Title: Life moving forward/John 5:1-9
Content Life moving forward / John 5:1-9
1. People hovering around the pool of Bethesda: verses 2-5
There is a pond called Bethesda next to the sheep gate that enters the city of Jerusalem. People believed that when an angel came down to the pool of Bethesda and the water swirled, the sick who entered the pool first would be healed. Hearing this, more and more sick people gathered, and five temporary shelters were built around the pond. Thousands of sick people gathered, including the blind, the lame and the skinny.
These people had come with the hope that their problems could be solved at the Pond of Bethesda, but they lost hope for a new life there and lived helplessly day by day. Bethesda was not a place of hope for a new life, but rather a gathering place for people living helplessly.
I don't know exactly how many 38-year-old sick people mentioned in verse 5 were, but they probably have been hovering around the pond for quite some time. Not only this sick man, but many others have stayed in the pond for a long time, but have not been able to get out of it. No one forced them to stay in the pond, nor held them from leaving. However, people were unable to leave and were increasingly caught up in their problems, losing hope that they could be free from them, and wandering around the pond helplessly.
But aren't we, like them, obsessed with our problems and hovering around them over and over again? Just like a squirrel spins a treadmill, we too are caught up in the string of problems and can't get past the problems and go round and round in life.
◎ What is the problem I am still stuck with?
2. Why is it hovering around the pool of Bethesda: verses 3-7
There is a reason why the people who had gathered in Bethesda could not leave Bethesda and hover around it, even though they wanted to get away from their problems and live a new life.
First, the vague faith that seemed to catch the clouds made me stay by the pond. Many people stayed there because of the vague belief that when an angel came down to the pond and the water was turbulent, the first to enter the water would be healed. A belief that catches clouds seems to hold the reality of faith in one's hands, but in fact, it does not hold anything, but is mistaken for holding something. The people who gathered at the Bethesda Pond did not pray for specific faith in God who heals because they had faith that clouded over. I did not pray persistently to God because it was a faith of hope. He did not pray earnestly to God that a merciful God would heal him. He was just waiting vaguely for something mysterious to happen and his illness, his big problem, to be solved. A vague and clouding belief that you might think about blocks true faith that allows you to experience the power of God. We must drive away from us the vague beliefs that hold the cloud.
Second, I couldn't leave the pond in a rush to make excuses. A person who is in a hurry to make excuses breaks the hold on him and cannot get out. In 38 AD, when an angel came down and the water was shaken by a mysterious power, there was no one around to put him in the water, so he made excuses for living like this even now. He was holding on to the reason why he couldn't be healed, why his life couldn't change, why it was his destiny to live this way. These excuses lock us in like armor, making our situation our destiny. Excuses are a powerful force that prevents us from experiencing God's miracles, and when we take off the armor of these excuses, God works on us.
◎What excuses do I hold on to?
3. The way out of Bethesda: verses 6-9
There is a belief we must put into practice in order to walk out of the pool of Bethesda where we are hovering. First, we must believe that Jesus gives us the passion for a new life to be healed. Jesus asked a very natural question whether he wanted to be healed of a 38-year-old man. But Jesus knew that this sick man had lost the desire and hope of being healed and was doing just fine. So, Jesus stirred up his passion for life by saying, “Do you want to get well?” Even today, the Holy Spirit pours passion for a new start and growth on us who are unable to get out of trouble, and fills our hearts with holy passion for the kingdom of God.
Second, we must take the first step ourselves, believing that our current situation is the best starting point for taking the first step toward a new life. Jesus didn't lift the 38-year-old sick man and take him out of the pond, he just commanded him, "Take up your mat and walk." It was unfamiliar to him to get up and walk, who had not stood up for 38 years. But, believing that the Lord's command to get up and walk gave him refreshment and moved him forward, he got up on his own and took the first step in a new life. In this way, we must believe that the present situation God has given us is the starting point of a new life, and we must break the limitations we have considered so far and take the first step. When that happens, God continues to provide us with new strength.
Third, you must get up and walk on your own so that you do not return to the familiar place where you once lived. Jesus commanded you to pick up your bed and walk, and told him not to come back here again and never look back. Even if we go forward, if there are obstacles or difficulties, we have a tendency to return to familiar places. As long as you have this inclination, you cannot become the protagonist of your new life and you cannot experience the power of the kingdom of God (Luke 9:62). When we move forward, trusting God to help us, we live a life of forward growth from a life that revolves around us.
◎ Let's break our limitations and share with us the specific things we need to take the first step of faith.