Working For The Faith Skylight Company Series

INTRODUCTION

As we follow Jesus through the Gospel According to Mark we come to one of my favorite miracles in the life of Jesus. It’s the story where four men tear up a roof and lower their paralyzed friend until he’s hanging in front of Jesus. These four friends dug a skylight in a house so that they could get their friends to Jesus. But this same skylight allowed Jesus to see these four men. And this unintentional skylight also filled the house with light.

Part of our job as followers of Jesus is to build skylights to bring light to dark places. In this message I’m going to challenge you to apply for a job working in the Faith Skylight Company. I’m actually going to have you fill out a job application.

If you’ve ever had a job interview or filled out an employment application, you know it can be a nerve-racking experience. You can go online and find some humorous statements people made during job interviews. Here are seven of my favorites:

1. “Could I have a cup of coffee? I think I still may be a little drunk from last night.”

2. “I was fired from my last job because they were forcing me to take anger management classes.”

3. “If I get a job offer, how long before I have to take the drug test?”

4. “Can we speed this up? I’ve got to be somewhere else.”

5. “It’s best for your other employees if I don’t work with people.”

6. “I’d prefer to work for a company that is very lax on tardiness.”

7. Provide an emergency contact number: “911”

I seriously doubt any of those applicants got the job. Let’s read about four entrepreneurial friends who started the first faith skylight company two thousand years ago.

Mark 2:1-12. “A few days later, when Jesus again entered Capernaum, the people heard that he had come home. So many gathered that there was no room left, not even outside the door, and he preached the word to them. Some men came, bringing to him a paralytic, carried by four of them. Since they could not get him to Jesus because of the crowd, they made an opening in the roof above Jesus and, after digging through it, lowered the mat the paralyzed man was lying on. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, ‘Son, your sins are forgiven.’ Now some teachers of the law were sitting there, thinking to themselves, ‘Why does this fellow talk like that? He’s blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?’ Immediately Jesus knew in his spirit that this was what they were thinking in their hearts, and he said to them, ‘Why are you thinking these things? Which is easier: to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up, take your mat and walk’? But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins…” He said to the paralytic, ‘I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home.’ He got up, took his mat and walked out in full view of them all. This amazed everyone and they praised God, saying, ‘We have never seen anything like this!’”

This is one of my favorite stories. I have so many questions. I wondered what the homeowner said when he saw his ceiling start crumbling; dirt and dust starts falling on Jesus and on everyone in the room. If I had been the homeowner I would have said, “Hey, who’s going to pay for this damage?” As the four guys keep creating an unintentional skylight I can’t imagine Jesus could keep talking, there was too much distraction. But because He knows all things, He realized what was happening. Perhaps He said something like, “We interrupt this sermon to bring you a paralyzed man. Please direct your attention to what’s left of the ceiling.”

I wonder if the paralyzed man felt any fear from this ordeal of being lowered by ropes to hang in front of Jesus. So, what did you do today? “Oh, I was just hanging around Jesus for a while.”

But I think the main focus of this miracle should be on those four unnamed friends who brought their paralyzed buddy to Jesus. For many years I studied this passage before I saw a key verse. In verse 5 it says, “When Jesus saw THEIR faith…” He saw the faith of those four friends. You may think that faith is invisible, but according to Jesus, faith can be seen. Can Jesus see your faith? Do you have an invisible faith or a visible faith?

These four guys formed the Faith Skylight Company. I think God wants everyone of us to be employed in this company. I’m going to ask you to apply for a position. But first you probably need to know what your job description will be if you work for the Faith Skylight Company. Here it is: Creating skylights so people can meet Jesus.