John 5:1-9 says, After this there was a feast of the Jews; and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.   Now there is at Jerusalem by the sheep market a pool, which is called in the Hebrew tongue Bethesda, having five porches.  In these lay a great multitude of impotent folk, of blind, halt, withered, waiting for the moving of the water.  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.  And a certain man was there, which had an infirmity thirty and eight years.   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?  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.  Jesus saith unto him, Rise, take up thy bed, and walk.

I come to tell someone today that the water is stirred and it doesn’t matter who gets in first all that matters is that you get in!  Will you get in or will you continue to lay by the pool and watch everyone get in before you?  Are you tired of seeing everyone blessed while you lay around on the sidelines?  The blessing is available for you, but you gotta do like Mary Mary said and Go Get It, Go Get Your Blessing.  Your blessing is not coming to you lying around.  The bible says that faith without works is dead which lets us know that there should be a corresponding action to our faith.  Jesus asked this man, will you be made whole and the man responded with an excuse.  Many of us are just like this man, full of excuses.  Excuses, excuses, excuses!  Jesus there’s no one to help me, Jesus I don’t have the resources.  I don’t, I don’t, I don’t.  God knows what you do and do not have.  He knows better than you what you have because He’s the one who gave it to you.  If He tells you to do something than He has equipped you with the ability to do it.  You just need to tap into your untapped potential and resources.  There is a wealth of potential and resources within you to do what God has called you to do.  In Matthew 14, Jesus told His disciples to feed the people.  The disciples were thinking we can’t possible feed these people, there are over 5,000 men and that’s not including the women and children, how are we going to feed them and we only have 5 loaves of bread and two fish?  God is telling you to do something and you feel like the disciples, you’re thinking I cannot possibly do this, all I have is this little ___, I don’t have enough money, enough support, enough experience, enough contacts…  The list goes on and on of what we don’t have enough of.  God is the Great I Am.  In our deficiencies God is our all sufficiency.   He knew what we had before He gave us the assignment.  Stop worrying about what you don’t have and give God what you do have and you will find out when you give God what you have, you have more than enough.  So stop making excuses.  God is not interested in our lame excuses.  Our excuses are as lame as those laying around the pool at Bethesda.

Jesus is saying to us today, take up your bed or some translations say take up your mat and walk.  Your bed is that thing that has held you captivated in your comfort zone.  Take up your bed and walk out of your comfort zone, because your greatness is on the other side of your comfort zone.

Pastor Mel

MK Ministries