Admonition Podcast

Good morning.

Always lovely to see everybody here today.

This morning we're going to start with a question.

If I were to come up to you out of the blue and simply ask, how do you bring a friend to
Christ?

What would your answer be?

Would you?

Screaming.

Would you relate to a passage in the Bible?

Would you merely exclaim the evangelism program that we have currently going on?

Would you say that it takes years and years of effort and speaking and prodding your
locals and friends to bring them to Christ?

Today, if you would, please take your Bibles out and turn over to Mark chapter 2.

Mark chapter 2.

If there was ever a definition that we could use for the word Christian, other than simply
a follower of Christ, if we had to describe what a Christian should be, in essence, a true

faithful friend should be what that definition should stem from.

Because faithful friends are those that can change eternal destinies.

This morning, we're going to learn how to bring a friend to Christ from one of the best
examples in all of the gospel accounts.

Now it's not the only example in the gospel accounts, but it is, in my opinion, one of the
greatest.

Many Christians struggle with bringing a friend to Christ.

Many Christians struggle with the idea of evangelism because they believe it requires
several things.

First off, many think that it requires a perfect knowledge.

I can guarantee you right now, I could study this Bible from the time I was born all the
way until the time of my death and I would never have a perfect understanding of God's

word.

It is so deep that our minds could never comprehend it.

Many also believe that sometimes it may take flawless speech.

You have to be an excellent or a turn to be able to bring people to Christ.

We know that that's not the case because I'm standing before you now.

If anyone does not have flawless speech, it is I.

Also the reason why I have notes.

The Bible shows us something far simpler than that.

Bringing someone to Christ does require several things.

Of three of those, we can find that it requires love,

It requires perseverance, and above all, bringing someone to Christ requires faith.

Mark chapter 2 gives us one of the clearest pictures in all of scripture what those three
things look like.

So much so that this event is recorded in three different gospel accounts.

We see it recounted in Matthew, Mark, where we're in today, and the book of Luke.

So I implore you, after the service, to give the other versions a read.

The other accounts for Matthew and Luke.

Because typically when God repeats something, when God repeats something,

He wants us to pay attention, same as teachers do in school.

So starting out in verse one of chapter two, we read, and again, he entered Capernaum
after some days, and it was heard that he was in the house.

The word again here is an important clue of what's going on in the text.

What do you mean again?

He was here in Capernaum before?

Yes, turn back to Mark chapter one, and let's start in verse 21.

where Jesus casts out an unclean spirit.

Then they went into Capernaum.

That's, there's the again.

This is the first time we see.

And immediately on the Sabbath, he entered the synagogue and taught.

They were astonished at his teaching, and he taught them as one having authority and not
as one of the scribes.

This would have been something completely out of the blue for them, because while the
scribes would have taught from the Word of God, he taught because he was the Word of God.

Continuing on in verse 23, it says, Now there was a man in the synagogue with an unclean
spirit, and he cried out, saying, Let us alone.

What have we to do with you, Jesus of Nazareth?

Did you come to destroy us?

I know who you are, the Holy One of God.

Now here we see someone being possessed by what's defined in the book as an unclean
spirit.

He's afraid.

He's screaming out, similarly to almost how if you've ever seen the Lord of the Rings
movie, Gollum, I hear that voice in my head, let us alone.

from the little, what's his Schmeigel I think is his name, the little guy after the ring.

You can almost see this here, but he calls out who he is.

He knows that he's the Holy One of God.

In verse 25, Jesus rebukes him saying, be quiet and come out of him.

And when the unclean spirit had convulsed him and cried out with a loud voice, he came out
of him.

Then they were all amazed.

So they questioned among themselves, what is this?

What new doctrine is this?

For with authority, he commands even the unclean spirits and they obey him.

And immediately his fame spread throughout all the region of Galilee.

So there's that again.

We see the first account where he casts out the evil spirit.

So moving forward, the people already knew it.

They had seen the miracles that Jesus was going to perform.

They had heard him teach, as we read in Mark chapter 1.

which I implore you to mark your Bibles to Mark chapter 2 because we'll be jumping to
other passages but coming back to Mark 2 throughout this morning.

Something important to note though, that they had seen Jesus before.

That word again signifies more than just it's his second time to Capernaum as written in
the scripture.

How many times today do people have to hear about Christ more than once to be able to be
brought to him?

Some go their entire lives hearing whispers of Christ in the background.

Christmas wishes, Jesus is the reason for the season.

Walking into stores and finding Christian merchandise of the cross.

It's almost like a quiet hum in the background.

Constantly throughout their entire lives they're exposed to Christ.

And yet so few, so many times, ever come to Him.

Faith is something that's built over time.

It's not something that's going to develop overnight.

So we need to be careful not to be discouraged if someone does not respond to Christ
immediately.

Let's continue on to verse two.

And straightway, many were gathered together in so much that there was no room to receive
them.

No, not so much as about the door.

And he preached the word to them.

we see here that the house is full.

It was packed.

After what had happened the first time, I couldn't imagine.

The synagogue would have had room for a lot of people, but here they are meeting inside of
a small house, and there's so many people here that we see that the door is blocked.

The most important phrase in this verse is, he preached the word unto them.

This shows us a few things.

We can divine from one simple sentence in the Bible.

Remember how I said the Bible's deep?

We see that Jesus is the preacher.

He's the one teaching.

The Word is the message.

The people were the audience.

It's almost a reflection of how salvation still comes the same way today.

What does Romans 10-17 have to say?

So then faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the Word of God.

We have to hear the Word of God before we can obey it.

And that's brought to us by the teacher.

If we want to bring people to Christ, we must get them where the Word of God is being
taught.

And that could be anywhere.

We have the book so available to us now, it's in the pockets of every single one of our
cell phones.

It's in simple app download.

We have books on every bookstore shelf.

In verse 3, we see that it was a group effort.

Then they came to him, bringing a paralytic who was carried by four men.

Another translation says, and they came unto him, bringing one sick of the palsy, which
was born of four.

Born of four, carried by four men.

It wasn't saying that he had three brothers.

He wasn't born of four.

He was born, picked up.

We have to note that this man did not come to Jesus by himself.

Now while you can come to Jesus yourself, in this case he was carried.

And that tells us something important.

This man was sick of the palsy.

He didn't have use of his legs.

He would have been unable to walk at the time.

He was paralyzed, we would say.

But are there other things that can paralyze you other than simple ah being sick of the
palsy?

A medical condition.

Absolutely.

Sin can paralyze, can't it?

Can fear paralyze?

You ever been scared by a friend and deer in headlights look, your body tenses up?

Can guilt paralyze?

If we go to someone for forgiveness, can that guilt, that racking, keep you from acting
and doing what you should?

Can ignorance paralyze?

I debate that ignorance absolutely can paralyze because you don't know what you should be
doing.

Thus, it's a subconscious paralysis that happens.

God often uses people to bring people to Jesus Christ.

That's His entire plan.

Let's jump back over to Ecclesiastes and let's read chapter 4 verses 9 through 10.

Ecclesiastes chapter 4, 9 through 10.

Two are better than one because they have a good reward for their labor.

For if they fall, one will lift up his companion.

But woe to him who is alone when he falls, for he has no one to help him up.

Again, if two lie down together, they will keep warm.

But how can one be warm alone?

Although one may be overpowered by another, two can withstand him, and a threefold cord is
not quickly broken.

I love the imagery there of the three-fold cord.

If you know anything about rope making, especially if you're in the leather business,
which I was for little while.

I used to like to make wallets and holsters and things like that out of leather.

uh among my travels, I picked up a kit once to make a whip years and years ago.

And when you make the leather whip, it's a cord, isn't it?

It's got the frayed ends to cause damage at the end or make that loud, cracky sound.

But the way you make the whip is taking the different strands and straining them together.

If you had the one strand, it would be broken so easily.

Similarly, the strongest, the chain, a metal chain, is only as strong as its weakest link.

A three-fold chord is going to be much stronger because you have multiple things there.

In reference to evangelism, in reference to bringing someone to Christ, is evangelism
often a team effort?

It should be.

Absolutely!

We need to be able to reach out to people, not just by ourselves.

So a question we should ask ourselves day in and day out are, who are we helping carry
others to Christ?

Are we working together with those around us to reach out to the general populace, to
reach out to those that we know at work?

Are we working together to reach out to our family members?

Jump back over to Mark chapter 2.

We'll continue in verse 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 laying.

This was not a normal situation.

These friends were determined.

Their methods were unorthodox, to say the least.

This would have been disruptive, and quite frankly, it would have been physically
demanding.

Rooms in that time were made similarly to ours, but a little different.

When we think of the roof up here, we have the uh metal layman that's holding up all of
the sound deadening equipment.

Then you have metal steel beams.

You have the roof on top of that.

modern buildings have concrete roofs.

would have been a lot to break through.

Back then, you would have had your beams of tree wood, you would have had your branches
stacked on top of that, and you would have had clay packed on top of that.

Another thing that I enjoy to do in the background uh is watch the bushcrafting videos.

It's very similar to how they would have made the roofs back in the day.

You take the branches, then the leaves, then you would uh spread them out to make a
waterproof layer out of all the hay or straw that you have, and then finally you would add

the mudding and

pack it down, let it dry out over a season, and you would have yourself a roof.

Now, if I asked you to stand on top of a roof made by that, you'd probably first look at
me and say, absolutely not.

I'd be afraid I'd fall through.

But these men carried their friend up to the top of the roof and broke through, so much so
that they had to have some kind of knowledge of how the roof was constructed.

Many people back in that day would have.

But they would have had to have broken through the roof to let him down in such a way as
to not drop the roof on the person they were trying to reach.

Kind of a moot point to go through all that work if you crush the person you're trying to
reach, right?

Lowering a man, a grown man specifically, safely required not only strength but trust.

When we see modern funerals, sometimes you see nowadays the pallbearers, I believe that's
the term, the pallbearers that carry the casket on the shoulders.

There's multiple men there.

There's a lot of weight in that casket.

These would have been true friends.

They came to him that we see in the text.

This would have demonstrated action, the action, the want to save their friend.

They bore him.

They didn't bore him to tears.

They bore him.

They lifted him up.

This demonstrated determination.

Cooperation.

Cooperation.

They uncovered the roof.

That demonstrated determination.

It would have been a lot of work to take it out.

But they did not stop when the door was blocked.

They were turned away, typically.

With all those crowded people, it would have been far easier to kind of push and shove
your way through, but they found another way.

Which shows us the true friends, and Christians, coincidentally,

should not be concerned with convenience, but we should be concerned with souls.

A few obstacles stood in their way, the crowd, the roof, the weight of their friend, but
it did not stop them.

Instead, when they hit those pitfalls, they were redirected.

They changed their energy in a different way.

They knew the weight of their friend's body.

Why?

Because they carried him.

Should a Christian today understand and know the weight of a human soul?

I think we should.

Turn your Bibles over to Galatians chapter 6 and verse 9.

Galatians chapter 6 and verse 9.

and let us not grow weary while doing good.

For in due season we shall reap if we lose not heart." Bringing a friend to Christ takes
persistence.

It takes time.

A biblical Christian faith does not quit just because things get difficult or
uncomfortable.

In fact, many would point out that some of the time that's the point.

Turn to Revelation chapter 3.

And let's read verses 15 and 16.

Revelation chapter 3 verses 15 and 16.

I know your works, that you are neither hot nor cold.

I could wish that you were cold or hot.

So then because thou art lukewarm and neither hot nor cold, I will vomit you out of my
mouth." These are the words of Christ.

oh

Is he asking us to be comfortable?

Or is he asking us to be busy?

Is he asking us to have a fire inside of our souls?

One that's willing to put in the work to be determined, to cooperate, to have faith?

He's not asking us to be comfortable.

Turning back over to Mark chapter 2 verse 5, it says, when Jesus saw their faith, oh

Just in the revelation passage, as we just read, Jesus didn't hear about their faith.

He saw it.

Because what is faith other than belief in action?

James chapter 2 and verse 18 says, yay, a man say thou hast faith and I have works.

Show me thy faith without thy works, and I will show you not the my faith by my works.

There's a massive difference.

A living faith is one that produces works.

A living faith is one that works with works.

Works are 100 % needed.

Biblical faith is a faith that moves.

Biblical faith is a faith that acts.

Biblical faith is a faith that can be seen throughout our daily lives and actions.

Not just talked about.

Not just breath in the wind.

But verse five continues and he says, your sins are forgiven thee.

I think it's interesting that Jesus addresses the man's greatest needs first.

The sin problem.

is worse than any physical ailment we could ever have.

not as paralysis but as sin.

The true friends were described earlier.

They don't help people to sin.

True friends don't ignore sin.

They didn't ignore the fact that their friend was laying on a bed and unable to walk.

Instead, true friends are those that help lead people out of sin.

In this case, they were physically helping their friend.

Over in Matthew's account in verse 9, it goes into a little more detail about verse 5.

What is the meaning of the word gospel?

It's good news, isn't it?

Good news.

Son, be of good cheer, thy sins be forgiven thee." The greatest healing is Christ's
forgiveness.

It's not the healing of the lame.

It's not giving sight back to the blind.

But then we have a contrast in verse 6.

And some of the scribes were sitting there and reasoning in their hearts.

Notice the contrast.

Jesus was actively helping.

He was doing something.

He had faith in action.

The friends were caring.

They were also doing something.

What were the scribes doing?

They were sitting.

They weren't lifting the burdens.

Instead, they were criticizing.

They were judging.

True Christians get involved, critics stay seated.

There's a massive contradiction there.

Contrast, not contradiction.

See, I told you I wasn't perfect in speech.

So Jesus confronts the critics, because he can't let that slide.

You don't get to confront Jesus Christ and win.

I guarantee it.

Verses eight and nine.

But immediately, when Jesus perceived in his spirit that they reasoned thus within
themselves, see, he knows.

He said to them, why do you reason about these things in your hearts?

This is nothing they spoke aloud.

He knew the thoughts and intentions of every creature, just as the Father does.

So he says, which is easier to say to the paralytic, your sins are forgiven you, or say,
arise, take up thy bed and walk?

I want us to count for a second.

Which is easier?

Thy sins be forgiven thee.

Five words.

Arise, take up thy bed, and walk." Eight words.

You would think that, while it's less words, to sense forgiveness should be easier.

Nothing could be further from the truth.

Forgiveness sounds easier, but we must not forget that that forgiveness required the
cross.

The healing was visible.

Forgiveness was costly.

Christ had to die on that cross to be able to save all of us from our sins.

He did the hard lifting, the heavy burdens.

He took it all for us.

In verse 10, we see the purpose of the miracles.

Why Jesus did this.

Why he went about it in the way that he did.

But that ye may know the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins.

These miracles were not entertainment.

This was proof of his power.

This, moreover, it was proof and they confirmed his authority over the realm of mankind.

It proved his authority over the rules of nature.

The laws of physics, they bend to God's will.

In fact, this mirrors the purpose of the parables.

Turn over to Matthew chapter 13 and we'll read verses 13 through 15.

Matthew chapter 13 verses 13 through 15.

Therefore I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do
not hear, nor do they understand.

And in them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled, which says, Hearing you will hear and
shall not understand, and seeing you will see and not perceive.

For the hearts of this people have grown dull, their ears are hard of hearing, and their
eyes they have closed.

lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, lest they should understand
with their hearts and turn so that I should heal them.

But blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear.

For assuredly I say to you that many prophets and righteous men desire to see what you see
and did not see it, and to hear what you hear and did not hear it.

This truth is revealed to the believers.

We were in a time when Christ's miracles were seen on display for everybody.

Undeniable proof.

We don't need miracles today because we have the words right here.

We have the witnesses.

We have the testimony.

We know that what happened happened by the archaeological record.

Everything points to Christ being exactly who He says He was.

Again, the truth is revealed to the believers, but the unbelief is exposed in the critics.

So what's the result?

Going back over to Mark chapter 2, verses 11 and 12, he says, say unto you, Arise, take up
thy bed, and go, walk into thine house.

And immediately he arose, took up the bed, and went forth before them all, insomuch that
they were amazed and glorified God, saying, We never saw it on this fashion.

They had never seen anything like this before, in this way.

It's funny how lives change so quickly when people are brought to Christ.

God is glorified.

Faith is strengthened.

The man walked because four people were determined enough to put him on a stretcher and
take him to Jesus no matter the cost, no matter the hard work of breaking through the

roof, lowering him down.

They worked together.

They refused to quit.

And they acted out their faith by their works.

Now the question is for us.

Who are we bringing to Christ?

Who are we carrying?

Is there someone that we're refusing to give up on?

If you need Christ, my advice is let us help carry you.

If you're weary, let us walk beside you.

As we stand and as we sing, the invitation is open unto you.

Just let us know.