The
Apostle John
Records a select number of
Signs or Miracles
that help demonstrate
Who Jesus Is
and the importance
of
Believing in Him
for
Eternal Life!:)
John 20:30–3
These miracles showed
Jesus’ authority--
an authority
that only
the Creator could have.
In recounting one of these
remarkable miracles,
John records that Jesus asks an infirm
man at
the Pool of Bethesda,
“Do you want to be made well?”
(John 5:6, NKJV)
On a Sabbath during a feast of the Jews (John 5:1, 9, 16), Jesus sought out a man who had been sick and unable to walk for thirty-eight years (John 5:5). This man was part of a multitude of those with severe ailments who would wait by the Pool of Bethesda in hopes of being healed (John 5:3–4). Jesus knew that this man had been there a long time in that condition, and He asked the man at the Pool of Bethesda, “Do you want to be made well?” Obviously, the man wanted to be made well physically. The man’s being at that location was an indicator of that desire. So, when Jesus asked the man, “Do you want to be made well?” He wasn’t asking the man simply about his physical well-being. Jesus also cared for the man’s spiritual well-being. Before resolving the spiritual or the physical problems the man was dealing with, Jesus had this man think about his need.
The sick man responds that he had no one to put him in the pool—thought to have healing powers—at the right time. In his mind, he had no means to resolve his problem. The man acknowledged that he needed help (John 5:7). After the man admitted his own inability, Jesus gives him an incredible direction: “Get up, pick up your pallet and walk” (John 5:8, NASB). Immediately—even before the man could obey the command—the man was healed. Immediately after that, the man did what Jesus had directed him to do: “He picked up his mat and walked” (John 5:9).
Those who saw the man carrying his bedding on the Sabbath argued that it was not lawful for him to do that (John 5:10). The man responded that he was carrying his mat at the instruction of the man who had healed him (John 5:11). In this, the man most likely recognized that, because Jesus had demonstrated power over nature, Jesus must also have authority over the Sabbath.
Later, Jesus found the man again and told him, “See, you are well again. Stop sinning or something worse may happen to you” (John 5:14). With these words, Jesus was continuing to teach this man that there is more to wellness than physical health. The man seemed to understand that Jesus’ question “Do you want to be made well?” was about more than physical wellness, because, when Jesus found the man again, the man was in the temple (John 5:14).
This miracle shows Jesus’ authority and identity. It illustrates that He is indeed the One in whom we believe for eternal life. It also can help remind us that true wellness is about much more than physical health. If Jesus were to ask us, “Do you want to be made well?” would we recognize, like the man at the Pool of Bethesda, that we can’t resolve our problems ourselves? Would we look to Him as this man did?
But because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God’s wrath, when his righteous judgment will be revealed (Romans 2:5).
Now comes the third in a series of astonishing thoughts. At its core, it isn’t by what you do that you are storing up wrath against yourselves, but instead it’s because you have stubborn and unrepentant hearts. The word “stubbornness” in this verse literally means callousness. The Greek word translating as “storing up” refers to collecting treasure.
We can come to love our rejection of God so much that it is similar to how we guard treasure in our lives. When we do that, we will become callous and hardened to the voice of God. Jesus described it like this:
…I tell you, every kind of sin and slander can be forgiven, but blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven.32 Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven… (Matt. 12:30–32.)
At its core, it isn’t by what you do that you are storing up wrath against yourselves, but instead it’s because you have stubborn and unrepentant hearts. Jesus says these words in the context of saying that every sin can be forgiven. The phrase “unpardonable sin” isn’t Biblical. The so-called “unpardonable sin” is simply the sin of continually and stubbornly rejecting God’s forgiveness and goodness in your life. You cannot be forgiven for the sin for which you don’t want to be forgiven. That’s the only reason why anyone will ever be lost.
Are there any areas of your life in which you are rejecting God’s transforming grace? This is a question that we can only answer as the Spirit reveals these things to us. That is why we must be willing to live in a state of continual openness to God. To abandon unrepentant hearts.
John 9:31 declares, “We know that God does not listen to sinners. He listens to the godly man who does his will.” It has also been said that “the only prayer that God hears from a sinner is the prayer for salvation.” As a result, some believe that God does not hear and/or will never answer the prayers of an unbeliever. In context, though, John 9:31 is saying that God does not perform miracles through an unbeliever. First John 5:14-15tells us that God answers prayers based on whether they are asked according to His will. This principle, perhaps, applies to unbelievers. If an unbeliever asks a prayer of God that is according to His will, nothing prevents God from answering such a prayer—according to His will.
Some Scriptures describe God hearing and answering the prayers of unbelievers. In most of these cases, prayer was involved. In one or two, God responded to the cry of the heart (it is not stated whether that cry was directed toward God). In some of these cases, the prayer seems to be combined with repentance. But in other cases, the prayer was simply for an earthly need or blessing, and God responded either out of compassion or in response to the genuine seeking or the faith of the person. Here are some passages dealing with prayer by an unbeliever:
The people of Nineveh prayed that Nineveh might be spared (Jonah 3:5-10). God answered this prayer and did not destroy the city of Nineveh as He had threatened.
Hagar asked God to protect her son Ishmael (Genesis 21:14-19). God not only protected Ishmael, God blessed him exceedingly.
In 1 Kings 21:17-29, especially verses 27-29, Ahab fasts and mourns over Elijah’s prophecy concerning his posterity. God responds by not bringing about the calamity in Ahab’s time.
The Gentile woman from the Tyre and Sidon area prayed that Jesus would deliver her daughter from a demon (Mark 7:24-30). Jesus cast the demon out of the woman’s daughter.
Cornelius, the Roman centurion in Acts 10, had the apostle Peter sent to him in response to Cornelius being a righteous man. Acts 10:2 tells us that Cornelius “prayed to God regularly.”
God does make promises that are applicable to all (saved and unsaved alike) such as Jeremiah 29:13: “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.” This was the case for Cornelius in Acts 10:1-6. But there are many promises that, according to the context of the passages, are for Christians alone. Because Christians have received Jesus as the Savior, they are encouraged to come boldly to the throne of grace to find help in time of need (Hebrews 4:14-16). We are told that when we ask for anything according to God’s will, He hears and gives us what we ask for (1 John 5:14-15). There are many other promises for Christians concerning prayer (Matthew 21:22; John 14:13, 15:7). So, yes, there are instances in which God does not answer the prayers of an unbeliever. At the same time, in His grace and mercy, God can intervene in the lives of unbelievers in response to their prayers.
6 dangers
of a non repentant
heart
One of Satan’s works is to make those who have gone wrong unrepentant. Below I give the 6 dangers of a non repentant heart.
- A non repentant heart comes from the Devil.
2. A non repentant heart will keep you in bondage.
Satan will tighten his grip on you.
3. A non repentant heart will open a door for other evil spirits to torment you.
4. A non repentant heart will keep our Father in Heaven, Jesus Christ,
and the Holy Spirit away from you.
For rebellion is like the sin of divination,
and arrogance like the evil of idolatry.
Because you have rejected the word of the Lord,
he has rejected you as king.” 1 Samuel 15:23
5. A non repentant heart will keep your sins with you.
“Repent, then, and turn to God,
so that your sins may be wiped out,
that times of refreshing may come from the Lord,
(Acts 3:19)
6. You will not produce any fruit.
‘Peter replied,
“Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins.
And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”
7. You cannot enter the Kingdom of God with a non repentant heart.
8. A non repentant heart will lead you to Hell.
“If you are willing and obedient,
you will eat the good things of the land;
20 but if you resist and rebel,
you will be devoured by the sword.”
For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.” Isaiah 1:19-20
Grace
Grace is God’s constant loving presence in our lives actively engaged for the good of all. What are the implications for the role of our staff and volunteers? We encourage them to enter wholeheartedly into God’s grace, to encourage those they lead to do the same, and to embody this grace. In this way, we become an available fountain that God uses to nourish and transform people and the world. The Wesleyan spiritual tradition offers three helpful windows into the nature of grace all of which were integral aspects of what inspired and motivated me as a camper and a growing leader.
Preceding Grace (Prevenient Grace) focuses on the way God showers us with love in many forms and actively works on behalf of our greatest good before we fully recognize that God is involved, before we fully embrace God in various aspects of our lives, and before we have an abiding trust in God’s love as the foundation for our decisions, priorities and actions. God is present and drawing near to us. The wideness of this love recognizes that no one is outside the care of God. We are called to honor the divine spark within ourselves and each person, which draws us all to our Creator.
We never withhold our love and respect until we feel others have earned it, recognized it, or until someone fully conforms to our expectations or theological understandings, because God does not withhold grace. God loves us first (prevenient means “comes before”) and so we love as a natural response to being loved. Without a doubt, such a level of acceptance and genuine concern for the good of individuals and the good of all is healing and helps persons experience and identify God’s companionship in their lives.
Accepting Grace (Justifying Grace) is the love of God assuring us that all this is a gift. Our oneness with God and God’s love for us is not something that depends upon our ability to do the good and right without fail. Once we recognize the nature of God’s love for us and the world, we begin to understand who we are meant to be and what will give our life its greatest joy and purpose. We can feel a deep separation from God, however, if we base our relationship with God on our own ability to live flawlessly.
If we make an honest assessment of our lives, we see that we have sometimes done and do things that cause harm to ourselves and to others either by our action or inaction. We have not always been attentive to loving God either. The life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ speaks definitively about God’s answer in the face of this reality. Accepting Grace involves our acceptance of God’s acceptance of us, which is a generous, forgiving love. As teachers and leaders, part of our role is to build people’s faith, trust and confidence in this enormous love and to invite them to embrace God who embraces them as they navigate the ups and downs of life. As leaders it is our privilege to also extend Accepting Grace to those in our groups on behalf of God and to encourage them to do the same for each other.
When David prays, “Create in me a clean heart,” he is asking God for forgiveness. The subtitle to Psalm 51clarifies the situation: “A psalm of David. When the prophet Nathan came to him after David had committed adultery with Bathsheba.”
Second Samuel 11 tells the sordid tale. King David saw Bathsheba, a married woman, and lusted after her. He summoned her to fulfill his desires. Some time later, she notified him that she was pregnant with his child. David first tried a cover up, and, when that did not work, he arranged for the murder of Bathsheba’s husband. David then married her.
Obviously, David did not have a clean heart after this. He had committed adultery and possibly rape, as the language used in this case is also used of rape; his summoning of and sleeping with Bathsheba was certainly an abuse of royal authority. He then engaged in deception and finally in murder, corrupting others in the process. When it was all done, he thought he had succeeded in covering it up and destroying all the evidence. The last sentence of 2 Samuel 11 tells us, “But the thing David had done displeased the Lord” (verse 27).
In 2 Samuel 12, the prophet Nathan confronts David.
He does so using a parable that David could relate to. He told of a rich man who took advantage of a poor man by stealing his only lamb, a pet, which he killed to feed to his guests. David was overcome with anger and exclaimed, “As surely as the Lord lives, the man who did this must die! He must pay for that lamb four times over, because he did such a thing and had no pity” (2 Samuel 12:5–6).
Then Nathan said to David, “You are the man!” (2 Samuel 12:7)
Although David had tried to hide his sin, it was eating away at him inside, as he records in Psalm 32:3–4: “When I kept silent [about my sin], my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night your hand was heavy on me; my strength was sapped as in the heat of summer.” David admitted to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord” (2 Samuel 12:13). He knew he needed a clean heart.
When David
was through trying to hide his sin,
he confessed it freely
Psalm 51 is that confession
and plea for forgiveness.
His request
“create in me a clean heart” is simply
another way of asking
for forgiveness and spiritual cleansing.
Psalm 51:1–10 is filled with
poetic descriptions
of forgiveness and cleansing,
identified in italics below:
“Have mercy on me, O God,
according to your unfailing love;
according to your great compassion
blot out my transgressions.
Wash away all my iniquity
and cleanse me from my sin.
“For I know my transgressions,
and my sin is always before me.
Against you, you only, have I sinned
and done what is evil in your sight;
so you are right in your verdict
and justified when you judge.
Surely I was sinful at birth,
sinful from the time my mother conceived me.
Yet you desired faithfulness even in the womb;
you taught me wisdom in that secret place.
“Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean;
wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.
Let me hear joy and gladness;
let the bones you have crushed rejoice.
Hide your face from my sins
and blot out all my iniquity.
“Create in me a pure heart, O God,
and renew a steadfast spirit within me.”
Even though David suffered consequences for his sin,
which are outlined in 2 Samuel 12, he was
forgiven and restored to spiritual fellowship with God.
Psalm 32 tells of the
great relief that David felt when
he confessed,
and in this psalm he encourages others
to confess their sins as well:
“Blessed is the one
whose transgressions are forgiven,
whose sins are covered.
Blessed is the one
whose sin the LORD does not count against them
and in whose spirit is no deceit.
“When I kept silent,
my bones wasted away
through my groaning all day long.
For day and night
your hand was heavy on me;
my strength was sapped
as in the heat of summer.
“Then I acknowledged my sin to you
and did not cover up my iniquity.
I said, ‘I will confess
my transgressions to the LORD.’
And you forgave
the guilt of my sin.
“Therefore let all the faithful pray to you
while you may be found;
surely the rising of the mighty waters
will not reach them.
You are my hiding place;
you will protect me from trouble
and surround me with songs of deliverance.
“I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go;
I will counsel you with my loving eye on you.
Do not be like the horse or the mule,
which have no understanding
but must be controlled by bit and bridle
or they will not come to you.
Many are the woes of the wicked,
but the LORD’s unfailing love
surrounds the one who trusts in him.
“Rejoice in the LORD and be glad, you righteous;
sing, all you who are upright in heart!”
Paul uses Psalm 32 as an example of salvation apart from works (Romans 4:6–8). David was forgiven not because of any works he did to earn forgiveness, but simply because he asked in faith. Because of the sacrifice of Christ, any sinner can ask God for forgiveness, that is, for a clean heart, and he will receive it. The apostle John also tells us, “If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1: 8–9). In spite of all that David did, and all that we do, God is willing to forgive because Jesus paid the penalty that we deserve. No matter how dirty we are, God can create in us a clean heart.
Psalm 51:10
Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.
Ezekiel 36:26
And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.
Proverbs 4:23
Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life.
Jeremiah 17:9
The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?
Matthew 5:8
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.
Proverbs 3:5-6
Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.
Psalm 34:18
The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.
Jeremiah 17:10
I the Lord search the heart and test the mind, to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his deeds.
Hebrews 4:12
For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.
Proverbs 21:2
Every way of a man is right in his own eyes, but the Lord weighs the heart.
1 Samuel 16:7
But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.”
Ezekiel 11:19
And I will give them one heart, and a new spirit I will put within them. I will remove the heart of stone from their flesh and give them a heart of flesh,
Matthew 15:18-20
But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person. For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander. These are what defile a person. But to eat with unwashed hands does not defile anyone.
James 4:8
Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.
Matthew 22:37
And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind."
Luke 12:33-34
Sell your possessions, and give to the needy. Provide yourselves with moneybags that do not grow old, with a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.
1 Timothy 1:5
The aim of our charge is love that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith.
Psalm 26:2
Prove me, O Lord, and try me; test my heart and my mind.
John 14:27
Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.
Psalm 119:10
With my whole heart I seek you; let me not wander from your commandments!
Unless otherwise noted, all Bible verses are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® Copyright© 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
Special thanks to OpenBible.info for the data on the most well-known Bible verses.