INTRODUCTION
Did you know that it is the Lord’s will that everyone be made whole? And no, I do not just mean spiritually. Of course, this certainly includes the part of us that must be born again, saved, and made alive in Christ, but it also includes our whole man. Let’s look at a verse that describes to us what our entire person is made up of – First Thessalonians 5:23. Now if this isn’t one of your favorite verses before today, it just might be when it’s all said and done – because it is chalk full of some incredibly wonderful promises. This verse reads – “Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Notice the terminology that the apostle Paul uses in this verse: How God wants to sanctify us “completely,” and how He wants our “whole” spirit, soul, and body to be preserved blameless. By using terms like “completely” and “whole,” this insinuates that Paul believed these three things – spirit, soul, and body – are what thoroughly describe what each person is comprised of. In other words, our spirit, soul, and body are what each of us are, nothing more and nothing less. Now if you listen to a lot of Christians, you might think differently: There are some people who would call themselves Christians that think we are nothing more than a blob of flesh. In other words, they have zero revelation that we are anything more than our physical body. Then there are others – and this probably represents the majority of Christendom – who believe that we are body and soul. In other words, they acknowledge that there is a spiritual, immaterial part of us that is not physical. But Paul evidently thought there was more to us than this, here describing our whole man as spirit, soul, and body. Yes, he believed that we are a three-part being, not just one or two-parts. And he also evidently believed that all three parts of us need to be sanctified and preserved – indicating that all three parts of us are in need of being kept in a certain condition. So what we can learn from that is that if Paul was praying for the members of this church’s entire beings to be set apart, kept, etc., then it is possible for one, two, or even all three parts of our whole man to be injured, harmed, sick, etc. And sadly, this is the case for most people, even born-again believers. Sure, just as I’m sure we all realize our bodies can be infirm, sick, etc., the other parts of us can be in a similar condition. Yes, just as our bodies can be dead, our spirits can be dead. Just our bodies can be sick, our souls can be sick. Thus the necessity of having every part of our whole man being made whole. And I use the word “necessity” very specifically here because it is necessary for each of us to be made whole. IN THE BEGINNING Now it is important to understand how God originally designed things and why we are in the situation we are in today … You see, in the beginning, God created everything perfect & whole. Yes, He created everything with life in it and for all of His creation to produce that life after their own kind (i.e. in their own image and likeness). However, what He did for man was much better! He did not create us to reproduce after our own kind; He created us to reproduce after His own kind! Let’s look at Genesis 1:26 … It says, “Then God said, ‘Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness, let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” You see, with every other living creature that He created, He said that they would reproduce after their own kind. But with us, He said that we were to be made in His own likeness and image! In other words, we were to reproduce after His own kind! And notice that God said, “Let Us”… This is the first reference we have to what we call the Trinity in the Word of God, where God counsels among Himself that He would create man in their image and according to their likeness. I believe that this is why we find that we are created as a tri-fold being as well, a “trinity” if you would. Let’s look over at Genesis 2:7, where we see the original reference to man being a three-part being: In this passage, we are told that God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into His nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul. So before there ever was a Letter to the Thessalonians that described our complete & whole man, we had Genesis 2:7 that shows us that we are a three part being – spirit, soul, and body – the body being what God formed from the dust of the ground (making the physical from something natural), the spirit of man being that breath of life that God breathed into his nostrils (breathe being another term used for spirit), and then the soul’s being made as a result. But as we well know what happened – There was the fall where Adam & Eve ate of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good & evil. This is when the image and likeness that they were created in was partly ruined. Although man maintained His physical appearance to a certain degree (aside from the death that works in each one of us causing things to stop working in our bodies and things to waste away), the death that we experienced was mainly unseen. This was the result that God forewarned them would happen if they ate of that tree when He said, “You shall surely die”… In the Hebrew language, the phrase “surely die” literally means, “in dying, you shall die.” In other words, there are two deaths that came as a result of the sin in the Garden: Number one, “in dying” He meant they would die spiritually. They would experience a separation from God in their spirit which caused them to lose many of the elements of His likeness. But then He said, “in dying, you shall die,” or in other words, “because of your death spiritually, you shall die naturally.” So this is what happened: When Adam and Eve partook of the fruit, they immediately experienced death by having their spirit die. This was like being killed from the root. So then, the result of having their root system die, was that “in dying spiritually, they shall die physically.” This will come with time but because what is unseen and underground (i.e. the root) is spoiled, it will eventually cause the part of us that is seen to spoil as well. You see, what we lost in the Garden was the image and likeness of God in our spirit. Our root system was killed. So this obviously affected our outward man as well. This is why we see things like sickness, weakness, infirmities, diseases, and death rampant in the world today. It is because we lost the glory, and the curse entered this physical realm! This opened the door for sin and the death that comes as a result. DO WE NEED TO BE MADE WHOLE? So what this all means is that we all have a desperate need to be made whole. First and foremost, we need to have our spirit made whole. Yes, we need to be made alive again spiritually which occurs through the new birth. But we also likely need to experience the same life in our body & soul because we live in this sin-cursed and fallen world that exposes us to death on so many levels. Yes, we all will likely have the need to have our physical condition made whole because we live in a world where sickness, disease, and infirmities run rampant. Now this will ultimately be fulfilled when Jesus returns and our bodies are resurrected, but the Scriptures teach us that we can walk in that resurrection life now and receive His power in our bodies. And we all likely need to have parts of our soul made whole because life happens, and we can experience things that have impacted our souls negatively. You see, many people do not even realize that they need healing in some of these areas. Sure, with most physical conditions, we know there’s a need to be made whole, but when it comes to the soul, it is a lot more difficult to tell whether something needs healing. Yes, those of us with these unseen infirmities, might not even be aware that there is something that is keeping us from living out the quality of life that God has provided. In fact, these spiritual and soul conditions are like that of a physically sick person – in need of healing and soundness. In other words, a lot of people’s inward condition mirrors that of a person who cannot see, speak, walk, or do other normal physical things. But like I said, most people don’t realize that this is their condition. Why? Because they’ve learned to live with it. It’s been with them seemingly their entire life, so it’s normal. If it were something very obvious to others and to themselves, they might be aware. But for those so-called personality quirks and triggers that people have, that’s just how we see them – as just who we are. A good example of this is with our physical vision: If we have a hard time reading just about anything without glasses, we might more easily recognize the need for some help with our vision. But like it was with some of us, we never thought we had an issue with our eyesight – that is, until we went to the optometrist and had him show us the difference between my regular eyesight and what it looks like with some help. This is when I realized I needed some help. So my point is that sometimes, we just live with our stuff for so long that we don’t recognize that there is something more that is available. For example, if you’ve never had any peace, how would you know what an absence of worry, anxiety, fear, etc. even felt like? If you’ve never really had joy, how would you know what it was like to actually be happy? What if you were always something else like angry, suspicious, irritable, depressed, etc., etc., etc.? How would someone who has lived that way for so long know that they could live differently? This is when we need someone to come show us that there is something more. That is when we need to go before the Lord and let the Great Physician both show us our true condition and prescribe to us the way of escape from it. So I’m here to tell you today that if there is something that seems to keep you from being the way God’s Word reveals that you can be, then that is something that we can target as a potential area of healing. But my point is that it is clear that there is both the opportunity and the need for wholeness in all three aspects of our entire person. So what I want to do in this series is not just recognize the need to be made whole in our whole being, but to get into how we can be made whole. Yes, this is not going to just be about what the problem is and that there is a solution to it. We are going to look at some examples each week of people who needed to be made whole and how they were. You see, while we might have a lot of theories and philosophies of how this happens, I think it’s wise that we search the Scriptures to see what the Bible has to say about this. How many of you know that all the knowledge, all the wisdom, and all the truth that we need to experience healing, wholeness, and life is found in the Scriptures? The world might think they have the answers, but the truth is that God alone has the answers. So we do well to search His Word for those answers in this area. DO YOU WANT TO BE MADE WHOLE? So this week, I want us to look at story in the Gospels where Jesus asked an infirm individual a very important question that we need to answer ourselves – because this is the foundation to everything else we will learn through this study. So let’s look at this Scriptural example in John 5:2-9, where we have the account of the man healed at the Pool of Bethesda, and learn some truths from it … In verse 2, we see John calling this place, in Hebrew, “Bethesda.” Some translate this as “House of Mercy” or “House of Grace,” but others translate it as “Place of Outpouring.” Now a lot of us have our “Bethesda’s” too – that is, physical places where we believe God gives mercy, provides grace, and where His outpouring is. And we will run to those places, worship those places, and see these places as the source of everything we need. It’s just the tendency of man. And guess what? The Pool of Bethesda really was a place where God sovereignly “poured out” His “grace & mercy.” Thank God for these places, but I want you to realize today that in the life & ministry of Jesus, there were many more who came to Him and received their healing than there were those who the Lord came to and healed. Therefore, our “Pools of Bethesda” are not to be the primary source of grace & mercy; Jesus was, is, and evermore shall be! In other words, don’t look for a place; look for the Person. Amen! (We will hammer this point more in today’s teaching). And we also see in verse 3 that a “great multitude” of sick people were gathered there. So this is more than just a couple of dozen people; this is talking about what is likely hundreds of sick people. And what were all of these infirm people doing? Verse 3 says they were “waiting for the moving of the water.” Did you know that this is what most Christians are doing today? They are waiting for God to move so that they can experience His various blessings such as healing. But there are two major problems with this statement when we, as God’s children, do this today:
I feel a lot of Christians are like that—they are dying of thirst and begging the Lord for those rivers of living water when He has already put those wells of salvation on the inside of them and they simply just need to have their eyes opened to see that. But again, most of us tend to wait for the supernatural visitations of God, where there is a legitimate move of God, or some especially anointed man or woman of God holds a meeting – which is essentially what happened in this story. But I want you to notice what happened in it … Verse 4 tells us that an angel came down at a certain time into the pool. Now we don’t know how this happened—maybe this angel put his massive finger in the water and stirred it like that, maybe he did a big cannonball in there and then proceeded to do backstrokes, stirring up the water. We don’t know how he did it, but evidently there was something going on in the water to where the people could tell that something supernaturally was happening. Then we are told that whoever stepped in first was made well of whatever disease he had. So you can just imagine what was happening here. All of these sick and infirm people were gathered around the pool like a bunch of turtles, waiting for the stirring of the waters. Then when it happened, they started plopping in one at a time like turtles. And whoever was quick enough to get in first was supernaturally healed. Now I want to remind you that there were multitudes of sick people gathered around this pool, hoping to be the first one to get in. So we don’t know how many people were there to be healed, but a multitude indicates that it was a lot. So the odds of you being the one who got healed through this supernatural phenomenon were highly unlikely. Yes, it was statistically not in your favor at all. So I make this point to again say that living our lives waiting for the supernatural movings of God to get the miracle we need is not the best way. Sure, these situations do happen, and praise God when they do, but the odds of it happening are not in our favor. So does that mean we are up the creek without a paddle? No! There is another way to receive our wholeness, and that is through Jesus Himself! We will learn how this works throughout this series. But I want you to notice that in verse 5, John is sure to tell us that this man had his infirmity for 38 years! Now the word “infirmity” literally describes a “weakness” or “illness.” So, we don’t know exactly what this man’s physical issue was, but I think it is safe to assume that we are talking here about a literal physical impotence (i.e. helplessness). Perhaps he lost the working ability of his legs. It was indeed something that caused this man to not be able to get himself in the pool when the waters were being stirred. But the fact that this man was this way for 38 years shows that this man’s infirmity likely had become his identity. We have reason to believe this because of what Jesus asked him (i.e. Do you want to be made well?) and also because of his response to that question (i.e. Sir, I have no man to put me into the pool). Let’s first touch on what Jesus asked him … In verse 6, we see that when Jesus saw him lying there and knew (likely a gift of knowledge) that he had been in that condition a long time, He went to him and asked – “Do you want to be made well?” What an interesting question … I mean, of course he wants to be made well, right? Well, the answer is not all that simple. Some people like their infirmity. It’s like a little pet that they are able to stroke and brings them comfort. Some people like the attention that it gives them and the sympathy that it generates. Some people get sustenance for their physical, mental, and emotional issues. So, yes, there are many reasons that people don’t really want to be made well for. But I’m sure this man thought he wanted to be made whole. I guarantee you that he believed he really wanted his healing. But do you know how you can tell whether someone really does or not? Look at how he responded to Jesus’ question … In verse 7, we see the excuses abounding in this guy: He, first of all, says that the reason he can’t get into the pool to receive his miracle was because he doesn’t have anyone to throw him in the pool. Then, he blames it on the fact that someone else was cutting in ahead of him. So you could say that he was saying, “I don’t have anyone to help me” and “Others are keeping me back from it.” Do you know of anyone like this? Always blaming someone else for their plight. Well, I believe this is why Jesus asked him this question – because our will is the most important part of the equation. And if we are making excuses, we don’t want it. And if we want it, the excuses are not an issue. We press through them, and go after what we want. But the fact is, the moment we begin blaming it on others holding us back, not supporting us, etc. we are digging ourselves a hole that we can’t get out of. Blame-shifting is as old as the Garden; it was wrong then and it is still wrong now. Here are some other translations of this question: The King James Version says, “Wilt thou be made whole?” The English Standard Version puts it this way – “Do you want to be healed?” The word that is used for “want” here literally means “to have in mind, to intend, to be resolved or determined, to purpose, to choose or prefer. This is the same word that the leper used when saying to Jesus, “Lord, if you are willing, You can make me clean.” In other words, He wanted to know if Jesus chose, preferred, or desired for him to be cleansed. So yes, the gist of this question is, do you desire, or do you wish to, be healed and made whole. But it also means, are you resolved and determined to be healed? So let’s look at that question that Jesus asked this man in a different light: If Jesus was asking him, “Do you want (wish or desire) to be made well?”, do you think that this had anything to do with him being made well? Absolutely! Now we know that Jesus bypassed a lot of this in this man’s life and sovereignly intervened on his behalf, but what we again need to understand is that this is the exception to the rule. But I’m here to tell you today that if one wants to be made well, they can! They don’t have to wait for Jesus to come rescue them like this man did. They don’t have to wait for the stirring of the waters to get their miracle like this great multitude did. If you and I want to be made well, we can. HOW TO GET WHAT YOU WANT So, what I “want” to do today, is talk about how to get what we want: Now I believe this “want to” is manifested in different ways, so let’s consider how one gets what they want in this physical world we live in. Yes, let’s get into some keys to getting what we want. In other words, if we really want to be made whole, what are the things we need to do? Well, the primary way that I would venture to say that people get what they truly want is by simply asking for it. Now I am not suggesting that we ask God to heal us or anything like that. All I am saying is that going after something in prayer is one way in which we get what we desire. Let’s look at some verses that substantiate this …
Here are some Scriptures that describe the asking with our whole heart …
But here’s an important point – when we ask in faith and with all our heart, there is also the receiving & taking part … I see this one as the biggest problem in most Christian’s life. They ask. They even seek some. But they don’t take what is there and what is theirs! We see this mindset in so many of the people who came to Jesus to be made whole. Many of them took their healing. They received what the Lord had to offer. I just think sometimes Christians are too nice. We try to be kind & polite. But the fact is, there are a lot of times when we have to take what we want. Jesus said in Matthew 11:12 that the kingdom God suffers violence and the violent take it by force. You see, some things just must be taken forcefully. Not this willy nilly, que sera sera mentality that expects it to just happen to us. No, we take it because it has been made available to us. Amen! Saints, we can be whole if we really want to be made whole. And if we are not, we can’t blame it on what someone else is not doing for us or what someone else has done to us. We must take responsibility for our own wellness and seek to take what is ours. Do you want to me made whole? Then you can, and you will. Amen!
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