Trust Me I'm Trying! | Pastor Steven Furtick | Elevation Church

now John chapter 5 verse 7 sir the invalid replied I have no one to help me into the pool when the water is stirred while I am trying to get in someone else goes down ahead of me you're gonna love this because you've been wanting to say this anyway on my title and I'm gonna let you say it right now and because I'm telling you to say it you will have permission to say it look at the person next to you and tell them this and tell them in a convincing way say trust me I'm trying you may be seated I promise I am I really am trying I know I don't always hit the mark but I really am trying because for me I have a rule especially as a boss the people that work for me is that I always try to make it a point never to punish somebody who's trying to be proactive I feel like if somebody makes a mistake because they took it a little too far that's a little Jesus Jesus let Peter cut Malchus's ear off in the garden and put it back on like Mr. Potato Head but I think he liked Peter because Peter wouldn't just sit around Peter was like all right I can do something about this the Spirit is willing the flesh is weak and I'm about to use my flesh to cut off and and that's that's a really interesting thing isn't it now the kids will call somebody a try hard it's like a way of saying you know if if it looks like you you try too hard on your outfit and I get that but I like people who will give it a level of effort and even if they miss they swing so big I've always liked people like that I thought I should tell you this if I ever come up here to preach and I don't do good which I'm sure happens it won't be because I didn't try so if you ever see me up here struggling in this pulpit and you're like I don't really understand this one I think I see what he was trying to do did you catch that number one it's probably your fault cuz you didn't pray enough before you came to church that's it but trust me I'm trying and I think sometimes it can be frustrating when you are giving your best effort but what is required of you is beyond your ability and I'm gonna try to ignore this fly buzzing around my head but touch somebody and say I'm trying I'm I'm really trying I'm you must have had to really trust Jesus to follow him when he walked the earth people say oh I wish I could have followed Jesus and walked with him you know now it's harder because God is not visible like that and it would have been so cool no it wouldn't it would have been so difficult to trust Jesus and he was always getting in so much trouble he was always explaining his actions and his intentions after the fact and what that required from his disciples was just this crazy amount of trust I'm trying I'm really trying whatever you do just pray for me do em all do them all let's back up and see why he's feeling so feisty today sometime later verse 1 John chapter 5 Jesus went up to Jerusalem for a feast of the Jews now there's in Jerusalem near the Sheep gate a pool which in Aramaic is called Bethesda means house of mercy and is surrounded by five covered colonnades or porches here a great number of disabled people used to lie the blind the lame and the paralyzed it's important to note before I go on that this is a specific dwelling place for people with physical infirmities and the reason I point that out is because I'm gonna make some spiritual parallels to the physical infirmities that are mentioned in this passage but I don't want us to miss the historicity for the sake of application I think that would be irresponsible Bible teaching the people who were at this particular Hospital if we can even call it that it was more like a public service this pool was not a resort pool nobody is bringing you little umbrellas in your drink at this pool this is a crowded pool and there's pushing and shoving and word has it that if you can get in the pool when the angel stirs the water intermittently you can get healed and this puts certain people who have certain disabilities at an advantage over others for instance it said there were the blind the lame and the paralyzed and so if you're a blind man by this pool you can probably feel your way to the edge of the pool so that when there's an opportunity to get in and be healed you'll be the first one there but if you're paralyzed it puts you at a disadvantage because even if you get yourself to the edge of the pool there's a chance that someone else can pull you back you are powerless and that's an interesting thing about life I was out at the ball field last baseball season and I saw this really good dad with a fanny pack he didn't look happy he didn't look like you know these are the days making memories he didn't look selfie ready but you know what I liked about him he was carting this wagon he looked like he had some snacks for his kids or maybe he was on snack duty that day and I just admired him because he was trying I watched him pull that wagon up the hill I thought about it how he was trying he was sweating all through his shirt you could tell he came straight from work it wasn't a baseball shirt he must have had the wagon that he packed the night before because he didn't have time to change the shirt but he just came out there the shirt was untucked on one side looked like he spilled a little something on the collar and he was sweating through it but he was trying and I've always loved the scripture that says that Jesus looked at one man and he loved him I thought about that a lot lately how Jesus would show up to a place and look for somebody who was at a disadvantage I kind of imagine him walking around the pool at Bethesda and I'm sure his disciples were shocked that he would waste time with a bunch of people who they would call crippled that's not a PC term but that's how they would have put it sickness was connected to spiritual disorder in this time Judaism in the first century made a strong connection between your spiritual condition and your physical condition so like if you had money that was a proof that you were living right it's how they thought about it we know that's not always the case we know a lot of times some of the greatest people who are the most faithful to God they might not live in a big house on earth but we'll probably be cleaning their toilets in heaven for the treasure that they're storing up after this life and yet there's this tendency to just judge things by the physical always for all of us so I kind of picture Jesus walking around and asking questions one interesting thing that's in the text let me show you this real quick it's too cool for me just to reference I want to make sure it's very vivid yeah it said one who was there verse five had been an invalid for thirty-eight years and when Jesus saw him lying there and learned now what stood out to me about that text wasn't that Jesus saw him what what stood out to me about this text wasn't that the man had issues we all have issues and frankly we all have areas of paralysis and I'm gonna talk about yours in seven minutes so buckle in and get that judgmental look off your face because I'm coming for you on this particular occasion what stood out to me is Jesus learned I didn't think he could do that because he's the image of God he's the wisdom of God how can the wisdom of God learn information I figured that he must have been walking around asking how about her how long has she been here somebody said well she just got here last week Jesus said nah not her how about him how long has he been like that that blind eye right there yeah it's recent it's recent it's been it's been two months I think two months two months Jimmy two months yeah two months two months and three days yeah two months and three days no no no not him how about that one three years we'll see put him on standby because he's looking for somebody to heal he's looking for somebody who can experience a miracle he's looking for a platform to demonstrate his power how about him five years eh how about her seven how about that guy how long has he been like that nine years getting closer how about him and finally somebody figures out what he's doing well if you want somebody who's been here a while I see what you're doing 38 years long enough that he has given up hope that anything can ever be different and Jesus learned that there was one imma try so hard not to cry when I say this to you but verse 5 says one who was there had been an invalid for thirty-eight years what does it mean that Jesus who only had three years to do ministry and was on his way to a feast would come by for one does it mean could it mean that out of everybody that I'm preaching to today out of everybody that made a decision to show up at a campus that God might want the one in the back who got here twelve minutes late pulling a wagon just trying to get through the week could it be that God is looking for the one who had the worst week the worst upbringing the one that other people said could never be anything the one who has gotten so used to how it is this is really what happens in life you get so used to how it is that you cannot recognize that how it used to be is no longer what's in front of you all right so let's work on this a little bit bring him here Jesus says now when you get to heaven you'll probably be shocked who's there and who's not how many agree there's gonna be some people in heaven that are gonna shock us like woah she made it that must have been like a thief on the cross deathbed kind of she got in right under the wire whoa they made it I thought they believed weird stuff they were new agey and they made it I think we're gonna be surprised who's there and who's not cuz I think we're always surprised who God picks and who he uses and who he doesn't one was there who had been lying there for so long that you can even tell in his response and the questions Jesus asked him that that he had he had gotten tired of trying my message today is for anybody who's tired of trying in an area of your life tired of trying to repair a significant relationship tired of trying to be open so that you can experience relationships tired of trying to overcome the thing that you keep going back to and it's been since you were even in your teens and now you're a grown man I edited it for YouTube and now I'm tired of trying because there was a time where I tried to get people to help me to get into the pool but now I found out that there's no one to help me now what's mind-blowing about the situation at the pool at Bethesda is how many different ways I have heard this preached that completely contradict the heart of God for instance when Jesus comes up to the man and learned that he had been lying there and he had been in this condition for a long time pause how many of y'all have been in a certain condition for a long time Jesus I need help there's three honest people in the church and I forgot I was coming out to speak to the perfect Saints the 10 out of 10 A+ Saints I forgot I was talking to the all-stars today I thought I was coming to Elevation where they're not afraid to be real in your name amen how many of y'all have had certain patterns of thinking that have been negative for a long time I mean a long time I don't know how old the man was but 38 years trust me I'm 39 is a long time this is the entire span of my natural life and for so long he's been unable to move that now he cannot recognize the help that is standing right in front of him and Jesus asks a question that I have often heard misinterpreted when he says do you want to get well tone is everything that's why you can't text every conversation because tone is everything sometimes you need to pick up the phone and call people because completely depending on the tone is how you see the heart of Jesus I always read it for a long time like Jesus said do you want to get well I almost see him now like he's got something in his back pocket and he's sneaking around the pool looking for somebody they say God helps those who help themselves but I almost see Jesus looking for somebody who can't and he's like I see you caught in the situation you want to get well and the man has every reason to be suspicious can you imagine how many people have taken advantage of him in almost 40 years of suffering how many hustlers have come through the pool at Bethesda trying to sell a magic potion or some bubbling water hey I got some cream man put it on your legs I promise it's blessed hey man I promise you I'll bring you to the pool I'll push you in when the water starts bubbling just give me half now and half after the move I promise you I can carry you in I got you how many times did somebody make him a promise because it seems cruel that Christ the expression of the love of God would stand over a man who couldn't move and ask him such a ridiculous question do you want to lose weight well yeah do you do you want to be happy well yeah do you want to be able to live at peace without anxiety well yeah what you selling I heard this spiel before I tried that diet how many of y'all tried that diet before I put a meditation app on my phone y'all to be honest with you I got four meditation apps on my phone I tried all of them I either fall asleep or my leg starts doing like that I can't do it everybody tells me to meditate the Bible says meditate Russell Brand says meditate Joe Rogan says meditate everybody's telling me to meditate I tried it I really did try it they also taught me about portion control I tried portion control how many of y'all somebody told me one time they said here's how you here's how you stay at an ideal weight when you're full stop eating my only problem I never found full that gage got broken somewhere in my childhood I never felt full so I kept eating I tried that oh they say if you don't complain you will feel more connected to God I tried it but I found out sometimes if you don't complain nothing changes I tried so hard not to complain one time I was gonna go seven days without complaining and I thought if I could do it I can make a sermon out of it I thought I could call it you know seven days a week of worship or something like that I tried so hard not to complain for seven days what happened was and this is so embarrassing to admit to you the more I tried not to complain externally because sometimes you can fix the symptom now I'm in the text you can fix the symptom and stop trying to complain but the root of it what happened to me was I went five good days without complaining but on day six the walls of Jericho came tumbling down a day early everything in my path was oh it was a tornado it was a downpour because when you fix the symptom but don't address the system that created the symptom the end is worse than the beginning you want to get well well yeah I'm trying when you get to heaven you'd be surprised who's there and who's not but one thing you might really be shocked about this dude whoever he is in John 5 is gonna have a long line of preachers waiting to apologize to him for how we misinterpreted his story in John chapter 5 oh I've heard everything I've heard it said that in 38 years the man should have been able to crawl or roll his way to the edge of the pool yeah like that will work cuz now somebody stronger than you is just gonna pull you back at the moment you're still powerless to fall in at the right time and besides when has Jesus ever taunted someone into transformation you really think that's the spirit of the Savior some of us do we really picture God like standing over us in our minds our concept of God like you don't want it bad enough if you would have done it different when they were 8 they wouldn't have been in so much trouble when they were 18 see you screwed them up that's what God sounds like to a lot of us so it's no surprise that when we hear Jesus say do you want to get well he says it with a snarl you know do you even want to get well do you even lift are you even serious I mean prove it if you do if you want to get well say I want to get well so why did he ask him why did he ask the man do you want to get well before he helped him get up and walk and as I prayed through that this week I realized that before Jesus could help him walk he had to help him want I don't know who this is for but God is dealing with your desires in this season of your life you have been disappointed over and over and over again and every time you try nobody notices and every time you try you come up short sickness is cyclical it comes around it goes around you're well for a little while and then it's the same thing all over again but this time it's only worse because now not only are you back where you started but you have less hope that it is ever going to be different because you've cycled through it one more time just to realize well I guess I'm just a cynical person well I guess I'm just a negative person I guess nobody in my family was meant to go to college I guess see when you hang around the colonnades with people who are sick sickness becomes normal to you and it starts to be easier for you to just accept the condition than to challenge it because to challenge the condition means to risk disappointment and some of us have tried got blocked tried got blocked tried got blocked and now people see you and they assume that you don't care no I care I cared and I cared so much but they didn't care back and I tried so hard and I still got looked over and don't you know it's hard when your expectation has been damaged by disappointment it's it's a slow damage it's a slow tearing of the muscle fibers it's a slow deterioration of your hope by disappointment it is not one event that creates it it's over and over I tried and I tried and I smiled and I stayed and I cooked and I parented and I disciplined and I showed up and I didn't care and the man has finally gotten to a place I believe where he is tired of trying are you it's supposed to be the Sabbath it's supposed to be a day of rest why did Jesus stop by the pool on the day of rest to perform a miracle you're not supposed to work on the Sabbath this may offend you but it won't be the first time if this offends you your metal detector is turned up to level 10 anyway and you need to just turn it down y'all notice we live in a gotcha culture an outrage culture just nobody can say anything you can't say anything anymore and the more that people try to help us the more we crucify them if they say the wrong thing have you noticed that this is how they treat Jesus he heals the man on the Sabbath and all that anyone can talk about is that he did it on the wrong day so this is what I want to say that's gonna offend you you thought that was what was gonna offend you no no no no Jesus walks up on the Sabbath and and when he tells the man in verse 8 get up pick up your mat and walk he is he is trying to get the man to break Sabbath so Jesus walks up to the pool looks around and asks the man what's going on in your heart right now because before I can help you walk I have to heal your will so here's what Jesus does that we don't like he calls BS he calls watch this he calls BS and I don't know what you're thinking about right now but I'm talking about broken system see now there's one thing in the verse there's one thing in the verse that doesn't make sense unless you understand the historical context when the man says I keep trying I keep trying to get down there but I can never be first I'm not fast enough in fact I can't move at all I keep trying but every time I try something blocks me and Jesus says that's because the system is broken if you'll notice give me verse 4 of the scripture I forgot to read it John 5:4 Jared it's been a long week you know Staff Advance Jared where's Jared can you get it him yeah I need him verse 4 unlocks the whole thing we can wait this man waited 38 years we can wait three minutes it's not in the manuscript oh they they added that verse later yeah it's not even in the original manuscript they they added a scripture later they added a verse to explain the situation it didn't make sense so they had to you can go back to your job now they had but come here real quick real quick real quick real quick so a lot of times when a situation in my life doesn't make sense to me I add a verse I add a verse you know how we do it's like okay rather than deal with it I would rather explain it in a way that excuses me from having to deal with it there's a reason verse 4 isn't in there because it's not in there there's some stuff that you're putting in your story that doesn't belong there cause God didn't speak it and it's not true anymore you can go back see what the man said reflects a broken system and it reflects a bad story that's another BS the devil has got some of us telling ourselves some really bad stories and this man has been telling himself a story 38 years no one wants to help me everybody's out to get me every time I try no one wants to help me everybody's out to get me every time I try so here comes Jesus he doesn't know Jesus he's never met Jesus Jesus is new to the scene Jesus hasn't even done the captain dees miracle yet that's in John chapter 6 he hasn't even gotten familiar with this guy yet he hasn't even had an opportunity to unpack the whole historicity of his situation so he's standing in front of Jesus and he's rightfully skeptical because he's in a broken system where the religious leaders are trying to let the first ones in and keep the rest back and unless you keep the law this good you can't be healed of course he's stuck he's stuck in a broken system so are some of us he's stuck in a bad story and so are some of us we've inserted verses that aren't even there to explain why we are the way we are we think it's our job to suffer you know suffering for Christ and for the good of others is one thing in sacrifices but to suffer the shame that he already took away from you is to snatch back what he nailed to the cross it is not your job to suffer like that that's a broken system I'm telling you men and women of the Most High God religion is a broken system that's why Jesus went for one to show you this is a relationship I want to deal with you one-on-one I want to speak to you like a person not like you're some kind of project not like you're some kind of defect I don't have anybody to help me trust me I'm trying I'm really trying if you knew how hard I was trying you wouldn't make fun of me like that and ask me do I want to get well I don't have any help and see that was true five minutes ago but the situation has changed what he said used to be true it was true for a long time and then grace shows up at the Pool of Bethesda five porches five is the number of grace always symbolism there's levels to this text we could preach a series on this text now grace is here in what used to be true isn't true anymore are you still stuck in something that used to be true but it isn't true anymore I bet he would be tired 38 years of fighting off the vultures and 38 years of looking out for yourself and you kind of have to live that way until grace becomes the dominant reality in your life and then Jesus comes into your life and everything changes but sometimes we keep living off of the the old story the bad story no one will help me and Jesus is like I'm someone now the question is this how did Jesus command the man to get up if the man couldn't walk in the first place a careful reading of the text will reward us in this moment one interpretation is that his healing was his reward for obedience that's religion it's a bad story because the fact of the matter is if trying harder could have made me better I'd be better by now I tried that diet I tried that I wasn't gonna do this and I wasn't gonna do that and I wasn't gonna do the other you've tried that already and if it could work it would have worked by now so the man said I'm trying and Jesus said trust me get up take up your mat and walk I'm trying Jesus said trust me I'm trying trust me that's the real task is to trust that's always been the real work John chapter 5 isn't a text about being lazy come on get up make up your bed get on the treadmill go get em tiger this is your day this is not a pep talk this is a complete reversal of the systems of this world it is a contrast of works and grace that's why it had to happen on the Sabbath the moment that he picked up his mat he was doing work and the moment that he was doing work it made everybody who was in power mad because he wasn't supposed to do work the whole reason that Jesus showed up for one person was that he wanted to overturn an entire system there is one situation in your life right now that God is trying to use and by addressing this situation I promise you it's gonna change the whole system because up until this point you've been trying trying I'm trying to love God I'm trying to pray more I'm trying to read my Bible I'm trying to eat my broccoli I'm trying to be a nice person I'm trying to be kinder I'm trying to do better and God said I see you trying will you trust me will you trust me enough to get up when you feel like you can't get up to praise me when you don't feel like you want to praise me do you trust me enough I know you've been trying but do you trust me this is a trust moment this is a trust decision sometimes my trying gets in the way of my trusting and this man got up because he had been healed and you keep thinking that you will be healed if you can get up but you can't and you're trying and you're trying and here's what's so funny about the text to me the man said I'm trying and Jesus said so am I I'm trying to help you I knew you couldn't reach that water I knew you grew up in a really really hard environment and there was some abuse and I know you're trying to be a better man than your dad was or I know that you're trying to be a better mom than your mom was or I know you're trying to figure things out when the complexities are greater than anything you've ever seen I see you trying and I'm trying since you can't get to the water I brought water to you and what it does when you get up and you do what you didn't think you could do it shocks the system God said some of you who have been lying in your condition for 38 years I brought you to church today not so you could just sing a few songs or hear a few words but I want to shock the system I want to stir up the waters I want to heal watch this your will you've lost your will you've lost your will to be sweet you've lost your will to be forgiving you've lost your will to be whole you don't even want that anymore because you tried to want it and it hurts to have hope especially when you're disappointed especially when something gets in your way especially when you keep bumping up against your own brokenness especially when it's rigged against you and I want to help you walk but first I need to help you want and to want the right things again for the right reasons to heal your desires by the pool of Bethesda here comes walking living water that's what he told the Samaritan in John 4 he said within you will be rivers of living water so I know you can't get to the water let the water come to you you will not receive certain things in your life from trying but only by trusting Dan we were at a pool seven or eight years ago and Elijah wanted to swim and we went down there it was a hotel pool and it had that hotel pool smell but we went in anyway we just he was I guess at that point seven years old so I had to get some energy out so we got in the pool soon as we got in the doors busted open the hotel manager said hey sir I advise you to get out of that pool I said why it's like the middle of the day I'm like stupid hotel rules you know I'm not one to really like stupid rules I'm like it's the middle of the day there's nobody here I am a registered guest and by the time I'm in the middle of my imaginary speech I'm usually nice externally it's just what happens on the inside that makes me go to hell but I said about the time I was about to say what I was about to say he said we just shocked it I said well next time we'll give you notice before you come I don't want to shock your pool he said no he said sometimes the water you know once a week or something has to have a treatment we call it shocking the pool because when the chlorine combines with the I really don't want to tell you all this that's in this pool this is a hotel pool sir bacteria sweat other fluids pool fluids hotel pool fluids so once a week we got to shock it once a week I come to church because sometimes my heart gets mixed up with some substances some contaminants some disappointments sometimes this world pollutes me so when I come to church please understand I'm coming to treat my disappointments because I need living water and I don't want to die by the pool so I came to church and I don't know if you came to church for this reason I don't really know why you came but tell somebody shock the waters Jesus said I came down to the pool at Bethesda not just to look around and go home and pray a nice prayer but I came to this pool this house of mercy to shock the waters and it just might be that God brought you here this week because you've been in a state of disappointment but God said I'm about to shock the waters I'm about to stir it up you don't have to wait for an angel you don't have to wait for somebody to get out of your way you don't have to wait for a situational improvement and we beheld his glory the fullness of the Father full of grace and truth living water is in the house trust me I'm trying to bless you I hear the voice of the Lord trust me I'm trying to help you raise those kids trust me I'm trying you say well well God doesn't try to do anything he either does or he doesn't then why did Jesus go to Nazareth and it says he couldn't do many miracles there he tried to but they tripped I believe there are many for whom this message is just another Bible message I believe there are some and maybe even few that this is a definitive word for your life you have been like that man you have been paralyzed in an area of your life for a long time and you've been trying but you've been bitter for eight years over what the business partner did and you keep trying this is not about trying this is about trust you've been going back and forth and back and forth and back and forth for so long and today God is saying let the water come to you father we declare this our Sabbath where we rest from our labor and enter into your grace with everyone standing and no one moving at every location if this has been a season for you of frustration a season of you going to the pool over and over and you've been blocked so many times now that quite honestly you don't need just God to heal your legs or to heal your bank account or to just heal that that one compulsive area in your life but you need Jesus to do what he did for that unnamed man in John chapter five and heal your will and help you to want him again the place to start is not pretending the man was healed partially because he was honest I keep trying every time I try something someone but there's a greater someone there is a greater power than anything that you are struggling with that's pulling against you this takes faith to trust him to really believe that he made you like he wants to make you as short as he wanted to make you you grew up in a small or as big of a town as he wanted you to grow up in it takes trust and all your life God has been trying to position you all your life God has been bringing things into alignment so that you can serve his purpose and now he's saying trust me if this has been your word today and there is an area of paralysis in your life I want you with your head bowed your eyes closed and not looking around you know this man could have spent the rest of his life 38 more years talking about somebody else somebody else everybody else somebody else and sometimes that's what keeps us from getting what we need from God is somebody else what will somebody else think but when you come to the point where you've been trying long enough and you really just want to surrender to the mystery and give God everything that you are and everything that you're not you don't mind lifting up your hands so if this is your word just lift up your hands for living water in this moment and shock the waters shock the waters worship shocks the waters worship stirs up the complacent heart worship realigns your affections and reconfigures your desires so that what you want is what God wants for you shock the waters today you've gotten stagnant you've gotten complacent you started blaming everybody and everything and this is not a time to try harder it's a time to trust more to yield and to say yes I'll get up if you'll help me I'm trying trust me I'm trying I'm trying to trust God but I can't see him I'm trying to trust God but sometimes he feels far away why won't he speak to me why won't he help me he says I'm trying I'm trying to show you my presence I'm trying to put people around you I'm trying to help you I'm here you just aren't used to it you're used to doing it alone so you keep doing it alone you keep telling yourself this story you keep living in this system but trust me Thank You for watching the Elevation Church YouTube channel but don't stop here join the eFam our online extended family and join us live every Sunday subscribe to this channel so you don't miss a single video or livestream and share this with a friend you can also support the ministry by clicking the Give Now button to help us continue to reach people around the world for Jesus Christ thank you again for watching God bless you

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Id: QhYA8aOFdT4

Length: 46min 18sec (2778 seconds)

Published: Mon Aug 19 2019