Don't Give Up, Until You Get to Jesus — Sandeep Poonen

Persistent Faith That Brings Us to Jesus

I want to share some things from Mark chapter 2. It's a story I think that's well known to most of us about four people who brought a paralytic with him and Jesus healed this paralytic. Mark chapter 2 verses 2 through 5 and many were gathered together so that there were no longer room this is Jesus in his home even near the door and he was speaking the word to them and they came bringing to him a paralytic carried by four men and being unable to get to him on account of the crowd they removed the roof above him and when they had dug an opening they let down the pallet on which the paralytic was lying and Jesus seeing their fate said to the paralytic my son your sins are forgiven.

You see that these four men were bringing a paralytic to Jesus but when they brought the paralytic to Jesus they saw that there was a dead end. There was no longer room even near the door. We find that Jesus is teaching the word, God is blessing other people, Jesus is blessing other people but for me and my paralysis my problem of the paralytic I can't get in.

The door is closed I can't even hear the words of Jesus other people are hearing the words of Jesus and being blessed but I'm trying to get in. My need is real I'm coming to the right person but I can't get in.

I'm far away from him there doesn't seem to be any room for me not even the door to the kingdom of heaven may seem open I have an area of paralysis. What do I do? What did these people do? What did these people do?

Seeing Jesus as the Only Answer

What separated these men? Because it says in verse 5 that their fate, it was their fate that got this paralytic healed. You see that very clearly in verse 5. It begins by us recognizing, knowing who's inside.

Who are we trying to get to? It really comes down to who we think Jesus to be. So we're here we're at the door there's somebody speaking inside, there's rivers of living water seem to be coming from there.

Now we're stuck we're at the door nobody's letting us in we don't seem to be able to get through this. It seems to be no way for us to get in. The question is who do we see is inside? If we really see it to be this person to be Jesus from who can come all the answers to all our problems.

If we really genuinely see him to be the one who can give us rivers of living water, to be the fountain of life, that's the beginning part of where we must ask ourselves, do we truly believe who's in that house?

Who's the one who's there? If we do we won't stop with a closed door. We won't stop when there's no room in the house. Even when we come to the door we come with our paralytic and we see nobody's allowing us to get in.

Oh I guess I must not be good enough. I guess I must wait for another season, listen to another message. You see these men didn't do that. Because of who they knew, how special Jesus was in all of the city, when they heard that he was home after he had been traveling he finally got home and they said I don't care if I can't get in.

I don't care if the door is blocked. I'm gonna find another way around it. I'm gonna keep at it. Because in this door, inside that house, speaking there is the one person who I know can help me. If I know that Jesus is the rest for my soul, come to me and I will give you rest.

If I know that he has said it and he has guaranteed it, then there's nothing that will be a hurdle. Nothing will be an obstacle for me to get to Jesus. So you see what these people did. I find that in Scripture, when we find these people who are big in faith, I find that the Scripture almost makes it sound so minimal of what they did.

Climbing, Digging, and Lowering Until Jesus Is Reached

But there's a lot of what they did. They climbed to the top of the roof. So step number one, they had to carry this paralytic man to the top of the roof. I don't know how they got there, but they had to get there.

This paralytic man climbing to the top of the roof. Why? Because of who was in the house. They didn't try to push their way through and convince people and get into a fight with people. They said, these guys also need to get to me near Jesus.

It's stuck. What am I gonna do? I'm gonna climb with this man on my shoulders or with the pallet or however they got to the top of the roof. They climbed to the top of the roof. Okay, so now I get to the top of the roof and then I remove the roof, it says there.

Then there's another problem. Remove the roof and it's still nothing there. So what do I do now? Now I have to dig. I have to dig an opening. I'm messing up somebody else's roof. Here are these people willing to incur the cost.

I'm repairing the roof. Right now I need to get to Jesus. This area of paralysis in my life. This area where there's no life moving. There's no movement. Connected to the body but not moving. Climb to the roof.

Dig an opening. They could have stopped at different points. They could have stopped when the door was full. They said, let's come some other day. They could have stopped when they removed the roof. I didn't realize there was concrete underneath here.

I thought it was just a roof. And so they dug an opening. Not just any old opening where you can kind of drop a little note. Jesus, can you please see we're up here. They dug an opening so the man could fit through with his pallet.

This is what is a five foot man, six foot man, whatever it is. Big enough room. That's a lot of digging. And how low did they lower it? I don't know. One story? Two stories? I don't know. Until they got him to Jesus, they kept lowering.

There's a lot of work that these men did. What does it mean to do all of these things? It is what we've been hearing all day today. It is to be so persistent. It is to keep on crying out. It is to say, Lord I have my whole list of tasks that I can do.

What is it that you want me to do? And I have to take this to the areas of paralysis in my life. You know my dad has said something that the intention for the people of Israel was to go from Egypt to Canaan in two years.

That was God's plan. We heard about him testing them with the waters and the tree. But the plan was for God to take them from Egypt to the promised land in two years. And the inference was in two years we should start being in the promised land where we're starting to defeat the giants of sin in our life.

God doesn't take us to the promised land to be defeated for years. Joshua and Caleb knew after two years. I saw what happened with the tree in the bitter waters. I saw what happened with the Amalekites.

I saw what happened with the Red Sea. Giants? Just another problem. I know what can get God to my life after two years. And I have to ask myself, Lord have there been years and years? And I have to take that to, Lord how long have I been a serious Christian?

If it's been more than two years and there's still areas of paralysis, I have to be extremely concerned. And I submit that to everybody here. Every single person who's a member of this church. If there are areas of paralysis in your life and you've been a Christian for two years, you have to ask yourself, Lord what's the problem?

How is it that you could lead Jesus constantly in victory and it's been years? And I still am paralyzed in a particular area. Still struggling with some besetting sin or some sin that's constantly getting me down.

Persistent Prayer for Victory Over Sin

I'm not saying that to condemn anybody. I'm not saying that to discourage anybody. But you see what these men did when they were faced with a paralytic problem. In an area of paralysis in our lives, I have to ask myself, God am I willing to do everything because I know who's there.

I know who's behind that door. We had all those crowds of people who are getting to hear you. Lord Jesus I can't hear you but I will climb up on the roof. I will dig an opening until I find you Lord Jesus.

In connection with that I want to share this other passage in Luke chapter 11 which we've heard many times. I believe that this digging an opening, climbing to the roof, is a heart of persistent prayer.

It is where the Lord has been speaking in my life that this is the heart that was that separates those who find God and those who don't find God. It is deep consistent prayer. Luke chapter 11 Jesus is talking about prayer and he says, teaches us the Lord's prayer but then he says, now let me explain to you the attitude with which you must pray the Lord's prayer.

We know that so many billions of people know the Lord's prayer but not many people are praying the Lord's prayer with the heart. The heart and the attitude with which we must pray the Lord's prayer and the attitude with which I must pray the Lord's prayer is written right after that in Luke chapter 11.

Right after he gives us the Lord's prayer he says, now let me give you the attitude with which you must pray the Lord's prayer. The first attitude is in verse 5 all the way through verse 10 which is a man who has a friend visiting and he doesn't have any food.

He goes to his neighbor's house who's also his friend and keeps knocking and we know that story and even though the neighbor says, oh look it's too late I'm you know warm in my bed I don't want to go to the cold outside.

He says in verse 8, I tell you even though he will not get up and give anything yet because of his persistence he will get up. You know that word persistence in the margin of my Bible it says shamelessness and I looked that up that's the only time that word is used, shamelessness.

How shameless are we? How persistent are we? I'm not talking about an arrogance I'm not talking about a petulance of a teenage child or the arrogance of that but how persistence that's that word God used to talk about how our prayer life must be.

Seeking Spiritual Needs Above Earthly Benefits

Now for what? For what? For our spiritual needs. Most Christians, most Christians are taking this verse and applying it to physical needs or some earthly need. Lord I have this sickness you need to heal me of it.

Lord I have this financial problem you need to heal me of this you need to solve this. God is a magnificent solver of all problems physical, financial, emotional but the thrust of this verse is for our spiritual needs and that's what is that one of the differentiators about our church we primarily focus we had a visitor coming a few weeks ago and his feedback to me I wasn't in town he said I hadn't been to your church for years but when I but what I picked up about everybody who spoke here and you know we open it up to others was that everybody was speaking about their inner life they were not looking to Jesus to solve their earthly needs.

He'll solve it. It's not a problem. There's a couple of verses I need I can move on from it and that's the thrust of our church is that God must deal with our areas of paralysis when it comes to sin. That's what God is interested in and we keep underlying it is what are the areas of sin in our lives that are paralyzing us.

That's where we must have a persistence in prayer. I don't need to spend persistence of prayer for drought and for sickness and all of those things. I'm honest sickness won't take us to hell but sin will.

And so I must seek persistently persistently for the paralysis of sin in our lives. And we find that most of Christendom is not even preaching about that and there's no begging God for the sin in my life.

That's been a paralysis for years. That is why God doesn't answer our prayers. See it's so clear here. I tell you he will get up because of his persistence. He'll get up as much as he need. So I say to you ask.

Everybody knows a lot of people know Mark Luke chapter 11 verse 9. Ask and it'll be given to you. Seek and you shall find knock. It shall be given to you. But nobody's asking with that kind of persistence.

Nobody's going to God saying I have the doors closed. I'm gonna climb to the top of the roof with my paralysis as burdensome it is. I'm gonna dig an opening for the area of sin in my life. I'll go to God for months for my child's healing and years for my child's healing.

I'll go to God for months and for years and there's a constant burden Lord I hope my children get good grades in schools and they go to college and they get married to the right person all of those things.

I'll go for years with the burden. But there is a paralysis of sin in my life an occasional prayer here and there. It doesn't even match the burden. That is why we find that our paralysis of sin continues.

And we have ups when things go well I get a promotion I get a bonus things go well my life. And there's downs when it doesn't seem to be going my way. And I apologize for raising my voice. But I find that I'm I fear that even in our church that there can be that sense of not being so laser focused and not burdened with the paralysis of sin in our lives.

And that our prayer lives are burdened about earthly things compared to our burden. For what's paralyzing our spiritual lives that we've been years as Christians and continuing to have paralysis. And I'm not here to speak in trying to condemn anybody.

Repentance and Reordered Priorities

I'm trying to show you from Mark chapter 2 how to get out of it. There is a answer that Jesus is to all of the areas of paralysis in our lives. But it means a fundamental shift of our priorities. It's a fundamental shift on what we value.

And we must repent for rejoicing more at earthly things that God blesses us with. While areas of paralysis in our spiritual lives languish we must repent and say God. I want to completely shift to be uninterested by the earthly pleasures and earthly benefits you give me it came from your hand.

But I want to be more and more uninterested by these earthly things and more tremendously bothered by the areas of paralysis in my life. That is sin when we have that attitude and God says look it's in relation to prayer that God says pray Hallowed be your name your kingdom come your will be done.

And pray with this kind of burden that climbs up on top of the roof because Lord my spiritual life is a paralyzed man. Well when I pray this prayer there's no power in it. I don't pray with the deep burden of this.

I climb up on top of the roof. I'll dig an opening I'll do what I need to do. When the Lord sees this kind of persistence I say to you ask and it says they ask him. Keep on asking. That's what it means in that word word.

Ask ask and keep on asking. Keep seeking keep seeking. So what if it's a three-story building that Jesus in and he's all the way in the basement climb to the top and start digging. And if you find another brick keep digging in prayer.

Lowering the Bucket Into the Well of God's Grace

I thought of this picture. I don't know those of us who grew up in India. And definitely if you've gone to some of the villages you there are these places where even in Jesus's time there's a well where you get water.

And you've gone to these places where you lower a bucket and in the water hit the bucket it's the water. And then you pull it up and you got water. And that's how you get your water. I don't know if you've been there but there's there been a couple of wells I've been to where you can't even see the water.

You have to keep lowering and like you look nothing is black. It's dark. But you keep lowering because you know people have gone there before heroes and the faith have gone to this well before. People have gone before me have gone there before and they found that this well has water in it.

Jesus says that he who comes to me will never thirst again. Are you thirsting for something. Jesus said you won't thirst anymore. You'll find rest. Lord. I don't know how deep this well is but I know that men of God have gone to this well you and I found water.

So I'm gonna keep digging. I'm gonna keep lowering this bucket. Lord it's been years doesn't matter. Lord I'm gonna keep coming to you climbing this mountain seeking this life that this paralysis an area of sin in my life must be healed keeping on lowering that bucket.

It depends on who you see is inside. Who do you think is in the basement of this ten-story building. Who is there. Is it really Jesus. Is he at the bottom of this well. Is he that water. Then then keep lowering it.

Don't give up that persistence in prayer for the areas of paralysis and seek him. Seek him and sing. Lord surely I'll get water if I find. If I keep looking for you you will do this. This is an attitude of prayer that our hearts must have the other balance to.

Persistent Prayer and the Loving Father

That is in verse in Luke chapter right after that he says now let me balance that there must be an infinite persistence. And he uses an a very big a very strong story to talk about this man who's knocking on the door and the man is saying hey look I don't even want to bother to wake it up.

God says keep on hitting it because you're gonna feel when you're dealing with some areas of paralysis of sin because you're knocking on God's door and God's not answering. And God's answering other people.

But you're not being answered. Don't give up keep banging in that door climb to the top of the roof start digging and lower yourself. Humble yourself humble yourself humble yourself in your area of need until you find Jesus.

And then he says let me tell you another part of that same attitude to prayer that deep persistence. He says here's the other side of it. If you ask if a son asks for fish which earthly father will give him a snake.

He asked for an egg will give him a scorpion. No. If you verse 13 Luke chapter 11. Verse 13. If you then being evil know how to give good gifts to your children how much more shall your heavenly father give the Holy Spirit to those asking what's the Holy Spirit for to make you holy sin.

It's the paralysis of sin. It's very clear. That's what our prayer lives ought to be like. Let's investigate our prayer lives. What have we been praying for. What have you been burdened about for the paralysis of sin in my life and the paralysis of sin in our church's life and in our family's life.

Or is it for this job and that health and this situation. Let's ask God for the Holy Spirit. But let us also even as we are determined and non-starboard praying for God with that persistence for our own needs and for the paralysis of sin in our relatives and in our co-workers.

Let us pick up that dogged persistence that irresistible persistence as it comes to God for our own needs our own spiritual needs and the spiritual needs of our relatives our family members who don't know the Lord.

Let us carry them to the top of the 50th floor and let's lower them in no matter what it takes. 50 years 70 years. Lord I will keep praying but then let me also believe 11 through 13. I have a heavenly father.

Holding Together Persistence and Trust

I have a heavenly father who the voice of who speaks come my beloved. He's not a hard task master. I must balance these two. I must not be. I must not be intimidated by the logical. I can't put these two thoughts together.

The dogged persistence and God being a loving father. Don't trust our eyes as we heard. Don't trust your logic and be like. I need to figure this all out. Go 100 with persistence and go 100 with God as a loving father.

Go boy go all at it with both ends. That's how Jesus lived with it. He lived with loud crying and tears in Hebrews chapter 5. But he always called God father as we walk the Christian life saying God. I want 100 of both in my life.

I can find the balance as we've heard from all all day today. The balance between the procrastination of one and the other and then the balance of Lord. I don't want my task list. I want your task list.

The balance of constantly crying out as we heard in Hebrews chapter 5. And the balance of God will complete the work. God is the one who's planted the tree many years ago that trees been planted by God.

That's how much he loves us but he's testing us. Who's going to be the one who will climb up to the 10th floor. Sometimes you go on and the doors wide open and you go right. Fly right through the heart to the feet of Jesus and he solves your problem.

We've all experienced that something in our life. We prayed and two minutes later it was answered. What happens when the door is closed. What happened when it's full. What happens when you have to climb three stories.

What happens when you have to dig an opening. God's still your father. God hasn't changed who he is. He planted that tree many years ago but he's. Do they want this more than anything else they wanted.

I I fear that I may want God most and more. Most and more most things. Sorry. And I want God more than most things. Most of the time. I'm a good Christian most of the time I want God and I don't want to be a most of the time Christian.

I want to be all in all the time no matter when the doors open or when the doors closed. When there's five stories or 50 stories. If there's the roof that opens right up or I have to dig an opening. I don't care how low I have to lower this power per area of paralysis.

I want to keep going knowing that God is my father. May God help us.