Signs // How to Experience the Mercy of Jesus

If you guys are happy to be in church this morning, would you say amen, amen, amen, amen.

So we're going to be at John chapter 5 today and I don't know if you're anything like me, but growing up I had some teachers that I really really liked and then I had some other teachers that weren't quite my favorite.

John 5 · chapter mention

How many of you had some teachers like that?

They weren't quite your favorite?

Yes, okay, Some of you guys are like huh, some of you are shy, like that teacher's in this room or something right, growing up I had some teachers.

They really liked history, big-time history people.

History people in the room, history people.

Some of you okay.

So there's this really like bizarre story that happened in American history that it's so bizarre it had never happened before and it had never happened after.

It was this guy.

His name is George Wilson.

Everybody say George Wilson, ready.

George Wilson.

This guy had done a bunch of crimes and because of that he was sentenced to death.

But there was a president.

In fact, you've seen him on your $20 bill.

It's this guy.

Anybody remember what this guy's name is?

Andrew Jackson.

Andrew Jackson gave him a gift of mercy in the way of a presidential pardon.

Now you guys know what a presidential pardon is and they give him the presidential pardon.

The crime is basically erased and they can go free.

But the craziest thing happened George Wilson refused the pardon.

George Wilson said I don't want to be pardoned.

Now everybody's like, first of all, this guy's cuckoo, this guy's sentenced to death and he doesn't want to be pardoned.

And second of all, people were thinking what do we do now?

Because this had never happened before in in america's short history.

And they were so confused it actually went all the way up to the supreme court of the united states trying to figure out what should we do.

So they studied the case and the chief justice of the United States trying to figure out what should we do.

So they studied the case and the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, justice Marshall, came to this conclusion about what to do with somebody that rejects mercy.

He said a pardon is a piece of paper, the value of which depends on its acceptance by the person implicated.

If it's refused, it is no pardon.

And three years later, george Wilson was executed, not because mercy wasn't available to him, but because George Wilson refused the mercy.

We're in a text of scripture where Jesus offered mercy to somebody.

It happened at a place called Bethesda.

Bethesda actually means house of mercy.

In fact, everybody say Bethesda, together, ready Bethesda, now of mercy.

In fact, everybody say Bethesda together, ready, bethesda Now.

We all know what mercy is.

What's mercy?

Mercy is not getting what we deserve.

How many of you, growing up, there was a time or two where you did something you shouldn't have done, at least like once or twice?

How many would say it?

Probably about a thousand times, a thousand times, all of us.

And there's probably a time or two, maybe, where your teacher or your parent or your grandma said I'm going to give you mercy, even though you don't deserve it.

I'm going to give you mercy.

And the thing about the mercy of Jesus is that none of us deserve it.

In fact, there's nothing that we could do to earn it, there's nothing that we could do to work for it.

But in the world that we live in, where it's so hard and difficult and overwhelming at times and overwhelming at times, mercy is what we all need.

And mercy is not a gift.

Mercy is not a gift for the righteous, it's a gift for the humble.

In fact, mercy is a gift for the humble, it's not a reward for the righteous.

So it's not this idea of saying, okay, well, if I do these good things and I deserve God's mercy.

No, it just requires our humility.

Now we're in this series called signs, and this is what we're doing.

We're looking at the miracles of Jesus in the book of John and specifically, we're looking at what John calls them.

He calls them signs because they were signs to show who Jesus was.

Now we've seen some of them so far.

The first one we saw a little while ago was that Jesus turned water into wine.

Last week we saw the healing of the royal official son, and today we're going to see a healing that happens at Bethesda, at the place of mercy, a place where all of us can receive the mercy of God.

I'm going to show a little two-minute clip of what this interaction would have looked like, where Jesus heals a man that was disabled, because this man thought that if I could just get to some water then I can be healed, and this man didn't realize that he needed the mercy of Jesus.

But the mercy of Jesus showed up in his life in a powerful way, and I want us to see a little bit of what this interaction may have looked like before we get to the text.

Do you want to be healed?

Who are you?

We'll get to that later, but my question remains Will you take me to the water?

Look, I'm having a really bad day.

You've been having a bad day for a long time.

I have no one to help me into the water when it's stirred up, and when I do get close, the others step down in front of me.

Look at me.

Look at me.

That's not what I asked.

I'm not asking you about who's helping you or who's not helping.

I'm asking, asking you about who's helping you or who's not helping.

I'm asking about you.

I've tried For a long time, I know, but this pool, it has nothing for you.

But you're still here.

Why, I don't know.

You don't need this Puro, you only need me.

So do you want to be healed?

So let's go Get up, pick up your mat and walk.

Jake, jake.

This man thought is I just need to get to this water.

If I get to this water, then I can be healed.

What he received is what he really needed, which was the mercy of Jesus in his life.

Has there ever been a time in your life where you really wanted something, but you look back in hindsight and you're like I really wanted that in that moment, but that's not what I needed.

We're going to see in this text how this man received the mercy of Jesus and maybe more importantly, how mercy is available for every single one of us in a tired, burned out, overwhelmed world, if we'll just be humble enough to receive it.

So let's pick it up in John, chapter 5, verse number 1.

John 5 · chapter mention

If you're ready for it, would you say amen?

It says after this there was a Jewish festival that took place and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.

Context Bethesda.

That happens in the city of Jerusalem.

Why is Jesus going up to Jerusalem?

Because there was a festival that happened there.

There were three Jewish festivals a year that Jewish males were required to go to Passover, pentecost and Tabernacle.

Those three Jewish males had to go to that.

So Jesus is going to one of those festivals we're not sure which one.

So he gets to verse number two.

So he goes by the sheep gate in Jerusalem.

You may know why it's called the sheep gate Because sheep pass through that gate.

That's why they called it that.

It was really original, right Sheep Gate in Jerusalem.

And there's a pool.

We're presented with this pool, this place of mercy.

This pool, it is called.

What's it called?

It's called Bethesda in Aramaic, which is five colonnades, five columns, so the pool is right near the Sheep Gate.

Now you can actually go today to Jerusalem and see the Sheep Gate.

This is the same one that was there 2,000 years ago.

That wall is still there.

Within that wall verse number three lay a large number of the disabled blind, lame, paralyzed.

One man was there who had been disabled for unable to walk for 38 years.

Now I was telling last week how I had ankle surgery and I couldn't walk for it's like three or four months I couldn't walk.

I thought that was like torture.

But can you imagine 38 years you're unable to walk?

Can you imagine what that man must have felt like?

What would it be like if you couldn't walk for 38 years?

Couldn't walk for 38 years.

There was no government assistance, there was nobody to help you.

He was stuck in this position for his entire life.

And then Jesus verse number six.

He saw him lying there and he realized he had already been there for a long time I would say 38 years, being disabled.

However many years he was there.

This is a while.

Jesus said to him do you want to get well, sir.

The disabled man answered I have no one to put me into the pool.

Hold on.

That's not what Jesus asked you.

Jesus said do you want to get well?

Last time I checked y'all.

That's a yes or no question.

He says I need to go to the pool when the water is stirred, but while I'm coming, someone goes down ahead of me.

Now what's the big deal about the water being stirred?

Legend had it that an angel would stir the water.

First person to get to the water would be healed.

At the very least.

People believe that this water, in this context, had healing powers.

So, understandably for this man, his focus in his life I got to get to the water.

I got to get to the water.

This is what his life was all about.

I need to get to the water.

And Jesus, in verse number eight, he tells him get up, pick up your mat and walk.

And instantly, instantly, the man got well, picked up his mat and started to walk.

Now, that day was the Sabbath, and so the Jews said to the man who had been healed this is the Sabbath.

The law prohibits you from picking up your mat, which the law did not prohibit people from picking up their mat.

In this context, the law would prohibit them from doing that if they were doing that for their livelihood.

This man was not doing that for their livelihood, but these were people that were not filled with compassion and they were people that are always trying to make up rules that didn't even exist.

This man replied to these guys in verse 11.

He said the man who made me well told me pick up your mat and walk.

Who is this man?

Verse 12, who told you Pick up your mat and walk?

They asked.

But the man who is healed did not know who it was because Jesus had slipped away into the crowd that was there.

Verse 14, after this, jesus found him, the disabled man that he healed in the temple, and he said see, you are well, do not sin anymore, so something worse doesn't happen to you.

Apparently, this man had done something and because of a sin that he had done, this was a consequence for what he had done.

Maybe God was disciplining him and I want to kind of break down for a second because I think it'd be helpful Is there's a difference between consequences from sin, discipline for sin and punishment of sin?

There's a difference between these two.

So, for example, consequences.

All right, how many of you in the room you guys like to drive fast, you're fast drivers.

There's only like some of y'all are pointing at somebody.

Okay, yeah, yeah, you have fast drivers.

Some of you guys are just too embarrassed.

Some of y'all are kind of you guys are really tight today.

You know, we're in church, we can just kind of relax a little bit.

You got fast drivers.

Okay, let's say you drive really fast, like 110 miles an hour on the freeway.

Some of y'all are like, yeah, I do that all the time, it's fun, and you get pulled over and you get a ticket, a big ticket, and they take away your license.

You could be like God, why are you punishing me?

Because no, bro, like that's not a punishment.

You know what that's called.

That's called a consequence from your sin.

It's a consequence.

How about this?

Let's say you lie to people.

If you lie to people, they're not going to trust you.

You know what that is.

That's a consequence for your sin.

It's not like God punishing you.

That's a consequence for your sin.

Now, consequences are different than God's discipline.

God's discipline, what that is for our sin, is God's loving correction to bring us back to himself.

Now, sometimes what God will do is God will use consequences as discipline to bring us back to himself.

But God's discipline is a form of his love.

It says whom the Lord loves.

He disciplines Because God knows that he wants to have a thriving relationship with you.

So when he sees us drifting, what he's going to do he's going to bring us back to himself.

And while God disciplines us, if we've trusted Jesus for salvation, god is not angry at us and he will not punish us for our sin, because Jesus took all of our punishment.

And what punishment is?

It's punishment of our sin?

Is us paying for our sin?

And this distinction is really important.

Here's why Because if you think God's mad at you and God's out to get you, you will not run to God, you will run from God.

Nobody runs to an angry father.

We run from an angry father, and I wish, theologically, I could get more into this because it matters so much.

But in our lives you may experience consequences from your sin or the discipline of God for your sin, but you will never experience the wrath of God because Jesus.

You'll never experience the punishment of God, because Jesus took all of that on your behalf.

You won't experience his wrath either.

So all that's left for you is mercy.

This matters so much because when we humble ourselves and trust Jesus for salvation, all we get is God's mercy.

And here's the good news about his mercy it never runs out.

In Lamentations, chapter 3, it says Because of the Lord's faithful love, we do not perish, for his mercies never end.

Lamentations 3 · chapter mention

They are new.

What are those two words?

They are new Every morning.

Great is your faithfulness.

You know whose mercies do end Mine.

You do the same thing 10 times in a row.

I'm like dude, you're a knucklehead bro, get yourself together.

My mercy ends.

His mercy never ends.

And sometimes we don't realize how much we actually need his mercy.

And sometimes what God does is God comes to us and gives us his mercy in ways we don't fully understand and we don't fully expect.

And sometimes we can live our lives trying to get to our proverbial pool at Bethesda when God says I'm going to give you mercy in this way, right here.

And sometimes what Jesus does is he exposes some things in our life, he exposes some misplaced desires, so he can show us that he is the answer and his mercy is what we need In this text.

This man had a focus.

He had a dream, he had a goal Get to the water.

That's what he wanted to do.

That's what his life was all about.

And Jesus was right there in front of him.

Jesus says what do you want?

Do you want to be healed?

I want to get to the water.

Jesus says what do you want?

Do you want to be healed?

I want to get to the water.

Jesus was right in front of you.

Bro, how do you miss this?

And I wonder, how often do we do the same thing?

It's so easy for us to set our hopes and our dreams and our focus on all these things, on these things that we think will make us happy, on these things that we anchor our meaning and our purpose and our identity to.

Maybe we have some perfectionism tendencies and we think, hey, if I can just get really good at this, if I can just get here, if I can be the perfect parent, the perfect spouse, the perfect worker, I can master this hobby that I have, then everything's going to be okay.

And we just aim for this perfection and we drive ourselves crazy.

On top of this, we got so many voices around us that tell us what we need and what we're supposed to do.

We got so many voices around us that tell us what we need and what we're supposed to do.

It seems like there's a new social media reel about anything.

There's like all these fads out there that's like this is what you really need in your life.

This is how you can lose 15 pounds.

This is how you can be happy.

This is how you can get a better job.

This is what you need to do.

This is what life would be if you would.

And so we hear all these voices and it's like what should I do?

How do I go about things?

Everything's telling me I just need to get to the pool.

If I can get to the pool of Bethesda, then everything's going to be okay and what Jesus will do is in his mercy.

He'll lovingly speak to you amidst all the other voices around you and say, hey, what you need is surrender.

Around you and say, hey, what you need is surrender.

Hey, what you need is to take this step in your faith.

Hey, what you need, what you need, all these voices, all these voices that are telling you have more money, have more of this, you need to be more generous In a world that's telling you that, man, anything goes, it doesn't really matter what you believe, as long as you just believe something.

Jesus is like, hey, my word is true.

And you realize that.

What God does is God intervenes in our life, because God has too much mercy not to intervene in our life.

And what God does is he brings that friend across your path.

It's like, hey, you should go to church with me.

What God does is he brings a message from a short, stubby preacher that barely knows how to preach, to speak his word and just convict you.

It's God's mercy.

What God does is he uses the still small voice of the spirit to speak to you.

What God does is he uses general dissatisfaction in our lives that tells us, man, like there's got to be something else out there.

Like man, I've been living my life trying to get to this pool of Bethesda, like this is what I want, and it just my life is not working well and something just like wakes us up.

We can't sleep at night.

Somebody passes away, something happens and all of a sudden we're like what's going on?

It's the mercy of God trying to intervene in your life, not because he's mad at us, but because he pursues us and he wants to correct us.

It's kind of like this I go to a CrossFit gym and over the years, I've had lots of different CrossFit coaches.

I've had some good ones, which, melissa is in the third row she's a really good CrossFit coach, by the way, and she does this.

I've had lots of different ones, and this is in the third row she's a really good CrossFit coach, by the way, and she does this.

We have lots of different ones, and this is what the best coaches do.

The best coaches do is they will speak into you while you are doing whatever it is that you're doing, and it doesn't have to be CrossFit.

If you ever played sports growing up, if you ever were a part of a team, what the best coaches would do is they wouldn't just be like, wow, you're trying to shoot a shot, you're trying to, you're trying to shoot a shot from half court.

They're not like, oh, that's fine, no, they're going to be like, hey, bro, you're like eight years old, you're not Steph Curry, go shoot a layup, right.

And what the best CrossFit coaches have done for me is they'll see me doing things and, rather than just watch me do whatever, like, oh, it's fine.

They'll be like, hey, you need to adjust that a little bit.

You need to tweak that a little bit.

If you keep doing it that way, you're going to hurt yourself.

They care enough to correct you and you know what God does.

God cares enough to correct you and you know what God does.

God cares enough to correct you.

You know why you correct your children Because you care enough to correct them and you know what our heavenly father does.

He cares enough to correct us.

And sometimes we think God, leave me alone.

I'm doing things my way, like everything's fine.

God's like nope, I care too much about you.

God, I want to live life this way.

God, stop Stop.

God's like nope, I care too much.

God, I don't want to feel this conviction.

God's like I care too much.

God, pastor Nate's getting on my toes.

This is uncomfortable.

Somebody call me so I can leave the room.

God's like care too much.

This is my mercy, and sometimes what God does is God pursues after us because he loves us so much that he doesn't want us to live life apart from him.

And as you grow in your walk with Jesus, this is what you're going to learn.

You're going to learn that you desire him speaking to you.

You're going to learn that you desire him, desire that he guide you, because you know that in his grace, in his mercy, he's going to transform you to be somebody that's filled with the fruit of the spirit, somebody that's filled with love and joy and peace and gentleness and long-suffering and kindness and everything you desire in your life.

His Spirit will produce that in you and when you grow in your walk with Jesus, you say, lord, teach me and show me, because I want you to do your work in me.

Now I got to say I don't always do that.

Sometimes I'm like God.

I don't want you to speak to me about that because that's uncomfortable, but what his mercy does is his mercy comes to us and his mercy transforms us.

Number two His mercy transforms us.

I remember when I was getting serious about my faith in my teenage years.

I thought if I was going to grow my faith it was all about my willpower, my discipline, because I grew up in a hardworking family.

So as a young age, this is what I was taught Work hard, be disciplined, things will go good for you.

I'm like 17,.

I'm like I'm going to do this Christian life thing Like let's go, let's go.

I'm about to like run at hell with like a squirt gun or something Like I'm going to and I was like I can do this.

Here's the problem I was never and you were never designed to live the Christian life in your own strength.

And while the Christian life takes intention, or it does take effort, if you live the Christian life in your own strength, one of two things will happen to you.

You'll get filled with pride because you did it.

Look at what you can do Phariseeism or over here, reality will hit and you're like I just can't do this thing and you'll just get discouraged and just give up Because living the Christian life is impossible.

What living the Christian life is impossible?

What living the Christian life is is it's resting in the mercy of Jesus and saying I cannot do this on my own.

I need you doing this through me.

Paul even writes about this in Galatians, chapter two.

He says I've been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me, in the life I now live, in the body.

I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

Paul says it's Christ that does this in me.

Paul says it's Christ that does this in me and guys, when we embrace God's mercy, it just changes everything for us.

I don't stand here as some dude that has myself together Gosh no, I don't.

I don't stand here as some guy that like, oh, I have all the answers Come to me.

Heck.

No, who am I fooling?

I stand here as somebody that's just like you, a recipient of God's mercy and understanding that God's mercy changes everything.

This is what God's mercy does.

God's mercy allows us to wake up every morning and know this that we are loved by God.

God's mercy allows us, every day, to every morning, and know this that we are loved by God.

God's mercy allows us, every day, to walk in the forgiveness that we have because of the cross of Jesus, and we don't have to live in shame or guilt.

God's mercy says I don't have to prove myself to anybody.

If you don't like me, that's okay.

I don't have to live for everybody else's approval.

Why?

Because I'm a child of God and I'm approved by God.

It's God's mercy.

It takes the pressure off.

It's the thing that we need, it's the thing that we desire, it's the thing that the world doesn't have any of.

Because the world says you have to perform, you have to do this, you have to earn.

Then I'll give you something.

God says no, no, I give you everything as a free gift because my son paid it all for you on the cross, like we just sang a song.

Crown him about, like his stripes, and the blood that he bore, like worship, is coming out of my heart.

Why?

Because of the blood, because of his stripes, I don't have to strive anymore.

I have mercy.

I can live in freedom.

I'm loved.

Not because of the blood, because of his stripes.

I don't have to strive anymore.

I have mercy.

I can live in freedom.

I'm loved, not because of me, but because of him.

And the only thing, guys, the only thing that prevents any of us from receiving God's mercy is our pride.

We have to come to the end of ourselves before we can ever receive God's mercy.

For some of us, what prevents us from receiving God's mercy is our own supposed righteousness.

Because we're good, we don't need God's mercy because we're good people.

Let me tell you how good you are.

You're so good that Jesus still had to die for your sin.

You're a sinner, bro.

He had died for all of us, but he wanted to die.

You know why?

Because of his mercy.

Hebrews, chapter 12, the joy that was set before him.

Hebrews 12 · chapter mention

He endured the cross, and here's my desire for us this morning, as I wrap it up, is that this church building today would be a house of Bethesda, a house of mercy for somebody here On this Sunday, the 4th of May may the 4th be with you, by the way that this would be a place where you would just receive mercy.

Some of you in here are struggling.

You're hurting.

You're hurting Emotionally, psychologically, spiritually.

You might be confused, frustrated.

Mercy's available.

Don't have to earn it, don't have to work for it, just receive it.

But to receive it it requires humility and if you'll come to Jesus just as you are, you will receive his mercy by faith.

For some of us, we need to receive his mercy for salvation.

We need to trust in what he did for us by dying and resurrecting from the grave.

For others of us, we need to receive his mercy just for our everyday lives.

Lord, I'm in this situation.

It sucks.

Give me your mercy.

Lord, I'm in this time.

It hurts.

Give me your mercy.

Whatever it is, let's take some time and reflect and humble ourselves to receive the mercy of God.

Let's bow our heads and close our eyes.