3. The roof above – if you are blocked all round, the next place to look is above. However, the roof above can be brass, concrete or iron. Whatever it is should not debar you from entering God’s presence and taking delivery of your miracle. One of the curses that follow disobedience as enumerated in Deut. 28:15-68 is that the heaven will become brass. What does it mean? To live under closed heavens is the greatest barrier anybody can have. The amalgamation of forces in the heavenlies can constitute a brassy roof in order to ensure that your prayer does not fly. That is why we must strive to be complete in obedience and place enough value on our relationship with God so that heaven will come to our assistance. The answer to Daniel’s prayer was blocked in the roof above, that is, in the heavenlies by the prince of Persia.
4. Physical challenge – the man was not only debarred by the crowd, ‘no room’, and the roof above, he was suffering from a serious sickness called palsy or paralysis, he was incapacitated. At times, what block people from their blessings is the physical condition in which they find themselves.
5. Stretcher – If the stretcher were not available, moving the man would have been difficult.
6. Four people to carry the stretcher – ask yourself the question – would you have been one of the people that will volunteer to carry a paralyzed man? We need people who know how to stretch, people who can go out of their comfort zone to do the right thing. When was the last time you allowed God to use you as an angel in someone’s life? Many people today have the wrong theology of getting, even when giving, their motive is to get, ”what is in it for me?” This is a criminal theology. People no longer want to go out of their way to be a blessing. Acts 10:38 says “How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with Holy Ghost and with power; who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him”. Anointing is for impact. The best way to invest in this life is to invest it in things that have eternal value; you must invest in things that will outlive you. Be a blessing to others. The paralyzed man was incapacitated, handicapped challenged and blocked comprehensively; everything has conspired against his miracle. He needed four men to take him to the presence of Jesus. Can we still find men who will go out of their way to bless lives today? Do you know the joy of service? The world is in dire need of people who will point others to Christ. The man was surrounded with the right people. In what way are you going out to ensure that God’s kingdom is enhanced? How many people have you witnessed to this year? What makes you relevant to heaven? When was the last time you made heaven happy? The shortest way to make heaven happy is to touch lives. These four men were angels in human form; they defied all odds; they went out of their way to ensure that the man’s miracle happened. They removed the roof in order to gain access to the one who can fix it and restore health to the paralyzed man. Take note that there were some financial implications to their moves but they were undaunted in their resolve. They went out of their way because of the radical faith they have in Jesus.
7. Sin – Vs. 5 – Jesus saw their faith and addressed the greatest spiritual blockade there is. Jesus knows how to deal with the foundation. Sin is the greatest obstacle to miracles; it is the greatest blockade ever. Sin is dangerous; you must kill it before it stops you. You must understand that evil is never good, evil has the limitless capacity to do wrong and it will ultimately destroy itself. Any evil you allow to thrive will eventually contaminate and consume. Deal with sin, uproot it, destroy it.
TO BE CONTINUED.