[0:00] I'd like to extend a very good evening to everybody as we gather together to worship God. And we pray that we will know his presence and his blessing wherever we are.
[0:12] As we come unto the word, we pray that that word will be a source of light and life to our path. We're going to begin with a word of prayer.
[0:23] Lord our God, we pray to bless us. We give thanks, Lord, that as we meet together this evening, that you are the God of heaven and earth. The one with whom we have to do.
[0:34] And the one who does in us far and beyond what we could ask or think. Help us to remember, Lord, that it is in you that we live and we move and we have our being. That you are everything to us and you are everything that we need in life.
[0:52] And we pray, O Lord, that you will uphold us and keep us. And that we will know your presence and peace. We give thanks, O Lord, that we can call upon you day or night. That we're not restricted to particular times of the day when we can ask the Lord to help us.
[1:10] That we do not have to go to a particular place in order that we may call upon you. But that we can do so any time of the day or any time of the night.
[1:21] Whether we're working or whether we're in the home. Whether we're in bed at night. And our cry to you can even be the secret, silent groan of our heart.
[1:34] But if it is accompanied by faith and it is directed to you. Then you hear and you understand. And we give thanks, O Lord, for the assurance that your word gives us.
[1:45] That you will hear our cry. And that those who seek you, that they will find. Those who call upon you, that you will hear. And we pray, Lord, that you will enable us to keep going to you.
[2:01] We will never tire you out. And we give thanks, Lord, for that. Because we know that we can tire one another out. But we'll never tire you out. And so we give thanks, O Lord, for these great truths.
[2:12] And this great knowledge that you have given to us in your word. Pray to bless everybody today who listens to your word. And we give thanks for the opportunity that is given to us to send forth the word of God by this way.
[2:31] And even although we have faced a lockdown and although we have been restricted for so long, yet we give thanks for the provision that is made by the gospel is still being able to be communicated and brought into people's lives and into people's homes.
[2:49] We give thanks, Lord, for that. Because you're always ahead. And we give thanks, O Lord, that as restrictions are beginning to be lifted, that you are the God who is able to do wonderful things for us.
[3:06] And we pray that in congregations, maybe small congregations that are already taking the first tentative steps to getting back, that you will indeed help them and that keep them safe.
[3:22] And for maybe the larger congregations, we have to wait a wee while yet. Pray, Lord, that we will be able to take steps in preparation for that time when we will be able to come back to your house to worship you there and being able to meet together.
[3:40] We long for that day, Lord. We give thanks for your goodness and mercy to us in difficult times. We pray for all those who have suffered throughout this time with the COVID outbreak.
[3:54] And there have been just so many deaths, so many broken hearts, so much grief, so much sorrow, so much pain, so many harrowing stories. And we pray for those who have been deeply affected.
[4:06] Pray for those who are still recovering from the illness. Because for many people, it has a devastating effect. It isn't just like something that you get over. For some people, it takes a long, long time.
[4:18] And so we pray that you will aid them in the recovery and help them. Bless homes and families that have been affected deeply by it. And we pray for healing and help. Ask, O Lord, that your word may come into our nation more and more.
[4:34] Because in the midst of all the heartache and all the many issues that people have, and all the anxieties and all the worries that fill so many hearts and lives, may people be able to see, Lord, that you are in control.
[4:52] You are the God who can still the storm. You are the God who can bring peace, the peace of God that passes knowledge and understanding, bring into people's hearts and lives.
[5:03] There is nothing to equal it, because your peace is not as the world is given. And so we pray that nationally we may come to discover more and more of the peace of God.
[5:15] And we ask, Lord, that you will be with all those who are troubled and filled with anxieties and sorrows and pains and all the many difficulties of life.
[5:27] We pray, Lord, to bless us nationally and internationally. We pray for our leaders and all in authority over us in Westminster and in Holyrood and here locally in the council. We pray, Lord, that you will give them wisdom and direction from above.
[5:40] Please, Lord, direct them in the right way to go. Because our own, we're told in the word, be not wise in your own eyes. Because sometimes our wisdom is not the right wisdom.
[5:53] So we pray that you will impart your wisdom into our leaders so that they will make the right choices, the right decisions, which will be for our good, for our eternal good. Pray, Lord, to bless your persecuted church worldwide.
[6:07] Sometimes the persecution can be localized and other times it can be much more widespread. We pray, Lord, for nations that are restricted in their worship of the Lord.
[6:19] And we ask that you might alleviate the burdens that are under and that you will grant them more and more freedom. We so love our freedom.
[6:30] And we pray, Lord, that as a nation that we will continue to have freedom because we feel that more and more, that year by year, there seems to be less and less freedom given to us.
[6:42] And so we ask, O Lord, that we will always have the freedom to proclaim the word of God and that we can do so without any fear or favour so that we may preach the whole counsel of God.
[6:56] We pray, Lord, that you will bless us and watch over us in our time together. Have mercy upon us, we pray, and cleanse us from our sin. And we pray for our NHS staff and our carers, both in the homes and in the community.
[7:14] We give thanks for all that they have done, particularly in this last while. We so appreciate their dedication and their work. Bless us, then, we pray, and cleanse us from our every sin.
[7:27] In Jesus' name we ask all. Amen. Just a wee word to any of the young folk who might be listening in. Last week I was speaking about nettles and the dock leaf, and I found the dock leaf helps when you get a nettle sting.
[7:45] And I mentioned how I had been shoved or pushed by a sheep into nettles when I was a wee boy. And two or three folk have been in touch asking, how on earth did a sheep manage to push you into nettles?
[8:02] Well, maybe sometimes people don't realise that sheep can be actually quite strong. If you're going to shear a sheep and you're going to turn the sheep over and the sheep is resisting, you will discover just how strong sheep can sometimes be.
[8:17] And you're maybe trying to pull them or push them. They're quite strong. But the thing that happened to me when I was young is something that has stuck, always stuck in my mind.
[8:38] I don't know how old I was. I was certainly under six because this happened in Ardell. My dad was a minister. My dad was from Carloway, Boriston and Carloway. And he was a minister, first of all, in Ardell, and then in Portree, and then in Calanish.
[8:55] So we moved around. And the first six years of my life I was spent in Ardell, which is near Caill, very near Elandon and Castle.
[9:07] You'll often see photos of Elandon. It's very beautiful. And when I was a wee boy, just like all other young boys and girls, when we hear stories, we imagine them taking place in our own kind of setting.
[9:24] And it's funny when I would ever think of the Garden of Eden. I always pictured it in the garden that we had in Ardell. We had a big garden.
[9:35] There were lots of bushes. There were raspberries and there were lots of gooseberry bushes. There were loads of, I added loads of veg and potatoes. And I always saw the Garden of Eden as a garden in Ardell.
[9:48] And there was a path coming out of the garden with a gate. And I always could see the angel that was at the Garden of Eden when Adam and Eve were put out of the garden.
[10:00] There was an angel with a flaming sword which turned every way, preventing them coming back in. And I saw, in my mind, I could see the angel standing at that gate.
[10:15] David killed Goliath in front of the manse in Ardell. Because I could picture the scene there right down outside at the front. And Jonah, in fact, was swallowed by the big fish, the whale, in the sea just beside Elandon and Castle.
[10:32] And I'm sure it's the same with you. With all the Bible stories, you picture them happening with the place that you grow up with, the place that you're familiar with.
[10:43] That's how it is with boys and girls. And these pictures stayed in my mind for years and years and years. But my dad was always keen on sheep.
[10:54] And we had some sheep. But there were two sheep in particular, Tibby and Smiler, that became pet sheep. And I was very, very fond of them. And I used to walk beside them. And I would sometimes walk.
[11:05] I was just a wee boy. And I'd walk beside them. I'd have my hand maybe on the back of the sheep as I was walking beside the sheep. But there was this day, and it was the sheep, Tibby, who was quite a big sheep.
[11:15] And I decided I was going to show Tibby just how much I really liked Tibby. So when I was beside her, and it was a nice summer's day, I was just in shorts and t-shirt.
[11:28] And I decided to put my arm around her neck and give her a hug. But she didn't like that. And so she gave me this huge dump. And I was right off balance.
[11:40] And I was right beside this huge pile of nettles. And I went flying into the nettles. And I still remember the stinging because I was just in a wee t-shirt and shorts.
[11:53] My legs, my hands, my arms, my face, everything. And I remember running up back to the house, howling, saying, Tibby doesn't love me anymore.
[12:03] And you know, as I was thinking about that, all I was trying to do was to show this sheep that I really liked it.
[12:15] And when I put out my hand, I tried to give her a hug. She said, I don't want that. And so she shoved me away. And you know, as I was thinking over this, it got me thinking about, sadly, a lot of people are like that with Jesus.
[12:35] Because Jesus has come into this world to show us his love. And he reaches out to us in love. He reaches out to show his love to us.
[12:47] And so often we say no. And we push Jesus away. Every time we say to Jesus, no, I don't want you. I don't want you to be my Lord.
[12:59] Don't mind hearing a wee bit about you. But I don't want you. That's what we're doing. And it's a horrible thing when somebody is showing their love to you and you're saying, no, I don't want it.
[13:13] One of the saddest versions in the Bible tells us in John's Gospel that Jesus came to his own. And his own didn't receive him.
[13:24] They didn't want him. Jesus came to his own people, to the Jews. And they didn't want him. And that's really, really sad. When you think of God's great love in sending his son, you think of Jesus' great love in coming.
[13:43] And people say, no, I don't want you. So we need to be very careful that we don't push Jesus away. Because, you know, there might come a day when Jesus will say, all right, I'm just going to leave you to yourself.
[13:59] And that's about the worst thing that could happen. So when Jesus, who is here today and he's speaking to you, is saying, and he's showing you his love and what he has done for you.
[14:11] The greatest thing that you can do is to say, Lord Jesus, please come into my heart. I don't want to push you away. I want to receive you.
[14:22] Receive you. Receive your love for my life. Let's say the Lord's Prayer. Our Father, which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name.
[14:33] Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
[14:46] For thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory forever. Amen. And we're going to read God's word from the Gospel of Luke.
[14:56] Luke's Gospel and chapter 5. The Gospel of Luke, chapter 5. And we're going to read from verse 12 through to verse 26.
[15:09] Gospel of Luke, chapter 5. While he was in one of the cities, there came a man full of leprosy. And when he saw Jesus, he fell on his face and begged him, Lord, if you will, you can make me clean.
[15:24] And Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, I will be clean. And immediately the leprosy left him. And he charged him to tell no one, but go and show yourself to the priest and make an offering for your cleansing.
[15:40] As Moses commanded for a proof to them. But now even more the report about him went abroad. And great crowds gathered to hear him and to be hailed of their infirmities.
[15:53] But he would withdraw to desolate places and pray. On one of those days he was teaching. Pharisees and teachers of the law were sitting there.
[16:05] They had come from every village of Galilee, Judea and from Jerusalem. And the power of the Lord was with them to heal. And behold, some men were bringing on a bed a man who was paralyzed.
[16:20] And they were seeking to bring him in and lay him before Jesus. But finding no way to bring him in because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and let him down with his bed through the tiles into the midst before Jesus.
[16:36] But when he saw their faith, he said, Man, your sins are forgiven you. And the scribes and the Pharisees began to question, saying, Who is this who speaks blasphemies?
[16:50] Who can forgive sins but God alone? When Jesus perceived their thoughts, he answered them, Why do you question in your hearts? Which is easier to say, Your sins are forgiven you, or to say, Rise and walk?
[17:06] But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins, he said to the man who was paralyzed, I say to you, Rise, pick up your bed, and go home.
[17:20] And immediately he rose up before them and picked up what he had been lying on and went home glorifying God. And amazement seized them all, and they glorified God, and were filled with awe, saying, We have seen extraordinary things today.
[17:40] Amen. And may God bless to us this reading of his own holy word. So I would like us to focus on Luke chapter 5, and from verse 22.
[17:56] When Jesus perceived their thoughts, he answered them, Why do you question in your hearts? Which is easier to say, Your sins are forgiven you, or to say, Rise and walk?
[18:07] But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins. He said to the man who was paralyzed, I say to you, Rise, pick up your bed, and go home.
[18:19] And immediately he rose before them and picked up what he had been lying on and went home glorifying God. Great crowds were always following Jesus, and his name was on everybody's lips.
[18:36] Verse 15 tells us, The report about him went abroad, and great crowds gathered to hear and to be healed. And if we had lived at that time, I'm more than certain that we would also have been part of the crowds following Jesus.
[18:55] Because, as people would be saying, because of his teaching, that they had never heard anything like it. Even his critics, those who were opposed to him, had to say, No man ever spoke like this man.
[19:12] And we always enjoy listening to an original thinker. We always enjoy listening to somebody who can communicate original thinking in a wonderful way.
[19:25] And that was so true with Jesus, because his teaching, at that time, was so radical, and so different to anything that had been heard before.
[19:39] But of course, there wasn't just his teaching, there was also his healing, great healing ministry. So you can understand why huge crowds followed Jesus wherever he went. And as I say, if we had lived then, no doubt we would have been part of that crowd as well.
[19:54] Now verse 17 shows us that the Pharisees and the doctors, the teachers of the law, that's the scribes, had come from all over the place, from Galilee and Judea and Jerusalem, to assess him.
[20:11] The big guns were out. Here were the people at the top, the religious leaders. They had come to assess Jesus, they had come to pass judgment upon Jesus.
[20:23] And it's really quite an extraordinary thing when you think about it, that people are coming to assess and to pass judgment upon Jesus Christ.
[20:34] And you say to yourself, that's quite ridiculous. But unfortunately, that is happening all the time. Because every person who dismisses, dismisses the Lord Jesus Christ and his teaching and his words, his truth, they're passing judgment on Jesus.
[20:52] Every atheist passes judgment upon the Lord Jesus Christ. Every agnostic, every humanist, every unbeliever, is passing judgment upon the Lord Jesus Christ by saying, we don't believe you, we don't accept.
[21:07] We're not accepting this truth. And when we do that, we pass judgment upon the truth of Christ. It's a very solemn thing because one day the rule is going to be reversed.
[21:20] And we all, without exception, have to face the judgment seat of Christ. There is an appointment that is going to be made. And nobody, no created human, is going to be able to avoid that appointment.
[21:34] And we will all be judged. I'll be judged. You'll be judged according to what we have done here in this world. So it's a solemn and a searching thing. So anyway, here's all the top brass and they're out and forth to judge for themselves.
[21:49] Now, the religious leaders had sadly drifted. They had really drifted from their original intention because the Pharisees, the word Pharisee came from a Hebrew word which was to divide and to separate.
[22:05] And they came from way back in the Old Testament and possibly around about the time of Ezra the priest who was really enforcing people to live by the word of God and to be separated from the Hethan nations so that they wouldn't go into the idolatry of the Hethan nations.
[22:28] And while the original intention was good in order to live according to God's word and seeking to honour the word of God, unfortunately, as so easily happens, in order to try and be sure that they were keeping to God's word, they added loads and loads and loads of laws onto what was already there just to try and make doubly sure that they were keeping God's law.
[22:58] and God's word. And the problem was that the religious life became a burden. Jesus himself talks about that, the burden that was on them.
[23:09] And that is always the case that if we become legalistic in our outlook, in our nature, in our walk, then life becomes a burden. And if you're a Christian today and you're not enjoying the liberty and the freedom that is given in Christ Jesus, but that you're finding Christianity being a burden and that you're weighed down by it, you're bound by it, then something is wrong.
[23:36] You need to get back, you need to get back to focusing upon Jesus of rediscovering what he has given you, what he has done for you, what he has released you from and what he has brought you into.
[23:48] Because there is a freedom that is unique in the Lord Jesus Christ. And so, Jesus, when he was here, he was trying to release the people from the burden that the religious leaders had placed upon them.
[24:04] That's part of the reason why they hated him. Because his teaching was, as we say, very revolutionary to a certain extent. Now, as Jesus taught and healed, on that day, there was a huge crowd gathered and God's power was at work in a wonderful way.
[24:24] And as Jesus preached, a group of men, we don't know, two, three, four, how many, were carrying a man in a bed. And this poor man was in a bad way because he was suffering from paralysis.
[24:38] He was paralyzed. I don't know what level of paralysis he was in, but he was in a bad way. And paralysis of any nature is an awful thing.
[24:52] And I always feel heart sorry for people who are experiencing any form of paralysis. And I often think if we're healthy and well, how often we take our health and our freedom for granted because just in a moment, in an accident or a stroke or something, that can change.
[25:15] So we should always be careful and mindful about these things. Well, this man was in a bad way. But there was one good thing that this man had.
[25:26] He had good friends. And, you know, one of the great blessings of life is having good friends. Having good friends is something that enriches our lives.
[25:39] We talk of family and friends and that is true. Good friends are important in life. In fact, the Lord Jesus Christ often speaks to us in terms of his friendship and that he is a friend.
[25:55] Don't call you servants anymore but friends. And we know how true the saying is, a friend in need is a friend indeed. However, having said that, we have to be careful because friends, while they can be of great blessing in this life, can also have the reverse impact.
[26:19] And I'm sure it's one of the sad things as so many people look back on life and they see that they were influenced not for good but for bad by the friends that they had.
[26:30] And it's a very solemn thing for any person to influence people in the wrong direction, to lead them astray, to lead them away from God. Because at the end of the day, as we face judgment, as we're going to be judged on that great day, it's bad enough having to deal with who we are and what we are ourselves, but if we are responsible for leading a lot of people away from the Lord Jesus Christ, then that's a fatal burden to have to bear.
[27:01] So as you say, good friends are essential and this man had the blessing of having great friends. And obviously, the man himself and the friends had heard of the Lord Jesus.
[27:18] And what they heard of Jesus was sufficient for them to know that Jesus alone was the cure, was the only hope for this man. And you know, that's one of the great discoveries that you and I can make as well, is to come to the place and to the point to realise that the only hope we have is from outside, that we don't have within our own make-up, within anything about us, the ability to make ourselves right with God.
[27:48] If we could, Jesus would not have had to come into this world. So the great discovery, the greatest discovery that we can make is to see that unless, unless we get help, as it were, from outside, we're lost.
[28:05] But side by side to see that the one who can help us is the provision that God has made in sending his Son, Jesus Christ. A painful discovery, but a wonderful discovery.
[28:19] And so this man has made this discovery that has only hope that the only source of help that he could have is by making his way to Jesus. But of course, he can't.
[28:31] And so, his friends take him. But it's not plain sailing. Never is, or rarely is, when we decide to make our way to Jesus. Because there will be lots of obstacles put in our way.
[28:45] It's like the alarm bells go off in hell the moment that they see somebody making their way to Jesus. You remember with Zacchaeus. We Zacchaeus is a wee man.
[28:57] He wanted to see Jesus. But it tells us he couldn't because when he went to where Jesus was, because he was small, he couldn't see because of the crowd. So, remember, I had to run ahead and climb up into the sycamore tree.
[29:12] And you know, when you and I become interested in the Lord Jesus Christ, when we try and make our way to Jesus, there will be every obstacle put in our way.
[29:23] It's incredible how often, even just going to pray, things will happen. You decide you're going to give a time to pray. As soon as you do that, the phone will go or somebody will come to the door or there will be some interruption.
[29:36] It's inevitable. It's always the case or you become really sleepy. Your mind is taken away. But if you're understood in your soul and you're beginning to seek Jesus, you can be guaranteed that there will obstacles will be put in your way.
[29:52] And Satan will come to you with all kinds of thoughts. On the one hand, the Spirit is working in you. God is drawing you. He's speaking to you. And on the other hand, Satan is saying, hey, hold on.
[30:05] Are you ready for this? How will things be in your home? If you become a Christian, how will things be in your home? How will things be at work?
[30:16] Remember the circle of friends you have. What are they going to say? Your life is going to change. You're going to have to give it to everything. But you know, that's one of Satan's great ploys.
[30:30] And so many people whose hearts are warming, all of a sudden they pull back because they begin to count the cost and they say, no, I'm not prepared. I'm not prepared for this kind of change.
[30:42] But I'll be persuaded. You don't give up anything that you're going to regret. Because receiving the Lord Jesus Christ as your Saviour is so wonderful.
[30:56] it's amazing how the Lord will go before you and he will make it easy for you. You trust him and he'll sort the rest out. Guaranteed. And so the friends, they come to the house to where Jesus was, but they couldn't get to him because of the crowd.
[31:15] There's this vast crowd. But these men were determined. They weren't going to take no for an answer. And so they're determined that they're going to take this man to Jesus.
[31:27] And that is the kind of determination of Jesus always on us because we're told seek and you will find. And if you are a determined seeker, somebody who is not ready to give in or to give up, guaranteed you will find.
[31:41] That's what God tells us. It's not that we just seek for a moment or seek one day or have a wee bit here and a wee bit there, but we really say, Lord, I need you. I really need you.
[31:52] I need you. And you're not going to give up until you find what you will find. And so these men showed great faith and great determination because they were not going to go back until they had met Jesus.
[32:08] And so what they did was they went up onto the roof. It could have been by a ladder, but more than likely it was by the sort of the stair, the stairwell that ran very often beside the houses.
[32:21] And then they went onto the roof and they lifted the tiles off the roof and they let the Lord the man down to where Jesus was there in the centre.
[32:34] And I'm sure Jesus' heart rejoiced when he saw the effort that these men went to to bring their friend to Jesus for healing because it showed great faith and great determination and a great devotion and a great love.
[32:54] Now I don't know very much about this man, but I think his sins were troubling. I think his sins were troubling maybe just as much as the paralysis of his body because straight away Jesus deals with his sin which makes me think that before anything was done Jesus goes straight to what was at the very heart of this man's life.
[33:19] And he says to the man very simply your sins are forgiven you. You know unforgiven sin is a paralysis on our soul, in our soul.
[33:33] And people do not understand or realise the burden of guilt that they carry with unforgiven sin. Because our whole lives when we look back over our lives and we look at all the sin and all the failures and all the mistakes and all the things, all the things that have happened, all that's gone on, there are so many things that sometimes trouble and cause all kinds of issues in our mind.
[34:04] And if we don't deal with these things, they have a way of bringing us down. And Jesus says, look, you come to me, I'll deal with it. All the burdens that you have, why, why carry them your share?
[34:18] I'll take them. Come unto me, he said, all you who are weary and heavy laden and I'll give you rest. Cast your burden upon the Lord, whatever it is, whatever it's been of the past, all the things maybe that have messed you up.
[34:33] Jesus said, look, don't tie and go through life with this. It's messing you up. Give it to me. Come to me. Cast yourself on to me.
[34:44] You will discover a release. You will discover a freedom. You will discover a cleansing. You'll discover a liberty. You'll discover life is different by doing that.
[34:57] And this is, this is what, what Jesus has come to do, to give us, to set us free. Jesus keeps talking about this freedom. But when Jesus said to the man, your sins are forgiven, there was absolute consternation amongst the scribes and the Pharisees.
[35:15] They saw to themselves, this is utter blasphemy. Who can forgive sin but God alone? And so they're incensed. But Jesus read their hearts.
[35:26] And we must always remember that. Jesus reads, God reads right into the very our heart, into our motives, into everything. So Jesus said then, which is easier to say your sins are forgiven you or to rise up and walk?
[35:42] Now, at one level, the hardest of all is the forgiveness of sin. But from a human point of view, obviously, the hardest thing is to rise up and walk because we cannot see the forgiveness of sin.
[35:55] That is an inward cleansing that takes place. But to rise up and walk, that is an amazing miracle. So Jesus is asking, which is easier to say.
[36:08] And you'll notice the title that, so Jesus said to the paralyzed man, pick up your bed and go home. And you'll notice the title that Jesus gives himself, the Son of Man.
[36:20] That's what he says, the Son of Man. And this is Jesus' favorite title that he gives to himself. In the Gospel records, it's used over 80 times.
[36:33] Jesus refers to himself as the Son of Man. These doctors of the law, the scribes and the Pharisees, should have clicked onto this right away. Because you go back to the book of Daniel, and Daniel, speaking of the Messiah, it's the Son of Man as a title.
[36:50] So here is the Son of Man. And these are the students of God's word, meticulous students. But they don't see it. Why do they not see it? Because their hearts are full of bigotry and full of prejudice.
[37:04] And nothing will blind people to the truth like bigotry and prejudice. When people are prejudiced, and that's, so many people are prejudiced against the Christian faith.
[37:17] And when you're prejudiced against it, you cannot see the truth even if it's staring in the face. And that's how it was for these people. They couldn't see it. But Jesus here is demonstrating his authority and power and his ability to forgive sin.
[37:33] Because that's what Jesus has done. And the man got up and with great joy he makes his way home. He pulled, it could have been a kind of a mattress bed he would have been on.
[37:45] He pulls up what he had and he goes home with great joy, glorifying God. I would imagine he was praising God because we're told whoso offereth praise glorifies me.
[37:56] He would have been just filled with joy. And he would have been what a witness and testimony in the community. Here's this man paralyzed and look at him. And that's what Jesus does.
[38:09] And you and I know if you've experienced the freedom and liberty of Christ you know what that joy really is. and Jesus alone is able to meet the deepest needs that are within you.
[38:25] Your soul is the most precious aspect of who you are. You know we often talk of body and soul and we often say remember that you have a soul.
[38:38] As if the there's the body is the key the most important part and it's like the soul is an additional part. Well C.S. Lewis puts it the other way around because he says you are a soul that has a body not you are a body that has a soul.
[38:54] He puts the soul first and he's following what Jesus says because Jesus says what will a person give in exchange for a soul? What will it profit a man if he gains a whole world and loses his own soul loses who he is his identity his everything that's who you are the very heart of who you are is your soul soul first then body so Jesus has come to save our souls remember the SOS save our souls well that's where Jesus has come he's come to do that for you and for me will you ask him to heal you because if you don't have that healing you have a paralysis in your soul but Jesus can heal you today we're going to sing in conclusion now from Psalm 31 and sing Psalms and we're going to sing from verse 19 to the end
[39:56] Psalm 31 from verse 19 down to the last verse O love the Lord O love the Lord all you who sense the faithful will be kept by God and he will give the proud their due be strong take heart hope in the Lord I'll sing these verses verses 19 to the end of Psalm 31 and sing Psalms your goodness Lord is very great prepare for those who fear your name you show your goodness your presence openly to all who your protection claim your presence hides and shelters them from those who plot to take their light and in your tent you keep them safe from evil towns that stir up strife the Lord be praised because he showed the wonder of his love to me when in the city
[42:14] I was trapped surrounded by the enemy in me in my alarm I rashly said that I was hidden from your eyes but when I called to you for help help and grace you listen to my cries O love the Lord all you his saints the faithful will be kept by
[43:15] God but he will give the proud their due be strong take heart open the Lord now may the grace and mercy and peace of God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit rest and abide upon each one of you now and forevermore. Amen.
[43:45] Amen.