesus Name...Amen
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