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Advent HOPE Sabbath School

Calvin Kim

Melody Mason

Dave Steward

Unleashing the Power of the Holy Spirit

Are you enjoying the blessings of Sabbath rest?

Well, I wasn't thinking of rest and relaxation, but revival and reformation.

Amen is my prayer that everyone here is experiencing revival and reformation in their life.

Now is not the time to go 1 step forward and 2 steps backward.

We've got to, as President Ted Wilson so aptly put it, we've got to move forward.

As you see in your bulletin today, there will be 3 presenters, and So without further ado, I want to get started right into our message.

I want to share a quote right before we begin.

In Evangelism, page 341, it says, Through much prayer you must labor for souls, for this is the only method by which you can reach hearts.

It doesn't say this is the greatest method or the best method.

And so at this time if you will bow your heads with me and I will kneel and we'll ask for the Holy Spirit.

Dear Heavenly Father, Lord, we come to you asking for your Holy Spirit, Lord.

We come to you in prayer, Lord, because this is the only method by which you can reach hearts.

And I just pray that we would just be channels for your Holy Spirit to flow through, Lord.

Take the words, and may each person hear the exact intended message that you would have them hear today.

We've got a topic that Dave and Melody and I are passionate about, and we want to share that.

And so to lead into this topic, I want you to turn with me to the book of Mark.

Now this story is told in Matthew, Mark, and Luke, but I like Mark's account.

While Mark is the shortest of the gospels, this book is packed with power.

Mark's style is terse, it's incisive, it's vivid, it's picturesque.

And often he includes significant details that the other gospel writers don't include.

While Matthew presents Jesus as a teacher, Mark presents Jesus as a man of action.

There's a characteristic word that Mark uses often.

If you just turn with me to Mark chapter 1 verse 10, it says, and straightway coming up out of the water.

Verse 20, and straightway he called them.

Verse 21, and they went into Capernaum and straightway.

I would just imagine if Mark was here today and I said, Mark, when are you registering for GYC?

Or Mark, When do you want to go pass out glow tracks?

And if you notice, in Matthew and in Luke, it's a few chapters before it starts talking about Jesus' miracles that He does.

In Mark, you'll notice within the first chapter, bam, bam, bam.

He wants to show Jesus and his divine power.

And so if you'll turn with me straightway to Mark chapter 2, verse 1.

And it's a story that many of you are familiar with, the story of the paralytic lowered through the roof.

And it says, if you'll follow with me, Mark chapter 2 verse 1, and again, he entered into Capernaum after some days.

Okay, he was just in Capernaum a few days ago.

Again, and why does Mark give us this detail?

Aren't there other towns and cities that Jesus hasn't been to?

Aren't there plenty of other places that Jesus could go to?

Capernaum is located on a highway with Damascus in the north, Jerusalem in the south, with the Mediterranean Sea to the west, and Egypt to the southwest.

People from many countries coming and passing through here, they would tarry and rest here in this town.

This area, This center was adapted well for Christ to do His work.

People could come, hear of His lessons, take it back to their countries, back into their homes, and thus investigation of the prophecies would be excited.

And people would be directed to the work of the Savior and His mission.

And straightway, many were gathered together, insomuch there was no room to receive them.

No, not so much as about the door and he preached the word unto them." I love this.

None of the stuff that's going on with theatrics.

I think with just these 2 verses, you could probably do a whole sermon on how to grow a biblical church.

Jesus is in the house and he preaches the word and it's packed.

Desire of Ages tells us this was Peter's house.

Going right down to verse 3, and they come unto him bringing 1 sick of the palsy, which was born of 4.

I want to just share something that Desire of Ages shares.

This paralytic had lost all hope of recovery.

His disease was the result of a life of sin.

And his sufferings were embittered by remorse.

In Desire of Ages, it says, Yet it was not physical restoration he desired so much as relief from the burden of sin.

If he could see Jesus and receive the assurance of forgiveness and peace with heaven, he would be content to live or die according to God's will.

Verse 4, and when they could not come nigh unto him for the press, they uncovered the roof where he was, and when they had broken it up, they let down the bed wherein the sick of the palsy lay.

Verse 5, when Jesus saw their faith, he said unto the sick of the palsy, son, thy sins be forgiven thee.

I wanna submit that this paralytic, even before he was healed, that he was blessed.

Desire of Ages says that they encouraged him to believe that he too might be cured.

When the friends who reported these things encouraged him, they encouraged him.

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Unleashing the Power of the Holy Spirit

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