SCRIPTURE:
"A few days later, when
Jesus again entered Capernaum, the people heard that he had come home.
So many gathered that there was no room left, not even outside the door,
and he preached the word to them. Some men came, bringing to him a
paralytic, carried by four of them. Since they could not get him to
Jesus because of the crowd, they made an opening in the roof above Jesus
and, after digging through it, lowered the mat the paralyzed man was
lying on." (Mark 2:3-4, NIV)
Observations:
I asked myself what was
happening as Jesus preached the Word to the crowds?
-
Some men came bringing to him a paralytic.
-
The paralytic was carried by four of them.
-
They [men] could not get him to Jesus.
-
They made an opening in the roof above
Jesus.
-
They dug through it.
-
They lowered the mat the paralyzed man was
lying on.
Observations/Interpretations
I asked myself the significance of each point?
Point 1: Some men came
bringing to him a paralytic.
While Jesus was preaching the Word to the crowds some men came
bringing to Him a paralytic even though so many had gathered that there was no room
left, even outside the door for the paralytic to reach Jesus. This did
not stop the men from accomplishing their mission for the sake of
the one they brought to Jesus. So the men
devised a plan to help the paralytic.
Point 2:
The paralytic was carried by four of them.
The four men decided to carry the burden of the paralytic
which was his inability to walk by becoming his feet to reach Jesus.
Point 3: They [men] could not
get him to Jesus.
I believe even as
they held the paralytic, they did not let the obstacles stop them from
reaching Jesus. So they came up with a blueprint of getting where they
needed to be.
Point 4: They made an opening
in the roof above Jesus.
The first step, they
took was making an opening in the roof above Jesus. This is so
significant because first of all it is not their house. They came
probably to Simon and Andrew’s house and started making an opening in
the roof for the sake of the paralytic.
Imagine you are in a
packed room and there is no space for anyone else to come in. Now
imagine listening to Jesus preaching the Word to you and then suddenly
there is a commotion. You believe it to be coming from the roof. (We
need to realize roofs were not the same as we now have in cities.)
Something else happens!
Point 5:
They dug through it.
You look up and to your amazement see four
people digging through the roof, making dust fill the room, and making
an opening. To your bafflement you see a paralytic on a stretcher being
lowered down. Most of the roof started to crumble down as onlookers
looked ahead. Now there is a huge rectangular hole that is visible. Into
that hole, we see something come through.
What would your reaction be?
What would be going through your mind as you witness this happening?
Point 6:
They lowered the mat the paralyzed man was lying on.
Now after all the work they went through, they
lower the paralytic so Jesus can see him and heal him in front of the
crowds. That was a bold step they took.
Observations:
I asked myself how Jesus
reacted to the situation!
“When Jesus saw their
faith, he said to the paralytic, "Son, your sins are forgiven." (Mark
2:5, NIV)
We see a cause-effect
relationship here!
Because Jesus saw their faith,
the result was Jesus spoke to the paralytic with these words,
“Son, your sins are forgiven.”
Why is this so significant?
This is so significant because Jesus intervened
after the intercession of the paralytics’ friends. Because of their
faith, Jesus decided to speak to the paralytic.
All I can think about is how much agape love
they must have had for their friend. They knew that Jesus could heal
their friend and they were going to get to Jesus no matter what
obstacles they were facing even if it meant facing ridicule as they
tried to get through the roof. It was a mighty risk to have taken for
their friend just so he could be taken to Jesus for healing.
Implications:
I saw this passage as an example of what true
friendship could look like. If I say that I am somebody’s friend, I
should put myself in a position to be there for them no matter what the
obstacles. That is what the four men did for their friend and it paid
of. Sadly, I have not always been that kind of friend and the Lord has
brought it to my attention as I studied this passage! I depend on the
Lord Jesus Christ to
change with His Helping Hands.
I ask you now dear friend,
what kind of friends do you have in life?
Dear friend, there are friends who pretend to be friends and there are
those who are real friends who would even die for you. It makes me so
happy to realize that there are friends out there that do not mind
risking their own lives for their friends. They do not let obstacles,
inconveniences, or hindrances stop them from helping their friends. That
is what the four men did for their friend and it paid of.
Don’t you want that?
When you call someone your friend, I hope you do not let obstacles,
inconveniences; hindrances, danger, etc stop you from reaching out to
that friend who may need help in anything. I hope I can be that type of
friend.
I want
to share with you the example of 4 friends who made such an impact in my
life few years ago. I am proud to call them friends! They are not the
only ones that have affected by life in a positive way but this
situation became special for me.
At one
point, I had such a bad semester because everything that could possibly
go wrong at once seemed to go wrong. I had to move and was doing it on
my own because I did not want to bother anyone for help. I was not even
thinking straight!
I would take
trips in the bus from Shadyside to Squirrel Hill or walk. I knew my
friends were really busy with their classes and decided not to bother
them with all the boxes I had.
I had
gone to small group Bible study every Monday night without missing it. One Monday, I
missed it and my small group was concerned. They knew I must be
overwhelmed with all the moving I was doing because they knew about it
and had wanted to help. I had declined their offer for help before
Monday!
As I was making my multiple
trips back from Squirrel Hill to Shadyside, on one trip, I was shocked
to see some of the students from the small group one-by-one.
I did not recall ever telling them where I
lived but they were on a mission and they found out. They were hiding to
surprise me. They cancelled the small group Bible study just so 4 of the core leaders in that
cell group could come help me.
I still cannot believe it even to this day. I
like to remember them as the 4 musketeers (Sara Witmer (now Sara
Schuster), Jonathan Morton, David Black, and Joshua Steck). I do believe
with the help of the 5th musketeer, Becky McMullen (now Becky Posh),
roommate of Sara they figured out where I lived.
Before even then, one day when I had collapsed
in the William Pitt Union, they had asked Abdou Cole, the Unit Manager
of Schenley at the time to allow them to take me to their dorm! Sara was
studying nursing and Becky was studying Occupational Therapy. They took
me to their suite in McCormick Hall and nursed me that night by giving
me their guest room!
Coming back to the apartment story, I feel
embarrassed to write this part because my apartment was like it was
ransacked and a cyclone whirled everything out of place. You would have needed to be a track-field athlete figuratively to jump
from one place to another because there was stuff everywhere.
They asked
me how they could help but I did not know where to start so I told them
I really appreciate their help but they should go back to campus. They
were not going to leave until my apartment was clean and I had a way to
move all the stuff.
Sara
decided that she could go back to campus and bring boxes but we found
some in the storage. They took all the initiative, cleaned, and packed
all my stuff for almost 3 hours that night even when they had school
work for the next day and finals were on the horizon!
My
Chinese roommate had moved most of his stuff out. When my four friends left, my
roommate who was not a Christian came to me and said, "It was really nice
of your friends to help you like that".
He wanted to know how I got to
know them. I told him that they were from 'InterVarsity Christian
Fellowship' of the Pitt chapter.
His
reaction was, "No wonder, they seemed really nice and helpful" My
friends had left an imprint of their Christian faith with my Chinese
roommate without even speaking a word about the Gospel to him at the
time.
The next
day Josh asked his brother if he could bring his truck, even though he
lived outside of Pittsburgh. This was so Josh and David could help me
move all my stuff to Squirrel Hill, when his brother came.
Josh even sacrificed his class that day because
he knew I had to be at work and they took two trips to help me move and
then unload the stuff in Squirrel Hill. In all my life, I had not friends like that who
showed so much care.
They made a Mission Impossible situation possible.
I am
still honored to have known them as friends *hugs*.
At
that time, Sara
served as President of InterVarsity, worship coordinator, prayer
coordinator, outreach coordinator, and small group leader.
At that time, Jonathan
served as Vice-President of InterVarsity, Large-group coordinator, and
Administrative coordinator.
Joshua
served on the Worship Team.
David
served as small group leader, publicity coordinator, and Business
Manager.
Becky had served as
Vice-President before Jonathan took over.
Sometimes what our friends do for us can be a big deal depending on our
need!
You may not have friends like that in your life right now but you can
be a friend like that to someone else in their life. You can be there
for them when they need a helping hand whether it is spiritually,
mentally, physically, emotionally, etc.
I hope your friends can count on you for help when they need it.
If you call yourself a friend of someone, I hope you can be there to
help them no matter the inconvenience just as the four friends helped
the paralytic and students from InterVarsity graciously offered
unexpected help to me.
I do not know many of you personally but I want
to offer my help in any area of your life that you need if I am capable.
Please do not hesitate to ask if you need help in anything.
I am so excited that InterVarsity Christian Fellowship is again active
at the University of Pittsburgh! IVCF meets Tuesday nights at 8:45 p.m.! If you have not found a fellowship, I highly
recommend checking IVCF out for at least a month before making a
decision whether this is the fellowship the Lord wants you to be at.
IVCF also has a Carnegie Mellon University chapter. If you want to find
out more about them, you can check their website out at
http://www.ivcf.org
Friends don’t always have to be outsiders. Our best friends can
literally be within our own household. I know for me my mommy is my best
friend and my daddy is with our Lord Jesus Christ who is the best friend
forever for all those who turn to Him.
Recently, I was part of a cell group at Oakland International Fellowship
called 'Potter's Clay/Living Acts' that came close to that InterVarsity cell group
I was part of. We met on Friday nights at 7:00 p.m. Now we are split
into two separate groups called 'Potter's Clay' and 'Living Acts'
Potter's Clay/Living Acts cell group and OIF has been so helpful and
supportive when my dad had a cardiac arrest in Oct 2007 and eventually
went home to be with the Lord Jesus on December 17, 2007. They are still
very supportive and helpful including the church itself which is the
international congregation of Pittsburgh Chinese Church-Oakland located
on N. Dithridge St.
Maybe you don't have close friends who you can turn to for help but I
have Good News for you. Regardless of work life, home life, etc we all can have a
Friend who no earthly friend can even come close to. His name is Jesus
Christ and He will never leave you nor forsake you. Our earthly friends
are not perfect and they can disappoint us but Jesus Christ will always
be there for us whom we can turn to 24-7. We can talk to Jesus wherever
we are.
Jesus knows what we go through and wants to intervene in our
lives. While Jesus was preaching the Word and an interruption came,
Jesus took time to address the interruption.
Friend, an interruption has come in all of our lives. It is the
interruption of sin. Sin has separated us from a perfect union and
relationship with God. Because of the deadly virus known as sin, we have
become paralyzed to its venom. On our own we cannot defeat sin but
thanks be to God that in His love for us He sent Jesus Christ to carry
our burden of sin. Jesus took the burden of our sin and carried the load
of it to the cross and nailed it to the cross as His hands and feet were
pounded, thorns pressed on His forehead, and a spear through his chest.
This was all done so His precious cleansing blood can be collected and
become our antidote to release us from this paralysis caused by sin.
Friend, Jesus shed His precious cleansing blood for you so you can be
washed clean of this deadly virus known as sin. The paralytic could have
objected to be taken to Jesus but allowed his friends to take him to
Jesus.
In our sins, we can object to those who want to lead us to Christ but
when we do that, we will remain paralyzed. Instead, we should allow
others to lead us to Christ so He can take us to the Father. Yes, friend
Jesus loves you so much that He died for your sin, was buried, and came
back to life to save you.
You can be excited that you do not have to live this life on your own
but have the King of Kings and Lord of lords to guide you and lead you.
You will be freed friend with Jesus in your life. I know He has freed me
and that is exciting to know.
May you lead others to Christ knowing Christ alone can deliver us
from the paralysis of sin. May you turn to the Lord who wants to be your
best Friend everyday! Come as you are! Amen! He will reach you in your deepest needs.
"Friends Reach Instantly,
Encouraging Never-ending Daily Service!" (F.R.I.E.N.D.S)/"What
kind of friends do you have in life?"
Prayer:
Dear Lord Jesus, thank you
that you are the greatest friend we can have. Your love for us is
unconditional. Thank you for the friends you do send our path to put a
smile on our face. Thank you how much you care for us. Thank you for
your Word and how it changes people's lives. Thank you Lord that we can
follow your example. Please Lord help us to be faithful to you and seek
you always. Please help us to lay down our lives for our friends and be
there to help them. Thank you so much Lord Jesus. Thank you for the
small group you had blessed me to be part of. We lift our lives to you and
ask you to take care of us. Thank you so much Jesus! Thank you that you
want to be our Best friend. We are sorry for our sins and turn our lives
to thee. Come Lord Jesus and fill us with your presence in our hearts
today. Make our heart your home and preach to us Jesus. Please work in
our lives. We thank you for covering us with your precious Blood to
atone for our sin when you died on the cross, was buried, and came back
to life on the third day to save. Thank you for being our Lord and Personal Savior!
Thank you for hearing us and answering us. In Your Name I Pray
Jesus! Amen!
"May my spoken words and
unspoken thoughts be pleasing even to you, O Lord my Rock and my
Redeemer." (Psalm 19:14)
If you would like to invite Jesus Christ into your heart and make Him a
daily part of your life, you can this very moment. You will never be
alone. You can claim God's promises for you in the Bible and see them
come true, before your eyes, in His wonderful timing. You don't have to
wait for a special time to come to the Lord. You can come right now as
you pray the prayer below, meaning it in your heart.
Prayer:
God I am a sinner. I am invaded by this deadliest virus. Many times I
feel so guilty and yucky inside. I need forgiveness. I am so sorry for
my sins. I have not obeyed you with my whole heart! I have gone my own
way and done my own things. I still struggle with sin. I need you Jesus
in my life so I can receive forgiveness and a new beginning. In the
process, I can forgive others as you help me to. Thank you so much
Jesus. I accept the antidote you have sent me. I believe Jesus you died
for me and your cleansing blood will cleanse me from all my sins. You
came back to life to save me. Thank you God I am set free, free from the
bondage of sin. Hear my cry Oh Lord. I accept you Jesus into my heart. I
make you my Lord and Personal Savior of my life. Thank you Father God
for giving me Salvation. Thank you Jesus for coming into my heart and
making my heart your home. Thank you for living in me Jesus and I will
live for you and serve you the rest of the days of my life. Thank you
for being my Lord and personal Savior! I can live a life of peace with
you on my side. Thank you that you have heard my prayer and answered me!
In your Name I Pray Jesus! AMEN!
