"Don't think that I will accuse you to the Father. There is one who accuses you, even Moses, on whom you have set your hope.
So John is now giving us another little scene in the ministry of Jesus. We remember that the gospel of John is selected pictures. In the nineteenth chapter of John he tells us that Jesus did many other things which are not recorded. But these were recorded that you might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God, and by believing have life in His name. So John is telling you that he's just selecting certain things out of the life and the ministry of Jesus to demonstrate to you the fact that He was the Messiah, the Son of the living God. That by your believing in Him you might have life in His name. When John closed his epistle he said there are so many things that could be written about Jesus. That I suppose if someone tried to write them all, all of the libraries in the world could not hold all that could be written about Him. Well, surely we are proving that today with a multitude of books that are being published concerning the Bible and concerning Jesus, and yet, we have not nearly exhausted all that could or perhaps should be said. This is another little insight. The pool of Bethesda, inside it said of the sheep gate, today it lies inside of what is known as the lion's gate, the sheep gate no longer exists in the walls of the city of Jerusalem. But inside the lion's gate, in their excavations they have found the pool of Bethesda where the five porches where Jesus ministered to this lame man.There were many people around there blind, lame and all, for a tradition had been developed about the pool. That whenever the waters began to move whoever was the first one into the water would be healed of whatever disease they had. So all of these people who where lame, blind, maimed, or whatever, would lie around this pool just waiting for the water to be troubled. Can you imagine what a pitiful sight that must've been? To see this pool of water with these five porches and all of these grotesque creatures lying around it just waiting for the water to be troubled and then the mad scramble and the blind person was, of course, was disadvantaged because he can only hear the rustling of people and then realize what must be going on and trying to get in, and everyone trying to get in first, and the first one in was healed of whatever disease he had. You say, "Well, how can you explain that, that the first one in could be healed?"We know there is tremendous power in faith. Jesus said if you can believe, all things are possible to him that believes. How many times Jesus said to people by faith has made you whole. Faith is a tremendous power. It can activate the work of God in your behalf. And people oftentimes need a point of contact for releasing their faith. Many times faith is rather passive. Our faith in God is often passive, but should not be. I'm not advocating this, I'm just making a statement of fact. But passive faith really doesn't do much. I believe that God can. I believe that God created the universe, so I know that God can do anything. I have the passive faith to believe that God could replace an amputated arm. I say the passive faith to believe that because I don't have the active faith to believe that. You say, "Well, do you believe that God created the world?" Sure. "Do you believe God can do anything?" Sure. Then if God can do anything, sure He can put a new arm upon a person who had his arm amputated. I believe He can. I don't believe He will. You see, that's the difference between the passive faith and an active faith. An active faith believes He will.Now many times we need some kind of a place, a point, an experience where we turn our faith from a passive faith which does little, to an active faith that will accomplish a lot. And oftentimes the point of contact is extremely valuable.Now with these people a point of contact have been developed to where, whenever the water became troubled they believed that the first one into the water would be healed of whatever disease or malady they had. And because they believed this to be so, the first one into the water, his faith was immediately activated and he believed God is going to heal me. And because he believed that God was going to heal him, he was healed. His faith became active.Much as the woman who in her heart said, "I know the moment I touched the hem of His garment, I would be made whole of this plague." And so she made her way through the crowd until she got close enough to reach out and touch the hem of His garment, and the moment she did, she released her faith. It became active and God's power ministered to her as the virtue went out from Jesus, because God responds to our faith. Your faith can be a hindrance or a blessing. What I believe is very important. If I believe that God can't or won't do a certain thing, then it usually follows that God doesn't. If I believe that God will do a certain thing, then it usually follows that God does.When I was a child, unfortunately, there was a lot of negative preaching. And many people became victim of the negative preaching. I heard many sermons against a lot of things. And one of the favorite subjects of attack by those ministers was smoking cigarettes. And I heard over and over as a child that if you smoke a cigarette, God will not, you cannot be a Christian, you cannot be a child of God and smoke a cigarette. And I heard this.Now there were many of my companions who also heard this teaching and this preaching and they believed what they heard. So that when they began to experiment and smoke cigarettes they believed, "Well, God can't save me. I'm a sinner because I smoke a cigarette, and I can't be saved as long as I smoked this cigarette." And because they believed that they could not be saved smoking a cigarette, it became true. They could not be saved, they could not believe that God could save them while they were bound by a cigarette habit. Because what you believe becomes the reality in that case. And unfortunately, many people have been destroyed through negative preaching.I had a man in Tucson who said, "Chuck, I would like to be a Christian. I would like to come to church, I would like to live for the Lord. I used to be the youth director in our church when I was growing up. And I was serving the Lord and I was happy and all and I would like to do it now, but my job gives me a lot of stress. And when I get home in the evening after a stressful day on the job I love to sit down and relax and have a can of beer. And so I can't be saved." I said, "Eddie, who told you that you can't have a can of beer?" I said, "That isn't the issue." Just to shock him I said, "I drink all the beer I want; I don't want to drink any."But many people are kept away from God because they have become entangled into habits or into patterns that they can't break. They've tried to break them, they've been told as long as they were doing that they can't be a child of God. And so they've tried to quit smoking, but they can't quite smoking, and so they think, "Oh, God, I wish I could be saved. Oh, I wish I can be a child of God." And they long and desire to be, but they're bound; they can't quit smoking. What they're trying to do is get the cart before the horse. You give your life to Jesus Christ, and He'll take care of those things in your life as the Spirit of God conforms you into the image of Jesus Christ.We so often in our endeavor to be righteous before God are trying to work from the outside in, but that is always a difficult, if not impossible, project. The Spirit of God works from the inside out. He brings to pass those changes within me which have their expression on the outside. So our faith, what I believe to be, becomes a reality in my life. But there is that possibility of activating faith, and oftentimes, the point of contact is valuable in doing that. If there are any sick among you, let him call for the elders of the church, and let them anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord and the prayer of faith will save the sick and the Lord shall raise them up.Now, as the elders come and anoint with oil and lay hands in the name of Jesus and pray for that person, it gives the point of contact to release the faith. "I know as soon as the elders get here and anoint me with oil and pray for me in the name of the Lord I'm going to be healed. Oh bless God, I can hardly wait for them to come. Oh praise the Lord." You know, and as the doorbell rings, "Oh, they're here bless God. I'm going to be healed now in just a few moments, the moment they lay their hands on me and anoint me with oil in the name of Lord." And because I believe the promise of God and I believe the Word of God, the moment they lay their hands on me in the name of Jesus and they pray for me, I'm healed. Why? Because I've now triggered or activated the faith. It is no longer if God can heal me, but God is healing me now at this moment, and it is that activating of faith.So these people sat around the pool waiting for the waters to be troubled. Because it created the point of contact with their releasing their faith for that work that God was wanted to do in their lives. But this man had been lame for thirty-eight years. And he had been lying around here for a long time. But he was so crippled that whenever the waters began to stir, by the time he could get his body into the water someone else had already gotten there in front of him. And thus, he remained in his crippled condition, hoping and waiting that some day he might be the first one in. And as his case was, he didn't have any friend to help him. You know, those who were just there beside him and holding him and as soon as the waters troubled toss him in. So he was there in that hopeless state, and Jesus said would you like to be healed? And he brought up his problem to Jesus, "Of course I would like to be healed, but there's no one to help me. When the waters are troubled someone always get there in front of me." And then Jesus commanded him to do the impossible. Jesus said unto him, "Rise, take up your bed and walk."I love the way Jesus is always giving to people impossible commands. Because whenever the Lord gives you an impossible command then you are faced with one of two choices. The first choice is you can obey the command that Jesus gave you, or you can argue with the command.Now this man could have said, "Who are you trying to kid, mister? I told you I don't have anybody to help me, the waters aren't troubled now. You think that if I could carry my bed away from here I'd be lying here all this time. I've been thirty-eight years like this, man, there's no way I can stand up." And he could have argued with the command of Jesus and remained impotent. But he made a wise choice, he chose to obey the command of Christ. And we read,