Four Of Kind Always Beats A Full House

WHAT MANY IN THE BIBLE HAD TEN LEGS BUT USED ONLY EIGHT OF THEM?

He is the man in our text this morning. It is the man five times that our Bible calls “sick of the palsy.”

He was carried by four men to the feet of Jesus. Nothing could daunt these four men who were determined to get their friend to Jesus.

This man was saved through the efforts of four men. He was not only borne by them, but he was born through them as we shall see.

I. THE MAN WITH PROBLEMS

The man’s problem was two-fold.

This man had been stricken with the palsy, a disease

that causes paralysis and severe shaking of the body. It is a

disease that causes the muscles to lose their tone. This man

was stricken with palsy as the Bible tells us five times in our

text.

This man was crippled and bedridden. He was without hope.

A. Like all men this man was crippled

with sin spiritually

All men since Adam are born spiritually crippled by sin. When a newborn baby is born and brought to church you will hear things such as, "He’s so cute," "Isn’t he adorable," and such like. But the truth is every baby is born deformed......born with a depraved heart that will lead to hell unless they get saved.

B. Like some men this man was crippled

by sin physically

It does seem from the context of this story that this man’s sickness was the result of some past sin. Now this is not to say that everyone physical illness is because of their sin.

However, the bottom line is sin has consequences. Ask the drunk whose liver is shot and home is wrecked. Ask the smoker who is dying from cancer. Ask the prostitute who is dying with AIDS.

This man desired to be set free from this crippling disease.

He was helpless and hopeless without a miracle.

II. THE MEN WITH PERSERVANCE

This man could not walk. He could not get around on

his own.

"they brought to him a man sick of the palsy, lying on a bed."

Mark informs us that this man sick of the palsy had four friends who were responsible for bringing him to Jesus. The truth is most people will not come to Jesus unless we bring them.

The emphasis in this miracle was not on the full house but on the four of a kind.

A. The difficulties these men encountered

These men had a difficult time trying to get this man to Jesus. Mark tells us that they could not come nigh to Jesus for the press of people.

It is not the atheist, the agnostics, or even the humanist who are the greatest hinderers to the progress of the gospel.

If you ever attempt to get your friends and family to Jesus, you will face difficulties. The devil will do all he can to stop you.

But these four of kind shared the difficulties together.

B. The determination these men exhibited

They were not going to be denied. They were not going to fail. The crowd momentarily challenged them, but they were determined to find a way to get their friend to Jesus.

A drill officer was putting his men through some exercises. “Lie on your backs,” he barked. “Raise your legs. Now move then as riding a bicycle.”

However, there was one man who held his legs motionless, “What the big ideal?” asked the drill officer.

“I am coasting downhill,” answered the man. There are far too many like that today in the church.

Houses had flat roofs, and it would not be difficult to remove the tiles and grass that comprised the roof and make an opening large enough to fit their friend through on his mat.

However, they were determined because they were fully persuaded that Jesus was the answer to their friend’s need. The reason so often we are not persistence about getting others to Jesus is simply because we are not fully persuaded that Jesus is the only answer.

They did not care what anybody thought about them. Their only thought was this man must get to Jesus.

They went up, and before they let the man down. IF WE WANT TO BRING SOULS TO CHRIST, WE MUST FIRST GO UP TO GOD IN PRAYER AND EXPECTANT FAITH, AND THEN BRING THEM DOWN TO HIS FEET.

Notice that Jesus “saw their faith.” Whose faith? Was it the faith of these 4 men?

Whose faith did Jesus see—the four friends’ or the paralytic’s? “As Abraham’s intercession delivered Lot, as Paul in the shipwreck was the occasion of safety to all the crew, so one man’s faith may bring blessings on another. But if the sick man too had not had faith, he would not have let himself be brought at all, and would certainly not have consented to reach Christ’s presence by so strange and, to him, dangerous a way ...”