Christian Living
Are You A Stretcher Bearer?
Mark 2:1-5 and again he entered into Capernaum after some days; and it was noised that he was in the house. And straightway many were gathered together, insomuch that there was no room to receive them, no, not so much as about the door: and he preached the word unto them. And they come unto him, bringing one sick of palsy, which was borne of four. And when they could not come nigh unto him for the press, they uncovered the roof where he was: and when they had broken it up, they let down the bed wherein the sick of the palsy lay. When Jesus saw their faith, he said unto the sick of the palsy, Son, thy sins be forgiven thee. But there were certain of the scribes sitting there, and reasoning in their hearts. Why doth this man thus speak blasphemies? Who Can forgive sins but God only? And immediately when Jesus perceived in his spirit that they so reasoned within themselves, he said unto them, why reason ye these things in your hearts? Whether it is easier to say to the sick of the palsy, thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say Arise, and take up thy bed and walk? But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins, (he saith to the sick of the palsy,) I say unto thee Arise and take up thy bed and go thy way into thine house. And immediately he arose, took up the bed, and went before them all; insomuch that they were all amazed, and glorified God, saying, we never saw it in this fashion. (Emphasis added – KJV)
Jesus was in the house! And because the word had spread that Jesus was in town, the house was packed! People had come from all over to hear him preach! Some friends had heard about Jesus and they decided they were going to put their paraplegic friend on a stretcher and take him to see Jesus! The healer was there! But when they arrived, there was no way they could get in the door much less get a stretcher through the crowd. But they didn’t give up! They climbed to the roof. They made a hole. They lowered their friend into the crowd.
Last night when I read through this passage, the word THEY stuck out like a neon sign. The scripture does not say that the paraplegic said, “hey can I bother you guys to carry me down to see Jesus? I’ll give you $20 for gas.” The scripture simply says ‘they’ went to see Jesus with the paraplegic.
Now notice what it says about Jesus. When Jesus saw their faith, he said unto the sick of palsy, son, thy sins are forgiven!
Here’s the scoop!
They had enough faith to bring the man with palsy on a stretcher to hear Jesus preach!
They were not dismayed by the crowd!
They carried him, on the stretcher, to the roof and made a hole
They lowered him into the crowd.
Jesus saw their faith!
Jesus said to the man with palsy ‘THY SINS ARE FORGIVEN.”
Let me ask you, do you know anyone paralyzed with sin? Do you have a loved one or a dear friend that is so deep in the mire of sin that they are paralyzed? What have you done? What are you doing? I am not suggesting that you strap them down and carry them to church; you’d probably not get very far. What I am suggesting today is that we pick them up on the spiritual stretcher and carry them to the feet of Jesus!
There are so many around us who do not know that they are paralyzed. That is where ‘we’ come in! That is where the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much (James 5:16b). So often we get weary with watching our friends and loved ones floundering and not seeming to care whether they might spend eternity in hell! It appears they just don’t care. But we must recognize that ‘we’ have a responsibility. If ‘we’ profess Christ as our risen Lord and Savior then we have a responsibility to the lost, be them a neighbor, a friend or a family member.
We must be willing to step outside of our box and get a hold of a stretcher and carry them to the feet of Jesus! We must take action through prayer! We must recognize that in the last days the enemy is warring for souls! And just as much as he wants all of us to go to hell for eternity, we must somehow seek God to fill is with a passion for the paralyzed! Our desire should be to carry stretchers, to pray like we have never prayed before, to be gap standers!
We tend to classify sin! We tend to think less of the prostitute or the addict; chalking it up to they have made their choices. Recently someone told me they were willing to help, but the person didn’t want help so there was nothing they could do. In the physical world they are absolutely correct, but as men and women of God are we doing all we can do? Are we carrying the stretchers with the sin paralyzed friends and family to the feet of Jesus?
Look at Moses for a minute. Exodus 32:31-32 and Moses returned unto the Lord, and said, oh, this people have sinned a great sin, and have made them gods of gold. Yet now if thou wilt forgive their sin; and if not blot me, I pray thee, out of thy book which thou has written.
Moses was a stretcher-bearer! On more than one occasion he interceded for the children of Israel, that God would not annihilate them! On this particular occasion he went as far as to say, erase me from your book if you will not forgive them! I wonder if we would dare say the same thing? I wonder if we have the love of Christ within us to intercede for the person who appears to not care about Christ, but would rather wallow in the sins of this world?
Do we simply shrug our shoulders and walk on and go about our business, or do we intercede and carry the stretcher to the feet of Jesus? When we begin to enter into the presence of the Lord and seek His face, and hunger for His Word and a relationship with Him, the Lord will show us the stretchers we need to carry! There will be a burden!
In my personal life, my daughter is addicted to Methamphetamine, but this weekend as I began to study this passage in Mark, I began to understand that I and the rest of the world looking on, sees an addiction. We see a crank addict. The world has diagnosed it as a sickness, but when you look at the text, Mark 2:5 when Jesus saw their faith, he said unto the sick of palsy, Son, thy sins be forgiven thee, Jesus recognized the man was sick, but He didn’t speak to the palsy, he spoke to the SIN! Later he commanded the man to take up his bed and walk, and the scripture tells us He did that, so those looking on would believe!
Jesus recognized that the sin was of more importance! He recognized the FAITH of those carrying the stretcher and HE HONORED THEIR FAITH! Do you have enough faith for someone you know who is paralyzed with sin? Do you have enough faith to pick up the spiritual stretcher and carry it to the foot of the cross? Do you have enough faith to believe that Jesus will HEAL? Are you willing to stand in the gap?
It is also important to think about an actual stretcher for a moment. It is very difficult to carry a stretcher by yourself, especially when you are carrying dead weight. I can drag it, and you can bet if that is the only way to get the paralyzed to the feet of Jesus, I will drag the stretchers one by one, but when we, and I am speaking to the blood bought born-again Christian, work together, for a common goal, to be stretcher carriers, we will feel a passion for the paralyzed sinners, and we will pick up the stretchers and help carry the load!
As Christians, if we are not willing to be a stretcher-bearer, what is our goal? Of course we all want to go to Heaven! But haven’t we been commissioned to do something while here on earth? Were we not commissioned to love? Were we not commissioned to preach the gospel of the Risen King? It is our duty as believers to stand in the gap! To intercede for the lost! To be stretcher-bearers!
And just when you think your prayers are not being heard, take a look at the words of John.
Revelations 5:8 and we had taken the book, the four beasts and four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden vials full of odors, which are the prayers of saints.
I challenge you to look around. If you look close enough, you may see a mother dragging her child on a stretcher, because she knows if she can just get her child to the feet of Jesus, He will accomplish the work that needs to be done. Maybe you could lighten the load and pick up one side of the stretcher and help her lower the paralyzed child through the hole and to the feet of Jesus!
Galatians 6:2 bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ.
Galatians 6:9 and let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.
"If you're content to go to heaven alone, you just may not be going." (author unknown)
© August 10, 2005 Jounda LaMance
PLEASE ENCOURAGE AUTHOR BELOW LEAVE COMMENT ON ARTICLE
Reader Count & Comments
Date
Jounda, if I could MAKE my daughter accept the Lord, I would. But since I can't, all I can do is encourage her and pray without ceasing for her. I am fortunate to have friends who help me carry that load. They pray for my girl every single day. It helps to know that others are helping me with my burden. We all need to do that for our brothers and sisters. Good message.
The opinions expressed by authors do not necessarily reflect the opinion of FaithWriters.com. This is especially true with articles that
deal with personal healthcare and prophecy. We encourage the reader to make their own decision in consultation with God, His Word, and others as needed.
This article has been read 978 times < Previous | Next >
Read more articles by Jounda LaMance or search for other articles by topic below.
This article has been read 978 times < Previous | Next >
Search for articles on: (e.g. creation; holiness etc.)
Read more by clicking on a link:Free Reprints
Main Site Articles
Most Read Articles
Highly Acclaimed Challenge Articles.
New Release Christian Books for Free for a Simple Review.
NEW - Surprise Me With an Article - Click here for a random URL
God is Not Against You - He Came on an All Out Rescue Mission to Save You
...in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them... 2 Cor 5:19
Therefore, my friends, I want you to know that through Jesus the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you. Acts 13:38
LEARN & TRUST JESUS HERE
FaithWriters offers Christian reading material for Christian readers. We offer Christian articles, Christian fiction, Christian non-fiction, Christian Bible studies, Christian poems, Christian articles for sale, free use Christian articles, Christian living articles, New Covenant Christian Bible Studies, Christian magazine articles and new Christian articles. We write for Jesus about God, the Bible, salvation, prayer and the word of God.