When Jesus Comes into the House
by Pastor Jim May
Mark 2:1-12, "And again he entered into Capernaum after some days; and it was noised that he was in the house. And straightway many were gathered together, insomuch that there was no room to receive them, no, not so much as about the door: and he preached the word unto them. And they come unto him, bringing one sick of the palsy, which was borne of four. And when they could not come nigh unto him for the press, they uncovered the roof where he was: and when they had broken it up, they let down the bed wherein the sick of the palsy lay. When Jesus saw their faith, he said unto the sick of the palsy, Son, thy sins be forgiven thee. But there were certain of the scribes sitting there, and reasoning in their hearts, Why doth this man thus speak blasphemies? who can forgive sins but God only? And immediately when Jesus perceived in his spirit that they so reasoned within themselves, he said unto them, Why reason ye these things in your hearts? Whether is it easier to say to the sick of the palsy, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Arise, and take up thy bed, and walk? But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins, (he saith to the sick of the palsy) I say unto thee, Arise, and take up thy bed, and go thy way into thine house. And immediately he arose, took up the bed, and went forth before them all; insomuch that they were all amazed, and glorified God, saying, We never saw it on this fashion."
When we come together in this house, we are coming together to meet with Jesus. At least I hope that why we come. If Jesus isn’t here, I wouldn’t want to come either. We come here to hear his word. We come here to feel his spirit. We come here to gain strength from his presence.
We can come together and have a meeting if we want to, but if Jesus doesn’t show up, that’s all it will be is a meeting. I want to come to the feel the power of God and sense his presence. I want to come to know the Holy Ghost is in the midst of the church. I want to see His glory fill the house. I want to see souls set free from sin and bondage. I want to see miracles happen. I want to feel the anointing and know that Jesus is here! I don’t want to just have church – I want to have what my African-American brothers and sisters call “Chuch”! I want more than just a good time with all of you. I want a mighty moving of the Holy Ghost and fire.
Wherever Jesus is, you are going to see people come from everywhere. How many of you have seen people flock to a church or to a place where they believe that there has been some great supernatural manifestation, whether it’s real or not?
Not long ago, there was the Brownsville Revival. Whether you want to accept all that went on there or not, you cannot deny the fact that people traveled from all over the country by the bus loads and flew in from around the world by the plane loads, just to see what was happening because there seemed to be a manifestation of the supernatural in that place. I have no doubt that much of it was not of God, but it was supernatural none the less, and it drew a crowd. I know that many were truly blessed, and some were truly saved, healed and set free. I don’t know how God chooses to do what He does all the time. I just don’t have all the answers. All I know is that God is a sovereign Lord and that He will always honor his Word and that He will always respond to true faith in God.
Even in the midst of activity in the church where the devil seems to be having his way, God can and will move for that man or woman who truly reaches out to Him in faith.
Aren’t you glad that Jesus blesses us not only as a corporate body of Christ, but as individuals too! He will bless that one who obeys Him. He will bless that one who serves him, loves him and worships him with all their heart. It doesn’t matter if the rest of the church is sitting around not paying attention, or have their mind off in “LA LA Land” somewhere. If your heart and mind is centered upon Jesus, He will bless you because of your personal commitment and faith.
Jesus had moved to Capernaum in Galilee because he was rejected by the people around the place where he was born and raised, Bethlehem and Nazareth.
Most of the people had the same attitude that Nathanael had in John 1:46, "And Nathanael said unto him, Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth? Philip saith unto him, Come and see."
How many blessings did Nazareth miss because they rejected Jesus? How many blessings did Bethlehem miss because they refused to accept that baby in the manger as the Son of God? How many blessing do we miss in the church because we have become too familiar with Jesus and we don’t reverence Him like we should?
People come into the House of God like it’s a party and they don’t think anything of dressing any way, cutting up, and not paying attention. Sometimes I really wonder why some folks bother to come at all. If they are going to come and talk the whole time, or sleep through the whole message, why come at all? All we are doing is grieving the Holy Ghost and blocking the way for those who would want to get more out of the service.
What do you think a visitor will think if they see us get up 3 or 4 times and leave the service? We can sit in a theater for two hours watching a movie, or in front of the TV for a long time and not even think of leaving until a commercial comes on. But let us get into church and we can’t sit for 30 minutes without finding a reason to leave the sanctuary. Someone who really wants to get a blessing can’t concentrate because they are constantly watching others going in and out all the time.
There was a crowd at Peter’s house that day but not all of them came to get a blessing or to be a blessing. Some were there out of curiosity. They just wanted to get a glimpse of this “miracle working teacher”. They had no intention of becoming involved, but they stood in the doorway, blocking the way for those who really needed help and who wanted to get to the Master so badly.
Some were there with a critical spirit, seeking only to find fault and then go around gossiping and plotting ways to stop the ministry from going forth. Sadly, it was the religious leaders of Israel who were used more by the Devil than anyone else to try and stop Jesus from reaching the people with his message of hope.
There are always a few of these people in every church right now too. No matter how small, or how large, the church may be, there is always someone, and maybe a good many, who will do nothing but grumble, gripe and complain about everything.
Some complain because the music is too loud and some because it’s not loud enough. Some will complain because sister so-and-so sat in my place and I can’t enjoy the service sitting anywhere else.
Some will complain because the message was too long or too short. Some will complain because it was too hot or too cold. We are all guilty of these from time to time!
If we aren’t careful, we will be just like those Pharisees at Peter’s house who were unwitting tools of the devil to stop the work that Jesus was trying to do.
None of us are immune to falling into this trap. Let’s pray that we keep the right spirit and the right attitude lest we become a stumbling block or a roadblock to keep others from getting the blessing that God wants to give to them.
I’m hungry for a revival in our church. I want the presence of the Lord to be so strong, so real and so glorious that His very presence will draw people into the House of God.
We won’t have to beg them to come. We won’t have to pass out tracts, knock on doors, or even advertise in the newspaper, radio or TV. All we have to do is seek the face of the Lord, pray for revival and sell out to Him, and then let Jesus do the rest. He will bring souls in by the power of the Holy Ghost. He will perform miracles because of the need and of the faith of those who will believe. Let’s allow Jesus to be in the church the way He wants to be. It’s His power and glory that will build the church, not our plans and schemes.
Just like it was at Peter’s house, the crowds will come if we just let Jesus in.
I want you to know that you can get to Jesus if you want to. If your heart’s desire is to know the Lord in a greater fashion than you have ever known Him before, there is nothing that can stop you from getting to him.
It’s always in God’s will for you to have more of Him and to know him better. Jesus wants to have a relationship with you that is far greater than anything you can imagine right now. It’s His desire that we come to him in faith, believing him for great things.
1 Corinthians 12:31, "But covet earnestly the best gifts: and yet shew I unto you a more excellent way."
Paul tells us in this verse that we should always desire to know Jesus more! We should seek for and yearn after the gifts of the Spirit and to be used by God.
When was the last time we asked God to give us the gift of Healing, or Tongues, or Interpretation of Tongues, or the Word of Knowledge, or discerning of Spirits, or Prophecy, or Wisdom, or any of the gifts that God has promised to those who desire them and will ask for them? When was the last time that Jesus used you in one of the Gifts of the Spirit? Isn’t it time we asked for, knocked on Heaven’s door until it is opened to us and sought after God’s will with all of our heart?
Those men who carried their friend who was paralyzed wouldn’t let anything stop them. They had to get to Jesus! They were determined to get to him no matter what it took, even if it meant totally wrecking Peter’s house to do it.
Can you imagine what Peter’s wife and mother-in-law might have thought as they saw 4 men tearing the roof off of their house to get in? How much of our little “playhouse” has to come down before we can get to Jesus? We have to quit playing church and get serious with our commitment to get to Jesus if we are going to see the miracles happen.
If those men had stopped because of the crowd, the miracle would never have come. If they hadn’t been willing to pay the price to get in, no matter what, that man would have died on his bed. It takes hard work, determination and discipline to get to the place in Jesus where we need to be, but the price with be worth it!
I want to hear Jesus say, “your sins are forgiven.” I want to hear Jesus say, “Arise, take up that thing that you have relied upon for so long; that thing that you have laid upon and rested upon; that thing that has kept you bound for so long; that thing that has kept you weighed down and tied down for so long; and carry it out of here like it’s nothing.”
I want to see people walking and leaping and praising God as they go from this house, healed and delivered by the power of God.
We have seen some miracles, but I want to see much more. I have seen some souls saved, but I want to see so many more. I have experienced a mighty move of God in the past, but I want to see a new thing in our church today.
Don’t stand on the outside looking in with curiosity and blocking the way for others. Push your way in through the crowd and get close to Jesus. Press in with all your might. Come down through the roof if you have to, but get in close to him.
Won’t it be wonderful when we can say like those people at Peter’s house that day, “We never saw it on this fashion!”
I believe that God wants to do a new thing in Victory Temple; and not just Victory Temple but all those churches who truly preach and teach the whole counsel of God!
I believe that Jesus desires to pour out blessings on us that we have never experienced before.
I believe that Jesus wants to use all of you in the Spiritual Gifts that you have never been used in before.
I believe that Jesus wants to have a personal relationship with each one of us that is far better than what we have ever known.
I believe that Jesus wants to perform miracles of healing – more than ever before.
I believe that Jesus wants to deliver those who are possessed and oppressed by the powers of Hell – more than ever before.
I believe that Jesus is looking for those who will completely sell out to him – more than ever before.
I believe that Jesus wants to anoint some of you to preach the gospel– more than ever before.
I believe that Jesus wants to save the lost – more than ever before.
I believe that He has already foreordained a mighty revival in these last days – a greater revival than ever before.
I believe that Jesus is looking for a church, and coming after a bride that is clean, pure and holy – and his coming is closer than it’s ever been before.
I believe that Jesus is looking for a people who will serve Him, love Him, and commit their lives to him – more than ever before.
Let us press in! Let us take the roof off if necessary to get people to Jesus! Let’s get ourselves into the place where the glory of God can be revealed in us! Let us believe God for a mighty outpouring of the Holy Ghost like we have never seen before.
Believe God for great things, big things, miraculous things, glorious things and set no limits on what God can do and will do! Then watch as God reveals his glory to us and through us!
Are you ready to let Jesus into your house right now? Are you ready to open the doors of your heart or to tear the top off of your limited belief and let Jesus begin to perform miracles for YOU?
Come and let’s pray and seek the face of God, believing Him for mighty things!
