He wants you really healed because he's not just trying to fix your symptoms. You could go to Walgreens for that. But Dr. Tony Evans says that takes faith and not just yours. That's why you need to be connected.
God sees that the group is serious, so then he's going to respond to faith that is visible. This is the alternative broadcast, featuring the timeless biblical teachings from the archives of Dr. Tony Evans. The Christian life was never intended to be lived alone. God designed us to be part of a family of faith.
Today, Dr. Evans focuses on the reasons why that connection is so important. Let's turn to the book of Mark as we join Him. In this series, recalling believing is seeing, experiencing the supernatural. We are discovering and have discovered already How God works based on faith to do things outside of the natural scheme and order of nature.
Today is no different. But with a twist. Jesus Christ, according to chapter 2, verse 1. has come back to Capernaum. He's come back.
That means he was already there. Let me summarize what's been going on with Jesus. He's hit a stride. He's been doing miracles and Folks have been coming out of the closet. to watch Jesus do his thing.
Everybody wanted him to do heal this, heal that.
Solve this, solve that, fix this, fix that. The blind need to see, the lame need to walk, the dumb need to talk. Jesus has been doing his thing and Folks. are showing up everywhere to get their blessing. They want a miracle in their lives.
Jesus decides Enough is enough. These folks have common And they keep wanting me to do stuff for him. And so he backs away. In fact, in chapter one, Verse thirty-seven Simon and the companions find him. And they said to him, everybody looking for you.
Where do you go? You've gone off. Everybody's looking for you. Jesus responds by saying in chapter 1, verse 38: let us go somewhere else. To the towns nearby, so that I can preach there also, for that is what I came for.
In other words, the folk want my miracles, they don't want my sermons. They want my blessing. They don't want my truth. They want. The supernatural experience of me without necessarily wanting what I'm trying to teach them.
And because I didn't just come. to show off my miraculous power. But I came to communicate. a much deeper reality, it's time for me to take a break from Capernaum. Cause maybe if I go to some of these other towns They will be as interested in what I have to say as they are in what I have the ability to do.
That's not too much unlike the day in which we live when people are coming for their blessing. They're coming for God to heal this. Fix that. A new job, better income, better car, better house, better clothes. A better life.
Better relationship, better something.
So I'll show up and tolerate the word. As long as I can expect The blessing.
So Jesus Christ takes a break from Capernaum. But after he takes his break, he comes back. Stay with me. You'll find some unique things here for your experience of the supernatural. Many were gathered together so that, verse 2, there was no longer room, not even near the door, as he was speaking to them.
So He's that. Peter's house and The word has gotten out. Jay is back. And folks start flocking. And they come inside the house.
The house is packed.
so much so that you can't even get through the door. And in the midst of his sermon, Something takes place. And they came bringing to him a paralytic. carried by four men. Who cared for him enough?
The same. We know you can't move, but... We will move you. We will do for you what you can't do for yourself. We love you enough to not leave you.
in this situation.
So They care. They're trying to help. Not only do these four unnamed men care about him, but secondly they knew where to take him. They figured Jesus can fix this. But we also know the level of the commitment because they were not going to be stopped just because.
The room was crowded and the door was blocked. It says that they went up to the roof. The steps are outside. They climbed up to the roof. and begin to remove the tile, separate the thatch.
In order to lower down the palate.
So They could put the man right dead up in Jesus' grill. And Jesus Seeing their faith. Said to the paralytic, son, your sins are forgiven. Mm-mm-mm. When he saw there Faith.
Why do you need to know about the word there? Because when you've been paralyzed a long time. When life has done you wrong or done you in. When you've been hurt Too bad to move on your own. But you have Some folk in your life who are willing to believe for you.
who are willing to believe with you. Who are willing to do what you can't do with yourself. It says God didn't see his faith, he saw group faith. When the body of Christ is working, like the body of Christ has been created to work. Paralytics are not allowed to just lay there and die.
Paralytics are not just allowed to just lay there and atrophy because there's going to be somebody. Right. Or somebody's. Who have enough belief in God, trust in Christ, commitment to the word, and love for their fellow saints that they're gonna reach down and pick them up until they get to Jesus, even though there will be some inconvenience along the way, because we gotta hoist them up, open up the roof, and drop them down. I mean, I'm gonna sweat a little bit.
But there may be that day I'll need somebody to sweat for me. Because I've been hurting that bad, that long, that deep. And so Jesus saw, because they were acting, not talking, he saw their faith. And then he says, son, Your sins are forgiven. I'm confused.
I thought the man was paralyzed and needed to walk. That's what we're told. We're told he's a paralytic. I mean, he's prayer, he can't walk. Jesus sees their faith.
And he hadn't gotten to Get up and walk yet. That's coming later. He says, son, Your sins are forgiven. There's a whole story there. We don't know the details of the story, but we know this much.
There was a direct correlation between his sin and his circumstances. There was something wrong. Spiritually in his life. That led to and kept him in his paralysis.
So watch this. Before Jesus... dealt with his circumstances. He dealt with this spiritual reality. See, a lot of folk come to church every week and want God to change their circumstances.
without messing with their sin. God, leave my sin alone, but give me a new job. Leave my sin alone, but get me a new house. Leave my sin alone, but buy me a new car. Leave my sin alone, but give me more money.
Leave my sin alone, but give me a great relationship. Leave my sin alone, but bless my life. Jesus just didn't come to be our miracle worker. He just didn't come to deal with the external realities of our lives, although he's concerned about them, while he skips the spiritual reality that may have put us in the predicament in the first place. It means the first thing.
You want to make sure of when you're asking for your blessing, your miracle, your supernatural presence, is that the spiritual has been addressed. That you're coming before God and giving him the freedom to address sin so that now he's free to address circumstances.
Sonyos. Lin. has been forgiven. People want God to change everything. The nation wants God to change.
God bless America. Never mind that America doesn't want to bless God, but God bless America. We're in rebellion against God, but we want him to change what's going on in our lives. He says, son, no, your sins are forgiven you. He saw their faith.
So these four guys took the man to Jesus. not only for physical healing, but for spiritual healing. The scribes were sitting there reasoning in their hearts. It means thinking to themselves. Why does this man speak this way?
He is blaspheming. Who can forgive sins but God alone? Translation, this man is out of his mind. Talk about your sins are forgiven. acting like he God.
Oh well. Immediately, Jesus, aware in his spirit that they were reasoning that way within themselves, said to them, Why are you reasoning about these things in your heart?
Now they should have known something was different when he told them what they were thinking.
Okay, they're reading it in their heart and he gonna come up and tell them Y'all were just thinking about how could I do this since God could only do this. That that oughta been a clue. And then he asked a question.
Now this is a great question. Jesus says, verse 9, which is easier? To say to the paralytic, your sins are forgiven. or to say get up and pick up your palate. and walk.
Great question. Jesus says, okay, guys. I just read your mind, so let me help you out. What is easier? Is it easier for me to say to the paralytic, your sins are forgiven?
Or is it easier for me to say, take up your bed and walk?
Okay, let me reverse the question. Guys. What's harder? Is it harder for me to forgive sins? Or is it harder for me to miraculously raise this man up from his palate?
The answer is in the question. Either one's gonna take God. You want to know, I could I pronounce him forgiven, says only God can do that. I got you.
Well, then how do you expect me to do a miracle? Unless God does it.
So either way I go, it's going to take God. It's gonna take God for me to deal with the spiritual, and it's gonna take God for me to deal with the circumstantial. Says only God can deal with either. Guess who I am, boys? He said, you said only God can do this.
What we're going to do, guys, is verse 10, but so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth. In history, to forgive sins, he said to the paralytic, I say to you, get up. Pick up your pallet and go home. Dr. Evans will return in a moment to continue this story.
including a look at why God wants more for us than just a halfway healing. First, though, if you feel like you've been limping your way through the Christian life with halfway faith, Tony's current teaching series is just the resource you need. It's called Believing is Seeing. And it explores the vital connection between taking God at His Word and seeing that Word make a difference in your life. It'll teach you how to stop blocking your own blessings.
and how to weather storms that could otherwise wash you away. We want to help you become a more fully devoted follower of the Lord.
So we are offering all eight lessons in this series as our thank you gift when you make a donation to help keep this program coming your way. And for a limited time, when you request this collection, we'll also include Dr. Evans' brand new devotional and prayer guide, Anchored by Faith. 180 daily readings and prayers to strengthen your trust in God. and help you stay anchored in His promises, no matter the challenges you face.
So visit TonyEvans.org today. Make your donation. and let us send you the complete Believing is Seeing series along with Anchored by Faith. Again, that's tonyevans.org. or call 1-800-800-3222.
where members of our resource team are standing by around the clock to help you. That's one eight hundred eight hundred three two two two.
Well, Dr. Evans returns now with more of today's lesson. When God deals with you and me spiritually. Which means he's been free to address our sin. And we deal with that as first.
and primary, the spiritual comes first. Freeing him up. To then Just like it takes supernatural work for God to forgive, to address our circumstances. Once he addresses our circumstances, Take up your palate and walk. The reason that he does The supernatural in the circumstances that people can see.
It's to show them. He also can deal with the spiritual that you can't see.
So, when God breaks through and does something outside of nature. He does it so that you become a testimony. to everybody watching. That the God who deals with what you can see is the God who will deal with the more important thing that you can't see. Because God is first interested in the spiritual over the circumstantial, but he'll do the circumstantial so that you will know the spiritual because the goal of the circumstantial is to bring you into relationship to the spiritual so that you have a relationship with him, the one who you saw do the physical.
So, when some of you begin to live this life of faith and you watch God break through. He ain't just breaking through for you. He's not just breaking through so that you can feel better, live better, walk better, talk better, spin better. He's breaking through for you so that other folk can see that Jesus Christ is Lord, that he is God, and that you are in spiritual relationship with him, which freed him up to do what they could see. In other words, your individual faith led to public sight.
to draw public sight back into your individual faith. Your invisible faith. And when he did that. It says that the man got up immediately.
Now, let me tell you the secret. of when you can pretty much know You're involved in the supernatural. It's not the only way God works. but it is a dominant way God's work. Yes.
When you can know that something, this ain't natural. Because sometimes Things you think are supernatural, you wonder, well, was this supernatural or was this just the natural working out of things?
Sometimes you're not sure. But let me tell you when you can be like, sure. It's the word immediately.
Sometimes the Bible calls it suddenly.
Okay? That means Out of nowhere. That means Where'd that come from? Let me Woo, I didn't see that coming. That's when God swoops down.
When you, how you gonna be paralyzed for 38 years and then just Jump up immediately. Come on, I need some doctor, I need some medicine, I need some surgery. But don't tell me immediately. I got my spiritual life right with God and out of nowhere. God comes in and somebody calls me for a job immediately.
I got my life right with God. I don't have to chase nobody.
Somebody found me. Immediately. When God comes out of nowhere, because you're in touch with Him, and suddenly, immediately, He told him, get up.
Now the man had a responsibility because Jesus gave the command but he had to get out.
So he had a responsibility. God's miracle involved him without it being dependent upon him because Jesus had already spoken the word to him.
So you know it's the miraculous when Out of nowhere. God enters into the situation because you've been made right with him. That's not the only way he does it, but that's a way you can know. that the supernatural has intervened into your circumstance. And it closes by saying.
So they were all amazed. And we're glorifying God saying, We have never. Never, never, ever, never. Seen anything like this? Do you have some faith God can see?
I ain't talking about you talking. I ain't talking about waving your hand in the air like you just don't care. I ain't talking about that. I'm talking about where you are moving in faith, or if you can't, getting other folk to help you move in faith so that God can see y'all's faith.
So there, Faith. That's why you need to be connected. You need to be connected so that when your faith is weak, you can add to somebody else. where their faith is weak and you can add to them they can add to you and god sees group faith and that's when he sees even broader collection faith you see more happening in the community and in the nation because god sees that the group is serious so then that means he's going to respond to faith god responds to faith That is visible. Dr.
Evans will share a final thought about what God's response might look like when he returns in a moment to wrap up this lesson titled, Helping Us Believe. Before he does, though, a reminder that today's message is part of Tony's current series, Believing is Seeing. As I mentioned earlier, this eight-part collection is available right now, bundled along with a special bonus, Dr. Evans' brand new devotional and prayer guide, Anchored by Faith. You can receive both as our gift when you make a contribution toward the ministry of the alternative.
Take advantage of this limited time offer to day. Just visit Tony Evans dot org or call our Resource Center at one eight hundred eight hundred thirty two twenty two. That's one eight hundred eight hundred three two two two or online at tonyevans. org. And one more quick note, I'm excited to let you know about a new podcast coming from Dr.
Evans this November. along with the biblically based sermons you hear each day here on the alternative, He'll soon be launching the Unbound podcast, a weekly series of authentic conversations where timeless truth meets real-life questions. Each episode features doctor Evans sitting down with guests from all walks of life to talk about faith, culture, growth, and the struggles and victories we all share. It's honest, engaging dialogue that goes beyond surface talk, designed to inform, inspire, and connect. We'll share more details about this exciting new podcast as the launch date approaches next month.
In the Bible, it seems like miracles happen all the time. but for many of us to day not so much.
Well, tomorrow, Dr. Evans talks about the connection between our faith and our experience, and what we can do to see more of heaven on earth. Right now, though, he is back with his final thought for today. When you go to the hospital and you say, This is wrong, whatever wrong is, whatever that wrong is. This is wrong with me.
My back's hurting, my stomach's hurting, my head's hurting. All you have given them are symptoms. You told them how you feel.
So that they got the symptoms, back, stomach, head. They're not going to let it go with that. Just in case you haven't been to the hospital. They will hear you. Pray to them about your symptom.
But then what they're gonna do is go deeper. X-ray here, scan there. Because they know your symptom may simply be the fruit and not the root of what's really wrong. Your head may be hurting because there's a tumor. You don't know it's a tumor.
You just know the symptom that it's hurting. But they're going to go deeper to find out what's really wrong. When you come to God, he's going to deal with what's really wrong. Not that camouflage stuff. And he's not going to do what many in the Christian faith do.
He's not going to give you a placebo. Make you think you getting something real when it ain't nothing in it but water. And I'll give you a placebo because he wants you really healed. He wants you really well. He wants you really transformed.
And if that means surgery, he wants to do surgery. And if that means a scope, he wants to give you a scope. Why? Because he's not just trying to fix your symptoms. You could go to Walgreens for that.
He's trying to deal with the cause, give you the cure so that he heals you from the root so that now you can be blessed with the fruit.
