We Need Each Other – 8

We Need Each Other – 8

Subject – We Must Love People

By Rick Welborne

Luke 5:18-26 (NLT2)
¹⁸  Some men came carrying a paralyzed man on a sleeping mat. They tried to take him inside to Jesus,
¹⁹  but they couldn’t reach him because of the crowd. So they went up to the roof and took off some tiles. Then they lowered the sick man on his mat down into the crowd, right in front of Jesus.
²⁰  Seeing their faith, Jesus said to the man, “Young man, your sins are forgiven.”
²¹  But the Pharisees and teachers of religious law said to themselves, “Who does he think he is? That’s blasphemy! Only God can forgive sins!”
²²  Jesus knew what they were thinking, so he asked them, “Why do you question this in your hearts?
²³  Is it easier to say ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or ‘Stand up and walk’?
²⁴  So I will prove to you that the Son of Man has the authority on earth to forgive sins.” Then Jesus turned to the paralyzed man and said, “Stand up, pick up your mat, and go home!”
²⁵  And immediately, as everyone watched, the man jumped up, picked up his mat, and went home praising God.
²⁶  Everyone was gripped with great wonder and awe, and they praised God, exclaiming, “We have seen amazing things today!” 

--I originally had intended on last week being the last in this series, “We Need Each Other.” I have had people tell me…long series are not good. I felt there was more to say.

--What happened to this paralytic was amazing. In this small community, he experiences love, fellowship, healing, but most importantly his sin was dealt with.

--What happened to this man will probably happen to you if you will stay committed to this community. You will experience love, fellowship, healing, but most importantly your sin will be dealt with.

--Pastor, I don’t agree. I am right with God and I definitely don’t need my sins to be dealt with. A couple came and told me they had not sinned for the last seven years. Really? You just sinned!

1 John 1:6-10 (NKJV)
⁶  If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.
⁷  But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.
⁸  If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
⁹  If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
¹⁰  If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.

--Think about this…this paralytic, I’m sure, had been judged by the Pharisees and the spiritual elite as being in his condition because of sin. 

--But because of this community of the mat he found love, fellowship, healing, and forgiveness. That is why community is so important. We find wholeness spiritually, physically, and emotionally.

--Do you really believe this paralytic cared what anyone thought about him when he went home with his sins forgiven and his body whole?

--Maybe you are thinking, what sins can a paralytic do anyway? Jesus knew the deadliest sins are resentment, arrogance, being judgmental, not loving. All we can do without lifting a finger.

--Something you may have never considered in this story. The spiritual giants who were in the house, the teachers of the law and Pharisees probably arrived early to get the best seats.

--They were supposed to be the most spiritual but who among them brought someone there to see Jesus and find healing and forgiveness. Probably never crossed their minds.

--What about we who have been saved for so many years and we are known as being spiritually mature. When was the last time you invited or brought someone to church who needed Jesus?

--Who do you think was the greatest in God’s eyes that day? The super religious who came with their attitudes or the community of the mat who brought someone who needed Jesus?

1. The Connection Between Loving God and Loving People.

--Let’s start with a few questions. What preoccupies you? Where does your mind drift when you’re not doing anything? What do you daydream about?

--You can tell a lot about a person if you know what they think about when they’re just sitting around.

Proverbs 23:7 (KJV) ⁷ For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he: 

-An Entrepreneur eats or sleeps his business startup. A young mother worries about her children. The average 18-year-old male, what’s he thinking? The newlywed male? The 80-year-old man? You get it!

--But what does God think about all day? He can think about everything all at once because He is God but what preoccupies Him? Because Jesus is God, He gives us a clue.

Luke 19:10 (NLT2) ¹⁰ For the Son of Man came to seek and save those who are lost.”

John 3:16-17 (NKJV)
¹⁶  For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
¹⁷  For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.

--The God, Who is revealed to us in the person of Jesus Christ, constantly preoccupied with finding, loving, and redeeming people. We should too.

2. It is Impossible to Love God and not Love People.

--It is critical for believers in this wonderful community to understand this. Many have believed we become more spiritual by just going to church, reading thru the Bible, and giving.

--All of those things are good but they are not enough according to Jesus. He said we are to love God and love people. Verses please:

 Matthew 22:36-40 (NLT2) ³⁶ “Teacher, which is the most important commandment in the law of Moses?”
³⁷  Jesus replied, “‘You must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’
³⁸  This is the first and greatest commandment.
³⁹  A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’
⁴⁰  The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.” 

--For years the church has believed our Christianity is based on a list of rules of dos and don’ts. 

Quote – We don’t smoke and we don’t chew. We don’t go with girls who do. We ain’t got no girlfriends. 

--The truth is, the more you mature and fall in love with Jesus, the more you will love people. 

Dallas Willard – To understand Jesus’ teachings, we must realize that deep in our orientations of our spirit we cannot have one posture toward God and a different one toward people. We are a whole being, and our true character pervades everything we do. We cannot, for example, love God and hate human beings. 

1 John 4:20-21 (NLT2) ²⁰  If someone says, “I love God,” but hates a Christian brother or sister, that person is a liar; for if we don’t love people we can see, how can we love God, whom we cannot see?
²¹  And he has given us this command: Those who love God must also love their Christian brothers and sisters.

--Jesus’ teaching reaches to the heart of community. For example, if you forgive others when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.

--But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins. In community God expects us to love and forgive each other.

-- God never wants to hold back His forgiveness from us and neither should we hold back our forgiveness from others. God is saying, don’t try to live for Me one way and with people another.

--There two ways to be a successful Christian, love God and love people.

3. Learn to Celebrate Others in the Community.

--In this community of God we have to be constantly on guard when it comes to envy. What do I mean?

Envy (noun) – a feeling of resentment or discontentment toward someone else’s possessions, qualities, or good fortune.

--Let’s be honest, Church Family, many times we are not happy when someone else in the church receives an amazing blessing from the Lord. We envy.

--Sometimes pastors are not happy when another church is growing numerically and doing well. We envy.

--This miracle of the community of the mat was something everyone should have celebrated because in touched the whole community. The paralytic, the friends, the people were ecstatic. Pharisees? 

--A question…does Jesus love everyone? Of course! Does Jesus love teachers of the law and the Pharisees? Yes! Maybe a different perspective of what Jesus said to the teachers and Pharisees.

Luke 5:20-26 (NLT2) ²⁰ Seeing their faith, Jesus said to the man, “Young man, your sins are forgiven.”
²¹  But the Pharisees and teachers of religious law said to themselves, “Who does he think he is? That’s blasphemy! Only God can forgive sins!”
²²  Jesus knew what they were thinking, so he asked them, “Why do you question this in your hearts?
²³  Is it easier to say ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or ‘Stand up and walk’?
²⁴  So I will prove to you that the Son of Man has the authority on earth to forgive sins.” Then Jesus turned to the paralyzed man and said, “Stand up, pick up your mat, and go home!”
²⁵  And immediately, as everyone watched, the man jumped up, picked up his mat, and went home praising God.
²⁶  Everyone was gripped with great wonder and awe, and they praised God, exclaiming, “We have seen amazing things today!” 

--Since Jesus loves everyone including the critics, maybe He was trying hard to reveal Himself to them. Guys, I want to prove to you who I am. Jesus wanted to reveal Himself to them too.

--What if, everyone at the house celebrated this incredible miracle. Everyone was gripped with great wonder and awe, and they praised God. Maybe some of the Pharisees were gripped with wonder and awe.

--Learn to celebrate when someone else wins. One day they will celebrate with you.