Jerusalem, the most
sacred city in all the world.
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It holds incredible spiritual
importance to Jews, Christians,
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and Muslims.
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It's the site of the Wailing
Wall, the Last Supper, and
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Homage Dissension to Heaven.
It's home to over a thousand
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synagogues, a hundred
churches, and 70 Mosques.
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Jerusalem means "City of
Peace." But even with all these
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religious buildings and the
millions of pilgrims who visit
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and worship in them, down
through the ages, it's been a
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place of violence and turmoil.
During its long history,
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Jerusalem has been attacked 52
times captured and re-captured
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44 times, besieged 23
times, and destroyed twice.
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One of those intense
periods of tension and turmoil
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involved the crusades.
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They were a series of
religious wars fought during the
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Middle Ages between the
Arabs who controlled Jerusalem
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and European Armies. Crusaders
captured Jerusalem in 1099,
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they wanted to ensure
that the city was safe for
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Christian Pilgrims. During
the hundred years that they were
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in control of Jerusalem,
Christian settlers from
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the west set about rebuilding
the shrines and churches
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associated with
the life of Christ.
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One of the loveliest of
all the crusader buildings
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is the St. Anne's
church that was built in 1140.
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Something incredible happened
in the grounds of this church,
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that convinces that
neither peace can be achieved
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in this troubled land and
not just internationally and
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religiously but also personally.
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Right here a man found
the secret of true peace,
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he found true
meaning and purpose in life.
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His story will
encourage you and inspire you.
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The church of St. Anne is
the most characteristic and
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best-preserved
crusader church in Jerusalem,
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it marks the traditional site
of the home of Jesus' maternal
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grandparents and
Joachim and the birthplace of
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His mother Mary.
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It's located just north of
the temple mount about 50 meters
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inside St. Stevens or Lions
Gate in the eastern wall of
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the old city of Jerusalem. It
used to be called The Sheep Gate
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because this was where the sheep
were brought to the temple to
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be sacrificed. The church stands
in a court yard with trees,
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shrubs, and flowers.
Its peace and tranquility
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contrast with the bustling
streets and alleys of the
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Muslim Quarter outside.
St Anne's church was built by
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the crusaders in 1140. The
strong lines and thick walls
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give the church a fortress-like
appearance and is renown
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for the acoustics in the chapel.
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It was built over a cave where
the crusaders believe that Mary
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the mother of Jesus was born.
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Unlike other churches in
Jerusalem St. Anne's wasn't
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destroyed after the Muslims
conquered the city in 1189.
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Instead, it was turned into
an Islamic law school by the
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Sultan Saladin, his name
still appears in the Arabic
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inscription above
the main entrance.
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After two centuries, the
building was abandoned...
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At the end of the Crimean
War between the Ottoman Turkish
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Empire and Russia, the Sultan
of Turkey gave the site to
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the French government
in gratitude for its help
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during the war. The church
yard contains one of the saddest
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places on earth, the
compound contains pools of water
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that archeologists
have discovered are the
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Pools of Bethesda, these pools
attracted invalids, blind, lame,
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and paralyzed who believed
when the water was stirred up,
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it contained healing powers.
But in reality it was a place of
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despair for the
disabled who congregated here.
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One of them who languished
here had been an invalid for
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38 years, he lay here
for a long time watching the
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world go by unable
to be a part of it.
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Life had lost all purpose
and meaning, yet he was the same
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person inside that had always
been, he had the same talents,
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the same insights, but his
mind just couldn't make his body
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work anymore. And so he'd
been condemned to the sidelines
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he'd lost his freedom to move
around, he'd lost the freedom
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to participate in the
activities of everyday life.
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Worst of all, he'd fixed all
his hope, every bit of the hope
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he could still
muster on the wrong thing.
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But then something happened
that changed his life forever.
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Jerusalem was in the midst
of one of its great festivals
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one that drew thousands of
pilgrims from all over Israel
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to the city's Holy Temple.
Among those crowding the streets
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and the temple court was Jesus.
He'd gone there to participate
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in the ancient
rituals like any faithful Jew.
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But on this particular
day, He was looking for a break
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from all the
elaborate ceremonies,
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it was a High Sabbath,
full of pomp and pageantry
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and Jesus took a walk
to get some fresh air,
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he also wanted to get away
from the priests and scribes
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who were always challenging
Him, always trying to trap Him
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with some trick question
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Jesus found Himself in constant
conflict with the legalistic
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religion of His day. As He
strolled, Jesus was soon drawn
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to another environment,
the places where the poor and
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afflicted huddled. This teacher
from Galilee found Himself
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here in one of the darkest and
saddest corners of Jerusalem,
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The Pool of Bethesda.
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It was dark because it
attracted human misery,
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it attracted people who
had to hope against hope.
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Jesus walked through the covered
colonnades surrounding the
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spring fed pool
and looked around.
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He gazed intently at
the human wreckage hovering
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near the water. Pale
bodies wracked by fatal diseases
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lay on filthy mats.
Their faces were turned towards
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the motionless
surface of this pool.
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The blind crouched on stone
porches ready to spring towards
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the first sound of
water lapping on the stone.
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The maimed sprawled in a variety
of positions trying to keep
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their good limbs ready for
action and the most pathetic
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those completely paralyzed
stared helplessly up at the
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cold columns. Jesus sensed what
these individuals were feeling,
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He sensed something of what it
was like to wait here each day,
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day after day and watch the sun
crawl across the sky overhead.
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And He wanted to heal them
all right then, right here,
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but He realized that
would cause a problem.
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To perform such a mighty
miracle during this feast day
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in a Jerusalem bustling with
pilgrims would bring Him into
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conflict with the
religious leaders.
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Still Jesus' gaze
fastened on one particular case,
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a hopeless case, a man who'd
been an invalid for 38 years.
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He'd be lying there watching
people come and go for almost
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four decades, once, he'd been
as strong and active as any man,
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once he'd been a part of
Jerusalem, he could of worked,
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he could have raised a family
but his illness condemned him
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to a life on the sidelines.
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He wasn't a part of
anything or anyone anymore,
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he just had to lie
there as life passed him by.
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When Jesus looked
into this grey, grim face,
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He felt He just had to perform
one miracle, He had to try to
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save this man from his misery.
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Have you ever felt
trapped on the sidelines?
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You probably haven't
been paralyzed for 38 years
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like that man by the pool
of Bethesda, but a lot of us go
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through tough times in our
lives when we do feel sidelined.
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When we feel life is passing
us by and we can't do anything
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about it. Perhaps it's a chronic
illness, something that keeps
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returning over and over
again, you've tried all kinds
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of remedies but
nothing seems to work,
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you've been disappointed so
many times but just when you
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start feeling that maybe, maybe
the disease is under control
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it flares up
again and lays you low.
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Perhaps you are recovering
from a divorce or the loss of a
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loved one, you've lost something
precious and the break up
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of that relationship seems to
have broken up your whole world.
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You trudge through each
day, you go through the motions,
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but you feel disconnected,
you are not really a part
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of life around you...Perhaps
you've just lost your job,
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you're desperately
trying to find something new
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but you keep running into closed
doors, things fall through,
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and you watch all the
other people heading off to work
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in the morning, all the other
people busy with their routines
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and you feel terribly sidelined,
life is passing you by.
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This paralyzed man by the
pool of Bethesda represented
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the sorrow of the sidelined,
he embodied all of their
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frustration, he looked
down at his limbs every day,
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he saw that everything was
there and yet nothing worked.
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He didn't want to simply
adjust to that situation,
00:11:26.25\00:11:30.19
he didn't want to just simply
cope, he wanted to get moving
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again. This is the need
that Jesus wanted to meet as he
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approached the man lying on
his filthy mat here at the pool
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of Bethesda, but the
great physician faced a problem
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the problem was this
man's faith, that's right,
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the problem was his faith.
Why? He was looking in the wrong
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direction.
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When Jesus walked up to
him and graciously asked...
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Do you want to be made well?
This is what the man replied
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in John 5:7:
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This paralyzed man placed his
faith in the same superstition
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as everyone else
waiting by that pool.
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It was said that on
occasion an angel from heaven
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would come down to
stir up the water here.
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And whoever got into the
pool first, would be healed
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of whatever disease they had.
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Now, it's not uncommon for
spring-fed pools to bubble-up
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sometimes due simply
to the flow of water,
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but the desperate people
here of Bethesda believe or
00:12:48.60\00:12:52.57
try to believe that an angel
was involved and that healing
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would follow if they got
into the pool after the angels
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stirred it up. This disabled
man spent hours staring at the
00:13:00.51\00:13:05.51
surface of the pool, some other
veterans of Bethesda crawled
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close to the water, they
crawled up next to it when the
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breeze smelled like sheep.
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The sheep Gate Market lay
close by and they imagined that
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a breeze strong enough to
bring them the pungent odors
00:13:20.76\00:13:23.43
of the animals might just be
strong enough to help that angel
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disturb the pool. Others
had trained themselves to detect
00:13:27.74\00:13:32.47
the faint rumbling underground
that was usually followed by
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heated water
bubbling up to the surface.
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Tragically, they were all
looking in the wrong direction
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and Jesus longed to
do something about it.
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You know, when we are sidelined
and life loses its purpose
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it's easy to look in the wrong
direction, it's very easy to
00:13:51.19\00:13:55.50
invest our faith in the
wrong thing. We want the problem
00:13:55.53\00:13:59.37
to go away now. We
want a magical solution now.
00:13:59.40\00:14:04.44
So people often just bury them-
selves in alcohol or drugs,
00:14:04.47\00:14:10.11
they find a way to escape from
the pain, but they're looking
00:14:10.15\00:14:13.88
for help in the wrong direction,
placing their faith in the wrong
00:14:13.92\00:14:18.95
things. Jesus had to
deal with this problem,
00:14:18.99\00:14:22.72
He had to deal with
this man's misplaced faith.
00:14:22.76\00:14:26.33
So Jesus didn't respond
to him in the way he hoped,
00:14:26.36\00:14:30.60
there was a request hidden
in His statement, I have no man
00:14:30.63\00:14:35.97
to put me into the pool.
00:14:36.00\00:14:37.84
He managed to persuade
acquaintances to carry him to
00:14:37.87\00:14:42.88
Bethesda, but no one
wanted to hang around all day
00:14:42.91\00:14:46.61
waiting for the water to move.
Maybe, just maybe, this kind
00:14:46.65\00:14:52.05
stranger would give him
a push at the right time.
00:14:52.09\00:14:55.22
That's all he could hope
for because his faith was fixed
00:14:55.26\00:14:59.63
so intently on the magical pool
of water, but Christ wanted him
00:14:59.66\00:15:04.93
to look elsewhere. He wanted
the man to look into His face,
00:15:04.97\00:15:09.10
to make a connection, so He
didn't answer the man's request,
00:15:09.14\00:15:13.58
instead, He gave him what seemed
to be a perfectly ridiculous
00:15:13.61\00:15:18.48
command. Get up,
pick up your mat and walk.
00:15:18.51\00:15:23.08
Well, Jesus might
have told the stone columns
00:15:23.12\00:15:27.02
here in the pool
to dance in a circle.
00:15:27.06\00:15:29.86
There was no way in the world
this man could get up and walk.
00:15:29.89\00:15:34.56
He'd been paralyzed for 38
years, but something happened,
00:15:34.60\00:15:40.77
when this startled man
looked intently into the face of
00:15:40.80\00:15:44.84
Jesus Christ. Who is this man
he wondered, who can speak such
00:15:44.87\00:15:49.88
words and suddenly
those muted nerve endings and
00:15:49.91\00:15:53.58
shriveled limbs responded
as if they'd taken on a life of
00:15:53.62\00:15:57.92
their own. He wanted to
obey this impossible command,
00:15:57.95\00:16:02.12
he struggled to his feet and
suddenly 38 years of immobility
00:16:02.16\00:16:08.40
vanished, he'd been
saved from the sidelines.
00:16:08.43\00:16:13.80
I'd like you to think for a
moment about whatever problem
00:16:13.84\00:16:17.84
has condemned
you to the sidelines.
00:16:17.87\00:16:20.04
Think about how you react when
you feel life is passing you by,
00:16:20.08\00:16:25.08
think about where you
tend to place your faith.
00:16:25.11\00:16:29.35
Have you been looking
in the right direction?
00:16:29.38\00:16:32.39
Are you seeing the face
of God in that direction?
00:16:32.42\00:16:36.73
Or are you obsessing over some
quick fix, some magical solution
00:16:36.76\00:16:41.93
forms a detour around Him?
00:16:41.96\00:16:45.13
Sometimes we remain on the
sidelines because we get stuck
00:16:45.17\00:16:50.51
staring at the wrong thing
and what Christ wants to do
00:16:50.54\00:16:54.98
first of all, is to get
us looking into His face.
00:16:55.01\00:16:59.11
Please He says, to all those
who feel paralyzed by life,
00:16:59.15\00:17:03.69
look at me first. The loss of a
job doesn't have to condemn you
00:17:03.72\00:17:09.32
to the sidelines, chronic
illness doesn't have to condemn
00:17:09.36\00:17:13.56
you to the sidelines.
The loss of a loved one
00:17:13.60\00:17:16.56
doesn't have to
condemn you to the sidelines.
00:17:16.60\00:17:19.83
There is a way out, but it
all starts by looking in the
00:17:19.87\00:17:26.21
right direction. Remember
that Christ didn't answer the
00:17:26.24\00:17:30.38
paralyzed man in the way he
had hoped, instead, He gave him
00:17:30.41\00:17:34.98
something much better.
00:17:35.02\00:17:36.79
And sometimes our
fervent prayers for an immediate
00:17:36.82\00:17:40.66
solution get in the way of our
experiencing a bigger and better
00:17:40.69\00:17:45.89
solution. Sometimes we keep
begging God for an immediate
00:17:45.93\00:17:50.43
physical healing when He wants
first to enable us to experience
00:17:50.47\00:17:55.40
a more important
emotional healing.
00:17:55.44\00:17:58.27
Sometimes we keep
begging God for a certain job
00:17:58.31\00:18:02.78
when He wants to open up
a whole new career for us.
00:18:02.81\00:18:05.71
Sometimes we demand that
God make so and so fall in love
00:18:05.75\00:18:09.88
with us when He has
someone much better in mind.
00:18:09.92\00:18:13.72
Focusing on the immediate
solution can get in the way
00:18:13.76\00:18:18.56
of God giving us
the bigger solution.
00:18:18.59\00:18:21.33
We're so focused on
the surface of the pool
00:18:21.36\00:18:24.60
that we don't notice the
greatest healer of all time
00:18:24.63\00:18:28.04
reaching out His had to us.
00:18:28.07\00:18:30.44
First, look at Jesus, that's
what the paralytic had to do.
00:18:30.47\00:18:36.08
Invest your faith in the right
place, begin a relationship
00:18:36.11\00:18:41.02
with Him, then He can lead
you away from the sidelines.
00:18:41.05\00:18:44.95
He can make you a part
of His abundant life again
00:18:44.99\00:18:48.02
He can get you back in the race.
00:18:48.06\00:18:50.33
Listen to how Paul
pictured the race of life in
00:18:50.36\00:18:54.23
Hebrews 12: 1-2.
00:18:54.26\00:18:57.30
How do we get off the
sidelines and into the race?
00:19:08.98\00:19:14.92
By first looking at Jesus, by
first fixing our eyes on Jesus.
00:19:14.95\00:19:20.72
Looking at Jesus
creates faith, it creates trust,
00:19:20.76\00:19:26.03
it creates confidence.
00:19:26.06\00:19:28.20
But there's a second
thing this man had to do,
00:19:28.23\00:19:31.37
there's a second thing we
all must do to get off the
00:19:31.40\00:19:34.60
sidelines. This man listened to
Jesus, he entered into a dialog
00:19:34.64\00:19:40.98
with this stranger bending
over him, he heard the question
00:19:41.01\00:19:45.21
"Do you want to be made well?"
00:19:45.25\00:19:47.02
and he listened to the
command. Rise, take up your bed,
00:19:47.05\00:19:51.62
and walk. After we look,
we too must listen, after we
00:19:51.65\00:19:57.69
fix our eyes on the
object of our faith, on Jesus,
00:19:57.73\00:20:01.43
then we must listen to
Him speak and we must listen
00:20:01.46\00:20:05.07
regularly. How? How do
we listen? By spending time
00:20:05.10\00:20:10.44
in prayer and the
study of the Bible.
00:20:10.47\00:20:13.07
That's how we communicate
with Christ and that's how He
00:20:13.11\00:20:17.18
communicates with us.
00:20:17.21\00:20:19.31
Listen to how the
Bible pictures this?
00:20:19.35\00:20:22.02
In Isaiah 50:4- 5, our
Lord describes the relationship,
00:20:22.05\00:20:28.02
He says,
00:20:28.06\00:20:29.69
How do we listen as a
disciple morning by morning?
00:20:44.21\00:20:48.34
By listening to the word of God.
By letting Him speak His wisdom
00:20:48.38\00:20:53.31
and encouragement to us
through the Word takes time.
00:20:53.35\00:20:56.85
It takes a personal commitment
but the experience of having
00:20:56.89\00:21:01.82
God speak to you is
worth any investment.
00:21:01.86\00:21:05.23
How do you get
off the sidelines?
00:21:05.26\00:21:07.66
First look at Jesus,
then listen to Jesus,
00:21:07.70\00:21:12.93
that's what the man by
the pool did. And finally,
00:21:12.97\00:21:16.94
he did one more thing.
He started to live in Jesus.
00:21:16.97\00:21:21.28
When Jesus commanded
him to rise, what did he do?
00:21:21.31\00:21:25.91
He got up. God's
power within this man
00:21:25.95\00:21:29.82
enabled him to get up.
When Jesus commanded him
00:21:29.85\00:21:33.59
to take up his mat, what
did he do? He took it up.
00:21:33.62\00:21:38.26
He walked away from that
place of despair and sickness
00:21:38.29\00:21:41.76
with the mat under his arm.
00:21:41.80\00:21:44.10
He was responding to
Jesus, he was living in Jesus.
00:21:44.13\00:21:49.27
That's the third thing we must
do to get off the sidelines.
00:21:49.30\00:21:53.44
Live in Jesus. Listen to what
Paul tells us in Romans 6:11.
00:21:53.48\00:22:00.42
Dead to sin, alive to
God. The paralytic turned away
00:22:09.19\00:22:14.60
completely from his old life.
He wasn't going to hang around
00:22:14.63\00:22:18.17
the pool of Bethesda, he wasn't
going to stay there any more.
00:22:18.20\00:22:22.14
Too many bad memories,
too many long hours of misery.
00:22:22.17\00:22:26.94
Every fiber in his body
was responding to that command
00:22:26.98\00:22:31.65
to rise and walk,
it was exhilarating.
00:22:31.68\00:22:36.69
We need to look at Jesus,
we need to listen to Jesus,
00:22:36.72\00:22:41.02
and we need to live in Jesus.
00:22:41.06\00:22:43.39
We need to respond whole-
heartedly to what He tells us,
00:22:43.43\00:22:47.63
we need to base our
lives on His teaching,
00:22:47.66\00:22:50.97
that's how we get off the
sidelines, that's how we get
00:22:51.00\00:22:54.80
into the race of life.
00:22:54.84\00:22:56.97
You may feel paralyzed by forces
much greater than yourself,
00:22:57.01\00:23:01.74
you may feel helpless in the
middle of your personal storm,
00:23:01.78\00:23:05.68
but Jesus said, I can save
you from the sidelines and I can
00:23:05.71\00:23:11.45
do more. Friend, look up
right now, start looking in the
00:23:11.49\00:23:17.09
right direction, look
deeply into the face of Jesus
00:23:17.13\00:23:20.80
He can take all your
scars and turn them into stars.
00:23:20.83\00:23:25.40
He can take your tragedies and
He can turn them into trials,
00:23:25.43\00:23:29.57
He can take your broken
dreams and frustrated your hopes
00:23:29.60\00:23:33.61
and your disappointments
and God can turn them around.
00:23:33.64\00:23:37.25
He can make something
beautiful in your life.
00:23:37.28\00:23:41.28
Look to Jesus, that's the
first step out of the sidelines.
00:23:41.32\00:23:46.62
Friend, right now listen to
Jesus, listen to Him tell you
00:23:46.65\00:23:52.16
how important you are,
listen to Him tell you how much
00:23:52.19\00:23:55.73
you mean to Him, and friends,
by faith, reach out to Him
00:23:55.76\00:24:00.90
right now. By faith say to Him,
Lord, I do believe that you are
00:24:00.94\00:24:07.44
building something out of the
shambles of my life and that you
00:24:07.48\00:24:11.91
can save me from the sidelines.
00:24:11.95\00:24:14.82
Why not reach out to
Him right now as we pray.
00:24:14.85\00:24:20.26
Dear heavenly Father,
We're so thankful that you can
00:24:20.29\00:24:25.06
save us from the sidelines.
We're tired of seeing life
00:24:25.09\00:24:29.10
rush past us, we're
tired of being paralyzed by the
00:24:29.13\00:24:32.73
misfortunes. Pleae help
us to invest our faith in the
00:24:32.77\00:24:37.51
Great Physician. Enable
us now to obey your command,
00:24:37.54\00:24:41.71
rise, take up our mats and
walk. We give you permission
00:24:41.74\00:24:47.52
to begin working Your will
in our lives, to begin those
00:24:47.55\00:24:51.49
first brushstrokes that
will result in a masterpiece.
00:24:51.52\00:24:55.62
We pray this in the name
of Jesus our Savior, Amen.
00:24:55.66\00:25:01.73
A hopeless paralyzed man
found Jesus here. He was in a
00:25:01.76\00:25:11.87
desperate situation. For 38
years he had hope beyond hope,
00:25:11.91\00:25:16.78
but yet here at this very spot,
Christ touched him and he was
00:25:16.81\00:25:22.38
made whole.
00:25:22.42\00:25:23.75
I'm so glad that the
saving, rescuing, power of Jesus
00:25:23.79\00:25:27.86
is unlimited. I'm so glad
that He can still save people
00:25:27.89\00:25:33.26
from the sidelinds.
00:25:33.29\00:25:35.53
Today, you can find that Christ.
If you are struggling with the
00:25:35.56\00:25:40.07
challenges and stress of every-
day life and would like to
00:25:40.10\00:25:43.81
expereince God's unconditional
love, if you are looking for
00:25:43.84\00:25:47.81
ways to live a better life,
and want to find inner-peace
00:25:47.84\00:25:50.98
and true happiness, if
you'd like to get closed to God,
00:25:51.01\00:25:54.72
then I'd like to recommend
the free gift we have for all
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our viewers today.
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It's the booklet, "We
Can Believe the Bible."
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This booklet is our gift to
you and it's absolutely "FREE."
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There are no costs or
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So, make the most of
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to receive the gift
we have for you today.
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Here is the
information you need.
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Phone or text us at
0436.333.555 in Australia
00:26:20.24\00:26:26.88
or 020.422.2042 in New Zealand
00:26:26.92\00:26:31.79
or visit our website at
www.tij.tv to request today's
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free offer and we'll send it
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Write to us at GPO Box 274,
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Sydney NSW 2001, Australia
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or PO Box 76673,
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New Zealand.
Call or text us now.
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The Incredible
Journey and Pastor Gary Kent
00:27:03.69\00:27:06.45
with Pastor Louis Torres and
Carol Torres as the principle
00:27:06.49\00:27:09.89
trainers are opening a
Bible College in Sydney
00:27:09.92\00:27:13.09
in February of 2020.
00:27:13.13\00:27:14.83
This 14 week program will
give you the skills you need
00:27:14.86\00:27:18.10
to be an effective co-laborer
with Christ to carry the message
00:27:18.13\00:27:21.87
of the crucified,
risen, and soon coming savior
00:27:21.90\00:27:25.07
to the whole world. For
more information and to register
00:27:25.11\00:27:28.58
phone or text us at 0481.315.
101, email us at info@tij.tv
00:27:28.61\00:27:36.99
or visit our
website at tij.tv/events.
00:27:37.02\00:27:42.69
Be sure to join us again next
week when we will share another
00:27:42.72\00:27:48.23
of life's journeys together.
Until then, remember the
00:27:48.26\00:27:52.23
ultimate
destination of life's journey.
00:27:52.27\00:27:54.80
Now, I saw a new
heaven and a new earth
00:27:54.84\00:27:57.21
and God will wipe away
every tear from their eyes,
00:27:57.24\00:28:00.68
there shall be no more
death, nor sorrow, nor crying,
00:28:00.71\00:28:04.55
there shall be no more
pain, for the former things
00:28:04.58\00:28:07.22
have passed away.
00:28:07.25\00:28:09.38