WEBVTT 00:00:04.360 --> 00:00:06.879 Is that me? Nope, there we go. Under Pressure, 00:00:06.879 --> 00:00:10.060 this sermon series in Lent. We had our little 00:00:10.060 --> 00:00:13.980 Ash Wednesday devotional. We were in the temple, 00:00:14.199 --> 00:00:19.059 the synagogue of Nazareth last week. But today 00:00:19.059 --> 00:00:22.699 we're going to see something extraordinary. We 00:00:22.699 --> 00:00:25.640 thought we saw it last week when Jesus fulfills 00:00:25.640 --> 00:00:28.440 the prophecy of Isaiah. He read in the temple 00:00:28.440 --> 00:00:30.280 and they go to try to, they loved his sermon 00:00:30.280 --> 00:00:33.469 so much they tried to kill him over it. We're 00:00:33.469 --> 00:00:36.630 now going to see rejection again from the people. 00:00:38.030 --> 00:00:41.729 We're going to see the Pharisees take a big part 00:00:41.729 --> 00:00:46.049 in the story of adding that pressure. And so 00:00:46.049 --> 00:00:48.630 we go from Nazareth to where now the roof is 00:00:48.630 --> 00:00:51.229 going to come off in Capernaum. So put yourself 00:00:51.229 --> 00:00:56.229 in the story, right? So now the news of this 00:00:56.229 --> 00:01:00.659 Jesus guy spread throughout all the region. People 00:01:00.659 --> 00:01:03.060 are showing up where he is teaching, where he 00:01:03.060 --> 00:01:06.420 is doing miracles. So now he's a miracle worker. 00:01:06.540 --> 00:01:09.040 He's a teacher and a miracle worker. If you have 00:01:09.040 --> 00:01:11.959 your Messiah bingo sheet, you're checking off 00:01:11.959 --> 00:01:13.920 some of those things. You still don't know. You're 00:01:13.920 --> 00:01:16.439 wondering. You're hoping. Maybe he's the Messiah. 00:01:16.680 --> 00:01:20.079 He said some Messianic junk in the temple in 00:01:20.079 --> 00:01:26.299 Nazareth. Let me set the scene. We're in a crowded 00:01:26.299 --> 00:01:31.200 house. Doorway is blocked. The fire chief, the 00:01:31.200 --> 00:01:33.140 fire inspector would have given them a ticket 00:01:33.140 --> 00:01:36.420 because they had too many people in this place. 00:01:36.599 --> 00:01:39.900 Occupancy had been in capacity, overflowing. 00:01:40.640 --> 00:01:44.760 Yet we see the Pharisees sitting quietly. Teachers 00:01:44.760 --> 00:01:50.239 of the law watching closely. No one can get in 00:01:50.239 --> 00:01:54.700 this house. How many of you grew up with a large 00:01:54.700 --> 00:01:57.980 family? I know that's super subjective, but feel 00:01:57.980 --> 00:01:59.680 free. If you think you were part of a large family, 00:01:59.980 --> 00:02:02.739 how many of you had parties, it seemed like, 00:02:02.739 --> 00:02:06.239 in the smallest house of the family? Some of 00:02:06.239 --> 00:02:10.259 you, for whatever reason. And many of us loved 00:02:10.259 --> 00:02:13.960 it. Many of us, those experiences made us introverts. 00:02:14.240 --> 00:02:17.159 And we were like, we hated it, I don't like those, 00:02:17.259 --> 00:02:20.759 I'm now triggered, or whatever it is. I remember 00:02:20.759 --> 00:02:24.159 the Howland owner house, a lot of people at my 00:02:24.159 --> 00:02:28.599 Uncle Hal. At my Aunt Carol's house over in Alsop. 00:02:29.259 --> 00:02:33.240 Small house packed with people. Literally people 00:02:33.240 --> 00:02:36.120 sitting on each other for no reason, right? Well, 00:02:36.159 --> 00:02:37.599 that's all we're going to say about that. But 00:02:37.599 --> 00:02:39.439 it was just, you know, you can feel the tension. 00:02:39.800 --> 00:02:42.840 You can feel. Yet everybody loved it. There was 00:02:42.840 --> 00:02:45.520 laughing. There was all of these things. A lot 00:02:45.520 --> 00:02:50.599 of food. That's where we find ourselves. Jesus 00:02:50.599 --> 00:02:53.000 is doing some work. He's doing his teaching. 00:02:53.120 --> 00:02:56.360 He goes from the temple now to a crowded home. 00:02:56.560 --> 00:02:58.620 So Jesus is going to bring his message wherever 00:02:58.620 --> 00:03:01.379 it needs to be. And we're going to see something 00:03:01.379 --> 00:03:06.620 spectacular. The roof tiles start to crack. Start 00:03:06.620 --> 00:03:12.620 to open. Light trickles in. Dust now falls. And 00:03:12.620 --> 00:03:16.439 there, a makeshift stretcher descends into the 00:03:16.439 --> 00:03:22.039 room. Four desperate friends. One helpless man 00:03:22.039 --> 00:03:26.960 and everybody, us included, we expect this guy, 00:03:27.060 --> 00:03:32.460 a paralytic, cannot walk, cannot move, is lowered 00:03:32.460 --> 00:03:36.259 down and we're expecting this healer to say two 00:03:36.259 --> 00:03:39.680 words, be healed. And that would be a great story. 00:03:39.879 --> 00:03:42.819 That would be a great testimony of the work of 00:03:42.819 --> 00:03:47.819 Christ. But instead, he says something very different. 00:03:48.439 --> 00:03:51.639 Six words that will bring the ultimate pressure 00:03:51.639 --> 00:03:57.539 upon his shoulders. Man, your sins are forgiven 00:03:57.539 --> 00:04:03.199 you. Those are six words, right? Yeah. Not be 00:04:03.199 --> 00:04:07.340 healed, but something drastically different. 00:04:08.419 --> 00:04:10.479 I'm going to be so bold to say it's something 00:04:10.479 --> 00:04:13.960 you and I need to hear today as well. We've already 00:04:13.960 --> 00:04:17.199 heard it. But if I had to guess, you're going 00:04:17.199 --> 00:04:19.360 to need to hear it tomorrow. I know I will be. 00:04:19.939 --> 00:04:24.899 And Tuesday. And every day that ends in Y. Your 00:04:24.899 --> 00:04:29.100 sins are forgiven you. The pressure in the room 00:04:29.100 --> 00:04:33.600 explodes. Why? Because in their mind, everyone 00:04:33.600 --> 00:04:36.360 there, Pharisees, Sadducees, teachers of the 00:04:36.360 --> 00:04:39.459 law, us, Munster Church today, 2026, forgiveness 00:04:39.459 --> 00:04:44.129 is the hardest miracle of all. Let's walk through 00:04:44.129 --> 00:04:46.029 this story looking at the pressure points from 00:04:46.029 --> 00:04:48.709 Luke chapter 5. We'll be in Luke 5 starting with 00:04:48.709 --> 00:04:51.069 verse 17. So if you have your Bible or your Bible 00:04:51.069 --> 00:04:52.569 app and you want to get it out, we're going to 00:04:52.569 --> 00:04:56.970 be in Luke 5, 17. Again, we use the English Standard 00:04:56.970 --> 00:04:59.350 version here on stage. You can use whatever version 00:04:59.350 --> 00:05:01.389 you want. It will just read and sound a little 00:05:01.389 --> 00:05:06.410 different. Luke 5, 17 to 26. On one of those 00:05:06.410 --> 00:05:09.329 days, he, being Jesus, was teaching. Pharisees 00:05:09.329 --> 00:05:11.189 and teachers of the law were sitting there who 00:05:11.189 --> 00:05:13.569 had come from every village of Galilee and Judea 00:05:13.569 --> 00:05:16.230 and from Jerusalem. And the power of the Lord 00:05:16.230 --> 00:05:18.569 was with him to heal. And behold, some men were 00:05:18.569 --> 00:05:21.910 bringing on a bed a man who was paralyzed. And 00:05:21.910 --> 00:05:24.230 they were seeking to bring him in and lay him 00:05:24.230 --> 00:05:26.910 before Jesus, but finding no way to bring him 00:05:26.910 --> 00:05:28.829 in because of the crowd, they went up to the 00:05:28.829 --> 00:05:31.370 roof to let him down with his bed through the 00:05:31.370 --> 00:05:34.379 tiles in the midst before Jesus. And when he 00:05:34.379 --> 00:05:37.879 saw their faith, he said, man, your sins are 00:05:37.879 --> 00:05:40.779 forgiven you. And the scribes and the Pharisees 00:05:40.779 --> 00:05:43.279 began to question, saying, who is this who speaks 00:05:43.279 --> 00:05:46.100 blasphemies, who can forgive sins but God alone? 00:05:46.759 --> 00:05:49.819 When Jesus perceived their thoughts, he answered 00:05:49.819 --> 00:05:52.980 them, why do you question in your hearts? Which 00:05:52.980 --> 00:05:55.100 is easier to say, your sins are forgiven you, 00:05:55.180 --> 00:05:59.540 or to say, rise and walk? But that you may know 00:05:59.540 --> 00:06:02.220 that the Son of Man has authority on earth to 00:06:02.220 --> 00:06:04.959 forgive sins. He said to the man who was paralyzed, 00:06:05.180 --> 00:06:07.180 I say to you, rise, pick up your bed and go home. 00:06:07.519 --> 00:06:09.740 And immediately he rose up before them and picked 00:06:09.740 --> 00:06:12.560 up what he had been laying on and went home glorifying 00:06:12.560 --> 00:06:16.339 God. And amazement seized them, seized them all. 00:06:16.439 --> 00:06:18.920 And they glorified God and were filled with awe 00:06:18.920 --> 00:06:23.079 saying, we have seen extraordinary things today. 00:06:26.600 --> 00:06:31.550 The man's paralysis, obvious. known, probably 00:06:31.550 --> 00:06:35.629 in the town, in his family, friends, all the 00:06:35.629 --> 00:06:39.449 things. The man's paralysis was obvious. Everyone 00:06:39.449 --> 00:06:42.829 could see that type of suffering. Think about 00:06:42.829 --> 00:06:45.230 that right now. If tomorrow morning you woke 00:06:45.230 --> 00:06:49.089 up, you had the inability to use any part of 00:06:49.089 --> 00:06:52.750 your body. That is a prison. Those are shackles 00:06:52.750 --> 00:06:56.589 that we cannot fully understand. He is a total 00:06:56.589 --> 00:07:00.029 paralytic. But what we're going to see is Jesus 00:07:00.029 --> 00:07:04.529 looks beyond the physical and goes much deeper. 00:07:05.329 --> 00:07:08.790 Because with Jesus, he sees the brokenness beneath 00:07:08.790 --> 00:07:12.709 the brokenness. He sees the disease beneath the 00:07:12.709 --> 00:07:22.389 disease. He sees the heart of it all. Sin. We 00:07:22.389 --> 00:07:24.290 get prayer requests every week at the church. 00:07:24.430 --> 00:07:26.649 Dawn does her best to put them in. Some people 00:07:26.649 --> 00:07:28.870 don't want them. They want the office to know 00:07:28.870 --> 00:07:30.250 about them, but they don't want anyone else to, 00:07:30.310 --> 00:07:33.589 and that's fine. We have never, ever, in the 00:07:33.589 --> 00:07:37.069 21 years now I've pastored, I've never once received 00:07:37.069 --> 00:07:40.189 something to be put in the bulletin from, let's 00:07:40.189 --> 00:07:44.069 just say, Adam Smith. That's from Pocahontas, 00:07:44.069 --> 00:07:46.269 isn't it? Never mind, don't worry about it. I 00:07:46.269 --> 00:07:47.529 don't know why I said Adam Smith, but we're just 00:07:47.529 --> 00:07:49.610 going to go with it. Pocahontas, just around 00:07:49.610 --> 00:07:52.769 the river bend, he sent the email saying, please 00:07:52.769 --> 00:07:57.839 pray for my... sin. I've never gotten that from 00:07:57.839 --> 00:08:01.980 Adam, or any Eves, or anybody. Because that's 00:08:01.980 --> 00:08:05.540 a weird prayer request. In the elder room, when 00:08:05.540 --> 00:08:08.759 we go around and do prayers, I don't ever have 00:08:08.759 --> 00:08:11.740 elder whoever stand up and go, guys, just pray 00:08:11.740 --> 00:08:14.939 for the act of sin in my life. Because that's 00:08:14.939 --> 00:08:17.500 way too intentional. That is way too vulnerable. 00:08:17.800 --> 00:08:20.339 Though it is assumed, good Reformed theology, 00:08:20.699 --> 00:08:23.000 it's assumed we're all depraved in habit. We 00:08:23.000 --> 00:08:27.040 never put it full. Put it forward. We see it. 00:08:27.060 --> 00:08:29.839 Same thing happened in this time with Jesus. 00:08:30.100 --> 00:08:34.519 In that culture as in ours, sickness. was counted 00:08:34.519 --> 00:08:36.620 and connected to the fallenness of humanity, 00:08:36.980 --> 00:08:39.759 whether his sin or his parents' sin or his generational 00:08:39.759 --> 00:08:44.340 sin. So Jesus addresses the deepest need first. 00:08:44.639 --> 00:08:46.340 And one of the things I'm going to tie some of 00:08:46.340 --> 00:08:48.440 my points with in this sermon series is the Heidelberg 00:08:48.440 --> 00:08:50.940 Catechism. Now, some of you might be newer. You 00:08:50.940 --> 00:08:53.539 don't know what that is, right? We are a confessional 00:08:53.539 --> 00:08:56.340 church. We hold to three forms of unity. Again, 00:08:56.480 --> 00:08:59.710 Bible is first and foremost. And these confessions 00:08:59.710 --> 00:09:02.870 help us understand and interpret the scriptures. 00:09:03.110 --> 00:09:05.610 The three of them are the Canons of Dort, the 00:09:05.610 --> 00:09:08.090 Belgic Confession, and the Heidelberg Catechism. 00:09:08.129 --> 00:09:10.389 So I will use that and put those in the point. 00:09:10.470 --> 00:09:12.470 If that intrigues you, all you've got to do is 00:09:12.470 --> 00:09:14.870 Google it and read it. 52 Lord's Days with a 00:09:14.870 --> 00:09:17.529 bunch of questions on faith. Some that I guarantee 00:09:17.529 --> 00:09:19.809 you've had in your life, whether you're a first 00:09:19.809 --> 00:09:22.029 -day believer or a hundred years of a believer, 00:09:22.230 --> 00:09:24.250 you've had those same questions. It helps us 00:09:24.250 --> 00:09:28.200 understand. So from Lord's Day 2, Lord, say two 00:09:28.200 --> 00:09:30.879 of the Heidelberg Catechism. From where do you 00:09:30.879 --> 00:09:34.700 know your sin and misery? From the law of God. 00:09:35.340 --> 00:09:38.179 We talk about that in Prep Sunday. We read that 00:09:38.179 --> 00:09:41.000 in the scriptures. I know I'm a sinner because 00:09:41.000 --> 00:09:44.840 God's word tells me. He doesn't say it as a sledgehammer, 00:09:44.960 --> 00:09:47.080 but he gives it to me as an understanding of 00:09:47.080 --> 00:09:52.039 who I am and my need for God. That vertical relationship. 00:09:53.480 --> 00:09:57.080 Church, our greatest problem is not stress. It's 00:09:57.080 --> 00:10:00.320 not finances. It's not politics or health. Our 00:10:00.320 --> 00:10:03.580 greatest problem today, as it was then and it 00:10:03.580 --> 00:10:08.080 will be tomorrow, is sin. Active sin in life. 00:10:09.379 --> 00:10:12.580 Our greatest need is to be forgiven by Jesus. 00:10:13.120 --> 00:10:16.399 The truth presses in on us. It humbles us. It 00:10:16.399 --> 00:10:21.200 can expose us. It can destroy us if we let it. 00:10:23.460 --> 00:10:26.980 And that's why. In that second point, Jesus reveals 00:10:26.980 --> 00:10:31.980 his authority over it. In verses 21 to 24, the 00:10:31.980 --> 00:10:35.019 scribes think and they say to themselves, who 00:10:35.019 --> 00:10:38.399 can forgive sins but God alone? First and foremost, 00:10:38.559 --> 00:10:41.179 they're right. They have the right understanding. 00:10:41.480 --> 00:10:44.059 But here, as we see, what they're going to butt 00:10:44.059 --> 00:10:46.100 up against with Jesus this entire sermon series 00:10:46.100 --> 00:10:48.899 is what Jesus is actually claiming about himself. 00:10:49.870 --> 00:10:53.289 They're right. Only God forgives sins. And Jesus 00:10:53.289 --> 00:10:58.590 proves in this moment he is God. Last week it 00:10:58.590 --> 00:11:01.429 was, I am the Messiah. I'm the one you're waiting 00:11:01.429 --> 00:11:04.389 for, oh, by the way. Now he's going to take it 00:11:04.389 --> 00:11:07.889 and double down. I am God. How do we know? For 00:11:07.889 --> 00:11:12.549 he calls himself the Son of Man. This is a figure 00:11:12.549 --> 00:11:15.909 for lunch and a conversation with Pastor Jim 00:11:15.909 --> 00:11:19.009 that would take them to what Old Testament book? 00:11:21.139 --> 00:11:24.100 But like the son of man who came down from on 00:11:24.100 --> 00:11:35.139 high. What? Nope. Two more guesses. Yes. Daniel. 00:11:35.240 --> 00:11:36.879 I already gave you lunch two weeks ago. But you 00:11:36.879 --> 00:11:38.440 can have another one. That's fine. It's from 00:11:38.440 --> 00:11:42.610 Daniel. Right? That Daniel has a vision. From 00:11:42.610 --> 00:11:47.029 the Son of Man, this is now immediate, not only 00:11:47.029 --> 00:11:51.330 Messiah, but Savior language. This is a claim 00:11:51.330 --> 00:11:55.490 to divine authority. So if your claim is going 00:11:55.490 --> 00:11:58.750 to have divine authority all tied up in it, who's 00:11:58.750 --> 00:12:01.190 going to have the biggest problem with it? The 00:12:01.190 --> 00:12:04.409 ones who think they are the authority over the 00:12:04.409 --> 00:12:08.169 divine. The scribes, the Pharisees, the Sadducees. 00:12:08.470 --> 00:12:10.950 Lord's Day 11 of the Heidelberg Catechism reminds 00:12:10.950 --> 00:12:15.649 us. He is called Jesus because he saves us from 00:12:15.649 --> 00:12:19.370 our sin. Last week, Lord's Day 12, reminded us 00:12:19.370 --> 00:12:22.190 he's prophet, priest, and king. But in this moment, 00:12:22.309 --> 00:12:25.590 Jesus is bringing it all together. All together. 00:12:25.909 --> 00:12:29.269 He proclaims forgiveness like a prophet. He mediates 00:12:29.269 --> 00:12:31.789 grace like a priest. And he commands healing 00:12:31.789 --> 00:12:35.250 like a king. Talk about the pressure Jesus just 00:12:35.250 --> 00:12:39.649 put himself under. And over, if we understand 00:12:39.649 --> 00:12:42.629 that. And we'll get there in a minute. And this 00:12:42.629 --> 00:12:46.250 presses us, because as we talked about last week, 00:12:46.269 --> 00:12:49.090 we want comfort without repentance, peace without 00:12:49.090 --> 00:12:52.830 confession. But Christ insists that forgiveness 00:12:52.830 --> 00:12:59.750 must come first. It would have made a whole lot 00:12:59.750 --> 00:13:03.070 more sense to us, in our minds, if he would have 00:13:03.070 --> 00:13:05.610 healed the guy first, but he doesn't, for a reason. 00:13:06.509 --> 00:13:11.440 Forgiveness must come first. Why? Because faith 00:13:11.440 --> 00:13:15.799 will bring people to Jesus. Luke tells us when 00:13:15.799 --> 00:13:20.019 Jesus saw whose faith? The paralytics? No, the 00:13:20.019 --> 00:13:24.919 four friends. When he saw their faith, he saw 00:13:24.919 --> 00:13:28.440 and he knew that they climbed the roof. Maybe 00:13:28.440 --> 00:13:29.879 there were stairs, maybe there weren't. I don't 00:13:29.879 --> 00:13:33.490 know, I wasn't there. They tore open. The clay 00:13:33.490 --> 00:13:37.049 tiles, I'm sure the mud, the hay, all the things 00:13:37.049 --> 00:13:39.590 that made the roof the roof. And they lowered 00:13:39.590 --> 00:13:43.149 their friend down. They were so desperate to 00:13:43.149 --> 00:13:48.730 get their friend in front of this Jesus. They 00:13:48.730 --> 00:13:51.649 don't even realize that this is one of the greatest 00:13:51.649 --> 00:13:56.049 definitions of what the church should be. The 00:13:56.049 --> 00:13:58.929 four friends doing whatever they can to bring 00:13:58.929 --> 00:14:02.350 their friend who was paralyzed in front of Jesus 00:14:02.350 --> 00:14:05.730 is one of the greatest definitions, active definitions, 00:14:05.769 --> 00:14:10.190 of what the church should be. If you feel a binding 00:14:10.190 --> 00:14:13.649 and a conviction, join the club. Because too 00:14:13.649 --> 00:14:15.950 many times the church can look more like a social 00:14:15.950 --> 00:14:19.070 club than acts of desperation to get the gospel 00:14:19.070 --> 00:14:23.320 into people's lives. This is the church. Parents 00:14:23.320 --> 00:14:26.919 carrying children, friends praying for friends, 00:14:27.059 --> 00:14:30.240 elders visiting homes in the sick, small groups 00:14:30.240 --> 00:14:32.639 lifting each other up. Munster Church, this is 00:14:32.639 --> 00:14:35.940 the call for that vision, that vision to go forth, 00:14:36.200 --> 00:14:39.039 that vision that we are a people that will greet 00:14:39.039 --> 00:14:41.980 each other in the name of Jesus, whether they're 00:14:41.980 --> 00:14:45.419 in Jesus or not, that we would gather together 00:14:45.419 --> 00:14:49.600 in worship, in our homes, in the areas of our 00:14:49.600 --> 00:14:53.470 life. We grow in the scriptures, in worship, 00:14:53.690 --> 00:14:56.070 in our love for Jesus and his love for us, and 00:14:56.070 --> 00:15:01.610 then we go. So who are you carrying to Jesus 00:15:01.610 --> 00:15:06.870 in your life? That's that record question. That's 00:15:06.870 --> 00:15:10.190 a question we have to reconcile. If I'm called 00:15:10.190 --> 00:15:13.149 to be the church, who in my life needs to be 00:15:13.149 --> 00:15:16.789 brought before Jesus, not kicking and screaming? 00:15:17.519 --> 00:15:22.100 Not by drive -by baptisms and really bad evangelism, 00:15:22.159 --> 00:15:26.480 but who in our life needs Jesus so badly in life 00:15:26.480 --> 00:15:31.820 that we're willing to bring them to Jesus? That 00:15:31.820 --> 00:15:34.259 could be in a conversation. That could be at 00:15:34.259 --> 00:15:36.379 a church. That could be the first Saturday serve. 00:15:37.120 --> 00:15:39.220 That could be helping with the food pantry, helping 00:15:39.220 --> 00:15:41.240 with Pastor Jermio's ministry on a Wednesday. 00:15:42.080 --> 00:15:44.820 That could be meeting someone that God has ready 00:15:44.820 --> 00:15:47.610 for you to meet. Maybe it's someone in your family. 00:15:47.649 --> 00:15:50.690 Maybe it's a neighbor. Maybe it's a friend or 00:15:50.690 --> 00:15:52.909 a family from Highland Christian, from the Munster 00:15:52.909 --> 00:15:55.129 schools, from Ileana, from the Munster Little 00:15:55.129 --> 00:15:57.429 League, from Intermission, This Way Ministries, 00:15:57.490 --> 00:16:00.370 Moffitt's Barbershop. I don't care. God's going 00:16:00.370 --> 00:16:02.470 to be the one to direct you. Are you going to 00:16:02.470 --> 00:16:07.830 be the one willing to go? Because faith here 00:16:07.830 --> 00:16:11.490 does something amazing. Faith climbs the roof. 00:16:12.629 --> 00:16:16.159 Faith doesn't wait for things to clear out. I'm 00:16:16.159 --> 00:16:17.659 not going to lie to you. Part of me was sitting 00:16:17.659 --> 00:16:21.200 there going, all right, he was a paralytic yesterday. 00:16:21.320 --> 00:16:23.419 He'll probably be a paralytic tomorrow. We can 00:16:23.419 --> 00:16:28.139 just wait for my convenience. I didn't have on 00:16:28.139 --> 00:16:30.639 my schedule and my Google calendar to bring this 00:16:30.639 --> 00:16:33.659 guy to Jesus today. We'll do it when the crowds 00:16:33.659 --> 00:16:36.679 are not so big. We do it for our Christmas shopping. 00:16:37.100 --> 00:16:39.340 We can use that same mentality. We'll just wait 00:16:39.340 --> 00:16:43.360 until the crowds are smaller. Uh -uh. Faith climbs 00:16:43.360 --> 00:16:47.659 the roof. Because they knew, whether they knew 00:16:47.659 --> 00:16:50.419 they knew that they knew or they just knew, Jesus 00:16:50.419 --> 00:16:53.500 heals completely. Because not only does he forgive 00:16:53.500 --> 00:16:59.399 sins because of faith, he heals completely. Rise, 00:16:59.399 --> 00:17:03.600 pick up your bed, and go home. The man stands. 00:17:03.860 --> 00:17:06.000 That alone was worth the price of admission. 00:17:06.200 --> 00:17:08.759 I'm not going to lie to you, right? You see this 00:17:08.759 --> 00:17:12.220 guy that he couldn't do anything. He had to be 00:17:12.220 --> 00:17:14.900 lowered down. The fact that some of you, I'm 00:17:14.900 --> 00:17:17.160 just feeling this now, going, how embarrassing 00:17:17.160 --> 00:17:21.420 for the guy. I rebuke that in the name of Jesus. 00:17:22.119 --> 00:17:25.319 You can talk about it later. That's just something 00:17:25.319 --> 00:17:28.099 I got right now. Some of you are going, wow, 00:17:28.180 --> 00:17:32.440 that would have been really embarrassing. Let's 00:17:32.440 --> 00:17:34.920 move past that piece. Because you're trying to 00:17:34.920 --> 00:17:36.839 make that healing about you and your comfort. 00:17:37.400 --> 00:17:40.539 Does Jesus wait until you're comfortable to heal 00:17:40.539 --> 00:17:45.559 you? Sometimes Jesus is going to go, yeah, just 00:17:45.559 --> 00:17:49.180 finish sinning so I can wreck your world. No. 00:17:49.519 --> 00:17:52.200 Jesus is going to do it when he, the author and 00:17:52.200 --> 00:17:55.220 defender of our faith, wants to do it. Rise, 00:17:55.259 --> 00:17:57.960 pick up your bed, and go home. The man stands, 00:17:58.220 --> 00:18:00.920 the crowd is amazed, and what do they do? They 00:18:00.920 --> 00:18:03.980 glorify God. Right response. Right response. 00:18:04.480 --> 00:18:08.160 Jesus heals body and soul because salvation is 00:18:08.160 --> 00:18:12.910 total. If we believe in total depravity, that's 00:18:12.910 --> 00:18:15.369 the canons adored, right? Total depravity, then 00:18:15.369 --> 00:18:17.910 we need to believe in total salvation, total 00:18:17.910 --> 00:18:27.190 restoration. Forgiveness is complete. Why? Because 00:18:27.190 --> 00:18:29.490 Jesus is still living out messianic prophecy. 00:18:29.630 --> 00:18:32.529 Isaiah 35 promises a Messiah that would make 00:18:32.529 --> 00:18:35.809 the lame leap. Luke shows us that promise is 00:18:35.809 --> 00:18:42.349 now fulfilled. The Son of Man restores. everything. 00:18:42.349 --> 00:18:44.670 Even those things you think he can't. And be 00:18:44.670 --> 00:18:47.289 honest, we all have them. You might be going 00:18:47.289 --> 00:18:49.250 through something right now going, there is no 00:18:49.250 --> 00:18:51.509 way. This thing is dead in the water. Time of 00:18:51.509 --> 00:18:55.390 death is, I don't know, army time. But understand 00:18:55.390 --> 00:18:58.069 that we have that limitation on God at times. 00:18:58.289 --> 00:19:02.690 Jesus is not strong enough to fix this. That's 00:19:02.690 --> 00:19:04.589 just you worshiping yourself because you think 00:19:04.589 --> 00:19:08.410 you can do it. Friend, if the Son of Man can't 00:19:08.410 --> 00:19:12.890 do it, spoiler alert, you can't either. And sometimes 00:19:12.890 --> 00:19:18.450 we need to live that out. The Son of Man restores 00:19:18.450 --> 00:19:22.390 everything and the roof now opens its way to 00:19:22.390 --> 00:19:25.730 heaven. Here is the moment where the roof really 00:19:25.730 --> 00:19:29.309 opens because the story is not only about the 00:19:29.309 --> 00:19:32.910 paralytic or his friends or the Pharisees or 00:19:32.910 --> 00:19:38.099 what they're thinking. It's about us today. We 00:19:38.099 --> 00:19:40.759 are the ones unable to fix ourselves. We are 00:19:40.759 --> 00:19:43.019 the ones that need forgiveness. And we are the 00:19:43.019 --> 00:19:46.180 ones that are lowered before Jesus. And here 00:19:46.180 --> 00:19:49.099 is the gospel. You want to hear it today? Here 00:19:49.099 --> 00:19:52.599 it is. Jesus speaks forgiveness before we can 00:19:52.599 --> 00:19:56.160 walk. He loves us before we improve. And he saves 00:19:56.160 --> 00:20:00.680 us before we earn anything. I don't know about 00:20:00.680 --> 00:20:04.079 you, but I need to hear that, and I bet you do 00:20:04.079 --> 00:20:08.279 as well. He speaks forgiveness before the walking. 00:20:08.359 --> 00:20:12.279 He loves before the improving. He saves before 00:20:12.279 --> 00:20:15.500 we start walking it out or thinking we earn anything. 00:20:15.880 --> 00:20:18.980 The Lord's Day 1 reminds us that I am not my 00:20:18.980 --> 00:20:24.740 own. but belong, body and soul and life and in 00:20:24.740 --> 00:20:27.480 death, to my faithful Savior Jesus Christ. Why? 00:20:27.660 --> 00:20:29.920 Because he's fully paid for all of my sins with 00:20:29.920 --> 00:20:32.900 his precious blood. The forgiveness spoken in 00:20:32.900 --> 00:20:35.559 the house of Capernaum was paid for on another 00:20:35.559 --> 00:20:37.859 hill, which we'll see in a couple weeks, the 00:20:37.859 --> 00:20:43.000 hill of Calvary. The Son of Man who healed the 00:20:43.000 --> 00:20:45.740 man is the Son of Man that's going to bear our 00:20:45.740 --> 00:20:49.769 sin. The sins of your yesterdays, the sins of 00:20:49.769 --> 00:20:52.069 your todays, the sins of your tomorrow was put 00:20:52.069 --> 00:20:54.509 on his shoulders on the cross where he says and 00:20:54.509 --> 00:20:59.789 declares over them and us today, Father, forgive 00:20:59.789 --> 00:21:04.430 them for they know not what they do. But to me, 00:21:04.470 --> 00:21:08.049 it's another three words that ties it all together. 00:21:08.509 --> 00:21:19.120 It is finished. He has control over life. Your 00:21:19.120 --> 00:21:23.359 sins are forgiven. Your guilt is lifted. Your 00:21:23.359 --> 00:21:28.079 hope secure. This is the grace that releases 00:21:28.079 --> 00:21:31.660 the pressure of Lent, right? We're going to walk 00:21:31.660 --> 00:21:33.539 through where Jesus is putting himself under 00:21:33.539 --> 00:21:35.019 pressure because he's looking at our pressure, 00:21:35.079 --> 00:21:37.619 putting it on himself. And he is that pressure 00:21:37.619 --> 00:21:41.809 release. So what is Luke teaching us now? Well, 00:21:41.869 --> 00:21:44.750 he's teaching us then, first, people wanted a 00:21:44.750 --> 00:21:47.670 leader, but Jesus revealed a Savior. What about 00:21:47.670 --> 00:21:51.569 now? We want our comfort. Oh, we want our comfort. 00:21:52.730 --> 00:21:57.829 But Jesus gives forgiveness first. Then, friends, 00:21:57.890 --> 00:22:03.730 tore open a roof. But now, Christ opens heaven 00:22:03.730 --> 00:22:08.509 for you and for me. Friend, the Son of Man is 00:22:08.509 --> 00:22:11.180 still forgiving you. The Son of Man is still 00:22:11.180 --> 00:22:14.339 healing you. The Son of Man is still saving you. 00:22:15.319 --> 00:22:18.619 And he wants to do that, not just in your life, 00:22:18.740 --> 00:22:22.980 but in the people in your life's life. Who do 00:22:22.980 --> 00:22:26.660 you need to bring to Jesus with a word of accountability? 00:22:26.900 --> 00:22:30.000 Not shame and guilt, because who am I and who 00:22:30.000 --> 00:22:34.220 are you to do that to somebody? No, it's Sinners 00:22:34.220 --> 00:22:37.619 Anonymous, my friends. It is, hi, I'm Jim, I'm 00:22:37.619 --> 00:22:39.660 a sinner, and I have been my whole life, but 00:22:39.660 --> 00:22:43.880 Jesus saved me, and he can save you too. That's 00:22:43.880 --> 00:22:46.119 a lot better than going up to somebody, if you 00:22:46.119 --> 00:22:47.859 die tomorrow, are you going to heaven or hell? 00:22:49.740 --> 00:22:52.839 I'm not going to lie, not super effective evangelism, 00:22:52.880 --> 00:22:55.519 especially if you don't know the person. Now, 00:22:55.559 --> 00:22:57.819 if you have a relationship with somebody, right? 00:22:57.900 --> 00:23:00.039 If I'm sitting down with Al in the back of church, 00:23:00.079 --> 00:23:02.220 and I turn to him and go, Al, if you die tomorrow, 00:23:02.420 --> 00:23:04.640 are you going to heaven or hell? He's going to 00:23:04.640 --> 00:23:06.380 be like, why tomorrow? What if I die tonight? 00:23:06.539 --> 00:23:08.420 I'm going to heaven because I know that Al is 00:23:08.420 --> 00:23:12.980 saved. Are there people in your life that know 00:23:12.980 --> 00:23:16.119 you're a believer but have never seen your Jesus? 00:23:18.440 --> 00:23:24.680 That one wrecked my week because I doubled down 00:23:24.680 --> 00:23:29.240 on myself. Jim, people see that you're a pastor. 00:23:30.140 --> 00:23:32.240 but have they seen the Jesus that you believe 00:23:32.240 --> 00:23:37.200 in? And the question is in me. Now, sometimes 00:23:37.200 --> 00:23:38.980 I pawn it off on all of you, whether you know 00:23:38.980 --> 00:23:40.640 it or not. You don't need to see it in me. Just 00:23:40.640 --> 00:23:42.400 see it in my people. That's fine. Just go look 00:23:42.400 --> 00:23:43.940 at people at Munster Church, and then I run away. 00:23:44.420 --> 00:23:48.319 No, I don't do that. But that truth should hurt. 00:23:49.259 --> 00:23:51.200 And maybe not hurt. Convict is probably a better 00:23:51.200 --> 00:23:54.299 word. We'll use that word. People know you go 00:23:54.299 --> 00:23:57.599 to Munster Church, but they've never seen you 00:23:57.599 --> 00:24:01.279 act like Jesus. What does that mean for them? 00:24:01.339 --> 00:24:05.220 How do they reconcile that in their life? Friends, 00:24:05.220 --> 00:24:12.420 let me conclude with this. Open the roof. Open 00:24:12.420 --> 00:24:16.099 the roof. In your life, imagine that house again. 00:24:16.259 --> 00:24:20.980 Dust falling, silence, Jesus looking up. He loves 00:24:20.980 --> 00:24:26.240 desperate faith. He does. He loves broken people. 00:24:26.579 --> 00:24:33.210 He loves sinners who come. Guess what? We all 00:24:33.210 --> 00:24:36.349 just got described there. And Jesus loves you, 00:24:36.390 --> 00:24:39.710 and you need to know that. Munster Church, open 00:24:39.710 --> 00:24:44.170 the roof. Bring your sin. Bring your doubts. 00:24:44.529 --> 00:24:49.029 Bring your shame. Bring your friends. Because 00:24:49.029 --> 00:24:52.150 the Son of Man is here. The Son of Man is there. 00:24:52.309 --> 00:24:55.789 The Son of Man is wherever the Son of Man is. 00:24:56.769 --> 00:25:02.009 And he still says, rise. Your sins are forgiven. 00:25:02.609 --> 00:25:07.390 Pick up your mat and walk. And guess what? We 00:25:07.390 --> 00:25:08.029 get to do that.