Welcome to the Daily Blade . The Word of God is described as the sword of the Spirit , the primary spiritual weapon in the Christian's armor against the forces of evil . Your hosts are Joby Martin and Kyle Thompson , and they stand ready to equip men for the fight . Let's sharpen up .
Welcome back to day two , john chapter five . We're gonna dig right . In Verse one says After this , there was a feast of the Jews and Jesus went up to Jerusalem . Just a point of Bible study is that no matter where you were in Israel , you always went up to Jerusalem . It's not talking about heading north , but Jerusalem was the highest point in all of Israel . Therefore , you were always heading up to get to Jerusalem of Israel . Therefore , you were always heading up to get to Jerusalem .
Speaker 2Now there is in Jerusalem , by the sheep gate , a pool . Now this is very important . The sheep gate is on the northern section of the wall in first century Jerusalem , but it was the easternmost gate .
This typically would not be where people would come in and out . This gate was designated for the sheep . There were pastures to the north of Jerusalem . This would have been the gate that they would have brought in the animals for the sacrifice , because it leads directly to the backside of the temple . This would also be where it would be nasty . There were actually a couple of pools there , and one of these pools was designated for the sheep to be washed . And so what began to happen around one of these pools , this pool called Bethesda is that people who had been treated like animals . They would begin to gather there . Now there was in Jerusalem , by the sheep gate , a pool in Aramaic called Bethesda , which has five to stop right there . The way the world saw these people . The name that we use in English is invalid . Now , if you do a little bit of English etymology of the word , if you break it into its components , that word just says invalid .
Speaker 2And before we go any farther
into what Jesus does for this man who had been lame for 38 years , I just want to tell you that you are not invalid . You see , what the enemy constantly tries to do is the enemy tries to put a label on you . The enemy tries to take the worst thing that you have ever done in your life and say that is who you are . The enemy tries to determine your value by your performance . The enemy tries to make a highlight of the lowest point of your life . The enemy tries to make a highlight of the lowest point of your life . This is the language of the enemy . This language is called condemnation . Condemnation is a building term , which means unfit for use . But Jesus is going to look at this man and he is going to say no , no , no , no , you are not invalid . You are not an invalid , but you are very , very valid .
Speaker 2You see , the reality is is that only Jesus can tell you who you are . You see , the enemy constantly tries to get us to define ourself by our scars , by our past , by our sins , by our addictions , by our affairs , by our mistakes , by the time that we made mistakes , whatever it is . But Jesus says no , no , no , you are not defined by your scars , you are defined by my scars . You see , jesus gets to tell us who we are and , according to Jesus , you and I are more than conquerors . According to Jesus , you and I are not lame , you and I mount up with wings like eagles . That you and I are not orphans , but you and I are sons of the most high king . That you and I are not crooked and wretched and broken , but you and I are holy and blameless and righteous .
Speaker 2And so the reality is , if that's who we are , in Christ , then why in the world do we put up with the labels that this world tries to put on us ? You see , this world knows that the world slaps a label on us . It doesn't have
to deal with us anymore . It only has to deal with that label . And I hope and I pray that you could see God in the way that he sees you , that the face of the Lord towards you is not that of like begrudging frustration because he's so aggravated with you .
Speaker 2But if you are in Christ , then the righteousness of Christ is on you and you are not invalid . That when Christ died on the cross and he pushed up on his nail-pierced feet and he said it is finished . If you believe that counted for you , then you were made valid . Jesus Christ himself has validated you and you are of great worth because you are not your own . You are bought at a price and you need to believe it Now . Obviously , if you know this Bible story or this Bible event , you know what happens . Jesus is going to heal this man . Now , how silly would it be for two or three weeks later to see this man laying back on that mat again ? Why ? Because walking people don't lay on a crippled man's mat . So do not believe the labels of this world . May you believe you are who God tells you you are . You are bought and paid for , redeemed and cleaned , that you are a son of the most high king .
Speaker 1Now may we act like you a son of the Most High King . Now may we act like it . Thank you for listening to today's episode Before you go . If you want to help equip other men for the fight , share this podcast around and leave us a five-star rating and review . Stay sharp .