Hosanna Restoration Church

Why is it when we are challenged by the Word of God, that we first begin to make excuses, rather than just answering the way we should? This man had been laying by the pool for years waiting for his opportunity to be healed, and yet when Jesus asked if he wanted to be healed all he could tell Him was why he could not be healed. Was the guy just doing what was expected of a crippled man? Was he just making his appearance at the pool? We don’t know that, but we do know that Jesus changed his life forever.

There is most certainly a stirring going on the world as well as in the church world. The world does not know what to think about all that is going on, and much of the church does not either. For now, let’s focus on the church.

There is fresh stirring of the Holy Spirit all over the world. For some, this is like the pool where the water is being stirred. Many are standing around waiting for someone to stir the water. Then some get in, and others make excuses for not getting in. Then comes Jesus, who is greater than stirred water. Everyone who gets in with Him receives. It is not a competition to see who can get in first, or build the biggest church, and have the biggest name. It is for whosoever will get in.

As you read on in John 5, you see that Jesus simply told the man to pick up His mat and walk. Later when they asked the man who healed him, he did not know. It seems that more and more we are seeing signs and wonders during worship, prayer, and praise. It is not necessarily as a result of any particular persons prayers, but rather a sovereign move of God. Certainly God uses men and women to lead people into His presence, but then it is all His show and He gets the glory. Much as it was with this man. When he found out it was Jesus who had healed him, he went and gave Jesus the Glory.

God said that He would not share His glory with any man, and so He is doing marvelous things. He is not doing them the way it has always been done. Just like Jesus did not need the water to be stirred in order to heal the man, so we can not sit by a pool waiting for the things to be done the same as it has always been. We need to do what Jesus says. When Jesus told the man to get up and take his bed and walk, the man did it. He could have just kept laying there. He could have explained again to Jesus why he could not get up. But he didn’t. Something happened inside of him when Jesus spoke, and he responded to it. How sad it would have been if he had missed that opportunity.

Daily, we have opportunities to respond to Jesus. To love, to forgive, to give, to pray, to help someone, to heal someone, or any of a number of things in the Name and love of Jesus. When we do, our lives are changed and so are the lives of the people around us. The pool was fine, but Jesus had a better way. What was good yesterday was fine, but what does Jesus want today. The living water is in you, ready to flow, and bring much glory to God. Don’t make excuses, just obey!