Pool of Bethesda

I have my sister with me today and my little niece.

It's the only human being in the whole world that I share the

same DNA with. Yeah.

I mean, you can just come and stand.

Can you believe this came from the same mother and father?

I don't know, I don't know. And but we have the same blood.

It's the only person. This is my oldest friend.

It's been my friend for 58 years and God says that he'll make the

two one. And so actually we have a

biological blood but we under the same blood.

And so God takes all of us from different places, black, white,

rich, poor, young, old, married, single, puts us all together and

he gives US1 blood. And this is the mystery he

breaks. The wall, the dividing.

Wall of hostility. So we will be hostile towards

each other because of our upbringing.

Black against white, English against Afrikaans, young against

old, introverts versus extroverts.

We hostile towards each other because of the prejudice in

which we grow up in. But as we come to the blood of

Christ, we learn how to become one and we humble ourselves.

We serve each other and we look after each other.

We love and pray for one another.

And so it's really, really good to have you here this morning.

And we're doing a series in the book of John.

And if you can turn me, John, chapter 5.

John 5 · chapter mention

Stephen and Kathy are in lockdown in Qatar.

They went to a conference there. There are bombs exploding over

their heads. Don't feel too sorry.

For them because I I saw my. Friend who's hosting?

Them now because they've all been kicked out of the

accommodation and the friend who's hosting, I said.

How are you? How?

Are Steve and Kathy and he sent me a picture of his Webber bra

with a pork belly inside. And a view of missiles over the

top he. Said we're doing just fine.

So pray for Kathy and Steve to come home to their.

Children will be nice. And that the bombs.

Don't land on them and that they don't eat too much pork belly.

But we're thinking of you, buddy, and we're thinking of.

We're thinking of everybody. At this time, a person.

Came up to me. Last week and they gave me a hat

with Poof Udder on it, Puff uttered.

I said, where are you from? He said.

Puff uttered. I wouldn't give you and it

doesn't say Brits, it says Puff uttered.

So I said don't go offline. Because we are watching you and

Puff Uttered. So I didn't say thank you for my

hat, but thank you for my hat from Puff Uttered.

And for those who are in the room at the back and those who

are online, it's great to have you.

Tony Unsu, my very dear friend Chris and Jess, it's great to

see you at the back there. So let's have a look at John.

John 5 · chapter mention

Chapter 5 It's a beautiful. Story.

It's a very complicated story. It's a weird story.

If you don't understand it, but let's.

See, and then what we're going to do, we're going to end this

story by just. You're going to leave the church

I'm going to. Sit down.

And you're going to leave? Cool.

Sometime later, Jesus went up to Jerusalem for a.

Feast of the Jews One of the things Jesus came to do was.

To mess with religion and to give us freedom so we don't come

from a set of laws into another set of laws.

You don't. Come from being enslaved.

To sin and money into being enslaved by the church and its

leaders. You get set free from one set of

expectations, and you get set free and the Spirit.

Of God. Lives inside of us and teaches

us how to live. So all these feasts and all

these things get fulfilled in Christ.

Now there was in Jerusalem, near the Sheep Gate, a pool which an

Aramaic is called. Bethesda and which is?

Surrounded by 5 covered. Colonnades.

You think that's weird? There's a.

Pool. I mean, I tell.

The story you Afrikaners have got a place called.

Varambat and when you're not. Feeling so?

Lacquer or you've been. Busy you go to.

Varambat, normally as fat oaks. Go there and then you you sort

of. Walk around the pool and you.

And then there's another place. If Varambat is full, you go to

but. Plus.

And and and then if you want to don't drive so far, you go to a

place called Springs. Springs is closer, and in

Springs is another little town called Dacha Fontaine in

Springs. And if you don't drive,

therefore you go to Bob Fontaine, the Baptist Fontaine.

And but we've got to get around the water and we sort of like

Goof. Around the water like.

That you see those chicks in bottom butt with their small.

Cozies their big tummies. Couple of sores and and they

sort of they they goof around the pool and they float and they

hope that they get better and and you sort of float around the

pool and and you think oh the sulfur the minerals and and you

get out and you and you feel better but when.

You come back to. Work you don't still feel so

like her and then if you really want to go far to to to feel God

in the garden and the flowers you go to bloom Fontaine.

And and there you'll. Feel the water, the flower

fountain. And and you'll feel.

The same. Story doesn't matter what your

problem is, you won't fix it in bottom butt butt plus.

Spring Fontaine, Dacha Fontaine, ASA Fontaine, or Bloom Fontaine.

You'll fix it in Christ. Amen.

Amen. You with me?

Where you going on holiday? OK.

Still by. It should be a second Pretoria

they'll connect still by. You.

And are still by forest. Dhonikna fleas by.

It's just all about water with the Afrikaans soaks by play an

urban near Chrissy's mirror. But there's a mirror.

A Mirror's nature Piki, Water I. Was by a mirror and Caicos Ali

water down full on. Piki Pieta.

Chris's mirror, but plus sulfur. It's you don't get better there.

Similar story. OK, don't worry.

I'll get letters from you all the time.

Why are you wearing a hat? Why is your hair long?

God bless you. Write me a letter about but

plus. Here, a great number of disabled

people used to. Lie the blind, the lame, the

paralyzed. One who was there.

Had been an invalid for 38 years.

Measured hanging around butt glass for 38 years when?

Jesus saw him lying. There and.

Learned that he had been in this.

Condition for a long time, he asked him, Do you want to get

well? It's a question I'm going to ask

you today. Do you want to get well?

At times like. This we have some people in our

congregation or in wheelchairs and obviously they want to get

well. And people who are sick with

cancer, obviously you want to get well.

I'm not drawing attention to people who are in our trust, not

in any way unsympathetic to long term.

Illnesses, but this is. A scripture we have to preach.

I've never seen a person come out of a wheelchair.

I deeply desire to see that, Sir, the invalid say invalid,

the invalid replied. I have no one to help me into

the pool when the. Water is stirred.

While I'm trying to get in, someone else goes down ahead of

me. He's lost all hope.

Lost all hope I. Can't get there?

Then Jesus said to him, Get up. Exclamation mark get up from the

bottom of my heart as a pastor who deeply.

Prays for you and loves you dearly.

The two words I. Would love to.

Speak over you today is get up and at the end of the service

I'm going to speak and say get up and I'm going to ask you in

faith to get up. From your seat and to leave with

something of the. Mandate of God to walk in the

wholeness that He bought for you at the cross of Christ.

At once the man was cured. He picked up his.

Mats and he walked the day on which this took.

Place was a Sabbath. Did think that was a

coincidence. He had been there for 38 years.

Jesus could have chosen Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday,

Friday, any time of the year at any time.

But he chose. He waited.

He probably woke up on Monday and thought, I need to do

something. I did on the Sabbath to.

Irritate the religious people. To show them that your

well-being is not in the keeping of rules.

But in the encounter. With Christ, so he waited until

the day that will cause the most affected religious society.

Took place and on that. Day by choice, he.

Chose to heal him. And so the Jew said to.

The man who had been. Healed.

It is the Sabbath the law forbids.

You to carry your mat. Can you believe it?

38 years of freedom and they come back down to a dirty bed.

I mean how? Does that happen?

Five very simple things. The first is this.

Where is your hope? Where is your hope?

Where's your hope? Because if you read some of

these, some of the accounts, it says the Angel of the Lord

stirred the water. It actually says your Bibles

might say the Angel of the Lord stirred the water.

Now if I think of my God, I think and and and and and in my

mind, I'm sitting in my sand thinking, Can you imagine for 38

years lying around the pool and the water stirs and now you're

in a competition with other cripples to get to the water.

And you can imagine the the the Can you imagine what the

different levels of disability? Might be to.

Get to that water and some Bible says the first guy get yields,

the second guy doesn't. So Can you imagine you get there

first, but you get there second, but you crippled but you don't

have it. And so you fall in.

What happens to the second guy that pulls 100 meters long, 30

meters wide and 40 foot deep. So when you get to the edge and

you're not first, you sink to the bottom.

And I think the Angel of the lyrics thought there's no ways

not the God I serve, there's no ways that the God I read about

in the Bible, there's no ways the God that I've served for 40

years would ever put cripples. In a competition.

Nobody put English and. Afrikaans in a competition.

Nobody put black. And White in the competition.

And yet we find ourselves pushing to get ahead, to get to

something, to get the. Prize.

So then, what is the what is the what is the explanation?

How did the world to stir? Who stirred the waters?

Was it the wind that stirred the waters?

Was it a group of people that stirred the waters?

Was it the devil who stirred the waters?

Was it God who stirred the waters?

Or was it just the big farce? But I can.

Tell you this, a swimming pool in a five star hotel will not

allow cripples, lame, mute and the degradation of society.

To come and hang around it because that.

Pool is for the mummies from Moycliffe and the.

Beauties from Boardwalk that was an exclusive pool that had a.

Conduit that flowed underneath it.

To a pool called the Pagan Pool, where the invalids and the

cripples, and the blind and the degraded of society lived.

Like all of us. Before we met Christ.

Because. We don't have access to the top

pool because we all. Want to be.

Part of the inner society, but we all end up around this pool.

Hoping that when the. Waters stir.

We can. Dive in so that.

Maybe we might be accepted into the inner.

Core of the crowd and underneath this was a conduit and they got

those people to pay rent at the bottom of that swimming pool and

they would pay. Rent for their little.

Spot and the guy who controlled the sluice gates and the guy who

was on the side of the pool would be in cahoots.

And he said at. 8:00 tomorrow morning I'm opening the sluice

gate and as he opened the sluice gates the water would go down,

the water would stir. A non sick man would climb in

and say I'm healed. And for 38 years, that man stood

at the. Side of that hoax thinking that.

If I get in there they will be healing friends.

Where is your hope because. Sometimes for 38 years you place

it in a man or in a marriage. Or or in finances, or in a

business or in a. Scheme or in a.

School or in an education or in AI can tell you this every hope.

That is not in Christ will not get you into the pool in time.

And we read. Later in John chapter.

Seven, it says within here, say within here, take your belly.

Within here, within here, within here, say within here, within

here will flow rivers of living. Water Friends.

We don't have to. Try and get into the pool.

The pool. Is already in US, and as we sit

and wait, we. Realize that we are not.

In competition. With one another.

We all. Have the pool.

And when the pool bubbles and me and the pool bubbles.

And Jess and the. Pool Bubbles and Matt and the.

Pool, Bubbles and Thomas, and then Sarah and Laura and my

sister. Belinda and my wife when the

pool bubbles. We start to become a community

of healing. And when we share our gifts,

what you did to me for me today, Matt, it's one of the most

honouring things that's ever done.

For me in in 40 years to. Bring my son up is one of the

most honouring things. And so the pool is inside of you

and you're taking my son. The pool is and now we're

sitting together and people are saying what does it mean for a

father and a son? To work together does.

That make sense friends, you don't have to try.

And get your crippledness to the.

Pool. The pool is already inside of

you. Does that make sense?

The second question I want to ask is who are your people?

Who are your people? You know when.

You hang around invalids. And cripples and blind people

for too long. You start thinking like a

cripple and an invalid and a blind.

Person, and I'm not talking. Physically I'm talking mentally,

I'm talking politically, I'm talking spiritually, I'm talking

emotionally, I'm talking sexually.

This is what? It says in Acts chapter 6.

Acts 6 · chapter mention

In those days when the. Number of disciples.

Increasing the Grecian Jews among them complained against

their brave Jews because their widows were being overlooked in

the daily distribution of food. This is a growing church.

We've got some clearing weakness, so the 12.

Gathered all the disciples together.

And said it would not be right for us to neglect the ministry

of the Word of God in order to wait on tables.

Brothers Choose. Seven men from among.

You who are. Known to be.

Full of. The Spirit and Wisdom.

We will turn this. Responsibility over to them and

we'll give our attention to prayer in the ministry of the of

the Word. This proposal pleased.

The whole group, they chose Stephen, a man full of.

Faith and of the. Holy Spirit you can take.

Take it off. There's there's a complaint

taking place. There's a group of.

People that are complaining, you know how they fixed it?

They put somebody at their table that was full.

Of the Spirit, full of hope, full of faith, full of wisdom,

you. Cannot hang around with negative

people because. You're going to go.

Down. And you're going to.

Cripple yourself and it's the. Problem with Alcoholics

Anonymous? Alcoholics Anonymous?

I know they do. Unbelievable.

Work and I know some. Of you are part of it, but the

problem with Alcoholics Anonymous is you hang around

other people. Who've got alcohol problems?

You need to hang around people. That don't have alcohol problems

and the problem. With fatherlessness.

Is that they're all. You know the gangs we see on the

street, friends? Those gangs exist in the church

because there's more chance you've got a surviving on the

ship because they don't have fathers.

And so they form these little gangs and those gangs start

smashing car windows at robots. But the gang starts just because

they don't have fathers. And so they form a gang because

there's more chance of surviving.

And so we form these gangs within our communities Rotary

Club, hoping that we can survive together.

You cannot have dinner with. Unless there is a.

Man or woman of faith present. Otherwise, you will allow the

brokenness of your life to dictate.

The conversation. And Jesus had to come into that

guy and say, hey, do you want to get?

It's 38 years. I've led and I've spoken next to

my neighbor for 38 years and he's got a problem with his leg.

And my other neighbor's got a problem with their eyes.

And this lady's got a problem with this.

And it's just like you just talk.

Yourself into a hole. Let me ask you this, who's your

people? Who's your people?

This is what it says in one. Corinthians 15 do not be misled

bad company corrupts good character and if you hang.

Around with the wrong. People for too long it deeply

effects you, and I believe the people we hang around effects

our inheritance and our future. I.

Want to hang around people that speak into my life, that speak

into my future? Are you with me, friends?

And when you're in trouble, you should run to the church, and

you should hear at least. Somebody here preaching against?

The spirit of this? Age which is a.

Negative. Divisive.

Do not say another word about our government.

Until you have spent 1000 days. Praying for them like.

The Bible says spend 1000 days. Paying for I'm opposing.

Spend 1000 days praying for him before you criticize them again.

Get before because the Bible says we must pray for those in.

Authority. Not criticize them.

Pray for them. Pray.

For them, bless him. Trust God for them.

Amen. Who are your people?

Who are your people? #3.

Do you want to get well? Do you want to get well?

I was reminded. Of a story.

When I preached this last time in the tent, maybe 7 or 8 years

ago, I preached. This chapter of Scripture.

I was busy preaching and I don't, I don't think I get

crossed often in the pulpit, but I just stopped because I've been

driving along husband and road and and Solomon Mcclungu and

there was a man there who had elephant.

Titus. Which was a very Soylent foot.

His foot used to come up like this and his toes were on the

top. He was a very disabled.

Man, and I remember. Preaching the Scripture and I

said I wish, I wish the orthopaedic surgeons in this

church would just say, God here on my hands, I give them to you,

Lord God to serve the city. And I was a little bit agitated

and I finished the service and the people were talking.

And there was a very. Handsome man and a beautiful

wife. Sitting in a chair, I could see

a very distinguished man and I said hi, my name is Rory.

He told me his name and I said can I help you Sir?

He said I'm an orthopaedic surgeon and he said I.

Would like to give my hands to. God, it was one of my holy

moments. It's one of the moments that

defines my time. At 3 CI he then went to that.

Man on the side of the road and he said.

Do you want to get well? And the man said.

No, I. Don't, because my money comes

from my begging and this is what draws.

Attention to my plight. And so the question I ask you

today, friends, is do you want to get well?

You know I have, I have a. Issue in my brain I get

headaches and I realized. This I have a real.

Issue a medical issue? But what the devil does is he?

Jumps onto that issue, so you have a sickness.

And you have what I call. The spirit of infirmity.

It's when the devil distorts the sickness and and what happens.

If you have a long term illness. You don't just have your.

Illness. You have this.

Thing called the. Spirit of infirmity.

And it does. Two things it.

Sets the temperature of every conversation and it becomes the

centerpiece. It draws an enormous amount of

attention. And so if you don't have a dad.

It sets the temperature and it draws attention.

Let me ask you this. Are you ill?

Do you have a? Disability.

Are there parts of your life that need healing?

Yes, they are. Do you want to get well?

If you do, you must remember this.

You are no longer going to be the center of attention, you're

not going to be allowed to beg, and you cannot control the

conversation. Amen.

Let's just put those 4. Areas up relation you want to

get well relationally a lot of relational cripples.

Lots. Been friends with them for 58

years. The reason we exist is not just

for the good times. We've had a couple of bad times.

We're business partners. The times we sit and make

business decisions, I'm strong. So I override and so phone me,

say hey ro, I don't think that was right.

Sorry sis, OK, but I repent. I receive it.

Relationship stays intact. You're prepared to do that.

You want to get well from your relationships.

I've gotten 2 airplanes this week to fix relationships.

Not mine, other people's. The only way you can fix the

relationship is by humbling yourself.

Do you want to get well or do you want that to be the

defining, crippling, invalid status of your life while you go

around and poison everybody about somebody else?

Or do you want to get well and emotional?

We have this thing now called micro bullying.

I want to tell you micro bullying will be here till the

end of the time because men and women want to control each

other. So you're going to have to

decide to put your faith in Christ or to be a victim of

micro bullying for the rest of your life, or to actually get

healed and say Christ is enough. And if they tell me I'm dumb,

I'm stupid, I'm an idiot, I don't do my work in time, I'm

fat, I'm thin, I'm too thin, I'm too fat, I'm too loud, I'm too.

Then I've got to go back to the scripture and say Jesus walked

into my life and he said you're my son and that's enough.

And whatever the micro bully or the macro bully says, my

emotions will stay intact because what God says is says

with a big. S overrides the.

Little S the Spirit overrides the spirit.

But let me ask you this question.

Do you want to get well because life's not fair?

Life's not fair, or you're going to sit at the side of the pool

having negative conversations with the others while you're

waiting for some bubbling brook bottom butt to rise up so that

you can miraculously just get healed.

Amen. Financial financial cripples.

I've realized this. You can heal people financially

by giving them money, but when that money's finished, they're

broken again. You give them more money and

they break again. Unless you teach them how to

participate in God's financial platen, which is different to

the world's pattern of buying and selling.

It's a pattern of sowing and reaping, and unless they take

that. Money you give them.

And put a little bit into the ground, they'll never reap A

crop. And SO2 Corinthians chapter 8

says he was rich. But for our sake, he.

Became poor so that you might be rich.

On the cross there was an exchange.

Between poverty and riches, I don't believe everybody should

be rich. I don't believe the New

Testament talks about prosperity.

I don't think pastors should be rich.

Some can be if God blesses them, but rich is not the issue.

The issue is the ability to have a job to get out of poverty.

To supply for your. Family.

But if you don't participate in God's ways, you'll continue to

be a cripple, looking for handouts, standing at the side

of the pool, waiting for the waters to move.

Amen, You say? Rory, What?

OK. Last point, the two points.

Is it? Rules.

Or is it relational? Is it rules or relationships?

Every Sunday I walk in here with a cup of coffee and every single

Sunday somebody at the door says to me.

You can't take coffee into the auditorium, I say.

That's. Exactly the reason.

I'm taking it in, you say. What should you say?

I can see some of you looking at me thinking I'm going to write

you a letter about your hair, your hat and your bottom butt

and now you can include my coffee.

I can see some of your face and get what I do on purpose.

I worship with my coffee like this while I'm irritating people

to the core. I think it's not right.

I know it's not right. It's wrong.

I know it's wrong. It's not a good example.

I know it's. Not a good example.

But I do it anyway just to. Irritate you?

Why? Good morning, Rory.

Good morning. How are you?

I'm fine. How's your week?

It's awesome. Hey, Rory.

You know coffee? Yeah, we don't.

Like it in the. Auditorium.

Why? Because we're trying to.

Create a space. That's not dirty.

So that. People are not affected by a bad

environment so that they can. Have access to a redemptive God

who can possibly heal them. Oh.

Is that the reason? Or or if you can take coffee

then I can. Also take coffee.

Oh, so we're going to both? Be rule Breakers.

Now that's a stupid example, but the reality is we are more

interested in the rule than we are in the relationship and

Jesus. Healed him on the Sabbath

because he said. Are you more interested?

In the oak carrying. His mat or you more interested

in the fact that he's healed? Guys, we do this because of

people. We do this because of people.

Be gracious with each other. Be gracious with each other and

close your eyes. When Jesus saw him lying there

and learned that he had been in this condition physical,

emotional, sexual, relational, financial for a long time, he

asked him, Do you want to get well, Sir?

The invalid replied, I have no one to help me into the pool

When the water is stirred while I'm trying to get in, someone

else goes down ahead of me. Then Jesus said to him, Get up,

pick up your mat and walk at once.

The man was cured. He picked up his mat and he

walked with your eyes. Closed.

If you want Jesus to start a healing process in your life

today, sexual, emotional, relational, financial, I want to

say to you, get up your mat, pick up your mat, get up, pick

up your mat and walk, walk. Out.

Get in your car and drive home. Can I have someone on the piano?

Today's the end. Today's the end of the emotional

crippleness. Today's the end of the sexual

crippleness. Today's the End.

Because the. Bubbling Brook, the butt glass

of Christ, the Vorum butt of Jesus.

It's going to be unlocked deep inside of your heart.

Don't stay for coffee. Maybe you don't even want to get

in your car. Just go and walk around the

property. I say to you, get up, take your

mats and walk.