Northside Church - Sydney
Dear God, If Only – Week 4: …my FAITH was stronger
You're listening to another great message from Northside Community Church. You know, people will do extraordinary things, dangerous things when they're really desperate. The stories about desperation, the debate has raged for many years and our own country will continue to rage about the men, the women, the children who make those perilous voyages from different parts of the world in a desperate move to find a new life and freedom here in Australia. I can recall a time of a concentrated time when people were trying to stow away in the in the wheel housings of large commercial aircraft. Can anybody remember those days? And we had a real spate of these and unfortunately those who were doing it didn't research the whole thing very well because the real arch of a plane is not pressurized so those who didn't fall out and many did froze to death. And that was discovered at the time of arrival. If we were to pass the microphone around this morning, I'd really love to do this and find out what desperate things have you done over the years in a situation, either a serious situation or a fun situation. I reckon the answers would be interesting. I was a teenager growing up in the last part of my teenage youth in Perth. It was a Friday night and on Friday nights myself and a few friends would go to the Claremont Speedway and it was quite a cultural experience to do that. And one particular night, there were four of us in this car. My friend Murray had a little anglier, a lowered anglier. Yes, just like out of Harry Potter for you kids, we're getting excited. A lowered anglier. And one of the guys said, "Look, I'm really strapped for cash this week." He was in high school. He said, "I worked it out like if two of us get in the boot, we only have to pay for two at the entrance gate as the cars move through." Well, it was clear that the Holy Spirit still had a bit of work to do on all of us in the area of honesty. We're all from the South Perth Church of Christ. But it seemed like a good idea. I was chosen to be one of them. I was the lightest one, 60-something case in those days if you can believe that. And as soon as that boot lids shut, I made a discovery. I made a discovery that I'm an acute claustrophobia. But fortunately, I was able to bear with that reality because we made another discovery that Murray had a hole in his boot, which unfortunately coincided with a hole in his exhaust. And we were getting carbon monoxide pumped into that boot at a pretty rapid rate. And despite our poundings on the back of the seat, we kept getting told, "Oh, just hang on a bit. There's cops everywhere. Just hang on a bit. Hang on a bit longer. If my mother ever gets to hear this on podcast, he's hearing it for the first time. I don't want upset her too much, but desperate moves, stupid moves, crazy things. We've all done them, I guess, at different times." Friends, when it comes to moves of desperation, the incident we have here recorded in Mark 2 certainly qualifies. Four men. Four men who take off parts of the roof of a house in order to lower their friend to the feet of Jesus. And you get the impression that Jesus is quite stunned by it. As I guess, he would be. He's there teaching and all of a sudden, bits of plaster come sort of falling down. You get the impression that it's a little bit stunned in verse 5. He says, "Seeing how much faith they had, like, wow, Jesus said to the paralyzed man, his first comment was, "Your sins are forgiven." It was truly an act of remarkable faith. That's why it's the ideal passage to deal with when we're looking at the subject of faith. Now, I don't know, like I said a moment ago, I don't know exactly what it could mean for you to have an increase in your faith, but I do know this. As the people of God, as followers of Jesus Christ, we are meant to be people of faith. That's what we're designed for. As children of God, as followers of Jesus, we are meant to live at a level of effectiveness in which we are reliant, not on our own strength and resources, but on the power and strength of God, our Father, and Jesus Christ, our Son, His Son, and our Savior. That's how we're meant to be. That's the ideal. I mean, the Bible is full of exhortations, words of encouragement for us to live by faith. Paul captures it succinctly, beautifully. In 2 Corinthians 5, 7, when he writes, "We walk by faith, not by sight." We know that verse so well. Their friends, in my humble opinion, I think this is the most challenging area of the Christian life, to move beyond the point of reliance on our own strength, our own gifts, our own abilities, our own ingenuity, and attempt things that won't happen unless God shows up. I think it's a big area of challenge for all of us. I know it is for me because we all tend to be pretty self-sufficient and all tend to trust in our own brilliance and our own resources. It's really tough to step into that area of faith and start relying on God in a big way. There's no doubt in my mind this incident is about the amazing outcomes possible when powerful faith in God is demonstrated. I mean, in this passage, a life is miraculously transformed. And a group of people see something they would never have forgotten. It's an amazing scene in the ministry of Jesus, all because of the faith of these four men. Now, we have no way of knowing what their names were. Bible doesn't mention that. But for my purposes this morning, I'm going to give them names. I'm going to give these four guys names because each name will represent the four essential components of faith. Oh, this man, this troubled man, he had some friends all right. He had the kind of friends. Well, I mean, these are the best friends he could have possibly had because when combined together they delivered an outcome that changed his life forever, never be the same again. So the man's four friends, well, let's call the first one compassion. You see friends in the work of the kingdom, most expressions of faith are motivated by compassion, empathy, genuine concern, a desire to bring about change. And that's a motivation that God eagerly responds to. He loves it when these people develop compassion and seek to make a difference. These guys were filled with compassion for their friend. Look at the ministry of Jesus. Look at his ministry. In virtually every case, his miracles were motivated by compassion for individuals and for groups. Is that not right? Heart went out to people and he touched them and he healed them. Look at the exploits of the disciples after Jesus had returned to heaven. Look at the commencement of the early church on the day of Pentecost. Look at the amazing missionary journeys of Paul and his planting of churches all around the then known world. Look at the courageous resistance of the Christian church against the fierce persecution of the Roman Empire. Now the motivation for all of this at the bottom line, the motivation was not the propping up of an institution. It was not the advancement of personal self gratifying agendas on the part of the leaders. No, it was compassion for people. It was a desire to see the gospel flourish. And when the gospel flourish lives would be changed and people would be ministered to in a powerful way. That was the motivation. Look what Paul says. He sums up his motivation in 1 Corinthians 9, 22. He says, "I become all things to all men that I might win some. I've really got a desire to reach as many as I can and I'll do whatever it takes. I'll even be desperate if I have to to reach these people. It's Bill Heibels of Willow Creek fame." He says to us as Christians, "If you want to get involved in an area of ministry, if you want to start exercising faith in an area of ministry, choose something that makes you cry. Choose something, choose an area, whether it's kids or youth or the homeless or choose something that really hits you at the heart level, something that evokes compassion because that's the starting point for faith. Strong sense of compassion. There was another friend that day helping to get this troubled man to Jesus. His name was belief. See, you can be moved by need, but you need to believe that in God's strength, it's possible to make a difference. It's possible to achieve the goal. Friends, during my years of ministry, gosh, I've come to know this principle so well because I have sat in scores and scores of meetings where great kingdom initiatives have been discussed. I was reflecting on it during the week, just in the area of property alone. My first church in Adelaide, we bought the house adjacent to the church to establish what still exists today, a community drop in center. It was a big step of faith for that church. My last church, Mary and Church of Christ, we bought not one, not two, three homes, plus a large corner block. We made one, a youth center, one a community center, and one, a recycled clothing shop, which if you're around a year or so ago, you'll recall me telling you they took about a year ago there, one millionth dollar from the sale of just cheap clothing and brick-a-brack and that sort of thing. And then, of course, here at Northside, the six-year journey it took for us to develop this ministry and conference center. So, just in the area of acquisitions, property acquisitions alone, I've been in so many meetings over the years. And you know what? Every one of those meetings had one thing in common. Eventually, you had to get to the stage where the season makers went from being moved by the compassion that there was a need to the point where they believed it could actually happen. We weren't always sure exactly how it was going to happen, but believe that it could happen and made the signature and release the funds, did whatever was necessary. All great ideas, all designed to make a difference in people's lives, but had to get to that belief stage that it was possible, that the projects were achievable. These four men believed it was possible to get to Jesus, and they believed that that moment was going to make a huge difference in the life of their friend. But there was another friend in that little quartet of intrepid men all those years ago, and he represents another component that Christ inspired faith. I call this man action. Action. You see, you can be moved by compassion. You can believe it's possible, but nothing happens until we take action. Remember, Peter, when he saw Jesus walking under water, it's one of the most amazing parts of the Gospels, and my mind tells me that Peter, when he saw that, something just kind of weld up with anything, and he knew that if he could do that, if he could get out there and start walking on the water with Jesus, he would be so filled with courage and faith, he would be set up for a spectacularly effective ministry. And something in the exchange between him and Jesus brought into the point where he believed it was possible, but nothing happened until he stepped over the side of the boat in response to that beautiful invitation from Jesus. Come. Come. It's going to be okay. And then, of course, we know what happened. You know, he starts to sink, and things start to go horribly wrong for Peter. And that provides a beautiful segue to the final friend, and that friend is determination. Guys, it's rare, like in my experience as a Christian, as a leader, it is rare that everything falls neatly into place for the person who has faith. I mean, these four guys, they were passionate. They were passionate about the need of their friend. They believed Jesus was the one they took action. But what happens? They get to the house where they've been tipped off. Jesus was visiting, and they find their house is chock-a-block full, even the surrounding yards and street area all full. It's just a regular suburban house, probably. And so they are faced with an unexpected obstacle, a massive crowd. Think of the options open to these guys. Just think of the options. Sorry, mate. Seems a bit sad. We've gone all this trouble, and look, you can see, there's no way that we're going to get in there. Look, let's try and get together again sometime soon, maybe, if possible, and we'll have another shot. I mean, that was an option. But does anyone seriously think that the removal of the tiles from the roof was part of the original planning meeting? Like that wouldn't have been it. It's possible, but my mind tells me that they wouldn't have sat around and said, "Hey, here's a way to get ourselves on TV tonight. We'll go down there, we'll take the roof off this house, we'll lower it, we'll get Jesus' attention for sure, and he's a public seat." No, no, no. That wasn't part of the original plan. This desperate action was in response to a blockage. It was in response to a setback. It was in response to an unexpected challenge, a potential termination point for the whole exercise. It was on the run. It was just a response that was there instantly, as these men were so determined to fulfill this gift for their friend. Friends, every person of industrial strength faith I know is a very determined person. They might not exhibit that in their personality type, but they are a very determined person if they've got industrial strength faith. That's the way it is for those who walk by faith and not by sight. Why does Paul go to such lengths, such extraordinary lengths, to describe the problems he faced in his journeys, the beatings, the imprisonment, the shipwrecks, the desertion by friends? It's all there. He does it to illustrate the need for determination in the work of Jesus. What is he saying? Philippians 3, 12, he talks about striving to win the prize in Colossians chapter 1 verses 28 and 29. He says this, "So we preach Christ to everyone with all possible wisdom. We warn and teach them in order to bring each one into God's presence as a mature individual in union with Christ. To get this done," he says, "I toil and strive using the mighty strength which Christ supplies and which is at work in me. I toil, I strive." You don't get the impression here of somebody who's just sort of like relaxing in the background believing that God's just going to throw at all of his feet and make it all somehow okay. No, no, no, he's right in there in the process toiling, striving, determined to make it happen in God's strength. Right of the Hebrews, one of my favorite passages, what's what's he say? Let us keep our eyes fixed on Jesus, on whom our faith depends from beginning to end. He did not give up because of the cross. I think maybe this is the point of of distinction between those who go deep with God and those who are prepared to settle for a more nominal, more superficial Christian experience. I think this is the point of difference. I think this is where the distinction is. And it leaves me to ask the question of me and of you, how are you in this area today? How would you rate yourself in the area of determination, stickability? Has application for prayers when you think prayers are going unanswered? Has application for when you wonder what the next step is going to be, when you think you've been given a lot of setbacks? Wonder if you can go on. This is the point of this is the real defining moment. Determination, stickability, pressing through. It's part of the journey of faith. How do you rate yourself this morning? I have my moments. Up and down. Probably you're similar. Stickability is the key. Determination was very much in evidence on the day of this miracle. Now friends, before we finish this and then we're almost done. But there's one thing I want to draw your attention to as we bring this message to a close. Do you recall the reaction of the teachers of the law in this passage? I love these guys. They're popping up all the time, Pharisees, teachers of the law. They're there when Jesus is preaching. And this comes in verse 7, where they question Jesus' power to forgive sins. It's right there. Let me check this. Look, verse 7. Look what happens. How does he dare talk like this? This guy's just been dropped down from the ceiling. He's obviously in pain. He's in need. These four guys are excited. They've finally made it to Jesus. And what's the response of these guys? How dare he talk like this? This is blasphemy. God is the only one who can forgive sins. I mean, never mind about the fact that our healing was about to take place. And Jesus' reputation as a healer is well established in Mark chapter 1. Check it out. He's healing left, right, and center. No, they wanted to share a few of their theological hobby horses right there. They wanted to share a little bit of criticism, in love. They wanted to sit back in the comfort of their armchair, if they'd been armchairs, if they had been, they'd be sitting there because they were leaders. And they want to look for the negatives rather than celebrate the positives. And it made me realize this incident in Mark 2 also highlights the contrast between stretcher bearers and armchair shearers. Between those with faith who are willing to put their beliefs into action and those content to just sit back and observe. See what's getting to just offer a few little shareings along the way. Friends, the soul of his nothing going to unpack that. You get that point. All I know is I know what sort of follower of Jesus I want to be in 2012. I want to be a stretcher bearer. I want to be on the pointy end of human need and suffering. I want to be doing my part to make that happen in the name of Jesus. And the question for you is where do you want to be? A stretcher bearer or an armchair and armchair shearer. Praise God, we are who we are as a church because I happen to believe we have more stretcher bearers here than armchair shearers. I really believe that. And I never cease to thank God for the stretcher bearers in this church. And I saw some of them yesterday morning at the Gleeb Street at the Gleeb BBQ and the amazing work done down there with Hope Street and every week, every day of every week when we're at full strength. The amount of faith is exercised in this church as people's needs are addressed in the name of Jesus. It's fantastic. There's a question though for you for me. Stretch a bearer or armchair shearer. The two are contrasted very clearly in this passage. The life of faith demands that we go beyond the comfort of our own resources and ingenuity and creativity. Step into the water where we're reliant on him. If he doesn't show up, it's not going to happen. That's where I want to be. That's where I've been all my ministry. That's where I want to be this year in 2012. I know you'll join me in that journey. Let's bear in prayer, shall we?