Friends Forever. Wow those are some very powerful words when you put them together you know? I mean, think about what this phrase means: being a friend forever; always there no matter what. This popular phrase can be found in letters from one best friend to another, on the split necklaces when put together, even carved on the side of a tree or building. Sometimes people say it to each other verbally. Not every one knows exactly what it means, though, and if they say it to a friend not knowing the true meaning, the friend hearing it that knows what it means gets hurt because that person wasn’t there for them when they needed them the most.
I had a friend once. I met him at work. He seemed to have it all together on the outside until I really got to know him and found out he was an alcoholic. He also was an atheist. He didn’t believe in God and didn’t even want to hear about Him or religion.
I got to know him really well and we became best friends. His name was Shawn. He knew I was a Christian, but the subject never came up. I prayed for him day and night hoping he would come to know the Lord and completely give up on his drinking habit. It didn’t seem my prayers were working.
Finally I got the courage to mention God. I asked him why he didn’t believe in God. His answer was simple, “Because I can’t believe in someone that has never shown himself to me.” Wow! I wasn’t expecting that kind of answer. I thought he would answer a little differently, like “how can I believe in someone I can’t see.” So I pursued his answer with another question. “If God showed Himself to you, would you believe?” He said maybe. That’s when my excitement reached a high point. I asked him if he would be willing to do a Bible study with me for only one month and if God hasn’t revealed Himself to him by the end of that month we would never talk about it again. He rolled his eyes and said, “No way!” I asked, “Why, what would it hurt?” He didn’t answer. He just walked away and never said anything to me for the rest of the day.
The next morning I woke up to a phone call. It was Shawn. He seemed a little uncomfortable talking to me, but what he said answered why he was uncomfortable. He said, “Okay, let’s do the Bible study thing, but you got only one month.”
The next Monday morning we got started. We studied a little bit of Genesis. He seemed interested in what we were studying. He even started asking questions. By the end of our first week everything was looking good. The next week we learned about Moses and the Red Sea. Shawn thought that was the coolest thing he’d ever heard of. By the end of the third week, Shawn seemed so close to accepting Jesus into his heart. I asked him if he wanted to pray, but he changed his manner and quickly put up a wall. Finally the fourth week came to a close. We just got done studying the life and death of Jesus. I saw tears starting to develop in Shawn’s eyes, so I placed my arm around him and asked if he was ready to pray. His answer? “No.” I asked why. He answered, “Because I’m not ready.” That was fine. I didn’t want to push him.
Our Bible study continued for a couple more weeks and every time I asked him if he was ready to pray, he always gave me the same answer, “No.” Every time I asked why, he would say he still wasn’t ready! It almost became like a game for him. He just would not give in. It was like he wanted to play with my mind or something. So finally I asked him, “Why can’t you accept Jesus?” He answered, “Because I’m not ready.” This went on for a few more weeks, but it seemed he was getting further away. We got into an argument about it and I got upset and just gave up. I went home and didn’t speak to him for a week. I was so mad! I thought I was doing everything right, but nothing was working!
The next day I heard the phone ring. When I answered it was Shawn. It sounded like he was crying. He said he needed to talk to me, but I told him I had to go and I hung up on him. How can I be so stupid. The next day I found out he was dead. I guess he was drinking when he went through a red light about two blocks from my house and hit a truck head-on instantly killing him. I failed! I failed because I was supposed to be there for him no matter what and I wasn’t. If I would’ve just talked to him on the phone, he might have still been alive. If I just would have had more patience with him, he might have asked Jesus into his heart. If I would have treated him as my best friend, we could’ve been friends forever. Friends forever, those are some powerful words aren’t they.
None of that was true. It was just a monologue I wrote to illustrate how we sometimes give up or lose patience when bringing people to the Lord. In Mark chapter two verses one through twelve we see that four men bring their friend, a paralytic, to Jesus to be healed. We can learn from these four men four characteristics that are necessary in bringing people to Jesus that I found in my studies. They are “determination, persistence, resourcefulness, (The NIV Standard Lesson Commentary, 168)” and faith. But first let us pray.
I. Bringing People to Jesus Takes Determination (v. 3)
These four men carried this man to Jesus. Now this might seem to be an easy thing to do when you have four people. It’s not specified in the Bible how far they carried him, though. They could have carried him only a few blocks, or they could have carried him a few miles it’s not known. The fact is they carried him. They carried their friend to Jesus. They didn’t leave their friend behind. Even though it took a little bit or a lot more work to bring him to Jesus, they were still willing. They didn’t have to, but it seems they wanted to. When it comes to bringing people to Jesus we must want to do it. There has to be a desire to drive our determination. Once you create the desire your heart creates the want to. Once you create the want to, the have to starts kicking in, which brings us to the second characteristic – persistence.
II. Bringing People to Jesus Takes Persistence (v. 4)
So when the four men arrived to the house Jesus was speaking and what did they find? An obstacle. The house was too crowded to bring the man inside. There were so many people that they were lined up outside the house. There was no more room in the house for everyone. Let me tell you, there is always room in the house where Jesus is and these four men knew that. They might have gotten detoured, but they weren’t going to turn back. Their determination in bringing their friend to Jesus outweighed the obstacle that lay before them. Their determination built persistence. Why? Because they knew it was important to get their friend to Jesus and they weren’t going to stop at nothing to get him there. They weren’t looking at the obstacle as a stumbling block, they used it as a stepping stone. There is a key phrase found on a rock climbing poster that states, “The only difference between stumbling blocks and stepping stones is how you use them.” They became persistent in bringing their one friend to Jesus. You know, there are so many people out there that need to be brought to Jesus, but how many of us are even trying to get them there? I mean really trying. The fact is there are more people out there who need to be brought to Jesus than those who are bringing people to Jesus. Are you one of these people bringing people to Jesus, or just as George Scott Railton said are you “sitting idly by knowing souls are doomed to die”? Here’s kicker of a question, if you were arrested for being a Christian, would they have enough evidence to convict you?
So the four men continued to carry their unable friend. That’s when they saw the roof. The houses back then were made with mud and hay or grass and rocks. The roof was a simple hard mud mixed with hay or grass, but was strong enough to hold people on top. The people back then built stairs that led to the roof where they would sit and cool down and relax. The four men carried their friend up the stairs to the roof and decided to lower their friend. What a smart thing to do. This brings us to the third characteristic.
III. Bringing People to Jesus Takes Resourcefulness (v. 4)
Have you ever been in a dark room and stubbed your toe? Maybe even run into a wall? If you have ever experienced darkness humility, then I know you can appreciate the invention of the light. It does not matter how dark it may be, once you turn on the light you can see. Now you can only see where that light is shining. Some areas may still be a little dark. All in all an open light overpowers all darkness. Now there is something that is interesting about this light. God is the light. When we are brought to Him we receive this light after receiving Him. His light overpowers our dark lives and it makes us illuminate. Now let’s try a little exercise. Take the candle down by your feet and hold it. I’m going to turn off the lights. Now imagine this is Jesus. After you come to Him and accept him you get lit up. You begin shedding your light for others to see the path to Jesus. Are you illuminating for the world to see? Now when you start to bring other people to Jesus they receive the light as well and so on. After becoming experienced in bringing people to Jesus you become more resourceful, because Satan likes to place obstacles in your way. You find other ways to bring them to Jesus. You still have to shed your light in order for those people to see where Jesus is. These four men were shedding their light for their friend, but because of the obstacle of too many people they became more resourceful. When they got to the top of the house they dug a hole through the roof and used something they either found or had in order to lower their friend down right in front of Jesus. Once again, their determination built persistence! Once Jesus saw the man and the faith of his four friends, Jesus forgave, which brings us to our final characteristic – Faith.
IV. Brining People to Jesus Takes Faith (v. 5)
As soon as Jesus saw the paralytic and the faith of his friends He forgave his sins. Did you hear that? As soon as Jesus saw their faith he forgave! Jesus didn’t even think twice about it. This is the first time recorded that Jesus forgave sins, did you know that? Charlie Shedd a talented story writer and author tells a story about forgiveness in his book Letters to My Grandchildren. I’d like to read it to you.
“The evening began when little Philip came storming into the house, mad, mad, mad. To say that the word angry is the better choice would not work this time. This boy was mad, and it was all Ronnie’s fault, again. Ronnie was Philip’s buddy, and he lived across the street. But now things had changed. Ronnie was no longer his buddy. Not this time. Not forever! Whatever it was that Ronnie had done, he could never come into the house again! Never!
So Mom and Dad ate their meal with a certain sadness. They liked Ronnie a lot. Then suddenly the doorbell rang. As usual, Philip jumped up from the table to answer the door and back he came with, guess whom? It was Ronnie. “Hey, Mom, can Ronnie have some ice cream, too?”
“Of course he can, Philip. But what about all of those things you were saying? Did you mean them?”
“I meant them. But me and Ronnie, we got good forgetters! (NIV Standard Lesson Commentary, 239)”
Jesus forgave and forgot just as He does with us when we ask for forgiveness. He is a good forgetter. He saw the faith and He forgave.
How did Jesus see their faith, though? Well, he definitely saw their determination and persistence. Do you think your determination and persistence reflects your faith? Jesus saw their faith in how they came to Him. They didn’t let anything get in their way to get their friend to Jesus. When we let our determination and persistence kick in we believe that we can do it. We have faith that it will be accomplished. Are we believing faithfully that we will get our friends and family to Jesus? There is something interesting that I’d like to point out. Did you notice that Jesus forgave this man’s sin before he healed him? Do you think it’s because Jesus knows that repentance and forgiveness are far more important than healing?
Conclusion
There is an old saying that goes “Everything that is not given is lost.” If you aren’t given directions, you will get lost. If this man’s four friends didn’t take him to Jesus, he would have lost his chance to be forgiven and healed. If Jesus had never given us forgiveness, we would be lost. If Jesus had never given His life, we would be lost. If we don’t bring people to Jesus, they will be lost.
The paralytic received forgiveness. His experience with Jesus was real! He felt the healing in his legs. He walked, possibly for the first time! When Jesus healed him, muscles had to grow and blood had to flow in his legs in order for him to be walking. Think about it. If you have never used your legs, you wouldn’t have any muscles or strength in them at all. And how did the man know how to walk? When Jesus healed him, he gained knowledge. But the most important part was he received spiritual healing! He was forgiven. Do you think this man’s friends brought him to Jesus hoping for a healing? Or do you think they brought him to Jesus expecting a healing! We need to bring people to God expecting a healing. We need to come to God expecting a healing. We need to have that undeniable faith!!! We need to bring people to Jesus expecting a spiritual healing. We need to bring people to Jesus, so we can say they are our friends forever!
