Dramatic Intervention: Evangelism
Luke 5:17-26
I. Introduction
- Title is Dramatic Intervention
1. Could also be extreme measures
2. Or even desperate measures
- "Desperate times call for desperate measures."
1. People will do amazing/ crazy things in intense/ stressful situations.
2. Adrenaline, shock,
-What situations would lead you to dramatic intervention?
-Ill. TV show of a dramatic intervention
1. Family was worried about their loved one's drug addiction.
2. Gathered the family and talked to the family member about the addiction.
3. My family often had "family talks."
-What about a spiritual dramatic intervention?
II. Scripture
III. Barriers
-Some friends were bringing their paralyzed friend to Jesus.
-Note: Oh that we might have friends like these!
-But the problem was that there were some barriers to getting to Jesus.
1. The crowd was too large.
2. Jesus was in a home teaching.
3. Couldn't just walk up to Him.
-Note: How many of us would have given up at that point?
-Point: Persistence pays off!
1. Barriers, deterrent, discouragement will not quench our resolve.
2. We are a people who have been commissioned by God himself!
-Scripture...
1. Galatians 6:9 "And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up."
2. 1 Corinthians 15:58 "Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain."
3. 2 Thessalonians 3:13 "As for you, brothers, do not grow weary in doing good."
4. God commending the church in Ephesus...
Revelation 2:3 "I know you are enduring patiently and bearing up for my name's sake, and you have not grown weary."
-Pray without ceasing, but don't stop witnessing either!
1. Don't stop talking about Jesus.
2. You just keep sowing the seed!
3. Don't grow weary or discouraged!
-2 Corinthians 9:6 "The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully."
IV. Regardless of Costs
-It took the paralyzed man's friends a long time to do all this.
1. They risked rejection by Jesus, lawsuit for a damaged roof, social embarrassment, etc.
2. Don't put a price on the human soul!
-Calling of Saul/Paul
1. Acts 9:15 [to Ananias] "Go, for he [Paul] is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel."
2. Paul was stoned, ridiculed, beaten, imprisoned, chained up, shipwrecked, snake bit, hated, etc. 3. But they couldn't stop him or silence him or keep him from carrying people to Jesus.
-v. 20a "when He [Jesus] saw their faith"
1. The faith of the friends made the difference.
2. It led to the paralyzed man's forgiveness.
-Query: Could your faith be holding back your spouse/ child/friend/neighbor?
-Ill. It's easy to tell when something is on fire.
1. If you put it close to something flammable it too will catch ablaze!
2. Any fire that does not spread will go out!
-Point: We are not the church, if the fire of the Spirit doesn't catch other hearts ablaze!
V. How Extreme is the Need?
-This is not some suggestion God has made to us.
1. It is not a hobby or past-time we do ‘on the side.'
2. It is not a secondary objective or a optional goal.
3. It is the primary thrust of who we are in Christ!
-Jesus said to Nicodemus that His mission/purpose was to seek and to save the lost.
1. So if we're Christian...
2. We adopt that mission/purpose!
-The greatest act of worship is ‘carrying' someone to Jesus!
-We're talking about eternity here!
1. The difference between Heaven & Hell.
2. The difference between being lost in sin and redeemed by the blood!
-Jesus' call to the disciples was: "Come with me and I'll make you fishers of men."
-Point: Some people are.... they need someone to...
1. ...so lost, they need more than directions to Jesus... escort them back to Him.
2. ...so blind...take them by the hand!
3. ...so weak...lean on all the way to Jesus.
4. ...so much pain....help them focus on the Savior.
5. ...wandering in the wilderness & ... lead them into the promised land.
6. ...tossed to & fro in the storms of life &... be the lighthouse that they might find Christ.
7. ...so busy...stop them and point to Christ!
8. ...living in so much hypocrisy... show them the truth of Christ.
9. ...so disoriented by worldly things... help them re-order life around Christ!
10. ...so paralyzed by sin... carry them to Jesus.
-These ppl might articulate it like this...
-Psalm 69:1-3, 13-15, 29
"Save me, O God! For the waters have come up to my neck. [2] I sink in deep mire, where there is no foothold; I have come into deep waters, and the flood sweeps over me. [3] I am weary with my crying out; my throat is parched. My eyes grow dim with waiting for my God. [13] But as for me, my prayer is to you, O Lord. At an acceptable time, O God, in the abundance of your steadfast love answer me in your saving faithfulness. [14] Deliver me from sinking in the mire; let me be delivered from my enemies and from the deep waters. [15] Let not the flood sweep over me, or the deep swallow me up, or the pit close its mouth over me. [29] But I am afflicted and in pain; let your salvation, O God, set me on high!"
-There are some ppl in need of a dramatic intervention.
1. Something extreme.
2. B/c if it doesn't happen they may end up in Hell.
VI. Urgency
-Ill. A missionary coming home from a journey of about three days.
1. His son, John, comes running to meet him across a field with tall prairie grass.
2. As he ran, he suddenly fell out of sight.
3. At first the missionary thought it was a game, but then remembered there was an abandoned well in the field.
4. In a panic he ran to the spot and pulled his son out of the well.
5. His son's first words as he hugged his father were: "O Papa, why didn't you hurry?"
-Ill. When Jacob or Hannah fall & hurt themselves they will cry.
1. You'll never see a parent run faster than when their baby is in danger or hurting.
2. It is instinctual!
-Point: The ‘paralyzed' won't cry out in the same way a baby does, but they are hurting in a much deeper way!
1. Suicide... on the rise.
2. Depression... on the rise.
3. Addiction (alcohol/ drugs/etc.)... on the rise.
4. Despair, defeat, spiritual depravity, etc.... on the rise.
-Ill. Gen William Booth (founder of Salvation Army) was walking through London w/ his son, Bramwell.
1. His son was 12 or 13 and was surprised by his father when he took him by the hand and took him into a saloon.
2. The place was crowded w/ men & women participating in all kinds of evil.
3. Some were passed out, some were making passes at ppl other than their spouses, some were gambling, etc.
4. Gen. Booth said: "Willie, these are our people. These are the ppl I want you to live for and bring to Christ."
-May I suggest that some of the celebrity gossip shows wouldn't be so entertaining if you viewed them in light of eternity?
1. Maybe some of the worldly music you listen to wouldn't be so entertaining in light of a message echoed in Hell.
2. Maybe your heart would be broken if you measured your success not by worldly standards but by the measure of a soul!
-There are some ppl in need of a dramatic intervention.
-It's urgent that something be done!
VII. Whom Shall I Send?
-Query: What if God calls you?
1. What if you're the one to intervene in a dramatic way in someone's life?
2. What if you are the one with the call?
-Ill. Maybe today will be to you what Isaiah experience in Isaiah 6.
1. He experienced the glory of God!
2. Isaiah 6:8 "And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?" Then I [Isaiah] said, "Here am I! Send me.""
-Ill. Maybe your call to work for the Lord has been coming for some time.
1. Maybe you're like Samuel.
2. Samuel was lying in bed and heard God call to him three times.
3. Each time he ran into Eli.
4. Finally Eli realized what was happening...
5. 1 Samuel 3:9-11 "Therefore Eli said to Samuel, "Go, lie down, and if he calls you, you shall say, 'Speak, Lord, for your servant hears.' " So Samuel went and lay down in his place. [10] And the Lord came and stood, calling as at other times, "Samuel! Samuel!" And Samuel said, "Speak, for your servant hears." [11] Then the Lord said to Samuel, "Behold, I am about to do a thing in Israel at which the two ears of everyone who hears it will tingle.""
-Let me ask again: Could your faith be the ‘lynch-pin' for revival?
-This paralyzed man went home "glorifying God."
-v. 26 "And amazement seized them all, and they glorified God and were filled with awe, saying, ‘We have seen extraordinary things today.'"
-Sounds like something I want to be a part of.
-A dramatic intervention.
Response: "Here I Am, Lord"
