Bringing people with disabilities to the forefront of the church
From Greg Laurie's book, "Breakfast with Jesus", chapter 18 "The Heart of the Problem"
When He saw their faith, He said to him, "Man your sins are forgiven you."
Luke 5:20
It was quite an event to have Jesus in town. Imagine if your pastor announced, "Folks, next week Jesus Christ will be here for one night!" Imagine the excitement, the buzz. Everyone would show up!
That's exactly what happened one day in Capernaum. Jesus began teaching there in someone's house, and people came to hear Him from "every town of Galilee, Judea, and Jerusalem" (Luke 5:17). This was a mega- event and everyone showed up. A paralyzed man also wanted to come, but since he was unable to walk, four of his friends offered to take him. They rallied together and each took a corner of his cot. Yet when these four men and their friend got to the door of the meeting house, they found the placed packed, with no room event to get near to door.
Fortunately, they believed that the business of bringing others to Jesus was so important that when it seemed they couldn't find a way, they made one. It would have been great had they been able just to come through a door, but since that was not an option, they looked for another. These guys had daring faith and believed that if being conventional doesn't succeed, try being original.
In those days, the roof of a Palestinian house was flat; in hot weather it served as a place for sleeping, while year round it provided extra storage space. Most homes were simply built. Workers placed wooden beams, about tow or three feet apart, across a stone structure, packing brush tightly between those beams. Sun-dried mud cemented the whole thing together. Often an outside stairway leading to the roof completed the house.
Luke tells us that this man's friends "went up on the house-top and let him down with his bed through the tiling into the mist before Jesus" (verse 19). The friends dug through the dried-mud roof above where Jesus stood, and when they had scooped out an opening, they let down the mat with the paralyzed man on it.
It must have been a strange moment when dirt began falling on the heads of those in the house! Looking up, they saw the faces of some men holding ropes, silhouetted against the sky. When the light broke through the ceiling and landed on the mat, everyone could see a paralytic being lowered.
Jesus observed the man on the mat, but He took note more than that. He focused His attention on the men still on the roof, faces poking through the thatch, eagerly anticipating their friend's miracle.
"When He saw their faith, " Luke writes, "He said to him, "Man, your sins are forgiven you" (verse 20).
Jesus saw saw the faith of these faithful friends. In His mind's eye, perhaps, He had seen them working together to bring their friend to hear the Lord preach. He had seen them take the corners of the cot and struggle down the streets to the house. He had seen them unable to reach the doorway. And He had seen them as they climbed the stars and dug through the roof.
Can He see your faith? When was the last time you went out of your way to bring someone to hear the gospel? It's a remarkable fact that 85 percent of the unbelievers who come forward to receive Christ at a Harvest Crusade are brought by a friend. Many will never get to Jesus unless a friend tells them how.
Paul reminds us, "How can they hear about him unless someone tells them? An how will anyone go and tell them without being sent? That is what the Scriptures mean when they say, "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!" (Romans 10:14-15)
These men had several admirable characteristics. First they felt genuinely concerned about their friend and wanted to get help. Second, they had faith to believe that Jesus could and would meet his need. They did more than just pray about the problem; they put feet to their prayers and did something different. Consider this: Capernaum had a lot of needy people in those days, but only this man was healed and forgiven. Why? Because his persistent friends brought him to Jesus.
The Lord not only healed the man's physical paralysis, He also healed his soul by forgiving him of his sin. Sometimes we come to Jesus as a last resort. We have grown weary of addiction to drugs, to alcohol, to you-name-it. The heart of the problem is the problem of the heart. It's our sin that we need forgiven, and we can do nothing to remedy that situation apart from Jesus. Son leaves a stain we cannot wash out. Only Jesus can do that!
That's the life-chaining lesson this man learnt on a sunny day in Capernaum. He came to Jesus to get his body healed, but walked out of that house with a restored body and a renewed spirit. It is no wonder that Luke ends the story, "And they were all amazed, and they glorified God and were filled with fear, saying, We have seen strange things today!" (verse 26).
Bringing people with disabilities to the
forefront of Christian worship and ministry
We at The Abilities Church are spiritually air lifting people with disabilities into the midst or centre of the Church for all people to see Jesus through their inspirational lives and message. During Jesus earthly ministry when He healed someone with a disability everyone was inspired and moved by His acts of compassion and power. Many people believed on Jesus because of His inclusive ministry towards people with disabilities in the New Testament. These special people were socially outcast or segregated from society and many of them were left to beg on the streets to make a living. Jesus had compassion on them and gave them a special place of importance in his personal ministry. We as the Church should do the same and follow our Lord's example in ministering to people with disabilities today. They are at the centre of Church life and growth. Their lives and message will inspire people today to believe in Jesus and grow in Him as they did during Jesus' earthly ministry. Every church today needs people with disabilities to minister to it.
