WEBVTT 00:00:00.360 --> 00:00:04.900 If you have your Bibles, if you turn to the book 00:00:04.900 --> 00:00:09.679 of Mark, chapter 2, 1 through 5, this is a very 00:00:09.679 --> 00:00:16.420 well -known scripture, very well -known story 00:00:16.420 --> 00:00:20.179 in the Bible. It's a very short but powerful, 00:00:20.359 --> 00:00:25.739 very impactful story. Amen. And so I just want 00:00:25.739 --> 00:00:29.379 to speak on this with the Lord's help. Amen. 00:00:29.980 --> 00:00:31.800 With the help of the Lord, that's what we are 00:00:31.800 --> 00:00:34.039 going to do. If you have it, say amen. If not, 00:00:34.140 --> 00:00:37.179 it's up there on the screen. Amen. So Mark chapter 00:00:37.179 --> 00:00:40.259 2, 1 through 5. The Word of God reads like this. 00:00:40.619 --> 00:00:47.320 A few days later. Yeah, Mark 2, 1 through 5. 00:00:48.119 --> 00:00:50.740 So a few days later, when Jesus again entered 00:00:50.740 --> 00:00:53.659 Capernaum, the people heard that he had come 00:00:53.659 --> 00:00:56.579 home. They gathered in such large numbers that 00:00:56.579 --> 00:00:59.439 there was no room left. not even outside the 00:00:59.439 --> 00:01:03.159 door, and he preached the word to them. Some 00:01:03.159 --> 00:01:06.920 men came, bringing to him a paralyzed man, carried 00:01:06.920 --> 00:01:10.680 by four of them. Since they could not get in 00:01:10.680 --> 00:01:14.439 to Jesus because of the crowd, they made an opening 00:01:14.439 --> 00:01:17.459 in the roof above Jesus by digging through it, 00:01:17.519 --> 00:01:21.180 and then lowered the mat the man was laying on. 00:01:21.719 --> 00:01:25.040 When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralyzed 00:01:25.040 --> 00:01:32.540 man, Son, Your sins are forgiven. Amen. Son, 00:01:32.739 --> 00:01:38.319 your sins are forgiven. Amen. Let us go before 00:01:38.319 --> 00:01:40.180 the Lord. Heavenly Father, we come before you 00:01:40.180 --> 00:01:42.500 today. We give you honor. We give you glory. 00:01:42.620 --> 00:01:45.040 God, we thank you, Father Lord, for another day, 00:01:45.060 --> 00:01:47.140 for this opportunity, God, that you have given 00:01:47.140 --> 00:01:49.819 unto us today. to bring forth your word, God. 00:01:49.959 --> 00:01:51.959 We ask you that you have your way, that you open 00:01:51.959 --> 00:01:55.000 up our hearts. Lord, open up our ears, our minds, 00:01:55.060 --> 00:01:57.079 God, that we would adhere to your word today. 00:01:57.560 --> 00:01:59.879 Lord, that someone would be strengthened today, 00:01:59.980 --> 00:02:03.019 someone would be encouraged, God. Someone, God, 00:02:03.120 --> 00:02:06.180 hallelujah, will hear your word and adhere to 00:02:06.180 --> 00:02:08.900 it, Father, Lord. We give you honor. We give 00:02:08.900 --> 00:02:11.539 you glory, God. We thank you, Lord, hallelujah, 00:02:11.580 --> 00:02:14.319 for another day, God, hallelujah, to receive 00:02:14.319 --> 00:02:17.620 your word. In the mighty name of Jesus, we pray. 00:02:18.280 --> 00:02:26.780 Somebody say amen. Amen. You may be seated. Amen. 00:02:26.800 --> 00:02:33.159 For my sports fans out there today, you know, 00:02:33.180 --> 00:02:37.680 I want to recall, amen, a moment, amen, that 00:02:37.680 --> 00:02:40.560 occurred a few weeks ago. Amen. We witnessed, 00:02:40.900 --> 00:02:44.360 amen, something that many thought was impossible. 00:02:45.580 --> 00:02:48.479 The New York Knicks found themselves down 29 00:02:48.479 --> 00:02:52.400 points in Game 4 of the NBA Finals. The game 00:02:52.400 --> 00:02:55.520 looked over by halftime. Believe me, I was sitting 00:02:55.520 --> 00:02:58.939 there watching it, and I thought it was done. 00:02:59.020 --> 00:03:00.860 It's over. There's no way they're coming back. 00:03:01.000 --> 00:03:04.620 The momentum wasn't on their side. People were 00:03:04.620 --> 00:03:07.919 writing them off. The fans were all losing hope, 00:03:08.020 --> 00:03:11.740 and a lot of them got up and they left. Now, 00:03:11.759 --> 00:03:15.840 mind you, as great... As a comeback as this was, 00:03:16.000 --> 00:03:19.280 it was also a very expensive one. The lowest 00:03:19.280 --> 00:03:22.139 cost for a ticket there ranged anywhere between 00:03:22.139 --> 00:03:26.699 $3 ,000 to $4 ,000. We're talking about nosebleeds, 00:03:26.759 --> 00:03:32.259 right? Those fans decided to leave before the 00:03:32.259 --> 00:03:36.699 game was over. Looked down at the court, wrote 00:03:36.699 --> 00:03:39.080 off their team that they were rooting for. Everybody 00:03:39.080 --> 00:03:42.699 was so pumped and hyped. They walked out, got 00:03:42.699 --> 00:03:45.340 in their car at the subway, and they made their 00:03:45.340 --> 00:03:48.539 way home. And the opposing team could almost 00:03:48.539 --> 00:03:51.219 see the championship momentum shifting in their 00:03:51.219 --> 00:03:55.099 favor. But then something happened. Something 00:03:55.099 --> 00:03:59.840 shifted. When the Knicks came back from halftime, 00:03:59.879 --> 00:04:02.800 amen, they made up their minds and they made 00:04:02.800 --> 00:04:05.939 a decision that they weren't going to quit. They 00:04:05.939 --> 00:04:09.020 kept defending. They kept hustling. And more 00:04:09.020 --> 00:04:13.000 importantly, they kept believing. They kept taking 00:04:13.000 --> 00:04:16.040 the next shot after the next shot after the next 00:04:16.040 --> 00:04:19.100 shot, possession after possession, stop after 00:04:19.100 --> 00:04:22.180 stop, basket after basket, until the impossible 00:04:22.180 --> 00:04:27.139 became a reality. They completed the largest 00:04:27.139 --> 00:04:32.399 comeback in NBA history by winning 107 -106 on 00:04:32.399 --> 00:04:38.339 a last -second tip -in by O .G. Anunobi. And 00:04:38.339 --> 00:04:40.629 can I tell you something that... They didn't 00:04:40.629 --> 00:04:43.290 win because they were down by 29 points. They 00:04:43.290 --> 00:04:45.569 didn't win because they were the Knicks. They 00:04:45.569 --> 00:04:47.389 didn't win because they were playing in Madison 00:04:47.389 --> 00:04:49.689 Square Garden. They didn't win because they were 00:04:49.689 --> 00:04:52.410 playing in New York City. They won because they 00:04:52.410 --> 00:04:55.189 refused to believe the scoreboard had the final 00:04:55.189 --> 00:04:59.189 word. The scoreboard said it was over. Their 00:04:59.189 --> 00:05:02.550 effort said, no, it's not. And now here's the 00:05:02.550 --> 00:05:05.410 difference. The Knicks had confidence in their 00:05:05.410 --> 00:05:09.269 ability. You and I today, we have our confidence. 00:05:09.920 --> 00:05:13.660 and God's ability. There are people in this room 00:05:13.660 --> 00:05:17.379 whose scoreboard doesn't look very good. The 00:05:17.379 --> 00:05:19.480 scoreboard looks like the way it looked for the 00:05:19.480 --> 00:05:23.459 Knicks at halftime. The scoreboard might be telling 00:05:23.459 --> 00:05:26.720 you today that maybe your marriage is down. The 00:05:26.720 --> 00:05:28.579 scoreboard might be telling some of you today 00:05:28.579 --> 00:05:31.680 that maybe your finances are down. Maybe your 00:05:31.680 --> 00:05:34.300 health is down. Maybe you're not feeling 100%. 00:05:34.970 --> 00:05:38.009 Maybe there are issues, amen, in the midst of 00:05:38.009 --> 00:05:39.889 your family, amongst your family members. Maybe 00:05:39.889 --> 00:05:44.589 your family's down. Amen. And so that in itself, 00:05:44.810 --> 00:05:48.069 amen, would make you feel or tell you that maybe 00:05:48.069 --> 00:05:53.170 your faith feels down. The enemy keeps pointing 00:05:53.170 --> 00:05:55.850 to the scoreboard saying, look how far behind 00:05:55.850 --> 00:05:59.730 you are. But God never asks us to stare at the 00:05:59.730 --> 00:06:03.050 scoreboard. All he asks us to do is to continue 00:06:03.050 --> 00:06:06.370 to trust him. Because faith doesn't deny the 00:06:06.370 --> 00:06:10.129 deficit. Faith declares that God is greater than 00:06:10.129 --> 00:06:14.410 the deficit. That's exactly what we see here 00:06:14.410 --> 00:06:18.189 in Mark chapter 2. There was a man whose situation 00:06:18.189 --> 00:06:22.569 looked impossible. He couldn't walk. He couldn't 00:06:22.569 --> 00:06:26.250 get close to Jesus. The house was full. The door 00:06:26.250 --> 00:06:29.870 was blocked. And every circumstance said, there 00:06:29.870 --> 00:06:33.560 is no way in. There is no way to receive your 00:06:33.560 --> 00:06:36.519 miracle today. There is no way you are getting 00:06:36.519 --> 00:06:40.800 close to the Messiah. But he had four friends. 00:06:41.379 --> 00:06:45.959 Four men that thought otherwise. Four men who 00:06:45.959 --> 00:06:50.439 had enough faith. Breakthrough faith. Amen. That 00:06:50.439 --> 00:06:53.660 they broke through the top of that house. Broke 00:06:53.660 --> 00:06:57.420 through the roof. And that man received his healing. 00:06:58.139 --> 00:07:01.360 You see because they let. They refused to let 00:07:01.360 --> 00:07:05.740 obstacles become their outcome. They climbed 00:07:05.740 --> 00:07:08.759 onto the roof. They dug through the clay. They 00:07:08.759 --> 00:07:11.620 lowered their friend to Jesus. And the impossible 00:07:11.620 --> 00:07:16.079 took place. Today, for a brief moment, I would 00:07:16.079 --> 00:07:18.639 like to preach on that subject. Breakthrough 00:07:18.639 --> 00:07:22.839 faith. Someone say breakthrough faith. Faith 00:07:22.839 --> 00:07:27.060 doesn't focus on what stands in the way. Faith 00:07:27.060 --> 00:07:31.579 finds a way. Someone say amen to that? Faith 00:07:31.579 --> 00:07:34.959 will find a way. It just brings us to our first 00:07:34.959 --> 00:07:38.920 point. Breakthrough faith cannot be stopped. 00:07:40.779 --> 00:07:43.899 Breakthrough faith cannot be stopped. In Mark 00:07:43.899 --> 00:07:48.000 chapter 2, verses 3 through 4, it reads that 00:07:48.000 --> 00:07:50.759 some men came bringing in a paralyzed man carried 00:07:50.759 --> 00:07:53.699 by the four of them. And since they could not 00:07:53.699 --> 00:07:56.860 get into Jesus, they made an opening of the roof. 00:07:57.240 --> 00:07:59.079 in the roof, and they lowered the man laying 00:07:59.079 --> 00:08:03.459 on the mat to Jesus. So Mark chapter 2, I just 00:08:03.459 --> 00:08:05.699 want to lay down a very, very quick foundation 00:08:05.699 --> 00:08:08.939 as far as how we got to this point with Jesus 00:08:08.939 --> 00:08:13.300 being back home in the town of Capernaum, amen, 00:08:13.399 --> 00:08:16.779 and why he was there. Just so we get the full 00:08:16.779 --> 00:08:19.879 picture, we grasp everything that's taking place, 00:08:20.060 --> 00:08:23.060 because Mark chapter 2 isn't just about a miracle. 00:08:23.639 --> 00:08:25.980 It's about the continuation of what Jesus had 00:08:25.980 --> 00:08:29.879 already been doing. Amen. And just to give us 00:08:29.879 --> 00:08:33.960 some context, before we even arrived to Mark 00:08:33.960 --> 00:08:36.899 chapter 2, Jesus had already begun his public 00:08:36.899 --> 00:08:40.059 ministry. He has been preaching throughout Galilee, 00:08:40.179 --> 00:08:42.879 calling disciples, casting out demons, healing 00:08:42.879 --> 00:08:45.200 the sick, demonstrating that the kingdom of God 00:08:45.200 --> 00:08:49.919 has arrived. His ministry is exploding. And people 00:08:49.919 --> 00:08:53.179 are traveling from every direction to see this 00:08:53.179 --> 00:08:57.899 man named Jesus. After leaving Nazareth, Jesus 00:08:57.899 --> 00:09:01.980 made Capernaum his home base for his ministry. 00:09:02.279 --> 00:09:06.100 And we know this because Matthew 4 .13, it says, 00:09:06.220 --> 00:09:09.320 And after leaving Nazareth, he came and dwelt 00:09:09.320 --> 00:09:13.000 in Capernaum. Capernaum sat on the northwest 00:09:13.000 --> 00:09:15.610 shore of the Sea of Galilee. It was a perfect 00:09:15.610 --> 00:09:18.389 ministry headquarters because it was a thriving 00:09:18.389 --> 00:09:21.389 fishing town. There was a lot of people, a lot 00:09:21.389 --> 00:09:24.389 of business. It was located in a major trade 00:09:24.389 --> 00:09:28.649 route filled with Jews and Gentiles. And it was 00:09:28.649 --> 00:09:33.610 easy to travel from all of Galilee. So the entry 00:09:33.610 --> 00:09:36.570 points. From all directions, it was easy to get 00:09:36.570 --> 00:09:39.009 in, easy to get out. There was a lot of people. 00:09:39.129 --> 00:09:41.809 There was a lot of trade. There was a lot of 00:09:41.809 --> 00:09:44.490 business. There was a lot of traffic. Amen. So 00:09:44.490 --> 00:09:47.570 it was the ideal place for God to set up shop 00:09:47.570 --> 00:09:52.470 and begin and continue his ministry. And in Mark 00:09:52.470 --> 00:09:55.929 chapter 1, it was one miracle after another. 00:09:56.269 --> 00:09:59.090 Because Jesus had already called Peter, Andrew, 00:09:59.169 --> 00:10:02.629 James, and John. He cast out the demon out of 00:10:02.629 --> 00:10:05.500 the synagogue. He healed Peter's mother -in -law. 00:10:05.620 --> 00:10:09.539 He healed multitudes after sunset. And he cleansed 00:10:09.539 --> 00:10:12.679 the man of leprosy. And by the end of chapter 00:10:12.679 --> 00:10:16.779 1, everyone was talking about this man named 00:10:16.779 --> 00:10:20.840 Jesus. In Mark 1, 45, it says that Jesus could 00:10:20.840 --> 00:10:24.539 no longer enter a town openly, but stayed outside 00:10:24.539 --> 00:10:28.539 in lonely places. Yet the people still came to 00:10:28.539 --> 00:10:32.940 find him from everywhere. His popularity had 00:10:32.940 --> 00:10:36.620 become so overwhelming, which brings us to the 00:10:36.620 --> 00:10:41.179 home in Mark chapter 2. Why was his house so 00:10:41.179 --> 00:10:45.659 packed? Chapter 2 opens up by saying, again, 00:10:45.679 --> 00:10:49.159 he entered Capernaum after some days, and it 00:10:49.159 --> 00:10:51.840 was heard that he was in the house. How many 00:10:51.840 --> 00:10:54.799 of you know he's in the house today? He's in 00:10:54.799 --> 00:10:59.279 the house today. Amen. So word spread immediately. 00:11:00.330 --> 00:11:03.870 It was all over social media. It was all over 00:11:03.870 --> 00:11:06.450 the Internet. Amen. It made the New York Times, 00:11:06.529 --> 00:11:08.889 the New York Post. I don't know what the newspaper 00:11:08.889 --> 00:11:11.470 here is in the Bay, but it was all over the place. 00:11:11.669 --> 00:11:16.529 Every newspaper, every outlet, every social media 00:11:16.529 --> 00:11:19.370 outlet was announcing that Jesus was back in 00:11:19.370 --> 00:11:22.409 town. Jesus was home. So naturally, everybody 00:11:22.409 --> 00:11:26.909 flocks to the house. And it just so happened 00:11:26.909 --> 00:11:31.419 that this house, amen, And scholars believe that 00:11:31.419 --> 00:11:33.460 this house was Peter's house because he was already 00:11:33.460 --> 00:11:36.259 there. He entered that home. He was there. That's 00:11:36.259 --> 00:11:38.940 where he healed. Amen. Peter's mother -in -law. 00:11:39.080 --> 00:11:42.960 Amen. So he was back home. It was his homecoming, 00:11:42.980 --> 00:11:46.120 if you will. Right? It was his homecoming. And 00:11:46.120 --> 00:11:49.580 we'll stay with the sports analogies for a little 00:11:49.580 --> 00:11:52.539 while. So, you know, imagine trying to keep Michael 00:11:52.539 --> 00:11:55.799 Jordan's return to basketball quiet. How many 00:11:55.799 --> 00:11:58.509 of you remember that? How many of you are old 00:11:58.509 --> 00:12:00.450 enough to remember that? Let me ask that question. 00:12:01.149 --> 00:12:04.809 Right? He made his triumphant return back from 00:12:04.809 --> 00:12:07.809 baseball to basketball. It wasn't a quiet moment. 00:12:07.970 --> 00:12:10.490 It wasn't a quiet scene. How about attending 00:12:10.490 --> 00:12:15.149 the game where Mark McGuire hit his 62nd home 00:12:15.149 --> 00:12:18.289 run of the season, breaking Roger Maris' longstanding 00:12:18.289 --> 00:12:21.750 single season record of 61? How many of you remember 00:12:21.750 --> 00:12:25.870 that? I do. I'm not trying to age myself, but 00:12:25.870 --> 00:12:30.799 I remember that. Amen. How about imagine Kobe's, 00:12:30.799 --> 00:12:35.820 amen, retirement, amen, season and his last game 00:12:35.820 --> 00:12:40.080 in L .A. How many of you remember that? I do. 00:12:40.679 --> 00:12:44.320 I remember that. These moments and times, they 00:12:44.320 --> 00:12:47.259 were not easy to keep quiet. It was not easy 00:12:47.259 --> 00:12:50.480 to keep on the low, like they say, or keep hushed, 00:12:50.480 --> 00:12:53.730 right? They were loud. They expanded from one 00:12:53.730 --> 00:12:56.490 town, one city to the next. Amen. And people 00:12:56.490 --> 00:12:59.470 were announcing that Jesus is home. Jesus is 00:12:59.470 --> 00:13:02.889 home. Jesus is back home. So they flocked to 00:13:02.889 --> 00:13:06.370 this house. And people filled the house. They 00:13:06.370 --> 00:13:09.730 filled the doorway. They surrounded the outside 00:13:09.730 --> 00:13:12.669 of it so much so that there was no more standing 00:13:12.669 --> 00:13:15.509 room left. There was no breathing room left. 00:13:15.690 --> 00:13:22.889 And everybody wanted something from Jesus. Everybody 00:13:22.889 --> 00:13:27.289 wanted something from Jesus. And what makes this 00:13:27.289 --> 00:13:31.370 story even that much more incredible is what 00:13:31.370 --> 00:13:34.850 about the scene on the inside of the house? We 00:13:34.850 --> 00:13:37.149 just described the outside. We described what 00:13:37.149 --> 00:13:39.870 was going on in the city, in the outer banks 00:13:39.870 --> 00:13:42.309 of the city, in the surrounding cities, the announcement, 00:13:42.429 --> 00:13:44.669 and people were flocking and rushing and blocking 00:13:44.669 --> 00:13:47.049 the doorways, the window entryways, right? We 00:13:47.049 --> 00:13:49.769 discussed all that, but now what about inside 00:13:49.769 --> 00:13:52.789 the house? What's taking place? Well, inside 00:13:52.789 --> 00:13:56.029 the house, there's religious leaders, curious 00:13:56.029 --> 00:14:02.129 spectators, people desperate for a miracle. Hundreds 00:14:02.129 --> 00:14:08.850 pressing. No entry. No access. Every logical 00:14:08.850 --> 00:14:12.190 opportunity to stay in the house or remain in 00:14:12.190 --> 00:14:15.049 the house or get into the house or even find 00:14:15.049 --> 00:14:17.669 a way into the house. All logical opportunity 00:14:17.669 --> 00:14:21.549 was gone. It was out the door. Everyone else 00:14:21.549 --> 00:14:26.350 saw full house. But you know what breakthrough 00:14:26.350 --> 00:14:34.250 faith sees? A roof. Breakthrough faith sees a 00:14:34.250 --> 00:14:41.090 roof. Roof. Sees an opening. How many of you 00:14:41.090 --> 00:14:43.429 have ever experienced faith in such a way where 00:14:43.429 --> 00:14:45.429 you couldn't see the light at the end of the 00:14:45.429 --> 00:14:48.700 tunnel? Everyone told you no. Everyone told you 00:14:48.700 --> 00:14:50.799 it was an impossibility. Everyone told you it 00:14:50.799 --> 00:14:52.600 wasn't going to happen. Everyone told you it 00:14:52.600 --> 00:14:54.299 wasn't going to make. You weren't going to make 00:14:54.299 --> 00:14:56.179 it. Everyone told you you didn't stand a chance. 00:14:56.399 --> 00:14:59.100 Amen. But you continue to believe. You continue 00:14:59.100 --> 00:15:01.200 to believe. You continue to pray. You continue 00:15:01.200 --> 00:15:04.159 to press. You continue to push. You went to God 00:15:04.159 --> 00:15:06.639 every day. You said the same prayer every single 00:15:06.639 --> 00:15:09.019 day. Every single moment, it was the same thing 00:15:09.019 --> 00:15:11.139 every day. Every day, God, I'm going to trust 00:15:11.139 --> 00:15:13.139 you. God, I'm going to trust you. The answer 00:15:13.139 --> 00:15:14.980 is still no, but I'm going to trust you. The 00:15:14.980 --> 00:15:16.940 doctor said it's impossible, but I'm going to 00:15:16.940 --> 00:15:18.860 trust you. They said I wasn't going to get that 00:15:18.860 --> 00:15:20.820 promotion, but I'm going to trust you. They said 00:15:20.820 --> 00:15:22.360 I wasn't going to get that job, but I'm going 00:15:22.360 --> 00:15:25.039 to trust you. Every single day, it was a repetitive 00:15:25.039 --> 00:15:27.539 prayer, repetitive prayer, until finally one 00:15:27.539 --> 00:15:34.269 day. There's a light that appears. And while 00:15:34.269 --> 00:15:36.409 you're squinting because the light is so bright, 00:15:36.629 --> 00:15:41.750 you realize there's the way. There's the yes. 00:15:42.889 --> 00:15:46.009 There's the possibility. There's the healing. 00:15:46.230 --> 00:15:48.950 There's the miracle. There's the job. There's 00:15:48.950 --> 00:15:52.389 the opportunity. There it is. Hallelujah. Breakthrough 00:15:52.389 --> 00:15:57.659 faith. Amen. Is what these four men. Because 00:15:57.659 --> 00:15:59.419 of their breakthrough faith, that's what they 00:15:59.419 --> 00:16:03.120 saw. Most people would have looked at the crowd 00:16:03.120 --> 00:16:05.379 and said, we'll come back another day. Maybe 00:16:05.379 --> 00:16:08.659 next week. Maybe Jesus isn't the way. Maybe this 00:16:08.659 --> 00:16:11.299 isn't meant for us. Maybe we'll just wait until 00:16:11.299 --> 00:16:13.700 there's another announcement. Until they post 00:16:13.700 --> 00:16:15.720 that he's going to be in a different city. In 00:16:15.720 --> 00:16:17.840 a different location. In a different house. No, 00:16:17.940 --> 00:16:21.139 my friend. These four men, they said the exact 00:16:21.139 --> 00:16:24.360 opposite. If God is in this place, I'm going 00:16:24.360 --> 00:16:27.539 to find a way. If God is in the house, I'm going 00:16:27.539 --> 00:16:30.399 to push. I'm going to fight. I'm going to make 00:16:30.399 --> 00:16:32.980 my way. way and I'm going to figure this thing 00:16:32.980 --> 00:16:39.779 out. Breakthrough faith says if I can't get through 00:16:39.779 --> 00:16:43.960 the door, I will make a door. Because here's 00:16:43.960 --> 00:16:46.700 what I've learned. Faith doesn't quit when circumstances 00:16:46.700 --> 00:16:50.360 say no. Faith looks for another way. And that's 00:16:50.360 --> 00:16:53.100 exactly what these four men did when they encountered 00:16:53.100 --> 00:16:56.419 these three obstacles. They encountered the crowd. 00:16:56.620 --> 00:16:59.000 They encountered the house. And they encountered 00:16:59.000 --> 00:17:03.039 public criticism. Yet they refused to allow obstacles 00:17:03.039 --> 00:17:08.319 to become excuses. They didn't give up. You know 00:17:08.319 --> 00:17:10.119 what gets me, and I know you heard me say this 00:17:10.119 --> 00:17:13.160 before, but what really irks my spirit, what 00:17:13.160 --> 00:17:16.940 really just shakes my spirit, shakes me to the 00:17:16.940 --> 00:17:19.559 core, is when I'm talking to a believer, when 00:17:19.559 --> 00:17:22.099 I'm talking to a son and daughter of the child 00:17:22.099 --> 00:17:24.380 of the living king, and they keep telling me, 00:17:24.420 --> 00:17:26.640 Brother David, I don't think it's going to happen. 00:17:26.779 --> 00:17:30.119 I don't think I can make it. I just don't see 00:17:30.119 --> 00:17:32.319 a way out of this. You know, Brother David, I've 00:17:32.319 --> 00:17:34.740 been praying for years. You know, I've been asking 00:17:34.740 --> 00:17:37.240 God for this, and I've been asking God for that. 00:17:37.349 --> 00:17:40.950 And you know, I just don't feel like God is answering. 00:17:41.029 --> 00:17:45.769 I don't feel like God is hearing me. And don't 00:17:45.769 --> 00:17:47.789 get me wrong, I have empathy. I have consideration. 00:17:48.069 --> 00:17:52.059 I really do. But there's something in my spirit 00:17:52.059 --> 00:17:55.119 just starts to shake. It just starts to tremble. 00:17:55.160 --> 00:17:57.779 And my spirit starts to speak. And it starts 00:17:57.779 --> 00:18:01.400 to say, how can you deny the King of kings and 00:18:01.400 --> 00:18:04.500 the Lord of lords? How can you deny the creator 00:18:04.500 --> 00:18:07.980 of this earth? How can you deny the God that 00:18:07.980 --> 00:18:10.720 if you speak his name, anything that you ask, 00:18:10.819 --> 00:18:14.079 all of heaven is hearing you. God will respond. 00:18:14.579 --> 00:18:19.670 You've got to have faith. And I'm not putting 00:18:19.670 --> 00:18:21.609 anybody down. I've been there too. I've been 00:18:21.609 --> 00:18:24.390 in that position. I've said those things to myself 00:18:24.390 --> 00:18:27.009 and I've said those things out loud. But I thank 00:18:27.009 --> 00:18:30.230 God that God is a just God. I thank God that 00:18:30.230 --> 00:18:33.950 God does not hesitate to remind me. Hey, I healed 00:18:33.950 --> 00:18:36.509 your father of 22 years of heroin addiction. 00:18:36.869 --> 00:18:40.910 I restored your family that was broken. I brought 00:18:40.910 --> 00:18:43.509 your family back. I brought your cousins back. 00:18:43.690 --> 00:18:49.750 I brought your brother back. How can we deny 00:18:49.750 --> 00:18:58.089 the God of the impossible? Sometimes it gets 00:18:58.089 --> 00:19:00.170 very, very hard. It gets very, very difficult. 00:19:00.970 --> 00:19:04.650 And in those situations, we are tempted. See, 00:19:04.730 --> 00:19:08.250 temptation just doesn't come, amen, to trip you 00:19:08.250 --> 00:19:11.109 up or cause you to sin. Every time we hear that 00:19:11.109 --> 00:19:13.990 word temptation, we correlate that with sin. 00:19:14.130 --> 00:19:16.690 We correlate that with doing wrong. We correlate 00:19:16.690 --> 00:19:20.630 that with not doing what God told us to do. That's 00:19:20.630 --> 00:19:25.450 not all. Temptation always comes to get you to 00:19:25.450 --> 00:19:30.529 quit. Temptation will speak to you when you're 00:19:30.529 --> 00:19:32.750 feeling down, when you don't feel like you got 00:19:32.750 --> 00:19:34.869 enough, when you don't feel like there's a way, 00:19:34.950 --> 00:19:37.410 when you don't see a way out. Temptation will 00:19:37.410 --> 00:19:39.509 come to you and say, why don't you just hang 00:19:39.509 --> 00:19:44.099 it up? Why don't you just give up? Why don't 00:19:44.099 --> 00:19:46.220 you just take a seat? Why don't you just go to 00:19:46.220 --> 00:19:49.200 church and hang up your ministry, hang up those 00:19:49.200 --> 00:19:52.359 dreams and those desires that you have to minister, 00:19:52.559 --> 00:19:54.660 to sing, to preach, to teach, amen, to serve. 00:19:54.779 --> 00:19:56.940 Why don't you just hang that up and just go to 00:19:56.940 --> 00:19:58.940 church, pay your tithing, just be a good church 00:19:58.940 --> 00:20:02.700 member. Why don't you just do that? Because it's 00:20:02.700 --> 00:20:04.859 so much easier. Look what you're going through. 00:20:06.759 --> 00:20:09.819 If you weren't involved in doing it, you wouldn't 00:20:09.819 --> 00:20:12.259 be going through this. You wouldn't be experiencing 00:20:12.259 --> 00:20:14.019 this. I want you to know that the devil is a 00:20:14.019 --> 00:20:20.079 liar. The devil is a liar. Because when you have 00:20:20.079 --> 00:20:23.000 faith and you exercise faith and faith is activated 00:20:23.000 --> 00:20:26.160 in your spirit, we don't stop. We don't quit. 00:20:26.279 --> 00:20:30.900 We continue to press forward. Let me tell you 00:20:30.900 --> 00:20:34.960 something. In Matthew 26, 37, 39, it talks about 00:20:34.960 --> 00:20:37.380 when Jesus had went to the garden of Gethsemane. 00:20:38.500 --> 00:20:41.180 Jesus manifested his spirit, manifested in the 00:20:41.180 --> 00:20:45.140 flesh, man, here on earth. He experienced the 00:20:45.140 --> 00:20:47.640 same things that we go through. He experienced 00:20:47.640 --> 00:20:50.480 the same things that you've gone through. Amen. 00:20:50.539 --> 00:20:53.240 And Matthew, it says that he began to be sorrowful 00:20:53.240 --> 00:20:56.519 and troubled. Then he said to them, my soul is 00:20:56.519 --> 00:20:58.740 overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. 00:20:59.299 --> 00:21:01.619 Stay here, he's talking to his disciples, and 00:21:01.619 --> 00:21:04.599 keep watch with me. Going a little further, he 00:21:04.599 --> 00:21:06.579 fell with his face to the ground and prayed, 00:21:06.660 --> 00:21:10.759 my father, if it is possible, may this cup be 00:21:10.759 --> 00:21:14.059 taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you 00:21:14.059 --> 00:21:19.259 will. He knew that the cross was going to be 00:21:19.259 --> 00:21:21.839 painful. He knew he was going to have to endure 00:21:21.839 --> 00:21:24.299 torment. He knew that he was going to have to 00:21:24.299 --> 00:21:26.519 bleed out. He knew that he was going to have 00:21:26.519 --> 00:21:28.720 to hang on the cross. He knew he was going to 00:21:28.720 --> 00:21:33.789 have to suffer and die for you and I. And then 00:21:33.789 --> 00:21:37.089 in Matthew, it continues, Matthew 41 -42, he 00:21:37.089 --> 00:21:39.589 tells the disciples again, watch and pray so 00:21:39.589 --> 00:21:43.390 that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit 00:21:43.390 --> 00:21:47.049 is willing, but the flesh is weak. He went away 00:21:47.049 --> 00:21:49.890 a second time and he prayed, my father, if it 00:21:49.890 --> 00:21:52.190 is not possible for this cup to be taken away, 00:21:52.450 --> 00:21:56.890 unless I drink it, may your will be done. So 00:21:56.890 --> 00:22:00.490 he left them again in Matthew 26 -44, and once 00:22:00.490 --> 00:22:05.069 more he prayed a third time. What is this telling 00:22:05.069 --> 00:22:08.670 us? That Jesus, the man, Jesus, amen, manifested 00:22:08.670 --> 00:22:11.549 in the flesh. Amen. That he knew the pain. He 00:22:11.549 --> 00:22:13.450 knew what he was going to have to endure. He 00:22:13.450 --> 00:22:15.609 had the same concerns. He had the same worries. 00:22:15.789 --> 00:22:17.690 He knew what was going to be painful. He knew 00:22:17.690 --> 00:22:19.630 there was going to be torment. He knew he was 00:22:19.630 --> 00:22:21.970 going to have to bleed out. He went before God 00:22:21.970 --> 00:22:25.670 and he prayed. Not one time. Not two times. Three 00:22:25.670 --> 00:22:36.410 times. Perseverance. Perseverance. That's what 00:22:36.410 --> 00:22:39.230 he expressed. That's what he showed. Bishop, 00:22:39.230 --> 00:22:45.630 how long have you been in ministry? Bishop? Long 00:22:45.630 --> 00:22:50.650 time. 50 years. And in those 50 years, Bishop, 00:22:50.710 --> 00:22:55.430 how many times do you recall saying the same 00:22:55.430 --> 00:23:00.490 prayer? How many times did it get hard? How many 00:23:00.490 --> 00:23:03.519 times did you fall on your face? How many times 00:23:03.519 --> 00:23:06.019 did you tell God there's got to be another way? 00:23:06.559 --> 00:23:10.140 It can't hurt this much to serve you. It can't 00:23:10.140 --> 00:23:13.950 hurt this much to minister. Amen. How often do 00:23:13.950 --> 00:23:16.269 I have to go through this? How long, Sister Didi, 00:23:16.309 --> 00:23:18.490 do we have to go through this trial before you 00:23:18.490 --> 00:23:20.990 see us out? How many times did you have to do 00:23:20.990 --> 00:23:23.630 that? I guarantee you, Bishop, over and over 00:23:23.630 --> 00:23:26.670 and over again. But breakthrough faith won't 00:23:26.670 --> 00:23:29.289 allow you to stop. Faith won't allow you to stop. 00:23:29.450 --> 00:23:31.869 It'll push you to persevere. It'll push you to 00:23:31.869 --> 00:23:34.609 persevere. It'll say you can't give up now. You 00:23:34.609 --> 00:23:37.410 can't slow up now. You can't give up now. You've 00:23:37.410 --> 00:23:45.089 got to push. We've got to push. Jesus prayed 00:23:45.089 --> 00:23:49.410 three times. And too many of us quit one prayer 00:23:49.410 --> 00:23:54.569 too soon. We quit one prayer too soon. We give 00:23:54.569 --> 00:23:57.970 up because we think God is saying no. And God 00:23:57.970 --> 00:23:59.970 is not saying no. God is asking the question, 00:24:00.230 --> 00:24:03.650 will you persevere? Will you continue? How bad 00:24:03.650 --> 00:24:05.750 do you want this? Will you continue to fight? 00:24:05.910 --> 00:24:08.210 Will you continue to seek me? Will you continue 00:24:08.210 --> 00:24:12.519 to push forward? Will you continue to have faith? 00:24:12.660 --> 00:24:15.319 Which brings us to our second point. Real faith 00:24:15.319 --> 00:24:20.759 requires real work. In chapter 2, 3, and 4, it 00:24:20.759 --> 00:24:22.759 says that when they pushed through the crowd 00:24:22.759 --> 00:24:25.900 and they went up to the roof, that they dug through 00:24:25.900 --> 00:24:29.240 the roof. And to appreciate the sacrifice that 00:24:29.240 --> 00:24:31.640 these four men had made, we need to understand 00:24:31.640 --> 00:24:34.160 that the roof, we need to understand the roof 00:24:34.160 --> 00:24:36.920 that they were standing on. This wasn't a modern 00:24:36.920 --> 00:24:42.490 shingle roof. They didn't have... a hammer or 00:24:42.490 --> 00:24:45.289 a shovel or anything like that to help them. 00:24:45.849 --> 00:24:48.990 First century homes in Capernaum had flat roofs 00:24:48.990 --> 00:24:51.630 and they were built with large wooden beams. 00:24:51.950 --> 00:24:56.109 Smaller branches laid across the beams. Reeds 00:24:56.109 --> 00:24:58.890 woven together thick layers of packed clay and 00:24:58.890 --> 00:25:03.890 mud mixed with straw. A hardened surface that 00:25:03.890 --> 00:25:07.269 had been rolled and smoothed over time until 00:25:07.269 --> 00:25:11.069 it hardened. It got hard like a rock, like cement 00:25:11.069 --> 00:25:16.970 maybe. So the roof wasn't easy to remove. It 00:25:16.970 --> 00:25:20.490 took consideration. It took effort. It took sweat. 00:25:20.630 --> 00:25:24.890 It took time. It took energy. And imagine a man 00:25:24.890 --> 00:25:27.430 climbing up on the staircase outside of this 00:25:27.430 --> 00:25:32.309 house while carrying a grown man on a mat. Then 00:25:32.309 --> 00:25:36.250 imagine carefully laying this man down. And turning 00:25:36.250 --> 00:25:38.950 your face from him and gathering the three other 00:25:38.950 --> 00:25:42.710 men and say, okay, let's figure this out. Let's 00:25:42.710 --> 00:25:45.990 start digging. Let's start breaking apart the 00:25:45.990 --> 00:25:48.750 packed earth. Let's start removing the weeds 00:25:48.750 --> 00:25:52.529 and removing the branches and make it a way large 00:25:52.529 --> 00:25:55.410 enough. Now, remember, this wasn't a small hole. 00:25:55.789 --> 00:25:58.309 I don't know how large this man was, but it was 00:25:58.309 --> 00:26:01.829 a full -sized man. So you imagine how big this 00:26:01.829 --> 00:26:05.119 hole had to be? It wasn't just enough just to 00:26:05.119 --> 00:26:07.740 break way so that you just saw sunlight come 00:26:07.740 --> 00:26:10.579 through. They had to fight. They had to dig. 00:26:10.700 --> 00:26:13.940 They had to get their clay under their fingernails. 00:26:14.119 --> 00:26:19.920 God forbid you break a nail. God forbid we get 00:26:19.920 --> 00:26:24.059 finger under our nails. God forbid God ask us 00:26:24.059 --> 00:26:27.720 to say a couple more hours. God forbid God tells 00:26:27.720 --> 00:26:29.819 you to get up extra early tomorrow because you 00:26:29.819 --> 00:26:32.930 got to pray. You got to fast tomorrow. You can't 00:26:32.930 --> 00:26:39.910 have your oatmeal or your sweet bread, your pan 00:26:39.910 --> 00:26:43.150 dulce with your cafecito. God forbid. God, ask 00:26:43.150 --> 00:26:48.009 those things of us. Don't ask me to come to church. 00:26:48.069 --> 00:26:50.650 It's 100 degrees outside. I'll watch online. 00:26:52.970 --> 00:26:54.710 I've been going, yeah, you can't watch online 00:26:54.710 --> 00:26:58.900 anyway. You got to come to church. You want to 00:26:58.900 --> 00:27:00.640 experience God in a city like church, you got 00:27:00.640 --> 00:27:06.819 to be in church. But what these men had to do, 00:27:06.920 --> 00:27:09.900 consider that. Consider what they had to do for 00:27:09.900 --> 00:27:12.119 a man. I don't know if this man was a stranger. 00:27:12.319 --> 00:27:14.539 They didn't say that this guy, they didn't mention 00:27:14.539 --> 00:27:17.039 anything about being related, being a brother, 00:27:17.240 --> 00:27:19.579 being an uncle, a cousin. It didn't say anything. 00:27:19.759 --> 00:27:22.640 It just says four men and another man. Four men 00:27:22.640 --> 00:27:25.240 that had breakthrough faith and another man that 00:27:25.240 --> 00:27:27.720 needed to experience breakthrough faith to receive 00:27:27.720 --> 00:27:30.019 their blessing. To receive his healing. That's 00:27:30.019 --> 00:27:33.579 all it gave us. This wasn't convenient. This 00:27:33.579 --> 00:27:36.680 wasn't clean. And this wasn't quick. Sometimes 00:27:36.680 --> 00:27:40.420 your faith has to get dirty. Sometimes it has 00:27:40.420 --> 00:27:42.819 to get dirty. Faith isn't just to be admired. 00:27:44.160 --> 00:27:47.279 A few are willing to do the work that faith requires. 00:27:48.140 --> 00:27:50.910 We love praying for breakthrough. but are you 00:27:50.910 --> 00:27:54.990 willing to dig for it? We love praying for breakthrough, 00:27:55.210 --> 00:27:58.190 but are you willing to fight for it? We love 00:27:58.190 --> 00:27:59.930 praying for breakthrough, but are you willing 00:27:59.930 --> 00:28:02.490 to give up your time, give up your effort, give 00:28:02.490 --> 00:28:06.809 up your comfort to receive and see breakthrough? 00:28:08.069 --> 00:28:10.869 Are we willing to cut ties with people who are 00:28:10.869 --> 00:28:16.730 fake and just want the tea? Well, I know that's 00:28:16.730 --> 00:28:20.579 touchy. We'll talk about my friends. We'll talk 00:28:20.579 --> 00:28:24.220 about my circle. I get it. It is touchy. But 00:28:24.220 --> 00:28:27.099 have you ever considered once that if all they're 00:28:27.099 --> 00:28:30.579 asking for is information and never filling your 00:28:30.579 --> 00:28:34.900 cup spiritually, never sharing scripture with 00:28:34.900 --> 00:28:38.039 you, never calling you up to say, hey, I prayed 00:28:38.039 --> 00:28:39.819 for you this morning and the Lord told me to 00:28:39.819 --> 00:28:43.259 give you this word. And then how about when you're 00:28:43.259 --> 00:28:48.200 in need? The phone stops picking up. The text 00:28:48.200 --> 00:28:51.859 message go unread. How about when there's a financial 00:28:51.859 --> 00:28:53.839 need? How about when someone's in the hospital? 00:28:53.940 --> 00:28:56.380 I need you to come pray. Oh, I'm sorry. I can't 00:28:56.380 --> 00:28:59.539 make it. But we're praying from home. I pray 00:28:59.539 --> 00:29:02.900 for you on my way to work. I send you a text 00:29:02.900 --> 00:29:05.319 message. I sent the little hands emoji. Did you 00:29:05.319 --> 00:29:11.700 get it? That means I'm praying for you. It's 00:29:11.700 --> 00:29:15.119 true. Sometimes people only want to get close 00:29:15.119 --> 00:29:17.460 to you because they want to know your business. 00:29:21.680 --> 00:29:24.740 You know what I want? My circle is small for 00:29:24.740 --> 00:29:28.119 a reason. It's intentional. Because Brother Caleb, 00:29:28.279 --> 00:29:32.460 I want to fill my circle with the men like in 00:29:32.460 --> 00:29:35.500 the scripture. I want to fill my circle. I want 00:29:35.500 --> 00:29:38.259 my circle of friends to be like the four men 00:29:38.259 --> 00:29:40.619 in the scripture. When I call them, they answer. 00:29:40.819 --> 00:29:42.900 When I text them, it doesn't matter how busy 00:29:42.900 --> 00:29:45.400 they are. They respond to the text message. When 00:29:45.400 --> 00:29:47.940 I put everybody in a group text and I said, hey, 00:29:47.960 --> 00:29:53.319 I need prayer, they respond right away. And then 00:29:53.319 --> 00:29:56.779 they also call out when I don't need anything. 00:29:58.819 --> 00:30:02.299 How's it going? How are you? I'm praying for 00:30:02.299 --> 00:30:06.099 you. God bless you. We're here for you. If you 00:30:06.099 --> 00:30:08.059 need anything, just call me. Pick up the phone. 00:30:09.539 --> 00:30:11.720 These are the friends that I surround myself 00:30:11.720 --> 00:30:13.700 with. And thank God that I have those friends 00:30:13.700 --> 00:30:17.519 in this church. Come on, someone say amen. I 00:30:17.519 --> 00:30:19.859 know I have those friends in this church. I know 00:30:19.859 --> 00:30:24.289 I do. They're in my top five. They are. I know 00:30:24.289 --> 00:30:26.869 if they call, they're going to answer. I know 00:30:26.869 --> 00:30:28.509 if they call, they're going to pick up. And it's 00:30:28.509 --> 00:30:34.190 not because Brother David's calling. It's not 00:30:34.190 --> 00:30:36.329 because Brother David has another task. It's 00:30:36.329 --> 00:30:38.170 not because Brother David's asking for the schedule. 00:30:38.730 --> 00:30:41.109 Okay, maybe sometimes. But it's not because Brother 00:30:41.109 --> 00:30:45.269 David needs me to do something. It's because 00:30:45.269 --> 00:30:49.369 I love my brother. I love my sister. I need to 00:30:49.369 --> 00:30:52.369 be there for them. I need to help them. And if 00:30:52.369 --> 00:30:55.109 they need a roof to be taken off a house, then 00:30:55.109 --> 00:30:57.630 I'm going to do it, Brother Reuben. If they need 00:30:57.630 --> 00:30:59.589 someone to show up at 3 o 'clock in the morning, 00:30:59.690 --> 00:31:02.210 then call me up and I will be there. If they're 00:31:02.210 --> 00:31:04.730 stranded on the side of the road and they don't 00:31:04.730 --> 00:31:07.029 got, amen, AAA insurance and they got to get 00:31:07.029 --> 00:31:09.150 their tire changed, then call me. I'll be there. 00:31:10.069 --> 00:31:14.029 And if you don't believe me, test me. Test me. 00:31:14.809 --> 00:31:18.970 I'll be there. Why? Because I love you. Why? 00:31:19.069 --> 00:31:21.650 Because what I have, I want for you. Why? Because 00:31:21.650 --> 00:31:23.509 I don't want to see you hurting. I don't want 00:31:23.509 --> 00:31:25.650 to see you, amen, down and out. I don't want 00:31:25.650 --> 00:31:28.289 to see you, amen, hanging your head down low 00:31:28.289 --> 00:31:30.609 when we both come to church together. We both 00:31:30.609 --> 00:31:32.789 serve the same God together. We both are trying 00:31:32.789 --> 00:31:34.769 to make it to heaven together. That's what I 00:31:34.769 --> 00:31:36.849 want for you. And that's what these four men 00:31:36.849 --> 00:31:41.430 wanted for this man. That's why they didn't hesitate. 00:31:43.089 --> 00:31:45.430 They didn't hesitate to dig. They didn't hesitate 00:31:45.430 --> 00:31:49.529 to get dirty. Because real faith moves, real 00:31:49.529 --> 00:32:00.609 faith obeys, and real faith serves. We've got 00:32:00.609 --> 00:32:03.130 to understand that if we want breakthrough in 00:32:03.130 --> 00:32:07.369 our lives, amen, it only comes through real faith. 00:32:07.609 --> 00:32:11.309 Real breakthrough only comes through real faith. 00:32:12.029 --> 00:32:16.609 It only comes through real faith. The Bible says 00:32:16.609 --> 00:32:22.970 in our third point that this is the real breakthrough. 00:32:23.470 --> 00:32:26.789 This part, this is the true breakthrough. In 00:32:26.789 --> 00:32:29.210 Mark 2, verse 5, it says, When Jesus saw their 00:32:29.210 --> 00:32:31.789 faith, he said to the paralyzed man, Son, your 00:32:31.789 --> 00:32:36.390 sins are forgiven. And in Mark 2, 11 -12, he 00:32:36.390 --> 00:32:38.390 says, I tell you, get up, take your mat, and 00:32:38.390 --> 00:32:41.130 go home. He got up, took his mat, walked out, 00:32:41.210 --> 00:32:45.809 and full view of all of them. This amazed everyone 00:32:45.809 --> 00:32:48.309 and they praised God saying, we have never seen 00:32:48.309 --> 00:32:54.230 anything like this. Imagine the anticipation 00:32:54.230 --> 00:32:57.390 of the inside of the crowded house. The room 00:32:57.390 --> 00:33:00.170 being packed and now dust falling from the ceiling. 00:33:00.750 --> 00:33:03.670 Pieces of clay falling from the ceiling. Reeds 00:33:03.670 --> 00:33:06.450 and straw falling from the ceiling. And people 00:33:06.450 --> 00:33:08.349 looking up and saying, what's going on? What's 00:33:08.349 --> 00:33:10.809 happening? Then they see the roof break open. 00:33:11.309 --> 00:33:13.490 And then now these four men are looking down 00:33:13.490 --> 00:33:19.170 and they're dropping down this man on the mat, 00:33:19.250 --> 00:33:22.369 amen, down unto Jesus. And so while everybody 00:33:22.369 --> 00:33:24.690 looks up in amazement and everybody's watching 00:33:24.690 --> 00:33:26.829 this paralyzed man come down and being lowered 00:33:26.829 --> 00:33:29.990 directly in front of Jesus, the expectation in 00:33:29.990 --> 00:33:33.029 the room is obvious. Jesus is about to heal him. 00:33:33.990 --> 00:33:35.890 Because that's what we're all here for anyway. 00:33:37.029 --> 00:33:39.470 That's the anticipation. As soon as a man hits 00:33:39.470 --> 00:33:44.690 the ground, God's going to heal him. And everybody's 00:33:44.690 --> 00:33:46.769 focused on the man's legs. Everybody is focused 00:33:46.769 --> 00:33:49.089 on the man himself. And everybody is waiting 00:33:49.089 --> 00:33:53.529 for Jesus to say, rise up and walk. But instead, 00:33:53.809 --> 00:33:59.170 Jesus says something that no one expected. Jesus, 00:33:59.309 --> 00:34:04.329 amen, amen, says, son, your sins are forgiven 00:34:04.329 --> 00:34:09.679 you. Why was this the first thing that Jesus 00:34:09.679 --> 00:34:12.780 said when this man was lowered and dropped right 00:34:12.780 --> 00:34:16.539 in front of him? Because Jesus understood something 00:34:16.539 --> 00:34:20.179 that the crowd did not. The man's greatest need 00:34:20.179 --> 00:34:23.400 wasn't a miracle. It was that he needed a Savior. 00:34:24.650 --> 00:34:28.030 The crowd came looking for a miracle, but Jesus 00:34:28.030 --> 00:34:31.429 came to bring salvation. Before Jesus changed 00:34:31.429 --> 00:34:35.110 his condition, he changed his eternity. Before 00:34:35.110 --> 00:34:38.530 Jesus began to heal him and provided a temporal 00:34:38.530 --> 00:34:42.989 solution, Jesus changed where he was going to 00:34:42.989 --> 00:34:48.050 spend eternity. Walking would have changed a 00:34:48.050 --> 00:34:51.480 man's life. But salvation changed where he was 00:34:51.480 --> 00:34:57.920 going to spend the rest of his life. Jesus always 00:34:57.920 --> 00:35:03.519 deals with the root before the symptom. We naturally 00:35:03.519 --> 00:35:06.880 focus on what's visible. God always looks deeper. 00:35:07.679 --> 00:35:11.300 We pray, Lord, fix my finances. God says, let 00:35:11.300 --> 00:35:14.849 me heal your heart. We ask him to change our 00:35:14.849 --> 00:35:17.429 situation and our circumstance, but he wants 00:35:17.429 --> 00:35:21.349 to change and transform our character. The greatest 00:35:21.349 --> 00:35:23.630 miracle that Jesus performed that day wasn't 00:35:23.630 --> 00:35:26.909 restoring legs. It was restoring this man's soul. 00:35:28.590 --> 00:35:32.889 In Psalms 103, 2 -3, it says, Praise the Lord, 00:35:32.949 --> 00:35:36.090 my soul, and forget not all his benefits. He 00:35:36.090 --> 00:35:39.969 who forgives all of our sins and heals all of 00:35:39.969 --> 00:35:46.210 our diseases. Brother Tony, if you can make your 00:35:46.210 --> 00:35:51.210 way up. As we notice the order of this scripture, 00:35:51.349 --> 00:35:54.610 notice the order. It says forgiveness first, 00:35:54.769 --> 00:36:00.409 then healing second. It says who forgives all 00:36:00.409 --> 00:36:05.710 your sins and heals all your diseases. God addresses 00:36:05.710 --> 00:36:09.550 eternity before he addresses our temporal problems. 00:36:10.409 --> 00:36:13.769 Because what we see today, amen, as an issue 00:36:13.769 --> 00:36:16.570 or problem, God is already looking into next 00:36:16.570 --> 00:36:19.190 month. God is already looking into next year. 00:36:19.289 --> 00:36:22.389 God already sees your destiny. God already knows 00:36:22.389 --> 00:36:25.010 the beginning and your ending, amen. We are so 00:36:25.010 --> 00:36:27.670 focused on today, the here, the right now, that 00:36:27.670 --> 00:36:30.550 we forget, amen, that we serve an eternal God. 00:36:30.730 --> 00:36:33.530 We serve a God, hallelujah, who is the author 00:36:33.530 --> 00:36:36.429 of our lives, amen, the starter and the finisher 00:36:36.429 --> 00:36:46.170 of our lives. You know, I want to end with this, 00:36:46.210 --> 00:36:49.550 is that the breakthrough that we are talking 00:36:49.550 --> 00:36:52.510 about, having faith, amen, breakthrough faith 00:36:52.510 --> 00:36:55.389 that we discussed, and amen, we gave the examples 00:36:55.389 --> 00:36:58.349 and we read the scriptures, and amen, we briefly 00:36:58.349 --> 00:37:01.550 went over the story of what breakthrough faith 00:37:01.550 --> 00:37:03.949 does, and amen, and the things that occur in 00:37:03.949 --> 00:37:07.010 our lives, I want you to know that your breakthrough 00:37:07.010 --> 00:37:11.769 was never just about you. Our breakthrough, my 00:37:11.769 --> 00:37:15.320 breakthrough, it's never just about me. It's 00:37:15.320 --> 00:37:18.619 never just about you. Because the Bible says 00:37:18.619 --> 00:37:20.659 that once he healed him, what did he tell him 00:37:20.659 --> 00:37:28.980 to do? Go out. Go tell someone. Let someone else 00:37:28.980 --> 00:37:33.340 know that I'm here. Tell someone about the accounts, 00:37:33.480 --> 00:37:36.900 amen, the thing that took place today. You see, 00:37:36.920 --> 00:37:40.260 a lot of times we go through things and we cry 00:37:40.260 --> 00:37:45.500 that cry, woe is me. Oh Lord, why me again? God, 00:37:45.599 --> 00:37:48.119 why am I going through this again? Why am I the 00:37:48.119 --> 00:37:50.800 only one that suffers? Why am I the only one 00:37:50.800 --> 00:37:53.780 that experiences pain? I see everybody else that's 00:37:53.780 --> 00:37:57.199 happy. Everybody else is posting on social media 00:37:57.199 --> 00:37:59.659 that they're in Hawaii and that they're on vacation 00:37:59.659 --> 00:38:03.380 and they look so thin and so slim and everything 00:38:03.380 --> 00:38:06.679 looks so good. They got a nice car and they just 00:38:06.679 --> 00:38:10.079 bought a new house and someone posted that they 00:38:10.079 --> 00:38:12.980 got a new job, right? We look at all these things 00:38:12.980 --> 00:38:16.860 and in our prayers, God, why? Why me? Why me, 00:38:16.900 --> 00:38:21.420 God? Why can't I get there? Why can't I have 00:38:21.420 --> 00:38:26.360 that? How come that's not me? You know what the 00:38:26.360 --> 00:38:28.940 Lord is doing? Because the Bible says that your 00:38:28.940 --> 00:38:33.719 faith will be tested. You can't have the testimony 00:38:33.719 --> 00:38:38.719 without the test. You can't be healed if you 00:38:38.719 --> 00:38:42.639 were never sick. You can't experience a breakthrough 00:38:42.639 --> 00:38:46.320 if you're bound. If you were never bound, you 00:38:46.320 --> 00:38:49.260 can't be lifted up if you were never let down. 00:38:51.380 --> 00:38:54.900 You see, we forget that there are moments where 00:38:54.900 --> 00:38:58.780 we cry out and we say, God, use me. Use me at 00:38:58.780 --> 00:39:03.559 my job. Use me at the grocery store, wherever 00:39:03.559 --> 00:39:10.539 you are. God, use me. Use my life. Lord, use 00:39:10.539 --> 00:39:12.820 me that one day I'll be able to preach like Pastor 00:39:12.820 --> 00:39:16.989 Jacob. Lord, use me so that one day I'll be able 00:39:16.989 --> 00:39:20.590 to sing like Brother Reuben. Lord, Lord, use 00:39:20.590 --> 00:39:23.389 me so that one day Sister Liza, the way she worships, 00:39:23.389 --> 00:39:26.909 use me so that one day I can worship like that. 00:39:28.630 --> 00:39:32.769 Little do you know the cost that had to be paid. 00:39:34.550 --> 00:39:45.380 The breakthrough they had to experience. breakthrough 00:39:45.380 --> 00:39:49.280 is not for yourself. Your breakthrough is so 00:39:49.280 --> 00:39:52.239 that one day, Brother Reuben, you will be one 00:39:52.239 --> 00:39:58.199 of those four men. Somebody's talking to you 00:39:58.199 --> 00:40:01.219 and somebody's saying, I need help. I need to 00:40:01.219 --> 00:40:04.659 find a way. I need prayer. The doctor told me 00:40:04.659 --> 00:40:08.300 yesterday I got cancer. I don't know what to 00:40:08.300 --> 00:40:14.260 do. That's when that breakthrough starts to activate. 00:40:16.659 --> 00:40:18.559 That's when you start to say, hey, you know what? 00:40:19.480 --> 00:40:21.760 I went through something similar a few months 00:40:21.760 --> 00:40:25.800 ago. Maybe it wasn't cancer, but I had to go 00:40:25.800 --> 00:40:27.699 to the doctor. They told me there wasn't. Maybe 00:40:27.699 --> 00:40:32.280 it wasn't financial. But I know what it is to 00:40:32.280 --> 00:40:35.039 be delivered by God. You know what? Why don't 00:40:35.039 --> 00:40:41.130 you come? Let me pray for you. for you so that 00:40:41.130 --> 00:40:43.369 you can experience what I experienced that day. 00:40:44.309 --> 00:40:46.469 Oh, you don't have a right to church? Don't worry 00:40:46.469 --> 00:40:49.710 about it. I'll get up extra early. I'll change 00:40:49.710 --> 00:40:52.809 my plans for you. I'll go pick you up, take you 00:40:52.809 --> 00:40:54.769 to church and then come back and get my family. 00:40:54.989 --> 00:40:57.289 Don't worry, I'll do that for you. Oh, you don't 00:40:57.289 --> 00:40:59.250 have money to pay your rent? Hold on, hold on. 00:40:59.289 --> 00:41:04.809 Let me see what I can do to help you. That's 00:41:04.809 --> 00:41:09.750 what your breakthrough is for. That's why you 00:41:09.750 --> 00:41:12.849 went through what you went through. Because your 00:41:12.849 --> 00:41:15.670 faith was not only tested, but it was proven. 00:41:16.550 --> 00:41:20.250 Why? Because you're still here. You're here, 00:41:20.289 --> 00:41:24.789 Brother Mike. For a moment, it was dim, right? 00:41:25.369 --> 00:41:28.610 It was dark for a moment. It was hard for a moment. 00:41:30.989 --> 00:41:34.570 But because you kept fighting. You kept coming. 00:41:35.210 --> 00:41:37.670 You kept making a way. Things were happening. 00:41:38.360 --> 00:41:40.719 work, and you were getting tossed back and forth 00:41:40.719 --> 00:41:42.900 in different places, and different opportunities 00:41:42.900 --> 00:41:48.420 were coming, and it was chaos. But you pushed, 00:41:48.619 --> 00:41:52.659 and you pushed, and your faith pushed, and your 00:41:52.659 --> 00:41:55.480 faith pushed, and then one day, Brother Mike, 00:41:55.639 --> 00:42:01.920 right, am I correct? And then everything started 00:42:01.920 --> 00:42:04.900 to make sense, and then everything started to 00:42:04.900 --> 00:42:11.780 fall in place. Remember a few weeks ago, we had 00:42:11.780 --> 00:42:13.679 our Zoom meetings and Pastor was talking about 00:42:13.679 --> 00:42:18.099 and teaching us about our tag teams, two by two. 00:42:20.039 --> 00:42:23.860 If you missed any of those, go back or let me 00:42:23.860 --> 00:42:25.920 know. We'll send you the recording so you can 00:42:25.920 --> 00:42:29.599 watch again. But this is what he was talking 00:42:29.599 --> 00:42:33.559 about. Because there comes a moment where we 00:42:33.559 --> 00:42:37.210 link up with one another. And instead of waiting 00:42:37.210 --> 00:42:40.250 for people to come to us, it's time for us to 00:42:40.250 --> 00:42:45.190 go to them. This is what he was talking about. 00:42:46.469 --> 00:42:50.130 We're putting these back out in the back on the 00:42:50.130 --> 00:42:52.190 Welcome Center desk. If you didn't pick one up, 00:42:52.289 --> 00:42:55.130 pick one up when you leave today. Fill it out 00:42:55.130 --> 00:42:58.630 and turn it in. It's been a few weeks since we 00:42:58.630 --> 00:43:00.369 talked about this and we made this announcement. 00:43:01.789 --> 00:43:05.570 But church, this is why we... endured what we 00:43:05.570 --> 00:43:09.429 endured. This is why we experience what we experience. 00:43:10.010 --> 00:43:12.630 This is why we encounter the things that we encounter 00:43:12.630 --> 00:43:16.570 because it's not about us. It was never about 00:43:16.570 --> 00:43:20.409 the four men. It was never about the roof being 00:43:20.409 --> 00:43:23.530 busted open. It was never about Jesus being in 00:43:23.530 --> 00:43:27.730 the house. But it was about the faith that ignited 00:43:27.730 --> 00:43:30.530 in these four men that they were able to pick 00:43:30.530 --> 00:43:32.690 this man up. You can stand with me. They were 00:43:32.690 --> 00:43:35.219 able to pick this man up. And they were able 00:43:35.219 --> 00:43:41.699 to drop him before the Lord. I don't know what 00:43:41.699 --> 00:43:46.599 roof in your life needs to be torn open. I don't 00:43:46.599 --> 00:43:48.820 know what family member. I don't know what co 00:43:48.820 --> 00:43:52.039 -worker. I don't know what friend, what colleague. 00:43:52.880 --> 00:43:55.639 Maybe your spouse, your wife, maybe your children. 00:43:56.139 --> 00:43:58.679 I don't know what roof you have to bust open 00:43:58.679 --> 00:44:02.880 today. Amen. But today, amen, needs to be the 00:44:02.880 --> 00:44:06.559 day where we start to pull back that clay. Today 00:44:06.559 --> 00:44:08.840 needs to be the day where you start removing 00:44:08.840 --> 00:44:12.280 the top of that roof. Start removing those weeds, 00:44:12.460 --> 00:44:15.159 those reeds, the straw. Start peeling back that 00:44:15.159 --> 00:44:17.900 roof for someone that you know that needs a breakthrough. 00:44:21.059 --> 00:44:24.280 I don't need... amen, to give you a Bible study 00:44:24.280 --> 00:44:26.940 or share scripture with you about what's going 00:44:26.940 --> 00:44:29.519 on in the world today. We all see it for ourselves. 00:44:31.179 --> 00:44:35.659 Prophecy has been fulfilled. Jesus can come back 00:44:35.659 --> 00:44:39.599 at any moment, at any time. And if that doesn't 00:44:39.599 --> 00:44:45.420 strike us every morning, when you get up, you 00:44:45.420 --> 00:44:50.800 know, my mom has a nightmare, she calls it, because 00:44:50.800 --> 00:44:54.699 she had a brother. My uncle, Steve, who died 00:44:54.699 --> 00:44:59.780 when I was maybe seventh, eighth grade. And that's 00:44:59.780 --> 00:45:02.300 where I learned to play basketball. I became 00:45:02.300 --> 00:45:04.739 a Laker fan. He was a big -time Laker fan. I 00:45:04.739 --> 00:45:07.260 mean, you know, but he was not serving the Lord. 00:45:07.320 --> 00:45:09.739 He didn't want nothing to do with God. Every 00:45:09.739 --> 00:45:11.519 time he saw my mom, he would say, oh, here comes 00:45:11.519 --> 00:45:14.039 the hallelujah. Here comes the holy roller. They 00:45:14.039 --> 00:45:16.780 would laugh. They would mock her. Didn't stop 00:45:16.780 --> 00:45:21.639 my mom. But then one day this young man showed 00:45:21.639 --> 00:45:24.260 up to his place and asked for his son. His son 00:45:24.260 --> 00:45:26.699 wasn't home. This young man took out a gun and 00:45:26.699 --> 00:45:30.820 he shot my uncle in the stomach. My uncle died. 00:45:30.960 --> 00:45:35.119 He choked on his blood. He died. And my mom said 00:45:35.119 --> 00:45:39.219 that for years after my uncle passed, she would 00:45:39.219 --> 00:45:42.860 have nightmares. Because in her nightmare, in 00:45:42.860 --> 00:45:44.980 her dream, she calls it a nightmare because she 00:45:44.980 --> 00:45:49.079 could hear my uncle screaming. Calling out, telling 00:45:49.079 --> 00:45:51.199 her, hey, I'm sorry for calling you a holy roller. 00:45:51.320 --> 00:45:53.719 I'm sorry for calling you a hallelujah, but why 00:45:53.719 --> 00:45:55.760 didn't you tell me that this place was so ugly? 00:45:57.679 --> 00:46:04.940 Oh, my God. It's so hot in here. I can't breathe. 00:46:08.360 --> 00:46:11.400 I feel like I'm tormented and it doesn't stop. 00:46:11.480 --> 00:46:17.170 She heard this. And from time to time, she hears 00:46:17.170 --> 00:46:20.250 her brother calling out. He didn't make heaven 00:46:20.250 --> 00:46:24.750 his home. And I know my mom went and she talked 00:46:24.750 --> 00:46:27.489 to him and they kicked around. They didn't listen 00:46:27.489 --> 00:46:29.849 to her. And to this day, my mom will say she 00:46:29.849 --> 00:46:33.369 wished she could have done more. She wished she 00:46:33.369 --> 00:46:35.050 could have done more. She wished she didn't just 00:46:35.050 --> 00:46:37.289 turn around and walk away. She wished she would 00:46:37.289 --> 00:46:39.230 have banged on that door. She would have kicked 00:46:39.230 --> 00:46:41.030 the door down. She would have busted open the 00:46:41.030 --> 00:46:47.079 roof like these four men did. How many people 00:46:47.079 --> 00:46:51.400 do we know that if they don't give their life 00:46:51.400 --> 00:46:59.219 to God, we know where their eternity is? If this 00:46:59.219 --> 00:47:02.159 doesn't strike us, church, if this doesn't get 00:47:02.159 --> 00:47:05.440 us going, you don't need motivation. Pick up 00:47:05.440 --> 00:47:08.780 your word. It'll motivate you to tell someone 00:47:08.780 --> 00:47:12.559 about God. And if you don't, just remember what 00:47:12.559 --> 00:47:16.260 God did for you. Because you know what? It took 00:47:16.260 --> 00:47:20.440 someone to bust open the roof for me. It took 00:47:20.440 --> 00:47:22.019 someone to bust open the roof for you.