WEBVTT 00:00:00.520 --> 00:00:04.799 Good morning, church. Good morning to those of 00:00:04.799 --> 00:00:08.300 you online today, the online fam. That is you 00:00:08.300 --> 00:00:10.980 wherever you happen to be, whether you've been 00:00:10.980 --> 00:00:14.160 moving some of you or just you woke up and today 00:00:14.160 --> 00:00:16.879 you're here. We are glad you're with us. Those 00:00:16.879 --> 00:00:19.620 of you in Baghdad and Paulding that call Heights 00:00:19.620 --> 00:00:23.039 home and are in specific locations there. We're 00:00:23.039 --> 00:00:26.539 so excited we get to do this together. And how 00:00:26.539 --> 00:00:31.850 are we? Yeah. There's kind of a whistle. I mean, 00:00:31.890 --> 00:00:34.350 it's kind of a, you know, somebody's feeling 00:00:34.350 --> 00:00:37.789 a little more than somebody else. I would say 00:00:37.789 --> 00:00:43.729 this. If you're new here, and by new, I'm like, 00:00:43.810 --> 00:00:45.990 you don't know what this space is. You don't 00:00:45.990 --> 00:00:47.869 know what your faith journey is. You don't know 00:00:47.869 --> 00:00:53.229 kind of how you landed here with what you carry 00:00:53.229 --> 00:00:55.590 into the room, what you think about God, what 00:00:55.590 --> 00:00:58.469 you think about you. I just want you to know 00:00:58.469 --> 00:01:02.109 you're welcome. This is a space that I hope that 00:01:02.109 --> 00:01:05.650 you find is safe, that I hope that your questions 00:01:05.650 --> 00:01:09.609 are welcome, that you find that even the ones 00:01:09.609 --> 00:01:11.769 that you think will scare religious people, that 00:01:11.769 --> 00:01:14.790 they're actually welcome here, because none of 00:01:14.790 --> 00:01:18.049 us got it all figured out. There's no one here 00:01:18.049 --> 00:01:22.129 that even those that would be doing this professionally 00:01:22.129 --> 00:01:25.650 on staff that can claim that we have it all figured 00:01:25.650 --> 00:01:28.590 out. I would put it this way. One of my favorite 00:01:28.590 --> 00:01:31.489 phrases is we're just all stumbling towards Jesus. 00:01:32.489 --> 00:01:35.290 And if you ask us one day, we may be doing great 00:01:35.290 --> 00:01:37.510 in that stumbling. It may feel more like a run. 00:01:37.870 --> 00:01:40.189 If you ask us another day, it may feel more like 00:01:40.189 --> 00:01:44.030 a crawl. And I just want you to know that God 00:01:44.030 --> 00:01:48.930 calls this a family. God calls this, we don't 00:01:48.930 --> 00:01:52.379 choose that. God chooses that. And I just want 00:01:52.379 --> 00:01:55.180 you to know like this morning that however you 00:01:55.180 --> 00:01:59.900 came in the door, I love you. I just want you 00:01:59.900 --> 00:02:03.040 to know that. You may be like, man, that's really 00:02:03.040 --> 00:02:06.620 weird. But I'm going to say it again. I love 00:02:06.620 --> 00:02:12.300 you. And I love those of you online. I love those 00:02:12.300 --> 00:02:14.639 of you in Paulding. I love those of you in Baghdad. 00:02:16.139 --> 00:02:18.039 Somebody told me that they love me this week 00:02:18.039 --> 00:02:20.719 and gave me a hug. I didn't realize how much 00:02:20.719 --> 00:02:24.780 I needed that. And so I don't know where you 00:02:24.780 --> 00:02:27.099 are, what you carry in, how you're feeling, what 00:02:27.099 --> 00:02:30.360 you, I just need you to know I love you today. 00:02:30.840 --> 00:02:36.159 I need you to hear that you are loved. And with 00:02:36.159 --> 00:02:39.319 that, with that, you should also love your country. 00:02:41.080 --> 00:02:43.919 You made it to the next round of the World Cup. 00:02:44.379 --> 00:02:50.409 Well done, well done. There was a debate online, 00:02:50.729 --> 00:02:53.509 like, who's John going to root for if England 00:02:53.509 --> 00:02:57.430 meet the U .S.? I hate to tell you guys, there's 00:02:57.430 --> 00:02:59.150 blood in the veins. I don't know what to tell 00:02:59.150 --> 00:03:02.689 you, right? Like, there's blood in the veins. 00:03:02.810 --> 00:03:05.150 I don't wish you ill. I just wish you lose to 00:03:05.150 --> 00:03:09.930 England. That's all. So my parents got married 00:03:09.930 --> 00:03:13.009 in 1966, and that is the last time England won 00:03:13.009 --> 00:03:16.020 the World Cup. And so we've been waiting a little 00:03:16.020 --> 00:03:17.740 while. It's coming home. It's coming home. But 00:03:17.740 --> 00:03:19.340 here, I want to help you out. I want to help 00:03:19.340 --> 00:03:22.879 you out. Okay, so made it to the next round. 00:03:22.919 --> 00:03:25.199 The next round, it matters. It's the knockout 00:03:25.199 --> 00:03:28.800 rounds. Okay, so like every game cannot end in 00:03:28.800 --> 00:03:31.500 a tie. Okay, just to help you out. Like this 00:03:31.500 --> 00:03:34.860 is where we're getting serious. So here's the 00:03:34.860 --> 00:03:37.780 thing. Your next game is on Wednesday. Okay, 00:03:37.840 --> 00:03:39.599 so I expect every single person, you've been 00:03:39.599 --> 00:03:42.539 warned, you've been prepared, it is coming, and 00:03:42.539 --> 00:03:44.680 I expect you to come and not be able to sing 00:03:44.680 --> 00:03:47.099 next week because you lost your voices while 00:03:47.099 --> 00:03:51.199 yelling at the U .S. national team to win. It's 00:03:51.199 --> 00:03:53.180 a game they should win, round of 32, you should 00:03:53.180 --> 00:03:56.759 go into the 16. But it's been fun. It's been 00:03:56.759 --> 00:04:01.259 fun to be reminded that humans are humans wherever 00:04:01.259 --> 00:04:04.580 you find them. It's been such a beautiful gift 00:04:04.580 --> 00:04:07.539 to watch. I was watching a video, and it was 00:04:07.539 --> 00:04:11.960 a player who's really big in Europe, gets paid 00:04:11.960 --> 00:04:13.960 millions and millions and millions like athletes 00:04:13.960 --> 00:04:17.500 do, comes to the United States, and they're videoing 00:04:17.500 --> 00:04:22.240 him trying a New York deli sandwich for the first 00:04:22.240 --> 00:04:26.220 time. And he loses his mind over this sandwich, 00:04:26.259 --> 00:04:28.519 and you're like, really? All your millions? You've 00:04:28.519 --> 00:04:32.470 never had that? And so with that, it's just a 00:04:32.470 --> 00:04:35.009 reminder, right, that we're all in this life 00:04:35.009 --> 00:04:38.569 together. We're all just made of the same stuff. 00:04:40.129 --> 00:04:42.930 You're made of the same stuff that I am, right? 00:04:43.269 --> 00:04:46.410 The people around you, we're all in this together. 00:04:47.329 --> 00:04:48.990 And I feel like we should be singing at this 00:04:48.990 --> 00:04:50.449 point, a little high school musical, you know 00:04:50.449 --> 00:04:55.910 what I'm saying? But the reality is that there 00:04:55.910 --> 00:04:58.589 is no one, no one, not one person on the entire 00:04:58.589 --> 00:05:02.639 planet And as the nations descend together and 00:05:02.639 --> 00:05:04.899 you watch the Scots drink so much beer, they 00:05:04.899 --> 00:05:07.800 have to order more beer to Boston, right? And 00:05:07.800 --> 00:05:11.699 you're like, wow, that's a great group of people. 00:05:12.600 --> 00:05:14.300 That's why we keep them in the north in England, 00:05:14.399 --> 00:05:15.819 right? We don't let them south. We don't have 00:05:15.819 --> 00:05:18.699 enough beer for them. But the reality is like 00:05:18.699 --> 00:05:23.439 we're just made of the same stuff. And I think 00:05:23.439 --> 00:05:27.019 it's so important to understand this. There is 00:05:27.019 --> 00:05:29.480 not one person in this room that is better than 00:05:29.480 --> 00:05:35.879 another person. Oh, you may think you are. You 00:05:35.879 --> 00:05:38.399 know what I'm saying? Because you drove that 00:05:38.399 --> 00:05:42.100 car into a parking lot and you sit in that seat, 00:05:42.199 --> 00:05:45.220 your seat, you know what I mean? Some of you 00:05:45.220 --> 00:05:48.779 are like, we have seats. Some people do. How 00:05:48.779 --> 00:05:50.899 do I know? I see you every week in the same seat. 00:05:53.300 --> 00:05:56.800 And there's this, There's this beauty to just 00:05:56.800 --> 00:05:59.420 stripping this thing down and going, you guys, 00:05:59.620 --> 00:06:02.720 it doesn't matter. Your bank account does not 00:06:02.720 --> 00:06:07.759 matter. Your status does not matter. Your hair 00:06:07.759 --> 00:06:11.000 being done or not being done. The only things 00:06:11.000 --> 00:06:13.779 that matter is the person of Jesus and the difference 00:06:13.779 --> 00:06:20.899 he makes in our life. And we're going to look 00:06:20.899 --> 00:06:23.500 at this because there's a desperation to us. 00:06:24.970 --> 00:06:27.129 Right, like when we start to strip things down 00:06:27.129 --> 00:06:29.529 to what matter, we realize, man, there is a desperation 00:06:29.529 --> 00:06:34.649 and this Jesus claimed to be the Messiah. Right, 00:06:34.689 --> 00:06:37.149 like he has been evidence stacking all the way 00:06:37.149 --> 00:06:39.930 through this collection. And he's specifically 00:06:39.930 --> 00:06:44.129 stacking that he is the promised one that God 00:06:44.129 --> 00:06:46.350 had promised all the way through scripture. So 00:06:46.350 --> 00:06:48.589 that as soon as us humans who are all made of 00:06:48.589 --> 00:06:51.810 the same stuff, messed it up and sin entered. 00:06:52.430 --> 00:06:54.829 And now we got brokenness and all kinds of disease 00:06:54.829 --> 00:06:57.529 and all kinds of sickness and all kinds of everything 00:06:57.529 --> 00:06:59.750 that goes with it, right? Separation from God 00:06:59.750 --> 00:07:02.769 and all of that and the way we treat each other. 00:07:02.910 --> 00:07:05.589 But you know what they say? The way that we know, 00:07:05.670 --> 00:07:08.529 we know that we are family and the way that the 00:07:08.529 --> 00:07:10.850 world out there knows that we are family is that 00:07:10.850 --> 00:07:16.949 they will recognize us by our love. The Messiah 00:07:16.949 --> 00:07:20.490 changes everything. Some of you, right? You're 00:07:20.490 --> 00:07:23.449 like, If I say Jesus Christ, do you think Christ 00:07:23.449 --> 00:07:27.230 is the last name of Jesus? And that's okay. There's 00:07:27.230 --> 00:07:29.870 no shade with that. Because the only context 00:07:29.870 --> 00:07:32.410 you ever maybe hear it in is when somebody decides 00:07:32.410 --> 00:07:37.089 they hit their... And what comes out? The name 00:07:37.089 --> 00:07:41.069 of the Messiah. Isn't that interesting? They 00:07:41.069 --> 00:07:45.509 don't yell the name of a soccer player. The name 00:07:45.509 --> 00:07:48.649 of their neighbor. They yell the name of the 00:07:48.649 --> 00:07:53.379 Messiah. Christ. Christ is like the meaning of 00:07:53.379 --> 00:07:58.220 Christ is the anointed one. That he is the one. 00:07:58.300 --> 00:08:00.160 This is what we've been looking for. He's the 00:08:00.160 --> 00:08:02.660 one. And if you're looking for like pithy way 00:08:02.660 --> 00:08:07.720 to say it, he reverses the curse. He reverses 00:08:07.720 --> 00:08:11.899 the natural flow that we are born into and we 00:08:11.899 --> 00:08:15.209 are accustomed to. And he's been stacking, stacking 00:08:15.209 --> 00:08:18.430 for weeks, right? Like where's his family? His 00:08:18.430 --> 00:08:19.949 family's the line of David. Where was he born? 00:08:20.230 --> 00:08:22.449 Bethlehem. What will he be from? This town over 00:08:22.449 --> 00:08:24.350 here, right? Like all the things that they've 00:08:24.350 --> 00:08:26.310 been projecting for years and years and years, 00:08:26.470 --> 00:08:28.949 he's now starting to stack up and go, I got that 00:08:28.949 --> 00:08:30.769 one. I got that one. I got that one. I got that 00:08:30.769 --> 00:08:32.649 one. He read a whole thing last time, right? 00:08:32.730 --> 00:08:34.909 Like the blind will receive their sight. What 00:08:34.909 --> 00:08:36.990 do we see? The blind receiving their sight. The 00:08:36.990 --> 00:08:38.870 lame will walk. The demons will be cast out. 00:08:39.750 --> 00:08:43.340 Why? Because it's so important as humans. that 00:08:43.340 --> 00:08:47.220 we have to see Jesus for who he is if we are 00:08:47.220 --> 00:08:51.120 ever going to be different. It's so important. 00:08:51.279 --> 00:08:54.279 It's so important. And the story we're going 00:08:54.279 --> 00:08:59.240 to get into today, it's in Luke chapter 5. Shocker, 00:08:59.240 --> 00:09:01.100 I know, we've been going through Luke. Luke chapter 00:09:01.100 --> 00:09:07.860 5. Anybody, here, I'll start it out, then we'll 00:09:07.860 --> 00:09:12.830 ask a question. Ready? Verse 12. While Jesus 00:09:12.830 --> 00:09:15.210 was in one of the towns, a man came along who 00:09:15.210 --> 00:09:18.830 was covered with leprosy. When he saw Jesus, 00:09:19.210 --> 00:09:23.889 he fell with his face to the ground and begged 00:09:23.889 --> 00:09:27.850 him, Lord, if you are willing, you can make me 00:09:27.850 --> 00:09:30.610 clean. Anybody ever heard this story before? 00:09:33.929 --> 00:09:36.230 You can raise your hand. It's okay. It's okay. 00:09:36.289 --> 00:09:38.029 I'm not going to make you worship. We're just 00:09:38.029 --> 00:09:40.830 raising our hand. You may be sitting here going, 00:09:40.909 --> 00:09:43.080 John, I never heard it. Here's what I'm going 00:09:43.080 --> 00:09:48.259 to ask you. Even if you raised your hand, I've 00:09:48.259 --> 00:09:49.980 heard this story I don't know how many times. 00:09:51.279 --> 00:09:53.759 I believe that God has something new for you 00:09:53.759 --> 00:09:56.059 in him being the Messiah that he wants to teach 00:09:56.059 --> 00:09:58.840 through the story. But what it requires is that 00:09:58.840 --> 00:10:02.620 you don't all of a sudden go, oh, I've studied 00:10:02.620 --> 00:10:07.279 this one. That's good. Yay. Yay for you. Good 00:10:07.279 --> 00:10:11.590 for you. Right? Oh, I've even taught this one. 00:10:11.669 --> 00:10:16.570 Good for you. Oh, you don't understand, John. 00:10:16.649 --> 00:10:19.870 You don't understand. Like I've not only studied 00:10:19.870 --> 00:10:21.690 this one, I've looked at some of the Greek words 00:10:21.690 --> 00:10:25.190 and I understand inside of them. And good for 00:10:25.190 --> 00:10:31.570 you. That was yesterday. Today, God's got something 00:10:31.570 --> 00:10:35.200 fresh for you. And he's got something fresh in 00:10:35.200 --> 00:10:38.620 that he is the Messiah, the promised one for 00:10:38.620 --> 00:10:41.480 humanity. I need you to know something. There's 00:10:41.480 --> 00:10:45.379 not another superhero coming. He is the superhero. 00:10:47.120 --> 00:10:51.519 And what happens here, while Jesus was in one 00:10:51.519 --> 00:10:55.379 of the towns, a man came along who was covered, 00:10:55.559 --> 00:11:00.460 covered in leprosy. And you may have a translation 00:11:00.460 --> 00:11:03.840 that says. full of leprosy. When you have a container 00:11:03.840 --> 00:11:06.820 and you fill that container and that container 00:11:06.820 --> 00:11:09.100 is absolutely full, the container you could say 00:11:09.100 --> 00:11:13.419 is consumed by what is in it. Agreed? This man 00:11:13.419 --> 00:11:18.159 is consumed. Every part of him is what it's trying 00:11:18.159 --> 00:11:21.120 to get us to understand. Every part of him is 00:11:21.120 --> 00:11:27.419 consumed with this thing called leprosy. Now, 00:11:27.440 --> 00:11:30.120 the idea of leprosy, like you get into like, 00:11:30.159 --> 00:11:31.600 what's the actual word? What does it mean? And 00:11:31.600 --> 00:11:33.779 what disease was it? And we're not totally sure. 00:11:34.639 --> 00:11:37.720 We know it's a skin disease and we know that 00:11:37.720 --> 00:11:40.860 within the skin disease, what would happen often 00:11:40.860 --> 00:11:43.980 in this context is there was a disease that would 00:11:43.980 --> 00:11:46.379 eat away at all your joints until eventually 00:11:46.379 --> 00:11:48.700 just ate away at everything and you no longer 00:11:48.700 --> 00:11:52.440 live from it. You died from this disease. And 00:11:52.440 --> 00:11:57.190 so this man is completely consumed. What the 00:11:57.190 --> 00:11:59.029 scripture is trying to get is there's no space 00:11:59.029 --> 00:12:04.289 left. This has captured him completely. It has 00:12:04.289 --> 00:12:08.610 consumed him completely. Who he was, he no longer 00:12:08.610 --> 00:12:12.549 is because this has consumed him. I wonder just 00:12:12.549 --> 00:12:20.090 what consumes you? What consumes you? What is 00:12:20.090 --> 00:12:22.129 it today that you're like, ah, man, I feel like 00:12:22.129 --> 00:12:25.289 this has such a hold on me. This has such a grasp. 00:12:26.919 --> 00:12:29.799 I feel like everything within me is just identified 00:12:29.799 --> 00:12:35.379 by this. And for this guy, he's consumed with 00:12:35.379 --> 00:12:40.019 this disease. When he saw Jesus, he fell with 00:12:40.019 --> 00:12:42.779 his face to the ground and begged him, Lord, 00:12:42.879 --> 00:12:49.419 if you are willing, you can make me clean. Lord, 00:12:49.740 --> 00:12:58.120 if. There's an assumption there. Lord, in fact, 00:12:58.320 --> 00:13:01.940 you got to see the picture because he comes into 00:13:01.940 --> 00:13:04.679 the presence of Jesus. And in the presence of 00:13:04.679 --> 00:13:09.879 Jesus, it says that he gets face down and he 00:13:09.879 --> 00:13:15.600 begs Jesus. He's begging Jesus, the Messiah, 00:13:15.960 --> 00:13:20.419 the chosen one, the one he's heard of. He is 00:13:20.419 --> 00:13:25.279 so consumed that it has led him to a posture. 00:13:25.899 --> 00:13:30.440 on his hands and knees, and it says he is face 00:13:30.440 --> 00:13:36.419 down, face down before Jesus. When was the last 00:13:36.419 --> 00:13:40.759 time you were so consumed with something that 00:13:40.759 --> 00:13:43.460 you're like, the only posture I can do is come 00:13:43.460 --> 00:13:47.399 before God Almighty, come before Jesus and be 00:13:47.399 --> 00:13:51.799 in a posture where I am begging you have to change 00:13:51.799 --> 00:13:56.159 this. When was the last time you were so consumed 00:13:56.159 --> 00:14:00.919 that your posture became one that we've associated? 00:14:01.639 --> 00:14:04.200 It's so funny, isn't it? Like we think about 00:14:04.200 --> 00:14:07.700 like getting on our knees and we associate that 00:14:07.700 --> 00:14:12.679 with worship. I don't think this is a moment 00:14:12.679 --> 00:14:15.799 of worship. I think this is a moment of respect. 00:14:16.820 --> 00:14:19.059 I think this is a moment of recognition. I think 00:14:19.059 --> 00:14:21.919 this is the moment where he goes, if you, Jesus, 00:14:22.960 --> 00:14:27.860 If you don't show up, if you don't change this, 00:14:27.960 --> 00:14:34.379 I got nothing left. I'm desperate. What part 00:14:34.379 --> 00:14:38.600 of you is desperate today to see Jesus? What 00:14:38.600 --> 00:14:40.519 part of you is so desperate that you're like, 00:14:40.600 --> 00:14:43.960 if you don't show up in this and be the Messiah, 00:14:44.259 --> 00:14:49.220 if you don't reverse what's going on, I'm staying 00:14:49.220 --> 00:14:52.299 under this curse. If you don't reverse what's 00:14:52.299 --> 00:14:54.539 going on, I'm staying in the state that I'm in. 00:14:56.759 --> 00:15:01.539 He's on his hands and on his knees, and he is 00:15:01.539 --> 00:15:17.419 desperate. And he says this, Lord, if. Huh. Lord. 00:15:18.830 --> 00:15:21.710 I recognize you as master. I recognize you. And 00:15:21.710 --> 00:15:23.590 what's interesting with this word, it actually 00:15:23.590 --> 00:15:28.070 recognizes him as someone who is as master. He's 00:15:28.070 --> 00:15:30.429 master over the kingdom of God. And he's going, 00:15:30.549 --> 00:15:33.149 Lord, as the master over the kingdom of God. 00:15:33.350 --> 00:15:36.190 I know, I know, notice the end of it. I know 00:15:36.190 --> 00:15:38.889 you have the power, but there's an assumption 00:15:38.889 --> 00:15:46.610 that you won't. If you're willing. If you're 00:15:46.610 --> 00:15:49.919 willing. Lord, if you're willing, you can heal 00:15:49.919 --> 00:15:58.879 me. If, if, what? Jesus is the Messiah. He knows 00:15:58.879 --> 00:16:02.659 that Jesus has power, but his assumption is Jesus 00:16:02.659 --> 00:16:05.639 won't use that power on him. Where did that come 00:16:05.639 --> 00:16:11.000 from? Well, if you turn back to Leviticus, plot 00:16:11.000 --> 00:16:13.139 twist, nobody was like, oh, we're going to Leviticus 00:16:13.139 --> 00:16:17.610 today. Leviticus 13. The context here is this, 00:16:17.610 --> 00:16:20.649 that if you lived, the law told you that if you 00:16:20.649 --> 00:16:24.090 lived in this time under this religion in Israel, 00:16:24.370 --> 00:16:27.330 then what happened was if you had some kind of 00:16:27.330 --> 00:16:29.769 skin disease show up, then you had to go to the 00:16:29.769 --> 00:16:32.990 priest and the priest would analyze your skin 00:16:32.990 --> 00:16:34.649 disease. Now, if you want some really good late 00:16:34.649 --> 00:16:37.809 night reading, 13 and 14 of Leviticus, great 00:16:37.809 --> 00:16:39.730 late night reading. It gets into all kinds of 00:16:39.730 --> 00:16:43.070 things like. If your skin, if the sore is white 00:16:43.070 --> 00:16:45.450 and the hair is white, then you should, it's 00:16:45.450 --> 00:16:49.549 like, wait, what are we talking about? But notice, 00:16:49.690 --> 00:16:54.309 notice what Leviticus does. If you have a skin 00:16:54.309 --> 00:16:59.850 disease, we go what? Go to who? Not your question. 00:16:59.970 --> 00:17:03.049 Man, I'm really worried about you now. Because 00:17:03.049 --> 00:17:04.650 if y 'all got skin diseases, where are you going? 00:17:05.470 --> 00:17:11.359 The doctor. You ain't coming to me. And if you 00:17:11.359 --> 00:17:12.880 come to me, guess where I'm going to send you? 00:17:13.440 --> 00:17:15.720 To the doctor. I'm going to look at you and go, 00:17:15.740 --> 00:17:16.880 that doesn't look good. You probably should go 00:17:16.880 --> 00:17:21.160 to the doctor. Now, I may pray your way to the 00:17:21.160 --> 00:17:27.880 doctor, but they go to the priest. Now, what's 00:17:27.880 --> 00:17:30.480 important about this, the priest, the priest 00:17:30.480 --> 00:17:33.440 is the visible representation of God on the earth. 00:17:34.920 --> 00:17:37.629 That's what the priest is in this context. So 00:17:37.629 --> 00:17:40.230 you're telling me that our guy, our beggar, right? 00:17:40.309 --> 00:17:42.269 Like before he was begging, before he, right? 00:17:42.349 --> 00:17:44.750 Like he's at some point, he goes to the priest 00:17:44.750 --> 00:17:50.029 and he goes, hey man, I got a rash. Could you 00:17:50.029 --> 00:17:53.470 check it out? Could you take a look at it? And 00:17:53.470 --> 00:17:54.990 then what the priest would do is he would look 00:17:54.990 --> 00:17:58.289 at it, analyze it. And in the case of this man, 00:17:58.390 --> 00:18:01.309 what happened is at some point, the representation 00:18:01.309 --> 00:18:07.170 of God on the earth told him. you are ceremonially 00:18:07.170 --> 00:18:12.769 unclean. What they told him is you are unclean, 00:18:12.769 --> 00:18:16.750 right? And in that moment, here's what this means. 00:18:16.930 --> 00:18:19.650 There are ripple effects to being unclean in 00:18:19.650 --> 00:18:22.390 this context. It means that you can no longer 00:18:22.390 --> 00:18:26.009 stay where he is. So wait, if he's the representation 00:18:26.009 --> 00:18:28.490 of God, what do you hear in your ears? God is 00:18:28.490 --> 00:18:31.609 telling you what? You're unclean and you're not 00:18:31.609 --> 00:18:37.519 welcome to worship anymore. Now, he can't go 00:18:37.519 --> 00:18:40.680 home. Why? Because he's unclean. And so now the 00:18:40.680 --> 00:18:42.960 layers get further. At the end of this, in verse 00:18:42.960 --> 00:18:47.400 45, it says this. Anyone, so this is if you are 00:18:47.400 --> 00:18:50.240 found unclean, anyone with such a defiling disease 00:18:50.240 --> 00:18:56.059 must wear torn clothes, let their hair be unkempt, 00:18:56.160 --> 00:18:59.119 cover the lower part of their face, and cry out, 00:18:59.180 --> 00:19:03.500 unclean, unclean. As long as they have the disease, 00:19:03.660 --> 00:19:06.640 they remain unclean. So as long as it's there, 00:19:06.680 --> 00:19:09.000 they're unclean. They must live, look at this, 00:19:09.019 --> 00:19:12.319 they must live alone and they must live outside 00:19:12.319 --> 00:19:17.619 of the camp, outside of the people of God. So 00:19:17.619 --> 00:19:21.319 you have lost your worship, you lost your family, 00:19:21.400 --> 00:19:25.660 your home, and now you are outside of the camp. 00:19:25.720 --> 00:19:28.160 And when you get outside of the camp, you're 00:19:28.160 --> 00:19:31.000 to wear torn clothes. Torn clothes represented 00:19:31.000 --> 00:19:35.250 mourning. You went into mourning. For your life. 00:19:36.329 --> 00:19:40.210 You went into mourning for who you are. You're 00:19:40.210 --> 00:19:42.089 still alive, but you're mourning that you're 00:19:42.089 --> 00:19:46.269 dead type thing. And now you leave your hair 00:19:46.269 --> 00:19:49.640 unkempt, right? So that your hair, your visible 00:19:49.640 --> 00:19:52.460 representation was assigned to people that you 00:19:52.460 --> 00:19:56.859 were unclean and cast out. And then on top of 00:19:56.859 --> 00:19:58.579 that, you wore this face covering and everywhere 00:19:58.579 --> 00:20:02.220 you went, you had to go unclean, unclean, unclean. 00:20:02.220 --> 00:20:05.859 By the time Jesus shows up, there's a six foot 00:20:05.859 --> 00:20:08.140 rule, right? Like it's a good COVID rule. Stay 00:20:08.140 --> 00:20:12.519 six feet away. Now on a windy day, you had to 00:20:12.519 --> 00:20:16.720 stay 150 feet away. So today, if we were at heights, 00:20:16.799 --> 00:20:20.259 that person would be over there because they 00:20:20.259 --> 00:20:23.440 have to be 150 feet away because of this disease. 00:20:24.920 --> 00:20:27.160 This man is living in this reality. But wait 00:20:27.160 --> 00:20:30.180 a minute. The story doesn't say that. The story 00:20:30.180 --> 00:20:33.460 says that he is where? He's over here and he's 00:20:33.460 --> 00:20:35.859 down on his hands and knees in a posture with 00:20:35.859 --> 00:20:37.980 his face to the ground and he is begging Jesus. 00:20:39.799 --> 00:20:44.579 How did he get in the presence of Jesus? He's 00:20:44.579 --> 00:20:49.680 a rule breaker. I like him. How? He's so desperate. 00:20:51.880 --> 00:20:55.480 And he asked the question of if. The assumption 00:20:55.480 --> 00:21:00.720 is, why would you? Why would you treat me any 00:21:00.720 --> 00:21:04.119 different than anybody else? You ever had that? 00:21:04.180 --> 00:21:07.400 You ever done that to God? God, why would you 00:21:07.400 --> 00:21:10.759 treat me different? God, I'm just an outcast. 00:21:12.269 --> 00:21:21.589 I'm alone. I'm isolated. Nobody sees me. Isn't 00:21:21.589 --> 00:21:25.130 it amazing that his disease became his identity? 00:21:26.809 --> 00:21:30.009 Isn't it amazing that everything he did, including 00:21:30.009 --> 00:21:32.690 the way he looked, the way he used his voice, 00:21:32.849 --> 00:21:35.470 the way he carried himself, the places he stayed, 00:21:35.569 --> 00:21:43.000 all said, I am unwelcome here. They all said, 00:21:43.160 --> 00:21:48.839 God's for them, not for me. And he gets in the 00:21:48.839 --> 00:21:51.440 prison. I love it, man. It's so, I mean, if you 00:21:51.440 --> 00:21:53.740 want somebody who's a superhero, this guy's pretty 00:21:53.740 --> 00:21:57.680 good. And he gets in and he goes, I'm begging 00:21:57.680 --> 00:22:05.519 you. I'm begging you. You have the power. But 00:22:05.519 --> 00:22:07.900 God's already rejected me. But will you accept 00:22:07.900 --> 00:22:14.880 me? Turn back to Luke. Look at Jesus' response. 00:22:16.859 --> 00:22:23.160 Verse 13. Jesus reached out his hand and touched 00:22:23.160 --> 00:22:29.440 the man. I am willing, he said, be clean. And 00:22:29.440 --> 00:22:40.119 immediately the leprosy left him. Jesus reached 00:22:40.119 --> 00:22:47.569 out. His hand and what? Come on, we can do better 00:22:47.569 --> 00:22:54.950 than that, church. Touched. The man. Touched 00:22:54.950 --> 00:23:00.289 him. Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. The man who 00:23:00.289 --> 00:23:02.150 has broken protocol, who's got in the presence 00:23:02.150 --> 00:23:05.430 of, and he's begging, if, if, if, I don't know 00:23:05.430 --> 00:23:08.250 why you would, but if, if. Notice what Jesus 00:23:08.250 --> 00:23:14.440 does. Jesus does the unthinkable. This man was 00:23:14.440 --> 00:23:15.940 supposed to be on a day like today when it's 00:23:15.940 --> 00:23:18.099 windy. He's supposed to be 150 feet away from 00:23:18.099 --> 00:23:23.619 Jesus. Jesus could have him punished. And what 00:23:23.619 --> 00:23:26.980 does Jesus do? He reaches down and who knows 00:23:26.980 --> 00:23:32.279 the last time a human being has touched, shown 00:23:32.279 --> 00:23:35.599 any sign of affection, any sign of desire, any 00:23:35.599 --> 00:23:39.450 sign of you're welcome here. Any sign of I see 00:23:39.450 --> 00:23:42.210 you, any sign of I know you, any sign of I love 00:23:42.210 --> 00:23:46.769 you. And Jesus reaches down, the Messiah reaches 00:23:46.769 --> 00:23:51.950 down and he touches the man. Why is that so significant? 00:23:52.009 --> 00:23:55.450 Because notice what happens next. He reached 00:23:55.450 --> 00:23:57.650 out his hand and touched the man and then he 00:23:57.650 --> 00:24:03.410 said, I am willing. His actions came before his 00:24:03.410 --> 00:24:10.390 what? His words. He didn't even need to tell 00:24:10.390 --> 00:24:13.630 the man he was willing. He's already proved it 00:24:13.630 --> 00:24:18.950 by his what? His actions. I wonder how many times 00:24:18.950 --> 00:24:20.730 our mouths are just running off. You know what 00:24:20.730 --> 00:24:23.349 I mean? I wonder how many times our mouths pop 00:24:23.349 --> 00:24:27.329 off. Oh, you sound good. I've heard some of you. 00:24:28.609 --> 00:24:33.250 You sound real good. You sound real smart. Sound 00:24:33.250 --> 00:24:38.890 like you know Jesus real well. But they'll know 00:24:38.890 --> 00:24:42.710 we are Christians by our, they're going to know 00:24:42.710 --> 00:24:45.089 we are Christians long before we open our mouth 00:24:45.089 --> 00:24:50.950 by how we act. Jesus takes his actions and puts 00:24:50.950 --> 00:24:52.970 them on display way before he runs his mouth. 00:24:54.670 --> 00:25:04.289 Had Jesus gone, I'm willing. We didn't do that. 00:25:07.500 --> 00:25:09.720 He gave the man what the deepest longing of the 00:25:09.720 --> 00:25:13.720 man's heart was. To be seen and to be known. 00:25:15.740 --> 00:25:19.539 To know that God's not mad. That God's not upset. 00:25:19.640 --> 00:25:22.480 That God's not distant. And that the Messiah 00:25:22.480 --> 00:25:27.700 changes absolutely everything. You see, here's 00:25:27.700 --> 00:25:29.539 what's stunning in this moment. The way things 00:25:29.539 --> 00:25:31.460 work on planet Earth. Maybe you don't know this. 00:25:31.579 --> 00:25:34.880 Maybe you weren't here for COVID. Right? Like 00:25:34.880 --> 00:25:38.549 if it's going to transfer from me to you. then 00:25:38.549 --> 00:25:40.269 don't be in my presence and it won't transfer 00:25:40.269 --> 00:25:42.809 to you. Because that's how things work naturally 00:25:42.809 --> 00:25:46.769 here on planet Earth. Agreed? And in this context, 00:25:46.829 --> 00:25:48.829 if you have a skin disease and you touch a skin 00:25:48.829 --> 00:25:51.289 disease, then you are likely to get said skin 00:25:51.289 --> 00:25:53.670 disease. That's the way. Does Jesus not know 00:25:53.670 --> 00:25:57.450 how planet Earth works? Does Jesus not know? 00:25:57.490 --> 00:25:59.450 Does he not understand that Jesus, by touching 00:25:59.450 --> 00:26:06.789 him, you're putting yourself in danger? But the 00:26:06.789 --> 00:26:09.670 Messiah reverses the natural flow of this planet. 00:26:12.509 --> 00:26:15.309 Instead of uncleanliness coming the direction 00:26:15.309 --> 00:26:18.490 it should, because it's natural on our broken 00:26:18.490 --> 00:26:22.089 planet, what happens is when Jesus touches him, 00:26:22.250 --> 00:26:26.150 his holiness washes over the uncleanliness and 00:26:26.150 --> 00:26:28.509 the man is completely healed because in Jesus's 00:26:28.509 --> 00:26:31.089 economy, it doesn't go the other way. I don't 00:26:31.089 --> 00:26:33.190 know anybody who's connecting dots, but I am 00:26:33.190 --> 00:26:36.650 really glad that it works that way. Because there's 00:26:36.650 --> 00:26:39.029 a verse that says that when Jesus died, you became 00:26:39.029 --> 00:26:41.670 the righteousness of God. How can that even happen? 00:26:42.450 --> 00:26:46.329 Well, he had to take your unrighteousness. You 00:26:46.329 --> 00:26:49.089 didn't make him unrighteous. He made you righteous. 00:26:49.130 --> 00:26:51.009 Why? Because the Messiah changes the natural 00:26:51.009 --> 00:26:55.609 flow. That's why it's so important we get in 00:26:55.609 --> 00:26:59.069 the presence of the Messiah. Jesus tells him, 00:26:59.130 --> 00:27:03.950 verse 14, don't tell anyone, but go show yourself 00:27:03.950 --> 00:27:07.279 to the priest. and offer sacrifices that Moses 00:27:07.279 --> 00:27:10.700 commanded for your cleansing as a testimony to 00:27:10.700 --> 00:27:14.880 them. Go show yourself to who? To the physical 00:27:14.880 --> 00:27:17.160 representation of God on the planet. And what 00:27:17.160 --> 00:27:20.980 is he showing him? I'm healed. And the guy's 00:27:20.980 --> 00:27:29.900 going to go, how? That's not possible unless 00:27:29.900 --> 00:27:34.569 the Messiah shows up. What is Jesus doing in 00:27:34.569 --> 00:27:36.470 this moment? He's evidence stacking. He's taking 00:27:36.470 --> 00:27:39.150 this moment and he's going, the Messiah is here 00:27:39.150 --> 00:27:42.369 and here is the clearest example that the very 00:27:42.369 --> 00:27:46.430 thing that you have set outside to die in, I 00:27:46.430 --> 00:27:50.089 have showed up and I have reclaimed it and restored 00:27:50.089 --> 00:27:53.009 it because that's what the Messiah does. He restores 00:27:53.009 --> 00:27:55.250 things back to the kingdom of God, not the other 00:27:55.250 --> 00:27:58.809 way around. And so the Messiah shows up and as 00:27:58.809 --> 00:28:00.849 the Messiah shows up, now this man is healed 00:28:00.849 --> 00:28:02.890 and he goes to the priest and he goes, hey man, 00:28:03.069 --> 00:28:04.569 you're the guy that kicked me out. You remember 00:28:04.569 --> 00:28:12.069 I had the rash? And it says at the end of that, 00:28:12.190 --> 00:28:17.630 as a testimony to them. And you know who else 00:28:17.630 --> 00:28:23.609 it's a testimony to? You. This is God yelling 00:28:23.609 --> 00:28:29.470 to you. Don't miss it. The Messiah is here. Jesus 00:28:29.470 --> 00:28:33.589 changes everything. So that thing that you walked 00:28:33.589 --> 00:28:36.630 in the door with that you're like, ah, I've just 00:28:36.630 --> 00:28:38.230 been struggling for so long and I keep going 00:28:38.230 --> 00:28:40.089 back and it's just weird and I don't know why. 00:28:40.309 --> 00:28:43.069 And guess what? The Messiah reverses the flow. 00:28:44.609 --> 00:28:46.490 You don't have to walk through that and carry 00:28:46.490 --> 00:28:49.509 that anymore. The thing that you go, I'm just 00:28:49.509 --> 00:28:52.470 so desperate for. What happens is when you get 00:28:52.470 --> 00:28:54.130 in the presence of God and you go, God, I'm so 00:28:54.130 --> 00:28:59.369 desperate for you. Well, according to this, first 00:28:59.369 --> 00:29:01.170 and foremost, those of you in the room that go, 00:29:01.230 --> 00:29:02.930 John, that's great for everybody else, but you 00:29:02.930 --> 00:29:05.410 don't understand me. God has given up on me. 00:29:05.490 --> 00:29:08.150 I beg to differ that God has not given up on 00:29:08.150 --> 00:29:12.569 you. You have given up on him. I beg to ask you, 00:29:12.650 --> 00:29:15.269 would you ask him if you are willing, because 00:29:15.269 --> 00:29:22.349 you're assuming he's not. I beg to differ with 00:29:22.349 --> 00:29:24.210 those of you that are in the room that you're 00:29:24.210 --> 00:29:28.660 so old and crusty in your faith. What do I mean 00:29:28.660 --> 00:29:30.740 by that? You've been studying so long, your head's 00:29:30.740 --> 00:29:32.279 so large, we had to put double doors in just 00:29:32.279 --> 00:29:35.779 to get you in. Right? You're like, I know it. 00:29:37.460 --> 00:29:39.019 And we know who you are because you take two 00:29:39.019 --> 00:29:47.200 chairs. So dumb. Don't laugh at that. But there's 00:29:47.200 --> 00:29:49.019 some of you that you've made this about what 00:29:49.019 --> 00:29:50.940 happens in your head. It's not your head, it's 00:29:50.940 --> 00:29:57.039 your heart. It's not your head. It's not to know 00:29:57.039 --> 00:29:59.500 and be able to write on a piece of paper that 00:29:59.500 --> 00:30:01.059 Jesus is the Messiah. And here's all the proof 00:30:01.059 --> 00:30:03.440 texts of why Jesus is the Messiah. It doesn't 00:30:03.440 --> 00:30:05.720 matter if you have never been on your knees in 00:30:05.720 --> 00:30:10.539 his face and begged him to transform you. It 00:30:10.539 --> 00:30:13.240 doesn't matter. It doesn't matter if you know 00:30:13.240 --> 00:30:15.720 everything and you still don't love people well. 00:30:17.180 --> 00:30:19.980 Why? Because when you meet the living, say, okay, 00:30:20.019 --> 00:30:21.680 okay, you guys, I got to be done. I'm out of 00:30:21.680 --> 00:30:28.880 time. How do you think this man went home? Because 00:30:28.880 --> 00:30:30.200 we don't have it. I'll read you the rest of it 00:30:30.200 --> 00:30:32.440 just so you know we don't have it. Verse 15. 00:30:32.660 --> 00:30:35.480 Yet the news about him spread all the more. So 00:30:35.480 --> 00:30:37.640 the crowds of people came to hear him and be 00:30:37.640 --> 00:30:44.920 healed of their sicknesses. Huh? So the news 00:30:44.920 --> 00:30:47.940 spreads about Jesus all the more. Okay, so said 00:30:47.940 --> 00:30:50.420 man, he begs. Jesus goes, go show yourself to 00:30:50.420 --> 00:30:52.079 the priest. Comes back to the priest, the one 00:30:52.079 --> 00:30:54.019 who represents God. He's like, see, no rash. 00:30:54.140 --> 00:30:57.680 What do you think? How do you think he left there? 00:31:00.339 --> 00:31:02.940 Yeah, I agree. I think he was silent the whole 00:31:02.940 --> 00:31:05.720 way home. I don't think he whistled, not once. 00:31:05.759 --> 00:31:10.859 He didn't even hum. No way. I think he walked 00:31:10.859 --> 00:31:17.500 out and he is singing. I think he walked out 00:31:17.500 --> 00:31:21.400 and he's telling anybody who will listen. You 00:31:21.400 --> 00:31:23.359 guys, you don't need to go here. We have the 00:31:23.359 --> 00:31:28.519 Messiah. Let me tell you what he's done. Let 00:31:28.519 --> 00:31:35.759 me show you. I think he walks out of there and 00:31:35.759 --> 00:31:39.700 he goes, do you know how great God is? And when 00:31:39.700 --> 00:31:42.880 they said, no, why? He goes, I met him. I met 00:31:42.880 --> 00:31:46.339 him today. And I thought he wasn't for me, but 00:31:46.339 --> 00:31:50.160 he's for me. I thought. I thought that I was 00:31:50.160 --> 00:31:51.920 too far gone, that I'm just death waiting to 00:31:51.920 --> 00:31:53.420 happen over there. I'm already mourning my death. 00:31:53.559 --> 00:31:55.880 And he goes, no, no, no, no. I see you. I know 00:31:55.880 --> 00:31:58.900 you. And I got plans for you. And you're a part 00:31:58.900 --> 00:32:03.799 of this whole thing. We discount God before God 00:32:03.799 --> 00:32:10.180 discounts us. And I'm curious. I'm curious, you 00:32:10.180 --> 00:32:12.759 guys, what would happen? What would happen if 00:32:12.759 --> 00:32:17.400 a room full of people, they decided we're just 00:32:17.400 --> 00:32:23.650 going to declare. How great is our God? And as 00:32:23.650 --> 00:32:25.369 you declare it, you're just thinking of things 00:32:25.369 --> 00:32:29.250 he's done. Or maybe you just need to declare 00:32:29.250 --> 00:32:31.910 it going, hey God, I know I don't belong here. 00:32:33.170 --> 00:32:35.490 I know I shouldn't be here right now, but I am. 00:32:36.549 --> 00:32:38.630 And I don't know why I'm still here because I've 00:32:38.630 --> 00:32:40.210 been feeling like I should have got up and left, 00:32:40.269 --> 00:32:43.549 but I'm still here and I still need to see you. 00:32:43.789 --> 00:32:45.869 And so I'm going to declare how great you are 00:32:45.869 --> 00:32:50.950 as a request for you, for you to show up. I think 00:32:50.950 --> 00:33:00.109 these next moments are so important. I told Eli 00:33:00.109 --> 00:33:02.569 earlier. If you don't know who Eli is, he's right 00:33:02.569 --> 00:33:06.250 here playing sweet sounds. I told Eli earlier. 00:33:07.789 --> 00:33:09.849 Eli, my hope is Monday morning they're singing 00:33:09.849 --> 00:33:12.630 the song that we end with today. That you wake 00:33:12.630 --> 00:33:15.970 up with what the Germans call an earworm. Or 00:33:15.970 --> 00:33:18.250 you can't get that song out of your head. How 00:33:18.250 --> 00:33:23.380 great is... our God. And you know what it says 00:33:23.380 --> 00:33:30.380 next? Sing with me. How great is our God. And 00:33:30.380 --> 00:33:34.339 all will see how great is our God. Would you 00:33:34.339 --> 00:33:35.099 stand? We're going to worship.