Key Takeaway
We don't just want to know that Jesus saved our lives; we want to live as if Jesus saved our lives.
Some men came, bringing to him a paralyzed man, carried by four of them.
Mark 2:3
There were so many obstacles in front of these men, but they knew who was in the room: Jesus.
We may not be physically paralyzed, but we've all been spiritually paralyzed, not moving and working in the way in which we were designed.
We don't just want to know that Jesus saved our lives; we want to live as if Jesus saved our lives.
Do you know people around you who don't know Jesus? We need to be the people to lift up our friends and family. They need us to lift them.
1. Lift: Prayer
Never underestimate the power and purpose of prayer.
“Prayer does not fit us for greater work, prayer is the greater work.” - Oswald Chambers
Prayer is a gift and a weapon that gives us direct access to call on the only one who is able. When you ask, believe what you ask for, and do not doubt the power and authority of Jesus. Why do we doubt? Because of what we see.
We must lift our eyes to the heavens because that's where our help comes from.
What we see should not stop us from believing in the power of God. In the name of Jesus, anything can happen.
But as for me, it is good to be near God. I have made the Sovereign Lord my refuge; I will tell of all your deeds.
Psalm 73:28
He is a restorer and healer and if He has done it before, He can do it again.
He is able.
2. Lift: Expectation
Expectation - a strong belief that something will happen or be the case in the future.
The expectation alters our energy and determines our actions.
Since they could not get him to Jesus because of the crowd, they made an opening in the roof above Jesus by digging through it and then lowered the mat the man was lying on.
Mark 2:4
They had an expectation to see their friend in front of Jesus, so they did whatever they could do to get him in front of Jesus.
We should have high expectations of what God can do.
3. Let God be God
The first word Jesus says to the paralyzed man that was lowered from the roof: son. He gives this man a position, title, and place in the family. When you know your place in the family, it gives you confidence. Your circumstances don't define you; God does. He created you in His image, and you are a son or a daughter.
Then, God forgives the paralyzed man's sins. He first healed the man internally.
“Why does this fellow talk like that? He’s blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?”
Mark 2:7
God is looking at your heart.
4. Jesus heals.
“I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home."
Mark 2:11
Once you were unable to do so, but now you can do so with God. That was your past, but it doesn't have to be your future. Your past doesn't have to define you; your future in Jesus can define you.
Nothing is too much for our God. No one is too far gone, and nothing is too hard for God to work.
—
All of this happened because some men dared to lift.
He got up, took his mat and walked out in full view of them all. This amazed everyone and they praised God, saying, “We have never seen anything like this!”
Mark 2:12
Everyone praised God and stood amazed.
Discussion Questions
- Are you living like Jesus saved you? Why or why not?
- In what seasons have you clung to prayer most?
- In what seasons has it been the hardest for you to go to prayer?
- What circumstances in your life right now have you doubting the power of prayer?
- What is a time in your life that you saw provision in your prayers?
- Do you have high expectations of what God can do? Why or why not?
- Dan Watson highlights the first word Jesus says to the paralyzed man: son. Have you accepted that God sees you as His child? Do you struggle with this?
- How have you allowed your current circumstances to define you?
- How have you allowed your past circumstances to define you?
- Who do you know that needs to be in front of Jesus to hear that they're adopted into sonship, forgiven, and healed?
Scripture References
