"There Is No One Else Like You”
Mark 2:1 - 12
Introduction:
1.This one of my favorite stores in the Bible.
2.When we come together in this house, we are coming to to meet with Jesus. At least I hope that is why we come. If Jesus weren’t here, I wouldn’t come either. We come here to hear His word. We come here to feel His Spirit. We come here to gain strength from His presence.
3.We can come together and have a meeting if we want to, but if Jesus doesn’t show up, that’s all it will be is a meeting. I want to come to feel the power of God and sense His presence. I want to come to know the moving of the Holy Ghost in the midst of the church. I want to see his glory fill the house. I come to know the Holy Spirit is in the midst of His church. I want to see His glory fill the house. I want to see souls set free from sin and bondage. I want to see miracles happen. I want to feel the anointing and know that Jesus is here. I don’t want to just have church – I want to have what of my southern brothers & sisters call “Chuch”! I want more than just a good time with all of you. Now you have to know I love all of you very much. But let’s face it, we want a mighty moving of Holy Ghost and fire.
4.Wherever Jesus is, you are going to see people come from everywhere. How many of you have seen people flock to a church or a place where they believe that there has been some great supernatural manifestation, whether it is real or not?
5.While I was pastoring at Apalachicola, FL there was a great revival in a near by city. People came from all over the world by the busloads and the planeloads just to experience that meeting. Now some of you may be saying to yourself, “But some of the things that happened there were not real.” Well, if it was it would be hard to make that determination. But I am sure as in most moves of God some people were in the flesh. But hey lets get real. I would rather be in a great meeting where one person was in the flesh than in one where everyone there was dead as a door nail. How about you? Isn’t that how you feel?
6. The truth is Jesus wanted to begin His ministry earlier. Jesus came to Nazareth and came to the Synagogue but the people refused to accept him. They knew Him and yet they got so angry when he presented the truth of salvation that they wanted to throw Him from a cliff at the edge of town.
7.The same was true of Bethlehem where Jesus spent his early childhood. The politicians were jealous of the prophecies given over Jesus and refused to give Him a place. This is true in churches some times. God is moving and is speaking to His people and yet many refuse to listen to what God wants to do among His people.
SERMON BODY:
I. Jesus had to leave Nazareth for His ministry to flourish and the Holy Ghost to move in His ministry. He said Himself, “I could do no miracles because of the
unbelief.” The same is true in our lives today.
Sometimes LEAVING NEEDS TO TAKE PLACE for revival to come.
A.This is borne out in the Old Testament story of
Jacob and Esau. Jacob had many wonderful promises given to him. They included the inherited promises of both Abraham and Isaac as well and the personal prophesy that the younger son in the family would receive the inherited birthright blessing of Isaac. His mother Rebekah did not do him a favor by using deception and manipulation in helping him gain that blessing. She got him off to a difficult start that would take him 20 years to overcome and return to his homeland. The night he left home was a cold lonely night for him. He slept on the ground with his head upon a stone. The place was called Bethel. He wondered if he would ever see home and family again.
1.GOD VISTED Jacob that night. He saw a ladder in a dream that came down from heaven and he saw angels ascending and descending from heaven. God told him that these angels were going to protect him on his sojourn into Haran and they would bring him back to Bethel again and that this land was going to be his inheritance. So for 20 years the dream of that night stayed din focus in Jacob’s heart and mind. How many times has God visited you in your day of misery and has given you a promise that has sustained you all this time.
2.Then the day came 20 years later when Jacob knew it was time to go home. No one had to tell him. He had been through 20 years of training, which ended with a wrestling match between Jacob and God.
3.Jacob was ready to return but Laban tried to keep him in Haran. He begged him to remain there in Haran. He promised to pay him more But guess what? Jacob had learned a lesson. 10 times Laban had detained him before when he wanted to return to his homeland and every time he ended up getting shortchanged. That is how it is when you deal with the Devil.
4.You always think things are going to get better. You always think you can figure out how to get the best of him and enjoy life, but it never works out that way. You always are going to get the short end of the stick. You will be left with the heartache. You will be left with the ugly wife. You will be the one left with the financial depravity. You will be the one who is homesick for the great things of God which have been promised to you. There is only one thing left for you to do. What is that? It is to get up and leave and head home. “And the Lord said unto Jacob, ‘Return unto the land of thy fathers, and to thy kindred and I will be with thee.’”(Gen. 31:3)
5.You have tried many times, but this morning something is on the rise inside of your heart that lets you know this morning is your day. This is the day God has ordained for you to leave.
6.When Jacob walked away something powerful happened. He was met by an Angel! Gen. 31:11, “And the angel of God spake unto me in a dream, saying, ‘Jacob:’ and I
said, here am I. And he said, ‘Lift up now thine eyes and see, … for I have seen all that Laban doeth unto thee. I am the God of Bethel (the house of God) where thou anointest the pillar, and where thou vowest
a vow unto me; now arise, get thee out of from this land, and return unto the land of thy kindred.’”
7.What was Jacob’s vow? It was since he was standing at the entrance to heaven, the place where angels come from heaven to help us, if God kept him until he returned, he would serve God and would tithe.
8.When you make the decision, God springs into action on your behalf. There is power in walking away.
9.You see, when you are walking away from your past you are walking towards something positive at the same time. You are walking towards God’s promises and blessings.
10.What will you be walking away from?
·From the grief’s of the past
·From the conniving influence of unbelievers (Laban
& his sons)
·From a lack of faith because of the absence of your
promises
·Walk away from the group that
Walk away from addictions
11.What will you be walking towards?
·You will be walking towards God’s protection,
(Jacob meets Esau)
·You will be walking in God’s blessings
·What will keep you there the angels who descend
from heaven to help you
The place of obedience is the place of entrance for
the angels.
12.I wonder just how many blessings did Nazareth miss because Jesus left?
13.This Christmas I don’t know how many blessings Bethlehem missed because they rejected the baby Jesus. Jesus moved to Capernaum in Galilee because he was rejected by the people around where he was born and raised. How many blessings do we miss because we have become too familiar and we don’t reverence His presence like we should.
14.Listen, coming to the house of God should be more than the way we treat a concert performance or a country hoedown or a Bill Gaither gospel concert. What do you think a visitor would think if he sat by you and saw you writing messages or figuring a job, or talking to your neighbor like nothing at all was going on of any importance?
B.Jesus was in this house and people heard about it
and came to see and hear Him. The Bible says there
were so many people in the house there was
standing room only. Why because they heard that
Jesus would be there!!
II. Now they were not all there to get a blessing or be a blessing!!
A. Some were there just out of curiosity. They just
wanted to get a glimpse of this miracle working
teacher.
C.Some were there just to criticize. The Pharisees
were the holiness crowd of their day. They
measured your garments. The number of garments
and even the color. They measure your hair and
how cut your hair. And believe me you ladies
would not be sitting down here with us men. You
all would be crowded into the balcony in the back.
Oh yes, that is how it was. The fact was they were
used by Satan more than any other group to attempt
to block the way of needy people or to stop Jesus
from reaching the people with His message of
hope. We need to be careful that we are not like
these Pharisees in Peter’s house who were
unwitting tools of the Devil to stop the work Jesus
was trying to do.
D. The fact is there may have only been one who
meant business that day. He may have called some
acquaintances he knew and asked them, “Hey I
hear Jesus is going to be at Peter’s house. Could
I get you to help me get there today?” Or maybe
he sent several notes and asked the favor. At any
rate he came and was let down in front of Jesus. If
you mean business with Jesus it doesn’t matter
how many complainers are here. It doesn’t matter
who is just here for whatever reason. If you mean
business with God you will have an audience with
Jesus and you can rest assured that your needs will
be met.
D.But I am sure there were many who were serious
that day. The truth is the men that brought the
paralytic were determined to get their friend,
neighbor or relative to Jesus. Boy was I happy to
see that kind of enthusiasm on “Round Up Sunday”
when many of you filled your pews with new
people.
E.This rescue team was so determined to get this man
to Jesus that they would not let anything stop them even to tearing up Peter’s home to do it. I wonder what Peter’s wife thought or what about his mother –in-law?
F.A while later Jesus returned to Peter’s house again and what a difference this time? The people
evidently decided if Jesus returned and they had
another chance they were not just going to stand
in the isle or get in the way or complain but they
were going to bring others and see deliverance
both for themselves and for others. They were
going to have revival. They had determined to
leave that compliancy, complaining deadheaded
style of coming into God’s presence they had
greeted Jesus with before when he visited Peter’s
house. Let me read the account: ”And when Jesus
was come into Peter’s house, he saw his wife’s
mother laid, and sick of the fever. And he
touched her, and the fever left her: and she
arose, and ministered unto them.” Listen:
“When the even was come they brought unto
him many (not just one) who were possessed with
devils: and he cast out the spirits with his word,
and healed all that were sick: that it might be
fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the
prophet saying, ‘Himself took our infirmities,
and bare our sicknesses.’”
CONCLUSION:
1.They decided to leave all that hindered them. They had lived with their problems all these months but not now. There was no wasting of time or blocking of isles with worthless religious inquiry or activity, argument or debates. They were leaving all that and getting to Jesus. That is why all of them were delivered and healed. Getting to Jesus today is too important for that. Leave it now and get to Jesus!
· It was in this house that the paralytic was
forgiven and healed.
· It was in this house that Jesus healed Peter’s
mother –in-law.
· It was in this house that Jarius’ daughter was
raised from the dead.
· It was in this house that Jesus healed the two
blind men.
· It was in this house that Mary wiped the feet of
Jesus with her hair.
· It was in this house that Jesus instituted the
Lord’s Supper.
It was in this house that doubting Thomas became a
believer of faith.
2 3. Jacob knew of that entrance but not until he chose
to leave the land of Haran and his uncle Laban was
able to claim his spiritual inheritance. Hey,
where are you today?
4. Chorus:
“There is none like You”
You deserve all the glory and the honor
Lord I lift up my hands to worship you,
As I offer up this praise.
(Repeat)
You are great, You do miracles so great.
There’s no one else like you.
There’s no one else like you
(Repeat)
