Team Faith...Yeah!

I really hope this post goes well...a little different to my regular variety...but this is definitely a topic that I feel has great significance.

There is very little that we can realistically do alone...whether it be from playing sport, to our workplace and most of praising the Lord...we are called to do these things as a group. We even see Jesus make mention of this in Matthew 18:20 where he says:

For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them.

We see the significance of coming together as a team and working towards the common goal. But one area I wanted to highlight was that of faith.

(an example of a great team!)

In Mark 2:1-12 we read the story of where Jesus heals the paralytic man. Actually He doesnt just heal the man, but also forgive him of his sins! In this piece of scripture we see how the four men have brought their friend to the house where Jesus is healing the sick, but the house is overcrowded to the point they cannot even get close to an entrance. But despite what these men could see, they didnt give up and climbed up on to the roof, broke through the roof and lowered the paralyzed man down into the room where Jesus was preaching. Through their actions and most of all their display of faith Jesus responded as we read in verse 5

When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, "Son, your sins are forgiven."

This was an example of team faith. On his own, the paralyzed man could not even imagined getting within 10 feet of the house, but when his friends acted as part of a team...they got the man before Jesus! This is a determined faith! When we work as part of a team, we rise to another level of faith! But we must also learn to work as part of a team. There are times in life where our individual faith is not enough to see the breakthroughs we are after, but what we need is the power of team! Sometimes in life we can lose focus of what is important, the priorities become unclear. We must learn to recognise what is really important...people!

But the good news is that when we begin to act out team faith, great things will happen. Three big results that come from team faith include:

Gets Jesus Attention
Sometimes we feel there are areas in our life that lack Jesus attention. Through this story we see how a man's circumstances were turned around through the determination of four men. This is the perfect example of team faith getting Jesus attention!

Result In Miracles
We are well aware that without his friends, this man wouldnt have been healed on this day. He required his friends to come with him in order to bring about the miracle. Today we can draw parallels from this in that there are those among us that are paralyzed on the inside, whether it be through an addiction, inability to commit things to God, feelings of anger and resentment to those around us. But whatever the circumstance, team faith has the ability to pull you out of these situations, these states of paralysis and into God. Team faith results in breakthroughs in those areas where we feel we have hit a wall!

Receive Jesus' Commendations
As mentioned earlier, when Jesus saw the faith of these men, bringing their friend before him through the roof, he didnt just heal the man but He also forgave him of his sins! If we also act in this way, Jesus will commend us and reward our works.

We also see in Luke 10 where Jesus sends out appointed seventy-two in pair to spread the good word. He didnt send them out alone, but as a team again highlighting the strength that comes from teams!

Therefore we need to fully appreciate the power that comes from team faith. We are called to be part of team, just as it says in 1 Corithians 12:27

Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.

We are not separate entities, but instead together we form the body of Christ. When we come to a point in life where we are struggling and we feel that God's attention is away from us, it is in times like this that we need to draw on those around us. This may be in the form of our connect groups, or even just a group of friends at church. But we must realise the power that comes from group faith!

We need to desire this new level of faith!