Title You Can Change / John 5:2-9
There is a sheep gate in Jerusalem, and beside it is a pool called Bethesda. There has been a legend that an angel would come down to take a bath and the water would shake, and the first person to jump in would be healed. So, patients with various diseases were lying there, and Jesus appeared here and asked one of them, a 38-year-old sick man, 'Are you going to get well?' But this sick man begs with the excuse that there is no one to put him in when the water moves. He was afflicted with a spiritual disease called chronic apathy before being physically ill. Many people today have a problem, and if you look into it, they are not motivated to solve it. Maybe the 38-year-old sick man is himself.
I. I have no hope
In verses 2-3, it is said that there are various kinds of sick people, but the apostle John especially points out the blind, the lame, and the withered. In Romans 5:6, the sick people spoken of by the Apostle Paul are the helpless, the weak, the weak, the incapacitated, and so on. It also refers to the absolutely impossible, not the conditionally impossible. Today, many people are living in despair, frustration, and making excuses. I cry out that I can't sit down, but the disease of the impossible is weighing down on me.
II. I was found by the Lord
No one recognized Jesus visiting the sick. Because they were spiritually blind. No one asked or stood up to meet the Almighty Jesus. Because they were spiritually lame. No one stretched out their arms to grab Jesus' hand of hope. Because they are spiritually paralyzed. At that time, Jesus said to the 38-year-old sick man, 'Get up, pick up your bed and walk' (verse 8). If salvation comes because we recognize the Lord as God first and follow Him and reach out to Him, salvation is among us. No one will receive it. The Lord comes to us, calls us first, and restores us.
Ⅲ. I can change
The Bible teaches us that we can change and become a new person. So did the 38-year-old sick man, and so did the proud Nicodemus, both the doubtful Thomas and the unrepentant Capernaumites. I can change myself, which seems impossible to change. As the Lord of all changes, Jesus Christ, comes into my life, the changes will happen like a big explosion, and eventually I will be able to be born as a new person in Jesus.
Let me conclude.
The patient sitting by the pool of Bethesda is incapacitated and hopeless. Nevertheless, Jesus Christ, who is the center and purpose of history, comes to us and transforms us into a new person. Bing Bang is about to explode and open up new worlds and new perspectives. At this time, the door of faith will be opened only when we overcome our faults and discover the world of God's creation. I pray in the name of the Lord that there will be a moment of blessing only by accepting the Lord, and so change occurs.