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Don't Be a Fool; Jump in the Pool
(September 16th, 2010; Robert Marino)
Are you going to get wet?
Are you all wet?
Or are you just wet behind the ears?
The Pool of Bethesda
I want to put forth a parallel here to what I believe God is getting ready to do in the world through those who are willing to put aside their denominational dog tags, their pride, their agendas, their kingdoms, and “MY CHURCH” mentalities. For those who are truly hungry and thirsty for Jesus and righteousness and are allowing the Lord to humble them, they will be filled spiritually. And for those that are sitting at the feet of the Lord Jesus waiting to be endued with power and who are not ashamed of the whole gospel message, they will be endued. But it's not about us. I am not talking about those who want Jesus only when they WANT something or to experience supernatural manifestations. I'm talking about those who WANT TO GIVE EVERYTHING TO Jesus because nothing else matters in this life. I'm saying that everything else in this life is secondary and the things of this world just don't excite you anymore. You can't help to be endued with power if you are hanging out with Jesus. He is the vine and the sap of the Holy Spirit flows through the vine. The life is in the sap. We must have daily communion with the Lord, daily intimacy, and daily repentance if we are to see God move on this earth and reap this end-time harvest. I don't believe there will be a WORLDWIDE revival because I believe we are so close to the last days of this dispensation and the Word of God teaches us clearly that there would be worldwide apostasy and deception and that is one of the greatest signs of the end. I do say this though; there will be spurts of revival in certain places where the gospel has not been preached much yet and in some places where true repentance has taken place. This next and I believe to be the LAST move of God will pass many, many by and may even cause many who reject it to become persecutors of those who God will use.
Let's get on with it. This is not going to be an exegetical teaching but I will not take away or add to the Word of God. I am just going to give a parallel of what I believe God is saying right now to the Body of Christ - at least those who are listening. Here goes.
Joh 5:1 After this there was a feast of the Jews; and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.
Joh 5:2 Now there is at Jerusalem by the sheep market a pool, which is called in the Hebrew tongue Bethesda, having five porches.
Pool here is G2861 in the Greek
êïëõìâç?èñá; kolumbe¯thra; kol-oom-bay'-thrah
From G2860; a diving place, that is, pond for bathing (or swimming): - pool.
Bethesda here is G964 in the Greek
Âçèåóäá?; Be¯thesda; bay-thes-dah'
Of Chaldee origin (compare [H1004] and [H2617]); house of kindness; Bethesda, a pool in Jerusalem: - Bethesda.
Joh 5:3 In these lay a great multitude of (1) impotent folk, of (2) blind, (3) halt, (4) withered, waiting for the moving of the water.
The Impotent folk:
Impotent here is G770
á?óèåíå?ù; astheneo; as-then-eh'-o
From G772; to be feeble (in any sense): - be diseased, impotent folk (man), (be) sick, (be, be made) weak.
This is going to offend some but I will not hide the truth. Much of the Body of Christ in America is impotent folk. We have become feeble-kneed sissies who say God is alive but act like He is dead. Don't we realize how much power we have in the Name of Jesus and in the blood of Jesus? The church has a lot of disease and sin within it that has rendered it almost useless. The true prophets in the body have been ignored or rejected because they give rebuke and warning, and many that are being called prophets by many are questionable at best. The TRUE prophets are the ones who deal with sin that is in the body. A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump. Disease and sin will spread if it is not cut out by this ministry gift. Why do you think churches have so many programs or water down God's Word and have resorted to the arm of the flesh? They have already told God, “it's our way or the highway God.” It's kind of hard for the church to replenish Heaven if it is impotent. God cannot heal the body if the body does not want healed and if the people reject His messengers.
The blind:
Blind here is G5185
ôõöëï?ò; tuphlos; toof-los'
From G5187; opaque (as if smoky), that is, (by analogy) blind (physically or mentally): - blind.
My parallel here is about being mentally or even spiritually blind.
Does anyone know what hour we are living in? God forgive me for wasting pretty much at least 15 years of my life where I got off track and pushed my calling aside and pursued various businesses. The time is so short and our lives are as a vapor -here today and gone tomorrow. What are we doing with our time? I'm not telling you to play church even more. I'm telling you to start to be the church that God intended you to be. It's not the building; you are the building. We really do forget what Jesus has done for us. We forget that we were once blind and at one time we saw. Now it is about us. What God can do for me? Not what we can do for God and surely not what are we to do for God. What is His battle plan? Right now in America, only 2% of 12-25 year olds are born again and only 2% that claim to be born-again Christians share their faith regularly. Is there a connection there? I think so. Wake up church and take the scales off your eyes. It's 11:59pm and the door of the ark is shutting. We have to get as many people into that ark as possible before God's wrath is poured out upon this earth.
The Halt:
Halt here is G5560
÷ùëï?ò; cho¯los; kho-los'
Apparently a primary word; “halt”, that is, limping: - cripple, halt, lame.
The church has been crippled by sin, slothfulness, selfishness, and compromise. God doesn't want us to be halt. He wants us to walk in the Spirit so that we do not fulfill the lusts of the flesh. Put no evil thing before your eyes. If you got a problem with lust or porn, why do you still have cable or an Internet connection? At least block that garbage! If you put God first and walk with Him in the cool of the day, you won't have time to eat from the tree of forbidden fruit of this world. Adam walked with God. It wasn't until Adam listened to his wife over what God had told him, that sin came upon the whole human race. Enoch walked with God and he got translated out of here. Are you walking with God or are you halt in your devotion to Him? Do you spend time with him? Do you care about the things that He cares about? Your life is as a vapor and it will vanish real soon one day. Will you leave a godly legacy?
The withered:
The withered here is G3584
îçñï?ò; xe¯ros; xay-ros'
From the base of G3582 (through the idea of scorching); arid; by implication shrunken, earth (as opposed to water): - dry, land, withered.
Many people are withered in their walk with God. They are holding back or shrinking from being obedient. And it seems that so many never counted the cost to serve the Lord of which I am very concerned over because things are not so bad yet in this country and if you can't live for Him now, how will you then? The cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches have choked the Word of God out of their lives but this ought not to be. We are the Body. We are mighty. We just don't know it yet. Some of us do. Will you join us?
Okay, I am done breaking these parts of this verse down. Let's go back to our original passage.
Joh 5:1 After this there was a feast of the Jews; and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.
Joh 5:2 Now there is at Jerusalem by the sheep market a pool, which is called in the Hebrew tongue Bethesda, having five porches.
Joh 5:3 In these lay a great multitude of impotent folk, of blind, halt, withered, waiting for (tarrying for) the moving of the water.
Joh 5:4 For an angel went down at a certain season into the pool, and troubled (stirred; disturbed) the water: whosoever then first after the troubling of the water stepped in was made whole of whatsoever disease he had.
Joh 5:5 And a certain man was there, which had an infirmity thirty and eight years.
This seems to be something God just chose to do sovereignly - an occasional stirring of the waters and someone would get healed. This man had an infirmity for 38 years. Sounds like the church in America to me. Doing its own thing and waiting for the stirring of the waters. Now I don't know how often this angel was sent from God to stir the waters but wouldn't it have been wise for all of the people hoping to get healed to either be as close to the water as possible or to already be in it as often as possible to increase their odds of being the first one in when the water was stirred? I'm telling you ministers out there and those who say they are Christians that the water is already stirred. Get in. The water is nice. Come on in. Don't let your denominational background keep you from this last wave. Don't you want everything the Lord has in store? I fear that some of you have allowed the clay of your heart to get so hard that the potter cannot mold the clay and make it a useful vessel for his purposes anymore. The church needs to get back to a life of obedience, sacrifice, fasting, praying, interceding for the lost, and preaching THE ENTIRE MESSAGE of the gospel - not just the good news part. Let's go on.
Joh 5:6 When Jesus saw him lie, and knew that he had been now a long time in that case, he saith unto him, Wilt thou be made whole?
Joh 5:7 The impotent man answered him, Sir, I have no man, when the water is troubled, to put me into the pool: but while I am coming, another steppeth down before me. (He wasn't to close to the pool was he or why would he be “coming”?)
Joh 5:8 Jesus saith unto him, Rise, take up thy bed, and walk.
Joh 5:9 And immediately the man was made whole, and took up his bed, and walked: and on the same day was the sabbath.
Joh 5:10 The Jews therefore said unto him that was cured, It is the sabbath day: it is not lawful for thee to carry thy bed.
What was this man going to do? Should he smash his head against a wall and make himself infirm again just to please MAN or be thankful to God for meeting his need? Those who have jumped into the pool are going to get flack just as Jesus did. Just expect it. It will be the religious left and the religious right that is not going to like what God is going to do. The religious left isn't going to like it because they won't like the call to repentance that the pool-swimming swimmers will preach and the religious right will have a problem with God doing miracles through a bunch of nobody's that are not into it for the fame, fortune or manipulation. Others will just not like the miracles as if God is dead. I think with these Jews here and in other passages - the Pharisees, were just plain jealous. They wanted to control the people instead of wanting them to be free and alive unto God.
Joh 5:11 He answered them, He that made me whole, the same said unto me, Take up thy bed, and walk.
Joh 5:12 Then asked they him, What man is that which said unto thee, Take up thy bed, and walk?
Joh 5:13 And he that was healed wist not who it was: for Jesus had conveyed himself away, a multitude being in that place.
Joh 5:14 Afterward Jesus findeth him in the temple, and said unto him, Behold, thou art made whole: sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee. (You don't hear things like that preached anymore do you?)
Joh 5:15 The man departed, and told the Jews that it was Jesus, which had made him whole.
Joh 5:16 And therefore did the Jews persecute Jesus, and sought to slay him, because he had done these things on the Sabbath day.
I have been persecuted by both Christians and ministers for speaking the truth but I don't think anyone has ever sought to slay me - at least not yet. Try getting persecution or rejection because you quoted Jesus' words and getting it from ministers. It happens to me. See, I can say these things. I'm not on anyone's payroll. Hehehe. See, a Sacred Cowtipper can knock down sacred cows but you can't knock down a Sacred Cowtipper because he already knows that you can't kill a dead man. Yes, there is persecution in the pool too. Every once in awhile a barracuda will come up and bite you in the hindquarters. But a little prayer, hydrogen peroxide, band-aid and your good to go especially if you used that band aid with the little sunny smiley face on it. It's all good people. These are growing pains. Growing can be painful but you will be bigger, and stronger in the end and you will welcome persecution.
Joh 5:17 But Jesus answered them, My Father worketh hitherto, and I work.
Joh 5:18 Therefore the Jews sought the more to kill him, because he not only had broken the Sabbath, but said also that God was his Father, making himself equal with God.
Shouldn't every Christian cry out to God as Abba Father? They sought the more to kill him. Just thinking about it wasn't enough. Now come the actions. Getting to swim in that nice pool water of the Shekinah glory of God is worth fighting a few sharks. Just poke them in the gills with the two-edged sword. That's what Jesus did.
Joh 5:19 Then answered Jesus and said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do: for what things soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise.
Joh 5:20 For the Father loveth the Son, and sheweth him all things that himself doeth: and he will shew him greater works than these that ye may marvel.
Joh 5:21 For as the Father raiseth up the dead, and quickeneth them; even so the Son quickeneth whom he will.
The Son can't quicken the dead if we don't share our faith and preach a biblical gospel. (Romans 10:14) He passed on the family business to us when He went to sit on the right hand of the Father. Learn about the bar mitzvah. A lot less people will be in Heaven than we thin will be there who are living unrepentant lives. And then there will be those who get in by the skin of their teeth but will not rule and reign in Christ in the Millennium because they have not made it to approved sonship.
Rom 10:14 How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher?
Joh 5:22 For the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son:
Joh 5:23 That all men should honour the Son, even as they honour the Father. He that honoureth not the Son honoureth not the Father which hath sent him.
Joh 5:24 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.
Joh 5:25 Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live.
Joh 5:26 For as the Father hath life in himself; so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself;
Joh 5:27 And hath given him authority to execute judgment also, because he is the Son of man.
Joh 5:28 Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice,
Joh 5:29 And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.
Joh 5:30 I can of mine own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my judgment is just; because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me.
Joh 5:31 If I bear witness of myself, my witness is not true.
Joh 5:32 There is another that beareth witness of me; and I know that the witness which he witnesseth of me is true.
Joh 5:33 Ye sent unto John, and he bare witness unto the truth.
Joh 5:34 But I receive not testimony from man: but these things I say, that ye might be saved.
Joh 5:35 He was a burning and a shining light: and ye were willing for a season to rejoice in his light.
Joh 5:36 But I have greater witness than that of John: for the works which the Father hath given me to finish, the same works that I do, bear witness of me, that the Father hath sent me.
Joh 5:37 And the Father himself, which hath sent me, hath borne witness of me. Ye have neither heard his voice at any time, nor seen his shape.
Joh 5:38 And ye have not his word abiding in you: for whom he hath sent, him ye believe not.
These people did not stay in the Word or remained ignorant of what it prophesied. They were more interested in what their religious leaders had to say than what God's Word said.
I just heard a minister preaching about what another minister said at a funeral. This scares me. Let me paint the picture for you. This minister was giving a eulogy at a drug-dealer's funeral and a bunch of his drug-dealing and drug-taking buddies were at his funeral paying their last respects. This minister, instead of taking the opportunity to wake up those that came to the funeral about how this drug-dealer was in Hell because he was a worker of lawlessness, stated this, “So-and-so didn't live a life how he should have lived but it's good to know that he is in Heaven today because when he was 9 years old he prayed to receive Christ.” Is this man brainless? All of those people who were there left feeling justified in their sins and will die in their sins and this minister will be held accountable for what he said that day.
Joh 5:39 Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.
Joh 5:40 And ye will not come to me, that ye might have life.
Joh 5:41 I receive not honour from men.
Joh 5:42 But I know you, that ye have not the love of God in you.
Joh 5:43 I am come in my Father's name, and ye receive me not: if another shall come in his own name, him ye will receive. (Anyone who plainly rejects the words of Jesus is going to be the ones who will easily receive false doctrine, false manifestations, false teachers, and false prophets.)
Wow. How many people today are following man? Most are. It's okay to respect someone but please stop the man-worship. I don't have any more food in my stomach to puke up. I am of Paul, I am of Apollos, I am of Cephas; no ye not that you are carnal. It's not about building up our own name. Oh, and churches that market themselves with billboards and advertisements, come on. God told you TO GO OUT but you stay in and try to drag the poor sinner in kicking and screaming, giving him a non-Lord, Jesus is Lord watered down gospel and false confession of faith that he quickly rejects a month later or goes off believing he is saved because you gave him some kind of assurance when he never wanted to turn from his sin in the first place because you didn't even mention his sin. But you told him he was saved. Lord, have mercy on us. Just do what the Word of God says and you will see results where your fruit remains. Quit the advertising. Give that money to some evangelist or missionary for God's sake and the gospel's sake. I'm sorry but I had to say that. No apologies here. I may be an apologist but that doesn't mean I am going to apologize for telling the truth.
Joh 5:44 How can ye believe, which receive honour one of another, and seek not the honour that cometh from God only?
Men seeking honor from one another! That's pretty self-explanatory. See, it's his redemption, sanctification, and justification but it is also his honor and glory not ours.
Joh 5:45 Do not think that I will accuse you to the Father: there is one that accuseth you, even Moses, in whom ye trust.
Joh 5:46 For had ye believed Moses, ye would have believed me: for he wrote of me.
Joh 5:47 But if ye believe not his writings, how shall ye believe my words?
My final thoughts and words:
We talk about the rapture so much that it has become a call to retreat rather than a call to take up arms and go fight. It gives people a sense of “I am just going to hang on until I get out of here” so many have buried their talents and have become slothful and wicked servants. I didn't say it. Jesus did.
Mat 25:24 Then he which had received the one talent came and said, Lord, I knew thee that thou art an hard (fierce) man, reaping where thou hast not sown, and gathering where thou hast not strawed:
Mat 25:25 And I was afraid, and went and hid thy talent in the earth: lo, there thou hast that is thine.
Let me paraphrase that for you. “Lord, I was lazy and only thought about MYSELF and MY life. Why should I work for you anyhow? You are a hard man expecting me to serve you. What do I get out of it?” I know I come off hard but I am merely trying to be like my Lord and speak the truth.
Mat 25:26 His lord answered and said unto him, Thou wicked and slothful servant, thou knewest that I reap where I sowed not, and gather where I have not strawed:
Mat 25:27 Thou oughtest therefore to have put my money to the exchangers, and then at my coming I should have received mine own with usury.
Mat 25:28 Take therefore the talent from him, and give it unto him which hath ten talents.
Mat 25:29 For unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath.
Mat 25:30 And cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
That not sound very good [bad grammar on purpose]! Take if for what you want. I take that last verse to mean that we should all make our calling and election sure and if we are only living for ourselves are we that unprofitable servant. If Jesus has given us eternal life, and we are not willing to share it with others, what do we have to say for ourselves? That sounds pretty selfish and wasteful if you ask me.
I don't think it is a coincidence that after verse 30, Jesus immediately goes into His discourse about God dividing the sheep from the goats. These words put a godly fear in me. How about you? Or should we tear this page out of our Bibles or get our big bottle of White Out out?
Anyhow, our real attitude should instead be “I need to be about My Father's business until He comes because I have come to know Him and I want to please Him because I know and love Him for He is good.”
Hey, why are you not in the pool yet? Jump in. You need to ask yourself that question. God needs you in His army. You are His hands and His feet. You are His preachers. I hope this inspires a few of you out there to go further in God. The time is 11:59pm. Whose side are you on? Are you going to stay halt, withered, blind and impotent? The water is refreshing.
Here is a scientific fact in the Bible for you: Light moves; darkness doesn't.
Job 38:19 Where is the way where light dwelleth? and as for darkness, where is the place thereof,
We are children of the light so we should be moving. Gates don't move so why aren't we tearing down the gates of Hell. Jesus said that they wouldn't prevail against the church. I see an army rising up with the full armor of God on and going toward the gates and tearing them down. People are behind those gates and they are in bondage to sin and they can only be freed by the preaching of the gospel. Few are willing to open their mouths though.
Mat 16:18 And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
Here is the discourse Jesus gives about the separation of the sheep and goats. Take it for what you want. But the main thing I see in it is that there were those that DID and those that DIDN'T DO what God expected of them. A truly born again person will have good works AFTER a true conversion. Ask yourself this, “Would your `conversion forensics' stand up in a court of law?”
Mat 25:31 When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory:
Mat 25:32 And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats:
Mat 25:33 And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.
Mat 25:34 Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:
Mat 25:35 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in:
Mat 25:36 Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.
Mat 25:37 Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink?
Mat 25:38 When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee?
Mat 25:39 Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?
Mat 25:40 And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.
Mat 25:41 Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:
Mat 25:42 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink:
Mat 25:43 I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not.
Mat 25:44 Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee?
Mat 25:45 Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me.
Mat 25:46 And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.
Your Fellow Warrior,
The Sacred Cowtipper
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