Getting People To Jesus

* In Mark chapter 3, we read how four men brought their friend to Jesus for healing. [Review the story]

* In studying this story, we can learn some helpful lessons about how to bring a sinner to Jesus.

** Let me teach you 6 steps it took to get a sinner to Jesus:

1) The sick man had a disease untreatable by man.

* The sick man in Mark 2 had a disease called palsy. Many infirmities were included under the general name of palsy in the New Testament:

1. The paralytic shock, affects the whole body.

2. hemiplegia, affecting only one side of the body.

3. The paraplegia, affecting all the systems below the neck.

4. The catalepsy. This is caused by a contraction of the muscles in the whole or a part of the body and is very dangerous.

5. The cramp.

* The sick man had sought medical attention, but no man could help him. His disease was untreatable.

* Sin is a terrible, deadly disease inherited by every man, woman and child.

SEE Romans 3:9-19

James 1:14, 15 “But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.”

• Sin wrecks marriages.

• It splits churches.

• It destroys nations.

• It hurts children.

• It blackens the conscience.

• It corrupts the mind.

• It warps the thinking.

• It kills the body.

• It damns the soul.

2) The sick man’s only hope was to get to Jesus.

* The only hope that the man had of being healed was for him to get to the Lord Jesus Christ, the Great Physician.

* The only hope for the sinner to be cured of the disease of sin is for him to get to the Lord Jesus:

John 14:6 “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”

3) The sick man couldn’t get to Jesus on his own.

* The sick man did not have the physical strength to get to Jesus. He couldn’t make it on his own, even though he wanted to. He needed someone to HELP him get to Jesus.

* We live in a world full of sinners who cannot get to Jesus unless some caring Christian shows them how from the Word of God.

ILL – The Ethiopian eunuch. See Acts 8:29-35.

See Romans 10:12-14

4) The sick man’s friends cared about him and wanted him healed.

* It took a lot of dedication and hard work for the four friends to get their sick friend to Jesus. Why go to all the trouble? They cared about their sick friend; they wanted him to get well.

* If you care about lost sinners, you will want to get them to Jesus so that they can be saved.

Jude 22, 23 “And of some have compassion, making a difference: And others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire; hating even the garment spotted by the flesh.”

ILL – If you saw a house burning and knew that a family was trapped in there, wouldn’t you want to get them out? Surely you would not just walk past and not even call the Fire Brigade?

* Being a witness is just the DECENT thing to do.

5) The friends tried to get the sick man to Jesus, but they encountered obstacles.

* When the four men took their sick friend on a couch to see Jesus, they found that they couldn’t get in because of the crowd. Rather than just give up, they climbed on the roof, broke up part of the roof tiles, and let the sick man in through the ceiling. That’s what you call DETERMINATION.

* It isn’t easy winning souls to Jesus Christ; there are many obstacles:

• The obstacle of mistrust

• The obstacle of atheism

• The obstacle of misunderstanding

• The obstacle of agnosticism

• The obstacle of religion

• The obstacle of pride

• The obstacle of money

• The obstacle of tradition

* We need DETERMINATION to overcome these obstacles and win lost souls to Jesus.

SEE Matthew 19:23-26

6) The sick man was healed because of the love and faith of his friends.

* If it were not for his friends, that man would have died without being healed. I’m sure he appreciated the love and faith of his friends.

* People will get saved if you will persevere with faith and love. It will be worth all your hard work.

Conclusion:

SEE Mark 2:5 – the man got healed because of the faith of his four friends.

• Do you want to bring sinners to Jesus?