Come To Church And Come To Christ

The Day the Roof Caved In Mark 2:1-12

Matthew 22 talks about the Master giving an invitation for to all to come to a great supper. They responded with excuses. One excuse is just as bad as another, but one that I have heard many times is this, "If I ever stepped foot in the church, the roof would cave in!"

What about these….

10. I don't know anybody or what to do.

9. I don't believe in God.

8. There are so many denominations.

7. There are so many churches.

6. Church is for "good" people, not me.

5. Church is not important.

4. I don't need to go to church.

3. I don't have nice clothes to wear.

2. Sunday is my “sleep late day”.

1. People in churches are hypocrites.

The real question isn't why don't people come to church, but rather, why don't people come to Christ? Read text: Mark 2:1-12

Mark 2:1-12 And again he entered into Capernaum after some days; and it was noised that he was in the house. And straightway many were gathered together, insomuch that there was no room to receive them, no, not so much as about the door:

and he preached the word unto them. And they come unto him, bringing one sick of the palsy, which was borne of four. And when they could not come nigh unto him for the press, they uncovered the roof where he was: and when they had broken it up, they let down the bed wherein the sick of the palsy lay. When Jesus saw their faith, he said unto the sick of the palsy, Son, thy sins be forgiven thee. But there were certain of the scribes sitting there, and reasoning in their hearts, Why doth this man thus speak blasphemies? who can forgive sins but God only?

And immediately when Jesus perceived in his spirit that they reasoned within themselves, he said unto them, Why reason ye these things in your hearts? Whether is it easier

to say to the sick of the palsy, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Arise, and take up thy bed, and walk? But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins, (he saith to the sick of the palsy,) I say unto thee, Arise, and take up thy bed, and go thy way into thine house. And immediately he arose, took up the bed,

and went forth before them all; insomuch that they were all amazed, and glorified God, saying, We never saw it on this fashion.

So, why don't people come to Christ?

I. Not Everyone Has Friends That Will Help

A. There was the helpless man.

1. He couldn’t do anything to help himself.

2. He couldn’t get to Jesus on his own.

3. He needed somebody to help him to get to the only One that could help him, Jesus.

(Rom 3:10) "As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:"

(Rom 3:23) "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;"

(Acts 8:30-31) "And Philip ran thither to him, and heard him read the prophet Esaias, and said, Understandest thou what thou readest? {31} And he said, How can I, except some man should guide me? And he desired Philip that he come up and sit with him."

B. There were those who were willing to help.

1. These men had great concern for their friend. The concern that they had was seen

in their action. They didn’t just talk about it. They did something about it.

Do we have concern for the lost? Do we care about those who are dying without a personal relationship with Jesus, on their way to hell ?

2. They had cooperation. They worked together to get the job done. It took four people to bring that man to Christ,

each one had to carry a corner of that bed.

They decided what each one needed to do.

The work of bringing others to Christ, requires cooperation.

Will we work together to reach our community…our world for Christ?

3. The third thing we see is commitment.

These four men didn’t quit when they got to the house. They did not see the crowd and decide to give up. They didn't leave the man outside and tell him that was the best they could do. They were committed to bringing him to Jesus, that was his only hope!

Are we committed to doing whatever it takes to bring others to Christ? Their eternity depends upon our commitment!

4. The fourth thing they had was confidence.

These men knew that Jesus could heal there friend. They knew that Jesus had the answer to their friend’s problem. That it was Jesus and Jesus alone who could help them.