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

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  Speaker 1: Let us pray. Jesus saith unto him, Rise, take up
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  Speaker 1: thy bed, and walk. John 5.8 Today is the day, Lord.
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  Speaker 1: Today is the day that I have decided to pick
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  Speaker 1: up my mat and walk. No longer will I lay
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  Speaker 1: amongst the sick and do nothing to change my condition
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  Speaker 1: in life. When I am at the place called Bethesda,
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  Speaker 1: the house of grace, I will not miss my moment
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  Speaker 1: to step into the stirring of your power, to receive
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  Speaker 1: the newness that I desire. When defeating thoughts within myself
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  Speaker 1: tell me to become comfortable with my condition, I will
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  Speaker 1: yell no. No to mediocrity. No to illness. No to laziness.
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  Speaker 1: And no to complacency. This is my year of breakthrough.
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  Speaker 1: This is my year of healing, and nothing will stand
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  Speaker 1: in my way from receiving what's mine. So I speak
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  Speaker 1: to myself and say, Get up. I speak to my
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  Speaker 1: mind and say, Wake up. Jesus has already given me
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  Speaker 1: the green light to move on and to be well,
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  Speaker 1: and that's exactly what I'm going to do. It doesn't
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  Speaker 1: matter how long I've battled, for I am getting up
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  Speaker 1: more and moving on. In Jesus' name, amen. Healing at
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  Speaker 1: 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: Hello and welcome to the Bible in a Year podcast.
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  Speaker 3: I'm Jack Graham. 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
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  Speaker 2: year there is said to be a special touch of God.
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  Speaker 2: Annually it is said that an angel comes and touches
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  Speaker 2: the pool of Bethesda. Any person who comes in with
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  Speaker 2: an illness is healed of their sickness. So the story goes.
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  Speaker 2: Jesus knew this was the place he needed to be.
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  Speaker 2: There was a man he wanted to see. The sun
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  Speaker 2: was high above the sky and Jesus watched as hundreds
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  Speaker 2: of blind, lame and paralyzed people were carried by their
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  Speaker 2: friends to the pools below. With hope in their eyes,
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  Speaker 2: they were dipped in slowly, hoping to catch a sliver
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  Speaker 2: of God's favor. Laying off the side away from the
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  Speaker 2: pools was a man. He looked sickly and was clearly
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  Speaker 2: unable to walk He had been there a long time,
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  Speaker 2: desiring to be healed, but having no way to walk
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  Speaker 2: over himself. Jesus strolled over and sat beside him. The
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  Speaker 2: two of them looked at the pools, watching flocks of
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  Speaker 2: people dip in for healing. Jesus, without looking at the man,
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  Speaker 2: simply asked, Do you want to be healed? The sick
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  Speaker 2: man turned his head in disgust. He was offended by Jesus' question.
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  Speaker 2: As you can see, sir, I have no one to
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  Speaker 2: help me into the pools. Even if I could hobble
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  Speaker 2: my way over, everyone cuts in line. The man crossed
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  Speaker 2: his arms in contempt. He stared at the pool and
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  Speaker 2: watched people being led in by their friends. He wore
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  Speaker 2: bitterness like a warm blanket. He cursed them all under
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  Speaker 2: his breath. Jesus could see that much of this man's
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  Speaker 2: sickness was due to his lack of friends. He sat
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  Speaker 2: from afar feeling sorry for himself. Get up from your
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  Speaker 2: bed and walk, Jesus said. Then Jesus stood up and
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  Speaker 2: began walking away. The man was about to curse Jesus,
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  Speaker 2: but then he felt a warm rush up his body.
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  Speaker 2: Strength returned to his legs and his stomach ailments cleared.
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  Speaker 2: The man was completely healed and watched as Jesus walked away.
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  Speaker 2: He wept, knowing that his bad attitude had robbed him
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  Speaker 2: of truly experiencing his healing to the fullest. The man
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  Speaker 2: stood up, took his bed, and walked toward the temple
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  Speaker 2: to worship. The man skipped with the newfound strength in
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  Speaker 2: his legs. Joy began to fill his heart as he
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  Speaker 2: thought about what had happened. Who was that man, he
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  Speaker 2: thought to himself. As he was carrying his bed to
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  Speaker 2: the temple, a group of Pharisees stopped him. 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? Why do you pick
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  Speaker 2: up your bed and carry it with you? Normally the
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  Speaker 2: man would have spat in return, but that was the
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  Speaker 2: old and bitter man. Now all he desired to do
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  Speaker 2: was to worship freely. There was a man who healed me,
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  Speaker 2: the man responded. He is the one who told me
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  Speaker 2: to pick up my bed and walk. So here I am,
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  Speaker 2: walking with my bed. The Pharisees scoffed for a moment.
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  Speaker 2: They knew exactly who was to blame for this. Jesus
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  Speaker 2: had healed this man. But they had to know for sure.
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  Speaker 2: Who was the man that told you to break our
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  Speaker 2: Sabbath rules, they asked. 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. The
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  Speaker 2: religious leaders scorned Jesus. They hated him for breaking their
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  Speaker 2: nuanced and man-made laws and They added to God's law
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  Speaker 2: for control, and they despised the fact that they did
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  Speaker 2: not have a chokehold on Jesus and his followers. They
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  Speaker 2: pressed him about healing on the Sabbath. Jesus rose his
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  Speaker 2: hand up to interrupt them. My father is about his work,
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  Speaker 2: so I shall be about my work. So the Jews
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  Speaker 2: sought to kill him, for he claimed 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 plague 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 hope 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
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  Speaker 3: God and sadly they could not see that he had
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  Speaker 3: every reason to make this claim. Their spiritual blindness kept
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  Speaker 3: them from seeing the abundance and healing that was available
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  Speaker 3: to 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 Pastor Jack Graham from Dallas, Texas. You can download
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  Speaker 3: the Pray.com app as over 20 million people have now
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  Speaker 3: done and make Bible study and prayer the priority of
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  Speaker 3: your life. If you enjoy this podcast, then pass it
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  Speaker 3: on to someone else. Let them know how they also
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  Speaker 3: can be a part of this great movement as we
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  Speaker 3: teach and preach and learn and live the Word of God.
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  Speaker 3: And if you want more resources on how to tap
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  Speaker 3: into God's power for your life, be sure to visit JackGraham.org.
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  Speaker 3: That's JackGraham.org. God bless you.