Latest / Bible Study with Pr. Daniel Batarseh | Verse by Verse Series | Maranatha Bible Church - Chicago / Seeing The Gospel in The Life of a Leper | Pastor Daniel Batarseh (Gospel of Mark Bible Study Series)

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Seeing The Gospel in The Life of a Leper | Pastor Daniel Batarseh (Gospel of Mark Bible Study Series) · Bible Study with Pr. Daniel Batarseh | Verse by Verse Series | Maranatha Bible Church - Chicago

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  Want to welcome all our visitors.
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  If it's your first time here we're so glad you can join us on
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  this Lord's day service. And if you call this place home,
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  while come home to this family of faith, if you have your
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  Bibles with me, meet me in the Book of Mark chapter 1 We
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  exalted Christ and singing that we will exalt him as we hear and
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  Proclaim his word. Meet me in verse 40 of Mark
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  chapter 1. I was trust that.
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  What has been happening in the past few weeks will continue to
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  happen that we will just Relish in the revelation of the person
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  of Jesus Christ. That is the intention of our
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  time in The Book of Mark that we would see Jesus in his glory and
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  his majesty and that we would fall on our face and worship him
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  more than we did the week before.
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  Would you pray with me with that goal in mind?
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  Oh Lord. We thank you for Jesus Christ.
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  You are Son, our older brother our King, our substitute, Our
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  Redeemer Lord. We pray that as we explore these
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  verses, That it would not be communicated as a mere transfer
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  of information, but Lord, it would be your voice loud and
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  clear. And that we would hear you and
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  hearing you, we would respond to you not with a men's.
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  Merely not with a fresh jolt of Joy with the post sermon songs.
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  But Lord, with obedience, And with worship Beyond these walls,
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  Lord, you are the one who can cleanse the leper, physically
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  and spiritually. And for those who have come in
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  here today, full of leprosy. Let them know that you are the
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  Lord, who heals you are. The one who saves you were?
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  The one who is willing to touch the Untouchable.
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  We love you. We love you.
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  And we are prepared to hear from you and Jesus name, we pray,
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  Amen. Verse 40.
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  And a leper. Came to him imploring him and
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  kneeling said to him if you will you can make me clean moved with
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  pity. He stretched out his hand and
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  touched him and said I will be clean and immediately the
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  leprosy left him and he was made clean, and Jesus sternly charged
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  him and sent him away at once and said to him.
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  See that you say nothing to anyone but go show yourself.
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  To the priest and offer for your cleansing, what Moses commanded
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  for a proof to them. But he went out and began to
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  talk freely about it and to spread the news so that Jesus
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  could no longer openly, enter a town, but was out in desolate
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  places and people were coming to him from every quarter.
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  The first chapter of the Gospel of Mark will close with one of
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  the most jaw-dropping displays of the Divine and Supernatural.
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  Real power of the person of Jesus Christ.
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  And so remarkable was this specific miracle that Matthew
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  and Luke found it necessary obviously compelled by the
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  spirit to include the story in their own accounts of the
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  ministry of Our Lord. Now, Jesus had healed.
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  Not only dozens, but most likely hundreds of people with various
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  sicknesses up to this point in his ministry.
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  But there's something about this particular moment that the Holy
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  Spirit. Necessary to expand on it and to
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  give it to us in more detail. He doesn't summarize this
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  miracle. He opens it up for us to
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  understand and to meditate further on the implications of
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  what this miracle has to offer us.
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  Now think about it to be a Jew in this time in the day of Jesus
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  in his three-year Ministry and for you to hear that, a Man from
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  Nazareth was going around performing Miracles, would in No
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  Doubt. Stir, not just one but a nation.
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  Remember there was a period of great silence.
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  Where there was no, prophetic voice, no display of prophetic
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  power. And yes, John came, but John did
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  not perform any Miracles, which says something, because he
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  brought a nation to its knees. But then Here Comes Jesus, the
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  one that John was preaching about and preparing the way for
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  and and just Miracles are happening wherever he went.
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  And the nation now is stirred with not just curiosity, but
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  with great desire for him to minister unto them.
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  But take it further to hear as a Jew, that this same man who was
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  doing Miracles, actually healed a leper.
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  Is a category of astonishment on its own.
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  This would have been Just absolutely stunning to realize
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  and this is exactly why we have this account because leprosy
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  spoken of in the scripture is referred to various infectious
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  skin disease and it's even expanded from that it can even
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  be known as some particular fungus that can be found in the
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  house and the walls of homes and even in certain garments.
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  But in a general sense when you and I hear leprosy and see it in
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  the Scripture, it is known as a dreaded dreaded sickness that
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  Fear the masses that could cause severe disfiguration and
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  deformity to the body. And this long-lasting disease
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  was not only feared because it brought such destructive power
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  to the Flesh. And not only put an end to your
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  nerves and your Sensations. Not only open wounds and not
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  only even brought a fragrance, a putrid smell.
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  And not only called limbed cause limbs to be paralyzed and rot,
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  but it drove someone out to be completely isolated from
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  day-to-day life. It called for total alienation
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  Shin. And this was something that the
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  Bible took extremely seriously in the Old Testament.
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  You have chapters dedicated to how if there is any sign of some
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  kind of discoloration or some kind of irritation you were to
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  go through a certain protocol or you have to go to the priest.
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  They would examine you a certain way and go through a series of
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  tests to determine if you indeed have leprosy.
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  And if you did then you have to pay the high price of being
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  quarantined oftentimes for life. And so there was no no kind of
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  connection anymore with your family, you cannot hug it,
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  embrace your wife anymore. You couldn't hold the hands of
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  your children, you could not go to the feast.
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  You cannot even do something as casual as walking through the
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  market. On a weeknight, you are
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  completely isolated in a desolate place, and the only
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  communion you would actually have was perhaps with other
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  lepers. To have leprosy was to be
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  marked. It was to be avoided.
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  And in many cases people were absolutely disgusted with, just
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  the sight of a person who is riddled with this disease, and
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  the only thing that was worse than leprosy in this time was
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  death itself. This was second to death.
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  In fact, the very sight of a leper where they had to actually
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  tear their clothes, As though they were walking in morning is
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  it's kind of a symbol of a person who is really The Walking
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  Dead. now, if you think the deteriorating effects that I
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  just mentioned was was just terrible as it is, even gets
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  worse and the reason why it's worse is because leprosy Was
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  incurable by man. There was no treatment, there
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  was no remedy, there is nothing that could be offered especially
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  at this time that could bring about reversible solutions to a
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  leper. And because of this, the Jews,
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  both in the old and the new have made a very obvious conclusion,
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  based on that. And the conclusion is found in
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  the book of 2nd Kings chapter 5 verse 7.
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  This is one not a Jew but a Syrian Naaman.
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  Had leprosy and was told that there was someone in Israel who
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  could provide a miracle for his condition.
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  But when the news came to the king of Israel, I want you to
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  see his reaction and I want you to realize what the common Jew
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  believed about leprosy. Second Kings chapter 5 verse 7
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  reads. And when the king of Israel,
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  read the letter, he tore his clothes and said, a, my God, am
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  I God to kill and to make alive that this man sends word to me,
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  to cure a man of his leprosy, only consider and see how he is
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  seeking a quarrel with me. The hopelessness of this
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  disease, the awful nature of it has left.
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  The people who have known leprosy is a common thing.
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  Unfortunately, in their time that only God can bring
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  restoration only God Only God himself And so, even this King
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  realizes that for this, this Gentile to ask for healing, he's
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  a guy this guy, this guy obviously doesn't get it.
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  He's picking a fight with me because everybody knows that no
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  man can offer anybody to a person who was infected in this
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  way. And so only God can actually
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  reverse supernaturally, this kind of suffering that totally
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  alter someone's life. And so the only way that
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  somebody could be restored and there was protocol of how
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  somebody could be restored and then receive a certification
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  that they were healed was if there is some kind of mysterious
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  mysterious healing or God did it himself and this message alone
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  can be easily. A meditation upon that
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  conclusion that we just made because if the Jews universally
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  believed that only God can bring healing to the leper.
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  Then what does it say of what? We Shred that when this man
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  comes to this man, Jesus of Nazareth, he not only is told
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  like Elijah to go to a certain place and receive a miracle
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  without any contact, but is touched by this man touched by
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  him. And through that touch there is
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  healing virtue that comes leaving him.
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  Uninfected, uncontaminated The conclusion is obvious as a not
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  this miracle speaks of the nature, the divine nature of our
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  Lord and savior there is no question about it.
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  And that is exactly the point of this miracle it says something
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  about who Jesus is it puts his character and his person and a
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  category that no one else shares but as you heard two weeks ago
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  there is a broader message beyond the central point of the
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  deity of Jesus Christ. There is something more to be
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  offered here in this text. There are lessons that orbit
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  around that truth of Jesus and who he is.
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  And the best way that you and I can receive as much as we can
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  from this moving scene is to First understand that the reason
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  why the Bible speaks so much about leprosy is that God in his
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  wisdom desires to use it as an illustration of sin, and its
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  life-altering effects on man. Ceci.
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  Is a picture of sin. Don't skip Leviticus when you
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  come to your reading of it in your personal time.
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  When you go to Leviticus, and I am among those who who read the
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  Bible from cover to cover, and I tell people to read the Bible
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  from cover to cover, when you get to Leviticus read chapter 13
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  and chapter 14, with the lens of paralleling sin with Leprosy and
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  you will leave with astounding Revelation, you will see
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  something quite quite amazing about God and His insight.
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  About what sin can do to a man, or to a society as a whole And
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  that's exactly what we're going to do today.
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  You and I are going to come to this text and look at this
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  passage that deals with Leprosy with the perspective of sin on
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  it and not just the perspective of sin on leprosy.
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  But we're going to view it through the lens of this leper.
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  We're going to learn by putting ourselves in his shoes and we're
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  going to see what this means for us today.
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  And it's a very simple structure because the first thing that you
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  and I are going to consider in this Is the faith, the faith of
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  this leper. And a leopard came to him
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  imploring him and kneeling and said if you and I are familiar
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  with our Bibles enough, then we have to understand that what
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  this is doing. This approach right here is
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  immediately something that should stand out to us because
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  the following verse tells us that this man came close enough
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  to Jesus, For Christ to touch him.
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  He was an arm's length away from him and any Jew who lived in
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  this time, and any unnie person has the understanding of the
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  word of God would realize, this is scandalous.
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  You don't do this as a leper. In fact, in Leviticus 13, 45.
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  There was instruction of how a leper should act.
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  When he comes to any kind of radius where people are he was
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  to do what tear his clothes and live like that and let the hair
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  of his head hang loose and he shall cover his upper lip and
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  cry out unto Clean unclean. Imagine living like that.
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  Not only did people know you were unclean just by the sight
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  of you but you, you have to Proclaim, I'm unclean, giving
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  people enough warning to move away from you and not be
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  infected themselves. But instead of that, what this
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  man does is he does pronounce his unclean state, but he does
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  it at the feet of Jesus. If you will, you can make me
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  clean and he throws himself at the Lord.
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  And the beauty of this picture is that this poor soul.
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  Surely must have heard something about Jesus for him to come to
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  this point. Surely he heard something in
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  Matthew, we realized that he was there after Jesus gave The
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  Sermon on the Mount. That makes you wonder, did he
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  hear the sermon of the mouth from a distance?
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  Did he hear something about these words?
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  These amazing words from this man and he thought himself, this
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  man is different or perhaps, there is something that he heard
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  after we read in, Mark of the Miracles that were happening and
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  it the buzzing news came to his colony of lepers.
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  And, and it was, it was told that he can heal various
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  diseases. He can touch people and make
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  them whole and beyond that it makes you wonder did.
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  He also learn about the compassion of Jesus that he
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  deals with his patients in a certain way.
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  He doesn't leave you the way you came to me.
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  Actual do something about it, whatever kind of information
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  this man received. He obviously came to the
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  conclusion, this man is not ordinary and if I come to him,
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  the way I am, he will indeed do something with me.
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  And what was For this leper is true for any sinner today.
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  There is no sickness of the Soul.
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  Listen, there is no ugliness of your sin that might cause others
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  to have nothing to do with you. That will cause Christ to not be
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  willing to receive you unto himself.
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  Nothing. And in case, there's anyone who
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  feels that hesitation, you'd be amazed to know how many people
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  do to come to Christ or to think that he sees you.
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  And because you believe he is all-knowing, he realizes your
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  deepest darkest Secrets, he knows the perversion that you
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  have tried to hide from it and perhaps have successfully done
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  so, but you realize that he has those fires of fire and sees
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  through all things. So in your mind, there's Christ
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  with his arms crossed towards you.
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  If you're that person, then look at this as an example.
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  And realize that this man as hideous as he was physically.
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  Came to Jesus and Jesus received him.
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  And here's what's amazing, Luke. Luke is a doctor that was his
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  occupation. We're told that in the Bible, he
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  was a physician and like a good physician.
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  He adds a certain detail to the condition of this man.
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  Go to Luke chapter chapter 5 verse 12.
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  Notice what he adds to this account, And Luke Chapter 5 12
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  and the telling of the same Miracle while he was in one of
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  the Cities. There came a man full of
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  leprosy. Full of leprosy.
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  And when he saw Jesus, he fell on his face, not just on his
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  knees. He fell on his face and begged
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  him Lord, if you will, you can make me clean.
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  Mark says he was a leper, Luke. The doctor says he was not, huh.
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  He was full of it from head to toe.
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  He was absolutely covered with sores.
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  And irritation and discoloration and deterioration.
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  Completely covered. He didn't just have some patches
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  here, and there, he wasn't just rotting in some areas.
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  He was a falling apart, just in the lower part or the upper
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  part. He was absolutely blanketed with
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  Leprosy. There is not one part of him,
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  that wasn't touched. All men are sinners.
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  All men have fallen short of the glory of God.
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  But there are some men, there are some women who are not just
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  Sinners. They are full of sin.
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  Full. They are full of perversion.
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  They have every area of their lives polluted with impurity.
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  They don't just have one or two ungodly habits and they have
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  some element of goodness in their minds that can justify it.
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  There are some people who are wicked, who are evil, who are
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  vile that, not one part of them. Can be even Dean goodbye.
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  Those who think they are good themselves. and this is what the
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  severe case of leprosy is pointing to that, even such a
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  person who is consumed with corruption Who doesn't even have
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  the ability to be remorseful, and how they treat others, or
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  how they use others for them. Their own gain, such a person,
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  still has hope. Christ is able to even heal them
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  and save them and redeem them. No person is too damaged.
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  No one is to spiritually deformed to be restored by the
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  power of Christ's love. And that's what you have to
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  understand. You have to believe that his
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  arms are open. He is a physician who is excited
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  to know that he can bring relief to you, but you have to
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  understand without Jesus, no matter what severity of sin, you
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  are dealing with, you are hopeless, Just like the leopard
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  was hopeless. You are hopeless.
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  The law of God in the Old Testament demanded that a leper
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  was to be permanently driven away from the camp, and the camp
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  is not just where God's people dwell.
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  The camp is where the presence of God abided, and this law
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  concerning the leper. Expelled such a person from even
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  coming close to knowing not just the fellowship of people but
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  knowing the presence of the Lord.
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  But the grace of God in the person of Jesus Christ, invites
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  that same person into his presence.
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  The Lord Jesus Christ himself deals with that which the law
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  condemns and separates and removes it so that we can be
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  near him forever. And so we see that here, clearly
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  every person apart from Christ, yes is a sinner, but more than a
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  sinner is driven away from the presence of God, not just now,
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  but will be for eternity, but Jesus Christ who does not
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  abolish. The law who honors the law, he
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  removes the, cause the condemnation, Of our isolation
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  from his presence and reconciles us to himself.
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  That's what Christ does for you. And if you are one of those who
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  have done things, that would even cause people to shun, you
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  never mind a perfectly. Holy God, then realized that
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  there is one who has a desire for you.
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  You got to do what this man does though.
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  What does he do? Look at the language and a leper
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  came to imploring him. You gotta come with desperation.
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  You gotta come with desperation. And the reason why people do not
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  come to Jesus, with desperation, I believe is the fault of those
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  who communicate the gospel. We Don't Preach enough about the
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  ugliness of sin. We don't tell people how filthy
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  it is how dirty it is. And all we do in this life is
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  compared our sin to others but it makes all the difference.
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  When you compare your sin to a holy and righteous God And our
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  lack of the understanding of the, of the Holiness of God is
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  affecting the way we communicate the gospel.
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  Why in the world would you want to be cleansed by his blood?
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  If you don't see the filth on your body in your heart, in your
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  mind, he came with desperation imploring Him.
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  Luke says, begging him begging him, but he also came with
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  reverence, he knelt before him. He realize who he was talking
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  to, he realize who he was imploring and he That this one
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  has the power and he has the ability to do something about my
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  impossible case, reverence reverence for Jesus Christ
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  again, I believe there is a lack of reverence today and so when
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  we present Jesus to people we present him like a buddy to add
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  to your friends list. Now he is King who will demand
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  you to leave all your friends to come and receive him.
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  And not only that this man came with confession.
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  He did come to the Lord, understanding his ability to do
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  something about he understood something about his grace, but
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  he still had to come with the honesty of his condition.
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  I am unclean, would you claim me?
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  He has to be made whole and when you have those elements with the
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  faith that he alone is the source to save you, he will save
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  you. Now, what's amazing is we heard
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  two weeks ago? That Mark puts a special
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  emphasis on the miracles of Jesus in that Jesus often
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  touched those that he did make whole.
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  But I am under the conviction that in this case, this man had
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  a greater meaning to this touch. There was a greater significance
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  in this moment for the simple reason that he was a leper.
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  Do you realize that it could be perhaps it was years that this
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  man has ever known the Embrace of someone?
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  That no one would dare. Even come certain amount of feet
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  by you never mind. Touch you.
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  And Jesus, according to our Bibles, as we heard had, the
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  absolute authority to just speak a word of healing, and the
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  healing would come. And if there is anyone, that you
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  would think, would need just a word from a distance to be
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  healed. It was this man.
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  But Jesus deliberately willingly strategically.
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  Touches him to heal him. I was thinking about that last
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  night and the thought that ran through my mind was, besides the
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  healing, besides the miracle. What did that sensation of the
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  hand of Jesus softly being placed on his shoulder, feel
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  like After years of not knowing somebody.
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  To lay their hand on them. To bring them close.
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  You think that's an accident. It's not an accident.
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  What Christ is trying to say through this is that he's
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  deeply. Relational deeply, relational.
• 24:34
  He did not only extend his hand to heal the man's body.
• 24:36
  He extended his hand because he wanted to touch his heart.
• 24:42
  He went to touch his heart. And he wanted to let him know
• 24:46
  through this quick Miracle of massive message.
• 24:49
  I desire. Not just your healing.
• 24:52
  I desire you I desire you. And, you know, Jesus made
• 25:01
  provision for Sinners to have their record clean.
• 25:05
  He has through the expense of his own life, dealt with that,
• 25:09
  which condemns us for all eternity.
• 25:12
  But what was the goal? What was the goal, so you don't
• 25:14
  go to hell. So you don't go to hell, so
• 25:18
  you're not tormented for all eternity so that you can be with
• 25:22
  your friends and be with your loved ones.
• 25:25
  I want to show you the goal, I want to show you the go on which
• 25:28
  why Jesus came to reach into our world, to redeem us unto
• 25:32
  himself. And first Peter 3:18 never
• 25:35
  forget this verse The Epistle of Peter. 3:18, I'll give you a
• 25:46
  moment to turn their look at the language.
• 25:48
  Look, what the holy spirit is trying to tell us, concerning
• 25:51
  the Redemption in Jesus Christ. 1st Peter 3:18 for Christ.
• 25:56
  Also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous
• 26:03
  that he might bring us to God, God himself.
• 26:09
  Not the Pearly Gates, not the Mansion, not the streets of
• 26:14
  gold, I promise you that we'll get old.
• 26:19
  God himself. Is why Christ came?
• 26:24
  So we have all the right to say we have a relationship with God.
• 26:31
  Because that's why he died to bring us to him.
• 26:36
  What I'm offering today in the gospel is God himself.
• 26:41
  That's what the goal of the Gospel is if we're not
• 26:44
  presenting God, what are we presenting?
• 26:47
  A relief of the conscience. Merely a better reputation, a
• 26:53
  more civilized life, a community of people that you can hang out
• 26:56
  with because you're lonely. God himself.
• 27:01
  If you don't want God, you don't want this gospel.
• 27:06
  If you don't want God, you don't want heaven.
• 27:10
  That's why I look at some profession Christians life and
• 27:13
  let this sting you. If it's you they don't talk
• 27:16
  about God at all. There's no passion about God,
• 27:21
  there's no desire to learn his word.
• 27:23
  There's no yearning to be in obedience to him and you want to
• 27:27
  go to heaven. You want to go to heaven, you're
• 27:31
  convincing me that you actually want to go to have you don't
• 27:32
  know what happens about. it's about himself his presence for
• 27:36
  all of eternity, enjoyed And cherished Jesus touches this
• 27:42
  man. what a sight that would have been the gossip and those
• 27:48
  who just saw this and yet he's trying to say something I want
• 27:51
  this man, I want this man's heart to know my heart for him,
• 27:56
  not just his healing, not just his restoration him The faith of
• 28:02
  the lepers show obvious. But now we transition from the
• 28:05
  faith of the lever, to the Mandate of the leper, the
• 28:08
  Mandate of the leper. And that's found here in verse
• 28:10
  42. And immediately, the leprosy
• 28:14
  left him. And he was made clean
• 28:18
  immediately. The leprosy left him, and he was
• 28:21
  made clean and Jesus sternly. Charge them and sent him away at
• 28:26
  once and said to him. See that you say nothing, see
• 28:29
  that? You say nothing to anyone, but
• 28:31
  go show yourself to the priest and offer for your cleansing,
• 28:33
  what Moses commanded for a proof of them.
• 28:35
  This beautiful testimony could have parked at verse 42.
• 28:39
  We could have heard he was healed immediately, and then we
• 28:42
  move on with the story of Jesus ministry, but the interaction
• 28:46
  continues to an interesting Direction.
• 28:49
  Immediately following this miracle, Jesus gives an
• 28:52
  exhortation to this man. And it's a two-fold exhortation
• 28:56
  number one, you can't tell this to anybody remain silent.
• 29:02
  And number two, put it in the GPS that you're headed towards
• 29:06
  One Direction. In One Direction alone, go to
• 29:08
  the priest. Let them examine you investigate
• 29:12
  your case and in give you the certification that you have been
• 29:15
  made whole and you must give an offering that Moses prescribed
• 29:19
  as a result of your healing, that's what it is.
• 29:23
  But before, looking at the commands consider the way in
• 29:25
  which Jesus gives this command. Well, first of all, consider
• 29:30
  this The overarching point, is that restoration by Christ?
• 29:36
  Is followed by obedience to Christ?
• 29:39
  Restoration by the hands of Jesus is followed by obedience.
• 29:45
  And our obedience them is a response to his power, his
• 29:48
  grace. It doesn't proceed, it, it
• 29:52
  follows it. When you understand that, he's
• 29:54
  done something in you. In the most.
• 29:56
  Undeserving way tasting, his grace, then opens a heart to
• 29:59
  say, whatever you tell me to do, I submit to your lordship, you
• 30:03
  are worthy of my obedience and what's interesting here in verse
• 30:07
  43, we get a perfect summary of the manner by which you and I if
• 30:12
  you claim to being healed, if you've claimed to be restored,
• 30:14
  what is the man? By which we obey him because you
• 30:18
  have a lot of people have interesting ideas about what it
• 30:20
  means to obey him. Notice what it says no word,
• 30:24
  bye-bye, Jesus by accident here, no description of the what he
• 30:28
  did is by accident here. Jesus sternly charged him It
• 30:34
  was, it was forceful. There is no second-guessing what
• 30:39
  he was saying, his tone was clear and it was authoritative.
• 30:44
  He was strong in saying this and it could be that he knew the
• 30:49
  seriousness of Disobedience to this command.
• 30:52
  And that's why he was so strict in how he communicated it, he
• 30:56
  was Stern, the commands of Jesus, my friend are not
• 31:00
  suggestions. Do not try this because it's a
• 31:05
  little better than your way. It's my way or no way.
• 31:09
  It's my way or no way, they are non-negotiable orders.
• 31:14
  Do you see the Bible that way? Do you see the commands of God
• 31:18
  in that way? Do you have is that the pulse
• 31:21
  that you feel? When you come to the scripture?
• 31:23
  Or you hear it preached? This is no joke.
• 31:25
  This is my Lord speaking to me and asking me what I should do.
• 31:28
  I will obey No, because it's all Grace, right?
• 31:35
  Yes, you just heard a whole point on the grace of God.
• 31:39
  But we have people drinking a different kind of grace.
• 31:41
  These days, a Grace that does not stimulate you to obedience
• 31:45
  is a cheap Grace, I don't want it and I'm not going to give it
• 31:49
  to anybody else. Stern, a Stern charged.
• 31:54
  But secondly, he sent them away at once.
• 31:59
  The commands of Jesus are not to be delayed.
• 32:03
  We shouldn't be hesitant. But our primary priority and the
• 32:07
  driving force of all that we do is Jesus said it, my lord said
• 32:12
  it. And so I Elevate as a supreme
• 32:16
  Sovereign driving force of my being And perhaps coming to
• 32:22
  this, we feel the same way, because I have a lot of wise
• 32:28
  with this text. I have a lot of why.
• 32:30
  Why why And my first, why is why the urgency to solely?
• 32:37
  Go to the priests. Why why that?
• 32:41
  Why is that the direction? And you have many different
• 32:44
  reasons. But, let me give you the main
• 32:46
  one. First, it shows that Jesus
• 32:50
  upheld the law. Jesus didn't violate the law.
• 32:54
  He actually was the author of it and he threw.
• 32:58
  This is proving not just to this, man.
• 33:00
  But to the surrounding audience, that he actually honors the law
• 33:03
  of Moses. And this would be a great
• 33:06
  apologetic to silence those who claim.
• 33:08
  Otherwise, But it's in the text. It's in the text Hawaii and it's
• 33:13
  the last phrase of verse 44, go for a proof to them.
• 33:19
  I want you to prove something to these priests.
• 33:23
  Prove what that he was made made well more than that.
• 33:27
  More than that. We don't know how many lepers
• 33:34
  have come over the years to the priests to pronounce that they
• 33:38
  have been made well. But here's what's amazing, when
• 33:41
  this man would come walking into that temple on this day.
• 33:46
  With a smile on his face. And with, with the Flesh of a
• 33:49
  newborn, The priests are going to have some questions.
• 33:56
  How did this happen? And Jesus wants this man. to
• 34:03
  tell them he is the reason And these priests who perform these
• 34:11
  sacrifices. Who upheld the law, who like the
• 34:16
  king of Israel, in the Days of Elijah knew that only God can
• 34:19
  cure. This sickness would be
• 34:21
  confronted with the fact that a Man from Nazareth.
• 34:26
  Brought this about And I can just imagine that interaction,
• 34:31
  just like the men who was born, blind questions have two
• 34:34
  questions. Wait, you're telling me that the
• 34:38
  rabbi from Nazareth did this to you?
• 34:41
  Yes, she healed me, I made whole because of him.
• 34:45
  And how did this Rabbi do this? Well, I came before my now
• 34:49
  before him and he touched away, he touched you.
• 34:53
  He touched you. And they look at each other and
• 34:56
  he must have leprosy himself. They he got it.
• 34:58
  He's contaminating. We got to bring him in as older.
• 35:00
  No. No.
• 35:00
  You understand? He touched me and nothing
• 35:03
  happened to him. But something happened to me.
• 35:07
  And here are these priests with their phds, scratching their
• 35:10
  heads. And based on the conclusion that
• 35:15
  they would make from this miracle, it would either bring
• 35:18
  them to Salvation or condemn them.
• 35:24
  Go and tell the priests. Now, some might have objections
• 35:29
  to say, how can that be? The reason, how can that be the
• 35:33
  motive? Why is that the goal?
• 35:35
  When Jesus in the same breath says, don't tell anybody else.
• 35:39
  Which is my second why? Okay, if the why go to the
• 35:43
  priest is because you want the priest to put the equation
• 35:47
  together to realize the nature of Jesus.
• 35:51
  And to realize that these sacrifices all prophetic
• 35:53
  pictures pointing to the Messiah.
• 35:55
  Then why not let the man loosen? Just go evangelize the masses.
• 36:00
  Good question. Is it not?
• 36:02
  But Jesus is so wise. He's incredibly wise. and at
• 36:08
  this point in Jesus ministry, He does not want his
• 36:15
  miracle-working power to be the draw for the people to come to
• 36:21
  him. That's not his intention.
• 36:24
  That's not his primary goal. We heard it that we not last two
• 36:28
  weeks ago, or last week. I believe that Jesus went to the
• 36:32
  cities to preach to preach. This is why I have been sent to
• 36:38
  preach the good news. And what this miracle because of
• 36:42
  the magnitude of it. If it would go out to the
• 36:47
  city's, it would cause hysteria. It would cause chaos and it
• 36:53
  would only bring about a hindrance to the main purpose of
• 36:57
  the ministry of Jesus and that was to proclaim the message
• 37:00
  Christ came into this world so that people would repent and
• 37:03
  find forgiveness in himself. Not to temporarily deal with
• 37:06
  people's issues though. They are ailments and
• 37:11
  Sufferings. And so, Jesus understanding
• 37:15
  that. Says, be careful.
• 37:20
  We don't want this to become a distraction.
• 37:22
  Now. But here's a point to consider
• 37:25
  before we move on to what this man does.
• 37:28
  I love how Jesus sends this man to the priest to receive a test
• 37:33
  so that he can be proven to be changed.
• 37:37
  And what's true for that? Leper is true.
• 37:40
  If you have truly been saved, there should be no fear for any
• 37:43
  convert in this place to be tested or examined by a watching
• 37:47
  world only to leave with the conclusion.
• 37:49
  This person has been touched by Jesus.
• 37:52
  Do you have that claim in this place that you have been
• 37:55
  transformed by Christ? The let me tell you something.
• 37:58
  There should be a test based on this word that can validate and
• 38:02
  say, there is an obvious change in this person.
• 38:07
  I mean, if leprosy is a picture of sin and Jesus is the Healer
• 38:11
  of leprosy and also the savior of spiritual leprosy.
• 38:13
  And how ridiculous would it be for us to say, Jesus heals a
• 38:17
  leper with no evidence of any change in the body.
• 38:19
  And yet, we go around saying that I'm saved and there's no
• 38:22
  evidence of Salvation, it's just crazy to me, it's absolutely
• 38:26
  crazy to me. And Jesus here, doesn't want him
• 38:31
  to go about at this point in his ministry, because Jesus still
• 38:35
  wants to go into these cities. He wants to go into these
• 38:38
  synagogues and he wants to preach the truth.
• 38:42
  That is why he came, which is so amazing.
• 38:44
  Because do you see the big number two in your Bible?
• 38:46
  Mark chapter 2 The next miracle that we're going to see is Jesus
• 38:52
  healing that paralytic, man when he was at a certain house and
• 38:57
  the roof had to be caved in because of the lack of space.
• 39:00
  And what does Jesus do? Before he heals him, your sins
• 39:03
  are forgiven See, even in that transition, we know the main
• 39:09
  purpose of Jesus. He wants to forgive, that's a
• 39:11
  greater thing than you being able to walk again even and so
• 39:15
  this is the mind of Christ and he knows that if this man does
• 39:19
  not carefully obey, there could be a great challenge to that.
• 39:25
  And that is the Mandate of the leper.
• 39:27
  If you have been saved, you live by a Perpetual mandate from the
• 39:32
  Lord Jesus Christ. And you are careful to say.
• 39:37
  Lord, I hear what you say as a Christian, what I should not be
• 39:40
  doing and I hear what you say about as a follower of you, what
• 39:43
  I should be doing. What a wonderful summary.
• 39:48
  The faith of the leper, the Mandate of the leper, the
• 39:52
  Disobedience of the leper. First 45 butt.
• 40:00
  But he went out and began to talk freely about it.
• 40:03
  You know, to be honest before, studying this, whenever I read
• 40:07
  this part, I always thought it was like, a good thing, right?
• 40:09
  Anybody else with me on that like, wow, he was so exuberant
• 40:12
  and so enthusiastic he couldn't contain it.
• 40:15
  So he went about and freely told everybody and that's what made
• 40:18
  Jesus popular. This is disobedience.
• 40:23
  And it actually hurt the cause of Christ at this point.
• 40:29
  He went about to talk freely about it.
• 40:33
  And to spread the news. we might have admired this man at one
• 40:37
  point, but you're going to have that Sunday school,
• 40:40
  understanding, or that primary reading of it changed because
• 40:46
  This man. unfortunately, though he started with great humility
• 40:51
  and reverence now, begins to Impart his own ideas into the
• 40:58
  commands of Jesus and walk with his own wisdom.
• 41:03
  Even though he might have had good intentions.
• 41:05
  That happens. So much with people.
• 41:08
  It started really well. It started in a place of
• 41:11
  desperation and then we somehow feel like we have the right to
• 41:16
  change things. And walk with our own rules
• 41:20
  happens everywhere. You notice what happens here.
• 41:25
  Not only does he disobey he does the exact opposite of what Jesus
• 41:28
  says like. There's no evidence though, it
• 41:30
  could have been true down the road.
• 41:32
  There's no evidence here that he actually went to the priests.
• 41:36
  And so he he doesn't do what he was told to do by going on
• 41:42
  telling people, and the very thing Jesus said to do, he
• 41:44
  doesn't do. Like, literally the opposite.
• 41:50
  And I wonder why what was going through his head.
• 41:54
  We can't, we can't make a dogmatic statement, but what was
• 41:56
  going through his mind and only two things upon meditation,
• 41:58
  could be a possibility. At least to me, maybe have a
• 42:00
  third. Here's the first one.
• 42:02
  He was obviously excited. I mean, you've been healed from
• 42:05
  an incurable disease. We almost don't blame him for
• 42:08
  wanting to tell anybody, but the emotions do not justify the
• 42:13
  disobedience. How often is our Disobedience?
• 42:17
  A result of our emotions. How often is it that we don't do
• 42:23
  what Jesus tells us do because ready for this?
• 42:25
  I don't feel like it. I'm just not in the mood today.
• 42:30
  Or how much are we willing to do in Disobedience to Jesus because
• 42:33
  it just feels right it feels right.
• 42:38
  He's so cute. I don't care how cute he is.
• 42:43
  Is he saved? Well you know it just it just
• 42:49
  it's going to cause friction and so I can't say this to this
• 42:54
  person instead I'm just going to I'm just going to emphasize on
• 42:57
  this aspect of God. It doesn't matter what you feel.
• 43:00
  Are they, is it true? Is it true?
• 43:05
  Do you realize that our nation is going down the toilet because
• 43:09
  of feelings? Do you realize that everybody is
• 43:13
  easily offended? Now, everybody has her and now
• 43:16
  everything is not just feelings. Everything is fluid.
• 43:21
  I saw something. I'm not on Tick-Tock.
• 43:23
  I'm not on Tick. Tock, you can't pay me to get on
• 43:25
  Tick-Tock. You can it just the level of
• 43:28
  cringe is just I can't do it, I can't do it.
• 43:32
  I people like well you can reach people.
• 43:33
  Look, I can get if you want to do it.
• 43:35
  Do it that you can take whatever you want to do it.
• 43:38
  If you can go on there and preach the gospel and not adopt
• 43:41
  cringe habits, praise God. That's wonderful.
• 43:44
  There's a Grace on your life. I got that out of my system.
• 43:51
  God can use anything even cringy things.
• 43:55
  But I saw this thing because somebody posted and it was this
• 43:57
  this woman speaking about how she was fluid in her gender
• 44:00
  identity. And she was talking about how
• 44:02
  literally while she's walking. Because of her gender dysphoria.
• 44:09
  She can turn from a woman to a man because she feels like it.
• 44:14
  And so, one day she could be eating her cereal and in that
• 44:17
  moment, she can go from Alex to Amber.
• 44:20
  That was in, and I added that I'm like, where does this stop?
• 44:25
  It's not going to stop. This ideology is like a car
• 44:31
  going 100 mph headed, for a brick wall with no breaks.
• 44:36
  That's what's going to happen. Unless god, intervenes with his
• 44:39
  Mercy. And be careful college student.
• 44:44
  I don't even call these places college and universities were
• 44:47
  their indoctrination centers. Be careful that you are not
• 44:51
  influenced by this idea. That if it's feels right, then,
• 44:54
  it's right this man, perhaps felt that it was right because
• 44:59
  she was excited and exuberant and enthusiastic.
• 45:03
  And so he went about to do what Jesus said not to do.
• 45:07
  But maybe it was in the feeling. Maybe, maybe he heard the
• 45:11
  command of Jesus, in that moment.
• 45:14
  And he thought to himself in his estimation, I get that you're
• 45:18
  telling me this, but I don't think you understand that it
• 45:21
  could be better if we do it this way.
• 45:24
  Maybe he had really, really good intentions.
• 45:27
  I'm doing this because I want to spread your name.
• 45:29
  I'm not doing this for me. I want people to know about you.
• 45:33
  Jesus said, don't know, but you don't get it, this will help
• 45:37
  you. We don't know what's going on
• 45:39
  through his mind. But if that is true, then what a
• 45:41
  strong warning for those who think that they're helping to
• 45:45
  advance the kingdom of God, by operating in his name, with
• 45:48
  their own wisdom, instead of trusting his So if it brings
• 45:55
  results, it's right, no. If it's in his name and it's for
• 46:00
  his good then it's right, not necessarily.
• 46:04
  Let this be a strong reminder that God's commands do not need
• 46:07
  our adjustments. He knows exactly why he said
• 46:11
  what he said and he alone isn't in charge of the results and as
• 46:15
  our duty to Simply obey you said it, we're gonna do it.
• 46:20
  So if there are, if there are roles based on gender in the
• 46:23
  church, we're going to obey. I don't care what the culture
• 46:25
  says. We're going to obey you have
• 46:28
  many people who say because for example we believe in the
• 46:31
  scriptures that Elders should be men.
• 46:33
  And you know what? An argument is well as God just
• 46:35
  going to dispense and waste 50% of his his work because of
• 46:39
  woman, are we just going to throw away 50 percent of our
• 46:41
  potential? Do you see how human reasoning
• 46:44
  comes into this? Jesus, you're telling me to be
• 46:47
  quiet. Do you realize that if I go with
• 46:49
  this miracle with this testimony, the masses can come
• 46:51
  to you. Well, Jesus knows, he doesn't
• 46:54
  need your help. He doesn't need your ideas.
• 46:57
  He need you to just trust him. and this leper, Like many today
• 47:03
  who think that they are doing God.
• 47:05
  A favor by incorporating our own mechanisms, our own Concepts.
• 47:12
  End up creating more setbacks than anything else.
• 47:17
  Actually, we hurt the advancement more than help it
• 47:21
  Jesus at the second part of the verse could no longer openly
• 47:24
  enter a town. That's not good.
• 47:29
  Because he wanted to go into these towns.
• 47:33
  He wanted to go in and preach. And we are told that Jesus could
• 47:38
  no longer do that freely anymore, as he desired his
• 47:42
  strategy, had to change. And that's why from this point
• 47:45
  on in Mark, what you're going to see, is Jesus out in desolate,
• 47:48
  places. Jesus out by the Sea, Jesus out
• 47:50
  on a boat, and he had to pull back from the shore, because he
• 47:53
  was being crushed by a throng of people.
• 47:59
  Now you might say well that was going to happen anyway, that's
• 48:01
  fine. But at this point, Jesus did not
• 48:03
  want that to happen. I was talking with a few sisters
• 48:10
  after Bible study Friday and it was an encouraging conversation.
• 48:14
  And one of the things that came up, we were just telling
• 48:15
  testimonies of the Ripple effects of one small seemingly
• 48:21
  insignificant Act of obedience. How one step of obedience can
• 48:26
  actually Touch generations. How one person who steps out in
• 48:32
  faith or one person who just is consistent in their Devotion, to
• 48:35
  the Lord, can bless bless people beyond your own, your own
• 48:40
  understanding. And one of the sisters wisely
• 48:43
  said, and that is also true for Disobedience, you're right.
• 48:49
  And that's an example of it here.
• 48:50
  One simple thing that was Dishonored created a colossal
• 48:57
  mess so to speak. Maybe be carefully obedient to
• 49:02
  the Lord. May God help us.
• 49:04
  See what it is that he wants us to know.
• 49:06
  Exactly. And then obey by his strength As
• 49:10
  closely as possible. But I want to conclude with
• 49:13
  something I want to conclude with a thought that Mark by the
• 49:16
  spirit brilliantly. Portrays, if you read the
• 49:19
  wording of this last verse carefully, you get a hint that
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  the spirit of God Is providing a faint metaphor of a gospel.
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  Truth, look at verse 45, So that Jesus could no longer openly,
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  enter a town, but was out in desolate places.
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  Jesus could no longer openly. Enter a town but was sent out
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  into desolate places. Which character in the story
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  could relate to that experience? Leper.
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  Because this leper, When the story started we can argue was
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  in a desolate place. But now he is openly in the
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  towns. And Jesus started being openly
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  out in the towns. But now he's in a desolate
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  place. They exchanged places.
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  Isn't that what we believe about the gospel?
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  The Great Exchange. Jesus was willing for us to be
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  free. Was forsaken.
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  Jesus, who had everything? Was willing to lay aside and
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  aspect of his glory to come in and to know the place of a leper
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  symbolically speaking. To be driven away from the
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  presence of God. My God, my God, why have you
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  forsaken me? so you and I could be embraced
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  by by the same God. It's almost as though.
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  Mark through this miracle wants to give a nudge He's giving a
• 51:22
  nudge here in this miracle. You see an aspect, the core
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  concept of the Gospel. Jesus traits place was with us
• 51:33
  on the cross. If you're in this place and you
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  don't understand the idea of Christianity here it is.
• 51:40
  I just said it Christ, takes your place, he takes from you.
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  And he gives himself his righteousness, his Perfection,
• 51:52
  his Holiness, for your filth, your sin, your condemnation.
• 51:58
  And what the gospel demands is for you to acknowledge that, but
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  then to put your faith so that transaction can take place.
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  And how do you do that? I argue the same way the leopard
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  came to Jesus, come with desperation, come with,
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  reverence. With confession and let him heal
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  you because the same way. Jesus said, with pity, the word
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  is compassion, I will be clean. He will not push away those who
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  come to him. You come to him.
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  Even if you are full of sin corrupt Beyond imagination, his
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  arms are open to you and he will touch you.
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  He will touch you. Lord, we ask that.
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  That would be true for us. And we pray, Lord.
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  That every person in this house. Can testify not just from their
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  own. Validation but even for those
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  who know them, like the priest would have known what this
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  leper. I've been made clean by the
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  blood of Jesus Christ. Thank you, Lord.
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  Thank you for the story. Thank you for this miracle.
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  Thank you. That it is pregnant with so much
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  gospel truth. And Lord, we just worship you.
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  We just want to adore you as a result of this truth.
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  Lord, as we heard with the Mandate of the leper, please
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  help us. Help us to not make decisions
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  based on our emotions. And help us.
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  Not try to impose our ideas with your commands.
• 53:50
  But the simply trust in what you said, That, you know why?
• 53:55
  You said what you said and you have a desired goal through it?
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  even if you don't understand it in the moment, we trust in your
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  word, help us be a church that submits to your word And Lord,
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  we just ask. We just ask that you would
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  receive glory in this place.