Robert Keith Reid (born Aug 30, 1955 Atlanta, Georgia).

He struggled through life with cerebral palsy...

Robert Reid today with his wife Roxa ...

GUESS WHAT ROBERT REID DID WITH HIS LIFE ?

"Do You Want To Be Made Whole?"

John 5:1-15

John 5:1-151. Some time later, Jesus went up to Jerusalem for a

feast of the Jews. 2. Now there is in Jerusalem near the Sheep Gate a pool,

which in Aramaic is called Bethesda and which is surrounded by five covered colonnades.

3. Here a great number of disabled people used to lie — the blind, the lame, the paralyzed - and they waited for the moving of the waters.

4. From time to time an angel of the Lord would come down and stir up the waters. The first one into the pool after each such disturbance would be cured of whatever disease he had.

5 One who was there had been an invalid for thirty-eight years.

6 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?"

7 "Sir," the invalid replied, "I have no one to help me into the pool when the water is stirred. While I am trying to get in, someone else goes down ahead of me."

8 Then Jesus said to him, "Get up! Pick up your mat and walk."

9 At once the man was cured; he picked up his mat and walked. The day on which this took place was a Sabbath,

10 and so the Jews said to the man who had been healed, "It is the Sabbath; the law forbids you to carry your mat."

11 But he replied, "The man who made me well said to me, 'Pick up your mat and walk.'"

12 So they asked him, "Who is this fellow who told you to pick it up and walk?"

13 The man who was healed had no idea who it was, for Jesus had slipped away into the crowd that was there.

14 Later Jesus found him at the temple and said to him, "See, you are well again. Stop sinning or something worse may happen to you."

15 The man went away and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had made him well.

Historically ...

St Anne’s Church, Jerusalem

1888...

St Anne’s Church, Jerusalem

Bethesda Excavation Site

Model of Jerusalem at the time of Jesus

Modern Day Jerusalem

‘BETHESDA’Meaning : Both in Hebrew & Aramaic“House of Mercy”

or “House of Grace”

Imagine...

• 38 years...• Hope ??• Appearance...• Smell ...• Emotion ...

? Envy...? Jealousy...? Hatred ...

Lewis Hamilton

Nico Rosberg

Mark Webber

Sebastian Vettel

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- Setti

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Do you want to be made whole ?

B. HIS QUESTIONv5 One who was there

had been an invalid for thirty-eight years.

v6 When Jesus saw him lying there and learned (knew) that he had been in this condition for a long time, he asked him, “Do you want to get well (made whole)?"

Jesus sort him out...Why ??

Jesus knew ...Jesus asked ...

Do you want to be made whole ?b. His QuestionDo you want to get well (be made whole)?" MAN’S REPLYv7 "Sir," the invalid replied, "I have no one to help me into the pool when the water is stirred. While I am trying to get in, someone else goes down ahead of me." Instead of saying YES or NO, He replied, “I can’t...”Indirectly it was not his fault ...

Do you want to be made whole ?This man was not only paralyzed physically but ...he was also paralyzed emotionally, in his spirit ...

After so many long years he has lost the will , no more hope ...

Possibly he was very comfortable where and how he was...

Possibly he had accepted his fate...

Do you want to be made whole ?Are anyone of us in the same

condition ?Once we were eager, active, enthusiastic serving the Lord ...BUT THEN SOMETHING happened that made us an “invalid”, a “cripple”....a relationship that went

wrong ...a ‘bad’ experience ...sickness, illness ...fell into ‘sin’ and never

resolved, never forgiven distracted, side-tracked ...

GUILDFORD BAPTIST CHURCH

Do you want to be made whole ?

C. HIS COMMANDV 8 Then Jesus said to him, "GET UP! PICK UP your mat and WALK." No indication of Jesus giving him a helping hand ...Just a word, a command ...

Do you want to be made whole ?

MAN’S RESPONSEV 9 At once the man

was cured; he picked up his mat and walked. The day on which this took place was a Sabbath.

The man could have argued ...

The man still needed to respond ...

Do you want to be made whole ?If we are in the same condition..If Jesus had commanded us to “Get up ... Pick up ... and Walk out ...” WILL WE DO IT ?TODAY Jesus is still in the same ‘business’ of commanding people out of their “paralysis, fears and guilt” ...“Today if you hear his voice, do not harden your heart ...” (Heb 3:7, 15, 4:7)

Do you want to be made whole ?D. EPILOGUE :1. Man-made Rules

V9b-12 The day on which this took place was a Sabbath, and so the Jews said to the man who had been healed, "It is the Sabbath; the law forbids you to carry your mat." But he replied, "The man who made me well said to me, 'Pick up your mat and walk.'" So they asked him, "Who is this fellow who told you to pick it up and walk?"

Do you want to be made whole ?1. MAN-MADE RULES• Jewish religious leaders are very “careful” in

obeying fully the Laws of Moses• Commandment No 4 – No work on the Sabbath• 39 Forbidden category of “work”• This man was breaking rule no 39 –

‘No transportation of an object in public’• Being healed after 38yrs ....• We may laugh at this ....

But ...

March 11, 2002, Mecca, Saudi ArabiaAbout 800 students...50 injured ..15 died ... ???

Do you want to be made

whole ?

2. ONLY ONE, NOT ALL.V13 The man who was healed had no idea who it was, for Jesus had slipped away into the crowd that was there.–The place was full of sick

people ...–Yet JESUS very specifically

sought out only this ONE paralyzed man and healed only him...–He immediately slipped away

to avoid being noticed ...–YES Jesus has the power to

heal ....–BUT does not mean He will

heal everyone.

Do you want to be made whole ?3. SIN & SICKNESSv14 Later Jesus found him at the temple and said to him, "See, you are well again. Stop sinning or something worse may happen to you.“ Was his paralysis due to sin

? Can sin cause illnesses ? Are all sicknesses due to

sin ?

SIN & SICKNESS1. ALL “SICKNESS” IS DUE TO SIN2. Sin can cause “sicknesses”3. But not all “sickness” is due to our

own sin or our parent’s sin (Ref Jn 9:3)

4. Even when your sin is dealt with & forgiven,

you still can be “sick”

Luke 5:17-26

"Friend, your sins are

forgiven."

The Pharisees and the teachers of the law began thinking to themselves, "Who is this fellow who speaks blasphemy? Who can forgive sins but God alone?"

"Why are you thinking these things in your hearts? Which is easier: to say, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, 'Get up and walk'?

“But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins. . . . I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home."

V26 Immediately he stood up in front of them, took what he had been lying

on and went home praising God.

Robert Keith Reid (born Aug 30,

1955 in Atlanta, Georgia). He struggled

through life with cerebral palsy...

Robert Reid today with his wife Roxa ...

GUESS WHAT ROBERT REID DID WITH HIS LIFE ?

• He became a missionary• To Portugal ...

Application:• Invalid ??• Handicapped ??• Not gifted, cannot do ....• Remember the “man” beside the

pool ...• Remember Robert Reid• It all boils down to one word ...

“GRACE”• “God’s Amazing Grace” at work

then• “God’s Amazing Grace” is still at

work TODAY ...

“Do You Want To Be Made Whole?”

• God is asking the same question of each one of us today ?

• Do you want to be made whole ?

• Pray that you will not be paralyzed – in your mind– in your heart– in your spirit, will,

emotion• If today you are struggling

with issues of fears, unforgiveness, bitterness, envy, jealousy ....

“Do You Want To Be Made Whole?”Respond TODAY to God’s command :Get Up ...Pick Up ...Walk Out ...Sometimes it is not the ‘physical’ but what is ‘within’ that needs to be put right ...No matter how longNo matter how badNo matter how deep ...God is seeking you outGod wants to make you WHOLE ...