I have to decide I want to get better

Afterward Jesus returned to Jerusalem for one of the Jewish holy days. Inside the city, near the Sheep Gate, was the pool of Bethesda, with five covered porches. Crowds of sick people—blind, lame, or paralyzed—lay on the porches. One of the men lying there had been sick for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him and knew he had been ill for a long time, he asked him, “Would you like to get well?” JOHN 5:1-6 NLT

I have to have the courage to stop making excuses

“I can’t, sir,” the sick man said, “for I have no one to put me into the pool when the water bubbles up. Someone else always gets there ahead of me.” JOHN 5:7 NLT

I have to start listening to and obeying Jesus

Jesus told him, “Stand up, pick up your mat, and walk!” JOHN 5:8 NLT
“So why do you keep calling me ‘Lord, Lord!’ when you don’t do what I say?” LUKE 6:46 NLT

I have to surround myself with people who:

• Love me
• Love Jesus
• Celebrate my miracles
• Are not critical of everything

A person who is critical of everything is not following Jesus in anything.

Instantly, the man was healed! He rolled up his sleeping mat and began walking! But this miracle happened on the Sabbath, so the Jewish leaders objected. 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 mat and walk.’” “Who said such a thing as that?” they demanded. The man didn’t know, for Jesus had disappeared into the crowd. JOHN 5:9-13 NLT

Stop doing what’s killing me

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. JOHN 5:14-15 NLT
These desires give birth to sinful actions. And when sinis allowed to grow, it gives birth to death. JAMES 1:15 NLT

What’s the one thing I am doing that’s killing me?

• My diet and lack of exercise
• My relationships
• My social media
• My addiction
• My finances
• My thought life

Community Group Discussion Guide

1. When you’ve decided to get better at something, what are some things that have helped you make a positive change in the past?
2. Read John 5:1-6. When you think about an area of your life that needs to get better, how would you answer Jesus’ question? What would your reasoning be?
3. Read Luke 6:46. What makes obedience an important part of following Jesus?
4. Think about one of the areas above that might be killing you (Diet/exercise, relationships, social media, addiction, finances, or your thought life). Which is the one that you need to stop doing or fix and bring into obedience to Jesus?
5. Read John 5:7. What excuses are you currently making that are holding you back from receiving God’s best for you? What steps are you willing to take to change?
6. Who are the people in your life who are either enabling your failure or helping you overcome your struggle? What do you need to do to limit the influence of one while increasing the influence of the other?

Personal Reflection Guide

Take a few moments to become still before God. Open your mind and heart to him about areas of your life where you’re struggling or failing. Talk to God about the one that seems to be most detrimental. How is this struggle hurting you? How is it hurting those you love? Now, spend some time imagining with God what life might be like if you found healing and health in this area. Ask God to help you imagine how finding victory in this one area might impact other areas of your life. Ask God to help you see how it might influence people in your life that you love and care about. Ask God to show you that place in your heart that doesn’t want to change. What next steps can you take to move forward in the right direction? Are you willing to do that? As you take those steps, commit this prayer to memory, “Lord I’m willing. Help me to want it.” Share this experience and plan with others who will support and encourage you.