Turn then to that chapter that we read together, John 5, and we shall read again the words of verse 6. And we read, 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? And in particular, that's that last clause on the words of the Lord Jesus Christ, wilt thou be made whole? And I want to talk to you this evening or address you on this truth of a sincere word. All the words of God are truth. God is truth. And Jesus Christ is that messenger of God, we could say, that prophet over the church, who is the true and faithful witness. And if all the words of God are truth, so we can then conclude that all the words of Christ are sincere. The Lord Jesus Christ never spoke an insult. of pretension. He never spoke a word of... He never spoke a word that was cruel. All his words were sincere. We sang from Psalm 45, what does it say in verse 2? That grace is poured forth into his lips. It is unimaginable for us to think of an insincere word proceeding from the mouth of him who is the true and faithful witness. We learn in the Gospels that that which proceeds out of the mouth proceeds from the heart. He was a true body and a reasonable soul. And we can say of Jesus that every word that he spoke proceeded out from his heart. His heart is a sincere heart. He is without sin. Now by virtue of his office of mercy, and the office of mediator is an office of mercy when we think of that office of the high priest. By virtue of his office of mercy, his word to the miserable, There are times that we're all miserable. Even believers can be miserable in their walk of faith. But the sinner, they're always miserable. They have, as it were, a miserable life in sin and in misery. So the sincere words of the Lord Jesus Christ can be applied to two things, both his words of promise and his words of threatenings. He means what he says. We must remember that. His sincere word of promise and his sincere word of threatening are both true. Now, the context of this, or the context of this is a context that's well known to us all. It's that of a curious miracle sought. Curious miracle has been sought by this man who had lain for a long time. He was impotent and he had laid for a long time in Jerusalem at Bethesda at a sheep market where there was no sheep. And it's not the miracle that I want to address you on this evening but we do acknowledge the miracle that has taken place. Christ heals this man who lay at this pool at Bethesda curious miracle. They waited for an angel to come down to stir the waters. And there's much ink spilt upon this miracle, and there's much fanciful imagination of what it would have been. Well, I suggest to you the most simplest thing for us to do is to take it as we see it. That there was a miracle performed, that an angel did appear, and that the waters were stirred at this particular point. And some of the older commenced the coming of Christ into the world. And we can't doubt that an angel came down and stirred the waters because as Christ came into the world, the angels were active, were they not? They were there at the birth of Christ, the very host of heaven. They ministered unto him after his temptation and so on. Now John views miracles as signs. He calls them signs quite often in his gospel. They are signs that point to something else, a greater eschatological truth. And what can we make of this miracle? Of Bethesda. Well, Bethesda means house of mercy. So I suggest to you that this miracle points to the Jesus Christ over the house of mercy occupies this office of mercy that he fulfills in his great commission. A sincere word. Well, let us consider this under three headings. Firstly, a sincere word to a helpless man. Secondly, a sincere word to a hopeless man. And then thirdly, a sincere word in the house of mercy. Firstly then, a sincere word to a helpless man. Verse five we read, and a certain man was there which had an infirmity thirty and eight years. when Jesus saw him lie and knew that he had been now a long time in that case. This man was helpless because of his condition. He was lame on his feet. He was an impotent man. He was infirm in his body. That was his condition. And his condition caused him to be helpless when the water was stirred. And that's why a sinner in and of themselves is helpless. They are helpless because of their condition, because they are sinners. They are not sinners because they sin, they sin because they are sinners. As David articulated so well in Psalm 51, he was And in sin did my mother conceive me? What is the truth that David is conveying? He's conveying the nature that we are. The sinnership, as it were. We are sinners by nature. And we are helpless because of that condition. Just like this man. He was helpless. His condition was truly a sorry and lonely condition. And we all is the condition of the sinner. Even when we look back, we see that it was the condition that we were in, it was most miserable. And that is what makes a sinner most fit as an object of mercy, because they are miserable and full of misery. A sorry figure, but also a lonely figure. This man was lonely. Verse seven, look what he says, I have no man. There was no man to lend a help to him. In his helplessness, there was no helper. None at all. He was a lonely figure. And we can apply that again to the man in sin. He is lonely. Because we can all recall in the time of our sin that when we were alone, we thought on these things. When our friends weren't with us, we thought on these things. The sinner truly is lonely. But long had he been helpless, a long time. Jesus knew that he had been a long time in that case. What does that tell us? That there had been for 38 years not one iota of improvement for this man. No progress had been made to this man. He had not once got the strength to go to the pool when it was stirred. He remained in perpetual helplessness with no one to help. No progress. His condition, I suggest, was heavy upon him. And it was heavy upon him the offered remedy stirring of the pool, that was the remedy that was offered to him, seemed to evaporate before him time after time after time. And this would have been a burden on a man who desired to use it, and yet time after time evaporated before him, helpless in his condition. His helplessness was no doubt also a troubler of his conscience. Now, why was he infirm for these 38 years? Well, it is thought that he was infirm because of some sin that he committed. When the Lord Jesus meets him again in the temple, he says, sin no more, sin no more. So, no doubt, his conscience would have been troubled with past sin. His conscience would have been troubled with that which had brought him into this state of infirmity, this state of helplessness. No doubt he had the conversation with... Each time the pool stirred, evaporated as another impotent one was put into the pool. Why them? Why can they believe and not me? Is there any asking themselves that very question? Why them and not me? Well, in the house of mercy, this man was found, Bethesda, and yet no relief of misery. That's an awful condition to be in. How many are found in the house of mercy this evening? Where is the house of mercy? It's where the sincere word of the gospel is heard. They're in the house of mercy and yet they remain in misery. They remain in the misery of their sin. They are in the house of mercy and yet no relief is found in the soul. It is to the miserably helpless that a sincere word of relief is spoken. And this sincere word of relief is spoken to this man. Will thy be made whole? Literally, Christ is saying to him, are you willing to be made whole? Do you want to be made whole? In this gospel, we have numerous sincere words given by the Lord Jesus Christ. We think of John 7 and verse 37. In the last day, that was the day of that feast, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried saying, if any man thirst, let him come unto me and drink. He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. Would we charge Christ with insincerity or hypocrisy or cruelty in these words? No. They were sincere words. If there were any that truly thirsted, they would have that thirst quenched in the coming to Jesus Christ. Let him come unto me and drink. You see, that's the stark reality of it, dear friends. To not believe that word is to speak of that very word of insincerity and of cruelty. And when a sinner remains in their sin after hearing the sincere word of the gospel, in their unbelief, they accuse the speaker of the word of sincerity to their soul of cruelty. When they disbelieve his word. Why? Because it is a sincere word. It's a word of truth. Now is it not delightful for the Christian? Is it not delightful for us who believe to always hear the sincere word of the Lord of mercy? To know that his truth is sincere to us when we are going through difficult periods, when we are despondent in our faith, when we are weak and weary in the Christian life, when we are anxious of mind, when we have troubles of life, and His sincere word comes onto us. I am with thee, even unto the end of the earth. Is it not the last? Do we not hear His voice? We know it is a sincere word. What do we do with it? We take hold of it. We add it, we apply it to the soul as the balm of Gilead. That's what we do. Once helpless, we were, and yet we who believe are now helped by the sincere milk or the sincere meat of the word of God, the word of Christ. Would any of us in here, would any of us dare to say, that his word is not a sincere word. Would any of us dare to charge Christ in his office of mercy with cruelty? No. And yet do we all believe that his word is sincere. A sincere word toward a helpless man. But it follows on, secondly, that it is a sincere word toward a hopeless man. and helplessness and hopelessness are these two twins that come together most of the time, especially in the life of the unbeliever and sinner. They are joined at the hip. Verse seven, he had no man. The impotent man answered him, sir, I have no man. We have trouble to put me into the pool, but while I am coming, Another steppeth down before me. What hopelessness this man experienced. These words demonstrate, do they not, that he was also conscious, not just of his helplessness, but he was conscious of the hopelessness of his condition. And that was key for this. And it's key for the sinner too. Calvin says if we are to rightly know God, we must first rightly know ourselves. This man was conscious of his helplessness and his hopelessness. Isn't it an awful condition for a man to be in outside of Christ and not to be conscious of his helplessness or his hopelessness? We find such in the church. Awful condition to be in. Did he not with the others wait in the place of hope? Yes, he did. Verse three. In these lay a great multitude of impotent folk of blind, halt, withered, waiting for the moving of the waters. Does that waiting for the moving of the waters not indicate to us that he still possessed a little bit of hope? Surely he wasn't entirely hopeless. Well, he had a little bit of hope, but it wasn't true hope, as we'll see. Dear friends, the startling note of instruction is that there are many who remain hopeless, and yet they are found in the place of hope, the house of mercy. Just as we applied helplessness to this situation, we also apply hopelessness to this situation. Here, all of these people This man dwelled 38 years in the place of hope, the house of mercy, and yet completely hopeless because of his condition. His hopelessness was again, no doubt, heavy upon his soul. We know that from those words of verse seven. I have no man. He's at the end of himself. What hope have I got? I have no man to take me there. His hopelessness weighed heavy on his soul. And we know what that was like before we came to Christ. When we had that period of contrition and conviction of sin. Those of us who had such experiences, it's wonderful to see covenant children who are raised up In the truth of the Lord, they never know a time when they didn't know him. But there's others that have the Damascus Road experience like Paul. Great contrition, hopelessness weighing heavy upon their soul. And yet, as I said, he seemed to exercise this little hope. But it was because it was not true hope, dear friends. What was this hope then, if it wasn't true hope? What was it? It was hope in himself. What do you mean? He was infirm. What are you trying to say to us here, preacher? He had hope in himself. Surely he confessed he had no man. Yes, hope in himself. Hope in his attendance at the Pool of Bethesda. hope in his effort to get to the pool. Look at what he says. I have no man when the water is troubled to put me into the pool, but while I am coming, he was trailing himself, was it, where? Trailing himself to the pool. He had hope in attendance. He had hope in effort. And yet his words to Christ seem to reflect that such hope is no hope at all. And this little hope that he had, I suggest to you, dear friends, that it exasperated his sense of hopelessness. And we see that even within our own circles. It exasperates. this sense of hopelessness. The Lord will never look upon me. The Lord can't save me. Is his word not sincere? Is it not? The exasperation of this hopelessness is seen in many a man. Dear friends, let us note further that upon hearing this sincere word from the Lord of mercy, he continues to look away from Christ to the hoped stirring of the waters. Christ said to him, verse six, will thy be made whole? And his response is to look at the pool. Verse seven, I have no man to put me into the pool. He's still looking at the pool. The sincere word's been spoken to him, and he looks beyond the speaker of the sincere word, the reliever of his mercy to the pool. Can't take his eyes off the pool and his hopelessness, that one day he would be put into the pool. And I purposely say hopelessness. What hopelessness is this, dear friends? To be confronted with the sincere word of the one who can relieve his misery, he looks beyond him. How many sinners have heard time after time the sincere word of Christ, and in the hearing of the sincere word of Christ, they look beyond him to the pool. I'm trying to stress to you the awfulness of this condition. This condition is one of true misery that a man finds himself in. And yet, it's wonderful when there's a yet or when there's a but. Yet, in all his helplessness and hopelessness, he was being prepared by grace for grace. He was being prepared by Christ for grace. His response to the sincere word conveys an honest assessment. And this is the key. Here is the honest assessment. He acknowledged himself as a helpless man. He acknowledged himself as a hopeless man. How can we put it, the words of verse 7, The impotent man answered him, Sir, I have no man. How could we put this desperation? It is as if he responds to Christ and he says, I will, but I am impotent. Christ has said to him with sincere words, Wilt thou be made whole? Art thou not willing? And he says, I will, but I am impotent. He acknowledges that in and off of himself, he can't and he won't. Here is the sincere word of the sinner. The sincere word of the sinner. I am impotent. I can't, I won't, in and off of myself. And I suggest to you, dear congregation, that these The sincere word of the Savior must meet with the sincere word of the sinner. The sincere word of the Savior is, Art thy willing? The sincere word of the sinner is, I am impotent. I can't. Make me willing. Draw me, and I will run after thee. A sincere word toward a hopeless man Finally, a sincere word in the house of mercy. Sincere word in the house of mercy. Wilt thou be made whole? And then in verse eight, Jesus saith unto him, rise, take up thy bed, and walk. Dear friends, have you not this day heard in this house, this house of mercy? this house of bread, have you not heard a sincere word? I have not sought in any manner to speak unto you my own words. I have come here as an ambassador of Christ to convey unto you his word, his truth, and him himself. This man who was without help or hope dwelled in such a place. You this day have dwelled, waited in such a place. What are you doing here? You're waiting upon the Lord. You're waiting on his word. And being prepared by grace for grace, this man was in the place he was supposed to be. He wasn't in the place where he wasn't supposed to be. He was exactly where he was supposed to be, in the order that he would hear the sincere word of Christ. And yet we remind ourselves, he looked to the pool in the hearing of that word. Dear friend, you are in the place you're supposed to be. You are in the house of mercy, hearing the sincere word of Jesus Christ as he executes his office of mercy. What are you waiting on? A miraculous sign from heaven? Are you looking to the pool rather than to the one who speaks sincere words unto sinners? Don't look for the miraculous. Don't look for the domestic road experience. Look for Christ. Bend your ear to his sincere word of salvation. At the house of mercy, this man met one who knew his condition better than he himself knew it. And that's quite astonishing. We should apply that to ourselves. This man had lain for 38 years at this pool with no one to help him. If there was anybody who knew his condition, it would be him. And yet here comes one alongside him who knew his condition better than what he knew it himself. And it's astonishing, dear friend, because Jesus Christ knows your condition this evening better than what you know it yourself. Unbeliever and believer alike, each and every one of us, We might think that no one knows our condition like we know it, but he does. He knows it. And what a comfort that is to us. Dear friend, this is why we all must hear and believe the sincere words of the Lord of mercy. All of us, believer and unbeliever alike, because he knows us better than what we know ourselves. Dear friends, he knows the providence that will befall you this week. He knows the providence that befell last week. He knows what difficulties you will go into. Remember what he said to Peter? Satan hath sought to sift you, but I have prayed for you that your faith fail not. He has prayed for us. He continues to pray for us. And he sends to us his sincere word. sincere word of rebuke, of encouragement, of consolation. He who is head over the house of mercy alone has relief for the helpless and for the hopeless. Dear Saints, as we bring this to a close, This is not why—is this not why we who believe have dwelt this day in this house? Is this not why we who believe trust the word that we have heard this day in this house? Here is where Christ is found. He is found in this house, and he is found in the word that is opened in this house. Verse 39 of the same chapter, Search the Scriptures, for in them ye think ye have eternal life, and they are they which testify of me. We have this day, search the Scriptures. They have testified to Christ, and every word has been a sincere word of the Lord of mercy. This impotent man dwelt long at the house without hearing the sincere word. He lay there for 38 years without hearing the sincere word of Christ. So how much more miserable are those who dwell long in the hearing of this house? How much more miserable of a condition are they found this evening? How long have you dwelt in this house? And you've dwelt in the hearing of the sincere word of Christ, and you remain in misery. But let's apply that to ourselves. Those of us who believe, how much more thankful ought we to be? who have believed the sincerity of this word and come back week after week after week for more. Why? Because we trust him who is the prophet over the church. We trust his words, that they are sincere unto the soul. And what is the testimony of the unbeliever? This is a fearful thing. Their testimony is, week after week, I hear no sincere word. I hear no sincere word. Dear friends, let us note one final thing of this impotent man. Upon his hearing, he was not insensible. He was not insensible, firstly, of his own condition. He knew he was hopeless and he was helpless. He was not insensible, then, to the sincere word of Christ. Wilt thou be made whole? And nor, then, was he insensible to the mercy that accompanied that sincere word to the relief of his own awful condition. We have read the words of verse 8, Will thou be made whole? A sincere word. Verse 8, Jesus saith unto him, Rise, take up thy bed, and walk. A sincere word. Verse 9, and immediately. the man was made whole, and took up his bed, and walked, and on the same day was the Sabbath. I ask you again, in light of verse nine, was Christ not sincere when he said unto this man, wilt thou be made whole? Let us pray. Our Father, who art in heaven, we bless thee for this word of the gospel of Jesus Christ. It is the power of God unto salvation. To everyone that believeth. And we pray, our God, that thy spirit would accompany this word this evening. And for those of us who do believe, We pray that we would rejoice anew in that the words of him who has loved us are sincere. They are words that we can hold dear, cherish, and trust. And we pray, O God, that thy spirit would grant an opening of an ear, that the word heard would be to the testimony or confession that one doth hear the sincere word of Jesus Christ. Lord, we pray, thy will be done as it is done in heaven. May it be done here amongst us this evening. We pray, O God, that thou would undertake now for us all, grant us safe passage to our homes, Grant us the enablement to think often, and to think long, and to think profitably about all that we have heard concerning Christ and this glorious gospel. Forgive us our sins, we pray, in Jesus' name. Amen. Amen. Well, let us sing from Psalm 110. Psalm 110. In this psalm, of course, we sing of Christ, our priestly King. But our priestly King, who is also Church of God. We shall sing from verse 1 through to verse 6, emphasizing the words of verse 3. In light of the sincere word of Christ, O willing people, in thy day of power shall come to thee, in holy beauties from morn's womb, thy youth, like Jew, shall be. Psalm 110 from verse 1 to 6, to God's praise. The Lord said, Stay unto my Lord, sit thou at my right hand, until I make thy foes astound, and on thy feet they stand. The Lord shall at Zion's hand, the rod of thy great power, in midst of all thine enemies, be thou the commoner. Building people in thy day, all pride shall come to thee. In holy beauties from orn's bloom, thy youth, like dew, shall be. Lord himself hath made an oath, and will repent him never. Of the order of Melchizedek, the heart of Greece forever. And mighty Lord, that sits at thy right hand, Shall in his day of wrath strike through, Kings that do him withstand. Well, let us stand to receive the benediction. Now the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the communion of the Holy Ghost be with you all. Amen.