Mark 2:1-12
1And again he entered into Capernaum, after some days; and it was noised that he was in the house.
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.
3 And they come unto him, bringing one sick of the palsy, which was borne of four.
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.
5 When Jesus saw their faith, he said unto the sick of the palsy, Son, thy sins be forgiven thee.
6 But there were certain of the scribes sitting there, and reasoning in their hearts,
7 Why doth this man thus speak blasphemies? who can forgive sins but God only?
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?
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?
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,)
11 I say unto thee, Arise, and take up thy bed, and go thy way into thine house.
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.
I: Introduction:
A. The question is, “How Desperate are we;”
a. Many things cause us to become “Desperate;”
1. Natural disasters cause us to become “desperate;”
1a. Hurricanes like Katrina in 2005, and Ike in 2008 in which 112 people
were killed and 34 are still missing;
2. We all saw desperate times after September 11th, 2001 when the twin towers of New York were struck by terrorist;
1a. As the world watched, policemen, firefighters, and individuals ran
into the burning buildings without a second thought;
2a. The world saw the pictures of people leaping out of windows, 80
stories high, holding hands;
• Then, it happened, the two towers began to collapse, many died trying to reach the helpless;
N> What caused others that were safe to run into buildings that were on
fire, without thinking of themselves;
• Only one thing, “Desperation;”
• Although over 3000 would die that day, thousands were rescued;
B. Desperation means;
a. “Recklessness brought on by great urgency and anxiety;”
1. Recklessness is marked by a lack of thought about danger or possible undesirable consequences;
1b. Desperation causes people to do things, that in ordinary
circumstances they would not do;
Fire fighters rush into a burning building without thinking about the danger;
People jump into freezing rivers to save another, without thinking about the danger;
People Jump from 80 stories high, choosing to die from a fall, than a fire;
N> Desperation moves me out of my comfort zone, into a reckless zone,
where nothing matters, except the task at hand;
II: Scripture says, “That four men were carrying a cripple to Jesus;”
A. But when they got to the house, they could not get to Jesus because
of the press;
a. The door was blocked, and the windows were jammed, because of the press;
1. Do not allow the obstacle to send you home frustrated;
2. There will always be obstacles to overcome;
• People who are desperate will not allow obstacles to stop them;
• Obstacles are just something else I must overcome in the process of doing what needs to be done;
1a. It may be family or friends;
2a. It may be my job;
3a. The biggest obstacle is yourself;
It’s always too tired to pray;
To hungry to fast;
I got to get the kids in the bed, they have school;
I’m too broke to give anymore to God;
I’ve got to do this or that;
N> Desperation will always find a way, even if it means tearing a roof off;
B. Faith is not our problem,
a. We are carrying the need, and we’ve come to Jesus, that’s faith;
1. But we need something that will cause us to become reckless in our walk with God;
1b. The one thing we are lacking is “Desperation;”
b. Desperation, comes when you’ve run out of options;
N> As long as I have other options, Desperation will never reach me;
• A father sees the fire, and here’s the cry of his son, common sense says, don’t go in, but desperation says, I must, no matter what;
• A mother sees her son being dragged into the river by a alligator, common sense says, stay away, but desperation says, fight the animal and save your son;
1. You got to become so desperate with your present situation that something fuels our soul and sets passion on fire and we say,
“I Must;”
1b. The musicians and singers are not responsible for your miracle;
You hold the key to your own miracle right now;
Problem is, most people are satisfied, not desperate;
N> Once a person becomes desperate, nothing can stop them;
• The leper broke the law by coming to Jesus in a crowd of people;
• The Canaanite woman came to Jesus, her daughter was vexed with a devil, she was referred to as a dog,
Jesus said, “it’s not right to give you bread, it belongs to the children,” yet she wouldn’t leave;
• The woman with an issue of blood for 12 years came in the press, which was against the law, and touched Him;
2b. German philosopher Arthur Schopenhaur made this statement;
“The greatest accomplishments are only achieved through a vehement, violent, passionate will. It’s called desperation. It is what separates the contender from the champion, the winner form the loser, the fulfilled from the frustrated.”
N> We need a dimension of desperation like the Canaanite woman had that
will not take no for an answer;
2. It’s the desperate one who goes and acts beyond the boundary of the normal and usual.
1b. Look at a drug user, and what they will do to get another fix;
It’s sad that a drug user will be more desperate than a disciple;
2b. The church needs to become so desperate,
That we are a threat to our neighborhood, a threat to our job, and our family;
N> We’re not lacking desire, we got it, we’re not lacking God’s will, we
got it;
• What we’re lacking is a real desperation that says, “I must touch God!”
N> So the drug user and the alcoholic puts the church to shame;
• Because they will sell all they have to get another fix, go places that endanger their life to get another fix,
• Drink and smoke stuff that is killing their brain cells and body organs to get another high.
3. Desperate people don’t care what others think or say;
1b. Let someone that is desperate sit on your pew, and they will
embarrass the you if your satisfied and content;
4. While you’re trying to have a cute service and your family is visiting, that desperate one, begins to cry out;
1b. Because they have reached a place of desperation;
The marriage is in a mess, their kids are acting nuts,
Their emotions are out of control, lust and envy rules their life;
N> But when you get desperate enough, you’ll do whatever to touch Jesus;
c. Like the woman with the issue of blood;
1. She’s out of money, she’s out of time and she’s out of options;
1b. She’s Desperate;
2. The leper in Matthew 8, is seen running up the hill and his vileness meet Virtue;
1b. Death meets Life, and impurity meets Purity;
N> He took his life in his own hands that day, because he was desperate;
C. As they tore the roof off that day, Jesus saw their faith;
a. This act of desperation, was the unveiling of their faith;
1. No one else in this drama was healed or delivered;
2. Why, because everyone there was satisfied, with the exception of the four;
1c. Be careful who you hang with, satisfied people never receive
miracles;
2c. If you are desperate when you come to church, ask the one you’re
going to sit by, “Are Your Desperate;”
N> Satisfied people never change, never move, and they never worship;
• They sit through every serviced untouched by His presence;
• They can talk, play with babies while God is passing out miracles;
• And if you’re in a desperate situation, you don’t need to sit beside someone who is satisfied and doesn’t care;
b. Your situation demands a reckless action in spite of the critics;
1. This means you may have to act outside your normal self, to get what you need;
1c. But when your desperate, you become reckless in your faith;
2. And like blind Bartimaeus, having been blind for so long;
1c. Heard that Jesus was passing by, cried out for mercy;
3. While others were telling him to hold his peace;
1c. He cried out the more, “Jesus, Thou son of David, have mercy
on me;”
Desperation ignores the one who says, “you don’t have to act that way, be that way;”
N> But when your desperate, you become reckless;
