Crazy Faith
Mark chapter 2:1-12
Introduction- Good morning everyone, welcome to Rosedale Church… We are glad you’re here.
What if a couple minutes with the Lord could change your life- would you take time to do it? Believe it or not some would say no or they would say yes and come up with a millions reasons why it didn’t happen.
Christians say you have to have faith… but I look at some people’s faith and I say I don’t want it. It is not worth anything to me! Because they only have it when it is convenient. Right?
Faith is a funny thing-
You really don’t know how much faith you have until it is tested.
We can say we have faith but until you put it into practice, you are not sure how much you have.
Example… you tell others how they should act when they are going through hard times, you tell others that they must trust the Lord and then what do you do when you go through some tough times?
Faith to me is an action word.
“Faith is the substance of things hoped for but the evidence of things unseen.”
If you can see it, it is not faith. Faith operates on what you know to be true not what you always see
Our text this morning is a faith building text- You can see it and you want to have it!
Prayer-
Mark 2, the text will lead you. 2nd book in the NT.
Mark 1 Jesus calls his disciples.
He cast out demons and heals many people.
Chapter two Jesus does and says something He has not done or said before. He forgives sin!
Some loved it and some were beginning to hate Him and want to get rid of Him.
He was beginning to step on toes.
You can say a lot of things about Jesus but He was not afraid to step on toes and He was not afraid to let people know who He was.
Mark 2:1-12 Read from Bible
Jesus was in Capernaum and the crowd that was following had pushed their way to Peter’s house. It was crowded. Shoulder to shoulder and there was no room for anyone to move. The house was full and people were outside packed like sardines.
We are told that Jesus preached the word to them.
For those who get claustrophobic, they would not like it.
Packed house- preachers delight- standing room only
You could not get in if you wanted- in fact we are told that four men who had a friend that was a paralytic tried to get in the front door and weren’t let in.
Picture it “excuse me”, excuse me, we have a friend that we want Jesus to heal. These people looking at them and saying, we have our own problems for Jesus. You should have been here earlier.
When He came to town they ran to see him but these guys couldn’t run to see him because they had their friend in tow on a bed and carried his dead weight to get him to Jesus.
These guys didn’t give up- they couldn’t get him through the door so they made a new door through the roof.
Not unusual to be on the roof during those days.
That roof they broke through was the roof Peter may have been on when they came for him later.
The roof was a place of talking and sitting, they usual had some kind of stairs that lead to the roof.
These guys went up those stairs and cut away a part of the roof that was made of mud and sticks and beams that went across for support they cut between the beams and lowered this guy down to Jesus.
I have been interrupted as a preacher before but no one has ever cut a hole in the roof.
Can you imagine listening to Jesus and parts of the roof start falling on you and the sky light is opened up.
You would think that Jesus would have stopped it but he didn’t.
(V5) “When Jesus saw their faith, he says to the paralytic… son, your sins are forgiven.”
Can I say this before we look at what Jesus did for the paralytic- let’s look at these friends of his!
Who wouldn’t want some crazy friends like this when you were going through something!
Who wouldn’t want friends who wouldn’t give up just because they run into some obstacles?
If that isn’t crazy faith … I don’t know what is.
We are not even told if that guy in the bed was a believer. We know a lot about the four because of their actions. They just didn’t say they were crazy, they did crazy things to get that guy in front of Jesus. They did what it took no matter what because they knew that may have been the last chance for them to meet Jesus.
I have 4 friends like that! My posse, or as I like to call them…my Geritol family. I hope you do too! Friends who would go the extra mile. The ones who won’t quit at first sign of trouble and when the arrows start flying would not run like a coward but would stand in your corner and fight for you.
You don’t have to be crazy to be my friend… I will train you!
Ralph Waldo Emerson
It is one of the blessings of old friends that you can afford to be stupid with them.”
Good friends don’t let you do stupid things…alone.
‘Sometimes me think, ‘What is friend?’ Then me say, ‘Friend is someone to share the last cookie with.’” – Cookie Monster
Unknown
As best friends, always remember that if you fall, I’ll pick you up…after I finish laughing."
If you have four friends like that you are a blessed person.
To have a friend like that you have to be a friend like that.
This day and age we live in it is hard to spend the time required to have a friend like that. They do not happen overnight.
If you have a friend like that and they are believers, they will be the ones dropping you in front of Jesus when you need it and they will do it by any means they have too!
Friends
Michael W, Smith song-
“And friends are friends forever If the Lord's the Lord of them, and a friend will not say never cause the welcome will not end though it's hard to let you go in the Father's hands we know that a lifetime's not too long to live as friends.”
A godly friend speaks truth into your life, even when it is difficult to hear. A true friend loves you and genuinely wants the best for you.
They will tell you both the good and the bad.
They will tell you when you are walking away from the Lord.
How do you build a godly friendship?
Be a Loyal Friend
You show loyalty to your friends by being generous, supportive, honest and trustworthy. The Bible says a good friend will “stick closer than a brother,” (Proverbs 18:24) and a close neighbor (friend) is better when calamity strikes than a brother who is far away (Proverbs 27:10)
1 Thessalonians 5:11
“Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.”
1 Corinthians 15:33
“Do not be misled: “Bad company corrupts good character.”
Colossians 3:13
“Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.”
Jesus desires that we build those kinds of friendships- they are special and they are encouraged by the Lord so that we are not doing things alone on this earth as we journey.
Jesus
Jesus is not mad that they interrupted his preaching because they were living out the gospel in its fullness- bringing people to the feet of Jesus so that they might experience His healing hand both physically and more importantly spiritually.
“When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralyzed man, “Son, your sins are forgiven.”
Don’t rush that- when He saw their faith, He spoke to the paralyzed man that his sins had been forgiven. Jesus had used the faith of those men to get their friend to Jesus but then after they brought him Jesus had touched that man’s life and his sins were forgiven.
Jesus had begun healing people and the crowd had followed but Jesus was now moving into a new phase of His ministry and that was to tell and show them that He was more than a healer but one who could forgive sins and that is when the religious ones became upset and said who does He think He is… only God can forgive sin.
That is correct! Only God can forgive sin and Jesus by example of faith had not only healed but forgave sin.
Somebody should be getting excited.
He showed them He was God in the flesh and He could be trusted to do what He came to do and that was to forgive those who put their trust in Jesus.
The third point could be the crowd but look how upset they got that Jesus dare would say that He could forgive sin-
(6) “Now some teachers of the law were sitting there, thinking to themselves. “Why does this fellow talk like that? He is blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?”
Who can talk like that? Jesus! The Son of the living God! The one who can forgive sin and set a person back on track and walk with them in their journey of life so that they do not have to do it alone- God who can if you will let him provide those kind of friends that when you are weak and paralyzed from life that they will get in front of Jesus!
(8) “Immediately Jesus knew in His Spirit that this was what they were thinking in their hearts, and he said to them. “Why are you thinking these things/ which is easier to say to this paralyzed man, your sins are forgiven, or to say, get up, take your mat and walk. But I want you to know that the Son of man has authority on earth to forgive sins.”
Illustration-
Is your friend depressed? Needs Jesus!
Is your friend anxious? Needs Jesus!
Is your friend lacking purpose? Needs Jesus!
Is your friend confused about sexuality or gender? Needs Jesus!
Is your friend addicted to drugs or alcohol? Needs Jesus!
Did your friend’s child just die? Needs Jesus!
Is your friend a sinner? Needs Jesus! Christian, are YOU convinced of that?
Ray Ortlund Sr., a pastor once said of this passage: IN this miracle we see the importance of unity and teamwork. 1or 2 friends could not have accomplished this on their own. “It is costly, however, to have Christian unity. In order for the four men in Mark 2 to get together to bring this paralytic to Jesus, they had to consent to go in the same direction. Otherwise they would not have succeeded. Then they had to consent to go at the same speed, and to the same place. Unity is costly for it means submitting to each other.”9 Perhaps that is the significance of the statement “When Jesus saw their faith…” (“Sharing…”, Bibliotheca Sacra, 4th Qt. 1981, p. 47)
Trust The Christ Who Can Heal the Body and Can Save the Soul.
Blind Bartimaeus
...There was a great crowd in Jericho ... maybe the people would be generous ... for a blind man.
Can you picture the scene... the noise of the crowd intensifies... Bartimaeus begins to ask the people around him ... "Who is it?" "Who is coming?"
A compassionate bystander tells him, ... it is the Nazarene Jesus ".
The one who fed the 5,000".
Bartimaeus had surely heard the stories... He had heard about this Jesus ... from Galilee.
He had heard about the miracles.... He had heard about the healings.
He starts to shout, "Jesus, Jesus...Son of David have mercy on Me!"
The crowd around him yells back... " Be quite we are trying to listen to the Teacher...
Instead of quieting down... he yells all the louder.... Jesus ... Son of David Have mercy on me!!!
Jesus hears ... the Blind man's cry.
He tells the crowd, "Call him here!
The Scriptures tell us that Bartimaeus "Sprang Up" and was led to Jesus....
Jesus asks, "What do you want me to do for you?" "Let me see again" he replies ... and Jesus immediately heals him.
Beloved ... We as followers of the Christ.... are to be a light in this broken world... to be the Salt of the Earth.
To be a people of hope
The people of reconciliation.
To be people of ... encouragement.
Jesus told the crowd "Call him here..."
Suddenly the crowd understands.... That Jesus wants them to do something. "Bring him ...Call him here" ....
We as the Church are the Called.
We are Called ... to bring this blinded world to Christ.
To bring the lost and the hurting to Jesus.
We are Called to serve ... and to encourage others who cannot see ... who are blind to the truth.
We are called ... to be a witness ... and to bring others to the Messiah ... Jesus.
We need to strike .... when God gives us an opening.
We need to be ready ... to share our story of salvation ...when God gives us ... an opportunity.
To share our testimony ... our testimony of what Jesus has done for us.
Prayer-
