Lost All Hope (4_of_12)
Lost All Hope? (4 of 12)
Meet Jesus
Matthew 4:1-4
Psychologists sometimes administer what is known as
the "Beck Hopelessness Test." It is a test which
measures indications that a person may be on the verge
of suicide. Twenty-two false statements are given and
they measure several areas. One of those areas is
concern about the future. Another one is loss of
motivation. Another area which is registered is loss
of anticipation.
Just this week I was reading that the University of
Texas at San Antonio in their Science and Health
Center released a report which said that the loss of
hope among the elderly is an indication of higher
rates of death. In other words, when a person gets
older and they get to the point they feel there is no
hope for them, no sense of anticipation or motivation
for the future. This tends to cause higher death
rates.
Hopelessness. No concern. No interest in the future.
No anticipation for good things to happen in the
future.
Here is a man who came to the Lord Jesus Christ and
had he taken the Beck Hopelessness Scale, I'm sure he
would have registered very, very high on the scale. He
is a man who evidently had come to the point where if
he didn't have any hope at all, he had very little
hope whatsoever. Hopelessness. Despair. Hopelessness.
No anticipation of good or success.
It can lead to paralysis of your activities. I can
lead to depression. Eventually it can even lead to
suicide.
Here is a man who has lost all hope and he needs to
meet the Lord Jesus Christ. One of the reasons I'm
glad the Lord has called me to preach and given me the
opportunity to preach is because when I stand in front
of you every Sunday I hold in my hand a copy of what I
call the HOPE BOOK. In this book it tells us about
the Lord Jesus. First Timothy 1 says that Christ is
our hope. In Hebrews 6:19 the Bible says, "Which hope
we have as an anchor for the soul." In Titus 2:13 it
says that we are looking for that blessed hope and the
glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus
Christ."
Have you ever heard anybody say where there's life
there's hope? There's an element of truth in that, but
I'm here to tell you today—where there is faith there
is hope, also.
John Bunyon said one time, "Hope is never ill when
faith is well."
I want to talk to you about a man who came to the Lord
Jesus and his situation seemed to be a hopeless
situation. I'm speaking to someone this morning and
you've been to the doctor and the doctor says we have
examined you and done everything we know to do. Though
he may not put it in these particular words you can
tell you by his look, you can tell by his body
language that he is basically saying to you there is
no hope.
Maybe I'm speaking to someone else today and your mate
has said to you—it's all over. I don't want any more
contact with you. Don't call me. It is irreconcilable.
No hope for reconciliation whatsoever. So you face
yourself in a marital situation which seems to be a
hopeless situation.
I want to talk to you about this man who maybe was
hopeless and he met the Lord Jesus Christ and in Jesus
Christ there is a revival, a resurrection of hope.
Let's think first of all about-
I. The MISERY of the Leper.
Verse 1 says, "When he (Jesus) was come down from the
mountain, great multitudes followed him." Jesus had
been on the mountain, but you don't stay on the
mountain. I like the mountaintop experiences. I like
to be up there where all of the excitement is. But
Jesus knew that down in the valley there were people
who had needs. Down in the valley is where the needs
are. Down in the valley is where the hopeless cases
are.
Jesus comes down from the mountain where the
multitudes in need are. The Bible tells us that He
encounters a man who is a leper. You can almost tell
him coming. You can hear him as he cries, "Unclean,
unclean, unclean." The multitudes around Jesus are
startled because this is so contrary to social
customs. A man who was a leper was an outcast. He
didn't ever get anywhere around normal society. He had
to wear a rag over his face. He had to cry out
"unclean" when he was approaching someone. Maybe some
of the people were horrified. Others of them were
probably outraged. They certainly must have given him
a wide path as he approached the Lord Jesus Christ.
Think about the condition of this man. We know some
things about leprosy. Maybe in the leper pit he had
heard that the Lord Jesus Christ was on the scene.
Maybe he had heard what Jesus Christ was doing for
other people. Maybe just a little flicker of hope
began to burn in his heart. He has come up out of the
leper pit and made his way on limping, wounded feet to
get to the Lord Jesus Christ.
In the parallel account in the Luke 5, the Bible tells
us that this man was full of leprosy. That means that
he is just totally consumed with this leprosy. Leprosy
is indeed a nauseating picture when we read about it
and learn what leprosy does to people. It starts with
tiredness. Then they develop pains and soreness in the
joint. One day they notice a white spot appears on the
skin. Just a little white spot.
A few years ago I was studying about leprosy and I
read that and I looked down and there was a little
white spot on my hand. It kind of got my attention for
a minutes.
It starts with a little white spot and then it
develops into a nodule. Other nodules begin to appear
on the skin. They turn a pinkish brownish color. Then
they begin to ulcerate and fill up with pus. They
begin to ooze and run. The next thing you know these
nodules, these pus pockets have spread all over the
body and become scaly in texture. Then the different
things begin to happen to the body. The face begins to
take on a wrinkled, lion-like look. The fingers begin
to contract and take a claw like appearance. The feet
begin to ooze so that anywhere a leper walks he leaves
a wet spot. His eyebrows fall out. His hair turns
white. He develops a foul odor about him that makes
him obnoxious to be around. There's a foul taste in
his mouth. Nothing will get that taste out of his
mouth. His fingers and toes begin to fall off. Then
his feet, then his hands disintegrate. His body
actually starts rotting right on the bone. Flesh
begins to fall off. He loses all sensation. He doesn't
have any feeling whatsoever.
The average lifespan of a person who contracted
leprosy was about 9 years. When it was over his body
collapsed into a pool of slime. He became a pile of
corruption. It was a horrible, nauseating form of
death.
In the Bible diseases are sometimes used as
illustration of sin. I suppose the picture of leprosy
is one of the most graphic pictures of the ugly
nauseating affect of sin. We have flower-coated the
picture of sin today. We have put perfume on the
picture of sin. We don't want it to be quite as bad as
it is.
The Bible tells us that sin is an ugly, nauseating
problem in the life. It's something that starts on the
inside just like leprosy. Leprosy is an indication
that there are problems on the inside. Sin is an
indication that there is a problem on the inside.
A man went to the watch repairman with his watch and
said, "Something is wrong with the hands on my watch."
The watch repairer looked at it and said, "The problem
is on the inside. I'll have to dig on the inside." Sin
is a problem of the inside. That's why no perfume on
the outside will do. It's going to take radical
surgery. It's going to take chemotherapy to deal with
the problem of sin on the inside.
It starts on the inside and then it spreads on the
outside. Sin seems so innocent at the very beginning.
It doesn't seem like there's a real problem there. It
starts off just like a little white spot.
I had a favorite uncle of mine a number of years ago.
He began to have problems with his nose. There was a
growth inside his nose. They would take it off and it
would come back. It started off as just a little bump
but before it was over it developed into cancer. Just
a little spot, yet it begins to spread.
It was just a little thing in the life of King David.
It was a time when kings went forth to war. Yet, David
is lounging around the palace. Just a little laziness
on the part of David. Just a little white spot. The
next thing you know it has moved into lust. The next
thing you know it's gone all the way to murder.
Just a little social drink. It starts off so
innocently. Just a can of beer with the boys. Doesn't
seem like a whole lot. Doesn't seem to have too much
effect. But it begins to spread and the next thing you
know you are dealing with the problem of alcoholism.
Just a little flirtation. Just a little something
going on in the office. Doesn't see like a big deal,
but it spreads and the next thing you know you have
full blown adultery.
Just a little cheating on an exam in school. Doesn't
seem like a big deal. Next thing you know you are
stealing from the company where you are now employed.
It starts on the inside; spreads on the outside. It
isolates people from society.
When this man contracted his disease, as the normal
pattern would have been, he would have gone to the
priest and the priest would have diagnosed the fact
that he had leprosy. He would say to him, "You have to
go back and tell your family that you are leaving and
that you will never return. You have to stand at a
distance and say to you wife—I'll never be coming
back. Don't get too close to her. Say to your kids—
I'll never be coming back. But don't get too close to
them. Isolate yourself from your family."
Sin has a way of isolating. Here's a man watching me
on television today. You are sitting in a motel room
and by court order you are not even allowed to get
around your children because you are dangerous to
them.
Here's a man watching me and you are in jail. Never
dreamed you would be in jail. It's dangerous for you
to get anywhere around polite society. It starts on
the inside and spreads to the outside. It isolates us
from people and leaves hopelessness. There was no hope
for a person who was a leper.
Some of you today feel like there is absolutely no
hope for you. You are deep in sin. You don't see any
way out. You are down in the pit of your spiritual
leprosy and you don't see a solution to it whatsoever.
That's the condition of this leper. That's the
condition of every person who needs Christ as Savior.
Now, notice his confidence. The Bible says that he
comes to Jesus and worships Him. He says, "Lord, if
you will, you can make me clean." Maybe he had heard
about Jesus. Maybe he had heard about the miracles
that Jesus was performing. Maybe he had heard about
the blind man who received his sight. Maybe he thought
if Jesus could make the blind to see—maybe there was
hope for him. Maybe he had heard about Jesus calming
the storm on the water. He thought—if Jesus can calm a
storm, maybe he can calm the storm that is raging in
my soul.
He comes to Jesus and worships the Lord and says, "If
you will you can make me clean." He has absolute
confidence in the ability of Jesus. So can you. Over
these 40 years of my ministry I have absolute
confidence in the ability of Jesus Christ to save the
soul and to change the life and to lift people from
the horrible pit of sin. He has confidence in Jesus
Christ. I have confidence in Jesus Christ.
The question is not the Lord's ability; the question
is the Lord's desirablilty. Satan was whispering in
his ear and saying, "Jesus is not going to be bothered
with you."
Are you sitting here this morning and you are saying,
"I'd like to be cured from sin leprosy." The devil is
whispering in your ear, "Jesus is not going to do
anything for you. You are not worth anything."
Ladies and gentlemen, I have news for you. We are
saved not because we are worth anything; it is not
because of our worth, it's because of His worth that
we are saved in the first place.
"If you will, you can make me clean." The condition
of this man. The confidence of this man. The misery of
the leper.
The passage continues on and I want you to see—
II. The MERCY of the Lord.
It says in verse 3 that Jesus put forth His hand and
touched him and said, I will, be thou clean. This is
a beautiful thing. I want you to see the compassion of
the Lord. The Bible says that Jesus put forth His
hand. I think about the hands of the Lord Jesus
Christ. The hands of Jesus Christ were never doubled
up in fists. The hands of the Lord Jesus Christ were
always outstretched in mercy. So He reached forth His
hand and the book of Mark says that he was moved with
compassion. It is the compassion of Jesus that caused
Him to reach out to this man. A lot of people want to
see people come to the Lord, but they don't want to
make contact. A lot of people want the lost to be
saved, but they don't want to get their hands dirty
with it.
Compassion is not a slob gone slumming. Compassion is
a Savior who reaches out and makes contact. We have to
make contact. We have to touch people for Jesus
Christ. We have to touch people with the love of Jesus
Christ.
It says that He put forth His hand and He touched him.
That must have had a tremendous psychological affect
on this man. Probably years had gone by and no one had
ever touched this man since his leprosy. Oh, what an
affect it must have had when a human hand touched this
poor leper.
I was reading in Our Daily Bread sometime ago about a
missionary in Madagascar who encountered a leprous
woman. Her fingers and toes had fallen off. Little
children were harassing her and saying, "Leper, leper,
leper." In compassion the missionary reached out and
touched the poor woman. The woman said, "You touched
me. A human hand touched me. In seven years no one has
ever touched me."
Think about what it did for this man psychologically
when Jesus reached out and touched him. Think about
what it did for this man spiritually when Jesus
touched him. Somebody said, "According to the law you
weren't supposed to touch a leprous person." That is
exactly correct. But there is something different in
this touch of the Lord. When Jesus Christ touches this
leper, the leper's corruption is not communicated to
Jesus. But our Lord's cleansing is communicated to the
leper.
It doesn't work that way in our society, does it?
Here's a young sweet girl and a sorry boy gets hold of
her. Her purity doesn't touch him; his impurity
touches her.
I think about how that in our world we communicate our
corruption, but in His world the Lord Jesus Christ
communicates compassion. You remember King Midas.
Everything he touched turned to gold. He would touch a
twig and it would turn to gold. He would touch a cup
and it would turn to gold. He touched his own daughter
and she turned to gold.
Dear one, everything Jesus Christ touches turns to
blessing. Everything Jesus Christ touches turns to
benefit. Everything that Jesus Christ touches turns to
honor. He reached down and touched him and said, "I
will, be thou clean." Christ can touch you in your
need today. Hopeless though you may be, filled with
sin though you may be, Christ can touch you and
communicate His cleansing to you.
"Immediately his leprosy was cleansed." One touch and
the mad race of that leprosy to destroy that man's
life is suddenly reversed. One touch from Jesus Christ
today can reverse the sin problem in your life. In
that prison cell the touch of Christ can reverse the
problem of sin. In that mansion in the city of
Jacksonville, the touch of Christ can reverse that
chain of sin. He touched him and he was immediately
cleansed.
I think about that song we used to sing, "He touched
me." A lot of people in this building today can give
testimony to the fact that Jesus Christ has touched
their lives. All around us today are cured lepers. All
around us today are people whose lives have been
transformed and changed by the power of Jesus Christ.
The misery of the leper. The mercy of the Lord.
There's a third scene I want to point out to you in
verse 4. "And Jesus said unto him, See thou tell no
man: but go thy way, show thyself to the priest, and
offer the gift that Moses commanded, for a testimony
unto them."
What's that all about? That's—
III. The MINISTRY of the Law.
In the Old Testament there was a law that governed the
cleansing of the leper. There were specific guidelines
that had to be followed. There was a type—a picture in
the Old Testament to show what Christ can do for
people today.
Turn over to Leviticus. I want to show you this
beautiful type in the Old Testament. This is a
beautiful picture concerning the cleansing of the
leper in the Old Testament. In the 13th chapter you
will read some of the nauseating affects of leprosy.
It's so long—59 verses. It shows you the devastating
affects of the leprosy and what sin can do. Now in the
14th chapter we are given the type for the cleansing of
the leper.
It says in verse 3, "And the priest shall go forth out
of the camp. And the priest shall look and behold at
the plague of leprosy be healed in the leper."
Jesus said to that leprous man, "You go to the
priest." There had to be a confirmation that a
cleansing had occurred. A priest was not only a
spiritual leader; he was kind of like a public health
officer. They would send the cleansed lepers to the
priests. The only thing was—they had never had one of
those cases before. It had never happened before. When
Jesus sent this leper we can imagine the surprise. By
the way, Jesus told that leper -don't tell anybody. We
are told in other accounts that he went and told
everybody. Isn't that an amazing thing? Jesus told us
to tell everybody and we don't hardly tell anybody.
He would go to this leper and the leper would go out
where he was—outside the city. Outside the camp. That
is a beautiful picture of what Jesus did to cleanse us
from sin leprosy. In our sinful condition we couldn't
go where Jesus is. So Jesus came from heaven where we
are. Hebrews 13:11,12 say that Jesus Christ came out
of the camp, out to a hill called Calvary, outside the
gates of Jerusalem, there to die on a cross. He came
to where we were. That's what Jesus has done.
Notice what happened. In verse 4 the priest would take
two birds, live and clean birds. Then he would take
some cedar wood and scarlet and hyssop. With those he
would make an applicator—kind of a brush. As you read
on down you will notice that one of those birds was
killed. The blood of that bird went down into that
earthen vessel that had been filled with water. The
dead bird is a picture of the death and burial of our
Lord Jesus Christ. Then the priest would take this
living bird and apply the blood of the dead bird to
the wings of the living bird and then would go into an
open place, an open field, and would let the living
bird loose. That living bird would fly toward heaven,
picturing the resurrection and ascension of the Lord
Jesus Christ. A picture that cleansing was made
possible on the basis of the shedding of blood. You
will study all through the scriptures and you will
find the principle is consistent—without the shedding
of blood there is no remission of sin. There is power
in the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ shed on Calvary
for our sins.
Sometimes dry cleaners advertise that they have a new
ingredient that will clean all kinds of stains from
clothing. There is only one ingredient that can cure
sin stains—that is the blood of Jesus.
You say, but oh, preacher, my sin is deep. Yes, but
the blood of Jesus goes deeper. You say, my sin has
gone too far. Yes, but the blood of Jesus has gone
farther. Oh, preacher, my sin is so serious. But the
blood of Jesus Christ is more serious. He has paid the
price for your sins in the shedding of His blood. You
can come to Christ and be cleansed from your sin
problem.
Verse 7 says "And he shall sprinkle upon him that is
to be cleansed from the leprosy seven times." Not only
was the bloodshed, but also the blood had to be
sprinkled. The blood had to be applied. What does that
mean to me? You see, it is not enough that Jesus died
on the cross for your sins. You must by faith
personally receive the benefit of what Christ did on
that cross for your sins. The blood must be applied.
There's an old gospel hymn I used to hear. In that
song it says this: "But this one thing I know. That
when the crimson flood fell to the earth below, it
fell on me." My sins were cleansed when the blood of
Jesus Christ came and was applied to us.
Would you like to have that blood applied to your life
today by faith in the Lord? When you come to Christ
and invite Him to forgive you of your sins and ask Him
by faith to come into your heart and into your life,
the blood of Christ is applied. Then Jesus said, "You
go for a testimony unto them."
I have liked to have imagined how it must have been
the day the cleansed leper came to the priest. He had
never seen one of these cases before. I can almost
hear him when he goes home for supper that night. He
says to his wife, "I've seen something today I've
never seen in all of my life. I've seen a hopeless
case changed. I've seen a leper cleansed and made
whole." How did it happen? He said that a man named
Jesus touched him and when He did his leprosy was
gone.
Don't you think it's about time some of you gave a
testimony to what Jesus can do for you? Don't you
think there are some of you who publicly need to
declare your faith in this Lord Jesus?
There's another interesting picture of lepers in the
Old Testament. In II Kings 7 we are told the account
of the four lepers who are outside the city. It
appears that there's a famine in the land. They are
starving to death. These lepers made a decision to go
into the city to try to find something to eat. They
said this, "Why sit we here till we die? We are going
to die out here. There's a little hope in there." They
went in and God had performed a miracle and there was
plenty to eat there. They fed themselves and then they
said, "We do not well. This is a day of good tidings
and behold our peace." They were saying this is news
too good to keep. We have to tell someone else about
it. One of the ways you do that is by making your
public profession of faith in Christ. When you walk
down an aisle you are basically saying there's hope
for the hopeless. There is help for those who need a
Savior.
Let's bow our heads in prayer.
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