Whatever It Takes
UPSIDE DOWN
Whatever It Takes
It happened July 2, 2015, Rebecca Townsend gave her life to save a friend. After watching fireworks on July 2, Rebecca, from Brookfield, Connecticut was crossing the street with her friend Ben. when she pushed him out of the way from an approaching car, costing the 17 year old her life.
What am I willing to do to save my friends?
Pray: God, show me the importance of the love and message I have to share.
Grab your Bible: Luke 5:17-26
One day while Jesus was teaching, some Pharisees and teachers of religious law were sitting nearby. (It seemed that these men showed up from every village in all Galilee and Judea, as well as from Jerusalem.) And the Lord’s healing power was strongly with Jesus.
18 Some men came carrying a paralyzed man on a sleeping mat. They tried to take him inside to Jesus, 19 but they couldn’t reach him because of the crowd. So they went up to the roof and took off some tiles. Then they lowered the sick man on his mat down into the crowd, right in front of Jesus. 20 Seeing their faith, Jesus said to the man, “Young man, your sins are forgiven.”
21 But the Pharisees and teachers of religious law said to themselves, “Who does he think he is? That’s blasphemy! Only God can forgive sins!”
22 Jesus knew what they were thinking, so he asked them, “Why do you question this in your hearts? 23 Is it easier to say ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or ‘Stand up and walk’? 24 So I will prove to you that the Son of Man[a] has the authority on earth to forgive sins.” Then Jesus turned to the paralyzed man and said, “Stand up, pick up your mat, and go home!”
25 And immediately, as everyone watched, the man jumped up, picked up his mat, and went home praising God. 26 Everyone was gripped with great wonder and awe, and they praised God, exclaiming, “We have seen amazing things today!”
These friends brought their crippled friend to Jesus. When they arrived, there was such a huge crowd they couldn’t get to Jesus. But they did not give up, they climbed on the roof, made a hole in it and lowered the friend down. (the homeowner was probably a little ticked…hopefully he had good insurance!)
Then Jesus forgives the crippled friend’s sins and heals him because of the faith of his friends!
Did you catch that? It was the faith of the friends that lead to his salvation and healing.
The message of Jesus is urgent!!! If your friends do not know Jesus, they are headed for destruction. That is not a scare tactic, it is real. We need to tell them about Jesus.
In class today, they had a moment of silence for the 17 killed at Parkland at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. The 6th grader standing right beside me was upset. I found out that one of the 17 names read was his cousin. This 6th grader would have done whatever it took a year ago to warn his cousin of the danger headed his way if he had known.
The difference, you know, that without knowing Jesus your friends are headed for destruction. Tell them. Invite them to Deepen or someplace so they can hear.
What am I willing to do to save my friends?
Prayer: God, like Rebecca and the friends in this story, help me to save my friends by telling them about you. Give me courage and the words to say.