Jesus in the House
Text: Mark 2:1-12
1. When Jesus is in the house stuff happens
2. When Jesus is in the house people still need to be brought to Him.
3. When Jesus is in the house it still requires work to get some people to Him.
4. When Jesus is in the house mercy is present.
1. When Jesus is in the House stuff happens.
It was noised abroad (KJV)
When it was noised abroad Jesus was in the house, the place got packed out.
There is no better reputation that a church can have, than Jesus is in the house!
There is no better church growth model than having Jesus in the house!
Some churches want it noised abroad about their facilities.
"" '' '' their wonderful programs
"" " " their great worship team and leader
"" " " their flamboyant preacher
"" " " that they are a friendly church
All these things are good but when a church is known by the presence of the Lord showing up it is better.
Better than a good worship leader or choir.
Better than a preacher whose words drip like honey.
Better than gymnasiums, education wings, and preschool areas.
The reason it is better is because Jesus will change you in ways all those other things can't.
In John 7 the Pharisees and chief priests sent officers to arrest Him. They came back empty handed saying, "Never a man spake as He spake." Can you imaging a police officer telling his sergeant that?
Mary in despair meets Him at the tomb, when her eyes are opened she cries out: "Master, rabboni!" No man can say Jesus is Lord, but by the Spirit of God. When Jesus is in the house people will surrender, they will forgive, they will change, they will repent, they will turn. Lord if I have taken anything, I will pay it back 4 fold.
The next thing that happens in Mk 2 is Matthew (here called Levi) collecting taxes, Jesus walks by and simply says follow me, and immediately he left his career and his money. Jesus in the house will change you!
John 4 - A man who told me everything I did wrong, and then told me I could have a drink of living water.
The number one priority of a church is to welcome, nurture, and concentrate on the presence of the living God being active among us. After we get that right everything else will flow out of it: evangelism, bible teaching and preaching, outreach etc.
Here is the bible verse to prove what I am saying: Mr 12:30 And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: ... to that statement Jesus added this commentary: this [is] the first commandment.
This is the first commandment as in priority. This is job no. 1, this is your most important task, all others are subservient to this one crucial thing.
2. When Jesus is in the house people still need to be brought to Him.
He will draw many personally, but he also requires us to go out and compel them to come in.
There are those who will never know Christ unless we carry the stretcher and bring them to Him.
The man in our story was completely unable to come to Christ. My commentaries say that the Greek words employed indicate he was probably a quadriplegic. He wasn't going anywhere without some help.
(The following story is cited from: Wm. R. White, Stories For The Journey (Minneapolis: Augsburg Publishing House, 1988), pp. 47-49.)
"What is your favorite Bible story, papa?" the little girl asked her father as he tucked her under the sheets.
"Let me see," he said as he sat on the edge of the bed. "There are so many that I love. The story we read tonight at supper of the four men who carried their paralyzed friend to Jesus, lowering him through the roof, is one of my favorites because it reminds me so much of how your uncle Hans was healed."
"I don't know that story," the little girl said hopefully. "Please tell it to me, papa."
"Many years ago," the father began, "Hans and his wife, Enid, escaped the war in Europe so that he could continue his life of teaching in the seminary. At first things were difficult because his English was not good, but soon he became one of our seminary's most beloved teachers. The students loved him because he was warm and gentle and when he spoke the Scriptures came alive.
"Hans and Enid were very much in love. Nearly every day they took long walks together, holding hands. It warmed the hearts of students and faculty alike to see them sitting close to each other in church.
"Then one day Enid died. Hans was struck with sorrow. For weeks he would not eat or take walks. The seminary president, along with three other friends, visited him regularly, but he felt lonely and depressed. He was experiencing the dark night of the soul.
"On one of their visits, Hans said to his friends, 'I am no longer able to pray to God. In fact, I am not certain I believe in God.'
"After a moment of silence, the seminary president said, 'Then we will believe for you. We will make your confession for you. We will pray for you.'
"The other friends looked bewildered by their president's words, but not knowing what else to say, they agreed.
"In the days ahead the four men met daily for prayer. They made confession on behalf of Uncle Hans. They asked God to restore the gift of faith to their dear friend and they continued to visit him in his home.
"Then, after many months, the four men all gathered in Hans's living room. He smiled before he spoke. 'It is no longer necessary for you to pray for me. Today, I would like you to pray with me.'
"The dark night of the soul had passed."
There was a long silence before the little girl spoke. "Uncle Hans was just like the sick man in the story, wasn't he, papa? Only instead of a pallet to carry him to Jesus, his friends used prayer."
The father nodded and kissed his daughter.
Some people are paralyzed by the twists of life, some are paralyzed by abuse at the hands of "religious," people, some are paralyzed by hurts that turn them from God, some are paralyzed by a false religion they were brought up in, some are paralyzed by a lifestyle that keeps them far from God. We cannot expect these people of their own will and strength to come to the house where Jesus is, they need someone to carry them here.
In the two stories I shared today, one man was carried physically, one was carried by prayer, but both needed multiple people to help them. One plants, another waters, God gives the increase.
3. When Jesus is in the house it still requires work to get some people to Him.
There was a weight to be carried.
They had to lug this guy around. Helping people who need Jesus means having to do some uncomfortable things.
There was a way that was blocked
In the church - they had to get around church folk. Why didn't these people make way for the guy on the cot? They were "me," focused? They had little expectation for the sinner on the cot? First come, first serve?
There was a wanting that consumed.
They ignored the blockages, and reasonings that said it was no use they couldn't get near Jesus. They ignored them because they hand an intense longing their friend be healed.
That is a holy longing, and it led to a way that was found. It wasn't conventional, they tore up the house. Sometimes it better to have a tore up house than a lost soul. If God needs to shake things up, so be it.
4. When Jesus is in the house mercy is present.
Turn to your neighbor and say, "There is something better than healing."
In the story in Marks gospel just prior to this, there is a leper who begs Jesus to heal him. He does so by saying, "if You are willing You can make me whole."
Jesus replies, "I will, be made whole." The leprosy instantly left the man, and Jesus charged him, not to tell anyone but go to the priest and keep what the law said should be done.
Instead of obeying the man went everywhere proclaiming Jesus was a healer. His disobedience created problems for Jesus,
Mr 1:45 But he went out, and began to publish [it] much, and to blaze abroad the matter, insomuch that Jesus could no more openly enter into the city, but was without in desert places: and they came to him from every quarter.
I believe the man in Mk 1 was healed, but not forgiven. But the man in Mark 2 gets the whole package, he gets forgiven and healed.
My son your sins are forgiven. Which is easier to say...
I believe this man was paralyzed as a result of some sin. John 9 - no sin. The man at the pool - go and sin no more less something worse befall thee. Some people recoil at the idea sin can cause sickness, really ever heard of cigarettes? Ever heard of paralysis from a drunk driver?
Now here is the awesome good news Jesus can even release you from the earthly consequences of sin.
This story is one of the most important ones in all the NT.
No one can forgive sin but God alone.
I can forgive you, but I can't declare you forgiven. I can release you as concerns me, but I can't release you as concerns God. Jesus can.
Jesus healed the man to prove His authority to forgive, and to prove His divinity.
In healing him, if I am right that he was sick from the consequences of sin, than Jesus also demonstrated His mercy to even remove the earthly consequences of sin.
Sometimes people are in a mess that comes from seeds they have sown. Jesus can free you from that mess.
When Jesus is in the house, mercy is here.
Close: Do you need mercy?
