Do you need an example of faith?
And again He entered Capernaum after some days, and it was heard that He was in the house. 2 Immediately many gathered together, so that there was no longer room to receive them, not even near the door. And He preached the word to them. 3 Then they came to Him, bringing a paralytic who was carried by four men. 4 And when they could not come near Him because of the crowd, they uncovered the roof where He was. So when they had broken through, they let down the bed on which the paralytic was lying.
5 When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven you.”
6 And some of the scribes were sitting there and reasoning in their hearts, 7 “Why does this Man speak blasphemies like this? Who can forgive sins but God alone?”
8 But immediately, when Jesus perceived in His spirit that they reasoned thus within themselves, He said to them, “Why do you reason about these things in your hearts? 9 Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Arise, take up your bed and walk’? 10 But that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins”—He said to the paralytic, 11 “I say to you, arise, take up your bed, and go to your house.” 12 Immediately he arose, took up the bed, and went out in the presence of them all, so that all were amazed and glorified God, saying, “We never saw anything like this!”
Mark 2:1-12
Jesus is in the house and people are flocking to hear Him. The word was spreading! Jesus is preaching the Word to the houseful when here come four men bringing a man who is paralyzed to see Him. Apparently they got the word as well that Jesus was at the house. Why were they coming to see Jesus? Because they knew it was an opportunity for healing. An opportunity for deliverance.
Excitement is Building
Can you imagine what the conversation must’ve been like on their way to see Jesus? The paralytic might’ve said, “Oh, fellas! This is going to be incredible to get to see Jesus and get my healing! It is going to be so wonderful! I can’t wait to be able to get up off of this bed and walk. I can’t wait to do the things that I have been longing to do – just to run and jump – to do things for myself.” You KNOW he was excited!
How do you think they felt when they got to the house and saw the throngs of people? Here is the opportunity they had been waiting for. They had such excitement and joy! What do you think happened to their enthusiasm? Did they think, “Sorry, Buddy. We can’t make it through the house to Jesus. We should’ve gotten here earlier. There’s a barrier here. Do we turn around and call it a day?”
No! They had undeniable faith! When you have that unrelenting faith, you find a way. You don’t let the opportunity pass you by.
Faith Finds a Way
In verse four, they found a way. They uncovered the roof where Jesus was, and when they had broken through, they lowered their friend down. What did Jesus do? The Bible says when Jesus saw their faith…what did their faith say to Him? We didn’t give up, Jesus. We didn’t qui, and we didn’t throw in the towel. When Jesus saw their faith, He spoke to the paralytic man and said, “Son, your sins are forgiven you.” Then, the man IMMEDIATELY got up and walked out – walked out past the barrier that tried to keep him from his opportunity.
When God sees your faith, it moves Him. It moves Him to do something on your behalf.
This year as opportunities come your way, show God your faith! Hebrews 11:6 says without faith, it is impossible to please God. Your faith tells God everything He needs to know about you. Will God see your faith this year? Don’t. Give. Up.