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He completely disregards the man’s most obvious needs says

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nothing about it and goes straight to what he wants to say to the man which is

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your sins are forgiven

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I suspect that the paralysed man was thinking why is he talking about forgiveness

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that is not why I came

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welcome to open the Bible with pastor Colin Smith I’m Davey Pick

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I am glad you could be with us today and Colin as people probably realize we’re talking

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about the story in Mark’s gospel where the paralysed man comes to a house

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carried by his friends they can’t reach Jesus there are too many people around

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him so they go to the roof of the house and lower him down and Jesus did

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something unexpected yeah I’d often think about the guy who owned the house

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What a marvelous story it is though and here’s this paralyzed man and Jesus says

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to him your sins are forgiven and you must have thought that’s not what I had

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in mind when I was lowered down is the right friend’s head in mind we were

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hearing about the paralysis not not the forgiveness it sounds like a supreme

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exercise in irrelevant doesn’t it except of course that he was healed and then

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would have lived for some time and then died and in heaven today I’m sure that

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I know for sure what was the most important thing that Jesus said to me

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then and that was forgiveness you know it really is a question how important do

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you think forgiveness from Jesus Christ is and if you don’t yet think that that

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is among the greatest things that he has done for you then you probably not yet

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understood the extent of your need of Jesus Christ I often say to to someone

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if I’m not sure if they really know the Lord what’s the greatest thing Jesus

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Christ has done for you and if a guy says well you know he answer to prayer

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and got me a job I said that’s great there’s something greater that Jesus

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Christ could do for you than you have yet experienced let me tell you about it

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well I think that’s where the story goes today… we see that in Mark chapter one

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starting at verse 40 so I hope you’ll be able to join us in your Bible as we

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begin the message Jesus has the authority to forgive sins

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what we’ve been learning so far is that Mark has been telling us

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that Jesus is the Messiah and that he is the Son of God that the gospel

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is all about Jesus and we saw that in him we find repentance and forgiveness

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and God’s wonderful gift of the Holy Spirit we saw as Jesus begins his

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ministry that when Jesus speaks things happen and particularly what happens is

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ordinary people follow him and troubled people are set free. Today we’re

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going to learn more about what happens when Jesus Christ steps into a person’s

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life what difference will it make to your life when Jesus Christ lays hold of

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you what difference will it make when you become a follower of Jesus.

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As we move through the gospel we’re going to find that painted out for us.

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Now we’re going to cover two stories from Mark’s gospel today first the

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story of the Leper that comes at the end of chapter 1 and then the story of the

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paralytic at the beginning of chapter 2 but we’re going to come to them in

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reverse order beginning with the story of the paralytic. Let’s just set the

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scene though taking up the story where we left off. Remember that Jesus had been

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surrounded by great crowds in Capernaum not surprisingly many many people who

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had heard about his healing power and were coming bringing their various needs

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with them and remember Jesus said we’ve got to go to some other villages so that

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I can preach there also for this is why I have come and so Jesus went with the

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first disciples on this itinerant ministry a first tour of the various

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in the area of Galilee and Mark records only one story from that itinerant

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ministry and that’s the story of the leper and as far as the rest is

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concerned he simply tells us in verse 39 that Jesus traveled throughout

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Galilee notice what he was doin,g preaching in their synagogues and

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driving out demons but at the end of this little tour Jesus comes back to

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where he began in Capernaum and of course as soon as he returns to

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Capernaum the crowds are back again chapter 2 in verse 1 a few days later

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when Jesus entered Capernaum the people heard that he had come home and so many

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gathered that there was no room left not even outside the door and I’m assuming

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that this is still Simon’s house where the remarkable miracle of healing his

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Mother-in-law had been performed and the great crowds had come before and now

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Jesus has returned to the house in Capernaum and they’re back outside and

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inside again notice what Jesus did verse 2 he preached the word to them that is

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Jesus priority. We will keep seeing this as we move throughout the gospel of Mark

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and while Jesus was preaching the word to them, Mark records a remarkable

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incident that took place right there in this house. He tells us about a man who

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was paralyzed. His legs would not bear the weight of his body and being unable

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to move he was confined to a mat on which he sat or slept and he simply lay

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there. But this man was clearly determined to get to Jesus and he does

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this in a remarkable way with a little help from his friends who carry him on

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his mat and bring him to Jesus when they arrive at the place where Jesus is

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staying they immediately find that the house is swarming with people not only

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crammed inside but the crowd spilling outside of the door as well. There’s no

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way that they can get a man on a mat through that kind of press of people and

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so these five men had a problem and it’s a problem we’re going to address this

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morning. How do you get to Jesus Christ they used their imagination rather

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wonderfully here they can’t get through the door and so they decide to come in

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through the roof and I don’t know about you but I wish I could have seen this

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incident these guys kind of hauling the mat and the man on it on to the roof and

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then digging a hole in the roof and then lowering the man on his mat in front of

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Lord Jesus Christ I’m assuming that this was Simon and Andrew’s house the house

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where it all began as it were earlier in chapter 1 so I wonder what Simon

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thought when he saw his own roof being opened up. Is this what it

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means to be a follower of Jesus by the way just a pause for a quick application

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there I guess the lesson for us is if we are serious about ministry we ought to

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building will need a few repairs now and again right? I think that’s what Simon

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Peter discovered on that great occasion now we’ll come back later to what we can

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learn from this paralyzed man and his wonderful friends but I want us to focus

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first on what is obviously the main point of the story. The friends lower the

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paralyzed man from the roof and he ends up lying on his mat looking as it were

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up into the face of Jesus and we read in verse 5 of chapter 2 that when Jesus saw

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their faith he said to the paralytic, son your sins are forgiven. Now the question

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here is how is that relevant? How is that relevant this is obviously not why the

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paralyzed man has come. This man on his mat has clearly come to Jesus because he

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is paralyzed that is why he has come but Jesus completely disregards the man’s

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most obvious problem and talks to him about something else. Son your sins are

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forgiven. Now to talk about forgiveness to a man with this obvious need on the

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basis of which he has come seems really to me to be disconnected. It seems off

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the point it seems at first sight irrelevant does it not? And I imagine

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that the paralyzed man lying there on his mat having made this great journey

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and I finally arriving in hearing this word from Jesus must have been quite

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bewildered you must have thought but Jesus that’s great but that’s not why I

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have come. More than that don’t you think at first sight that what Jesus says here

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might have seemed a little insensitive. It’s often said you can’t preach to a

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man who has an empty stomach. I’ve heard that you know if you’re going to

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effectively communicate to a man with an obvious need you have to meet his

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obvious need before you can think that in any meaningful way you can communicate

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about whatever you may want to say. I’ve been taught that at college and

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there’s some good in that point. But I want you to notice that Jesus does

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completely the opposite here doesn’t he. I mean he completely disregards the

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most obvious need, says nothing about it and goes straight to what he wants to

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say to the man, which is, your sins are forgiven. I suspect that the paralyzed

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man was thinking, why is he talking about forgiveness? That is not why I came. Now

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let’s just pause and try and apply what we’re learning here to ourselves. In

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this great congregation today, there is a vast array of need, some of it known, some

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of it hidden, but all of us have come and many of us are facing particular issues

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in our lives that really press in on us and they are things of great importance,

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sometimes very heavy burdens. Some of us are really struggling with loss. Some of us are

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battling depression. Some of us are struggling with fear or with anger or

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with worry or with lack of self-esteem or loss of confidence or loneliness. We

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have issues that relate to money. We have issues that relate to health. We have

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issues that relate to marriage and other relationships and these things press in

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upon us and they fill our minds and they are very, very real needs indeed. So much

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is that the case that I would honestly be surprised if there was 1 in 100

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people in the congregation today who actually came here thinking consciously

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my greatest need is forgiveness from Jesus Christ. Probably not one of a

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hundred in 100 has been consciously thinking that as we came to church today.

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Now it’s for this reason therefore that many people feel disconnected from the

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gospel because it really does not seem to address the issues with which we are

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most concerned. That is why there will always be pressure on the Church of

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to reposition the gospel to fit the needs that concern people today. So you

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shouldn’t be surprised, for example, if you find in our country and elsewhere in

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the world today versions of the gospel that are targeted to

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the concerns that people dominantly have. So you would expect to find versions of

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the gospel that are mainly about health, mainly about prosperity, or mainly about

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personal fulfillment. Why does that happen? Because there’s a pressure always

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on the church to reposition the gospel so that it more clearly addresses the

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issues with which we are primarily concerned in our life in this world

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today. If you find the preacher speaking about forgiveness to be strangely

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disconnected from your life, that probably means you’re in exactly the

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same position as the man lying on his mat in front of Jesus.

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Yes that’s good, but that’s not why I’m here.

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You’re listening to Open the Bible with Pastor Colin Smith

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and a message Jesus has the authority to forgive sins, and we’ve got to pause the

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message there for a moment but we’ll be back very shortly.

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The message is part of our series called the Gospel According to Jesus and if you

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miss one of the series if you or if you want to go back and listen again you can

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easily do that by coming online to our website openthebible.org.uk there you’ll

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find all the messages that have already gone out on air.

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Back to the message now

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we’re in Mark chapter 1, as we continue the message Jesus has the authority to

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forgive sins. Here’s Colin

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Now the title of our series is the Gospel

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According to Jesus, and clearly the Gospel According to Jesus is really the

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only gospel that matters, that’s why we keep coming back to the word of God

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because whatever is preached from this pulpit or any other pulpit around the

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world the only gospel that really matters is the gospel that is found here

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the gospel according to Jesus. And that’s why we’re coming back again and again to

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reshape our thinking and reorient our thinking to what really matters to Him.

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And quite clearly as we open the Bible today what we are seeing is that as far

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as Jesus is concerned forgiveness is a higher priority than any other need in

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this man’s life, that’s what matters to Jesus. And we may apply that by saying

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this that as far as Jesus is concerned forgiveness is a higher priority in your

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life than any other need that may be pressing in on your mind and occupying

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your attention as you have come to church today and so Jesus completely

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disregarding the man’s most obvious need says to him your sins are forgiven.

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The first question was how is that relevant? The second question is well now

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how is that possible? How is that possible? Your sins are forgiven.

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Now notice that the teachers of the law pick up on this right away in verse 6.

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Some teachers of the law were sitting there thinking to themselves why does

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this fellow talk like that? Who can forgive sins but God alone? Now these men

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were obviously good teachers of the law because they were absolutely right in

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what they say here. The principle is that the only person who can forgive is the

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person who has been offended. Let’s think about that a moment. If you set fire to

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my house it is possible that I might forgive you but if you set fire to my

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neighbor’s house, it is not possible for me to forgive you. The only person who

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can forgive you for that action is my neighbor. No use coming to me. I can’t do

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anything about it. I can forgive you if you set fire to my

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house but only my neighbor can forgive you if you set fire to his house. The

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principle is that the only person who can forgive is the person who has been

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offended. Now here’s the one thing that you need to know about this subject of

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sin. The teachers of the law have grasped clearly and rightly, that sin

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biblically defined is an offence against God. Sin biblically defined is an offence

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against God. Therefore by definition only God can forgive sins, which is what they

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say here. Now let’s pause there just for a moment,

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because you may nod some agreement at that definition. But are you aware that

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our culture today most people have not understood this and most people would

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not agree with this. Most people in our culture today and I’ll give you some

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statistics in just a moment. Most people in our culture today have redefined sin

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and their definition of sin is acting inconsistent with your own values or

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acting in a way that hurts another person. In the early 1990s, a survey was

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taken across this country, in which folks were asked about personal values,

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morality, and religion, and faith, and so forth, and so on. One of the questions

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that was probed was how people define sin? What do people understand by this

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word that is used so often in the Bible? Do you know that only 17%

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person defined sin as a violation

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against God’s will? What that means is that at least according

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to this survey that is published in the book, The Day America Told the Truth,

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that according to the survey, 83% of people in this country, 4 out of

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every 5 people you meet in this country do

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not know what sin is. What they think it is, is acting out of

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line with my values or acting in a way that hurts another person.

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But you see, if we redefine sin as acting out of line with my

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own values or acting in a way that hurts another person,

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as 4 out of 5 people in this country have effectively done,

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then all the focus of attention will be on me forgiving

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myself because I have acted out of line with my own values.

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I’ve done what I myself think I should not have done.

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Or it will be on a horizontal seeking of forgiveness

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and reconciliation and peace with another person.

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And if that’s what forgiveness is all about God is completely

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removed from the picture altogether.

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In fact I think it would be reasonable to say that probably

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for four out of five people in our country today God’s

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forgiveness is simply assumed.

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And the action is all to do with the self or it is to do with

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other people.

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Now the teachers of the law in the story knew far better they

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had been raised to understand the teaching of the Bible and

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they had grasped quite clearly what four out of five people in

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our country have not grasped, and that is that sin is an

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offence against God.

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Therefore, since it is defined by God and it is an offence

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against God, sin can only be forgiven by God.

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Other people may forgive your offences against them.

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That’s a wonderful thing.

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But your sin can only be forgiven by God because by

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definition it is an offence against God.

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So when Jesus says to this paralyzed man, your sins are

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forgiven, the teachers of the law pick up on this

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immediately.

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Who does this Jesus think he is they’re saying in effect.

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He’s talking as if he were God because they know fully that

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only God can forgive sins.

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And of course this is exactly what Mark is telling us right

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from the beginning of the gospel that Jesus is the Son

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of God.

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That he is everything that God is in the flesh.

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Now Jesus knew what they were thinking verse 8 and so he said

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to them why are you thinking these things, why are you

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thinking that it is inappropriate for me to pronounce

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forgiveness over this man.

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Which is easier to say to the paralytic your sins are

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forgiven, or to say to the man get up and

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take your mat and walk?

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Well to answer Jesus question is obviously easier to say your

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sins are forgiven because nobody is able to verify whether

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that has actually happened or not.

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But Jesus wants the man and the crowds to know that this

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man sins are really forgiven because he says so and so he

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gives this marvelous demonstration of his divine

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power and authority.

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Verse 10 that you may know that the son of man has authority on

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earth to forgive sins.

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Jesus says to the paralyzed man verse 11 I tell you get up take

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your mat, go home.

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And to the absolute astonishment of everyone in the house and no

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doubt outside as well.

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That is exactly what this man does.

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The people are saying In Astonishment we have never seen

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anything like this before.

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So here we have Jesus giving to this man to wonderful gifts the

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gift of forgiveness followed by the gift of healing.

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Summed up into wonderful powerful words that Jesus

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speaks to him son your sins are forgiven.

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I say to you get up take your mat and go those are wonderful

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words to hear when Jesus says your sins are forgiven.

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Your sins are forgiven.

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Our message is called.

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Jesus has the authority to forgive sins and it’s part of

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our series the gospel according to Jesus and if you’ve missed

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any of the messages in the series so far, or if you want

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to go back and listen again, it’s great that you can do that

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by coming online to our website,

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openthebible.org.uk

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There you’ll find all of the messages that have already gone

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out on air.

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You can also find Pastor Colin’s messages as a podcast

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are available on all the regular podcasts sites by searching

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for Open the Bible UK and subscribe

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if you want to receive regular updates.

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Also available as a podcast and on our website,

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you’ll find open the Bible daily and that’s a series of short

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two to three minute daily reflections based on Pastor

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Colin’s teaching and read in the UK by Sue Macleish.

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Open the Bible is supported entirely by our listeners.

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That’s people just like you, and we’re very grateful for

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the support you give us.

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If you’re thinking about supporting Open

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the Bible in this way, we have an offer for you this

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00:23:42,060 –> 00:23:45,839

month. If you’re able to set up a new direct debit in

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00:23:45,839 –> 00:23:48,699

the amount of £5 per month or more, or

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00:23:48,699 –> 00:23:51,400

give a one off gift of £50 or more,

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00:23:51,420 –> 00:23:54,640

we’d love to say thank you by giving you a copy of

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Pastor Colin’s new booklet, What Jesus say to Skeptics.

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Colin, who is this booklet for?

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Well, people have always had very different reactions

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to Jesus. Some are committed followers, others are

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hardcore opponents, but there’ll be many people

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00:24:11,040 –> 00:24:13,479

who are listening to the programme today who would

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00:24:13,479 –> 00:24:15,339

identify with neither of these things. You’re not

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particularly committed to Jesus. You haven’t

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rejected him either. You do have questions. And this

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booklet is for you and for others listening. There

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00:24:24,939 –> 00:24:27,099

will be a Skeptic in your life.

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They’ll be someone you know and love who has real

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00:24:30,640 –> 00:24:31,760

questions. They’re not

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00:24:31,939 –> 00:24:35,520

committed to Jesus, but this booklet really gives

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00:24:35,520 –> 00:24:39,199

an opportunity to listen to what Jesus has to say

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to Skeptics.

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Well, we’d love to send you a copy of this

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00:24:42,300 –> 00:24:44,680

booklet as our way of saying thank you for

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00:24:44,680 –> 00:24:47,680

setting up a new regular monthly direct debit

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00:24:47,680 –> 00:24:52,160

of £5 per month or more, or a one-off gift of £50

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00:24:52,160 –> 00:24:55,540

or more this month. If you value Pastor Colin’s

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00:24:55,540 –> 00:24:58,060

teaching on the radio and online, you’ll be

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00:24:58,060 –> 00:25:00,719

helping to keep it here, and to support the work

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00:25:00,979 –> 00:25:03,640

of Open The Bible. Full terms and conditions

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00:25:03,640 –> 00:25:09,239

about this offer are on our website open-the-bible.org.uk

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For Pastor Colin Smith and Open The Bible,

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00:25:11,560 –> 00:25:13,839

I’m David Pick, and I hope you’ll join us again

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next time.

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Sometimes it seems difficult to come to Jesus,

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but we should never be put off. Find out why

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next time on Open The Bible.