Luke chapter five. We're gonna turn in our Bibles to Luke chapter five and read a couple verses here. If you would like to stand in honor of the word of God, just read a couple verses and then you can sit down. Luke chapter five. Luke five and let's start reading here in, We'll start reading in verse 17, if somebody's there to get healed or not, amen? Verse 18, and behold, men brought in a bed a man which was taken with a palsy, and they sought means to bring him in and to lay him before him. And where they could not find by what way they might bring him in, because of the multitude, they went upon the housetop and led him down through the tiling with his couch into the midst before Jesus. And I want you to go down to verse 26, which is where we're going to be I'm going to be in this chapter, but I just want to zero in on verse 26. It says, And they were all amazed and they glorified God and were filled with fear, saying, We have seen strange things today. Let's pray. Father, Lord, we do want to see some strange things today. And Father, there's various times where we see strange things, but we want to see some godly movement in our lives. And Father, we just ask that you might meet with us this morning. Lord, thank you for each and every person that's here for coming out to the service. And Lord, we want to worship you. We want to give honor and glory to you. But Father, we want to be fed. We need to be fed. We need to grow. We need to be built up. So, I pray that you do work this morning, Lord, exhort us, rebuke us, whatever needs to be done. I pray that you set me aside and just use my words, Lord. And Father, help us to be able to hear what is coming forth from the Word of God. Help us. We love you, Lord. Thank you for what you do for us, and we'll thank you in Jesus' name. Amen. Amen. You may be able to sit down here. I hope you'll be able to sit down. Luke chapter 5, a very familiar passage. You've, I'm sure, heard many messages from this particular passage. But as I said, I'd like to zero in on verse 26. We have seen strange things today. I've seen some strange things in my life over the years. These folks, if you look at verse 17 again, there are so many different types of people that are gathered in this house and around this house. You have the Pharisees, you have doctors of the law, you have skeptics, you have believers, you have people that are sick. They just want to be healed. They don't want to know anything else. They just want to be healed. all sorts of people that are around this area. Jesus has just really started his ministry. This particular passage of this man with a palsy has been mentioned in three gospels. So it's pretty important. I think God wants us to learn some things from this passage. Strange things. Have you ever been in a service that has been strange? And I mean in a good way. And I don't mean where you walk in, you say, man, that's pretty strange. I don't wanna be in those kind of services, no. But strange, now I remember the first time I set foot in a Baptist church. I was invited by a friend of mine who was saved. I didn't know what that meant. He's the one that started witnessing to me and he invited us. And I remember walking in, my wife and I walking in, and I thought, Boy, these people are actually friendly. It's almost like they, I feel like they really want me to be here. You know, they were shaking my hand. And then, and then the preacher asked one of the guys to stand up and pray for the service. I've never seen that. I grew up Roman Catholic. You know, all I knew was a smelly incense church and bells and quiet. when you walked into that church. And here, these people are singing songs out of a hymnal, and they're singing out loud, and they're praying out loud, and there was a wedding. It was, it was a wedding, and I thought, man, these people are strange. Then they had an invitation at the end, and he said, if you need to get saved, you gotta come up here and come up to the altar, and somebody will show you from the Bible how to be saved. I thought, man, what a strange thing. But you know what? It was strange, but I knew the power of God was in that place. And I didn't even know what the power of God was, but I knew there was something happening in that place. So the question is, what strange things did they see? Well, I see a strange crowd or a strange gathering. Like I said, the Pharisees were there. The doctors of the law were there. The average person had just wanted to know who Jesus was. There were people there that were sick. They had gone to doctors. They wanted some healing. They were there because they had heard that Jesus heals people. They were packed. They couldn't even get into the place. I mean, there were probably ticket scalpers there. You know, you want to get in the house, I got a ticket here for 300 bucks. Hey, they've been around a long time, those people. And they wanted to get in there. Why? Because everyday people with spiritual questions saw that there was something strange about Jesus. There was something, there was a power there, and they wanted to know more about that. It was a religious crowd. but they needed healing, they had questions. Now, it's interesting in Romans chapter one, just kind of a sideline here, but Romans chapter one, I'm gonna just read this verse to you. Romans chapter one, starting in 19. It says, because that which may be known of God is manifest in them. For God hath showed it unto them, for the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead. You know what? People know that there is a God. They have to be talked out of it. There's a void in every human being. There's a question in every human being that they have. They know that they were created. And they have to be educated out of it. They have to be talked out of it. I don't care what anybody says, that is true. Because God says, the invisible things from the creation of the world are clearly seen. It says, because that when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful. Listen, there's an eclipse coming. First one like this in 99 years. I just read up on this a couple days ago. I didn't really care. We're supposed to drive home on Monday. I'm not driving home on Monday. I can just see some nut on 81 in Tennessee going, look at the sky. I'm not going to do that. First time in 99 years that I mean, there's been eclipses before and all that, but first time in 99 years that it's lined up the way it's lined up, this path 70 miles wide or something, there's something like 200 million people that are a day away from the path of this eclipse. And it's not going to happen that long, but it's some time coming. And it's going to line up perfectly so that the moon is going to block the sun, and all you're going to see is the outside. Now, think about this a minute. You realize the timing of this? Do you realize that God is in charge of all this? Think about that a minute. And people are just, you know, it says that they're actually signing up for seminars about not astrology, but astronomy. You know, they're spending money to go to a hotel in a particular town where they can see this eclipse. Let them think about God, the invisible things from God. That's perfect timing. And that thing is just going to line up, and God's in charge. I'm certainly not going to worry about the eclipse. There's probably people going to be on the rooftop with white sheets and going, ha, ha. It's a strange gathering. There are some strange people that are looking for answers in this particular passage. If you take a look at, take a look at verse 17 again, it says, there were some Pharisees and doctors of the law. So you had religious people. You had people that were politically and religiously running the country, the nation of Israel. And you had an average person that really just wanted to know something about God in the same building. And they were all there just gathered to see and to hear the Lord Jesus Christ. They knew there was something strange and something different happening and they wanted to be there. Now look at verse 18. It says, and behold, men brought into bed a man which was taken with a palsy, and they sought means to bring him in and to lay him before him. Now palsy is, I wrote down, it's actually the definition of palsy is a paralysis with involuntary tremors. There's various types of palsies. So this man, number one, could not walk. He could not come by himself. to this place to be healed. So four men bring him. Look at verse 19. It says, and when they could not find by what way they might bring him in because of the multitude, they went upon the housetop and led him down through the tiling with his couch into the midst before Jesus. Now one, another strange thing that I see here, I see some strange compassion. Some strange persistence. Now think about this a minute. Think about you knowing someone who has palsy who cannot walk. And there's a chance if I take this friend of mine who has palsy to this Jesus, that this Jesus might heal him. Now that means you can't carry him yourself. They didn't have wheelchairs back then. They didn't have 911. They didn't call an ambulance. They needed to carry him. So these four friends get together and say, listen, we really would love to have him healed. We're gonna get a couch. I mean, I don't know, is it a literal couch where he sat on a couch and they carried him? I don't know. Stretcher, couch, whatever it is. Here's four men with so much compassion for their friend. that they carry him to this building because they want him healed. Now, let's just turn it for a second. How much compassion do we have for our friends, for our relatives to have them be saved? to bring them to church, not drag them to church, but bring them to church so they can hear the gospel or witness to them. What kind of compassion do we have? But these four men bring them to the building and they're trying to get in. Now listen, I'm sure all of us have been in a place where there's a big long line and you're trying to get in. And you try to kind of push your way. You know how people react, don't you? Hey, I see me here standing here. Are you pushing me? That's exactly what they were doing. Here they are with, let's say, a stretcher with this man on it, four guys, and they're pushing people because they're trying to get in. They're not letting them in. What kind of compassion is that for these people that are standing around the house? So what they do is they go up to the roof. Now, the roofs at that time, from what I understand, most of them were flat. There was a place where people would go and sit up there in the evening. They had to take this man on a stretcher up to that roof. That's not easy. That's not easy. And once they got up on that roof, now they got to break it up. I can see Tom standing there with three other guys. Now, who's going to pay for this mess once we open this roof up? We know that Tom can do it and he can probably put it back together very nicely, but somebody's going to have to clean up the mess. What are they going to say? They didn't care. They wanted their friend healed. That's compassion. As a matter of fact, that's persistence. Mark says that he was born of four. What if they hadn't? What if only three of them said, yeah, we'll do it, and the fourth one couldn't? They needed four to carry him. It's some strange compassion. Listen. When it's a difficult situation, when you know that's what you need to do, you need to have that compassion, it's not going to be easy. There's going to be resistance. There were people around that building. They resisted. They didn't want them to be in there. They were there. Those people were standing there for hours. They were not going to let somebody else into that building. Because you know, that's the way you and I are. I've been waiting here for two hours. You ain't getting in. What did Jesus see? He saw the persistence. He saw the compassion. You know what, sometimes we witness to people, we witness to our relatives, we witness to our friends, and we don't see any results. They don't wanna hear it. And you witness to them, and years go by, 20 years go by, and 25 years go by, and you really feel like throwing your hands up in the air. But don't do it. because you still can pray for them. You can pray for them and say, Lord, their heart is hard. They don't wanna hear it, but I still wanna pray for them. I want them to be saved. Listen, there are people, they got saved on their deathbed, but they got saved. Have the compassion to pray for those people, to stay after it, to be persistent. There's a lady in our church in Connecticut whose mom had come to church a number of times. She had witnessed to her, her brother had witnessed to her. They discovered some cancer in her body and months went on and the daughter witnessed to her. The mom just said, no, you know, I have my religion and I have this and that and I have that. And she asked me, she said, just one last time, they brought her home from the hospital. They're giving her about seven to 10 days. Would you just go and visit one more time? So I went to see her. I had never met her before. The brother let me in. She was laying in her bed. She couldn't even talk. So I read some scripture, told her why I was there, and the Lord just gave me some boldness, and I said, I said, ma'am, are you saved? And she just looked at me. And I went through the scripture again, I said, according to what I've read, I said, are you sure when you pass away, it could be today, it could be in two days, are you sure you're going to heaven? And she went, hmm. I mean, she could not speak, but she moved her head. So I said, well, listen, went through it again, what she needed to do. I said, would you like to pray and be saved? And she just very lightly nodded her head. I said, well, then you pray. I'm not going to pray for you. You pray. I knew she couldn't talk. She closed her eyes. It was like five minutes. I thought she fell asleep. And the Lord just said, just hold on. And literally, she had her eyes closed, she went like this. And I said, did you ask the Lord to save you? And she said, mm-hmm. It was like 35 years. Just don't give up. Have the compassion that these four men had. Look at verse 20. Jesus it says and when he saw their faith. He said unto him man Thy sins are forgiven thee you know what else I see I see a strange statement here man Hey, man Thy sins are forgiven isn't isn't that kind of strange. I mean he didn't call his name. He probably knew his name Even if he wasn't introduced Jesus wouldn't know his name. It's Jesus You know But he said, man, it's almost like he's making a general statement to man, to mankind. He says, thy sins are forgiven thee. Well, the man didn't come to have his sins forgiven. I mean, that wasn't on his mind. That man had the palsy for all of his years. He wanted to get in there and walk out. That's what he wanted. He wanted to get healed. And Jesus says to him, thy sins are forgiven. I mean, it's kind of strange that Jesus would say that. But again, there's some strange things going on in here. Now look at verse 21. It says, and the scribes and the Pharisees began to reason, saying, who is this which speaketh blasphemies? Who can forgive sins but God alone? What a strange response, strange reasoning by the religious crowd there. Who can forgive sins but God alone? Listen. It's kind of a duh moment for the Pharisees when you think about it. Jesus said that so that they would realize that he is God manifest in the flesh. I mean, it really is a dull moment. And they're having it and it just shows you how slow they are because they are a religious crowd. I don't know about you, but I was a little slow before I got saved. I'm a little slow now too, but spiritually, when I first heard the gospel, clearly that I can tell you that someone actually presented the gospel. And it hit me. I didn't respond to it immediately, but it really got me between my two eyes. I mean, it got me. And I couldn't... I couldn't get rid of the thoughts that the Holy Spirit had put in there, the verses that I had heard the first time. Now, after I got saved, I went back and started thinking about the time before this particular witness, and God was trying to get to me even before that. But my duh moment was at that time. And then February 10, 1977 was the moment that I knew I had to get saved. And it was at 11 o'clock in my dining room. It is as clear as it was yesterday. Now, you know what? If it's not that clear for you when you got saved, it's OK. But for me, I'm gonna tell ya, it's just etched in my memory. The associate pastor of the church at the time came over and started witnessing to me. I thought I was saved because I had prayed, but I know I was not saved. I remember when I prayed the first time, I said, I'm gonna pray just in case he's right. I know that I was not saved. And he had to talk me out of my salvation so he could show me what real salvation was. And when I prayed, when I got on my knees and I prayed, I'm gonna tell you, it just changed my life. It changed my life. It was a duh moment for me. It was a strange response for the Pharisees to say that. You know what's interesting here too? It says in verse 22, But when Jesus perceived their thoughts, you realize that Jesus knows everything you think about? Man, it's a scary thought. And even if you're not saved and you're reasoning some unscriptural things, God is still there to answer your questions. Jesus Christ knew exactly what he was doing. He threw the question out there. He didn't say, oh, come here, I'll heal you. He said, man, thy sins be forgiven. Well, he challenged their thinking. Strange response and strange reasoning. He knew what they were thinking. As a matter of fact, Matthew says, and Jesus knowing their thoughts. I mean, what would, huh, You talk about forgiving sins. What would the Pharisees say nowadays if they walked into a church and they saw a confessional booth? And the man in there forgiving sins, saying your sins are forgiven. That's how far we've come. You know what, you leave things alone and you become religious and religion will take you places you don't wanna go. I wanna stick with scripture. Listen, I was a religious, I grew up Roman Catholic, I was a religious man for 32 years, as religious as you can get. And I was as lost as a goose. It's not religion that'll save you, it's the Lord Jesus Christ that will save you. Again, look at verse 23. It says, whether it's easier to say thy sins be forgiven thee or to say rise up and walk. Now this is a question that Jesus puts out. What's easier to do? Is it to heal someone or to save somebody from their sins? Now, let me ask you this. If this man of the palsy was living in 2017, there's a chance that through medication and through a good doctor, he wouldn't have palsy. Am I right? So what's easier to do? To heal somebody or to go to the cross, die for the sins of the world, suffer what Jesus Christ suffered, or to heal somebody? It's to go to the cross to save you from your sins. That's an honest question by Jesus Christ. It didn't cost Jesus Christ anything to heal that body. You remember the woman with the issue of blood that touched the hem of Jesus' garment? What did he do? He lost some virtue. It's Jesus Christ. It's God manifesting the flesh. I mean, you know, fill her up. Virtue filled up. But Jesus Christ went to the cross for you and I and died for those sins. So the question is, what's easier, forgiveness of sins or salvation or healing? Forgiveness of sins is much, it costs Jesus Christ a lot more. Now look at verse 25. I'm sorry, go to verse 24. It says, but that ye may know that the son of man hath power upon earth to forgive sins, he said unto the sick of the palsy, I say unto thee, arise and take up thy couch and go into thine house. And immediately he rose up before them, and took up that whereon he lay, and departed to his own house, glorifying God. In verse 24, Jesus says, but that ye may know that the Son of Man hath power upon earth to forgive sins. The whole reason for that man being born of four, coming into that building, being healed, the whole reason was so that people could see the power of God in that building. That's a strange thing. I don't know if you've ever been in a church, and this church has gone through this a number of times, where during the preaching, during the singing, the power of God just falls. And you know that the Holy Spirit is here, and He's talking to you. That's the power of God, and that's one of those strange things that they were talking about. That ye may know that the Son of Man hath power upon earth to forgive sins. Listen, you know what the problem is sometimes with us? I've been saved for 40 years, and I've gone through this a number of times. And you come to church, you read your Bible, and it starts getting old. It starts getting, you get used to it. You go through your routine. It becomes religious. Listen, Baptists can become religious. We've been to a couple of Baptist churches in Georgia, they're pretty religious. We've got a list like this we're going through. And there's been some good ones. And there's been other ones, they're just religious. They just have the name Baptist on them. What are you in your heart? That's really where it lies. strange questions Which is easier the forgiveness of sins or salvation or healing listen in verse 24 he said That ye may know that the Son of Man hath power upon earth to forgive sins 1st John 5 13 is the verse that Kept me awake at night that just I Poked my heart and it says these things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God That ye may know that ye have eternal life Jesus Christ wanted them to know that the power of God was here on earth That he was the Son of God that he was here to heal and that he was mostly here here to heal them from their sins and That's what they wanted to hear. Now, don't you think that was a challenge to the Pharisees? All the people had to come to the Pharisees, all the people had to come to the temple to sacrifice, to do some things for their quote, salvation. And even then, they never really knew if their sins were forgiven. I mean, you bring that lamb, and you had to cut its throat, and that blood was all over the altar, and it was there to cover their sin, and they walk away, and they look at their neighbor, and they say, Man, that's a nice ox cart. I wish I had one like that. I just sinned. I had to go sacrifice again. Praise God that Jesus Christ came once for all to cover our sins, to get rid of those sins. And that's the statement he makes. Now look at verse 26, and it says, and they were all amazed. Every person in that building was amazed, from the Pharisees to the man who was just a skeptic, who maybe was a believer, who was just there to say, hey, I was there when, they just wanted to show up just to say they were there. They all believed, and they all knew. there were some strange things that went on. And you notice that the man, in verse 25, it says, immediately he rose up before them, took up that whereon he lay, and departed to his own house, and what was he doing? He glorified God. God wants glory, not because he just wants to sit there and look for glory, because he deserves glory. He needs to be glorified. When God does something like that, we need to stand up and just shout for God and glorify Him. Now, remember this in verse 26, as it says, we have seen strange things today. Don't get used to the strange things that God does in your life. Don't get used to it. Because if you get used to it, it'll become like a religion. Listen, God still saves people. God still adds people to this church. Listen, I looked on Facebook. Who joined here recently, right? You guys joined? wherever they are. That's a blessing. I mean, people getting baptized, people getting saved. Listen, God ain't, God is not through with this world. God's not through with you and I. God is still on the throne. God still has the power. Listen, I don't care. I don't care what the president does. I don't care what the Congress does. I don't care what Korea does. God is on the throne. I mean, listen, if Korea's going to shoot a nuclear missile, let it be in Georgia, right there, Ackworth, soapstone lane, circle right there. You know what? I'm going to heaven. I mean, threaten me with death. Go ahead. You know what I'm saying. Listen, none of us have ever died. I hope not, unless you've been resurrected. That's a hard thing. None of us have ever gone through that, so it's something that's different and strange. But you know what? Look at the other end. Who are you gonna be with? You're gonna be with the Lord Jesus Christ. Listen, there's wars and rumors of wars. Jesus said in Matthew 24, there'll be wars and rumors of wars. There'll be people who come that say they're Christ, But you know what, the end is not yet. Listen, the Lord Jesus Christ could come tomorrow, or he could come in 10 years or 20 years. I got saved 40 years ago, and when I got saved, every message I heard, the Lord's coming back, the Lord's coming back. Well, he ain't come back in 40 years. Eh, you know, what am I gonna give up? No, I believe this Bible. The Lord's coming back. Don't get used to the strange things that God does in your life. In the church, God is still in charge. Listen, this man, he came in being carried and he walked out. Ha! I remember when I walked into my dining room, I was spiritually dead. And when I walked out of my dining room, I was spiritually alive. and I remember it well. I came in one person, I went out another. You've heard all the stories and what I look like and what I was into. I was a different person. I was a different person the minute I got saved. And then God just started changing me little by little. That's what it's about. Can you imagine that man who had the palsy who was healed? Can you imagine a year from that point? Can you imagine two years or three years? Can you imagine a man with the palsy standing at the foot of Jesus when he was on that cross saying, thank you Lord for healing me. Thank you Lord for saving me. You forgave me of my sins. Mm-mm. Listen, if you're saved here today, you ought to be thankful what God has done for you. If you're not saved here today, today is a good day to get saved. You know what 1 Peter says? It says, but ye are a chosen generation, talking to saved people, a royal priesthood and holy nation, a peculiar people. You know what? Let me tell you something right now. You are very strange. You're very peculiar. If you are living according to what God, how God wants you to live, you're a strange person in this world. You know what my philosophy is, if I have a philosophy? Ephesians 2 talks about the course of this world. And that course of this world is flowing like a river. Have you ever stood in a river and tried to go upstream? It's a little hard. But I'm going to tell you, if the world's going this way, I'm going that way. And you'll always be right. If CNN says this, go the other way and say this, and I guarantee you, you'll be right. They'll catch up eventually. I know that God will straighten it out. I don't have to worry about it. I don't have the power to straighten it out. They're strange in their own way. I wanna be strange in the peculiar way, the way God wants me to be strange. Now, how about you today? Have you had your duh moment? Can you point to a day where you asked the Lord to save you? I hope so. I hope you're saved today. Has he forgiven your sins? Is he the son of God or not? I mean, that's really what these people were challenged with. Here is God manifest in the flesh, sitting on a seat, saying, the son of man has the power to forgive sins. They had to sit there, they had to make up their mind. I either believe him or I don't. I don't know how many did or not, but it was a moment of change for them. You've seen some strange things, I'm sure, in churches, some good strange things, people getting saved, people turning their life around. Let's not get used to it. Let's watch for it. Listen, I'm looking forward to what God is gonna do with this church. I'm looking forward to the church that God is gonna put us in so we can do something for God. Listen, I'm 72, I ain't quitting. I'm not done yet. As long as I can walk, and I limp, I know, but as long as I can walk, I'm gonna do something for God. I mentioned in Sunday school, we went to this one church, the Entire Bible Baptist Church, and I thought, man, that's kind of a strange name to name your church, the Entire Bible. I was gonna go and just bring a New Testament just to see what they would do. And so we went, and most of the people there were at least 10, 15 years older than I was. And there was only about 20 of them, 25. And they sang the good songs out of the hymnal and gave some great testimonies. And the preacher came up. He said, are you a preacher? I said, yeah, I am. He says, come on up here and sit with me and sit with the deacons. And he leaned over and asked me a couple of questions. And he said, what do you believe about the raptures? Are you a preacher? I said, yeah, sure, I'm a preacher. He goes, you want to preach next Sunday night? What? I don't even know who I am. So I preached Sunday night. Had a good old time. Listen, if God, if that's what God wants me to do, what am I going to say, no to God? Some strange things. But let's get used to it, let's not get used to them and let's look for those strange things, because God's still alive, God's still doing it. Listen, God still wants to do a work in your heart. I don't care how old you are, I don't care how young you are, He wants to work with you and He wants to live inside of you and do His work in you. So the question is this morning, are you saved? You can't pay for it, God's already paid for it. So if you're not saved here this morning, you want to get saved. It's a good time to get saved. Amen? Amen. Strange things, but man, there's some power behind it. And I want to see the power of God in this church and in our lives. Amen? Amen. Let's pray. Father. Lord, there's some wonderfully strange things that we have seen over the years. And Father, you're still alive. You're still working in people. You're still working in churches. Father, you're still working in Washington. You're still working in this world. And Father, you're in control, and we know that. And Father, we lose that many, many times during the day. We say, oh man, look what's going on. Father, you're in charge, and you have the power, and you have the control, and you are the God of this universe, and we thank you for it. And Father, this morning, We want to thank you for allowing us to come And Lord if there's someone here this morning that doesn't know you as their Savior Father, let it be today. They might come to you and ask forgiveness of sins Repentant Lord turn from their sin and ask you to be their Savior Father we thank you. Thank you for being a great God how great God Thank you for that And Lord, would you just do a work right now, help us to be thankful to you, and help us to request some strange things in our lives, because we want to stay alive for you. Father, we'll thank you for it. In Jesus' name, amen.