We are in a
famine! There is a drought for living water! The enemies goal is to keep God’s creation from ever
experiencing the freedom that comes from drinking at the well of living water! Amos 8:11 says,
"The
days are coming," declares the Sovereign LORD, "when I will send a
famine through the land-- not a famine of food or a thirst for water, but a
famine of hearing the words of the LORD.”
We have a generation that is dehydrated, stuck in a dry
desert, thirsty for living water, but settling a mirage in the dessert called
self-satisfaction.
Did you
know that Jesus performed at least thirty-seven (37) known miracles, and nine (9) of them had to do
with water? So ¼ of all miracles were
tied to water…. JESUS LIKES WATER. Why?
Because
Jesus is our river...
John 7:38 says, “Whoever believes in me, as
Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them."
Jesus is our well... John
4:14 says, “But whoever drinks the water I give them will never
thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of
water welling up to eternal life.”
I want to share with you today the story of a man who
encountered Jesus at the well and found that the water he thought He was
searching and waiting for wasn't in the pool he laid near but was available for
Him that day through the true fountain of living water, Jesus. A man whose tomorrow became his today when
Jesus showed up! John 5:1-6, “Soon another Feast came around and Jesus was back in Jerusalem.
Near the Sheep Gate in Jerusalem there was a pool, in Hebrew called Bethesda,
with five alcoves. Hundreds of sick people—blind, crippled, paralyzed—were in
these alcoves. One man had been an invalid there for thirty-eight years. When
Jesus saw him stretched out by the pool and knew how long he had been there, he
said, “Do you want to get well?” I hear Jesus declaring to
the church, “Do you want to get
well?” Can
you imagine being so thirsty when you are only steps from the well of life, but
being willing to die in a pit called excuses? Aren’t you tired of excuses? Aren’t you tired of hearing them? Tired of maybe even making them. The man at the well that day had plenty of
excuses, but He had met the one person who could move past all the excuses and
ask, “Do you want to get well?” I HEAR a sound. It is the sound of those
that have waited on the sidelines, watching the church be distracted by the
moral code of the world – All the while our Savior is asking, “Do you want to
get well?” Then it is time to get to the well! I SEE the
longing. I see it in the eyes of a generation for hope
to be revealed, and the church must be the reflection in their pupil with its
hand extended – saying, “Do you want to get well?”
I FEEL the tug. A tug of the Holy Spirit saying – Quit
making excuses and climb to your feet and lead a revolution! DO YOU WANT TO
GET WELL?
John 5:6, When Jesus saw him stretched out by the pool and knew how long he had been there, he said, “Do you want to get well?” He was stuck only steps from the water, steps from his miracle, steps from his refreshing, but it may as well have been miles! His mindset of blaming others stood in the way of his miracle. It was everyone else fault that he couldn’t get in the water and be healed! Can you imagine? Each day they stared at the water! Each day they watched for the whirlpool! Days turned into weeks, and weeks turned into months and months to years! These people knew each other by name. They knew each other’s pain. They knew each other’s story. They were a fraternity of people waiting for a miracle!
Get out of my way I gotta get blessed! It was every man for himself! When the water started bubbling up, the people started diving in! When church becomes about helping others and not ourselves we will see miracles! That is why I love the four guys in Mark 2:1-5. Remember these guys, they busted a hole in the roof to lower the paralytic down to Jesus. It wasn’t about them! But at the pool of Bethesda, it was every man for himself. I imagine there was hair pulling, somebody probably kicked the other person’s walker…. This was mass hysteria….. They were either lethargic or alive it just depended who stirred the water! But in their waiting for the movement of the water, they missed who walked into their circumstance. I wonder how often God walks into our services, but we have never included him in the order of service. They were so busy waiting to get stirred up that they missed the one whom out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. (John 7:38) They were so desperate to be healed that they ignored the healer!
Waiting, I am
tired of waiting and thinking it must be tomorrow. I am tired of seeing people desperate for
more but fail to truly get free. So
often we feel like we must wait for the right moment but can I tell you, I feel
like it is time for the waiting to end, Jesus wants us to be free, He wants us
to be whole, He wants us to walk in the authority He gave us at the cross. He doesn't want us to wait until tomorrow for
the promises He has given to us, they are for us TODAY! It is time our tomorrow become our
today! The wait is over! He had waited
so long! His tomorrow was about to become his today! There is one place that will change
everything! One place that will restore your joy! One place that will
strengthen that which remains! One place
that will stir you to change your world!
One place that will renew your mind and transform your heart! That place is called the altar! I have come to tell you that this is your
moment! The water has been stirred! Get in the river of God! Do You Want to get
WELL?! Are you Stuck? Blaming? Waiting for the waters to be stirred? Your tomorrow can become your today.
