Miracles - Seeing Their Faith

For most of us, when we see a person suffering, something inside us says, “I want to help.”

But we don’t ALWAYS listen to that prompting. In today's Miracle, a group of friends believed Jesus could change a life, and they put their compassion into action.

Matthew 9:1-8 (NLT2)
1  Jesus climbed into a boat and went back across the lake to his own town. 2  Some people brought to him a paralyzed man on a mat. Seeing their faith, Jesus said to the paralyzed man, “Be encouraged, my child! Your sins are forgiven.” 3  But some of the teachers of religious law said to themselves, “That’s blasphemy! Does he think he’s God?” 4  Jesus knew what they were thinking, so he asked them, “Why do you have such evil thoughts in your hearts? 5  Is it easier to say ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or ‘Stand up and walk’? 6  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, “Stand up, pick up your mat, and go home!” 7  And the man jumped up and went home! 8  Fear swept through the crowd as they saw this happen. And they praised God for sending a man with such great authority.

 In that day, the religious leaders taught that physical suffering was proof of God’s punishment. If a person got a disease, was paralyzed, experienced a tragedy, then the religious leaders did the math for them and let them know the ANSWER to their trouble was that God was punishing them for their sins. I hear similar things today.

Somebody receives a terrible diagnosis, or experiences something tragic…and they wonder if God is punishing them for something. Can I just state how insane that is?

SIN and DISEASE are tied together. When the first man sinned, sickness, disease, deformities, and death entered the world. Every one of us lives in a broken body in a broken world.

When Jesus’ disciples pointed at a man born blind and asked whose sin caused it, Jesus said neither one. That means a DIAGNOSIS is not a VERDICT about your character.

Some of you worked to retirement, then relocated here for these beach years. Then, a scan came back with a shadow on it. That shadow is not God settling a score with you. All of the punishment for your sin and rebellion was poured out on Jesus at the cross 2,000 years ago. God is not punishing you for your sins. And if you INVITE Him, He will WALK with you through this process. Jesus cares about your PHYSICAL need, and He cares about your DEEPER need too.

The PARALYZED man came to Jesus for LEGS…but JESUS began the MIRACLE by FORGIVING the man’s sins. And he NEVER would have gotten to Jesus if he DID not have friends willing to CARRY him.

Verse 2 says, “Seeing THEIR faith.” Jesus saw the FAITH of the man ON the mat AND the four men carrying the corners. THESE men BELIEVED Jesus could heal their friend. The MAN BELIEVED Jesus could HEAL him. This man DID NOT get to Jesus on his own. He COULD NOT get to Jesus on his own.

Somebody had to pick up a corner of that mat…
…And somebody else.
…And somebody else.
…And somebody else.

Without those friends, this story NEVER happens. The MAN stays on the MAT. The MAT stays in the HOUSE.

And so, the first lifenote I want to encourage you with today…is…

TOGETHER, BRING PEOPLE TO JESUS (v. 2)

We ALL work together to lead people to a life-changing relationship with Jesus: our Pastors, our leaders, and you. Very, very few of us lead people to Jesus by ourselves. I don’t. We each have a role in carrying people to Jesus. 

Do you know that between 1100-1400 people move to the Grand Strand every single month? We believe it because most everybody in this room came from somewhere else.

When you moved here, you left more than a zip code. You left your people. Your parents. Your lifelong friends. The coworkers you knew for twenty years. The church of your childhood. Back home, if life knocked you flat, four people would have shown up at your door with a casserole and a truck.

Thousands of people move to Myrtle Beach each month chasing sunshine and a fresh start, but a new address does not fix everything. Your neighbor moved here three years ago and his whole family is 800 miles away. The widow on your street…She and her husband bought their house for their golden years…Now she eats dinner in it alone.

Your coworker jokes about everything so nobody asks how he is really doing. Another neighbor drinks themselves to sleep every night and calls it winding down.

PEOPLE are on a mat. They cannot get to Jesus on their own. Somebody has to carry them. That SOMEBODY is US. 

These FRIENDS did more than CARE for their friend. They DID something. THAT shows us…

FAITH DOES WHATEVER IT TAKES TO HELP (v. 2)

If you have surrendered your life to Jesus and received him as your Savior, you KNOW what they are MISSING. You have peace when you walk through troubled times. You experience HOPE while you walk through hopeless situations. You have watched Jesus rescue you from addiction, repair your broken relationships, redeem your past. You know through experience what your friends, your family, and your neighbors are missing, because there was a day when somebody grabbed a corner of YOUR mat.

This MIRACLE is shared in three of the Gospels.  Matthew gives us the short version of this story. Mark and Luke tell the same story and fill in the details.

When the FOUR friends arrived at the house, Jesus was teaching and the crowd packed the doorway. Nobody would move. They did not drop their friend in the yard and say, “We tried. Same time tomorrow.” They climbed onto the roof. They tore a hole in it. And they lowered their friend down until the mat landed at the feet of Jesus.

 I love the determination those four men had. They CARED too much to let crowds, ladders, and roofing tiles stand between their friend and Jesus. They believed one thing with everything in them. If we can get him to Jesus, he will never be the same. And he never was. He came in CARRIED on a mat. He walked out CARRYING the mat.

JESUS changed his life.

Here is the whole sermon in one sentence.

GRAB A CORNER OF THEIR MAT.

You can LEAD people to Jesus SIMPLY by inviting them to weekend worship. We have INVITE cards at Guest Central in the lobby. Invite your dentist…The guy detailing your car…Your landscaper…Your surgeon…Your server at the restaurant…The crew delivering your furniture…The man picking up your trash…The driver who cut you off on 501.

I am so grateful for our teams who work hard to keep Beach Church a place where all people feel welcome regardless of their past mistakes and sins.

WHEN JESUS CHANGES YOUR LIFE, GET MOVING (v. 6-7)

Jesus said, “Stand up, pick up your mat, and go home!” And the man jumped up and went home!

Jesus did not heal that man so he could keep lying there. He said, “GET UP. Pick up the mat. Haul it home. Walk through town on the legs Jesus just gave you.

The same goes for us. You have been given life, so spend your life GIVING life to others. Some of you moved here to slow down…But you retired from a career. Leading people to Jesus has no retirement age. God did not bring you to the coast to run out the clock…The moving vans keep coming. People keep arriving, and many of them need somebody to grab a corner of their mat.

Do you remember the PEOPLE who once carried your MAT?

I do. Cyndi was the name of a young lady who INVITED me to church in 1991. Mikey was the name of a friend who went with me to church. Jennifer was the name of a young lady who asked me if I knew Jesus. Robbie was the name of the youth pastor who led me to Jesus. None of them DID everything. BUT each of them CARRIED a corner.

Who carried yours? Somebody grabbed a corner of your mat and they prayed for you…or drove you, or invited you. Then Jesus changed you. He forgave your sins.  He HEALED you.

And now it is YOUR TURN to carry a corner. The HEALED become the CARRIERS. Somebody grabbed a corner of your mat. Now grab a corner of theirs.

And maybe today you are not carrying anybody. Maybe you are the person on the mat. Maybe life has knocked you flat. Maybe you are exhausted. Maybe you are hurting. Maybe you do not even know how to get to Jesus from where you are.

Then let somebody grab a corner. Let somebody PRAY for you. Let somebody WALK with you. Let somebody HELP carry you. Because the same Jesus who saw that man on the mat…SEES you. The same Jesus who forgave him…Offers forgiveness to you. The same Jesus who changed his life…CAN change yours.