WEBVTT 00:00:01.000 --> 00:00:05.679 Please open up your Bibles this morning to the Gospel of John, and we'll be reading this 00:00:05.679 --> 00:00:11.220 morning from chapter 4, verse 43, through chapter 5, verse 9. 00:00:11.359 --> 00:00:14.019 I know your bulletin says verse 14, I just couldn't do it. 00:00:14.160 --> 00:00:17.600 So we're going to read through chapter 5, verse 9 this morning. 00:00:17.679 --> 00:00:20.800 If you're using the pew Bibles there in front of you, this passage can be found on page 00:00:20.800 --> 00:00:27.179 836, but you will want a Bible open as we hear from the Word of God this morning. 00:00:27.179 --> 00:00:30.460 So follow along with me as I read. 00:00:33.159 --> 00:00:38.480 After the two days he departed for Galilee, for Jesus himself had testified that a prophet 00:00:38.480 --> 00:00:40.480 has no honor in his own hometown. 00:00:41.399 --> 00:00:47.280 So when he came to Galilee, the Galileans welcomed him, having seen all that he had done in Jerusalem 00:00:47.280 --> 00:00:50.079 at the feast, for they too had gone to the feast. 00:00:50.799 --> 00:00:55.500 So he came again to Cana in Galilee, where he had made the water wine. 00:00:55.500 --> 00:00:59.020 And at Capernaum, there was an official whose son was ill. 00:00:59.840 --> 00:01:05.319 When this man heard that Jesus had come from Judea to Galilee, he went to him and asked him 00:01:05.319 --> 00:01:09.099 to come down and heal his son, for he was at the point of death. 00:01:09.920 --> 00:01:15.159 So Jesus said to him, unless you see signs and wonders, you will not believe. 00:01:15.939 --> 00:01:19.980 The official said to him, sir, come down before my child dies. 00:01:19.980 --> 00:01:24.260 Jesus said to him, go, your son will live. 00:01:25.140 --> 00:01:29.480 The man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him and went on his way. 00:01:30.420 --> 00:01:34.579 As he was going down, his servants met him and told him that his son was recovering. 00:01:35.180 --> 00:01:38.180 So he asked them the hour when he began to get better. 00:01:38.260 --> 00:01:42.180 And they said to him, yesterday at the seventh hour, the fever left him. 00:01:42.859 --> 00:01:48.200 The father knew that was the hour when Jesus had said to him, your son will live. 00:01:48.200 --> 00:01:51.760 And he himself believed and all his household. 00:01:52.640 --> 00:01:57.280 This was now the second sign that Jesus did when he had come from Judea to Galilee. 00:01:58.379 --> 00:02:02.120 After this, there was a feast of the Jews and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. 00:02:02.879 --> 00:02:09.180 Now there is in Jerusalem by the sheep gate a pool in Aramaic called Bethesda, which has 00:02:09.180 --> 00:02:10.819 five roofed colonnades. 00:02:11.420 --> 00:02:15.740 In these lay a multitude of invalids, blind, lame, and paralyzed. 00:02:15.740 --> 00:02:21.219 One man was there who had been an invalid for 38 years. 00:02:22.219 --> 00:02:26.560 When Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had already been there a long time, he said 00:02:26.560 --> 00:02:28.580 to him, do you want to be healed? 00:02:29.540 --> 00:02:34.160 The sick man answered him, sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is 00:02:34.160 --> 00:02:34.760 stirred up. 00:02:35.060 --> 00:02:38.060 And while I am going, another steps down before me. 00:02:38.820 --> 00:02:43.120 Jesus said to him, get up, take up your bed and walk. 00:02:43.120 --> 00:02:49.460 And at once the man was healed and he took up his bed and walked. 00:02:50.099 --> 00:02:51.580 This is the word of God. 00:02:51.700 --> 00:02:53.560 Would you please bow and pray with me once more? 00:02:53.780 --> 00:02:54.000 Lord. 00:02:54.000 --> 00:03:04.659 Lord, we confess that it is so easy for us week in and week out to come here to open up 00:03:04.659 --> 00:03:09.439 the word, to hear it read, to hear it preached, and to treat it as ordinary. 00:03:10.479 --> 00:03:12.520 Father, this is anything but ordinary. 00:03:13.420 --> 00:03:14.560 Your word is power. 00:03:14.819 --> 00:03:21.340 And so we pray now, would you accomplish eternal good in the next few moments that we have together? 00:03:21.340 --> 00:03:25.340 Lord, would you give us ears to hear and eyes to see your glory and your truth? 00:03:25.420 --> 00:03:26.379 We pray in Christ's name. 00:03:27.319 --> 00:03:27.640 Amen. 00:03:29.980 --> 00:03:37.759 If you are wanting to go for a joy ride, I recommend not taking Casson Road in Tracy, California. 00:03:39.120 --> 00:03:44.240 The California Highway Patrol, they posted some pictures back in January of a Honda Odyssey 00:03:44.240 --> 00:03:51.719 that had driven right past the road closed signs and into a giant water-filled hole in 00:03:51.719 --> 00:03:52.120 the road. 00:03:53.219 --> 00:03:57.900 The very next day, the highway patrol, they posted an update that the hole in the road 00:03:57.900 --> 00:03:59.060 had gotten worse. 00:03:59.180 --> 00:04:00.379 The road was collapsing. 00:04:00.640 --> 00:04:03.360 There was now a giant gulf in the road. 00:04:03.740 --> 00:04:06.340 And people needed to take the sign seriously. 00:04:06.620 --> 00:04:08.240 Do not drive around the barricades. 00:04:09.120 --> 00:04:10.879 Do not ignore the sign. 00:04:10.879 --> 00:04:12.500 The road is closed. 00:04:12.659 --> 00:04:20.560 Well, sure enough, a Volkswagen Passat ignored the warnings, drove right past the sign, and 00:04:20.560 --> 00:04:24.839 it too fell down into the giant hole in the road. 00:04:25.319 --> 00:04:28.939 So they posted again, sarcastically this time. 00:04:29.800 --> 00:04:31.879 This can't be real, they said. 00:04:32.259 --> 00:04:39.139 If only there were signs, warning drivers that could have prevented this. 00:04:39.139 --> 00:04:47.979 Well, just two days later, a Ford F-150 drove right past the sign, right past the barricade, 00:04:48.079 --> 00:04:50.959 and it too dropped right into the hole. 00:04:51.079 --> 00:04:52.339 In the pictures, you can look them up. 00:04:52.360 --> 00:04:57.639 It looked like the hole had grown and gotten just big enough to fit the whole truck end 00:04:57.639 --> 00:04:58.139 to end. 00:04:58.219 --> 00:05:02.759 It was built for a Ford F-150 to be nice and snug in the hole. 00:05:02.860 --> 00:05:05.680 So they posted again one more time, and they said, it happened again. 00:05:06.599 --> 00:05:08.259 We can't make this stuff up. 00:05:08.259 --> 00:05:11.439 This was 100% preventable. 00:05:11.599 --> 00:05:12.959 There is no excuse. 00:05:13.860 --> 00:05:17.899 The signs are clear, visible, and unobstructed. 00:05:18.039 --> 00:05:21.199 Pay attention to the signs. 00:05:22.620 --> 00:05:25.360 The lesson is clear. 00:05:26.579 --> 00:05:31.620 Signs are great if you pay attention to their meaning. 00:05:31.620 --> 00:05:38.459 We have seen together over the past several months in the Gospel of John that John is writing 00:05:38.459 --> 00:05:40.480 this Gospel with a purpose. 00:05:40.600 --> 00:05:47.459 His purpose, that we might believe that Jesus is the Christ, and that by believing, we might 00:05:47.459 --> 00:05:49.780 have life in His name. 00:05:49.860 --> 00:05:53.560 That we might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Messiah. 00:05:53.560 --> 00:06:00.439 And so all throughout the Gospel of John, He is showing us several clear messianic signs 00:06:00.439 --> 00:06:07.600 that prove to the readers, that prove to us the identity of Jesus, that Jesus is the Christ. 00:06:07.699 --> 00:06:11.699 We've already seen one of those signs, Him turning the water into wine. 00:06:11.779 --> 00:06:15.639 And today, we get to see two more messianic signs in our passage. 00:06:15.639 --> 00:06:21.139 The healing of an official son and the healing of an invalid man. 00:06:21.759 --> 00:06:28.279 And as we read these signs, the question for us becomes, will we listen to what they say? 00:06:29.199 --> 00:06:36.180 Or will we ignore them and continue on as if they weren't there? 00:06:37.319 --> 00:06:41.079 These two signs, they teach us two lessons this morning. 00:06:41.159 --> 00:06:42.899 This will be our outline if you're taking notes. 00:06:42.899 --> 00:06:45.279 Two lessons from these two signs. 00:06:45.399 --> 00:06:50.259 We see a lesson of brokenness and a lesson of power. 00:06:51.099 --> 00:06:56.639 A lesson of brokenness and a lesson of power. 00:06:56.819 --> 00:07:00.819 First, we see a lesson of brokenness. 00:07:02.199 --> 00:07:08.319 To state the very obvious, the world that we live in is broken. 00:07:09.939 --> 00:07:12.399 It is not right. 00:07:12.899 --> 00:07:22.179 We live in a world that is broken and marred and distorted and affected by the curse of sin. 00:07:22.659 --> 00:07:30.819 And not only the world around us and outside of us, but we are broken and marred and distorted by the effects of sin. 00:07:31.019 --> 00:07:33.919 We, as individuals, are sick. 00:07:34.699 --> 00:07:38.579 And the symptoms of that sickness are everywhere. 00:07:38.579 --> 00:07:42.939 And we see just a few of those symptoms here in our passage. 00:07:43.139 --> 00:07:48.379 Symptom number one, at the very heart of our brokenness, is a lack of honor. 00:07:49.339 --> 00:07:51.279 A lack of honor. 00:07:51.279 --> 00:08:01.879 The number one sign that we are not right, that we're not functioning as we should, is that our hearts do not honor the Lord as we were made to do. 00:08:01.959 --> 00:08:04.299 Look there to chapter 4, verse 43 again. 00:08:04.300 --> 00:08:13.639 John tells us in verse 43 that Jesus left Sychar, where he had met with a Samaritan woman, and made the journey down to Galilee. 00:08:13.800 --> 00:08:16.060 This was about 49 miles by foot. 00:08:16.120 --> 00:08:18.080 It would have taken two to three days to complete. 00:08:18.480 --> 00:08:20.639 But John tells us why he went. 00:08:21.639 --> 00:08:25.080 It's because he had no honor in Galilee. 00:08:25.079 --> 00:08:33.159 For, because, for, Jesus himself had testified that a prophet has no honor in his hometown. 00:08:33.600 --> 00:08:43.919 Jesus left Sychar, where the whole town was responding to the message of the gospel, where the whole town was receiving him and believing and welcoming him in, 00:08:44.000 --> 00:08:47.000 to go to Galilee, where he had no honor. 00:08:47.899 --> 00:08:51.379 His lack of honor in Galilee is why he went. 00:08:51.379 --> 00:08:56.220 For, because, Jesus said, a prophet has no honor in his hometown. 00:08:56.519 --> 00:09:03.639 This was his mission, to demonstrate who he was in order that he might receive the honor that he deserves. 00:09:03.939 --> 00:09:08.039 Now, this is a bit odd, though, because when you read the very next verse, what does it say? 00:09:08.840 --> 00:09:13.720 It says that when he arrived in Galilee, the Galileans welcomed him. 00:09:14.740 --> 00:09:16.700 They seemed glad to see him. 00:09:16.700 --> 00:09:22.820 Now, some critics will read this and point to this as a contradiction in Scripture, 00:09:22.960 --> 00:09:28.300 as if John just blacked out between verse 44 and verse 45, forgot what he had said. 00:09:28.660 --> 00:09:30.980 I don't think that that's what's happening here. 00:09:31.060 --> 00:09:32.080 He's not that careless. 00:09:32.759 --> 00:09:40.680 This is a type of welcome, a type of reception, that does not honor Jesus. 00:09:41.660 --> 00:09:43.980 But what type of welcome might that be? 00:09:43.980 --> 00:09:49.580 It's a welcome of provision, not a welcome of person. 00:09:50.800 --> 00:09:55.960 It's a desire for the signs, not a desire for the Savior. 00:09:56.920 --> 00:10:00.779 Though they had seen, mark that word seen there in your Bible. 00:10:00.879 --> 00:10:05.139 They had seen all that Jesus had done in Jerusalem at the feast, 00:10:05.240 --> 00:10:06.860 for they too had gone to the feast. 00:10:06.860 --> 00:10:11.840 They were eyewitnesses of his power, and so they welcomed him in, 00:10:11.940 --> 00:10:15.940 expecting, hoping, desiring to see more. 00:10:16.039 --> 00:10:18.539 Maybe he'll turn some more water into wine. 00:10:19.080 --> 00:10:21.060 And maybe he'll flip some more tables over. 00:10:21.139 --> 00:10:22.000 Let's see what he does. 00:10:22.100 --> 00:10:28.759 They welcomed him in for what he could do for them, not for who he was. 00:10:29.759 --> 00:10:34.039 See, this is how the sinful heart views Jesus. 00:10:34.039 --> 00:10:39.179 He views him as a means to some other end. 00:10:40.099 --> 00:10:43.259 And if we're honest, all of us have done this. 00:10:44.860 --> 00:10:49.980 How often do we do the very same thing? 00:10:49.980 --> 00:10:54.240 All of us are touched by this symptom. 00:10:54.360 --> 00:10:54.840 All of us. 00:10:54.940 --> 00:10:58.019 How many of your thoughts, even right now, if you're honest, 00:10:58.120 --> 00:11:01.820 how many of your thoughts, even now, are spent on you? 00:11:02.680 --> 00:11:07.259 Your needs, your wants, your desires, 00:11:07.519 --> 00:11:10.779 what you want to get out of this time here in worship, 00:11:10.940 --> 00:11:14.440 and how many are spent, are consumed with the glory of Christ? 00:11:14.440 --> 00:11:18.820 How he might be honored, how he might be worshiped, 00:11:18.860 --> 00:11:22.660 how he might be glorified, how you might see him more clearly, 00:11:22.780 --> 00:11:27.220 how you might receive his word and obey him and follow his will 00:11:27.220 --> 00:11:29.860 and honor him as he deserves. 00:11:29.960 --> 00:11:34.180 This is a symptom of the sickness of sin. 00:11:34.179 --> 00:11:39.839 How much of our time in prayer is spent asking God to do for you 00:11:39.839 --> 00:11:42.219 and to solve your problems? 00:11:42.500 --> 00:11:46.379 And how much is spent simply adoring him for who he is? 00:11:46.459 --> 00:11:50.099 Now, of course, we're invited, commanded even, encouraged 00:11:50.099 --> 00:11:53.099 to present our requests to the Lord, 00:11:53.199 --> 00:11:54.799 to pray like the persistent widow 00:11:54.799 --> 00:11:57.559 and trust that the Lord will give us what we need. 00:11:57.879 --> 00:12:00.319 But we have to ask ourselves. 00:12:00.320 --> 00:12:03.220 And we have to examine our hearts and ask, 00:12:03.400 --> 00:12:06.340 are we welcoming Christ for who he is 00:12:06.340 --> 00:12:09.740 or for what he can do for us? 00:12:11.379 --> 00:12:15.700 We do not honor the Lord when we welcome him 00:12:15.700 --> 00:12:19.300 as a means to some other end, 00:12:19.540 --> 00:12:25.820 to our wealth, to our health, to our success, to our prosperity. 00:12:25.820 --> 00:12:31.700 We honor him when we treasure him for who he is. 00:12:32.700 --> 00:12:35.220 Symptom number one of the sickness of sin 00:12:35.220 --> 00:12:38.940 is that our hearts do not honor the Lord as we were made to do. 00:12:39.320 --> 00:12:41.260 We see another symptom here, don't we? 00:12:41.760 --> 00:12:42.620 It's the symptom. 00:12:42.800 --> 00:12:44.600 It's the presence of death. 00:12:45.780 --> 00:12:47.960 The presence of death. 00:12:48.060 --> 00:12:52.160 Verse 46 says that when he came again to Cana in Galilee 00:12:52.159 --> 00:12:54.279 where he had made the water wine, 00:12:54.439 --> 00:12:58.480 and at Capernaum there was an official whose son was ill. 00:12:59.159 --> 00:13:01.259 And this man was likely a royal officer. 00:13:01.620 --> 00:13:04.659 He was a Gentile who served under Herod Antipas, 00:13:05.079 --> 00:13:08.419 the same Herod who would have John the Baptist beheaded and killed. 00:13:09.379 --> 00:13:11.519 And this man, this official, like the others, 00:13:11.620 --> 00:13:13.860 he had heard that Jesus was coming to town. 00:13:13.939 --> 00:13:16.740 He had heard rumor of what Jesus could do, 00:13:16.839 --> 00:13:18.120 the signs that he performed. 00:13:18.120 --> 00:13:22.120 And so immediately he went to him and made an urgent request. 00:13:23.120 --> 00:13:28.840 Come down and heal my son, for he is at the point of death. 00:13:29.980 --> 00:13:33.820 But Jesus, instead, he challenges him, 00:13:33.919 --> 00:13:36.279 and not only him, but all of the Galileans. 00:13:36.360 --> 00:13:37.879 He sees a bigger problem here. 00:13:38.000 --> 00:13:39.779 He says to the man in verse 48, 00:13:39.960 --> 00:13:44.560 unless you see signs and wonders, you will not believe. 00:13:44.759 --> 00:13:46.620 Do you see the connection John's making here? 00:13:48.120 --> 00:13:53.120 Jesus is condemning the self-seeking attitude of the Galileans, 00:13:53.860 --> 00:13:55.120 all of them, toward Jesus. 00:13:55.940 --> 00:13:57.779 Unless you, that you is plural, 00:13:57.980 --> 00:13:59.519 unless y'all, unless you, 00:14:00.000 --> 00:14:01.240 all of you Galileans, 00:14:01.340 --> 00:14:03.879 unless you see, you will not believe. 00:14:03.980 --> 00:14:04.960 But the man pressed further. 00:14:05.080 --> 00:14:08.019 He didn't have time for theological conversation. 00:14:08.240 --> 00:14:08.580 He says, 00:14:08.700 --> 00:14:12.740 Sir, come down before my child dies. 00:14:12.740 --> 00:14:19.379 No doubt this man had tried everything in his power to heal his son. 00:14:19.519 --> 00:14:21.180 He was an officer of Herod. 00:14:21.279 --> 00:14:23.519 He likely had some measure of wealth. 00:14:23.620 --> 00:14:26.180 I'm sure that he had tried everything in his power. 00:14:26.320 --> 00:14:30.279 I'm sure he had no issue paying for whatever medical care was needed. 00:14:30.279 --> 00:14:33.120 But apparently nothing seemed to work, 00:14:33.240 --> 00:14:35.139 because here he is in desperation, 00:14:35.139 --> 00:14:37.000 coming to a man he had never met, 00:14:37.799 --> 00:14:39.339 who he had only heard about, 00:14:40.199 --> 00:14:43.139 begging him to heal his son. 00:14:43.240 --> 00:14:46.399 This is an urgent issue. 00:14:46.399 --> 00:14:52.379 I could not imagine anything more urgent than this. 00:14:54.240 --> 00:14:58.579 The presence of death is, without a doubt, 00:14:59.220 --> 00:15:05.459 the clearest and ugliest evidence of the brokenness of this world. 00:15:07.019 --> 00:15:08.679 It's a cause of fear. 00:15:10.019 --> 00:15:12.139 It's a cause of separation. 00:15:13.039 --> 00:15:15.120 It's a cause of anxiety. 00:15:15.120 --> 00:15:16.720 It's a cause of pain. 00:15:16.899 --> 00:15:18.120 It's a cause of worry. 00:15:18.320 --> 00:15:20.320 It's a cause of grief. 00:15:21.460 --> 00:15:23.340 And every one of us has to deal with it. 00:15:24.700 --> 00:15:28.899 Death is a terrible, terrible enemy. 00:15:29.060 --> 00:15:33.419 But we have to realize that even death is just a symptom. 00:15:34.440 --> 00:15:35.980 It is a wage. 00:15:36.220 --> 00:15:42.139 It is a terrible consequence that springs off of a much greater enemy, 00:15:42.279 --> 00:15:43.139 the enemy of sin. 00:15:43.139 --> 00:15:47.919 We just read, the wages of sin is death. 00:15:48.000 --> 00:15:51.580 If we hate death, how much more should we hate sin? 00:15:52.360 --> 00:15:56.879 If we hate the symptom, how much more should we hate the sickness? 00:15:57.159 --> 00:16:00.799 Death is a symptom of our brokenness. 00:16:00.799 --> 00:16:05.620 But we see one more terrible symptom of our brokenness here. 00:16:05.699 --> 00:16:06.099 One more. 00:16:06.199 --> 00:16:07.559 It's the symptom of suffering. 00:16:08.819 --> 00:16:10.919 The symptom of suffering. 00:16:11.519 --> 00:16:13.500 Look down there to the beginning of chapter 5. 00:16:13.500 --> 00:16:17.500 Sometime after this encounter with the official, 00:16:17.720 --> 00:16:19.940 Jesus went back up to Jerusalem. 00:16:20.279 --> 00:16:24.019 And verse 2 says that there is in Jerusalem, by the sheep gate, 00:16:24.120 --> 00:16:28.559 a pool called Bethesda, which has five roofed colonnades. 00:16:28.639 --> 00:16:32.299 And in these lay a multitude of invalids, 00:16:32.919 --> 00:16:37.360 individuals who are blind and lame and paralyzed. 00:16:37.360 --> 00:16:39.940 Can you just imagine for a moment this scene? 00:16:41.419 --> 00:16:42.980 This is pitiful. 00:16:43.899 --> 00:16:45.840 There are sick people, broken people, 00:16:45.940 --> 00:16:50.060 people who are hurting deeply, just scattered all over. 00:16:50.180 --> 00:16:54.460 This is a scene of unbelievable, terrible suffering. 00:16:54.460 --> 00:16:58.060 And many of them are suffering in hopelessness. 00:16:58.759 --> 00:17:02.240 Apparently, there was a cultural belief there at that time 00:17:02.240 --> 00:17:05.940 that an angel would come and stir up the waters to this pool, 00:17:06.180 --> 00:17:08.880 and whoever was first in the water would be healed of their sickness. 00:17:11.900 --> 00:17:14.240 How will a blind man make it to the healing waters? 00:17:15.720 --> 00:17:18.039 You see how pitiful this picture is? 00:17:18.140 --> 00:17:20.740 How will a lame man make it to the waters? 00:17:20.840 --> 00:17:23.460 Or a paralyzed man, how will he make it to the waters? 00:17:23.460 --> 00:17:27.480 You can imagine them stumbling their way into this water 00:17:27.480 --> 00:17:30.340 in hopes that maybe, just maybe, just maybe, 00:17:30.519 --> 00:17:34.079 today is the day that they are made well. 00:17:34.180 --> 00:17:35.559 It's a pitiful scene to imagine. 00:17:37.360 --> 00:17:43.039 But here comes Jesus into this scene of brokenness. 00:17:43.120 --> 00:17:44.920 This is what Jesus does. 00:17:45.019 --> 00:17:47.460 And he sees a man there who in his omniscience, 00:17:48.299 --> 00:17:51.460 he knew that he had been suffering for 38 years. 00:17:51.460 --> 00:17:55.900 That's longer than many people lived at this point in history. 00:17:56.079 --> 00:17:57.840 38 years. 00:17:58.019 --> 00:18:05.180 This is prolonged, drawn out, painful, even humiliating suffering. 00:18:07.059 --> 00:18:10.120 You know, church, as I read this account, 00:18:10.960 --> 00:18:16.840 I thought about so many in our church family who are suffering. 00:18:16.839 --> 00:18:21.720 Maybe you're not as bad off as this man, 00:18:21.819 --> 00:18:28.099 but I know that so many of us in this church are suffering greatly. 00:18:28.319 --> 00:18:29.419 Issues with our back. 00:18:30.240 --> 00:18:32.379 Issues with your heart. 00:18:33.279 --> 00:18:34.539 Problems with your hips. 00:18:34.819 --> 00:18:35.799 Problems with your shoulders. 00:18:36.019 --> 00:18:37.039 Problems with your minds. 00:18:37.899 --> 00:18:40.099 Just waiting and waiting and hoping and waiting 00:18:40.099 --> 00:18:42.500 that the doctors will get their stuff together 00:18:42.500 --> 00:18:45.400 and maybe, just maybe, they can make you well. 00:18:46.019 --> 00:18:47.920 This church knows what it is to suffer. 00:18:49.559 --> 00:18:52.960 But church, we need to know that this, too, 00:18:53.140 --> 00:18:56.880 is a symptom of our brokenness. 00:18:58.160 --> 00:19:02.759 Our suffering, this, too, is evidence of the curse of sin. 00:19:02.859 --> 00:19:04.099 Our bodies age. 00:19:04.220 --> 00:19:04.759 They weaken. 00:19:05.339 --> 00:19:06.900 Our minds, they fade. 00:19:07.019 --> 00:19:07.759 We wear out. 00:19:07.759 --> 00:19:10.900 And to make things worse, we often feel isolated in our suffering 00:19:10.900 --> 00:19:14.480 because we are the only ones who feel our pain. 00:19:15.319 --> 00:19:16.940 We know other people might care, 00:19:17.039 --> 00:19:19.839 but they can't know exactly what we're feeling. 00:19:19.960 --> 00:19:22.359 Nobody else shares in our suffering. 00:19:22.500 --> 00:19:24.180 And it seems like no one can help us. 00:19:25.599 --> 00:19:29.640 Jesus asked this man what should have been an obvious question here. 00:19:30.140 --> 00:19:31.480 Do you want to be healed? 00:19:32.420 --> 00:19:33.640 Well, of course he did. 00:19:34.640 --> 00:19:36.019 Look what he says in verse 7. 00:19:36.019 --> 00:19:39.039 He says, Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool. 00:19:39.759 --> 00:19:41.279 When the water is stirred up 00:19:41.279 --> 00:19:44.720 and while I am going another steps down before me, 00:19:45.240 --> 00:19:47.740 this man was suffering alone, 00:19:47.940 --> 00:19:51.740 totally dependent with no one to depend on. 00:19:53.019 --> 00:19:56.480 It may be that some of you feel that way. 00:19:56.480 --> 00:20:05.019 All of this, disease, dishonor, and death, 00:20:05.660 --> 00:20:11.440 all of this is evidence that things are not as they should be. 00:20:12.360 --> 00:20:16.980 We are beaten and bruised by the curse of sin. 00:20:17.059 --> 00:20:19.640 Do you feel the weight of this brokenness here in this passage? 00:20:19.640 --> 00:20:25.620 If you do, I have good news for you, church. 00:20:26.620 --> 00:20:34.200 The good news of the gospel is that Jesus Christ came to undo all of it. 00:20:34.900 --> 00:20:37.080 This is the message of these signs. 00:20:37.200 --> 00:20:42.740 It's that Jesus Christ came to destroy sin and all of its terrible consequences. 00:20:42.740 --> 00:20:48.799 Jesus Christ came to restore what was lost and broken by the fall. 00:20:48.960 --> 00:20:53.799 Every ounce of pain, every tear, every loss, every struggle, 00:20:54.079 --> 00:20:56.200 ought to lead us to ask, 00:20:56.359 --> 00:20:57.599 Who will set this right? 00:20:58.519 --> 00:21:00.400 When will this be done? 00:21:00.839 --> 00:21:02.660 When will I be made well? 00:21:02.759 --> 00:21:04.160 Who will conquer this enemy? 00:21:04.299 --> 00:21:05.480 Who will defeat death? 00:21:05.539 --> 00:21:09.380 Who will put an end to suffering and sickness and sorrow? 00:21:09.380 --> 00:21:11.760 And the answer is Christ. 00:21:12.660 --> 00:21:15.680 This is the second lesson from these signs here. 00:21:15.740 --> 00:21:19.900 The second lesson, Christ alone has the power to restore. 00:21:20.760 --> 00:21:23.280 The second is a lesson of power. 00:21:23.460 --> 00:21:25.460 The bad news is we are all broken. 00:21:26.300 --> 00:21:27.860 We are all sinners. 00:21:28.380 --> 00:21:34.640 But the good news of the gospel is that Christ Jesus came to heal our brokenness. 00:21:34.940 --> 00:21:37.160 And that he's powerful to save. 00:21:37.160 --> 00:21:40.080 Look what Jesus did for this man here. 00:21:41.160 --> 00:21:44.240 Jesus, he did not pick the man up. 00:21:44.740 --> 00:21:47.259 He did not take him down to the water. 00:21:47.840 --> 00:21:51.019 He did not tell everybody else to get out of the way and let him go in. 00:21:51.140 --> 00:21:55.340 Verse 8, Jesus simply said to him, 00:21:55.900 --> 00:21:56.580 Get up. 00:21:57.600 --> 00:21:59.980 Take up your bed and walk. 00:22:01.140 --> 00:22:05.660 And at once, he took up his bed and walked. 00:22:05.660 --> 00:22:08.180 This is a miraculous healing. 00:22:08.340 --> 00:22:10.519 Jesus spoke and it happened. 00:22:10.700 --> 00:22:15.380 38 years of suffering are undone in a single sentence. 00:22:16.420 --> 00:22:19.820 In the same way, the official whose son was near death, 00:22:19.880 --> 00:22:23.560 who was begging Jesus to come and come to his house to heal his son, 00:22:23.640 --> 00:22:24.420 what did Jesus do? 00:22:24.500 --> 00:22:26.519 Look back to chapter 4, verse 50. 00:22:26.519 --> 00:22:29.839 Jesus said to him, 00:22:30.680 --> 00:22:30.940 Go. 00:22:31.660 --> 00:22:33.420 Your son will live. 00:22:34.220 --> 00:22:34.879 Go home. 00:22:35.879 --> 00:22:37.460 What would you do in that situation? 00:22:38.119 --> 00:22:39.420 Your son is sick. 00:22:39.480 --> 00:22:40.700 He's at the point of death. 00:22:40.779 --> 00:22:41.680 You're begging Jesus. 00:22:41.799 --> 00:22:42.900 It's a last resort. 00:22:43.500 --> 00:22:44.579 And he said, Go home. 00:22:45.660 --> 00:22:46.500 Without you. 00:22:47.720 --> 00:22:49.799 You're not even coming with me. 00:22:49.859 --> 00:22:51.279 I'm supposed to just go home. 00:22:51.279 --> 00:22:54.980 But this man, this Gentile official, 00:22:55.619 --> 00:22:57.980 he believed the words of Jesus. 00:22:58.220 --> 00:23:00.519 Your son will live. 00:23:00.599 --> 00:23:02.420 And for him, that was enough. 00:23:02.599 --> 00:23:03.259 And sure enough, 00:23:04.700 --> 00:23:06.319 as he went on his way back home, 00:23:06.379 --> 00:23:08.759 his servants came and met him on his way. 00:23:08.859 --> 00:23:09.599 And they told him, 00:23:09.660 --> 00:23:11.859 they brought a message that his son was recovering. 00:23:12.700 --> 00:23:15.879 So he asked the hour when he began to get better. 00:23:15.960 --> 00:23:16.619 He had to know, 00:23:16.799 --> 00:23:19.099 Was this a work of this man's power? 00:23:19.099 --> 00:23:21.819 And they told him, 00:23:22.599 --> 00:23:23.599 and he knew. 00:23:24.480 --> 00:23:26.240 It was the exact moment, 00:23:26.399 --> 00:23:30.099 exactly the same time that Jesus had spoken the words, 00:23:30.199 --> 00:23:32.099 Your son will live. 00:23:32.980 --> 00:23:34.299 The crisis of death, 00:23:35.019 --> 00:23:38.219 undone in a single sentence. 00:23:40.179 --> 00:23:45.339 The word of Christ is incredibly powerful, church. 00:23:46.740 --> 00:23:48.039 How did he heal the boy? 00:23:48.039 --> 00:23:49.940 How did he heal the invalid man? 00:23:50.039 --> 00:23:51.980 He simply spoke, 00:23:52.579 --> 00:23:53.720 and it happened. 00:23:53.859 --> 00:23:55.440 What does this tell us about Jesus? 00:23:56.859 --> 00:24:00.740 Jesus speaks like no one has ever spoken. 00:24:01.680 --> 00:24:04.779 The word of Christ affects what it demands. 00:24:05.000 --> 00:24:05.639 He speaks, 00:24:06.000 --> 00:24:06.819 and it happens. 00:24:06.899 --> 00:24:08.399 When he says to the wind and the waves, 00:24:08.500 --> 00:24:09.099 Be still, 00:24:09.299 --> 00:24:10.240 they are silent. 00:24:10.339 --> 00:24:11.379 When he says to the demons, 00:24:11.539 --> 00:24:12.139 Come out, 00:24:12.220 --> 00:24:12.940 they come out. 00:24:13.000 --> 00:24:14.039 They obey his voice. 00:24:14.539 --> 00:24:16.779 The sick are made well at the sound of his voice. 00:24:16.779 --> 00:24:19.059 The dead rise at the sound of his voice. 00:24:19.460 --> 00:24:22.000 No one else has this type of power. 00:24:22.099 --> 00:24:23.339 What does this tell us about Jesus? 00:24:24.399 --> 00:24:26.960 These events are bright, 00:24:27.399 --> 00:24:28.119 flashing, 00:24:28.480 --> 00:24:29.680 undeniable signs 00:24:30.279 --> 00:24:33.559 that Jesus Christ is God. 00:24:34.399 --> 00:24:36.660 That he is one with the Father, 00:24:36.799 --> 00:24:37.200 who said, 00:24:37.319 --> 00:24:38.259 Let there be light, 00:24:38.519 --> 00:24:39.440 and there was light. 00:24:40.099 --> 00:24:40.720 Who said, 00:24:40.720 --> 00:24:42.960 Let there be wind and waves, 00:24:42.980 --> 00:24:44.640 and there was wind and waves. 00:24:44.940 --> 00:24:46.120 By the word of the Lord, 00:24:46.180 --> 00:24:47.279 the heavens were made. 00:24:47.380 --> 00:24:48.019 He spoke, 00:24:48.140 --> 00:24:49.160 and it came to be. 00:24:49.259 --> 00:24:49.880 He commanded, 00:24:50.039 --> 00:24:51.039 and it stood firm. 00:24:51.660 --> 00:24:54.799 This is not a sign to be ignored. 00:24:56.500 --> 00:24:58.600 The book of Hebrews tells us that 00:24:58.600 --> 00:25:03.200 Christ Jesus is the radiance of the glory of God, 00:25:03.240 --> 00:25:05.519 and the exact imprint of his nature, 00:25:05.519 --> 00:25:08.079 and he upholds the universe 00:25:08.079 --> 00:25:11.160 by the word of his power. 00:25:13.079 --> 00:25:14.579 The word of Christ 00:25:14.579 --> 00:25:17.400 upholds the universe. 00:25:18.980 --> 00:25:19.519 Of course, 00:25:19.599 --> 00:25:21.079 he can make a sick boy well, 00:25:21.799 --> 00:25:24.599 and he can make you well, 00:25:25.539 --> 00:25:26.759 if you would but listen 00:25:26.759 --> 00:25:28.240 to his word. 00:25:28.240 --> 00:25:32.220 This is good news for us, 00:25:32.400 --> 00:25:32.640 church. 00:25:32.759 --> 00:25:33.299 Do you know why? 00:25:34.579 --> 00:25:36.339 It's because Christ Jesus 00:25:36.339 --> 00:25:38.240 is still speaking. 00:25:40.400 --> 00:25:40.920 Today, 00:25:41.460 --> 00:25:43.420 if you will only listen 00:25:43.420 --> 00:25:45.000 to the words of Christ 00:25:45.000 --> 00:25:45.819 and believe, 00:25:46.120 --> 00:25:47.140 then you too 00:25:47.140 --> 00:25:49.480 will be made well. 00:25:50.859 --> 00:25:51.640 Do you see the power 00:25:51.640 --> 00:25:52.519 of the word of Jesus 00:25:52.519 --> 00:25:54.220 here in this passage? 00:25:55.740 --> 00:25:57.579 Time was no issue for Jesus. 00:25:57.579 --> 00:25:59.179 One man was desperate, 00:25:59.460 --> 00:25:59.839 urgent. 00:25:59.980 --> 00:26:01.759 My son is dying right now. 00:26:01.839 --> 00:26:03.220 Will you come right now? 00:26:03.279 --> 00:26:04.599 Stop talking about anything else. 00:26:04.659 --> 00:26:05.179 You've got to come. 00:26:05.240 --> 00:26:05.879 You've got to heal him. 00:26:06.279 --> 00:26:07.399 The other man had suffered 00:26:07.399 --> 00:26:09.419 for 38 years. 00:26:10.059 --> 00:26:10.939 Had given up hope 00:26:10.939 --> 00:26:12.519 of ever being made well. 00:26:12.799 --> 00:26:13.379 But you know what? 00:26:13.419 --> 00:26:14.220 The word of Christ 00:26:14.220 --> 00:26:15.419 was enough for them both. 00:26:17.299 --> 00:26:17.639 Friend, 00:26:17.740 --> 00:26:18.939 you may have lived 00:26:18.939 --> 00:26:20.000 in the curse of sin 00:26:20.000 --> 00:26:20.740 for 30, 00:26:20.980 --> 00:26:21.299 40, 00:26:21.579 --> 00:26:21.960 50, 00:26:22.220 --> 00:26:23.099 60 years, 00:26:23.179 --> 00:26:24.119 but if you would listen 00:26:24.119 --> 00:26:25.220 to the word of Christ 00:26:25.220 --> 00:26:26.559 today and believe, 00:26:26.559 --> 00:26:29.839 you too will be made well. 00:26:31.759 --> 00:26:33.200 Distance was no issue 00:26:33.200 --> 00:26:34.419 for the word of Christ. 00:26:34.559 --> 00:26:35.519 It's amazing to me 00:26:35.519 --> 00:26:36.779 that this man's son 00:26:36.779 --> 00:26:37.639 was 15, 00:26:37.779 --> 00:26:38.759 20 miles away 00:26:38.759 --> 00:26:39.539 in Capernaum, 00:26:39.859 --> 00:26:41.440 but Jesus didn't have to walk. 00:26:41.519 --> 00:26:42.220 He didn't have to go 00:26:42.220 --> 00:26:43.279 touch the son. 00:26:43.359 --> 00:26:43.960 He didn't have to go 00:26:43.960 --> 00:26:44.960 be in his presence. 00:26:45.059 --> 00:26:46.319 He didn't have to see him, 00:26:46.519 --> 00:26:48.460 and yet he was powerful enough 00:26:48.460 --> 00:26:49.720 to save him 00:26:49.720 --> 00:26:50.879 from death 00:26:50.879 --> 00:26:52.700 simply by the power 00:26:52.700 --> 00:26:54.480 of his word. 00:26:54.740 --> 00:26:55.819 Distance was not a problem. 00:26:56.559 --> 00:26:58.379 And it's no problem today. 00:26:59.599 --> 00:27:01.139 You may not see 00:27:01.139 --> 00:27:02.159 Jesus Christ 00:27:02.159 --> 00:27:03.099 here physically 00:27:03.099 --> 00:27:03.899 among us 00:27:03.899 --> 00:27:04.559 right now, 00:27:04.639 --> 00:27:05.859 but do you hear 00:27:05.859 --> 00:27:06.700 his voice? 00:27:08.379 --> 00:27:09.460 He promises 00:27:09.460 --> 00:27:10.319 his disciples 00:27:10.319 --> 00:27:11.619 in John chapter 11, 00:27:11.980 --> 00:27:13.379 everyone who lives 00:27:13.379 --> 00:27:14.599 and believes in me 00:27:14.599 --> 00:27:16.440 shall never die. 00:27:16.839 --> 00:27:18.299 Do you believe 00:27:18.299 --> 00:27:19.159 this? 00:27:19.160 --> 00:27:21.700 Christians 00:27:21.700 --> 00:27:24.160 are those who, 00:27:24.380 --> 00:27:25.900 by the grace of God, 00:27:25.980 --> 00:27:26.880 have heard 00:27:26.880 --> 00:27:27.700 and believed 00:27:27.700 --> 00:27:29.700 the life-giving word 00:27:30.360 --> 00:27:31.220 of Christ. 00:27:32.560 --> 00:27:33.120 And Christians 00:27:33.120 --> 00:27:33.860 are those who, 00:27:34.080 --> 00:27:35.100 by the grace of God, 00:27:35.200 --> 00:27:37.000 now go as ambassadors 00:27:37.000 --> 00:27:37.900 of Christ 00:27:37.900 --> 00:27:38.880 and speak 00:27:38.880 --> 00:27:40.500 that life-giving word 00:27:40.500 --> 00:27:41.840 to a broken 00:27:41.840 --> 00:27:43.300 and dying world. 00:27:43.299 --> 00:27:45.579 church, 00:27:45.659 --> 00:27:46.480 there is hope 00:27:46.480 --> 00:27:47.299 for us 00:27:47.299 --> 00:27:49.139 in our brokenness. 00:27:49.339 --> 00:27:50.000 These signs 00:27:50.000 --> 00:27:50.879 are meant 00:27:50.879 --> 00:27:51.960 to teach us 00:27:51.960 --> 00:27:53.299 that Christ Jesus 00:27:53.299 --> 00:27:54.220 is the answer 00:27:54.220 --> 00:27:55.259 to all 00:27:55.259 --> 00:27:56.700 of the brokenness 00:27:56.700 --> 00:27:57.819 of sin. 00:27:59.599 --> 00:28:00.399 Now, 00:28:00.839 --> 00:28:03.379 if I stopped 00:28:03.379 --> 00:28:03.859 there, 00:28:04.639 --> 00:28:05.919 you might make 00:28:05.919 --> 00:28:07.240 some wrong conclusions, 00:28:07.579 --> 00:28:08.259 and so I want 00:28:08.259 --> 00:28:09.440 to caution you 00:28:09.440 --> 00:28:11.220 before we close. 00:28:11.220 --> 00:28:13.200 these were 00:28:13.200 --> 00:28:15.220 incredible miracles. 00:28:15.400 --> 00:28:16.140 The official son 00:28:16.140 --> 00:28:17.059 was made well, 00:28:17.160 --> 00:28:17.920 the invalid man 00:28:17.920 --> 00:28:18.799 was made well, 00:28:18.880 --> 00:28:19.700 but we need to recognize 00:28:19.700 --> 00:28:20.299 that these are 00:28:20.299 --> 00:28:22.480 extraordinary events. 00:28:22.640 --> 00:28:23.519 It would be wrong 00:28:23.519 --> 00:28:24.940 to take these healings 00:28:24.940 --> 00:28:25.960 as a prescription 00:28:25.960 --> 00:28:28.160 for your healing 00:28:28.160 --> 00:28:29.160 right now. 00:28:30.200 --> 00:28:30.920 As if, 00:28:30.980 --> 00:28:31.740 if you want 00:28:31.740 --> 00:28:32.660 to be made well, 00:28:32.720 --> 00:28:33.059 if you want 00:28:33.059 --> 00:28:33.660 to feel better, 00:28:33.740 --> 00:28:34.539 just believe in Jesus. 00:28:35.440 --> 00:28:36.779 Just pray the right words, 00:28:36.880 --> 00:28:37.819 just have enough faith. 00:28:37.880 --> 00:28:38.140 If you want 00:28:38.140 --> 00:28:38.680 to be healed, 00:28:38.759 --> 00:28:39.039 if you want 00:28:39.039 --> 00:28:39.700 to walk right 00:28:39.700 --> 00:28:40.420 and think right 00:28:40.420 --> 00:28:41.279 and feel young again, 00:28:41.340 --> 00:28:42.400 just have enough faith, 00:28:42.680 --> 00:28:44.039 and it will happen, 00:28:44.220 --> 00:28:45.440 that is not 00:28:45.440 --> 00:28:46.779 what is being said here. 00:28:48.039 --> 00:28:48.860 Can Jesus 00:28:48.860 --> 00:28:49.759 heal the sick 00:28:49.759 --> 00:28:50.640 today still? 00:28:51.400 --> 00:28:51.920 Absolutely, 00:28:52.120 --> 00:28:52.460 he can. 00:28:53.300 --> 00:28:54.320 We've seen it happen. 00:28:55.279 --> 00:28:56.060 And we pray, 00:28:56.620 --> 00:28:57.240 we trust 00:28:57.240 --> 00:28:58.360 the wisdom of God, 00:28:58.440 --> 00:28:58.800 we trust 00:28:58.800 --> 00:28:59.400 the sovereignty 00:28:59.400 --> 00:29:00.000 of God, 00:29:00.100 --> 00:29:01.420 we pray asking 00:29:01.420 --> 00:29:02.000 the Lord 00:29:02.000 --> 00:29:02.860 to heal us 00:29:02.860 --> 00:29:03.800 when we're sick 00:29:03.800 --> 00:29:04.440 or broken, 00:29:04.560 --> 00:29:05.340 when our loved ones 00:29:05.340 --> 00:29:06.320 are sick, 00:29:06.319 --> 00:29:07.579 but we do so 00:29:07.579 --> 00:29:08.259 knowing that 00:29:08.259 --> 00:29:08.759 we have 00:29:08.759 --> 00:29:10.439 no promise 00:29:10.439 --> 00:29:11.339 of this type 00:29:11.339 --> 00:29:11.919 of healing 00:29:11.919 --> 00:29:13.359 on this side 00:29:13.359 --> 00:29:14.240 of eternity. 00:29:15.319 --> 00:29:16.359 Until sin 00:29:16.359 --> 00:29:17.419 is done away with 00:29:17.419 --> 00:29:18.039 for good, 00:29:18.159 --> 00:29:19.480 we will feel 00:29:19.480 --> 00:29:21.000 its consequences. 00:29:22.439 --> 00:29:22.759 And church, 00:29:22.839 --> 00:29:23.259 our hope 00:29:23.259 --> 00:29:24.099 is not for 00:29:24.099 --> 00:29:25.759 partial healing 00:29:25.759 --> 00:29:26.759 here in the present, 00:29:26.939 --> 00:29:28.679 but for total healing 00:29:28.679 --> 00:29:29.799 in eternity. 00:29:31.259 --> 00:29:32.179 You may have heard, 00:29:32.259 --> 00:29:32.819 you may be familiar 00:29:32.819 --> 00:29:34.220 with what's called 00:29:34.220 --> 00:29:35.259 word of faith 00:29:35.259 --> 00:29:36.180 theology. 00:29:37.160 --> 00:29:37.940 Have you heard of this? 00:29:38.480 --> 00:29:39.720 Word of faith theology 00:29:39.720 --> 00:29:40.440 is the belief 00:29:40.440 --> 00:29:41.539 that because 00:29:41.539 --> 00:29:42.619 Jesus has defeated 00:29:42.619 --> 00:29:43.559 sin and death, 00:29:43.799 --> 00:29:44.759 we agree with that, 00:29:45.240 --> 00:29:46.339 because Jesus has 00:29:46.339 --> 00:29:47.420 defeated sin and death, 00:29:47.500 --> 00:29:48.319 because he's conquered 00:29:48.319 --> 00:29:49.019 our enemies, 00:29:49.400 --> 00:29:50.960 we have a right 00:29:50.960 --> 00:29:51.920 to health, 00:29:52.519 --> 00:29:54.339 a right to wealth, 00:29:54.579 --> 00:29:56.039 a right to power 00:29:56.039 --> 00:29:56.900 and prosperity, 00:29:57.259 --> 00:29:58.319 a right to physical 00:29:58.319 --> 00:29:59.519 and mental well-being, 00:29:59.700 --> 00:30:00.579 a healthy marriage, 00:30:00.900 --> 00:30:01.819 a happy life, 00:30:01.879 --> 00:30:02.359 our pockets 00:30:02.359 --> 00:30:03.119 should be full, 00:30:03.220 --> 00:30:04.079 we should be happy, 00:30:04.200 --> 00:30:04.460 healthy, 00:30:04.619 --> 00:30:04.900 wealthy, 00:30:04.900 --> 00:30:06.680 right now. 00:30:06.680 --> 00:30:08.200 If we just believe it 00:30:08.200 --> 00:30:08.840 and name it 00:30:08.840 --> 00:30:09.660 in the name of Jesus, 00:30:09.780 --> 00:30:10.640 it is ours 00:30:10.640 --> 00:30:11.420 if we have it, 00:30:11.720 --> 00:30:13.540 if we have enough faith. 00:30:15.120 --> 00:30:16.180 This type of teaching 00:30:16.180 --> 00:30:16.580 would have been 00:30:16.580 --> 00:30:17.759 laughed out of the room 00:30:17.759 --> 00:30:18.600 in the early church. 00:30:20.900 --> 00:30:22.680 Every apostle of Christ, 00:30:22.759 --> 00:30:23.920 with the exception of John, 00:30:24.300 --> 00:30:25.680 every apostle of Christ 00:30:25.680 --> 00:30:27.800 was killed brutally 00:30:27.800 --> 00:30:28.740 for the faith. 00:30:28.840 --> 00:30:29.780 Just ten seconds 00:30:29.780 --> 00:30:30.600 of church history 00:30:30.600 --> 00:30:32.580 will crumble this teaching 00:30:32.579 --> 00:30:33.179 to the ground. 00:30:35.240 --> 00:30:36.839 Here's what Jesus told us. 00:30:38.639 --> 00:30:39.699 In this world, 00:30:39.819 --> 00:30:40.859 you will face trouble, 00:30:41.359 --> 00:30:43.039 but take heart. 00:30:43.859 --> 00:30:45.099 I have overcome 00:30:45.099 --> 00:30:46.159 the world. 00:30:47.359 --> 00:30:47.839 See, 00:30:47.919 --> 00:30:48.919 these signs 00:30:48.919 --> 00:30:50.439 are not a prescription 00:30:50.439 --> 00:30:51.960 for how to be made 00:30:51.960 --> 00:30:52.819 well now. 00:30:52.919 --> 00:30:54.059 They are a pointer 00:30:54.059 --> 00:30:56.359 for how we will be made 00:30:56.359 --> 00:30:56.899 forever. 00:30:56.900 --> 00:30:59.940 They are a pointer 00:30:59.940 --> 00:31:02.680 to a greater promise 00:31:02.680 --> 00:31:04.300 that Christ has come 00:31:04.300 --> 00:31:05.160 to fulfill 00:31:05.160 --> 00:31:07.080 that any who know Jesus, 00:31:08.019 --> 00:31:09.420 that any who listen 00:31:09.420 --> 00:31:10.259 to His word 00:31:10.259 --> 00:31:11.080 and trust Him 00:31:11.080 --> 00:31:11.900 as the Messiah 00:31:11.900 --> 00:31:13.840 because He has come 00:31:13.840 --> 00:31:15.060 will one day 00:31:15.060 --> 00:31:17.259 totally be renewed 00:31:17.259 --> 00:31:19.040 from the curse of sin. 00:31:19.039 --> 00:31:21.519 Jesus Christ, 00:31:21.859 --> 00:31:23.539 this is the gospel church, 00:31:24.299 --> 00:31:25.279 Jesus Christ 00:31:25.279 --> 00:31:27.059 entered into 00:31:27.059 --> 00:31:28.440 our suffering. 00:31:29.579 --> 00:31:30.379 He suffered 00:31:30.379 --> 00:31:31.899 in our place. 00:31:32.000 --> 00:31:32.940 If you ever feel alone 00:31:32.940 --> 00:31:33.700 in your suffering, 00:31:33.799 --> 00:31:34.779 would you look to Christ? 00:31:34.899 --> 00:31:36.279 He knows your suffering 00:31:36.279 --> 00:31:36.940 intimately. 00:31:37.220 --> 00:31:37.740 He suffered 00:31:37.740 --> 00:31:39.200 in our place. 00:31:39.279 --> 00:31:40.680 He knows our pain. 00:31:41.099 --> 00:31:41.960 Although He lived 00:31:41.960 --> 00:31:42.599 innocently 00:31:42.599 --> 00:31:44.119 and did not deserve death, 00:31:44.200 --> 00:31:45.559 they crucified Him. 00:31:45.659 --> 00:31:46.339 He died 00:31:46.339 --> 00:31:47.159 in the place 00:31:47.160 --> 00:31:47.860 of sinners. 00:31:48.519 --> 00:31:49.980 But we praise God 00:31:49.980 --> 00:31:50.600 that death 00:31:50.600 --> 00:31:51.920 could not hold Him. 00:31:53.000 --> 00:31:53.880 He rose 00:31:53.880 --> 00:31:55.279 from the grave 00:31:55.279 --> 00:31:56.800 to conquer sin, 00:31:57.400 --> 00:31:59.360 to defeat death, 00:31:59.759 --> 00:32:00.759 to crush 00:32:00.759 --> 00:32:01.540 the power 00:32:01.540 --> 00:32:02.360 of the enemy, 00:32:02.500 --> 00:32:03.500 to put an end 00:32:03.500 --> 00:32:04.900 to the brokenness 00:32:04.900 --> 00:32:05.440 of sin, 00:32:05.519 --> 00:32:07.040 to any who would listen 00:32:07.040 --> 00:32:07.980 and believe 00:32:07.980 --> 00:32:08.900 the words 00:32:08.900 --> 00:32:09.920 of Christ. 00:32:10.300 --> 00:32:10.940 And one day 00:32:10.940 --> 00:32:11.840 He will come again. 00:32:12.940 --> 00:32:13.940 He will finally 00:32:13.940 --> 00:32:15.140 put an end 00:32:15.140 --> 00:32:16.220 to the dreadful curse 00:32:16.220 --> 00:32:16.759 of sin. 00:32:17.160 --> 00:32:17.580 Forever. 00:32:18.779 --> 00:32:19.220 Church, 00:32:19.380 --> 00:32:21.500 this is our hope. 00:32:23.400 --> 00:32:24.480 There's a man 00:32:24.480 --> 00:32:26.400 who I just love, 00:32:26.519 --> 00:32:27.240 who I had the privilege 00:32:27.240 --> 00:32:27.860 to pastor, 00:32:28.120 --> 00:32:30.100 who has all sorts 00:32:30.100 --> 00:32:31.140 of medical issues, 00:32:31.279 --> 00:32:32.360 issues with his legs, 00:32:32.519 --> 00:32:33.560 issues with his eyes, 00:32:33.800 --> 00:32:34.480 you name it, 00:32:34.560 --> 00:32:35.160 he's got it. 00:32:35.880 --> 00:32:36.980 And he would tell me, 00:32:37.519 --> 00:32:37.820 Pastor, 00:32:37.940 --> 00:32:39.259 I just want to have 00:32:39.259 --> 00:32:40.420 one day 00:32:40.420 --> 00:32:41.860 where I feel well 00:32:41.860 --> 00:32:42.680 before I die 00:32:42.680 --> 00:32:43.360 or before Jesus 00:32:43.360 --> 00:32:44.000 comes back. 00:32:44.000 --> 00:32:45.799 I just want to have 00:32:45.799 --> 00:32:46.240 one day 00:32:46.240 --> 00:32:46.779 where I feel 00:32:46.779 --> 00:32:48.119 totally well. 00:32:49.660 --> 00:32:50.359 And every time 00:32:50.359 --> 00:32:51.460 I would tell him, 00:32:51.519 --> 00:32:51.680 you know, 00:32:51.740 --> 00:32:52.440 the honest truth 00:32:52.440 --> 00:32:53.660 is that you may 00:32:53.660 --> 00:32:54.819 never feel well 00:32:54.819 --> 00:32:56.539 totally again 00:32:56.539 --> 00:32:57.579 in this life. 00:32:57.700 --> 00:32:58.380 God may choose 00:32:58.380 --> 00:32:59.019 to heal you, 00:32:59.140 --> 00:33:00.180 God may not. 00:33:00.259 --> 00:33:00.720 And we pray 00:33:00.720 --> 00:33:01.359 that He does, 00:33:01.420 --> 00:33:02.440 we'll trust in His wisdom, 00:33:02.539 --> 00:33:03.180 we will pray 00:33:03.180 --> 00:33:04.279 for your healing, 00:33:04.420 --> 00:33:05.299 but know this, 00:33:05.299 --> 00:33:07.460 when you die 00:33:07.460 --> 00:33:09.159 or when Christ returns, 00:33:10.059 --> 00:33:12.099 you will feel more alive 00:33:12.099 --> 00:33:13.700 than you have ever felt. 00:33:16.579 --> 00:33:17.779 We have to view 00:33:17.779 --> 00:33:20.480 our temporary suffering 00:33:20.480 --> 00:33:22.000 in light of eternity, 00:33:22.399 --> 00:33:22.740 church. 00:33:24.399 --> 00:33:25.720 The day is coming, 00:33:25.839 --> 00:33:26.919 we are promised 00:33:26.919 --> 00:33:28.839 when the dwelling place 00:33:28.839 --> 00:33:30.259 of God will be with man. 00:33:31.279 --> 00:33:32.559 He will dwell with them 00:33:32.559 --> 00:33:34.139 and they will be His people 00:33:34.140 --> 00:33:34.960 and God Himself 00:33:34.960 --> 00:33:36.440 will be with them 00:33:36.440 --> 00:33:37.500 as their God. 00:33:37.580 --> 00:33:38.480 He will wipe away 00:33:38.480 --> 00:33:39.360 every tear 00:33:39.360 --> 00:33:40.320 from their eyes 00:33:40.320 --> 00:33:41.460 and death 00:33:41.460 --> 00:33:42.580 shall be no more. 00:33:43.520 --> 00:33:44.440 Neither shall there be 00:33:44.440 --> 00:33:45.000 mourning 00:33:45.000 --> 00:33:46.360 nor crying 00:33:46.360 --> 00:33:47.040 nor pain 00:33:47.040 --> 00:33:47.640 anymore 00:33:47.640 --> 00:33:48.520 for the former 00:33:48.520 --> 00:33:50.140 things have passed 00:33:50.140 --> 00:33:51.100 away. 00:33:51.340 --> 00:33:51.680 Church, 00:33:51.759 --> 00:33:53.380 this is our hope. 00:33:54.520 --> 00:33:55.660 This is why 00:33:55.660 --> 00:33:56.259 Christ 00:33:56.259 --> 00:33:57.460 has come 00:33:57.460 --> 00:33:58.880 to end suffering, 00:33:59.520 --> 00:34:01.140 to end death, 00:34:01.759 --> 00:34:02.140 to restore 00:34:02.140 --> 00:34:03.700 restore honor 00:34:03.700 --> 00:34:05.300 to the praise 00:34:05.300 --> 00:34:06.100 and glory 00:34:06.100 --> 00:34:07.200 of God. 00:34:08.200 --> 00:34:09.619 We have seen 00:34:09.619 --> 00:34:10.519 the signs, 00:34:10.740 --> 00:34:11.099 church. 00:34:12.039 --> 00:34:13.579 How will we respond? 00:34:14.940 --> 00:34:15.460 Let's pray. 00:34:18.960 --> 00:34:19.900 Lord Jesus, 00:34:20.019 --> 00:34:20.619 we thank You, 00:34:20.680 --> 00:34:21.380 we praise You 00:34:21.380 --> 00:34:22.180 for Your victory 00:34:22.180 --> 00:34:23.019 over the grave 00:34:23.019 --> 00:34:24.720 that promises 00:34:24.720 --> 00:34:25.860 any who know You 00:34:25.860 --> 00:34:27.119 victory over sin, 00:34:27.280 --> 00:34:27.680 suffering, 00:34:27.860 --> 00:34:28.200 death. 00:34:28.199 --> 00:34:30.960 we pray now, 00:34:31.299 --> 00:34:31.559 Lord, 00:34:31.659 --> 00:34:32.879 that as we live 00:34:32.879 --> 00:34:33.299 in a world 00:34:33.299 --> 00:34:34.259 that is affected 00:34:34.259 --> 00:34:34.879 and broken 00:34:34.879 --> 00:34:35.460 by the curse 00:34:35.460 --> 00:34:35.919 of sin, 00:34:36.019 --> 00:34:37.239 that we would put 00:34:37.239 --> 00:34:38.199 our hope ultimately 00:34:38.199 --> 00:34:39.119 and only in You 00:34:39.119 --> 00:34:40.539 and in Your promise 00:34:40.539 --> 00:34:41.259 that You will 00:34:41.259 --> 00:34:43.099 restore all things. 00:34:43.980 --> 00:34:44.679 We praise You, 00:34:44.879 --> 00:34:45.059 Father, 00:34:45.179 --> 00:34:45.879 for the work 00:34:45.879 --> 00:34:46.439 that You're doing 00:34:46.439 --> 00:34:47.319 and that You have done. 00:34:47.539 --> 00:34:48.679 We pray this in Christ's name. 00:34:49.779 --> 00:34:50.079 Amen. 00:34:50.079 --> 00:34:50.259 Amen. 00:34:50.259 --> 00:34:50.279 Amen. 00:34:50.279 --> 00:34:50.299 Amen. 00:34:50.299 --> 00:34:50.319 Amen. 00:34:50.319 --> 00:34:50.339 Amen. 00:34:50.339 --> 00:34:50.379 Amen. 00:34:50.379 --> 00:34:50.419 Amen. 00:34:50.419 --> 00:34:52.299 Amen. 00:34:52.299 --> 00:34:52.339 Amen. 00:34:52.339 --> 00:34:52.379 Amen. 00:34:52.379 --> 00:34:52.419 Amen. 00:34:52.419 --> 00:34:54.339 Amen. 00:34:54.339 --> 00:34:54.379 Amen. 00:34:54.379 --> 00:34:54.419 Amen. 00:34:54.419 --> 00:34:56.379 Amen. 00:34:56.379 --> 00:34:56.419 Amen. 00:34:56.419 --> 00:34:58.179 Amen.