Have we lost the plot? | Colin D

This message was preached  by Colin D'cruz at Word of Grace Church on May 20th, 2018. To listen/download the audio please click here. To listen to the Sunday's worship and prophetic contributions please click here.

I want to begin with a story. On a dangerous sea-coast, there was a life-saving station. It was only a hut with merely 1 boat but they were saving people. Eventually it got recognized and more people came to join. They built a building for public gatherings like a clubhouse. Saving lives and feeding the hungry, etc hardly occurred. They hired professionals to go and save people. They had life-saving images in the Club’s decoration, but they didn’t do much life-saving. Does this remind you of something? Yes, the church.  

The purpose of our gathering is worship Jesus, but also to build ourselves up for one purpose- it is to save people. Jesus has come to seek and save the lost. Next Saturday is Global Outreach Day (GOD).

We gather for prayer, but we also proclaim the gospel. We were not saved just for a Sunday meeting. We were saved to go and save others. This is our purpose. Imagine a cricketer who only does Advertisements and gives up playing cricket, he has lost the plot. Statistics show that 93% of Christians never share the gospel with anyone. There are very few who actually like evangelising. The rest of us would rather study the bible, worship, and pray instead. This is because we fear rejection.

This morning we need to realign our engine. Imagine if all of us here pray for the lost, engage with the lost, and then share the gospel.

Mark 2: 1-2  “A few days later, when Jesus again entered Capernaum, the people heard that he had come home. They gathered in such large numbers that there was no room left, not even outside the door, and he preached the word to them.

People heard that Jesus was healing people and he was mobbed.

Mark 2: 3-4 “Some men came, bringing to him a paralyzed man, carried by four of them. 4 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.

In those days the houses were not made of concrete, so they put him through that roof. It must have taken a lot of effort to get that person to Jesus.

Mark 2:5 – 12 “When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralyzed man, “Son, your sins are forgiven.”” Now some teachers of the law were sitting there, thinking to themselves, “Why does this fellow talk like that? He’s blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone? Immediately Jesus knew in his spirit that this was what they were thinking in their hearts, and he said to them, “Why are you thinking these things? Which is easier: to say to this paralyzed man, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up, take your mat and walk’? But I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.” So he said to the man, “I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home.” 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!”

There are different characters in this story- Jesus, the crowds, the paralyzed man and his four friends. They were good friends of the paralyzed man. They carried him and were committed to get that man to Jesus. So there was deep friendship there. They could have seen the crowds and said it’s not possible. But they did the unthinkable. They were optimistic.

Then we see the heart of Jesus! Can you imagine your roof falling through? How would you react? But Jesus saw their faith. He went beyond the external and addressed the issue. Then he tells the paralyzed man to get up and leave and he was able to do that. He received the forgiveness of sins

Q. Where are you in that story?

Are you in the crowds, enthralled with Jesus’ miracles but not really involved? Are you like the paralyzed man with a need that you cannot meet yourself and need Jesus to help you? Are we like the friends that we are so committed to making sure our friends’ are met? Are you like the Pharisees who are picking on the words and missing the miracle?

The paralyzed man is everyone in the world who cannot help themselves. We are placed there to be a friend to them. Jesus is looking for you to take them and bring them to him. That is our role. Over the years, we have met people and brought them to Jesus. We cannot convert anyone or heal anyone. But we can take them to someone who can.

The gospel is spreading greatly all over India. Each one of us can do this. We can share about Jesus, we can pray for them... we can take them to Jesus. Jesus has commanded us to do it. So can we take a step of faith and do it? When we take that step God will prepare a way for them to come to Him.   

Let’s pray!

Word of Grace is an Evangelical (Born Again),  Spirit filled (Charismatic), Reformed, English speaking church in Pune that upholds the Bible as God's inspired Word for life. We are a church community that have people from every part of India and parts of the world. We are here to put the Great Command and the Great Commission into practice by equipping and releasing every member into works of service. To know more about us please log onto www.wordofgracechurch.org.