The World | Called to Serve

Devotional

Day 1: Your Faith Can Change Someone Else's Life

We often think of faith as a private matter between ourselves and God, but the story of the paralyzed man shows us something different. It was the faith of the four friends that Jesus noticed, leading to both physical healing and spiritual forgiveness. Your allegiance to Jesus, your prayers, and your service have the potential to tangibly alter the trajectory of those around you. When you choose to leverage your life for the sake of others, you become a vessel for God's transformative power. Living on mission is the baseline for every believer who wants to become who they were created to be. [14:51]

And when he saw their faith, he said, “Friend, your sins are forgiven you.” (Luke 5:20 ESV)

Reflection: Who is one person in your life currently facing a "paralyzing" situation, and how can you specifically exercise your faith on their behalf this week?

Day 2: Noticing the Needs That Have Become Normal

It is easy to become "nose blind" to the brokenness in our own neighborhoods and social circles. We see struggling marriages, addiction, or people living without hope, and eventually, we stop noticing because it feels like a normal part of life. These needs are not just "the way things are," but invitations for us to step in with the love of Christ. When we allow the Holy Spirit to open our eyes, we begin to see people as Jesus sees them rather than looking straight ahead. Breaking through this numbness is the first step toward making a difference. [20:03]

And behold, some men were bringing on a bed a man who was paralyzed, and they were seeking to bring him in and lay him before Jesus, but finding no way to bring him in because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and lowered him with his companion through the tiles into the midst before Jesus. (Luke 5:18-19 ESV)

Reflection: Think about your daily routine; what is one area of brokenness you have started to ignore, and how might God be asking you to look at it with fresh eyes today?

Day 3: Trusting God to Change What Seems Unchangeable

Many of us hesitate to act because we have seen people promise to change and then fail, or we have failed to change ourselves. This cynicism can lead us to believe that needs are just permanent fixtures of life that cannot be helped. However, the friends of the paralyzed man acted on the reckless hope that Jesus could do what seemed impossible. Even if we aren't certain of the outcome, the possibility of Jesus changing everything makes the effort worth it. Faith requires us to move past our past disappointments and trust in the authority of the Son of Man. [22:47]

“But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—he said to the man who was paralyzed—“I say to you, rise, pick up your bed and go home.” (Luke 5:24 ESV)

Reflection: Is there a situation you’ve stopped praying for because it feels like nothing will ever change? What would it look like to bring that "mat" to Jesus one more time?

Day 4: God Uses Ordinary People to Reach the One

We often imagine that God only uses "special" people with extraordinary gifts or famous platforms to accomplish His work. We wait for a world-renowned speaker to arrive, yet God’s primary plan is for millions of ordinary believers to each reach just one person. The men who lowered their friend through the roof weren't religious experts; they were just normal people making a bold, perhaps even reckless, decision. You do not need a special title or a perfect set of circumstances to be used by God. Your willingness to be a faithful friend to the hurting is exactly what the Kingdom requires. [23:56]

On one of those days, as he was teaching, Pharisees and teachers of the law were sitting there, who had come from every village of Galilee and Judea and from Jerusalem. And the power of the Lord was with him to heal. (Luke 5:17 ESV)

Reflection: In what area of your life do you feel "unqualified" to serve others, and how might God want to use your "normalcy" to demonstrate His power there?

Day 5: Seeing Jesus for Who He Truly Is

If we see Jesus only as a good moral teacher or a source of advice, we will lack the motivation to truly serve others. Jesus is not just a teacher; He is the Lord who has the authority to forgive sins and heal the brokenhearted. When we see Him clearly, we realize that He is the only one who can meet the deepest needs of the world. Falling in love with who He is naturally compels us to want others to see Him too. As we remember His sacrifice, our hearts are molded to become more like His, filled with compassion for the lost. [27:23]

And amazement seized them all, and they glorified God and were filled with awe, saying, “We have seen extraordinary things today.” (Luke 5:26 ESV)

Reflection: When you look at Jesus, do you see a distant teacher or the Lord who changes everything? How does your answer change the way you interact with your neighbors this week?

Sermon Summary

Luke 5:17–26 is read and carefully unpacked around the story of four friends who lower a paralyzed man through a roof so he can meet Jesus. A personal longboarding story provides a vivid, self-deprecating illustration of impulsive courage and ordinary risk-taking, drawing a parallel between reckless faith and sacrificial action for another’s good. The central claim is clear and urgent: ordinary people’s faith, when acted on, can alter another person’s spiritual trajectory. The four friends do not wait for ideal conditions, official permission, or celebrity intervention; they simply notice a need, refuse to normalize suffering, and do whatever it takes to get their friend before Jesus.

Three obstacles explain why most Christians don’t leverage their faith this way: nose‑blindness to persistent needs, pessimism born from repeated failures, and a deficient vision of who Jesus is. When suffering becomes background noise, compassion atrophies; when change seems unlikely, inertia wins; and when Jesus is reduced to moral advice rather than recognized as Lord, motivation to risk everything for others evaporates. The sermon presses a corrective: seeing Jesus truly — as the one with authority to forgive and heal — reorients vision, stirs courage, and compels practical action.

Finally, the congregation is led toward a tangible practice: communion as a bodily reminder of Christ’s identity and work. The bread and cup are presented not as mere ritual but as a formative act that sharpens sight and renews commitment to leverage gifts, time, and resources for the sake of others. The closing insistence: when ordinary people believe in Jesus’s power and act, lives change — and the small, messy, risky choices of everyday believers are the engine of kingdom advance.

Key Takeaways

1. Faith can change someone else's life Ordinary allegiance to Jesus, expressed in prayer and risky service, can open doors for another soul to meet God. The four friends modeled faith that mobilizes resources and reputation for another’s sake; their actions show that faith is relational and contagious. Christians should measure spiritual effectiveness not by spectacle but by willingness to inconvenience themselves for someone else’s healing and reconciliation. [13:27]
2. Avoid becoming nose‑blind to need Repeated exposure to suffering dulls sensitivity and permits injustice to become background noise rather than a summons. To notice again requires intentional practices that relearn lament, attention, and proximity to people who hurt. A sharpened gaze produces different choices — small, sustained acts of accompaniment rather than intermittent charity. [17:03]
3. Assume change is still possible Pessimism about recurrence or relapse often silences attempts to help, but faith accepts that change can be gradual and non‑linear. Trying despite uncertain outcomes honors God’s pattern of working through patient, repeated love rather than instant fixes. This mindset frees ordinary people to persist in invitation, presence, and long obedience. [21:15]
4. See Jesus as Lord who changes everything Reducing Jesus to moral wisdom robs followers of the audacity to act; recognizing him as the one with authority to forgive and heal transforms motivation and method. Worship, prayer, and sacramental remembrance recalibrate vision so believers take risks on behalf of others. When Jesus is seen clearly, service becomes the natural outflow of affection and conviction. [24:19]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[00:16] - Life Groups & Opening Announcements
[01:19] - Reading: Luke 5:17–26
[02:36] - Reaction and Prayer
[04:28] - Longboard Story: Risk Illustrated
[07:05] - The Hill Moment: Reckless Courage
[10:28] - Comparing the Story to Scripture
[13:27] - Whose Faith? The Friends' Faith
[14:51] - Faith That Changes Lives
[17:03] - Why People Ignore Need
[21:15] - We Wait for Special People
[24:19] - Seeing Who Jesus Really Is
[27:51] - Why Service Matters
[28:28] - Communion Explained
[30:18] - Proclaiming the Death of Christ

Sermon Clips

``And I came up with an idea. I realized it was a problem because I was missing attendance sheets, and it was affecting my grades. I'm like, alright. I gotta start getting to class on time. So here's what I came up with. I realized it takes me too long to walk to class. So if I can get to class faster, then I'll be there on time. I didn't think I should go to bed earlier. I didn't think I should manage my time better. I didn't think anything like that. I thought, I should just get to class faster. So you know what I did? Because I was also really good at making financial decisions, I spent $200 on a longboard that I could ride to class, and I could get there faster. You know what a longboard is, anybody? It's a skateboard, but it's longer. Yeah. That's what a longboard is. [00:04:11] (43 seconds) #Do you want one hashtag per blank-line paragraph in the quoted text (treating each paragraph as a separate quote), or should I treat the whole block as a single quote?

And it worked. This is the crazy thing. I stopped being late for class unless it was raining. If the sun was out, if it was good weather, I was late to or I was on time to class every single time. It fixed my problem. But the thing is, I've never been the type of person to leave well enough alone. So I decided that I wanted to be good at longboarding. So I started riding it around campus, and I thought I was so good. I went to college in Indiana. Longboarders are designed to go down hills, to go fast down hills. I don't know if you've seen Indiana, but there's not one hill in the entire state of Indiana. So I thought I was so good. I was carving around campus. You know, I could fishtail. I could hang tent on the nose. I was riding by saying, what's up, ladies? How are doing? You know? Just like thought I was the best. [00:04:55] (42 seconds)

Ask a question about this sermon

Chatbot

What enables one believer to change another's life?

What prevents Christians from acting on observed needs?

How quickly could evangelism reach the entire world?

The World | Called to Serve | CJ Ward