Luke 5:12-26

Today, Pastor Jack tells us that it’s our radical desperation that draws us to Christ. He makes us pure again, as He is pure. In spiritual things we cannot bless others unless we, ourselves, have been blessed and built up first.

Only those who get to heaven will see themselves in radical desperation for Christ. Do you understand that?
Well, that’s offensive. If it offends you that that’s the truth, the truth, it is in scripture.
So listen, this is an offense that brings a healing.
You gotta come like this leper crying out, Lord, I’m unclean. You ever think of dirty thought?
And we want to shout unclean unclean, unclean Jesus.
If thou wilt thou can make me clean and he does that his desire to help us is powerful.
It says there he says stretching out his hand saying I am willing be cleansed and immediately by the way, that word immediately in the Greek means the moment Jesus, this is fun.
So specific, the moment Jesus began to phrase the sentence when he says the word, for example, I before I am I, he touches them same instant man’s healed top to bottom, instantaneously.
Wow, great. The Lord desires to help.
And when he cleansed them, that word means purged from iniquity or sickness or to become now untainted, to become pure.
And that word by the way means it’s impossible.
It’s not possible for a man to become untainted and pure again.
But you say, wait a minute, Jack, what do you mean? It’s not possible. It’s not possible.
Jesus said it this way with men, it’s not possible.
But with God all what, that’s exact, all things are possible. That’s exactly what he’s talking about.
The moment you get back in that corner of sheer desperation and you, there’s no way you can be clean or cleansed.
Jesus comes on the scene and does the impossible, aren’t you glad Christian?
He’s done the impossible for us that we might go to heaven forever. I’m so glad.
Well, in first John chapter one, first John 17, it says, but if we walk in the light as he is in the light and this is written to believers, by the way, we have fellowship, one with another and the blood of Jesus Christ, his son cleanses us from all sin.
That’s the same word make us pure again in a sense that it’s impossible with man.
It’s perfect with God verses 14 to 16, the Lord has an appointment to keep why?
Because others need to know the Lord. Others need to know the Lord church.
Listen, I trust that God is doing a work in your life because check this out.
I know you have to put up with parking.
I know that you have to put up with whatever is going on. But listen, that’s not why you’re here.
If I stood here and quoted just one Bible verse and we closed the book and went home. That’s enough.
Because if we took one Bible verse and began to really consume it and make it part of our lives, it will change us forever.
It’s the Bible that changes us.
And so I say that because God wants to use our lives and send us up and out of here so that others may know the Lord and they don’t need another sermon.
They need application. And when you leave from here, you get fed right now.
This is our time together to be fed and built up in the word.
And then when we go out of here, be real to them, be real and give them Jesus, they need to know the Lord.
Look what happens in verse 14.
And he charged him, challenged, commanded, told him, tell nobody but go and show yourself to the priest.
Oh, mark this, show yourself to the priest and make an offering for your cleansing two things as a testimony to them.
Who’s them? The priest? Keep that in mind just as Moses commanded.
Verse 15 and 16 says, however, the report went out concerning Him.
All the more great multitudes came to hear and to be healed uh of all their infirmities.
And Jesus himself withdrew into the wilderness and he prayed before we leave this part right here.
Keep this in mind. Jesus says, ok, I want you to go now.
Don’t, don’t go shooting this off all around town. That’s, that’s not a one.
Not what I want you to do. I want you to go to the priest.
Now, did he go to the temple? We don’t know. Did he go to the priest house?
Because they all would have known where the priest lives. That’s part of the deal.
Just like, oh, you know where I live? Don’t tell me.
You don’t know because you drive by and park in front of my house and I’ve seen you, you didn’t think I could see you a seal and you think, I don’t see you and then you drive away and you have the, that the, the logo, that logo on the back of your car.
He shows up. Can you imagine? He shows up, knocks on the door.
The priest comes to the door. What is it? You know, you look like a wreck.
You’re wearing all these clothes. I’m a leper. I mean, I used to be a leper.
I’ve been cleansed. You’ve been cleansed. No one’s ever been cleansed in millennium. Nobody gets cleansed. Yeah.
But Moses wrote about it. It’s in the Bible. I mean, you ought to know you’re the priest. It’s there.
I know. In fact, listen, I’ve just been cleansed. Jesus told me to come, who Jesus told me to come?
Jesus. Now the priest has, remember it’s a witness to them. Oh, I’ve heard about Jesus.
What did he say? He told me the moment that I was cleansed, he told me to come and see you and make the offering that was described or required by Moses Leviticus 13 and 14.
That’s it. To bring the offering and to take the blood over running water and to take the offering and to take that blood and to Sprinkle it upon you and declare you to be clean of leprosy.
That’s the one this man says to the priest. I want to do that.
You know why he wanted to do that? He got to do it.
I don’t mean he got to do it like bad grammar. Although that does sound kind of good too.
He gets to, I get to do this.
Nobody in the history of Israel in Judaism in Israel had the chance to do this.
Oh, the Lord had healed lepers outside of Israel in the old Testament, name in the name in the Syrian for one of them.
But this is a Jew in Israel according to the promise that was given by God to Moses.
Here’s the amazing thing. Church. Are you sitting down, check this out? Be careful how you read the Bible.
When God told Moses, this is what I want to have done in the day in the day that the leper is cleansed.
He needs to go get the sacrifice and you can read those two chapters later and come before the priest.
And this is the routine and this is what’s gonna happen, it’s gonna happen over running water and it’s got to be blood sprinkled on him and then he’s declared uh pure and he’s, he’s free to go back home and live his life.
And not only that, are you ready for this church?
Not only that, but the day that the leper is clean, it says that the day that he’s clean, the priest is to take oil.
Amazing. It happens to kings and to sheep into a leper, pour oil on the leper and rub it on his head.
Oil is a symbol of the Holy Spirit.
It was used by the way, it was an act of getting the leper or I should say the person into the priesthood.
Are you suggesting that this priest uh put oil on this leper that was once a leper and now he can go out as it were almost a symbolic sense of a priest that is burying Jesus.
That’s exactly what I’m saying. Why is there that romantic mingling of acts that would happen in the life of a priest in the life of a cleansed leper read it later Leviticus 13 and 14.
It’s wonderful. This is the scenario and it happens to this man and he’s set free, but it was a witness to the priest.
And in the book of acts, you can read it later on. In the book of acts.
It says that when Christ was preached by the disciples, it says, and many of those who were priests came to the faith.
No doubt, this story was told over and over and over again that others might know the Lord.
That’s an exciting thing. That’s a wonderful thing to hear. By the way, Leviticus 14, you can jot that down.
And uh Hebrews chapter 10 verse 22 why do I bring those two verses together?
Because listen to Hebrews chapter 10 verse 22 remember it’s written to the Hebrews, they understood exactly what was being said.
Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance. We would use the word boldness.
Let us come boldly in assurance of faith, having our hearts. What’s the word sprinkled from an evil conscience?
And our bodies washed with the pure water? Every Hebrew would have said that’s Leviticus 13 and 14.
The, the leper was sprinkled with blood and it had to happen while there was running water between the priest and the leper.
Wow, you see another reason why leprosy is a type or symbol of sin of which he cleanses us for verses 15 and 16.
We’ll just touch on these after the report went on, went all around people were bringing those that were sick and he was healing them and healing their infirmities.
And uh this is a good thing. But what I want to draw your attention before we move on.
Look at verse 16. So he himself, Jesus often withdrew into the wilderness and prayed the crowds were pressing, getting bigger, bigger, bigger and listen.
Church. Whenever the crowd is pressing and getting bigger and bigger, you have no idea the pressure it puts on those who serve.
You have no idea. That’s unbelievable. Children’s ministry in this service is packed out ushers.
We don’t have enough greeters. We don’t have enough parking a lot attendees. We don’t have enough.
Whenever there’s a crowd know this, there’s great need. Well, pastor, there’s a big crowd.
Everything must be getting met whenever God brings people, he creates opportunities for others within that group of people to serve the other, which is called Christianity.
It’s a ministry and a faith of others to bless the other. I’m living to bless you.
You’re living to bless those that are around you. It’s a ministry. It’s a life of others. Watch this.
Jesus retired often. By the way, the word here in Greek is fun. Word.
It means that he vacated the region to recreate. We use the word recreational vehicle.
Jesus got on maybe a donkey, his, his R V and got out of town.
You see, Jack. There’s a huge need going on. Yeah, but he knows what he’s doing.
Apparently, Jesus realized, you know what? This is huge. The need is overwhelming.
I must talk to my father and get my batteries charged up any of you. Uh, caretakers, caregivers.
I should say your doctor, nurse, um, law enforcement people don’t often think of that, but it’s true.
Law enforcement, uh, fire paramedic. Listen, pastors, we’re care givers, we listen all the time.
We’re listening and then we’re visiting you or friends in accidents and dying in the hospitals or dying at home and you know what happens after a while.
If, if you don’t take a break you get burned out.
There’s nothing worse than a nurse coming into your room and she is on her 35th day of nursing and she comes up and she’s got that latex stuff.
What? Sit down. Have you ever had a nurse?
That’s just like, mm, listen, she started out earlier in the week. Not so like that.
Or the doctor comes in. Oh, man. Yeah, we need to cut, let’s get this guy going.
I’ve been working 31 days straight. I want to go home. Come on.
How would you like to hear that before they pull out the chainsaw?
You get tired and then you get cynical and you get bitter. What do you need?
You need a break. Jesus often went away. He was never like that. Don’t get me wrong.
He was never like us. He went away though to get charged by his father and he took a break and he prayed just because you take a vacation doesn’t mean it’s spiritually rejuvenating.
It can be worse. But when you take a real vacation, take your Bible with you and go, get away and sit along the beach or climb that mountain top.
If that’s what excites you and hear from God and be renewed, there’s something about it.
That’s just amazing. That’s why, by the way, each day with the Lord keeps you renewed longer.
Jesus said in Matthew 11 28 concerning this come to me, all you who are labor and are heavy laden and I will give you recreation, I’ll renew you, you’ll have rest.
Isn’t that a wonderful thing? Second point this morning is this verses 17 to 20 and this is a bit, this second point is about as far as we’ll get today.
Um It’s time to get up and go.
The Lord’s got a work for us to do because he’s doing it and we get to enter into that.
Uh Look how this is done.
The Lord’s got a work to do and he does it by his own power. Verse 17.
Now it happened on a certain day.
Oh, oh, we know something’s coming circle the word certain something’s gonna happen as he was teaching that there were Pharisees and teachers of the law.
You got to mark that Pharisees and teachers of the law.
That means there’s always an exciting moment that’s about to take place.
And they’re sitting by who had come out of every town of Galilee, Judea and Jerusalem and the power of the Lord was present to heal them all.
When you look at this word. Now it happened and it happened on a certain day. Or an appointed day.
This is that day that is ordained by God.
Again, it is taking place at a time when number one, you always find him doing this, you find Jesus teaching, he never sacrifices the teaching of the word to go do miracles.
Oh, did you hear that? That almost sounds kind of cold.
But pastor, my, my daughter is 12 years old. She’s sick. She’s nearing to death or pastor.
I have this issue of blood for 12 years.
And Jesus teaches he’s not called, but things happen when the word of God is going out.
He’s teaching the word of God, he’s speaking.
And as he was teaching, and Jesus is always teaching this verse that salvation, everything he did, everything he taught brought salvation to the front.
It says that the power of the Lord was present to heal them.
This is the fun word dous dynamite. Power in English.
The dynamite was the dynamite of the Lord or the power of the Lord was present to heal them.
And this is a very strong word.
The word uh or dynamite is the word that when the Holy Spirit came on the day of Pentecost, that power came upon them.
The Bible says that uh we will be filled with the Holy Spirit and the spirit will come upon the believer, the word empowering us.
And so if you notice this, we can run over it so quickly, we missed it.
It says that the that the power, the power of the Lord was present to heal them.
The original language is them, some of your Bibles say him. That’s not right. It’s them.
Well, you want to ask the question, who’s them?
It’s interesting because it’s not only those that are sick and those that need cleansing the power of the Lord is present to heal those that are Pharisees and students of the law, the power of the Lord is present to touch all of them.
That’s who them are. But this wording is powerful. The thickness of the spirit of God was there?
Sense it? You could discern the Lord is the Lord’s gonna do something. Have you ever felt that before?
Have you ever been somewhere that it’s just either creepy, weird, like scary or really great one or the other?
We used to scare each other to death. When we were in high school.
We used to go down to Long Beach down in Ocean Boulevard.
There was an old abandoned 17 story building that was built in the uh late 1900 or early 19 hundreds and it was abandoned.
And in the middle of the night at midnight, we used to go up there and you weren’t allowed to have a flashlight.
You could only use matches and some staircases were broken away and it was terrifying. Rats were in there.
And why did we do it? Because we were teenagers?
And it was so scary that when you walked in, you could kind of feel like, uh, you know, that feeling, does anybody know that feeling?
Well, put it on the good side and the positive side, Jesus was there and you could sense something’s gonna happen.
It’s the anticipation like before the game, you know, kickoff is coming.
And that’s a very powerful feeling. You could discern it.
Did these lawyers discern it, lawyers of the word did these Pharisees discern it. No, they’re gonna miss it.
Look at this. It’s not only his power, it’s done by his power, his wonderful work, but it’s done to his glory.
Verses 18 to 19 it says, then behold men brought on a bed, a man who was paralyzed whom they sought to bring in and lay before him.
This is amazing. And when they could not find out how they might bring him in or get him to Jesus because of the crowd, they went up on the house top and let him down with his bed through the roof or the tiling and laid him in the midst of Jesus.
So they bring the man, the man on the bed and this is fine because it’s four guys.
You got four guys, you have four friends like this and you’re gonna do just fine.
These four guys, they get their buddy who’s complete paralytic, he can’t move.
And as they’re bringing him, they’re probably saying, you know what Jesus is up here?
We heard that he’s up here.
Come on and they’re bringing him on a, on a litter, on a stretcher and they begin to break in and, and let the guy down.
But what’s beautiful about this is as these guys do this when you begin to think the, the desire of these men to reach their friend for Jesus, if he, if they, the four of them could just give him Jesus.
See his fame had gone everywhere. Everybody was talking about Jesus. Well, here’s the catch.
Does it say in your bibles that these, this man who was messed up had great faith?
It doesn’t his friends bring him and they can’t get him in any other way.
So they let him down through this niche or through this break in the roof and now he’s in the presence of Jesus and some of the uh gospels as you read this, did they, did they break up the roof and there was dust falling in.
What was this divine interruption? Jesus is teaching and the roof begins to move and shake and dust is falling.
And then can you imagine here’s a guy strapped to a stretcher that comes down through the roof that had to be pretty cool.
And Jesus, no doubts. He stops and he begins to minister to this guy.
Now, now check this out, these men who come church. Can I say? Can I put it this way?
These guys have more concern, more care for this man’s soul than perhaps this man does for himself.
Now, don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying that that guy should have just tried to get up and try to move his way there.
These men, if they could just bring this man to Jesus church, what about you?
Have you been invited today? Has somebody said to you?
Maybe they’re sitting next to you just come, just come to our church. Just hear the Bible just one time.
Maybe they bribed you with breakfast this morning. If you just come, we’ll get your breakfast.
Well, church keep this in mind.
And those of you who are visiting maybe, maybe you’re that person today, man.
You know what pastor I just came because they just wouldn’t stop talking about coming here.
Maybe because they love you. Maybe because they care, maybe listen.
And I know that this is kind of hard to receive.
But your friend who wants you here today has nothing to do with me or this building or the songs or anything.
It’s because they’re hoping that something might happen in your life that’s happened to them and they can’t leave it alone.
You see? Yeah. But Jack, I don’t like Jesus freaks. You guys drive me nuts.
Do you understand why we’re freakish about Jesus?
It has nothing to do with earning points or getting into some evangelist club.
It has to do with you experiencing the joy that we have.
And you might say, well, Jack can’t, they can’t, you guys just leave it to yourself.
Honestly, we can’t, and look, we’ve tried, you know what? We could just keep our mouth shut.
But you know what? We know too much.
We know that there’s a heaven in the end or there’s a hell in the end and, and the road is going straight down that.
I mean, you’re heading straight down one of those two paths and we can’t leave it alone anymore.
Yeah, but you guys always bug me. We’re sorry that we bug you.
We don’t want to bug you and don’t worry, there’ll be a day that God will tell us no more.
Talking to them about it. Jack no more. Don’t tell them anymore. They’re not going to listen.
They think you’re a freak and they think this, my book is a story and they listen to a history channel and ABC news and Peter Jennings about what my theology is.
Just leave them alone. Don’t pray for them anymore. That day is coming.
God says my spirit will not always put up with man, but let me tell you something right now while you’re able to, maybe here, your friend has been a fool to get you here, did everything they could.
They’ve been a fool for Jesus. It’s because they care about your destination more than you do.
They care about your soul more than you do.
They want you to know what it’s like to know Jesus. Christ, personally, not through religion.
There’s a big difference and they will gladly be called a fool by you that you might maybe receive the everlasting love of God.
Pastor and bible teacher Jack Hibbs here on real life radio with his message called, it’s time to get up and go.
Part one. We’re glad you joined us today. You know, this message, it’s time to get up and go.
Part one is part of Pastor Jack’s new series called The Gospel of Luke.
It’s a series on the book of Luke and the unveiling of Jesus Christ to this world.
And we’ll continue on the next edition of Real Life Radio. The Mayflower, a Brave Quest for freedom.
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Until next time, Pastor Jack Hibbs and all of us here at Real Life Radio.
Wish for you solid and steady growth in Christ and in his word, we’ll see you next time here on Real Life Radio.