Friendship

"The story's told by the Persians of the great Shah Abbas, who reigned magnificently in Persia, but [he had a small quirk. You see, he] loved to mingle with the people in disguise. Once, dressed as a poor man, [the Shah] descended the long flight of stairs, dark and damp, to the tiny cellar where the fireman, seated on ashes, was tending the furnace.

The king sat down beside him and began to talk. At meal time the fireman produced some coarse, black bread and a jug of water and they [both] ate and drank. The Shah went away, but returned again and again, for his heart was filled with sympathy for

At last the emperor thought, 'I will tell him who I am, and see what gift he will ask.' So he said, 'You think me poor, but I am Shah Abbas your emperor.' [The Shah] expected a petition for some great thing but the man sat silent. 'Haven't you understoo[d?,' Shah Abbas went on, 'I] can make you rich and noble, can give you a city, can appoint you as a great ruler. Have you nothing to ask?'

The man replied gently, 'Yes, my lord, I understood. But what is this you have done, to leave your palace and glory, to sit with me in this dark place, to partake of my coarse fare, to care whether my heart is glad or sorry? Even you can give nothing more precious. On others you may bestow rich presents, but to me you have given yourself; it only remains to ask that you never withdraw this gift [you've given,] your friendship'" (Tan #3901). *******

Beloved, we're going to be discussing the topic of friendship this morning. I want to share with you some of the qualities that are part of the make-up of a friend. I'm convinced our Bible text in Mark 2 today speaks regarding these qualities.

And before we read the first five verses of Mark 2 together, let me just say that we live in a world where friendliness and being a friend has become a lost art, I believe. Oh sure, there are exceptions as there are with anything. There are places where this isn't the case. But in many other places I really do think it's true. People simply aren't very friendly.

Have you noticed that especially when you're driving your car? What do they call it now that you have to watch out for--road rage? I think that's the term. I mean, just the other day while jogging I saw a woman sticking out a little bit in the road there with her car and this guy had to move over to the left to avoid hitting her. It really wasn't that big of a deal. But I thought he'd have killed her with the look on his face.

People just aren't friendly anymore in many places. That's what I'm saying here. We've forgotten the qualities of a friend. And I believe that's partly why many marriages are failing and whole communities aren't doing as well as they might--even some churches--because the truth about what it takes to be a friend has been lost.

We're going to do our best to make sure this isn't the case with us as we turn to the Scriptures today to consider the topic of friendship. I want to begin doing that now by reading v. 1-5 of Mark 2. Notice, my friends no pun intended!) it begins there by saying...

And when [Jesus] had come back to Capernaum several days afterward, it was heard that He was at home. And many were gathered together, so that there was no longer room, even near the door; and He (Jesus) was speaking the word to them. 2:3 And they came, bringing to Him a paralytic--And they came, bringing to Him a paralytic, carried by four men. And 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, "My son, your sins are forgiven" (Mk. 2:1-5).

Again, we're talking about the qualities of a friend this morning. There are friends (plural) in action in our story today. Did you happen to notice that? There are friends in action--specifically four men who happen to be friends with a paralytic.

And the first thing I want to point out to you about these four men is that the Bible doesn't give us their names. They are anonymous. ******* You might not think that very important, but I think it is especially as it has to do with our topic this morning. How many of you understand that a friend is not so much concerned with "me," but a friend is moreso concerned with "we"? ******* Let me say that again. A friend is not so much concerned with "me," but a friend is moreso concerned with "we." In other words, a friend is someone who's not selfishly motivated. A friend is someone who's not looking to be noticed at the expense of those he's friends with. Rather, he's "others-oriented." A friend has got other people and their good on his mind while he equates himself and his personal needs as secondary.

This kind of mind-set, I believe, is communicated in the four men who are nameless in our text today. You see, I think that they don't care if anyone knows who they are after they finish doing what they are about to do. I think they don't care. ******* And so, maybe, when Peter, who's the main man behind the Gospel of Mark (Mark happened to write down Peter's account!) when Peter interviews them--let's just imagine for fun that taking place--when Peter interviews them after the paralytic is healed and asks, "Can I take down your names to publish them in the gospel I'm working on?"--when Peter interviews the four men and asks them that--I think they probably said, "That's okay, but no, Peter. No." *******

These four men--they act like friends in this sense, I'm convinced. They don't seek to be noticed at the expense of their friend. It was never their motivation in bringing the paralytic to Jesus--to be noticed for what good guys they were. *******

And a second quality of a friend--I believe we see it in the care of the four men for the paralytic. The four men care about him. They care enough--listen--they care enough to get close to him and stay close. *******

It goes without saying that there are numbers of people who, because of their condition, whatever it might be--maybe it's nothing near as bad as being paralyzed, but it's still bad-- how many of you know there are numbers of people with physical, emotional, and mental challenges that other people won't even get close to? ******* There are numbers of people in this world. Some of them hang around as close as downtown Memorial Park, Tuolumne. There are numbers of people with challenges that other people won't even get close to. ("Challenges" is the politically-correct term for "problems"!)

But this isn't the case with the four men in our story today. Because they care for this man who happens to be paralyzed. They care enough to get close to him and stay close and be his friend.

And a friend also--Quality #3--a friend also does what he can do to help his friend. A friend does what he can do to help. Notice v. 3 of our text again this morning. Notice--what does it say?...

And, my brothers and sisters, why do they do that? Well, I'll remind you why just in case you may have forgotten. The four men bring their friend to Jesus because Jesus is the only One that can help him. Jesus is the only One who can heal a person in the kind of condition he's in. Jesus is the only One. *******

And let me just say here real quickly, though we're not talking about Christ necessarily specifically today--let me just say that there's never been anyone like Jesus. There's never been anyone like Him. No one's ever lived that's been able to do the things that He's been able to do. ******* No one's been able to open the eyes of the blind. No one's been able to cleanse the skin of a leper. No one's been able to raise a person from the dead, let alone come back from the dead himself. No one's ever lived that's been able to do these kinds of things. No one has that kind of resume ******* except Christ the Lord. Can somebody say, "Amen" who understands this morning who Jesus really is? *******

So this is the third quality of a friend--a friend does what he can do to help his friend. The Scripture reads, "And [four men] came, bringing to [Jesus] a paralytic . . ." (v. 3).

On now to a fourth, fifth, and sixth quality of a friend. Let me just point out the next three qualities rapid fire. They come from v. 3 of the story as well. First of all, from the last part of the verse. Again, it reads that...

We learn here that a friend is into teamwork--the term used nowadays, you've probably heard it--"team player." A friend is a "team player." The paralytic was "carried by four men." It is a team of four that carry him. It takes a team effort to do what they do. So this is a fourth quality of a friend. A friend is into teamwork. A friend is a "team player." *******

And a fifth quality now--how many of you understand that a friend will help you carry your burdens? ******* The paralytic was "carried by four men." He was "carried." A friend will help you carry your burdens. He's the kind of person that makes your "load" lighter because of his friendship with you. This is the fifth quality of a friend. *******

And a sixth quality--I told you these three would come fast--a sixth quality: A friend doesn't care what people say or think when he's seen with you. Did you hear what I just said? A friend doesn't care what people say or think when he's seen with you. *******

I can just imagine, beloved, the talk that went on--the talk as these four men begin to transport their paralyzed friend. I can just imagine the talk. Because it's just like human nature that people will say these kinds of things--like, "Do you see who so-and-so's with? Do you see who he's with?" Don't some people talk like that? You know they do. People say and they think things, don't they? When you're with somebody they don't necessarily approve of or they look down upon--maybe it's because they aren't the prettiest or they're not of a higher social status--whatever it is--people do talk. They say and they think things. Not very nice things. *******

And what I'm trying to emphasize here is that a friend doesn't care about it. He doesn't care what people say or think when he's seen with you. How many of you know if he does, then he's not much of a friend? *******

And being unable to get to [Jesus] because of the crowd--And being unable to get to [Jesus] . . . they removed the roof above Him; and when they had dug an opening, they let down the pallet on which the paralytic was lying (v. 4).

"And being unable to get to [Jesus]." My brothers and sisters, what we have here in this verse is an obstacle--actually there are two obstacles that get in the way of the four men carrying the paralytic. There are two obstacles. The first one is the crowd which is obvious. The verse says so. The second obstacle--maybe not as obvious--but the roof above Christ is also an obstacle. I don't know if you ever thought of it as such in reading this passage. And, by the way, houses in the time of our Lord--their roofs were composed of grass, plaster, tiles, and lath ("any of the thin, narrow strips of wood used as a ground-work for plastering, etc."--Webster's 341) (Wycliffe 992). So roofs could, indeed, be dug through in those days as we see is the case in our story. And one other thing. There were usually outside stairs leading up to the roofs affording easy access.

is what these guys don't do when they come up against the two obstacles. They don't do something and they don't do it because they're real friends. Listen--they don't look at each other and say, "That's it. Time to quit," when they see the crowd or the roof after it. The four men don't throw up their arms and give up. Instead--what do they do?--they press on. They keep their commitment. Somebody say, "Commitment." ******* The four men keep their commitment to getting their friend the help he needs. Is somebody in God's house hearing me this morning? *******

In my introduction I briefly alluded to how I think friendliness and being a friend has become a lost art. And I mentioned my belief that that's partly why many marriages are failing. This "many marriages failing" fact of our day relates to the point I want to leave you with here. The point is this: A friend doesn't allow obstacles to nullify his commit-ment. (Repeat one more time!) *******

How many of you understand there are scores of obstacles that husbands and wives are confronted with through the course of their lifetime as a couple? ******* And the bottom line is that a friend won't throw up his arms and quit his marriage when an obstacle appears. A friend won't seek an "out" of his marriage like so many do at present when the finances get tight, or the relationship is strained, or personality's come in conflict. A friend won't seek an "out" of his marriage when something like that happens. *******

Again, a friend won't allow obstacles to nullify his commitment--whether it's a commitment to marriage, a job, to school, to church, or even to God Himself. A friend won't allow obstacles to nullify his commitment. We see it in the four men in our story who press on despite the obstacles of the crowd and roof. They press on. They keep their commitment to getting their friend the help he needs. *******

Which brings us now to Quality #8 of a friend. I only have one more after this one and then we're done. I want to end in a timely fashion this morning so I don't lose any friends. (Ha!) The eighth quality I want to point out to you is a friend won't fail you when you need him most. (Repeat point) What does the last part of v. 4 say?...

. . . [T]hey (the four men) let down the pallet on which the paralytic was lying (do you see that part of v. 4?)--[T]hey let down the pallet on which the paralytic was lying (v. 4d).

And what I want you to notice here is that they don't drop their friend. The four men don't drop him. They don't let go when he's really relying on them. And I don't know how much the paralyzed man weighed because the Bible doesn't say. Neither does it tell us of the heaviness of the pallet he was on. Regardless, we can guess it's a challenge to hold on to him and it. It's a challenge to make sure he goes down slow enough and gently enough through the roof. Surely it requires exertion on the part of the four men. Can you just picture their arms and leg muscles as they strain here and their brows covered with sweat? These men are working hard to make sure they don't drop their friend. And I thought, "Is it any wonder that the next verse--v. 5 begins...

My friends, a friend will believe for you when you have a hard time believing yourself. A friend will believe for you. ******* And that's not to say that the paralyzed man in our story this morning had no faith for the Scripture does say, "And Jesus seeing their faith." It might have been that our Lord saw the faith of all five of them--the four men and the paralytic. It might have been all five of their "faiths" that Christ saw. ******* And then again it might not have been.

How many of you know that it's sometimes just human nature to have a hard time believing for yourself if you have something like cancer or some other life-threatening challenge--it's hard believing for yourself and it seems much easier to have faith for someone else? How many of you know it's true? It just is. *******

But that's where friends come in. The saying, "That's what friends are for," is appropriate here. Isn't it as we've just seen in this passage today? That's what friends are for. That's where friends come in. A friend will believe for you when you have a hard time believing yourself. A friend will believe for you. *******

We hope to be a church here like that for you. That'll believe God--that'll stand with you in faith for better things in your life. We hope to be a church here like that for you.

And that's what I want to close my message with today. I want to pray for people. I want to pray for you that have come that God will bless you and heal you (for those of you that need healing) and strengthen you (for those of you that need strength). And, most of all, I want to pray for all of us together that we might recognize God for who He really wants to be in our lives. He wants to be our friend. That's why He sent Jesus to die on the cross. That He and us might be reunited in friendship.

NOTE: All the qualities talked about today are seen in Jesus! He is a friend of sinners (Mt. 11:19; Lk. 7:34), a friend that loves at all times (Prov. 17:17) and a friend that sticks closer than a brother (Prov. 18:24).


	From Our Heart To Yours \| home End Of Days \| Friendship \| Visions Of The Lord (Part 1) \| Da Vinci Code (Part 1) \| Da Vinci Code (Part 2) \| Worship QUALITIES OF A FRIEND (Sermon: October 15, 2000) If you could please turn with me in your Bibles to the Gospel of Mark and chapter 2. ***** As your turning there I want to read you a story. It'll serve as an introduction to the topic we'll be discussing today. *** "The story's told by the Persians of the great Shah Abbas, who reigned magnificently in Persia, but [he had a small quirk. You see, he] loved to mingle with the people in disguise. Once, dressed as a poor man, [the Shah] descended the long flight of stairs, dark and damp, to the tiny cellar where the fireman, seated on ashes, was tending the furnace. The king sat down beside him and began to talk. At meal time the fireman produced some coarse, black bread and a jug of water and they [both] ate and drank. The Shah went away, but returned again and again, for his heart was filled with sympathy for [this] lonely man. He gave [him] sweet counsel, and the poor man opened his whole heart and loved this [person], so kind, so wise, and yet poor like himself. At last the emperor thought, 'I will tell him who I am, and see what gift he will ask.' So he said, 'You think me poor, but I am Shah Abbas your emperor.' [The Shah] expected a petition for some great thing but the man sat silent. 'Haven't you understoo[d?,' Shah Abbas went on, 'I] can make you rich and noble, can give you a city, can appoint you as a great ruler. Have you nothing to ask?' The man replied gently, 'Yes, my lord, I understood. But what is this you have done, to leave your palace and glory, to sit with me in this dark place, to partake of my coarse fare, to care whether my heart is glad or sorry? Even you can give nothing more precious. On others you may bestow rich presents, but to me you have given yourself; it only remains to ask that you never withdraw this gift [you've given,] your friendship'" (Tan #3901). *** Beloved, we're going to be discussing the topic of friendship this morning. I want to share with you some of the qualities that are part of the make-up of a friend. I'm convinced our Bible text in Mark 2 today speaks regarding these qualities. And before we read the first five verses of Mark 2 together, let me just say that we live in a world where friendliness and being a friend has become a lost art, I believe. Oh sure, there are exceptions as there are with anything. There are places where this isn't the case. But in many other places I really do think it's true. People simply aren't very friendly. Have you noticed that especially when you're driving your car? What do they call it now that you have to watch out for--road rage? I think that's the term. I mean, just the other day while jogging I saw a woman sticking out a little bit in the road there with her car and this guy had to move over to the left to avoid hitting her. It really wasn't that big of a deal. But I thought he'd have killed her with the look on his face. People just aren't friendly anymore in many places. That's what I'm saying here. We've forgotten the qualities of a friend. And I believe that's partly why many marriages are failing and whole communities aren't doing as well as they might--even some churches--because the truth about what it takes to be a friend has been lost. We're going to do our best to make sure this isn't the case with us as we turn to the Scriptures today to consider the topic of friendship. I want to begin doing that now by reading v. 1-5 of Mark 2. Notice, my friends no pun intended!) it begins there by saying... And when [Jesus] had come back to Capernaum several days afterward, it was heard that He was at home. And many were gathered together, so that there was no longer room, even near the door; and He (Jesus) was speaking the word to them. 2:3 And they came, bringing to Him a paralytic--And they came, bringing to Him a paralytic, carried by four men. And 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, "My son, your sins are forgiven" (Mk. 2:1-5). Shall we pray? Again, we're talking about the qualities of a friend this morning. There are friends (plural) in action in our story today. Did you happen to notice that? There are friends in action--specifically four men who happen to be friends with a paralytic. I. Quality #1: A Friend Is Concerned With "We" And Not "Me." And the first thing I want to point out to you about these four men is that the Bible doesn't give us their names. They are anonymous. *** You might not think that very important, but I think it is especially as it has to do with our topic this morning. How many of you understand that a friend is not so much concerned with "me," but a friend is moreso concerned with "we"? *** Let me say that again. A friend is not so much concerned with "me," but a friend is moreso concerned with "we." In other words, a friend is someone who's not selfishly motivated. A friend is someone who's not looking to be noticed at the expense of those he's friends with. Rather, he's "others-oriented." A friend has got other people and their good on his mind while he equates himself and his personal needs as secondary. This kind of mind-set, I believe, is communicated in the four men who are nameless in our text today. You see, I think that they don't care if anyone knows who they are after they finish doing what they are about to do. I think they don't care. *** And so, maybe, when Peter, who's the main man behind the Gospel of Mark (Mark happened to write down Peter's account!) when Peter interviews them--let's just imagine for fun that taking place--when Peter interviews them after the paralytic is healed and asks, "Can I take down your names to publish them in the gospel I'm working on?"--when Peter interviews the four men and asks them that--I think they probably said, "That's okay, but no, Peter. No." *** These four men--they act like friends in this sense, I'm convinced. They don't seek to be noticed at the expense of their friend. It was never their motivation in bringing the paralytic to Jesus--to be noticed for what good guys they were. *** And so this is the first quality of a friend that I wanted to point out to you this morning --a friend is not so much concerned with "me," but a friend is moreso concerned with "we." II. Quality #2: A Friend Cares Enough To Get Close & Stay Close. And a second quality of a friend--I believe we see it in the care of the four men for the paralytic. The four men care about him. They care enough--listen--they care enough to get close to him and stay close. *** It goes without saying that there are numbers of people who, because of their condition, whatever it might be--maybe it's nothing near as bad as being paralyzed, but it's still bad-- how many of you know there are numbers of people with physical, emotional, and mental challenges that other people won't even get close to? *** There are numbers of people in this world. Some of them hang around as close as downtown Memorial Park, Tuolumne. There are numbers of people with challenges that other people won't even get close to. ("Challenges" is the politically-correct term for "problems"!) But this isn't the case with the four men in our story today. Because they care for this man who happens to be paralyzed. They care enough to get close to him and stay close and be his friend. This is now the second quality of a friend I wanted to point out to you this morning. A friend cares enough to get close and stay close. *** III. Quality #3: A Friend Does What He Can Do To Help. And a friend also--Quality #3--a friend also does what he can do to help his friend. A friend does what he can do to help. Notice v. 3 of our text again this morning. Notice--what does it say?... And they came, bringing to [Jesus] a paralytic--And [four men] came, bringing to [Jesus their friend] . . . (v. 3). So we find, as a mark of their friendship with a man who's paralyzed, four men do what they can do to help him. They do what they can do. They bring him to Jesus. And, my brothers and sisters, why do they do that? Well, I'll remind you why just in case you may have forgotten. The four men bring their friend to Jesus because Jesus is the only One that can help him. Jesus is the only One who can heal a person in the kind of condition he's in. Jesus is the only One. *** And let me just say here real quickly, though we're not talking about Christ necessarily specifically today--let me just say that there's never been anyone like Jesus. There's never been anyone like Him. No one's ever lived that's been able to do the things that He's been able to do. *** No one's been able to open the eyes of the blind. No one's been able to cleanse the skin of a leper. No one's been able to raise a person from the dead, let alone come back from the dead himself. No one's ever lived that's been able to do these kinds of things. No one has that kind of resume *** except Christ the Lord. Can somebody say, "Amen" who understands this morning who Jesus really is? *** So this is the third quality of a friend--a friend does what he can do to help his friend. The Scripture reads, "And [four men] came, bringing to [Jesus] a paralytic . . ." (v. 3). III. Quality #4, #5, & #6: A Friend Is A Team Player, Will Help You Carry Your Burdens, & Doesn't Care What People Say Or Think When He's Seen With You. On now to a fourth, fifth, and sixth quality of a friend. Let me just point out the next three qualities rapid fire. They come from v. 3 of the story as well. First of all, from the last part of the verse. Again, it reads that... [The paralytic was] carried by four men (v. 3c). We learn here that a friend is into teamwork--the term used nowadays, you've probably heard it--"team player." A friend is a "team player." The paralytic was "carried by four men." It is a team of four that carry him. It takes a team effort to do what they do. So this is a fourth quality of a friend. A friend is into teamwork. A friend is a "team player." *** And a fifth quality now--how many of you understand that a friend will help you carry your burdens? *** The paralytic was "carried by four men." He was "carried." A friend will help you carry your burdens. He's the kind of person that makes your "load" lighter because of his friendship with you. This is the fifth quality of a friend. *** And a sixth quality--I told you these three would come fast--a sixth quality: A friend doesn't care what people say or think when he's seen with you. Did you hear what I just said? A friend doesn't care what people say or think when he's seen with you. *** I can just imagine, beloved, the talk that went on--the talk as these four men begin to transport their paralyzed friend. I can just imagine the talk. Because it's just like human nature that people will say these kinds of things--like, "Do you see who so-and-so's with? Do you see who he's with?" Don't some people talk like that? You know they do. People say and they think things, don't they? When you're with somebody they don't necessarily approve of or they look down upon--maybe it's because they aren't the prettiest or they're not of a higher social status--whatever it is--people do talk. They say and they think things. Not very nice things. *** And what I'm trying to emphasize here is that a friend doesn't care about it. He doesn't care what people say or think when he's seen with you. How many of you know if he does, then he's not much of a friend? *** IV. Quality #7: A Friend Won't Allow Obstacles To Nullify His Commitment. Which brings us now to the seventh quality of a friend as it's revealed in Mark 2. Look at v. 4 now, if you would. Notice again there, it reads... And being unable to get to [Jesus] because of the crowd--And being unable to get to [Jesus] . . . they removed the roof above Him; and when they had dug an opening, they let down the pallet on which the paralytic was lying (v. 4). "And being unable to get to [Jesus]." My brothers and sisters, what we have here in this verse is an obstacle--actually there are two obstacles that get in the way of the four men carrying the paralytic. There are two obstacles. The first one is the crowd which is obvious. The verse says so. The second obstacle--maybe not as obvious--but the roof above Christ is also an obstacle. I don't know if you ever thought of it as such in reading this passage. And, by the way, houses in the time of our Lord--their roofs were composed of grass, plaster, tiles, and lath ("any of the thin, narrow strips of wood used as a ground-work for plastering, etc."--Webster's 341) (Wycliffe 992). So roofs could, indeed, be dug through in those days as we see is the case in our story. And one other thing. There were usually outside stairs leading up to the roofs affording easy access. We're talking about two obstacles here--the crowd and the roof--that get in the way of four men carrying a paralytic. And what I really want to be careful to point out to you is what these guys don't do when they come up against the two obstacles. They don't do something and they don't do it because they're real friends. Listen--they don't look at each other and say, "That's it. Time to quit," when they see the crowd or the roof after it. The four men don't throw up their arms and give up. Instead--what do they do?--they press on. They keep their commitment. Somebody say, "Commitment." *** The four men keep their commitment to getting their friend the help he needs. Is somebody in God's house hearing me this morning? *** In my introduction I briefly alluded to how I think friendliness and being a friend has become a lost art. And I mentioned my belief that that's partly why many marriages are failing. This "many marriages failing" fact of our day relates to the point I want to leave you with here. The point is this: A friend doesn't allow obstacles to nullify his commit-ment. (Repeat one more time!) *** How many of you understand there are scores of obstacles that husbands and wives are confronted with through the course of their lifetime as a couple? *** And the bottom line is that a friend won't throw up his arms and quit his marriage when an obstacle appears. A friend won't seek an "out" of his marriage like so many do at present when the finances get tight, or the relationship is strained, or personality's come in conflict. A friend won't seek an "out" of his marriage when something like that happens. *** Again, a friend won't allow obstacles to nullify his commitment--whether it's a commitment to marriage, a job, to school, to church, or even to God Himself. A friend won't allow obstacles to nullify his commitment. We see it in the four men in our story who press on despite the obstacles of the crowd and roof. They press on. They keep their commitment to getting their friend the help he needs. *** V. Quality #8: A Friend Won't Fail You When You Need Him Most. Which brings us now to Quality #8 of a friend. I only have one more after this one and then we're done. I want to end in a timely fashion this morning so I don't lose any friends. (Ha!) The eighth quality I want to point out to you is a friend won't fail you when you need him most. (Repeat point) What does the last part of v. 4 say?... . . . [T]hey (the four men) let down the pallet on which the paralytic was lying (do you see that part of v. 4?)--[T]hey let down the pallet on which the paralytic was lying (v. 4d). And what I want you to notice here is that they don't drop their friend. The four men don't drop him. They don't let go when he's really relying on them. And I don't know how much the paralyzed man weighed because the Bible doesn't say. Neither does it tell us of the heaviness of the pallet he was on. Regardless, we can guess it's a challenge to hold on to him and it. It's a challenge to make sure he goes down slow enough and gently enough through the roof. Surely it requires exertion on the part of the four men. Can you just picture their arms and leg muscles as they strain here and their brows covered with sweat? These men are working hard to make sure they don't drop their friend. And I thought, "Is it any wonder that the next verse--v. 5 begins... And Jesus seeing their faith--And Jesus seeing their faith . . . (v. 5a)." *** I'm talking about men here who didn't fail their friend when he needed them most. It is the eight quality of a friend that I wanted to point out to you today from Mark 2. VI. Quality #9: A Friend Will Believe For You When You Have A Hard Time Believing Yourself. On now to the ninth and final quality. It has to do with the verse I just read--v. 5. Let me just read it one more time in it's entirety. Verse five says... And Jesus seeing their faith (and it goes on)--[He] said to the paralytic, "My son, your sins are forgiven" (repeat verse only) (v. 5). My friends, a friend will believe for you when you have a hard time believing yourself. A friend will believe for you. *** And that's not to say that the paralyzed man in our story this morning had no faith for the Scripture does say, "And Jesus seeing their faith." It might have been that our Lord saw the faith of all five of them--the four men and the paralytic. It might have been all five of their "faiths" that Christ saw. *** And then again it might not have been. How many of you know that it's sometimes just human nature to have a hard time believing for yourself if you have something like cancer or some other life-threatening challenge--it's hard believing for yourself and it seems much easier to have faith for someone else? How many of you know it's true? It just is. *** But that's where friends come in. The saying, "That's what friends are for," is appropriate here. Isn't it as we've just seen in this passage today? That's what friends are for. That's where friends come in. A friend will believe for you when you have a hard time believing yourself. A friend will believe for you. *** We hope to be a church here like that for you. That'll believe God--that'll stand with you in faith for better things in your life. We hope to be a church here like that for you. CONCLUSION** And that's what I want to close my message with today. I want to pray for people. I want to pray for you that have come that God will bless you and heal you (for those of you that need healing) and strengthen you (for those of you that need strength). And, most of all, I want to pray for all of us together that we might recognize God for who He really wants to be in our lives. He wants to be our friend. That's why He sent Jesus to die on the cross. That He and us might be reunited in friendship. NOTE: All the qualities talked about today are seen in Jesus! He is a friend of sinners (Mt. 11:19; Lk. 7:34), a friend that loves at all times (Prov. 17:17) and a friend that sticks closer than a brother (Prov. 18:24).