SERMON INTRO

• Opening tension
• Most of us can name somebody we love who needs a touch from Jesus.
  • We have prayed for them.
  • We have worried about them.
  • We have talked about them.
  • But what if their story does not change until somebody decides to pick up a corner?
• Somebody you love may be closer to a miracle than you think...but they may be waiting for somebody else to make the first move.
• Segue into story

THE STORY

• Mark 2:1–12 (NLT) — 1 When Jesus returned to Capernaum several days later, the news spread quickly that he was back home. 2 Soon the house where he was staying was so packed with visitors that there was no more room, even outside the door. While he was preaching God’s word to them, 3 four men arrived carrying a paralyzed man on a mat. 4 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. 5 Seeing their faith, Jesus said to the paralyzed man, “My child, your sins are forgiven.” 6 But some of the teachers of religious law who were sitting there thought to themselves, 7 “What is he saying? This is blasphemy! Only God can forgive sins!” 8 Jesus knew immediately what they were thinking, so he asked them, “Why do you question this in your hearts? 9 Is it easier to say to the paralyzed man ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or ‘Stand up, pick up your mat, and walk’? 10 So I will prove to you that the Son of Man has the authority on earth to forgive sins.” Then Jesus turned to the paralyzed man and said, 11 “Stand up, pick up your mat, and go home!” 12 And the man jumped up, grabbed his mat, and walked out through the stunned onlookers. They were all amazed and praised God, exclaiming, “We’ve never seen anything like this before!”
• Luke’s added detail
• Luke 5:17: “The Lord’s healing power was strongly with Jesus.”

1. THE POWER IS ALREADY IN THE ROOM

• TEACHER GOAL — Establish that Jesus remains the answer and the source of hope. Create urgency by contrasting the power present in the house with the need still outside, so the church feels responsible to help bridge that gap.
• The story - build BUZZ
  • Word spread quickly that Jesus was back home in Capernaum, drawing crowds so large they filled the house and blocked the entrance.
• Why the Buzz - Jesus represents hope
  • Because Jesus represented hope.
    • Hope for sick bodies.
    • Hope for tormented minds.
    • Hope for guilty souls.
    • Hope for people who had run out of answers.
  • Jesus still represents hope.
    • Hebrews 13:8 — “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.”
  • He has not lost His authority, His compassion, or His power.
• Jesus must be lifted
  • Lift Jesus up - Jesus said in John 12:32, “And when I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw everyone to myself.”
  • Test and see - 2 Corinthians 13:5 — “Examine yourselves to see if your faith is genuine. Test yourselves. Surely you know that Jesus Christ is among you.”
  • WHEN JESUS IS IN THE HOUSE, HOPE STARTS MOVING THROUGH THE CITY.
• He has the power
  • Luke adds an important detail:
    • Luke 5:17 — “The Lord’s healing power was strongly with Jesus.”
  • The Lord absolutely had the ability to heal.
    • The power was present before the four men arrived, climbed the stairs, opened the roof, and lowered the man.
• Tension
  • The question was not whether Jesus had the power. The question was whether the powerless man could get to Him.
  • A FULL ROOM IS NOT REVIVAL IF THE BROKEN STILL CANNOT GET IN.
  • THE FRIENDS PROVIDED THE TRANSPORTATION. JESUS PROVIDED THE TRANSFORMATION.

2. STUCK IS NOT THE SAME AS HOPELESS

• TEACHER GOAL — Restore faith for people who seem unreachable or too far gone. Move listeners from quiet resignation to hopeful initiative: no person is beyond what Jesus can do.
• Honest assessment
  • We often assume people who seem resistant, wounded, or far away will never change.
  • Apart from Jesus, they may truly have no answer—without an encounter with Him, their situation won't change.
• The Divine Truth
  • PEOPLE MAY LOOK HOPELESS TO US, BUT THEY ARE NEVER HOPELESS TO JESUS.
• Our role - The Bridge
  • The man could not walk to Jesus, push through the crowd, climb the stairs, open the roof, or lower himself into the room.
  • He was powerless, but he was not hopeless. His hope relied on someone else believing Jesus could change his condition.
  • The attitude of the woman with the issue of blood:
    • Mark 5:28 — “If I can just touch his robe, I will be healed.”
  • That must become our attitude toward the people we love: if we can only get them to Jesus and help them have one real encounter with Him.
  • IF WE CAN GET THEM TO JESUS, HOPE IS STILL POSSIBLE.
• 4. The Personal Call to Action
  • SOMETIMES ANOTHER PERSON’S MIRACLE BEGINS WITH YOUR DECISION NOT TO LEAVE THEM WHERE THEY ARE.

3. IT TAKES FOUR CORNERS

• TEACHER GOAL — Show that reaching people is shared work, not a solo burden. Encourage listeners to identify partners who can pray, invite, build trust, and help carry one person toward Jesus.
• One person was not enough to carry the man
  • Mark specifically tells us that four men carried him.
  • The weight required multiple shoulders, four carriers, and four corners.
• Couch illustration
  • Have you ever tried to carry a couch by yourself? Funny scenario of awkward, wall hitting, falling, etc. 
  • Some things were never designed to be carried alone. Soul winning is the same way.\
• Harvest was never intended to be a solo effort
  • Paul described the partnership in 1 Corinthians:
  • 1 Corinthians 3:6 — “I planted the seed in your hearts, and Apollos watered it, but it was God who made it grow.”
• The overflowing nets
  • Luke 5:6–7 — “Their nets were so full of fish they began to tear! A shout for help brought their partners in the other boat.”
  • When Jesus began filling the nets, one boat and one crew were not enough.
  • The size of the harvest required partners.
• Think like a harvest team
  • Who are you presently working with to reach somebody?
  • Who is praying with you?
  • Who can help make the invitation, build the relationship, offer the ride, or create the opening?
  • Something could change dramatically in your life if you had a partner in winning souls.
• B-Groups can become strategic fishing teams
  • A B-Group is more than a group of friends to do life with.
    • It is a group that can agree over actual names.
    • It is a group that can pray together for people far from God.
    • It is a group that can form a plan to bring people to Jesus.
  • You do not just need friends to do life with. You need friends to fish with. 

4. FAITH JESUS CAN SEE

• TEACHER GOAL — Make faith visible as action, perseverance, and sacrifice. Challenge listeners to move past good intentions and keep pressing when the obvious path is blocked.
• Jesus saw their faith
  • Mark 2:5 — “Seeing their faith, Jesus said to the paralyzed man, ‘My child, your sins are forgiven.’”
  • What did Jesus see?
    • He saw passion: they cared too much to leave their friend where he was.
    • He saw perseverance: the blocked door did not become their excuse.
    • He saw push: their faith had hands, sweat, weight, and movement.
• Passion - PASSION IN THE KINGDOM PAYS OFF! 
  • These four men had fuel in the tank.
  • They cared enough to gather a team, go to the man, pick him up, and carry him across town.
  • How’s your passions
• Perseverance - YOU WILL HAVE SOME RESISTANCE! It’s spiritual warfare. Carry on. 
  • They could have looked at the doorway and called it a closed door.
  • Restaurant illustration
    • When I arrive at a restaurant and they tell me the wait is extremely long, I am often ready to say, “Take my name off the list.”
    • The wait exposes how badly I really wanted to eat there.
    • These men reached a crowded house and refused to take their names off the list.
• Push
  • They found the outside stairs or ladder and carried the weight to the roof.
  • Homes in first-century Palestine commonly had flat roofs, often reached from outside.
  • The roof could be formed with branches and straw packed with dirt or clay over wooden beams.
  • They did not gently open a convenient hatch. Mark says they dug through the roof.
• Paint the scene
  • Jesus is teaching, and then the sounds begin overhead.
  • The room grows distracted.
  • Dust starts falling. Pieces of clay, dirt, straw, and debris begin dropping into the room.
  • Four determined faces appear through the opening.
  • Then the men begin lowering one man on four corners until he is directly in front of Jesus.
  • I can imagine Jesus looking up at these men—amused by the commotion and pleased by their confidence in Him.

5. WE CARRY. HE CLEANSES

• TEACHER GOAL — Bring the sermon to the Gospel: our effort can put people before Jesus, but only Jesus forgives and transforms. Build confidence that one genuine encounter with Him can reverse a life.
• The man is finally lying before Jesus
  • The four friends have done everything they can do; they have carried, climbed, dug, and lowered. Now their friend is lying at the feet of Christ, where their work ends and the work of Jesus begins.
• Jesus addresses the most urgent problem
  • Mark 2:5 — “My child, your sins are forgiven.”
  • Jesus does not begin with the man’s legs. He begins with his soul.
  • The brokenness of his body was visible, but the condition of his soul was heavier and more eternal.
• The room gasps
  • The religious leaders cannot believe Jesus would claim the authority to forgive sins.
• A room filled with walking people who could not see
• THEY WERE CLOSE TO JESUS, BUT THEY WERE NOT HELPING ANYBODY GET TO JESUS.
• Jesus heals the visible condition
  • Mark 2:10–11 — “The Son of Man has the authority on earth to forgive sins… Stand up, pick up your mat, and go home!”
• When Jesus heals the soul, everything is impacted
• The point
  • If we can get people to Jesus, He can change their lives.
  • But it will take faith that Jesus is still the hope.
  • It will take a team willing to carry the weight.
  • It will take passion, perseverance, and push.
  • Our assignment is to bring people before Jesus and trust Him to do what only He can do.

THE APPLICATION: PICK UP A CORNER

• Put one person in your mind
  • Not a category.
  • Not “the lost.”
  • One face. One name.
• Who can agree with you for that person?
• What is one practical step you can take?
• Prayer for their names

SALVATION INVITATION: MAYBE YOU ARE THE MAN ON THE MAT

• Maybe today you are not one of the four friends.
  • Maybe you are the person who feels stuck.
  • Maybe shame, addiction, disappointment, or pain has pinned you down.
  • Maybe someone prayed for you, invited you, or brought you here.
• Your friend could bring you into the room, but only Jesus can change your life.
• Jesus sees you.
  • He knows your deepest need.
  • He has authority to forgive your sins.
  • He is calling you to rise into a new life.
• Today can be your encounter with Jesus.