How long have you been waiting?

In John 5, Jesus meets a man who had been stuck for 38 years—waiting for change, waiting for help, waiting for something to happen. Then Jesus asks a surprising question: “Do you want to get well?”

This message explores the uncomfortable truth that sometimes what keeps us stuck isn’t just our circumstances—it’s our excuses, our identity, or the story we’ve learned to tell ourselves.

Jesus doesn’t offer sympathy alone. He offers movement.

“Get up. Pick up your mat. Walk.”

If you’ve been waiting for the right moment, the right season, or the right breakthrough, this message challenges us to consider that transformation may begin with a step of obedience.

You don’t have to stay where you’ve been.

00:00 The Barrier We Thought Was Impossible

03:46 From Waiting to Walking

05:19 Jesus Moves Toward the Stuck

11:48 When Excuses Keep Us There

15:48 Obedience Changes Identity

17:27 Pick Up Your Mat

20:13 The Mats We Carry

23:43 Redemption and New Life

Click here to donate to the program

Click here for more sermons

OC Church of Christ

Brothers and sisters, good morning.

2

It is great to be together.

3

It's great to have our Korean and

Spanish speaking ministries in

4

the service this morning with us.

5

Amen.

6

Grateful to be able to speak this morning

and be able to, uh, preach the word.

7

I'm very grateful for Dr.

8

Greg and him, uh, doing just a great

job going through our Nehemiah series,

9

talking about rising up and building.

10

Amen.

11

And today we're actually gonna

take a break from that series.

12

As I give the lesson today, we're gonna

look at a, what I call a Jesus moment.

13

Amen.

14

Okay.

15

So you can just start turning your

Bibles over to John chapter five.

16

But before we read that, what I wanted

to do this morning is share a story.

17

All right.

18

I wanna start off with a story,

and we're gonna close, uh, our

19

sermon today with communion.

20

All right.

21

So I'm doing like a sermunion.

22

The story I wanna tell is

a story of Roger Banister.

23

Anybody know who this man here is?

24

Alright.

25

A few of you may know.

26

Dr.

27

Greg knows that's why he's a doctor.

28

Amen.

29

For decades, experts believe something

very specific about the human body.

30

Do you know what that was?

31

It was believed to be impossible to

run a mile in under four minutes.

32

Doctors said the heart couldn't handle it.

33

Coaches said the lungs would

collapse, and Sports Rider

34

said it was a physical barrier.

35

The body simply could not cross.

36

You see, athletes trained at this for

years and they kept missing the mark.

37

Four minutes, one second,

four minutes, two seconds.

38

Close, but never under.

39

It became more than a number.

40

It became a psychological wall.

41

But then on May 6th, 1954, a 25-year-old

medical student named Roger Banister

42

stepped onto a track in Oxford, England.

43

He was just a med student,

wasn't even a professional.

44

He wasn't a professional runner.

45

Between his medical student

commitments and studies, he would

46

train to run, and that day he

clocked a three minute and 59.4

47

second mile.

48

He just broke it.

49

So for the first time in human

history, this barrier was broken.

50

But here's the part that matters.

51

This barrier didn't stay rare.

52

46 days later.

53

A runner named John Landy broke the

same barrier and broke his time.

54

Within a few years, many more

athletes followed, and today

55

over 2000 different runners have

recorded an under four minute mile.

56

What had been called impossible for

decades became over time an expectation.

57

At the most elite level.

58

You see, the limitation wasn't physical.

59

Rather it was a belief, and for years,

the world was waiting for something

60

that wasn't actually impossible, but

they became comfortable with being

61

stuck, comfortable with a barrier.

62

You know, sometimes in our walk

with God, we can get put into some

63

seasons of waiting longer than

necessary, not because God hasn't

64

moved or God can't do the impossible.

65

Right, right.

66

But because we've accepted being stuck in

waiting, and sometimes the longest waiting

67

seasons aren't even caused by God's delay,

but by our acceptance, as we look at John

68

chapter five, we're gonna see a story

where Jesus walks onto the scene and sees

69

a man that had been waiting unnecessarily.

70

In John chapter five, we're gonna

go ahead and read in verse one.

71

The title of today's lesson

is Waiting to Walking.

72

Waiting to walking John

chapter five, verse one.

73

Sometime later, Jesus went up to

Jerusalem for one of the Jewish festivals.

74

Now there's in Jerusalem near the

sheep gate, a pool, which an Aramaic

75

is called Bethesda, which is surrounded

by five covered colonies here.

76

A great number of disabled

people used to lie.

77

The blind, the lame, the paralyzed

one who was there had been an invalid.

78

For 38 years, when Jesus saw him lying

there and learned that he had been

79

in this condition for a long time, he

asked him, do you want to get well,

80

sir, the invalid replied, I have

no one to help me into the water or

81

the pool when the water is stirred.

82

Well, I'm trying to get in.

83

Someone else goes down ahead of me.

84

Then Jesus said to him, get up.

85

Pick up your mat and walk at once.

86

The man was cured.

87

He picked up his mat and he walked.

88

I'm gonna stop there.

89

I love this passage.

90

I love how short and simple,

yet powerful this interaction

91

is that Jesus has with this man.

92

And I, I'm the kind of guy when

I speak, I like to break the

93

lesson down into three points.

94

All right?

95

I'm a campus minister.

96

We like to keep it clear.

97

So I've got three points that I'm drawn

from the text that I feel like impacted me

98

that I wanna share with you this morning.

99

The first point is Jesus

moves towards stuck people.

100

Jesus moves towards people who

are stuck, who are sick, who

101

are lame, who are struggling.

102

That's the God we serve.

103

And we see that there's this man

here at this pool who is stuck.

104

Now, a little background on the pool.

105

We, we know that, uh, the, the

sheep gate or the, the pool

106

was located by the sheep gate.

107

And in Aramic it's called

Bethesda, which Bethesda means

108

House of Mercy or House of Grace.

109

And what's, what I find ironic about

this story is that the House of Mercy

110

became a house of waiting for this man.

111

He had been there 38 years.

112

You know, as I started studying this

out, I really had a lot of questions.

113

I was like.

114

How, how was it that in the ancient world,

they thought that if you just go sit by

115

this pool, that it would miraculously,

the water would stir and then you

116

jump in and miraculously get healed?

117

Like, how is that even possible?

118

So I started studying this out and I, what

I learned is that in Arche, the archeology

119

has actually discovered these five covered

colon colonate and they've uncovered

120

this pool and what it looks like from.

121

The study of this is that it was

actually some underground springs

122

underneath the pool that would

cause the water to bubble up others.

123

And if you notice, verse four is

actually not included in most of

124

our bibles because they believe

it was to, it was added later on.

125

But verse four really talks

about that some believed an angel

126

would come and stir the waters.

127

So I don't know, which is true.

128

All right.

129

I, I tend to believe it was more

of a spring and there was maybe

130

a little more, uh, uh, of a,

just a science based explanation.

131

But hey, you never know.

132

So we don't truly know.

133

That's a question we'll

have to ask God one day.

134

Amen.

135

Amen.

136

But the reality is they believed

that this water had power.

137

They believed that when you got in

this water, something would heal you.

138

And so hundreds of sick and disabled

people would be laying there by this pool.

139

You see, this wasn't just

a place though of sickness.

140

It was a place of delayed

hope for many people.

141

And we see in verse five, this man

who had been there for 38 years,

142

lying there, sick, handicapped,

143

stuck,

144

and Jesus then walks into this place.

145

Full of sick people.

146

And what does Jesus do

147

says when Jesus saw him

lying there, he picks him.

148

Jesus goes to the one man that had been

there 38 years out of, out of a crowd

149

of suffering people, people who had been

waiting, people who had been sick, people

150

who were trying to get into that water.

151

Jesus singles out one man.

152

He didn't wait for that

man to call out to him.

153

He didn't wait for the water to

stir and then go and help him.

154

No, he walked into the waiting

place and he picked him.

155

You see, I wanna relate this

to us for a minute here.

156

Jesus picks us and OC church.

157

We've been through a lot.

158

Let's just face it.

159

We've been through a long journey.

160

We have many new members.

161

I know Kevin men or uh uh, uh, Greg

mentioned Kevin Mains last week, and I

162

had college students who go, who's that?

163

And amen.

164

That's great.

165

We have new people, but for a lot

of us, and I knew Kevin, even though

166

I wasn't an OC Stewart, his son was

my campus minister, so I, I felt the

167

loss distantly, but losing Kevin,

our church leader, that put us into a

168

transition, put us into some waiting.

169

Then three years later, we're

hit with a global pandemic.

170

That delays everyone and everything.

171

You with me?

172

Yes.

173

And then after that we had leadership

transitions and different changes,

174

and then we started renting out

our building and we had more

175

waiting and more transition.

176

And we've been wondering what's next?

177

What's God gonna do with us?

178

I wanna remind us, Jesus does not

avoid churches who are in transition.

179

He actually moves toward them.

180

He moves towards people who've been

waiting, people who maybe have been

181

stuck, and just like he moved toward

the invalid Jesus is moving toward you.

182

Amen.

183

He's moving towards the teen that's

in here this morning and maybe teens,

184

your're, feeling unsure if your faith is

really your own or if it's your parents.

185

Jesus is moving towards you.

186

College students.

187

He's moving towards you.

188

Maybe you feel stuck in a

sin that you can't overcome.

189

He's moving towards you.

190

God members who have been in

here, maybe you feel tired and

191

you feel burned out and exhausted.

192

He's moving towards you as well.

193

Amen.

194

And maybe you're visiting with

us, or, or you walked in here

195

for the first time and you're a

little curious of what's going on.

196

Maybe you're cautious, you're

like, I don't really know.

197

There's a lot of people hugging at me.

198

And man, Jesus is moving

towards you as well.

199

Amen.

200

Amen.

201

I wanna remind you, you're not

disqualified because you feel stuck.

202

This man.

203

Was not the most spiritual

person in the story.

204

He had been there 38

years and Jesus saw him.

205

He was laying on that mat, and

then Jesus moved toward him.

206

The second part of this verse, I

love and I think we can gloss over

207

as Jesus learns that he had been

in this condition for a long time.

208

Jesus learned he had been in

this condition for 38 years.

209

I'm still 10 years away

from 38 of just being alive.

210

I can't even imagine being sick

and on a mat for 38 of 'em.

211

And I think that detail matters

church, because Jesus was aware that

212

this wasn't a new struggle for him.

213

Jesus was clearly aware that this

wasn't just a bad week or a rough

214

season or a moment, but this

had been going on for decades, a

215

long time of pain and suffering.

216

But then I find it so funny,

and Jesus does this in the

217

Bible all the time we see it.

218

But Jesus asks a question, and I find

this question so interesting because

219

it's to me, common sense, but he

asks him, do you want to get well?

220

I mean, Jesus, he's been sick 38 years.

221

Of course he wants to get well, right

In that first glance, it looks obvious.

222

But I think Jesus is not asking about

his desire in theory, but if he's really

223

ready for true change, because what's the

invalids response in verse seven, sir?

224

The invalid replied, I have no

one to help me into the pool

225

when the water is stirred.

226

Well, I'm trying to get in.

227

Someone else goes down ahead of me.

228

I'm stuck.

229

Jesus, what does he start doing?

230

He starts making excuses.

231

Jesus asked the most simple question ever.

232

All he needed to do was say what?

233

Yes or no?

234

I guess, but I don't know

why he would do that.

235

All he needed to do was say,

yes, and this is his response.

236

Can we relate to this?

237

Sometimes Jesus is standing

right in front of us.

238

He's saying, do you want to get Well?

239

We're like, oh, but I got all, oh, I, ah,

240

he's just saying, can you

just say yes, my second point.

241

Right.

242

Excuses can keep you stuck.

243

When we make excuses,

it can keep us stuck.

244

Brothers and sisters, the

man says, I've got no one.

245

I've got no one to help me.

246

Someone else goes ahead of me.

247

Well, I think that translates in our

context to, well, it's not my fault.

248

I'm in this spot.

249

It's the system, it's the church, it's

the timing, it's the people around me.

250

For 38 years, he was stuck.

251

Brothers and sisters.

252

Yeah, he was stuck waiting, and I

think some of us have been saying

253

some similar things when things

get better or more unified or

254

when we move back to the building.

255

You see, waiting at times can be wisdom.

256

Amen.

257

There's a season for discernment.

258

There's a season to wait and be wise,

but waiting can also become an excuse.

259

You see the past year, year and a half.

260

We've been in a waiting

season as a church.

261

I know I've felt that there's been

uncertainty, transition questions,

262

but if Jesus is speaking clearly now

and we are still waiting, that's no

263

longer patience That becomes avoidance.

264

And personally, I wanna share that I've

had to check my own heart in this area.

265

You know, for the, for the past

several years, I've been dreaming

266

and excited about the, the idea of

even being here in this moment right

267

now, and it feels great to be here.

268

I'm excited.

269

I'm encouraged.

270

God's doing great things, but to be real

with you guys, I started putting a lot of

271

hope and security and trust in the system

of us coming back to the building thinking

272

when this happens, then God will move.

273

And I've started to let that take more

control of my view of God than who God

274

is simply just saying, I'm right here.

275

I want to help you get well.

276

Come on Kyle, come on.

277

And the reality is we've been back here

in the building for the past month.

278

This is our fifth Sunday

here, and it's been awesome.

279

Amen.

280

It's been awesome.

281

We can cheer for that.

282

Let's cheer it up.

283

It's been great,

284

but I want to say this and if

you can relate to this, amen.

285

I was waiting for a building to fix

what only obedience to Jesus can fix,

286

and I needed to repent of this

mindset because building or

287

not Jesus is still present.

288

Jesus is here because we are the church.

289

Amen.

290

Amen.

291

Come on, Kyle.

292

And so church, we gotta

be honest with ourselves.

293

Let's be honest with ourselves.

294

Some of us have said, I'll engage and

start to give when things get better.

295

When we're back in the building,

or I'll start to serve when

296

the staff gets more unified.

297

And amen, we need to be more

unified and we're working on the

298

unity for brothers and sisters.

299

The waiting time is over.

300

The time is now.

301

Let's lean in.

302

Let's not answer Jesus.

303

With excuses.

304

Let's answer him with yes Lord.

305

Amen.

306

Yes.

307

I want to be.

308

Well preach it.

309

Amen.

310

Amen.

311

Amen.

312

You see the waiting season that you're

in, maybe personally outside of the

313

church context, I do wanna speak to

that as well because I know some of

314

us might be in here and we haven't yet

made the decision to follow Christ.

315

And for those of you who haven't made

that decision yet, I want to encourage you

316

that Jesus is standing here right in front

of you, saying, do you want to get well?

317

It's time to take that

next step in your faith.

318

It's time for you to be open about

whatever's going on in your life.

319

It's time for you.

320

If you haven't been

baptized, get baptized.

321

Be renewed.

322

Become a new creation.

323

Amen.

324

Amen.

325

Let's get well together.

326

Let's build together.

327

The waiting season is over.

328

And the waiting season doesn't

have to define us, right?

329

But excuses can define us.

330

So we must ask ourselves, do we really

want to get, well, not in theory,

331

but for true change from within.

332

You see, verse eight.

333

Jesus then says to him a command,

and this is my last point here,

334

pick it up.

335

Jesus says in verse eight,

then Jesus said to him, get up.

336

Pick up your mat and walk.

337

What I love about Jesus is

this man answers in verse

338

seven with all these excuses.

339

He says, I have no one to help me.

340

And it is not like Jesus empathizes

or Jesus goes, oh, I'm really

341

sorry that's been going on.

342

Now Jesus empathizes with us, but in

this moment, what did this man need?

343

38 years?

344

And he couldn't answer with a simple

yes, Jesus gives him a command.

345

He says, get up.

346

Pick up your mat and walk.

347

A simple command, but a powerful command.

348

But don't miss this part here.

349

Jesus says to pick up your mat,

he says to pick up your mat.

350

He doesn't just say, Hey,

just start walking or just

351

start getting, getting better.

352

Just start moving along.

353

What does he say?

354

Pick up your mat for 38 years.

355

This man had a mat that he was laying on.

356

I got my, my wife's mat here.

357

Get this mat out.

358

I'm gonna sit on the mat.

359

Sorry.

360

Camera, crew.

361

38 years.

362

38 years on this mat.

363

Yeah.

364

You know, this mat

became something to him.

365

This mat wasn't just a thing to sit on.

366

I believe this mat became his identity.

367

This mat became who he was, his address,

his routine, where he was always

368

at, oh yeah, you wanna go see him?

369

Oh yeah, he's on his mat.

370

Go visit him.

371

You know where to find him.

372

Every morning he woke up on this mat.

373

Every night he went to sleep on this mat.

374

That mat defined him.

375

You know, for us, I think sometimes we

have mats in our lives that define us.

376

That's right.

377

That can be our identity.

378

You know, some of us have been

lying on the same mat for so long.

379

It begins to feel normal.

380

It begins to feel safe.

381

Yeah.

382

It begins to feel like, oh,

I, I actually like my mat.

383

That's why I'm gonna make my excuses.

384

Do I want to get what?

385

Oh, I don't know if I want

to get up from my mat.

386

I don't know if I really want to change.

387

And we've gotten stuck.

388

Yep.

389

Come on.

390

Copy.

391

The three mats I think that we

could probably relate to is, I think

392

the first one's the failure map.

393

Yeah.

394

For some of us.

395

That mat is the fear of

failure and a decision.

396

Maybe in the past you regret, maybe it's a

mistake you made, something you're ashamed

397

of, and even though God forgave you,

you're still allowing that to define you.

398

I think others of us could be

maybe the wounded church mat.

399

We're all people and people

sin people hurt each other.

400

Our church is not perfect

and people have been hurt.

401

And for some of us, this

mat is a mat of pain.

402

And wounds from the past, the

losses, the painful memories.

403

Maybe it's the hope that was deferred,

something you prayed for for so

404

long, God hasn't answered on it yet.

405

And over time, caution became

your identity, became your mat.

406

Or maybe getting negative or

critical became your default.

407

You see, you can't build the

future of a healthy church from

408

the posture of self protection.

409

Wow.

410

We have to lean into one another

and build one another up.

411

And for others of us, I think

this can relate maybe more to

412

some of our youth in our campus,

is the mat of insecurity or fear.

413

We live in an anxious generation.

414

Maybe you question your capability,

your sense of self-worth.

415

I'm not leadership material, so do I

really have value in God's kingdom?

416

Can be the lie.

417

Maybe you've attempted to follow Jesus,

study the Bible, but it didn't work out.

418

And culture tells you your

struggle is your identity, but

419

Jesus wants to redefine you.

420

Church, Jesus wants to write the story.

421

Jesus wants to redeem you

422

and notice something powerful.

423

What Jesus says, he tells him to get up.

424

Pick up his mat and walk.

425

I love that, that, that imagery.

426

He says, pick it up, pick up the mat.

427

Pick up this mat, this identity

you've been sitting on for so long.

428

Pick it up, carry it.

429

And what does he say in verse nine?

430

He does, he says that once the man was

cured, he picked up his mat and he walked.

431

The mat that once carried him

becomes the thing that he's carrying.

432

The mat that he was identifying

with no longer has power over him,

433

and that's redemption.

434

Brothers and sisters, that's what

Jesus wants to do in the OC church.

435

Jesus wants to redeem.

436

He wants us to carry these mats and he

wants us to go forward and build for him.

437

Imagine for a moment, brothers

and sisters, a church where

438

we're all carrying our mats.

439

We're not defined by 'em.

440

They're pieces of us.

441

They're useful, they're great.

442

We all have our gifts.

443

We all have our different

things we identify with, but

444

we're not identified by this.

445

We're identified by God.

446

Imagine the impact we can have.

447

Imagine the, the, the community

will have in here when we're no

448

longer allowing these to define us.

449

You know, as we transition to our

time of communion, I want us to

450

remember where this comes from.

451

We're able to carry these

mats because of the cross.

452

We're able to have redemption

because of what Jesus did for us.

453

Jesus is standing there saying,

do you want to get well?

454

And Jesus has paved the

way for us to get well.

455

You see the cross, it won't erase

your past, but it will redeem it.

456

It can redefine it.

457

You can go from waiting, stuck,

being identified by your mat to

458

a place of walking with Christ.

459

Yeah, moving forward for him.

460

And so as we get ready to pray

here in a moment, always remember

461

where the power came from.

462

Always remember, it's from the cross

of Christ, brothers and sisters.

463

If we're gonna lean into this new era, we

have to put it at the foot of the cross.

464

The man picked up his

mat because Jesus spoke.

465

We stand today because

Jesus died and rose.

466

That's why when he says to get up.

467

Pick up your mat and walk.

468

We all can do the same.

469

Amen.

470

Amen.

471

Amen.

472

Let's pray.

473

Father, thank you so much for this

morning, so thank you so much,

474

father, for the example of Christ.

475

Lord, thank you for stories like this

that are so relatable and so relevant,

476

and just for the ability for us in 2026

to connect with these ancient scriptures

477

that are gonna help us draw closer to you.

478

Thank you for.

479

The example of this man who

eventually, even though he made his

480

excuses, he obeyed Jesus' command.

481

He got up, he picked up

his mat, and he walked.

482

I pray that you would help every

single individual in here this

483

morning to pick up their mat and walk.

484

I pray that we can go from this

place of being stuck and waiting

485

and begin walking with you.

486

Lord, you want us to walk with you?

487

Lord, we love you.

488

We thank you.

489

We're so grateful to be able

to serve a God like you.

490

I pray that as we take the communion and

reflect on the cross and the sacrifice

491

of Jesus, Lord, that you would humble

our hearts, fill us with gratitude.

492

Fill us with a sense of peace that

only can come from you because

493

you want us to have a new life.

494

You wanna redeem us, you wanna

redefine us, and you want

495

to help us to move forward.

496

We love you, Lord.

497

We thank you in Jesus' name.

498

Amen.