Are You Sitting on Your Mat?
Jesus forgave this man's sins, as we saw yesterday. And then in verse 24, he says to him, “I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home.” And verse 25 says “Immediately he stood up in front of them, took what he had been lying on, and went home praising God.”
Stop Living a Defeated Life!
I think this is a picture of how often we receive God's forgiveness, and yet we still live lives of defeat. He's offered us freedom. He's offered us his grace. He's offered us power and victory. But so often we just settle into the forgiveness of our sins and then keep lying around in our old lives of sin and shame.
I get the sense that Jesus is saying to you, “Get up, take your mat, and get out of here!” Get out of this place of wallowing. Get out of this place of feeling defeated and go and praise God. Take what you were lying on and go and praise God.
Go show people - this was my old life, I used to live a life of defeat and then Christ came into my life! And he not only forgave me, but he empowered me over my old life. And so this mat is my old life.
Go On Your Way Praising
Do you see the symbolism here? And I wonder if you need to hear this today, friends. I wonder if the time has come for you to stop lying on your mat - knowing you're forgiven, but still just lying on your mat spiritually and living a life of defeat.
I wonder if you need to stop speaking words of defeat into your own heart and your own mind and start saying, “He has lifted me up and he sent me on my way to praise God!” There's no need to be because Christ is greater.
Let's stand up in faith and say, “I am done with this, I'm done with this. And I am now praising God for the freedom I have.”
Don't sit on your mat when you could be standing and praising God, friends! He's given you freedom from your old life. He has given you power.
Stand up and walk in faith and see how he leads you in freedom as you go.
