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We are starting our series of boundless faith, when you think of boundless faith, what comes to mind? When I was thinking about this for the past week, I thought to myself what does a limited faith look like. How far does my faith my Jesus go, How far does your faith in Jesus go? Does my faith in Jesus stop at my salvation? Do I have this one moment with Jesus and then thats it? What about this, I am saved I do know who christ is but when I go to school, I leave him at the door. When Im with my friends Im not going to act like I know Jesus because that would be lame. Why are you waiting for your faith in Christ to be strong when you can have faith now. We are going to look at a few stories across the next few weeks so we can know what it means to have boundless faith.
Jesus Heals a Man with Leprosy
40 A man with leprosy came and knelt in front of Jesus, begging to be healed. “If you are willing, you can heal me and make me clean,” he said. 41 Moved with compassion, Jesus reached out and touched him. “I am willing,” he said. “Be healed!” 42 Instantly the leprosy disappeared, and the man was healed. 43 Then Jesus sent him on his way with a stern warning: 44 “Don’t tell anyone about this. Instead, go to the priest and let him examine you. Take along the offering required in the law of Moses for those who have been healed of leprosy. This will be a public testimony that you have been cleansed.” 45 But the man went and spread the word, proclaiming to everyone what had happened. As a result, large crowds soon surrounded Jesus, and he couldn’t publicly enter a town anywhere. He had to stay out in the secluded places, but people from everywhere kept coming to him.
Leprosy was disease that was found to be incourable back then. People either got better through happenstance or they died.
Anyone suspected of having this disease had to go to a priest for examination (Leviticus 13:2-3). If found to be infected, “the leprous person who has the disease shall wear torn clothes and let the hair of his head hang loose, and he shall cover his upper lip and cry out, ‘Unclean, unclean.’ He shall remain unclean as long as he has the disease. He is unclean. He shall live alone. His dwelling shall be outside the camp”
A leper wasn’t allowed to come within six feet of any other human, including his own family. The disease was considered so revolting that the leper wasn’t permitted to come within 150 feet of anyone when the wind was blowing. Lepers lived in a community with other lepers until they either got better or died. This was the only way the people knew to contain the spread of the contagious forms of leprosy.
This disease caused skin to just flake off you, and eventually it would turn into extremities fingers and toes and eventually it would turn into limbs.
So having known all of this and having this, and having only have heard about what Jesus has said He begs him.
There are a couple of things that can we can relate to this man that has Leprosy about.
He felt humiliated. This man lived in a community with other people that were suffering. If any of you guys have been in the hospital for a couple of days or just been around sick people for a few days straight, it would be pretty sad. Nevertheless, anytime he stepped out in the community, he had to shout unclean unclean unclean.
Sin is our example of humiliation. Its simply just what sin does to you its what sin does to me. And maybe youre sitting here and you are thinking, yea but people don’t know about my sin. Well God knows. And on top of that humiliation in this point doesn’t necessarily come from the people but it also comes from how we feel on the inside when we do it. Guilt.
Imagine yourself like the leper here in the story but instead your skin flaking off what if your sin was written on you. What if it was written on you that you were a liar, what if it written on you that your addicted to porn, or addicted to alchohol, what if your sin of lust was written on you for all to see, what if your had a sin of bad language, or gossip. And if your friends don’t care, what if your parents saw it.
Just some things to ponder on.
The leper man comes to Jesus anyway. Despite his situation, he doesn’t care, he goes to God anyway, and just doesn’t ask, he kneels, and he begs to be healed. “If you are willing, you can heal me and make me clean,
That takes big faith. It takes huge faith to do that. He doesnt just come, but he comes probably as one of the lowest people viewed in society and lowers himself even more by kneeling, and humbling himself. If we want God to move in our lives we ought start treating God like God.
Because we are broken, everything about our flesh, seems like it doesnt want us to come to the Lord, but we should, because he is good. And we should come humbly to him, everyday.
And what does Jesus Do, he heals him, instantly, but it took faith to come to him.
Why does God allow a christian to do the same sin, even after I asked him. Is that mercy and is that grace.
Look you have free will to do everything in possible, to stop sinning, well what makes me stumble, you have to really count the cost of what you are doing and pair it with, Prayer and repentance to God.
He is rich in Grace and Mercy but he also has given us free will. So there is this conclusion that. If you truly believe in Jesus, you should feel the conviction of your sin, repent and turn away from it. Well how often, every day. And what is the cost. If cost me to give up friendships to follow christ and stop sinning, should I, yes, is it hard yes. Does it mean I need to give up listening to this music, if it means I stop sinning, yes, is it hard yes. The ultimate answer to this,
We should strive to not sin, it is not pleasing to God, it doesn’t feel good within our ownselves, it may hurt other people around us. However, although we fail, it doesn’t take away from your salvation because a sinless life will not be achieved until heaven.