Rise, Take up your bed and Walk

You're listening to a message to go from acts church. We hope this message

will light up your day. And Moses was very very aware that I don't

just want an angel. I want you God. And that's why Jesus' name

is Emmanuel. God with us. When he's with us, we have a

constant every day, every hour of the day, healer, provider, protector,

amen, the one who is the master of breakthrough the Bible calls.

I want us to turn please to the Bible Book of John and we're gonna

read nine verses there, okay, Versus one to nine. There are three

things that Jesus said. In verse eight, he said, rise, take

up your bed, and walk. So walk we have seen happen in verse

nine. Walk we've seen take place in verse nine. Is not a wish,

it's not a hope. It's been done, and I believe that it

will be done also today for you. It's done in Jesus name. But

Jesus also said two other things. He said rise, and he said take

up your bed. So I want to just remind you that there are at

least two prerequisites. Come on, two prerequisites before walk took place. So

it's rise, take up your bed and walk. So before you can walk,

there is the rise, and there is the take up your bed.

Are your still with me? In God? His love is unconditional. Amen.

But miracles and healings and supernatural wonders and signs and breakthroughs, they more

often than not have got conditions. And one of the condition is to believe.

That is a condition you must believe. And these signs shall follow those

who believe, not those who went to Bible school, not those who think

they have been in church a long time, not those whose father is a

pastor. No, these signs shall follow those who there are conditions. And

many Christians forget sometimes because we think that God is an unconditional loving God,

and that's true, and because you think he's like that, and you think

that he has to do everything for you. Now he only does everything and

anything for little babies. But we are never babies in the faith for long.

We must grow up, and the Lord expects us to grow up.

And it's a good thing to grow up because we get to see more of

God in stepping out in faith and obeying his word. Let's go into the

early verses that we read and do a study and see what could this mean,

what could rise? Take up your bed and walk mean? Now,

let's pick it up from verse three. It says in these lay a great

multitude of sick people. So we know that at a pool called Bethesda,

there were many sick people, and the Bible mentions some of them blind,

lame, paralyzed waiting. They were waiting. I wonder how many of you

in this room are waiting. You're waiting. You pray maybe even faster,

but you are in a waiting period. And someone said before many years ago,

wait, Wait maybe the most difficult fall letter word you could ever hear.

Nobody likes to wait. Wait. It is like a bad word in

a modern day that we live in today. Wait. Nobody wants to wait.

We want everything fast. We know that. But the Bible says that

those who wait out on the Lord shall renew their strength. They shall mount

up with wings like eagles. They shall run and not be weary, they

shall walk and not fainth. There is a blessing to those who wait on

the Lord. So wait is not a bad word. It's a good one,

especially if you wait on the Lord. Very very important. So they

were waiting, just like some of you waiting for what for the stirring of

the water by the angel. So when we read the Bible, the Bible

will at least teach us one thing, and that is in this particular reading

that angels do heal. Okay, angels do heal. So if anybody ask

you do angels heal? You say, let me turn you to John five.

That the angel came once a year stir up the water, and the

first one to go in there will be here. The only thing is that

the power of the angel is very limited because he can only come once a

year. He can stir up the water, and the first person in not

in the second very limited. How many of you are very glad that today

we don't have to just depend on angels, because Jesus Christ can heal us

every day, ten times a day if you have to. Jesus is unlimited.

Amen. God is unlimited, His power is unlimited. God is here.

That's probably why Moses said to God when God says you go, God

was angry with Israel, and God didn't want to go with that. Remember

this, and God says, you go, I will send my angel.

And Moses was very very aware that I don't just want an angel. I

want you God. And that's why Jesus his name is Immanuel, God with

us. When he's with us, we have a constant every day, every

hour of the day, healer, provider, protector, Amen, the one

who is the master of breakthrough. The Bible calls he is the master of

the universe. He is great and greatly to be praised. There's no one

like Jesus, no one like Jesus. Amen. So the Angel and everyone

seems to know. The Bible says a certain time he comes, So a

certain time, you can't like know the date the time Jesus walked into that

place called Bethesda. Five polls. I believe it is what he says,

or five porches, and I mean, I'm imagining. And there you go

again. Imagining, you know, really makes the Bible come alife. Jesus

is walking, he's a healer. He's the one with a limited power.

And the Bible says he saw one man who who was there, Well,

he didn't quite say he was there for thirty eight years. He said that

he was sick for thirty eight years. But Jesus is said of the Lord

that he knew that this man was in a condition a long time. I

got a few questions. You know, when I do bi bo study Jesus

walking, Why did he just single out one man when everybody else needed healing

as well? All right? And the next thing Jesus does is that he

goes up to this man who's sick for thirty eight years, and he asked

a question. What was the question? Do you want to be here?

Now? I've gone to visit people in hospitals many times, and I've walked

from bit to bed right praying for people. I don't usually ask her do

you want to be here? Is already a hospital man? The guy or

the ladies are really on the bed, maybe with tubes, all right?

The only question I might ask is would you like to pray for you?

But do you want to be healer? It's very rare, So we asked

ourselves questions, because when we ask ourselves questions, we might get answers.

Jesus went to one man, not to the rest, and he asked the

question, do you want to be healed? I can't imagine me he's doing

that. You know, if I did it to a lady who'll sit on

the bed, she might get up, slap me and then go back down

to the bears. Well, you're asking, but the guy was in coma.

His family members might slap me and say, hey, you know,

this man is in coma. Does he want to be healed? You know?

Jesus asked the question so obvious and yet not obvious. Okay, So

my thought is that this guy could have been there so long that he may

have started packing himself there and making himself comfortable. He first may have come

our imagination or imagination. He first may have arrived at the deed years ago,

or maybe yeah, maybe yeah, with a sleeping bag because he wasn't

thinking of staying there long. Now after three years, it could be a

double bit with nice extra form. He didn't go with a pillow first of

all, because he didn't think he will stay with the night. Now maybe

he has five pillows and a bolster. Do you know that sometimes if we're

not careful, we can park even in our pain. I say, we

can park even in our pain. And it doesn't look like he wants to

be here that Jesus had to ask him, do you want to be here?

Because I see you very comfortable. I see you very comfortable. Do

you want to be here? And ladies and gentlemen, I want to tell

you, because we've lived life for some years now, some decades now,

we've seen, even in our own selves, that when we get into trouble

or into pain, or into hurts, sometimes we just like to partner there,

and sometimes we just like to remain there, even though actually we want

to be here, we want to get out of this, we want to

be free. But no matter how we try, it doesn't happen. And

so after a while, like the woman in the States many years ago,

I heard this story. Twenty five years ago, I heard this story.

She was in a wheelchair, she was in a bad way, and she

went to church every Sunday to be here every Sunday. And you know,

preacher after preacher, healer after healer, prayer after prayer, no healing.

But as she was going to church, you know, she found the people

loving her so much that they will carry her from her car to her wheelchair,

push her from the wheelchair to the church. Before that, go for

a drink, buy her a nice coffee, and get her in. And

she used to sit at the bag because nobody knew her. But now that

more and more people know her. From Sunday to Sunday, they push her

to the front. They even prepare a special corner for her, and she

knew it was her corner. Nobody else could sit there, and as a

people got to know her. They even gave her money because you know,

knew that she wasn't working and maybe she had a pension, but it was

not enough, and so they gave him money. And every week she was

getting money, and so on and so forth, and after about I don't

know, twenty months of that, she actually didn't think that she needed to

be here because the situation that she was in drew attention, drew compassion.

And sometimes we can be in a situation whereby this ain't so bad, and

yet God has a better thing for you, a better way for you.

And I find that, you know, many of my believing friends, brothers

and sisters can come to a place whereby they don't want to be in that

place, but something has taken over. And so it's hard, ladies and

gentlemen, to rise when you are down. In fact, can I say

this, It's easier to walk than to rise. Walk was the third part

of what Jesus says, And the man immediately walks, but before he could

walk. He had to rise. And I want to tell you and remind

you, because most of you know this, that rising was the hardest.

How many of you have failed before? Don't put up your hands, because

I know all of us must have one time or the other, and some

of us may have failed very miserably. And you know what was the hardest.

The hardest was to rise. You've been hurt, you've been stepped on,

betrayed, and you think to yourself, I will never be able to

believe again, trust again. It's very hard to rise, to be the

same person before, if not better, very hard. How many of you

are still with me? It's tough to be betrayed, betrayed by a friend,

to be pushed around, rejected. Yeah, or maybe you trusted somebody

with money and then suddenly you know now you are poor. That person is

rich, I don't know, or you trust you trust it and you have

ended up where you are today, and it's very hard to rise. But

rise, you must rise, you muss. It's still a choice, and

rising up is hard, and Jesus says, before you can walk, you

gotta rise. You see, there was a lame man seated at the gate

called beautiful Acts Chapter three, and Peter and John said, silver and gold

have I none, But what I have I give to you in the name

of Jesus Christ of Nazareth. Rise up. The first thing you must do

before the miracle is always rise. But this is the thing, this thing

Peter the Bible says, actually put out his hand and help the man.

Now, church can help you, your homes can help you, Your leaders

can help you, your friends, your family can help you. But it's

still at the end of the day your choice, whether you understand or not.

Come on with You're with me, right, so you can pull how

many of you have seen this for people pull you up and then you just

slum back down, not because of your feet or your your inability on the

external, but your inability on the internal. So I can help you.

In fact, when I'm preaching this, I hope to help you. But

at the end of the day, where you're seated, now you've got to

decide whether I rise or not. Is important to understand. To rise.

I remember my dad was he had stroke. In two weeks my father got

out of the hospital and walked, and the way he walked was like he

never had stroke, And the nurses the doctors, the therapists were so amazed

at his recovery because he wasn't walking with a limb, wasn't swinging his feet

his hands. He just walked out. And even his friends who saw him

said, you know, there's nothing wrong with you, and they didn't know

that he had a bad stroke and he lost his speech. He couldn't speak.

So he looked fine, but he couldn't speak. And I remember,

you know, because every week it cost me about a thousand and five for

his therapy. This twenty four years ago, So a thousand and five every

week is high. And for a man who didn't get a salary because I

was living by faith, no salary. But you know, after a week,

two weeks, the Lord just provided, you know, he provided,

he provided. I was able to pay. My father knew that this hospital

was. You know, when you're when you're having stroke, even though you

look like you don't have an understanding, you're actually your faculties are all still

working. Okay, you know, you're very clear, you're very That's why

they're so frustrated because they know they can button their shirt, but they can't.

So that why they get really upset. Because I can't do this.

They know their name. Bernard Chin, right, his name, Bernard Chin,

he knows, but he can't spell it because he can't right be.

He forgot how to write B, but he knows. I know that.

So it's very frustrating because you have all the faculties, you have all the

understanding, but you can't manifest that. So my father was in the hospital,

I remember, and the therapist was trying to work on him. And

those of you who've ever seen stroke victims, or maybe you've been a stroke

victim before, you know that every movement is hard, very difficult, very

painful. So even putting your button right, you've got to move all the

motal skills. Are got to move the fingers to put it. Never take

for grunted that you could put your but but then this morning. Never take

for granted that you could put your button on this morning. You know,

sometimes this is by putting button. So I said thank you Lord, thank

you lot, because I had a dad who couldn't. So I said,

thank you Lord, thank you, thank you lot. I go to the

toilet in the morning, I said, thank you Lord. The plumbing is

still working. Hallely. A prety goes through amen praise God, and I

thank God for everything. I thank God for everything. Never, never,

never, never, never take for grunted. My father was in the hospital.

The therapist who was working in him. I could hear him scream even

before I reached his room. And why because just lifting up the hand like

this is painful. He was screaming. And then he turned to the therapist

and he shake his head, shook his head and said, like like enough,

enough enough. And all the other patients in that particular hospital same,

you know, they like enough. Some have been there for two years.

My dad has only been there for like one a half two weeks. And

I walked in and I looked at my dad. I just had a miracle

one thousand, five hundred ringgit in my pocket. Someone gave it to me

and I was shaking his hand. I was shaking his hand and gave me

a thousand, five hundred ringgit in an envelope. Not knowing how much the

bill will be, I opened it. I was able to pay the bill

for that week. You know God, I mean, there's so many testimonies

in my life of God's faithfulness. So by walking now, and of course

I don't want to show my dad that you know, it's it's heavy financially.

But my dad looked at me and he knew by then I read it.

I was living my faith no salary, and so I looked at him

and kind of like, are you okay, dad, you know? And

the therapist took, you know, maybe two minutes or break, and my

father really, you know, cut shook his head saying no. And he

looked at me, and I saw I met uh and uh. And he

looked at me and his face changed. His face changed to one of determination.

I could see it. As a son, I could see it.

And he looked at the therapists and not that his head like one more time.

And the reason is because he knew that I couldn't afford this, and

for the sake of his son, for the sake of his son, I'm

going to do this. I'm going to And he was cured in two weeks.

I saw another man and next to him, and he was still swinging

his leg for two years, right and h. And they explained to me,

the therapists explained to me, is because when you don't go to the

therapy, you all you want to do is live and walk. So when

you walk as long as you can walk, you just swing your leg anyway

or swinge because you want to just get on with life. But the therapist

is more uh into getting you walking right, so so so you cannot just

But no to the people who swing their leg and swing their hands, they

think, as long as I can live, God is not about that.

So for us though, he's not just oh, just because you look okay,

you can know you can walk. No, he's about us walking straight,

walking strong through the Bible. He tells us things, but not in

over mind. I can live without it. And you you don't know how

other people are looking. They can see that you are a stroke withgreen.

You can't see it because as long as you can walk. But this life

is not about as long as you can walk, is walking properly and strongly

in the lot? Okay. So anyway, my dad, I saw the

change. I saw the change. See right now, I want to prophesy

to you as some people here in this room right now, in the next

so many minutes that we have, you got the old show. That's there's

got to be a click that there's got to be a change of countenance.

It's got to be like it's me my son can pay the bill, the

doctor can try to help me, but at the end of the day,

it's me. So the therapist said, Kenneth, I've not seen this air

recovery in two weeks in all my patients. I guess because she said all

the other patients can afford being in the hospital for two boy years. Yeah.

I saw their cars coming in okeepig cars, nice cars and all that

card thing that the children had money to pay this bill. This guy didn't

have and my father knew it. My father made a decision, a decision

to rise, to rise. We hope you've been blessed by this message.

For more information on our church, please visit as Church do o RG.

We are also active on Facebook and Instagram. We're believing that this week is

going to be a good week. I hit for you. God bless