**Take Your Eyes Off The Pool, Your Miracle Stands in Front Of You**
It’s My Turn Now
John 5:1-9
1 After this there was a feast of the Jews; and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.
2 Now there is at Jerusalem by the sheep [a]market a pool, which is called in the Hebrew tongue Bethesda, having five porches.
3 In these lay a great multitude of impotent folk, of blind, halt, withered, waiting for the moving of the water.
4 For an angel went down at a certain season into the pool, and troubled the water: whosoever then first after the troubling of the water stepped in, was made whole of whatsoever disease he had.
5 And a certain man was there, which had an infirmity thirty and eight years.
6 When Jesus saw him lie, and knew that he had been now a long time in that case, he saith unto him, Wilt thou be made whole?'
7 The impotent man answered him, Sir, I have no man, when the water is troubled, to put me into the pool: but while I am coming, another steppeth down before me.
8 Jesus saith unto him, Rise, take up thy bed, and walk.'
9 And immediately the man was made whole, and took up his bed, and walked: and on the same day was the sabbath.
I want to tell someone........Like this man at the pool of Bethesda, you’ve been overlooked, crowded out, passed over, outran and pushed out.
But you’re getting ready for your Miracle
You’ve been like this man, you’ve been looking at it, dreaming about
it, talking about it, and singing about it (but you’re getting ready to get
it).
I can imagine this man staring at the water, watching for the slightest
ripple, saying to himself. (don’t miss it this time)
For hours and days and weeks, months, and years he watches the
water then for a minute he dozes off, or something caught his
attention and he misses it.
Shouts ring out .......as a once lame man cries out I can walk I can walk.
His heart sinks as he realizes (I missed it again, somebody got ahead
of me again).
I’m talking to someone today who has watched other people get
blessed, get healed, get promoted, get their new car.
And it looks to you from all natural evidence that it will never be you.
But the Lord said to tell you, it’s coming.
Be not weary in well doing for in due season you shall reap if you
faint not.
The Lord said to tell you to take the limits off him, don’t restrict him
to past methods or past experiences or past manifestations.
He says: Behold I will do a new thing.
For years the sick, the afflicted, the feeble would come to this pool and wait for a move of the water, but on this particular day God chose to move in a new way.
**Take Your Eyes Off The Pool, Your Miracle Stands in Front Of You**
Jesus stood in front of this man (Jesus the Word, Jesus who is health and healing, and blessing and prosperity).
Jesus who is the full manifestation of everything he ever dreamed of is standing right in front of this man.
Yet the impotent man’s mind is still on the pool.
He could believe for his miracle, his breakthrough, but he couldn’t see
beyond past glory.
God is bigger than that.
**Take Your Eyes Off The Pool, Your Miracle Stands in Front Of You**
Yes, Gods spirit was in the pool, but the pool was not God.
God is bigger than the last method he used.
For one blind man he touched his eyes and said according to your
faith be it unto you, for another blind man Jesus spit in the dirt and
made mud and rubbed it on his eyes.
This man almost missed his miracle because his faith was still
attached to the pool, he was expecting his miracle to come in the
water.
He almost missed his miracle because it didn’t come in the way he
expected it.
**Take Your Eyes Off The Pool, Your Miracle Stands in Front Of You**
When you need a miracle from God you have to give God the latitude to use whatever means he desires to get it to you.
If you are not careful you can miss the glory, the blessing, the miracle you need simply because it doesn’t come in the package you expected.
Remember God can use a dirty bird to bless you, God used a raven to feed his prophet Elijah.
Some of you: If God was to send your blessing by raven express, you’d shoot the raven before the blessing got to you.
There are some folk that are so caught up on king James pronunciation that if a prophecy comes to them and it’s not in King James English they won’t receive it.
Many times it’s not the devil that keeps us from receiving our miracle, it's our narrow minded religious attitudes that try to tell God how to do his business.
Bless me God, and here’s how I want it, and when I want it.!!!
This man almost missed the person with his blessing because he was
still attached to the pool.
His breakthrough had come, but it didn’t come the way he expected it
and he almost missed it.
He was so locked into the experiences of the past that he thought the
only way he could get his breakthrough and his miracle was, to get in the crowd and push and kick and crawl and cry and fight and work his way into the pool.
He could not fathom that it be as simple as just receiving.
Your miracle your blessing and your breakthrough is here and it’s not in the pool, it’s in the person and it’s not in your works it’s in your faith.
Yes faith has works (faith without works is dead).
But you can wear yourself out trying to work your way into a
blessing, or a miracle.
You can wear yourself out trying to make things happen, trying to get
people to recognize you, trying to open doors for yourself, trying to
get a platform for your gift.
Trying to convince God that you deserve a blessing, that you deserve
a breakthrough, that you deserve a promotion.
Yes faith has works, but faith culminates not in (trying) but in (trusting).
Not in (wrestling) but in (nestling).
Somebody needs to quit wrestling with God, and start nestling with
God.
I want to encourage somebody today who is on the verge of quitting, not turning your back on God per se’ but shutting down, turning off the switch of faith, you’ve questioned if it’s even worth it.
Somebody’s dream is on life support and your about to pull the plug, you’ve been in the fight of your life and you just don’t feel like you’ve got any fight left.
To you I say: Hold on, faith never quits, (quitters never win, and winners never quit).
The difference between success and failure is just getting up one more time than you fall.
Faith never quits, (your money may run out, your feelings may run out, your friends may run out).
But your faith will carry you through.
Never give up, never quit, never say die,.
You never know when the break through is coming; you never know
when the manifestation will come.
**Take Your Eyes Off The Pool, Your Miracle Stands in Front Of You**
You never know when the door will fly open, or when the power of God will show up in your behalf and turn the whole thing around.
One of the main ingredients of this mans miracle was his persistence, even though he had missed his miracle time and time again, and he had watched other people get in the water ahead of him, he kept coming.
He had something the old folks called (gumption) it’s kind of a old fashioned way of saying (grit) or (guts) or backbone.
Gumption is a good thing to have, It will get you up and get you moving, it’s the kind of thing that is a part of your character that won’t let you just lay around and be lazy and feel sorry for yourself.
Gumption made him keep coming, it made him press through his pain, press through his disappointment and discouragement.
Everybody needs some gumption (But gumption alone is not enough)
It’s one thing to have gumption, it’s another thing to have unction,
Unction is another word for the anointing.
Acts 1:8 Jesus said: But ye shall receive (power) unction after that the
Holy ghost is come upon you.
When gumption and unction come together, you’ve got some power
to function.
He had been a long time in that case, but he never gave up.
He woke up this particular morning and everything was the same.... he went thru the same routine as every other day.
What he didn’t know was that this was his day for a miracle.
Tell your neighbor: It’s closer than you think.
Now was this man just a random choice, or was there a principle at
work here?
Did it just so happen that Jesus was in that place, and did it just so happen that out of all the people there that Jesus came only and specifically to him?
No: Jesus came to him because according to this mans own words (he kept coming) he may have been outran, he may have been ran over, he may have been crowded out, but his persistence kept him coming and his persistence got God’s attention.
He kept coming:
He kept coming through his pain, through his discouragement.
Let me make it a little plainer (he kept coming through his bankruptcy, through his confusion, through his betrayal, through his rejection, he kept coming.
Tell your neighbor: I’m coming,
I’m wounded but I’m coming.
I’m hurting but I’m coming.
I’m confused but I’m coming.
I’m battling depression but I’m coming.
I’m dragging my leg, but I’m coming.
I may even have to crawl, but I’m coming.
To be honest sometimes I don’t feel like coming, it’s a challenge just to get up and get moving, but I know that if I don’t keep moving I’ll die.
And I made up my mind, If I’m going to die I’m going to die moving in the direction of my miracle.
I’m going to die like the little woman with the issue of blood, with my hand stretched out for the hem of his garment.
Tell your neighbor: Just keep moving.
Movement is a sign your still alive.
If you can’t move your legs, move your arms, if you cant move your
arms, move your head, if you can’t move your head wiggle your toes, and if you can’t wiggle your toes stick out your tongue, or roll your eyes, just do something to tell the devil your still here and you're alive and you're still moving!!!
Now tell your neighbor: I don’t won’t to discourage you, but I’m next.
I want to tell you (God is God and he doesn’t always do things the
same way) he can change the procedure anytime he wants.
All of these people were gathered around the pool waiting for their turn.
They were following the pattern of the pool method, they were waiting for the moving of the water.
But Jesus completely bypasses the pool procedure and comes to this man.
Jesus didn’t walk through the crowd, checking numbers, to see what order they were in, and who was next in line.
Let me say right here (Somebody’s getting ready to go to the front of the line).
Somebody’s getting ready to experience some divine favor.
Favor can do for you what no amount of education can do.
Favor can open doors, favor will elevate you, favor will change
peoples minds about you.
Favor will cause money to come to you, Favor is a magnet that draws
the blessings of God to your life.
Favor will cause people to bless you that don’t even like you.
Favor will put you in the front of the line, when others are more
qualified, and when others have been there longer.
Favor took Esther from a humble peasant girl to the queen of a nation.
Favor took Joseph from the pit to the palace.
Favor can completely reverse situations.
Wicked Haaman, plotted to destroy the whole Jewish race including
Esther, But God gave Esther favor with the King, and Hamans Plot was completely reversed.
Jesus said to the man: Rise take up thy bed and walk.
And Immediately = without hesitation or delay, he was made whole.
Is there anybody who has some immediate faith?
Some right now faith?
Not when I get to heaven...
Not one of these days...
Not 6 months from now, or 2 weeks from now, but right now.
Now faith is the substance of things hoped for the evidence of things
not seen.
Like this man, like Paul and Silas, Like Joseph in the prison, like Daniel in the lions den, like the 3 Hebrew boys in the fiery furnace...
You may be in a midnight hour, it may be the darkest hour of your life, But what I really like about midnight is no matter how bad it is, how dark it is, It is gone in 60 seconds.
Weeping may endure for the night but Joy comes in the morning.
Somebody said: when is it going to be my turn?
The line is so long and I’m so far back I don’t know if I’ll ever reach
the place of blessing, the place of promotion, the place of breakthrough, the place of miracles.
Just look over and tell your neighbor: God is getting ready to flip the script.
God is getting ready to turn things around.
Somewhere I remember reading a scripture that said: Humble yourself under the mighty hand of God that he may exalt you in due season.
Then I remember another scripture that said, “The first shall be last, and the last shall be first.”
Touch 3 people and tell them: I feel a turn around coming.
There’s something about God, that when it’s your turn, it doesn’t
matter where you’re standing in line, it doesn’t matter where you're at education wise, and it doesn’t matter where you're at socially, or economically.
It doesn’t matter if you're not the prettiest one or most handsome one, and it doesn’t matter if you’re the most qualified one from man’s perspective.
It doesn’t matter if you were voted the least likely to succeed.
It doesn’t matter if you’re the biggest one and the strongest one
In fact God gets pleasure out taking the little things, and using them in
big ways.
In fact the bible says: 1 Corinthians 1:27-29 “But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; 28 And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are: 29 That no flesh should glory in his presence.”
And again the bible says: 2 Corinthians 4:7 “But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.”
When it’s your season, You move to the front of the line.
In fact when it’s your turn, things other people are struggling with, for
you will just come to you.
A multitude was waiting for the moving of the water, but his miracle came to him, his blessing found him.
**Take Your Eyes Off The Pool, Your Miracle Stands in Front Of You**
David was out in the fields tending sheep (out of sight out of mind).
From all natural perspective he was not even in the line up, his name
was not even on the sign up sheet.
Samuel tried to anoint Jessie’s sons but the anointing refused them.
But when the Holy Ghost said: It’s your turn, David went from
obscurity and insignificance to the person of interest and the center of attention.
Send for him, for we will not sit down until he come.
And the bible says: Samuel anointed David in the midst of his
brethren.
When it’s your turn, God is going to bless you and he is going to do it
in such a way that you will be an example of his goodness, and his
faithfulness.
He’s going to raise you up, and he’s not going to do it in the closet,
he’s going to anoint you in the midst of your brethren.
Because God is not ashamed of his anointed ones.
I Believe Somebody is coming into their anointing right now.
Something you have been waiting for and pressing for and struggling
for, is getting ready to come to you.
You know what God is saying to some right now?
**Take Your Eyes Off The Pool, Your Miracle Stands in Front Of You**
God said: I’ve been watching you, and you may have been overlooked by others, and you may have been left out by others.
But you’re my choice, and it’s your turn now.
It’s your turn now to shine.
It’s your turn now to prosper.
It’s your turn now to be healed,
It’s your turn now for doors to open for you.
It’s your turn now for a fresh and increased anointing.
Tell your neighbor: Don’t be angry with me, I don’t mean to crowd you but it’s just my turn now.
**Take Your Eyes Off The Pool, Your Miracle Stands in Front Of You**
