Desperate Faith Displayed!
Desperation
You: What if you were desperately ill and the only cure was in another country?
Lengths: Would you be willing to sell your house, your car, everything you own to go get that cure?
Loved One: What if the someone who was ill was a loved one? What would you do for them?
Caregiver: Have you ever had to be a caregiver? Have you ever had to take care of someone and felt totally helpless and desperate and wish you could do something for that person?
Knowledge: What if you heard that there was some miracle cure that could help that someone?
Aaron Ralston - 127 hours
What about this one - You are on a 13 day hike through a remote canyon. I know for some of you that this is going to be very difficult to imagine. Some of us find it hard enough getting up and walking to turn off the TV, let alone a 13 mile hike. Anyway – you are on a 13 day hike and are squeezing past a boulder in a narrow canyon when it moves and pins your arm. No matter what you do, the rock won’t budge and has firmly locked your arm into place. For five days you lie trapped knowing that it is likely that you will die because no one is going to find you. You are in a desperate way – what are you prepared to do? Some of you may recognise this story. It’s a true story of Aron Ralston. After 6 days of being trapped and knowing that his hand was already dead from lack of blood and he would soon be joining it if he didn’t do something. Aron cut off his own arm and walked 5 miles till he found help. It was a desperate situation that required desperate measures. Would you have been up to doing this?
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.”
Who had faith?
We know he was paralyzed but we don’t know if the sick man was also mentally incapacitated or not. So surely out of the 5 men, at least 4 had faith that Jesus could heal him to do what they did.
What do you think the Pharisees thought?
What do you think Jesus thought?
Jesus is the great Physician!!!!
The friends risked ridicule for what they did, BUT THEY DID IT ANYWAY!
Stuck on Doctrine
Sometimes we get so caught up in the doctrine of it all like the Pharisees and try to find a loophole in religion or find some way to mock it or test it or poke our finger at it or find a hypocrite in it that we lose sight of what is important.
Pharisees being critics - ignore
There are critics everywhere! The pharisees were there to critique every word of Jesus!
Could they be critical of this healing? Yes even of healing a paralytic they were critical.
Ignore the critics! Ignore those voices, they only are negative and are not realistic! They are not reasonable!
Kinds of Faith
Faith that can move mountains (Miraculous Faith)
Saving Faith
Faith as a Denomination or Doctrine
Faith is the substance of things hoped for
Faith (belief)
Joni Earickson Tada
Other people do things like Joni Earickson Tada. She dove into Chesapeake Bay and broke her neck. She then became a quadriplegic. She then went through many emotions including depression. She then decided to learn to paint. But being a quadriplegic she had to put a paintbrush in her mouth and then paint with her mouth. She has become very famous and inspirational.
The world is desperate for Jesus
Maybe we don’t see how desperate the world is?
Maybe they don’t even see it themselves!
We look around and we see people sick, and dieing, and in hospitals and in need.
We see people that are lost in sin and can’t find a way out?
We see people with addictions and in marital problems.
Are you praying for those people? Are you showing love to those people? Are you sharing Jesus with those people.
The world is in desperate need. How is your heart reacting to that?
Physical vs Spriritual Needs
Sometimes we are concerned with people’s physical needs but their spiritual needs we don’t want to get involved in.
Jesus said, “Your sins are forgiven.”
Sure he could have just said he was healed but he not only healed his physical self but also his spiritual self!
When we are young, we are concerned with a scraped knee. But when we are older, we have years of mental regret and drathers that we wish we could have changed and worse, we have those deep dark sins and secrets that we wish we didn’t have. They will take your soul down to a place you don’t want to go. Aren’t you desperate to find a way out of that destiny? Jesus is your only cure, only He can forgive sins! Only He can heal you physically, mentally and spiritually!
Luke 5: 23,24 forgiven or walk?
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.”
When you go to heaven, there will be no sins in heaven and also no sickness. Tied?
Romans 6:23
23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
John 9:1-3 Man born blind
1 As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. 2 His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” 3 “Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” said Jesus, “but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him.
In another place in the Bible we saw how a blind young man received sight and neither him nor his parents sinned but the event was just to glorify God.
Love will grow cold
Matthew 24:12 Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold,
Your love cold?: Is that future now? Is your love alive and warm or is it cold and dead? I hope it’s alive and well.
See other’s needs?: When you see the needs of others around you, do you have the faith and the strength to do what needs to be done? To help them in their time of need?
How’s your faith?: Do you have that kind of faith?
Do you have that kind of faith to go to Jesus for your needs?
Have you gone to Jesus for the greatest need which is salvation?
If you see someone else in need do you lead them to Jesus?
