June 2026
The Bible tells us in John 5:2-8, “Now there is at Jerusalem by the sheep market a pool, which is called in the Hebrew tongue Bethesda, having five porches. In these lay a great multitude of impotent folk, of blind, halt, and withered, waiting for the moving of the water. For an angel went down at a certain season into the pool, and troubled the water, and whosoever then first after the troubling of the water stepped in was made whole of whatsoever disease he had. And a certain man was there, who had an infirmity for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him lie there, and knew that he had been now a long time in that case, He said to him, ‘Will you be made whole?’
The impotent man answered him, ‘Sir, I have no man, when the water is troubled, to put me into the pool, but while I am coming, another steps down before me.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Rise, take up your bed, and walk.’”
There is an event recorded here that reminds me of myself many, many years ago, when I majored on problems instead of answers. When Jesus asked this impotent man at the pool of Bethesda, “Will you be made whole?” The man told Him the reason he couldn’t be made whole. Jesus simply ignored the man’s reasoning and commanded him to “…Rise…and walk.” Even though God’s Word can change situations in your life, so many seem to be set on talking about the problem.
You will notice that Jesus didn’t mention the problem at all, but He asked the crippled man to do something he couldn’t do within himself. When the man obeyed, he received his miracle. I have come to the conclusion after being a Christian myself for forty-five years and now I have been pastoring for thirty-eight years, that there are two kinds of Christians. There are Christians who act like thermometers. They rehearse the problem over and over, but never do anything to change it.
Then there are some who function as thermostats and change things for the better. The thermostat on the wall of your home is wired to the heart of that unit which is designed to control the temperature in your house. That thermostat has a built-in thermometer to reveal the present condition or temperature, and a dial or keypad to make the desired change. When you change the setting, it makes a demand on the heating and cooling unit. The thermometer only tells you how it is at that present time. But by setting the thermostat to what you desire, you can change the present facts to what you want them to become. God never intended for us to become “Thermometer Christians” and keep rehearsing things as they are or seem to be. Even though it may be a fact—if it’s not lovely and of a good report—so don’t spend your time talking about it. Paul told us in Romans 10:17 that faith comes by hearing, so we are to always to give preeminence to the Word of God, regardless of the present facts or circumstances.
Later in Hebrews 11:1, Paul tells us that faith is the substance of things hoped for the evidence of things not seen. Real Bible faith comes from the Bible, and that it is the evidence of the things that are not yet manifest in the natural realm. But what some people call faith really isn’t Real Bible faith at all. It’s high expectations based on wrong information. You may have heard someone interpret Mark 11:23 as: “All you have to do is say it to receive the promise.” Saying is a part of applying the principle of faith, but there is more to it than just saying it. You must believe and doubt not in your heart. Then you must believe that those things you are saying will come to pass. Faith is not just a quick fix for your problems. It’s a whole way of living. Sometimes it takes weeks even months to get your mind renewed to God’s Word and to get rid of years of unbelief.
Yes. Jesus did say, “…he shall have whatsoever he says..” That statement is in the Bible. But we must keep it in the context of which it was spoken.
Let’s look at that verse, Jesus said, “For verily I say unto you, that whosoever shall say to this mountain, Be removed, and be cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he says shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he says.
Notice Jesus said, “…whosoever shall…not doubt in his heart, but shall believe…” This implies that you must also believe in your heart, because faith works in your heart and not in your head. The “whosoever” Jesus referred to in this Scripture said with his mouth what he already believed in his heart. And Jesus said, “…he shall have whatsoever he says.” Notice that he didn’t have it when he said it, but he called it in by faith so that he would have it. The problem is that some people have high expectations based on what happened when everyone else was operating in faith. But without faith in the heart, they are thermometers trying to get the results of a thermostat. There is no faith connection between the words of their mouth and their heart which is designed to produce the results.
I want to encourage you to stay in faith, stay in prayer, stay in the Word every day, make you daily confession, pray in the spirit for our nation, our leaders, and all who are in authority, pray for the peace of Jerusalem; and remember “God loves you; we love you and JESUS IS LORD!”
In The Service of Our King,
Darrell G. Harrelson