The Name Above All Names

Some things are too big too see. In a crowded downtown, walking past a sky scraper you might not realize its massive size or even acknowledge it is there. Some things are so numerous and pervasive that they escape notice. Being a geologist I know that no matter where you go, there are rocks in some form: the cement in concrete comes from limestone, the gold on your ring was once ore in a mine, the asphalt in the road has aggregate, the magnet holding up the picture of baby Huey on your fridge came from the ground. Rocks are everywhere but seldom seen.

This morning I realized that "The Name of the Lord" is the same way in scripture. "The Name of the Lord" is utterly shot through and through all scripture, the hinge for key doctrines, the motive for the drive of nations, the root of blessings and curses, the basis for the covenants, the foundation of prayer, among the top tier and varsity starting squad of the 10 commandments. The Name has been too big for me to see. Today, I just walked by an enormous, towing skyscraper, an edifice that pierces the clouds and spans whole city blocks. And I looked up and saw it for the first time.

This is what I was reading in 1 Kings 5:3-5,

“You know that because of the wars waged against my father David from all sides, he could not build a temple for the Name of the Lord his God until the Lord put his enemies under his feet. But now the Lord my God has given me rest on every side, and there is no adversary or disaster. I intend, therefore, to build a temple for the Name of the Lord my God, as the Lord told my father David, when he said, ‘Your son whom I will put on the throne in your place will build the temple for my Name.’ (1 Kings 5:3-5 NIV84)

Three times in three verses The Name is mentioned. Not only had I not fully noticed this in 1 Kings, but also the hundreds of other occurrences throughout the Bible. Somethings are too big to see. But once seen, too important to ignore.

Here's a brief survey of the Name of the Lord in scripture, by no means exhaustive:

“You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name. (Deuteronomy 5:11)

After he had finished sacrificing the burnt offerings and fellowship offerings, he blessed the people in the name of the Lord Almighty. (2 Samuel 6:18)

Solomon gave orders to build a temple for the Name of the Lord and a royal palace for himself. (2 Chronicles 2:1)

Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God. (Psalm 20:7)

So the name of the Lord will be declared in Zion and his praise in Jerusalem (Psalm 102:21)

Let the name of the Lord be praised, both now and forevermore. (Psalm 113:2)

The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are safe. (Proverbs 18:10)

All the nations may walk in the name of their gods; we will walk in the name of the Lord our God for ever and ever. (Micah 4:5)

“Then will I purify the lips of the peoples, that all of them may call on the name of the Lord and serve him shoulder to shoulder. (Zephaniah 3:9)

“This, then, is how you should pray: “ ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name'"(Matthew 6:9)

And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’ (Acts 2:21, Romans 10:13, Joel 3:32)

And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God. (1 Corinthians 6:11)

And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. (Colossians 3:17)

In the name of the Lord I was saved and am to live a life of worship. The name of the Lord is my protection, blessing, and drive for service. Is there a facet of our spiritual lives that doesn't fall under the umbrella of His name? The Colossians passage pretty well covers it: EVERYTHING should be done in the name of Jesus.

How many prayers have I scotch taped "in the name of Jesus" to the end like it was a pretty ribbon placed on a wrapped package? Not realizing that the name of Jesus isn't an add on, but the very underpinning of each action and word?

Solomon built the temple for the name of the Lord, a huge task requiring the labor of thousands for years. God wants me to build my life for His Name.

I wonder if I even know what this means at all. I'm sitting in a tiny Yugo in the basement garage of a 150 story sky scraper, not realizing what hangs above me. I haven't even been to the lobby, or ground floor. It has been too big for me to see, and now I feel almost too small to dare to lift my eyes.

Some people wonder if eternity will be boring because it is so long, I wonder if it will be too short to understand the Name of the Lord. Just His name, let alone the majesty of His full person and being.

But for now, may I worship Jesus, the God whose name is above all names.

Promises, Promises (2 Samuel 7)

When I was a crumb-cruncher about 5 years old my family went to Disneyland. At the end of a very long day at the happiest (?) place on earth, us kids asked when we could come back. Off handedly, my dad said we might come back when we are teenagers. What was probably intended by my Dad as a vague possibility along the lines of "maybe someday", we took it as a guarantee, a locked tight contract, signed with blood. Dad promised!!! And we remembered that promise, counting off the years until we could go again to Disneyland. Every few years, the kids would remind mom and dad, check in because maybe they had bought tickets, or made airplane reservations. And when our teen years came and went with no ride on the Matterhorn or Space Mountain there was, shall we say, a bit of a let down.

In 2 Samuel 7, God the Father makes a promise to his child David that his throne and kingdom would be established forever. Vs 11b-16 captures the promise:

The Lord declares to you that the Lord himself will establish a house for you: When your days are over and you rest with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, who will come from your own body, and I will establish his kingdom. He is the one who will build a house for my Name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. I will be his father, and he will be my son. When he does wrong, I will punish him with the rod of men, with floggings inflicted by men. But my love will never be taken away from him, as I took it away from Saul, whom I removed from before you. Your house and your kingdom will endure forever before me; your throne will be established forever.

The Least to the Greatest
I love that God chose David to establish an eternal throne. David was the youngest brother in the puny tribe of Judah. He was a scrawny shepherd, picked on and mocked by his family, not the typical training ground for a dynastic ruler. But God anointed the least to be the greatest among men. In vs 8 God makes this point clear:

Now then, tell my servant David, ‘This is what the Lord Almighty says: I took you from the pasture and from following the flock to be ruler over my people Israel.

Sheep are numbered among the weakest and dumbest animals on the planet (in fact Team Sheep recently got edged out by both Team Mollusks and Team Slugs in a chess tournament). So having "shepherd for 15 years" on David's resume is not a bonus for his royal career track. But the power of God, exercised by countless miracles and acts of divine sovereignty, elevated this flea-bitten sheep boy to head of an eternal royal dynasty.


A Broken Promise?
Except one thing, doesn't it seem like the whole "kingdom enduring forever" part got dropped? I mean, I don't want to get all technical but I don't see a King ruling in Jerusalem today. And with the destruction of the the Hebrew tribal lineage records in 70 AD along with the temple, even if there were a king on a throne today, we could not be assured that he was the offspring of David. Again, at the risk of being nit-picky, God did promise a throne "forever". Which, I know, is a pretty long time but....ummm.... (cough cough isn't cough happening cough cough)

I imagine David looking down from heaven throughout the course of history and trying to remind God about his promise, like I prodded my parents about Disneyland. David strolls into throne room of heaven, fist bumps the seraphim, sings some choruses of "Holy, Holy, Holy" then takes Jehovah aside and points down to Jerusalem, the City of David. "So, umm, Almighty Lord... I don't want to be a pest, and I know you're fairly busy with a few things on your plate, as you sovereignly guiding the destiny of every atom in the universe. But, well, how about, you know, that "throne forever" thing?"

And a few hundred years later when the Babylonians over ran the Holy Land, David might have slipped a note on God's dinner plate:





Then when the Romans reigned in terror in the City of David, crucified Jesus the Messiah who David thought was to fulfill the promise, and destroyed the temple, David might have glanced across to God and tapped his rolex watch.

As millions of Jews were being fed into gas chambers in WWII did David look to the Heavenly Father with tears streaming down his face?

A Promise Fulfilled (Already, Not Yet)
Yet God is faithful, His word is sure, His promises are not void. The promise to David is one that is fulfilled already and not yet.

Jesus is the Christ, the Messiah, the anointed one who was born in the Tribe of Judah, in the line of David (Matthew 1:2-16). When he walked on earth, he said "The Kingdom of God is near" because he is the King of Kings.

The Old Testament records that the Messiah would sit on David's throne and establish an eternal kingdom. Dr. Arnold Fruchtenbaum wrote an amazing book called "The Footsteps of the Messiah" that carefully establishes throughout all of scripture the reign of the Messiah past, present and future. Dr. Fruchtenbaum notes two keys passages that help us understand the fulfillment of the promises of God to David. The first is Isaiah 9:6-7:

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David's throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this.

The second passage is from Jeremiah 23:5-6:

The days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when I will raise up to David a righteous Branch, a King who will reign wisely and do what is just and right in the land. In his days Judah will be saved and Israel will live in safety. This is the name by which he will be called: The Lord Our Righteousness."

When God promised David an eternal throne, David did not realize that the occupant of that throne would be Mighty God himself! The throne is eternal because the occupant is eternal.

Yet, if we are honest, there is still something of a disappointment that it doesn't seem like Jesus is reigning on earth. The Prince of this World, the devil, often seems to have more rule than Jesus, the Prince of Peace.

In the study of Eschatology, things of the end times, Dr. Gordon Fee of Regents College talks about the "already and not yet" of the kingdom of God. Jesus, the King of Kings, has already been born to this world and came to Jerusalem. But his throne is not yet completely established. He still allows nations and peoples to bring wreckage and ruin. The Messiah has already come in partial fulfillment to the Davidic promises, but has not yet returned a second time for the completion of that fulfillment.

The "already and not yet" of the reign of Jesus is also a reality in the lives of individual Christians. Jesus already has saved me and declared me righteous (justification) but I'm not yet completely made righteous, I still sin. So the Holy Spirit is working in me and is in the process of finishing the salvation (sanctification).

For every frustration and disappointment of sin and rebellion both in this world and in our own lives, we can rest on a great hope that God's promise to David will ultimately be fulfilled, and that is sure.

Luke 1:30-33 is an excellent reminder of the promises that are already and not yet:

But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end.”

So get your bags packed people, we're going to Disneyland!!!!!!!!!

The Sower and the Seed

Parable of the sower and the seed: Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23.










Many of us have read the parable of the sower and seed so many times it becomes old hat. For me, the seed is often over looked in the story. I usually focus on myself as the soil, or Jesus as the sower. But the seeds are missed in the story. In life too, seeds are overlooked because they are small and seem insignificant. Seeds are miraculous though. Each one has a storehouse of power and potential that can feed, fuel or shade a nation if nourished. Huge plants can be produced from tiny kernels. Conisder the following for some perspective on this parable of the sower and seeds.

The General Sherman sequoia tree in California is the largest tree in the world, the stats on this monster can give you vertigo:

--The tree is 275' tall
-- 36' diameter at base
-- 103' circumference
-- Weighs 2,100 tons (just the trunk, not including "branches" that are bigger than most trees and even a few NFL players)
-- About 2700 years old! That's back when Internet was still dial up! And when you didn't have to click something to friend somebody.
-- The trunk is 52,000 cubic feet of wood in volume. You could make 1.9 billion tooth picks from the tree! Or 2,100,000 baseball bats!

The astonishing thing is that this mammoth tree started out from a seed about the size of Roosevelt's nose on a dime.










Seeds are miraculous, but start small and are often neglected. Keep this in mind when you read about Jesus and the parable about the sower and his seed in Matthew 13:1-9

That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the lake. 2 Such large crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat in it, while all the people stood on the shore. 3 Then he told them many things in parables, saying: “A farmer went out to sow his seed. 4 As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. 5 Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. 6 But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. 7 Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. 8 Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. 9 Whoever has ears, let them hear.”

Context:
Before jumping too quickly into the parable, it is interesting to check out the setting. This parable was spoken the SAME DAY that the Jews rejected Jesus as Messiah by committing the unpardonable sin (attributing Jesus' power to Satan, Mtt 12:22-45). This is very important context. He must have been crushed in spirit, so disheartened that His own people rejected Him. He came for the world in general (Jn 3:16) but also the Jews in particular as the promised Messiah and heir to King David's throne. The parable was also followed by the beheading of John the Baptist! The one who Jesus called the greatest among those ever born among men! The bookends to the parable are intense! This is why in vs 1 of Chp 13 he goes to the lake by himself to sit down. He is crushed. He has been rejected. His message of the kingdom and his fulfillment of the Davidic Covenant was just trampled under foot and snatched away by birds like seed fallen on a rush-hour pavement.


The Sower
Vs 4: Is the sower sloppy with his seed? Accidentally spilling some on the path and rocky ground? No, I think he is generous. He is a rich farmer, with seed to spare! Seeds were very valuable and if you were a poor farmer you place each seed individually in good soil. But Jesus is rich with his valuable seed, generously casting his seed out by the handfuls! By the bucketful!


The Seed
The seed is the Word of God (vs 19, technically the "message about the Kingdom"). What do we know about seeds? They are small, so small that by looking at it you'd think that nothing much would come from it. How many people overlook the message of kingdom, or consider God's word to be of little value, a collection of some good teaching but little else? They might even have a Bible, but it sits on a shelf, collects dust. Some people don't realize that the message of the kingdom is nothing short of miraculous and would transform their lives. Even many Christians (and me!!) often overlook the Word of God and it gets shoved near the bottom of the To Do List. And then left off of the list altogether. [Confession: it once took me 6 years to complete my "Bible In One Year" reading plan. Awesome. And not because I was super methodical in my study. It was probably the hay days of The Office, 24, Heroes, and Survivor.]


In order to grow, a seed needs soil, nutrients, water, sun. Seeds are a picture of transformation. They are an image of big things growing out of what seems to be insignificant. They sprout roots, send up a shoot, then branches, then flower, then fruit that contains more seeds. Seeds are a step in generations of fruit, nourishment that gives life. Seeds appear to be dead but they are living. An acorn looks nothing like the oak.

So too with the message of the Kingdom. It appears to be just words, just a book, but those words planted in the right place can grow to be huge, transformational and bearing much fruit! When placed in the right soil, with the right conditions the Word of God can grow and radically change your life. Nobody looking at a sequoia seed can imagine the massive transformation and growth potential. But this is fully within the character of God to use the weak, small and insignificant to accomplish mighty deeds for His kingdom and glory.

Jesus calls the message of the kingdom a secret (Matt 13:11-18). Something that generations of prophets yearned to discover. But in Jesus' day and ours it is a secret out in plain sight. A seed sitting on the soil. Seeds are secrets, unless you have good soil, you'll never know what the seed can fully mean.


The Soil
Jesus says that the soil where the seed falls is the human heart. The heart is the very center of our being, it is our inner most soul. When you love something with your heart you adore it with everything you have. There's nothing you wouldn't do for the sake of the one you love. If you're making a vow, you say, "Cross my heart, hope to die, I swear!". You're saying that all of your honor and integrity is riding on your vow. You've sworn with all your heart.

Our hearts can be in different conditions:
--Beaten and trodden down, hard packed like a road trampled and travelled by thousands of people. Nothing grows on a path, nothing sinks in.
--A rocky place, with some shallow soil but no room for roots to grow deep. Seeds can grow in the crack of a concrete road, but the plant easily withers in tough times.
--Weed choked. With competing invasive plants that steal nutrients, light and water. Blackberry thorns will take over anything in its way and can swallow entire houses if left unchecked.
--Rich, loamy fertile soil. Seeds planted here flourish, grow with deep roots, have no choking weeds, produce lush plants and make a fruitful crops with returns up to 100 fold!

What condition is your heart in? Is it ready to receive the seed and be productive?

There might be thorns that are choking the seed. The worries of this life, the deceitfulness of riches and desire for things are toxic to the message of the kingdom. These things take over the seed, grow very fast and suck the nourishment from the soil. How many times have I had a fantastic worship experience on Sunday, been blessed by the Word of God preached in a sermon, then completely forgotten it all by Thursday because the worries of life choked it out?

Hosea 10:12 Puts a great perspective on the condition of the soil in our hearts:

Sow for yourselves righteousness, reap the fruit of unfailing love, and break up the unplowed ground. For it is time to seek the Lord, until he comes and showers righteousness on you.

There is an absolute direct connection between the quality of my relationship with Jesus and how much time I spend in the Bible. Not out of work or a sense of duty, but because the Holy Spirit prepares my heart, makes it fertile ground for the message of the kingdom to take deep root and bear fruit. A tenfold crop is amazing, but God can make a 100-fold crop, bear so much more fruit than we can ask or think, if we receive the simple, small seemingly insignificant Word of God, such a tiny seed, and have our hearts prepared. Never overlook the awesome power hidden inside the message of the kingdom.

40 days: Jesus follows Moses' fast

During Jesus' 40 day fast in the wilderness he was constantly tempted by Satan (MT 4:1-11, Lk 4:1-13, Mk 1:12-13)

He rebukes Satan's temptations by quoting from Deuteronomy.

1) Man does not live on bread alone. Deut 8:3
2) Worship the Lord your God and serve him only. Deut 6:3
3) Do not put the Lord your God to the test. Deut 6:16

I'm intrigued to think of the hours Jesus spent studying scripture before his ministry began. Likely there were only a few copies of the Torah in Nazareth, and it wasn't sitting on his bedside or on his iPhone. Likely he needed to go to the tabernacle for his study. After a long day's work in his carpentry shop, dirty and sweaty from the labor. Or early in the morning, tired and sore from yesterday's toil. Because Jesus emptied himself of his divine power in becoming a man (in a sense) he had to learn Scripture the same way we do: years of study, meditation, memorization, prayer, and the Holy Spirit.

Jesus was led by the Spirit to the wilderness. Did Jesus know he would be there 40 days?! The parallels between Jesus and Moses are striking and not coincidental. In Deut 9: 18-29 Moses describes his 40 day fast before the Lord on the mountain interceding for Israel so God wouldn't destroy them because of their rebellion and sin. While the proverbial ink was still drying on the 10 commandments God wrote with his own hand (Deut 9:10) Israel was crafting and worshipping a golden calf idol. God's anger was enough to bring Him to the brink of blotting out their names from under heaven (Deut 9:14).

But Moses put himself between the people and the wrath of God, pleading, mediating, interceding for 40 days and 40 nights for them to be spared. And they were. The work of one mediator saved a whole nation.

Jesus' life, death and resurrection served the same role. The work of one man made salvation possible for the whole world. He stood between God's wrath and the sins of all people, everywhere for all time.

I think that Jesus' 40 day fasting in the wilderness must have included truckloads of intercession for a fallen world, as Moses interceded 40 days for the rebellious, fallen nation of Israel.

And because Jesus mediated between God and Man, we have the sure hope of heaven.

Applications:

1) How often do I labor in prayer for the fallen people around me? My friends, family and co-workers? How much have I fasted on their behalf, pleading with the Father for mercy? Right now, praying even 40 minutes for the eternal soul for somebody I love is a stretch. If I'm honest, most prayers last closer to 40 seconds. On a "good day". And prayers for my enemies would mostly be clocked under 40 milliseconds.

2) In my hour of temptation, I need to have the Word of God firmly planted in my mind and heart. Like Jesus, I need to feast on the Word each day as a store of energy for the times when I'm starving in the wilderness.

Jesus Heals a Leper: Touching the Untouchable

Flipside Message 6/23/11

The Point:
A single touch from the outreached hand of Jesus can make us clean.

Opening Prayer.

Begin Message==>

I'm going to read 5 sentences from the Bible about a man whose life was radically changed by a single touch. This passage is so profound that it can change the entire course of your life too.

Text: Luke 5:12-13

While Jesus was in one of the towns, a man came along who was covered with leprosy. When he saw Jesus, he fell with his face to the ground and begged him, “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.” Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” he said. “Be clean!” And immediately the leprosy left him.

Background to the story:
1) Lepers were not allowed inside the town. He wasn't allowed in Mallards Ice Cream, or the Bagelry, or Bellis Fair Mall. This man was an outcast, untouchable. An object of scorn, but he battled his way through the crowd to meet Jesus.

2) The man who approaches Jesus is not just some guy with the sniffles, or a tummy ache. He's a leper. And the author of this gospel, Luke, was a medical doctor that includes details the other accounts do not. This man was "covered" by leprosy. He was late stage, far gone.


I'm going to show you a few pictures of lepers in order for you to understand the full meaning of this passage in the Bible. But want to warn you that it is intense and you may want to turn aside if you're squeamish. I'm not trying to shock you, but the better you understand the fullness of the story, the more amazing it is and the meaning for your life becomes more important.

Background info about leprosy:
1) It is a bacteria that gets into every portion of the body but attacks the extremities where the body temperature is lower.

2) The disease attacks and destroys nerve endings such that people loose the ability to feel pain. Because they don't feel pain they would hurt themselves and loose body parts to infection. Back in the day people didn't were crocs, or vans, or Ugg Boots, so when they walked they got blisters.

3) Lepers were highly stigmatized and cast out of society in Biblical times. Partly because of OT commands for purity and cleanliness in the camp (Lev 13, Num 5:1). They were said to defile the camp, so they lived apart from the people of God.

4) Lepers could not have any human contact in the later stages. They had to wear signs and shout "Unclean! Unclean! Unclean! " when they were near people. They were untouchable.


What we learn about the Leper who came to Jesus:

Put yourself in this man's position. Imagine this is your life.


A Low Point

1) He was desperate, at the lowest part of his life. He saw a huge crowd, heard murmurs that Jesus was in town. He probably heard news that this Jesus could heal. He dared to approach Jesus in town. Since lepers often travelled in groups, he told his fellow lepers where he was going. They probably tried to talk him out of it. May have had rocks chucked at him on the way into town like some sick dog. Curses were brought down on him by the townspeople, he was likely spit on. But he pressed in to get close, fought the crowd.
He had to see Jesus!



Faith First

2) The leper had faith in Jesus first, then got healed. "Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean." The journey to healing and wholeness starts with faith. Faith is more than belief, it is a deep trust, an investment of all you have into the One who made you all you are. This man trusted in Jesus. The other lepers with him did not approach Jesus. Why? They lacked faith. They didn't think he could do anything. They thought that maybe he was just a good teacher. Or maybe a kook. Maybe they looked at their disfigured hands, their rotting feet, their open sores covering their body and thought, "Jesus can't heal me." Some people today make the same mistakes.


Honest with Himself

3) The Leper understands his unclean, foul condition. He knew he had a serious problem. Some of you don't know the dire condition you're in. Or, perhaps you know, but don't want to change. Sin and leprosy are the same in that they start small but get progressively worse. Leprosy can be in your body for 8 years before it shows up. Sin can be in your life for a while, without the effects being immediately apparent or visible. But it will always eventually take a toll. As leprosy can deaden the body's sensitivity to pain, sin also can make us callus, give us a hard heart insensitive to God's love, or the pain you're causing yourself or others. Sin always grows, gets worse, eats away at our soul unless we come to Jesus for healing, to be made clean.


Humility

4) The leper fell to his knees, fell with his face to the ground in absolute desperation. He was covered in leprosy, had open seeping wounds. Falling face down in the dirt was a big deal. Being touched by God requires humility. Throughout the Bible, when people meet God, they fall to the ground. Sometimes we need to fall on our face in despair before God. In our darkest hour, Jesus is there reaching out to touch you with a hand of comfort.
All of us have times when we are desperate for help. At an absolute low point. Call out to the Lord and fall before him: Psalm 107:4-6.

Some wandered in desert wastelands, finding no way to a city where they could settle. They were hungry and thirsty, and their lives ebbed away.Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress.

Spread the News

5) The leper spread the news of his healing. He probably ran back to his family to tell them about his healing! What would your reaction be if you were healed of an incurable, deadly disease? Keep it a secret? Go back to your Xbox game? What about sharing it with the other people who are also lepers? They would need to know this good news too! If you're a Christian, have you told anybody what God's done for you? What would you do with the best news you've ever heard? You know the reason I'm here tonight talking to you? I'm like a leper that was healed.

What we learn about Jesus:

Jesus is God

1) Power to heal reflects his Divinity. Jesus is not just a "good teacher". He is the one who raises people from the dead, gave sight to the blind, read minds, was raised from the dead. He's the same one who flung stars into space at creation. With a touch he could heal. He is the man who is God. He didn't just live thousands of years ago. He's living today. Today he is reaching out.


Jesus is Close to Us

2) He touched the man. An astonishing act that broke all the rules of the religious rulers of the day. While he could have healed without touching, Jesus touched his disgusting, decayed, festering, oozing skin. He could've blinked to heal him, or pointed a finger, or just thought it. Instead he touched the untouchable leper. God taking human form is no less of a stretch. God came to dwell among us, to suffer our conditions, be a man of sorrows. He joined us in the muck and mire.


Loves the Unclean

3) Jesus loved this man before he was clean. He loves the unclean and untouchable. He loves the one who others would spit on. We don't have to "be good" in order for God to love us. The leper didn't need to wash up, put on good clothes to approach Jesus. We don't heal ourselves to go to the doctor. We go to Jesus to get made well. Because he loves us.

What we learn about us?
1) Our sin is like leprosy. The things we do wrong, our disobedience to God, the things we don't do that we should is like leprosy. We are made in God's image but sin works to disfigure and scar that beautiful image. We were't made for war, hate, jealousy, greed, deceit. God didn't create a world where children fear their parents. Or parents abuse their children, but it happens. Too much. This is a scarring of sin, a festering boil on God's humanity. Sin also penetrates deeply to within every cell of our body. It can't be healed or cleaned by soap and water. We are utterly helpless to heal ourselves. It pushes us from the presence of God, alienates us from others. Some people say, "I'm a good person, or at least I'm not as bad as some people." It is meaningless for two lepers to compare their relative conditions, "I'm way better than that other guy, he's lost two feet and a hand. I've just lost 3 toes." So too we can't say, "I'm not a sinner, I'm not as bad as that guy." (Credit Tyler Erikson). Our sin is like leprosy. While there are about 15 million people have the disease today, there are 6 billion people with a sinful condition far worse

2) Like the leper we must acknowledge our condition. If we were to see ourselves in our sin, we'd appear as gross and disfigured as a late stage leper. A leper is separated from people, a sinner is separated from God. But Jesus cleans both! Touches and restored both the leper and the sinner! God wants to bring us back to how He created us: pure, good, whole.

3) To be cleaned we must fall at the feet of Jesus and beg him in repentance.

4) We must approach Jesus in faith and acknowledge Him as Lord. Our personal Lord.

5) Once healed, then talk freely to others about what Jesus has done for you. The leper was cleaned and delivered from his life of suffering and separation from those he loved. When God cleans and forgives us we're delivered from an eternity of suffering and separation from Him.


Making it personal for two groups:

1) You might be the person denying your condition, walking around with oozing wounds but thinking everything is just fine. You can try to cover your condition, but that doesn't help. A leper who puts on a tuxedo is a just a well dressed leper. Some people try to cover their sin with wealth. But a rich sinner is still a sinner. A cool, popular sinner is a sinner. Jesus is nearby but you don't want to fall before him. Perhaps you are like the other lepers traveling with this man who stayed on the outside while the one received healing. Jesus calls you to draw near and be healed. Know that God will receive you with open arms. Today.

2) Your pain is not without purpose. The biggest problem with lepers is that they feel no pain. But that is the very thing that threatens their life. You may be experiencing pain right now. Physical or emotional pain. You might be struggling with mental illness. It might be intense pain and suffering. Some people at this very minute might want to die because of their pain. I want you to know that God has an amazing ability to turn your pain into blessing. Pain can have good purpose, it has been called a gift by Dr. Paul Brand who worked with lepers in India for decades. God can touch our pain and eventually turns it into praise. This is no less miraculous than Jesus healing a leper, but he turns pain into praise, suffering into worship, tears of pain to tears of joy. My co-worker has a son with spina bifida and went through a horrible spell of cancer. Terrible suffering in the family but just today she said that God has turned their pain into pure joy, because she know that God has been with them. Sometimes it takes years, but He is The Healer. He promises to wipe away every tear with the same hand touched and healed the leper.


The Point: There is a loving savior, Jesus, who wants you to be forgiven of a condition that separates you from God. You're utterly helpless to cure yourself. Will you fall at His feet, confess Him as Lord, and be touched by Him? He's reaching out right now. At this very moment, your life can be radically changed, forgiven of sin, with an assurance that you'll be with Jesus forever in heaven.

Concluding prayer.

Genesis 5-6: The Image of God

In Genesis 5, the Bible says that God created man in the image of God and then Adam had a son in his own likeness.    The genealogy that follows in this text seems to be like an avalanche, started with one small rock rolling down a scree slope.  God created Adam.  Just one soul created, a single solitary stone, barely a pebble.  Then Adam had a son in his likeness, Seth, and the small rock kicked loose another.  And then another, and another. And then a the trickle became a rockfall and then a landslide.  But as sin took hold, the image of God was covered with the ugliness of rebellion.  The repeated refrain in Genesis 5 "and then he died" is a horrible drum beat, a deep bass pounding that carries the heaviness of God's sorrow for the corruption of man's sin. Adam lived 800 years and then he died.  Seth lived 912 years and then he died.  Enosh lived 905 years and then he died.  Kenan lived 910 years and then he died.  Without sin's corruption, the Bible would have read:  Adam lived.  Seth lived.  Enosh lived. Kenan lived.  Period.

God's image has never been erased from people, but thousands of years of ugliness and tarnish obscured what lay below the surface.  Until Jesus.  From Adam to Jesus, thousands of years passed, and millions of souls perished with the image of God marred. Not destroyed but certainly defaced, sometimes beyond recognition.  Until Jesus.  With the Second Adam, the image of God was restored, and in Jesus we see the fullness of the Godhead, we see the Truth, the Light, the Life.  We see love, mercy, grace undiluted.

And with the redemption by Jesus' blood, our sin and stain is washed away, so that the image of God is restored in us.  First in our justification, the one-time forgiveness and cleansing when the Holy Spirit filled us.  And the image of God is being restored in us through our sanctification, the daily and life-long work of God perfecting us, continuing His work in our lives until our death.  And finally, the image of God is ultimately restored with our glorification when we're given a new body, an incorruptible body free of sin and death.   On that day, we will fully reflect the truth of God, we will shine and live in the light, our life will be eternal, and we'll enter completely into the fellowship of His love.

When we read the genealogies, there's an interesting progression.  The first people lived a really long time, almost 1000 years!  But eventually sin took hold, wormed it's way deep into our souls.   But not only our souls got corrupted, but the depths of our genetic makeup. Into the adenine, guanine, thymine and cytosine of our DNA (the "seed of man").  And so the lives that once 10 centuries long were rapidly shortened from decay to 1 century (Gen 6:3).   I picture a telescoping downward, so that the life God meant to be eternal, shrank to nearly a point, a tiny span cut short by death.

It's interesting that the blood of Jesus is able to cleanse our souls, but not able to cleanse our bodies.  We're forgiven, but sin has penetrated so deeply into the physical stuff of our bodies, that the only fix is for God to destroy our bodies and give us new ones. Genesis 6:5 captures this:

The Lord saw how great man's wickedness on the earth had become, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time.

Even the very stuff of earth has been utterly defiled by sin (Leviticus 18:25, 28).  So that God must burn the earth up, roll the heavens like a scroll, and make a new heavens and earth.  It illustrates the terrible power of sin:

1. The power of sin to corrupt all flesh for all time.  I wonder if sin seeps into the minuscule regions of microscopic space between the atoms of our bodies.  If we could "see" sin and peer into a cell of our thumb with a very high-powered microscope, would it be there, next to a gluon or muon, sneering back?  (Out of necessity, Jesus escaped the contamination of sin by the virgin birth.)
2. The power to corrupt the rest of creation.  Creation groans to be free from the bonds of sin.  The order of animals have been corrupted and made savage.   Just like man must die in order to be fully redeemed, the natural creation must die, be consumed in order to be rid of sin and corruption.

But the power and horrible magnitude of sin, also magnifies the saving power and redemption of Jesus.  By His blood I am made clean.  But not just me, the mounding heap of sin of all people for all time was atoned for by his blood.  Occasionally we hear in the news of atrocities beyond imagination.  Acts that are entirely repulsive and sickening.  But there are thousands of years where such acts have been committed millions of times.  The mass of sin could not begin to be weighed.  Yet Jesus bore it all on the cross.  I think that we'll spend eternity trying to understand the agony Jesus endured on behalf of a fallen world He so loved. 

By this sacrifice, the image of God is restored in us.  By His love beyond compare we are born again in the likeness and image of God.