Where matter doesn’t matter Brian Bolt

Pastor Brian Bolt
October 1, 2023
OpenDoor Church, Burleson, TX

Where matter
doesn’t matter

John 5:1-8 (NKJV)

After this there was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.

Now there is in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate a pool, which is called in Hebrew, Bethesda, having ﬁve porches.

In these lay a great multitude of sick people, blind, lame, paralyzed, waiting for the moving of the water.

For an angel went down at a certain time into the pool and stirred up the water; then whoever stepped in ﬁrst, after the stirring of the water, was made well of whatever disease he had.

Now a certain man was there who had an inﬁrmity thirty-eight years.

When Jesus saw him lying there, and knew that he already had been in that condition a long time, He said to him, “Do you want to be made well?”

The sick man answered Him, “Sir, I have no man to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up; but while I am coming, another steps down before me.”

Jesus said to him, “Rise, take up your bed and walk.”

John 5:7 (NKJV)

7 The sick man answered Him, “Sir, I have no man to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up; but while I am coming, another steps down before me.”’

God is saying we haven’t seen anything yet!
We have come to a place called Bethesda/ house of mercy/ where “matter” doesn’t matter
Scientiﬁcally – matter speaks of material/ it could be a solid/ it could be a gas / it could be a liquid/ Matter is anything that takes up space and can be weighed. In other words, matter has volume and mass.

There are many different substances, or types of matter, in the universe.

Opposition comes because of matter / disease takes hold because of matter/ marriage breaks up because something is the matter
Matter is indirect opposition often to the mind of God
God has made it possible for a man to go beyond matter
Weightiness of Matter is governed by a law called gravity
This law is what gives matter weight
If you take a object that weighs several tons / object out of the gravitational pull of the earth/ it will enter into a realm that is weightless
Is the steel less or the object less
It’s gone beyond the pull of gravity/
The weight of sin has destroyed us / the weight of heaviness has overcome us / the weight of the unknown has frightened us
If you could get a jet booster / hook them up
You can break the gravitational pull of the earth / you can go beyond a place that’s been pulling you down
Go Up to a place that has no control over you
Breaking earth gravitational pull / escaping gravity
You can try 12 steps to get rid of drug addiction / you can try 30 steps to get rid of drug addiction
Until someone gets you to a altar
Until you understand that you are being tormented by a demon
- You cant get delivered by stepping in the earth (natural)/ the gravitational pull is bringing u down
If someone can get you a booster / they will call you crazy because you speak in tongues
You got to get used to that / certain kinds of deliverance requires crazy faith
You got to go where matter doesn’t matter
A Bethesda moment

John 5:1 (NKJV)

5 After this there was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.

Most people believe this feast was Pentecost or tabernacles
We have had our Passover / killing times/ difﬁcult times
Serving God will cost you friends / it will cost you something
Tell the devil we aren’t going through that last season again

John 5:2-3 (NKJV)

Now there is in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate a pool, which is called in Hebrew, Bethesda, having ﬁve porches.

In these lay a great multitude of sick people, blind, lame, paralyzed, waiting for the moving of the water.

There were 5 porches that letters JESUS on it
Sick , blind , lamé & paralyzed
Same porches had GRACE / TRUTH / MERCY
These people have come to the house of mercy
Bethesda does not mean hospital/ it means house of mercy
House is a place where you live or dwell not visit
If I get you to mercy / stay in mercy
They came with expectation/ something that happened in the past
When the angel stirred up the water
Not all of them had seen it but they heard about it
They came for it

John 5:4 (NKJV)

For an angel went down at a certain time into the pool and stirred up the water; then

whoever stepped in ﬁrst, after the stirring of the water, was made well of whatever disease he had.

John 5:4 (KJV)

For an angel went down at a certain season into the pool, and troubled the water: whosoever then ﬁrst after the troubling of the water stepped in was made whole of whatsoever disease he had.

Certain time / it’s about that time/ certain season
If God did it before/ he will do it again
This is not one of the four natural seasons / spring, summer, fall, winter / this was a ﬁfth season
- Season out of the norm / beyond comprehension
- It was a crazy season/ season beyond logic
The person who had the disease before/ angel would stir the water the man would get in the water & be healed

John 5:5 (NKJV)

Now a certain man was there who had an inﬁrmity thirty-eight years.

This man was troubled for 38 years
How long have you been troubled?
When Jesus saw him lying there / he couldn’t move

John 5:6 (NKJV)

When Jesus saw him lying there, and knew that he already had been in that condition a long time, He said to him, “Do you want to be made well?”

He must have been paralyzed/ long time in the condition
It doesn’t say he was at the pool for 38 years
The man was sick for 38 years/ I don’t know when he got enough faith to come to the pool
It (doesn’t matter )how long it takes you to get to Bethesda
It (doesn’t matter) who was saved before you
It (doesn’t matter) if someone has seniority over you
Jesus said that doesn’t matter at all / what matters is that he got to Bethesda

John 5:6 (KJV)

6 When Jesus saw him lie, and knew that he had been now a long time in that case, he saith unto him, Wilt thou be made whole?

Wilt thou be made whole?
He didn’t ask him if he wanted to be healed /
Have to be very careful/ you’re looking for a feeling/ expecting it to come a certain way
Pray to be made whole

Luke 17:11-19 (KJV)

And it came to pass, as he went to Jerusalem, that he passed through the midst of Samaria and Galilee.

And as he entered into a certain village, there met him ten men that were lepers, which stood afar off:

And they lifted up their voices, and said, Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.

And when he saw them, he said unto them, Go shew yourselves unto the priests. And it came to pass, that, as they went, they were cleansed.

And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, and with a loud voice gloriﬁed God,

And fell down on his face at his feet, giving him thanks: and he was a Samaritan.

And Jesus answering said, Were there not ten cleansed? but where are the nine?

There are not found that returned to give glory to God, save this stranger.

And he said unto him, Arise, go thy way: thy faith hath made thee whole.

But the one leper returned/ I know we talk about him being thankful
Returned to give glory to God
The reason this happened was because of God
The only reason you have your right mind is not because of your vitamins but God
The only reason you’re here today but God
The only reason you’re in church today isn’t because you made up your mind but God

Luke 17:19 (KJV)

19 And he said unto him, Arise, go thy way: thy faith hath made thee whole.

Jesus said the other ones got healed but this one was made whole
Where the disease eaten off their ﬁngers they got healed but not whole / nubs as ﬁngers
If you get healed God arrests the condition/ He stops it where it is / but if you get made whole
- The lepers ﬁngers grew back / stop praying just for healing ask God to make you whole
Not just your body , marriage, business, life
Make me whole Jesus!!!
Jesus ask the man “do you want to be made whole?”
He does what we do / we are programmed to tell you what’s wrong with us
We assume you will interpret that as (yes)
Just say it !!!

John 5: 7-8 (NKJV)

7 The sick man answered Him, “Sir, I have no man to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up; but while I am coming, another steps down before me.”

8 Jesus said to him, “Rise, take up your bed and walk.”

- There is no story like Bethesda/ let’s examine the story
- The story is true / the angel stirring the water
- The ﬁrst person that steps in gets healed
- I have never found in scripture where God stirs the water & just let’s the ﬁrst person get healed
- Is that true Or perception/ story’s turn into rumors on God

God won’t heal anybody but certain people

- God only uses certain people
They don’t want to tell the rest of the story

/these people you can count on / faithful

- Jesus is saying to him / there is a place u can go in God / it will break the barriers
- As long as you got king Jesus
- When you go to the bank they give you a loan for the future based on your past
- When you go to the doctor when he wants to give you medication to arrest the condition in the future. He ask you about your past

The only place that you can go that doesn’t deal with your past/ is Bethesda/ house of mercy

You don’t pray the same prayer for every case / you got to adapt your prayers
You have come now to Bethesda/ you don’t need a man to put you in the pool
You have to get up to a place where matter doesn’t matter
Reverse the curse / if you think I’m crazy / I’m okay with that / my feelings won’t be hurt / crazy faith / God can overturn it
We’re in Bethesda now / God is Able
We’re at a place where matter doesn’t matter
It doesn’t matter if you don’t have the money for college
It doesn’t matter if you don’t have the down payment for the house
It doesn’t matter if you can’t get anyone to support you
It doesn’t matter if they won’t stand up with you
It doesn’t matter that they been Lying on you
You’re at Bethesda where matter doesn’t matter
You’re at Bethesda at a place beyond trouble
Bethesda – at a place beyond your past
Bethesda – at a place beyond your tears
Bethesda – at a place beyond disease
I know you had to go through a lot to get where you’re at
Bethesda where matter doesn’t matter
Doesn’t matter what happened yesterday
There is enough mercy in the house
It Doesn’t matter

When you want a artist to come on stage at a concert what do you do?
Don’t get caught up in past expectations/ angel stir the waters / race to the pool
How many years of discouragement did they have because they weren’t fast enough or strategic enough
Only to ﬁnd Jesus !!!
The only reason I’m who I am today is I got to Bethesda where matter doesn’t matter

John 5:9 (KJV)

9 And immediately the man was made whole, and took up his bed, and walked: and on the same day was the sabbath.