Point 2: The paralytic was carried by four of them.
The four men decided to carry the burden of the paralytic which was his inability to walk by becoming his feet to reach Jesus.

Point 3: They [men] could not get him to Jesus.
I believe even as they held the paralytic, they did not let the obstacles stop them from reaching Jesus.  So they came up with a blueprint of getting where they needed to be.

Point 4: They made an opening in the roof above Jesus.
The first step, they took was making an opening in the roof above Jesus. This is so significant because first of all it is not their house. They came probably to Simon and Andrew’s house and started making an opening in the roof for the sake of the paralytic.

Imagine you are in a packed room and there is no space for anyone else to come in.  Now imagine listening to Jesus preaching the Word to you and then suddenly there is a commotion. You believe it to be coming from the roof. (We need to realize roofs were not the same as we now have in cities.) Something else happens!

Point 5: They dug through it.     
You look up and to your amazement see four people digging through the roof, making dust fill the room, and making an opening. To your bafflement you see a paralytic on a stretcher being lowered down. Most of the roof started to crumble down as onlookers looked ahead. Now there is a huge rectangular hole that is visible. Into that hole, we see something come through.

What would your reaction be?
What would be going through your mind as you witness this happening?

Point 6: They lowered the mat the paralyzed man was lying on.
Now after all the work they went through, they lower the paralytic so Jesus can see him and heal him in front of the crowds. That was a bold step they took.

That year while serving as their staff worker, I was having such a bad semester because everything that could possibly go wrong at once seemed to go wrong. I had to move and did not want to bother anyone for help because I thought I would be inconveniencing them and using up their time. I also felt as a staff worker, I should be attending to their needs and not them attending to my needs.

I had gone to IVCF small group every Monday night at 8:30 p.m. without missing it.  One Monday, I missed it and my small group was concerned. They knew I must be overwhelmed with all the moving I needed to do that night. As I was making my multiple trips back from Squirrel Hill to Shadyside, I was so shocked and surprised to see some of the students from the small group one-by-one.  

I did not recall ever telling them where I lived but they were on a mission and they found out. They were hiding to surprise me. They cancelled the small group Bible study  on serving just so 4 of the core leaders in that small group could come help me their staff worker. What makes it so special was that it was almost finals week for them but they did not let that stop them from giving their time and effort.

Once they came, they asked me how they could help but since my apartment looked like it was ransacked and a cyclone whirled everything out of place, I did not know where they could start.  Literally, the bedroom, kitchen, and living room were surrounded by things I needed to pack and knew what an inconvenience it could be for them. So, I told them I really appreciate their help but they should go back to campus while I do it on my own but they were not going to leave until my apartment was clean and I had a way to move all the stuff.  Looking at the stuff, they knew that I needed a lot of boxes to pack the stuff so Sara wanted to go back all the way to campus but we found some in storage.

Jonathan Morton, Sara Witmer (at the time), David Black, and Joshua Steck took all the initiative, cleaned, and packed all my stuff for almost 3 hours that night until 11:30 p.m. even when they had school work for the next day and finals were on the horizon!

When my four friends left, my Chinese roommate who was not a Christian came to me and said, "It was really nice of your friends to help you like that".

He wanted to know how I got to know them. I told him that they were from 'InterVarsity Christian Fellowship' of the Pitt chapter.

His reaction was, "No wonder, they seemed really nice and helpful" My friends had left an imprint of their Christian faith with my Chinese roommate without even speaking a word about the Gospel to him at the time.

The next day Josh asked his brother if he could bring his truck, even though he lived outside of Pittsburgh. This was so Josh and David could help me move all my stuff to Squirrel Hill, when his brother came.

Josh even sacrificed his class that day because he knew I had to be at work and they took two trips to help me move and then unload the stuff in Squirrel Hill. In all my life, I had not friends like that who showed so much care. They made a Mission Impossible situation possible.

After 15 years, I am still very touched for what they did for me with the help of Becky McMullen (at the time) who helped them figure out where I lived.

Sometimes what our friends do for us can be such a big deal for us depending on our need. I had a terrible need at the time and they met it.

What is so special is that I did not ask for their help and still they helped me. They basically had to go through what the paralytic's friends had to go through. Instead of the room being packed with people gathered there, my rooms were packed with stuff all over to be cleaned and packed.

I am so thankful and grateful to them even 15 years later. That is how much they made an impact.

You can be a friend like that to someone. It does not have to be with just moving but any area they need help. When you do that you will make a special impact in their life that will have ripple effects.

Ryan Li did that for our family in 2007. When my dad stopped breathing in the hospital, it was around 1:30 a.m. Dec 17, 2007. When I called up Ryan, he immediately came in the middle of the night to give my brother and I a ride. It is so amazing to have friends like that where we can freely ask for help anytime and they are willing to make a sacrifice especially when it is spontaneous.

When I wanted to do Pittsburgh Standard Investigates Jesus Bible study, Brian Hu and David Hwang helped so much. When I was getting ready to go to India, Ralston helped me so much with shopping.

I cannot also forget the time on December 2010 when Pastor Hugo Cheng, Pastor Ed Jiang, Kristen Lippert, Josh Lippert, Edwin Chan, Linda Bucknell of Oakland International Fellowship came to help clean and organize the apartment in the hopes that my loving wife Chandraleela would be there soon from India.

Then again, in December 2011, before going to India to bring my loving wife here after she finally received her visa, some of the brothers and sisters of Transformers small group: David Hwang, Yvonne Hwang, Johannes Kutten, Jomei Liao, Matt Lee, Steve Pirro, and Daniel were so helpful by helping me move tons of boxes to the storage before my wife's arrival.

Later Calvin Chiang, Elise Lee, Kristen Lippert, Josh Lippert, Edwin Chan, Marie Chan, Rodney Fu, Suzanne Fu, Pastor Ed Jiang, Pin Hsi, Matt Lee, Rebecca Mio, Steve Pirro, Vicki Cheng, Cecilia Wang, Pastor Hugo Cheng, Bill Hsu, and Meera gave Chandra and me a housewarming party. We were so touched. The church and the small group helped furnish our living room too!

Every person I mentioned here reminds me of the time and effort they took for us showing us what true friendship is like. I want to be a true friend to others.  This list is not exhaustive but moments that stick out.

All the examples I shared reflect principles that Calvin taught at Transformers last night as we discussed about serving one another, bearing each other's burdens, and building each other up. This is what friendship should be like. You and I can do that for someone the Lord sends our path if we don't allow our own inconveniences, time, effort, etc to get in the way. Especially when we allow the Lord Jesus to work in our lives, it will become a joy to help our friends out.

1. They had to sacrifice their own time to help their friend.
2. They had to bear an inconvenience to help their friend.
3. They had to inconvenience others to help their friend.
4. They had to physically work putting effort to help their friend.
5. They had to give up something they could have been doing to help their friend.
6. They had to utilize their mind to find a creative way to help their friend.
7. They had to endure through tiredness to help their friend.

May you become that kind of friend to someone who needs you! You can become a PLUS friend in someone's life as  my loving wife is to me: She is

Prayerful
Loving
Understanding
Supportively Serving

That is how I want to be for my wife too! Friendship usually develops at home and branches out. That is what I have experienced through the years with my mommy. She is not just a parent but a dear friend. My youngest brother Rohit has also done so much for me and my wife.

May the Lord Jesus guide you in His love leading you! Amen! If you have never confessed your sin to the Lord and want to give your life to the Lord for the first time, make this your prayer. Don't wait for some other time. Now is the time of Salvation! The Lord waits for you friend so come as you are to His throne of grace to find help in time of need!

Dear Jesus, I love you. Thank you for loving me so much and thank you for choosing the cross to die for me. You became the Son of Man and LIVEd here on earth. Then you humbled yourself and became obedient to death-even death on the cross. Thank you for dying on the cross for my sin. You died on the cross so that I can be covered in your blood and cleansed by your blood as I acknowledge that I need you and cannot enter Heaven without you being my pathway. So, Jesus I confess all my sins to you and all the ways I have tried to get into Heaven when you already provided the means and the Way. Thank you for all that you have done for me. The cross is the place, a wonderful place where accused and condemned find mercy and GRACE. Thank you Jesus, it is at the cross where the wrongs we have done and the wrongs done to us were nailed at the cross. Thank you Jesus, at the cross you died for our sins and at the cross you gave your life for us. I thank you for that and thank you for coming back to life to save us. Thank you Jesus for being there for me! Thank you for loving me. I love you Jesus! Please take me as I am and make my life into something that you will be proud of. I surrender my life to you and need your help to LIVE for you. I am forever grateful for what you have done for me and I can never repay you. I want to LIVE for you and need your help. Help me Jesus please. I thank you Jesus for saving me! Thank you for hearing my prayer and answering me. Whatever your will give me the willingness and strength to bear it. Thank you Jesus! I acknowledge you as my Lord and Personal Savior! In Your Name I Pray precious Jesus! Amen!