FAITH THAT IS SEEN

TEXT: Mark 2:1–12 (KJV 1900)

And again he entered into Capernaum, after some days; and it was noised that he was in the house. 2 And straightway many were gathered together, insomuch that there was no room to receive them, no, not so much as about the door: and he preached the word unto them. 3 And they come unto him, bringing one sick of the palsy, which was borne of four. 4 And when they could not come nigh unto him for the press, they uncovered the roof where he was: and when they had broken it up, they let down the bed wherein the sick of the palsy lay. 5 When Jesus saw their faith, he said unto the sick of the palsy, Son, thy sins be forgiven thee. 6 But there were certain of the scribes sitting there, and reasoning in their hearts, 7 Why doth this man thus speak blasphemies? who can forgive sins but God only? 8 And immediately when Jesus perceived in his spirit that they so reasoned within themselves, he said unto them, Why reason ye these things in your hearts? 9 Whether is it easier to say to the sick of the palsy, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Arise, and take up thy bed, and walk? 10 But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins, (he saith to the sick of the palsy,) 11 I say unto thee, Arise, and take up thy bed, and go thy way into thine house. 12 And immediately he arose, took up the bed, and went forth before them all; insomuch that they were all amazed, and glorified God, saying, We never saw it on this fashion.

ILL: When Hutson Taylor was sailing to China to begin his missionary work, his ship was in great danger. The wind had died, and the current was carrying them toward sunken reefs which were close to islands inhabited by cannibals—so close they could see them building fires on the shore. Everything they tried was to no avail. In his journal Taylor recorded what happened next: The Captain said to me, “Well, we have done everything that can be done.” A thought occurred to me, and I replied, “No, there is one thing we have not done yet.” “What is that?” he queried. “Four of us on board are Christians. Let us each retire to his own cabin, and in agreed prayer ask the Lord to give us immediately a breeze.”

Taylor prayed briefly and then, certain that the answer was coming, went up on the deck and asked the first officer to let down the sails. “What would be the good of that?” he answered roughly. I told him we had been asking a wind from God; that it was coming immediately. Within minutes the wind did began to blow, and it carried them safely past the reefs. Taylor wrote: Thus God encouraged me ere landing on China’s shores to bring every variety of need to Him in prayer, and to expect that He would honour the name of the Lord Jesus and give the help each emergency required.

Source: The Works of J. Hudson Taylor, Hudson Taylor

CAN FAITH BE BE SEEN

-In our scripture it says, “When Jesus saw their faith,...” v.5

-Q: How did he see it? Did they clench up their fists and grind their teeth? Did they say over and over “I believe, I believe…?”

-He saw their faith by what they did. James 2:18 (KJV 1900)

18 Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works.

-A man may say that he has faith, but he drinks, he smokes, he gambles, he cusses, he goes to church whenever he feels like it. That man has faith but his faith is dead!

-This tells us two things: Their is a living faith and their is a dead faith!

-Q: When you pray do expect God to answer? Religions, when they pray they don’t expect God to answer, most of the time they’re just repeating words.

-Mary, when the angel appeared to her and spoke to her said, “be it unto me according to thy word.” This was her attitude towards God’s word. What is your attitude?

-They heard that Jesus was in the house and that he could heal so they brought their friend and did whatever they had to do to get him to Jesus.

-That was their faith in action!

-The blind man, Jesus made mud anointed his eyes and told him to was in the pool of Siloam and when he did what the Lord told him to do he was healed.

-The nobleman’s son healed as the father obeyed Jesus’ word. John 4:50–53 (KJV 1900)

50 Jesus saith unto him, Go thy way; thy son liveth. And the man believed the word that Jesus had spoken unto him, and he went his way. 51 And as he was now going down, his servants met him, and told him, saying, Thy son liveth. 52 Then inquired he of them the hour when he began to amend. And they said unto him, Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him. 53 So the father knew that it was at the same hour, in the which Jesus said unto him, Thy son liveth: and himself believed, and his whole house.

-You see, he put Jesus’ word into action! Faith is not a difficult thing, people have made it difficult , faith is taking God at his word and acting on it.

-Q: Is your faith a dead faith or a living faith?

FAITH COMETH BY HEARING AND HEARING BY THE WORD OF GOD

- The bible says That faith comes by hearing the word of God. Romans 10:17 (KJV 1900)

17 So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

-It’s when when you hear the word of God preached that faith is produced in you.

-Then when faith is there you act on it, you do whatever the word of God says for you to do.

-The word of God says, that Jesus took our infirmities and bore our sicknesses. If you want to be healed then you need to believe that.

-God says “I am The Lord that health thee.”

-God says, He is Jehovah Jire your provider.”

-What it is it that word of God is saying to you? Believe it and act on it. Because faith needs to be seen!

-The Lord Jesus Christ was beaten and whipped and crucified for your sins, he bore our punishment on the tree. 1 Peter 2:24 (KJV 1900)

24 Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.

-The bible says that wages of sin is death but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord!

-Jesus bore our punishment, he bore our sicknesses and disease and pains. Isaiah 53:4–6 (KJV 1900)

4 Surely he hath borne our griefs,

And carried our sorrows:

Yet we did esteem him stricken,

Smitten of God, and afflicted.

5 But he was wounded for our transgressions,

He was bruised for our iniquities:

The chastisement of our peace was upon him;

And with his stripes we are healed.

6 All we like sheep have gone astray;

We have turned every one to his own way;

And the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.

Do you believe?