I heard a story about a dude who brought a friend to church who only typically attended twice a year: on Christmas and Easter (Chreaster). As they were walking out after the service was over – the pastor was standing at the door shaking everyone’s hands. He grabbed the dude’s friend by the hand and pulled him aside to talk to him.
The Pastor said to him, "Sir, you need to join the Army of the Lord!"
The friend replied, "Pastor, I'm already in the Army of the Lord."
The pastor questioned him, "Well then why do I only see you at Christmas and Easter?
He whispered back, "Because pastor, I'm in the secret service!”
Today, my message is titled, “It’s time to rip the roof off this place!”
Please turn in your Bibles or turn on your Bibles to Luke 5:17. Last week I preached a sermon from Luke 5 about getting Jesus in your boat…and today I’m preaching from Luke 5 again and it’s all about ripping the roof off this place.
I don’t know about you, but I believe in church. I believe in the local church. Even as jacked up as some churches can be (accept for Impact Church, of course)…I strongly believe in the local church. The local church is the greatest promoter of Jesus. It’s the greatest gatherer of Christians...there is not a greater moment in the week where hope is presented globally than on Sunday mornings in churches all across the country! Can you imagine our world without churches? I am convinced local churches are at the very center of God’s plan to redeem and restore this broken, hurting world for Christ.
Churches carry out “the Matthew 28 mandate” to give Jesus and to make disciples…churches fuel a movement of trans¬formation as they bring salvation, grace, healing, and life-change into communities, regions, and the world. It’s churches all over the world that preach the gospel, help the homeless, help the addicts, the broken-hearted,…its churches that offer prayer, hope, marriage restoration, emotional restoration, and spear-head human evils and tragedies such as sex trafficking, aids, poverty and the hugry.
Don’t get me wrong, I think charities are great. And I think Christian charities are even better. But there’s nothing more powerful than the local church throughout our world. There’s nothing like the local church when the local church is working right. When the Holy Spirit is in charge, and when God’s anointing power is on a church, it is the most powerful experience I’ve ever witnessed.
Why is that? Because Jesus is the center of it all. Jesus IS the hope of the world. And the church offers the world JESUS.
In a perfect world, I think people should attend church every week. Every week. Not once a month…not every other week. Every week. Maybe today, you wanna take that challenge. See if you can attend for 52 weeks straight. I believe in church…it offers Jesus, the hope of the world.
Luke 5:17-26
17 One day Jesus was teaching, and Pharisees and teachers of the law were sitting there. They had come from every village of Galilee and from Judea and Jerusalem. And the power of the Lord was with Jesus to heal the sick. 18 Some men came carrying a paralyzed man on a mat and tried to take him into the house to lay him before Jesus. 19 When they could not find a way to do this because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and lowered him on his mat through the tiles into the middle of the crowd, right in front of Jesus.
20 When Jesus saw their faith, he said, “Friend, your sins are forgiven.”
21 The Pharisees and the teachers of the law began thinking to themselves, “Who is this fellow who speaks blasphemy? Who can forgive sins but God alone?”
22 Jesus knew what they were thinking and asked, “Why are you thinking these things in your hearts? 23 Which is easier: to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’? 24 But I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.” So he said to the paralyzed man, “I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home.” 25 Immediately he stood up in front of them, took what he had been lying on and went home praising God. 26 Everyone was amazed and gave praise to God. They were filled with awe and said, “We have seen remarkable things today.”
IMPACT CHURCH, I have been doing some thinking…IT’S TIME TO RIP THE ROOF OFF THIS PLACE! I mean, we’ve been doin’ pretty good…but I’m talkin’ about it’s time as the Beastie Boys said: “to rock this party 8 days a week”.
How do we rip the roof off this place? 3 ways:
1. IT’S TIME TO GET COMPASSIONATE FOR PEOPLE.
This world needs more compassion. We need more compassion. Comapssion is the heart of God.
Luke 5:18, 19: 18 “Some men came carrying a paralyzed man on a mat and tried to take him into the house to lay him before Jesus. 19 When they could not find a way to do this because of the crowd,”
Why did they do this? Compassion. Comassion is what drove these men to help their friend who was paralyzed. Compassion. Do you have compassion for people today? Jesus was preaching. Healing. The place was packed out. There was no room. They tried to walk into the building…but it was standing room only. But that didn’t stop them. They knew that if they could just get their friend in front of Jesus – it would be life-changing!
In Bible times, houses were built of stone and had flat roofs made of mud mixed with straw. Outside stairways led to the roof. These men had to carry their buddy up the stairs. To the roof where they took apart as much of the mud and straw mixture as was necessary to lower their friend down in front of Jesus.
They didn’t have to do that. They could have said, “well man, I’m so sorry, it’s packed.” They could have left. They could have said “maybe next time”. But they didn’t. They carried their buddy up the stairs and lowered him down through the roof.
* Interesting point in this story. It wasn’t the paralytic man’s faith that impressed Jesus – but the faith of his friends.
20 When Jesus saw their faith, he said, “Friend, your sins are forgiven.”
Jesus responded to their faith and healed the man. For better or worse – our faith IMPACTS the lives of others. Your faith can lead someone to Jesus. You faith can grow someone in Jesus. Faith is contagious. I became a man of faith because of people around me who showed me faith.
We need to be compassionate for people and have faith for others.
What’s your campssion look like?
“Pray that God will give us an opportunity to tell people his message.” Colossians 4:3 (NCV)
“We should all be concerned about our neighbor and the good things that will build his faith.” Romans 15:2 (GW)
#1 – COMPASSION.
2. IT’S TIME TO COOPERATE WITH PEOPLE.
Clearly, these men had to cooperate with one another. Have you ever carried a man up a flight of stairs and lowerd him down through the roof. I haven’t. But that’d take some cooperation. Some unity! That’s working together!
When they could not find a way to do this because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and lowered him on his mate through the tiles into the middle of the crowd, right in front of Jesus.”
Luke 5:19 (NIV)
I regret to say that one of the greatest things working against the church is the disunity of the church. Not impact church…but the global church at large. Disunity is destructive.
Jesus said in John 17:33:
“I in them and you in me. May they be brought to complete unity (WHY) to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.” John 17:33 (NIV)
Unity is an essential component in letting the world know about Christ.
The birth of the early church in Acts 2:1 could have never happened if the 120 weren’t in unity. The Bible says there were all in “one accord”…not a Honda accord…They didn’t have Honda Accord chariots or wagons back then. BUT one accord…in full unity. Complete cooperation.
I put a few key words that come to my mind when I think of the word cooperation.
Unity: Unite. Join. Align. Support. Encourage. Edify.
Why does it seem like it’s soooo hard to edify…to build up…to lift up…to ecourage??? It’s easier to tear down than build up. It’s easier to put down and destroy than to build up and lift up.
It’s like the story I heard about a woman standing in front of the mirror and telling to her husband, “I can’t believe this…I am so out of shape, I’m old, wrinkled, my hair is gray and I am no longer pretty.” She looks at her husband, “Honey, I need a romantic compliment.” Her husband replies…. “OOOH baby, it’s ok, your eyesight is still INCREDIBLE!!!”
It’s so easy to tear down.
We need to encourage. edify, build up. Stop being so critical…so judgemental.
Casting judgments and criticical hearts cause disunity and they are destructive and toxic.
Don’t be critical…don’t be judgemental. (Turn to the person next to you and tell them “don’t judge me bro”)
Someone came up to me recently…someone who is probably a relative of Jesus. They were raised in the church and even in the Bible belt. They come to Impact which is in Scottsdale, Arizona…which, by the way, Arizona ranked as one of the least churched states in the country. Not exactly the buckle of the Bible belt…person comes up to me all freaked out and says, “Pastor Travis, I couldn’t believe my eyes and I thought you should know one of your volunteers was out front smoking!”
I said, “What were they smoking?”. They said, “They were smoking cigarettes”. I said, “Praise God, that’s amazing, that is such tremendous progress. “You should have seen what they were smoking before they were volunteers!”
Listen…for those of you who smoke. I don’t believe smokers will go to hell. I just believe they’ll get to heaven a whole lot quicker than the rest of us!
Don’t judge. Don’t be critical. If you only look at the external you may never get to know the internal. You could misjudge someone. A guy might have long hair, or a Mohawk, or a feaux hawk or a bro hawk! Who cares! Look at that girl…did you see what she was wearing…she shouldn’t be wearing those clothes! Hey, she has clothes on!!! It’s a huge improvement…she’s doing better. Pray for her…encourage her…maybe you need to buy her a sweater or something!!!
Never judge someone by where they are…but where they come from. You have no idea the progress in someone’s life.
I can’t believe your lead guitarist is all tatted up!? ---- What’s wrong with a tattoo? Some people say the Bible says don’t get tattoo. That’s not what the Bible says…
The Bible says:
If you’re a priest…from the line of Arab…and a team member of the sacred order…then you shouldn’t get a tattoo that identifies you as a member of another religion that worships a false god.
So if that’s you…you’re right…you shouldn’t get a tattoo….but everyone else – whatever! Go get an impact church tattoo! A jesus tattoo!
Stop judging! Stop being critical.
1 Samuel 16:7
7 But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.”
Get your mind off of other people and put it back on yourself. For evey finger you point – there are 3 pointing back at you!
Unify. I say, get in or get out of the way. Stop rockin and start rowin. Cooperate.
Love. Pray For. Be Inolved. Listen. Learn. Unite. Join. Align. Support. Encourage. Edify.
3. IT’S TIME TO BE COMMITED TO PEOPLE.
Again, I am amazed at the commitment of the paralytic man’s friends. They could have given up. They could have stopped at the logistics of the scenario. The difficulties of the scenario. It’s too full. There’s no way.
Maybe some of you have done that. You have a friend, a coworker, a neighbor, a family member…you say, “There’s no way they’ll come to church. I could NEVER see that happening! Why not? Don’t give up trying?
How many of you in here today were “that person”. You were the person that would have never been caught dead in church even at your own funeral?! But not you’re in church…and it’s not your funeral!
Stay commited.
You guys are amazing at inviting friends and family!
By the way…Did you the number 1 reason people try a church is because a friend invites them. Not a flyer in the mail. Not a tv show…not google. A friend invites them. The number 1 reason people stay at a church is because their friends are there. Not the music. Not the preaching. Not the kid’s promramming. Don’t get me wrong – those are all great. But it’s friends.
A survey study showed that 96% of all unchurched people would go to church if they were simply invited.
One of the things I’ve noticed at Impact is we are good inviters. I love that! I have even had people tell me, “Pastor Trav, one of that things we love about our church is it’s an easy invite.”
And that’s your job this week. To get at least one friend here and lets rip the roof off this place. Bring one friend…in the presence of God. BRING ONE FRIEND. That’s your job. We don’t even care if you bring your offering…just bring a friend! (Pastor Andre shouts – “YES WE DO!”)
I promise the service will be off-the-chain amazing! We will have our hottest songs – from “The People’s Choice” survey. I will try to preach the paint off the walls with a “People’s Choice” sermon.
Let’s rip the roof off this place!
There are four things that really stand out to me in Luke 5 about these guys being committed and bringing their friend to Jesus:
• They went out of their way.
• They were persistent.
• They took a risk.
• They carried the weight.
When’s the last time you went out of your way to invite someone to church. To get them into the presence of God? When’s the last time you were persistent? When’s the last time you took a risk for someone else? When’s the last time you carried the burden of someone else and laid it before Jesus?
