(This first paragraph was actually a list of bullet points to comment on, and transition through into the beginnning of the message. They will not have a flow like the remainder of the transcript that follows after this opening paragraph)
Tonight I want to challenge your thinking. Let me begin by asking you, “Have you ever prayed for an ‘open’ or ‘closed’ door?” (Example of song – God Will Make a Way) Some truth – but I want to challenge you to look at another possibility. We live in desperate times (war, values, attacks on the family and youth). I often wonder are we (Christians, churches) ready to take desperate measures? We are going to look at a familiar story. Raise your Bibles, and turn to Luke 5:17-26. Read passage – Luke 5:17-26. I hesitate to preach on such familiar passages. 4 reflections, or challenging thoughts from this story. Write them down. . .ponder them during your week. . .
This first challenge to our conventional thinking we see right off the bat. As these men were approaching this house, what did they see? (Draw picture of no entry) Now catch this, in a theology or mindset that only walks through open doors, and turns away from seemingly closed doors, this healing will not take place. From a pastor’s perspective, I often think that if these guys were serving on your average church board, they would have seen the closed doors, the blocked passage ways, and said, “Well, this must not be God’s will. Better turn back.” Right?
However, these men believed that Jesus would want their friend to be made whole. So they were not stopped by a closed door. And in our lives there are times to. . .
A) STOP WAITING FOR OPEN DOORS, AND START MAKING HOLES
First truth. First challenge to our conventional church thinking. There are times when we have to stop waiting for open doors, stop turning away from closed doors, and start making holes.
• We have all made decisions based on opened and closed doors.
• But do you realize that Satan can open and close doors too?
• Job’s life shows us Satan can close doors financially, relationally, physically.
• A person who will only act based on opened or closed doors, walks a dangerous line of susceptibility to the moving and interference of Satan.
What I would propose is that instead of looking for open doors, look for God’s will, and recognize that He might require some effort from you, some passion, some willingness to step out for Him to see that plan and will for your life fulfilled. Within the context of what you have learned and know to be true about God’s desires and plans for you, be willing to make some holes to see God’s plan for your life come to fruition.
Look at some examples of this from God’s Word (share story, and make connection to each story) -
• The woman with the issue of blood
• The blind man along the road
• Paul in jail writing letters
Verse 19 (read) - as you discern the will of God for your life, don’t always expect Him to open and close the doors without our being willing to take some steps of faith to start making holes.
Next thing I want you to see. Verse 20 (read 20a). This is really interesting. What did Jesus see? It says He saw, THEIR faith. Now, unless this paralytic man was suffering from multiple personalities, or able to clone himself, there was only one of him. So if Jesus saw “their” faith, plural, it must not be talking about the faith of the paralytic man himself, but about who? His friends. The ones that have brought him to Jesus.
Check this out. . .same truth in a few other places (read scriptures, and show connection of others faith to individual’s healing) -
• Luke 8:40-42, verses 49-50
• Matthew 15:21-28
• Matthew 8:5-13
Just a few brief examples, but I think that if we continued to explore God’s Word, we could continue to build the case that. . .
B) OUR FAITH CAN UNLOCK THEIR HEALING
Your second reflection for the night. Second challenge to our conventional thinking which says if you want to be healed, you have to believe. How about this idea. . .our faith can unlock their healing. Look at these examples. In each of these cases, it isn’t the faith of the healed individual that is attributed as providing the momentum for the healing. That happens in Scripture too. But in these examples, it is the faith of those that surround them that unlocks their healing.
And I want to be careful tonight, and I want to say this with love and care, but it is also possible that our lack of faith is keeping them from being healed. (Example of people that no longer believe loved ones can be healed, and pray limited prayers.)
Not only can our faith unlock healing in someone else’s life, but just the opposite can happen, and our lack of faith can keep them from experiencing wholeness. Look at Matthew 13:53 with me. Matthew 13:53 (read through verse 58). People not healed because of others lack of faith.
It is a painful thought, but one we can not reject. . .people may not be healed because of our lack of faith. This paralytic’s friend’s faith unlocked his healing as they ignored the closed doors and started making a hole for his deliverance.
Now, look back at verse 20 (read). Imagine hearing those words. Put yourself in the place of this paralytic man’s friends (replay story to this point). And then what does Jesus say? I think I might have had to do a double take. “What? Your sins are forgiven? Is that pig Latin for ‘You are healed, get up and dance?’ Because that is what we were looking for.”
But you know what, if we look at those around us. . .
C) THROUGH JESUS’ EYES WE WILL SEE THEIR TRUE ILLNESS
A third truth to reflect on this week. Through Jesus’ eyes, we will see their true illness. And most of the time, it isn’t physical.
Which begs a tough question, but one that can not go without asking: if all Jesus had to offer, if the only miracle He worked in your life or that of a loved one, if all He said was, “Your sins are forgiven you,” would you be able to accept that? Nothing more. You break through the ceiling, you drop down before Him, you declare “God, I know you can make me well.” And if all He chose to do was look you in the eye and say, “Your sins are forgiven you.” Would that be enough?
Because you see, through Jesus’ eyes, He is not near as concerned with the physical, as He is with the spiritual. He’s gonna replace this old body with a new and improved unit in just a few short years anyway. He’s gonna give me a glorious eternal body that will never need an oil change, tire rotation or tune up. But my spiritual being. That part of me that is being shaped and formed and molded by His hand is with me for the long haul.
If I had to really stop and think about it, really determine what would be at the core of my number one frustration as a pastor, it would be our human inability to view all the temporary stuff of this world through the eternal perspective of God. We just can’t seem to see things like God does. We get so wrapped up in the short term. . .immediate gratification. . .selfish wants.
I’m sure this doesn’t happen at Tuxedo, but let me tell you some of the things that I as a pastor have had the privilege of spending my time on in Lexington, KY –
• Debates over hymns versus choruses
• Debates over too much signing, or not enough signing in our services
• Debates over too many different songs, or too many repeats of too few songs
• Debates over carpet selections
• Debates over missionary speakers
• Debates over preaching styles
• Debates over how I dress, how my children dress
• Debates over children’s Sunday School materials
• Debates over pews versus chairs
• Debates over the order of worship, and
• Debates over whether we print the order of worship in the bulletin
• Debates over expository preaching or topical preaching
• Debates over using movie clips in my sermons or no technical illustrations
And it takes all of the intestinal fortitude within me not to just let out a loud shout of “Who cares?” Because I have seen that we, us Christians in the church, will come up with whatever we can in the church today to keep us from having to confront the real issue that Jesus sees. . .lost people.
Think about it. All this stuff we debate in the church is nothing compared to being a paralytic. Laying on a cot. Unable to move. Someone has to clean you, feed you, keep you from spending each and every day lying in your own feeces. These debates about worship styles, technology, and facilities are small potatoes compared to the condition of that poor paralytic man, but even his condition took a back seat to his salvation in Jesus eyes.
(Relay story of recent missionary speaker, and their heart for the country they have been sent to.) If your pastor’s heart beats like mine, I know that when we listen to a speaker like that, with such passion and emotion for the people of the region she has been called to minister to. When we hear someone like that speak, and see how she can move your hearts, we want to find what it will take to see you just as moved for the lost of Bartlesville. We are like Tiffany Stamps. Bartlesville is Pastor Bret’s Bethlehem. Lexington, KY is my Tajikistan. I burn for the lost of central Kentucky.
And week after week of ministry, I think to myself, “Man. When will we begin to look at people through the eyes of Christ? Looking at our loved ones, our friends, our co-workers. . .when will we want to start making some holes, and want to start seeing them healed through our faith. . .and recognize that the healing we are longing for on their behalf is a spiritual healing.” Think about it from a practical standpoint. What percentage of our weekly prayer requests are for physical needs, and what percentage are for spiritual needs?
This is a different mindset than what we often look for in the church. A mindset ready to make some holes. A mindset of bold faith that will lead to the healings of others. A mindset that focuses in on the spiritual illness of those surrounding us.
So what would be the results of such a change in mindset? Reflection number four. If we become a people set on making holes, if we determine that our faith will be what unlocks healing in someone else’s life, if we are set on making sure that our focus matches that of Jesus with a mind towards eternity. . .what will happen? Verse 25 (read through verse 26). Simple really. . .
D) GOD WILL BE GLORIFIED
God will be glorified. And the more I read this book, the more aware I become of the simple truth. . .it’s not about me. It’s all about Him. Bringing glory to the one true, holy, awesome, mighty, powerful God of the universe.
So here is the BIG question: What will it take for you to be willing to be used like this paralytic’s friends? James Patterson and Peter Kim have written a book entitled “The Day America Told the Truth.” It reveals some shocking statistics about how far people are willing to go for ten million dollars. When asked, “What would you be willing to do for $10,000,000?” here is what people answered.
25% - Would abandon their entire family
23% - Would become prostitutes for a week or more
16% - Would give up their American citizenship
16% - Would leave their spouses
10% - Would withhold testimony and let a murderer go free
7% - Would kill a stranger
3% - Would put their children up for adoption
What would YOU be willing to do for that sum of money? Fudge a little on your taxes? Tell your insurance company a story that wasn’t the whole truth? Or forget about cash. What would you be willing to do to find a cure for cancer? How about world peace? Or ending world hunger?
Or let me ask you this, what would you be willing to do to save your best friend’s life? Desperate times call for desperate measures. What are you willing to do to be used like this paralytic’s friends?
WILL YOU STOP WAITING FOR OPEN DOORS, AND START MAKING HOLES?
WILL YOU ACT IN FAITH TO UNLOCK SOMEONE ELSE’S HEALING?
WILL YOU SEE THINGS THROUGH JESUS’ EYES AND SEE THEIR TRUE LLLNESS?
WILL YOU ALLOW GOD TO BE GLORIFIED THROUGH YOUR LIFE OF FAITH?
