He Makes The Difference

Glory when we meet. You're in the sky. Hallelujah.

Give the Lord good praise in his house. Amen.

Seems that now I almost see all the saintly dead.

Oh, rising for that jubilee that is just ahead.

Oh, in the twinkling of an eye, change with them

to be. Well, all the living saints shall rise

to that jubilee. Well, what a day I'll sing.

Oh, what a day when we all shall rise. Oh, what

a day when we meet. It's going to happen. It's

going to happen. Amen. It's going to happen.

If you have your Bibles, turn with me to Mark's

Gospel, the second chapter. Mark chapter 2. Again,

Mark 2 · chapter mention

it is so good to see you here today. And if you

are visiting with us, I trust that you've already

encountered the presence of the Lord through

your worship. For we know according to his word

that he inhabits and dwells within the praises

of his people. Amen. And in case I'm not in the

right frame of mind later, when you leave today,

if you're visiting with us, if you'll go out

those doors to the left or just kindly circle

around in the foyer, there'll be a beautiful

smiling face waiting for you. Have something

special to give you and to let you know how much

we appreciate your visit with us today. Amen.

Amen. Mark's Gospel, chapter 2. We'll start at

verse 1. And again, I like that. And again, he

entered into Capernaum after some days, and it

was noised that he was in the house. And straightway

many were gathered together, insomuch that there

was no room to receive them, no, not so much

as about the door. And he preached the word unto

them. And they come unto him, bringing one sick

of the palsy, which was born of four. And when

they could not come nigh unto him for the press,

they uncovered the roof where he was. And when

they had broken it up, they let down the bed

wherein the sick of the palsy lay. And when Jesus

saw their faith, he said unto the sick of the

palsy, Son, thy sins be forgiven thee. That's

odd. That wasn't what they let him down there

for. But there were certain of the scribes sitting

there and reasoning in their hearts, why does

this man thus speak blasphemies? Who can forgive

sins but God only? And immediately when Jesus

perceived in his spirit that they so reasoned

within themselves, he said unto them, why reason

you these things in your hearts? Whether is it

easier? To say to the sick of the palsy, thy

sins be forgiven thee. Or to say, arise and take

up thy bed and walk. But that you may know that

the Son of Man hath power on the earth to forgive

sins. He said to the sick of the palsy, I say

unto thee, arise and take up thy bed and go thy

way into thine house. And immediately. He arose,

took up the bed, and went forth before them all,

insomuch that they were all amazed, and glorified

God, saying, We never, water's parallel on this

last sentence, we've never seen it like this

before. We never saw it on this fashion. We've

never seen anything like this. Amen. Just for

a little while today, with the help of the Lord,

I want to preach on the thought that He makes

the difference. He makes the difference. Amen.

If you'll pray for me, I'll pray for you, and

hopefully we'll leave here together stirred by

the Word of God. Amen. Father, we love you. We

thank you. Lord's so dependent upon you today.

And that spirit that makes it easy to preach,

Lord, let it... be in this house today. Lord,

as I stir the unction within myself, I ask God,

let your hand rest upon me. I yield my voice

and myself today. Lord, speak to your people.

Let your word radiate in our hearts and that

we truly leave this place encouraged, encouraged,

lifted up. And we will praise you for it. In

Jesus' mighty name. Amen, amen. Tell your neighbor,

he really does make a difference. He really,

really does. There are times in life that it

seems as though we're spinning our wheels and

getting nowhere. And in those moments, we begin

to wonder and question within ourselves, well,

what are we supposed to do now? The age in which

we live, we feel that we must be busy all the

time doing something. We're restless. We become

easily bored. Our culture is a culture which

craves entertainment. It just craves action.

And we wonder why so many are stressed beyond

the max. We wonder why we are not satisfied and

become so overwhelmed with the everyday occurrence

of life itself. Something we have to understand,

it's not church that changes lives. It's not

the church that changes lives. Only Christ can

change lives. Only Christ, his presence, can

make a difference in current everyday events.

And in the crisis and the chaos and the dilemma

and the boredom of life. Only Christ can alter

those things. His presence makes a difference.

Throughout the Bible, we read, we see everywhere

that Christ showed up, there was a difference

when he left. Amen. Either the devil's left screaming,

you know. Somebody left healed. Somebody left

mad. Pharisees would get mad. They'd get so infuriated

because they didn't know how to deal with the

rationale of his answer, and it wasn't what they

wanted to hear, so they would become very angry,

intolerant with him, plotting, trying to take

his life from the very beginning stages. As we

begin our text today in this second chapter,

it says, and again he entered into Capernaum.

So if he's entered again, he had to show up one

time before. Right? He's had to have already

been there. If again, he's coming back. Wouldn't

it be wonderful if the presence of the Lord would

come back again and visit his church? Well, I

just felt that one. Wouldn't it be wonderful

again that if the presence of the Lord would

have preeminence in our culture? in our nation,

in this country, wouldn't it be a wonderful thing

to know that Jesus, his presence again was in

his house and where he is, great things happen.

Wouldn't it be wonderful if he just showed up

again? Wouldn't it be wonderful? How many of

you remember the first time you encountered the

Lord and you repented and that burden and that

weight of sin lifted off and you just took a

deep breath like you'd never taken a breath before?

I remember that very vividly. how freely my breath

came when the weight and the burden of sin was

lifted off of my soul. It was just like, whoa,

it's a brand new day. Amen? I remember leading

a truck driver to the Lord one time out on a

mountain, out by a pond. I didn't know if I was

going to get shot or what. This old boy called

me. I ended up going out and meeting him. And

we're standing at a picnic table by his farm

pond. And he was reading the scripture and just

could not get a grip on it. I said, you're not

going to get a grip on it. And he looked at me.

me say, well, why? I said, because you can't

understand what it's saying until there's a transformation

in your life. Well, how do I get that? I said,

well, you repent. Let him to the Lord right there,

and I'll never forget. When he opened his eyes,

he began to look around. He said, man, how green

the grass is. I just smiled. I said, yes, it's

very green. And he began to relate the nature

that's going on, like he had never heard it or

seen it before. I said, now you can read it and

get a grip on it, son. And we talked for about

an hour. When we began to understand that he

His presence makes a difference. Again, he entered

into Capernaum. The first time he's there, he's

fresh out of the wilderness. He's fresh out of

an anointing with the Holy Ghost. He's come out.

He's come into town. He goes straight to the

church house. And the first thing he encounters

is an old boy with an unclean spirit in him.

And he casts that thing out right there in church.

And the marvel begins. Their minds are already

blown. And he goes from there into Simon's house

and his mother -in -law. is sick and he heals

her and she just starts serving around that.

So from the get -go, from the moment he enters

into ministry, there's some marvelous things

going on. And he's talking with the disciples.

He said, hey, we need to go to some of these

other towns around us for that's the reason that

I've come, that I'd go around and spread the

gospel, preach the gospel, preach the kingdom

of God, amen, preach repentance and deliver and

heal, amen. And so he goes about doing that.

And after they've been gone for a few days, certain

days, he comes back again to Capernaum and he

enters into the house. And now here's where things

begin to get exciting. When Jesus shows up, when

his presence is in the house, things begin to

happen. He begins to teach. He begins to preach

to them the word. We need more than social security

today. We need more than more insurance. We need

more than this. We need more than social ministries

going on. We need more of the presence of God

in this house. We need more than welfare. People

need more than just help and assistance. They

need transformation. And the only way that they're

going to receive transformation is that the church

again invites the presence of Jesus back into

the house and he begins to show up again. Because

I'm declaring to you today where the presence

of the Lord is. There is liberty, and there is

liberty that is found by those who are bound,

those who need a helping hand, those who need

a touch, those who need deliverance, those who

need peace of mind, those who need healing in

their body. When the presence of Jesus shows

up, things begin to happen. And you can always

tell when Jesus is in the house. Why? Because

folks begin to show up. It's not the, I got it

all together, folks. It's not the folks that's

just fine. But it's the hungry people that begin

to show up. It's the hurting people that start

to show up. It's the poor folk who need lifted

up that begin to show up. It's the sick folk

who begin to come through the door. It's the

messed up folk, amen. It's the emotionally disturbed.

It's the depressed folks. It's the oppressed

folks that begin to show up. Why? Because there's

an echoing that's going out. There's a proclamation

that's being sent around that Jesus is over there.

And if you go in there. You'll not leave like

you go in. There is a change agent. There's a

transformation that'll take place. He'll lift

you up if you're down. He'll heal you if you're

sick. He'll give you peace of mind if you're

tormented. He'll help you if you're broke. Hallelujah.

He'll be the one who'll provide a way. When Jesus

starts showing up and things start happening,

people begin to get excited and they begin to

show up. That's what this house is. That's what

this place is. It's like the pool of Siloam.

It's where the sick come. It's where the hurting

show up. And why? Because we don't all have it

together. But I need to get it together. And

I need a little help getting it together. I can't

carry the load alone. And I need someone to help

carry my burden. I want him to show up again.

So many folk have a picture of Jesus in their

house. How many of you got one of those? Come

on, it's not a trick question. How many of you

got some pictures of Jesus hanging around the

house? I'm going to give you a little secret.

That ain't him. That ain't him. If he's white,

throw it out. Just go ahead and get shed of it.

It's not sacrilegious because it ain't him. It

ain't him. We don't have those in the house.

What? No, I don't have an accurate picture, so

why would I want a fake? Well, it just reminds

me. Well, hang a cross on the wall. That's a

more accurate image. Lord, I've just got all

in somebody's Wheaties this morning. I started

feeling my hips show up and somebody just run

him out. I can't believe he's saying that. Well,

I'm saying it. I'm telling you, that's not him.

They were no Polaroids in the year of our Lord.

They don't have an accurate image. And the best

that we can come up with in our own mind ain't

him. Have you seen some of the mosaics? Those

little chips of porcelain and tile? They got

him all twisted up. And they were a whole lot

closer to his time than us. That ain't him either.

So, discard your pictures and put a picture of

your family on the wall. And close your mind.

Your eyes and begin to imagine what he may look

like. And the best you can come up with in your

mind still isn't going to come close to the glorious

image of God. Amen. Hallelujah. So what we need,

I don't need a picture. I need his presence.

Amen. Because his presence begins to declare

his glory. And when his presence is in here,

I don't care what he looks like. It's not going

to matter to me. It's not going to have one iota

because I'm not going to be looking for his face.

I'll be looking for his brow. Amen. I'm not going

to be looking at the color of his eyes. I'm going

to be looking for the nail pierced hands that

I may identify. He is the one who died. for my

wretched soul, and he is the one who has redeemed

me, and he's the one that's picked me up. He's

the one that's carried me all of these years.

It is his grace that has enabled me to go from

day to day. Hallelujah. I need his presence.

He makes the difference. It was noise. Somebody

went around telling everybody in town, hey, hey,

that guy's back. that tore church up here a while

back. You know, the one that cast that devil

out of that old boy. Oh, he's back, yeah. Where

at? He's down at that house. Let's go see. Let's

go see what's going on. Let's go get a determination

for ourselves. It was noise. He's in the house.

There's something to talk about. Amen? We don't

have to. We don't have to redevelop strategy

for church growth. I gave that up a long time

ago. I gave up strategy for church growth many,

many years ago. And I developed this strategy.

If I can just preach Jesus. Amen? If somebody

can just get touched, if somebody can just get

healed, if some folks can just get saved, if

somebody could get the baptism of the Holy Ghost,

if somebody could get sanctified and their life

changed and other people begin to see it and

they get excited enough to know, hey, you need

to show up over there at that church. Why? Man,

there's some stuff going on you. won't believe

it. That guy they've got preaching down there

is loud. He spits. He gets down there among the

people some of the time. He may even jump up

in a chair. You just never know what's going

to happen. Well, what is he saying? He's preaching

the word. Amen. Because when you find out that's

exactly what Jesus was doing when they come to

the house and they could not get in because of

the crowd. Not so much as even right at the door.

You couldn't get in to stand at the door. A man

to see what was going on. And while he is there,

the Bible declares in our text that he was preaching

the word to them. What word was he preaching?

Well, I don't know. He could have been Isaiah

61 when he began to tell them, the spirit of

the Lord is upon me for he's anointed me to preach

the gospel. He's anointed me to preach the good

news. What? That the blind are going to be healed.

That the dead are going to be raised. That the

lame are going to be raised. going to walk, the

dumb going to talk, the deaf going to hear, and

those who are bruised are going to be bound up,

and those who are in captivity are going to be

set free. He could have been preaching that to

them. Oh, he could have went back a few chapters

earlier. He could have made his way to Isaiah

9 and begin to tell them his name shall be called

Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God. He could have

went back to Genesis and begin to declare that

the heel of the woman's going to bruise the head

of the serpent. He could have preached it. He

could have declared in Noah's heart. He could

have told him that I am the ark. He just preached

the word. That's all you got to do. That's all

you got to do. Declare what's in the book. It's

enough. He could have hit Isaiah 53 and foretold

of his own death to them. But it's early on.

He hasn't got that far yet. He's just getting

started. He could have preached to them about

being the ancient of days. The rose of Sharon,

the lily of the I am, the lily. Couldn't you

tell? I don't know what he preached. He had a

lot of material. That he could have used. Straightway

many gathered together. There was no room to

get in the house. When the house is filled with

his presence. The house will begin to fill up

with hungry people. I don't need another pat

me on the back story. Hello. I don't need another.

I need to be stirred. Amen. I guess it's because

that's the way I come in this thing. And I guess

it will be the way I go out. I need somebody

to stand and declare to me, thus saith the word

of the Lord. I need somebody. I'm sure Jesus

told them you need to repent for the kingdom

of heaven is at hand. There's no way to the Father

unless you're coming through me. I am that way.

I'm sure he declared to them. If he preached

to them the word and the gospel, then I'm sure

he preached to them their need to accept himself

as their Lord and personal Savior. I guarantee

there's no other way in. There's no other way.

There's no bypass. There's no express pass line.

You go through him or you don't go. Plain and

simple. He preached to them his word. It may

sound old fashioned to a lot of folks. Amen.

The house was filled with those hungry people.

It may look ridiculous sometimes the way we preach

it, but the Word declares that He has chosen

that through preaching that man becomes saved,

and He has declared that it's through the foolishness

of preaching that this happens. Why do you say

foolishness? Because some of us preachers can

kind of act a little foolish in the declaration

of His Word, but He's happy with it. Why? Because

He knows we are surrendered and yielded, and

He can say crow like a rooster, and I have tried

to crow like a rooster to make a point, to get

a point. a cross somehow to reach someone, you

say, well, that's silly. I know it is, but it

touched somebody. Amen? And that's all there

is to know about this. When we prepare, we declare,

thus saith the Lord. And the declaration of the

Lord is the liberating power that goes forth

when the word is proclaimed. It is the word that

liberates because he is the living word and his

presence goes where his words declared. Faith

comes only by hearing and hearing by the word

of God. So he's preached the word. They're crowded

in the house. They came unto him, bringing one

sick of the palsy, which was born of four. We

got a paralyzed man being carried by four friends,

making their way to the house. Why? Because it

had been noised. It had been declared that that

guy's back over there to cast the devils out.

He's back in the house. If we can just get our

friend there. See, there's faith in the declaration

already before an act is ever lived out. If we

can get him there, you got four fellas. that

take up a paralyzed man, palsy. This condition

of palsy somehow has separated the response between

the brain and the body. The man's thinking right.

He's thinking very clearly. Everything's going

fine, but there's a disconnect between his brain

and his body. My Lord, isn't there a lot of that

going on these days? There's a disconnect. There's

a palsy in man spiritually, and many are suffering

from a physical condition of palsy. There's a

separation somewhere. So these four men say,

if he can cast the devil out of a man, if he

can heal Peter's mother -in -law's fever, and

if he can do these other things that we, oh,

there's a leprous man that got healed, amen?

He healed a leprous man, and he went out. Jesus

told him to keep it quiet, just kind of hold

it down. Go and show yourself to the priest.

Offer up. what the law of Moses declares for

you to offer, and just try to kind of keep it

down. No, look here. If I was a leper and got

healed, you're not going to tell me to keep it

down either. I'm sorry, Lord, but here is one

point of disobedience. I cannot keep this to

myself. This is what you have done for me. I

was a leper doomed to death and ostracized from

society, but you have cleansed me, and you have

healed me, and everybody's going to know who

it is that has done it. went out and told everybody,

hey, Jesus healed me. I was a leper, but look,

look, my sores are gone, my ears back, the end

of my nose. He put it back on my face. Look at

me, look at me, look at me. I am healed way before

he ever got to church. He told everybody who

would listen, and fame is spread out, and now

he's come back to town, and he's in that house

over there. Those four could have maybe known

the leper, and oh, if he healed him, if we can

get old Bob in the house, I think he'll touch

him. And they get there and they can't get in

because the house is already full. His presence

has already been. How can we get in? They begin

to sing the old hymn. I will not be denied. No,

I will not be denied. Go on the roof and make

a hole. I will not be denied. I made that verse

up. Sounded good, though. That's what they did.

They made their way onto the roof, and they tore

a hole in it. Many of us suffer from conditions

of paralysis of faith, of emotion. We suffer

from paralysis in many different ways. We all

suffered from the paralysis of sin. Hello? We

all suffered from that. Somewhere or another,

we're all like this man in a condition. There's

something that we cannot do for ourselves. You

may be sitting in here this morning thinking,

I wish you'd hurry up for one. But secondly,

I'm just getting started, so hang on. You may

have something going on in your life that you

are powerless to reverse. You can't do it. You

may have all of your right faculties, but you

still cannot alter the event that's taking place.

That's what was going on with this man. He could

not change his condition. He couldn't even get

up and go do anything about it. He had to be

taken by friends so that he may find some help

and some relief. So I don't know what it is that

may be going on in our lives, but sometimes there

are those things that we are powerless. to remove

on our own. But thank God, hallelujah, we don't

have to do it on our own. Just like I declared

to you earlier, he is able. His presence makes

all the difference in the world. Thank God that

that man had four friends who had enough confidence

in Jesus for him. If we can get him in there,

we can get him healed. The Lord will touch him.

Amen. So they go to the rooftop, and after they

broke through, my God, God, you've got to have

a determination. It's not just easy to get up

there. Then you've got to break your way through.

Sometimes you've got to push your way through

the press when you get in the house in order.

They couldn't get in, but they made their way.

I've got to get in his presence. That's the reason

that just church, check in the box, doesn't do.

Anybody any good? Just to get up and say, well,

I went. No, I don't get up just to say I went.

I don't preach just to say, well, I gave a little

homily out there. No, I preach for effect. I

declare, thus saith the Lord, for the power of

the effect of the declaration. Because I have

faith in Jesus. I have faith in his presence

because there's too many documented testimonies

declaring what he can do. You never know what

service that you're going to push your way into

that you have to take the roof off of the situation

that's going on in your life and push your way

through and make your way in to his presence.

You've got to get through the doubters. You've

got to get through the fingernail clippers. You've

got to get through the checkbook balancers. Come

on. You've got to make your way through the baby

players. Are you hearing me? You've got to make

your way past the board and the humdrum who's

sitting two rows over and three rows back. You've

got to push your way into his. Because everybody

that comes in isn't driven by desire to be in

his presence. what I just said not wrong those

of us who know his power to save and heal and

to deliver should now be actively involved in

reaching those who are still bound still oppressed

still sick still afflicted still lost And do

all that we can do to bring them into his presence.

That is if we have enough faith and trust in

the declaration of the word that's being preached

in the house. That we know if they'll come his

presence is going to show up. And if they can

get past everything. That's why it's so important

that we be reverent in church. Amen. I'm not

talking stoic and silent. I'm talking about reverent

because you never know what hell someone's living

in on the row in front of you or the row behind

you. Are you hearing me? People live through

hell every week. The devil is out to steal, kill,

and to destroy. And he's tormenting the minds

of the people who are coming in, who are being

thrown in because of his presence. Because somebody

said that the word's going out over there. Man,

we're really having church. The Spirit of the

Lord. is showing up at Hopewell. Man, you ought

to come and go to church with us. And so it's

important because we never know who comes through

the doors who are suffering from a condition

of some type of palsy that has them stricken

and paralyzed so that they can't even move. They

can't even hardly go about. And yet they got

enough strength to come because you were excited

enough to tell them. And they made their way

in. And my Lord, let's not let it be a disappointment.

they get into the house, that his presence is

here. You never know what doctor's visit somebody's

had this past week. We never know what devastating

news someone may have got. They may have a whiter

smile because they got a good report. Not every

report is bad. Right? Sometimes we get that affirmating

report that says the Lord is at work. And so

we ought to be the ones shouting the loudest.

Woo! I got a good report. We ought to be excited.

We ought to be trying to get others in the house.

Just by a point of curiosity, how many of you

know today without a doubt that Jesus has touched

you in some direct, specific way? You know it.

Where you at? You know it. You know if it hadn't

been for Jesus and his presence, it would just

be too late. We know it. And if you know it,

my Lord, and he's done that for you. And we look

around the room and we see how many others that

he's done it for. Why can't he do it for the

ones who couldn't or didn't raise their hand?

Amen. He can. Why can't he do it for those that

we come in contact with who share with us? If

we'll just give them a minute or two in conversation,

it won't take somebody long. They're looking

for somewhere to vent. They're looking for somewhere

that they can find help. They're looking for

someone who will give them hope. And my Lord,

you and I are bound up and wrapped in help and

hope. Amen. You and I have it. And you can share

it with them when you tell them, Jesus, he is

your answer. And we can call on him right now.

I want you to come and worship with me. When

they couldn't come near for the press. Do you

know there's some things that you're not going

to get without fighting for? There are some things

that won't come without pressing in. There's

some bondages. There's some habits, addictions,

lust of your flesh. Sicknesses and diseases,

strongholds of the mind that aren't going to

change until we're willing to press. Somebody

said one time, if it's worth having, then it's

worth fighting for. And if it works that way

in the house of God, then I guess Matthew 11

and 12 kind of pens it right. The kingdom of

heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take

it by force. I guess Paul had it right when he

was telling the church at Corinth, for though

we walk in the flesh, we don't war after the

flesh. Amen? I guess Paul had it right when he

was talking to the church in Ephesus. He said,

when you haven't done all you can do to stand.

He said, stand therefore, having put on the whole

armor of God. If you need armor, then that means

there's a fight about to take place. My Lord,

there's a battle about to go down. Amen. I despise

everything about the devil. Do you know how uncomfortable

it is sleeping in your armor? I don't take it

off. I don't lay my armor aside. Hallelujah.

I don't take off my helmet of salvation. Why?

Because I need it in my dreams. Amen. I need

my mind protected by the presence of God. I need

my mind saturated with the Word of God that when

I lay me down to sleep and I pray the Lord my

soul to keep, I know that it's not just a children's

nursery rhyme prayer. I can lay down and say

now, Lord, I pray my soul to keep. And if my

life leaves, me in my last breath in my sleep.

My soul is the most important thing. Hallelujah.

And if the Lord is the keeper of my soul, then

I can lay down and have a peaceful night's rest.

You can have a peaceful night's rest regardless

of what your bladder does to you. Yep. Regardless,

those catnaps in between, those trips to the

bathroom can garner you more rest than not waking

up till the morning. If he who keeps you. Isn't

it wonderful to know his presence is real? They

couldn't get in for the press. There was a day

that news came to Jesus about a good dear friend

of his, Lazarus. The friend whom he loved grew

sick and had died. He got word before Lazarus

died. And the scripture says he tarried. Now

I know if you're like me, don't wait around,

Lord. If you're coming, come on. Huh? If you're

going to come anyway, I just assume you come

on. Amen. If you're going to show up, I just

assume you show up on day one. It's day four.

So he and his disciples, he's telling them, hey,

I got word our buddy's sick and he's sleeping.

I said, well, Lord, if he's resting, it's good

for you to rest when you're sick. He said, no,

you don't understand, boys, he dead. Well, we

need to get on over. We'll get there. Been a

long day. I preached hard today. I'm going to

rest. We'll go tomorrow. Well, he shows up four

days later. But I'm telling you, he makes the

difference. That's the whole point of all this.

When he shows up, he makes the difference. Now,

here comes Sister Martha running out. who's had

a few encounters with Jesus. Martha, Martha.

She said, Lord, now she's trying to change her

ways. Lord, I know that if you'd been here, you

would have healed him and he wouldn't have died.

I know it. So she's proclaiming her faith, right?

Martha. I'm the resurrection and life. So she's

going to. She's going to double up on this faith

thing. She'd been paying attention. When she

finally sat down with Mary at his feet, she was

paying attention. Oh, I know that he's going

to live again. Martha, you're still not getting

it, honey. I am. The resurrection. And now she's

starting to scratch her head. Where did y 'all?

Where's his stone at? Where's his marker? You

ever gone to the graveyard and you try to find

a loved one or a friend and you have to ask the

caretaker, where's section so -and -so, right?

Where's their marker? If a family member tells

you, well, we finally got Grandma's marker and

we put it up last week, you want to go see Granny's

marker. Well, where's it at? Well, it's third

row down, four rows back toward the end. What's

it look like? Well, we got granny a nice black

granite stone. And it's really pretty. You can't

miss it. When you get over there and there's

five black granite. Where did you lay him? Well,

he's over here. Well, let's go. Well, Lord. And

then here Martha shows up. The real Martha shows

up. Well, Lord, it's been four days. He's stinking

now. Where'd that faith go? What happened to

Martha's faith? All of a sudden, Lord, if you'd

have been here, he would not have died. Hallelujah.

Is it like if he didn't show up when you wanted

him, he can't still turn around what you need?

I mean, is that what? Tell what the deal is,

and he goes a little bit further, saying, you

know, there's a resurrection coming. Oh, I know

it's going to live again, the resurrection. I

know what's going to happen. You're still not

getting this. I am able. Where's the stone? Roll

the stone away. Lord, the boy stinks. He's been

four days. And you know his spirit only hangs

around by tradition three days. He done gone.

The boy's gone. There's no hope bringing him

back. Just get the rock out the way. Some of

you have got stones rolled up and he's trying

to do some stuff in your life and you won't move

the rock. Where's the issue? Well, Lord, you

know it's too late now. My Lord, I've done had

to live through it. Done had to deal with it.

Why fool with it now? Oh, my Lord, I'm preaching

to somebody. Why change it now? We've done greed.

We've done paid the mourners off. You know, they

hired them. I love, we ain't got time. What time

is it? Is it really? You watching me, ain't you,

Camo? Grandson got me on the clock. So you want

me to hurry? Now what you gonna say? Huh? Huh.

Where was I at? We got stones in front of situations

and issues that we refuse to move. What are you

saying? They had to break their way in to gain

access. Sometimes you've got to roll some things

out of the way to grant him access. My God, I'm

preaching to you now. Some of you got your own

stones rolled up, and you think because he didn't

do it when you thought you needed it done that

he can't do it now. I'm here to tell you, it

doesn't matter if it's one day late, two day

late, three day late, four day late. It doesn't

matter when, but when his presence shows up,

he says, roll the stone away. the thing out of

the way. When he declares a word to you and you

show up and he shows up and you're together and

he says, if you'll get it out of the way, I'll

deal with it. He don't want to know about your

faith. He don't want to know that you understand

theology. Eschatology, he don't want to know

that you were listening on rapture course day.

He wants you to get the stone out of the way.

Get the obstruction out of the way. My Lord.

Do you know there's three more points to this?

We'll never get it today. You got to get it out

of the way. You got to roll it out of the way.

Just move the stone. I'll take care of the rest.

That's what he said. Just give it to me. I'll

take care of it. I'll take care of it. Then we

hear that declaration. Blasters come forth. That's

not what happened. He lifted up his voice. I've

heard it said, you know, he could not just declare

come forth. I don't know how many flat spots

was in the cave that he was put in. But if he'd

have just said come forth when access was granted,

everybody in there would have come out. So he

had to be specific. Lazarus, come forth. I preached

this before and I love it. Somebody in the mummy

wrap lane didn't wrap his feet tight. They give

old Lazarus a little wiggle room. They didn't

have him just bound up tight. The one at the

feet kind of let down on the job. Burial wrap.

They give him just enough room to come out. Lazarus,

come forth. I can hear him in there. off of me.

He hadn't been there long enough for it to start

to rot. Hello? It don't been four days. He couldn't

rip it. He couldn't hulk out on it. But he made

his way out. And man, do you know if you just

give him access, doesn't matter how bound you

feel like you are, you got enough room to get

to him. You got enough wiggle to get to him.

Doesn't matter how bound up and how tightly you

feel like you're wound. If he calls, you start

making your way. It'll get easier. It'll get

easier as you go. You have to press through some

things. Don't have time to preach to the woman.

With the issue of blood. She came up behind in

the crowd. The press. She had to push her way

in. You know, sometimes you've got to keep enough

faith to get you in. But once you get in, he

takes over. Once you get in his presence, he

does the rest. Right? But you've got to have

enough faith to get there. You've got to have

enough trust and confidence. They uncovered the

roof. When they uncovered the roof, they let

the bed down. There's a principle in our faith.

What goes up first must go down. The way up is

down. How so, pastor? We humble ourselves under

the mighty hand of God. Why? So that he may exalt

us, lift us up. In due season. We humble ourselves.

Because there is an anointing that will never

accompany the proud. The self -assured. The self

-sufficient. There's an anointing that will never

come to those who refuse to go down. Down to

self. Into self -denial, down to submission,

down in obedience, down in humility. We have

to be obedient as Naaman. Naaman was angry when

he received the instruction from the prophet.

He wanted the man of God to come out and do some

big whoopity -woo over him, and he didn't do

it. He sent his servant out and said, get yourself

to Jordan and dip seven times and everything

will be fine. Mad. Left kicking rocks. But he

went. He had to go down. Where did Jeremiah go?

He went down to the potter's house. And he saw

work upon the wheel. David went down into the

valley of Elah and faced his giant. But he's

elevated as king of Israel. The way up. It's

down. So they let him down into the Lord's presence.

And he hears your sins be forgiven. Tears everybody

in the room up. Stand with me. I'm going to wind

it down. I won't make you stand long if you're

on your feet. But if you're sitting, we're good

for another 15. So stand. I'll feel sorry for

you if you're standing. And I want to keep you

12. But sin is the first issue. It's the first

issue of priority in our lives. It has to be

taken care of. First. What's that mean? If you've

not repented of your sins, you have to repent

first. You have to accept Christ as Savior before

accessing Him as healer. Deliverer. Provider.

So sin is the first issue. And Jesus wanted them

to know that. Oh, you're speaking blasphemies.

There's nobody can forgive sin but God. And he

wasn't blaspheming. He was making a point to

let them know who he was right up at the beginning

of this thing. And he understands the conversation

because he knows their thoughts. You need to

go through and study in the New Testament. How

many times that the word declares and he discerned

their thoughts and he knew. He knew what everybody

was thinking all the time. Can't hide anything

from him. You, me, we can't hide anything from

him. He knows. He knows. So he said to them,

so that you know that I am who I am. Proclaim

to be, which is easier, to say to this man your

sins are forgiven or to say to him, rise, take

up your bed and walk. But so that you know that

I can do both, I'm going to prove this to you.

He said, arise. Arise. Get up from your lower

estate to a vertical estate. Do you realize the

prodigal son had to have a declaration in his

mind before he went? He saw the whole journey

from the pig pen. He said, dad's servants has

got it better than this. He said, I will arise

and go to my father's house. He charted out the

whole journey. He knew when he got there, dad

would accept him too. You got to know that he'll

accept you. You got to make your own self -declaration.

You got to stand up in your mind. You got to

stand up in your thinking. You got to stand up

out of your depressed state and condition. You

got to stand up in your emotions. You have to

make a personal declaration. I will arise. Take

the roof off. Move the stone out of the way,

whatever your obstacle is, whatever's restricting

you from allowing him access. And if it's sin

in your life, that's got to be taken care of.

You have to repent and accept Christ first. Too

many people want his blessings without his lordship,

but you don't get it. You don't get the blessing

without his being Lord of your life. And you

don't have that without confessing that you are

a sinner and you need him to save you from yourself.

Wow. So sin's got to be took care of first. But

so that you know he's able to do both. Arise,

take up your bed and walk. And they were all

blown away. Never seen anything like this in

all of my days. So, could they deny that the

man's sins were forgiven? I don't think so. Because

they could not deny. That he got up and walked

out. So that you know the first is done. I'm

going to do the second. Just to prove it. Father

I love you today.