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Series Code: TIJ
Program Code: TIJ002121A
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00:25 Jerusalem, the most sacred city in all the world.
00:30 It holds incredible spiritual importance to Jews, Christians, 00:35 and Muslims. 00:36 It's the site of the Wailing Wall, the Last Supper, and 00:40 Homage Dissension to Heaven. It's home to over a thousand 00:44 synagogues, a hundred churches, and 70 Mosques. 00:48 Jerusalem means "City of Peace." But even with all these religious 00:54 buildings and the millions of pilgrims who visit and 00:58 worship in them, down through the ages, it's been a place of 01:02 violence and turmoil. During its long history, Jerusalem 01:07 has been attacked 52 times captured and re-captured 01:11 44 times, besieged 23 times, and destroyed twice. 01:17 One of those intense periods of tension and turmoil 01:21 involved the crusades. 01:23 They were a series of religious wars fought during the 01:27 Middle Ages between the Arabs who controlled Jerusalem 01:30 and European Armies. Crusaders captured Jerusalem in 1099, 01:36 they wanted to ensure that the city was safe for 01:40 Christian Pilgrims. During the hundred years that they were 01:44 in control of Jerusalem, Christian settlers from 01:47 the west set about rebuilding the shrines and churches 01:51 associated with the life of Christ. 01:54 One of the loveliest of all the crusader buildings 01:58 is the St. Anne's church that was built in 1140. 02:01 Something incredible happened in the grounds of this church, 02:05 that convinces that neither peace can be achieved 02:09 in this troubled land and not just internationally and 02:12 religiously but also personally. 02:15 Right here a man found the secret of true peace, 02:20 he found true meaning and purpose in life. 02:23 His story will encourage you and inspire you. 02:59 The church of St. Anne is the most characteristic and 03:03 best-preserved crusader church in Jerusalem, 03:06 it marks the traditional site of the home of Jesus' maternal 03:11 grandparents and Joachim and the birthplace of 03:15 His mother Mary. 03:16 It's located just north of the temple mount about 50 meters 03:21 inside St. Stevens or Lions Gate in the eastern wall of 03:25 the old city of Jerusalem. It used to be called The Sheep Gate 03:29 because this was where the sheep were brought to the temple to 03:33 be sacrificed. The church stands in a court yard with trees, 03:38 shrubs, and flowers. Its peace and tranquility 03:42 contrast with the bustling streets and alleys of the 03:46 Muslim Quarter outside. St Anne's church was built by 03:52 the crusaders in 1140. The strong lines and thick walls 03:57 give the church a fortress-like appearance and is renown 04:01 for the acoustics in the chapel. 04:03 It was built over a cave where the crusaders believe that Mary 04:08 the mother of Jesus was born. 04:11 Unlike other churches in Jerusalem St. Anne's wasn't 04:15 destroyed after the Muslims conquered the city in 1189. 04:20 Instead, it was turned into an Islamic law school by the 04:24 Sultan Saladin, his name still appears in the Arabic 04:29 inscription above the main entrance. 04:32 After two centuries, the building was abandoned... 04:36 At the end of the Crimean War between the Ottoman Turkish 04:41 Empire and Russia, the Sultan of Turkey gave the site to 04:45 the French government in gratitude for its help 04:48 during the war. The church yard contains one of the saddest 04:53 places on earth, the compound contains pools of water 04:58 that archeologists have discovered are the 05:00 Pools of Bethesda, these pools attracted invalids, blind, lame, 05:06 and paralyzed who believed when the water was stirred up, 05:10 it contained healing powers. But in reality it was a place of 05:15 despair for the disabled who congregated here. 05:19 One of them who languished here had been an invalid for 05:24 38 years, he lay here for a long time watching the 05:28 world go by unable to be a part of it. 05:31 Life had lost all purpose and meaning, yet he was the same 05:36 person inside that had always been, he had the same talents, 05:41 the same insights, but his mind just couldn't make his body 05:45 work anymore. And so he'd been condemned to the sidelines 05:50 he'd lost his freedom to move around, he'd lost the freedom 05:54 to participate in the activities of everyday life. 05:57 Worst of all, he'd fixed all his hope, every bit of the hope 06:02 he could still muster on the wrong thing. 06:06 But then something happened that changed his life forever. 06:10 Jerusalem was in the midst of one of its great festivals 06:16 one that drew thousands of pilgrims from all over Israel 06:20 to the city's Holy Temple. Among those crowding the streets 06:24 and the temple court was Jesus. He'd gone there to participate 06:29 in the ancient rituals like any faithful Jew. 06:32 But on this particular day, He was looking for a break 06:37 from all the elaborate ceremonies, 06:39 it was a High Sabbath, full of pomp and pageantry 06:44 and Jesus took a walk to get some fresh air, 06:47 he also wanted to get away from the priests and scribes 06:51 who were always challenging Him, always trying to trap Him 06:55 with some trick question 06:56 Jesus found Himself in constant conflict with the legalistic 07:02 religion of His day. As He strolled, Jesus was soon drawn 07:07 to another environment, the places where the poor and 07:10 afflicted huddled. This teacher from Galilee found Himself 07:15 here in one of the darkest and saddest corners of Jerusalem, 07:19 The Pool of Bethesda. 07:22 It was dark because it attracted human misery, 07:26 it attracted people who had to hope against hope. 07:30 Jesus walked through the covered colonnades surrounding the 07:34 spring fed pool and looked around. 07:36 He gazed intently at the human wreckage hovering 07:41 near the water. Pale bodies wracked by fatal diseases 07:46 lay on filthy mats. Their faces were turned towards 07:50 the motionless surface of this pool. 07:53 The blind crouched on stone porches ready to spring towards 07:58 the first sound of water lapping on the stone. 08:01 The maimed sprawled in a variety of positions trying to keep 08:06 their good limbs ready for action and the most pathetic 08:10 those completely paralyzed stared helplessly up at the 08:15 cold columns. Jesus sensed what these individuals were feeling, 08:20 He sensed something of what it was like to wait here each day, 08:24 day after day and watch the sun crawl across the sky overhead. 08:29 And He wanted to heal them all right then, right here, 08:34 but He realized that would cause a problem. 08:38 To perform such a mighty miracle during this feast day 08:41 in a Jerusalem bustling with pilgrims would bring Him into 08:46 conflict with the religious leaders. 08:48 Still Jesus' gaze fastened on one particular case, 08:53 a hopeless case, a man who'd been an invalid for 38 years. 08:58 He'd be lying there watching people come and go for almost 09:04 four decades, once, he'd been as strong and active as any man, 09:09 once he'd been a part of Jerusalem, he could of worked, 09:14 he could have raised a family but his illness condemned him 09:18 to a life on the sidelines. 09:21 He wasn't a part of anything or anyone anymore, 09:24 he just had to lie there as life passed him by. 09:28 When Jesus looked into this grey, grim face, 09:32 He felt He just had to perform one miracle, He had to try to 09:37 save this man from his misery. 09:39 Have you ever felt trapped on the sidelines? 09:44 You probably haven't been paralyzed for 38 years 09:47 like that man by the pool of Bethesda, but a lot of us go 09:52 through tough times in our lives when we do feel sidelined. 09:56 When we feel life is passing us by and we can't do anything 10:00 about it. Perhaps it's a chronic illness, something that keeps 10:04 returning over and over again, you've tried all kinds 10:09 of remedies but nothing seems to work, 10:11 you've been disappointed so many times but just when you 10:16 start feeling that maybe, maybe the disease is under control 10:22 it flares up again and lays you low. 10:25 Perhaps you are recovering from a divorce or the loss of a 10:29 loved one, you've lost something precious and the break up 10:33 of that relationship seems to have broken up your whole world. 10:37 You trudge through each day, you go through the motions, 10:41 but you feel disconnected, you are not really a part 10:45 of life around you...Perhaps you've just lost your job, 10:49 you're desperately trying to find something new 10:52 but you keep running into closed doors, things fall through, 10:56 and you watch all the other people heading off to work 10:59 in the morning, all the other people busy with their routines 11:03 and you feel terribly sidelined, life is passing you by. 11:09 This paralyzed man by the pool of Bethesda represented 11:14 the sorrow of the sidelined, he embodied all of their 11:18 frustration, he looked down at his limbs every day, 11:21 he saw that everything was there and yet nothing worked. 11:26 He didn't want to simply adjust to that situation, 11:30 he didn't want to just simply cope, he wanted to get moving 11:34 again. This is the need that Jesus wanted to meet as he 11:39 approached the man lying on his filthy mat here at the pool 11:43 of Bethesda, but the great physician faced a problem 11:47 the problem was this man's faith, that's right, 11:51 the problem was his faith. Why? He was looking in the wrong 11:56 direction. 11:58 When Jesus walked up to him and graciously asked... 12:02 Do you want to be made well? This is what the man replied 12:06 in John 5:7: 12:21 This paralyzed man placed his faith in the same superstition 12:26 as everyone else waiting by that pool. 12:29 It was said that on occasion an angel from heaven 12:33 would come down to stir up the water here. 12:35 And whoever got into the pool first, would be healed 12:39 of whatever disease they had. 12:41 Now, it's not uncommon for spring-fed pools to bubble-up 12:45 sometimes due simply to the flow of water, 12:48 but the desperate people here of Bethesda believe or 12:52 try to believe that an angel was involved and that healing 12:56 would follow if they got into the pool after the angels 13:00 stirred it up. This disabled man spent hours staring at the 13:05 surface of the pool, some other veterans of Bethesda crawled 13:09 close to the water, they crawled up next to it when the 13:14 breeze smelled like sheep. 13:15 The sheep Gate Market lay close by and they imagined that 13:20 a breeze strong enough to bring them the pungent odors 13:23 of the animals might just be strong enough to help that angel 13:27 disturb the pool. Others had trained themselves to detect 13:32 the faint rumbling underground that was usually followed by 13:36 heated water bubbling up to the surface. 13:38 Tragically, they were all looking in the wrong direction 13:42 and Jesus longed to do something about it. 13:46 You know, when we are sidelined and life loses its purpose 13:51 it's easy to look in the wrong direction, it's very easy to 13:55 invest our faith in the wrong thing. We want the problem 13:59 to go away now. We want a magical solution now. 14:04 So people often just bury them- selves in alcohol or drugs, 14:10 they find a way to escape from the pain, but they're looking 14:13 for help in the wrong direction, placing their faith in the wrong 14:18 things. Jesus had to deal with this problem, 14:22 He had to deal with this man's misplaced faith. 14:26 So Jesus didn't respond to him in the way he hoped, 14:30 there was a request hidden in His statement, I have no man 14:36 to put me into the pool. 14:37 He managed to persuade acquaintances to carry him to 14:42 Bethesda, but no one wanted to hang around all day 14:46 waiting for the water to move. Maybe, just maybe, this kind 14:52 stranger would give him a push at the right time. 14:55 That's all he could hope for because his faith was fixed 14:59 so intently on the magical pool of water, but Christ wanted him 15:04 to look elsewhere. He wanted the man to look into His face, 15:09 to make a connection, so He didn't answer the man's request, 15:13 instead, He gave him what seemed to be a perfectly ridiculous 15:18 command. Get up, pick up your mat and walk. 15:23 Well, Jesus might have told the stone columns 15:27 here in the pool to dance in a circle. 15:29 There was no way in the world this man could get up and walk. 15:34 He'd been paralyzed for 38 years, but something happened, 15:40 when this startled man looked intently into the face of 15:44 Jesus Christ. Who is this man he wondered, who can speak such 15:49 words and suddenly those muted nerve endings and 15:53 shriveled limbs responded as if they'd taken on a life of 15:57 their own. He wanted to obey this impossible command, 16:02 he struggled to his feet and suddenly 38 years of immobility 16:08 vanished, he'd been saved from the sidelines. 16:13 I'd like you to think for a moment about whatever problem 16:17 has condemned you to the sidelines. 16:20 Think about how you react when you feel life is passing you by, 16:25 think about where you tend to place your faith. 16:29 Have you been looking in the right direction? 16:32 Are you seeing the face of God in that direction? 16:36 Or are you obsessing over some quick fix, some magical solution 16:41 forms a detour around Him? 16:45 Sometimes we remain on the sidelines because we get stuck 16:50 staring at the wrong thing and what Christ wants to do 16:55 first of all, is to get us looking into His face. 16:59 Please He says, to all those who feel paralyzed by life, 17:03 look at me first. The loss of a job doesn't have to condemn you 17:09 to the sidelines, chronic illness doesn't have to condemn 17:13 you to the sidelines. The loss of a loved one 17:16 doesn't have to condemn you to the sidelines. 17:19 There is a way out, but it all starts by looking in the 17:26 right direction. Remember that Christ didn't answer the 17:30 paralyzed man in the way he had hoped, instead, He gave him 17:35 something much better. 17:36 And sometimes our fervent prayers for an immediate 17:40 solution get in the way of our experiencing a bigger and better 17:45 solution. Sometimes we keep begging God for an immediate 17:50 physical healing when He wants first to enable us to experience 17:55 a more important emotional healing. 17:58 Sometimes we keep begging God for a certain job 18:02 when He wants to open up a whole new career for us. 18:05 Sometimes we demand that God make so and so fall in love 18:09 with us when He has someone much better in mind. 18:13 Focusing on the immediate solution can get in the way 18:18 of God giving us the bigger solution. 18:21 We're so focused on the surface of the pool 18:24 that we don't notice the greatest healer of all time 18:28 reaching out His had to us. 18:30 First, look at Jesus, that's what the paralytic had to do. 18:36 Invest your faith in the right place, begin a relationship 18:41 with Him, then He can lead you away from the sidelines. 18:44 He can make you a part of His abundant life again 18:48 He can get you back in the race. 18:50 Listen to how Paul pictured the race of life in 18:54 Hebrews 12: 1-2. 19:08 How do we get off the sidelines and into the race? 19:14 By first looking at Jesus, by first fixing our eyes on Jesus. 19:20 Looking at Jesus creates faith, it creates trust, 19:26 it creates confidence. 19:28 But there's a second thing this man had to do, 19:31 there's a second thing we all must do to get off the 19:34 sidelines. This man listened to Jesus, he entered into a dialog 19:41 with this stranger bending over him, he heard the question 19:45 "Do you want to be made well?" 19:47 and he listened to the command. Rise, take up your bed, 19:51 and walk. After we look, we too must listen, after we 19:57 fix our eyes on the object of our faith, on Jesus, 20:01 then we must listen to Him speak and we must listen 20:05 regularly. How? How do we listen? By spending time 20:10 in prayer and the study of the Bible. 20:13 That's how we communicate with Christ and that's how He 20:17 communicates with us. 20:19 Listen to how the Bible pictures this? 20:22 In Isaiah 50:4- 5, our Lord describes the relationship, 20:28 He says, 20:44 How do we listen as a disciple morning by morning? 20:48 By listening to the word of God. By letting Him speak His wisdom 20:53 and encouragement to us through the Word takes time. 20:56 It takes a personal commitment but the experience of having 21:01 God speak to you is worth any investment. 21:05 How do you get off the sidelines? 21:07 First look at Jesus, then listen to Jesus, 21:12 that's what the man by the pool did. And finally, 21:16 he did one more thing. He started to live in Jesus. 21:21 When Jesus commanded him to rise, what did he do? 21:25 He got up. God's power within this man 21:29 enabled him to get up. When Jesus commanded him 21:33 to take up his mat, what did he do? He took it up. 21:38 He walked away from that place of despair and sickness 21:41 with the mat under his arm. 21:44 He was responding to Jesus, he was living in Jesus. 21:49 That's the third thing we must do to get off the sidelines. 21:53 Live in Jesus. Listen to what Paul tells us in Romans 6:11. 22:09 Dead to sin, alive to God. The paralytic turned away 22:14 completely from his old life. He wasn't going to hang around 22:18 the pool of Bethesda, he wasn't going to stay there any more. 22:22 Too many bad memories, too many long hours of misery. 22:26 Every fiber in his body was responding to that command 22:31 to rise and walk, it was exhilarating. 22:36 We need to look at Jesus, we need to listen to Jesus, 22:41 and we need to live in Jesus. 22:43 We need to respond whole- heartedly to what He tells us, 22:47 we need to base our lives on His teaching, 22:51 that's how we get off the sidelines, that's how we get 22:54 into the race of life. 22:57 You may feel paralyzed by forces much greater than yourself, 23:01 you may feel helpless in the middle of your personal storm, 23:05 but Jesus said, I can save you from the sidelines and I can 23:11 do more. Friend, look up right now, start looking in the 23:17 right direction, look deeply into the face of Jesus 23:20 He can take all your scars and turn them into stars. 23:25 He can take your tragedies and He can turn them into trials, 23:29 He can take your broken dreams and frustrated your hopes 23:33 and your disappointments and God can turn them around. 23:37 He can make something beautiful in your life. 23:41 Look to Jesus, that's the first step out of the sidelines. 23:46 Friend, right now listen to Jesus, listen to Him tell you 23:52 how important you are, listen to Him tell you how much 23:55 you mean to Him, and friends, by faith, reach out to Him 24:00 right now. By faith say to Him, Lord, I do believe that you are 24:07 building something out of the shambles of my life and that you 24:11 can save me from the sidelines. 24:14 Why not reach out to Him right now as we pray. 24:20 Dear heavenly Father, We're so thankful that you can 24:25 save us from the sidelines. We're tired of seeing life 24:29 rush past us, we're tired of being paralyzed by the 24:32 misfortunes. Pleae help us to invest our faith in the 24:37 Great Physician. Enable us now to obey your command, 24:41 rise, take up our mats and walk. We give you permission 24:47 to begin working Your will in our lives, to begin those 24:51 first brushstrokes that will result in a masterpiece. 24:55 We pray this in the name of Jesus our Savior, Amen. 25:01 A hopeless paralyzed man found Jesus here. He was in a 25:11 desperate situation. For 38 years he had hope beyond hope, 25:16 but yet here at this very spot, Christ touched him and he was 25:22 made whole. 25:23 I'm so glad that the saving, rescuing, power of Jesus 25:27 is unlimited. I'm so glad that He can still save people 25:33 from the sidelinds. 25:35 Today, you can find that Christ. If you are struggling with the 25:40 challenges and stress of every- day life and would like to 25:43 expereince God's unconditional love, if you are looking for 25:47 ways to live a better life, and want to find inner-peace 25:51 and true happiness, if you'd like to get closed to God, 25:54 then I'd like to recommend the free gift we have for all 25:58 our viewers today. 26:00 It's the booklet, "We Can Believe the Bible." 26:03 This booklet is our gift to you and it's absolutely "FREE." 26:07 There are no costs or obligations whatsoever. 26:10 So, make the most of this wonderful opportunity 26:14 to receive the gift we have for you today. 26:17 Here is the information you need. 26:20 Phone or text us at 0436.333.555 in Australia 26:26 or 020.422.2042 in New Zealand 26:31 or visit our website at www.tij.tv to request today's 26:38 free offer and we'll send it to you totally "Free of Charge" 26:42 and with no obligation. Write to us at GPO Box 274, 26:46 Sydney NSW 2001, Australia 26:50 or PO Box 76673, Manukau, Auckland 2241 26:56 New Zealand. Call or text us now. 27:03 The Incredible Journey and Pastor Gary Kent 27:06 with Pastor Louis Torres and Carol Torres as the principle 27:09 trainers are opening a Bible College in Sydney 27:13 in February of 2020. 27:14 This 14 week program will give you the skills you need 27:18 to be an effective co-laborer with Christ to carry the message 27:21 of the crucified, risen, and soon coming savior 27:25 to the whole world. For more information and to register 27:28 phone or text us at 0481.315. 101, email us at info@tij.tv 27:37 or visit our website at tij.tv/events. 27:42 Be sure to join us again next week when we will share another 27:48 of life's journeys together. Until then, remember the 27:52 ultimate destination of life's journey. 27:54 Now, I saw a new heaven and a new earth 27:57 and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes, 28:00 there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying, 28:04 there shall be no more pain, for the former things 28:07 have passed away. |
Revised 2021-04-29