Breakthrough Faith

If you have your Bibles, if you turn to the book

of Mark, chapter 2, 1 through 5, this is a very

Mark 2 · chapter mention

well -known scripture, very well -known story

in the Bible. It's a very short but powerful,

very impactful story. Amen. And so I just want

to speak on this with the Lord's help. Amen.

With the help of the Lord, that's what we are

going to do. If you have it, say amen. If not,

it's up there on the screen. Amen. So Mark chapter

Mark 2 · chapter mention

2, 1 through 5. The Word of God reads like this.

A few days later. Yeah, Mark 2, 1 through 5.

So a few days later, when Jesus again entered

Capernaum, the people heard that he had come

home. They gathered in such large numbers that

there was no room left. not even outside the

door, and he preached the word to them. Some

men came, bringing to him a paralyzed man, carried

by four of them. Since they could not get in

to Jesus because of the crowd, they made an opening

in the roof above Jesus by digging through it,

and then lowered the mat the man was laying on.

When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralyzed

man, Son, Your sins are forgiven. Amen. Son,

your sins are forgiven. Amen. Let us go before

the Lord. Heavenly Father, we come before you

today. We give you honor. We give you glory.

God, we thank you, Father Lord, for another day,

for this opportunity, God, that you have given

unto us today. to bring forth your word, God.

We ask you that you have your way, that you open

up our hearts. Lord, open up our ears, our minds,

God, that we would adhere to your word today.

Lord, that someone would be strengthened today,

someone would be encouraged, God. Someone, God,

hallelujah, will hear your word and adhere to

it, Father, Lord. We give you honor. We give

you glory, God. We thank you, Lord, hallelujah,

for another day, God, hallelujah, to receive

your word. In the mighty name of Jesus, we pray.

Somebody say amen. Amen. You may be seated. Amen.

For my sports fans out there today, you know,

I want to recall, amen, a moment, amen, that

occurred a few weeks ago. Amen. We witnessed,

amen, something that many thought was impossible.

The New York Knicks found themselves down 29

points in Game 4 of the NBA Finals. The game

looked over by halftime. Believe me, I was sitting

there watching it, and I thought it was done.

It's over. There's no way they're coming back.

The momentum wasn't on their side. People were

writing them off. The fans were all losing hope,

and a lot of them got up and they left. Now,

mind you, as great... As a comeback as this was,

it was also a very expensive one. The lowest

cost for a ticket there ranged anywhere between

$3 ,000 to $4 ,000. We're talking about nosebleeds,

right? Those fans decided to leave before the

game was over. Looked down at the court, wrote

off their team that they were rooting for. Everybody

was so pumped and hyped. They walked out, got

in their car at the subway, and they made their

way home. And the opposing team could almost

see the championship momentum shifting in their

favor. But then something happened. Something

shifted. When the Knicks came back from halftime,

amen, they made up their minds and they made

a decision that they weren't going to quit. They

kept defending. They kept hustling. And more

importantly, they kept believing. They kept taking

the next shot after the next shot after the next

shot, possession after possession, stop after

stop, basket after basket, until the impossible

became a reality. They completed the largest

comeback in NBA history by winning 107 -106 on

a last -second tip -in by O .G. Anunobi. And

can I tell you something that... They didn't

win because they were down by 29 points. They

didn't win because they were the Knicks. They

didn't win because they were playing in Madison

Square Garden. They didn't win because they were

playing in New York City. They won because they

refused to believe the scoreboard had the final

word. The scoreboard said it was over. Their

effort said, no, it's not. And now here's the

difference. The Knicks had confidence in their

ability. You and I today, we have our confidence.

and God's ability. There are people in this room

whose scoreboard doesn't look very good. The

scoreboard looks like the way it looked for the

Knicks at halftime. The scoreboard might be telling

you today that maybe your marriage is down. The

scoreboard might be telling some of you today

that maybe your finances are down. Maybe your

health is down. Maybe you're not feeling 100%.

Maybe there are issues, amen, in the midst of

your family, amongst your family members. Maybe

your family's down. Amen. And so that in itself,

amen, would make you feel or tell you that maybe

your faith feels down. The enemy keeps pointing

to the scoreboard saying, look how far behind

you are. But God never asks us to stare at the

scoreboard. All he asks us to do is to continue

to trust him. Because faith doesn't deny the

deficit. Faith declares that God is greater than

the deficit. That's exactly what we see here

in Mark chapter 2. There was a man whose situation

Mark 2 · chapter mention

looked impossible. He couldn't walk. He couldn't

get close to Jesus. The house was full. The door

was blocked. And every circumstance said, there

is no way in. There is no way to receive your

miracle today. There is no way you are getting

close to the Messiah. But he had four friends.

Four men that thought otherwise. Four men who

had enough faith. Breakthrough faith. Amen. That

they broke through the top of that house. Broke

through the roof. And that man received his healing.

You see because they let. They refused to let

obstacles become their outcome. They climbed

onto the roof. They dug through the clay. They

lowered their friend to Jesus. And the impossible

took place. Today, for a brief moment, I would

like to preach on that subject. Breakthrough

faith. Someone say breakthrough faith. Faith

doesn't focus on what stands in the way. Faith

finds a way. Someone say amen to that? Faith

will find a way. It just brings us to our first

point. Breakthrough faith cannot be stopped.

Breakthrough faith cannot be stopped. In Mark

Mark 2:3–4

chapter 2, verses 3 through 4, it reads that

some men came bringing in a paralyzed man carried

by the four of them. And since they could not

get into Jesus, they made an opening of the roof.

in the roof, and they lowered the man laying

on the mat to Jesus. So Mark chapter 2, I just

Mark 2 · chapter mention

want to lay down a very, very quick foundation

as far as how we got to this point with Jesus

being back home in the town of Capernaum, amen,

and why he was there. Just so we get the full

picture, we grasp everything that's taking place,

because Mark chapter 2 isn't just about a miracle.

Mark 2 · chapter mention

It's about the continuation of what Jesus had

already been doing. Amen. And just to give us

some context, before we even arrived to Mark

Mark 2 · chapter mention

chapter 2, Jesus had already begun his public

ministry. He has been preaching throughout Galilee,

calling disciples, casting out demons, healing

the sick, demonstrating that the kingdom of God

has arrived. His ministry is exploding. And people

are traveling from every direction to see this

man named Jesus. After leaving Nazareth, Jesus

made Capernaum his home base for his ministry.

And we know this because Matthew 4 .13, it says,

And after leaving Nazareth, he came and dwelt

in Capernaum. Capernaum sat on the northwest

shore of the Sea of Galilee. It was a perfect

ministry headquarters because it was a thriving

fishing town. There was a lot of people, a lot

of business. It was located in a major trade

route filled with Jews and Gentiles. And it was

easy to travel from all of Galilee. So the entry

points. From all directions, it was easy to get

in, easy to get out. There was a lot of people.

There was a lot of trade. There was a lot of

business. There was a lot of traffic. Amen. So

it was the ideal place for God to set up shop

and begin and continue his ministry. And in Mark

Mark 1 · chapter mention

chapter 1, it was one miracle after another.

Because Jesus had already called Peter, Andrew,

James, and John. He cast out the demon out of

the synagogue. He healed Peter's mother -in -law.

He healed multitudes after sunset. And he cleansed

the man of leprosy. And by the end of chapter

1, everyone was talking about this man named

Jesus. In Mark 1, 45, it says that Jesus could

no longer enter a town openly, but stayed outside

in lonely places. Yet the people still came to

find him from everywhere. His popularity had

become so overwhelming, which brings us to the

home in Mark chapter 2. Why was his house so

Mark 2 · chapter mention

packed? Chapter 2 opens up by saying, again,

he entered Capernaum after some days, and it

was heard that he was in the house. How many

of you know he's in the house today? He's in

the house today. Amen. So word spread immediately.

It was all over social media. It was all over

the Internet. Amen. It made the New York Times,

the New York Post. I don't know what the newspaper

here is in the Bay, but it was all over the place.

Every newspaper, every outlet, every social media

outlet was announcing that Jesus was back in

town. Jesus was home. So naturally, everybody

flocks to the house. And it just so happened

that this house, amen, And scholars believe that

this house was Peter's house because he was already

there. He entered that home. He was there. That's

where he healed. Amen. Peter's mother -in -law.

Amen. So he was back home. It was his homecoming,

if you will. Right? It was his homecoming. And

we'll stay with the sports analogies for a little

while. So, you know, imagine trying to keep Michael

Jordan's return to basketball quiet. How many

of you remember that? How many of you are old

enough to remember that? Let me ask that question.

Right? He made his triumphant return back from

baseball to basketball. It wasn't a quiet moment.

It wasn't a quiet scene. How about attending

the game where Mark McGuire hit his 62nd home

run of the season, breaking Roger Maris' longstanding

single season record of 61? How many of you remember

that? I do. I'm not trying to age myself, but

I remember that. Amen. How about imagine Kobe's,

amen, retirement, amen, season and his last game

in L .A. How many of you remember that? I do.

I remember that. These moments and times, they

were not easy to keep quiet. It was not easy

to keep on the low, like they say, or keep hushed,

right? They were loud. They expanded from one

town, one city to the next. Amen. And people

were announcing that Jesus is home. Jesus is

home. Jesus is back home. So they flocked to

this house. And people filled the house. They

filled the doorway. They surrounded the outside

of it so much so that there was no more standing

room left. There was no breathing room left.

And everybody wanted something from Jesus. Everybody

wanted something from Jesus. And what makes this

story even that much more incredible is what

about the scene on the inside of the house? We

just described the outside. We described what

was going on in the city, in the outer banks

of the city, in the surrounding cities, the announcement,

and people were flocking and rushing and blocking

the doorways, the window entryways, right? We

discussed all that, but now what about inside

the house? What's taking place? Well, inside

the house, there's religious leaders, curious

spectators, people desperate for a miracle. Hundreds

pressing. No entry. No access. Every logical

opportunity to stay in the house or remain in

the house or get into the house or even find

a way into the house. All logical opportunity

was gone. It was out the door. Everyone else

saw full house. But you know what breakthrough

faith sees? A roof. Breakthrough faith sees a

roof. Roof. Sees an opening. How many of you

have ever experienced faith in such a way where

you couldn't see the light at the end of the

tunnel? Everyone told you no. Everyone told you

it was an impossibility. Everyone told you it

wasn't going to happen. Everyone told you it

wasn't going to make. You weren't going to make

it. Everyone told you you didn't stand a chance.

Amen. But you continue to believe. You continue

to believe. You continue to pray. You continue

to press. You continue to push. You went to God

every day. You said the same prayer every single

day. Every single moment, it was the same thing

every day. Every day, God, I'm going to trust

you. God, I'm going to trust you. The answer

is still no, but I'm going to trust you. The

doctor said it's impossible, but I'm going to

trust you. They said I wasn't going to get that

promotion, but I'm going to trust you. They said

I wasn't going to get that job, but I'm going

to trust you. Every single day, it was a repetitive

prayer, repetitive prayer, until finally one

day. There's a light that appears. And while

you're squinting because the light is so bright,

you realize there's the way. There's the yes.

There's the possibility. There's the healing.

There's the miracle. There's the job. There's

the opportunity. There it is. Hallelujah. Breakthrough

faith. Amen. Is what these four men. Because

of their breakthrough faith, that's what they

saw. Most people would have looked at the crowd

and said, we'll come back another day. Maybe

next week. Maybe Jesus isn't the way. Maybe this

isn't meant for us. Maybe we'll just wait until

there's another announcement. Until they post

that he's going to be in a different city. In

a different location. In a different house. No,

my friend. These four men, they said the exact

opposite. If God is in this place, I'm going

to find a way. If God is in the house, I'm going

to push. I'm going to fight. I'm going to make

my way. way and I'm going to figure this thing

out. Breakthrough faith says if I can't get through

the door, I will make a door. Because here's

what I've learned. Faith doesn't quit when circumstances

say no. Faith looks for another way. And that's

exactly what these four men did when they encountered

these three obstacles. They encountered the crowd.

They encountered the house. And they encountered

public criticism. Yet they refused to allow obstacles

to become excuses. They didn't give up. You know

what gets me, and I know you heard me say this

before, but what really irks my spirit, what

really just shakes my spirit, shakes me to the

core, is when I'm talking to a believer, when

I'm talking to a son and daughter of the child

of the living king, and they keep telling me,

Brother David, I don't think it's going to happen.

I don't think I can make it. I just don't see

a way out of this. You know, Brother David, I've

been praying for years. You know, I've been asking

God for this, and I've been asking God for that.

And you know, I just don't feel like God is answering.

I don't feel like God is hearing me. And don't

get me wrong, I have empathy. I have consideration.

I really do. But there's something in my spirit

just starts to shake. It just starts to tremble.

And my spirit starts to speak. And it starts

to say, how can you deny the King of kings and

the Lord of lords? How can you deny the creator

of this earth? How can you deny the God that

if you speak his name, anything that you ask,

all of heaven is hearing you. God will respond.

You've got to have faith. And I'm not putting

anybody down. I've been there too. I've been

in that position. I've said those things to myself

and I've said those things out loud. But I thank

God that God is a just God. I thank God that

God does not hesitate to remind me. Hey, I healed

your father of 22 years of heroin addiction.

I restored your family that was broken. I brought

your family back. I brought your cousins back.

I brought your brother back. How can we deny

the God of the impossible? Sometimes it gets

very, very hard. It gets very, very difficult.

And in those situations, we are tempted. See,

temptation just doesn't come, amen, to trip you

up or cause you to sin. Every time we hear that

word temptation, we correlate that with sin.

We correlate that with doing wrong. We correlate

that with not doing what God told us to do. That's

not all. Temptation always comes to get you to

quit. Temptation will speak to you when you're

feeling down, when you don't feel like you got

enough, when you don't feel like there's a way,

when you don't see a way out. Temptation will

come to you and say, why don't you just hang

it up? Why don't you just give up? Why don't

you just take a seat? Why don't you just go to

church and hang up your ministry, hang up those

dreams and those desires that you have to minister,

to sing, to preach, to teach, amen, to serve.

Why don't you just hang that up and just go to

church, pay your tithing, just be a good church

member. Why don't you just do that? Because it's

so much easier. Look what you're going through.

If you weren't involved in doing it, you wouldn't

be going through this. You wouldn't be experiencing

this. I want you to know that the devil is a

liar. The devil is a liar. Because when you have

faith and you exercise faith and faith is activated

in your spirit, we don't stop. We don't quit.

We continue to press forward. Let me tell you

something. In Matthew 26, 37, 39, it talks about

when Jesus had went to the garden of Gethsemane.

Jesus manifested his spirit, manifested in the

flesh, man, here on earth. He experienced the

same things that we go through. He experienced

the same things that you've gone through. Amen.

And Matthew, it says that he began to be sorrowful

and troubled. Then he said to them, my soul is

overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death.

Stay here, he's talking to his disciples, and

keep watch with me. Going a little further, he

fell with his face to the ground and prayed,

my father, if it is possible, may this cup be

taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you

will. He knew that the cross was going to be

painful. He knew he was going to have to endure

torment. He knew that he was going to have to

bleed out. He knew that he was going to have

to hang on the cross. He knew he was going to

have to suffer and die for you and I. And then

in Matthew, it continues, Matthew 41 -42, he

tells the disciples again, watch and pray so

that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit

is willing, but the flesh is weak. He went away

a second time and he prayed, my father, if it

is not possible for this cup to be taken away,

unless I drink it, may your will be done. So

he left them again in Matthew 26 -44, and once

more he prayed a third time. What is this telling

us? That Jesus, the man, Jesus, amen, manifested

in the flesh. Amen. That he knew the pain. He

knew what he was going to have to endure. He

had the same concerns. He had the same worries.

He knew what was going to be painful. He knew

there was going to be torment. He knew he was

going to have to bleed out. He went before God

and he prayed. Not one time. Not two times. Three

times. Perseverance. Perseverance. That's what

he expressed. That's what he showed. Bishop,

how long have you been in ministry? Bishop? Long

time. 50 years. And in those 50 years, Bishop,

how many times do you recall saying the same

prayer? How many times did it get hard? How many

times did you fall on your face? How many times

did you tell God there's got to be another way?

It can't hurt this much to serve you. It can't

hurt this much to minister. Amen. How often do

I have to go through this? How long, Sister Didi,

do we have to go through this trial before you

see us out? How many times did you have to do

that? I guarantee you, Bishop, over and over

and over again. But breakthrough faith won't

allow you to stop. Faith won't allow you to stop.

It'll push you to persevere. It'll push you to

persevere. It'll say you can't give up now. You

can't slow up now. You can't give up now. You've

got to push. We've got to push. Jesus prayed

three times. And too many of us quit one prayer

too soon. We quit one prayer too soon. We give

up because we think God is saying no. And God

is not saying no. God is asking the question,

will you persevere? Will you continue? How bad

do you want this? Will you continue to fight?

Will you continue to seek me? Will you continue

to push forward? Will you continue to have faith?

Which brings us to our second point. Real faith

requires real work. In chapter 2, 3, and 4, it

says that when they pushed through the crowd

and they went up to the roof, that they dug through

the roof. And to appreciate the sacrifice that

these four men had made, we need to understand

that the roof, we need to understand the roof

that they were standing on. This wasn't a modern

shingle roof. They didn't have... a hammer or

a shovel or anything like that to help them.

First century homes in Capernaum had flat roofs

and they were built with large wooden beams.

Smaller branches laid across the beams. Reeds

woven together thick layers of packed clay and

mud mixed with straw. A hardened surface that

had been rolled and smoothed over time until

it hardened. It got hard like a rock, like cement

maybe. So the roof wasn't easy to remove. It

took consideration. It took effort. It took sweat.

It took time. It took energy. And imagine a man

climbing up on the staircase outside of this

house while carrying a grown man on a mat. Then

imagine carefully laying this man down. And turning

your face from him and gathering the three other

men and say, okay, let's figure this out. Let's

start digging. Let's start breaking apart the

packed earth. Let's start removing the weeds

and removing the branches and make it a way large

enough. Now, remember, this wasn't a small hole.

I don't know how large this man was, but it was

a full -sized man. So you imagine how big this

hole had to be? It wasn't just enough just to

break way so that you just saw sunlight come

through. They had to fight. They had to dig.

They had to get their clay under their fingernails.

God forbid you break a nail. God forbid we get

finger under our nails. God forbid God ask us

to say a couple more hours. God forbid God tells

you to get up extra early tomorrow because you

got to pray. You got to fast tomorrow. You can't

have your oatmeal or your sweet bread, your pan

dulce with your cafecito. God forbid. God, ask

those things of us. Don't ask me to come to church.

It's 100 degrees outside. I'll watch online.

I've been going, yeah, you can't watch online

anyway. You got to come to church. You want to

experience God in a city like church, you got

to be in church. But what these men had to do,

consider that. Consider what they had to do for

a man. I don't know if this man was a stranger.

They didn't say that this guy, they didn't mention

anything about being related, being a brother,

being an uncle, a cousin. It didn't say anything.

It just says four men and another man. Four men

that had breakthrough faith and another man that

needed to experience breakthrough faith to receive

their blessing. To receive his healing. That's

all it gave us. This wasn't convenient. This

wasn't clean. And this wasn't quick. Sometimes

your faith has to get dirty. Sometimes it has

to get dirty. Faith isn't just to be admired.

A few are willing to do the work that faith requires.

We love praying for breakthrough. but are you

willing to dig for it? We love praying for breakthrough,

but are you willing to fight for it? We love

praying for breakthrough, but are you willing

to give up your time, give up your effort, give

up your comfort to receive and see breakthrough?

Are we willing to cut ties with people who are

fake and just want the tea? Well, I know that's

touchy. We'll talk about my friends. We'll talk

about my circle. I get it. It is touchy. But

have you ever considered once that if all they're

asking for is information and never filling your

cup spiritually, never sharing scripture with

you, never calling you up to say, hey, I prayed

for you this morning and the Lord told me to

give you this word. And then how about when you're

in need? The phone stops picking up. The text

message go unread. How about when there's a financial

need? How about when someone's in the hospital?

I need you to come pray. Oh, I'm sorry. I can't

make it. But we're praying from home. I pray

for you on my way to work. I send you a text

message. I sent the little hands emoji. Did you

get it? That means I'm praying for you. It's

true. Sometimes people only want to get close

to you because they want to know your business.

You know what I want? My circle is small for

a reason. It's intentional. Because Brother Caleb,

I want to fill my circle with the men like in

the scripture. I want to fill my circle. I want

my circle of friends to be like the four men

in the scripture. When I call them, they answer.

When I text them, it doesn't matter how busy

they are. They respond to the text message. When

I put everybody in a group text and I said, hey,

I need prayer, they respond right away. And then

they also call out when I don't need anything.

How's it going? How are you? I'm praying for

you. God bless you. We're here for you. If you

need anything, just call me. Pick up the phone.

These are the friends that I surround myself

with. And thank God that I have those friends

in this church. Come on, someone say amen. I

know I have those friends in this church. I know

I do. They're in my top five. They are. I know

if they call, they're going to answer. I know

if they call, they're going to pick up. And it's

not because Brother David's calling. It's not

because Brother David has another task. It's

not because Brother David's asking for the schedule.

Okay, maybe sometimes. But it's not because Brother

David needs me to do something. It's because

I love my brother. I love my sister. I need to

be there for them. I need to help them. And if

they need a roof to be taken off a house, then

I'm going to do it, Brother Reuben. If they need

someone to show up at 3 o 'clock in the morning,

then call me up and I will be there. If they're

stranded on the side of the road and they don't

got, amen, AAA insurance and they got to get

their tire changed, then call me. I'll be there.

And if you don't believe me, test me. Test me.

I'll be there. Why? Because I love you. Why?

Because what I have, I want for you. Why? Because

I don't want to see you hurting. I don't want

to see you, amen, down and out. I don't want

to see you, amen, hanging your head down low

when we both come to church together. We both

serve the same God together. We both are trying

to make it to heaven together. That's what I

want for you. And that's what these four men

wanted for this man. That's why they didn't hesitate.

They didn't hesitate to dig. They didn't hesitate

to get dirty. Because real faith moves, real

faith obeys, and real faith serves. We've got

to understand that if we want breakthrough in

our lives, amen, it only comes through real faith.

Real breakthrough only comes through real faith.

It only comes through real faith. The Bible says

in our third point that this is the real breakthrough.

This part, this is the true breakthrough. In

Mark 2, verse 5, it says, When Jesus saw their

Mark 2:5

faith, he said to the paralyzed man, Son, your

sins are forgiven. And in Mark 2, 11 -12, he

says, I tell you, get up, take your mat, and

go home. He got up, took his mat, walked out,

and full view of all of them. This amazed everyone

and they praised God saying, we have never seen

anything like this. Imagine the anticipation

of the inside of the crowded house. The room

being packed and now dust falling from the ceiling.

Pieces of clay falling from the ceiling. Reeds

and straw falling from the ceiling. And people

looking up and saying, what's going on? What's

happening? Then they see the roof break open.

And then now these four men are looking down

and they're dropping down this man on the mat,

amen, down unto Jesus. And so while everybody

looks up in amazement and everybody's watching

this paralyzed man come down and being lowered

directly in front of Jesus, the expectation in

the room is obvious. Jesus is about to heal him.

Because that's what we're all here for anyway.

That's the anticipation. As soon as a man hits

the ground, God's going to heal him. And everybody's

focused on the man's legs. Everybody is focused

on the man himself. And everybody is waiting

for Jesus to say, rise up and walk. But instead,

Jesus says something that no one expected. Jesus,

amen, amen, says, son, your sins are forgiven

you. Why was this the first thing that Jesus

said when this man was lowered and dropped right

in front of him? Because Jesus understood something

that the crowd did not. The man's greatest need

wasn't a miracle. It was that he needed a Savior.

The crowd came looking for a miracle, but Jesus

came to bring salvation. Before Jesus changed

his condition, he changed his eternity. Before

Jesus began to heal him and provided a temporal

solution, Jesus changed where he was going to

spend eternity. Walking would have changed a

man's life. But salvation changed where he was

going to spend the rest of his life. Jesus always

deals with the root before the symptom. We naturally

focus on what's visible. God always looks deeper.

We pray, Lord, fix my finances. God says, let

me heal your heart. We ask him to change our

situation and our circumstance, but he wants

to change and transform our character. The greatest

miracle that Jesus performed that day wasn't

restoring legs. It was restoring this man's soul.

In Psalms 103, 2 -3, it says, Praise the Lord,

my soul, and forget not all his benefits. He

who forgives all of our sins and heals all of

our diseases. Brother Tony, if you can make your

way up. As we notice the order of this scripture,

notice the order. It says forgiveness first,

then healing second. It says who forgives all

your sins and heals all your diseases. God addresses

eternity before he addresses our temporal problems.

Because what we see today, amen, as an issue

or problem, God is already looking into next

month. God is already looking into next year.

God already sees your destiny. God already knows

the beginning and your ending, amen. We are so

focused on today, the here, the right now, that

we forget, amen, that we serve an eternal God.

We serve a God, hallelujah, who is the author

of our lives, amen, the starter and the finisher

of our lives. You know, I want to end with this,

is that the breakthrough that we are talking

about, having faith, amen, breakthrough faith

that we discussed, and amen, we gave the examples

and we read the scriptures, and amen, we briefly

went over the story of what breakthrough faith

does, and amen, and the things that occur in

our lives, I want you to know that your breakthrough

was never just about you. Our breakthrough, my

breakthrough, it's never just about me. It's

never just about you. Because the Bible says

that once he healed him, what did he tell him

to do? Go out. Go tell someone. Let someone else

know that I'm here. Tell someone about the accounts,

amen, the thing that took place today. You see,

a lot of times we go through things and we cry

that cry, woe is me. Oh Lord, why me again? God,

why am I going through this again? Why am I the

only one that suffers? Why am I the only one

that experiences pain? I see everybody else that's

happy. Everybody else is posting on social media

that they're in Hawaii and that they're on vacation

and they look so thin and so slim and everything

looks so good. They got a nice car and they just

bought a new house and someone posted that they

got a new job, right? We look at all these things

and in our prayers, God, why? Why me? Why me,

God? Why can't I get there? Why can't I have

that? How come that's not me? You know what the

Lord is doing? Because the Bible says that your

faith will be tested. You can't have the testimony

without the test. You can't be healed if you

were never sick. You can't experience a breakthrough

if you're bound. If you were never bound, you

can't be lifted up if you were never let down.

You see, we forget that there are moments where

we cry out and we say, God, use me. Use me at

my job. Use me at the grocery store, wherever

you are. God, use me. Use my life. Lord, use

me that one day I'll be able to preach like Pastor

Jacob. Lord, use me so that one day I'll be able

to sing like Brother Reuben. Lord, Lord, use

me so that one day Sister Liza, the way she worships,

use me so that one day I can worship like that.

Little do you know the cost that had to be paid.

The breakthrough they had to experience. breakthrough

is not for yourself. Your breakthrough is so

that one day, Brother Reuben, you will be one

of those four men. Somebody's talking to you

and somebody's saying, I need help. I need to

find a way. I need prayer. The doctor told me

yesterday I got cancer. I don't know what to

do. That's when that breakthrough starts to activate.

That's when you start to say, hey, you know what?

I went through something similar a few months

ago. Maybe it wasn't cancer, but I had to go

to the doctor. They told me there wasn't. Maybe

it wasn't financial. But I know what it is to

be delivered by God. You know what? Why don't

you come? Let me pray for you. for you so that

you can experience what I experienced that day.

Oh, you don't have a right to church? Don't worry

about it. I'll get up extra early. I'll change

my plans for you. I'll go pick you up, take you

to church and then come back and get my family.

Don't worry, I'll do that for you. Oh, you don't

have money to pay your rent? Hold on, hold on.

Let me see what I can do to help you. That's

what your breakthrough is for. That's why you

went through what you went through. Because your

faith was not only tested, but it was proven.

Why? Because you're still here. You're here,

Brother Mike. For a moment, it was dim, right?

It was dark for a moment. It was hard for a moment.

But because you kept fighting. You kept coming.

You kept making a way. Things were happening.

work, and you were getting tossed back and forth

in different places, and different opportunities

were coming, and it was chaos. But you pushed,

and you pushed, and your faith pushed, and your

faith pushed, and then one day, Brother Mike,

right, am I correct? And then everything started

to make sense, and then everything started to

fall in place. Remember a few weeks ago, we had

our Zoom meetings and Pastor was talking about

and teaching us about our tag teams, two by two.

If you missed any of those, go back or let me

know. We'll send you the recording so you can

watch again. But this is what he was talking

about. Because there comes a moment where we

link up with one another. And instead of waiting

for people to come to us, it's time for us to

go to them. This is what he was talking about.

We're putting these back out in the back on the

Welcome Center desk. If you didn't pick one up,

pick one up when you leave today. Fill it out

and turn it in. It's been a few weeks since we

talked about this and we made this announcement.

But church, this is why we... endured what we

endured. This is why we experience what we experience.

This is why we encounter the things that we encounter

because it's not about us. It was never about

the four men. It was never about the roof being

busted open. It was never about Jesus being in

the house. But it was about the faith that ignited

in these four men that they were able to pick

this man up. You can stand with me. They were

able to pick this man up. And they were able

to drop him before the Lord. I don't know what

roof in your life needs to be torn open. I don't

know what family member. I don't know what co

-worker. I don't know what friend, what colleague.

Maybe your spouse, your wife, maybe your children.

I don't know what roof you have to bust open

today. Amen. But today, amen, needs to be the

day where we start to pull back that clay. Today

needs to be the day where you start removing

the top of that roof. Start removing those weeds,

those reeds, the straw. Start peeling back that

roof for someone that you know that needs a breakthrough.

I don't need... amen, to give you a Bible study

or share scripture with you about what's going

on in the world today. We all see it for ourselves.

Prophecy has been fulfilled. Jesus can come back

at any moment, at any time. And if that doesn't

strike us every morning, when you get up, you

know, my mom has a nightmare, she calls it, because

she had a brother. My uncle, Steve, who died

when I was maybe seventh, eighth grade. And that's

where I learned to play basketball. I became

a Laker fan. He was a big -time Laker fan. I

mean, you know, but he was not serving the Lord.

He didn't want nothing to do with God. Every

time he saw my mom, he would say, oh, here comes

the hallelujah. Here comes the holy roller. They

would laugh. They would mock her. Didn't stop

my mom. But then one day this young man showed

up to his place and asked for his son. His son

wasn't home. This young man took out a gun and

he shot my uncle in the stomach. My uncle died.

He choked on his blood. He died. And my mom said

that for years after my uncle passed, she would

have nightmares. Because in her nightmare, in

her dream, she calls it a nightmare because she

could hear my uncle screaming. Calling out, telling

her, hey, I'm sorry for calling you a holy roller.

I'm sorry for calling you a hallelujah, but why

didn't you tell me that this place was so ugly?

Oh, my God. It's so hot in here. I can't breathe.

I feel like I'm tormented and it doesn't stop.

She heard this. And from time to time, she hears

her brother calling out. He didn't make heaven

his home. And I know my mom went and she talked

to him and they kicked around. They didn't listen

to her. And to this day, my mom will say she

wished she could have done more. She wished she

could have done more. She wished she didn't just

turn around and walk away. She wished she would

have banged on that door. She would have kicked

the door down. She would have busted open the

roof like these four men did. How many people

do we know that if they don't give their life

to God, we know where their eternity is? If this

doesn't strike us, church, if this doesn't get

us going, you don't need motivation. Pick up

your word. It'll motivate you to tell someone

about God. And if you don't, just remember what

God did for you. Because you know what? It took

someone to bust open the roof for me. It took

someone to bust open the roof for you.