Camping by the Water By Rev. J.

Patrick Bowman

Sometimes, as Im reading a scripture, the Holy Spirit will put a new twist on it and Ill see things at a level or layer that up until that time were not seen. And that happened to me this last week as I was reading and preparing for this message. So I believe I have a word for you tonight that is a rhema word that the Holy Spirit pulled from the logos word; a word in due season. This is a word tonight for the church at large, as well as for those who call Life in Christ Center home. I am not a camping enthusiast. Camping was not something I did as a child or was shown as an adult. I do remember one trip to the Southern Oregon coast when my kids were young with a couple from church whose kids were about the same age. I had a miserable time. I believe that was my first and last experience with camping. Jan keeps trying to convince me of the merits of camping and usually I just give her the look. I know there are many in this congregation that truly enjoy this activity and spend hours planning, plotting, packing, repacking, and making it all happen. Many have a favorite camp ground or camp site and would spend every available minute there if they had the opportunity. It becomes a social activity when surrounded by those of like mind and fortitude. There is a camaraderie that develops among people that share in activities, whether that is hunting, fishing, softball, and yes, even camping. We have in our midst here tonight members of the Whimpy Campers Club. I would suspect it is so named because as its members get older, and softer, the comforts of home become more valued in their minds, not to mention in their bodies. There are definite reasons for picking a particular camp site. For some, it is the brisk mountain air. These campers relish in the fact that although the conditions are colder than humanly possible to enjoy, they have the right gear to survive such an ordeal and have the long johns to prove it. For others, it is the thick understory of the forest that calls them. They pretend they are on an expedition in the jungles of South America and come back with tales of snakes and bugs and things that go bump in the night. Regardless of the reasons for wanting to camp in a particular place, camping by the water seems to be a universal preference. Whether that is a high mountain stream, lake, ocean, or river, water draws campers. As we look at our scripture reference tonight, we are introduced to a man who was camped by the water for entirely different reasons than we have considered tonight. Yes, he experienced camaraderie with those who camped with him, although I believe he was a very lonely man. Im sure he was there as much as possible, but not because it was a favorite place. In fact, I think he was a lot like me in some ways. In his heart of hearts, he was not a camping enthusiast. But lets first look at the campground. Please look with me in the Gospel of John, chapter 5. We will begin in verses 1-4 and then break it down and look at how this story might apply to us, as the church, in this hour. John 5:1-4 KJV (1) After this there was a feast of the Jews; and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. (2) Now there is at Jerusalem by the sheep market a pool, which is called in the Hebrew tongue Bethesda, having five porches. (3) In these lay a great multitude of impotent folk, of blind, halt, withered, waiting for the moving of the water. (4) For an angel went down at a certain season into the pool, and troubled the water: whosoever then first after the troubling of the water stepped in was made whole of whatsoever disease he had.

If we consider Jerusalem a type of the church universal, can we also say that the church has those, perhaps a great multitude, who are impotent (or feeble minded), spiritually blind, halt between two opinions, who are withered with dryness of soul? I say yes, because, as a pastor, I work with some of them on a regular basis. And more importantly yes, because I have fit the description myself at times in my Christian walk. There they lay at the House of Mercy, which is what Bethesda means. There is no shame in that. We all need Gods mercy. But what are they doing? Waiting for the moving of the water. Waiting for the next revival, waiting for the next conference, waiting for the next training session, waiting for the next great event. I am not saying God cant or wont work through these events. We know that He does. I was in 2 wonderfully anointed meetings this last week where the Holy Spirit moved in a mighty way. But I was not looking at these events as my main course of sustenance. It was wonderful gravy, but it wasnt the meat I live by from day to day. So much of the church lies waiting for the yearly revival meeting, Spring or Winter conferences or the next hot evangelist to come through town in hope that the meeting itself will bring the needed change in the spiritual life of the church. An emotional high becomes a lousy substitute for the impartation of the Spirit that will make a life granting inward change. Again, God can and does work through special meetings and services to accomplish His purposes, but only if our hearts are seeking after Him to change us and not the venue. A great conference center or mega-church auditorium is no substitute for the temple He wants to tabernacle in: you and me. We must not allow ourselves to experience just the emotional high of an event only to come home and live a mediocre life once the emotions run dry. Young people, especially, remember that. I applaud your zeal, but know its source and guard your hearts. We notice also that the pool had five porches. Those five porches represent for me the five books of Moses, the Pentateuch, and the limits of the law. We see that an angel went down at a certain season (a limited time) and troubled the waters (a limited modality) and the first one in the water got healed (a limited effectiveness). It almost seems like black Friday shopping. Be one of the first 25 at the store at midnight and win a chance to fight it out with the others for the five grand, super-rama whichamacallits we have in stock! We also see this in some churches with legalistic teachings: God only works in this way at this time and only through special people, and, of course, only at our church. When we limit God and put Him in our box, He sometimes gives us only what we are expecting. And when God does break out of our mold, it can cause real heartache for some. As we continue in John, we find out something about our camper in verse 5: John 5:5 KJV (5) And a certain man was there, which had an infirmity thirty and eight years.

We find out very little about him, other than the fact that he had an infirmity for 38 years. We do not learn his age, or how old he was when he became infirm. We can assume, though, from his brief conversation with Jesus that he knew the system and what was expected. Perhaps he had camped there for 38 years, waiting for the great event that would end his neediness. There is another group that camped by the water for 38 years also. The children of Israel spent approximately 2 years after their departure from Egypt camping and grumbling along the way until they reached Kadesh-barnea. Moses sent out the spies and when they returned to Kadesh, Joshua and Caleb gave the good report, while the other 10 spies gave a bad report. They remained at Kadesh for an additional 38 years until the generation of sin had passed from the people. But that is another sermon. So Jesus is in Jerusalem and we read about his encounter with our camper in verse 6. John 5:6 KJV

(6) When Jesus saw him lie, and knew that he had been now a long time in that case, he saith unto him, Wilt thou be made whole? How did Jesus know about this man? The same way He knows all about us. Hebrews 4:13 says: Hebrews 4:13 KJV (13) Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do. Jesus question to the infirm man seems odd at first. Wasnt he at the pool of healing? Hadnt he camped out there by the water for a long time? The mans answer to Jesus reveals so much about why Jesus was so direct with him. John 5:7 KJV (7) The impotent man answered him, Sir, I have no man, when the water is troubled, to put me into the pool: but while I am coming, another steppeth down before me. When Gods people look to man as their access to Gods power, anointing, and healing, there is trouble, not coffee, brewing at the campground. When the church looks to mans programs, mans abilities, mans system of religiosity, when the church looks to the church, as the source of Gods mercy, we walk a fine line of worshipping the creature and not the creator. Im not saying that God cannot use anointed ministries and programs to accomplish His purposes. We know that He can and does. But they are only conduits, not the source. When the pastor, the elders, the evangelist, the conference speaker, the programs become the focal point, and the object of worship, we become idolaters and suffer the consequences of our actions. What Jesus was asking the infirm man was, Are you willing to be healed, not in the narrow way you were expecting, not with the help of man, not because the program is right, not because the speaker is anointed, not because the location is superior, but simply, are you willing to be healed? Im sure Jesus caught him off-guard with His question and we have no indication what was happening in the mans heart as he answered. Perhaps as he was rehearsing the reasons why it couldnt happen, a little seed of hope, the size of a mustard seed sprouted in the mans heart. Perhaps after years of relying on a limited system with limited results, the possibility of another way was uncovered in his thinking. Perhaps after years of waiting for a man to move him to the water, he realized the man before him was the water. We do know that at some point Jesus heard within the man a Yes to His question, and Jesus spoke. John 5:8-9 KJV (8) Jesus saith unto him, Rise, take up thy bed, and walk. (9) And immediately the man was made whole, and took up his bed, and walked: and on the same day was the sabbath. The man not only heard Jesus but he obeyed. When Jesus comes into the midst of our infirmities and brings healing and deliverance outside of our established, religious ways, the repercussions will certainly come. And possibly from those who have watched us suffer and have had pity on us from afar but are not pleased with the timing or the methodology of our healing. John 5:10 KJV (10) The Jews therefore said unto him that was cured, It is the sabbath day: it is not lawful for thee to carry thy bed.

As in the case of the blind man that Jesus heals in John 9, there was no rejoicing with the healed over the healing, only acknowledgement of it and contempt that the healing came on the Sabbath. The man did not quarrel with them about the Sabbath law but rather gave them his reason for disobedience. John 5:11-12 KJV (11) He answered them, He that made me whole, the same said unto me, Take up thy bed, and walk. (12) Then asked they him, What man is that which said unto thee, Take up thy bed, and walk? This is the first mention by the healed man that it was another man that made him whole. Not the system, not the prescribed way, but a somebody. And in the Jews eyes, somebody has to take the blame, but at this point the man had no idea who this somebody was. We dont always know when Jesus is at work in our lives. Sometimes He sneaks in and out of our situation without leaving His calling card. What we have instead is the reality that truly He was in our midst. John 5:13 KJV (13) And he that was healed wist not who it was: for Jesus had conveyed himself away, a multitude being in that place. But Jesus later found the man in the temple, the place of worship, and brought further healing to him. John 5:14-15 KJV (14) Afterward Jesus findeth him in the temple, and said unto him, Behold, thou art made whole: sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee. (15) The man departed, and told the Jews that it was Jesus, which had made him whole. When we are in the place of worship, Jesus meets with us in a way that is so clear, so precise, that we have no doubt who it is that stands beside us. He affirms us, tells us things about ourselves that only He could know, and warns and admonishes us to live in a way that will honor Him. Then and only then can we say with assurance that it is Jesus who made us whole.