This morning, I have been faced with the question, “Do you want to get well?”

This morning I am reading John 5. It is the account of when Jesus went to the pool near the Sheep Gate called Bethsada. There is a man there who was an “invalid” and had been there for 38 years. 

On this day, Jesus walked up to him and asked him, “Do you want to get well?” (vs 6). Here is the passage in John 5:6-9a NIV:

When Jesus saw him lying there and learned that he had been in this condition for a long time, he asked him, “Do you want to get well?”

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

Then Jesus said to him, “Get up! Pick up your mat and walk.” At once the man was cured; he picked up his mat and walked.

I find this account very interesting just after reading John 5:48 NIV where Jesus is quoted in saying to “a certain royal official,

“Unless you people see miraculous signs and wonders”, Jesus told him, “you will never believe.”

Then this is where the conversation goes in verses 49-50:

The royal official said, “Sir, come down before my child dies.”

Jesus replied, “You may go. Your son will live.”

On the way back home, the father realizes that his son is not only alive but that he became well at the very moment that Jesus told him, “You may go. Your son will live.”

Do you want to know why we don’t see miracles? We don’t see miracles, because we aren’t looking. Just imagine what would have taken place if the invalid had told Jesus (a man he didn’t know) that his condition could not be healed. What if this man told Jesus to let him be as a result of bitterness from no one helping him into the pool – the pool that was known as a place where healings took place when stirred.

Listen to me very carefully. You do not need a man, a woman, a church, a pastor, or any other human being for you to receive the healing touch of Jesus. You can receive healing where you are right now. Are you a born again believer in need of nourishment for your soul and even for your body? If you are, you can ask Jesus directly for healing.

Some things to think about

How many times have we been healed, but then we refuse to pick up our mat and walk? As a result, our healing never was completed as a lack of faith on our part. That man would never walk unless he actually got up. This would take effort, not only to believe, but also to just get up. I imagine he might have felt unbalanced. I imagine he might think he would fall and hurt himself if he tried.

Why do you think Jesus told him to get up, take his mat, and walk? Why didn’t Jesus just tell him to relax? After all, it must have been traumatic for so many people to deny him access to healing. People in his condition were often looked down upon somewhat in the same way some look down upon the homeless.

Do you believe that miracles don’t happen simply because you haven’t seen one? I’m going to give you some insight into this. Often times, a miracle takes place in our lives, and because we don’t believe, we unconsciously refuse the healing all because we haven’t seen it before. The Israelites were taught about healing in the synagogues. They know from all the accounts of Moses, especially when they were delivered from Egypt, that God does miraculous things. It had been told throughout the generations of what God did while their people fled the slavery of Pharoah.

Matthew 18:2-4 NIV tells us:

He (Jesus) called a little child and had him stand among them. And he said, “I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.

The trouble is that our lives become so focused on the things of the world that not only do we fail to believe that God allows miracles, we also shut Jesus out in this department. We end up blocking our own blessings.

There are quite a few accounts of Jesus talking about belief. In the account mentioned in John 5, this man sat there on his mat for 38 years waiting for someone to come and let him get into the stirred waters of a healing pool.

My question for you

So, my question for you is this:

Do you want to be healed?

Some like their current situation, even though, to some of us, this might not make sense. Getting healed means that you might have to get up and walk. And what Jesus has said to some that were healed, “and sin no more”.

What would you be willing to do? What would you do when Jesus tells you to get up, walk, and follow him?

Let me encourage you to read more about the healing accounts of Jesus. You will find them in Matthew, Mark, Luke and John of the New Testament.

Healing is available to us every day, and it comes in many forms. For me this morning, my healing came for my broken heart. My heart was experiencing alot of brokenness as I watch what is taking place in my country.

To my countrymen, please know that you are being prayed for, and I know that Jesus hears the yearns of the broken hearted. You may be going through alot, but you must deny Satan access into these situations. Close the door to each one, and ask Jesus to heal those areas.

Rise up, my people, and defeat the schemes of the devil in the faith of the Lord Jesus Christ. Satan has no power over anything except what you allow. Tell him that no longer is he welcome, and take our country back, in Jesus name. Lean on Jesus, and in our child-like faith, we will move mountains. And remember to proclaim this: JESUS IS KING!

Go forth and be blessed my friends. My prayers abound in the Lord Jesus Christ for you. You are more than conquerors in the Lord Jesus!