"Always Christ’s Truth Imparts Omnipotent Nurture Sanctifying!" (A.C.T.I.O.N.S)"

By Ramesh C.Reddy
Pittsburgh Standard

February 18, 2008

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Observations:
I asked myself who are the main characters involved!

1. Jesus

2. Paralytic

3. Teachers of the law

4. Crowd

Observations:
I asked myself what role they play!

Point 1: Jesus

1. Jesus saw their (four men who brought the paralytic) faith.

2. Jesus said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven.”

3. Jesus knew in his spirit what the teachers of the law were thinking in their hearts.

4. Jesus asks the teachers of the law 3 questions.

5. Jesus tells them He has the authority to forgive sins.

6. Jesus tells the paralytic 3 things.

Point 2: Paralytic

1. The paralytic got up.

2. The paralytic picked up his mat.

3. The paralytic took his mat and went home.

Point 3: Teachers of the law

1. The teachers of the law were sitting there when Jesus told the paralytic his sins were forgiven.

2. They thought to themselves ‘why does this fellow talk like that?’

3. They thought to themselves, ‘He’s blaspheming!

4. They thought to themselves, ‘Who can forgive sins but God alone?’

Point 4: Crowds

1. The paralytic walking amazed the crowds.

2. The crowds praised God, saying, “We have never seen anything like this.”

Observations/Interpretations:

Today, I decided to focus on the actions 5 & 6 of Jesus.

I asked myself what is the significance of Jesus’ statements?

Statement 5: Jesus tells them that He has the authority to forgive sins.

I found it interesting that after Jesus tells the teachers of the law, "But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins . . .", Jesus moves to action to prove an intangible result tangibly.

To say ‘your sins are forgiven’ produces an intangible result that teachers of the law cannot see. They would wonder what right He has to say that to the man since in their minds only God alone can forgive sins. Jesus is letting them know it is easier for others to say to people ‘that their sins are forgiven’ even if they don’t have the authority. If they don’t have the authority to forgive sins then regardless of what they say really does not mean much. Their words just become words. 

But Jesus lets them know that He has the authority to forgive sins making Himself equal to God by producing an action preceded by the words, ‘your sins are forgiven’. He reminds them it is easier to say to the paralytic, his sins are forgiven than to say to him to get up, take his mat, and walk. To prove He has the authority to forgive sins, He is going to command the paralytic of something that is not easy which is evident by statement 6.

Statement 6: Jesus tells the paralytic 3 things.

1. I tell you, get up!

2. I tell you, take your mat!

3. I tell you, go home!

These commands are given to the paralytic after forgiving him. Jesus proves His authority to forgive sins by letting the teachers of the law see a tangible thing which is the action of the paralytic. Jesus supports His words through actions that produce 5 results.

1. The paralytic got up.

2. The paralytic picked up his mat.

3. The paralytic took his mat and went home.

4. The paralytic’s walk amazed the crowds.

5. The crowds praised God, saying, “We have never seen anything like this.”

Point 1: The paralytic got up!

I asked myself what is the significant of the paralytic’s actions?

I found it so significant after Jesus’ commands, the paralytic was able to get up which shows the paralytics own faith in Jesus. We don’t know how long he was paralyzed but at the words of Jesus he got up. Jesus let the teachers of the law know that He not only has the authority to forgive sin but also has the authority to heal. I don’t know about you but when I think about being forgiven and being healed, I think about God. Jesus is subtly letting them know He also has the characteristics of divinity even though He is there to serve in His Humanity.

Point 2: The paralytic picked up his mat!

To be able to pick up the mat, you have to usually bend. Jesus not only healed him to get up but also healed him to bend down. This is evident when Jesus told him to pick up his mat. This is so significant because when Jesus healed, rehabilitation occurred simultaneously. The paralytic did not have to go through rehab to strengthen his limbs. Jesus did it for him by His powerful words to take up his mat.

Point 3: The paralytic took his mat and went home!

Jesus does not stop there but instead tells the paralytic to go home. At Jesus’ words, the paralytic got up, took his mat and walked out in full view of them all. He walked to go home. He was lowered from the roof and now he leaves through the crowd that was there. This let me see that when Jesus healed him, He strengthened his legs to be able to go home.

Point 4: The paralytic’s walk amazed the crowd! 

It is so cool that the paralytic came from the roof to be healed but was able to walk home in full view of them. It is important to remember that the place was so crowded that there was no room left. The place was packed out and the man walked out in front of them all amazing the crowds.

Rather than just following the man who was healed, the crowds stay behind and do something.

Point 5: The crowds praised God, saying, “We have never seen anything like this.”

Because Jesus’ words were not just words but were followed through action, the crowds praised God and remarked that they had never seen anything like what they witnessed. The packed crowd had a thrilling experience that they would not forget.

Now go back into time and imagine you were there at the packed out place where Jesus was preaching the Word. Now the roof starts to crumble and a paralytic is lowered down. Now the paralytic gets up, takes his mat, and goes on home after hearing Jesus. If I observed that, it would have been a thrilling experience that I would not forget. A packed out crowd experienced what Jesus was able to do. Jesus supported His Words by His actions not only of His capability to forgive but to heal.

Implications:

I saw important implications for my own life. I realized how important actions are when we speak something. Jesus accompanied His Words with action and I need to do the same. If I claim to be a Christian, I need to let my lifestyle reflect that I am a Christian.

I ask you now dear friend, what do you represent by your actions?
Dear friend our actions have the ability to bring glory and honor to the Lord or bring dishonor to him. When we say something, we should be able to back it up with our actions. Our words should not become useless statements without meaning. When I think about words, the phrase, 'I LOVE YOU' comes to mind.

If you have a relationship with Jesus and He is your Lord and Personal Savior and you tell Jesus, 'I LOVE YOU JESUS', can Jesus believe that you really love Him by your actions or are they just feel good words to say.

Throughout Scripture Jesus points out that loving Him is preceded by actions to live for God. When our actions do not match our words then there is a negative affect and we need to really examine our own words why our actions are not matching.

This is also true in any earthly relationship when you tell someone, 'I LOVE YOU'. When you tell someone 'I LOVE YOU' can they feel it in their own hearts to say, 'Yeah, he or she really loves me.' They would feel that if your words are matched by your actions. LOVE is a very powerful word that Jesus Christ sacrificed His own life because of His love for you. If you love Jesus you will live for Jesus.

If you really love someone, you would care for them so much. Their well being will be priority for your life and you would want them honored. You would want others to know how special they are to you.  You will make decisions that will show them that they are loved. People can hear you tell them 'you love them' all they want but if they don't see it in your actions, it will not become real.

So, if people know you love Jesus but your actions show that you hate people, you are not really loving Jesus. Or if you say you love your boyfriend, girlfriend, husband, wife, etc but your actions show the opposite, there is a problem there.

So when we proclaim to others that we are a follower of Christ, can the crowd of the earth see that in our actions that we are a follower of Jesus and we love Him? Can Jesus see that?

I hope they can! Let Jesus see that! May we live a life where our actions bring glory and honor to the Lord!

Friend, Jesus loves you so much and has proven His love to you by going to the cross and dying for your sin. He took the action to ransom you from your sin. He wants you to be free. He wants to forgive you, for God has given Him the authority to forgive the sins of humanity because of His willingness to shed His perfect cleansing blood for you and me. Yes, friend Jesus shed His blood so that you and I can be healed from this deadly disease known as sin. Jesus’ blood becomes our antidote! When Jesus was on the cross, Jesus became a Blood donor for the world that was infected with this deadly virus. His blood became a free transfusion for all those who were willing to accept His blood for the cleansing of their sins.

If you have not accepted what Jesus did for you to free you, you can do it now. Yes, you can! You can have Jesus forgive you and give you new life. Jesus is there to forgive us and help us become right with God. The paralytic was spiritually and physically sick and Jesus healed him of both. He was able to go home regardless of how his life looked before he was healed.

Regardless of your past and how your life looks, when you come to Jesus you will have a new home that He will provide for you. One day, you can be with Jesus. That is so cool and exciting to know! Because you accept what Jesus did for you, God’s judgment will pass over you because when God looks at you, He will see you covered in the precious Blood of Jesus Christ.

No matter where you have been or what you have done, Jesus wants to forgive you and give you new life. Let this be the hour, for now is the time of Salvation. Don’t delay! You may still have questions about Jesus and don’t have all the answers. Wait on the Lord and He will reveal them to you. The important thing is that you will be right with God.

The Bible says that none of us are good and all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. The Bible says that our goodness is like filthy rags to God. You see friend, God’s standard of goodness cannot ever be met as we live in a sinful world. We could have done 99.9% good things and 0.1% bad thing and that still makes us a sinner. You see putting 0.1% cyanide in 99.9% of pure water does not make it pure anymore. It may seem pure but it is not.

In the same way, people may see us as good but what matters is how God looks at us. With Christ on our side, God sees us now through the righteousness of Christ. That is exciting to know!

I am not going to say that when you come to Jesus everything will be peachy in your life for the Lord Jesus never promised this but what He promised is that He will be with you and never leave you nor forsake you. He promises to give His people strength. He is there for you friend. Come right now to Jesus friend and let Him be the Lord and Personal Savior of your life! He wants to friend, yes He does!

"Always Christ’s Truth Imparts Omnipotent Nurture Sanctifying!" (A.C.T.I.O.N.S)/"What do you represent by your actions?"

Don’t you want Jesus in your life and not be a paralytic to sin?

You can right now as you make this your prayer.

Dear Jesus, thank you for healing the paralytic after forgiving his sins. You set him free to go home. I want to be free. I don’t know everything about you. I still have a lot of questions. What I do know is that you died on the cross for my sins. When it comes to sin, I am a paralytic Oh Lord. I am infected with this deadly disease known as sin. I am not perfect but a sinner who needs your cleansing blood to clean me of my sin everyday. I confess to you my sin and repent of my sin. I know you have forgiven me when you died on the cross. I want to accept that forgiveness. Thank you for shedding your cleansing precious blood for me. You were nailed to the cross because of me. It is like I actually held the hammer and pounded the nails so I could be free. Thank you for willingly dying for me Jesus. Thank you for taking the shame and pain for me. Thank you for doing that to set me free. I come to the cross and ask you for your healing in my life. Thank you for the power of your Blood to redeem humanity. Thank you for coming back to life to save us and give us Eternal Life as we yield to you. Your blood can heal us where we are. I love you Jesus.

Even with my questions, I come to you now and accept you into my heart. Please Jesus come into my heart and make my heart your home. Give me a transfusion of change. Live in me Jesus and I will live for you and serve you the rest of the days of my life. I thank you Jesus for coming into my heart and making my heart your home. Thank you for living in me Jesus. I acknowledge you now as my Lord and Personal Savior. Please be the Lord and Savior of my life. Thank you for being my Lord and Personal Savior Jesus and because of what you have done for me when God looks at me, He now sees me covered in your blood and His judgment passes over me. Thank you that you have heard my prayer and answered me. Thank you for being with me Lord. Please fill me with your Holy Spirit. Thank you Jesus I now belong to you and never need to be alone! You will always be with me and have given me Salvation.  In Your Name I Pray Jesus! Amen!

Friend, if you have prayed this prayer and meant it in your heart, you are a new creation in Christ and all old things are passed away and everything has become new! You may feel something or may not but don’t base it on feelings but base your new life in Christ on the promises of our Savior who will never leave you nor forsake you! Amen!