Good morning Church family. Happy Lord's Day. We will now begin our service. Bless the Lord. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that's within me, praise Him. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all He's done. He forgives all your iniquities. He heals all your infirmities.

He redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with mercy. And as far, as far as the east is from the west, so far have you taken our sins from us. And as high as the heavens are over the earth, so great is your steadfast love toward us.

Bless the Lord. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that's within me, praise Him. Bless the Lord. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not who He is. As a father shows compassion to his beloved children, so the Lord shows compassion to us, to those who fear Him.

And as far as the east is from the west, so far have you taken our sins from us. And as high as the heavens are over the earth, so great is your steadfast love. And as far, as far as the east is from the west, so far have you taken our sins from us.

And as high as the heavens are over the earth, so great is your steadfast love toward us. Good morning, everybody. If you are visiting us for the very first time, we want to extend a warm welcome to you. When the service is done, out in the parking lot, there is the welcome booth.

Please stop by. We'd love to meet you. You'll see our welcome team members with the blue lanyards. And if you have any questions about the church, we'd love to answer any questions you may have. For this morning, we have just a few announcements to cover. And the first is that we've been announcing that the All Church Praise and Prayer is going to be happening on Friday, the 25th.

Because our singles ministry is going to be away at a retreat, I think everyone's going to be able to actually fit in here comfortably and things like that. So we're going to just have the indoor portion of the seating available on Friday. So please, again, just mark your calendar.

There's no Bible study, but the praise and prayer this Friday. Also, on a monthly basis, the outreach team has been planning and coordinating the evangelism outings. It's taking place Saturday, March 5th, from 1 to 2 p.m. And they're going to several locations like the Buena Park Source or the Irvine Spectrum.

It's a great opportunity to exercise that muscle of evangelism and go out together with fellow brothers and sisters. Make sure you go on the app and sign up for that or on the Facebook as well. And then finally, for the seasoned fellowship lunch, it's going to be taking place Saturday-- actually, that probably is Sunday--3, 6 at 1 p.m.

Sunday, 3, 6 at 1 p.m. And it's for both members or non-members. If you're over the age of 50, you're invited for a time to come together in fellowship and an opportunity to get to know one another. So for that as well, in order to prepare, please make sure you go on the app or the Facebook to sign up on the link provided.

Today, after we have our time of praise and worship, our brother Daniel O is going to come up, give his testimony, and be baptized. So we look forward to that. At this time, let's take a moment to pray for both the service and the offering. You can do the offering online or, again, underneath the large clock, there is a box in the back.

Let's pray together. Our God, we truly do thank you so much as we just took a moment to sing about how wonderful you are, that you would remove our sins from us from the east to the west. We recognize, God, that your work that's done for us, Lord, to cleanse us of our unrighteousness, truly how amazing it is.

So this morning we gather, meditating on your great work, on you, giving thanks to you. And so we pray that even in our offering, this would be an expression and reflection of that heart. We do pray for the service, God, that in our prayer, hearing the message, that all this would be to our edification, our growth in faith, to understand you more.

And also I pray that as we do this and render to you our hearts, God, that you would always be honored. We thank you, Lord, it's in Christ's name we pray. Amen. Let us all rise as we sing these praises. There is a fountain. Jesus, I, my cross. ♪ Jesus, I, my cross have taken ♪ ♪ All to leave and follow Thee ♪ ♪ Destitute, despised, forsaken ♪ ♪ Thou from hence my all shalt be ♪ ♪ Perish every fond ambition ♪ ♪ All I sought or hoped or known ♪ ♪ Yet how rich is my condition ♪ ♪ God and heaven are still my own ♪ ♪ My own ♪ ♪ Let the world despise and leave me ♪ ♪ They have left my Savior too ♪ ♪ Human hearts and looks deceive me ♪ ♪ Now I'm not like them, but true ♪ ♪ Oh, while Thou dost smile upon me ♪ ♪ God of wisdom, love, and might ♪ ♪ Foes may hate and friends disown me ♪ ♪ Show Thy face and all is bright ♪ ♪ Golden, earthly, famed, and treasured ♪ ♪ Come disaster, scorn, and pain ♪ ♪ In Thy service pain is pleasure ♪ ♪ With Thy favor loss is gain ♪ ♪ I have called Thee above, Father ♪ ♪ I'll stain my heart on Thee ♪ ♪ The storms may howl and clouds may gather ♪ ♪ All must work for good to me ♪ ♪ So then know, so then know ♪ ♪ Thy full salvation ♪ ♪ Rise, oh sin, and fear, and care ♪ ♪ Joy to find in every station ♪ ♪ Something still to do or bear ♪ ♪ I think what spirit dwells within thee ♪ ♪ I think what Father smiles on Thine ♪ ♪ I think that Jesus died to win thee ♪ ♪ Child of heaven, canst Thou repay ♪ ♪ Haste then on, haste then on ♪ ♪ From grace to glory ♪ ♪ Armed by faith and winged by prayer ♪ ♪ As eternal days before Thee ♪ ♪ God's own hand shall guide me there ♪ ♪ Soon shall close Thy earthly vision ♪ ♪ Soon shall pass Thy pilgrim days ♪ ♪ Hope shall change to glad fruition ♪ ♪ Faith to sign and prayer to praise ♪ ♪ To praise ♪ - Amen, you may be seated.

- Hi, my name is Daniel. I'm a second year college student, and today I'll be sharing my testimony. I was born and raised in a Christian household. Growing up, I participated in various youth group activities such as DVS and AWANA, and heard the word both at church and at a Christian preschool.

Being exposed to God's word and memorizing scripture early on made me believe in His existence. However, I did not fully comprehend the concept of sin or how I stand before Him during this time. In high school, I chased after the approval of others. I was bullied by members of my drumline program, and it incited a desire to please them at all costs.

Whether it was succumbing to their treatment or conforming to how they wanted me to act, I would do anything to fit in if it meant being a part of a friend group. I often felt anxious and sad when my efforts failed to change how I appeared to others. One summer, I was challenged about the sin by my small group leader at the time.

Even during the time I sought after others' validation, I understood it was wrong, but this was the first time I saw that idolizing it was a sin and dishonoring God. While not immediate, God used that summer to slowly soften my heart. I felt ashamed of my sin of placing people to a higher importance and being oblivious to the glow of God has shown me.

While I could confidently say that the gospel was something I truly believed in rather than just had knowledge, it was clear that I didn't fully surrender my life to Him. I thought having faith and believing was enough to be considered a believer, and it made me take grace for granted.

Even after quitting drumline and finding a more stable community, I continued to live for myself and not seek a personal relationship with Him. I proclaimed that I was a believer but did not reflect it through my actions. I continued to prioritize fitting in and pleasing the crowd over pleasing God.

I often justified this as well as my negligence for the Lord by thinking that He will always be gracious and loving. While I felt bad at times about the way I lived, I ultimately felt guilty at how it appeared to be contradicting the life of a Christian rather than feeling guilty as to how it was dishonoring God.

When I came to Berean last year, I was taken aback by how grounded the sermons were in the Word. I was deeply encouraged being surrounded by believers who took their faith seriously, and it made me feel challenged in ways I haven't felt in a long time. I slowly realized that being a Christian doesn't just revolve around having faith but also glorifying God by living a life that is worthy of Him.

1 Peter 2.24 says, "And He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness, for by His wounds you were healed." I'm truly grateful for how faithful God has been where even during my negligence for Him, He revealed Himself to me through the brothers and sisters He has placed in my life.

While I'm not perfect, I desire to honor Him in everything I do, knowing that my life is not my own but one that He has graciously given me. Thank you. Thank you for that testimony, Daniel. We know that we have a lot of brothers and sisters who it's a blessing to grow up in the Christian home but to recognize what is the difference between intellectual knowledge of facts versus having conviction and a personal relationship, what a sweet thing to hear.

At this time, would you take your Bibles please to the Gospel of Mark, Chapter 2, Verses 1 through 12. We're going to be reading a familiar story within the Gospel narrative about the healing of the paralytic who was carried on a mat by his friends and lowered before Christ.

I'm personally going through the Gospel of Mark for my devotions and I felt that I had certain things I had maybe recognized and yet missed and so I wanted to share those convictions with you. Let's take a look here, starting from Verse 1 and it says, "When he had come back to Capernaum several days afterward, it was heard that he was at home, that many were gathered together so that there was no longer room, not even near the door, and he was speaking the word to them.

And they came, bringing to him a paralytic, carried by four men. Being unable to get to him because of the crowd, they removed the roof above him. And when they had dug an opening, they let down the pallet on which the paralytic was lying. And Jesus, seeing their faith, said to the paralytic, 'Son, your sins are forgiven.' But some of the scribes were sitting there and reasoning in their hearts, 'Why does this man speak that way?

He is blaspheming. Who can forgive sins but God alone?' Immediately Jesus, aware in his spirit that they were reasoning that way within themselves, said to them, 'Why are you reasoning about these things in your hearts?' Which is easier to say to the paralytic, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, 'Get up and pick up your pallet and walk.' But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins, he said to the paralytic, 'I say to you, get up, pick up your pallet, and go home.' And he got up immediately, picked up the pallet, and went out in the sight of everyone, so that they were all amazed and were glorifying God, saying, 'We have never seen anything like this.'" Let's take a moment to pray.

Lord, I pray, Father God, that each Sunday we come in to hear your Word, and we know this is a huge privilege because you are growing our faith by way of both reminder, but also granting to us conviction. And today, as we think about your authority to forgive, God, as we think about your work to heal, help us, Lord, to see more and more of your glory in that way.

We thank you, Lord, in Christ's name. Amen. This morning I think about kind of a cliché term that I heard recently and then just kind of thought through it and overthought it and then just kind of came back to, and that cliché term is, you know, in life, God gives you what you need, not really what you ask for, right?

God gives you what you need, not necessarily what you want and ask for. And that's sometimes a pithy statement that doesn't apply in every single scenario, but it applies when you're just kind of dealing with life and how it comes at you, right? That's normally the way it's used.

And then you come across a story like this, where actually one of the focal point is God giving precisely what is most needed, but not necessarily what was asked. And then the story builds to God also gives what was asked, showing a greater sense of this is the God we have.

This is the Savior Jesus Christ, who is giving both primarily forgiveness, but also physical healing. And as we look at that, then, I want to both remind you of this famous story, but also to stop and ask, is there anything that we missed or in greater fashion can appreciate about that, about Christ addressing the greatest needs that we have, addressing immediate needs, but also showing forth the kind of Savior He really is to us.

And so let's begin in the story, working first from the setting, that Jesus already by this time was famous, celebrity status, can't go anywhere, kind of famous, and there was a crowd around Him. Let's take a look and it says in the text, "When He had come back to Capernaum, "several days afterward, it was heard that He was at home." So it seems like He made a home base at perhaps Peter's house in Capernaum.

"And they were gathered together "so that there was no longer room, not even near the door, "and He was speaking the word to them." We kind of have to think about this idea. If you're thinking your house with a bunch of people, let's say at a birthday party, or maybe some of you guys who participate in our home groups, it's all packed in there, this is something far beyond that, right?

Because what the Scripture tells us just in the very beginning portion of the Gospel of Mark is that there was so much commotion and so much stir, there literally was no walking space. Why do I say this? Because the spectacular works that Jesus was doing was already heard throughout the land, so to speak.

If you scroll your eyes just a chapter before in Mark 1, starting from verse 29, it talks about this. Mark 1, verse 29 says, "Immediately after they came out of the synagogue, "they came into the house of Simon and Andrew with James and John. "Now Simon's mother-in-law was lying sick with a fever, "and immediately they spoke to Jesus about her.

"And He came to her, raised her up, "taking her by the hand, and the fever left her, "and she waited on them. "When evening came after the sun had set, "they began bringing to Him all who were ill "and those who were demon-possessed, "and the whole city had gathered at the door.

"And He healed many who were ill with various diseases "and cast out many demons. "He was not permitting the demons to speak "because they knew who He was." So if you think about it, in that city of Capernaum, which if you look at the historical context, it wasn't like a dinky tiny place.

There were supposedly somewhere around 1,500, 2,000 people within this small arena, okay? They were already going to His house. They knew where it was, okay? But what's more, even--I guess you could say it was noting that even in the evening, people were bringing to Him everybody, right? And so you can imagine.

Now just before our passage in chapter 2, Jesus performs another incredible miracle because Jesus heals a leper. And just as a quick reminder, a leper was seen as the outcast of outcasts. You cannot touch that person because of their infectious disease, right? And they were so afraid, but also they cast them out as also spiritual degredants and people that needed to be moved away.

And so the leper was the one who went to Jesus and said, "Lord, if you're willing, you could make me clean." And Jesus said, "I am willing, be clean." And his crusty, broken skin was healed. Now Jesus told that individual, "Don't tell anyone." You know what He did? Well, if you scroll your eyes to verse 45, this is what He says.

Chapter 1, verse 45. "The leper," or he, "went out and began to proclaim it freely and to spread the news around everywhere to such an extent that Jesus could no longer publicly enter the city, but stayed out in an unpopulated area because they were coming to him from everywhere." So was it just the city?

No. People were coming from everywhere. So I just want you to understand this scene. When it says that the paralytic and his friends were trying to get into the house, this wasn't like, "Excuse me, I just kind of need to squeeze through." It wasn't like you trying to get through the cafe, okay?

It was a much more crowded arena. People were already blockading the door, and I'm sure there were a bunch of people maybe even thinking, "I'm going to camp out here and wait for this guy." Wouldn't you if you had an ailment? Wouldn't you if you had a crisis? And you heard that this individual was doing epic things as only seen in the prophecies of Scripture.

And when the Messiah would come, the blind would see, the mute would talk, and more, right? So what I'm talking about is you have this crowd, and initially when I thought, like, "Man, there was a paralytic. Why couldn't they just make some room?" You got to figure, like, there was a large amount of people.

This wasn't going to be just a nice tap on the shoulder. So we move forward, and we do see these individuals coming, and in a state where, bum, bum, bum, there's a massive hurdle, what do they do? Well, they act on faith, and they seek Christ. Take a look at the passage in verse 3 through 5.

It says, "And they came, bringing to him this paralytic man, carried by four men, being unable to get to him because of the crowd, they removed the roof above him, and when they had dug an opening, they let down the pallet on which the paralytic was lying." Take a moment with me to imagine what is happening here.

I wish--it doesn't actually record the stuff that the guys said to each other, but I wish it did because that would be fun, right? I mean, just deal alone that--whose idea was that? Like, who was the guy? Was it the individual who was the paralytic saying, "Oh, gosh, I know we're here.

We came so far. The crowds are here. Maybe you take me to the roof," right? Who was the guy who had that idea? Or maybe there was--I'm guessing in the bunch, if you'd imagine any scenario where you were kind of timid, like, "There's a big crowd. He's teaching right now.

He's preaching the Word. What are we going to do?" And then probably there's a scaredy cat saying, "Oh, no, guys, what can we do? Maybe we should turn back." And then the other one's saying, "No, no, no. We're going to make sure--we're going to get all diplomatic with these people and offer them something.

Hey, look at this guy. Let us through." Perhaps that didn't work. They tried. And so they say, "Let's take him to the roof." What a story that would be to tell later on, right? But I want you to understand, at that time, it was common in the kind of, like, housing that they had that a lot of people would use their roofs like decks.

So there may have been ladders or stairs. I'm just trying to help you envision the scene. But nevertheless, this is no one-punch job. They had to walk up on top, which I'm sure then everybody noticed. They had to dig through. The roof was typically made with thatch, which is kind of like heavy straw with mud and layers of it.

So it literally says they dug through it. Sometimes people wonder, was there already a big opening? Kind of like when you walk into the entrance of a building and you see kind of like this nice entryway where there's also a skylight or something. No, it says they dug through the thing.

They unroofed it. I'm guessing then there was dirt falling. I'm guessing they had to make a bunch of noise. It wasn't a synchronized, "Okay, on three, dig!" It was quite a scene is what I'm saying in the midst of a big crowd. And so what's the point that I'm trying to make is, you know, when I read through this passage, and a long time ago, I remember listening to sermons about this passage, one of the kind of takeaways is, "Look, these guys had determination." Point taken.

What's more, you can imagine these guys understood, "Look, they have a desperate need," it was clear, "and nevertheless, even if they didn't have pure faith "for things, they recognized that this individual, "if we get before him, he can make these happen. "He could heal." That's what I'm talking about.

Now, I want to make this point, yet at the same time, I don't want to make this point. You know why? It's not the main point. It's not the biggest drama of the passage. I have heard sermons in the past. I remember a long time ago this amazing evangelism sermon.

"You and I need to be like these bold, determined, "problem-solving individuals when it comes to carrying "a fallen individual to the Lord." Literally, the analogy works. In your evangelism, are you willing? Spurgeon would say, "You got to grab their leg "before they go to hell," right? Well, here you're going to say, "You're going to carry them "on your backs and carry them to Jesus." And every time I heard sermons like that, I'd get hype, and I was like, "That's right!" Now, as I was preparing this sermon, I was going to say, "Let's raise the roof!

"Go evangelize! "Be so bold as to carry somebody on a mat." And if you hit a wall because people are in line, get in front of them, right? Or something like that. But as you know, that may be something we have to think about because, yes, is it true that we kind of live in a very passive generation?

Some of us, if there is a crowd like this, and you have a burning question, you have a burning need, you have some crisis situation in your heart, would you be so bold to ask? Even in some of my classes that I teach with 20 people, you can tell, it's like, "Do you have questions?" I'll just wait for after the class is done, right?

Like, they're so scared! But let me say this. I don't think Jesus always commends go-getters, risk-takers, right? The guys who's always talking first. Because we know that Christ has at some time said to those individuals, "Stop. "You need to learn to get behind." Right? But at the same time, you think about this for a moment, Christ does not commend passivity.

Christ does not have a great view of the crowds who are onlookers. Like, what's going on over there? There's a big crowd. Am I missing freebies? Like, we're here for the samples kind of people. God is not impressed by that. God is not impressed by crowds of people. We know that.

And so I take that as a point of conviction. Yeah. We do kind of live in a very safe environment. We live in a generation where we want securities. I know I should go see Christ. You first. Right? Like, let me see how you do once you go place your faith in Christ.

Let me see how you do once you risk it all, when you risk your shame, you risk your reputation, you risk your wants, you risk your privileges, and then I'll go follow you. If anybody is in here thinking that, no, no, no. That is not the way to play it safe.

Why? Because Scripture does actually commend a kind of faith. When we know that the value is right, when we know that there is a treasure in a person, that we are to actually be the individuals, not because it's my normal way I roll, but because I actually see the value in Christ, that I would risk everything, that I would make sacrifices.

It was Christ himself who said, "The kingdom of heaven is like this and like that." And one of those examples in the parable was, "The kingdom of heaven is like a man who has found an incredible treasure." What does he do? Because he knows the value. He will go sell all of his possessions and buy the land.

Right? He's not looking for samples. He's not looking for someone else to go first. That is something noteworthy, because there is a drive amongst the men where they went against all the eyes that would turn to them. They went against the first hurdle, second hurdle. They went against the thoughts of, "Are we really going to do this?

We're going to rip open somebody else's house?" Like, "It's not even theirs!" Right? All the hurdles that come to our own rational minds when it comes to pursuing after God, they had to overcome to say, "Lord, we need to get in front of you." And that's commendable. God desires that kind of persevering, problem-solving persistence.

Why? Because the Lord has said, "When we seek God, we seek him with all our hearts." Another example of this is in Luke 18. Jesus gives another parable about how we ought to pray. And this is where that story goes. He says, "Now he was telling them a parable to show that at all times they ought to pray and not lose heart, saying, 'In a certain city there was a judge who did not fear God and did not respect man.

There was a widow in that city, and she kept coming to him, saying, 'Give me legal protection from my opponent.' For a while he was unwilling, but after he said to himself, 'Even though I do not fear God nor respect man, because this widow bothers me, I will give her the legal protection.

Otherwise, by continually coming, she will wear me out.' The Lord said, 'Hear what the unrighteous judge said. Now will not God bring about justice for his elect who cry to him day and night, and will he delay long over them? I tell you that he will bring about justice for them quickly.

However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?'" That question is quite a convicting one. But because you see the value that you have a desperate need for Christ and the blessing that he alone can give, I need to get to him. And I know I'm going to be bothering him.

I know I'm going to sound like a nag. I know I'm just going to be banging on the door. But I need his blessing. I need his protection. That is commendable. And in this way, I ask this question again. For us, are there anything and patterns in your life where you have this passive approach when it comes to seeking questions about, "How do I grow?

How do I overcome sin? How do I have that deeper, more intimate relationship with Christ?" You're just afraid to ask. You kind of want somebody else to just tell you, almost give it to you. I don't know. We know this is going to be a struggle, a persevering struggle, that we are going to see Christ in this fashion.

Now, again, this isn't necessarily the main drama, but it sets up everything for what Christ is going to do. The story commends the men for having at least some faith. It doesn't explicitly or exhaustively describe everything that they saw. But it notes their faith, and then look what Christ does.

Jesus sees, and he forgives. Verse 5, going back to Mark 2, verse 5. "Jesus, seeing their faith, said to the paralytic, 'Son, your sins are forgiven.'" Boom, right there. For me, when I read this, I always thought of this passage as like the Jesus is God passage, which is true, and we're going to get to.

But I don't think I appreciated how dramatic it is for Jesus, who in the eyes of the crowd is still yet a miracle worker to say something like this. And we kind of have to appreciate the scandal of it, the "What did he say?" like that kind of moment.

Why? Because when you think about what Jesus is doing, Jesus sees these people coming to him asking questions, but also asking for healing. And rather than giving what they asked for, he says, "Son, your sins are forgiven." But think about that scene. Remember that Jesus, in calling the individual son, already is strange.

Now, a lot of people respected him as a rabbi, so maybe. But the thing of it is Jesus in this scenario is younger than me. I'm 39. He's early 30s, right? I meet a lot of people at church, but not a single person have I ever said, "My son, thanks for coming and talking to your pastor.

And also, I know you've confessed your struggles, so I forgive you." Can you just imagine how strange and how weird that scene would be? You'd be like, "When did you turn Catholic?" Or something like that. "What just happened?" "I confessed to you. Why would you say something like that?" And that's exactly the appropriate reaction.

"Why would you say something like that?" And the next question would be, "That sounds really arrogant. That you would put yourself so above me to call me son, and then that you had some kind of clout to just tell me I'm forgiven. I didn't sin against you. That's what I would say." And that makes a lot of sense.

I want you to think about how crazy this would be, because even from the perspective of the four friends who brought the man, I would think like, "Huh? The man is sick." Okay, I get it. In their culture at that time, it was very prevalent to say, "If you see a man who is paralyzed, who sinned?

Him or his father, right? Him or his parents?" And so maybe they're thinking, "I knew it. This guy is a flat-out sinner. That's why Jesus is whatever." But they didn't actually come for that, right? It would be strange. You'd almost have this feeling like, "Okay, but look. Did Jesus miss the point?" But actually what's being recorded here is not so much that sentiment.

So what I'm saying, it's off, right? But the sentiment and the drama and the scandal is pointed out, not by the crowd or the friends, but the scribes and the Pharisees, the leaders of the day, the masters of the text, the elite of the Jews, the ones who are set apart.

They look at Jesus and say, "What in the world did you just say?" Right? So take a look. Verse 6. They can't believe it. They can't believe what they just heard. Verse 6, it says, "But some of the scribes are sitting there and reasoning in their heart, 'Why does this man speak that way?

How dare he? He is blaspheming. Who can forgive sins but God alone?'" And the crazy thing about this is they're like, "What?" Like something just happened. And the crazy thing of it is they're right. They're 100% right. They ask a legitimate question. How in the world can any human being, any individual, put themselves so high as to think that they have the audacity to forgive another man's sin?

And the thing about it is every good Jew knew that the authority to judge is God's. Every good Jew rehearsed many, many verses. And one of those verses that they rehearsed was the Great Shema. "Hear, O Israel, the Lord is God, the Lord is one." There's one God, and then the subsequent things about that is He is the one who's able to judge.

Other passages I want to show you is like Isaiah 43. Okay? Isaiah 43, verse 25 says, "I am the one who blots out your transgression for my own sake, and I will remember your sins no more." If you look at various passages, that right, right, the prerogative to forgive sins belongs to God.

But we need to appreciate that a little bit more by thinking about how crazy and strange it would be to do the otherwise. What do I mean? I just want you to have the same kind of like, "What?" experience as the people who were listening at the time. Can you imagine if you were sitting here on a Sunday and you were hearing a sermon, let's say, from Pastor Peter Chung recently about 1 Peter, how we need to be holy, and in your conduct, right, you need to be holy, conducting yourselves in this way.

And so there's this question like, "What sins do you have to work on? What areas of unholiness do you have?" And you feel all convicted. You're like, "Oh, that hurt good." And then so you go home, and the first thing your husband says to you is, "There's a lot of sin there, huh?

I forgive you." You know that conversation? How you feel after that? Or even just your roommate. After a convicting sermon about your sin, rather than saying, "Oh, yeah, I was convicted. Me too." They look at you and say, "Yeah, I forgive you." Your immediate response would be like, "Bitter, are we?

Are you mad about something? You have some kind of vendetta against me? Like, why would you say that, like that you forgive me?" It naturally assumes that I have now offended you. Yes? The party that needs to forgive is the individual and the party that was offended, but then to raise your clout, like the sins you commit now offends my laws, my identity, who I am, my position, my relationship with you.

If you aren't that high, that would be such an arrogant thing. Another just scenario that you have to think about is, if Jesus isn't who we know him to be, that would be him just like sticking and injecting himself, meddling into a scenario. If you have an individual here next to me, and let's say his name is Bob, and Bob is the sinner going around stealing all your stuff when you're not looking, but what's more, when you confront him, he gets all defensive, and now he starts throwing curses at you, and even disrespecting your mom or something.

So now you're just upset as can be, and you're about to let him have it. How dare you! You disrespect me, disrespect my family, right? I'm going to kill you. And then I jump in there, and I say, "Whoa, sons, you calm down. Bob, I forgive you, though." It's like a weird scenario that doesn't even make sense.

Why would I say that? How can I inject myself that way? As awkward and strange as that analogy or that simple hypothetical scenario is, if Jesus is not who he is, that's exactly what would be true. A blaspheming, worse, completely fake, bombastic, arrogant man who is claiming and doing things he should never, ever do because he has no right.

But that's the point, right? We know that the question that the Pharisees ask comes from a wrong heart, but the standard and the question principle there is actually true, and so we know what Christ is doing is actually so grand because what he is doing is that which belongs to God.

And as you know, by the definition of sin, looking at a famous psalm that you guys know well, Psalm 51, we know that by definition sin is an offense to God Almighty. Take a look at this passage. It says, "Be gracious to me, O God, according to your loving kindness, according to the greatness of your compassion.

Blot out my transgressions, wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. For I know my transgressions and my sins as ever before me against you. You only have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight so that you are justified when you speak, and what blameless when you judge." King David has done horrendous crimes, right?

If you think about what he did to Bathsheba, he abused his power to take a woman that is not his. What he did to Uriah, he killed the man, scheming, deceiving. I mean, malicious intent? The breaking of God's command is there. How can he say that his sins is only against God?

But what we're talking about is by the pure definition of sin, sin is a transgression of God's will, right? Sin is an affront to God's character. It has its dealing and direction against God. And therefore, the only person who actually has a right to forgive that sin is God.

And so this passage 100% affirms that Christ, in just the act of forgiving, is fully, fully divine. In order to do what is only God's prerogative, he must have God's power, his authority, his position, and that all is true. So the reason why I'm thinking about this is because I wanted to appreciate what is happening when Christ forgives and the people around him are looking at him like, "What are you doing?" From Jesus' perspective, being divine, doing his work, the only that he can do, and the people questioning, "What is he doing?" We, for one, believe that truly Christ is the one who can forgive and set us free.

We read in John 8 that Jesus said, "Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is a slave of sin. The slave does not remain in the house forever, but the son does remain forever. So if the son makes you free, you will be free indeed." You will be free indeed.

Now, we want to see the way that Jesus then responds. The thing about it is these questions that the Pharisees and the scribes have, it's actually only in their heart. They didn't verbalize it out loud. But Jesus responds. So now turn back over to Mark 2, verse 8, and let's continue on with the story.

It says, "Immediately Jesus, aware in his spirit that they were reasoning that way within themselves, said to them, 'Why are you reasoning about these things in your hearts? Which is easier to say to the paralytic, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, 'Get up and pick up your pallet and walk?'" Okay?

So earlier I began this sermon saying, you know, there are things that are so clear and emphatic in this passage, which is Jesus can forgive sins, and he has the authority to do it. But I think some of the things I missed is Jesus' perspective on his rationale of how he's going to prove it.

This is one grand moment. If there was an epic moment, those moments in the Scriptures where it's just like, "You don't believe? Let me show you," right? And I know Jesus doesn't necessarily talk like that, but if there was any moment where it's like, "You doubt me? Well, bam, let me show you," this is one of those moments, right?

But look what Jesus says. Jesus asked this question, "Which is easier do you think to say?" And I think I wanted to take time to meditate on that because the answer to that is actually kind of simple. Because I have a mouth and I could speak, it's very easy to say, "I forgive you," right?

But the element that is behind that or what's the thought is, you can't verify that. If I say, "I forgive you," there is no empirical evidence that's like, "That's not true. He's not forgiven," right? How are you going to prove that? But if I say, "Walk," immediately we're going to say, "Was his words consequential?

Did it have any effect in power?" And the answer is going to be, "He better get up and walk," right? And so that's the question. But the other question actually you ask is, "But what's actually easier to do?" Because the scenario isn't just talk of this and talk of that.

The scenario is, "Jesus just said, 'I forgive you.'" Yes? And here's the problem I have with that is there is an argument typically from greater to lesser. And this is what I mean. If we're following the logic, right, we're talking about two things and Jesus is making this comparison, the logic goes, "If he is able to make this person be healed and walk, then of course he can forgive sin.

He's using this as a verification of this," right? But sometimes the logic then is, "Man, if he can do this, heal, then of course he can forgive." Do you understand what I'm saying? There is this question of what is more difficult, more profound, more valuable in the work of Christ?

And of course, for us we know that the forgiving of sin is not to be seen as he just gave a pass. Because we could put it in other terms and we know the comparison doesn't even work. Because what we're asking and put into other terms is, "What's easier to do?

To appease the wrath of God or make one man stand?" For Jesus, one who is eternal, for Jesus, one whom we know through Colossians, that he created all things through him. All things came into being and everything was made by him and for him. What's easier? What's the more involved work?

What's more difficult? Do you see what I'm saying? And once I saw that, it kind of started to click, like, "Gosh, this is why he's able to say to a leper, 'I know that you were just cleansed and your skin now is clean and all the shame that came with it is you're released.'" Now, granted, maybe it wasn't time for Jesus to be revealed.

Maybe it wasn't time for his suffering, all that kind of stuff. But the point is clear. Jesus expected a man who was healed to stay quiet. Shhh. How could he say that? Because by comparison, what is the greater work? To say you're forgiven or to say get up and walk?

Today, I want to appreciate the kind of work that Christ is doing just in giving the forgiveness. If in our minds, for some odd reason, the impossible is the walking and yet the granted is the forgiving, then we have it backwards. And my challenging question to you now is as you observe the agenda of the world, the things that make you happy, the things that are our actual legitimate goals and pursuits, are the things that are more impossible, the more difficult, the more valuable, the more that it will make me happy when I see it come to fruition?

Is it in the bucket of, "But God, I've been asking to make me walk," or is it in the bucket of, "God, I was looking for forgiveness"? We're talking about what is in this story, what is the ultimate need? What is the more profound need of mankind? It is not physical.

It is not what we've asked for. And Christ knows that what we need is to have our sins dealt with because the greater problem we have on earth is not nations. Right now, there's all talk of Russia, all talk of China and different powerful forces. True, powerful forces. True, on earth, devastating things that could happen.

But what could be of greater threat to me is my undelt sin. Why? Because my pride is the riskiest thing if the Scripture says God opposes the proud. Right? My lust is the greatest threat when God says all of these perversions, fornification, adultery, and lust is going to be judged to the T.

What is a greater threat to me? What would be the more devastating thing? And so I want to ask this challenging thing right now. I do believe we are inundated with purposes. And I'm going to be honest, I do now get very annoyed when Christians, when they talk of like, "Oh, this is so beautiful.

This is amazing. This is like the greatest thing we could do." And you know what part of the mission of the church is too? And then they end that sentence with something that, with a lot of hard work and just team play, we could actually make it happen ourselves.

Right? I know right now there's a lot of controversy over things like fairness and equity, but within that, we Christians have to dissect very carefully. Justice, fairness, and righteousness is all in the will of God. But if there's any agenda, pursuit, or end goal that is seen as so beautiful that I'm excited about, but the forgiveness and salvation of the lost seems like a granted thing, seems quite easy for Jesus to do, then yes, our perspective needs to change.

And we need to be asked again, "What is the easier thing?" Right? What is the easier thing? And what's more, we think about Christ knowing the work that He's going to do, saying what He's saying, and it continues to deepen our appreciation for Christ's humility and patience, trying to show the people and reason with them.

I want you to know this. And it goes on to say that. Take a look as we conclude the storyline over in verse 10, Mark chapter 2, verse 10. "But so that you will know," pause there for a moment. Jesus didn't have to give a case example. Jesus didn't have to give proof.

He could have said, "This is what I came to do. I've committed to preaching," because through the preaching of the Word, you're going to have faith, and through faith, you're going to request forgiveness and be saved. "But so that you will know that the Son of Man," again, a messianic title.

"Son of Man" could just sometimes mean human being. You're the child of a man. But when He says, "The Son of Man has authority," He's talking about Himself as a person. He has authority on earth to forgive sins. "And He said to the paralytic, 'I say to you, get up, pick up your pallet, and go home.' And so immediately upon the words of Jesus," verse 12, "He got up, He immediately picked up the pallet, and walked out in the sight of everyone." And I can only imagine.

I wish we had the videotape. The crowd, the masses that I said were so big, bounding up the door entrance, probably looking through every window, "What did He say?" kind of stuff, right? When this man gets up, everyone just, "Duh." And as he's walking out, just opens up like this.

That's one powerful scene. And so everybody were amazed. They were glorifying God, and they were saying, "We've never seen anything like this." The point here is refreshing our convictions. I know you and I believe that Jesus has authority to forgive sin. But let's take a moment to think about that authority.

What does that mean for Jesus to have authority, and how can we appreciate that? Well, the fact of the matter is, we recognize that Jesus' authority is high on every scale and every category. We know that Jesus has authority over creation, such that when He speaks, He speaks it into being.

Now, when I say that, again, what is true of God was attributed to Christ in so many parts of Scripture, that everything came. There is nothing that exists apart from Christ, right? But by the authority of God, of Jesus Christ, by His Word, we know that the winds and the waves obey.

By the authority of His Word, we know that demons beg for mercy and ask, "Please don't destroy us. Please don't destroy us." By the authority of His Word, nations will crumble. To that kind of extent of power, Jesus has authority over sin and death. Now, for me, this reminded me of my salvation because I am so thankful that when I got saved, there was a clarity that was preached to me.

I was in San Diego as a young high school student, and thankfully this pastor, his name is Pastor Ken, he took an interest in me and asked me this question, "Mark, do you have any regrets?" And I almost chuckled. "Any?" More like "many," right? There's so many. I have so many regrets.

So many guilty feelings. So many guilty feelings about the sense of messing up my life. So many guilty feelings about breaking my parents' trust. So many guilty feelings. And he specifically asked me, "What do you do with the guilt?" And I told him, "You put your head down and you just keep going.

You just live with it." I'm so thankful he told me, "No, you need someone powerful." In hindsight, I realized what he was saying. You don't need me. Like, you don't need a pastor to tell you, "It's going to be alright, son. It's going to be okay." Right? Like, that's not what I need.

I need someone with authority and power and the right to tell me, "I forgive you." That's what I need. And that pastor told me, "Do you understand the power of Jesus when He forgives?" You see, power and authority are quite overlapping. When you think about authority, you're talking about somebody with the right, the legal obligation.

You're talking about somebody with the prerogative, but you're also talking about somebody with power. Somebody who can enforce it. Right? Because you can talk all you want. You can scream like I'm yelling right now. But if I have no ability to enforce something, I actually don't have authority with you.

What authority do I have? Nothing. There is power, there is capacity, and more. And what that pastor told me, he said, "Mark, you see, when we forgive, we kind of forgive." We say, "I forgive you, but I'm watching you." We say, "I forgive you, but I still have this feeling of like, 'Eh, look at you and your selfishness, and I'm still judging.'" What he told me was, "Jesus, when He forgives, is so thorough.

You're clean. You're white as snow, and there's no speck. There is no, 'I kind of, sort of forgive you until the next time.'" There is a thoroughness that the sin that He forgives you is done. When the scripture says, and we sing that it moves from as far as the east and to the west, it's done.

And he also told me, "When Jesus forgives, it is so powerful." Are we talking about one sin? Two sins? Three sins? Four? We're talking about every single sin you have ever committed. We're talking about all the stuff in the past that you even forgot about. All the stuff in the past that you're so ashamed, you're so caring.

All the sins that you commit now, Christ has authority to forgive every single sin. You know, right when I finished college, there was this kind of moment of crisis for me. Do I go into seminary? Do I not? I needed time to think. And during that time, I did silly things.

And one of those silly things is, as a young man, I wrestled with lust. I got out a piece of paper that I started writing each time I lusted and sinned. Started in, okay, senior year in college, I started working my way back. Junior year in college, I don't recommend you do that, okay?

I started writing like sophomore year in college, freshman year in college, senior year in high school, and I started writing it down. And I remember just crying over my paper. Because the end conclusion is, "Mark, you're filthy. You're out of control. You have no restraint. What's wrong with you?" That's how I felt.

To that kind of sentiment, we have to know the authority of Christ is there. And now I think from Jesus' perspective, he has come committed and devoted to give you a kind of forgiveness that's perfect. That forgiveness comes with authority. It comes with perfect thoroughness. It comes with vast ability and capacity.

And it can be given to you in such a way it's so secure. It's solid. And when he gives us forgiveness, the first response and the thoughts of the people are, "What are you doing? What did you say?" And in this way, their thoughts are wicked. For us, if there are those of you who are wrestling with this strange passivity, I don't know, you know, that you think it's more noble for you to sit in the back, wait, bite your tongue, and not say anything, because Jesus entered this world and appeared to give us this forgiveness, no, you come asking.

For those of us who are a bit too hard and resisting, "Oh, but maybe I can do some things on my own. Maybe I can put patches. Maybe I can learn to better because, honestly speaking, I feel guilty. But, man, I know I can do better than this." No.

Jesus has authority to give you his perfect forgiveness. Amen? And we're being challenged. Come and seek that forgiveness from Christ. That is the more impossible, weighty matter. It is the greatest need of our lives, more than anything we can imagine or ask for. And we know that because he has the authority, not only does he have the right, but by his character, he has a heart and intent to give that to us.

Amen? And so I conclude, for any of you feeling a sense of guilt, and the guilt is when we are made aware that we have transgressed God's law, we will feel that guilt. And then when we're made aware that that guilt is actually visible, we're going to feel shame.

It's visible to Christ and it's visible to the brothers and sisters around us. If we allow our passivity, our scaredness, our weird sense of uncertainty to let that reside in your soul, you and I know that will decay us to the bones. King David said it. Like being underneath scorching sun, his bones are going to go dry.

And so, knowing this power of Christ, we must come. I leave you with this amazing passage in Nehemiah 9, verse 17. It was referenced because the people, after seeing and hearing all this, they were like, "Wow! We've never seen this stuff!" But actually, I mean, there are people who are supposed to rehearse God's wondrous miracles and saving grace over and over again every year, at bare minimum at the Passover, remembering the miracles that God performed on their escape from Egypt.

But look at what this passage says as it reveals what Christ's character is through how God's character is. "They refused to listen and did not remember your wondrous deeds which you had performed among them. So they became stubborn and appointed a leader to return to their slavery in Egypt.

But you are a God of forgiveness, gracious, compassionate, slow to anger, abounding in loving kindness, and you did not forsake them." He did not forsake them. We think about the story, there are swaths of people disappointing. I'm pretty sure Jesus, like, there was a temptation to be skeptical and sarcastic.

"Y'all come for the food, I get it!" And there's hordes of them. And plenty of times he turned people away. But here, the paralytic and his humble friends feel this desperate need, "We need to get in front of you, Lord." They dig the hole, they come down, and rather than scolding them and pushing them away, Jesus says, "Son, I forgive you." That's to us the gospel.

And I pray you'll be encouraged. Let's pray. Lord God, we are designed to grow in faith. And God, we remember the simple truth that God, while we live on this earth, it is not time to build for ourselves our fortresses. It is not time to build for ourselves our great ambitions, but rather, you gave us time to repent and reconcile with you.

I pray, Father God, that we would see by faith what is more important, what is greater, what is the weightier, more valuable thing that we receive from you. So that God, our pure joy and excitement would be reserved for the things that you do in our hearts, when you wash us, when you sanctify us, and you lead us in your righteousness.

I pray, Father God, that every single one of us would grow in such appreciation, that God, you were so patient with the people from long ago, and Christ, when he appeared, he was so patient, that God, even in the midst of giving grace, he was being questioned, he was being ridiculed.

And Lord, in his desire to show, in his desire to convince and to reason, he also gave us the manifestation of his power. And so for all of that, Lord, we can do none other than to thank you. And so we pray to you this morning, it's in Christ's name.

Amen. Let us all rise as we sing our closing praise. You came to us. You came to us, O man, your very nature God. You pierced through our iniquities as you hung upon the cross. But God exalted you to the highest place. He gave to you the right to bear the name above all names.

And at the name of Jesus we should bow. And every tongue confess that you are Lord. And when you come in glory for the world to see, we will sing hail to the King. With all his splendor and majesty, hail to the King of Kings, Lord Jesus our God.

We eagerly await. We eagerly await the coming of the day. The glory of the risen King will shine upon the earth. The rival thrones will fall before the Lord of all. And hail supreme authority and the true and living God. At the name of Jesus we should bow. And every tongue confess that you are Lord.

And when you come in glory for the world to see, we will sing hail to the King. With all his splendor and majesty, hail to the King of Kings, Lord Jesus our God. Hail to the King. Hail to the King. With all his splendor and majesty, hail to the King of Kings, Lord Jesus our God.

Let's pray together. Our God, we do continue just to pray that our strength would be in the faith. Lord God, just being able to see with the lens that the things that are truly important are not the things that we see with our eyes. That God, the weightier things are the things that you tell us according to your word.

And what's more, today we're reminded that the forgiveness of sinners, this is the greatest thing to us, our greatest treasure, and the greatest thing we can share. And with that kind of simple thought and faith, I pray, it would really move us in the week. I also pray, God, anybody here who wrestles with guilt, wrestles with fear, and a shyness of coming to you because they're ashamed, I ask, Father God, that you would open our eyes to realize, God, it has been your intention to give us this forgiveness.

And it has been your intention for us to respond to you with absolute glee and thanksgiving. And so, Lord, I pray that even just during the week when we fail, Lord God, when we sin, that our hearts would long for you to receive your grace. And what's more, God, to return all things to you in praise and thanksgiving.

Now to him who was able to keep you from stumbling and to make you stand in the presence of his glory, blameless with great joy, to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ, our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority before all time and now and forever. Amen.

God sent his Son. They called him Jesus. He came to them. He lived and died. To buy my pardon. An empty grave is there to prove my Savior lives. Because he lives, I can face tomorrow. Because he lives, all fear is gone. Because I know he holds the future.

And life is worth the living just because he lives. Amen. Because he lives, I can face tomorrow. Because I know he holds the future. And life is worth the living just because he lives. Because I know he holds the future. And life is worth the living just because he lives.

Because I know he holds the future. True is life, the Lord our God. Strong to save, faithful in love. My debt is paid and the victory won. The Lord is my salvation. Glory be to God the Father. Glory be to God the Son. Glory be to God the Spirit.

The Lord is our salvation. Glory be to God the Father. Glory be to God the Son. Glory be to God the Spirit. The Lord is our salvation. The Lord is our salvation. The Lord is our salvation. ♪ Holy Lord, most ♪