Glory when we meet. You're in the sky. Hallelujah.
Give the Lord good praise in his house. Amen.
Seems that now I almost see all the saintly dead.
Oh, rising for that jubilee that is just ahead.
Oh, in the twinkling of an eye, change with them
to be. Well, all the living saints shall rise
to that jubilee. Well, what a day I'll sing.
Oh, what a day when we all shall rise. Oh, what
a day when we meet. It's going to happen. It's
going to happen. Amen. It's going to happen.
If you have your Bibles, turn with me to Mark's
Gospel, the second chapter. Mark chapter 2. Again,
it is so good to see you here today. And if you
are visiting with us, I trust that you've already
encountered the presence of the Lord through
your worship. For we know according to his word
that he inhabits and dwells within the praises
of his people. Amen. And in case I'm not in the
right frame of mind later, when you leave today,
if you're visiting with us, if you'll go out
those doors to the left or just kindly circle
around in the foyer, there'll be a beautiful
smiling face waiting for you. Have something
special to give you and to let you know how much
we appreciate your visit with us today. Amen.
Amen. Mark's Gospel, chapter 2. We'll start at
verse 1. And again, I like that. And again, he
entered into Capernaum after some days, and it
was noised that he was in the house. 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. And they come unto him, bringing one sick
of the palsy, which was born of four. 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. And when Jesus
saw their faith, he said unto the sick of the
palsy, Son, thy sins be forgiven thee. That's
odd. That wasn't what they let him down there
for. But there were certain of the scribes sitting
there and reasoning in their hearts, why does
this man thus speak blasphemies? Who can forgive
sins but God only? And immediately when Jesus
perceived in his spirit that they so reasoned
within themselves, he said unto them, why reason
you these things in your hearts? 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. But that you may know that
the Son of Man hath power on the earth to forgive
sins. He said to the sick of the palsy, I say
unto thee, arise and take up thy bed and go thy
way into thine house. 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, water's parallel on this
last sentence, we've never seen it like this
before. We never saw it on this fashion. We've
never seen anything like this. Amen. Just for
a little while today, with the help of the Lord,
I want to preach on the thought that He makes
the difference. He makes the difference. Amen.
If you'll pray for me, I'll pray for you, and
hopefully we'll leave here together stirred by
the Word of God. Amen. Father, we love you. We
thank you. Lord's so dependent upon you today.
And that spirit that makes it easy to preach,
Lord, let it... be in this house today. Lord,
as I stir the unction within myself, I ask God,
let your hand rest upon me. I yield my voice
and myself today. Lord, speak to your people.
Let your word radiate in our hearts and that
we truly leave this place encouraged, encouraged,
lifted up. And we will praise you for it. In
Jesus' mighty name. Amen, amen. Tell your neighbor,
he really does make a difference. He really,
really does. There are times in life that it
seems as though we're spinning our wheels and
getting nowhere. And in those moments, we begin
to wonder and question within ourselves, well,
what are we supposed to do now? The age in which
we live, we feel that we must be busy all the
time doing something. We're restless. We become
easily bored. Our culture is a culture which
craves entertainment. It just craves action.
And we wonder why so many are stressed beyond
the max. We wonder why we are not satisfied and
become so overwhelmed with the everyday occurrence
of life itself. Something we have to understand,
it's not church that changes lives. It's not
the church that changes lives. Only Christ can
change lives. Only Christ, his presence, can
make a difference in current everyday events.
And in the crisis and the chaos and the dilemma
and the boredom of life. Only Christ can alter
those things. His presence makes a difference.
Throughout the Bible, we read, we see everywhere
that Christ showed up, there was a difference
when he left. Amen. Either the devil's left screaming,
you know. Somebody left healed. Somebody left
mad. Pharisees would get mad. They'd get so infuriated
because they didn't know how to deal with the
rationale of his answer, and it wasn't what they
wanted to hear, so they would become very angry,
intolerant with him, plotting, trying to take
his life from the very beginning stages. As we
begin our text today in this second chapter,
it says, and again he entered into Capernaum.
So if he's entered again, he had to show up one
time before. Right? He's had to have already
been there. If again, he's coming back. Wouldn't
it be wonderful if the presence of the Lord would
come back again and visit his church? Well, I
just felt that one. Wouldn't it be wonderful
again that if the presence of the Lord would
have preeminence in our culture? in our nation,
in this country, wouldn't it be a wonderful thing
to know that Jesus, his presence again was in
his house and where he is, great things happen.
Wouldn't it be wonderful if he just showed up
again? Wouldn't it be wonderful? How many of
you remember the first time you encountered the
Lord and you repented and that burden and that
weight of sin lifted off and you just took a
deep breath like you'd never taken a breath before?
I remember that very vividly. how freely my breath
came when the weight and the burden of sin was
lifted off of my soul. It was just like, whoa,
it's a brand new day. Amen? I remember leading
a truck driver to the Lord one time out on a
mountain, out by a pond. I didn't know if I was
going to get shot or what. This old boy called
me. I ended up going out and meeting him. And
we're standing at a picnic table by his farm
pond. And he was reading the scripture and just
could not get a grip on it. I said, you're not
going to get a grip on it. And he looked at me.
me say, well, why? I said, because you can't
understand what it's saying until there's a transformation
in your life. Well, how do I get that? I said,
well, you repent. Let him to the Lord right there,
and I'll never forget. When he opened his eyes,
he began to look around. He said, man, how green
the grass is. I just smiled. I said, yes, it's
very green. And he began to relate the nature
that's going on, like he had never heard it or
seen it before. I said, now you can read it and
get a grip on it, son. And we talked for about
an hour. When we began to understand that he
His presence makes a difference. Again, he entered
into Capernaum. The first time he's there, he's
fresh out of the wilderness. He's fresh out of
an anointing with the Holy Ghost. He's come out.
He's come into town. He goes straight to the
church house. And the first thing he encounters
is an old boy with an unclean spirit in him.
And he casts that thing out right there in church.
And the marvel begins. Their minds are already
blown. And he goes from there into Simon's house
and his mother -in -law. is sick and he heals
her and she just starts serving around that.
So from the get -go, from the moment he enters
into ministry, there's some marvelous things
going on. And he's talking with the disciples.
He said, hey, we need to go to some of these
other towns around us for that's the reason that
I've come, that I'd go around and spread the
gospel, preach the gospel, preach the kingdom
of God, amen, preach repentance and deliver and
heal, amen. And so he goes about doing that.
And after they've been gone for a few days, certain
days, he comes back again to Capernaum and he
enters into the house. And now here's where things
begin to get exciting. When Jesus shows up, when
his presence is in the house, things begin to
happen. He begins to teach. He begins to preach
to them the word. We need more than social security
today. We need more than more insurance. We need
more than this. We need more than social ministries
going on. We need more of the presence of God
in this house. We need more than welfare. People
need more than just help and assistance. They
need transformation. And the only way that they're
going to receive transformation is that the church
again invites the presence of Jesus back into
the house and he begins to show up again. Because
I'm declaring to you today where the presence
of the Lord is. There is liberty, and there is
liberty that is found by those who are bound,
those who need a helping hand, those who need
a touch, those who need deliverance, those who
need peace of mind, those who need healing in
their body. When the presence of Jesus shows
up, things begin to happen. And you can always
tell when Jesus is in the house. Why? Because
folks begin to show up. It's not the, I got it
all together, folks. It's not the folks that's
just fine. But it's the hungry people that begin
to show up. It's the hurting people that start
to show up. It's the poor folk who need lifted
up that begin to show up. It's the sick folk
who begin to come through the door. It's the
messed up folk, amen. It's the emotionally disturbed.
It's the depressed folks. It's the oppressed
folks that begin to show up. Why? Because there's
an echoing that's going out. There's a proclamation
that's being sent around that Jesus is over there.
And if you go in there. You'll not leave like
you go in. There is a change agent. There's a
transformation that'll take place. He'll lift
you up if you're down. He'll heal you if you're
sick. He'll give you peace of mind if you're
tormented. He'll help you if you're broke. Hallelujah.
He'll be the one who'll provide a way. When Jesus
starts showing up and things start happening,
people begin to get excited and they begin to
show up. That's what this house is. That's what
this place is. It's like the pool of Siloam.
It's where the sick come. It's where the hurting
show up. And why? Because we don't all have it
together. But I need to get it together. And
I need a little help getting it together. I can't
carry the load alone. And I need someone to help
carry my burden. I want him to show up again.
So many folk have a picture of Jesus in their
house. How many of you got one of those? Come
on, it's not a trick question. How many of you
got some pictures of Jesus hanging around the
house? I'm going to give you a little secret.
That ain't him. That ain't him. If he's white,
throw it out. Just go ahead and get shed of it.
It's not sacrilegious because it ain't him. It
ain't him. We don't have those in the house.
What? No, I don't have an accurate picture, so
why would I want a fake? Well, it just reminds
me. Well, hang a cross on the wall. That's a
more accurate image. Lord, I've just got all
in somebody's Wheaties this morning. I started
feeling my hips show up and somebody just run
him out. I can't believe he's saying that. Well,
I'm saying it. I'm telling you, that's not him.
They were no Polaroids in the year of our Lord.
They don't have an accurate image. And the best
that we can come up with in our own mind ain't
him. Have you seen some of the mosaics? Those
little chips of porcelain and tile? They got
him all twisted up. And they were a whole lot
closer to his time than us. That ain't him either.
So, discard your pictures and put a picture of
your family on the wall. And close your mind.
Your eyes and begin to imagine what he may look
like. And the best you can come up with in your
mind still isn't going to come close to the glorious
image of God. Amen. Hallelujah. So what we need,
I don't need a picture. I need his presence.
Amen. Because his presence begins to declare
his glory. And when his presence is in here,
I don't care what he looks like. It's not going
to matter to me. It's not going to have one iota
because I'm not going to be looking for his face.
I'll be looking for his brow. Amen. I'm not going
to be looking at the color of his eyes. I'm going
to be looking for the nail pierced hands that
I may identify. He is the one who died. for my
wretched soul, and he is the one who has redeemed
me, and he's the one that's picked me up. He's
the one that's carried me all of these years.
It is his grace that has enabled me to go from
day to day. Hallelujah. I need his presence.
He makes the difference. It was noise. Somebody
went around telling everybody in town, hey, hey,
that guy's back. that tore church up here a while
back. You know, the one that cast that devil
out of that old boy. Oh, he's back, yeah. Where
at? He's down at that house. Let's go see. Let's
go see what's going on. Let's go get a determination
for ourselves. It was noise. He's in the house.
There's something to talk about. Amen? We don't
have to. We don't have to redevelop strategy
for church growth. I gave that up a long time
ago. I gave up strategy for church growth many,
many years ago. And I developed this strategy.
If I can just preach Jesus. Amen? If somebody
can just get touched, if somebody can just get
healed, if some folks can just get saved, if
somebody could get the baptism of the Holy Ghost,
if somebody could get sanctified and their life
changed and other people begin to see it and
they get excited enough to know, hey, you need
to show up over there at that church. Why? Man,
there's some stuff going on you. won't believe
it. That guy they've got preaching down there
is loud. He spits. He gets down there among the
people some of the time. He may even jump up
in a chair. You just never know what's going
to happen. Well, what is he saying? He's preaching
the word. Amen. Because when you find out that's
exactly what Jesus was doing when they come to
the house and they could not get in because of
the crowd. Not so much as even right at the door.
You couldn't get in to stand at the door. A man
to see what was going on. And while he is there,
the Bible declares in our text that he was preaching
the word to them. What word was he preaching?
Well, I don't know. He could have been Isaiah
61 when he began to tell them, the spirit of
the Lord is upon me for he's anointed me to preach
the gospel. He's anointed me to preach the good
news. What? That the blind are going to be healed.
That the dead are going to be raised. That the
lame are going to be raised. going to walk, the
dumb going to talk, the deaf going to hear, and
those who are bruised are going to be bound up,
and those who are in captivity are going to be
set free. He could have been preaching that to
them. Oh, he could have went back a few chapters
earlier. He could have made his way to Isaiah
9 and begin to tell them his name shall be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God. He could have
went back to Genesis and begin to declare that
the heel of the woman's going to bruise the head
of the serpent. He could have preached it. He
could have declared in Noah's heart. He could
have told him that I am the ark. He just preached
the word. That's all you got to do. That's all
you got to do. Declare what's in the book. It's
enough. He could have hit Isaiah 53 and foretold
of his own death to them. But it's early on.
He hasn't got that far yet. He's just getting
started. He could have preached to them about
being the ancient of days. The rose of Sharon,
the lily of the I am, the lily. Couldn't you
tell? I don't know what he preached. He had a
lot of material. That he could have used. Straightway
many gathered together. There was no room to
get in the house. When the house is filled with
his presence. The house will begin to fill up
with hungry people. I don't need another pat
me on the back story. Hello. I don't need another.
I need to be stirred. Amen. I guess it's because
that's the way I come in this thing. And I guess
it will be the way I go out. I need somebody
to stand and declare to me, thus saith the word
of the Lord. I need somebody. I'm sure Jesus
told them you need to repent for the kingdom
of heaven is at hand. There's no way to the Father
unless you're coming through me. I am that way.
I'm sure he declared to them. If he preached
to them the word and the gospel, then I'm sure
he preached to them their need to accept himself
as their Lord and personal Savior. I guarantee
there's no other way in. There's no other way.
There's no bypass. There's no express pass line.
You go through him or you don't go. Plain and
simple. He preached to them his word. It may
sound old fashioned to a lot of folks. Amen.
The house was filled with those hungry people.
It may look ridiculous sometimes the way we preach
it, but the Word declares that He has chosen
that through preaching that man becomes saved,
and He has declared that it's through the foolishness
of preaching that this happens. Why do you say
foolishness? Because some of us preachers can
kind of act a little foolish in the declaration
of His Word, but He's happy with it. Why? Because
He knows we are surrendered and yielded, and
He can say crow like a rooster, and I have tried
to crow like a rooster to make a point, to get
a point. a cross somehow to reach someone, you
say, well, that's silly. I know it is, but it
touched somebody. Amen? And that's all there
is to know about this. When we prepare, we declare,
thus saith the Lord. And the declaration of the
Lord is the liberating power that goes forth
when the word is proclaimed. It is the word that
liberates because he is the living word and his
presence goes where his words declared. Faith
comes only by hearing and hearing by the word
of God. So he's preached the word. They're crowded
in the house. They came unto him, bringing one
sick of the palsy, which was born of four. We
got a paralyzed man being carried by four friends,
making their way to the house. Why? Because it
had been noised. It had been declared that that
guy's back over there to cast the devils out.
He's back in the house. If we can just get our
friend there. See, there's faith in the declaration
already before an act is ever lived out. If we
can get him there, you got four fellas. that
take up a paralyzed man, palsy. This condition
of palsy somehow has separated the response between
the brain and the body. The man's thinking right.
He's thinking very clearly. Everything's going
fine, but there's a disconnect between his brain
and his body. My Lord, isn't there a lot of that
going on these days? There's a disconnect. There's
a palsy in man spiritually, and many are suffering
from a physical condition of palsy. There's a
separation somewhere. So these four men say,
if he can cast the devil out of a man, if he
can heal Peter's mother -in -law's fever, and
if he can do these other things that we, oh,
there's a leprous man that got healed, amen?
He healed a leprous man, and he went out. Jesus
told him to keep it quiet, just kind of hold
it down. Go and show yourself to the priest.
Offer up. what the law of Moses declares for
you to offer, and just try to kind of keep it
down. No, look here. If I was a leper and got
healed, you're not going to tell me to keep it
down either. I'm sorry, Lord, but here is one
point of disobedience. I cannot keep this to
myself. This is what you have done for me. I
was a leper doomed to death and ostracized from
society, but you have cleansed me, and you have
healed me, and everybody's going to know who
it is that has done it. went out and told everybody,
hey, Jesus healed me. I was a leper, but look,
look, my sores are gone, my ears back, the end
of my nose. He put it back on my face. Look at
me, look at me, look at me. I am healed way before
he ever got to church. He told everybody who
would listen, and fame is spread out, and now
he's come back to town, and he's in that house
over there. Those four could have maybe known
the leper, and oh, if he healed him, if we can
get old Bob in the house, I think he'll touch
him. And they get there and they can't get in
because the house is already full. His presence
has already been. How can we get in? They begin
to sing the old hymn. I will not be denied. No,
I will not be denied. Go on the roof and make
a hole. I will not be denied. I made that verse
up. Sounded good, though. That's what they did.
They made their way onto the roof, and they tore
a hole in it. Many of us suffer from conditions
of paralysis of faith, of emotion. We suffer
from paralysis in many different ways. We all
suffered from the paralysis of sin. Hello? We
all suffered from that. Somewhere or another,
we're all like this man in a condition. There's
something that we cannot do for ourselves. You
may be sitting in here this morning thinking,
I wish you'd hurry up for one. But secondly,
I'm just getting started, so hang on. You may
have something going on in your life that you
are powerless to reverse. You can't do it. You
may have all of your right faculties, but you
still cannot alter the event that's taking place.
That's what was going on with this man. He could
not change his condition. He couldn't even get
up and go do anything about it. He had to be
taken by friends so that he may find some help
and some relief. So I don't know what it is that
may be going on in our lives, but sometimes there
are those things that we are powerless. to remove
on our own. But thank God, hallelujah, we don't
have to do it on our own. Just like I declared
to you earlier, he is able. His presence makes
all the difference in the world. Thank God that
that man had four friends who had enough confidence
in Jesus for him. If we can get him in there,
we can get him healed. The Lord will touch him.
Amen. So they go to the rooftop, and after they
broke through, my God, God, you've got to have
a determination. It's not just easy to get up
there. Then you've got to break your way through.
Sometimes you've got to push your way through
the press when you get in the house in order.
They couldn't get in, but they made their way.
I've got to get in his presence. That's the reason
that just church, check in the box, doesn't do.
Anybody any good? Just to get up and say, well,
I went. No, I don't get up just to say I went.
I don't preach just to say, well, I gave a little
homily out there. No, I preach for effect. I
declare, thus saith the Lord, for the power of
the effect of the declaration. Because I have
faith in Jesus. I have faith in his presence
because there's too many documented testimonies
declaring what he can do. You never know what
service that you're going to push your way into
that you have to take the roof off of the situation
that's going on in your life and push your way
through and make your way in to his presence.
You've got to get through the doubters. You've
got to get through the fingernail clippers. You've
got to get through the checkbook balancers. Come
on. You've got to make your way through the baby
players. Are you hearing me? You've got to make
your way past the board and the humdrum who's
sitting two rows over and three rows back. You've
got to push your way into his. Because everybody
that comes in isn't driven by desire to be in
his presence. what I just said not wrong those
of us who know his power to save and heal and
to deliver should now be actively involved in
reaching those who are still bound still oppressed
still sick still afflicted still lost And do
all that we can do to bring them into his presence.
That is if we have enough faith and trust in
the declaration of the word that's being preached
in the house. That we know if they'll come his
presence is going to show up. And if they can
get past everything. That's why it's so important
that we be reverent in church. Amen. I'm not
talking stoic and silent. I'm talking about reverent
because you never know what hell someone's living
in on the row in front of you or the row behind
you. Are you hearing me? People live through
hell every week. The devil is out to steal, kill,
and to destroy. And he's tormenting the minds
of the people who are coming in, who are being
thrown in because of his presence. Because somebody
said that the word's going out over there. Man,
we're really having church. The Spirit of the
Lord. is showing up at Hopewell. Man, you ought
to come and go to church with us. And so it's
important because we never know who comes through
the doors who are suffering from a condition
of some type of palsy that has them stricken
and paralyzed so that they can't even move. They
can't even hardly go about. And yet they got
enough strength to come because you were excited
enough to tell them. And they made their way
in. And my Lord, let's not let it be a disappointment.
they get into the house, that his presence is
here. You never know what doctor's visit somebody's
had this past week. We never know what devastating
news someone may have got. They may have a whiter
smile because they got a good report. Not every
report is bad. Right? Sometimes we get that affirmating
report that says the Lord is at work. And so
we ought to be the ones shouting the loudest.
Woo! I got a good report. We ought to be excited.
We ought to be trying to get others in the house.
Just by a point of curiosity, how many of you
know today without a doubt that Jesus has touched
you in some direct, specific way? You know it.
Where you at? You know it. You know if it hadn't
been for Jesus and his presence, it would just
be too late. We know it. And if you know it,
my Lord, and he's done that for you. And we look
around the room and we see how many others that
he's done it for. Why can't he do it for the
ones who couldn't or didn't raise their hand?
Amen. He can. Why can't he do it for those that
we come in contact with who share with us? If
we'll just give them a minute or two in conversation,
it won't take somebody long. They're looking
for somewhere to vent. They're looking for somewhere
that they can find help. They're looking for
someone who will give them hope. And my Lord,
you and I are bound up and wrapped in help and
hope. Amen. You and I have it. And you can share
it with them when you tell them, Jesus, he is
your answer. And we can call on him right now.
I want you to come and worship with me. When
they couldn't come near for the press. Do you
know there's some things that you're not going
to get without fighting for? There are some things
that won't come without pressing in. There's
some bondages. There's some habits, addictions,
lust of your flesh. Sicknesses and diseases,
strongholds of the mind that aren't going to
change until we're willing to press. Somebody
said one time, if it's worth having, then it's
worth fighting for. And if it works that way
in the house of God, then I guess Matthew 11
and 12 kind of pens it right. The kingdom of
heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take
it by force. I guess Paul had it right when he
was telling the church at Corinth, for though
we walk in the flesh, we don't war after the
flesh. Amen? I guess Paul had it right when he
was talking to the church in Ephesus. He said,
when you haven't done all you can do to stand.
He said, stand therefore, having put on the whole
armor of God. If you need armor, then that means
there's a fight about to take place. My Lord,
there's a battle about to go down. Amen. I despise
everything about the devil. Do you know how uncomfortable
it is sleeping in your armor? I don't take it
off. I don't lay my armor aside. Hallelujah.
I don't take off my helmet of salvation. Why?
Because I need it in my dreams. Amen. I need
my mind protected by the presence of God. I need
my mind saturated with the Word of God that when
I lay me down to sleep and I pray the Lord my
soul to keep, I know that it's not just a children's
nursery rhyme prayer. I can lay down and say
now, Lord, I pray my soul to keep. And if my
life leaves, me in my last breath in my sleep.
My soul is the most important thing. Hallelujah.
And if the Lord is the keeper of my soul, then
I can lay down and have a peaceful night's rest.
You can have a peaceful night's rest regardless
of what your bladder does to you. Yep. Regardless,
those catnaps in between, those trips to the
bathroom can garner you more rest than not waking
up till the morning. If he who keeps you. Isn't
it wonderful to know his presence is real? They
couldn't get in for the press. There was a day
that news came to Jesus about a good dear friend
of his, Lazarus. The friend whom he loved grew
sick and had died. He got word before Lazarus
died. And the scripture says he tarried. Now
I know if you're like me, don't wait around,
Lord. If you're coming, come on. Huh? If you're
going to come anyway, I just assume you come
on. Amen. If you're going to show up, I just
assume you show up on day one. It's day four.
So he and his disciples, he's telling them, hey,
I got word our buddy's sick and he's sleeping.
I said, well, Lord, if he's resting, it's good
for you to rest when you're sick. He said, no,
you don't understand, boys, he dead. Well, we
need to get on over. We'll get there. Been a
long day. I preached hard today. I'm going to
rest. We'll go tomorrow. Well, he shows up four
days later. But I'm telling you, he makes the
difference. That's the whole point of all this.
When he shows up, he makes the difference. Now,
here comes Sister Martha running out. who's had
a few encounters with Jesus. Martha, Martha.
She said, Lord, now she's trying to change her
ways. Lord, I know that if you'd been here, you
would have healed him and he wouldn't have died.
I know it. So she's proclaiming her faith, right?
Martha. I'm the resurrection and life. So she's
going to. She's going to double up on this faith
thing. She'd been paying attention. When she
finally sat down with Mary at his feet, she was
paying attention. Oh, I know that he's going
to live again. Martha, you're still not getting
it, honey. I am. The resurrection. And now she's
starting to scratch her head. Where did y 'all?
Where's his stone at? Where's his marker? You
ever gone to the graveyard and you try to find
a loved one or a friend and you have to ask the
caretaker, where's section so -and -so, right?
Where's their marker? If a family member tells
you, well, we finally got Grandma's marker and
we put it up last week, you want to go see Granny's
marker. Well, where's it at? Well, it's third
row down, four rows back toward the end. What's
it look like? Well, we got granny a nice black
granite stone. And it's really pretty. You can't
miss it. When you get over there and there's
five black granite. Where did you lay him? Well,
he's over here. Well, let's go. Well, Lord. And
then here Martha shows up. The real Martha shows
up. Well, Lord, it's been four days. He's stinking
now. Where'd that faith go? What happened to
Martha's faith? All of a sudden, Lord, if you'd
have been here, he would not have died. Hallelujah.
Is it like if he didn't show up when you wanted
him, he can't still turn around what you need?
I mean, is that what? Tell what the deal is,
and he goes a little bit further, saying, you
know, there's a resurrection coming. Oh, I know
it's going to live again, the resurrection. I
know what's going to happen. You're still not
getting this. I am able. Where's the stone? Roll
the stone away. Lord, the boy stinks. He's been
four days. And you know his spirit only hangs
around by tradition three days. He done gone.
The boy's gone. There's no hope bringing him
back. Just get the rock out the way. Some of
you have got stones rolled up and he's trying
to do some stuff in your life and you won't move
the rock. Where's the issue? Well, Lord, you
know it's too late now. My Lord, I've done had
to live through it. Done had to deal with it.
Why fool with it now? Oh, my Lord, I'm preaching
to somebody. Why change it now? We've done greed.
We've done paid the mourners off. You know, they
hired them. I love, we ain't got time. What time
is it? Is it really? You watching me, ain't you,
Camo? Grandson got me on the clock. So you want
me to hurry? Now what you gonna say? Huh? Huh.
Where was I at? We got stones in front of situations
and issues that we refuse to move. What are you
saying? They had to break their way in to gain
access. Sometimes you've got to roll some things
out of the way to grant him access. My God, I'm
preaching to you now. Some of you got your own
stones rolled up, and you think because he didn't
do it when you thought you needed it done that
he can't do it now. I'm here to tell you, it
doesn't matter if it's one day late, two day
late, three day late, four day late. It doesn't
matter when, but when his presence shows up,
he says, roll the stone away. the thing out of
the way. When he declares a word to you and you
show up and he shows up and you're together and
he says, if you'll get it out of the way, I'll
deal with it. He don't want to know about your
faith. He don't want to know that you understand
theology. Eschatology, he don't want to know
that you were listening on rapture course day.
He wants you to get the stone out of the way.
Get the obstruction out of the way. My Lord.
Do you know there's three more points to this?
We'll never get it today. You got to get it out
of the way. You got to roll it out of the way.
Just move the stone. I'll take care of the rest.
That's what he said. Just give it to me. I'll
take care of it. I'll take care of it. Then we
hear that declaration. Blasters come forth. That's
not what happened. He lifted up his voice. I've
heard it said, you know, he could not just declare
come forth. I don't know how many flat spots
was in the cave that he was put in. But if he'd
have just said come forth when access was granted,
everybody in there would have come out. So he
had to be specific. Lazarus, come forth. I preached
this before and I love it. Somebody in the mummy
wrap lane didn't wrap his feet tight. They give
old Lazarus a little wiggle room. They didn't
have him just bound up tight. The one at the
feet kind of let down on the job. Burial wrap.
They give him just enough room to come out. Lazarus,
come forth. I can hear him in there. off of me.
He hadn't been there long enough for it to start
to rot. Hello? It don't been four days. He couldn't
rip it. He couldn't hulk out on it. But he made
his way out. And man, do you know if you just
give him access, doesn't matter how bound you
feel like you are, you got enough room to get
to him. You got enough wiggle to get to him.
Doesn't matter how bound up and how tightly you
feel like you're wound. If he calls, you start
making your way. It'll get easier. It'll get
easier as you go. You have to press through some
things. Don't have time to preach to the woman.
With the issue of blood. She came up behind in
the crowd. The press. She had to push her way
in. You know, sometimes you've got to keep enough
faith to get you in. But once you get in, he
takes over. Once you get in his presence, he
does the rest. Right? But you've got to have
enough faith to get there. You've got to have
enough trust and confidence. They uncovered the
roof. When they uncovered the roof, they let
the bed down. There's a principle in our faith.
What goes up first must go down. The way up is
down. How so, pastor? We humble ourselves under
the mighty hand of God. Why? So that he may exalt
us, lift us up. In due season. We humble ourselves.
Because there is an anointing that will never
accompany the proud. The self -assured. The self
-sufficient. There's an anointing that will never
come to those who refuse to go down. Down to
self. Into self -denial, down to submission,
down in obedience, down in humility. We have
to be obedient as Naaman. Naaman was angry when
he received the instruction from the prophet.
He wanted the man of God to come out and do some
big whoopity -woo over him, and he didn't do
it. He sent his servant out and said, get yourself
to Jordan and dip seven times and everything
will be fine. Mad. Left kicking rocks. But he
went. He had to go down. Where did Jeremiah go?
He went down to the potter's house. And he saw
work upon the wheel. David went down into the
valley of Elah and faced his giant. But he's
elevated as king of Israel. The way up. It's
down. So they let him down into the Lord's presence.
And he hears your sins be forgiven. Tears everybody
in the room up. Stand with me. I'm going to wind
it down. I won't make you stand long if you're
on your feet. But if you're sitting, we're good
for another 15. So stand. I'll feel sorry for
you if you're standing. And I want to keep you
12. But sin is the first issue. It's the first
issue of priority in our lives. It has to be
taken care of. First. What's that mean? If you've
not repented of your sins, you have to repent
first. You have to accept Christ as Savior before
accessing Him as healer. Deliverer. Provider.
So sin is the first issue. And Jesus wanted them
to know that. Oh, you're speaking blasphemies.
There's nobody can forgive sin but God. And he
wasn't blaspheming. He was making a point to
let them know who he was right up at the beginning
of this thing. And he understands the conversation
because he knows their thoughts. You need to
go through and study in the New Testament. How
many times that the word declares and he discerned
their thoughts and he knew. He knew what everybody
was thinking all the time. Can't hide anything
from him. You, me, we can't hide anything from
him. He knows. He knows. So he said to them,
so that you know that I am who I am. Proclaim
to be, which is easier, to say to this man your
sins are forgiven or to say to him, rise, take
up your bed and walk. But so that you know that
I can do both, I'm going to prove this to you.
He said, arise. Arise. Get up from your lower
estate to a vertical estate. Do you realize the
prodigal son had to have a declaration in his
mind before he went? He saw the whole journey
from the pig pen. He said, dad's servants has
got it better than this. He said, I will arise
and go to my father's house. He charted out the
whole journey. He knew when he got there, dad
would accept him too. You got to know that he'll
accept you. You got to make your own self -declaration.
You got to stand up in your mind. You got to
stand up in your thinking. You got to stand up
out of your depressed state and condition. You
got to stand up in your emotions. You have to
make a personal declaration. I will arise. Take
the roof off. Move the stone out of the way,
whatever your obstacle is, whatever's restricting
you from allowing him access. And if it's sin
in your life, that's got to be taken care of.
You have to repent and accept Christ first. Too
many people want his blessings without his lordship,
but you don't get it. You don't get the blessing
without his being Lord of your life. And you
don't have that without confessing that you are
a sinner and you need him to save you from yourself.
Wow. So sin's got to be took care of first. But
so that you know he's able to do both. Arise,
take up your bed and walk. And they were all
blown away. Never seen anything like this in
all of my days. So, could they deny that the
man's sins were forgiven? I don't think so. Because
they could not deny. That he got up and walked
out. So that you know the first is done. I'm
going to do the second. Just to prove it. Father
I love you today.