The great forgiver of Sin

Introduction:

believe it or not i usually have a method to what i do… especially when it comes to a topical sermon series like this where i verse by verse showed different ways over the past 5 weeks that jesus is BETTER than all the world has to offer...

we saw that he is the light of the world and can cure us of our spiritual blindness…

we saw that he is the living water who can offer eternal life to all…

we saw that he has power over death and will bring to life those that are dead…

we saw that he will clean the most unclean even if society or religion tells us about them...

and last week we looked at how his presence changes everything about the storms of life…

and this list is in no way exhaustive it was a simple 5 week list, but today we get to the end of the series and i want to point out one more way jesus is better than what the world has to offer

Christian and non christian alike need to understand that jesus is the great forgiver of mans sin...

and thats a big deal because it was our sin that separated us from the love of god, the blessings of god, and the fellowship with god…

but god sent his son to forgive that sin… because thats what he does to those who seek him…

Jesus wants us to rightly seek after him and we should understand that jesus is deeply touched or as we have seen for 5 weeks how he will MOVE towards those who do…

and right here we see something truly unique in a man couldn’t physically follow christ but his friends could and went to extraordinary lengths to make sure their friend got to the savior....

the account in the Mark 2:1-12 tells us these men removed the roof off the house in order to get their friend to the savior...

again just like the past 5 weeks a divine appointment was kept again showing us that our god knows all and nothing is coincidence but all is for his honor and hid glory we just need to look for it

and in this divine appointment we see christ use the opportunity to show his great love for a man that was for the most part thought of as useless (by others and himself)

he also used this great appointment to show he has the power ot forgive sins and that he and his words are above question by the religious elite

in the first verse we see him going to this appointment

Matthew 9:1 KJV 1900

And he entered into a ship, and passed over, and came into his own city.

and we know from context (which is always king when interpreting the bible) that he was asked to leave where he was…

he blessed the people and got rid of the demons possessing the two guys… but they didn’t like the outcome as much as they like the demon possessed guys so they asked him to leave and we never see him going back to that place either if we read the bible

sort of like a lot of dead churches that were blessed but they didn’t like the blessing so they asked jesus to leave (maybe not literally but you get my point)

and thats were we pick up:

I. Jesus power to forgive sin was demonstrated here (2)

Matthew 9:2 KJV 1900

And, behold, they brought to him a man sick of the palsy, lying on a bed: and Jesus seeing their faith said unto the sick of the palsy; Son, be of good cheer; thy sins be forgiven thee.

A. the 4 friends brought their friend to the savior

understand this man was disabled

he was helpless and without hope by society standards

but he had some friends who cared so much that didn’t stop them

if you look at the parallel passages in Mark 2:1-12 & Luke 5:17-26 (which I’d recommend you do) you will see these “friends” cared so deeply they were almost obsessed with the mission to get their disabled friend to the savior

they went and made him a bed then carried it to the savior and nothing would stop them

these friends just knew that jesus could help him

they knew he could and they didn’t question it or his power

there was no maybe here for them, they knew he could and if they got their friend to see him he would help him

the friends persisted to the point of almost rudeness (again see Mark and Luke)

what kind if friends were these?!? well if you want me to be honest these were the type of friends we should be towards the lost…

listen to me when someone is lost in their sin they are hopeless, helpless, and need to come to the savior....

sometimes they need someone to come along side them and make sure they get where they need to be

someone who knows if they just get to see the savior for who he is he will saved them

someone who sees his wayward friend and knows he has to get them to church or to hear the gospel so they can be saved as well

take this and apply it where it applies, but today Church folks are more likely to be the Pharisees we will see in a minute than they are the friends who push to get their friend at the feet of the savior

we need to be obsessed with the mission of getting the disabled to the savior, we must know his power to save them and to help them, and we have to start being a people who persist until we get them where they need to be

too often we ask them to come once they say no and we are done…

LISTEN TO ME PEOPLE ARE DYING AND GOING TO HELL AND THEIR BLOOD IS ON OUR HANDS BECAUSE WE HAVE BECOME LAZY, COMPLACENT, AND FRANKLY UNCARING ABOUT THEIR ETERNAL SOULS!

we can’t save our friends and family and oh how i wish we could… but we know the one who can and will if we will just get them where they need to be…

you know instead of acting like we care lets show them we care because if they die lost they die and open their eyes in hell

B. these friends had “faith”

and maybe we should learn a lesson from this faith…

we need to be focused on the savior and his saving power

we must have faith in his word and his promise to save

we must have enough faith to do what needs done to see our friends saved

and we must persist in our faith moving forward

quit worrying about the programs and focus on christ, quit focussing on your failure and focus on christ, quit with everything else that is keeping you from focusing on the savior because its through him we are saved and our friends can be saved

jesus will always acknowledge faith and these men spoke with more then words they showed their faith by their actions…

C. and once again we see Jesus do something because of faith in Him

the first thing he did was forgive the mans sins… because that was the greatest need he had even if he didn’t know it

now look here no matter what is going on in your life the greatest need you have if you have not been forgiven is to have your sins forgive

there was no ceremony or ritual here jesus just did what he does and forgave his sin…

and you might feel helpless hopeless and without purpose and i get it you want all that taken care of…

but you need to get your sin problem handled before you even worry about that because that wont send you to tell but sin sure will..

and the we see something interesting...

II. Jesus authority was questioned (3)

Matthew 9:3 KJV 1900

And, behold, certain of the scribes said within themselves, This man blasphemeth.

A. He was silently accused of Blasphemy

and guess what it was the religionist of the time (or the church folks) who did it

they thought jesus couldn’t forgive sin

they thought it and whispered it to themselves

and look here many think that today… maybe its deep down and they may not talk about it but some today even religious folks don’t think christ can forgive their sin

and i want you to understand something here: this group i am talking about is what i call cultural christians and the “culturally christian crowd” are still alive today

people are still in church who don’t really believe christ is truly living or that he isn’t the son of god there are people today who don’t believe jesus rose from the dead

and here is usually the thing they may not believe all those truths of christ but they usually want to think he is a great moral teacher

Listen to me he is the son of god , he is truly still alive, he really rose form the dead… and you can ask how do i know well because I’m saved… and its one of those things that when you know you know

and its been proven to me so many times in my life.. like he proved it here

III. Jesus power is proven to them (4-7)

Matthew 9:4–7 KJV 1900

And Jesus knowing their thoughts said, Wherefore think ye evil in your hearts? For whether is easier, to say, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Arise, and walk? But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins, (then saith he to the sick of the palsy,) Arise, take up thy bed, and go unto thine house. And he arose, and departed to his house.

A. Jesus knew they were rejecting what He was doing

their evil thinking was thinking that he (the son of God) was not of God…

the crowd saw him and recognized him for what he was… but not the religious people…

in their pride and hard heartedness they rejected him and refused to admit any authority to him

And look 2 things here the first is the obvious thing:

jesus knows what we are thinking and knows our thoughts even the secret ones…

the second thing i want to point out and the more important one too many times we “religious people” get in our pride and in our hard heartedness think we know more about what christ can do or what he should do than he does himself…

we get bent out of shape when he moves in a way that we didn’t expect or in a way that makes us uncomfortable…

we also think we can decide that the moving of the spirit should be going this way or that way but the truth is we can’t tell god what to do and he just need to get onboard with the work that he is doing

Jesus pretty much proposed a test here for them

it was one of those things where he was pretty much saying is it easier to say somehting or to do something…

think about this jesus said look you hear me talking but you wanna see me doing and thats ok i can do as well...

christian listen to me stop talking about doing things for god and start doing things for god…

look at what christ did here he healed the man!

he healed him and in doing so proved his deity and his messiahship

him doing these right here proved to them that he was who he was saying he was… he had the power to forgive sins…

he didn’t argue, he didn’t have a facebook war, he didn’t get loud, he simply did what he was supposed to do here...

what a lesson in that for us… stop arguing and stop proving yourself right and simply do what god has for us to do…

go back to the friends who got this man where he needed to be to meet jesus...

YOU WILL NEVER GET YOUR FRIENDS WHERE THEY NEED TO BE TO MEET CHRIST BY ARGUING WITH THEM OR PUTTING THEM DOWN...

just do what your called to do and tell the world (which is broken, hurting, and lost) that there is savior who will fix the sin, forgive the sin, and save the sinner from eternal hell

and i want you to look at one more thing here

jesus told him to get up which is awesome, he obviously had the strength given to him in healing to get to work cause christ told him to pick up his bed, BUT THEN HE WAS TOLD TO GO TO HIS HOUSE...

you may ask whats that have to do with anything…

Jesus has the power to pick us up out of sin, he will give you the power to get to work and take up your bed, but then he will tell you to go to your own house because they should be taken to the savior by you like the friends took him to the savior...

he wanted the mans loved ones to see the difference in his life that christ made… listen to me there should be a difference in your life that christ made and those who know you best will see it before anyone else

they will also see if your fake before anyone else…

we should love our family and close friends enough to do what these men did… some of us christians have been told to ARISE and we have, then we have been told to TAKE UP OUR BEDS, and we have…

but have we then went to our families?!?

because look here at whats next:

IV. This all brought glory to God (8)

Matthew 9:8 KJV 1900

But when the multitudes saw it, they marvelled, and glorified God, which had given such power unto men.

A. the power of God should stir us to worship him…

these people saw a great movement of god in their mist… and they new it and they worshipped god for it

understand the culture if they were listening to the rabbi they wanted a relationship with god and they wanted to see the power of god on display

if you’re in church today or if you’re listening today you either want a relationship with god today or you wanna see the power of god on display (right?)

and look here as a Christian i have a relationship with god but lets be real we all could use a closer one right?!?

and as a pastor i wanna see the power of god on display and again lets be honest we all want that as well...

here is the answer you’ve been looking for because we have been invited to a closer relationship with god today

give up your sin, repent and get right with him today and see that relationship grow

maybe you’ve never had a relationship, see your sin and repent of it and come get to know him today

and guess what else… we have been invited to see the power and glory of god today as well…

separate from your sin… separate from your expectations, let go and simply let god move and you will see what i am talking about here

Conclusion:

cultural christianity is alive and well today…

but we have been invited to more than that

we have been invited to more of a relationship with christ then just a casual one…

half way worship is alive and well today...

but we have been invited to stand in awe and wonder of the power of god

our god is better than all that the world has to offer…

he is better then the half way relationships and the powerless churches

he is better than the sin that is crippling to us and holding us down

he is better then all the world offers because he can forgive our sin where nothing else has the power to do so

which will you choose…

the world or the savior

the sin or the forgiveness of isn

a real worship or a half worship

the devil or the one who is better…

who will choose jesus today? to commit to and to serve to worship and to know

who will chose what is better