Faith That Raises The Roof

Mark 2:1–12

A taxi driver and a preacher go to heaven. Upon arrival the taxi drive gets a HUGE heavenly mansion.
When the preacher saw this he thought, "surely if the taxi driver gets a huge mansion, I will get something even more grand!"
But, when it was his turn to receive his reward, the preacher was given a studio apartment.

The preacher was very surprised and asked, "why does the taxi drive get such a grand mansion, whereas I just get this studio apartment?"

“That’s simple to answer… when you preached, people fell asleep...
But when the taxi driver dove, people prayed."

As we follow Jesus through the Gospel According to Mark we come to one of my favorite miracles in the life of Jesus. It’s the story where four men tear up a roof and lower their paralyzed friend until he’s hanging in front of Jesus. These four friends created a skylight in a house so that they could get their friend to Jesus.

But this same skylight allowed Jesus to see these four men. And this unintentional skylight also filled the house with light. Part of our job as followers of Jesus is to build skylights to bring light to dark places. In this message I would like to challenge you to apply for a job working in the Faith Skylight Company.

I’m actually going to have you fill out a job application. If you have ever had a job interview or filled out an employment application, you know it can be a nerve-racking experience. You can go online and find some humorous statements people made during job interviews.

Here are a few of my favorites:
1. “I was fired from my last job because they were forcing me to take anger management classes.”
2. “Can we speed this up? I’ve got to be somewhere else.”
3. “It’s best for your other employees if I don’t work with people.”
4. “I’d prefer to work for a company that is very lax on tardiness.”
5. Provide an emergency contact number: the applicant put “911”

I seriously doubt any of those applicants got the job. But in our text this morning We read about four tactical friends who started what could be called the first Faith Skylight Company two thousand years ago.

Mark 2:1–12, “1 And again He entered Capernaum after some days, and it was heard that He was in the house.
2 Immediately many gathered together, so that there was no longer room to receive them, not even near the door. And He preached the word to them.
3 Then they came to Him, bringing a paralytic who was carried by four men.
4 And when they could not come near Him because of the crowd, they uncovered the roof where He was. So, when they had broken through, they let down the bed on which the paralytic was lying.
5 When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven you.”
6 And some of the scribes were sitting there and reasoning in their hearts,
7 “Why does this Man speak blasphemies like this? Who can forgive sins but God alone?”
8 But immediately, when Jesus perceived in His spirit that they reasoned thus within themselves, He said to them, “Why do you reason about these things in your hearts?
9 Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Arise, take up your bed and walk’?
10 But that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins” —He said to the paralytic,
11 “I say to you, arise, take up your bed, and go to your house.”
12 Immediately he arose, took up the bed, and went out in the presence of them all, so that all were amazed and glorified God, saying, “We never saw anything like this!”

I have so many questions.
I wondered what the homeowner said when he saw his ceiling start crumbling; dirt and dust starts falling on Jesus and on everyone in the room.
If I had been the homeowner I probably would have said, “Hey, who’s going to pay for this damage?”

As the four guys keep creating an unintentional skylight, I can’t imagine Jesus could keep talking, there was too much distraction. But because He knows all things, He realized what was happening. Perhaps He said something like, “We interrupt this sermon to bring you a paralyzed man.
Please direct your attention to what’s left of the ceiling.”
I wonder if the paralyzed man felt any fear from this ordeal of being lowered by ropes to hang in front of Jesus. So, what did you do today? “Oh, I was just literally hanging around Jesus for a while.”

But I think the main focus of this miracle should be on those four unnamed friends who brought their paralyzed buddy to Jesus.
In verse 5 it says, “When Jesus saw THEIR faith...”

He saw the faith of those four friends. You may think that faith is invisible, but according to Jesus, faith can be seen. Can Jesus see our faith? Do we have an invisible faith or a visible faith? These four guys formed the Faith Skylight Company.

I think God wants everyone of us to be employed in this company. I’m going to ask you to apply for a position. But first you probably need to know what your job description will be if you work for the Faith Skylight Company.

Here it is: Creating skylights so people can meet Jesus. Real carpenters build real skylights so the light of the sun can brighten dark places in a home. When you work for the Faith Skylight Company you create openings so the light of the SON can brighten dark places in someone’s heart.

If you’re interested in applying for a position, here’s the job application.
Check each box that applies to you.

1. I CARE ABOUT PEOPLE WHO ARE HURTING
The story begins with this statement, “Some men came, bringing to him a paralytic.” These four men had a friend or a relative who was suffering.
He was paralyzed, and there was no way he could get to Jesus on his own.
These friends had heard Jesus was in Capernaum and they were convinced Jesus could help their friend. They had an unshakable faith in Him.

These four friends believed if they could somehow get their friend to Jesus that Jesus could make a difference in his life. We’re surrounded by hurting people; the question is do you care enough to bring them to Jesus? We have a lot of information that we share, but people don’t care about how much you know until they know how much you care.

There were probably hundreds of sick and weak people in Galilee, but these four men concentrated on just one. That’s good advice for us. Would you ask God to lead you to just one hurting person who needs Jesus?

We should care for people’s spiritual condition. We should care about how our friends are doing spiritually. My best friends are the ones that care about my relationship with God, those that check to see how I am doing spiritually, those that encourage me to be a better person.

That is the type of friend I want to be and want to have. A friend’s greatest desire should be for spiritual well being. If you want to be a good friend, check in on your friend’s spiritual condition. Hold them accountable to living a godly life. There are hurting people living in spiritual darkness. In order to work for the Faith Skylight Company you’ve got to care enough for them that you’ll do everything you can to let the light of Jesus fill their darkness.

2. I’M WILLING TO WORK WITH A TEAM.
The Bible says this paralyzed man was “...carried by four of them.”
They teamed up for their friend. They did as a team what none of them could have done individually. Can you imagine one of the friends trying to carry the paralyzed man? Two or three might have been able to do it. But because the cot he was lying on had four corners, a team of four people made sense.

We can learn a lot about the importance of team work simply by observing flocks of geese. Winging their way to a warmer climate, they often cover thousands of miles before reaching their destination. Have you ever studied why they fly as they do? It is fascinating to read what has been discovered about their flight pattern as well as their in-flight habits. Four come to mind.

1. Those in front rotate their leadership. When one lead goose gets tired, it changes places with one in the wing of the V-formation and another flies point.
2. By flying as they do, the members of the flock create an upward air current for one another. Each flap of the wings literally creates uplift for the bird immediately following. One author states that by flying in a V-formation, the whole flock gets 71 percent greater flying range than if each goose flew on its own.
3. When one goose gets sick or wounded, two fall out of formation with it and follow it down to help and protect it. They stay with the struggler until it's able to fly again.
4. The geese in the rear of the formation are the ones who do the honking.
I suppose it's their way of announcing that they're following and that all is well. For sure, the repeated honks encourage those in front to stay at it.

As I think about all this, one lesson stands out above all others: it is the natural instinct of geese to work together. Whether it's rotating, flapping, helping, or simply honking, the flock is in it together... which enables them to accomplish what they set out to do.

You and some friends who know the Lord should team up with the goal of helping another friend who doesn’t know the Lord. You might never be able to help that person all alone, but if you enlist some people to help you, a team can accomplish much more than an individual. If you want to work for the Faith Skylight Company, you must we willing to work with a team.

3. I SEE OBSTACLES AS OPPORTUNITIES
The Bible says this team of friends faced several obstacles. “They could not get him to Jesus because of the crowd.”
The first obstacle was the crowd. I’ve seen the ruins of Capernaum many times. The lanes between the houses are so narrow there was barely enough room for two people to pass. The house was full and the narrow lanes were filled with people wanting to catch the words of Jesus inside the house.
Then there was the obstacle of the house itself. The houses were built with black basalt stone and then covered with plaster. There was only one door, and there were only a few small windows cut at the top of the walls under the ceiling.
There was no back door or window to use to bring in the stretcher. The roof of the house was another obstacle. On top of the stone walls, wooden timbers were used as ceiling joists. A mixture of palm leaves, mud, and clay were mixed into a thick mortar and placed in layers between the timbers.

When each layer dried another layer was added until there was a thick, waterproof roof. Then more palm leaves were placed on top of the roof.
These roofs were thick and hard as a rock.

But these four friends didn’t let obstacles stop them. They saw these obstacles as opportunities. They kept on moving toward Jesus. How do you react when you’re confronted with obstacles? Obstacles are often simply opportunities for faith. If you want to work for the Faith Skylight Company, you’ve got to see obstacles as opportunities.

4. I LOOK FOR CREATIVE WAYS TO SOLVE PROBLEMS.
There were obstacles, but these men of faith found a way to overcome the obstacles. The Bible says, “They made an opening in the roof above Jesus and, after digging through it, lowered the mat the paralyzed man was lying on.”

We’re always going to face problems. But people of faith should always be looking for creative ways to solve problems. I heard about a businessman from NYC who was going to take a month-long trip to London.

He went to his local Manhattan bank and asked to borrow $1,000 for the trip. He even drove in his new Cadillac as collateral. He was a good customer, so they gave him his money. When he returned he paid back the full $1,000 plus $12 interest.
The banker asked him, “So, I’m curious. You’ve got plenty of money; I wonder why you wanted to borrow $1,000 for this trip?” The businessman replied, “Where else could I park my new Cadillac in a safe place for a month in Manhattan for $12?” He was thinking creatively.

So, think about your friend or friends who need Jesus. What are some creative ways you can team up with others to expose that person to the light and life of Jesus Christ. If you want to work for the Faith Skylight Company you will need to come up with creative ways to solve problems.

5. I DON’T QUIT EVEN WHEN CRITICIZED.
What would you do if someone started digging a hole in your roof? You’d probably call the cops. What would you do if you saw someone digging a hole in your neighbor’s roof? You’d call the cops.
I think it’s reasonable to think that the homeowner or neighbor of this house probably yelled up for the men to stop destroying that roof. But they didn’t stop. They kept on digging.

Jesus didn’t tell them to stop. Why? Because Jesus knows people matter more than buildings. Jesus knew there were two miracles that were going to happen as a result of that skylight.

First, Jesus said, “Your sins are forgiven.” That’s the greatest miracle in the world. That’s what Jesus wants to say to each of you today. “Your sins are forgiven.” But even Jesus was criticized. The religious leaders were thinking, “Who does He think He is? Only God can forgive sins!” They were right. Only God can forgive sins. Jesus knew what they were thinking, just like He knows what we’re thinking right now.

He said, “So, what’s a bigger miracle? Forgiveness or healing? You all expected me to heal him. Well, just so you will know that the Son of Man has power to forgive sin, go ahead, friend, grab your bed and walk out of here.”

And that’s what the man did. I can imagine Jesus looking up at these four workers in the Faith Skylight Company, and He smiled at them as they were high-fiving and hugging each other.

Do you have friends or family members who need Jesus? Don’t give up on them. Even if you are criticized don’t stop enlarging that skylight. Just keep letting them see the light of Jesus. When Jesus sees your faith, He’ll smile, too.

CONCLUSION
Of all these characters in this story, which one do you see most like yourself? You may relate to the paralyzed man. You may not be physically paralyzed, but you are bound by sin and you need to have Jesus forgive you.
Jesus is in the house today. If you will come to Him Believing that He is the Son of God, Repenting of your sins And, being BURIED with Him in BAPTISM… He will say to you the same thing He said, to that paralyzed man, “Friend, your sins are forgiven.”

For others of you who are Christians already, you see yourself like the four friends. You want to work for the Faith Skylight Company. You want to open ways for your friends to meet Jesus.

But there were other people in this story. They were the one who were crowding in the house, even the religious leaders. In other words there were two kinds of people there. Some were ON the way to Jesus and some were IN the way of Jesus. The Boss is offering you the job today. Will you come to work for the Faith Skylight Company? The pay isn’t very much, but the retirement benefits are out of this world!

The lesson is yours as we stand and sing the song of invitation.