Elevation with Steven Furtick - Lame Excuses (Robert Madu)

Episode Date: April 23, 2023

It’s time to get up. In “Lame Excuses,” Pastor Robert Madu reminds us that we’ve got to stop making excuses and start walking in the purpose God has for us — because His power is made perfect in our weakness. If you’ve just made a decision for Christ, please respond HERE: http://ele.vc/tIepfr To support this ministry and help us continue to reach people all around the world click here: http://www.elevationchurch.org/giving/ Scripture References: John 5, verses 1-15See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an I-Heart podcast. Guaranteed Human. Hey, this is Stephen Ferdick. I'm the pastor of Elevation Church, and this is our podcast. Be sure to subscribe so we can get you these new sermons every week. I hope you're blessed today. It's on a Sunday. Are you glad to be in the House of God, Elevation?

Amen, across every location, even at home. I know you just tore up your bathroom, your living room, praise, and you can sit down. I am elated and excited. excited to be back at Elevation Church. My name is Robert Madoo, and I am not a guest here. I am for real a part of the fan. I hope you know that I have the privilege with my wife,

a pastor in a church in the great country of Texas called Social Dallas. And I love my church. I love my church. But if they ever start tripping, if they ever get sick of me, I don't know where I'm moving. I'm going straight to Charlotte. I'm just going to get on staff here at Elevation. Social Dallas family, y'all better treat me right.

Treat my wife Taylor right. But it is such an honor to be here. I love this house and I love your pastors. I love Pastor Stephen. I love Pastor Holly. They are dear friends to my wife and I. You know, I said that about my church treating me right. I hope y'all treat your pastors right.

Because I mean, they're filling up arenas and there's a lot of cities, a lot of countries that would love to have them. And I'm just in this season, especially now where I don't want familiarity to rob me of appreciation. Sometimes often the greater the gift God has given you, it's easy to take it for granted. And I pray that is not the story of this church. I pray you always honor, salute, and celebrate and cherish the gift God has given you in the life of Pastor Stephen and Holly.

So can we just give them just some honor? Come on, let them know we're covering you. We're praying for you. Elevation nights. Come on, packing out arenas all over the nation. and we got your cover here at home. And it's good to have an elevation morning. I'm excited to preach the Word of God.

I hope you're ready to hear it. Are you ready to hear it? I want to jump straight into it today. I want you to go with me to the Gospel of John today, the Gospel of John. If you don't mind, can we stand to honor the reading of God's Word? Is this cool? I know you just sat down and got comfortable,

but come on, you wore those shoes. Trying to be cute. Should have put some comfortable shoes. on at Elevation Church. I want you to go with me to the Gospel of John chapter number five and I want to look at verses 1 through 15. John chapter 5

started verse number one and will land at verse number 15. When you're ready to read it, say yeah, if you need some time to find John, say, hold up. I heard one hold up right here in this section.

I'm going to wait for you. I'm going to wait for you. Across every location. E-Fam, we love you. John chapter 5, we'll start at verse number one. And it declares, afterward Jesus returned to Jerusalem for one of the Jewish holy days. And inside the city near the sheep gate was the pull of Bethesda with five covered porches. Crowds of sick people, blind, lame, or paralyzed, lay on the porches. And one of the men lying there had been sick for 38.

years, when Jesus saw him and knew he had been ill for a long time, he answer is asking a question. I want to pause before I even ask where Jesus asked. And this is what I wish. I wish the Bible could give us facial expression and vocal intonation. Don't you just like just on the Bible app? If we could just pop up, we could actually see Jesus face and maybe hear his vocal. vocal intonation and how he asked this, because there's really two different ways to ask this question. You know, he could have said, do you want to get well?

That's an option. That's the option. I don't know if you ever felt like that. He ever felt like, God, he just, just annoyed with you just a little bit? Like, how long is it going take you to get yourself together? Do you want to get well? That's an option. Then again, I can't imagine the creator of the universe being annoyed with what he created. So maybe he had a different facial expression, a different vocal intonation, maybe the facial expression of a chick-fil-A worker. Just like, do you want to get well? Because you know I can do that right.

My pleasure. I can do it. I can do it. Maybe that's the way he asked it. But look at this man's reply. I can't, sir. I can't. For I have no one to put me in the pool when the water bubbles up.

someone else always gets there ahead of me. Jesus told him, stand up, pick up your mat and walk. Instantly the man was healed, rolled up his sleeping mat, and began walking. This miracle happened on the Sabbath. So the Jewish leaders objected, of course they did. They said to the man who was cured, you can't work on the Sabbath. The law doesn't allow you to carry that sleeping mat. But he replied,

The man who healed me told me, pick up your man, and what? Who said such a thing as that, they demanded. The man didn't know. Isn't it funny? You can be shouting my stuff. You don't even know. Jesus disappeared into the crowd. But afterward, Jesus found him in the temple and told him,

now you are well, so stop sinning or something even worse may happen to you. Then the man went and told the Jewish leaders that it was Jesus. who had healed him. Can you say amen? Oh, that's good stuff. Elevation fam, I want to preach to you today, as always, not long, probably about four and a half hours. Just using this as a title today, lame excuses. Lame excuses. Look at your neighbor for the last time right in their face and say, neighbor, it's time for you to stop with a lame. Name excuses. Come on, across every location.

If you believe God's going to speak, would you give us some praise in advance? Come on, I mean a for real, get up and take your mat and walk praise. Father, have your way. Speak to our hearts today. In Jesus' name, amen. You may be seated in the presence of the Lord. Lame. Elevation fam, it's crazy.

how much I can personally relate to this man who is in our text today. Not because I've been lame for 38 years, but I have been alive for 38 years. Matter of fact, this June, I turned 39. Turn 39. Oh, yes, 40 is coming, y'all. 40. It is coming on you, boy. You know, they say that in your 20s, you are obsessed with what other people think about you. In your 40s, you stop caring what other people think about you. And then in your 60s, you realize, wasn't nobody thinking about you anyway. So I'm about to enter the stage of my 40s where I just, I don't care what you think about me. That's what I'm interred in. And don't get me wrong. I want to grow. I don't want to be rude. I want to get better. But I'm just in the season of life where I know my strengths.

I know my weaknesses. I know what I'm good at. I know my deficiencies. I know my idiosyncrasies. I mean, I know what I can do and I know what I can't do. Like, I can't do. Like, I can't do math. I don't do numbers. My eight-year-old daughter, beautiful baby girl, Evie, she asked me to help me with her basic math homework the other day. I said, no. I said no. I said, sweetheart, Daddy is a communicator, not a calculator. You don't have to do this. Do this on your own. I don't do math. I don't do numbers. Y'all, I don't cook. I don't cook. I cannot cook anything. You know how some men think that, like, masculinity is synonymous with grilling. I am not that dude, okay? I don't cook. I don't grill. Okay, I make reservations.

That's what I do. And I'm cool with that. It is what it is. I know my strengths. I know my weaknesses. I also know that I'm not good at texting people back. I know, I know. That's the cardinal, unforgivable sin in this day and age in which we live.

I am so sorry. I have a phone full of text messages that I have responded to in my head. But it just hadn't got to my fingertips yet, okay? Give me some grace, okay? Don't even ask me. Did you get the text? Of course I got it. You know I got it.

Just give me some time to respond, okay? I got a wife. I got three kids. I got a church. We got a pet dog that needs deliverance or squirrel and guinea pigs. I got stuff going on. I'll get to it when I get to it. It's just hard.

I'm telling you, I've learned that people don't like it when you don't respond today. Text, they don't care what excuse you have. Matter of fact, you ever text somebody? You ever text somebody? And all of a sudden, you saw them start to reply. You see the little bubbles? And then it just disappears. Oh, your mind just starts jumping.

All these stuff. stories about what they could have done, what they could have said. Oh, I'm telling you, I have all kinds of excuses for why I didn't get back to your text message. But no matter what I give, it always feels like a lame excuse. You ever given a lame excuse? Lame excuse, why you were late for work? Really, there's traffic every day. You ever given just a lame excuse?

Lame excuses are interesting because lame excuses, we think, exonerate us from our responsibility. If we didn't, we wouldn't give the lame excuse. We, in our minds, think that that lame excuse actually exonerates us from the responsibility or the thing that we were supposed to do. And I came to tell you that it doesn't. You still have a responsibility.

As a matter of fact, I think the greatest gift God has ever given humanity is responsibility. Response ability. The ability to respondability. the ability to respond. That God is looking for your ability to respond to the call, to the purpose, to the mandate he has put on your life. And he is not interested in your lame excuse.

But isn't it crazy, the lame excuses that we give, God? As a matter of fact, your Bible is full. It is replete of examples of people giving lame excuses, especially when God tells them their purpose, Moses, go tell Pharaoh, let my people go. God, you know what? I can't talk. Lame excuse.

Gideon, you are a mighty warrior. No, no, you understand, God. I'm the least in my family. I can't really do stuff like that. Lame excuse. Mary, the Holy Spirit is going to overshadow you. You're going to give birth to the son of the living God. Well, I don't even know Joseph like that.

How is that going to? Lame. Lame excuse. You're laughing. But I'm wondering what lame excuse are you giving God right now for why you haven't stepped into the fullness of your purpose? What lame excuse are you telling him, thinking that that excuse exonerates you from the responsibility?

In my text today, we don't just run into a lame man. We run into a man who has a lame excuse. And for 38 years, y'all, 38 years as long as your boy has been living, this man has been lame. Before you start judging people's lame excuse, maybe check the environment from which the excuse came. Because I think lame excuses are birth from lame environments. 38 years. We don't even know when this lameness occurred or whether he's just been by the pool for 38 years. But either way you put it, for a long time, this man has been stuck in one position, not being able to move.

You understand during this time period, there are no hubb of rounds. There are no wheelchairs. You would stay in one position. Anytime you wanted to move somewhere, you had to do it yourself. And if you didn't do it yourself, you were dependent on other people around you to say, hey, could you help me? Hey, I actually want to move over there. Could you help me get up? No wonder when he responds to Jesus, the first words out of his mouth where I can.

I don't have anybody to help me. There's nobody that can put me in. It's easy to judge people's excuses if you don't know. their environment. What else does he have to rely on? There's nobody else to pick him up. Because his entire life, he's learned to be depended upon other people. It's amazing how sometimes even your physicality will affect your psychology. When you're lame, all you have to talk to is other lame people. What you're going to do today? May I'm probably lay here? I'll think of the same thing. It affects your conversations. All you have is,

lame conversations. You don't talk to people who are up. You talk to people who are down. This is the challenge of being lame. It affects your ability to work. This man couldn't find a job. What do you do? What a job do you apply for? He's even having to beg probably just to get something that he's laying there. And I think so often we judge people's lameness and we judge their excuses without even taking the time to at least see the environment from which the lame excuse came, at least check the environment. This man was lame for 38 years. Not only is he lame in his environment, but let's look at the environment in which he is surrounded.

The Bible says that there was a pool. There was a pool at Bethesda. Bethesda means house of mercy. But it may as well be a house of misery. because if you see this scene, there are broken people everywhere. In fact, the Bible says a crowd, another virgin says a multitude. The only place we see multitude of other in the gospels is really in the feeding of the fish in the five loaves.

This is not a few people. This is a lot of people. This is a multitude of sick people. And some are blind and some are lame and some are missing arms and some are missing eyes. Here's one thing about this whole environment of the people by the pool. they're all broken. It's not a single person by the pool that has it going on.

It's not a single person by the pool that has it all put together. Everybody at the pool is broken in some area. There's some people that had some legs and some people that didn't have arms and some people that had eyes and some people that could hear.

But no matter where they were, everybody had some area of brokenness by the pool. I'm going to pause right here since we at the pool. And let you know that every single person has some area of brokenness. I know you can't see it because it's Sunday and they got their good shirt on and all that

Mary Kay and Mac makeup, but I'm telling you they are not showing it well. They are hiding their brokenness. All of us have some area of brokenness and I wish just for once we can have some people that will put away the pretense and be honest and say, I don't have it all together. I'm not really living how I'm posting.

There are still some areas of brokenness in my life. As a matter of fact, you ought to thank God. for some of those areas of brokenness, because some of us wouldn't pray if we didn't have brokenness. Some of us wouldn't cry out to God if we didn't have brokenness. But there's something about being broken. There's something that knowing that you're frail that actually makes you cry out to God.

God, I need you in this area. Everybody at the pool. The whole spot full of broken people. I wish I could see their Instagram and they TikTok. Because you know they didn't post what was broken. They posted what was whole. The lame person just posting his arms. Like, yeah.

I do upper body. No lower body, man, just upper body. Person that's blind got sunglasses on so you don't see it. They just, yeah, man, I'm cool. Can't see the comments or the likes, but they just post it. Isn't it funny? How we like to show the good parts. We hired our brokenness.

But everybody at the pool was broken, and everybody at the pool had a belief system. And the belief system was that whenever the water would bubble, they believed that an angel would stir the waters, that every time the water would bubble, the first person to get in would get the healing. This is the belief system of the broken people, that you've got to be first. That the first person in is the one that's going to get the blessing. And so I've got to fight and I've got to do whatever I can to be first. This is our generation. No wonder all of us are fighting for attention.

No wonder all of us are fighting for people to validate us and look at us. we all think if I could just be the first one to get in, and I'll be the one that gets the breakthrough. I'll be the one that gets the blessing. It's a generation of lame. As a matter of fact, to me, that's what lame stands for. L-A-M-E. Look at me, everybody. You want to see a lame light? Look at a person who has put themselves in the center of their world and is saying, look at me, everybody, as long as I can be first to get in and I can see this man. I don't know who dropped him off at the pool that day, but I wholeheartedly and earnestly believe

that the day he was first dropped at the pool, he actually had excitement that he was going to get healed. Oh, I can see him. I can see the first day he was dropped by the pool. He's like, oh, I'm going to get my breakthrough today. I'll see you over there. Don't think you're going to beat me as soon as that water bubbles off. I'm going to be the first one in there,

and he was going with all the might and the tenacity he could find. Come on, you know how it is when you first start coming to church. and you start praising you know how you used to be when you first came to elevation. So you'd be like, ooh, when they're going to start, man. I can't wait. You tell you. You just started coming, didn't you? You knew.

You knew to this day. All right, you need to get it together. Don't take all that. Oh, I think when he first got to the pool, he was excited. He couldn't wait. He's like, I'm going to be the first one in that water. I'm going to get my healing. I'm going to get my breakthrough.

I'm going to get everything I need. But year after year of disappointment, year after year of not getting to the water, year after year of people stepping over you and getting in front of you. How do you know, after a while, 38 years? You start saying, maybe I'll never get the healing. Maybe I'll stop trying to even go to the water. I think after 38 years, you stop. You stop. chasing to the pool and you just start relaxing on the porch. You ever been on the porch? The porch is when you have gotten to the place where you say it hurts to hope again. It hurts to believe it. It is what it is. I guess I'll never have a good marriage. It is what it is.

I guess I'll never get out of dead. It just, it, it is what it is. I guess my kids will never, never be set free. It is what it is. After a while when you've been hoping and believing for so long and you've had so many disappointments, it is easy to relax on the porch and not even fight to get in the stirring of the water again. It is easy to chill on the porch because at least the porch has shade

and I'm covered. You ever seen people just sitting on the porch? in some houses they give it up on life and they just sit on the porch, just watch. Look her down. Did Ms. Johnson get some new grass? Yeah, they got some new grass. Okay.

Just watching everybody else. That's how some people come to church. They're in the room. They're just on the porch. Oh, look at him. He'll learn. Yeah, he's shouting at Pastor Stephen's message. Yeah, I used to shout like that too, but now.

My right toe hurts now. I just sit down. Now, they know my heart. They know my heart. I just say amen in my heart. I just... This is what it is. It says what it is.

And he resolved. He probably stopped looking at the pool and he probably just kept looking up in the air. Not even looking for a miracle anymore. But here's what I love about the story of this man. This man is proof positive that even in life when you've gotten to the porch and you don't even want to fight for the pool

and you feel like giving up and thrown in the town and you can't even believe again, And you can't even hope again. Even when you're not even looking for a miracle, I'm so glad that a miracle will look for you. I'm so glad that even when we have laid on the porch of life and we don't have any more fight in us and we don't want to hope again, I'm so thankful for a Savior that will come after us,

that will seek after us. Look at Jesus coming after this man. He didn't even know he was on the radar. He didn't even know he was on the schedule of the King of Kings. the Lord of the Lord. I don't know who this message is for. Maybe you're at home, but I came to tell you, even when you've given up and you've lost a hope,

God has not given up on you. God will find a way to get to you. God will do whatever it takes to make sure you don't just relinquish to the porch when you've got so much purpose on your life. Jesus, coming straight for this man who's been running by the pool for 38 years. Oh, y'all just messes up.

my theology or my Christology. Because I understand, there's probably thousands of people at this porch. This is a festival. There's a whole lot of sick people. And Jesus steps over all these people and come straight to him. Are you sure you want to clap at that? Can you imagine being one of the ones who was laying on the side and to watch the king of kings and the Lord of Lord?

He steps over them. Excuse me. Excuse me. Oh, watch you. No, no, no. I came straight for you. He came straight for this man. So away with this notion, I only get my healing if I got faith.

I only get the breakthrough if I got enough faith to believe for it. Isn't that what we feel sometimes? Like, I got to be like the woman with the issue of blood and press my way through the crowd. See, that's why you didn't get a breakthrough. You didn't have enough faith. Explain homeboy right here. What faith? Does this man have?

He's not even expecting it as he's just laying there. All of a sudden, he sees the king of glory going, what's up, mate? Looking straight at him, this is the beauty of grace. This is the beauty of coming to Jesus. You don't even know to know that you need him. It's not for the work of grace. Every healing, every miracle,

it is not your merit. It is not your record. It is not your good behavior. It is nothing but the grace and the goodness of God. He is the great initiator. Look at Jesus. Talking about God, this point. Excuse me.

Not today. Not you. Not to you. Excuse me. Watch out. Coming straight for this man. And he looks at him and he asks him a question. The answer.

Ask a question. Excuse me. Want to get well? Before I deal with that question, let me just talk about the questions of Jesus. I know I said he's the answer, asked him the question. that's what we think Jesus is the answer. But I'm starting to think that Jesus is the question. Because Jesus will ask you the question that you don't even know to ask

so he can show you he's the answer. In fact, when I studied the Gospels, I'm blown away by how many questions Jesus asked. In your Gospels, Jesus asks approximately 307 questions. 307 questions. He is asked in the Gospels 183 questions. Of those 183, he really only directly answers

about Adam. That's how your God rolls. You come to him with a question, he'll hit you with a question and two stories. You're like, wait a minute, what did I ask? He's talking about mustard seed. I'm confused. Oh, I'll tell you, we think he's the answer,

but I'm telling you he is the question. Your God was always asking questions. And as a matter of fact, the first words that emanate from the mouth of Jesus as a teenager in the temple was a question. Remember, Mary and Joseph lost them. They lost them. Remember, they couldn't find her? And they lost them. And they said, hey, where were you?

We were looking out of all for you. Boy, what's wrong with you? It's like, why were you looking for me? Didn't you know? I must be about my father's business. Jesus was always asking questions. He died on the cross with a question. my God my God

why have you forsaken me he got up from the grave with a question remember how he messed up Mary she was at the tomb and here's Jesus resurrected new body new wardrobe

he's like uh excuse me who are you looking for he's always asking question where is your faith who do men say that I am who told you that God is asking

questions all the time why does he ask questions because he wants to send you on a quest. Answers have a finality to it and we live in a culture that just wants an answer but you have a God that will give you a question to take you on a journey because he's trying to draw you into himself. He's trying to show you who he is and you can't find that out in a moment. I'm telling you questions are powerful. Questions will not allow you the luxury of staying on the surface, questions always force you to go deeper into the deep things. I don't know who this is for,

but this is your last year to live shallow. God said he wants to take you deeper, and sometimes he's going to ask you the tough questions, the questions that you don't want to ask yourself. That's why if you got a good counselor, after you sat on their couch and got a good bill, at the right moment, they will hit you with, and how does that make you feel? Question. So he's asking this man, Do you want it well? What is Jesus probing at at this question? He wants to know, what do you really want? What do you really desire?

Because it's obvious to me that you have been at this pool for so long that you started to lose your desire to walk again. You started to lose your hope to walk again. And I'm wondering if there's somebody in here today that you've lost your desire. higher. You stop dreaming. You stop believing. And you've made the final words of somebody who's truly given up. It is what it is. And God sent me on assignment to tell you to dream again, to believe again, to hold again, to let you know that where you are is not the end, that he can

still do exceedingly, abundantly above all you could ask, stink, or imagine. you want to get well. He's going after his desire. It's interesting the word desire has the word sire in it. And you've studied the etymology. It literally means of the father. Of the father. That a desire is of the father.

Subliminally suggesting to us that our desires should actually come from our father. This is why the Bible says, delight in the Lord in all your ways and he will give you the desires of your heart. That's not a verse to just say, oh, he's going to give me whatever I want. Oh, yeah. He'll give me the desires of my heart. Come on, y'all, the Tesla's coming. Let's go.

No, it's as I delight myself in him, all of a sudden, his heart becomes my heart, and I'll start to see things the way he sees things, and I'll start wanting what he wants for me. And guess what? He doesn't just want you to walk. He wants you to walk. He wants you to walk whole. He doesn't just want you up on your feet. He wants you up on your feet walking in the fullness of what he has for you.

He wants your legs to be an outward sign of the inner wholeness that's on the inside of you. Because what good is it to have your legs restored if your heart is still far from him? Good is it for him to bless the business if you're not going to live a life of generosity and allow your life to be a conduit of generosity to help somebody else for him to give you the house if you ain't going to have nobody over the house and actually share the gospel winner? You don't invite nobody to your apartment and you want a bigger house? No, I'm just good by myself. I don't really do people.

Okay. He wants you whole. So he says, do you want? He's also trying to get him to understand. that when I heal you, you are now going to have to do the work of walking and wholeness. I think we come to church and we shout about the idea of being whole. But the actual work it takes, we don't want. Do you want to get well?

Because I'm about to hear you. And guess what? You're going to have to walk right into a J-O-B because you will have no more excuses. once your legs have been here. Later, he will find this man in the temple, and he had no clue who it was who healed him, and he actually tells him to stop sinning. And I'm curious, what was he doing?

I've got the strange suspicion that Homeboy might have went back to the same environment again. That's the challenge of actually getting up and getting whole, because once I get up, I have no more excuses. I have no more crutches. Actually, I have no more friends. Do you hang out with when you've been laying around with the same people for 38 years.

See, sometimes God will heal you to a place where he wants to know. Are you okay with being whole but still being by yourself? And as long as you know that I'm your child, as long as you know that I am the one that cares about you, are you cool with that? Or do you need the camaraderie of other people to validate you? Sometimes you got to walk by yourself. Say, I would rather be by myself and whole

than to have some people that are benefiting from my brokenness. Who does he hang out with? Who does he talk to? Can you see him going back to the dudes by the port saying, oh, well, look at you. I don't know why he walked past me and then he healed you. I don't know what you did that was so special.

You ever see those people that tried get mad just because of the favor and the grace of God that's on your life? And you're trying to tell him, I can't explain it. I don't know why. Don't ask me, ask him. Look at you. Got your little legs. Got your little legs.

Thank you all that. Uh-huh. Oh, yeah, no, it's fine. No, no, what are you talking about? Man, I ain't changed. No, you have changed. Look at you. Got your little legs, y'all stuck up.

I'm not stuck up. I'm just up. You're the one that stuck. Don't be mad just because he healed me. Don't be mad just because he delivered me. Don't be mad just because I'm not in that same cycling system of dysfunction. Do you want to get just shouting about the idea of freedom, but saying, God, I'm now going to trust you for every single step.

And keep walking. And put away the excuses. so I can be the person next to you and just push him a little bit and say no more excuses. No more lame excuses. Do you want to get well? Sir, I can't. I don't have anybody to help me. I don't have anybody to pick me up and put me into the water and somebody always gets ahead of me.

Isn't that crazy? he's looking in the face of Jesus and he's talking about the pool. He responds to a Savior who asks the simple question, do you want to get well? That's like a yes or no question. But he goes into all these excuses and in his excuses he's talking about the pool when Jesus is in front of him. Jesus says, do you want to get well? And he's talking about the pool. Let's try another one.

The living water is in front of him. Asking him, do you want to get well? And he's talking about the pool. I'm wondering, are you talking about something that is peripheral to what is really important when Jesus is right there in front of you saying, now that I am here, the pool is no longer necessary? You need to look at me. I am the living water. I am every single thing that you need.

Once I show up in your situation, stop talking about the pool and all your excuses and start running after me. You don't need the pool anymore because I'm here. Oh, I want to talk to somebody that's got all kinds of excuses about why you can't do something. Oh, I'm too black. Oh, I'm too white. Oh, I'm too old. Oh, I'm too this. Oh, I'm too that. No, no, no, no.

As long as Jesus is with you, as long as he's standing right there in front of you, you got everything that you need. The pool, when the living water is right in front of you. So many times we put our hopes and dreams in past experiences in the way we thought it should go, that we're still looking at the pool when the Savior is right in front of us. We still coming to church thinking it's just another service, not knowing this could be the day where that stronghold of depression and anxiety is broken off of your life.

And nobody even has to lay a hand on you. But even as you stand there and lift up your hands in worship, it can fall off of your life today. Why are you waiting for the future when he's right in front of? I don't want to spend my life talking about, well, maybe then, or maybe later, or maybe the pool when he is right there in front of me. Going, what do you need?

I love it because Jesus literally interrupts him. The Greek is crazy. It's abrupt. He says, get up! Take up your mat and walk. I like that. He literally interrupts him. It actually suggests in the real language

that if Jesus had not have interrupted him, he would have kept on talking about all the excuses. Well, I have nobody to put me in the pool and you don't understand what happened to me. When I was a child, I had this happen and nobody ever validated me. He said, get on! Take your mat and walk.

I feel like that's what God sent me to. to interrupt somebody that has all kinds of excuses and say, this is your day. Get up. Take your mat and walk. I know you got all kinds of reasons why it can't happen to you and why you feel like you can't do this or can't do that. But God sent this chocolate brother from Dallas, Texas to look you right in your face and say, get up, take up your mat and walk. This is your day to get up from living this level and rise up into all that God has called you to be. Get up, take your mat and walk.

I love that. He didn't say, I'm going to do a six-week series on a six-week series on. how you can get up, he didn't say, I'm going to lay hands on you. He said, no, I'm going to give you a word. And when I speak this word, you need to respond to the word that you heard. Oh, who is this for? Somebody needs to respond to this word that I'm preaching today and say, enough with the excuses. I am who God says I am. I can have what he says. I can have. I can step into whatever he wants me to step into. No more lame excuses. Get up. Get up. Get up. Your past. Get up for From that worry, get up from the guilt.

Get up from the shame. I know it's been a long time. I know it's been so long, it hurts to hope again. When the savior of the universe comes straight to you and ask you a question, throw away all your excuses and what you want to need. Get up. Look at how powerful a command of God. God is, this man gets up and immediately his legs are strengthened.

Y'all, his muscles have tightened. He didn't have to do any physical therapy. One word was enough for him to get up and start walking. Y'all, when I sit on a plane too long, I need to like get a moment to get my... But the Word of God is so powerful that within the command is every single thing that you mean. He didn't tell him, take a step here. He didn't say, let's stretch this. No, no, no.

Get up. He gets up. He says, oh, and take your mat. Can you see him? Carrying the thing he used to be relying on. I don't know who this is for. But those things you've been relying on that you're going to be holding now. He always would tell lame people to take their mad.

You know why? Because anytime somebody sees you holding what you used to be laying on, it is a walking, living, breathing testimony. Matter of fact, it was set up. He did it on the Sabbath on purpose because he wanted some people to see that man walking. He wanted people to see him holding the thing that he used to be laying on. I don't know who this is for,

but maybe there's something you're ashamed about, but this is the beauty of the grace of God. It's the same thing you've been ashamed about. God can flip that thing, It'll actually become a testimony of his goodness, a testimony of his grace. So people will look at your life and say, if God can use and heal and set free, somebody is broken, can do it for me too. Says, take your mat, and he starts walking, walking right into opposition. Because here comes the religious system saying, you can't do that.

You got to be ready for the opposition if you're going to get up from the excuses. And here's the danger. Who it was. This is just a sovereign work of grace. He wasn't even seeking for the healing. God sought after him. He didn't even know it was Jesus who did it. Power of just obedience of doing what he told you to do.

Look at this Savior who found him again and said, hey, hey, hey, I'm the one who did it. No more excuses. Your legs are whole. Let those legs be an outward sign. of the inner healing that has taken place in your life. I'm going to ask heads be bowed and I'll be closed across every location today. I'm for today.

Put away the excuses. Enough is enough. Maybe you had your hopes and dreams in the pool. Maybe it was a job. Maybe it was a career. Maybe it was life playing out a certain way. The presence of Jesus, he is here. Longer giving you to live your life shallow and on the surface.

Not just externally, not just with. Heads are about, I was closed across every location, but if you're here today and you'd be so honest to say, Pastor Robert, I know there's some excuses I've been making. Those excuses exonerate me from the purpose and the call, but today you sense God reminding you. I use earth that's never about you that seeks after. Find yourself. It's made perfect in your weakness. But just as a sign across every campus to say, hey, if I know what that excuse is today, I'm putting the last. lame excuse to the side. God, I'm going to step into what you have for me. Would you just lift up your hand as a sign to say, this for me, this for me? Yeah, yeah. Thank you, God. You know what that thing is? Thank you, Jesus. I see those hands. Thank you, God. You can put it right back down.

I want to be real specific. If you're here watching online and you've never taken that first step, which to say, Jesus, my life is yours. Maybe you've made all the excuses. Oh, church people are this, this and that. Can I tell you there are no perfect churches? And if you found the perfect church as soon as you got there, you would ruin it. Because we're all broken. I'm married. Broken. This is not a community of the perfected people. It's a community of the redeemed. So what heads bowed and eyes closed, if you've never surrendered your life to Jesus, I would love to give you that opportunity across every campus, even at home. God's presence knows no limits. If that's you today, say, Pastor Robert, would you include me in this closing prayer? I need to give

Jesus, my life is so simple. Confess with your mouth and believe in your heart that Jesus Christ is Lord. The God raised him from the dead. If that's you, would you lift up your hand high enough and long enough to where I could see it? Yeah, thank you, God. Thank you, Lord. Anybody else? Thank you, Lord.

Yeah, yeah, you don't have to clean yourself up to come to him. You come to him just as you are. Anybody else? Thank you, Jesus. Come on. Can we pray this prayer as one big family? come on across every location. Can we pray this? Say, dear Jesus,

I need you. I cannot do life without you. Jesus, thank you so much for living the life that I was supposed to live, for dying the death that I was supposed to die. You took my place.

So my response is to give you everything. Forgive me of my sin. make me brand new from this moment forward I'm walking with you in Jesus name amen amen amen amen

come on if you meant what you prayed come on can we all collectively just give King Jesus the best praise that you got oh come on give us some praise like you see yourself getting up carrying your mat no more excuses I'm walking into what he has for me God bless you elevation

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