Pastor Leon’s SOAP:  Scripture, Observation, Application, Prayer
December 19,  2024: SOAP #5495: John 5-6

(reworked from 2019)

SCRIPTURE:  John (NIV) 5:6 When Jesus saw him lying there and learned that he had been in this condition for a long time, he asked him, “Do you want to get well?” 7 “Sir,” the invalid replied, “I have no-one to help me into the pool when the water is stirred. While I am trying to get in, someone else goes down ahead of me.” 8 Then Jesus said to him, “Get up! Pick up your mat and walk.” 9 At once the man was cured; he picked up his mat and walked. The day on which this took place was a Sabbath,

OBSERVATION:   In John 2 we saw servants filling vessels with water and serving it to the master of the banquet based only on the word of Jesus.  In John 4 we read of a royal officer who, based on the word of Jesus, returned home to find his son healed.  And here in John 5 a crippled man heard Jesus say, “Get up! Pick up your mat and walk!”   And, based on the word of Jesus, the man “picked up his mat and walked.”  

APPLICATION:   I can never over-emphasize the importance of recognizing the voice of Jesus and doing what He says!   His words are a good foundation for my actions. 

First: His words are true.  They come from truth.  He speaks what He knows.  Second, His words are backed by His character.  His character is so pure that the Father accepts His sinless death as the payment for my sins and the sins of the whole world!  His character is without a flaw.  He backs His word.  

I must discern what He is really saying from what people claim He is saying.  He is not responsible to uphold any man’s words, even if they claim they are speaking His words. The better we know the scriptures and the character of God, the better we will be able to discern the difference.  The Holy Spirit often works through the gift of discernment.  (1Corinthians 12:10)

PRAYER:  Jesus, you are my key to victory.  You are my key to overcoming temptation.  Speak to me each day as I meditate on Your Word.  And speak to me throughout each day as we walk together.  Amen

Pastor Leon
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