Live Out: The People of God (Part 4)
Sermon Notes for July 6, 2008
Gary Brandenburg, Senior Pastor
Today we wrap up this brief series on living out the mission of God. I have described the mission of God as follows: The MISSION of God is to mobilize the PEOPLE of God created in the IMAGE of God to spread the GLORY of God. Last week we saw that our loving Father seeks the lost to heal them and restore their capacity to glorify Him over all the earth. But in this fallen world you can be sure that God’s plan and purpose will encounter stiff opposition.
There is a personal force in the universe that oversees a system of organized evil dedicated to subverting the mission of God. Just as God has a mission so does the devil. His mission can be expressed this way: The mission of the devil is to paralyze the people of God by obscuring the image of God in order to obliterate the glory of God. Satan is the “father of lies” and the author of confusion. If he can convince us that we are cosmic accidents who have no higher purpose than any other animal committed to its own survival, then we will be paralyzed going nowhere and doing nothing to reflect God’s glory. God’s ambassadors will become God’s frozen chosen.
God has always had a people to accomplish His purpose. In the OT He chose the descendants of a man named Abraham. In the NT Jesus inaugurated the church which is comprised of people from every nation, tribe and tongue. The church is the hope of the world. An authentic community of Christ-followers is the greatest force for transformation the world has ever seen. God works through His people to bring about His purpose.
Mark 2 provides a picture of the kind of community that Jesus uses to change the world. These communities are rare but let’s look at one and maybe you will be inspired to start one. Mk. 2 gives us a snapshot of what John Ortberg refers to as “the fellowship of the mat.”
In Mark 2 we find Jesus interacting with three groups of people: the paralytic, his friends, the people gathered to hear Jesus’ teaching. V. 3 tells us the focus of the story is on the paralytic, a man whose whole life was lived out on a 3 x 6 foot mat. Think of it; someone had to feed him, bathe him, carry him and clothe him. He was totally dependent on others to care for him. He knew nothing of the independence that we prize in our culture. No medical procedure could cure him, no surgeries, no medicine, no physical therapy were of any use to him. He went through life lying by the side of the road hoping someone would throw him some loose change of their leftover lunch so he could survive another day. He has nothing going for him…except some amazing friends.
They are amazing because their kindness stands out in bold relief compared to the harshness of the ancient world when it came to treatment of the disabled. In Roman culture, when a child was born with any deformity, the child was abandoned which is a nice way of saying killed. In Israel, when a person was afflicted with a disability later in life, the assumption was that someone must have sinned and their affliction was their punishment. In another NT story the disciples see a blind man and ask Jesus, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”
In spite of the man’s disability his friends refuse to abandon him. We are not told why. It could be that they were his four brothers. Maybe there was a blood relationship and they felt obligated to help. I don’t get that feeling from the story. It is more likely that these true friends understood a profound fact of life; everyone has a mat. Every one of us is broken. No one is “normal.” The difference is that this man can’t hide his mat. Most of us try and conceal our weaknesses. We put on a façade and appear strong and completely intact. But it is only when we reveal our mat and receive help from our friends that healing becomes possible. Every effective AA meeting, every one of our Celebrate Recovery groups is a fellowship of the mat. So are healthy small groups and healthy churches and healthy families.
Community is made up of people who possess wonderful God-given gifts and abilities.
Ephesians 4:7 7 But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ's gift.
1 Cor. 12:7 7 But to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.
Romans 12:4-8 4 For just as we have many members in one body and all the members do not have the same function, 5 so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. 6 Since we have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, each of us is to exercise them accordingly: if prophecy, according to the proportion of his faith; 7 if service, in his serving; or he who teaches, in his teaching; 8 or he who exhorts, in his exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness.
But community is also made up of people with their weaknesses and disabilities, people who are vulnerable with one another, who accept one another and help one another. There are a lot of people gathered here this morning but that doesn’t make us a community. There were a lot of people gathered in a home to hear from Jesus but the sense of community was not on the inside of that house, the real community was up on the roof.
It is no surprise that this story got in the Bible. Who could forget what these guys did? When these guys got their friend to the place where Jesus was teaching it was standing room only. Their love for their friend is so strong that nothing will stop them. In their desperation they carry the guy up on the roof. Notice what happens next…v. 4-5a
Don’t read verse 5 too quickly. It says, “Jesus, seeing THEIR faith.” Most healing stories have to do with the faith of the one being healed. Here the focus is on THEIR faith. Have you ever thought about what the faith of a person can do for a friend? The faith of a wife toward her wayward husband? The faith of a father toward his wayward son? What about the faith of a group of people on behalf of one who is weak in faith? What I love about this story is that there is no record of these guys saying anything to Jesus. No introductions. No requests. Jesus doesn’t HEAR their faith, He sees it. There is a time to stop talking and start doing…IBM commercials. Faith is seen in the irrational commitment of these friends to the well-being of another.
Jesus looks at the man’s twisted body and he sees beyond his physical ailment right into his soul. He says, “Son, your sins are forgiven.” I wonder what the man thought? I wonder what his friends thought? “Wait a minute, we went to all that trouble and you’re going “spiritual” on us?
But Jesus demonstrates an important lesson for those in the fellowship of the mat. When you care for people, when you are truly a community, your concerns go beyond the physical issues of life. You get comfortable talking about deeper issues, matters of the heart and soul. Jesus is answering these friends’ unspoken request in a way that is deeper than they realize. When you truly care about someone, your concern is not just that they prosper physically, you want them to be right with God. But in our superficial culture we rarely get down on that level with people. At least until we get to know them. And getting to know someone takes time which is why we have so few friendships.
No one drifts into community. Community takes time. It is difficult to create a first century friendship on a 21st century time table. John Ortberg says, “The requirement for true intimacy is unhurried time. If you think you can fit deep community into the cracks of an overloaded schedule – think again. Wise people do not try to microwave friendship, parenting or marriage. You can’t do community in a hurry.”
The last part of the story is predictable. There were many in that room who were not there for community. They were there not as members of a community but as co-conspirators. The only thing they had in common was their critical spirits…vv. 6-12. These spiritual giants who were experts at keeping their mats hidden had brought no needy persons with them. They were there for their own selfish purpose; to discredit Jesus so they could maintain the illusion of their own perfection. They needed nothing and knew everything. People like that don’t carry mats for people because they have never been desperate enough to acknowledge their own disabilities.
But Jesus is concerned for them too. Rather than heal them He knows He first has to show them that their self-deception is no match for His power and authority. “Just so you see I have authority…rise, take up your mat, and go home.”
My question to you is, “Are you part of the fellowship of the mat?” Have you embraced your desperate need for others, so that you are eager to carry the mat for someone else? Can you identify by name the people in your life that will carry your mat? The most convincing argument for Christianity is the reality of a small group of people who truly love one another. “By this all men will know you are my disciples, if you love one another.” The world does not need another explanation of Christianity, without a demonstration. Are you willing to be part of the fellowship of the mat? Tim Kimmel story…who will be there at the end of your life to carry you?