“FAITH OF FOUR FRIENDS”
or
“HOW TO BRING PEOPLE TO CHRIST”
MARK 2:1-12
There was once the small rural church. Now the church wad very small. So small that the pastor had to double up as the local barber to make ends meet.
There happened to be a man in this small community who had invested wisely and was enjoying his newfound comfort.
This man got out of bed one day to go through his daily
routine. He looked into the mirror as he was about
to shave and decided, "I make enough money now, I don’t
have to shave myself. I’ll go down to the barber and let
him shave me from now on." So he did.
He walked into the barber shop and found the preacher/barber was out calling on the shut-ins. His wife, Grace, said "I usually do the shaves anyway ... sit down and I’ll shave you."
So he did. She shaved him and he asked, "How much do I owe you?" "$25," Grace replied. The man thought that was
somewhat expensive and that he may have to get a shave every other day. Nonetheless, he paid Grace and went on his way.
The next day, he woke up and found his face to be just as smooth as the day before. No need for a shave today, he
thought, well, it was a $25 shave. The next day he awoke to find his face as smooth as a baby’s bottom. Wow! he thought. That’s amazing, as he normally would need to shave daily to keep his clean-shaven business look.
Day 3, he woke up and his face was still as smooth as the
minute after Grace had finished. Now, somewhat perplexed,
the man went down to the barber shop to ask some questions. This particular day the pastor was in and the man asked him why his face was as smooth as it was the first day it was shaven.
The kind old pastor gently retorted, "Friend, you were
shaved by Grace ... and once shaved, always shaved.”
Today we going to be taking a special offering for a Christmas gift to our missionaries. I want to take this occasion to speak to you on the importance of missions.
We support five missionaries here at MCCBC. We have the Edwards in Japan, the Buckmans who minister in South America, Dorothy Kicher, and Helen Finch, both of who are retired now, but both spent many years preaching the gospel in South America. And also Wayne and Sherri Rapp who are in New Jersey.
Speaking as one who is a missionary I can say with certainty that these people depend on the support they receive from church and individuals such as us. Without that support they would not make it on their fields. Without that support they would not be unable to stay where they are, faithfully preaching the gospel. You see God uses means to support His people and one of those means is His people.
Please turn with me to our passage for today. That is going to be Mark 2:1-12. There we take a look at the faith of four friends, or how to bring people to Christ.
“And again He entered Capernaum after some days, and it was heard that He was in the house. Immediately many gathered together, so that there was no longer room to receive them, not even near the door. And He preached the word to them. Then they came to Him, bringing a paralytic who was carried by four men. And when they could not come near Him because of the crowd, they uncovered the roof where He was. So when they had broken through, they let down the bed on which the paralytic was lying. When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, "Son, your sins are forgiven you." And some of the scribes were sitting there and reasoning in their hearts, "Why does this Man speak blasphemies like this? Who can forgive sins but God alone?" But immediately, when Jesus perceived in His spirit that they reasoned thus within themselves, He said to them, "Why do you reason about these things in your hearts? "Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, ’Your sins are forgiven you,’ or to say, ’Arise, take up your bed and walk’? "But that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins"; He said to the paralytic, "I say to you, arise, take up your bed, and go to your house." Immediately he arose, took up the bed, and went out in the presence of them all, so that all were amazed and glorified God, saying, "We never saw anything like this!"
From this passage I want us to make note of four things about these four men. Things that we ought to have as we share in the missions work, that is the work of bring people to Jesus Christ.
The first thing that we see is concern. These four men had concern for their friend. I want us to understand that it was not just pity, they did not just feel sorry for their friend who was a paralytic.
They did not just sit there and say, “Boy Bill I really feel sorry for you that you can’t walk. That’s really to bad.”
The concern that they had for their friend was seen in that it brought action. They did something about it. They sought out a way to help their friend, not just talk about it.
Let me ask you, do you have concern for the lost? Do you have pity for those who perishing without a relationship with Jesus Christ? Do you feel bad when you know that a certain someone is on their way to hell?
Is yours just a pity? DO you just talk about with other Christians? Is it just a matter of sitting around thinking “Boy it is to bad that uncle Stan is lost.”, “It is to bad that all those people over in China, or in Japan, or right here in this country, it is so sad that they do not know Jesus like I do.”
Is that the pity you have? Or does your concern for the lost lead to action? Does your concern for the lost lead you to ask, like those four men in our story, “What can I do?” “How can I help?” How can I further the Kingdom of God?
Our concern ought to lead us into action.
Notice what else they had. They had cooperation. They worked together to get the job done. They know that they could not do it alone, so they worked with one another.
It took four people to bring that man to Christ, each one had to carry a corner of that bed. They got together and decided what each one needed to do.
The work of missions also needs cooperation. The work of missions needs different people to do different jobs. IT needs different people to hold up the corners of the bed.
In the work of missions God calls different people to different tasks. Some are called to go out into the heat of the battle. Some are called to stay behind and support those who are called into battle.
In want to read to you from 1 Sam. 30:21-24; “Now David came to the two hundred men who had been so weary that they could not follow David, whom they also had made to stay at the Brook Besor. So they went out to meet David and to meet the people who were with him. And when David came near the people, he greeted them. Then all the wicked and worthless men of those who went with David answered and said, "Because they did not go with us, we will not give them any of the spoil that we have recovered, except for every man’s wife and children, that they may lead them away and depart. "But David said, "My brethren, you shall not do so with what the LORD has given us, who has preserved us and delivered into our hand the troop that came against us. "For who will heed you in this matter? But as his part is who goes down to the battle, so shall his part be who stays by the supplies; they shall share alike."
In the context of that passage we read that David is going into battle with Amalekites. As he readies he comes to the Brook Besor. There he leaves behind 200 men who are to weary to go on. David continues on and defeats the Amalekites. And on his way back some “worthless” men tell David that they should not divide the spoils with these men who were left behind. But David tell them that that would be wrong. David is basically saying is that we all have a job to do. Some of us will go to the front lines of the battle, while others will stay, by the supplies. But each one played a part, so each one will share in the spoils.
The same is true with the work of missions. Some go out to the front lines. Places like Japan, and South America, and yes even New Jersey. While others stay behind in supporting roles. Supporting those in the front lines with prayer, and financial support. Both are serving, both are playing a part, and both according to God’s word with share in the spoils, both will share in the blessings.
When those we support lead others to Christ, we share in the blessings. When they are blessed who are on their missions fields , those who are “staying by the supplies” back home will share in those blessings.
Let us show cooperation in the work of missions, in the work of proclaiming Christ.
The third things we see in our verse is commitment. Notice from our passage that these four men did not quit when they came to the house. They did not see the crowd, think that they were never going to see Jesus as say, “Sorry Bill, we got you close, but there is just to many people, we just can’t get you to Jesus. We will just take you home now.”
These men were committed in having there friend see Jesus. They were committed in bring their friend to Christ. In that commitment they used innovation. They dug a hole through the roof to let their friend down with the ropes. They were so committed in getting their friend to see Christ that they did whatever it took for that to happen.
Are we that committed to missions? Are we that committed to seeing people come to Christ? Are we willing to do whatever it takes to see that people hear the gospel? Unconventional things. Thing that people have not tried before?
Notice that the commitment was a public thing. I am sure that many people saw these guys up on that roof top. They we probably wondering what the heck they were doing. “What are those guys crazy?” “Look at those guys on the roof, they must be nuts!”
That did not stop these guys. There were committed to getting their friend to Christ. It did not matter what the crowd thought. They had no shame in their commitment.
Is that how we feel. Do we care what the “crowd thinks.” Are we to ashamed to be seen in public seeking to bring to someone to Christ. Are we to a ashamed in missions to let the “crowd” know that we are willing to do whatever it take to see that people come to Christ.
In their commitment those men used what they had to see that there friend was brought to Christ. They knew that their friend did not have the use of his arms or legs to go to see Christ, to climb up that roof, to tear up the roof and lower himself down. Their friend did not have what they had. So they used what they had to help their friend. They used the arms and legs, the strength that God had given them to bring their friend Christ.
God expects us to use what we have to bring others to Christ. All we have is provided by God, and He wants us to use it to bring others to Christ.
I know for a fact that the Edwards do not have the funds by themselves to live in Japan, and preach the gospel. So God has raised up those who do have those funds to help them. And the same is true with our other missionaries.
Just like that paralytic men was dependant on his friends to use what they had, that he did not have to get him to Christ. So our missionaries are depending on us to use what we have. We are to use what we have to help them bring others to Christ.
Let us be committed to missions. So committed that we overcome what obstacles there may be. So committed that we are willing to use what ever it is the God has given us, to help others come to Christ.
The fourth thing that those men had was confidence. These men knew that Jesus could heal there friend. They knew that Jesus had the answer to their friends problem. That it was Jesus and Jesus alone who could help them. That had confidence in that, that had faith in that.
I want you to look at verse 5 in our passage. Notice what that says, “When Jesus saw THEIR faith...” Whose faith did Jesus see? Just the paralytic man? No. He saw the faith of all of those men. “When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, "Son, your sins are forgiven you.”
It was the faith of all these men that moved Jesus.
Do you have confidence in missions. Do you have confidence that people will be saved in Japan under the Edwards ministry. Or in South American under the Buckman’s ministry, or in New Jersey under the Rapp’s ministry. We need to have faith that people will be saved. We need to have faith in the saving power of the Holy Spirit.
It is not just the faith of the Edwards, Buckman’s and the Rapp’s that will move the hand of God, it is our faith as well. Our confidence that Jesus is the answer to those peoples problems, our confidence that Jesus and Jesus alone can save them from their sins. Our confidence that as the Word of God goes forth it will not return void.
Let us have confidence in what God will do in the work of missions.
So let’s wrap this all up. To bring people to Christ we need certain traits, traits we see in these men. We need concern, cooperation, commitment, and confidence.
When we begin to have these things, things will happen. Notice what our passage states in verse 12; “Immediately he arose, took up the bed, and went out in the presence of them all, so that all were amazed and glorified God, saying, "We never saw anything like this!"
These people never saw anything like this. They witnessed the power of God. When we begin to support missions as we should, we to will be saying, “I never saw anything like this!” as people respond to the gospel as people get saved.
Let us support missions. Let us support them through our prayers. We all should be praying for our missionaries on a regular basis.
We also need to support them with our finances. Sharing with them what God has blessed us with.
People need Christ and we need to be a part of seeing that people hear the gospel. Hear how to be saved from their sins they need to be trusting in the blood of Jesus Christ, and have a personal relationship with HIM. I pray that each person here has placed thier trust in Jesus as Saviour. If you have not, I pray that you would do so today, right now. Ask Jesus to forgive you, believe that He died for you, and that He rose for you. Place your faith in Him today for the glory of God.
Invitation.
CHRISTMAS MISSIONS OFFERING
