What Is This Change and How Do We Participate? - The Wake-Up Call

Summary5 min read

Podcast Summary: The Wake-Up Call — “What Is This Change and How Do We Participate?” Host: John David Walt (Seedbed)
Date: March 28, 2026

Episode Overview

This episode of The Wake-Up Call revolves around the theme of transformation—specifically, the difference between needing to change and truly wanting to change. Through a meditation on John 5:1-6 (the story of the man at Bethesda), John David Walt encourages listeners to honestly confront Jesus’ probing question: “Do you want to get well?” Using prayer, reflection, journaling prompts, and even song, the host invites the audience to consider how they can participate in genuine personal and spiritual change.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Consecration and Daily Orientation (00:00–02:55)

The episode opens with a ritual consecration prayer, inviting listeners to orient their hearts, minds, and bodies toward Jesus for the day ahead.
- “Wake up sleeper. Rise from the dead and Christ will shine on you. Jesus, I belong to you.” (A, 00:19)
Personal engagement in prayer is highlighted:
- “If you’re really engaged, you’re actually doing the thing it says—lifting your heart, setting your mind, fixing your eyes, offering your body.” (A, 01:06)
Humorous and personal acknowledgment of listener gifts reinforces community feel.

2. Scripture Reading: John 5:1-6 (02:55–04:05)

John reads the story of Jesus at the pool of Bethesda, focusing on Jesus' question to the man who had been an invalid for 38 years: “Do you want to get well?”
- Sets up the core question for the episode.

3. The Transformational Question: Do I Really Want to Change? (04:05–09:53)

John introduces the “Transformational question number two”: “Do I really want to change?”
- “Jesus goes straight for transformational question number two: Do you want to get well? Something tells me no one had ever asked him this question.” (A, 04:41)
Reflection on excuses and abdication of responsibility:
- The man’s response that “someone else goes down ahead of me” is seen as relinquishing responsibility.
Walt reframes “responsibility” as “response-ability”—the ability to respond.
- “A disability doesn’t rob you of ability...but it cannot steal your response ability, your ability to respond.” (A, 13:40)
Encountering Jesus is about facing the deeper issue: “do I want to change?” beyond mere acknowledgment of need.

4. Prayer and Self-Reflection (09:53–11:40)

Honest prayer acknowledging reluctance and desire to change:
- “We know we need to change, but that isn’t the question. We are not certain we really want to change. We can honestly say maybe that we want to want to change.” (A, 10:20)
Invites the Holy Spirit to deepen the desire for transformation.

5. Journal Prompts and Personal Processing (11:40–13:30)

Listeners are encouraged to write and reflect on the words: "Really want change."
- “When is the last time you asked yourself: What do you really want?” (A, 11:54)
Walt clarifies earlier comments to avoid offense and explains that the point is about victimhood and losing one's sense of agency, not making generalizations about people with disabilities.

6. Needing vs. Wanting to Change (13:30–16:00)

Explains distinction between knowing one needs to change and actually wanting to:
- “We can say, I pray and I pray, but nobody’s hearing my prayers...‘nobody will help me get in the pool.’” (A, 14:46)
- Cites Oswald Chambers: “He doesn’t give us grace so we can overcome, he gives us grace as we overcome. There’s a certain responsibility that we carry.” (A, 15:13)
Desire and volition are emphasized as necessary for transformation.
The act of voicing one's desires to God (“I want”) is fundamental; it's about relationship, not just need.
- “The most important thing to tell him: I want you. He knows we need him. He wants to know...do we want him?” (A, 15:52)

7. The Challenge of Change (16:00–16:14)

Walt observes that few people like change, but if it’s understood as movement or progress, it may become more desirable.
- “Everybody wants movement in their life. But movement does require change.” (A, 16:00)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

On Prayer
“If you’re really engaged…you’re actually doing the thing it says…orienting our life unto him for this day ahead.” (A, 01:06)
On the Transformational Question
“Do you want to get well? Something tells me no one had ever asked him this question.” (A, 04:41)
On Responsibility
“Our seeming intractable situations and conditions are usually someone else’s fault, right?…Even so, we retain responsibility, which is another way of saying the ability to respond.” (A, 05:38)
On Wanting vs. Needing
“He didn’t say, do you need to get well? He said, do you want to get well? Because with wellness comes a whole nother set of responsibilities and…problems, good problems.” (A, 13:40)
Oswald Chambers Reference
“He doesn’t give us grace so we can overcome, he gives us grace as we overcome.” (A, 15:13)
On Honest Desire
“The most important thing to tell him: I want you. He knows we need him. He wants to know…and probably wonders, do we want him?” (A, 15:52)

Timestamps for Important Segments

Consecration Prayer & Opening: 00:00–02:55
Scripture Reading (John 5:1-6): 02:55–04:05
Reflection on Transformational Questions: 04:05–09:53
Prayer for the Desire to Change: 09:53–11:40
Journal Prompts & Clarification: 11:40–13:30
Needing vs. Wanting — The Difference: 13:30–16:00
Musical Medley (Hymns Closing): 16:26–18:52
Final Encouragements: 18:52–End

Music & Worship Moment (16:26–18:52)

Singing of classic hymns:
- “Come Ye Sinners, Poor and Needy” (verse 4)
- “O the Deep, Deep Love of Jesus”
- “I Love You, Lord”

Tone and Approach

John David Walt’s tone is warm, conversational, gently challenging, and pastoral. He blends personal stories, scriptural reflection, and practical application—encouraging listeners to reflect honestly and engage deeply with Jesus’ invitation to transformation.

Takeaways & Invitation for Listeners

Write down and reflect on “Really want change.”
Re-examine your response-ability and will—are you abdicating responsibility for your spiritual and personal growth?
Ask not just what you need from God, but what you truly want.
Prepare to encounter Jesus face-to-face, as the one who asks, “Do you want to get well?”

For further engagement, listeners are invited to join the Sunday “pregame” reading and to go live out their faith that day: “Sow goodness, love, encouragement, hope, counsel, wisdom. Be ready. Jesus is in you. He wants to move through you.” (A, 19:34)

Summary prepared for those seeking a deep and practical guide to personal and spiritual transformation rooted in daily encounter with Jesus.

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Transcript3 lines

[00:00]
A
Foreign Good morning sower nation. Good Saturday to you. It is March 28th in the year of our Lord 2026. I'm John David Walt and this is your wake up call. Delighted to be here today. We got a meeting with Jesus queued up. He's here. He's waiting for us to say we're consecration time. So how about we just dive right in? Wake up sleeper. Rise from the dead and Christ will shine on you. Jesus, I belong to you. I lift up my heart to you. I set my mind on you. I fix my eyes on you. I offer my body to you as a living sacrifice. Jesus, we belong to you. And we're praying in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen. You ever realize that when you're praying that prayer of consecration that you're actually doing it? I mean, if you're really engaged and not just kind of mouthing the words, which we all do from time to time, but those are good words to mouth. But if you're really engaged, you're actually doing the thing it says you're lifting your heart, you're setting your mind, you're fixing your eyes, you're offering your body. And that's just mean it to him, unto him. We're orienting our life unto him for this day ahead. Hey, by the way, if you'll watch back here. Wake up call listener from Gillette. Did you see the sign there on air? It's remote control. They gave it to me. So thank you, Laura Beth, for that. Anyway, we gotta get, we gotta roll. Hey, it's. We're only two minutes, almost three minutes in. We've already done the consecration prayer. We're ready to dive into the entry, guys. It's gonna be a good Saturday. Today's entry is entitled, what is this change and how do I Participate? Man, I hope people aren't taking Saturdays off on the wake up call. We're getting down into the heart of this thing. Our text today, John, chapter five, verses one through six. Hear now the word of the Lord. Sometime later, Jesus went up to Jerusalem for one of the Jewish festivals. Now there is in Jerusalem, near the Sheep Gate, a pool which in Aramaic is called Bethesda and which is surrounded by five covered colonnades. Here a great number of disabled people used to lie. The blind, the lame, the paralyzed. One who was there had been an invalid for 38 years. 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 the word of the Lord. Now consider this Transformational question number two is now in play. Do I really want to change? It reminds me of that day with Jesus at the pool of Siloam, Bethesda. You read the story, you heard it just now. The man had been out of commission for 38 years, lost to his life, languishing and hopeless. But here he was. He was there that day. And one gets the sense he had been there for many days before. Can we just surmise his answer to transformational question number one? Am I growing? Was a resounding no. Notice how Jesus goes straight for transformational question number two? Do you want to get well? Something tells me no one had ever asked him this question. I'm sure people had told him to own his life or to get a job or to take his medicine or lose weight. And a hundred other helpful pro tips that never work. With six piercing words, Jesus cut through the layers of disability and diagnosed the deeper sickness, his abdication of responsibility. Look at his answer, sir. The invalid replied, I have no one to help me into the pool. When the water is stirred while I am trying to get in, someone else goes down ahead of me. He had his reasons. We all do. Our seeming intractable situations and conditions are usually someone else's fault, right? Even so, we retain responsibility, which is another way of saying the ability to respond. What we need is what Jesus brings. Revelation. Indeed, it is who he is. We need to encounter him face to face, heart to heart, and hear his question to to us, do you want to get well? When we hear this revealed question from Jesus, we must ask ourselves the deeper question, do I really want to change? This question cuts through all the tired emotional eddies of our inner brokenness, piercing the veil of our latent victimhood and repairs the damaged nerve of our reluctance to repent. Jesus knows the issue is at the level of our will. He wants to access our volition. Do I really want to change? And we haven't even talked about what the change is yet. This question goes deeper than that. It is about recovering our response ability. This is the crucible question where we begin the transformational exchange of our will for the good, pleasing and perfect will of God. You can see Romans 12:2. For that, let's pray. Our Father, thank you for your son Jesus and Lord Jesus. We know we need to change, but that isn't the question. We are not certain we really want to change. We can honestly say maybe that we want to want to change. Just thank you for accepting us as we are and not as we think we should be come Holy Spirit, and crystallize and deepen our desire to change. We're praying in Jesus name. Amen. Our journal prompts today, how do you reflect on these three words? It'd be good just to write the words down and reflect on each one. Really want change. And I want to ask this one, when is the last time you asked yourself, what do you really want? What do you really want? I know this is. This is challenging just on a couple of fronts at least. Well, first off, I do want to just back myself up a little bit. And I was prompted as I was going through this today when I said. When I referenced the man by the pool, the invalid, the disabled man, when I said, can we just surmise his answer to transformational question one, Am I growing? Was a resounding no. I just was kind of pricked my conscience as I said that. I don't want to reflect on. On disabled people in a general way to suggest that they're not growing. That's. That's not what I mean to do there. So if I caused offense, I apologize for it. And I can understand how just casual reading of that would evoke potential offense. I think, you know, where I'm getting at is I'm basing that response that the guy was not growing. Not on the basis that people who are suffering such disabilities aren't in fact growing. They're probably growing more than the rest of us in most cases or many cases. But this man had become a victim. I think that's the point. He had become a person who had really let go of his ability to respond. And that's the thing. A disability doesn't rob you of ability. It hinders you in certain profound ways, but it cannot steal your response ability, your ability to respond. Anyway, I think you get my point there. The two things I wanted to reflect on briefly is the notion of. Of the difference between needing and wanting. You know, we all know we need to change. I know I need to change. I could. I go over it and over it and over, but that doesn't ever get anywhere. Jesus says. He didn't say, do you. Do you really. Do you need to get well? He said, do you want to get well? Because with wellness comes a whole nother set of responsibilities and actually a whole nother set of problems, good problems. But you break free from the rut, the trap, the prison that oftentimes something bad happening to you can deal you. I get that so much. It. You just develop this grooved pattern of responding in a way that's not really responding. It's just a rutted reaction. And you just begin to accept not only the outward condition, but the inward reality that it has produced in you. And your handicap goes from being an external something, maybe that happened to you, to something that has planted itself in you. And it's. It's really handicapping a disability. It's creating in the soul. And this is where it requires will, volition, desire, want. You've got to. You know, it's just so easy. Even in our relationship with God, we can say, you know, I pray and I pray, but nobody's really hearing my prayers, or I'm not. Nobody will help me get in the pool. It's just. I remember reading lately an Oswald Chambers insight where he says he, God gives us grace. It's something like, he doesn't give us grace so we can overcome. He gives us grace as we overcome that. That there's a certain responsibility that we carry that we can actually begin to. And want. Desire, volition. That's it. It's coming clear. Like I want. Jesus asked that man by the side of the road, what do you want me to do for you? Remember what he said? I want to see. There's just so much about that direct relationship with him. Telling him what. What we want, not what we need. And the most important thing to tell him, I want you. He knows we need him. He wants to know and probably wonders, do we want him? And then the whole notion of the word change. Do you really want to change? Do I really want to change? And I was just thinking about how we don't really. Everybody wants to move. They want to make movements. They want movement in their life. But movement does require change. And so maybe if we could connect the whole concept of change to moving, to getting somewhere, it might make it a little bit more desirable to us because nobody really likes change. And I don't know. I think you get my point here. Today we got to sing. Okay, It's Saturday. We're going to finish the race on, Come on, our medley. Come Ye sinners, poor and needy Joined with oh, the deep, deep love of Jesus. We're going to sing verse four of 502. Come ye sinners, verse four. We're going to sing verse four, then we're going to cut over to 121 and going to sing. We'll go back to verse one again in a chorus and close out. Are you ready?
[16:26]
B
Let not conscience make you linger Nor of fitness fondly dream all the fitness he requireth is to feel your need of him. I will arise and go to Jesus. He will embrace me in his arms, in the arms of my dear Savior. Oh, there are 10,000 charms and O the deep, deep love of Jesus. Love vast, unmeasured, boundless, free, Rolling as a mighty ocean in its fullness over me, underneath me, all around me is the current of thy love leading onward, leading homeward to my glorious rest above. And I love you, Lord, and I lift my voice to worship you, O my soul, rejoice, Take joy, my king, in what you hear and may be a sweet, sweet sound in your ear.
[18:53]
A
Amen. Well, tomorrow is Sunday, and in our reading we meet for the during Lent, we just meet on Sunday morning for a brief time together. I call it the pregame. The pregame warmup for church. And we're going to read this text. I'm going to read the whole of John 5 that story. Because one thing we didn't deal with in today's entry is what happened to the man who'd been there at that place for so long, stuck. So lot to say about this, and I've said enough. It's Saturday. It's time to get your seeds. Gonna see some different fields today. Be ready to sow goodness, love, encouragement, hope, counsel, wisdom. Be ready. Jesus is in you. He wants to move through you. That's why we say, wake up, rise up, shine on. That's the word of God. Okay. For The Awakening. I'm J.D. wall. I'll see you on the.