“By Any Means Necessary”
Mark 2:1-12
How far will you go to get someone to Jesus? How much sacrifice, how much are you willing to be inconvenienced so that some sick or struggling soul can meet the Master? Mark 2:1-12 reminds us that healing can really happen when we all by faith get under someone’s load and stay there until they are face to face with Jesus.
I have read this story many times, but as I prepared to preach it on Sunday, the freshness of it jumped off the pages and challenged my heart as a Pastor and a believer. Why? Because the four men who partnered in the paralytic’s pain had doubtless faith regarding the capacity of Jesus. They knew in their heart of hearts that Jesus had the power over paralysis and if they just got an audience with Jesus, he would be healed. It’s not that we as believers are not aware of the power of Jesus; it’s just that we do not always activate what we are aware of. The 4 men who carried the cripple acted out their faith, demonstrated their faith, put feet to their faith, and never contemplated that their tearing up the homeowner’s roof just might be in vain. They modeled James’ statement in James 2:17, faith without works is dead.
What about you? Do you have a faith talk or a faith talk combined with a faith walk? Obviously, you know how the story ends, the paralytic got healed by the power of Christ. However, if his friends did not believe, he may have still been sitting somewhere on a dark street corner, broken! Let’s not leave any more cripples on the corner- let’s believe God for forgiveness, believe God for salvation, believe God for healing and wholeness- and do it with an attitude that says, “By Any Means Necessary”.
May the Lord Jesus blow our minds too, as we walk by faith and not by sight.
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