good morning my friends this is pastor
stephen brooks welcome today
to morning glory today we're going to be
in the gospel of mark
chapter 2. i'd like to invite you to
grab your bibles
and meet me there as you can see i'm out
on the road today
traveling we are in southern california
pastor kelly and i
having a good time ministering the
gospel and
traveling lifting up the name of jesus
so i'm honored to have you with me today
as we are meeting in mark chapter 2 to
have a good time in the word of god
today
let's pray heavenly father as we go into
your word
we thank you that the entrance of your
word brings
light and we thank you that light that
understanding
gives us the solutions to to the various
problems and challenges that we face in
life
and we thank you for helping us to
overcome every obstacle
and to move forward in the path that you
have for us
in jesus name we pray and let's agree
and say
amen praise god mark chapter 2
and we're going to begin today in verse
1.
and again he entered capernaum and after
some days
and it was heard that he was in the
house immediately many gathered together
so that there was no longer room to
receive them
not even near the door and he preached
the word to them
my friends we always want to preach the
word we want to share the gospel we also
want to teach it which is to explain it
and it is that preaching of the word
that inspires
hope that releases faith that allows us
to step into the miracles
that god has made available for us to
enjoy
now verse 3 then they came to him
bringing a paralytic man who was carried
by
four men so we have a paralyzed man
he's unable to move he's on a stretcher
or we could call it
like a transportable type bed and he's
carried by
four men praise god
and when they could not come near him
because of the crowd
they uncovered the roof where he was now
this is fascinating
there's a crowd they can't get to their
designated spot what do they do do they
give up
and quit and turn around no they
continue on and they're quite
innovative in their approach so they go
up on the roof
so when they had broken through they let
down the bed
on which the paralytic was lying
so they broke through and i think
that while we know that god is the lord
of the breakthrough
as we see demonstrated in the life of
david when he had a tremendous victory
over the philistines he said
he said this is baal perezim the lord of
the breakthrough
and so we know the lord is of the
breakthrough but we also
need to understand that we need to do
all that we can
even if it's natural things to break
through in the natural
and then when we push ourselves and do
all that we can in the natural
that's when god will come and do his
breakthrough part
but we can't put it all on the lord we
have to break through to the best of our
ability
and then of course the lord we know he's
never going to fail he will break
through and do his part as well
so in this case really the only option
was to do something quite unorthodox to
get out of the box
and so they went up on the roof and they
broke
through now i think it's fascinating
because it's a little bit of the
untold story you can only imagine
all of the noise and chaos that was
going on when jesus
was preaching i've actually had to
preach before when people were walking
on the roof
and uh you know we just went went right
on with it and uh
stayed in the spirit and god uh got
accomplished what he wanted to do
but jesus was amazing at this you can
imagine four men up on the roof
banging around and tearing open the
tiles and this is not just some little
hole
that they're going to open up to lower
the guy through it the hole has to be
big enough
to lower the whole stretcher down and so
jesus didn't miss a beat just kept right
on preaching
and there is something about the
anointing to preach or the anointing to
stay in your
your assignment that the distractions
that
they may be there sometimes you don't
even notice them and i've had my wife
tell me
after meeting stephen we we tried to
keep that tremendous noise or these
things that happened from uh
uh from your uh you know observation or
from your knowledge
and uh we're sure you noticed it i would
say no i never noticed anything i
wasn't even aware of that you know maybe
some kind of commotion or something like
that
and you don't find out until later but a
lot of that has to do with the anointing
you just keep right on going even
even should that be somebody ripping the
roof apart right above your head
now verse 5 when jesus saw their faith
he said to the paralytic son your sins
are forgiven you
i want to camp a little bit around this
phrase
of jesus of when it says he saw
their faith and what i would like to try
to do today in our
short time together this morning is to
remove
this mystery that is so often uh
seems to cloud miracles and
sometimes people don't understand how
can you actually
see faith but i i mean they would
they would argue it's an intangible
substance from the
perspective of trying to identify it
from the physical realm or feel it or
touch it
but here jesus he actually says that he
saw
their faith and there are actions
there are things that we can do that
demonstrate to god
that we really do believe that our faith
is there and we're ready to go for this
and of course when you break through
with that type of approach
now the lord is going to break through
for you jesus
saw their faith so the lord
in your life um he
will look at your life to try to find
these types of works these expressions
of faith
and he must see that you are willing to
take necessary steps
forward in the path that he has for
your life now you wouldn't for example
carry four you know you get get together
with all your friends and carry a guy up
on the roof and go through all this
motion procedure if you didn't really
believe
that something good was going to happen
in the sense that this guy is going to
get healed
you wouldn't go through all of that if
you weren't sure but these men are
persuaded
and the guy on the stretcher is
persuaded that this is not some kind of
just like
futile exercise that's you know maybe
going to get on the front page of the
paper but that's all it's going to be
just
you know kind of a crazy story no
they're convinced
that if they can get to him they're
going to there's going to be a healing
that's going to take place with a
paralyzed man
so that is faith and then along with
your faith your belief there's going to
be these what we would call
corresponding actions that's what
james the apostle talked a lot about
faith without works is dead
so there has to be works there has to be
something where jesus can see
your faith he has to see
your faith and these are things that
will be visible before
the miracle ever takes place
praise god so by examining this and
looking at it
we can take this mystery out of so many
miracles the mystery of why
some breakthrough and perhaps others
don't just by
looking for these expressions of faith
praise the lord and we see it here
because
stop and think about it just for a
moment in order to
break through like these guys did
they of course are going to need a
stretcher to get the man to the meeting
get him up on the
get him up on the roof they're going to
need a ladder they're going to need some
ropes and i'm not quite sure how they're
pulling all of this stuff together but
they're doing it
and you know while these aren't metal
roofs or you know like commercial type
roof where you got
you know you know perhaps metallic
structures you've got to break through
but
most likely tile or whatever it might be
so they're just going to go right
through that but even still probably
need a hammer
maybe a small pry bar like a crowbar or
something like that
so you can pop those tiles out so
these are all expressions of faith
gathering all of these things together
okay this is what we're going to need
who's going to get the ladder i've got
some ropes
let's get some straps so the paralyzed
man you know in case we tilt this
stretcher sideways while we're trying to
lower him down he doesn't roll off
we wouldn't want him to get killed
before his miracle
oh follow two stories you know onto a
hard floor or something like that
okay so these are expressions of faith
and jesus saw
their faith he he could see all of these
little minute details and of course the
big one
which is that they have opened up the
roof and they're lowering
this guy down for the miracle moment but
don't ever forget
that before the miracle moment happens
you've at least got to get there
you know people say well so and so was
healed in the miracle crusade you know
well thank god he got there i mean it's
not like somebody held this
held a gun to his head and said now
you've got to go to this miracle crusade
in order to get healed no he obviously
went out of his own will
sometimes uh people can badger you have
you ever met those holy spirit
christians they're like
really good badgers look you need to
come with me to the meeting or you need
to watch this program it'll really bless
you
or whatever and you you just finally
give in you know
we need people like that the body of
christ because usually sinners
they're not too interested in god so you
have to sometimes be very persistent
stay with it look you need to come to
the meeting or you need to watch these
shows or
there's something important here that
you need to hear and if you'll keep
doing that eventually maybe just to get
you off their back they'll say okay i'll
watch it
and the next thing you know their life
is altered by the gospel
and they have given their heart to the
lord as well so
we just stay with it and jesus could see
all of these little
minute details that they're showing up
they're there they're not going to be
denied they're
even going to extreme measures where
they're breaking through they're doing
all they can
in the natural and when you do that when
you really
uh put in your due diligence when you uh
put in the time and you lay the best
game plan
you can and you start to implement that
eventually god's going to come on the
scene but you have to have the works
today we have a lot of young believers
in the church and maybe they're older
as far as physical age but young
spiritually in the sense
where there is constant talk of i'm
going to do this
or i'm going to do that and you know a
year goes by five years goes by a decade
goes by and nothing's ever been done
and if you were to actually look and
examine
you would realize they have no steps
that they are planning on implementing
to get to where
they're saying they're going to arrive
at so i think
we can remove this element of mystery
even around
the aura of miracles when we see that
if we will break through if we will push
ourselves and do all that we can
where we are giving valid expressions of
our faith
then god will see that and it's only a
matter of time before the miracle
happens now you can't let up
you have to keep going but if you keep
going and you you're constantly laying
out
expressions of faith where god can see
your faith you're on the right path and
you
you will reach a manifestation where the
miracle comes to
pass in your life praise the lord now
let's go to a great example found in
second
samuel chapter seven second samuel
chapter seven we'll
begin there in verse 12. and this is
fascinating concerning
the building of the temple and when you
think about
the house of god now this would be the
one that solomon is going to end up
building
but even still back in that ancient day
this was an extremely
complex system incorporating all of
these various chambers all of these
sub chambers the things beneath the
ground that were the tunnels into the
bedrock and even
advanced sand hydraulic technology that
they had learned from the egyptians that
were implemented
in certain parts of the temple system
and many other things of how to get the
water
uh into these uh into the mythos the
ritual baths
how do we get the water uh to an
elevated plot a place where we can have
the ample amount of water needed for the
cleansing with all the blood and all the
animal sacrifices so there had to be a
lot of purification
got to wash all of that away there needs
to be a system to remove that a
very advanced water system so let's
look for a moment concerning uh this
area of the building of the temple
or giving expressions of
faith of works that the lord can see
that will eventually lead to the
completion the completion of a miracle
or in this case the completion of a
phenomenal building
project now we're in second samuel
chapter 7 let's go directly to verse 12.
when your days are fulfilled and you
rest with your fathers
i will set up your seed after you who
will come from your body
and i will establish his kingdom
he shall build a house for my name and i
will establish the throne of his kingdom
forever
now catch that that's very important he
shall build a house
for my name now the lord is giving
an amazing blessing an amazing promise
to david and he's saying your son
is going to raise up for me a house now
we know that david is not going to be
the one
that builds the temple but it's going to
be his
son well here's the thing even though
solomon is going to build it david's
going to get so much of it
pre-prepared he's going to get building
materials he's going to get
whether it's things like nails or
whether it's things like wood and timber
or certain types of stone
even gold and other materials that would
be of great
value he's going to start collecting
that and there's going to come a time
when his son is going to assemble it all
put it together and so really for a
gigantic
project like that when it does come time
to build
then you're going to need a world-class
general contractor
and guess who the man for the job was it
was solomon
himself after all if you want to build
the most
magnificent structure that the world has
ever seen
you probably should have the best
building contractor that the world has
ever seen and nobody could build
like solomon with all of that wisdom all
of that genius
being implemented into the design
and structure of the temple and as we
know it came out to be
extremely well built and it was
something that was an attraction for the
whole world it became a world
wide place that you would want to go
just to see it
and of course to hear solomon talk and
dispense his wisdom and his daily
discourses
my friends what a blessing but let's go
now to an amazing scripture
in ii chronicles chapter 8 and we're
going to see something very very
interesting
second chronicles chapter 8
praise the lord glory to god i've always
found this to be a beautiful verse
let's go to verse 16. now
all the work of solomon was well
ordered from the day of the foundation
of the house of the lord until
it was finished so it was extremely
well ordered what is order it is the
proper
arrangement of things and it's not only
putting
things in their proper place whether
it's the you know the clean clothes go
here
the dirty clothes go here the spoons go
here the forks
the forks and knives go over here in the
various places but my friends is also
really things that you need to have in
order or a stepping method
towards going towards your miracle
and when you have order then and god
sees that
when you when you are creating that
order and structuring that order
that actually is an expression of faith
sometimes people want to skip from a to
z they want to go straight to a miracle
and there are times when god can do that
uh especially when there's time limits
in other words
uh you know if you're about to die or
maybe somebody did die or
you know the lord wants to raise them up
or something like that sometimes god
will go
straight to the end point because that's
what's needed
but when you're just more consistent
with your daily life and you're moving
forward and forward
then god also expects us to abide by his
instructions which are the just
shall live by faith so by faith we're
going to develop some plans
we're going to develop some steps that
we can keep taking and keep moving
forward
so that god's miracle blessing can come
upon that
because he's honoring the steps that
we're taking which are what
an expression of our faith praise god
so in the king james version
it says that all the work of solomon
was prepared from the day of the
foundation of the house of the lord
new king james version says it was well
ordered
so they both work together it's both
contained within the original
hebrew word it's prepared it's stuff
that you do
in order to set it all up for what
you're believing god to eventually
manifest praise god
it's prepared it's well ordered
and it begins with if it's a house for
example it begins with the foundation
and if you're going to have a foundation
and you're going to have to lay the
plumbing and you're going to maybe you
want to
you know a basement or something like
that really
as you start getting into all of your
thoughts concerning this let's talk
about a house for example
you're going to realize hey i need a
blueprint
now if you want to go on the internet
and purchase one from all of these
blueprint companies you know you have
house.com or whatever it might be you
know you can get a blueprint set
for eight hundred dollars and that's all
the blueprints needed for your
contractor and for your builders and
stuff like that and of course a copy for
you
but if you're if you're wanting to do
something that's more of a custom design
well you can also get a blueprint and
then have it modified pay an architect
to modify it
or you can create something completely
on your own where you sit down
with an architect with you know maybe
some samples or examples of what you
would like to see implemented into a
plan
and from a blank sheet you just say hey
let's start creating
but here's the thing if you're wanting
really to build your own structure
you're wanting to build your own
house such as the house of the lord
which solomon has been charged with
then you're going to need some
blueprints you're going to need some
blueprints can you imagine
can you imagine a person saying praise
god i'm going to build a house
now the first thing god's going to think
in his mind
is where are your blueprints and some
people think well
yeah i'm just going to do it it's just
somehow going to happen god's going to
give me the money
but you know even if you have the money
you know
and you're going to build a house
eventually you're going to have to tell
the builders
what it is you want to build you can't
just say well throw something up
they don't know do you do you want you
know french country do you want
like an americana design or do you want
you know country living design or
you know what is it you want they have
no idea so you're going to have to be
able to pull out bloop
blueprints but here's the thing before
the house is ever built before the
foundation
even and we're talking the basics even
before you lay a foundation
you're going to have to have a blueprint
for that because as soon as you pour
that foundation something's going to be
stacked on top of it that's the
structure of the house itself
so the whole thing the end result has to
be planned out
before you even start well let's just do
the foundation
pastor steve and then we'll figure out
later what to put on it no
you need to know the final thing going
into that house before you even pour the
foundation it's all got to be planned
out
all of it before you start not sure you
can make some
small changes later if you want to
change out the fossils
the faucets and go with the moen instead
of a kohler or something like that that
that's
that's easy that's no big deal right
there you know you want to
paint the walls a different color than
what you had planned that that's
that's not structural stuff but these
other things that are structural
they have to all be pre-planned because
you can't change them later if you have
a load-bearing wall
you can't change that later you have to
have it all planned my friends
glory to god and that's what the lord
wants to do in your life he wants to
help you
like solomon where you have everything
pre-planned
now all the work of solomon was well
ordered
from the day of the foundation i mean
from day one
they were on it everything was planned
out this is where it's going this is how
wide
this is how long this is the depth that
we're going to make the
the foundation stones everything was
planned to
the detail and if you will do that
concerning
the miracle that you want god to do in
your life
you'll find out that you start removing
a lot of the mystery of miracles
you find out that hey there's a part for
me to break through
not just god the breakthrough yes it's
going to take god that any miracle
it's never going to happen without god
we understand that but so often we just
we're trusting on god to do the whole
thing but those four men
got up on the roof and they broke
through
first and you must break through you you
must get moving you must do what you can
and all of that movement in an orderly
fashion
you know whether it's solomon getting an
extensive
blueprint i mean it's not unusual when
you get into
higher end commercial buildings that you
know let's say the building's going to
cost 70 million dollars
it's not unusual at all that just the
blueprints alone could cost seven
hundred thousand dollars
now if you're wanting to build a nice
house let's say a custom home or
something like that
maybe you're looking at blueprints that
are ten thousand dollars if there's
something that's already pre-planned you
can grab it off the internet
maybe a thousand dollars or eight
hundred dollars but regardless if it's
that
or the glorious temple with all of its
complexity
that solomon built you're gonna need
those blueprints
and you're gonna have to start with that
or if it's just as simple as
grabbing a hammer who's going to get the
ladder hey i've got some ropes
now let's get it all together let's get
him down there to where jesus is
at and uh let's get this going and we
yeah there's the crowd no no problem got
the ladder
we're not stopping we are not stopping
the
the finish line when we cross the finish
line it's his healing
after he's healed now he can he's up on
his own he can go he's healed he can
walk can go get a job
okay we're not going to carry him
forever
[Laughter]
praise god but until we cross the finish
line we're going to do all we can
and we're going to have structure and
order to it
anytime god shows up on the scene he
begins to remove
chaos and confusion god begins to
instill order
you see it in genesis chapter one verses
one and two
well there was darkness and there was
chaos and there was you know every
everything was just uh uh undeveloped
and out of order and things like that
god starts creating order and also in
the church we know that the holy spirit
anointed the apostle paul to say let all
things be done
decently decently and in order now
again let all things we we want the holy
spirit to move
and we want the word to be ministered
but even in areas where there can be the
moving of the spirit
and the power of god is falling and
things like that we still want that to
be done
in order as well praise god that all
things be done decently
and in order and when we have this order
in our lives
then it will accelerate us on the path
of crossing the finish line where we
actually
have the miracle where the temple is
built
and yes it got built it took a while
it took years to build it seven years if
i'm correct that's a long time
day and night seven years but my friends
they got it done
and all of that planning now somebody
could say it's a miracle
in some ways it was sure but still
we cannot overrule the fact that there
is a lot of planning
there is strategic setting down and
thinking
what will the next step be what is the
best sequential
order to walk this out and if you'll do
that
concerning what it is that you're
wanting god to do in your life
concerning that
area of a miracle then you'll see that
god will honor
your faith now it's an amazing statement
jesus saw their faith
can he look at your life today
concerning that thing that you're
believing him to do
in your life that thing that's so
special that you want him to do
can he look at your life and see faith
perhaps you have a son or daughter
that's gone off into sin and uh they're
not serving god
anymore well uh pastor stephen i'm just
praying
well along with your praying have you
anticipated their return
uh have you made room for them at the
table as we could say is there
that they're sitting for them there at
the table you know
the the the prodigal son he left but the
father
was standing out there looking every day
looking he's because why he knows that
son's going to come over that hill
returning and repenting and so he's
ready yeah
it's not like he caught him off guard
well oh son we thought you were gone
forever
he knew he knew that he was a covenant
man
and he knew that god's hand was still
upon his son even though the son was in
rebellion
and out living in sin he knew that
because of his prayers
that boy is coming back one day and he's
out there looking
every day he's out there looking down
that road because he knows he's going to
come
so you have to you have to be ready to
throw the party
praise god well we'll figure out the
party when he shows up
no go ahead and get the party figured
out now hallelujah why because he's
coming
if you really believe he's coming then
you make preparation
if you really believe jesus is anointed
with miracle healing power
let's get him up on the roof and let's
lower him down through the roof we're
not just having a workout we're not just
trying to lower this guy down
maybe we feel like we need a back
workout today let's lower him down on
some ropes no
no we're doing this because he's going
to get healed
he's going to get healed and so we're
gathering ropes we're gathering hammers
and
not because we don't have anything else
to do in life no no
we're doing this because we're going to
build the temple
we're going to get this person healed
and we're going to see the glory of god
manifest in our lives
and when you do things like that jesus
smiles
and he says i can see their faith i can
see their faith
now i want to encourage you today to
continue to break
through do what you can and walk it out
step by step don't try to
jump from step c to like r or q
or something like that keep going
forward keep going forward
keep going forward praise the lord and
you're going to get there
but all you have to do is take that next
step that's all you have to do you have
to
you have to accomplish that next goal
and then when you get there and god's
grace has helped you to arrive at that
place
then you go on to the next step after
that
the anointing is flowing and the mystery
of miracles is being removed now there
will always be an element
of mystery with miracles because god's
involved in it we'll never understand
everything about god his beauty
signs wonders miracles they are
supernatural
but the mechanics the mystery of the
mechanics how that works
we don't want that to be a mystery
praise god we'll let god in his
mysterious ways
remain a mystery but when it comes to us
doing our part
let's not be in the dark on that let's
walk in the light
let's break through let us let us break
through and god when he needs to break
through
you know he's going to praise the lord
glory to god praise the lord you know
when the lord broke through for david
and his army it's not like david and his
guys were sitting around having a picnic
no they're ready to go and so in other
words they're moving
they're demonstrating faith and when god
saw that boom god went and broke through
just like a
uh like a that's like a dam broke and
the water rushed out
and overwhelmed the enemy and it's done
david
i believe that if you'll do this you'll
have those moments too where you see
god's power rush into your life and you
just flat out fall on your face and say
my goodness i've never seen god move
like this in my life and others will say
oh it's a miracle
oh it's just a miracle and yes it is a
miracle
but it didn't just happen automatically
it didn't happen because you're having a
picnic
it happened because you're trying to
cooperate with god
and you're trying to walk this out to
the best of your understanding of what
god
expects you to do and you giving your
all
you giving your best praise the lord
i see you crossing the finish line and
smiling
praise the lord glory to god all right
praise god let's pray father bless your
people i thank you for your miracle
power
operating in their lives i think i thank
you that they're going to receive
that touch from the lord whether it's a
healing touch or a deliverance touch
or whatever it might be that they need
you're going to move in their life and i
see that the wisdom of solomon
beginning to flow in their life through
well
ordered plans concerning the that
miracle they desire
well ordered plans thank you father god
show them the next step to take and let
them
be busy about it we give you all of the
praise in jesus name
amen and amen
praise god somebody's thinking pastor
steve and i need to get a ladder yep
whatever it might be
if you have to get up on the roof get
your miracle whatever it might be
praise the lord now if you're also
watching today's program
and you don't know christ as your lord
and savior it's time for you to break
through into salvation today
god's not going to force you to get
saved god's not going to reach out and
grab you
and say i demand that you take this no
he gives you the choice
of where you want to spend eternity in
heaven with him or
in hell and i you already know which one
is the good option
so if you have not made the the decision
to receive christ
then pray this prayer with an open heart
pray it right now say lord jesus
i believe you died on the cross for me
and that you rose on the third day and
that you made atonement for my sins
jesus i give my heart to you now
wash all my sins away and write
my name in your book of life
jesus i receive you into my heart as my
lord and savior
thank you for saving me right now in
your name i pray
amen and amen and jesus has honored your
faith
he has saved you by grace through faith
welcome to
the family of god praise the lord let's
all take holy communion together
grab some unleavened bread and grab
some grape juice and let's pray
father we bless the bread
and the juice we consecrate it
we set it apart as holy and as we
receive it we thank you that we are
receiving
the body and the blood of jesus our
savior thank you o god
father thank you for the body of jesus
we thank you that by his stripes we are
healed for those that need physical
healing
receive as you receive now the body the
flesh of jesus christ receive it by
faith
in jesus name amen let's protect
together
and i want you to do something right now
in verse 16
of second chronicles chapter eight it
says now all the work of solomon was
well ordered
i want you to put your name there in the
place of solomon
now all the work of john or mark
or susie or sarah or whoever it might be
now all the work and personalize that
was well
ordered now all the work of put your
name in there was
well ordered god's delivering somebody
from a confusion
chaos spirit glory to god
hallelujah amen see
we have the kingly anointing romans
chapter 5 verse
17. it in verse 21 it talks about how
we rule and reign in life with christ as
kings
but you can't you can't act as a king if
you're all confused
and solomon had everything well ordered
and i see that anointing
of the spirit that was upon solomon
touching you your mind the way you think
the way you operate the way you plan so
that everything is well ordered
praise god father we thank you for the
blood of jesus
as we receive it we ask that you would
wash all of our sins away
even sins of maybe we could call them
sins of disorder
sins of horrible planning or worse worse
than that no planning at all
and somehow expecting that you're going
to honor that
father we do thank you that there is in
some ways the
the go with the flow of your spirit and
we're always
open to that but in other areas father
particularly in areas of accomplishing
certain tasks
there must be planning and organization
so we thank you for an anointing to be
excellent in that area let a spirit of
excellence be upon your people now
as we receive the blood of jesus in his
name we pray
amen let's protect together
praise god praise the lord
hallelujah now all the work of
you put your name there all your work is
well
ordered from the beginning
to the conclusion praise the lord and i
see a glorious conclusion
thank you father father bless your
people let them run with this revelation
we give you all the praise thank you oh
god that your word is a
lamp into our feet and a light unto our
path
in jesus name amen and amen
thanks for watching i look forward to
seeing you back next time