[0:00] Welcome to our services today and we hope that as we come together around the Word of God that the Lord would bless his Word to us. Let us commence our worship by joining together in prayer. Eternal and ever blessed Lord, our Heavenly Father, we give thanks unto thee that we have access into thy no nearer presence, that we can enter into the very throne room of God, and that not because of any merits that belong to us, that our boldness and our confidence is due to the merits of the one who is at thine own right hand, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
[1:08] We give thee thanks, O Lord, that he took on himself not the nature of angels, but that he took on himself the seed of Abraham, that he took on himself our nature, so that he can be touched with the feelings of our infirmities, because at all points he was tempted like as we are, yet without sin. We give thee thanks that we can come before him and that we can cast out all our burdens, knowing, O Lord, that he is the one who can sympathise with us, that he is the one who can meet with us at our point of need. We give thee thanks, O Lord, that we can come and that we can confess our sins, acknowledging, O Lord, that there is no soundness in us, from the sole of our feet, even into our head, and that there is no soundness.
[2:22] But we pray and give thee thanks, O Lord, for that great invitation that thy word gives to us, to come and to reason with thee, though our sins be as scarlet, that they can be as white as snow, though they be red like crimson, that they can be as wool, and that through the efficacy of the finished work of Jesus Christ, thy beloved Son, our Lord and our Saviour.
[2:54] O Lord, we give thee thanks, O Lord, for thy gospel, and we pray that as it goes forth this day, that it would go forth in the power and demonstration of thy spirit in convicting and converting sinners, and in the building of thine own church.
[3:15] We ask, O Lord, thy blessing upon our communities, upon our people. O Lord, thou knowest our needs, and we give thanks that out of thine own fullness, that we can draw by faith and receive that for which we stand in need of.
[3:41] We ask thy blessing, O Lord, to be upon those who are ill. We seek that thine own healing hand may be upon them, that the bed of affliction may be a bed of blessing to them.
[3:57] We remember at this time, especially those who are sick with the coronavirus, we pray for them and for those who care for them, the NHS staff, the nurses and the doctors and all the key workers.
[4:15] We remember them, O Lord, and seek that thou would uphold them. We pray, O Lord, for them also, that their bed of affliction may be a bed of blessing for them.
[4:27] We remember, O Lord, those who have been bereft of loved ones. O we pray that empty places in our homes and in our communities would draw us to remember our own end, that we are like the grass in the field that grows in the morning and in the evening is cut down and comes to end our existence in this world.
[4:53] And yet, O Lord, we pass from one element to another. And so we pray that it would draw us to consider our own eternal destiny.
[5:06] We give thee thanks, O Lord, for the great news of the Gospel. We give thee thanks for the work of Jesus Christ that can lead us to thine own presence, to be reconciled with thee, to receive the forgiveness of our sins as we struggle from day to day with indwelling sin, that the day is going to dawn in the experience of thy people, when that struggle will be over, when the ransom of the Lord shall come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads, when they shall obtain joy and gladness and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.
[5:55] O we give thee thanks for that living hope that we have through the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We pray, O Lord, that thou would bless our young people and our children, that thou would bless those who are lonely at this time, especially in those days of restrictions, those who are confined to their own homes, who cannot have that intimate fellowship and communion with those that they love, those who are close to them.
[6:27] And we give thee thanks, O Lord, for the means of communications that are open to us, to have fellowship with those that we love and are close to us.
[6:40] But yet, O Lord, it is not the same as that intimate communion that we can have when we see them face to face. Reminding us, O Lord, that even in our spiritual journey, that our journey here is by faith and not by sight.
[7:02] And yet, O Lord, we give thanks for thee for the faith that thou hast given to us, that instils in us a desire for that day when we shall see thee face to face, and that day when we shall be like unto thee.
[7:22] We ask, O Lord, that thou would bless all thy servants who are proclaiming thy word today. We pray, O Lord, that thou would uphold them and bless all gospel work throughout our islands and throughout our nation and to the ends of the earth, all nations of the earth.
[7:44] We pray, O Lord, that thy word would sink deep into the hearts of our people. O, we are dependent upon thee, for it is the work of thine hand that shall ultimately give thee praise when a great number of people, when a vast multitude will be before the throne of the Lamb, singing praises for the salvation of our God.
[8:11] O, we pray, O Lord, that thou would continue with us during this day. Bless thy word to us as we read it and as we meditate upon it.
[8:23] And all that we ask is in the name of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. Amen. We shall now read the word of God as we find it in the gospel according to John and chapter 5.
[8:40] And we shall read the first 17 verses of this chapter. John's gospel and chapter 5. And this there was a feast of the Jews and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.
[8:55] Now there is at Jerusalem by the sheep market a pool, which is called in the Hebrew tongue Bethesda, having five poachers. In the east lay a great multitude of important folk, of blind, halted, withered, waiting for the moving of the water.
[9:15] For an angel went down at a certain season into the pool and troubled the water. Whosoever then first, after the troubling of the water, stepped in, was made whole of whatsoever disease he had.
[9:29] And a certain man was there which had an infirmity thirty and eight years. When Jesus saw him lie and knew that he had been now a long time in that case, he saith unto him, Wilt thou be made whole?
[9:44] The impotent man answered him, Sir, I have no man when the water is troubled to put me into the pool. But while I am coming, another stepeth down before me.
[9:56] Jesus saith unto him, Rise, take up thy bed and walk. And immediately the man was made whole and took up his bed and walked. And on the same day was the Sabbath.
[10:08] The Jews therefore said unto him that was cured, It is the Sabbath day. It is not lawful for thee to carry thy bed. He answered them, He that made me whole, the same said unto me, Take up thy bed and walk.
[10:25] Then asked they him, What man is that which said unto thee, Take up thy bed and walk? And he that was healed was not who it was, for Jesus had conveyed himself away, a multitude being in that place.
[10:39] Afterward Jesus findeth him in the temple and said unto him, Behold, thou art made whole. Sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee. The man departed and told the Jews that it was Jesus which had made him whole.
[10:56] And therefore did the Jews persecute Jesus and sought to slay him because he had done these things on the Sabbath day. But Jesus answered them, My father was good hitherto and I work.
[11:10] And so on. May the Lord bless unto us the reading of that portion of his word. And now seeking the Lord's blessing, let us turn to verse 6 where we read, When Jesus saw him lie and knew that he had been now a long time in that case, he saith unto him, Wilt thou be made whole?
[11:35] Wilt thou be made whole? Here we are told that Jesus went up to one of the feasts that were held in Jerusalem.
[11:47] We are not told which feast, but probably it would have been one of the three annual feasts that required the males to attend. Jesus came to a pool that was by the sheep market, a pool which is called in the Hebrew tongue Bethesda, having five poachers.
[12:07] By this pool there lay a great multitude of impotent folk, of blind, halt, withered, waiting for the moving of the water. This was not a very pleasant sight, not a place of hygiene, of great sanitation and cleanliness.
[12:24] I would imagine that it was a place of stench and groaning. This would not be a place of tourist attraction in Jerusalem, but a place where people might have a look and quickly pass by.
[12:40] It would not be a place of one's choosing, and yet this is a place where we find Jesus. This is a place of weakness, a place of desperation, a place of powerlessness, a place of helplessness.
[12:59] And this is often the case as we look at the life of Jesus that he has found in places that the majority of people would avoid. The religious elite, Pharisees and the priests would look down upon such places as being ceremonially unclean.
[13:18] They found fault with Jesus and accused him of eating and drinking with publicans and sinners. But Jesus knew his mission, and so he often replied that they that are whole have no need of a physician, but they that are sick.
[13:36] I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. We are told that at this place there laid a multitude of important people.
[13:50] They were weak and helpless and powerless. And out of that multitude there was one man upon whom Jesus focused his attention.
[14:03] And a certain man was there which had an infirmity thirty and eight years. when Jesus saw him lie and knew that he had been now a long time in that case.
[14:14] Now, we ask ourselves, well, why was Jesus' attention made to focus upon this man? And how did he gain his knowledge about this man?
[14:27] We know that Jesus was dependent upon the Holy Spirit. and Jesus was spirit-led to focus upon this man and reveal to Jesus all about this man's condition.
[14:45] He had his infirmity for thirty-eight years. We are not told how long he had been by the pole, but we are told that he had been there for a long time.
[14:59] In his desperation, this man was clinging on to the slightest threat of hope that he would be cured, waiting for the moving of the water.
[15:11] For an angel went down at a certain season into the pool and troubled the water. Whosoever then first after the troubling of the water stepped in was made whole of whatsoever disease he had.
[15:28] There are some versions like the ESV and the NIV which excludes verse 4 and will have it placed either in a margin or in a footnote.
[15:40] And the reason is that it is missing from the earliest manuscripts. But what the verse does is that it shows us what this man believed.
[15:50] said, Sir, I have no man when the water is troubled to put me into the pool but while I am coming another steppeth down before me. Whether we accept this as superstition or fact that such miracle did happen, which seems to be the way that our King James Version translators took it, it remains that this man's hope was in going into the waters of the pool.
[16:20] Now Jesus performed many more miracles than we have recorded for us. John at the end of his Gospel says, and there are also many other things which Jesus did, the which if they should be written, every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written.
[16:41] But these miracles that are recorded for us are sermons for us. They are meant to teach us just like the parables that Jesus taught. The miracles did happen, people were being cured of various diseases and the dead was raised to life.
[17:02] But just as people were being cured of their physical ailments, the miracles are meant to teach me and you a much higher lesson, and that is a spiritual lesson.
[17:15] in this miracle that Jesus is about to perform with this man, who is found among the multitude of people that have various ailments, just as they were physically weak, helpless, and powerless, so is all mankind spiritually weak, helpless, and powerless.
[17:46] And our spiritual powerlessness is due to original sin. And you ask, well, what is original sin?
[17:57] Well, scripture tells us, for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. In Psalm 51, we find David's writing, behold, I was shapen in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me.
[18:14] Paul, writing to the Romans, tells us how original sin has come about. For as by one man's disobedience, many were made sinners.
[18:26] Adam, the first man, was our covenant head, and when he fell into sin, the result was that the whole human race was corrupted.
[18:39] The Westminster Shorter Catechism summarises it for us when it asks the question, did all mankind fall in Adam's first transgression? And the answer is, the covenant been made with Adam, not only for himself, but for his posterity, all mankind descending from him by ordinary generation, sinned in him and fell with him in his first transgression.
[19:08] And then it asks the question into what he stated the fall bring mankind? And the answer, the fall brought mankind into an estate of sin and misery.
[19:21] We are all sinners by nature and we are sinners by practice. We must remember that original sin is not an event, it is a condition.
[19:37] How much are we affected by sin? Well, sin affects the whole person. This is what we call total depravity.
[19:49] It does not mean that there is nothing good about us or that we are as bad as we might be. What it means is that there is no human faculty that is not corrupted by sin.
[20:04] Our intellect is affected by sin. The Bible tells us that the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness unto him, neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.
[20:21] our will is affected because the Bible tells us that the carnal mind is enmity against God, for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be, so then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.
[20:41] Our understanding is affected because our understanding is darkened. The Bible says, having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them because of the blindness of their heart, who have been past fearing, have given themselves over into lasciviousness to work all uncleanness with greediness.
[21:07] What this tells us is that sin has corrupted the whole man. Isaiah writes, from the sole of the foot even to the head, there is no soundness in it.
[21:20] sometimes we hear it being said of people who may not even be leading the best of lifestyles, we hear it being said of them, well, he or she has a good heart, but the heart is actually our problem.
[21:43] Jesus said, for from within, out of the heart of man proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness.
[22:08] all these evil things come from within, and defile the man. So, our problem is a problem of the heart.
[22:20] It is a problem that is within us. David was well aware of this, so he pleads, created me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.
[22:36] This is a spiritual condition depicted by these people that was sitting down by this pool. At this scene of desperation, Jesus focuses on one particular person.
[22:58] And we may ask, well, why this particular person? there may have been many people there, much longer by the pool, we just do not know, we are not told.
[23:14] But the focus is upon this particular man, and the reason for that is the sovereignty of grace. This man is singled out from among the many, and it was not because he deserved it more than the others, but simply because grace visited him that particular day.
[23:41] That may be three of you today. Spiritually, you are like the multitude sitting by the pool, weak, helpless, and powerless as regards spiritual things.
[23:56] Having no relationship with God, wallowing in the state of sin and misery, which shall ultimately lead you to death, and death in the most fearsome, awesome, terrifying way.
[24:14] But today, in the sovereignty of grace, the word of God has visited your home. We are not allowed to meet as we would normally do on the Lord's Day in the church.
[24:29] Perhaps you are not a churchgoer. Your place would have been empty there even if we did meet in the church. Perhaps you have little time for the gospel.
[24:40] Maybe you think that it's for others but not for you. However, it's not the government or even the coronavirus that have shut the church, but God.
[24:51] the government and the coronavirus are only agents in the hands of a sovereign God who is in complete control. Why did he close the church?
[25:04] Well, that is a searching question for all. But for you today, it may be because the sovereignty of grace was to call at your home.
[25:15] this man at the pool is singled out and all attention is focused upon him. This man did not have to tell Jesus about his ailment.
[25:29] Jesus already knew. You see, there is no secret with Jesus. And Jesus knows your condition today. Jesus knows your need today.
[25:45] And Jesus approaches this man and says to this man, wilt thou be made whole? To which the man replied, Sir, I have no man when the water is troubled to put me into the pool, but while I am coming, another stepeth down before me.
[26:11] See, this man had made many attempts to get into the pool when the waters were troubled, but someone always got there before him.
[26:23] Maybe this man was beginning to get frustrated with his situation, and may I wonder, would he ever be successful in his effort to get cured by the waters of this pool?
[26:37] Maybe the waters did have some restorative power, but what this man needed was not mere physical healing, but spiritual healing. His greatest need was to receive the power of God's grace in Jesus Christ, and this is the greatest need for every sinner today, to receive the power of God's grace in Jesus Christ.
[27:04] Christ. We may be very superstitious, gollop, and even irrational at times in our quest for salvation.
[27:16] How many places people put their confidence in that perhaps they are morally upright, they are as good as others, they have been baptized.
[27:28] baptized. If you are of that number, your problem and that of many others is like this man, you are looking in the wrong place. What is required for spiritual healing is faith and obedience to God's grace in Jesus Christ.
[27:52] Why was this man at the pool and not at the temple? temple? Why was he seeking healing at the pool and not at the temple? Well, we know from the Bible that the religion of the Pharisees and scribes had become lifeless and powerless and dead.
[28:15] And maybe that is why he decided to go to the pool instead of going to the temple. And that may be a very searching question for those of us who are Christians today.
[28:28] Has our witness become lifeless, powerless and dead? And is that why so many are turning to superstition and the many other cults in our day? God's grace?
[28:39] But the marvelous thing is this, my friend, that the power of God's grace, that wherever we are, he can find us out.
[28:56] And he has found you out today. And here we are together today with God's word. God's man, although he was not at the temple, although he was by this pool, putting all his trust in the waters of this pool, yet the power of God's grace visited him this day.
[29:23] And the power of God's grace found him on that day. And the power of God's grace is visiting your home today. The power of God's grace is finding you out today.
[29:40] You don't have to be in church in order for the power of God's grace to find you. This man knew his condition.
[29:52] No one needed to tell him. He knew that he needed a cure or face the ultimate, which would be death. And maybe today you do not need to be told that you are a sinner.
[30:08] You do not need to be told that the wages of sin are death. Your desperation today is to find a cure, and you are aware of the futility, the uselessness, the ineffectiveness of all the attempts you have made so far to find a cure.
[30:29] But in the sovereignty of God's grace, Jesus comes to you today through his word and he asks you today, will thou be made whole?
[30:41] And the sinner will never be asked a more important question than that, will thou be made whole? Whatever this man may have heard in the past, whatever gossip was going on by the side of the pool, this man was never asked such an important question as he is asked now, will thou be made whole?
[31:13] The man's response, Sir, I have no man when the water is troubled to put me into the pool, but while I am coming, another steppeth down before me.
[31:27] The man confesses his total helplessness and is powerless of his attempt to get a cure. In his response, he is implying, I will because all my own attempts are futile.
[31:43] Well, what is your own response to the question today? Are you ready to confess the worthlessness of all your attempts to find a cure, to find a healing for your soul, to find a cure to be reconciled to God, to have your sins forgiven, to find salvation?
[32:12] Well, this man was ready. Are you? This man was ready to be led to a personal faith in Jesus Christ.
[32:27] You see, unless Jesus Christ comes into your life, as he came upon the scene of this man world. There is no real power for healing and no hope for salvation.
[32:45] Jesus Christ comes into the life of this man. There is this appointment between Jesus Christ and this man, man, and today there is an appointment between you and Jesus Christ through his word.
[33:06] And he has come before you and he is asking you that self-same question, will thou be made whole? And remember, as we said, unless Jesus Christ comes into your life, as he came upon the scene of this man by the pool, there is no real power for healing and no hope for salvation, will thou be made whole?
[33:32] This man found in Jesus what he could not find in any other man. Maybe many exploited this man over the years.
[33:42] Certainly he would have been ignored by many. But he found that this man Jesus was completely different.
[33:54] This man Jesus was concerned for him. This man Jesus showed compassion towards him. Jesus saith unto him, Rise, take up thy bed and walk.
[34:14] And immediately the man was made whole and took up his bed and walked. Here we have an instance given to us of the power that accompanies the word of God.
[34:28] Paul writes to the Romans and he says, For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth.
[34:41] And writing to the church at Corinth he says, Christ, the power of God and the wisdom of God. Then he goes on to say, because the foolishness of God is wiser than men and the weakness of God is stronger than men.
[35:00] What does he mean by that? What does he mean when he speaks of the foolishness of God being wiser than men and the weakness of God being stronger than men?
[35:12] Well, you see, people think that the gospel of a crucified and risen Jesus is foolishness but God says the foolishness of God is wiser than men and people think that all those who believe in Jesus are weak but God says the weakness of God is stronger than men and this man by the pool he experienced this power he not merely heard about it or seen it working for others but he actually personally experienced it in his own life and dear friend that is what is important if you are by the pool metaphorically speaking today then may you not be satisfied merely to hear about the power of Jesus to heal or see it happening in the life of others maybe your husband your wife your family or friends until you have personally experienced this power of healing in your own life notice that the words of Jesus was not merely an invitation but a command the gospel the gospel is often represented as an invitation and that it is but it is much more it is a command believe in the
[36:41] Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved but as we noted this man was not merely happy just to hear about it or to see it working for others in order for him to receive healing he had to have a personal experience of it in his own life you know we find so many and they're quite happy to go through life with just hearing the gospel or seeing it working and transforming the life of others but they never come to a personal experience of it in their own life is that you is that a picture of you today happy enough to hear about Jesus happy enough to hear about the gospel happy enough to see it in the life of others but you have no personal experience of it in your own life or maybe you are one of those who is saying that's fine it's fine to hear about it it's fine to see it in the life of others but not for me not for me well think if that was the attitude of this man by the pole if he had turned to
[38:13] Jesus and said to him well it's enough for me to hear about your healing power and to see it in the life of others in the life of lepers and the blind and so on but it's not for me well you know what the ultimate result of such an attitude would have been he would have died and my dear friend such an attitude brings to you not merely the fact of physical death but the fact of eternal death may that not be your attitude today the words of Jesus would have been a challenge to this man who has just confessed his own complete inability and the gospel always presents a challenge to us this man's response to the words of Jesus immediately the man was made whole and took up his bed and walked this man obeyed the command immediately
[39:21] Jesus said will thou be made whole and this man accepted that Jesus had the power to make him whole this man obeyed he did not say well I will think about it and let you know in a day or two this was not an invitation with an RSVP on it it was a command that required an immediate response and the gospel command is not for tomorrow it's for today behold now is the accepted time behold now is the day of salvation very often when it happens when a person delays is that he or she hardens their heart this man has never been able to do what he now is doing when when he was told to take up your bed and walk this man obeyed he took up his bed and walked and for this man always new just as the bible says therefore if any man be in
[40:37] Christ he is a new creature all things passed away behold all things are become new Paul writes to the Philippians and he says I can do all things through Christ which strengthens me and this was through of this man by the pole why should you not get up and start walking with Jesus right now this man made no excuses he made no resolutions he made no promises he simply obeyed got up and walked and as soon as this man began to walk with his mat under his arm he met with opposition the Jews therefore said unto him that there was cured it is a sabbath day it is not lawful for thee to carry thy bed this opposition came from the
[41:47] Pharisees and the scribes you would think that they would have been overjoyed with the healing of this man but they cared more about their own man made laws than about this wonderful healing you you see they had added to the sabbath law over and above what God had commanded God's command was six days shalt thou labour and do all thy work but the seventh day is the sabbath day of the law thy God in it thou shalt not do any work thou nor thy son nor thy daughter thy manservant nor thy maidservant nor thy cattle nor thy stranger that is within thy gate and the religious elite of the day regarded this man on taking up his mat that he was working on taking up his bed that he was working now I'm not going to make a discourse here regarding the sabbath day but what I want to point out is this in regard to this man is that once he began to walk with
[42:52] Jesus he met with opposition the point I want to make is that opposition and hostility in a Christian life should not surprise us if you want to be criticized follow Jesus maybe you fear opposition and hostility and criticism but Jesus said in the world you shall have tribulation but be of good cheer I have overcome the world when we face opposition and hostility because of our walk with Jesus we must look to Jesus the disciple is not above his master nor the servant above his Lord notice that they not only criticized but they found fault with Jesus and my dear friend that is often the opposition the hostility and the criticism that the
[44:00] Christian person the person who walks with Jesus has to face from the world that is still in hostility towards Jesus he answered them he said he that made me whole the same said unto me take up thy bed and walk walk then asked they him what man is that which said unto they take up thy bed and walk and he that was healed was not who it was for Jesus had conveyed himself away a multitude been in that place now my second point is that coming and walking with Jesus does not mean that you have to be an expert in theology this man could not explain who it was that had healed him his knowledge of Jesus would come gradually afterward
[45:00] Jesus finded him in the temple and said unto him behold thou art made whole sin no more lest a worse thing come unto thee thee and this brings me to my fourth and final point where there is spiritual healing there is also a dealing with sin where there is spiritually healing there is also a dealing with sin
[48:22] Paul tells us that we are through the spirit to mortify the deeds of the body and that word mortify means to kill there is always a crucify of the flesh always a mortifying of sin there is always that struggle that we have with sin while we are in this world so where there is spiritual healing there is also a dealing with sin that you put off concern in the former conversation the old man which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts and be renewed in the spirit of your mind and that you put on the new man which after God is created in righteousness and through holiness there is always that struggle with sin we are always moving towards perfection we are always moving towards that place when sin shall be no more but in this world we have a struggle with sin and we must mortify we must kill we must crucify the sin that we find still clinging on to us yes sin has been dealt with in its guilt and sin will one day it will be no more in our glorification we have been justified and in this world we have been sanctified we are dealing with the power of sin in our life that is the process of sanctification and the day shall come when we shall be glorified when sin shall be no more but coming to the case of this man why did
[50:23] Jesus say to this man sin no more lest a worse thing come unto thee well there are those who think that this man's physical infirmity and sickness was the result of some particular sin that he had committed and that Jesus is telling him not to continue in that sin but it is more probable I think that Jesus is directing this man to understand that there is a more urgent need for him than physical healing there is the need for him to deal with sin in his life lest a far more worse thing will come upon him that is eternal death we have looked at this miracle and hopefully received spiritual lessons from it as depicting our own condition as sinners and our need of divine power to heal us and what ought to follow from our spiritual healing but I think in these final words of Jesus to this man the urgency of dealing with sin is brought before us sin no more lest a worse thing come unto thee and that is your urgent need today to deal with your sin and the only place where we can deal with our sin is in
[51:42] Jesus Christ do you believe that he is the fountain that has been open for sin and for uncleanness do you believe that and if you do it is utter foolishness that you are not coming to him for salvation lest a worse thing come unto thee for the Bible tells us how shall we escape if we neglect so great salvation therefore for you today the Lord Jesus is saying through his word will thou be made whole and what is your response to that question and you know my friend this is the solemn thing that your response to this question your eternal destiny depends upon it whether it be life or whether it be death if your response to this question that
[53:03] Jesus is asking you today through his word will thou be made whole is yes I obey if you come in the obedience of faith to trust and depend upon Jesus then he gives you life but if your response is no I don't want it it can be for others but not for me then it is death and it is death in the most fearsome way it is eternal death well what is your response to this question today determines your eternal destiny wilt thou be made whole may the Lord bless our thoughts let us pray eternal and ever blessed
[54:07] Lord pray that thou would impress upon us today the solemnity of being face to face with thy word of that question that we have been thinking about today wilt thou be made whole oh Lord impress upon us the importance of giving a true response to this question that would lead us to life to be give that obedience that it requires of us that will lead us to life we give thee thanks oh Lord for the gospel we give thee thanks that we have come into contact with the gospel today and we pray oh Lord that we would indeed rise up and that we would come to follow Jesus in spite of all the opposition hostility and criticism that people will make of us and of the one to whom we now love nevertheless to follow him and to know that in him we have life pray oh
[55:23] Lord that I would bless each one of us bless our families our homes and our loved ones may the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship and communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all now and for ever more Amen