This year at district fine arts in the category of short sermon Sr. I received a scoring of 37.33 a superior with invitation.
At national fine arts in the same category, with the same sermon I received a scoring of 35.33 an excellent.
I hope it challenges you, and you can find some encouragement in the word God gave me for this years competition.
Mark 2
If Mark 2 were a gold mine you wouldn’t have to dig very deep to find the gems. During the dig you encounter many details, which answer many questions.
Three to be specific, the first is this: How Can You Know Your Faith in Jesus is Real?
Mark 2:1-4 “When Jesus had come back home many were gathered together, so that there was no longer room, not even near the door; and He was speaking the word to them.
They came, bringing to Him a paralytic, carried by four men.
Being unable to get to Him because of the crowd, they removed the roof above Him; and when they had dug an opening, they let down the pallet on which the paralytic was lying.”
We don’t know who these four men are. But I tell you this; they’re some of the most faithful examples of what it looks like to love someone.
I want to point out a key phrase in vs3 “And they came, bringing to Him a paralytic, carried by four men. Being unable to get to Him because of the crowd“ -“they were unable to get to him.”
That’s the greatest frustration for every person who knows there is a God. Their inability to feel connected to him.
From the moment the Garden of Eden closed to the moment when Jesus arrived on earth, mankind continued to struggle with getting close to God.
He was there, and they were trying to get to him. And they had a friend who had a need.
Sometimes faith will compel us to care about other people more then we care about ourselves.
Out of love they were compelled with faith.
Their love for their friend and belief that Jesus was the answer compelled them to use their hands and feet.
They carried him to the house, it’s so full they cant get to the door.
But they knew Jesus was inside.
So they created this hole in the roof to drop their friend down to Jesus.
Faith produces actions that are geared on getting to Jesus NOW,
“…I will show you my faith by my works."
They didn’t quit. They had to carry him to Jesus. Because getting to Jesus is the only thing that matters when you’re broken.
The second question is this: What Is Jesus Reaction To Our Faith?
In that moment he noticed them. Mark 2:5 “seeing their faith he said to the paralytic my son your sins are forgiven.”
In the room were the Pharisees and Scribes who were monitoring everything Jesus did to find out if it was kosher, if it was Old Testament savvy. And Jesus says, your sins are forgiven.
This is the only place in the gospels where Jesus deals with the spiritual need before the physical. Every other time he feeds them, or heals them, and then challenges them spiritually, in this case he goes right to the sin.
The Pharisees were on fire because here is this guy, who claims to be the Son of God, going around forgive people of their sin.
See Jesus was being surrounded by logic when he was looking for faith.
Vs. 8 “Immediately Jesus, aware in His spirit that they were reasoning that way within themselves, said to them…Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, 'Your sins are forgiven'; or to say, 'Get up, and pick up your pallet and walk'?” What Jesus was posing is, you wont believe in my authority in till I show you the visible action, but by doing so your going to realize I’m exactly who you don’t want to believe I am.
So what happens when faith and Jesus meet?
Vs. 10-11"But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins"--He said to the paralytic, "I say to you, get up, pick up your pallet and go home."
Jesus said, “I say to you, get up, pick up your pallet and go home” What has this guy wanted to do since the day his legs stopped working? He wanted to stand up and walk home.
You think it took just a bit of faith to think it would work now when it’s never worked before?
Do you know how many people in the church tried one time and think that God isn’t competent because their one effort didn’t match their expectations.
Jesus looked at a man who spent years on a pallet and he said, “get up and walk” that guy had tried to get up and walk everyday of his life. It’s his hearts desire, but the key was that he believed that Jesus fixed him. Jesus never touched him, but he saw his faith.
When God sees your faith he’s going to give you power. Vs12, “the man arose immediately took up his pallet and went out… they were all amazed and were glorifying God, saying, “We have never seen anything like this”
My last question is this: Are You a Carrier of Faith or Are You a Critic?
If you’ve been saved by Jesus Christ, is it not your objective to see those laying around broken and hurting and take them to Jesus?
See when God sent his son to earth, he sent him with power, with authority. And when Christ died on the cross for you and I. The Holy Spirit came to give us, that authority.
The Pharisees had that authority, but instead of using it to benefit others, they were only using it benefit themselves.
Now we can go to church every Sunday, go down to the alter; get filled with the presence of God. But what if he did more than that?
What if you allowed God to give you the opportunity to use that authority he has given you?
Are we carriers or critics? Because when we walk out of this room we are going to encounter people who have lain broken for far too long.
God has given us the authority to use every moment as an opportunity to be compelled by love, to bind up the broken hearted, proclaim freedom for the captives, to bring dead to life.
If we live in this authority the world will see and begin glorify God saying, “We have never seen anything like this”
