Cross Road
Baptist Church
© 2017
Get Up
8. Jesus said unto him, “Rise, take up your 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.
John 5:8-9
The Power of Jesus’ Command
As Christians, we often take the Lord’s Word as suggestions or expressions of thought, when they are literally God’s Commands. When God speaks it is God commanding us to respond to Him. Jesus said unto him, “Rise, take up your bed and walk.” This Word carried with it two very powerful things. First, God gave the ability or strength for the man to rise. Second, God gave the intellectual ability for the man to respond. He was to take up his bed and walk.
We must never imagine that Jesus spoke in order to merely perform a miracle. This would limit God’s Power to some form of Divine Entertainment. Jesus did not come into the world to entertain; He came to seek and save that which was lost. The lame man had a need to be delivered from a useless life of waiting on miracles; his deepest need was to realize that the Savior had come. Jesus spoke powerfully to this man’s need, but as we shall see, the man did not glorify Christ in the manner that he should. After the granting of his deliverance from his thirty eight year infirmity, the man cared more for the attention of the Jewish leaders than for Jesus.
We need to make certain that when Christ speaks powerfully into our lives that we respond by “getting up.” This means a total transformation of our life to live in response to God. To “get up” is to realize the Power of God in our life and to live according to God’s Command. Are we doing that? We say that we are saved by the Grace of God. How does that look on a daily basis? Or, do we continue to beg for assistance from those who won’t respond and acceptance from those who care nothing for us? How we respond to God’s Command will determine if we “get up” or continue to live a powerless life.
It is not ironic that the All Powerful One would visit a place where there are people who are totally powerless. It is not strange that Jesus would walk, eat, and fellowship with people who needed help. If He had only associated with the elite of His day, people would have not have been drawn to them. So for the Almighty to walk among those who had no strength demonstrated how much He cared.
While the Jewish leaders purposely avoided the porches of Bethesda, Jesus made it His mission. Yes He went there. He went there because there lay a great multitude of impotent folk. He went there because there was a crowd of blind that needed healing. He went there because there were people who were weak and broken and withered. He went there because there were people living with the delusion that a pool of water could cure them. He went there because they needed to understand that Jesus could not only stir the water, He made water; He could calm the water; and walk on the water whenever He wanted to. Jesus went there because He was God, and they needed to know Him. It was in that context that this lame man met the Christ. He was not seeking Jesus, but Jesus was seeking Him. He did not know Jesus but Jesus knew Him. The man had nothing to offer Jesus, but Jesus had something for him that would make him whole. So the initial question was not “how are you.” The question was not, “what is your name.” Jesus opened the conversation with the man’s need. Wilt thou be made whole? The Jewish New Testament words the question, “Do you want to be healed?” To this the man responded in a manner that reflected not only his physical condition but also his spiritual resolve. He was lame in his mind and soul.
What does it mean to be lame in mind and soul? How does the fact that Jesus would speak a command that would change the man’s physical condition, but he would still have lameness in his heart? The man used limited faith rather than total dependence on God’s Word.
Thinking at Ground Level
The problem with many is that they think at ground level. The following are just my thoughts but I feel they are some ideas that need to be explored if we are to “get up” from ground level thinking. Thought number 1, “I am not good enough.” If you notice the lame man said “I can’t get in the water.” He felt that he wasn’t as fortunate as others, or lucky as others, or in Church language as blessed. The fact is, God made everything for His Purpose; there is no such concept as better than or less than. Of course there are people who can do what you can’t. That’s their niche not yours. This lame man, like many lame people feel that they are just not good enough to get those good breaks in life. So they are willing to stay that way.
The second thought is, “I can’t help myself.” This is also known as the victim mentality. It plays on sympathies and waits for handouts. That is ground level thinking and it gets you no where. The lame man said, “I have no one.” Was that real or just his perceptions. I would venture to say, it was his perceptions because when Jesus showed up, there was someone. I was always taught by my parents, “never depend on other people to do for you what you ought to be doing for yourself. In other words they taught me, “get up.”
The third ground level thought is, “it is somebody else’s fault.” This lame man was actually blaming other people. “While I am coming, someone else gets in ahead of me.” I wanted to say, “O really?” Why do we sometimes blame other people for a failure on our part? All of us do it. There are a couple of reasons. First, we have not learned the power of confession. Confession, if done right, frees you of everything in your past. (This will be further explored in another “UP” message titled “Confess Up). Second, we assume that once failed always failure. Somewhere in your DNA is a struggle gene. That struggle gene says “keep trying.” Struggle has been and always will be, the seed-bed of great ideas and innovative thinking. Third, blaming others gives us an excuse to give up and not try.
People who find themselves “down” generally think at ground level. It is only when faith is spoken that people begin the process of recovering from their “downward” state of mind. In other words if anyone is going to “get up,” a change of mind has to take place. I am so glad that Jesus Christ is not only a game changer, He is also a mind changer. I cannot tell you the many times I have been on my way to failure and disaster and Jesus spoke. He spoke through warning. He spoke by asking questions. Regardless of the situation, Jesus spoke and it changed my mind.
In Christ we can recover from ground level thinking. We must listen to His powerful Word and be willing to act on faith. Our first response to Jesus Word must be to realize that we are not paralyzed. Paralysis of the soul is fatal. Paralysis of the soul is also psychosomatic (meaning mental, or based on feeling). The lame man expressed his state of soul paralysis. Verse 5 describes that the condition had lasted thirty eight years. Verse 7 states how he coped with the condition, Sir, I have no one… The old folk would call that “crying the blues.” The late Nelson Mandela, former President of South Africa spent 27 years in prison. While in prison, he kept writing and focusing on the future. When he emerged from prison, he emerged a leader to his people and became President of the same nation that had oppressed his people. He was president from 1994 to 1999. Mr. Mandela believed in “get up.”
In Christ we can recover because Jesus speaks “power” to those who have the weak will. Notice again Jesus’ question. Do you want to be healed? Or, wilt thou be made whole? No one can answer that question but us. You can’t ask for a life line partner to answer it because they don’t know what’s inside of you. This is God speaking to the you ‘way down’ on the inside. This is God saying to you “get up.” It is you and only you that can answer that question. Here is where you evaluate whether you want to stay at ground level or rise above the mess. Thank God, He sees us in bad shape but does not leave us there. The interesting thing is that Jesus traveled through Gadara and met a demon possessed man. The man could not even speak for himself because of the demonic influence. But he came to Jesus. There was Jesus speaking to the inside of Him saying “get up.” He responded by coming to Jesus. The end result is that he was clothed and in his right mind. He got up.
In Christ we can recover because every impossibility is overcome by God’s Word. Thirty eight years is a long time to be anywhere. This man had spent thirty eight years of his life trying to get better but settling with ground level. I can tell you that with man things are impossible but with God all things are possible. Jesus spoke possibility to the man’s impossibility. Jesus said unto him, “Rise, take up your bed and walk.” Notice Jesus did not simply tell the man to simply “get up.” Our Lord also gave the man an assignment, take up your bed and walk.” You don’t need assistance with this one. This one will be something that God will give you strength to do for yourself. I am so glad God gave me the ability to do for myself. I can feed myself. I can cloth myself. I can walk for myself. These are just the little things that I call great things the Lord has done. I can think for myself. I can go to work and work a job. These are just a few things that I can thank God for everyday. I can worship for myself. I can tell God thank you for myself. I can sing for myself. I can pray for myself. I feel empowered because God told me, “get up.” I must ask this question, did God tell you to “get up.” If He did ask the question, where is your “get up and go?”
God’s Word to a Sinking Generation
We are living in a generation of not only ground level thinking but also sinking thinking. It is gradually becoming worse and worse. Just when you thought that people could not sink any lower, they discovered a new level to degradation. I must ask where is the “get up” in our society? People are doing wrong and they just don’t care. Truth is, I don’t know if we have thirty eight years to try to get it right with God.
In His Mercy, God is still speaking to a generation that has sold its soul for the dollar bill. “Get Up” is the Word for this generation of failure focused people. I am glad that God has not given up on us. Even though we are failure focused, the Lord is still good. God still has a plan for our future. It all begins when we listen to God saying “get up.”
Get Up means better living. Consider where you are and where you could be if you would simply listen to His Word. When I thought about the consequences of living saved, I realized that life had become so much better than living on ground level. Being saved, I paid tithes but I still spent less than I did being in the world. I didn’t spend money on liquor and good times. I didn’t waste my money or my time on frivolous living. When you “get up” you live better.
Get Up means responsibility. Now that I am living for God, there is a sense of accomplishment. I am actually living life trying to help others. If you are still living for yourself, you’re still living on ground level. If, however, you have a burden to help others and see them rise above their ground level situation, then you are now an official member of the “risen generation.”
Getting up is all about the Resurrection Power of Jesus Christ lived out in everyday life. It is the practical part of our faith that says, if Jesus rose from the grave with all power, I should be able to rise above the situation with His strength. It is His Resurrection that makes “getting up” possible. Welcome to risen generation!