In the Old Testament there was a man called Ben-Aiah, the son of Jehoiada, and he's called the valiant man from Gabziel. He went down into a pit and he slew a lion in the time of snow. I must say we can never underestimate the folks at Park of the Palm. So you are not David's mighty men, but you are certainly the Lord's mighty men and women coming out on this stormy evening. So we welcome you tonight and trust the Lord will give you a special blessing having come out on this stormy evening. Now shall we turn please to the Gospel again by John. The fifth chapter of the Gospel by John and verse one. 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 asked her, the troubling of the water's step in was made whole of whatsoever disease he had. And the certain men 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 said unto him, Will thou be made whole? The Ableton men answered him, Sir, I have no men. When the water is troubled to put me into the pool, But while I am coming, another step is down before me. Jesus said unto him, Rise, take up thy bed, and walk. And immediately the men was made whole, and took up his bed and walked. And then the same day was the Sabbath. The Jews therefore said unto him, That was Curem. It is the Sabbath day. It is not lawful for thee to carry thy bed. He answered then, He that made me whole, The same said unto me, Take up thy bed and walk. Then asked to him, What man is that which said unto thee, Take up thy bed and walk? And he that was healed was not who it was. For Jesus was conveyed, for Jesus had conveyed himself away, a multitude being in that place. Afterward Jesus findeth him in the temple, and said unto him, Behold, thou art made whole. sin no more, let the worst thing come unto thee. The men departed and told the Jews that it was Jesus which had made him whole. And therefore did the Jews persecute Jesus and sought to slay him because he had done these things on the Sabbath day. The Lord again will bless to us this lovely reading from his holy word. Again we continue our study of the signs in John's Gospel. Now we notice that the first sign was at Cana of Galilee and that the second sign was also performed at Cana of Galilee. If there's a verse of Scripture that seems to impress us with this chapter and the results, it would have to be the verse spoken by Paul in Romans chapter eight, verse three. For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son, in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh. There are two pervading thoughts running through this sign. One is the human limitation, and the other is the divine intervention. John the writer, first of all, gives us the locality of the sign, the locality is expressed. And then we have legality enforced. And then we have legality exposed in this chapter. The locality on this occasion was in Jerusalem. The first two signs were found in Cana of Galilee, but here there's a change of location and it is expressed. It was at Bethesda, the pool of Bethesda. And so here, friends, we have the great metropolis. And then we observe the great multitude. And then there's the great misery. The great metropolis, of course, was Jerusalem, which was the center of holy solemnities. And it was at this place that the Lord came. Now, Bethesda means waiting. This man was waiting for the moving of the waters. But that was a happy moment, the day that he waited long enough to meet the Lord Jesus Christ. And he was able to see, I'm sure, in the language of Isaiah chapter forty. Now, they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength. They shall mount up with wings of eagles, run and not be weary, walk and not think. This city was the city of Jerusalem, and at this particular time there was a special feast, a feast of the Jews. So connected with this city, and with this feast we see religion and ritual in manifestation. It was a feast of the Jews, a religious feast, And Christ had no part, whatever, in this feast he was given the outside place. Then John mentioned that it was by the sheep market a pool. And so not only was the religion, but there was ritual. Connecting with the sheep gate and the sheep market, we must, of course, bring to your notice the sacrifices that were offered morning and evening. Every morning and every evening, these oblations were offered unto the Lord. Ceremony after ceremony, but it could not help this man in all his need. There's a similar condition in the man found in Acts chapter four. You remember the man who was begging by the gate beautiful? And they tell us that that gate was the most expensive gate of its day. It was made of Corinthian bronze, the most expensive mineral of its day. And there outside that gate, the gate of the temple, there was a man begging. And the religious system could not help him in all his name. Along came the apostle Peter and John. And looking upon the man, and the man looking on them, expecting an arm. Peter said, Silver and gold have I none. But such as I have, give I unto thee, in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk. So here was the sheep gate and this man was in great need. So religious ceremony and religious ritual can never redeem a man from a lost eternity. Not all the blood of beasts on Jewish altar slain could give the guilty conscience peace or take away one step. But Christ the heavenly land took all our sins away and sacrificed of noble name and richer blood than they. We depend entirely, this man, upon the finished work of the Lord Jesus Christ. Now we're told also here at this locality that is expressed that there were five porches. Five porches. Now that's very suggestive. Because the number five in the Scriptures speaks to us of human weakness. Number ten, the multiple, is human responsibility. But here there were five porches and this is the evidence of human weakness. And as we see this man sitting in this desperate condition, first of all we see the porch number one would be indicative of disease. And we are reminded that disease came in by sin. Isaiah tells us that we are full of putifying souls. There's no soundness in us from the soul of the feet to the crown of the head. We are just the most repugnant object in the nostrils of a holy God. Sin is an awful disease. And we are reminded that sin came in by Adam. By one man's sin entered into the world and death by sin. For death has passed upon all men. For all have sinned. So there was disease. The second thing regarding these five portraits we might add, there was this fondness in. Not only was this man suffering from an awful disease, but he was despondent. He had been sitting here for thirty-eight years, and disease leads to despondency, and sometimes mental pressure is brought about by disease. Disease and there was despondency. And the men had difficulty, because only once a year An angel came down and moved the waters. One time I was here, I was privileged to talk about the things that we have come to some years ago from Hebrews chapter twelve. And we have come to myriads of angels and they have a tremendous part in the economy of God. And so once a year, an angel came down and he touched the waters and the first person in was healed. we assured that the first year he would almost make it. But then as each successive year passed by, the despondency would increase and the man was led to understand the great difficulty because he didn't know the day that the angel would move the waters. That led to despair. Think of a man sitting there for thirty-eight years. That would be a tremendous source of despair. And in the fifth A porch that would be defeat. Disease. Despondent death. Difficulty. Despair. And defeat. He says there's no man to help. But thank God there was a man who could help. And we shall see that that man was the Lord Jesus Christ. So so much for the great metropolis. The locality that is expressed by John. John is lovely in his details of days and places. John is a very meticulous writer regarding places and days. Then there's a reference here, not only to the great metropolis, but to the great multitude. In verse three, in these lay a great multitude of impotent folk. And the category is defined, which again is very suggestive. There's the blind and the halt, And there is the withered. Can the Lord Jesus Christ meet these cases? The answer is yes. Blind. No sight. There were those who were hopped. They had no stability. And there were those who were withered. And they had no strength. Now the Lord Jesus is always the answer to the every problem. And we were just like those people underneath those five porches. The natural man, the Bible tells us, that he is blind. If our gospel be hid, says Paul to the Corinthians, if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost. Because the God of this age hath blinded the minds of them that believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ should shine unto them. So it's very evident, friends, that Satan is responsible for the blinding of men. And the most uneducated newborn babe in Christ has far more intelligence about the things of God than an intellectual giant who is not saved. The Christian is spiritually illuminated. And Paul tells us that the Christian has an additional sense. You know, the hearing, the smelling, the touching, and so on. He has an additional sense that the man of the world doesn't have. The man who isn't saved doesn't possess. Paul speaks about the eyes of your understanding being enlightened. So upon conversion, we are enlightened. But the natural man, he is in darkness, in blindness. He has no sight. and we were just like those in our sins, those who are represented here as being hot. They have no stability. Paul says, ye walk according to the course of this world to the Ephesians, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience. That was you and I in our unconverted days. no stability tossed around with every wind of doctrine but thank God for that day that we came to the solid rock when we found that the Lord did us that tried rock that sure steadfast rock was the foundation upon which God would build his church and we learn like Peter when he said upon this rock I will build my church and the Lord brought us out of the my reclaim and he set our feet upon a rock and established our goings. And so, while in our unconverted condition, we had no stability, today we have stability in the Lord Jesus Christ. We're safe for time and for eternity. But there's another element mentioned here, and we read those words, and they were without, they were withered, and so they had no strength. Again, Paul reminds us right into the saints of Rome that we were in our unconverted day without strength. Scarcely for a righteous man would one die. But peradventure for a good man, some would even dare to die. But God commended his love toward us. In that choir we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. And then he says we were ungodly. and when we were yet without strength. We thank God upon meeting the wonderful Saviour, the Lord Jesus, He has imparted strength to us who were weak. And so by the avenue of prayer we can gain strength day by day. Day the weight upon the Lord shall renew their strength. And Paul says, I can do all things through Christ who keeps on pouring his strength into me. And Isaiah in chapter twelve, he says, The Lord is my song, and he is my salvation, and he is my strength. So we derive our spiritual strength day by day from the Lord Jesus Christ. So there's a great metropolis, Jerusalem, the city of the great king, and there's this great multitude. But the third great thing in this section is the great misery. The day of salvation was not known. It was a certain season we read here, and it depended on works and those who were not able to respond, then they were left in the same condition. How different is God's salvation? Here in this chapter I was expressed for what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh. So it depended on their strength and their ability to get into the water first. But we know that God's salvation today is so different. The law demands that which we cannot give. The law says this, do and thou shalt live. But grace bestows that which we do not rightly deserve. And so we're thankful for those words written by the writer to the Hebrews in chapter twelve. He says, we have not come to the mount that might be touched, nor to blackness or darkness or tempest or to the voice of words. or to the sound of a trumpet, or to a fearing mediator. We have not come to these things. And so, thank God, friends, we are not under the law. And so we can say tonight that the torment and the fire, mine I shall never see. All because we have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God, and to the heavenly Jerusalem, and to God, the judge of all. but these were dependent upon what they could do and of course it was total failure and so Paul says to the Romans to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace but of death but to him that worketh not but believe it in him that justifies the ungodly his faith is counted for righteousness so here we have the locality expressed and the conditions that prevailed around the sheep gate. But notice again also regarding this sign we have secondly the legality and force. The Pharisees said to the man, it is not lawful for thee to carry thy bed on the stab of death. There's two things that I have utter contempt for. One is liberalism. and the other is legalism. Our Lord Jesus Christ was a man that was balanced and we ought to follow in the footsteps of the Lord Jesus. Why said the disciples that we beheld his glory? The glory as of an only begotten of a Father full of grace and truth. There are some today and they're all grace and truth doesn't mean a thing. There are others and they push truth to the limit. and they know absolutely nothing about grace. But if you examine this gospel by John, you'll see the Lord's deportment. He was a man that was balanced. For example, he says to the woman in chapter four, Go call thy husband. That was truth. But then he gave her the living water, and that was grace. And so that can be traced right through the gospel. To the woman who was caught in the act of sin. He says, neither do I condemn thee. That was grace. But then he says, go and sin them all. That was true. But standing by on this occasion was these Pharisees, blinded by intellectual pride and unbelief and swayed by a frigid formalistic formula. And they sought to enforce this upon the people around Christ. and we discover that this leads to despicable bondage and put these people in a novel condition where joy is unknown and where peace is undiscovered. Men are ever slow to learn lessons and we have those today around us who would try to enforce the legalism just like the Pharisees in this particular day. and the endeavor to bring God's people into alignment by a set of regulations and rules, and the result is total defeat and despair. Thank God they are in the minority, but they can make their presence known and cause lots of heartache, legality and force. But here also was the man Christ Jesus and we see legality exposed. The Lord Himself has utter contempt for the legal mind. That is the rest of grace and consideration for others. When reasoning later on in chapter six, we just read that verse for you tonight, the Lord said in chapter six, I have done one work and ye all marveled Moses therefore gave unto you circumcision, not because it is of Moses but of the fathers, and ye on the Sabbath they circumcise a man, that the law of Moses should not be broken. And he says, you are angry with me, because I made a man every quick fall on the Sabbath day. In verse twenty-one he says, Judge twenty-four, judge not according to appearance but righteous judgment. There was absolutely no conflict with the law. The law came to fulfill the law and to make it honourable. And there was absolutely no conflict here, whatever. Because if they on the Sabbath day could make a man sound by circumcision, one member of his body. How much more should they have been overwhelmed at this great work by the Lord Jesus that made a man whole his complete body? And so there was no conflict whatever against the law. The law came to fulfil the law and to make it honourable. But surely the interpretation here, the motive was that they were out to destroy the Lord Jesus Christ. And they were out to use every occasion, no matter what, to ensnare him and to bring him to his death. Human limitation. But thank God for divine intervention. That comes out here in bold release. Here, friends, we have omnipotence dealing with impotence. Here we have the sovereign Lord, whose heart was full of sympathy toward those who were in great need. The scripture says here that the Lord knew that he had been there a long time in that place. In fact, this man was at the pool of Bethesda before the incarnation. Before the Lord was born as a virgin in Bethlehem in the land of Judah. That man sat by the pool of Bethesda. But you see, the Lord Jesus Christ is God. He knew before he came of the predicament of that man in all his need. And the Lord knew before you and I were ever born of our desperate need. And so the triune God sat down in the glory around that council table and they came up with a plan of salvation. because God and his poor knowledge knew that you and I would require to be saved. And so he sent his beloved son, God sending his own son, and the Lord volunteered to come. He says, Here am I, said me. He thought it not something to be grasped at, to be an equality with God, but he made himself of no reputation and took upon himself the form of a born servant. So the Lord knew Not only is he the omnipotent Christ, but he's the omniscient Christ. And he due the man's spiritual condition as well as his physical difficulty. And so we've talked about the great metropolis and the great multitude and the great misery. But thank God tonight for the great meeting. When this man, the Savior, met the sinner in all his need. And there's nothing more gratified than to see the Saved and the Saved meeting. During World War II, I was coming home from Gibraltar aboard a British vessel, and we were torpedoed in the Atlantic Ocean. I spent two hours in the water. We had no time to lower boats or lower rafts. We got struck in the engine room, and the ship immediately broke her back, and it was every man for himself. Two hours later I had my life jacket on and my red light going and I was picked up by HMS Likowski and there were many, many ships sunk that evening, packs of U-boats and there were lots of survivors from different ships. As I was huddling around the funnel of the stack trying to dry off my clothes, the captain was doing his best of the ship to pick up the survivor. There was a lad there and they tried three times to get to him. He had a massive beard, black jet, black hair, and three times they tried to get him. And three times the waves carried him away. It was a stormy night. The captain says, if you don't get him this time, you'll have to let him go. My heart sunk. And I began to pray. that somehow, some way we would get that survivor out of the Atlantic Ocean. Just then to our amazement, a man jumped overboard. He was a very strong swimmer. He swam every day in the sawway first. In winter and summer, a very strong swimmer. He had a very bad impediment in his speech, but he sure could swim. And he went toward that unfortunate man who was now unconscious. and he got a hold of him and he pulled him toward the ship. And several sailors grabbed him, pulled him aboard. They flipped him over and applied artificial respiration. Out came the water. And then he began to breathe and his eyes opened and he looked right into the face of that man who dove overboard. And he says, thanks. There was the Savior and meeting the Savior. two sailors, but this is only an inferior illustration to bring before you the greatness of a meeting between the Saviour and those of us and him who were saved. The story is told about an outstanding English gentleman, a lad of eighteen years of age, who was swimming in the Scottish waters in a lake. He got into difficulties and this lad who was working with a horse on a plough, heard the cries of distress. He left the horse on a plough and he ran and he dove into the lake and he rescued the English left, much to the joy of his parents. And they said to him, we will do anything to help you with any career that you may be interested in. The land that was rescued was Winston Spencer Churchill, eighteen years of age. And so his father very, very graciously offered to render assistance to this farm boy. Well, he said, I want to be a doctor, but I haven't got the wherewithal. Well, said Winston Churchill's father will take care of that problem. And so they sent him to school. He studied medicine and became a specialist. And at the beginning of World War II, this doctor, he was a man that discovered penicillin. And so sometime later in World War II, Winston Spencer Churchill, President Roosevelt and Joseph Stalin was at Galta having a conference in the Crimea. Winston Churchill took seriously ill and the Royal Air Force plane was commandeered and the men that went out with the penicillin was Sir James Fleming, the farm boy, who became the great doctor. And twice in his lifetime, Winston Spencer Churchill owed his life to Sir James Fleming. Beloved friends, you and I owe everything to Christ. He came to where we were in all our need. He saw us ruined in the fall, yet loved us notwithstanding all. He had saved us from our loss this day. His loving kindness, oh how great. So there's a great meeting between this man and the Lord Jesus Christ. Sin had put this man on his back, but the Lord put him on his feet. Sin had made this man sad, but the Lord Jesus Christ made him glad. And sin, rather the law says work, but the Lord says only believe. What a meeting between the men and the Lord Jesus by the sheep game. The one who was to be the Lamb of God and the Great Shepherd and the Good Shepherd and the Chief Shepherd they met at the Sheep Guild. Thank God you and I have met the Good Shepherd and the Great Shepherd and the Chief Shepherd at a place called Calvary where he died as the Lamb of God, where he became the Shepherd of the sheep and when we became the sheep of his pasture. Now notice please the sensitive approach of the Lord Jesus and then the sweet appeal and then we have the swift action. The sensitive approach, the Lord said to him, will now be made whole. Now the Lord knew the man had been there for thirty-eight years and the Lord is always a master of dealing gently with those who are in great need. It said of him that a brook, a bruised greed shall he not break, and a smoking flat shall he not quench. There are some brethren when they try to win souls, they come in like a bull in a china store. But not so the master. He is ours, the waters of Shiloha that move softly. Oh, his delicate approach to Nicodemus, he appealed to him through the channel of the mind. He was a giant intellect. And the Lord said, Art, they were master in Israel, and no, it's not these things. But the Lord used a different tactic with a woman by psychos well. He appealed to her conscience. But here in this chapter, the Lord appeals to the man's faith. Will that be made whole? The sensitive approach. And then the sweet appeal, he said, Rise, take up thy bed, and walk. and there was swift action, it says, and immediately the man was made whole. Now we saw there were five porches around the sheep gate. Five times in this chapter we read, and he was made whole. The Lord is the answer to the every area of weakness, and the man was made whole. So free from the shackles of legalism, and externalism and negativism, he discovered that real joy, vibrant life was found in a Christ-centered life. Nor is he said, he that made me whole. He discovered that it was a person and surely beloved saints of God that you and I can only enjoy a vibrant life in a Christ-centered life. centered life. To have the Lord Jesus as the object of our affection and our service. Sometime later the Apostle Paul incarcerated in a prison, you remember, he said, Rejoice in the Lord and again I say rejoice. For we are the circumcision that worship God and have no confidence in the flesh. This is it, the Christ-centered life. but also he was aware of the fact that it must be the Christ controlled life. He must fulfill to the every detail what the Lord Jesus Christ requested him to do. The same said unto me. His word is supreme and his person is the pivot of this mighty transaction. He found it far better to listen to the Lord Jesus than these bigoted, legalistic, Pharisees who were bereft of liberty and who were bereft of love and who were bereft of light. So it was a Christ-centered life and it was a Christ-controlled life. But we also find that it was a Christ-consecrated life. We find three things about this man. First of all, the walking and then the witnessing and then the worshipping. It was a Christ-consecrated life. And you and I must dedicate our lives completely to the service of the Lord. If we want to be productive and receive in that the well done good and faithful servant. I suppose you've heard the story about the chicken and the pig. The chicken and the pig were walking down a distressed area and they saw poverty on every hand. And so the chicken said to the pig, I think you and I can help here. Why don't we produce bacon and eggs and help these poor people to a good meal? Well, the old pig was a guest. He turned to the chicken and said, it's all right for you. You only make a contribution. But for me, that would mean total involvement. And so today, we have some of God's people and they only make a little contribution. But thank God for those who are totally involved and give everything to the Lord Jesus Christ. So this man who was lame on his feet, we find that he is walking. His life was completely changed. And we see the triumph and liberty over legalistic bondage. The law of the Spirit had made him free from the law of sin and death. And then we have the witness in. He was willing to testify to the person who made him home. And surely you and I ought to. day by day constantly witness for the Lord. One on one or in a gathering such as this, we always ought to be witnessing. Now that's what the Lord encouraged his disciples to go out and to be witnesses of him in Jerusalem. And then we have the worshiping. He was in the temple. No doubt he was there praising God for the remarkable work that had been done in his life. So the walking there was a new approach. And when we walk with the Lord in the light of his word, what a glory he sheds on our way. When we do his sweet will, he abides with us still and with all who will trust and obey. The walking was a new approach. And then the witness saying that's a new appreciation. And then we see him worshipping that is a new appraisal. Wonderful to find a man even in John, Acts chapter four. who was outside begging, now is inside giving, praising the Lord. Now finally, just a moment to talk about the Christ-censored life. He discovered that the real source of development was in a Christ-centered life, and a Christ-controlled life, and a Christ-consecrated life. But also there's a Christ-centered life. He said to the men, he says, Behold thou art made whole, sin no more, lest the worst thing come unto date. So you see why I'd mention on Lord the evening that alongside this sign we must embrace the Lord's compound title, Jehovah Sidonion, the Lord Our Righteousness. The first sign, it was Jehovah Shama, the Lord is there. The second sign, we saw that it was Jehovah Rafika. The God that heals. But here it is Jehovah said, Can you, the Lord my righteousness. Our life must be in keeping with the holy requirements of God. Paul says, For the grace of God that bringeth salvation to all men hath appeared. Teaching us that denying ungodliness and worldly lust, we should live soberly and righteously and godly in this present world. looking for that blessed hope and the appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ. The Lord is looking on and it is be ye holy even as I am holy. Now I come from a country, as you all know by now, called Scotland. Just a few years ago I stood behind the pulpit of Robert Murray McChain. He was one of the most outstanding preachers that ever lived. He died at the age of twenty-eight years, and he led thousands to Christ. His pulpit was absolutely eroded with his tears. Well, he wrote a hymn that Dr. Harry Ironside said was the greatest experiential hymn in the English language. Here it is. I once was a stranger to grace and to God. I knew not my danger, I felt not my Lord. Though friends spoke of rapture and rapture of Christ on the tree, Jehovah said, Can you, was nothing to me. I oft read with pleasure to soothe and engage, Isaiah's wild measure and John's simple pains. But even when the picture, the blood-sprinkled tree, Jehovah said, Can you, was nothing to me. Like tears from the daughters of Zion that rolled, I wept when the waters passed over his soul, yet thought not my sins had nailed to the tree. Jehovah said, Can you, was nothing to me. When free grace awoke me with light from on high, and guilty fears gripped me, I trembled to die. No refuge or safety in self could I see. Jehovah said, Can you, my Savior must be. My guilty fears vanished before that sweet name. Guilty fears gone, and boldly I came. To drink at that fountain, life-giving and free. Jehovah said, Can you? Is all things to me. Someone wrote to me some time ago, claiming that Murray McShame was a hyper-Calvinist. I just stood there and I just shook my head. How could a man ever write such words when free grace awoke me with light from and high? And guilty fears gripped me. I trembled to die. though refuge or safety himself could I find, Jehovah said, Can you, my Saviour must be. And boldly he came, exercising his free will in response to the invitation of Jehovah said, Can you, the Lord, our righteousness. We trust that this meditation will be a source of enjoyment to you as it has been to me. And I trust that we will go on in the light of this wonderful study tonight and benefit from it, shall we pray. Our Father, we thank thee again for thy kindness, bringing us together around thy precious world. We thank thee for these marvelous titles of our Lord Jesus. We thank thee with God manifest in the flesh. We thank thee for his grace and for ever drawing us into his kingdom, drawn by love which knows no measure. And we thank thee for him tonight. Remember our friends who are not with us who are sick. Lord, undertake for everyone. Put thine arms around them, and may they feel thy presence. We ask these things in his precious name. Amen.