God’s love for us and His desire to be with us amazes me.  He created us to be His inheritance and He has gone out of His way to be with us.  It blows me away because there are times I don’t even want to be with me!  Yet God does!  Isn’t that awesome?  Think about it.  With all of the imperfections we have, God who is perfect wants to be with us.  Amazing!  That’s what it is.  It’s amazing grace.  God loves us so much and wants to be with us so much, He has come into our world through Jesus Christ.  Everything He does, He does to benefit us and our well being on this journey that we are on from earth to Glory.

Through the unction of the Holy Spirit allow me to point out a few nuggets from the Word to you today.  In Mark 2:1-12, we see and sense the heart that God has for each of us.

Jesus preaches the Word.
The Word of God says (Mark 2:1-2 NIV)  "A few days later, when Jesus again entered Capernaum, the people heard that he had come home. {2} So many gathered that there was no room left, not even outside the door, and he preached the word to them."

The first chapter of Mark tells us that Jesus came to Capernaum preaching a message of repentance for the Kingdom of God is at hand.  He called people to follow Him.  He set people free that were bound by evil.  He healed the sick.  And He went to other towns doing the same.  In the second chapter of Mark Jesus comes back to Capernaum and is probably once again at the house of Peter.  The house is packed with people that need God to touch them.  The church growth “experts” of our day tell pastors and church leaders in America that people will not come to church if they are crowded.  They have told leadership that once a building reaches 80% of capacity you have to build a bigger facility.  They have told leadership that people have to be in a comfortable setting with padded seating, just the right colors on the walls and floors with the air temperature not too hot and not too cold but just right.  And the sound and acoustics have to be perfect; not too loud and not too soft, but just right.  Because of this, many churches have went into loads of debt and because of their debt load, the poor and needy in their communities are neglected and their city is not impacted by the love of God through the church.

The Bible tells us something different than what the church growth “experts” of our day tells us.  The Bible tells us that people will come to where Jesus is present.  They don’t care if they are crowded.  They don’t care if the seating is not comfortable.  They don’t care if it’s too hot or too cold.  They don’t care if the sound and acoustics are not perfect.  They just want to be in Jesus’ presence.  And that’s the setting we have here in this passage.  May God lift up pastors and church leaders in our day that will refuse to listen to the “experts” and get back to what God says in His Word.  It is God’s Word that is the authoritative guide for all of our beliefs and actions.  We must listen to God and not the “experts” in order for us to impact cities in our day.

Notice what Jesus does in this packed house setting.  In verse 2 it says “he preached the word to them.”  He did not entertain them.  He did not start a program or conduct a special event.  God knew that they did not need that because none of that would help them on their journey from earth to Glory.  It would only make their flesh temporarily feel good.  They needed more than that.  They needed food for the spirit and soul.  Jesus PREACHED THE WORD! 

Beloved, in our day we need the Word of God preached!  It’s only the Word that builds faith.  If you are involved in a church where the Word has been diluted or replaced by entertainment, you need to run as far as you can from it.  Find a church that has a pastor and church leaders that love Jesus and His Word.  Find a church where the Word is preached and lived out in daily life.  You don’t need entertainment.  You need the Word.  Entertainment will gratify the flesh, but the Word will build faith in you and sustain you on your journey from earth to Glory!

Jesus forgives sins.
The Word of God says (Mark 2:3-5 NIV)  "Some men came, bringing to him a paralytic, carried by four of them. {4} Since they could not get him to Jesus because of the crowd, they made an opening in the roof above Jesus and, after digging through it, lowered the mat the paralyzed man was lying on. {5} When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, "Son, your sins are forgiven.""

God has come into our world forgiving sins.  We look at people and see their great physical needs that are obvious.  God looks at people and sees their greatest need and that is the forgiveness of sins.  This is a need that only God can meet.  Only God can forgive sins.

The religionist of our day believe that people need to come to God through their perfections.  Because of this the church today has grown intolerant to those that are struggling on their journey.  God help us!  We don’t come to God through our perfections; we come to God through our imperfections.  It’s through our imperfections that we realize we need God. 

God’s Word says:  (Isaiah 64:6 NIV)  "All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away."  (Romans 3:23 NIV)  "for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,"  (1 John 1:8-9 NIV)  "If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. {9} If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness."

God has come into our world forgiving sins.  He knows that is our greatest need.  A perfect God comes into an imperfect world riddled with sin and He reaches out to imperfect people forgiving them in the midst of their imperfections.   Come to God just as you are.  Don’t wait until you are good enough.  If you do, you will never come to Him.  Come to Him as this paralyzed man did.  Come just as you are in the midst of all of your imperfections.  He offers you forgiveness.

Jesus brings miracles to our lives.
God’s Word says (Mark 2:6-12 NIV)  "Now some teachers of the law were sitting there, thinking to themselves, {7} "Why does this fellow talk like that? He's blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?" {8} Immediately Jesus knew in his spirit that this was what they were thinking in their hearts, and he said to them, "Why are you thinking these things? {9} Which is easier: to say to the paralytic, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, 'Get up, take your mat and walk'? {10} But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins . . . ." He said to the paralytic, {11} "I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home." {12} He got up, took his mat and walked out in full view of them all. This amazed everyone and they praised God, saying, "We have never seen anything like this!""

Wow!  Jesus does not buckle under the pressures of the religionist.  Instead, He works a miracle in this man’s life.  God has come into our world working miracles.  This man was carried into the presence of Jesus full of spiritual and physical imperfections.  He walked out completely forgiven and made whole.

Beloved, that’s the God that we serve.  He blows away the ideas and teachings of the religionists of our day that have put Him in a theological box that they can explain and control and He ministers to imperfect people.  God has come into our world preaching the Word, forgiving sins and working miracles.  That’s just what I need in my life.  I don’t need entertainment.  I don’t need comforts.  I don’t need the religionist of my day.  What I do need is the Word of God, forgiveness of sins and miracles in my life.  And God has come into my world to do just that. 

O how much He loves me.  O how much He loves you.  Rejoice Beloved!  Rejoice!  God loves us so much He has come into our world!

Know that you are loved,

@PastorGreg
Founder
www.LovingGodFellowship.org