Summary: The Christian life is progressive - we’re changed from glory to glory and we go from strength to strength. Perhaps some of us are stuck in a level for a long time but now is the time for your breakthrough!

Introduction

The Lord is known by many names in the Bible and His names reveal His character.

’Baal- Perazim’ (2 Samuel 5:20) = ’Lord of the Breakthroughs’

Breakthrough = God breaks open a new realm in the Spirit and He brings us through.

5 Keys to Your Breakthrough (Mark 2:1-8)

1. Make room for Jesus (vv.1-2)

- It happened when Jesus was ’in the house’

- Omnipresence vs. Manifested Presence

- A Church without the presence of God (Rev. 3:20)

- Image Management vs. Authentic Living

- When His presence is here, there’s no need for advertisement. The house will be full!

2. Overcome your paralysis (v.3)

- The crippled man did not have a ’defeat mentality’

- "The lame shall leap like a deer..." Isa. 35

- "Could Jesus be the Messiah?"

- Perhaps some of us are ’paralysed’ by condemning past, chronic fears and habitual sins.

- Pick yourself up and make your way to Lord of your breakthoughs!

3. Be in the right company (v.3)

- His friends weren’t skeptics, they had faith (v.5)

- ’Show me your friends and I’ll show you your future’

4. Refuse to be denied (v.4)

- The 5 men did not turn back.

- Rather be inconvenient and received a miracle than to be complacent and lose a blessing.

5. Remove the lid of human limitation (v.4)

- Clay = Humanity; Roof = Limitation

- We may be limited by our backgrounds and human weaknesses, e.g Gideon and Moses

- God uses the nameless, faceless and the useless, so He gets all the glory (1 Cor 1:26-31)

- There are 5 men in the story and 5 = grace of God

- It’s not our impotence but God’s omnipotence!

Conclusion

Get Up

Look Up

Rise Up