Amen, so in John chapter 5 I'm going to be looking at the first 15 verses
there, really just the first eight, but of course that first story there begins in
verse 1 with the impotent man and the pool at Bethsaida and you
have just that short story where he heals the impotent man and I think
there's a lot we can learn from the story when it comes to this idea of
reaching a loss, reaching those that maybe others wouldn't want anything to
do with, those that maybe have kind of been written off by society. It's a very
touching story really, it's one of the probably more moving passages at least
for me in the Word of God and a reminder that Christ God is a God of compassion
and mercy and kindness and has a burden for those that cannot help themselves and
I think that's a burden that we have to learn, of course learn, but also
maintain over our Christian life. It's something that if we're not careful even
those of us that maybe have begin to preach the gospel and to go out and do
what it is that we're supposed to do, we might start to go through that just
going through the motions. We might develop a sense of just doing it out of
duty which is obviously necessary at times. We don't ever want to lose the
sense of doing things out of love and compassion and often we have to be
reminded of who it is that we're ministering to in order to maintain the
proper attitude when it comes to preaching the gospel. So I want to look
here just a few things about this story. The first thing I'll point out here is
the surroundings of the unsaved, the surroundings of the unsaved. If you look
there it says in beginning of verse 1, after this there was a feast of the Jews
and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. Now there is at Jerusalem by the sheep market a
pool which is called in the Hebrew tongue Bethsaida having five porches. In
these lay a great multitude of impotent folk, a blind, halt, withering, waiting for
the moving of the water. So you have this pool that's outside near the temple and
it's a pool where people have come to gather and of course it says there in
verse 4 that an angel would go down in a certain season into the pool and
troubled the waters and whosoever was first after the troubling of the water
stepped in was made whole of whatsoever disease he had. I mean what a miracle what
a great thing you could see why all these people would be going there and
again it says that there's a great multitude of people so there's a mass of
people that are assembling at this pool and it's not just the people that are
well to do the people that are good health the people that you know how are
busy with their lives and things like that but it's people who are what as it
says in verse 3 impotent meaning they have some kind of physical ailment
they're not able to function physically as other people might be able to
specifically the man we're talking about here it appears that he doesn't have the
ability to rise up and to even walk he's kind of bedridden he's a cripple these
are the type of people that are there those that are blind those that are halt
these people that have these these ailments that have kind of regulated
them to this certain group in society where they don't really have any useful
function okay and you know we might not see that as much today obviously we're
living in a time it's you know where people who have even some of these same
ailments can go about and live productive lives that wasn't always the
case you know there wasn't always you know the American Disabilities Act there
wasn't always you know the handrails and the the the you know the the stop signs
that make sound allowing allowing blind people to be able to just go about and
and participate in society there weren't groups people back then obviously were
look appears here that they were just kind of outcasts that they were kind of
just regulated to this one certain part of the city and that's kind of where
they went and that's kind of what they did they just sat and waited for this
angel to show up that they might be able to first one to get in that water and be
healed and be restored and again we might not see this type of thing today
to this degree but you know we also living in a society today where there's
a lot of maybe inward anguish that's taking place there's a lot of more
inward disabilities that are out there as people that are dealing with things
that maybe are more crippling of the mind and of the heart and we are
surrounded by that you know obviously this is a much more obvious type of
thing when you're seeing people who are physically disabled in some way it's
very apparent but you know we're living in a society today where people are
dealing with things that affect their minds that have affected their hearts
and we could apply it that way first thing I want to point out about the
surroundings of the unsaved is this is that it says there in verse 2 that
they were by the sheep market if you look there it gets in this it says in
verse 2 there now there is that Jerusalem by the sheep market a pool no
I don't know the proximity of this sheep market to this pool I don't know maybe
if this pool was used to kind of water the sheep if maybe the sheep came down
there with them maybe I don't know but obviously it was close enough for them
to say hey where's that pool it's by the sheep market obviously you were probably
I would assume close enough to hear these sheep that would be brought to
market and sold they're probably being brought in great abundance okay and
anybody's ever dealt with you know livestock knows that you know the sound
isn't the only thing that sheep bring with them you know there's also a very
pungent aroma that typically follows any kind of an animal around especially when
you get large groups of them together so it's not like we say oh it's a it's a
nice day at the pool that they're going down to they have this nice body of
water to go and relax no they're going where all the animals are they're going
to where all the sheep are they're going to where people are just selling
livestock and it's kind of just this part of the city that's just out of the
way where you know it's not really somewhere you want to hang around
because of the odor you know not all of us I realize enjoy the smell of a farm
you know I I didn't always but if you spend enough time on there strangely
enough you begin to miss it a little bit you know we took that trip up to the
dairy farm up there shamrock farms the homeschool field trip and it was funny
to get everybody's different reactions and you found out real quick who the
city folk were and who the country folk were because all the country folk were
going hmm smells like home right and all the city folk were going what is that
and said that's where milk comes from you know that's where your steak comes
from that smell is part of that process right but you know most people probably
I don't know maybe back then they were a little bit more used to this smell but
you know again this is the kind of the the surrounding that these unsaved
people had that's what I'm calling them that's the you know the analogy there
that's the application I'm making I want to think about these people that are
crippled and halt and blind as the unsaved of this world those that have
just kind of been forgotten about those that are just kind of suffering through
life okay they're out there with the sheep they're out there with that smell
they're out there where nobody else probably really wants to spend a whole
lot of time and here's the thing I want us to understand about the the suffering
of the unsaved and these surroundings is that when you're out there and you're
next to that you know sheep market of the world when you're immersed in that
smell as these people were day in and day out just showing up at the pool
thinking maybe today's the day hoping that this is the day that that angel
shows up that maybe today my ailment will end you know when you're immersed
in that just day in and day out you know what happens is you get used to that
smell just like you know the the country folk got we're used to that smell up at
shamrock farms they grew up with it they were surrounded by it they even enjoyed
it a little bit I want to think about the you know I use that to make this
application though when you're out there living a life of sin when you're out
there and you're unsaved and you're just immersed in the world you know what
happens is you get used to it you ever meet people that have gone that they
can't smell their own smell the I remember I used to deliver pizzas and
you would come up to these doors and you before you even got to the door you
would say this person has cats it's not because you heard you know an immense
amount of purring coming out of something like that and it wasn't
because you were overtaken by a bunch of kittens you know that would have been a
much better thing it was the smell that hits you before you even got 15 feet
from the apartment door and your your eyes are watering and the ammonia is
just overpowering you can't even smell the pizza anymore and you're just I got
your pizza and the person taking it is just like thanks and they're just like
it's nothing it's like don't you smell that you know don't you need to go in
there and maybe instead of spending 20 bucks on pizza buy some kitty litter you
know or whatever okay that's what happens with sin you know and this is
the danger of sin you know people look at sin and they think they look at the
world they think oh it's so alluring oh I'm missing out on so much and then they
end up going into it and then they find out how miserable it is and then they
just get used to it you know and the world they grow up in this stuff you
know these people are there day in and day out and there's a great multitude
there not only do they buy the sheet market you know dealing with that smell
like the unsaved who go you know numb to the smell of sin in their own lives but
also they're there with a great multitude of people again in verse 3 it
says in these lay a great multitude of impotent folks so this wasn't just a few
people this was a crowd of people that were there and for obvious reasons they
wanted to get healed and that's what you're gonna find out there in the world
today when we go out and knock these doors and we go out and try to reach
people the gospel it's just person after person after person who is just
suffering in some way now we can go maybe the more affluent neighborhoods
and go to those nicer places where maybe their suffering isn't apparent or maybe
it's not even there obviously a lot of saved unsaved people can go through this
world and not feel any suffering they're out there today riding their bikes
around they're on their motorcycles they're on they're going to the golf
course and life's pretty good you know and but maybe there's gonna be some
suffering that comes later you know what there's gonna be there already are a lot
of people in this world that are suffering right now you know we can go
find them any day of the week we can go find some pool so to speak in this city
where it's just gonna be a great multitude of people that are suffering
spiritually and from sin all these people are getting together and what we
have here is this this illustration of what I believe that of the old saying
misery loves company misery loves company you know why the people out in
the world want you to come sin with them you know why they want to the world
wants to allure you with through the flesh and through worldliness to get you
to come participate in what they're doing because they're miserable and they
love company and if you can get more people doing what you're doing then
maybe what I'm doing isn't so bad okay that's a whole sermon in and of itself
but let me just make this quick point that you know what's what's often
popular is really just a cesspool and think about the things that are popular
in today think about all the things that are popular out there in our modern
culture think about all things that are popular and you know the in the halls of
education and all the you know institutions of higher learning it's a
spiritual cesspool is what it is okay and they're all you know they're all
just blind to it okay and they want to get everybody there they want this great
multitude this is the surroundings of the unsaved this is what people are
surrounded by out in the world the smell of sin the sight of sin other sinners
other people who are suffering that's what's out there okay and then if the
story focuses in on this particular individual it goes on in verse 4 it says
for an angel went down to a certain season into the pool and troubled the
water whosoever then first after the troubling of the water stepped in was
made whole of whatsoever disease he had and a certain man was there which had an
infirmity thirty and eight years that's you know almost as long as I've been
alive thirty and eight years this man has had this infirmity doesn't tell us
how old he is if this is something he's had from birth if this is maybe an
accident that happened in his young life and now he's an older man has been
dealing with this but either way dealing with anything for thirty and eight years
nearly four decades is a long time to be dealing with something that that
troubles you that's a long time to have an ailment of any sort good night I had
that food poisoning a couple weeks ago that took me out of church and you know
after two or three days of that I mean I'm ready to just call it quits like
take me home I can't imagine what it'd be like to live with something like that
for thirty and eight years you know the unsaved that's that's their whole life
people who don't know the truth of the gospel people who only know heartache
and loss and and and pain and suffering in life and look there's people out
there like this you know maybe we don't we can't look at them and say oh there's
something physically wrong with them but there's people whose hearts are broken
whose minds are broken and they're gonna suffer with it every single day of their
life until the day they die there's people like that all around us and they
suffer for decades there's no relief in sight and the world just gets used to it
the world just gets used to the sight of these people down at the pool saying oh
that's that's where the impotent folk go it's over by the pool we got some sheep
to sell you know I'll have to put up with them for a while we don't want to
be like that we don't want to be people who just get used to the sight of the
unsaved yeah they're on the way to hell what can we do about it and I get it you
know there's this great multitude here and it's really only one man that Jesus
approaches but sometimes I wonder in the story what I mean if any he could have
gone to any one of them and in all likelihood they would have gotten healed
they would have been told your your whole I think the picture there
obviously is that you know we're not going to be able to get everybody Jesus
Jesus obviously could have if you wanted to but he kind of I believe it's using
this as an illustration you know there's there are there are few that be
saved broad is the way which leadeth under destruction and many there be
which go in there at but maybe we can go and get one maybe we can go out and get
two maybe we can go out and get three in our lifetime in a year for a lot of
people this is their life this is the surroundings of the unsaved the smell
the their fellow sinners just suffering right along with them and just there
it's their whole life it's their 30 and 8 years and for a lot of people it's
just another day at the pool isn't it it's just another day at the pool for
the unsaved it's just another day of pool at the pool of sin it's just
another day at the pool of sin and its consequences it's just another day at
the pool of being ignored by those who could help them no one reaching out to
them it's just another day at the pool let's have a quick word of prayer and
we'll get in the message Lord again I ask that you would meet with us Lord
that you would burden us with this message this morning you help us to have
a heart that is tender and soft towards the unsaved Lord that we would have a
spirit of compassion such as your own Lord I pray that you would clear my mind
Lord of any distractions that you'd help me to preach your word that your people
might be identified I ask in Christ's name amen next point I want to make this
morning is first of all we looked at the surroundings of the unsaved but this of
course the beautiful stories here is that Jesus shows up Jesus goes down to
this pool that's over by the sheep market takes time out of his busy
schedule to go down there and talk to one man in particular and what I want to
look at next is the sight of the Savior we looked at the surroundings of the
unsaved but next I want to look at the sight of the Savior if you go on in the
story it says in verse 5 and a certain man was there which had an
affirmative 38 years and when Jesus saw him lie I love those words when Jesus
saw him lie you know if you're gonna see somebody in the state you're gonna have
to look you're gonna have to take the time to open your eyes and realize that
there's people that are like this in the world I'm not talking physically
obviously there are but I'm trying to make the spiritual application say let's
let's take these impotent folk and just call them the unsaved of this world
those that are suffering in this world that have no hope in this world you know
we have to open our eyes spiritually and realize we're surrounded by these people
there's a city here full of these type of people that are just laying at that
cesspool of sin every single day wondering if this is all that life is
all it's gonna be it's just suffering and heartache and woe that's what
they're out there out there we need to what see them live we need to be like
Jesus and open our eyes and see them have the sight of the Savior Jesus saw
him lie if we would let's go over to Proverbs chapter number 15 you know God
looks upon the unsaved and sometimes it's a if the thought hits me and I've
heard other people express this is it just it just hits me that God ever gives
us a second look sometimes we meet people or maybe even our own selves we
see things in ourselves and others that we just say why why would you even
bother now I was thinking about this the other day that God you know he could
have just started over with Adam and Eve I mean there was really nobody else
around at that point it was just them and they messed everything up he could
have just said let's try that again but instead he lets it carry on and then you
know I always think about the mercy that God had when he kicked them out of the
garden and said you know lest they eat of the tree of life and live forever he
said they can't go on in this state we have to redeem that why God could have
just said yeah you know what maybe it's not worth it but God looks on the
unsaved and sometimes you know in our own selves and others it might hit us
and say why does God even bother with us why is Jesus who's here to do such a
great work who's capable of doing anything bothering with this one
impotent man at some pool because God cares about the unsaved God is a God of
compassion and love and mercy and I think sometimes we lose sight of that
and look I understand that God is all these other things God is wrath
vengeance and justice and that gets preached plenty from this pulpit and
others but there's this whole other side of God that sometimes I think we might
fall short in getting across that God really has a burden for unsaved people
God really wants them to get saved far more than any of us in this room you
know you might be sitting out there think a lot I want people to get saved
I go soul-winning I know how to preach the gospel I've got a burden no matter
how great a burden you have God's is immeasurably more many times over because
you know we we understand the unsaved if they don't get saved are gonna go to
hell we get that that's you know we can assent to that intellectually that's a
concept that we can grasp with our minds the Bible says that but God's the one
that sees it God's the one that knows how real that really is and it's his
mouth that kindles the fires of hell if you look there in Proverbs chapter 15
this is a verse that I think of often it says in verse 11 hell and destruction
are before the Lord hell and destruction are before the Lord see why is God
bothered with the unsaved why does he care so much about telling us to go out
and preach the gospel to every creature because hell and destruction are before
the Lord because he sees the fires of hell every day the people that are being
tormented there are being tormented in the presence of the angels and the
presence of the lamb that's what the Bible tells us hell is not separation
from God don't let people tell you that it's a lie some of the Bible teaches you
know that speaks to God's holiness and God's righteousness and all of that but
hell and destruction are before the Lord yeah burn them all that shouldn't be our
attitude it's not God's that's not how the verse ends how much more than the
hearts of the children of men God says there's hell and destruction and he says
how much more the hearts of men how much more people's hearts you know this verse
I read it and it tells me that the fact that hell is real moves God with
compassion Bible says he's not willing that any should perish but that all
should come to repentance that he's the Savior of all man especially of those
that believe you know we have to make sure we keep that in our own hearts and
keep that in our own minds you know and I'm preaching this because you know it's
we're going into the new year and I know we've got out you got a lot of the New
Year's type of sermons I listen to them all the ones that we're filling in and
that's good you got the ones about the church attendance in the Bible reading
the sewing and that's good you need those but even those sermons you know no
matter of times we might preach things like that across the pulpit you know we
can't really always expect that to affect people's hearts and really if we
don't affect people's hearts I mean what's the point it's your heart that's
gonna move you to actually do something about preaching a gospel even it maybe
you're a person who doesn't preach the gospel or maybe you're somebody that has
the pastor maybe you're somebody who actively is even now but your heart has
grown cold towards these things like we have to have these fires kindled from
time to time we need to be stirred up and reminded why it is that we do what
we do why is it that we spend money to go out to these far-flung places and to
preach the gospel there that you know that we take the time out of our
schedule to go out and preach the gospel to the people that are right here next
to us why is it why do we take the time to go out there and have people you know
maybe be rude or some people maybe just seem disinterested and go into these
neighborhoods and have doors closed in your face and have people you know not
interested because every now and then you find that one impotent man who
wants to be made whole we do that because you know hopefully we understand
that hell and destruction are real that it's a real place and that if we would
go people would be plucked out of the fire and if we're growing cold towards
this thing of soul winning you know if your heart's cold maybe you need to warm
it up with the fires of hell and I don't know how to put it you know what really
it will warm the cold heart the fire of hell when you stop and think about
that's where I was going but by the grace of God that's where I would be you
know that that might maybe warm our hearts again towards the unsafe if
they've grown cold I don't know go over to Hebrews chapter number four Hebrews
chapter number four we see first of all the sight of the Savior that Jesus saw
this man he saw him just lying there it says that he knew that he had now been a
long time in that case so first of all we see that he saw him live but that
also when Jesus saw him that he knew about this man he didn't look at him and
go wonder what's going on that guy why are you just laying there buddy what's
your problem no it says that he knew that he had been now a long time that
case he knew exactly what this guy was going through he knows exactly how long
it's been he knows everything about him hell and destruction are before eyes of
Lord how much more so the hearts of the children of men the Bible says can we go
to Hebrews 4 now this is one of the great things about Jesus is that he he
knows everything that we're going through you know that's a very
comforting thought to know that we have as it says here and high priest that can
not be touched with the feeling of our infirmities look at verse 13 it says
neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight you know Jesus
saw this man and God sees every man God sees every creature there's nothing that
isn't manifest in his sight he sees it all he sees it better than we do you say
why do we go why should we go out there and preach the gospel maybe you can't
see it but God can God can't see it that's why God commands us to go because
he can see it you can see these these wretches that are out there he says all
things are naked open under the eyes of him with whom we have to do seeing them
we have a great high priest that is passed into the heavens Jesus the Son of
God let us hold past our profession we have not and high priest which cannot be
touched with the feeling of our infirmities but it wasn't all points
tempted like as we are yet without sin let us therefore come boldly into the
throne of grace that we may find help excuse me let me tame mercy and find
grace to help in time of need you know Jesus he knows you know all these things
are manifest in sight and he knows everything that we're going through I
think sometimes we have this idea that God is just this far-off distant God
doesn't really you know yeah we've got his word we know some things about him
no he's far closer to us than anybody else will ever be in our lives that's
it's that's a truth and sometimes people you know and I understand that you know
people need we need to have more you know how do I put this you know we need
to have we need help that's maybe more immediate something we can see something
that's more tangible you know we need to have that face-to-face interaction
with people and right now you know we can't really get that with God but don't
don't discredit the fact that if you're saved you have the indwelling of the
Holy Spirit and you have a word which is quick and powerful and sharper than any
two-edged sword you know dividing in the center of the of the joints of marrow
and it's a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart you know God if hell
and destruction before the eyes of the Lord how much more so the hearts of the
children that means your heart too and whatever it is you know that you're
going through God knows about it and I'm just saying this morning that we need to
see like Jesus sees and see the suffering that's really going on around
us or maybe it's even in our own lives and understand that God is a God that
cares and wants to help in our lives if you would go over to Ephesians chapter
number two you know we have this access where we can find grace to help in time
of need praise God for that here's the thing not everybody has that do we take
that for granted do we just kind of think of prayer or something that maybe
we'll get around to someday maybe maybe I'll start doing that sometime I'm
warming up up here I take this thing off
you know we have this great access to this throne of grace that other people
don't have they don't have it they're laying at some pool just hoping some
angel shows up you know they're they're just late they're just going into some
doctor's office and being handed a pill said take this maybe that'll help I
don't know read some book look I'm not I'm not saying there isn't a time and a
place for all that I'm not getting up here and pretending like I'm some you
know have some PhD and understand all the inner workings of the mind but I
know this much that we have access to a throne of grace that is available to us
do we take advantage of it I mean hopefully we do but what about if
there's somebody out there that needs that same access are we gonna deny them
that by by not going and preaching the gospel I think I can't be bothered going
by the sheep market after all the smell and just cut somebody off and just say
we'll just lay by the pool bum while we have this great access to help to grace
to forgiveness to everything that we need in this life to heal and to find
strength we have this great access we're gonna get hang out of that for ourselves
not try to give that to other people you ashamed to go through our whole lives
and that kind of an attitude Ephesians chapter 2 look at verse 16 and then he
might reconcile both speaking of the Jews and Gentiles you know we all we
haven't been all you know befuddled by dispensation here so we'll just move on
both under one body and by the cross having slain empty thereby how did he do
it by the by the cross by the cross well I can't be bothered to preach I
can't be bothered well you know Jesus I think Jesus went out of his way when he
drugged that old rugged cross up that hill and died for you and for me and it
says in verse 17 and he came and preached peace to them which were far
off and to them that were nigh there it is again verse 18 for through him we
both have access by one spirit unto the Father praise God you have access unto
the Father by Christ we have access to go boldly before that throne and we can
find all the help that we need we can find all the grace that we need it's
there are we gonna cut other people off we can deny other people that well
there's a whole there's a whole multitude of them just laying around
can't get them all why bother because there's at least one there's a certain
one that wants to be made whole you know and the truth is there's a whole lot
more available to us than just one there's there's a whole multitude of
people out there in this city that would get saved if we would bring them a
gospel and give them the same access to the throne that we have look at verse
chapter 3 verse 8 unto me who I'm less than the least of all Saints is this
grace given that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of
Christ what a great attitude Paul had when it came to preaching the gospel
that's a very powerful statement especially when you consider the life of
Paul and everything that he suffered everything that he went through you know
I can't be bothered to you know show up to a soul winning time because it's
inconvenient well if you've been carried about by a great storm you know
you're rockling in that had its own name and carried you off and you know
shipwrecked you and some cast-off island and some Viper attached to your hand if
you've been stoned by the Jews if you've been beaten by a bunch of people that
are trying to just kill you and persecute you I mean we could we could
go look at all the sufferings of Paul I think man that guy endured a lot he must
have been one bitter angry upset guy who maybe just wanted to throw up his hands
and say it's not worth it to be bothered like this but then you read this passage
and you think no that's not the attitude he had at all he said unto me him less
than least all all saints is this grace given that I should preach among the
Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ he said it's worth it all
everything I've suffered everything I've gone through I'm not even worthy of it
because I get to do what preach the unsearchable riches of Christ that's
what we're preaching out there folks the unsearchable riches of Christ and I know
we kind of you know distill it all down and just some short little gospel
presentation and we try to be efficient and we try to get our message across but
don't forget what it is you're really preaching when you go out and preach the
gospel to somebody unsearchable riches and access to a throne of grace healing
the indwelling of the Holy Spirit and another believer another soul winner
another church member another child of God if nothing else it's powerful I'll
move along with the sermon here if you want to go back to John chapter number
five or were you saw first of all the surroundings of the unsaved that they're
surrounded by the smells of that sheep market they're surrounded by all the
sin that they've just gotten accustomed to they're surrounded by a great
multitude of other people that are just suffering in their own lives they've
been that way for a long time just like this certain man who was there with that
infirmity thirty and eight years we saw the sight of the Savior that Jesus
looked and he saw that the man lie we saw that God is a God that sees the
unsaved we know that also now that Jesus knew and God knew the suffering
God knows ours and God knows the suffering of all of us and then verse 6
it says that Jesus began to speak and Jesus saith you know Jesus didn't see
this and go yeah I I know what's going on here saw this guy lying to go hmm
he's impotent he's been like that for thirty and eight years and then just
move along with his life he didn't just see the suffering you didn't just go
there and go man doesn't smell good here and it's kind of smelly I don't know
maybe it wasn't you know that's it but it preaches okay they didn't just go
there and and and deal with and just see all that and just go and walk away no it
says here these powerful words that Jesus saith when Jesus saw him lie and
knew they had been a long time in that case he saith unto him wilt thou be made
whole you know he opened up his mouth and spake and asked him a question will
thou be made whole you know if you if you ever pay attention Jesus does this
often with these the blind of the impotent and obviously you know I and I
don't mean to sound disrespectful but every time I read it sometimes I just
think do you have to ask I mean why is he asking it just kind of seems like a
duh kind of a question and obviously the reason why he's asking is because every
person has to decide for themselves whether or not they want to be made
whole he's saying do you have the faith do you believe that I can do this for
you the blind men came to him you know what you know what do you want me to do
for you hello but what he's really asking is will you believe you know we
go out and ask a similar question you know do you want to be saved you know to
kind of sum it all up we go and ask people hey do you want to put your faith
in Christ today do you want to be made spiritually whole but again who are the
people that do that the people that are like Jesus the people who actually see
it and not just the people who just see it but the people that actually go to
that person and then open up their mouth and proclaim the unsearchable riches of
Christ to them and ask hey you want to be made whole we can't just you know
think that at people we actually have to preach it to them wilt thou be made
whole Jesus spake he saw he knew and then he spake you know and God today
still desires to speak to the unsaved you know that God still wants to reach
out to every unsaved person and get them safe for God so loved the world and he's
the propitiation for our sins and not for our sins only but for the sins of
the whole world God wants to reach every last one of them and I'm sure this
isn't news to you but he's not going to come down here and do it himself he's
not going to come down here and preach the gospel himself that's our job see
well I've got if God wants to speak to these people so bad how is he gonna do
it for you and me through us and nobody else and if our gospel be hit it is hit
to them that are lost and if we don't preach it who's gonna go preach it and
he asked this question wilt thou be made whole it's a question you know that
many are not going to answer I get that I mean good night we went out yesterday
we knocked those doors not interested not interested not interested not
interested not interested the whole day what's the point I don't know maybe we
should have gone for another hour I don't know I get people have schedules
and things like that I get it but you know all the more reason for us to get
back out there next week because eventually we go long enough there's
gonna be somebody that says yeah I do want to be made whole how do I do that
tell me it's a it's you know a question that not many are going to answer they're
gonna say no thank you appreciate your time thanks for stopping by I've got
your invitation but you know what there's a few people out there that are
longing to be asked they're longing to be asked this impotent man all he wants
to be made whole 38 years lying in that state oh he has no chance of getting to
the water he thinks well maybe maybe this is the year somehow I'll get down
there I mean he tells Jesus look I have no man to put me in the water everyone
beats me down there I can't get myself that I can drag myself fast enough then
why bother why are you there why don't you just go roll yourself off some cliff
because he wants to be made whole more than anything you know there's a lot of
people that are gonna be out there suffering in this world there's a lot of
people at that pool that are just you know just as impotent that are gonna be
blind to their own sin they're not gonna be able to smell the filth that they're
involved in and they're just gonna carry on and go to hell I get that and we
can't do anything about that but you know there's there's some people out
there that are would love more than anything for somebody to come along and
say hey I could tell you how you can go to heaven you die I can open up God's
Word explain to you in a matter of just a moment I can articulate the gospel to
you so quickly that in a moment in the twinkling of an eye you can be made
whole and they're gonna say please tell me please let me hear the gospel they're
out there so we looked at the surroundings of the unsaved we looked at
the sight of the Savior let's look at one more time at the sorrow of the
unsaved this is probably one of the more heartbreaking phrases in the story in
fact the Bible it says in verse 6 when Jesus saw him lie and knew that he'd
been now a long time in that case he saith unto him wilt thou be made whole
verse 7 the impotent man answered him sir I have no man I don't have anybody
that's his answer not yes not no will you be made whole yeah you be made whole
man that's it's the answer here is affirmative it's yes I would be made
whole but you know what I have no man I would love to be able to walk I would
love to be able to function like everybody else I would love to be made
whole just like everyone else but I have no man and let me tell you something it
takes another person to get somebody safe it's not enough to just put an
invite in a door hang something on a door just you know just litter the
ground with a bunch of paper and hope that somebody's gonna get it you know we
have to open up our mouths it takes you know a tree of life to bring forth you
know fruit unto righteousness we are that tree of life we are you know that
we have to go out and open our mouths boldly to make known the mystery of the
gospel don't fall for this nonsense that people can just read something and get
saved I don't believe that you know what that is it's a cop-out it's a cop-out so
you don't actually have to go out and do the hard work of knocking the door
and actually confronting somebody with the gospel it's a cop-out you know and
it makes me mad because there's just so many Baptist churches that's the road
they've taken to just cop out and preaching the gospel the most important
thing that we're here to do I mean the mission of a local church to go to all
the world to preach the gospel of every creature well let's just find some cheap
substitute so we don't have to be inconvenienced you see you seem kind of
set by that you know who's really upset about that is God there's gonna be a day
there's gonna be some serious accounting being done on that day
well these pastors are just copping out on preaching the gospel go to Romans
chapter number 12 I mean it's it's a heartbreaking sir a statement this man
makes sir I have no man I would love to be made whole you know but there's just
nobody seems to be bothered to come tell me how to be made whole no one can take
the time to come over to this stinky pool over by the sheet market and and
bother to tell me how to do it no one can lower me down to that pool going to
Romans 12 look at verse 15 rejoice with them that do rejoice and weep with them
that weep we have the same mind one toward another mine not high things but
condescend to men of low estate condescend to men of low estate I mean
that's what Jesus is doing in our story when you're the king of Kings and you're
the Lord of Lords when just a little while people are gonna be scattering
laying the clothes down and the palm trees and the palms and the leaves and
saying Hosanna the highest they're gonna say the king and rightly so that's who
Jesus was but where is he in this story it's some pool near some sheet market
surrounded by a bunch of people that really don't have any practical function
in society that really can't benefit anybody asking some crippled man will
thou be made whole that's the greatest condescension isn't it that's the same
condescension that Christ made for every single one of us and he asks us to do
the same condescend to men of low estate go out there and preach to people that
need to be made whole he says weep with them that weep will we do that we go
out here and listen to some of these stories they're heartbreaking people are
living lives that if you know if we have if we dreamt the things that they go
through that they've experienced we'd wake up in a cold sweat and call it a
nightmare it's out there well I've never heard of that yeah because you haven't
looked you haven't listened you haven't seen it it's out there will we weep with
them that weep will we condescend a man of low estate I mean isn't that what
this guy's saying I have no man what do you mean you mean well I need someone
because I can't why I need someone to actually pick me up and carry me to this
pool and go down into this pool with me look I don't know what kind of
filtration system that thing had I don't know if there was a pool guy showing up
making sure the pH balance was just right there was no algae I don't know if
maybe stuff wasn't running out from the sheep more I don't know but you no
matter no matter how pristine it may or may not have been it's still someone
having to go down there and get wet and pick up some guy you know well if he
can't drag himself into that pool what else can he do you know he's probably
not somebody you want to have in close proximity as far as you know his hygiene
and he's saying I have no man hey look if we're gonna go out and and do the
work that we're supposed to do is God's people we're going to condescend to
people in low state we're gonna have to walk up that path that's littered with
cigarette butts and and beer bottles and bottle caps watch people come to the
door sleeping one off from the night before maybe being a little rude
whatever you're gonna have to go into those those homes that are kind of rough
but that's what Jesus was willing to do go right into the midst of them and say
will thou be made whole we need to be willing to condescend to men of low
state he said to this man go over to 2nd Corinthians chapter number 5 I have
no man and thankfully for that guy for that certain individual Jesus was there
to say well you know what I am that man and we don't even need to go to the pool
buddy I'll take care of it right here right where we're standing praise God
for that go to 2nd Corinthians chapter number five what I want to see
understand this morning is that you know Jesus was that man for that man I have
no man I'm him we're that man today not the
impotent man we're in Christ said that's the Bible clearly tells us what to see
in 2nd Corinthians chapter 5 that we are in Christ said it's our job now you say
how is God if God cares so much about the loss if he still wants to speak to
you and say if he's got how is he gonna do it through you and me through us
they're going out there and condescending to men of low state and
preaching the gospel to these people 2nd Corinthians chapter number 5 you look at
verse 17 it says therefore if any man be in Christ he's a new creature old things
are passed away behold all things to become new and all things are of God who
hath reconciled us unto himself by Jesus Christ and hath given us the ministry of
reconciliation boy we love that first part where it says that he you know if
that he had reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ for say all right praise
God and you know honestly praise God for that if you're enjoying us every day
that all things are made new that old things are passed away and that we've
been reconciled unto Christ by himself but to me it just seems like there's a
little bit more to the deal here salvation is obviously free we all get
that but then it says there and hath given unto us the ministry of
reconciliation it sounds like there's a job to do then we have to go out and
reconcile the sinner to a holy God that sounds pretty heavy it is there's a lot
at stake when you're preaching the gospel it's not just a hobby here it's
not just something we can do so we can pat ourselves on the back and feel good
about what we're doing it's not just something to do to say what well now we
know why this church is here we got to have some reason to exist what we're
doing is we're going out and reconciling people unto Christ preaching the
unsearchable riches of Christ we're condescending to men of low estate we're
being that man as Christ was to this man in John 5 that's what we're doing notice
he goes on it says in verse 19 to wit that God was in Christ reconciling the
world unto himself not imputing the trespasses unto them and have committed
unto us the world the word of reconciliation now then we are
ambassadors for Christ notice that the change intense there verse 19 to it God
was in Christ he did that God was reconciling the world unto himself God
was not imputing look I understand it's still the blood of Christ that gets
people safe but notice again how it changes there verse 20 now God was but
now we are the ambassadors of Christ you know sometimes people ask me if we
ever go independent what are you gonna call the church I think ambassador
Baptist Church as generic as that is would be a great name for a church
there's a reason why it's popular because that's what we are it's a
reminder hey we're ambassadors for Christ as though God beseech you by us
we pray you in Christ said be reconciled to God it's a very important job we're
ambassadors for Christ it's not just something we're doing just to pass the
time here folks it's what we're called to do see why are you preaching this
well again it's just something we have to we have to keep our hearts warm
towards you know quite frankly you know the soul winning numbers went down this
last year I don't have anybody else noticed that it's too I think was over
200 last year you know and it's still up there and I praise God for every soul
that got saved and for everybody went out preach the gospel but that's not the
trajectory that I want to set for this church that's not what Christ wants for
this church there ought to be more soul winners thought I'd be more people to
preach in the gospel there I'd be more souls getting say there I'd be more
baptisms I'm not saying it has to be tenfold leaps and bounds every year but
goodnight this is not a good trajectory when it comes to soul winning it needs
to be this we need to be reminded of what it is we're doing here and it's not
just you know so that I can go back there and play you know you know stay
within the lines on the map with a red marker we're preaching the gospel of
Christ we're reconciling souls unto unto God we're ambassadors we're condescending
we're taking people and making them whole spiritually it's a powerful thing
that we're doing you and I and my friend are that man go back to chapter 4 there
in 2nd Corinthians chapter 4 you know if we are that man and let me just
say this if it's not you if you're not gonna be the one that preaches gospel
who's gonna do it who you know I hope that these other Baptist churches are
doing something but you know in the in the two years I've been in my since I'm
moving down here and I've been in my house I've had the Jehovah Witnesses
come to my door I don't know how many times I went out for a walk the other
day just this week and there they were down the street again and I quickly ran
across the park and ran away because I have no interest in talking to them
whatsoever I saw them they've been to my door you know what mate you know
here's the thing they actually knock the door they actually make you come and
answer the door and tell them go wait right and say I'm not interested I want
to hear what you have to say you know they don't even believe in a literal
hell they don't even believe Christ is is God okay reject them out of hand had
Mormons come I've seen Mormons twice in my neighborhood in just not even two
years that I've been there twice Mormons you know I always I've told the story
before about so I get in case you didn't hear it it's back out of driveway in the
church van to come to church for soul winning and you see and you say how do
you know there are Mormons you know when they're Mormons folks cuz they're you
know they they you know they look like they're you know just a few weeks out of
Pampers and they got that name tag that says elder and they got their you know
their little white shirts and their black pies and sometimes if they're on
bikes they got their helmets on and everything right you know when it's a
Mormon and in an instant you know I'm back now the driveway and it says
faithful word Baptist Church right down this edge and the one of them sees
Baptist Church and he starts to wave at me and in a nanosecond it all Pat
crosses through my mind I'm just like if I don't you know make it clear that I do
not approve this guy's gonna think that I'm on his side because that's what
Mormons love to do oh just we're just like you oh yeah we're Christians it's
like no you believe there's people that have become gods on other planets you
know you believe black people were bad spirit babies and that they're cursed
that's the Mormon Church and look that's like the tip of the iceberg with the
Mormon Church it's insane you're gonna get to heaven because you learned a
secret handshake it's it's masonry is what it is it's it's insane it's
satanic so I'm driving out and thinking I'm we are not the same so I just
looked at him with I'm driving by just like this and he's like I said mission
accomplished you know you didn't have time to run him out but I've seen the
Jehovah Witnesses come by I've had the Mormons come by multiple times but what
about the Baptist Church that is literally less than 10 minutes from my
door and I'm talking about the independent fundamental King James only
Baptist Church that's less than 10 minutes from my door any times I've seen
them zero well maybe they were somewhere else yeah maybe they were you know what
I didn't see them but I knew they were at my house because they left a door
hanger we were home nobody knocked went out to leave so what's this oh it's that
why didn't you bother knocking say well maybe they just they just didn't knock
your door but I knocked everybody else no that's what they do this is how a
Baptist Church is it become folks they're being outworked by a bunch of
cults because they can't be bothered to go out and actually knock a door and
confront somebody with the gospel never want any close the doors if it ever
turns into that in this church run me out of the pulpit if I die ever suggest
such a thing played this sermon back to me and say you said that if you ever
wanted to pull back and change our soul winning methods to run you but so we're
doing it you know get me fired get me out of here and if things were Baptist
Church ever takes a step back and tries to come up with some other cheap
substitute for soul winning go somewhere else that has it right because I don't
want to be another one of these lukewarm lame Baptist churches that are getting
outworked by a bunch of cults if it's not you and I that are gonna be that man
who's gonna do it the answer is nobody no one's gonna do it it's not the Mormons
not to the JW it's not anybody else unfortunately it's not even a lot of
Baptist churches I had you said Corinthians chapter 5 look at verse we
already looked at it didn't we 17 I had to go to 4 4 verse 1 therefore seeing we
have received this ministry as we have this ministry as we receive mercy we
faint not but ever announced the hidden things of dishonesty not walking in
craftiness nor handing the Word of God deceitfully but by manifestation of the
truth commending ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God
but if our gospel be hid it is hid to them that are lost at whom the God of
this world that blind of the minds of them believe not lest the light of the
glorious gospel of Christ who is the image of God should shine unto them it
goes on in verse 5 and says we preach not ourselves but Jesus Christ Jesus the
Lord and ourselves your servants for Jesus sake through God and command a
light to shine out darkness hath shine in our hearts to what end why is God
shined in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in
the face of Jesus Christ you are the only light of the gospel in something
that are going to come to people if you are saved if God has shined in your
heart that's the only light that is going to shine unto the people that are
in darkness that's what he's saying here
verse 7 but we have this treasure and earthen vessels that the excellency of
the power may be of God and not of us you know and I think some people will
just never preach the gospel like they should because they just feel
inadequate you know what I say to that good you should feel inadequate because
we're all inadequate our sufficiency is of Christ who is sufficient for these
things the answer is none of us but our sufficiency is of Christ we have this
treasure in earth and vessels why I just don't feel like well great because then
it'll be all done by the power of God then which is the way it ought to be
done anyway you know it's almost a disadvantage if you're one of these
people that are just you know extrovert and you know well-spoken and just a
people person and you could just speak to people now it can almost be a
detriment I'm not saying it is but people like that they can almost rely on
their charm and their wit and their personality to kind of get them through
and they're not really relying on the power of God maybe it could work against
them then people say well I just don't know how to talk to people well good
because then then I guess God will just have to show up and do it for you I
guess God will just have to fill you with this spirit and embolden you and
strengthen you when you walk away from that door and that person's gotten
saved you're gonna get glory to God and nobody else your inadequacy is God's
ability and that's the truth for every single one of us and sometimes people go
out soul-winning with people who have been soul-winning for years and they
think well that's how it's gonna be that you can't you can't start preaching the
gospel till you do as good as that person that's not true you know and
people that are really good at soul-winning it's just because you know
they started doing them every single person that's gotten good at soul
winning and preaching the gospel it's because you know they fumbled and they
mumbled and they stumbled through the gospel door after door after door after
door and still do it still do it get a little rusty and still do it happens all
the time you know what if we don't do it who else is gonna do it I know I got a
close go back to John chapter 5 we've looked this morning at the surroundings
the unsaved the sight of the Savior the sorrow of the unsaved but I want to
apply this last bit here by looking at the sorrow of the saved the sorrow of
the saved you say the sorrow of the saved you'll never meet a more
miserable creature in my opinion than the Christian who is not living for God
and the Christian that has just written off the things of God and just wants to
go into the world and listen you know they can put on a happy face all they
want they can sit there and tell themselves and those around them how
great life is but if they're backslidden and not right with God inwardly they are
miserable they're just as sorry as the rest of them it's true because you'll be
grieving the Holy Spirit here's the thing God's not just gonna let you get
away with that God's just gonna go like this you gonna get it right that's what
God does God's gonna lay some sermon in my heart you're gonna come here get
preached at it's uncomfortable yeah I know and believe me I closed this book
when I wrote this sermon I said man I'm convicted I'm just as convicted as
anybody else's this morning if anyone at all and you know that's the sorrow of
the safe when they don't do what they're supposed to do look at our story this
guy gets saved right or he's made whole at least right and of course in the
story we know he believes on Christ that says a verse 7 the impotent man
answered sir I have no man how sad that is when the waters trouble to put me in
the pool but why I'm coming another step of town and step it down before me and
then Jesus saith in him verse 8 rise take up thy bed and walk and notice
that's the healing there but he didn't just say you're whole and walk away he
commands him he says rise take up that bed and walk he gives them directives
doesn't he he makes him whole but then he's telling him to do something and
it's the same with you and I when we were made whole we were told to do
something what were we told to do we were told to rise to take up our bed and
to walk and to go and to preach and to walk in the spirit and to live in the
spirit that's what we were told you know God's given us the strength to rise you
know by grace you're saved you know we're a new creature in Christ God's
given us that strength we're risen in Christ what about that next part walk
he says go it says rise take up thy bed and what walk you know that's what we
need to start doing is walking and living for the Lord and you know what
going because that's what this guy does he goes and tells the Jews it was Jesus
he goes and tells other people Jesus did this for me what's he doing he's
witnessing for Christ he's going out there and saying Jesus did this for me
it was it was Christ that's what we're told to do to to go out and preach the
gospel to every creature and I know that's a drum that gets beat a lot
around here and if you don't like it get used to it because that's a drum that's
gonna get beat it's not gonna get be any less than it has been take thy bed he
told him I love that part you know we need to just leave no trace of comfort
in the world he says take that bet don't even let them don't leave a reminder
back there for those people that you were once like them don't don't don't
come back to this bed and laying back town you've been made whole but isn't
that what Christians do they get made whole they're told to go and maybe they
kind of go and then they look back at that bed and they go well that bed was
kind of comfortable it was kind of nice bed it was warm you know I know it was
by the sheep pool and it kind of smelled and everybody else around me was
miserable but you know it's kind of used to it that's what people do Jesus says
rise and what take your bed with you don't leave some something to come back
to in the world and get it out of there and go do something for God go out there
and preach the gospel and the people that don't do this they're sorry they're
they're they're not as you know they might have some things that bring them
pleasure in life but you're never gonna be satisfied with the Christian life
you're never gonna be whole as a Christian if you don't follow these
directives to not just rise to be healed and made whole but to also do you
know get out of the world take that bed and then go do something go walk and go
and preach the gospel go and witness for Christ go walk in the spirit go live in
the spirit so we're here to do I want to close by looking at him because this is
this is go to him 387 in your hymnals you know maybe you've already tuned me
out and maybe the sermon isn't you know it's just another one of those sermons
but this isn't a hymn that we sing very often I remember hearing this hymn and
this hymn stuck with me and this hymn would cut me to the heart for years
because I remember when I got saved you know we didn't do a lot of soul and we
did a lot of other things but was very rare I don't even know how to preach the
gospel and I would hear this hymn and I would think about the words and it would
just it would just cut me to the heart and even now it still does it says in
verse 1 there must I go an empty-handed thus my rear Redeemer meet that's what
question this guy is asking am I gonna go meet Christ empty-handed with nothing
not one day of service give him lay no trophy at his feet it goes on with the
chorus must I go and empty-handed must I meet my Savior soul not one soul with
what's to greet him must I empty-handed go I remember reading that and just
saying Lord if I could just have one but you know that's a question people are
gonna ask themselves for their whole life am I gonna go meet God with not one
soul to meet him with to get there and look in the face of Christ who died for
me and have them ask who'd you bring with you and say no one nobody what
souls are here because of you Christian none first to not at death I shrink or
falter for my Savior saves me now but to meet him empty-handed thought of that
now clouds my brow saying I'm not afraid of death I'm saved but the idea of me
and going and having nothing to go empty-handed before my Savior I can't
live with that it troubles me that's what he's saying verse 3 oh the years
and sinning wasted could I but recall them now I would give them to my Savior
to his will I'd gladly bow verse 4 oh ye Saints aroused be earnest sing be
serious up and work while yet to stay here the night of death or take thee
strive for souls while you may love that him it's a great him it's a great
reminder you know that's that's that's a spiritual reality that people are gonna
face let it not be said you know I hope that's not the testimony of anybody in
this room that they're gonna stand before Christ one day and say sorry I'm
here with nothing I'm here empty-handed let's go ahead quick word prayer