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Bringing a Friend to Christ (Luke 5:17-26)
7 Plays2 days ago
Sunday Message recorded 18 November 2024
by Senior Pastor Victor Morrison
First Baptist Church - Columbus, TX, USA
1700 Milam St.
Columbus, TX, USA 78934
Recommended
Transcript
Introduction and Biblical Context
00:00:06
Speaker
good morning it's already been such a great morning appreciate the the worship songs i was sort of singing silently up there with with you as you were praising the lord would you open god's word to luke chapter five verses 17 through 26 luke chapter five verses 17 through 26 I was praying to asking the Lord how to approach this passage. And there are several different avenues that would lead one into the heart of what he has to say in Luke 5, 17 through 26. But I know there are other ways than the one I have chosen, but I do feel like the Lord had placed this upon my heart.
Jesus' Authority and Friendship
00:00:51
Speaker
You know, Chuck Swindoll says that already you can see a pattern going through Luke, that in chapter four, for example, verses 14 to 32, Jesus had authority in teaching. And chapter four, verses 33 to 37, and verse 41, he also had authority to cast out demons.
00:01:14
Speaker
In chapter four, verses 38 through 40, he had authority over illnesses. In chapter five, verses one through 11, Swindoll says he had authority to command nature and and it would do what he said. But today we're going to look at chapter five, verse 17 to 26, and look at how he has the authority to forgive sins.
00:01:37
Speaker
But I want us to focus on the men that brought this paralytic to Jesus. The Bible says a lot about friendship. The top two books that use the word friend the most in the Bible are Proverbs, uses friend 14 times, and Luke uses the word friend 14 times.
00:01:59
Speaker
Luke says in Luke 16, 9, and I tell you, make friends for yourselves by means of unrighteous wealth so that when it fails, they may receive you into the eternal dwellings. And so once again, just saying, use the resources that you have to bring others to Jesus Christ.
00:02:21
Speaker
This passage we're going to look at contains the healing of a paralytic. You can see it also in Matthew 9, verses 1 through 8, and Mark chapter 2, verses 1 through 12. But it's the story of an amazing miracle that all hinged on a small circle of men who brought a friend to Christ.
00:02:41
Speaker
You know, it's almost like this passage is going to demonstrate what is said in Proverbs 17, 17, a friend loves at all times and a brother is born for adversity.
Role of Andrew and Healing of Paralytic
00:02:53
Speaker
You know, adversity can bring out bitterness, it can make us bitter, or it could make us bitter. Adversity can also help us to do the wrong thing and and go wrong, but it can also help us to grow strong in the Lord. Jesus said in John 15, verse 13 about friends, greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.
00:03:19
Speaker
If there's anybody that sort of modeled friendship in the Scriptures, I would say it was Andrew. Probably many of you have already heard about this, but every time that the Bible puts the the spotlight on Andrew, he's always leading someone, bringing someone to Christ. And so, example for one example is John 1, verses 40 to 42.
00:03:42
Speaker
Andrew brings his brother, just a guy named Peter, that's the only, I mean that's who we're talking about, but he brought his brother Peter to Christ. Think about how significant that was in terms of the rest of the New Testament. What if Andrew had not brought his brother Peter to Christ?
00:04:00
Speaker
I got to thinking about that and I thought, well, for sure, ah the man in our text may have died in his sins as a paralytic because it was at Peter's house where this took place. Also, think about the 3,000 that trusted Christ on the day of Pentecost in Jerusalem. They would not have heard the gospel, at least through Peter.
00:04:22
Speaker
Later, there's a military man named Cornelius. He and his family would also probably be without Christ if Peter had never come to Christ. But in John 6, verses 8 and 9, Andrew sort of comes up again in the spotlight. It's on him biblically, and he brings a little boy to Christ. The little boy was used of the Lord. He had a really small lunch, but he gave what he had to Jesus, and it fed 5,000.
00:04:49
Speaker
In John 12, verses 20 to 22, Andrew brings some bystanders to Christ that were just sort of passing through Bethsaida. But is it it it is it possible that after Andrew introduced those Greeks passing through Bethsaida, did they return to Philippi, to Thessalonica, to Berea, to Corinth, and possibly even to Athens? And so maybe they went back and they prepared the soil.
00:05:18
Speaker
for what the Apostle Paul would do twenty eight years later as he was sharing the gospel in those communities. We just don't know, but what we can know for certain is that apart from the paralytic's friends, he would have remained lame and he would have remained lost in his sins.
00:05:38
Speaker
So, let's read the historical account of the healing of the paralytic of Capernaum and his friends. Let's stand together in honor of God's Word, and let me read through Luke 5, 17 through 26. I hope you have your copy of God's Word. If not, you can follow on the screen, or there's a Pew Bible that is there for you as well. On one of those days,
00:06:00
Speaker
As he was teaching, Pharisees and teachers of the law were sitting there who had come from every village of Galilee in Judea and from Jerusalem, and the power of the Lord was with him to heal. And behold, some men were bringing on a bed a man who was paralyzed, and they were seeking to bring him in and lay him before Jesus.
00:06:23
Speaker
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 mitts before Jesus. And 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? Who can forgive sins but God alone?
00:06:53
Speaker
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?
00:07:07
Speaker
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. And he immediately he rose up before them and picked up what he had been lying on and went home, glorifying God.
00:07:29
Speaker
and amazement seized them all and they glorified God and were filled with awe saying we have seen extraordinary things today. Let's pray.
00:07:41
Speaker
Oh Lord, how we pray each Sunday as we gather together that once again, we might hear your voice speaking through your word. Lord, I thank you so much for how you can apply it. But also for some reason this week as you were preparing me for this message, I really sensed this leadership of the Holy Spirit to pray for the body of Christ that this message might equip them, get them ready to bring others to Christ.
00:08:11
Speaker
I'm so glad that those four men worked together and saw their friend come to know Christ and be forgiven of his sins and healed of his paralytic paralysis. And so, Lord, we pray that today you would speak, that you would equip us. There's someone in our lives that we can reach. And so help us to bring them to Christ. So please, Lord, use this text today to show us how. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.
00:08:42
Speaker
Thank you. You may be seated. So I have a question. Would your friends go to that much trouble to bring you to Jesus? Or let's flip it and let's say, would you be willing to do whatever it takes to bring your friend to Christ?
Qualities for Evangelism
00:08:57
Speaker
The friends in this passage demonstrate five indispensable qualities needed when attempting to bring your friend to Christ. So let's get started and see what those were.
00:09:09
Speaker
The first essential, if you're going to bring someone to Christ, is this, to have motivation, to be motivated. If you look closely at verse 17, you'll see that some people weren't motivated. It just says they were just sitting there and that's all they were doing. But the lamesmen the lame friends, they were motivated. They were in action.
00:09:31
Speaker
And what was it that God used to light a fire in them? I don't know for a certain, but I would like to share three things that I think may have been used to motivate this man's friends to help. The first one could have been Jesus' teaching. I wonder if they were motivated by the truth of scripture. Have you ever been motivated to reach out to a friend because you're convinced there is salvation in no one else other than Christ?
00:09:59
Speaker
Maybe it's scripture. Maybe it was the testimonies of others. You can see from verse 17 that people are coming from all over. And that's because the word was spreading all over. People were sharing their testimonies. Do you ever tell others how you personally came to know Christ? You know, I really think that sharing your testimony could really be the key that will unlock your friend coming to know Christ. But sometimes we're silent about our testimony for the Savior. So it could have been the truth of Scripture. It could have been testimonies of the Savior, but it might have been previous triumphs over sickness. Like I mentioned earlier, this this is not going to be the first time that Jesus is recorded as healing someone. If you were to go back in Luke 4 verses 38 and 39, you'll see that Peter's mother-in-law was healed of a fever. You'll see in chapter 4 verse 40 that many people with various diseases, they were healed.
00:10:59
Speaker
You'll see in chapter five, verses 12 through 15, where we were last time about knocking, you'll see that, hey, there was a man with leprosy and even he was healed. You know, I can still remember a few years ago, we did this outreach campaign as a church family called Who Is Your One? Who's your one?
00:11:20
Speaker
You know, these guys said there's one friend we have who desperately needs Jesus and we're going to bring them. Who's your one? Who is it that doesn't know Christ? You know, this is a true story of one man who was brought to Christ. And I believe he was brought to Christ because his friends were motivated.
00:11:39
Speaker
But let's say that there's one friend, we can call him Mr. Motivation. Let's say that he wanted to bring his friend to Christ. So he thought, man, I'm going to take you to Jesus. So he starts to help the man up and the man says, wait, I can't get up. I can't get up. And so he says, uh oh, let me call, you know,
00:11:58
Speaker
Mr. Johnny over here. So he said, I'm going to call Johnny. And so there he calls him. You know, it doesn't say here in Luke chapter five, how many men, it just says that there were some men, some men bringing on a bed, of own a bed a man who was paralyzed and they were seeking to bring him in and lay him before Jesus.
00:12:21
Speaker
All I know is it took more than one, so perhaps it was two. No, it was more than that. We know that because of Mark's gospel. Mark says in Mark chapter two and verse three, there were four men who brought this man.
00:12:36
Speaker
But can't you imagine Mr. Motivation saying to someone else, look, I know you like to help other people. I'm going to nickname you Mr. Cooperation. Would you help me, Mr. Cooperation, and let's see if we can do it? And so they were going to work on it together. When I noticed ah verse this verse here, I got to thinking, you know what? Verse 18 seems to tell us a little bit more about why people cooperate and work together.
00:13:03
Speaker
I think whenever people work together to see someone come to to know Christ, they feel that they're important to the group, importance to the group. That's why he says, and behold, some men were bringing on a bed a man.
00:13:18
Speaker
They felt like, you know what, this is worth it. Let's help because these guys need us. Do you know that we need you to help us reach this community? But also, there's an urgency of the good. You know, it says here that this man that they were bringing, well, he was paralyzed.
00:13:36
Speaker
So here's the deal. That man can't come. He's never going to be able to get up and go, even if they give him a flyer and say, hey, come on over to Peter's house. Jesus is doing some great things over there. He could never have gotten up by himself.
00:13:52
Speaker
And there's people in this community that they're in sin, they're in darkness, they're enslaved to to Satan and to the world, to bad habits or whatever. And they're not going to be able to come unless we work together to see them come. But there's also this one clear goal. The clarity of the goal, I think, is also important if we want others to work with us. That is, what's the goal?
00:14:17
Speaker
The goal was let's lay him before Jesus. We can't make Jesus do anything, but we can certainly lay him before Jesus and see what happens. You know, if all was to go smoothly with those two guys,
00:14:32
Speaker
If they had the motivation, they had the sufficient cooperation, then maybe they could do it. But let's face it, life is hard. Sometimes it's not easy. And so I think there's a third thing, a third essential that you're going to need if you're going to bring a friend to Christ. You're going to need determination because as I guarantee it's going to be uphill. So you're going to have to say, we can't quit. We got to keep trying. We got to work on this.
00:14:57
Speaker
You know, I remember one year a former neighbor that I had that used to go to our church, many of you would know her, Faye Elliott. She was inside her home and we thought everything was fine in there until we saw the ambulance backing up. So I cared about Ms. Faye. So I went over next door and I said, what seems to be the problem?
00:15:19
Speaker
And the man said, we received a call from Thalia's friend saying she's broken her leg. And so we're going in there. And if you don't mind, would you help us? I said, no, anyway, I can help. I really care about this lady. And so anyway, they said, we're going to put a blanket down because we can't get the stretcher in the door. And so we're going to have to bring her out and then lift her up on the stretcher. So I said, yeah, it's no problem. So anyway, they said, we'll get the upper torso on the two sides. You pull the blanket together at her feet and you lift. I said, oh, that's no problem. It was a slight problem. you know For a guy of my build, you anyway. But anyway, I was so glad that we didn't have to go real far. I was determined to get over there however far it took, but just know it took a little bit of determination, at least on my part. But you know, probably they were relieved when they finally arrived. They were at Peter's house. That's where Jesus was. And they were excited and they were thinking, finally, we've got him here. He's been heavier than we thought.
00:16:26
Speaker
But then it says, finding no way. Have you ever tried to share the gospel? Have you ever tried to win a friend or family member? And it's like, man, no matter what I try, it just doesn't seem to work. I keep bumping against this reality that there's no way. So like I said earlier, you know life's not easy. It takes persistence. It takes tenacity. It takes resolve.
00:16:54
Speaker
You know, when my girls were younger, we used to try to teach them, you know, very important character qualities and character traits. And so sometimes we would share nursery rhymes. The one nursery rhyme that always got on my nerves the most was this one called the Itsy Bitsy Spider. Did you ever hear that song? It's like for some reason, even to this day, I get a bad feeling in my heart when I hear that song. But but despite how I didn't personally prefer that song, that song had a really good ah lesson to it. And it was that you you try again, you keep trying again. Do you have that kind of determination toward other people coming to know Christ? What was preventing these friends from getting this man to Jesus?
00:17:43
Speaker
Well, it was the crowd. I remember on the mission field, we were told about the gatekeepers, the gatekeepers who keep people back. There's a reason why people all around the world are in darkness. It's because there are people who don't want them to come into the light. And so it's very important that you realize, you know what, it's going to take some tenacity. I'm going to have to be persistent.
00:18:07
Speaker
If you want to know what determination to see others brought to Christ looks like, then I encourage you to follow the footprints of the Apostle Paul. One example of that is in Chapter 14 of Acts, Acts 14 verses 19 through 23.
00:18:25
Speaker
The Apostle Paul was in a place where they were somewhat responsive to his his gospel. They got a little bit off. They were saying, he's the hero. As a matter of fact, I believe he's a God. And I believe that partner of his, Barnabas, he's also a God. So they were going to offer some sacrifices to him. And they were like, no, we're not gods. We're here to tell you about a God in heaven who loves you so much. But some guys from two previous towns,
00:18:52
Speaker
where the Apostle Paul and Barnabas had been from Antioch and Iconium, they come. And they said, these guys aren't heroes. They're zeros. Let's put them out. So they started stoning them. So if they can't give worship to you, then I guess they could stone you. But anyway, that's how fickle people can be.
00:19:10
Speaker
But, you know, what I thought was amazing was it did not kill him. They thought he was dead, but when they went outside, I don't know if it was a miracle or if they just honestly didn't kill him, but here's what happened. When they went out there, he gets up and he says, okay, let's go on to Derby. Let's go share the gospel over there. So I thought, man, it takes a lot to stop this guy. He goes on to the next town.
00:19:34
Speaker
But somehow, after he finishes sharing the gospel in Derby, he says, you know, we made a lot of disciples back there in Lystra, and I wonder if Barnabas is like, you mean the place where they stoned you? You know, that Lystra? He said, we made a lot of disciples in Lystra, and Iconium, and Antioch. I think we ought to go back, and we ought to strengthen those disciples. Man, I don't know about you, but I think that is some kind of determination and tenacity.
00:20:01
Speaker
I think we're going to need a fourth thing. There's a fourth essential. Sometimes determination by itself is not enough.
Innovation in Evangelism
00:20:09
Speaker
Sometimes we need to say, wait a minute, maybe I'm trying to do this the wrong way. Maybe the way is not through the front door. Maybe there's something else. And so the fourth essential I would call innovation.
00:20:21
Speaker
When I was ah serving with the International Mission Board, we often had to look at things creatively, and we had to look at things with innovation and say, okay, what we've been doing is not reaching the people. So what can we do differently? Mark 2-2 says that there was no more room, not even at the door. That's the problem. And so they're thinking, what can we do?
00:20:44
Speaker
So if determination is necessary, I would also lay alongside of that. I think sometimes innovation is also necessary. You see, Peter later said in Acts 4, 12, that there's only one way to be right with the Father. There's only one message of salvation. That is by turning in repentance, putting your faith and trust in what Jesus did on the cross. That's the one message. That's all you need.
00:21:12
Speaker
But in terms of how you deliver that message, how you get that message to other people, there are several means, there are several methods that could be used. That's what Paul, I think, was trying to say that he learned in 1 Corinthians 9 verses 19 through 27. He said, I try to become all things to all men so that by all means I can win everybody. What about bringing people to hear a sermon? That's a good way.
00:21:41
Speaker
But that's not the only way. What about having them over for a meal? What about sharing your testimony? What about sharing a gospel tract? What about building a personal relationship and hoping that you can share Christ through that relationship? What about sharing something on your social media post?
00:21:58
Speaker
How about sharing at work? Or how about going out to witness to someone that you don't normally meet? Could you try outreach through sports? Lots of people do that. Lots of churches try sports. You could do outreach through serving and sharing, like the food pantry, like the clothes closet. Sure, the easiest way to bring the friend to Jesus was through the front door, but it just wasn't going to work.
00:22:24
Speaker
And so Mr. Innovation said to Mr. Determination, you know there is another way. We could go up on the roof and come through the roof. And he's like, I didn't think about that. But if you're going to be innovative, there's something that you need to remember that I think is sort of modeled in verse 19. And that is it may require more effort. These guys have already toted this guy a long way. And now they've got to climb some kind of staircase that went up to a flat roof. So now they're going to go up. You know, if you go up a hill, it's a little bit different than walking on flat land, isn't it? So it may require more effort for you to win that person to Christ, to bring them to Christ. But I would say also, when it says that they opened up the roof and they lowered the man down, how did they lower him down?
00:23:13
Speaker
I wonder if they lowered him down with some ropes. So maybe Mr. Innovation said, you know what, I brought a backpack and I got some rope right here in my bag. I thought maybe this could happen.
00:23:26
Speaker
But anyway, all I can think is you it may require additional equipment. You may need something else in order to win that people group or that person. But also it may require an unexpected expenditure. Can't you just hear Peter? He was pretty plain spoken and said, you guys are going to pay for that. Just know that you're going to pay for my roof that you just opened the hole into.
00:23:49
Speaker
You know, there was a Roman centurion stationed in Caesarea in Acts 10, 24. And that same guy, Peter, he wound up going over there and he was surprised at what he saw. He didn't want to go at first, but once he got over there to his house, here's what he saw.
00:24:05
Speaker
Cornelius, this Roman centurion, had called together his relatives and his close friends and he said, we are all gathered here and we want to hear what you've got to say. And so he was able to just share the gospel and so many of them trusted Christ. Wow.
00:24:22
Speaker
There is a fifth essential, and I think it's an important one, and that is expectation, verse 20, faith, trust. I think even for the man on the stretcher, he had to have faith and trust that this would work. He could have said, no, I'm not up to making that today, but he didn't.
00:24:43
Speaker
I like what William Hendrickson said. He said, you know what? Jesus noted their faith. And he said, even though the five men, counting the man on the stretcher, even though the five men did not talk, all five trusted. And that was enough. And so that's why Jesus said, you know what? Your sins are for forgiven you. Wow.
00:25:05
Speaker
See, what they needed was they needed to get into Christ. Somebody needed to believe with all their heart. They need to have that conviction. Only Christ, not Peter, and not Peter's house, and not the doorway so we can go in the door. They needed to be so convinced that God can make a difference.
00:25:24
Speaker
You know, I think that whenever we put our expectation in Christ alone, simplifies everything, simplifies everything. You see, it was not their deeds. They just went to an incredible amount of trouble. So he didn't say, you know what? I saw the deeds of all five of you guys, and I am so impressed. I'm going to forgive this guy with his sins. He didn't say that, did he? Says he noticed the faith. It takes trust.
00:25:54
Speaker
simplified expectations say, I'm just trusting you, Lord. Maybe that seems kind of flimsy to you, but I'm telling you in God's kingdom, it's powerful. It's powerful. The expectation was simplified, but also the expectation was superseded superseded I'm from Tennessee we don't use words like superseded but I thought about that word and I thought I need that word but I didn't know what it meant so I looked it up and you know what it means it means superior to it means it comes from the Latin root above and to sit
00:26:31
Speaker
above and to sin. You see, Jesus sits above. He sits above wherever our expectations are. We ought to say He can do exceedingly, abundantly beyond all that we ask or think. You know, I like ah what John MacArthur said about this. John MacArthur said, forgiveness is mankind's greatest need.
00:26:54
Speaker
Because, you know, they didn't bring him there for his sins to be for forgiven, right? They brought him there for him to have physical healing. But so far, that hadn't happened. So are you guys going to go away disappointed? Or are you going to say, you know what? We got more. We got more than what we asked for. John MacArthur goes on to say forgiveness is mankind's greatest need.
00:27:16
Speaker
and God's most important gift. I like the way he said that. You know, Ephesians 2, 7, 8, and 9 puts it so plain anybody can understand it. So that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith And this is not your own doing. It is the gift of God, not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. Wow. You know, I've heard so many sad stories in my ministry of people who say, you know what? I prayed so hard that the one I loved would be healed and he didn't do it. So I'm done. I'm done with God. I'm done with prayer. Doesn't work.
00:28:06
Speaker
And I think to myself, you know what? For the believer, the best, like Corey Timbom used to say, the best is always yet to come. Don't you know that God heals on the other side of glory? You know, we're wanting maybe another year, another two years, something like that. But you know what? Jesus is saying, I'm offering eternity.
00:28:31
Speaker
It'll never end. It'll never end. And so I'm thinking, wow, we're not getting a raw deal. We're getting the best deal. So let me close the message today with two final thoughts.
Opposition and Opportunities in Evangelism
00:28:44
Speaker
One thought is about opposition and the other thought is about opportunity.
00:28:50
Speaker
You know, Josephus the historian wrote that there were more than 6,000 Pharisees at that time. This passage says there were Pharisees and teachers of the law sitting in Peter's house. Maybe you're saying that's why he's crowded. They had 16,000 in the house. No, I don't think they were all there that day. But what I'm trying to say is that many times, just like them, people will question.
00:29:13
Speaker
People will question us. People will question Jesus. People will not agree with us. People will not agree even with Jesus. What the Pharisees got wrong is not their assumption about only God forgiving sin. What they got wrong was They got wrong their assumption that Jesus is not God. That's the difference. That's why they were so off track. But Jesus perceived their thoughts, was already aware of their questions within their hearts,
00:29:47
Speaker
Now usually Jesus doesn't give in to prove it to me. I think I've shared this before. When I was a teenager, I was going through a tough time as a teenager and I went out in my grandfather's hay field and I said, Lord, if you're really there, then make the wind blow really hard in my face.
00:30:04
Speaker
And you know what? He didn't do it. And I said, that's what I thought. But had he done that, then I'd hit my knees and I said, okay, yep, you're God. But you know what? God doesn't usually give into those kinds of games because where will it ever end for the rest of your life? You're always going to be saying, do this and I'll believe you do that. And I'll believe you, but these guys have such an incredible problem just trusting that Jesus can do this.
00:30:33
Speaker
I think it's striking, don't you, that whenever Jesus said, I forgive this man, that nobody, not even among his disciples, not the four other guys, nobody said, Jesus, would you also forgive my sins? Whoa, wouldn't that have been a profound moment? I wonder if everything would have just stopped.
00:31:00
Speaker
John chapter 1 reveals how Jesus left the glory of heaven to come to earth. He talks about in John 1, 11 and 12 that he knew that some were going to reject him and he knew that some were going to receive him. So why would he even come? Why would he even come if he knew that some were going to reject him?
00:31:22
Speaker
You know why I think he did it? Because he felt it was worth it. he was It was worth it whenever someone did receive him to hear them say, thank you, Lord, for the forgiveness of my sins. Thank you, Lord, for how you helped me in my life. Thank you, Lord, for all those that I've shared with Christ, shared Christ with.
00:31:42
Speaker
I think He also would look at others that have been forgiven and freely glorifying Him. That's what we see in verses 24 and 25 and 26, glorification. Yes, there may be opposition. Yes, there may be rejection or whatever, but there's also going to be some. They say, you know what? I'm going to glorify the Lord. I'm going to honor Him.
00:32:06
Speaker
Don't you find it striking that nobody at the end of this account here, nobody's talking about the four men. Nobody is even really talking about the paralytic. You know why that is? Because life's not about me.
00:32:22
Speaker
Life's not about you. Life's not about any one individual person. Life is about the Lord. Life is about glorifying Him. And so that's why we need to honor Him. And we need to help other people know that's why they've been born. No matter what people group they're with, all people groups were born so that they could glorify God. That's the purpose.
00:32:45
Speaker
Some of you know that I've spent a lot of time with the Ethiopians. I've gone over there several times and the Lord's opened a new door now for me to train in my office. And so the once the first Monday of each month and the first Tuesday of each month, I'm able to share the the gospel and to teach and to train pastors right there from my office over the internet. Thanks to David Hyde helping.
00:33:10
Speaker
But I find it striking that there's an African proverb that seems to speak to bringing others to Christ, at least trying. And here's what they say. There's only one crime worse than murder in the desert, and that is to know where the water is and not tell. We know where the water is. We know where the living water is. We know Christ.
00:33:37
Speaker
We need to move. We need to be telling people. We need to be bringing people. If you want to bring friends to Christ, then you're going to need the following in your tool belt. Motivation, cooperation, determination, innovation, expectation. But primarily, the one thing you need, you just need to bring them to Jesus. That's who can save them. Let's pray together. lord Please use this passage to equip us to bring others to Christ so that we could just see people in our community that are currently sitting in darkness.
00:34:14
Speaker
Get up and come into the light to be transferred into the kingdom of light. That's our desire, Lord. That's the longing of our heart is to see more people trust you as Lord and Savior. I thank you for a passage like this that shows us incredible cooperation among four friends of that paralytic. They worked together. They were determined. They were even innovative. And they got him there into the presence of the Lord. And they they laid him before Jesus.
00:34:44
Speaker
When it's all said and done, really, Lord, that's all evangelism is. That's all outreach is. Each one of us can do that. And so help us, oh Lord, to do it. Lord, we pray for those who are here today who don't know Christ. I pray that you would guide them in this invitation. to take a step toward you. Maybe they're not like the paralytic. They can walk. And so help them to walk toward Christ. Of course, spiritually is what we mean. To turn from sin in repentance, but also to place their complete faith and trust in the finished work of Christ. We'll give you all the glory, Lord. Thank you so much for the baptism today. I pray you use Sarah's baptism to inspire others. In Jesus' name we pray, amen.
00:35:36
Speaker
This is a ministry of First Baptist Church, located at 1700 Milam Street, Columbus, Texas.