Actions Louder than Words (Part A)

We are not free from fear, but we are face fear with God. We understand that there have been troops throughout history who have died facing fear and the causes that they were fighting for and were not to be any less honorable and the cause that we live for the person that we live for and that is of course Jesus Christ Christian suffer live and die just like everyone else, but not as everyone else.

This is cross reference radio with our pastor and teacher Rick Gaston. Rick is the pastor of Calvary Chapel Mechanicsville. Pastor Rick is currently teaching through the gospel of Mark. Please stay with us after today's message to hear more information about cross reference radio, specifically how you can get a free copy of this teaching today. Pastor Rick will continue teaching in the gospel of Mark. You'll be in chapter 2, sharing a brand-new message called action louder than words turned to the gospel of Mark chapter 2. Please, and we will take verses one through 12 and again he entered Capernaum after some days, and it was heard that he was in the house immediately many gathered together, so that there was no longer room to receive them, not even near the door. He preached the word to them. Then they came to him, bringing a paralytic who was carried by four men, when they could not come near him because of the crowd, they uncovered the roof where he was when he had broken through a let down the bed on which the paralytic was lying. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic son, your sins are forgiven you some of the scribes were sitting there and reasoning in their hearts. Why does this man speak blasphemies like this who can forgive sins but God alone and immediately when Jesus perceived in his spirit that they reasoned thus within themselves, he said to them, why do you reason about these things in your hearts, which is easier to say to the paralytic, your sins are forgiven you, or to say, arise, take your bed and walk that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins. He said to the paralytic, I say to you, arise, take up your bed and go to your house. Immediately he arose, took up the bed and went out in the presence of them also that all were amazed and glorified God, saying, we never saw anything like this actions louder than words is what we getting but before I begin going through the verses I want to preface what's going on with preaching the word of God and in the days we live in by faith.

We Christians are to face fear and panic and everything else good Times bad Times by faith, learning about Jesus is to increase our faith make a stronger hearing about how Christ behaved himself, how he treated others, his miracles, his teachings.

Everything about him and we are exposed to these things repeatedly. We are to get stronger in our faith. It is a great. It is a contributing factor to being a strong believer in Proverbs 3 we read.

Do not be afraid of sudden terror, nor of trouble from the wicked when it comes for Yahweh will be your confidence and will keep your foot from being caught. Of course Jesus Christ of the New Testament is Yahweh of the Old Testament, we are not free from fear, but we are to face fear with God. We understand that there have been troops throughout history who have died facing fear in the causes that they were fighting for and were not to be any less honorable and the cause that we live for the person that we live for and that is of course Jesus Christ Christian suffer live and die just like everyone else, but not as everyone else. We are to be different in how we respond what we do, how we influence those around us. Paul wrote to the Thessalonians says less you sorrow as others who have no hope of course the point that he is making is we have a greater hope we have Jesus Christ of the Scripture. And we want to live as though we have him no matter what is going on around us. We are supposed to live differently. We need inspiration to do this and that inspiration comes in different ways course and singing songs to the Lord and hearing testimonies of others being encouraged or being encouraged by others. Always as its foundation. Our encouragement now. Inspiration is built upon the word of God as we read here in verse two he preached the word to them and you take that away from the Christian experience in your left with gibberish.

You left with something that's not what God intended it to be. Once the mind is panic stricken.

It begins to translate everything into negatives and once it begins to translate everything into negatives.

It has no good news to preach and this verse by verse to the gospel of Mark is exactly what we Christians need death kills its thousands. But fear kills its 10,000s and being aware of that.

We are excited to take the gospel into every nook and cranny of society, where we find ourselves. Are we to be silenced in fear and panic. While Satan gets to preach his sermons while he gets to influence others while he gets to speak, of course not. Paul wrote to the Corinthians. He says yes woe is me. If I do not preach the gospel. No matter what matter what's going on and in society around us, the world says give them hell we say, given Jesus, and we're the ones that are supposed to be doing the giving the power of the Holy Spirit. When bombs were falling on England and World War II when England was even in the war in the first world war. There were great men of God in London that were preaching the word of God and over the years and in my ministry I search for sermons there sermons I have collections of their sermons at on the preaching on the war and it's very difficult to find the making any comments on the wars. What I found they were just preaching the word systematically to their people and in so doing they arm their people to face whatever came through the doors of their lives, men like G. Campbell Morgan and FB Myron Martin Lloyd Jones. They pray preach the word and in so doing, they prepare their congregations to stand as Christians and we love them for it. That's why were so attracted to Richard Juan Brent tortured for Christ and Corrie 10 boom's hiding place because it's Christ centered, not panic centered as we are going to the gospel of Mark around in this season of confusion and doubt in all the other craziness prices and crazy and neither are his people to be crazy as Christians we know what were supposed to do was supposed to trust God and preach and I hope that's what is his moving you in your life, what moves you in your heart protect your family and of course, exercise your rights, but also exercise Christian influence. That's what is your purpose as a Christian is to preach Christ whenever you can. When Jesus walked the Jews of his day. They wanted a Messiah that would deliver them from the Romans they did not want us Messiah, who suffered for others. That's what they got. They got the Messiah who did it his way, not their way. They wanted to slay their enemies.

Christ wanted to save them.

So I think Pastor should preach Christ gives them to preach and not with anybody wants to hear. Hopefully they want to hear what Christ gives them to preach. That's the ideal well that's my $0.50 is to send seem so humiliating now we go to the first verse of Mark chapter 2 built on the foundation of we will preach the word in season and out of season and again he entered Capernaum after some days, and it was heard that he was in the house is likely Peter's house that's the last house we read about him staying in while in Capernaum Capernaum's not that big of a city in that day, as cities go in that day is not in the synagogue preaching and teaching is in someone's house. In verse two immediately many gathered together, so that there was no longer room to receive them, not even near the door and he preached the word to them. Then it was always a crowd around Jesus as he moved through the New Testament is always these crowds.

In fact, the apostles largely were there for crowd control is a big part of their job description nowadays is not crowds of clouds that seem to surround Jesus people are foggy about him in a very unfortunate negative way.

And sadly, many professing Christians contribute to this is so unnecessary gospel is such a simple message is so profound in its simplicity that really should not be much confusion about who the Christ really is here.

He preaches to the people and is evident that they were excited about this. Yes, they had seen miracles, but at this stage they are there listening and receiving what he has to say we can look at the sermon on the Mount to get an idea what his early sermons were about. We look a little further, we see that many of the sermons included of course the parables that we love so much. My greatest quest in my life and I think it is true of every Christian is to obey what is preached from the word worked with the Bible tells us that thou?

We want to be obedient.

We want that. Well done good and faithful servant. And yet we find ourselves in this quest often paralyzed, unable to move towards obedient obedience. Because of this dual nature that were saddled with the spiritual man fighting though the carnal man. The natural man that the sinner in us and yet we are still called to face temptation were called to face the devil and his opposition here Christ is facing the opposition from religious leaders in a moment we're going to get that it already face the devil in the synagogue when the devil said, we know who you are.

Let us alone with nothing to do with you, Jesus, and of course Christ casts that devil out in Psalm 107 is an interesting verse that has to do with why the leaders in Christ day could not understand who he was or receive who he was. Psalm 107 verse 11 because they rebelled against the words of God and despise the Council of the most high is the very thing Jesus is doing in the house.

He's is giving the word of God is giving the Council of the most high. There were those it really were just sitting there judging him looking for an opportunity to attack him and not listening to what he was saying, will people come to church many times and then not interested really what the preacher say no waiting for him to say something so they can pounce or have a reason not to come back to church. You look at the opposition in the world and you look at the opposition a Christ based in Scripture. After a while just get boring. It's not very creative is not impressive but we have to face it. Nonetheless, we had to be ready for and all we have to do is preach what we have seen that makes us a witness to tell it like we have experienced in verse three, part me so long as those experiences go along with Scriptures Revelation and not outside, not contrary to verse three then they came to him, bringing a paralytic who was carried by four men in this paralyzed man. We have a picture of the helplessness of the sinner. We had the fact that historical fact that there was someone that was paralyzed.

He could not walk on their own. They had to be carried. That is the historical fact, but it also has an application. It pictures for us.

The paralysis that goes with being a sinner were helpless.

Can't get to Christ on our own need someone to take us to him.

The leper that he had cleansed in the previous chapter at the end of the previous chapter in this paralytic speak to us about those who are unclean and those who are incapable.

I have been unclean and I have been incapable in crisis, cleansed me, and he continues to cleanse me because I need. And as far as my paralysis goes.

He is the one that helps me walk because I agree with him to can't walk together unless they agree with their people out in the world and don't agree with Christ for a host of reasons.

Some are irretrievable, unreachable, at least for us.

Others are not, and it is our responsibility to be in tune with the Holy Spirit to know who's who, when he brings us in front of someone who can benefit from what we have to offer, which is the truth concerning God Almighty, the creator, one whom everybody will stand before at one point or another because every knee shall bow and every tongue shall confess before him. Well he could do nothing to help himself could not come to Jesus. As I mentioned, others had to bring him and they had to work hard to do it. This was not something that is going to be easy for anyone, but it was going to be amazing. In verse four and when they could not come near him because the crowd 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 lying. Take that first clause again when they could not come near him because of the crowd, people in the crowd when giving any space to the handicap or anybody else. They had crowded into this presumably rather relatively small house and they were going to move and make space for him to get through.

They know we had come there for healing they had known they were all aware of what Jesus had already accomplished in Capernaum, they uncovered the roof it says here, they uncovered the roof where he was. Again, this is Peter's roof. Peter's probably sitting very close to Christ any all of a sudden in the middle of price preaching someone staring up his roof pain and he's helpless to do anything what you going to do you can get out the soap crowded if he gets out he squeezes as well. By the time he makes it to the roof they would've been sufficient damage already is watching this happen and he's telling his retelling the story. Years later, to mark those were the good old days, to know you right now are making memories, and hopefully this is part of what will be the good old days when you sat in a church and you heard the word of God preached and then you got out of that when out of the church and you did something with what the Holy Spirit pointed out to you that these memories that were forming.

May they be the good old days for the kingdom of God within the uncovered the roof. Now most of the buildings in ancient Israel were flattop groups with beams going across so that you could lay this the bundles of strong oral brushwood that was mixed in with mud.

In fact, the roofs in those days were green and some seasons because the seeds were within the mud in the straw and and it would be would cuss a lot of you know grow up on your roof not too much but enough to turn a green even read about it in several places are just to I just chose one Psalm 129 verse six. Let them be as the grass on the housetops which withers before it grows up and that one little saying that the psalmist there is this telling us about his is like a time capsule is telling us about how the rules were in Israel and I point this out because had it been my roof where I live.

This would've been a very big deal, and I don't know I would've been really good dilemma you and hope get them off my roof quickly or let the man get healed. So anyway, my point is all Peter could do was sit there and watch men break through to get to Christ what was going on in their heads when this was happening his amazing story it says here so when they had broken through.

They were compelled to bring their suffering friend into the presence of Christ because that's where they knew the miracles were ready to be given. They just knew Christ would do something now. Let's not get sidetracked by the miracles be much of what I Christ healed everywhere he went is because he is God the son, and not no sickness could stand in his presence.

No one stayed dead when Jesus was there and these are our statements to believers, not that you know you going to be going to do miracles throughout your you know ministry as a Christian, but that this is who you serve you serve Jesus Christ, the son of God, and while he walked T he left unmistakable proofs as to his identity for us to go forward and preach what he's wearing the age of preaching that in the age of miracles where in the age of truth. The truth is what will get people into heaven. Judas Iscariot saw more miracles than than anybody who you'll ever meet in this life and yet he still went to hell. And so it's not but it's the miracles they really are secondary and in that sense they're not secondary coming from the hand of Christ.

But there secondary in the sense that the mission is to get people into heaven to the truth. And if miracles can help and God will grant them but he doesn't seem to grant them anywhere near as he did in the day that Christ walked the earth. Well, here it is. They broke through.

You could say friends through the roof, a kind of a and experience these four men.

They sought to get to Jesus. It was now or never.

That that's this distance that the kind of the energy behind this today is the day he might leave Capernaum tomorrow.

He did it before he went through Galilee, preaching in and maybe they missed him that time and this time is that he's in the house of Peter again and they came there and they couldn't get past the crowds so they went around the side when got themselves up on the roof and started tearing the roof up to bring this man to Christ what to what a picture. What an illustration of this man is a picture of one that can't walk to Christ on their own. It is also a picture of those who can bring others to Christ. It says here that they let him down on the bed and here he is helpless, hoping they won't drop him. Everyone is watching and it is good. Verse five when Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic son, your sins are forgiven you. Seeing their faith. He is now going to open the doors of course divine forgiveness. He didn't come there to be forgiven in his head he came to receive the ability to walk again. Son, your sins are forgiven you two wonderful words of the gospel are here son and forgiven.

Well, the first word places the man in the family of God is a child of God by his faith. The second word keeps the man in the family of God.

Forgiveness recurrent grace grace is not just one something we get once grace is available. Grace and mercy are available to the believing believer throughout the believer's life. Otherwise we would have such a fragile salvation that just wouldn't work. Satan would tear us apart. He can't because of this grace and his mercy that mercy is God withholding judgments. We deserve that grace is God giving us the gifts and the blessings that we don't deserve it because he is God of love because he is full of grace and truth. Here is again to hear God tell the story.

The most important need this man has is the forgiveness of sins, not the ability to walk with us feet and legs. The forgiveness of sins, that is God's perspective, this is what God gives him without even being asked because Christ dealt with the greater need we get tripped up by this very easily, especially because of pain. I know if I'm in a lot of pain. I'll reach for the Tylenol before I reach for sermon because I want the pain to stop this some logic and that of course but were coming to the Scripture to get more than logic coming to get the logic from God over our lives. Doctor can take a person only so far in this life up to the grave and that's it can't do anymore form, but of course the great physician.

He puts holiness on us through his own blood because he puts holiness before happiness, not that he is looking because he wants us to be happy to do it agreed to appoint but holiness comes before happiness in the mission comes before the men. That is a principle of all successful military commanders. It is a principal even with the kingdom of God.

That's with the cross. The emblem we have says that the cross of Christ. Nevertheless, not my will be done, but your will be done. It is hard to get to that place. It is not easy to stay in that place one has to continue to build up the inner man to build up the faith. Faith comes by hearing and hearing the word of God. One has to be around other Christians to develop these things. This by the sweat of the brow we go through this life that's an understatement, but we are still still supposed to be victorious in the midst of it all and those who convince themselves that they are somehow not so bad of a person in the presence of God spiritually delusional greatest need is to be forgiven of their sin move.

Thanks for tuning in to cross reference radio for this study in the book of Mark cross reference radio is the teaching ministry of Pastor Rick Gaston of Calvary Chapel Mechanicsville in Virginia to learn more information about this ministry. Visit our website cross reference radio.com what you there you'll find additional teachings from Pastor Rick.

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