Rip the roof off (Luke 5:17-20)
Illus: 1
I heard a story about a dude who brought a friend to church who only typically attended twice a year: on Christmas and Easter . 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 a part timer!”
WE DON’T NEED part time CHRISTIANS, WE NEED COMMITED CARING CHRISTIANS TO REACH OUT TO THE LOST
illus 2: THE FOLLOWING IS A TRUE STORY
Every Sunday afternoon, after the morning service at their church, the Pastor and his eleven year old son would go out into their town and hand out Gospel Tracts. This particular Sunday afternoon, as it came time for the Pastor and his son to go to the streets with their tracts, it was very cold outside as well as pouring down rain. The boy bundled up in his warmest and driest clothes and said---"OK dad, I'm ready."
His Pastor dad asked---"Ready for what ?" "Dad, it's time we gather our tracts together and go out." Dad responds, "Son, it's very cold outside and it's pouring down rain." The boy gives his dad a surprised look, asking, "But Dad, aren't people still going to Hell, even though it's raining?"
Dad answers, "Son, I am not going out in this weather." Despondently, the boy asks, "Dad, can I go? Please?" His father hesitated for a moment then said, "Son, you can go. Here's the tracts; be careful son." "Thanks Dad!!!" And with that, he was off and out into the rain. This eleven year old boy walked the streets of the town going door to door and handing everybody he met in the street a Gospel Tract. After two hours of walking in the rain, he was soaking, bone-chilled wet and down to his VERY LAST TRACT. He stopped on a corner and looked for someone to hand a tract to, but the streets were totally deserted.
Then he turned toward the first home he saw and started up the sidewalk to the front door and rang the door bell. He rang the bell, but nobody answered. He rang it again and again, but still no one answered. He waited but still no answer. Finally, this eleven year old trooper turned to leave, but something stopped him. Again, he turned to the door and rang the bell and knocked loudly on the door with his fist. He waited, something holding him there on the front porch. He rang again, and this time the door slowly opened.
Standing in the doorway was a very sad-looking elderly lady. She softly asked, " What can I do for you son?" With radiant eyes and a smile that lit up her world, this little boy said, "Ma'am, I'm sorry if I disturbed you, but I just want to tell you that JESUS REALLY DOES LOVE YOU, and I came to give you my very last Gospel Tract which will tell you all about JESUS and His great LOVE." With that, he handed her his last tract, and turned to leave.
She called to him as he departed. "Thank you, son! And God Bless You!"
Well, the following Sunday morning in church, Pastor Dad was in the pulpit. As the service began, he asked, "Does anybody have a testimony or want to say anything?" Slowly, in the back row of the church, an elderly lady stood to her feet.
As she began to speak, a look of glorious radiance came from her face as she, "No one in this church knows me. I've never been here before. You see, before last Sunday I was not a Christian. My husband passed on some time ago, leaving me totally alone in this world.
Last Sunday, being a particularly cold and rainy day, it was even more so in my heart that I came to the end of the line where I no longer had any hope or will to live. So I took a rope and a chair and ascended the stairway into the attic of my home. I fastened the rope securely to a rafter in the roof, then stood on the chair and fastened the other end of the rope around my neck.
Standing on that chair, so lonely and brokenhearted, I was about to leap off, when suddenly the loud ringing of my doorbell downstairs startled me. I thought, "I'll wait a minute, and whoever it is will go away." I waited and waited, but the ringing doorbell seemed to get louder and more insistent, and then the person ringing also started knocking loudly. I thought to myself again, "Who on earth could this be?! Nobody ever rings my bell or comes to see me." I loosened the rope from my neck and started for the front door, all the while the bell rang louder and louder.
When I opened the door and looked, I could hardly believe my eyes, for there on my front porch was the most radiant and angelic little boy I had ever seen in my life. His SMILE, oh, I could never describe it to you!! And the words that came from his mouth caused my heart, that had long been dead, TO LEAP TO LIFE, as he exclaimed with a cherub-like voice,
"Ma'am, I just came to tell you that JESUS REALLY DOES LOVE YOU." Then he gave me this Gospel Tract that I now hold in my hand. As the little angel disappeared back out into the cold and rain, I closed my door and read slowly every word of this Gospel Tract. Then I went up to my attic to get my rope and chair. I wouldn't be needing them any more. You see, I am now a Happy Child of the KING, and since the address of your church was on the back of this Gospel Tract, I have come here to personally say THANK YOU TO GOD'S LITTLE ANGEL WHO CAME JUST IN THE NICK OF TIME AND, BY SO DOING, SPARED MY SOUL FROM ETERNITY IN HELL."
There were now no dry eyes in the church. And as shouts of praise and honor to THE KING resounded off the very rafters of the building, Pastor Dad descended from the pulpit to the front pew where the little angel was seated. He took his son in his arms and sobbed uncontrollably. Probably no church has had a more glorious moment.There may be SOMEONE reading this who is also going through a dark, cold, lonely time in his or her soul. You may even be a Christian, for we are not without problems, OR you may not yet know THE KING. Whatever the case and whatever the problem or situation you find yourself in, and no matter how DARK it may seem, I want you to know that I just came to tell you that JESUS REALLY DOES LOVE YOU.
TEXT:
Luke 5:17-20
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.”
CHURCH, IT’S TIME TO RIP THE ROOF OFF THIS PLACE!
1. IT’S TIME TO REACH OUT TO THE LOST AND HURTING LIKE THESE 4 MEN DID.
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.
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.
“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
Neighbor’s House on fire
WE NEED TO REACH THE LOST
WE NEED
1. Compassion ( Mirror)
2. Commitment
3. Courage
4. Persistance (Bob)
WE Don’t Need
1. FEAR (Don’s Truck)
2. To be Judgmental
1. Homosexuality
2. Appearance
3. Race
4. Political views
3. Doubt
4. Lack of Endurance
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.
study showed that 96% of all unchurched people would go to church if they were simply invited.
.
Let’s rip the roof off this place!
A/C
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?
