Tear The Roof Off! What's Keeping You From Your Breakthrough?

How bad do you want a change in your life?  I am convinced that when a person really desires something that person will go after it with all of his or her heart and do whatever he or she has to do to get it.  There is a story in the Bible of some men who earnestly desired to get into the presence of Jesus because one of them needed healing.  One of the men was paralyzed and lying on a mat and he was being carried by four other men.  Jesus had returned to Capernaum and the word had spread throughout town that Jesus was in town.  We're told in Mark 2:1-5 that Jesus was in a house teaching during this visit to Capernaum and that there were so many people who had gathered to see and hear Jesus that there was no room left.  Not only was there no room left in the house, but there was no room outside of the house around the door.  So, it was a standing room only situation.  Not only was it standing room only, but there was no way for anyone else to squeeze into the house via the door.  Then comes a man paralyzed and lying on a mat being carried by four men earnestly and desperately seeking to get into the presence of Jesus, the embodiment of healing.  The four men tried to carry their paralyzed friend through the door, but there was no way to get in.  When they realized that they could not get to Jesus through the door, they sought to go through the roof.  When they reached the roof they dug through the roof, tearing it to pieces in a certain area and lowered their paralyzed friend through the opening that they had created in the roof right in front of Jesus.  When Jesus saw what they had done he commended the man on his faith and blessed him further by forgiving him of his sins. 

Now you may be wondering and asking why these men would go through so much just to get into the presence of Jesus.  To understand why they did what they did you have to understand who Jesus is and what he represents.  Jesus is the son of God, the very embodiment of God's healing nature.  God is Jehovah Rapha, the Lord that heals (Exodus 15:26).  Psalm 107:20 tells us that God "sent forth His word, and healed them." [KJV]  John 1:1-2 and John 1:14 reads as follows:

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. ² He was in the beginning with God." [vv. 1-2, NKJV]  "And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth."  [v. 14, NKJV]

These scriptures speak of Jesus as being the very word of God clothed in flesh as he dwelt among us in the earth.  Therefore, if God sent His word to heal us then Jesus, the son of God sent from God to us is the word of God sent to us to heal us.  Jesus is the very embodiment of God's healing to and for us.  This is why these men went through so much to get into the presence of Jesus.  They had a need and they knew of the one who was able to supply what they needed.  When you need something you do not go to someone who cannot meet your need because it would be a complete waste of your time and energy. You don't go to people who cannot help you when you have a need in a particular area.  Word had gotten around that the master physician, the one who is the source of healing was in town and these men wasted no time positioning themselves to gain access to that healing for the one who was sick on the mat.  Imagine how heavy this man must have been on this mat; quite probably he was dead weight because he was paralyzed and unable to move and shift himself around.  It took four men to carry him and they made their way through the streets and the crowded corners to the crowded house because they had a need.  They not only wanted a change, but needed a change and knew that unless they were able to get to the one who had the power to change their situation, that there was absolutely no hope.  This paralytic man needed a breakthrough and was not willing to let anything or anyone keep him from getting his breakthrough.

This story is but one illustration in the Bible of how when a person wants something bad enough that person won't stop until he or she gets it.  There are many people who say that they need a change.  There are many who are willing to acknowledge that they want a change.  However, there are few who are willing to do what it takes to take the neccessary steps in order for their circumstances to change.  There are many who say that they will wait until their change comes, but I must say that you have to do more than just wait if you are going to receive your change.  This paralytic man needed a change in his life and word had gotten around that the one who was able to manifest his change was in town.  This man had enough faith to have four of his friends carry him to where Jesus was.  But faith alone was not enough, he had to put his faith to work.  The kingdom principle at work here is found in James 2:17 that tells us that faith alone without works is dead.  Faith that have no works to back it up can do nothing.  It is works that gives legs and arms to your faith.  Faith is great, but it must be exercised and activated by works.  Faith is not something you sit on, you walk in it. 

When these men arrived at the house where Jesus was teaching they saw that the place was standing room only and that there was no way for them to get in by normal means.  Can you imagine going through all of that just to get to the place of breakthrough and not be able to even get in?  But these men had determined spirits.  There was a persistence about them that would not allow them to take no for an answer.  They had persistent spirits that would not allow them to give up and go home and say that they will give it a try another day.  No, their change, their breakthrough was in the house and they were not going to let anything stop them from getting it.  So they decided that there had to be another way into the presence of Jesus.  They went up on the roof and dug through the roof, tearing it away piece by piece.  Desperate situations calls for despearate messures.  There are times when you realize that you have nothing to lose, but everything to gain.  I believe that is where these men were.  The paralyzed man knew that his change had come and that if he was going to lay hold of it he was going to have to make a move.  Giving up and going home was not an option for these men.  They had nothing to lose, but everything to gain because the change that they needed was in the house in the manifest presence of Jesus.

Listen, there are times in our lives when we find ourselves in a situation where life has caused us to be paralyzed in different areas of our life.  Life has thrown some curve balls at us and if we're not careful these experiences will cripple us and cause us to be ineffective and defective.  God is our manufacturer and He created us to operate at maximum potential.  Never let anyone tell you what your potential is or is not because they are not your manufacturer.  Your manufacturer is the one who created you (God) and as such He is the one who knows your potential and dictates your potential.  If you are going to walk in your God given potential, thereby operating at your full and maximum potential you are going to have to be connected to the one who embeded that potential in you (God).  If you are going to rise up from your situation and receive your breakthrough, you are going to have to pursue God like your life depends on it because it does.  There are times where if you are going to receive your breakthrough you are going to have to literally tear through that which is keeping you from your God given destiny.  There are times when you have to break into the place of breakthrough to get your breakthrough.  Tear off that which is hindering you from walking in your God given potential.  What is hindering you from walking in the victory that God has already given you?  How bad do you really want the breakthrough?  It's not just going to drop out of the sky and fall in your lap.  You are going to have to walk in Faith and pursue the God of your breakthrough because He is mighty and able to do all things, but fail.  Remember that without faith it is impossible to please God.  It was this man's faith that unlocked his breakthrough.  Jesus stopped teaching when these men broke through the roof of the house to get into his presence because he recognized that which moves the heart of God and that is faith, but not just faith alone, faith with works.  God was indeed pleased to the point where Jesus not only healed the man's body, but pronounced a blessing of forgiveness over his life of the sins that he had committed. 

Remember the next time you need a breakthrough don't be afraid to tear the roof off, so to speak.  Tear through whatever is keeping you from your breakthrough even if it is you.  Some people need to tear through their own junk and limitations they have placed on themselves before they can receive of the Lord.  The roof represents a form of limitation.  The roof of a house is the limit to the height of the house.  If the house wants to expand in an upward direction it will have to literally tear the roof off in order to accomodate that expansion.  When the roof is torn off the limits are taken off.  What limits have you placed on yourself.  There are many who have dreams, but before they can begin to pursue their dreams they ensnare themselves with limitations through the words of their own mouths.  It's not always others who place limitations on us.  Sometimes it is we ourselves who limit ourselves and hinder ourselves.  Those who received of the Lord what they needed to walk in what the Lord had for them are those who walked in faith, those who sought the Lord, and those who would not give up, but were persistent.  Remember, don't just wait until your change comes, but walk in faith and do what it takes to lay hold of when it comes.  What's keeping you from your breakthrough?

   - D. Bailey