Latest / Bible in a Year with Jack Graham / Healing at the Pool

Transcript

Healing at the Pool · Bible in a Year with Jack Graham

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  Speaker 1: Jesus saith unto him, Rise, take up thy bed, and walk.
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  Speaker 1: John 5.8 Today is the day, Lord. Today is the
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  Speaker 1: day that I have decided to pick up my mat
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  Speaker 1: and walk. No longer will I lay amongst the sick
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  Speaker 1: and do nothing to change my condition in life. When
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  Speaker 1: I am at the place called Bethesda, the house of grace,
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  Speaker 1: I will not miss my moment to step into the
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  Speaker 1: stirring of your power to receive the newness that I desire.
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  Speaker 1: When defeating thoughts within myself tell me to become comfortable
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  Speaker 1: with my condition, I will yell no. No to mediocrity.
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  Speaker 1: No to illness. No to laziness. And no to complacency.
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  Speaker 1: This is my year of breakthrough. This is my year
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  Speaker 1: of healing, and nothing will stand in my way from
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  Speaker 1: receiving what's mine. So I speak to myself and say,
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  Speaker 1: Get up. I speak to my mind and say, Wake up.
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  Speaker 1: Jesus has already given me the green light to move
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  Speaker 1: on and to be well, and that's exactly what I'm
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  Speaker 1: going to do. It doesn't matter how long I've battled,
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  Speaker 1: for I am getting up more and moving on. In Jesus' name, amen.
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  Speaker 1: Healing at the Pool.
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  Speaker 2: In our last story, Jesus displayed his compassionate power over
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  Speaker 2: sickness and death. He healed a woman who was afflicted
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  Speaker 2: with chronic bleeding. He took a little girl that had
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  Speaker 2: passed and restored her life. Jesus did these things to
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  Speaker 2: show the whole world that sickness and death did not
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  Speaker 2: rule over him the same way it did humanity. Now
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  Speaker 2: we see Jesus heals a man who has been afflicted
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  Speaker 2: with sickness and bitterness his whole life. The Pharisees keep
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  Speaker 2: a close watch on him to see if he will slip,
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  Speaker 2: as inspired by the Gospels.
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  Speaker 3: I'm so glad you joined us on the Bible in
• 2:30
  Speaker 3: a Year podcast today. But before we get to today's episode,
• 2:35
  Speaker 3: I want you to know that I would absolutely love
• 2:37
  Speaker 3: to send you my daily devotional that will give you
• 2:41
  Speaker 3: fresh encouragement every single morning and day. From the moment
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  Speaker 3: we wake up to the moment our head finally hits
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  Speaker 3: the pillow, there are thousands of things demanding our attention.
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  Speaker 3: But it's in the midst of all this crush and
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  Speaker 3: hustle and bustle that you and I need peace and
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  Speaker 3: truth in God's Word. That's why I want to help
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  Speaker 3: you spend time each day growing in God's life-giving, life-changing
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  Speaker 3: Word by sending you my free daily email devotional, PowerPoint Today.
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  Speaker 3: So visit jackgram.org to sign up for your PowerPoint Today devotional.
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  Speaker 3: That's jackgram.org, jackgram.org. In our last episode, we heard how
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  Speaker 3: the Lord Jesus healed a woman who had been stricken
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  Speaker 3: with a debilitating and isolating bleeding disorder her entire life.
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  Speaker 3: She had incredible faith, believing that just a touch of Jesus'
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  Speaker 3: garment could make her whole. And it did. We also
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  Speaker 3: learned how Jesus raised a young girl from the dead,
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  Speaker 3: speaking words to her that resonate in our own hearts
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  Speaker 3: even today. I say to you, arise. Today, We'll learn
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  Speaker 3: of another healing that brought both rejoicing to some and
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  Speaker 3: scorn to others. We will see how the Pharisees' burdensome
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  Speaker 3: additions to God's perfect law have led people astray from
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  Speaker 3: God's true purpose for His people, a purpose to which
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  Speaker 3: Jesus is calling them to return. So, let's hear today's
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  Speaker 3: reading from God's Word.
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  Speaker 2: The sun rose over the great city of Jerusalem. The
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  Speaker 2: light streamed through the city streets. and people emerged from
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  Speaker 2: their homes ready to celebrate the great feast of the Jews.
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  Speaker 2: Jesus watched as thousands of people flocked to different holy
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  Speaker 2: sites to pray, celebrate, and sing. During the celebration each year,
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  Speaker 2: there is said to be a special touch of God. Annually,
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  Speaker 2: it is said that an angel comes and touches the.
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  Speaker 4: Pool of Bethesda.
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  Speaker 2: Any person who comes in with an illness is healed
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  Speaker 2: of their sickness. So the story goes. Jesus knew this
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  Speaker 2: was the place he needed to be. There was a
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  Speaker 2: man he wanted to see. The sun was high above
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  Speaker 2: the sky and Jesus watched as hundreds of blind, lame
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  Speaker 2: and paralyzed people were carried by their friends to.
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  Speaker 4: The pools below.
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  Speaker 2: With hope in their eyes, they were dipped in slowly,
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  Speaker 2: hoping to catch a sliver of God's favor. Laying off
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  Speaker 2: the side away from the pools was a man. He
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  Speaker 2: looked sickly and was clearly unable to walk. He had
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  Speaker 2: been there a long time desiring to be healed, but
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  Speaker 2: having no way to walk over himself. Jesus strolled over
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  Speaker 2: and sat beside him. The two of them looked at
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  Speaker 2: the pools, watching flocks of people dip in for healing. Jesus,
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  Speaker 2: without looking at the man, simply asked, Do you want
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  Speaker 2: to be healed? The sick man turned his head in disgust.
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  Speaker 2: He was offended by Jesus' question. As you can see, sir,
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  Speaker 2: I have no one to help me into the pool.
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  Speaker 2: Even if I could hobble my way over, Everyone cuts
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  Speaker 2: in line. The man crossed his arms in contempt. He
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  Speaker 2: stared at the pool and watched people being led in
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  Speaker 2: by their friends. He wore bitterness like a warm blanket.
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  Speaker 2: He cursed them all under his breath. Jesus could see
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  Speaker 2: that much of this man's sickness was due to his
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  Speaker 2: lack of friends. He sat from afar feeling sorry for himself.
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  Speaker 2: Get up from your bed and walk, Jesus said. Then
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  Speaker 2: Jesus stood up and began walking away. The man was
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  Speaker 2: about to curse Jesus, but then he felt a warm
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  Speaker 2: rush up his body. Strength returned to his legs and
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  Speaker 2: his stomach ailments cleared. The man was completely healed and
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  Speaker 2: watched as Jesus walked away. He wept, knowing that his
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  Speaker 2: bad attitude had robbed him of truly experiencing his healing
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  Speaker 2: to the fullest. The man stood up, took his bed,
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  Speaker 2: and walked toward the temple to worship. The man skipped
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  Speaker 2: with the newfound strength in his legs. Joy began to
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  Speaker 2: fill his heart as he thought about what had happened.
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  Speaker 2: Who was that man, he thought to himself. As he
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  Speaker 2: was carrying his bed to the temple, a group of
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  Speaker 2: Pharisees stopped him.
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  Speaker 4: Stop, they shouted.
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  Speaker 2: Don't you know that it is not lawful to carry
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  Speaker 2: anything that heavy on the Sabbath?
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  Speaker 4: Why do you pick up your bed and carry it
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  Speaker 4: with you?
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  Speaker 2: Normally the man would have spat in return, but that
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  Speaker 2: was the old and bitter man. Now all he desired
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  Speaker 2: to do was to worship freely. There was a man
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  Speaker 2: who healed me, the man responded. He is the one
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  Speaker 2: who told me to pick up my bed and walk.
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  Speaker 4: So here I am, walking with my bed.
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  Speaker 2: The Pharisees scoffed for a moment. They knew exactly who
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  Speaker 2: was to blame for this.
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  Speaker 4: Jesus had healed this man.
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  Speaker 2: But they had to know for sure. Who was the
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  Speaker 2: man that told you to break our Sabbath rules, they asked.
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  Speaker 4: However, the man did not know.
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  Speaker 2: He shrugged and smiled, then began to walk away. Soon after,
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  Speaker 2: Jesus walked towards the temple and saw the man he
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  Speaker 2: had healed. The two saw each other and embraced. I
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  Speaker 2: see you are well, Jesus exclaimed. Now go and sin
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  Speaker 2: no more, my friend. The man nodded and skipped towards
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  Speaker 2: the temple to live a new life of purpose.
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  Speaker 4: The religious leaders scorned Jesus.
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  Speaker 2: They hated him for breaking their nuanced and man-made laws.
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  Speaker 2: They added to God's law for control, and they despised
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  Speaker 2: the fact that they did not have a chokehold on
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  Speaker 2: Jesus and his followers. They pressed him about healing on
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  Speaker 2: the Sabbath. Jesus rose his hand.
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  Speaker 4: Up to interrupt them.
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  Speaker 2: My father is about his work, so I shall be
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  Speaker 2: about my work.
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  Speaker 4: So the Jews sought to kill him, for he claimed
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  Speaker 4: equality with God.
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  Speaker 3: We began today's reading at a site known as the
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  Speaker 3: Sheep's Gate, where there was a pool of waters that
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  Speaker 3: the people used for bathing, but which was also believed
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  Speaker 3: to have healing properties. And so, around the pool, there
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  Speaker 3: were gathered scores of physically lame, crippled people who were
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  Speaker 3: seeking wholeness and healing for their physical ailments. Among them
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  Speaker 3: was a man who could not walk, and for 38
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  Speaker 3: years he had helplessly waited and hoped that his body
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  Speaker 3: would be made well. But as we also will discover,
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  Speaker 3: this man's infirmity was not just physical. Perhaps after years
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  Speaker 3: of trying to no avail or perhaps through learned helplessness,
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  Speaker 3: this man was stuck, literally and figuratively, stuck in a
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  Speaker 3: state of sadness and even self-pity. And it's at this
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  Speaker 3: point that he meets Jesus, who had come to the
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  Speaker 3: pool on that Sabbath morning. Jesus asked the man a
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  Speaker 3: simple question that may even sound insulting to because the
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  Speaker 3: answer is so obvious. He asks if the man wants
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  Speaker 3: to be healed. The man doesn't really answer the question, however.
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  Speaker 3: He just begins to give Jesus reasons why he can't
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  Speaker 3: be healed, how no one could help him. Other people
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  Speaker 3: always jumped in front of him in line. You see,
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  Speaker 3: it was believed that on occasion the waters of the
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  Speaker 3: pool would be stirred, and when that happened, the first
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  Speaker 3: people in the pool would be healed. Whether this was
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  Speaker 3: true or not, we do not know for sure, but
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  Speaker 3: his answer tells us something important about his mindset and
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  Speaker 3: really that of all who came to that place. To them,
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  Speaker 3: healing was not available at all. They were operating on
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  Speaker 3: the mindset of scarcity. There wasn't enough good to go around.
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  Speaker 3: Only a few could be fortunate enough to get to
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  Speaker 3: the water. Little did he know that the one to
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  Speaker 3: whom he was speaking knew nothing of scarcity because he
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  Speaker 3: was the God, he is the God of abundance, the
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  Speaker 3: God who loves to heal and to restore. Jesus loves
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  Speaker 3: to heal not only physical ailments, but the spiritual immobility
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  Speaker 3: that plagued his people. Jesus paid no attention to the
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  Speaker 3: man's negativity and excuses. He looked at him with compassion
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  Speaker 3: and spoke, saying, Pick up your bed and walk. Immediately
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  Speaker 3: the man was healed. Imagine feeling sensations like strength and
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  Speaker 3: motion in the limbs that your mind seemed to have
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  Speaker 3: long since forgotten. How joyful, how glad this man must
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  Speaker 3: have felt as strength rushed into his muscles and tendons
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  Speaker 3: and allowed him to do just what Jesus commanded. He
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  Speaker 3: picked up his mat and went on his way. But
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  Speaker 3: when he crossed paths with the Pharisees who had gathered
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  Speaker 3: at the temple that Sabbath, rather than rejoicing in this
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  Speaker 3: miraculous healing power of Jesus, the religious zealots chastised him
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  Speaker 3: for carrying his bed on the Sabbath. To them this
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  Speaker 3: counted as work, and Jews were not to work on
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  Speaker 3: that day. This man was so excited about his newfound
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  Speaker 3: mobility and hoped that he was eager to share that
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  Speaker 3: a man had healed him and told him to pick
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  Speaker 3: up his mat. However, Jesus had not told him who
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  Speaker 3: he was, so when pressed, he couldn't reveal an identity
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  Speaker 3: to the Pharisees. They found out soon enough, though, because
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  Speaker 3: Jesus found the man again. You see, he had healed
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  Speaker 3: the man's physical condition, but Jesus was also concerned about
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  Speaker 3: the man's heart condition. So he told him to go.
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  Speaker 3: be well, and sin no more. The truth is that
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  Speaker 3: this is the healing that God is most interested in,
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  Speaker 3: the healing of the soul. It is why Jesus came,
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  Speaker 3: to restore our broken fellowship with God. And so the
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  Speaker 3: man went away again, and this time when asked, he
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  Speaker 3: could say it was Jesus who healed him. The Pharisees,
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  Speaker 3: of course, were angered and rebuked Jesus because to them,
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  Speaker 3: healing was work and forbidden on the Sabbath. That's the
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  Speaker 3: level of oppression to which they had taken the law,
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  Speaker 3: concerned more about the outer appearance of righteousness than an
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  Speaker 3: inward condition of holiness and healing that comes from God. Jesus,
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  Speaker 3: as always, stood his ground. And he said in John 5, 17,
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  Speaker 3: But Jesus answered them, My Father is working until now,
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  Speaker 3: and I am working. The religious leaders burned with anger
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  Speaker 3: and hatred at this because Jesus was equating himself with God,
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  Speaker 3: and sadly they could not see that he had every
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  Speaker 3: reason to make this claim. Their spiritual blindness kept them
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  Speaker 3: from seeing the abundance and healing that was available to
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  Speaker 3: them as well, right in front of their eyes. Jesus'
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  Speaker 3: words to them are ones we as his followers today
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  Speaker 3: will do well to remember and emulate. God is still working,
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  Speaker 3: and so should we. We are to be about the
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  Speaker 3: business of the kingdom. Do the work of Christ, regardless
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  Speaker 3: of what it costs and who it may anger, because
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  Speaker 3: this is what we are called to do as followers
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  Speaker 3: of Jesus. We are to bring hope and healing in Jesus'
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  Speaker 3: name to a broken world. Dear God, thank you that
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  Speaker 3: you are calling us today, offering us healing deep within,
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  Speaker 3: the healing of our hearts, the healing of our souls,
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  Speaker 3: the forgiveness of sins, and a new life in you.
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  Speaker 3: Help us now to work for your kingdom. not as
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  Speaker 3: an act of earning our way of salvation, but of
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  Speaker 3: expressing our love and devotion and obedience and gratitude to
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  Speaker 3: you for healing our souls. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.
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  Speaker 3: Thank you for listening to today's Bible in a Year podcast.
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  Speaker 3: I'm Jack Graham from Dallas, Texas. And before we go,
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  Speaker 3: I want you to know that I would love to
• 14:23
  Speaker 3: send you my daily devotional to give you fresh encouragement
• 14:27
  Speaker 3: every single day. So visit JackGraham.org to sign up for
• 14:31
  Speaker 3: your PowerPoint Today devotional. That's JackGraham.org.