Our text takes us to a place in Jerusalem that was known throughout the land. People came and congregated at this pool because of what they could find there. No one knows why the waters would become troubled, but there was a belief that healing was available when this happened. Some historians challenge the authenticity of that, but if that is the case, why were so many people waiting? Something miraculous took place at that pool. The bible tells us that there was a multitude of people. They were there because there was hope for a chance of healing. It was a chance, but a chance was better than nothing. A chance is all they were looking for. That desire of a chance has not changed form then to now. People are simply looking for a chance. People will wait on many things in life for simply a chance. When Jesus came to the pool that day, chance went out the window, and it became an opportunity. When Jesus is involved, it is not a matter of chance, but a matter of time. For 38 long years, nothing had changed for this man. For 38 years, this man held onto hope. For all those 38 years, chance had not been kind to him. Jesus asks this man a strange question: Do you want to be made whole? His answer reveals why he had been waiting so long. Is answer was not YES. The answer was I can't. His answer is an excuse or a complaint. Before we judge this man too harshly, we need to look at our own live to make sure we are not guilty of the same attitude. Jesus did not ask him if he wanted to be healed. Jesus ask if he wanted to me made whole. There is a difference. People can be physically well, but still troubled in their mind. The infirm man had endured 38 years and something kept him at the pool hoping for his time. This man did not even know who healed him. Later when ask about who had healed him, he could not say. Bro. Hughes notes several things about this encounter and the answer that reveal much. This man struggled with seeing only his problem, not his opportunities. He referenced the obstacles in his way. All he could see were his problems. In that state, he could not let God bless him. There is always something in the way. Jesus did not ask him what his problem was. He already knew that, Jesus ask what was his desire. When we focus on our problems, we place constraints on what God can do in our life. What is it on the inside that limits us? If God cannot get on the inside, it will not matter what we do on the outside. Our infirm man could only see what he did not have. He said "I have no man" What are we saying that we do not have? I have no help. I have no encouragement. I have no leadership. What are we missing because we are focused on what we do not have? He was so focused on what was against him, that he did not even realize that the one that could solve all his problems was right in front of him. Finally, this man judged the present by the past. He told Jesus about all his past failures. His life was limited, even in the presence of Jesus, by being stuck on all the failures of the past. It is easy to understand how this man could have this attitude. He had been there a long time. Here he was talking to someone he didn't even know if he would like to be healed. Something kept this man coming back for all those years. What was different on that day was that he was in the presence of God. Some people have this same attitude today. Things have been bad for so long. We see others go to the alter and get blessing, but feel that we cannot access that too. Nothing can so parallelize a man's life than the notion that things will never change. To judge the presence by the past is to handcuff God and keep him from doing what He wants to do in our life. God is not limited by our past. Nothing is impossible with God. Jesus said Get UP. It was a command. When that man acted on the authoritative word of God, his life was transformed immediately. Jesus tells us the same thing today: Get up!

Our text takes us to a place in Jerusalem that was known throughout the land. People came and congregated at this pool because of what they could find there. No one knows why the waters would become troubled, but there was a belief that healing was available when this happened. Some historians challenge the authenticity of that, but if that is the case, why were so many people waiting? Something miraculous took place at that pool. The bible tells us that there was a multitude of people. They were there because there was hope for a chance of healing. It was a chance, but a chance was better than nothing. A chance is all they were looking for. That desire of a chance has not changed form then to now. People are simply looking for a chance. People will wait on many things in life for simply a chance. When Jesus came to the pool that day, chance went out the window, and it became an opportunity. When Jesus is involved, it is not a matter of chance, but a matter of time. For 38 long years, nothing had changed for this man. For 38 years, this man held onto hope. For all those 38 years, chance had not been kind to him. Jesus asks this man a strange question: Do you want to be made whole? His answer reveals why he had been waiting so long. Is answer was not YES. The answer was I can't. His answer is an excuse or a complaint. Before we judge this man too harshly, we need to look at our own live to make sure we are not guilty of the same attitude. Jesus did not ask him if he wanted to be healed. Jesus ask if he wanted to me made whole. There is a difference. People can be physically well, but still troubled in their mind. The infirm man had endured 38 years and something kept him at the pool hoping for his time. This man did not even know who healed him. Later when ask about who had healed him, he could not say. Bro. Hughes notes several things about this encounter and the answer that reveal much. This man struggled with seeing only his problem, not his opportunities. He referenced the obstacles in his way. All he could see were his problems. In that state, he could not let God bless him. There is always something in the way. Jesus did not ask him what his problem was. He already knew that, Jesus ask what was his desire. When we focus on our problems, we place constraints on what God can do in our life. What is it on the inside that limits us? If God cannot get on the inside, it will not matter what we do on the outside. Our infirm man could only see what he did not have. He said "I have no man" What are we saying that we do not have? I have no help. I have no encouragement. I have no leadership. What are we missing because we are focused on what we do not have? He was so focused on what was against him, that he did not even realize that the one that could solve all his problems was right in front of him. Finally, this man judged the present by the past. He told Jesus about all his past failures. His life was limited, even in the presence of Jesus, by being stuck on all the failures of the past. It is easy to understand how this man could have this attitude. He had been there a long time. Here he was talking to someone he didn't even know if he would like to be healed. Something kept this man coming back for all those years. What was different on that day was that he was in the presence of God. Some people have this same attitude today. Things have been bad for so long. We see others go to the alter and get blessing, but feel that we cannot access that too. Nothing can so parallelize a man's life than the notion that things will never change. To judge the presence by the past is to handcuff God and keep him from doing what He wants to do in our life. God is not limited by our past. Nothing is impossible with God. Jesus said Get UP. It was a command. When that man acted on the authoritative word of God, his life was transformed immediately. Jesus tells us the same thing today: Get up!

Life has it's share of grief. Life does not play favorites. The word grief in the orignal Greek referrs so an ailment. For most people, grief is viewed as an intruder into our lives. Yet it is how we respond to these times of grief that determine our outcome. Jeremiah was a man of many tears. He was called to a people who needed God's correction. It as Jeremiah's task to awaken a lost people to try to bring them back to a place that God needed them to be. This task was overwhelming and affected Jeremiah much like it would have affected most of us. He gets lost in the hopelessness of the situation and begins to complain. Through 10 chapters he goes on until he recognized what he was doing. He comes to himself and then in verse 19 he states: Truly this is a grief, but I must bear it. This is a declaration of faith. It was a statement of intent in his own life. Not only was he going to live his life in faith, but he was going to be faithful in the life that he lived. When he did this, it armed him against whatever the future would hold. e had already gone through 10 chapters, and had another 30 to go. God had shown Jeremiah much to be down about. Jeremiah surly could not imagine what was to come. But in chapter 10 verse 19 Jeremiah makes the decision that he was going to bear whatever life had to bring his way. This statement is the affirmation that God has a plan and that no matter what may come, Without this understanding, we will misunderstand the storms and pain that come into our lives. It is in these storms and pain that God works out His plan. When we stand before God and declare that this is a disappointment, but I must bear it, we strip away its ability to destroy us. When we decide to live the way Jeremiah did, it will change the language we use to describe our life and what is happening in it. When we take authority over life like Jeremiah did, we are saying that we will determine how grief will affect our life, not let grief determine how it will affect us. Jeremiah accepted by faith that the grief he was facing was actually an opportunity. If we can bear it, it cannot break us. I must bear it.

Life has it's share of grief. Life does not play favorites. The word grief in the orignal Greek referrs so an ailment. For most people, grief is viewed as an intruder into our lives. Yet it is how we respond to these times of grief that determine our outcome. Jeremiah was a man of many tears. He was called to a people who needed God's correction. It as Jeremiah's task to awaken a lost people to try to bring them back to a place that God needed them to be. This task was overwhelming and affected Jeremiah much like it would have affected most of us. He gets lost in the hopelessness of the situation and begins to complain. Through 10 chapters he goes on until he recognized what he was doing. He comes to himself and then in verse 19 he states: Truly this is a grief, but I must bear it. This is a declaration of faith. It was a statement of intent in his own life. Not only was he going to live his life in faith, but he was going to be faithful in the life that he lived. When he did this, it armed him against whatever the future would hold. e had already gone through 10 chapters, and had another 30 to go. God had shown Jeremiah much to be down about. Jeremiah surly could not imagine what was to come. But in chapter 10 verse 19 Jeremiah makes the decision that he was going to bear whatever life had to bring his way. This statement is the affirmation that God has a plan and that no matter what may come, Without this understanding, we will misunderstand the storms and pain that come into our lives. It is in these storms and pain that God works out His plan. When we stand before God and declare that this is a disappointment, but I must bear it, we strip away its ability to destroy us. When we decide to live the way Jeremiah did, it will change the language we use to describe our life and what is happening in it. When we take authority over life like Jeremiah did, we are saying that we will determine how grief will affect our life, not let grief determine how it will affect us. Jeremiah accepted by faith that the grief he was facing was actually an opportunity. If we can bear it, it cannot break us. I must bear it.

Everyone has had to deal with a death in our lives. A close loved one or a distant relative, we have all experienced the sting of death. Death is part of our earthly walk. In our text, Paul tells us that he is persuaded that nothing, even death would separate him from the love of God. More precisely, not him for the love of God, but God’s love from him. Death was not intended to plunge us into a depression or to drive us away from God. Next Paul says life cannot separate us from the love of God. Life is full of misery and heartaches. He says these things will not separate us from the LOVE of God. There are times we may be separated from God, but the LOVE of God remains constant. God loves us and He loves us unconditionally. We have His promise right here in Romans 8:38: Paul goes on to say that things that are happening right now will not diminish God's love for us. Things that will come in the future have no impact on God’s love for us. We are thankful for the love of God.

Everyone has had to deal with a death in our lives. A close loved one or a distant relative, we have all experienced the sting of death. Death is part of our earthly walk. In our text, Paul tells us that he is persuaded that nothing, even death would separate him from the love of God. More precisely, not him for the love of God, but God’s love from him. Death was not intended to plunge us into a depression or to drive us away from God. Next Paul says life cannot separate us from the love of God. Life is full of misery and heartaches. He says these things will not separate us from the LOVE of God. There are times we may be separated from God, but the LOVE of God remains constant. God loves us and He loves us unconditionally. We have His promise right here in Romans 8:38: Paul goes on to say that things that are happening right now will not diminish God's love for us. Things that will come in the future have no impact on God’s love for us. We are thankful for the love of God.

Captain Charlie Plumb graduated from the Naval Academy at Annapolis and went on to fly the F-4 Phantom jet on 74 successful combat missions over Vietnam. On his 75th mission, with only five days before he was to return home, Plumb was shot down, captured, tortured, and imprisoned in an 8 foot x 8 foot cell. He spent the next 2,103 days as a Prisoner Of War in communist war prisons. One day he received a note passed to his cell asking: “Do you know what your problem is? He answered and the reply came back: “Your problem is simply you think you are in prison.” Our problems really start in our mind. As a man thinketh, so is he. When we start thinking about our problems, we tend to blame someone else. Someone did something, our circumstances or whatever. The truth is that the problem is that our problems begin within. We create prisons in our mind by replaying past wrongs, by harboring grudges, by blaming our “problem” on others. We must break out of the mental prison we keep ourselves in. No matter what our circumstances, God did not make a mistake. Forgiveness is one of the best gifts God has ever given us. No matter how many times we fall, we can return to God. Many people are in prison because we make the mistake of saying "I will never do it again" The problem is that that power does not reside in us. If it did, we would not have done it in the first place. The power of the Holy Ghost will deliver us from that prison. When we blame others for our problems we will never get out. Paul was in prison often. He suffered beatings, stoning and other punishments. Paul wrote most of the new testament; and most of that from prison. Still he wrote "Rejoice, and again I say rejoice. Each of the twelve apostles were in bondage in their ministry and all died a horrible death. We fall into thinking that if we do not enjoy the finer things in life, we are not blessed. God is not against us owning nice things, He is against those things owning us.

Charley Plumb was released at the war’s end. After he was released he found that his wife had left him and started a new life. His friends encouraged him to hire a lawyer and try to punish her. His reply was that he had been in a POW camp for 6 years; he could not afford to be bitter. When we get out of prison, we will not be bitter. When we are released from the prison we are in, we have a better opportunity than we have ever had. There is not a person alive that has not been hurt. If we continue to be bitter, we cannot get past the hurt, we will remain in a prison of our own making. It is not until we release that bitterness that we can get better. I can’t afford to be bitter.

Captain Charlie Plumb graduated from the Naval Academy at Annapolis and went on to fly the F-4 Phantom jet on 74 successful combat missions over Vietnam. On his 75th mission, with only five days before he was to return home, Plumb was shot down, captured, tortured, and imprisoned in an 8 foot x 8 foot cell. He spent the next 2,103 days as a Prisoner Of War in communist war prisons. One day he received a note passed to his cell asking: “Do you know what your problem is? He answered and the reply came back: “Your problem is simply you think you are in prison.” Our problems really start in our mind. As a man thinketh, so is he. When we start thinking about our problems, we tend to blame someone else. Someone did something, our circumstances or whatever. The truth is that the problem is that our problems begin within. We create prisons in our mind by replaying past wrongs, by harboring grudges, by blaming our “problem” on others. We must break out of the mental prison we keep ourselves in. No matter what our circumstances, God did not make a mistake. Forgiveness is one of the best gifts God has ever given us. No matter how many times we fall, we can return to God. Many people are in prison because we make the mistake of saying "I will never do it again" The problem is that that power does not reside in us. If it did, we would not have done it in the first place. The power of the Holy Ghost will deliver us from that prison. When we blame others for our problems we will never get out. Paul was in prison often. He suffered beatings, stoning and other punishments. Paul wrote most of the new testament; and most of that from prison. Still he wrote "Rejoice, and again I say rejoice. Each of the twelve apostles were in bondage in their ministry and all died a horrible death. We fall into thinking that if we do not enjoy the finer things in life, we are not blessed. God is not against us owning nice things, He is against those things owning us.

Charley Plumb was released at the war’s end. After he was released he found that his wife had left him and started a new life. His friends encouraged him to hire a lawyer and try to punish her. His reply was that he had been in a POW camp for 6 years; he could not afford to be bitter. When we get out of prison, we will not be bitter. When we are released from the prison we are in, we have a better opportunity than we have ever had. There is not a person alive that has not been hurt. If we continue to be bitter, we cannot get past the hurt, we will remain in a prison of our own making. It is not until we release that bitterness that we can get better. I can’t afford to be bitter.

Our text describes the return of a united Israel. For a long time Israel was divided into two factions. They came together and ask that King be anointed king over all. When the Philistines heard this, they came against Israel. Verse 17 says “When they heard that David had been annotated King over Israel.” The devil hates unity. He likes things that are in disarray. He loves it when we live disordered and confused. As long as we are disoriented and confused, he will leave us alone. When we are living that way, we destroy ourselves and we do not need a devil. The devil hates it when a people, a nation or a church have a divine purpose. He will do anything he can to disrupt a united purpose. The devil will always show up when we decide to set things in order. As long as there was disarray in Israel, the enemy was content to leave them alone. The Philistines knew that a united Israel was trouble for them. Instead of backing down from their threats, David rose up and defeated them. Why had the Philistines been allowed to be a problem Israel for so long? Why had they been allowed to live in the land of God's chosen people? The bible tells us that rather than following God's orders, the Philistines were allowed to remain.

In nature there is a bird called the Cookoo bird. It is strange for many reasons but one is that the cook is one of the laziest birds there is. They are too lazy to build their own nest. The seek the nest of other birds where they leave their eggs. Their favorite target is the robin. The robin has a peculiar weakness that the cookoo bird exploits. The robin will accept the foreign egg and will attempt to raise baby bird as one of their own. The cook bird is much larger than a robin, and as it grows, it soon pushes out the much smaller birds out of the nest. The mother robin will continue to nurture and care for the cookoo bird even though her own babies are being pushed out to die on the ground. Why does the robin keep feeding something that is destroying something they love? At first, the robin does it out of pity. By the time the mother robin realizes what is happening, she is so accustomed to the foreign bird that she does not have the courage to push it out. She cannot quit caring for the cookoo even though it is destroying her own children. She has gotten used to it. How many things have we become accustomed to that we do not have the courage to push it out? The very thing that is destroying many a spiritual life is the foreign thing that should not have ever been there in the first place.

Israel knew that the Philistines did not belong. They knew that they did not worship their God, our share their values, but Israel allowed them to remain. Over time the Philistines became stronger and Israel became accustomed to them. In stead of dealing with them and moving them out of the way, Israel allowed the Philistines to continue to exist. Not only did they co-exist in the land, the Philistines began to claim ownership of parts of the land that God had given to His people. Israel allowed this to happen. Until David became king. David ask God if he should take it back and God replied to take it. The bible says that "he smote them." If we have things in our life that are not what God intended, why do we allow it to remain?

The cookoo bird had a large appetite. The mother robin spends so much time trying to feed the mouth that does not belong in her nest, that her own children suffer. If we are not careful, we will spend all of our time trying to feed the appetite of a spirit in our life that does not belong there and can never be satisified. If we allow that spirit to live in us, it will consume all that we have and destroy all that we love and cherish.

How many things do we allow to slip into our lives and we get used to living with them? Attitudes: Indifference, arrogance, rebellion? How many of these things are we living with because we are used to it? Until David came, that is what Israel did; they lived with it. David knew that it was not the will of God that they; or we; have to live with it. There is no living with the things that are contrary to God's will. As David smote the Philistines, we must smite the things that have crept into our lives that should not have been there in the first place. Something has deposited that spirit in our nest. We have become accustomed to feeding and caring for it. We must go to battle and smite it.

Our text describes the return of a united Israel. For a long time Israel was divided into two factions. They came together and ask that King be anointed king over all. When the Philistines heard this, they came against Israel. Verse 17 says “When they heard that David had been annotated King over Israel.” The devil hates unity. He likes things that are in disarray. He loves it when we live disordered and confused. As long as we are disoriented and confused, he will leave us alone. When we are living that way, we destroy ourselves and we do not need a devil. The devil hates it when a people, a nation or a church have a divine purpose. He will do anything he can to disrupt a united purpose. The devil will always show up when we decide to set things in order. As long as there was disarray in Israel, the enemy was content to leave them alone. The Philistines knew that a united Israel was trouble for them. Instead of backing down from their threats, David rose up and defeated them. Why had the Philistines been allowed to be a problem Israel for so long? Why had they been allowed to live in the land of God's chosen people? The bible tells us that rather than following God's orders, the Philistines were allowed to remain.

In nature there is a bird called the Cookoo bird. It is strange for many reasons but one is that the cook is one of the laziest birds there is. They are too lazy to build their own nest. The seek the nest of other birds where they leave their eggs. Their favorite target is the robin. The robin has a peculiar weakness that the cookoo bird exploits. The robin will accept the foreign egg and will attempt to raise baby bird as one of their own. The cook bird is much larger than a robin, and as it grows, it soon pushes out the much smaller birds out of the nest. The mother robin will continue to nurture and care for the cookoo bird even though her own babies are being pushed out to die on the ground. Why does the robin keep feeding something that is destroying something they love? At first, the robin does it out of pity. By the time the mother robin realizes what is happening, she is so accustomed to the foreign bird that she does not have the courage to push it out. She cannot quit caring for the cookoo even though it is destroying her own children. She has gotten used to it. How many things have we become accustomed to that we do not have the courage to push it out? The very thing that is destroying many a spiritual life is the foreign thing that should not have ever been there in the first place.

Israel knew that the Philistines did not belong. They knew that they did not worship their God, our share their values, but Israel allowed them to remain. Over time the Philistines became stronger and Israel became accustomed to them. In stead of dealing with them and moving them out of the way, Israel allowed the Philistines to continue to exist. Not only did they co-exist in the land, the Philistines began to claim ownership of parts of the land that God had given to His people. Israel allowed this to happen. Until David became king. David ask God if he should take it back and God replied to take it. The bible says that "he smote them." If we have things in our life that are not what God intended, why do we allow it to remain?

The cookoo bird had a large appetite. The mother robin spends so much time trying to feed the mouth that does not belong in her nest, that her own children suffer. If we are not careful, we will spend all of our time trying to feed the appetite of a spirit in our life that does not belong there and can never be satisified. If we allow that spirit to live in us, it will consume all that we have and destroy all that we love and cherish.

How many things do we allow to slip into our lives and we get used to living with them? Attitudes: Indifference, arrogance, rebellion? How many of these things are we living with because we are used to it? Until David came, that is what Israel did; they lived with it. David knew that it was not the will of God that they; or we; have to live with it. There is no living with the things that are contrary to God's will. As David smote the Philistines, we must smite the things that have crept into our lives that should not have been there in the first place. Something has deposited that spirit in our nest. We have become accustomed to feeding and caring for it. We must go to battle and smite it.