Yahweh. He Made a Way. | Week 1 | Pastor Kevin Kringel
Yahweh. He Made a Way.
Week 1
Yahweh: The God Who Heals
Exodus 3:13-15
The name Yahweh means "He Is." He is the God who is present, faithful, and powerful enough to step into every impossible situation. Throughout Scripture, Yahweh reveals Himself not only by what He says, but by what He does.
Yahweh communicates I Am/ He Is:
Every week for the rest of this month, we'll see a different kind of "impossible" and discover that where we see a dead end, Yahweh sees an opportunity to reveal His glory.
Impossible situations become opportunities for Yahweh to reveal who He is.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Today: YAHWEH: When There Is No Way to Heal
Exodus 15:26…” I am the Lord (Yahweh) who heals you.”
Have you ever battled a long-term or impossible illness? Psalms 6: what it feels like to be sick
2 Kings 5: Yahweh Made a Way for Naaman.
1. An impossible problem
Naaman had everything a man could want: power, wealth, military success, and influence, but he had leprosy, a disease no amount of money or status could cure.
Sometimes the greatest need in our lives cannot be solved by money or influence.
2. God refuses to accommodate human pride
Naaman expected a dramatic ceremony. Instead, Elisha didn't even come outside. He simply sent a message: "Go wash in the Jordan seven times."
Naaman was offended because God's way seemed too simple.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
3. Obedience opened the door
When Naaman finally humbled himself and obeyed, God healed him completely.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
4. The miracle changed more than his body
Naaman didn't just receive healing; he confessed:
"Now I know that there is no God in all the earth except in Israel." (2 Kings 5:15)
The miracle revealed Yahweh.
The greatest miracle wasn't clean skin; it was a transformed heart.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
"Naaman expected God to work one way, but Yahweh made a way another way.”
Hundreds of years later, Jesus walks into Jerusalem and finds another man with an impossible condition. But this time, the man doesn't even ask. He isn't looking for Jesus. He isn't expecting a miracle. Yet once again, Yahweh makes a way where there seemed to be no way."
John 5:1–15 The Healing at the Pool Bethesda
Different men, different time, different places of washing-Same LORD!
Neither of these men was demonstrating great faith. They weren't searching for Jesus or God, just relief from their suffering.
This man at the pool of Bethesda wasn't expecting a miracle that day. Jesus took the initiative. God moves towards the lost and hurting.
The story reminds us that God's grace often reaches us before our faith reaches for Him.
1. Notice: He never asks Jesus for healing.
Unlike blind Bartimaeus ("Have mercy on me!"), the woman with the issue of blood, or the centurion with his dying servant, this man never expresses faith or even a request. Jesus initiates the encounter.
"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?'" (John 5:6)
Even his answer isn't "Yes!" Instead, he explains why he can't get into the pool.
2. John never says he had faith.
This is striking because John often highlights belief. Here, the healing comes before any evidence of faith. That doesn't mean faith is unimportant, but it shows Jesus is not limited by the amount of faith someone possesses. Sometimes grace comes first.
This fits a biblical pattern:
The first move in Abraham's story wasn't made by Abraham; it was made by Yahweh.
3. The man appears spiritually unaware.
Notice the progression:
John doesn't explicitly say he betrayed Jesus, but in the narrative flow, his report immediately fuels the leaders' persecution of Jesus (5:16-18). Most commentators see the portrayal as unfavorable.
4. Why would Jesus choose him?
A. To reveal who Jesus is, not who the man is.
This chapter isn't primarily about an exemplary believer. It's about Jesus revealing Himself.
5. What should we learn?
The healing wasn't primarily a reward for faith. It was a revelation of the divine identity of Jesus.
The same Yahweh who healed Naaman now stands in human flesh (Jesus) at the Pool of Bethesda. The focus is not on the quality of the man's faith but on the identity of the One who heals.
The two stories:
Main sermon idea:
"Sometimes faith opens the door for a miracle. Sometimes the miracle opens the door for faith. In both cases, the hero is not the person; it's Yahweh."
Altar call: Exodus15:26 “I am the LORD your healer.”
As we close, a verse to keep in mind throughout this series:
John 20:30–31 (NIV) “Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.”
John doesn’t call them miracles here but signs; signs point to something beyond themselves.
These signs declare Jesus is Lord, the God (Yahweh) who is, and in today’s focus, the God who is our Healer!
Colossians 2:9 "For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form." (NIV)
Week 1
Yahweh: The God Who Heals
Exodus 3:13-15
The name Yahweh means "He Is." He is the God who is present, faithful, and powerful enough to step into every impossible situation. Throughout Scripture, Yahweh reveals Himself not only by what He says, but by what He does.
Yahweh communicates I Am/ He Is:
- The Self-Existent One
- The Eternal One
- The One who depends on no one else
- The Unchanging One
- The Faithful Covenant God
- The One who always is what His people need Him to be
Every week for the rest of this month, we'll see a different kind of "impossible" and discover that where we see a dead end, Yahweh sees an opportunity to reveal His glory.
Impossible situations become opportunities for Yahweh to reveal who He is.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Today: YAHWEH: When There Is No Way to Heal
Exodus 15:26…” I am the Lord (Yahweh) who heals you.”
Have you ever battled a long-term or impossible illness? Psalms 6: what it feels like to be sick
2 Kings 5: Yahweh Made a Way for Naaman.
1. An impossible problem
Naaman had everything a man could want: power, wealth, military success, and influence, but he had leprosy, a disease no amount of money or status could cure.
Sometimes the greatest need in our lives cannot be solved by money or influence.
2. God refuses to accommodate human pride
Naaman expected a dramatic ceremony. Instead, Elisha didn't even come outside. He simply sent a message: "Go wash in the Jordan seven times."
Naaman was offended because God's way seemed too simple.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
3. Obedience opened the door
When Naaman finally humbled himself and obeyed, God healed him completely.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
4. The miracle changed more than his body
Naaman didn't just receive healing; he confessed:
"Now I know that there is no God in all the earth except in Israel." (2 Kings 5:15)
The miracle revealed Yahweh.
The greatest miracle wasn't clean skin; it was a transformed heart.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
"Naaman expected God to work one way, but Yahweh made a way another way.”
Hundreds of years later, Jesus walks into Jerusalem and finds another man with an impossible condition. But this time, the man doesn't even ask. He isn't looking for Jesus. He isn't expecting a miracle. Yet once again, Yahweh makes a way where there seemed to be no way."
John 5:1–15 The Healing at the Pool Bethesda
Different men, different time, different places of washing-Same LORD!
Neither of these men was demonstrating great faith. They weren't searching for Jesus or God, just relief from their suffering.
This man at the pool of Bethesda wasn't expecting a miracle that day. Jesus took the initiative. God moves towards the lost and hurting.
The story reminds us that God's grace often reaches us before our faith reaches for Him.
1. Notice: He never asks Jesus for healing.
Unlike blind Bartimaeus ("Have mercy on me!"), the woman with the issue of blood, or the centurion with his dying servant, this man never expresses faith or even a request. Jesus initiates the encounter.
"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?'" (John 5:6)
Even his answer isn't "Yes!" Instead, he explains why he can't get into the pool.
2. John never says he had faith.
This is striking because John often highlights belief. Here, the healing comes before any evidence of faith. That doesn't mean faith is unimportant, but it shows Jesus is not limited by the amount of faith someone possesses. Sometimes grace comes first.
This fits a biblical pattern:
The first move in Abraham's story wasn't made by Abraham; it was made by Yahweh.
- Saul wasn't looking for Jesus on the Damascus Road; Jesus interrupted him.
- Lazarus was dead; he exercised no faith before being raised.
3. The man appears spiritually unaware.
Notice the progression:
- He doesn't know who healed him (5:13).
- When Jesus finds him later, Jesus warns him:
- Jesus doesn't stop with physical healing.
- The greatest miracle is a restored relationship with God. The greatest gift Jesus offers is not physical restoration but reconciliation with God. That's why He later addresses the man's sin.
- Then:
John doesn't explicitly say he betrayed Jesus, but in the narrative flow, his report immediately fuels the leaders' persecution of Jesus (5:16-18). Most commentators see the portrayal as unfavorable.
4. Why would Jesus choose him?
A. To reveal who Jesus is, not who the man is.
This chapter isn't primarily about an exemplary believer. It's about Jesus revealing Himself.
5. What should we learn?
- Jesus' grace often precedes our response. He acts before we fully understand Him.
- Receiving a miracle is not the same as becoming a disciple. Healing doesn't automatically produce faith.
The healing wasn't primarily a reward for faith. It was a revelation of the divine identity of Jesus.
The same Yahweh who healed Naaman now stands in human flesh (Jesus) at the Pool of Bethesda. The focus is not on the quality of the man's faith but on the identity of the One who heals.
The two stories:
- Naaman believed incorrectly that God should do it his way.
- The man at Bethesda doesn't appear to believe at all.
- Yet both miracles reveal the same Yahweh; a God who acts in grace and reveals Himself through impossible situations. Naaman came to the water; at Bethesda, the water came to the man.
Main sermon idea:
"Sometimes faith opens the door for a miracle. Sometimes the miracle opens the door for faith. In both cases, the hero is not the person; it's Yahweh."
Altar call: Exodus15:26 “I am the LORD your healer.”
As we close, a verse to keep in mind throughout this series:
John 20:30–31 (NIV) “Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.”
John doesn’t call them miracles here but signs; signs point to something beyond themselves.
These signs declare Jesus is Lord, the God (Yahweh) who is, and in today’s focus, the God who is our Healer!
Colossians 2:9 "For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form." (NIV)