Coming to Walk and Jump
Reading Scripture: Mark 2:3-12
Verse to Memorize: John14:12
Reference: Exodus 15:26 Goal: to help believers know how to experience God's power, possess perfect faith, and become God's true children who receive answers to whatever they ask for The Bible records about several lame men who came to walk and jump by the power of God and glorified Him. Not only Jesus, but also the apostles Peter and Paul enabled the lame to walk and leap as recorded in Acts 3:1-10 and 14:8-10. Such powerful works are still taking place in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ today.
Now, let's look into the case of a paralytic who had not been able to walk but came to walk and jump up by meeting the Lord Jesus and learn how to experience the same powerful work of God.
- 1. A paralytic man and his friends came before Jesus In Capernaum there was a paralytic.
He was a poor man since his sufferings were so severe that he could not stand up without others' help. Meantime, he heard that a man named Jesus had made the lame get up and walk, had driven out demons, and had healed people of various diseases. Hearing this, he came to long to meet Jesus thinking 'How good it would be if I met Him and also gained healing.' One day Jesus came to Capernaum. How joyful he was upon hearing the news of Jesus' coming.
He asked his friends to take him to Jesus. They readily agreed because they also heard about the powerful works performed by Jesus. By the friends' help, the paralytic arrived at the house where Jesus was staying. But it was so crowded that it seemed impossible to make their way through the crowd and come before Jesus. If they had only little faith they might have just returned to their homes, making excuses for the situation. But they did not give up even until the end. They pondered about a good way to see Jesus. They came up with a good idea: to remove the roof above Jesus and let down the pallet on which the paralytic was lying. A Jewish traditional house has stairs along the sides of the house, which made it easy to go up to the roof. The roof was made with reeds or palm tree branches so anyone could remove the roof with ease. When his friends removed the roof, the paralytic could get to Jesus closer than any other people in the place.
As seen in the case, true faith is accompanied by deeds. The deeds of faith can be showed when we lower ourselves with humbleness. What if the paralytic had lied down at home and said, "Lord, I can't move at all. You know my situation. But I believe You will heal me"? Do you think it would have any real deed of faith? No, it could not. The paralytic did not wait for good luck, doing nothing. He tried the best way to show his faith in action. He had faith and the assurance that he would be healed as long as he met Jesus. Because of such an assurance and faith, he could just come before Jesus, even through the help of friends, and then he could be healed. As his friends also had faith, they helped help him by even removing the roof of another person's house.
- 2. We can receive answer only after the problems of sin are resolved
Jesus was pleased with the deed of faith that the paralytic and his friends showed and said, "Son, your sins are forgiven" (Mark 2:5). Why did Jesus tell him so? This is because the healing of diseases requires us to be forgiven of our sins first. Because diseases come from sins Jesus had him forgiven of his sins first. This tells us that the paralytic came down with the disease because he had not kept the Word of God and committed sins following the lust of the world. Exodus 15:26 reads, "If you will give earnest heed to the voice of the LORD your God, and do what is right in His sight, and give ear to His commandments, and keep all His statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you which I have put on the Egyptians; for I, the LORD, am your healer."
Here, "The diseases on you which I have put on the Egyptians" refer to all kinds of diseases in the world. If we keep God's commands and live in the Word of God, none of diseases in the world can come upon us. This is because God protects us. Deuteronomy chapter 28 also tells us that if we diligently obey the Word of God, being careful to follow all His commandments, then God will set us high above all the nations of the earth and bless us when we go out and when we come in. But if we don't, we can't be under His protection and curses will come upon us. In John 5 is a scene where Jesus healed a sick man of his 38-year-old disease. John 5:14 reads, "Afterward Jesus found him in the temple and said to him, 'Behold, you have become well; do not sin anymore, so that nothing worse happens to you.'" Jesus said so because if he sinned again something worse would happen to him.
If a sinner wants to be forgiven, he needs to repent and turn away from his past way. An unrighteous man should become a righteous man. A liar should become an honest man. If you hated others you should love them now. God forgives those who obey His Word. He does not forgive people who say just with lips, "I believe." He will cleanse people with the precious blood of the Lord when they come out into the light from darkness as recorded in 1 John 1:7.
- 3. A paralytic man came to walk and jump by the power of God
When Jesus said to the paralytic, "Son, your sins are forgiven," the scribes thought, "Why does this man speak that way? He is blaspheming; who can forgive sins but God alone?" (Mark 2:7) They could not understand Jesus because they saw Him inside of the framework they themselves had made with the Law. They thought Jesus blasphemed God. But Jesus knew their hearts very well. Jesus said in Mark 2:8-10, "Why are you reasoning about these things in your hearts? Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, 'Your sins are forgiven'; or to say, 'Get up, and pick up your pallet and walk'? But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins."
He showed a sign to prove that He had come to the earth as the Son of God to fulfill His duty as the Savior. Jesus said to the paralytic, "I say to you, get up, pick up your pallet and go home." And he got up and immediately picked up the pallet and went out, so that people were all amazed and glorifying God. His being healed tells us both that he was forgiven of his sins and that God guaranteed the word of Jesus surely.
- 4. The powerful work of coming to walk and jump with faith
Jesus said in John 14:11, "Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me; otherwise believe because of the works themselves." The paralytic got up and walked though Jesus just commanded it only with His word. Seeing this powerful work, we can see that Jesus is one with God. And Jesus promised that the same works and even greater works that Jesus Himself did would be performed though those who believe that Jesus is the Savior and have become united as one with God. This is just as recorded in John 14:12, which reads, "Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do, he will do also; and greater works than these he will do; because I go to the Father."
Senior Pastor of Manmin Central Church, Dr. Jaerock Lee met the living God experiencing God's amazing power of healing him of all his diseases he had suffered for 7 years. So he believed the 66 books of the Bible completely and obeyed them. After he was called as a pastor by God, he accumulated countless times of fasting and prayer to receive the power of God. That is why astounding signs, wonders, and powerful works have unfolded in the church since the opening of the church. Through his prayer, those who were dying of carbon monoxide poisoning came to life, the deaf to hear, the blind to see, and the lame to walk and jump. Amazing works have never stopped happening.
The power of God the Creator is boundless. Things that go beyond human imagination can occur by His power. The power of God can heal those diseases that can't be healed with the worldly method and science. Besides, it brings about amazing works which cause countless souls to be saved. I hope you will experience the power of God the Creator with faith that pleases God.
Kutembea na Kuruka kwa Furaha
Soma: Marko 2:3-12
Mstari wa kukariri: Yohana 14:12
Marejeo: Kutoka 15:26. Lengo: kuwasaidia waumini kujua jinsi ya kupokea nguvu za Mungu, kuwa na imani kamili, na kuwa watoto wa kweli wa Mungu wanaopokea majibu ya maombi yao. Biblia inasimulia kuhusu watu waliokuwa vilema ambao waliweza kutembea na kuruka kwa nguvu za Mungu na kumtukuza. Yesu, pamoja na mitume Petro na Paulo, aliwafanya vilema watembee (Matendo 3:1-10; 14:8-10). Miujiza hiyo bado inatendeka kwa jina la Bwana Yesu Kristo.
Hebu tuangalie mtu aliyekuwa amepooza, lakini akaweza kutembea na kuruka baada ya kukutana na Yesu, na tujifunze jinsi ya kuona kazi hiyo ya Mungu.
- 1. Mtu aliyepooza na marafiki zake walimwendea Yesu
Katika Kapernaumu alikuwapo mtu aliyepooza. Hali yake ilikuwa ngumu sana hata hangeweza kusimama bila msaada. Alisikia kwamba Yesu aliwafanya vilema wasimame na kutembea, akawafukuza pepo na kuponya magonjwa mbalimbali. Akaanza kutamani kukutana na Yesu na kuponywa. Siku moja Yesu alipokuja Kapernaumu, alifurahi sana kusikia habari hizo.
Aliwaomba marafiki zake wampeleke kwa Yesu, nao wakakubali kwa kuwa walikuwa wamesikia kuhusu kazi za Yesu. Walipofika nyumbani alipokuwa Yesu, umati ulikuwa mkubwa sana kiasi cha kutowezekana kupenya. Hawakukata tamaa. Walipanda juu ya paa, wakalifunua na kumshusha mgonjwa akiwa juu ya mkeka. Nyumba za jadi za Kiyahudi zilikuwa na ngazi za kupandia paa, ambalo lilitengenezwa kwa matawi na mianzi na lingeweza kufunguliwa kwa urahisi. Kwa njia hiyo alimkaribia Yesu kuliko watu wengine.
Imani ya kweli huonekana katika matendo. Matendo hayo yanaweza kuonekana tunapojinyenyekeza. Mtu huyo hakuendelea kulala nyumbani akisema tu kwamba anaamini; alifanya alivyoweza kuonyesha imani yake. Alikuwa na hakika kwamba angeponywa akikutana na Yesu. Marafiki zake pia walionyesha imani kwa kumsaidia hata kwa kufunua paa.
- 2. Majibu hupatikana baada ya tatizo la dhambi kutatuliwa
Yesu alifurahia imani yao akamwambia, “Mwanangu, umesamehewa dhambi zako” (Marko 2:5). Alisema hivyo kwa sababu uponyaji unahusiana na kusamehewa dhambi. Kutoka 15:26 inasema kwamba tukisikiliza sauti ya Bwana na kushika amri zake, hataweka juu yetu magonjwa yaliyowapata Wamisri, kwa maana yeye ndiye mponyaji wetu. Hii inaonyesha ulinzi wa Mungu tunapoishi kulingana na Neno lake.
Katika Kumbukumbu la Torati 28, Mungu anaahidi baraka kwa wanaotii Neno lake, na kueleza matokeo ya kutotii. Yesu alipomponya mtu aliyekuwa mgonjwa kwa miaka 38, alimwambia katika Yohana 5:14, “Tazama, umekuwa mzima; usitende dhambi tena, lisije likakupata jambo lililo baya zaidi.”
Mwenye dhambi anayetaka kusamehewa anapaswa kutubu na kuacha njia yake ya zamani. Asiye haki anapaswa kuwa mwenye haki; mwongo awe mkweli; na aliyewachukia wengine aanze kuwapenda. Mungu husamehe tunapoacha giza na kuishi katika nuru, kama 1 Yohana 1:7 inavyofundisha.
- 3. Mtu aliyepooza alitembea kwa nguvu za Mungu
Yesu aliposema dhambi za mtu huyo zimesamehewa, waandishi walifikiri kwamba alikuwa anakufuru, kwa kuwa Mungu pekee ndiye awezaye kusamehe dhambi (Marko 2:7). Yesu alijua mawazo yao na akawauliza ni lipi lililo rahisi: kusema dhambi zimesamehewa au kumwambia mtu aliyepooza ainuke, achukue mkeka wake na kutembea. Kisha akasema haya ili wajue kwamba Mwana wa Adamu ana mamlaka duniani ya kusamehe dhambi.
Yesu alimwambia, “Nakuambia, Ondoka, ujitwike kitanda chako, uende nyumbani kwako.” Mara moja mtu huyo akaondoka, akachukua mkeka wake na kutoka mbele ya wote. Watu wakastaajabu na kumtukuza Mungu. Kuponywa kwake kulionyesha kwamba dhambi zake zilisamehewa na kwamba Mungu alithibitisha neno la Yesu.
- 4. Kwa imani, Mungu hutenda kazi ya ajabu
Yesu alisema, “Nisadiki ya kwamba mimi ni ndani ya Baba, na Baba yu ndani yangu; la sivyo nisadiki kwa sababu ya kazi zenyewe” (Yohana 14:11). Mtu huyo alisimama na kutembea kwa amri ya Yesu. Yesu aliahidi kwamba wanaomwamini watafanya kazi alizofanya, hata kubwa zaidi, kwa kuwa anaenda kwa Baba (Yohana 14:12).
Mchungaji Mkuu Jaerock Lee wa Kanisa la Manmin Central alikutana na Mungu aliye hai na kuponywa magonjwa aliyokuwa nayo kwa miaka saba. Aliamini Biblia na kutii mafundisho yake. Baada ya kuitwa kuwa mchungaji, alifunga na kuomba mara nyingi ili kupokea nguvu za Mungu. Tangu kanisa lilipoanzishwa, miujiza mingi imeshuhudiwa: waliokuwa karibu kufa kwa sumu ya monoksidi ya kaboni walipata uhai, viziwi wakasikia, vipofu wakaona na vilema wakatembea.
Nguvu za Mungu Muumba hazina mipaka. Kwa nguvu zake, mambo yaliyo nje ya uwezo wa mwanadamu yanaweza kutokea. Anaweza kuponya magonjwa yasiyoweza kutibiwa kwa njia za kibinadamu na kuleta kazi zinazookoa roho nyingi. Naomba uipokee nguvu ya Mungu kwa imani inayompendeza.