4 Men Of Great Faith

4 Men of Great Faith

Theme:

Text: Luke 5:17-26

Luk 5:17-26 NKJV Now it happened on a certain day, as He was teaching, that there were Pharisees and teachers of the law sitting by, who had come out of every town of Galilee, Judea, and Jerusalem. And the power of the Lord was present to heal them.

Creating an Atmosphere of Healing

1. Faith

There were times in Jesus ministry when no one was healed because people didn’t have faith.

2. Worship

3. Prayer

4. Persistence

5. Determination

(18)Then behold, men brought on a bed a man who was paralyzed, whom they sought to bring in and lay before Him. (19) And when they could not find how they might bring him in, because of the crowd, they went up on the housetop and let him down with his bed through the tiling into the midst before Jesus.

There was a lot of determination to get this man to Jesus. The Bible doesn’t tell us why these men had so much faith and determination. We are not told of their experience. I just believe that one of two things. 1) either they were healed themselves by Jesus. One could have been the man at the pool in Bethesda. One could have been ole Blind Bartimaeus, one could have been the father of the son whose son was delivered from demons.

You see when God heals you there is something that makes you desire to see others healed.

The second could be they may have been friends of these guys

Third maybe they heard what Jesus had done

I don’t know what it was but they were determined to get him in the presence of the Lord. They were willing to overcome all obstacles.

You see they couldn’t get into the house.

1. the house was an obstacle

I look around this church to make sure that this church is not an obstacle.

2. the people were obstacles

1Co 8:9 NKJV But beware lest somehow this liberty of yours become a stumbling block to those who are weak.

We need to learn to prefer my brother. The best parking place. The best seat in the house. We come too much for our convinces.

Look at the next passage.

(20) When He saw their faith, He said to him, "Man, your sins are forgiven you."

I want you to notice where Jesus begins. This is so important. God begins with your spiritual condition. You may need healing, you may be asking God to heal you but I say you need to get your heart right with God before God will heal you.

So many people have need or jail house religion. When they need God they get all spiritual and holy and churchy but when God answers their prayer, their need then they forget God.

Dr. Benson, my professor at Holmes, used to tell the story of a man who lay on his death bed dying. Dr. Benson would go regularly and pray for this man. He prayed to prayer of faith. He believed. Yet this man had no change. Finally he asked God, “God why won’t you heal this man.” God said if I heal him he will go back and do the same thing he was doing for me.

God healed him but He healed him spiritually.

Isaiah 1:18 the Lord says to Israel.

“Come now, let us reason together, says the Lord. Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool.”

God desires to cleanse us all of our sins. I can’t do that by myself. Only God can forgive sins.

But Ps 32:1-2 says “Blessed is he whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man whose sins the Lord does not count against him.”

(21) And the scribes and the Pharisees began to reason, saying, "Who is this who speaks blasphemies? Who can forgive sins but God alone?"

Who all the scribes and the Pharisees? They were the religious leaders (notice that term “religious leaders”) who, instead of listening to Jesus healing and life changing words were listening for faults.

Just think they had seen many people healed and God was doing miraculous work in their midst yet they are focused on whether or not he was following their theology.

It was like the disciples. One day they ran to Jesus and told Him about another group of people who were doing great things in Jesus name. But, they said, they are not in our group. Jesus said be quiet. If they are against me they are for me. Be careful who you criticize.

(22) But when Jesus perceived their thoughts, He answered and said to them, "Why are you reasoning in your hearts? (23) "Which is easier, to say, ’Your sins are forgiven you,’ or to say, ’Rise up and walk’? (24) "But that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins"; He said to the man who was paralyzed, "I say to you, arise, take up your bed, and go to your house."