Follow Along with the Message

What Do You Really Want?

Pastor Tom Lundeen

What did Jesus have to say to  people like you and me?

What did He do in people’s ?

Note John 5:3,5,6

What we’ll see is something Jesus knew about this person then and us now: It’s not always clear what somebody really , even if their need seems .

1. We Do Not Have to be  

Note John 5:1-3, 7

To feel alone is to be overwhelmed by .

Jesus recognized that not only could this individual not walk physically, but he was socially and emotionally .

What we need to know is that even in a crowd, we  to Jesus (note Hebrews 13:5b).

2. We Don’t Not Have to be  

Something extraordinary is happening in American society.  Criss-crossed by  trip wires of emotional, racial, sexual, and psychological grievance, American life is increasingly characterized by the plaintive insistence, “I am a victim.”  The victimization of America is remarkably .  From the addicts of the South Bronx to the self-styled emotional road-kills of Manhattan’s Upper East Side, the  of the victims is the same: “I am not responsible; it’s not my fault.” (Charles Sykes, A Nation of Victims: The Decay of the American Character, 1992)

What point was Jesus making with this  question?

He was saying, You are not completely helpless.  You have some choices.  You have opportunities to live a  life.  It’s not everyone else’s fault.  Your circumstances are not simply the result of .  Your physical disability and social isolation do not deny you .

Note John 5:7-8, 12-13, 9, 14

…something even worse…

The eternal consequences of sin are more serious than any physical . (Morris)

Jesus’ question (John 5:6) demonstrated that this man had some role to play in his …

His statement (John 5:14) showed that this man had some  responsibility to take for his life (i.e., moral choice).

Jesus wanted to free this man from the  that being a victim brings…

Your story really does matter to Jesus: 

• This disabled person discovered that the  he thought he needed…weren’t the answers he actually needed.
• What he needed was .
• And what we ultimately need is , too.

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