John 5: You Are Not Alone, Count on the LORD

Introduction

"I have no one." That is the sentence Pastor Israël took from the story of the paralytic at Bethesda, during the second service on Sunday, October 11, 2026, at the Centre Évangélique Sion. He presents it himself as an exhortation meant to lead the congregation into prayer.

Before reading, he offers a piece of advice: keep a paper Bible. When you read John 5 on your phone, a message can pop up in the middle of the text and take all your attention. "In a paper Bible, nothing can get in."

The text is John 5:1-9, along with a second verse, "the foundation of our exhortation": "Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble, and he delivered them out of their distresses" (Psalm 107:6). His message comes down to one conviction: you are not alone, so stop counting on people and count on the LORD.

Outline of the Message

1. "I Have No One": Thirty-Eight Years by the Pool

In Jerusalem, near the sheep gate, a man has been sick for thirty-eight years. Jesus asks him, "Do you want to be made well?" He answers, "Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up."
"This has been preached many times," the pastor admits. He keeps only that answer and turns it back to the congregation: "Tell me, in your life, do you have no one?"
Why does this man say he has no one? "Because he was leaning on people."
He does not know the one asking him the question. "Why do you overlook the person standing next to you? Why do you overlook God's grace when it shows up in your life?"

2. The Trap of Trusting in People

"Cursed is the man who trusts in man" (Jeremiah 17:5). "That is the problem. Who are you trusting?"
This is where our disappointments in our relationships and our families come from: "My hope is my uncle. My hope is my girlfriend. My hope is my wife. My hope is my husband."
The sick man stayed there thirty-eight years because he trusted in people, and the years went by.
Do not lean on your own intelligence, or on your parents, or on your uncle. We pray to a jealous God: when you put all your hope in a fallible person, you give them what belongs to God. "God does not share his glory."
The preacher also wants to discourage spiritual "dependency": wanting everyone to take care of you, and saying, as soon as nobody comes, "nobody pays attention to me in this church." "Do not count on other people's lives. Count on God first."

3. There Was Someone: Recognizing God's Goodness

Look back at your journey since you have been with God. Can you name three things where the Lord came through? What you have lived through was not your intelligence, your strategies, or your plan for the year. "It is because there is someone."
That someone is the God who neither slumbers nor sleeps and who watches over you (Psalm 121:4). Jesus told Peter that Satan had asked to sift him like wheat (Luke 22:31). "How many battles has God spared us while we sleep? It is not because you fasted or prayed."
When the money was coming in, when you were building, when business was going well, God was there. Now that things have stalled, you say there is no God. "That is ingratitude."
When you reach the end of the tunnel and everything is dark, go back into your memories: "Look at where God helped you." Do not look only at the wall blocking your way.
Suffering makes us forget, like Job's wife, who said to him, "Curse God, and die." (Job 2:9). But the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory to come (Romans 8:18). "It is only temporary, it is only a stage."
Even in the valley of the shadow of death, you fear no evil (Psalm 23:4). He said: "I will never leave you, nor forsake you" (Hebrews 13:5).

4. Turn Your Eyes Away from People

The problem is that we watch the clock. It is already October, the year is coming to an end, age is advancing, projects are unfinished, the children's needs have to be met. You start losing hope "because your eyes are on people."
"I came to tell you to turn your eyes back to the LORD." The pastor includes himself: even pastors can disappoint you. You can be disappointed because he spoke to you badly or looked at you the wrong way; he knows that without the LORD he is nothing. "I have only God."
"People will bring you comfort, but the solution is the LORD."
He warns those who lose their blessing by accepting a compromise, a relationship, or a child in order to get papers. "What are papers before the LORD?" The God who brought you thousands of miles to get here knows what he is doing. If it did not work today, tomorrow it will.
He is a father of the fatherless and a defender of widows (Psalm 68:5). "You are not alone, you are with God. With God, you are the majority."
When we look to him, we are radiant with joy (Psalm 34:5). Even if you are ten euros short, tomorrow you will have it. Is marriage missing, or children? "The God of the Bible will give them to you. A door will always open."

5. Those Who Are With You Are More Than Those Against You

When the enemy army surrounds Elisha, his servant is afraid. The prophet prays that his eyes would be opened, and the servant sees the mountain full of horses and chariots of fire: "Don't be afraid; for those who are with us are more than those who are with them" (2 Kings 6:16-17).
"That is what you do not know," because your physical eyes have not seen yet and your hands have not touched yet.
Some situations are so complicated that the pastor admits he does not have the solution. "But there is only one person who gives the solution, and his name is the LORD."
When you drop your children off at daycare or school, who watches over them? "It is only grace." People sleep, God does not sleep.
"Some trust in chariots, and some in horses, but we trust the name of the LORD our God" (Psalm 20:7). Even if you feel like the last one: "Life is not a race. Everyone walks in their own time."
"Your season is coming." You will be able to say with Job: "I had heard of you by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees you" (Job 42:5).

6. Your Suffering Reveals Who You Belong To

Many let go in hardship. The pastor understands: we are made of flesh, and the pressure is strong. But suffering reveals who you belong to.
When persecution came, the disciples were scattered, and the gospel spread (Acts 8:1-4). Suffering sometimes comes to show you who you really are. "Do you know yourself?"
If every Christian knew who they are, they would not keep calling the pastor to pray in their place. The preacher tells of a course he took in Switzerland: he prayed for classmates who were asking for the baptism of the Holy Spirit or the gift of healing. A colleague who doubted him changed his view when he saw God at work.
"Your belonging depends on your belief." Today people mix things up: a bit of the Bible, a bit of tradition, a bit of custom. He mentions colleagues who believe in the stars or the moon. "Who created the stars? God did."
"We belong to God because we believe in God and in his Son Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior."

7. Stay With the LORD

Ruth says to Naomi: "Where you go, I will go; and where you stay, I will stay" (Ruth 1:16). She had understood that the person at her side was no ordinary person.
"Lack everything, but stay with the LORD." Even without a home, without papers, even if a romantic relationship ends, even if your classes are beyond you. "Go into your room and say: Lord, I do not understand math, Holy Spirit, help me."
The pastor leads the congregation in prayer: "Lord, I was counting on my parents, on my brother. Now I count on you." The fiancé, the student, the intern, the traveling merchant: each one places their situation in God's hands.
Like Moses: "If your presence doesn't go with us, don't carry us up from here" (Exodus 33:15).
The one who trusts in the LORD is like a tree planted by the waters (Jeremiah 17:7-8). "I have only you, Lord. I am not alone."

Key Takeaways

"I have no one" is often the cry of someone who has leaned on people and does not see Jesus standing next to them.
People bring comfort; the solution comes from the LORD, who does not share his glory.
Remembering what God has already done protects against ingratitude when things stall.
Those who are with you are more than those who are against you: with God, you are the majority.
Trials reveal who you belong to. Lack everything, but stay with the LORD.

Personal Application

Who have you placed your hope in for this season of your life: a parent, a spouse, a friend, an employer?
Can you name three moments today when God helped you, even when you did not see it at the time?
Is there a compromise you are tempted to accept because it feels like God is slow to act?
In your current difficulty, what does the suffering reveal about what you truly believe?
What simple prayer can you pray this week to say: "Lord, I count on you"?

Quoted Verses

Frequently Asked Questions

Why does the sick man in John 5 say "I have no one"?

For Pastor Israël, this man stayed 38 years by the pool because he was leaning on people and waiting for someone to put him into the water. Meanwhile, the one asking him "Do you want to be made well?" was standing right next to him, and he did not recognize him.

What does the Bible say about trusting in people?

The preacher quotes Jeremiah 17: "Cursed is the man who trusts in man." People can bring comfort, but the solution comes from the LORD. God does not share his glory, and the one who trusts in him is like a tree planted by the waters.

What does "your suffering reveals who you belong to" mean?

According to Pastor Israël, trials reveal who you belong to and what you truly believe. Many let go in hardship. The one who believes in God and in Jesus Christ chooses to stay with the LORD, as Ruth chose to stay with Naomi.