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Stir It Up
Are you tired of waiting for your breakthrough and wondering why your blessing hasn't come? In this powerful message from John 5: 1-9, I walk through the story of the man at the Pool of Bethesda to show you that everything you need for your miracle is already on the inside of you, you just have to stir it up.
Related Sermons
Small Group Guide
Small Group Discussion Guide
"Stir It Up" — Pastor Willie Russell
1. SERMON RECAP
Pastor Willie Russell preached from John 5, the story of the paralyzed man at the Pool of Bethesda, drawing out a central challenge: that every believer carries the miracle they are waiting for on the inside of them through the Holy Spirit. He pointed out that the man at the pool had three problems that kept him from his breakthrough — his excuses, his comfort zone, and where he was directing his attention. Pastor Willie called the congregation to stir up the gift of God within them rather than waiting for something external to produce a change.
2. KEY SCRIPTURE
2 Timothy 1:6 "Wherefore I put thee in remembrance that thou stir up the gift of God, which is in thee by the putting on of my hands."
3. ICE BREAKER
What is one thing you have been meaning to do for a long time that you keep putting off, and what keeps getting in the way?
4. DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
Point 1 — What is your excuse?
Pastor Willie highlighted that when Jesus asked the man at the pool whether he wanted to be made whole, the man's first response was not faith or hope — it was an explanation for why healing had not happened yet. Pastor Willie challenged the group to be honest about the excuses, or "reasons," that keep them from stepping toward what God has called them to.
What is an excuse or reason you have used — or currently use — to explain why a breakthrough, a step of obedience, or a change in your life has not happened yet, and what would it look like to lay that excuse down?
Point 2 — What are you going back to?
Pastor Willie observed that the man at the pool, after failing to reach the water in time, kept returning to the shade of the covered porch rather than staying close to the edge of the pool where his miracle waited. He noted that comfort, even in a difficult situation, can quietly pull a person further from the very thing they are believing God for.
What is a comfort zone, a familiar habit, or a "porch" in your own life that draws you back when pursuing a breakthrough becomes difficult or discouraging, and how has that pattern affected your progress?
Point 3 — What are you looking at?
Pastor Willie pointed out that the man looked right past Jesus — who was standing in front of him — and focused instead on the natural circumstances: the pool, the water, the people faster than him. He challenged the group to consider whether they are looking to natural sources — other people, visible resources, outward circumstances — for what only Jesus can provide.
When you are waiting for a breakthrough, what tends to draw your attention away from Jesus and toward natural solutions or other people, and what helps you redirect your focus back to him?
5. APPLICATION CHALLENGE
Identify one specific area of your life this week where you have been making an excuse, retreating to comfort, or looking to a natural source instead of to God. Write it down on paper, bring it honestly before God in prayer each morning for the next seven days, and ask the Holy Spirit to stir up faith in you around that one area. Come back next week ready to share one thing that shifted, even if it was small.
6. PRAYER POINTS
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Pray that each group member would have the courage to be honest with themselves and with God about the excuses, comfort zones, and distractions that are keeping them from their breakthrough.
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Pray for a fresh stirring of the Holy Spirit in every person in the group — that they would experience a renewed sense of the gifts, faith, and power that God has already placed within them.
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Pray for anyone in the group who has grown weary from waiting, that they would find the strength to keep asking, keep seeking, and keep knocking as Matthew 7:7 promises.
7. MEMORY VERSE
2 Timothy 1:6 "Wherefore I put thee in remembrance that thou stir up the gift of God, which is in thee by the putting on of my hands."
Daily Devotional
What Is Your Excuse?
Matthew 7:7 — "Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened to you."
On Wednesday, I asked the congregation a direct question: what is your excuse? That man at the Pool of Bethesda had one ready. Thirty-eight years in, and when Jesus stood right in front of him, he explained why healing was impossible rather than reaching for the One who could make it happen. I know how that feels. I have done it too — dressed up a fear as a reason, called a limitation a fact, and stayed stuck because moving felt riskier than waiting. But Matthew 7:7 is not a passive verse. Ask. Seek. Knock. Each word is active. God is not asking you to figure out the outcome. He is asking you to move. Your excuse may feel completely legitimate, but Jesus is standing in front of you right now, asking the same question He asked that man: do you really want to be made whole?
Lord, I confess that I have held onto excuses longer than I have held onto faith. Forgive me for dressing up fear as reason. Today I choose to ask, seek, and knock, trusting You with the results.
Stop Going Back to the Porch
2 Kings 7:3 — "Now there were four leprous men at the entrance of the gate; and they said to one another, 'Why are we sitting here until we die?'"
I talked on Wednesday about that paralyzed man scooting toward the pool every time the water stirred, only to let someone beat him in and then roll back to the comfort of the shaded porch. After thirty-eight years, he was still further from the water than he should have been, because comfort kept pulling him back. Those four lepers in 2 Kings faced the same kind of moment. They could sit at the gate and die, retreat into the famine-struck city and die, or get up and move toward the impossible. They chose to move, and God caused their enemy to hear the sound of an army that was not even there. What are you going back to? What comfortable porch is keeping you further from your breakthrough than you were yesterday? God needs you to stay close to the edge. Do not trade your progress for your comfort.
Father, show me what I keep returning to that pulls me away from what You have for me. Give me the courage to stay at the edge of my blessing, even when it is uncomfortable. I trust You with what happens next.
Celebrate Where You Are
Luke 1:37 — "For with God nothing will be impossible."
I want to sit with something I shared on Wednesday that I think we moved past too quickly. Before we talk about looking at the right thing, I want you to celebrate your progress. You may not have your full victory yet. You may still be on the mat, still in the chair, still in the middle of a long season. But you are not where you were. My father is in a wheelchair right now, and he told me this week that he is getting out of that chair because bowling season starts in March. He is not waiting until he is fully healed to believe. He is celebrating that he can still believe, still fight, still move. Luke 1:37 says nothing is impossible with God. That includes the slow, messy, imperfect progress you have made this year. Do not let anyone put a religious standard on your journey. You are different than you were. That matters to God.
Lord, thank You that I am not who I used to be. Help me to honor the progress You have worked in me, even when the finish line is still out of sight. Nothing is impossible with You.
Stop Looking Past Jesus
John 5:6 — "When Jesus saw him lying there, and knew that he had been in that condition a long time, He said to him, 'Do you want to be made well?'"
On Wednesday I said something that I want you to sit with today. That man looked right past Jesus and stared at the water. Jesus was standing directly in front of him, asking if he wanted to be healed, and the man's eyes went straight to the pool, into the natural, looking for the stirring he had trained himself to wait for. I have done that. I have had Jesus right in front of me and looked past Him at my bank account, my diagnosis, my job, my circumstances, some person I thought could finally come through for me. Jesus said to that man, and He says to you today, I see you. I know how long you have been in this condition. And I am asking you right now, do you want to be made well? Stop looking for the water to move. Look at the One who commands the water.
Jesus, forgive me for looking past You at everything in the natural while You were standing right in front of me. Today I fix my eyes on You, not on my circumstances. You are enough.
Stir It Up
2 Timothy 1:6 — "Therefore I remind you to stir up the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands."
I want to close this week with the heart of the whole message. The stirring was never just about the pool. The stirring has always been about what is on the inside of you. When you received Jesus as Lord and Savior, the Holy Ghost came to live inside of you. That means everything you need is already there. Peace is in there. Healing is in there. Power is in there. But Paul told Timothy, and I am telling you today, you have to stir it up. Nobody else can do that for you. Not the music, not the evangelist, not the atmosphere of a great service. Those things can encourage you, but the stirring is your responsibility. You carry the miracle. You are not waiting for the supernatural to show up. You are the supernatural. Christ is in you. So this weekend, before revival, before whatever comes next, decide right now that you are going to stir up the gift of God that is in you.
Holy Spirit, I refuse to sit on what You have placed inside of me. I stir up the gift today. I believe that everything I need is already in me because You are in me. Have Your way.