Are you willing to help someone get to Jesus? This weekend Pastor Steve Andres continued our WAITING ON A MIRACLE series with a message about friendship.
Mark 2:3-4
Four men arrived carrying a paralyzed man on a mat. They couldn’t bring him to Jesus because of the crowd, so they dug a hole through the roof above his head. Then they lowered the man on his mat, right down in front of Jesus.They couldn’t bring him to Jesus because of the crowd, so they dug a hole through the roof above his head. Then they lowered the man on his mat, right down in front of Jesus.
The same people who were in the room with Jesus had become an obstacle to the paralyzed man. Were it not for his four friends, he would have stayed stuck.
1) People are usually the problem.
The enemy of our souls wants to magnify the faults and failings of others, to get us so twisted up with hurt and offense that our hearts are hardened.
2) People are still God’s plan.
To solve this people problem, God sends more people. These four friends were willing to carry the paralyzed man in his weakness, even though it was difficult.
Romans 15:1
We who are strong ought to bear with the failings of the weak, not simply pleasing ourselves.
Real love is persistent. When we love others we will contend for them, even when it is inconvenient or costly.
3) Your faith can be a catalyst for someone else’s healing.
The Bible says that when Jesus saw “their faith” he was moved. It wasn’t the faith of the man in need, but the faith of his friends that was the catalyst for this amazing miracle.
Jesus is the friend who searches for us until we are found, who laid down his life for us so that we would be healed and forgiven!
