Warren Gillin - Circle or Gage

Adventist Radio London inspiration for the song. Amen. So if you have your

bible's told me to the book of Luke Luke five, we're going to go

from seventeen. We're gonna go from seventeen. When you found it, say

amen. So when you found it, say amen. Now I need you

to take note, because what I'm just gonna do is just basically break down

what we already see here. And it says in Luke five seventeen. Now

it happened on a certain day as he was teaching, that there were Pharisees

there was who and teachers of the law sitting by, who had come out

of every town of Galilee, Judah, and Jerusalem, and the power of

the Lord was present to hill. Verse eighteen says, then behold men brought

on bed a man who was paralyzed, whom they sought to bring in and

lay before him, who is Jesus, the Bible says. And when they

found him, when they could not when they could not find, when they

could not find, how they might bring him in because of the crowd,

they went up on the housetop and let him down with his bed through the

tiling into the midst before Jesus. Verse twenty says, when he saw their

faith, he said to him, man, your sins are forgiven. I'm

going to read on just so that we can get context of what is going

on in this passage. It says, and the scribes and the pharisee began

to reason, saying, who is this who speaks blasphemy? Who can forgive

sins? But God alone? But when Jesus perceived their false he answered and

said on to them, why are you reasoning in your hearts? Which is

it easier to say your sins are forged given? Or to say rise up

and what? But that you may know that the son of Man has power

on earth to forgive sins. He said to the man who was paralyzed,

I say to you, arise, take up your bed, or in other

words, take up your mat, and go to your house. The Bible

says immediately he rolled up before them, took up what he had been laid

on, and departed to his own house, glory to God, glorifying God.

And when they were or when they were all amazed, and they glorified

God, and they were filled with fair saying, we have seen strange things

today. We have seen strange things today. Today, I want to speak

quickly on the topic. I promise you I won't take too long quickly on

the topic friend ology circle or cage, circle or cage. Won't you bow

your head with me as we pray? Heavenly Father, as I stand before

your people today, I ask that your spirit will be here. Lord.

The truth is, I have no worse to say the Lord, I pray

that you would fill me with your spirit in this moment. Lord, I

pray that these will not be my words, but your words. So Lord,

like the Himn writer says, hover over me, Holy Spirit, bathe

by tremblin heart and brow fill me with thy hollow presence. Come, oh,

come and feel me now. Amen, Amen, Amen, friend Ology.

Many of you know or may not know that this year I decided to

do to study a bit more in the field of psychology. So I'm doing

another master's in psychology and one of the one of the topics that we are

studying in this semester is is social psychology. One of the things that social

psychologists stress is they look at an individual and the group, and it looks

at how the individual is interacts with groups, how the individual interacts not just

on him as an individual, but him as a group, him as a

culture, him as he is conforming to what is going around his environment.

That is what social psychologists pays particular attention to. And one of the things

that social psychologists stress is that they stress the importance of surrounding yourself with the

right people. Somebody say the right people. Soci psychologists stress the importance of

surrounding yourself with the right people. And there was a man called Oughts in

nineteen fifty one. He done a social psychologist test. And we have many

psychologists in here. You've probably heard of the experiment that he'd done. So

what he'd done was that he got a group of individuals and he gave them

a standardized string, and then he gave them three other strings. And he

says, you know, what is the closest length to this standard And he

gave a short string, and he gave the correct string, and he gave

a a a a large and long string, a long string. So so

when that individual came in the presence of the group, what the psychologists done

was that he told the rest of the other group to intentionally say the wrong

answer and to see whether or not that individual that that wasn't in on the

plan whether or not that individual would would conform to what the rest of the

people around them were saying. So as you see, lo lo lo,

as you see he he he went around and he asked them, you know

what size? How long is the string? What one compares the most of

the standard string? So one individual intentionally said, oh, the short one.

Then the next person said the same thing, the same wrong answer,

the short answer, And the next person said the short answer, until eventually

he came to that particular individual, and he asked that individual, well,

what size is the correct size? And low would you have it say?

So? Of God, that individual also went with the erroneous decision of the

group and also said that wrong answer. So we tried that a number of

times over and over again, over and over again, and so they decided

to all go with the wrong answer, the long string. And then went

around again, well what one is the correct answer? And everybody said the

wrong string. Everybody said the wrong string, until eventually got to that individual,

and that individual once and again said the wrong answer over and over again.

So what this experiment had done, He decided to bring everybody into a

private room and do the same exact test, and would you have it,

the people that were going with the erroneous decision of the group in the private

room was getting all the answers correct. In fact, the the social psychologists

found that for fifty percent of people, fifty percent of the people that he

had tested always went with the erroneous decision of the group. And this lets

me know that we are a product of who we surround ourselves with. Somebody

say product. We are a product of who we surround ourselves with. And

this is why my mother would say. My mother would tell me, show

me your friends. Oh, y'all know this. He says, show me

your friends, and I will tell you who you are, because there seems

to be a strong correlation between you and those that you hang out with.

That's why the Bible, that's why Jim Rohn says that you are the average

of the five people you spend the most with. Japanese proverb says, when

the character of a man is not clear, you look at his friends.

That's a word for some sisters in here where you can't find the character of

that boy, you just look at his friend and it should give you some

indication of who that individual is. Another of saying, this says, birds

of a feather, say birds of a feather. And this is what I

like, Nipsey hus Nipsey Hustle said, if you look at the people in

your circle and you don't get inspired, then you don't have a circle,

but you have a cage. You don't have a circle, but you have

a cage, you see, says of God. The older that I got,

the more I begin to realize that my mother was right. The older

that I've got, the more I realized that I can't just be around any

and anybody that I can't allow in my circle, in my close proximity,

any and any energy, any and any FIBs, any and anybody that we

ought to carefully filter those that we have around us. And this is this

is what the Bible says. It's not just social psychologists that says this is

what the Bible says. The Bible says, do not be the seed bad

company ruins good moral This is why the proverb says walk with the wise and

become wise. For a companion of full suffers or suffers harm. That's why

the proverb says, as iron sharpens iron soul, one person sharp as one

person. This lets me know that there is a great correlation between you who

you are and those that you hang out with. You see, what was

quite striking in about the experimenter of the social psychologists was that he didn't just

do this experiment on children or teenagers or youth, but these were grown adults

who were conforming to the pressures of the group. Because sometimes we look at

pair pressure as being something that is for teenagers or something that is for children,

but we also come to group conformity. The Bible says this, do

not be deceived. Bad company ruins good morals. This lets me know that

no matter how preyed up you are, no matter how how many memory verses

that you're taught your child, if he's around bad company, the likelihood that

badness will happen, it's highly unlikely likely. Sorry, And the Bible one

of the essential things in human existence is community. Community is essential. God

made us to be relational people. We are made to be relational beings.

So if now, if now God has made us relationship and we ought to

curate who we have in our presence, then the real question is how do

we navigate this choose and how do we navigate this filter. We are made

to be relational beings. That's why when God made Adam and Eve, he

said, Adam is not good for man to be. I said, it's

not good for man to be There was nothing wrong with Adam. Adam was

a perfect being. Adam was whole. But still God says that it is

still not good for man to be alone because God has made us relational beings.

God has made us to be in community with each other. And this

is one of the strongest strengths of the church, is that we can have

good community. That's when the community is good. So when we look at

our passage of Scripture, we come to see a paralyzed man. And that's

I was studying this passage of scripture. God was just blowing my mind at

what He was revealing to me. In this passage of scripture. The Bible

says, then, behold, men brought on a bed a man who was

paralyzed, whom they sought to bring in and lay before him. Here we

find in this passage of scripture, we find the characters. In the passion

of Scripture, we find Jesus, we find the crowd, we find the

paralyzed man, we find the friends who are carrying this man. And I

want us to identify who we are within the story. So when we look

at Luke five, it gives us a word on how we choose our circle,

in how we choose those that we surround ourself with. And the Bible

says, then behold a man brought on a bed, a man who was

paralyzed. In other words, the man the man said that the man found

some friends that was willing to bring him to Jesus. Okay, you'll just

missed that, the Bible says. The Bible says that that that when the

man could not have bring himself to Jesus, that he had some folks around

him he was able to bring him to Jesus. The Bible says that this

man was paralyzed, that this man was unable to bring himself to Jesus.

But the Bible says that that that that these people that that in market says

that four men carried him to Jesus. And the first thing I want to

stop to tell somebody this afternoon is that we ought to get some friends who

is able to bring us closer to Jesus. Somebody up to say a man

on that point, because It's all good and well that we have friends who

is ready to ride and die for us. It's all good as well that

we have friends who is able to have our backs when we find ourselves in

trouble. It's all good and well to have friends who we can call when

we are going through a breakup. It's all good and well to have friends

who is able to carry us through our hard moments. But the Bible says

that we ought to get some friends who is able to carry us to Jesus.

It says that these four men brought this man on a bed to Jesus.

And today I just want us to take inventory of the friends and the

people around us that we can clearly depend upon to bring us closer and bring

us in the presence of Jesus. Today. We ought to do inventory on

our friends. We ought to do inventory on our friends. We ought to

do a stop check on our friends to see who can we rely on that

when we can't even bring ourselves to Jesus, that we have some faithful folks

who is willing to carry us. I don't want us to stop and think

who is those friends? Who is those around us that will be able to

carry us to Jesus, that we ought to get some friends who will bring

us closer to Jesus. Psychology suggests that in the Bible suggested that if you

have folks around you that are going in the wrong direction, then the likelihood

that you are going to go in that direction is very likely. It said

that even when that individual knew the wrong thing, even when that individual knew

the wrong string side, that individuals still conform to the conformity of the group.

That lets me know that we ought to surround ourselves with individuals that can

get us closer to Jesus. Now, don't miss no, don't mis mis

misunderstand me. I'm not saying that you only should hang around Christian folks.

What I'm suggesting is that we ought to have some folks in our lives that

we can rely on to bring us closer to Jesus. So the Bible says,

and it says, and when they could not find how they might bring

him in because of the crowd jasmine, they went up on the housetop and

they let him down with with with with his bed through the tiling into the

midst before Jesus. The Bible says that now that they are carrying this individual

are to Jesus. That there is a crowd now and the friends were not

able to bring them closer to Jesus. And this lets me know that sometimes

it may take a fight to come into the presence of Jesus. Many of

you have been Christians for a long time and know that sometimes following Jesus,

getting into the presence of Jesus ain't the easiest thing. Sometimes getting into the

presence of Jesus that you got, you ought to overcome some hurdles that you

have in your life, Lewis, you ought to overcome some hurdles that you

have in our life, just simply to get in the presence of Jesus.

The Bible says that even when they they wanted to come to Jesus, that

they still had hurdles. They there was a crowd that was gathering around them,

and and and and and they could not get through the crowd. And

the Bible says that they did that that did not stop them from coming into

the into the house. But but but now they decided to get creative and

go up on a house. Back in the day, they had flat rouselder

on it, and so they were able and there were stairs to lead up

to the roof, and now that they were breaking through the roof. Because

this lets me know that sometimes getting into the presence of Jesus is going to

be difficult, It's going to be much hurdles, and that there is going

it's going to take much fight. Some of you know what I'm talking about,

because some of you, when you wake up in the morning, the

first thing we pick up is our phones and not our Bibles. Because that

is the hurdle. I'm guilty of it too. That is a hurdle,

that that is a fight that we have just to simply get into the presence

of Jesus. Some of you know that we have some friends around us that

are blocking us and stopping us from getting into the presence of Jesus. And

we have some spouses and some partners and some family members that are blocking us

from getting into the presence of Jesus. But what was so striking about the

story is that no matter how much hurdles they had to overcome, they still

found a way to get into the presence of Jesus. But here it is,

Elder Hunter blew my mind away. Was the Bible says that that there

was a crowd around. In other words, the Bible says that in the

crowd it was schrives and pharisees and teachers of the law. So, in

other words, in the crowd was scribes and pharisees and teachers of the law.

In other words, the crowd was church folks. I didn't say the

Bible says that there was pharisees and scribes and teachers of the law. You

just read an inversement team, and the Bible says it was it was because

of the crowd. Was the reason why that these individuals were not able to

get into the presence of Jesus. The crowd was simply church folks. And

I want to let you all know that sometimes the hurdles that we have to

overcome is some church folks. Y'all don't want to be real in the house

of the Law today, because sometimes a very hurdle that we have to overcome

is those immediately around. But even so, even so, he wrote,

even so, the four men didn't allow the crowd, didn't allow the church,

for I mean, the crowd, to get in the way of getting

to Jesus. And so they found a way, somehow or another to get

their friend to see Jesus. Can you not see their persistence? Can you

not see their commitment? Can you not see that not only did they have

to carry this man from lunch long a distance Jerry. Not only did they

had to fight through the crowd Jordans. Not only did they have to work

through all of those hurdles that they had to bring him all the way upstairs.

They're carrying this man, they had to fight through and dig through the

roofstop so that this man can be lowered in to the presence of Jesus.

And sometimes we ought to have that persistence that we find one hurdle and we

want to give up, that we find one one one one one one disruption

and we want to throw in the towel. But this lets me know that

sometimes held the parmer. Getting into the presence of Jesus ain't gonna be a

walking apart. Sometimes you're gonna have to break through roofs. So the Bible

says that the clock says I only got ten minutes for the Bible says that

that is Jesus is preaching. Can you imagine where we're preaching here, and

and and and and they begin to break through the roof, and they begin

to chip away at the roof and mash down the roof so that their friend

can can get into the presence of Jesus. So they begin to lower him

as Jesus is preaching, just like I'm preaching right now, they begin to

lower him through the roof. Could you imagine all the fobs frantically looking up,

looking around as we dorn't is dropping from the roof. Could you imagine

the little sunlight that is now breaking through the crack that they made through the

roof, trickling through the house. Could you just imagine as Jesus is preaching

there, lowering this man into the roof. And the Bible says that when

Jesus saw their faith, he said to him. When Jesus saw their faith,

he said to him, you see, because Jesus knows that faith is

more than just feeling. Faith is more than just knowing or feeling. Faith

at first is action. Faith is first and foremost, not knowledge about Jesus,

but active trust that Jesus is sufficient for one's deepest and most heartfelt needs.

Faith is not simply a working up of a feeling or suppressing doubt,

but it's demonstrated committed to get him to the worm whose power we stake our

trust. The Bible says that when Jesus looked up and saw their faith,

Ah Jesus, they didn't have to utter a word, but he saw their

faith. That's a word for somebody. He didn't even have to ask the

man paralyzed if he wanted to get held, because he already saw their faith,

He already saw the trust, He already solved their commitments. But here

is the shout, says of God. Here is the shout. Here is

the shout. Here is the shout. Here it is when Jesus saw the

faith of the four friends, he looked at the paralyzed man. When Jesus

saw what the friends were doing, he looked at the paralyzed man. Words,

the paralyzed man's blessing was dependent upon the faith of his friends. The

feeling that the paralyzed man was experiencing was not his faith, but the faith

of his friends. You see, this is why it is so paramount to

have those individuals around us that will bring us closer to Jesus. Because judgmine,

because judgmine, judsemine, judsmine. When you don't have faith, when

your faith may be low. It is the faith of those around you that

you can still find healing when you have given up, when you have have

run out of faith. The Bible said that Jesus looked at their faith and

he healed the man. I had a church in this building today because Jesus

didn't even speak to the man. Jesus didn't even ask the man, but

he just saw the faith of the four friends knowing in him. And based

upon the faith of those four friends, the man was able to get healed.

This is a powerful thing because this is the advocacy of intercession. This

is the advocacy of those that are praying for you, those that are working

for you. Because I know that I have been through some ups and down

and if it had not been of the faith of those around me, I

would have been dead and gone. And if you too, was just to

look back over your life, you were realized that you ain't been Christian all

your life, and it was based upon the faith of those around your,

praying around you, those that were calling and uttering your name onto Jesus even

when you did not have faith. And now you are healed. I gotta

go, but I gotta finish the story. The Bible says, he looks

at the faith of the man, and he heals the paralyzed man. But

before he heals the paralyzed man, he says this thing. He says,

your sins are forgiven. Now, what was striking about this, Kim,

is that the man was requiring physical healing, but Jesus was saying, well,

your sins are forgiven. You see, Sister Helen, I don't understand

why why God was why Jesus was telling the man he sins are forgiven when

the man didn't ask what he sins to be forgiven? The andwer the man

asks to be healed. He's a paralyzed man. He was being carried.

The man didn't ask Jesus for no forgiveness of sin. And I was saying,

Jesus, why is it that you asked to heal him spiritually when he

needed physical healing. And as I was reading and studying of the Bible more,

I believe to see that there was a correlation between once spiritual life and

one's physical life. And I want to suggest to you today that maybe that

some of the reasons why we are going through hearttache and pain in our lives

right now may not be to something physical, But could it be that something

spiritual is missing? Somebody needs to hear this word. Could it be that

perhaps if we spend our time trying to desire and seek after God and get

our spiritual lives right, then then something in our physical life might change.

Can I suggest to you that maybe if you're if our spiritual life was intact,

then we want to be praying God fix my marriage because our spiritual life

we we we we we are are following the fruit of the spiritual love,

kindness and patience, and in a marriage you want to be patient. Perhaps

it is the lack of our spirituality that brings a negligence on our physical team.

Like perhaps if if we were more godly people, then perhaps our marriages

might automatically be okay. Like perhaps if we were more spiritual I'm talking to

myself now, if we were more spiritual, then perhaps our physical life.

Could it be that the reason why we are suffering certain things, the reason

why we are making certain decisions, is because there was something not just wrong

with our physical life order coffee, but there's something wrong with our spiritual lives.

And perhaps if we get our spiritual lives right, then maybe something might

change in our physical life. Okay, y'all know Henry. So I'm gona

go on. That would go on. So the Bible says that he asks,

and he says, oh, forgive them, forgive your sins are forgiven.

The man knows that now he is he is, he is not full

of guilt. And now the Pharisees are are I told you the Pharisees are

in the crowd, I said, the Pharisees, the church folk are in

a crowd. Then the Pharisee says, who can forgive sins? But God?

And I want to let you all know something that the Pharisees they were

correct, because the way that forgiveness worked in that time was that you had

to go to the temple. That was the system and the structure that God

used. God used the temple system in order to bring about forgiveness. Old

Hunter, that was all through the Old Testament. You see this example and

this structure that that that is being set up. But but but but but

now the pharist is coming and say, man, you know who gave you

this right to forgive sin? Only the priest or, only the priest could

forgive sins, and Jesus is trying to teach them something in this moment.

Jesus is trying to say, yes, you are correct, that that's what

God was doing, That's what God was what was doing back then. But

now Jesus is setting up a new system, a new structure that does not

need a temple or sabbatical law or the priest to forgive sins. But Jesus

is saying that I am God that you are are looking at. I am

that system, I am that structure, I am that process. You you

don't need to go to a priest because I forgive sins. It is me.

I am God. I am the Way, the Truth, and the

Light. And this is a message for some of us here today. And

the message is clear that sometimes we are so fascinating about what we used to

do that we can't imagine what God is trying to do right now, that

we are so caught up in our tradition and we haven't stopped to ask God,

God, what is it that you want to do in this moment?

Like, God, what is it that you They were correct that that's what

the temple, how the temple was in the past, But Jesus is saying,

now this is the way. They will correct that you have to go

through that structure. But now Jesus is saying, now I am able to

forgive sins. Sometimes we ought not to serve God from memory but from imagination.

You missed that. Sometimes we ought not to serve God from memory,

but through imagination, through what He can do for us right now and in

the future. Because sometimes we don't allow the Spirit to work in our now

because we are so fixated upon what we've done before, Like we don't allow

Jesus to work in this moment because we're so caught up and how things used

to be and how we've been doing this thing for so long. But I

want to ask the question, what is it that God is doing right now?

Like the same spirit that that that that that that early church had.

God is given to us like the same holy spirit that that our that that

that and on wine and our early church far for fathers had. The Bible

says that God is given to us. What is it that the Spirit is

telling us right now to do? We ought not to serve God from memory,

but we ought to serve God from imagination. So the Bible says that

now that the pharisees. They come, and the Bible says that that that

that that that that that. Jesus says, what is it easier to do?

Is it easier for me to say, uh, your sins are forgiven?

Or is it easier for me to say, take up your bed and

go. So that's what Jesus does. Jesus says, I say to you,

arise, take off your bed and go. Hold you see, says

so God. If you hadn't said amen throughout my sermon, this is a

chance to say amen. Because God gives us some declarations and some instructions.

He says, arise, take up your bed and go to your house.

Said a rise, take up your bed and go home. And this is

where I'm going to land for today, says the rise, take up your

bed, or he says, take up your mat and go home. And

I was wondering, Jesus, why did you require a demand to take up

his mat? Like, Jesus, why did you give that specific instruction?

You could have said get up and go, but you instructed him to say,

arise, take up your mat and go home. Normally, when Jesus

brings about healing, he normally says, you know, your sins are forgiven,

Go in peace, go your way. But these were a little bit

more specific instructions. He didn't just say your faith has made you whole,

and go about your way or go in peace. He says, take up

your mat, arise, take up your mat, and go home. And

that's wondering, Jus, why did you tell him to take up his mat?

Because the man is healed, he no longer needs he's mad. The

man is healed, he no longer needs needs the bed that was carrying him.

But Jesus says, carry the thing that was you's to carry you.

Ah, let me break this down. Jesus says, carry the thing that

you are being being carried on. The Bible says that God says, take

up your mat and go home. In other words, the Bible that Jesus

is is telling this man not to simply go home quietly, but to go

home and testify about the goodness of Jesus. You see, because the math

Now that when he goes home, when people see the thing that used to

carry him he is now carrying on his own, they can see that Jesus

has done something good. You see, because the mat was a sign of

his testimony. The math was what he used to identified with the math was

a symbolism of his sickness. But the Bible says that Jesus asked him to

arise, to to take up his mat and to go home. You see,

because he's mad, what's his testimony? Because when people would now see

him, they will not see him being carried. They will not see him

being hauled by these four men. But now these individuals will, individuals will

see that he has a map. And I want to let somebody know in

church today, did somebody walk into church with their map? Did somebody walk

in church? Not just with your children, not just with your your spouse,

not just with your clothes, but your man. It is your map

that is your testimony. It is your math that signifies what God has done

for you. Do I have a church in this building because God wants to

see you with your mad Because when other folks see you, they say,

ron, here goes that individual's that was once paralyzed. But now the very

thing that is that used to hold him, he is now carrying. And

I want to let somebody in there, and Matt praise in Holloway Chirst today.

Somebody that can Praise God and faint God for the mat. That what

used to carry you, you are carrying it. Somebody that can look back

over your life, I can identify two or three things that used to carry

you. But today you can praise God in this place to stay that I'm

carrying my mad. Are you carrying your mad? I said, are you

carrying You're mad? I said, are you carrying you're mad? Because your

mad is a symbol of what God has done for you. Has He not

made a way out of no way? Has he not brought you from a

marci long way? Has he not brought you through ups downs? Because I

don't want to see just your smiles. I don't want to see just your

pretty face, but I want to see you're mad. Calllujah. Praise God

for your mad. Praise God, but that what used to carry you,

you are carrying it. Praised him for the mad, praised him for the

man. Yes, yes, the Bible says, then you ought to go

back home. Show them your man. Go back home, Tell them where

you're coming from. Go back home, tell them how far you've come.

Go back home, not being carried. Go back home and bring your mad.

Because it declares that it declares that God has been great and healing has

taken place. He can play something quietly. Bible says, take up,

arise, take up your bed, take up your mat, and go home.

Gives these specific instructions because he knows that somebody where he came from needs

to hear this word. He gave this specific instruction because he knows that somebody

from his house that may have believed that he will never get healed. He

is now being healed. Adventist Radio London inspiration for the song