Desperate Times - Desperate People
I. Hope or No Hope?...
Praise the Lord!
If you have your Bibles turn with me to Mark
chapter 2 this morning.
How many in here this morning knows that we’re
living in desperate times?
We live in a day and time where doom and gloom
are all we seem to hear about on the news
anymore.
When you flip on the T.V. or when you open your
Sunday paper all you seem to hear about is:
Who killed who, or who robbed who. Amen?
In world news you hear of wars and rumors of
wars.
There’s talk of economic crisis and global warming.
There are people losing their retirement due to the
economy,
And the stock market is down.
It’s almost too depressing to even talk about in the
house of God this morning. Amen?
But how many knows that it’s the truth!
We are living in desperate times.
If you don’t believe that then just look around you.
To the naked eye it might look like you’re sitting in
a room full of well dressed people.
To the naked eye it might look like your neighbor’s
got it all together,
But the truth of the matter is that you’re sitting in a
room full of desperate people.
People who feel like, or, at one time or another,
have felt like there’s no hope for them.
Hurting people...People in need of hope and
reassurrance.
People in need of Jesus! ...Desperate people.
Desperate people are a product of desperate times.
You can’t have one without the other.
It’s cause and effect. The times effect the people.
The generation in which you were raised effected
how you were raised. Amen?
The circumstances that you had to face effected
who you’ve become.
You are a product of the times in which you live.
And desperate times produce desperate people.
But the good news is we don’t have to stay
desperate.
The good news is we don’t have to be desperate.
Webster’s defines desperate as being without hope,
But I’m here to tell you this morning,
If you don’t get another thing out of this message...
If you don’t learn anything else while sitting under
this ministry,
take out your pad and your pen this morning and
write in your notebook...
THERE IS HOPE!!!
And His name is Jesus. Amen?
II. Jesus Is In The House...
Mar 2:1 And again he entered into Capernaum after some days; and it was noised that he was in the house.
Mar 2:2 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.
Mar 2:3 And they come unto him, bringing one sick of the palsy, which was borne of four.
Mar 2:4 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.
Mar 2:5 When Jesus saw their faith, he said unto the sick of the palsy, Son, thy sins be forgiven thee.
Mar 2:6 But there were certain of the scribes sitting there, and reasoning in their hearts,
Mar 2:7 Why doth this man thus speak blasphemies? who can forgive sins but God only?
Mar 2:8 And immediately when Jesus perceived in his spirit that they so reasoned within themselves, he said unto them, Why reason ye these things in your hearts?
Mar 2:9 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?
Mar 2:10 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,)
Mar 2:11 I say unto thee, Arise, and take up thy bed, and go thy way into thine house.
Mar 2:12 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.
First of all, I have to start this sermon this morning
by pointing out that in verse one it says
that when it was "noised that Jesus was in the
house" many gathered together, "straitway" or
immediately.
When the people heard that Jesus was in the
house, the house became filled to overflowing in a
short period of time. Amen?
The point is this, Church.
In these desperate times we can have programs on
top of programs, activities on top of activities,
Outreach after outreach,
But if Jesus is not in the midst it doesn’t matter.
If Jesus isn’t in the midst the success of those
programs and activities will be short-lived,
Or they may not even grow at all. Amen?
But if Jesus is in the midst there’s hope.
I believe that what gathers people together is some
sense that when they get there, He will be there.
People want to be in His presence.
Hurting people want to go where they don’t hurt
anymore.
They want to be in the presence of the One who can
make the hurts go away.
Sick people want to be in the presence of the
healer.
People in need want to be close to the One who is
their provision.
So let me assure you this morning.
The wave walker is in the house.
The Chief Shepherd is on the scene.
Present in the building is the King of Kings and
Lord of Lords.
The one who opens up deaf ears, and blind eyes is
here. Amen?
The one that makes the lame walk and the dumb
talk, is in the house this morning.
The hope of all mankind is in this little store front
sanctuary today!
See, if we are going to get a crowd, it is going to be
because we let people know one simple fact.
Jesus is in the house.
You want a fail-safe way to grow this church.
Just let them know that Jesus is here.
I said earlier that we are living in desperate times,
And that we’re surrounded by desperate people.
People who percieve that there’s no hope.
But Jesus is hope and when hope is in the building
soon follows those who are searching for it. Amen?
When Jesus is in the house, desperate people show
up.
And how many knows that desperate people do
desperate things?
The desperate men in our text this morning tore
the roof off of the place searching for hope for their
friend.
Because that’s what desperate people do when
they’re desperate for answers. Amen?
And how many in here this morning knows what
the answer is to all of life’s problems?
In a world that is increasingly searching for
answers we need to let them know the name of the
answer is Jesus Christ.
III. Getting Through These Desperate Times...
This morning I want to look back at the account
given in Mark chapter 2,
And just point out a couple of requirements that I
see that we need to meet if we’re ever going to make
it through these desperate times.
And I just want to exhort and encourage you who
are going through it this morning. Amen?
He want bring you to it if He can’t get you through
it. Amen?
But let me just point a few things that might help
you get through your circumstances a little easier.
1) Desperate times demand unity:
We see in our text this morning a man sick of the
palsy being borne of four. Amen?
How many know’s that being sick of the palsy he
never would have made it into that house that
morning by himself.
He needed help. Amen?
He couldn’t walk into that house that day let alone
climb up and tear off the roof.
He needed the aid given to him by these four men,
And how many knows that it took all four of them
working together to get the job done to get this man
to Jesus.
Just as I picture them working together to get this
man into the building,
I begin to think of firefighters working together and
endangering themselves to get people out of a
burning building,
And then I can’t help but see the parallell with the
church.
Just as firemen work to save people from buildings
that are engulfed in flames,
So are we as Christians commissioned to try and
rescue desperate people from a world that’s soon to
be consumed by flames.
It is our job to work together to help rescue them
from a burning hell. Amen?
And that’ll preach right there.
I could stop right there and preach on our
commission,
but I want to point out something else this
morning.
I want to point out the fact that these four men
worked together to help this man!
Fire fighters work together to help people and to
help each other.
The church needs to be working together!
There needs to be unity in the church. Amen?
Desperate times calls for desperate people to unite.
We must stay unified if we are going to get the job
done that Jesus wants us to do.
We need to be unified in our commission to reach
the lost,
But we also need to be unified in our commission
to help one another.
We need to quit tearing one another down and start
building one another up.
We need to quit fighting one another and join
forces against the enemy. Amen?
We need to look out for each other.
We need to love each other.
We need to pray for each other.
We need to encourage each other.
We need to strengthen each other.
Gal 6:2 says we should...Bear one another’s
burdens...
Yet we’re just worried about ourselves.
We often quote Hebrews 10:25 to try to get people
to come to church.
We tell them forsake not the assembling of
yourselves together with other saints,
But we leave off the reason why we come together.
Heb 10:25 Not forsaking the assembling of
ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.
We are to exhort one another not gossip about each
other.
We are to encourage each other not discourage
each other.
Pro 27:17 Iron sharpeneth iron; so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend.
God is calling for the church to pull together in
these desperate times.
And the more desperate the times the closer we
need to be. Amen?
We need to set aside our pettiness!
Unity means setting aside pettiness.
The times are too desperate, the need is too great,
for us to focus on petty things.
It is not time for us to be at each others throats.
It is not time for us to be nit picking each other to
death.
It is not time to be focused on everything that is
negative.
It is time for us to lay aside pettiness and move
forward in the kingdom of God.
You say well Pastor that calls for drastic measures
to be taken. Amen?
Well desperate times call for desperate measures.
2) Desperate Times require Desperate Measures
It is not time to play around.
Play time is over!!!
Notice what these men did.
When they couldn’t get to Jesus through the door.
They climbed on top of the roof and began tearing a
hole in it.
I mean, imagine the scene.
Jesus is talking to the crowd, and all of the sudden,
dirt and dust begins to fall from the ceiling.
Pretty soon, arms began to reach down and then
you see a man on a pallet being let down into the
room.
Church this tells me that we must seek God like
never before.
When we come to church, we must Touch HIM.
Those men could have said it is too difficult today
we’ll come back tommorrow.
They could’ve come up with a number of excuses,
but they didn’t.
They sought God and were rewarded!
Because Heb 11:6 says... that he is a rewarder of
them that diligently seek him.
We cannot afford to come to church and allow
distractions to keep us from touching Jesus.
But that’s what some of us do!
We say I can’t worship because.....
It is too hot, It is too cold
It is too loud, It is too quiet
I don’t like the person sitting next too me,
I’m mad because so and so didn’t sit next to me,
I’m mad because somebody sat in my spot,
I had a bad week, I had a bad year, I had a bad
lifetime!!!
Well I’ll tell you like my daughter tells me when I
say something that just doesn’t make sense...
"Whatever"...
What I’m trying to say is those are all excuses, and
excuses are like feet.
Everybody’s got them, and they all stink!
We need to worship like never before.
We need to pray around these altars like never
before.
We need to bring people with us to church like
never before.
Notice what it says in verse five, "And when Jesus
saw their faith".
In other words, not when he saw the faith of the
sick man,
but when he saw the faith of the bearers,
he said unto the man sick of the palsy, "Son, thy
sins be forgiven thee."
We need to desperately understand this.
God isn’t waiting for the faith of Wilmington to
increase before he moves.
He is waiting for the faith of his people to increase.
He is waiting for the faith of this church to
increase.
He is waiting for prayer warriors and intercessors
to step up for this city, this country, and this world!
And then he will move.
He’s waiting for some participators not spectators.
Mar 2:6 But there were certain of the scribes sitting there, and reasoning in their hearts,
Notice what it says, they were "sitting there."
I have never figured out why those that do nothing
feel qualified to judge those that do.
Psa 1:1 Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.
Isn’t it amazing how the scornful are always
"sitting around."
Theodore Roosevelt once said:
It is not the critic who counts, not the man who
points out how the strong man stumbled or where
the doer of deeds could have done better.
The credit belongs to the man who is actually in
the arena;
whose face is marred by dust and sweat and
blood;
who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short
again and again;
who knows the great enthusiasms, the great
devotions, and spends himself in a worthy cause;
who, at the best, knows in the end the triumph of
high achievement;
and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least fails
while daring greatly,
so that his place shall never be with those cold and
timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.
Church, we are in desperate times.
We may have to take some risks.
Both as a body and as individuals.
We may have to take the chance that somebody is
going to reject us.
We may have to take the chance that we may fail.
We may have to take the chance of looking foolish.
But we must try to reach this generation.
IV. High Fashion (Conclusion)...
Our text this morning says that the faith, and work,
and unity, and desperate measures that these men
took for their friend was rewarded.
They were victorious!
And in the end they were all amazed and glorified
God!
And they said "We never saw it on this fashion."
Well Church we need to be prepared to make a
fashion statement this morning! Amen?
When it’s out of style by worldly standards to
follow after hope we need to become trend setters.
When it’s in style to worry about oneself and no
one else,
We need to be prepared to clothe ourselves in
unity.
We need to be clothed in His righteousness,
And a zeal to do that which is acceptable to Him.
When people see you they need to say I never seen
someone behave in such a fashion,
And we need to conduct ourselves in a way that
brings God glory. Amen?
(ALTER CALL)
