WHAT DOES THE LORD SEE WHEN
HE LOOKS AT ME?
John 5:1-19
V:1 Sometime later, Jesus went up to Jerusalem for a feast of the Jews.
2 Now there is in Jerusalem near the Sheep Gate a pool, which in Aramaic is
called Bethesda and which is surrounded by five covered colonnades. 3 Here a
great number of disabled people used to lie — the blind, the lame, the
paralyzed. 5 One who was there had been
an invalid for thirty-eight years. 6 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?"
7 "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."
8 Then Jesus said to him, "Get up! Pick up your mat and
walk." 9 At once the man was cured;
he picked up his mat and walked.
The day on which this took place was a Sabbath, 10 and so the Jews said
to the man who had been healed, "It is the Sabbath; the law forbids you to
carry your mat."
11 But he replied, "The man who made me well said to me, 'Pick up
your mat and walk.'"
12 So they asked him, "Who is this fellow who told you to pick it
up and walk?"
13 The man who was healed had no idea who it was, for Jesus had slipped
away into the crowd that was there.
14 Later Jesus found him at the temple and said to him, "See, you
are well again. Stop sinning or something worse may happen to you." 15 The man went away and told the Jews that
it was Jesus who had made him well.
16 So, because Jesus was doing these things on the Sabbath, the Jews
persecuted him. 17 Jesus said to them, "My Father is always at his work to
this very day, and I, too, am working."
18 For this reason the Jews tried all the harder to kill him; not only
was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making
himself equal with God.
We are all have problems and issues we deal with. We all need help sometimes.
The good thing about life is God puts people in our lives to help us
from time to time.
When I look back over my life, I can see parents, aunts and uncles, and
friends who have
helped me.
God had a way of putting the right people in my life at the right time
for the right reasons.
Everyone that God placed in my life has played a part in my growth and
development. And
every trial and tribulation have been to my benefit.
In this text we see a man that had been an invalid for 38 years. God
put people in his life
who religiously took him to the pool when the waters were stirred up by
an angel.
He was waiting for his chance to get in the water first to be healed.
Only the first one in the
water got healed.
But the invalid man’s people didn't stay around for the waters to be
stirred. There is only so much a person can do for you. You need a Jesus who
will be there when you need Him.
The name of the pool was called Bethesda, which means House of Mercy
JESUS COMES BY HIS MERCY TO GIVE US MERCY
What Does Jesus see in you? This
text gives us an insight into what Jesus sees when He looks at you
1. He sees his child, the product of His creation.
You were made in His image
and likeness
He sees a person He cares
for.
2. He sees you individually.
There were a large number of
sick people at the pool.
Jesus saw this man.
Jesus chose you. You did not
choose Him.
Jesus shows up just to see
you.
3. Jesus saw His situation.
Out of all the situations at
the pool, the Lord saw the invalid man’s situation.
Jesus takes time to know
you.
Jesus knows what you have been
going through.
He knows how long you have been
suffering, 38 years in this case.
He knows who has been with
you doing your suffering.
4. Jesus sees you as the one He wants to have a conversation with.
Jesus came to the pool to
talk specifically to this man.
Jesus wanted to hear his
story from his mouth.
The Lord wants to hear from
you.
Prayer is your time to talk
to Jesus.
5. Jesus sees your determination
The man had come to the pool
for 38 years.
He was determined to get in
the pool.
He was determined to be
healed.
Jesus rewards our
determination.
6. Jesus saw His desire for restoration.
a. Somewhere along the way we
may have gotten away from what God wants for us.
b. God wants us restored to
His image and His likeness.
7. God knows your need for patience.
We must learn to wait on the
Lord.
God is not on your
schedule. The man waited for 38 years.
8. God see you as worthy of testing.
God designed your trials, and
your sufferings to bring you to a point to accept Him as your
savior.
James 1:2-4
My brethren, count it all joy
when ye fall into divers temptations;
Knowing this, that the trying
of your faith worketh patience.
But let patience have her perfect work, that
ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.
9. God knows the quality of your help.
God puts people in your life
to help you get to a particular place.
Those that brought the
invalid man to the pool had done their job.
Psalms 30:10
Hear, O Lord, and be merciful
to me; O Lord, be my help."
10. God sees you as worthy of healing
11. God sees you as worthy of a miracle before you praise Him.
Can you count the number
of miracles GOD performed in your life
today that you didn't give
Him praise?
12. God sees your ignorance of Him.
God allowed the Jews to see
him carrying his mat to draw the previously invalid man's
attention to who was
responsible for his cure.
We got to be careful not to
take anything in life for granted.
The man did not think to
ask Jesus who he was.
The man gave no thanks to
Jesus for healing him.
The man gave no praise to
Jesus for being Lord.
V:14 Later Jesus found him at the temple and said to him, "See,
you are well again. Stop sinning or something worse may happen to
you." 15 The man went away and told
the Jews that it was Jesus who had made him well.
I can imagine the man saying; O well I can walk, I will go by the
temple but I see no
Need to change.
13. God sees your sin
Jesus met the previously
invalid man in the temple with sin in his heart.
The man was the cause of
his condition.
14. Jesus sees your need for mercy and gives it freely
Jesus sees your need for
repentance
The Word gives us
directions on what to do when we sin.
1 John 1:9-10
If we confess our sins, he is faithful
and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all
unrighteousness. 10 If
we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has
no place in our lives.
The Word reminds us of the
consequences of sin.
Romans 6:12-14
Therefore, do not let sin reign in your
mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. 13 Do not offer
parts
of your body to sin, as instruments of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves
to God, as
those who have been brought from death to
life; and offer the parts of your body to him as
instruments of righteousness.
15. God sees your need for salvation.
The man did not know Jesus.
He came to the pool for
the power in the pool.
He was an eyewitness to
many who had been healed
He had faith in the
stirring of the water.
He met Jesus who healed him
but did not ask His name or say thanks
16. Jesus sees your need for compassion and tolerance.
The man needed help that no
one could give him but Jesus.
The man failed to say thank
you.
The man failed to praise
Jesus or the Father.
From the text, we do not
find that he accepted Jesus as his savior.
In my opinion, he was
thoughtless and hardheaded.
He got healed but continued
to sin.
I don’t know about you, but he
acted like me.
When Jesus sees you, He sees
a work in progress.
17. When God sees you, He sees
the love of His creation
When God sees you, He
sees the purpose of His creation
When God sees you, He
sees the mercy of His creation
When God sees you, He
sees the grace of His creation
When God sees you, He
sees you in His heavenly home with Him.
When God sees you, He
sees the object of His Glory
When God sees you, He
sees your eternal never ending praise
When God sees you, He
sees His Joy
When God sees you, He
sees His Church, the bride of His Son
THANK GOD FOR A JESUS WHO SEES AND LOVES ME WITH MY FAULTS
Rev. M. Mitchell
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