Harmony Bible Church Sermons
God is Working
Good morning, Harmony. Hope everybody is rested and had a great Thanksgiving holiday. Some of you are still showing the signs of the turkey, I think. Kind of groggy in the seats here. No, I don't really see anybody like that. But if anybody, any relatives that you're just really grateful that you're not going to see until next Thanksgiving, okay? I don't have any of those, okay, I just don't. But if you have some of those, all I have to say is persevere because through many tribulations, we must enter the kingdom of God, okay? That's what Paul tells the believers in Acts 14, but that's not what that verse is about, okay? No, in all seriousness, Thanksgiving is a great holiday. I am very grateful to be able to celebrate with family and friends, but I am even more grateful than extended relatives to be able to spend time with my church family and just open God's Word and worship. Anybody else with me on that one? Just being in God's house, amen. Jesus' blood is thicker than our family ties, or at least it should be according to Jesus. And so I'm just grateful to be here with you today and all of our campuses. And so brothers and sisters and the Lord, family, would you join me in opening your Bibles to John chapter five. John chapter five, we're going to be in verses one to 18 this morning. And as you turn there to John chapter five, I just want you to think about something for a second. I want you to think about retirement, okay? Do I have any retirees in the house? All right, woo, woo, okay. Retirees, all right. So here's what I love about retirees. Every time I talk to somebody who is retired, I enjoy just hearing from everybody that's in this category, this wide spectrum of the different things they spend their time doing, okay? And I don't think I know a retiree who says, yeah, my life's like way more simple and not busy and I don't even know what I'm doing. Everybody has stuff to do, everybody seems more busy than they were even when they were working. And I think I know a few guys who, after retiring, fixing everything at the house, buying a camper, and going on an efficient trip or two, then they're bored out of their mind and they go back to work, okay? Um, anybody know somebody like that? Okay, anybody, any of you are that person, okay? You don't have to show your hands. Anyways, the reason I mentioned that is because we all probably know someone who retired, but they're not really retired. They're just as busy as ever and they're hard at work. And what we're gonna see from our passage today is that our passage is all about God being at work, okay? God is still at work, He has never stopped and the Lord is hard at work and He's never gonna stop working until He accomplishes everything that is in His heart and is according to His purpose and will. He's gonna accomplish it all, okay? And you know what, is at the top of God's to-do list and His work efforts, the top of God's to-do list, it's you and it's me and it's every other person who He has called by name that we would stand before Him, blameless, spotless with the righteousness of Jesus before Him for all eternity and to bring Him glory for endless days as we enjoy His presence. That's at the top of God's to-do list, okay? And aren't you grateful for that? And so today as we talk about God being at work and what He's up to, would you join me in praying as God continues to work through the reading and the preaching of His Word? Let's pray. Father, we thank You for this day and Lord, we are grateful for a holiday that reminds us of Thanksgiving. But Lord, we are especially reminded of that as we enter into Lord these gathering places of worship and Burlington and Fort Madison and Danville to be reminded of the gospel, to be reminded of your compassion and your grace and your mercy towards us in Christ and your forgiveness and your redemption and your healing Lord and your plan to return and make all things right. And so Lord, I just pray that my words are useful to us today and that we would hear Your Word clearly and we would walk out of here changed and not the same. I pray this in Jesus' name. Amen. All right, look down with me in your Bibles at John chapter five starting in verse one. John chapter five starting in verse one. This is the word of the Lord. After this, there was a feast of the Jews. Meaning after the story we just heard last week about the official and his son, okay? After this, there was a feast of the Jews and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. Now there is in Jerusalem by the sheep gate, a pool. An Aramaic called Bethesda, which has five roof colonnades and these lay a multitude of invalids, blind, lame and paralyzed. Let's stop there for a second. All right, here's the backdrop. Jesus, he goes up to Jerusalem on a feast day. We don't know what feast day this is. Maybe it's Passover, we're not sure. But in Jerusalem, near the sheep gate, this sheep gate is for the sheep, okay, in case you were wondering, all right? There's this place called the pool of Bethesda. And Bethesda means house of mercy or house of outpouring. And this pool, Bethesda is actually two different pools. There's one higher and there's one lower. There's four walls around it and there's one in the middle to divide the two. And it has these roof colonnades that surround it. So picture like the Greek Parthenon or in the United States, I'm thinking of like the Lincoln Memorial, it's big stone pillars and it's exposed to open air. There's a surrounding both of those pools. And at this pool, the pool of Bethesda, there's all sorts of hurting people, these invalids. Envelid means someone who's weak, ill, frail, disabled, paralyzed, John gives us a few examples here of who is there in verse three, the blind, the lame, those who were paralyzed. And now you might be wondering why are all these people gathered at this pool, all right? And that's the question we should be asking, why are all these people here, okay? Why are they drawing close to this pool? And there's this big crowd, what are they waiting for? And what they're waiting for and what they're hoping for is miraculous healing. That's what they're hoping for. And some of you might have a Bible translation that includes some bracketed texts that kind of explains this more. The ESV does not have this, but if you have one of those Bibles in the bracketed text, what it mentions is this context that in Jesus' time, it was known that at the pool Bethesda occasionally, the waters would be stirred up and they'd begin to move. And that whoever was there with some sort of illness or disability, the first person to step into the pool after the water moved would be healed, miraculously healed, okay? And it was believed that an angel did this, God sent an angel to stir up the pool. And the reason, it's not in the ESV, the ESV translation team decided not to include verse four because the oldest translations that we have of the Greek New Testament gospel of John don't have this verse four in there, okay? So you're like, my verse four is gone, okay? It's gone for a reason and that's because it's probably added later some context, some commentary on it. And so it's not really needed, it's gonna be explained later in the context of this passage. But if you wanna know more about bracketed texts and stuff, get a steady Bible or something else, and you will have a heyday looking at those sorts of things. If I'm boring you, I'm sorry, we're gonna keep moving, okay? So verse five, here's, there's somebody at this pool. Verse five, one man was there who had been an invalid for 38 years, okay? So in ancient times to have some sort of infirmity or disability for 38 years would have been an eternity, okay? One commentary pointed out even to be alive at the age of 38 would have been kind of impressive during Jesus' time, all right? So this man had been suffering in extremely long amount of time. And guess who knows that this man has been suffering for this amount of time? Jesus does, okay? So look with me at verse six and what takes place next with Jesus. When Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had already been there a long time, he said to him, do you want to be healed? Here's this question that Jesus asks him is a pretty interesting question, isn't it? Do you want to be healed? It's all he asks him, okay? He doesn't ask him what he's doing there because Jesus already knows that. He doesn't ask him how he got in this condition because Jesus already knows that. He doesn't ask him why aren't you healed? 'Cause Jesus knows that too. He just goes straight to the heart of the matter and he says, do you want to be healed? Do you want to be better, cured out of this spot? Do you want that, okay? And here's what we're gonna see in a moment is the application here is not have faith and then Jesus will heal you, okay? That's what we saw in last week's passage about the official and his dying son. This official had faith and his faith was built as he went on and he trusted Jesus' words and he found out his son was healed at the exact moment. Jesus said, go, your son will be well. But in this scenario, that's not what's going on here, okay? This guy does not have any faith. And just something to be noted here. I actually love this. Every story that we see in scripture, it's all a little bit different. And we especially see that in the gospels and in John's gospel, there's no formula for how God works like do this and then God's gonna for sure do this, okay? Every story is unique. There's individuals here unique and Jesus is addressing individuals and people and places all differently, okay? And he works it all together and I just love this because there's no cookie cutter Christian experience like if this, then this, all right? It's all different and Jesus has taken it all in stride and he's got something unique for each person, okay? And I'm grateful for that. So let's look at verse seven. Jesus asked him, do you want to be healed? And here's how this man responds in verse seven. The sick man answered him. Sir, I have no one to put me in the pool when the waters stirred up and while I am going, another steps down before me. Okay, so this guy doesn't have a shred of optimism or faith, okay? It's not there. He doesn't have any faith. He's honestly kind of like an Eorarch character from Winnie the Pooh, right? That's what's going on with this guy. And if you notice, he answers Jesus with an excuse. Okay, I can't be made well. Every time the pool stirred, somebody goes in front of me. I've got nobody to pick me up and put me in the pool so it's never gonna happen, okay? And this is just a giant contrast from the faith-filled official from last week, okay? This guy is in a completely different scenario. And it's at this place where we see this guy making an excuse, he's got no hope that we already see a life application for us because all of us can relate with the guy at the pool Bethesda, okay? And so just think about this with me for a second. Here's what's going on. There's a person who keeps doing the same thing at the same time, hoping for the same result, but not getting that result, okay? Keep a relate with that. There's a person who keeps doing the same exact thing at the same exact place, hoping for a different result, but they never get that result. And you just see this guy's shortsightedness here. He cannot think of a scenario in which he might be better unless he gets in that pool. That's all he can think about. There is no other plan B or C or D. There's nothing else, it's like the pool, it's gotta be that place, but I can't do it because people are faster than me and they go and nobody's there to pick me up. He just keeps doing the same thing over and over again and all he's got, he's locked in on that one solution. That's the only way he can picture himself being healed and restored. And you know, in addition to this guy having excuses, he's really just beat down and discouraged, okay? So he's experienced some disillusionment here. He's depressed, he's burned out. He doesn't have faith 'cause he's lost hope, okay? He's stuck. And has anybody ever felt like they've been in that spot, okay? And no one wants to be in this place. Nobody wants to feel discouraged and beat down and stuck, but when God gets us in these places, it's actually a blessing in disguise because it's when he begins to work in our life and we begin to turn and we begin to trust him. And it's like maybe there is a different solution other than this one over here, okay? And so it just reminds me of Jesus at the beginning of the Sermon on the Mount, which is his most famous discourse. The very first beat attitude there says, "Blessed are the poor in spirit." For there's the kingdom of God, okay? Or the kingdom of heaven. And this guy's poor in spirit. That's what's going on here. He's beat down, he's discouraged, he's poor in spirit. And Jesus is gonna show up on this day and he is gonna show him what the kingdom of heaven can do for him. That's what's gonna happen, okay? So Jesus doesn't need this man's faith. He doesn't need his permission. He's just gonna heal this guy, okay? And here's the magic, look with me at verse eight. Jesus said to him, "Get up, take up your bed and walk." Verse nine, "At once the man was healed "and he took up his bed and he walked." Here it is, okay? This guy is miraculously and instantaneously healed right there in the spot. His bones become strong, his muscles become strong. He gets up on his feet, he grabs his mat or his bed and he begins to go home. That's what takes place, okay? And the reason it takes place is not because an angel from heaven stirred some water in a pool, but it's because the master of heaven tells the guy, "Get up," and so he gets up. That's why it takes place, okay? And so what we can see here is just this example that's threaded throughout scripture, okay? This theme that God's word is so powerful when he speaks, things come into existence that don't exist, okay? That's what's going on here. This is this great example that when God speaks, things come into existence that did not exist before, okay? And we can see this all the way back from the first pages of the Bible, Genesis chapter one. God speaks, so let there be light and there's a light, okay? There was nothing but then God speaks and things come into being. And then the rest of the six days of creation. We also see this picked up in the news testament and we see in Romans chapter four, there's this great verse when Paul actually says, God speaks things into existence that do not exist and he's talking about salvation and the promises of God. So when every person who goes from darkness to light, from unbeliever to believer, what God is doing, when somebody gets saved as he's speaking and basically saying let there be light in our dark hearts and then our hearts become illumined and we have the Holy Spirit and we're alive, amen? That's what he's doing. So God speaks and things begin to happen and this is true for every miracle in the gospels that Jesus performs and it's true at creation and it's true of our salvation. God's word is powerful and he says that it's gonna happen. And it's at this point that a major hinge takes place in our text, okay? And so if you look at the end of verse nine, it doesn't say at the end of verse nine after this miracle took place and everyone marveled and worshiped Jesus and glorified God, okay, it doesn't say that. Some gospel accounts and stories are just like that but that's not what it says, what's it say? The end of verse nine says, now that day was the Sabbath, done, done, done, okay? It was the Sabbath, okay? So John's telling us something here when he writes this, okay, miracle, next thing he says, now that day was the Sabbath, all right? So Jesus is healing people on the Sabbath, okay? And this probably isn't good for the people of Jesus' day or the officials because this is the Jewish day of rest, okay? You're not supposed to be healing people on the Sabbath. You're not supposed to be picking up your bed and walking around on the Sabbath. And so there's these strict rules for this day of rest. And so there's, you know, we got two options here, either Jesus forgot it was the Sabbath and he healed the guy or Jesus is up to something that's way higher than everybody else, okay? And he's got things planned that nobody else has planned. And if you've been to Christian for any length of time, Jesus doesn't forget things. He's got something planned that's bigger and better than all of this. So he intentionally heals this guy on the Sabbath day. And let's look what see what happens in verses 10 to 13. Starting in verse 10 of our passage, so the Jews said to the man who had been healed. It is the Sabbath and it's not lawful for you to take up your bed. But he answered them, the man who healed me, that man said to me, take up your bed and walk. They asked him, who is the man who said to you, take up your bed and walk? Now the man who had been healed did not know who it was. For Jesus had withdrawn as there was a crowd in the place. All right, let's walk through these three verses real quick 'cause it's a really kind of funny account. All right, the Jews meaning the Jewish leaders, they stop this guy and they tell him, why are you carrying your bed around? It's the Sabbath day, you're not supposed to be doing that, okay? And the reason that they're able to do this and they stop him is because yes, we've got commands in the Old Testament about keeping the Sabbath, but in Jesus' day, the rabbis had come up with these 39 extra rules in addition to what it's written in the Old Testament on how to keep the Sabbath, okay? So there's just, they're so focused on people keeping the Sabbath day, they're like, we're gonna add more rules so we can keep the original rules given to us by God, which I think we all kind of know, adding more rules to God's rule is always a bad rule, okay? So that's what's going on here. And he's carrying around a load and he's carrying around his bed on the Sabbath. And so in their minds, this guy's breaking the Sabbath and we've gotta stop him and figure out what's going on here. And in verse 11, the man answers them and says, the man who healed me said to me, take up your bed and walk, okay? So, which is just like a great answer. He's like, I'm walking around with my mat 'cause some guy healed me, but what's so funny about the Jewish leaders is, like they don't mention the healing at all, like, who healed you? They're like, who told you to pick up your bed, okay? That's what we're after. And I was trying to give an illustration to kind of connect this for us and picture if you were, and I hope this never happens to any of you, but if you were stranded at night in the wintertime in the ditch, your car stops, can't get it to run, you're out of gas, cell phone's dead, okay? This would be terrible. And no one's on the road, okay? But then all of a sudden out of nowhere, a guy shows up, gets you back on the road, puts gas in your car, gets it running, it's running great. He gives you a charger to charge your cell phone and he says, drive and get out of here and go home. Just keep driving, okay? And then on your way home, you get stopped by law enforcement and out of their concern, they're like, what are you doing driving out in this weather? You might go in the ditch, okay? And you're like, I was in the ditch, okay? But this guy, I was gonna die. And then this guy got me back on the road miraculously and said, go home, don't stop driving till you get home. And so that's what I'm doing, okay? 'Cause I'd be dead if I was still out in that ditch and this guy said, go home, all right? And basically what I think is going on here is the second concern doesn't mean much in light of the original situation, right? This guy was in dire straits. He could not walk for 38 years and now he's free and he's like, I'm going home, okay? And it's just, yeah, all these guys get, all the Jewish leaders can do is focus in on the Sabbath. That's the only thing they have on their mind. And one more thing to point out, Jesus could have told the guy, get up, leave your bed and go home. But he says, take your bed, okay? Because he knows that this guy's gonna get stopped by the Jewish authorities. And Jesus kind of, I think, wants that to happen because Jesus is leading to something and Jesus is gonna have this big confrontation with the Jewish authorities really throughout the rest of the chapter. And so it's building to this. So Jesus does everything for a reason. He could have said, leave the mat. He says, take it with you. And this leads to the rest of our text and the rest of this chapter. And so they think Jesus is this Sabbath renegade, this Sabbath lawbreaker, but we know that Jesus is not a Sabbath breaker, okay? And here's how we know. Jesus is Lord of the Sabbath. He's Lord of the Sabbath, okay? And two of my favorite passages that kind of explain this and kind of highly this a little bit more are from Matthew and Mark, okay? So these are gonna be up on the screen, but Jesus and the Sabbath. So there's this account where the disciples are walking with Jesus and these grain fields during the day on the Sabbath and they grab some grain, they're rubbing it between their hands and they're eating it. And the religious leaders are upset at him, okay? And then Jesus replies with this line and says, the Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. So the son of man is Lord even of the Sabbath, okay? So he's saying, you don't even understand what this whole day is about. And I am the Lord of the Sabbath and it is okay, right? And then in Matthew 12, which is a similar account, Jesus is talking to the religious authorities again, they're up in arms and knots about the Sabbath. And he basically tells them and says, which of you who loses a sheep and your sheep falls into a pit on the Sabbath day, aren't you gonna go help your sheep, okay? And are not people worth a lot more than a sheep that falls into a pit, okay? And then he says this line says, it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath. And then in that context, he actually goes on and he heals a man that has a withered hand, okay? And so I just think these are great examples reminded of that Jesus always has an answer for the Sabbath because he's the Lord of the Sabbath. And what the Jews were doing in Jesus' day is they were having people serve the Sabbath rather than the Sabbath serve people, okay? How God had set it up. So if you think about this, like what do we have a house for? We have a house for families. We have a house for people, okay? And the minute we start to take care of our house in such a way that, you know, we're just like disgruntled and annoyed that things are out of place or something's getting tipped over, it got messy again. It's like, we just need to remember that, you know, houses for people and not people for houses, right? And it's the same way in Jesus' time with the Sabbath. It was overkill with the rules. They lost the purpose. Sabbath is for people to be a blessing to them and it's not the other way around, okay? And so as we continue on here, I just want us to keep that in mind, but what Jesus does here is remarkable because what Jesus does is he gives this man who had been disabled for 38 years and had not rested from this awful disability for that length of time. On this day, Jesus frees him and he gives him rest when he says get up, pick up your bed and go home, okay? Jesus is giving this guy the gift of rest on this particular day and he's giving him physical rest from the condition that he was in. But not only that, more important than physical relief and rest is spiritual relief and rest and that's what Jesus is going to emphasize next, okay? So I want everybody to look down in your Bibles again at verse 14. This is a really important verse. Jesus is going to talk to this guy about spiritual rest and relief next. Verse 14, "Afterward Jesus found him in the temple and said to him, 'See you are well, sin no more than nothing worse may happen to you.'" Okay, this is unexpected that Jesus says this, okay? Jesus finds him again and he doesn't say to him, hey man, how you doing? How the legs holding up, okay? It's not what he says, okay? He addresses two things with this guy. The first thing he says is he says, see you are well, Jesus made him well. See you're well. And the second thing he says is stop sinning so that something worse may, so something worse doesn't happen to you, okay? And in other words, Jesus is saying because of me, you are well, so don't go down that old path again of sin so you don't end up in a worse spot than before. So that's what Jesus is saying, okay? I've made you well, now don't go down that old path again. And now I think some pastoral explanation is needed right here regarding this gigantic and mysterious topic of sin and suffering. Okay, so I'm gonna address a couple of things here that I think I hope will be helpful. Because I don't want anybody walking out of here today thinking that all of their personal suffering is a direct correlation to their individual sins, okay? I don't want anybody thinking that, because we've read this verse, that that's what the Bible teaches at large because it's not. There's actually places throughout scripture that point to all sorts of reasons that suffering and illness and people are in the spot that they're in. Even later in John's Gospel, we're gonna read one of those in John chapter nine. So real quick, two examples I wanna give from scripture. If you are taking notes, you might wanna write these down and study these later. But in Luke 13, one to four, there's this account and this topic gets brought up of suffering and connection to our sin. And the disciples even asked Jesus, they're talking to him about this scenario that it did turn out very well for a couple of people. And then they bring up this situation where 18 people get crushed by a tower near Siloam. So there's some guys building a tower. There's a construction accident and these guys get crushed and die. And the disciples are basically like, you know, like where these guys were soft from everybody else because the tower fell on them and Jesus says, no, everybody's guilty of sin. And if you don't repent and believe, then like your fate is gonna be just like them. So he's basically saying the tower was not significant to these particular people and their sin. And then I think one of the best examples is in John chapter nine. We will be there eventually. It is gonna be a great passage. Whoever is gonna preach that one. John chapter nine is the story of a man who was born blind. And the disciples asked Jesus because this was a common belief of the day. They were like, who sinned that this guy's in this condition? Was it him or was it his parents? Okay, like he inherited some sort of sin or condition because of his parents sin or because of his sin. And Jesus says neither one. That's not the question to be asking right now. And then he basically says that this guy's born blind so that the power of God can be shown and displayed through him. And then Jesus goes on and he heals him. Okay, so we gotta keep all of scripture in mind when we interpret one piece of scripture. That's really helpful. And just to summarize this real quick, really all suffering and sin that everybody experiences in our life. Okay, on this side of eternity is because we're post Genesis three and Adam and Eve fell and they ate of the forbidden fruit and they rebelled against God. That's why sin and suffering is here. Okay, and we can't explain some of it. We don't understand some of it. We're just in it. All right, but with all of that said, that's not what Jesus is talking about in verse 14. Okay, so I want you to look back down with your Bibles to me. Verse 14, he says, "See you are well." And then he goes on and he says, "Sin no more that nothing worse may happen to you." Okay, and so here's what Jesus is doing and is perfect discernment. And Jesus has perfect discernment 'cause he's God. He's looking to this man's heart and his life and he knows everything about him. And Jesus knows the reason this man has been suffering for 38 years is because of his blatant rebellion against God and God's ways. It's because of his sin. Okay, that's what Jesus knows for this guy in this situation, okay? And I don't want anybody, you know, get too knotted up here in thinking, like hyperanalyzing everything, like, okay, is what I'm experiencing because of my sin, okay? I would invite you just to examine your life like we're supposed to do and we're gonna do that before communion of just like Lord, like search me and know me, like see if there's any wicked way in me. If you don't feel like the Holy Spirit's showing you anything, it's probably not connected to that at all, okay? But I want you to think for a second here, take this physical condition, put that off on the side and just think about this man's spiritual condition. Think about your spiritual condition. Whenever, because of our sin and our pride and our own choices, when we get into a bad spot, whose fault is it? It's our fault, okay? All right, that's the principle of verse 14, okay? I explained this passage and we walked through, not this passage, there's one similar to this in the Gospel of Luke to the group of juvenile inmates in Montrose that I go to on Mondays. And we were in a similar passage that was linking someone's condition because of their sin. And I just said, hey, show of hands, how many of you have gotten into a bad spot because of your choices and your sin? Maybe you're even there right now, okay? And like literally everybody that was at the Bible says, yeah, that's me, okay? They knew it. It was just like, we know when it's our sin that has got us into this spot, okay? And what Jesus is doing here is he's coming around this guy and he's showing him this, he's being so gracious saying, see you're well. Now, don't go down that old path, okay? I've set you free to be free. That's what God does. He frees us so that we can live free, so not so that we can go back and we can live for sin. Amen? That's what he's showing us here, okay? The whole book of Galatians is basically that way, okay? Like you're not slaves to law, you're not a slave to sin, you're a slave to God and so live free, okay? That's what he's showing this guy. You know, similarly to somebody who's using rehab and the therapist or coach that's working with them, you know, this person's experiencing sobriety, they're doing well and they're getting close to graduate from rehab and this coach or therapist is like, just, hey, you're doing great, stay on the course, don't go back to the old stuff because it might even be worse for you, okay? Stay the course. That's basically what Jesus is saying here is, I have freed you, now live free, okay? Jesus saves us so that we can now live for him, not go back into the old stuff, right? That's what he's showing us. All right, we're gonna transition on to verses 15 and 16. The man went away and he told the Jews that it was Jesus who had healed him and this was why the Jews were persecuting Jesus because he was doing these things on the Sabbath. All right, so some new info arises for this guy. It's Jesus, Jesus is the one who healed me, okay? And then he goes back and he tells the Jewish officials and this is just a great example that Jesus is the main character in our story, is he not? Jesus is the main character and when we look back on our life and what he's delivered us from and when we were in a bad spot and we think, okay, how did I get out of that spot, all right? When we look forward, it's not always super clear but when we look back, it's like crystal clear, like it was Jesus, Jesus did that for me. The reason I am where I am is 'cause of Jesus, okay? So there's new info that this guy knows. Jesus is the reason that he's walking around at this point and now I wanna look at verses 17 and 18 and finish this up. Look how these officials who are grumbling about Jesus, look how Jesus responds to them, verse 17, but Jesus answered them. My father is working until now and I am working. This was why the Jews were seeking all the more to kill him because not only was he breaking the Sabbath but he was even calling God his own father, making himself equal with God, okay? Such a good line, not only is Jesus working but he's making himself equal with God. So these officials are just ticked off. One, Jesus is stirring up things on the Sabbath but two, he's calling God his father and making it seem like he's God's firstborn who's the inheritance of all things. He's making himself equal with God which is what he was doing on purpose and these guys are living and they're upset about it and so they go from wanting to persecute Jesus to wanting to kill Jesus in verse 18, okay? But here's what's going on. Jesus is indeed working on the Sabbath. That's what he's doing. Jesus is hard at work and he's working for others spiritual rest, that's what Jesus is doing. He's working so that people can have spiritual rest and this is the main reason why he's come. Jesus is working, he's working for this man in the story and he's working for me and he's working for you, amen? He's working for us and if you ask, how do I know God's working for me? How do I know? Well, there's all sorts of ways we know God's working for us. These little details of life and we can just pray to him about anything and he knows a word before it's even on our tongue, we can pray to him about the work day or about home life or a relationship or help me get to that appointment on time. God's working all those ways, okay? He's holding the universe together, but more than all of that, what we see just in such a clear way from God's word over and over and over again and we're singing about it already this morning, we're gonna keep singing about it. We know that God is at work for us because once upon a time we had no hope and we were without God in the world and we were broken and we were stuck and we were paralyzed in our sin just like this man at the pool of Bethesda and Jesus comes to us because God the Father sent Jesus to this earth to live a life like us but without sin, he was perfect in his fellowship with God, never broke any of God's commandments and then he went to a cross to take the punishment that we deserve for our sin, all of our sin, past, present and future, all those he's called by name, all of our sin, he took it upon himself on the cross and he died the death that we deserve and then he went into the grave and he took those sins into the grave, never to be seen again, those sins will never be seen from or heard from again according to God and then it doesn't stop there, does it? We already sang about it. On the third day he rises out of his own grave and he shows us in that in his resurrection that he has defeated death, that the curse of sin and physical death has no more chains that can bind him or anybody else, okay? Through Jesus you can be resurrected and have brand new life. Okay, and not only that but Jesus ascended into heaven, he's seen it at the right hand of God, he's interceding for his people, okay? So when God looks at Jesus he sees us through Jesus, okay? So when he thinks of us, he's seeing us through Jesus and his righteousness and his track record, but not only that, one day Jesus on the day that the Father is appointed is gonna return out of heaven and he's gonna make all things right and everything's gonna be restored, okay? Things that are broken are gonna be restored and fully healed, okay? Similar to this guy in the story that Jesus speaks and he's completely restored, God's gonna do that one day with all of creation and we're gonna worship him for endless days at his throne and we're gonna bring him glory because God is at work, amen? God is at work, that's what he's doing. And so he's at work in these amazing ways to bring many sons and daughters to glory. And if today you're hearing this and you're like, I don't think I've heard this like this before, okay? Today is your day, all right? Today is your day because God's working and he's working in this room, he's working at other campuses and online and if you're hearing the gospel that Jesus came for you and it's not about what you do for him but what he's done for you and you just say today, God, I'm broken and I can't fix myself, I can't do it and all I have is a bunch of sin and you just give that to God, he's gonna free you and he's gonna save you. That's what he's gonna do for you today, okay? All you have to do, if you just believe and ask him, you're gonna be saved and he's gonna have you forever. And he's not gonna save you so that you can keep on living the way you were living and he's gonna save you so that you can continue to live for him, amen? That's the reason to do. And church family, this is not just a sermon for those who need to believe or who want to believe but this is a sermon for us today because God is at work but surprise of all surprises he actually invites us into that work with him. Isn't this amazing? He actually invites us into his work with him. That's what God shows us throughout the rest of the New Testament all over the place and we're gonna see that continuing through the Gospel of John, Jesus says, "As the Father has sent me, so I am sending you," okay? And this is why I love being a part of Harmony Bible Church because our mission statement is we exist to bring glory to God by being disciples, I'm a follower of Jesus, he's made me well, I'm gonna follow him, right? Disciples who make disciples of Jesus, okay? God wants to use us to help others see how great and amazing he is and he's a God of grace and compassion and second chances and that he wants a relationship with you too, okay? And God's gonna use us for that. So, and he's using Harmony Bible Church day to day, week to week, year to year to accomplish this. And Southeast Iowa, West Central Illinois, Northeast Missouri, all across the world, he's using Harmony Bible Church in his work with him. He's advancing his kingdom throughout all the earth to all nations and we're a part of that. How amazing is that, right? As amazing that we can be a part of this. And I don't know if you caught the announcement that Pastor Chris made a couple of weeks ago, it was really important on November 17th, but if you weren't here or just as a reminder, it's gonna be up on the screen, all in for the one. Our church is going on a transformational journey together, okay? And Lord willing, we're gonna grow in depth and in breadth and this journey is gonna allow us to continue to experience God's amazing work in our lives, in our hearts. And then we're gonna see others, Lord willing, experience his work in their lives as well, okay? So what we're doing is we're gonna raise a lot of money, we're gonna be doing some projects, okay? And that'll be exciting and there's gonna be these things that happen, ribbon cuttings and whatnot and, but buildings fade and parking lots crumble. But the reason we're doing these things and we're expanding is because God is at work and he's bringing people to faith in his son and he's saving them for an eternal destiny so that they go from death to life and darkness to light and he's gonna use us as part of that. And so we're going on this journey together and as we go on this journey, we don't want some projects to happen without our hearts being on fire for the work that God has done and is doing in this world. And we don't want these projects to happen unless we continue to see people coming to saving faith in Jesus and their lives turned around forever, amen? That's what we're after and that's what we're praying for. And so let me just close with this. Church family, let's stay awake and let's stay busy, not with worldly passions and concerns that fade away, but let's stay awake and let's stay busy being reminded of God's work for us in Christ and then joining with him in that work. Amen, would you pray with me?