Jesus Knows #1: You need good friends

What Kind of Friend are you?

This week I want to ask you. what Kind of friend are you?

Are you the kind of friend who helps the people you know all the time? whould you go to exteme lengths to help you friends?

I want to talk today about 4 friends who were EXTREME! about helping thier friend who had a need.

Let’s read the Bible.

Mark 2:1-12

Mark 2:1–12 NKJV

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. And He preached the word to them. Then they came to Him, bringing a paralytic who was carried by four men. 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 lying. When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven you.” And 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?” But 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 up your bed and walk’? But 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 all, so that all were amazed and glorified God, saying, “We never saw anything like this!”

Have any of you ever sen someone healed of a sickness or disease? It’s an amazing thing to see, when God desides to step into someones situation and intervene.

But What would you do if you needed healing but you couldn’t get to church or in this case to Jesus?

Well Thank goodness for friends!

I want you to think for just a few minutes about this sick mans friends.

They saw that their friend had a need.... He was paralyzed and could not move by himself.

They saw a potential solution to his problem. (Jesus was in the neighborhood and they probably new that he had healed others....

The took it upon themselves to help their friend get to Jesus… and this was no small task.

Step 1: Get your paralyzed friend onto a movable mat

Step 2: carried said friend through busy streets, and markets. making sure that you do not drop or jostle him

Step 3: Find a way to get said friend in onto the house to see Jesus.. and this is where it got a little hard.

The House that Jesus was in was busy… really busy!… there were people everywhere… ther were in the house.. around the house. in the doorways, hanging from the windows. they were everywhere!

and lets be honest… most friends would have given up here… you know… oh well. we tried. but it’s just to busy… right?

well not these friends… these friends decided to go to the EXTREME to help their friend out!

there’s no way into the house… except for one. The roof! it’s made out of straw and thatch… (kind of like leaves.) so they devise a plan to get up on the roof… pull open a hole in it and lower their friend down into the house to see Jesus!

Now I don’t know about you… but this sounds like a crazy amount of work to do for a friend just so that he can get healed...

which tells me that either they were CRAZY!

or they really cared about their friend...

And it’s this is what I want to talk to you about today.

each and everyone of you has friends. or family or someone that needs the healing power of Jesus… maybe they don’t have a sickenss… maybe they just need his forgiveness, or they have some other problems in their lives that need Jesus

See This mans friends KNEW what the solution to his problem was.... JESUS

and they knew how to get their friend their… so they did!

And I hope that each of you can learn to be that kind of friend too!

I hope that you will be the kind of person who won’t let your friends that don’t know Jesus stay not knowing him… You could be the person who brings your friend to Jesus and see’s him heal… from their sins!

Wouldn't it be great to see all your friends go to heaven with you?