Thursday, September 4, 2014

September 5, 2014

"Jesus saw their faith, he said, “Friend, your sins are forgiven. “ The Pharisees and the teachers of the law began thinking to themselves, “Who is this fellow who speaks blasphemy? Who can forgive sins but God alone?” Jesus knew what they were thinking and asked, “Why are you thinking these things in your hearts? Which is easier: to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’?  But I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.” So he said to the paralyzed man, “I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home.” Immediately he stood up in front of them, took what he had been lying on and went home praising God." Luke 5:20-25

There are a number of fascinating things in this story!

Consider this question, "Which is the greater miracle, being saved from your sins or being healed from a disease?"

Thank God, Jesus is able to save AND heal! Praise His Name!

You will notice that Jesus dealt with the man's sins first, "Friend, your sins are forgiven."

It is also interesting that Jesus responded to THEIR faith (the faith of his friends) more than his faith. That's a study for another time, but it certainly testifies to the power of faith!

You can certainly make the case that the forgiveness of sins is a greater miracle than physical healing for this simple fact, you can get into Heaven in your sickness but you can get into Heaven in your sinfulness!

We know in this particular instance Jesus forgave the man before he healed him as a testimony to the Pharisees and religious leaders. The Jews believed that people became ill as a consequence of their sins. So, when this man was forgiven but remained paralyzed it messed with their theology.

They also were offended by the audacity of this "prophet" presuming to forgive sins. This was a bad day to be a Pharisee and it got much worse when Jesus said, "Why are you thinking these things in your hearts? Which is easier: to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’?  But I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.” So he said to the paralyzed man, “I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home.” Immediately he stood up in front of them, took what he had been lying on and went home praising God."

Wow! 

Amazing!

A man healed spiritually and physically by the power of God and the grace of Jesus!

While Jesus did the healing work, it happened because of the faithfulness and the faith of four friends who went beyond and above the ordinary to carry their needy friend to Jesus!

When was they last time you went beyond and above the ordinary to bring a friend to Christ?

You will have some good opportunities coming up this month. September 21st for First & Goal Sunday you should bring someone to hear about Jesus. September 28th in the 10:15 service we will be baptizing 6 or 7 people, that is a great chance for your friend to experience the joy and excitement of salvation. And, there is the evening of September 28th when we will show the "God's Not Dead" movie at 6:00 p.m.

Let's raise the roof this month!