Well, very good morning and welcome to our church service this morning.
Great to be able to be with you.
We pray that together we would hear God speak in his words
and that we would enjoy being able to worship at our homes.
I want to begin with words from a letter that Peter wrote, a friend of Jesus,
called Peter, 1 Peter chapter 1, verses 3 and 4.
And here we read these wonderful words.
Now we're going to read in our Bibles a short reading today from Matthew chapter 8.
Matthew chapter 8.
And we are going to read just the first four verses.
And hopefully the words will come up on the screen as well
so you can read along if you don't have access to a Bible.
When Jesus came down from the mountainside, large crowds followed him.
A man with leprosy came and knelt before him and said,
Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.
Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man.
I am willing, he said, be clean.
Immediately he was cleansed of his leprosy.
Then Jesus said to him, see that you don't tell anyone,
but go, show yourself to the priest and offer the gift Moses commanded as a testimony to them.
And we'll leave our reading there.
So we've been thinking, we started last week thinking, what is faith?
And again, we're on that topic this week,
thinking about the fact that true faith leads to deep restoration.
And we're going to see that in the life of this man that Jesus meets.
I want to begin with a little bit of travel.
Years ago, I went with some school friends to Crete.
And we happened to visit an island called Spinalonga.
I'm sure that's not how you say it.
I'm not sure if any of you have been there.
Well, Spinalonga was a leper colony for the nation of Greece from 1913 until 1957.
At its peak, there were some 400 inhabitants.
Those who were suffering from horrible boils and those debilitating nerve conditions.
And so you have the loss of sensation.
Those inhabitants had been shunned by their communities,
often by their families out of fear as well.
There was a great stigma attached.
And so when a Greek contracted leprosy,
their property was seized by the state.
Their citizenship was cancelled.
They were then transported to Spinalonga.
They received no medical care.
And effectively, they were deported there to die.
An insight into the fear that leprosy brought.
And the tragic life of a leper.
In our current crisis,
I wonder if this is the first time that we've been able to,
as in a sense, enter into, even in a tiny part,
the life of a leper.
The tragedy and the loneliness of that kind of life.
We discovered in the Old Testament and the New Testament
that someone with leprosy, they had to wear a sign saying they were unclean.
If they were close to someone else, they had to shout,
unclean, unclean.
They weren't allowed contact with anyone apart from a fellow leper.
They had to live outside the community.
They would be avoided to avoid potentially contracting the illness.
So theirs was a self-isolation that lasted until death.
And we can begin to feel just something of what that must have been like.
Now, Matthew in his gospel,
in chapters 5 to 7 that we didn't read,
last week we were in chapter 4, 5 to 7,
we're presented with Jesus, the amazing teacher.
He preaches the most famous sermon in history,
the Sermon on the Mount.
And now in chapters 8 to 10,
he focuses our attention on Jesus with amazing power.
There are 10 miracle stories.
And among those miracle stories,
we're also going to see evidence of faith.
So today, let's see together,
how do we see the faith of this leper?
What does faith look like in his case?
And what does the restoration of Jesus look like for the leper?
And then what does that mean for us?
So let's begin with some lessons from a leper on faith.
The first thing to notice is that he is humble.
Now, as Matthew tells the story of Jesus,
we see the focus changes,
as it were moving from a panorama
where there are huge crowds who follow Jesus up the mountain
and he teaches and then they follow him back down the mountain.
Matthew changes now to a zoom lens,
focuses us in verse 2 on a man with leprosy.
And just before we move on,
that's a helpful reminder of how God sees us
and how God deals with us.
He doesn't see us just as a mass of humanity.
He wants to deal with you,
to speak with you,
to know you personally.
Now, what do we learn about this leper?
Well, we're told that this man with leprosy,
he came and verse 2,
he knelt before Jesus.
This is the posture of a lesser before a greater.
As it were, he recognises,
I am the servant
and Jesus is master,
Jesus is king.
Notice too,
there's no demand on his part.
What does he say to Jesus?
In verse 2,
Lord, if you are willing,
you can make me clean.
So he knows
that Jesus has the power to heal.
But,
he doesn't presume on it.
He doesn't stand before Jesus and demand,
this is my right that you heal me.
He doesn't know,
will Jesus be like everyone else?
If I come close to him,
will he body swerve around me?
So we see
faith is humble
in the life of this leper.
And second,
it's very basic,
but it's very important to recognise
that he comes in his need.
Now let's just imagine for a moment
what is involved
in this leper coming to Jesus
in his need.
He is going to most likely
have to face
the stigma
and the disapproval
of others,
perhaps to see the fear
in their face
as he walks by.
He will need to announce,
he will need to shout
his uncleanness
in order for him
to gain access
to Jesus.
And even while
he's on that journey,
he knows there is that possibility
of being rejected.
So then what is it
that motivates him
to take this risk?
Well, he has
leprosy.
Leprosy has often been described
as the death
before death.
So he knows
his great need.
And,
as his words tell us,
he knows
Jesus is his only hope
of salvation
and restoration.
So he comes humbly
and he comes
in his need.
Now let's apply
these lessons
to our lives
for a moment.
I wonder
if today
you find yourself
tuning in
to this church service,
maybe even
to other church services
out of a sense
of desperation.
Where it's not
leprosy,
but perhaps
it's the COVID virus
and its impact
that's turning
your life
upside down.
And maybe
you realise
you need
help that comes
from beyond yourself.
Well,
let me say
that to come
to God
to come
to Jesus
is to come
to the right
source of help.
I was thinking
about the
FA Cup hymn,
Abide With Me.
Some of the words
that we find
there are helpful.
So in
the first verse
we hear,
when other
helpers fail
and comforts
flee,
help of the
helpless,
O
abide with me.
And then
in verse 2,
the prayer
continues,
change and
decay
in all
around I see,
O thou
who
changes
not,
abide
with me.
When we feel
there's no one
else that can
help us,
when we feel
everything,
it is turning
to dust
and decay,
it is wise
to look
to the
unchanging
and good
God,
to Jesus
as the
good
saviour.
Christian faith
is about
humble trust
and dependence,
and not just
sometimes,
but all of the
time.
From the beginning
of the Christian life
to the end
of the Christian life,
we never
outgrow
that need
of Jesus,
our saviour
and elder
brother,
that need
of God,
our Father,
that need
of the Holy
Spirit
to be working
in our lives.
on our
daily exercise
break as a
family,
we quite
often find
ourselves
either cycling
or walking
to one of
the places
nearby,
we're near
Blackford Hill
and Holyrood
Park,
and almost
without fail,
the boys will
find some
rocks to
climb on,
and even
though they're
getting older
and more
confident,
sometimes I'll
still hear
one of
them say,
Dad,
help me,
as they're
struggling to
get up a
particular rock
face.
No matter
what our
age,
no matter
what our
stage in
the Christian
life,
whether we
are looking
to begin,
have just
begun or
have been
a Christian
for years,
that needs
to be our
attitude.
Father God,
help me.
I need
wisdom to
know how
to live
well,
I need
your peace
today,
I need
your protection
today,
I need
to hear
your voice
above all
the other
voices in
my life
today.
Father God,
help me.
Faith is
humble and
dependent all
the time.
And also,
before we
move on,
leprosy
is helpful
in providing
a picture
of our
greatest
need.
If we
want to
learn
lessons,
one lesson
that this
man can
teach is
our
great
need.
So the
Bible is
really clear
about the
reality of
sin,
our
disobedience
against God
and against
his word,
our rejection
of his
rule in
our life,
our failure
to love
God and
to love
others as
we should
so that
we are
by nature
without
Jesus
spiritually
dead
even
while
we
live.
We find
ourselves
separated
because of
sin from
life with
God,
that's how
we were
made,
and we
are facing
his
judgment
and the
certain
reality
of eternal
separation
from God
and all
that is
good.
Our
condition
is
serious.
And just
as it was
with leprosy,
so with us
it will take
a miracle
to cure
us by
ourselves.
We cannot
change that
condition.
And that's
where the
Bible offers
such good
news to
us,
because it
presents to
us this
miracle of
God's
saving
grace.
And we
see that
at the
cross of
Jesus,
where Jesus
will give
his own
life,
he will
die so
that we
might live.
He will
take on
himself our
sin and
its punishment
so that we
might be
forgiven.
He will
face being
abandoned so
we can be
adopted into
the family
of God,
restored to
the life
that we
were made
for.
So there
is good
news even
as we
see the
bad news
of our
own
condition.
So having
looked at
the faith
of the
leper,
it's important
that we
look at
the deep
restoration
of Jesus.
There are
two highly
significant
details for
the leper
and for
us to
take out
of this
short
reading.
The first
is the
touch of
Jesus.
Verse
three,
Jesus
reached out
his hand
and touched
the man.
I am
willing,
he said,
be clean.
Immediately he
was cleansed
of his
leprosy.
some of
you I
know are
finding as
the days
and weeks
go by that
this is a
time of
real hardship
because you
feel starved
of company
and maybe
especially
starved
of
contact.
We have
in our own
personal experience
stories and
we know
from news
reports stories
of babies
being born
and families
who cannot
visit,
loved ones
being buried
and friends
and family
members that
can't gather.
Friendships
are being
missed.
Important
events
are being
cancelled
because we
cannot be
close together
and sometimes
that two
metre
separation
can feel
like a
Grand
Canyon,
can't it?
I wonder
how long
had this
man been
facing the
reality
of no
contact
and
total
isolation.
Imagine
his
unending
loneliness.
We have
hope that
it will
return.
This man
had no
hope
outside of
a miracle.
So in
Jesus'
touch
there is
mercy
compassion,
there is
love
and there
is welcome.
There is
so much
going on
here
and it
reminds us
that we
are made
for relationship
and Jesus
our creator
knows that
and he
lovingly
brings
restoration.
relationship
with God.
And what
has Jesus
come to
bring?
Jesus
brings to
this man's
life the
very presence
of God
because he
is the
son of
God and
he brings
the touch
of God,
the healing
touch of
God into
this man's
life.
And let
me say
that Jesus
wants to do
that for
you too.
Jesus
doesn't
change.
He is
still
willing to
respond to
our need
if we
come to
him in
faith.
And so
we are
invited to
ask him
for the
help that
he is
willing to
provide.
The second
thing to
notice about
the deep
restoration of
Jesus is
perhaps the
surprising detail
of verse
four.
when Jesus
said to
the man
see that
you don't
tell anyone
but go
show yourself
to the
priest and
offer the
gift Moses
commanded as
a testimony
to them.
So what's
this about?
You see
Jesus could
have sent
the man on
his way
as it were
saying well
go and
enjoy your
family.
That's a
wonderful thing.
Be part of
the community
is a great
thing.
Perhaps
find a
job.
But Jesus
knows that
is not
enough for
true restoration
because still
when his
body is
healed still
there will
be
discontent
still there
would be
disappointment
and ultimately
death would
come.
So verse
four is
showing us
that Jesus
wants the
man's
restoration
to be
deeper.
How do
we see
that?
Because his
first priority
is that the
man go to
the temple.
The man
offer a
sacrifice to
God.
So here's
what's
happening.
The
miracle
that Jesus
works of
healing the
man makes
praise and
worship
possible.
In
stretching out
his hands
to heal
the leper
he is
restoring the
man to
his place
among the
people of
God.
Now he
can worship
again.
And that's
the greatest
restoration that
Jesus can
bring.
As we
bring this
to a
conclusion
let's
think about
us
receiving
this
deep
restoration
of
Jesus.
It's
tempting I
think to
seek God
in a
crisis
for some
kind of
boost
to see
us through
and then
we'll go
back to
the way
things were.
But this
little story
here reminds
us that
God,
that Jesus
wants to
go deeper.
He would
change your
heart and
change your
desires,
not just in
the short
term,
but for
the long
term and
for all
eternity.
He wants
to bring
a deeper
healing,
maybe to
one that
you didn't
even realise
that you
needed.
Maybe to
help illustrate
this,
I was
thinking about
last winter.
So I
have had
asthma
since
childhood
and last
winter,
I got a
fairly
significant
chest
infection
and after
a few
days
I dragged
myself to
the local
GP,
effectively
because I
wanted relief
to be able
to breathe,
to be able
to sleep,
all those
kind of
things.
Well the
nurse and
the GP
took one
look at
me and
they said
yeah we
can do
that but
we want
to go
deeper.
So I
got my
antibiotics
and some
time off
work but
also over
the course
of a couple
of weeks
they did
some really
helpful things.
They gave me
new insight
that I never
had really
about the
damage that
asthma
untreated
can do to
your heart
and to your
lungs.
They gave me
a new
inhaler and
gave me even
a new
technique for
taking my
inhaler.
I wanted
just a bit
of short
term relief
but six
months on
I am so
thankful,
so thankful
they wanted
to go
deeper.
My quality
of life
has been
enhanced
no end.
You might
want
short term
comfort
but Jesus
would want
you to
go,
would want
to go
deeper
in your
life.
Jesus
knows
your
greatest
need
and mine
love
and
God
is
going to
end
our
isolation
from
God.
That
Jesus
would
deal
with
the
sin
that
creates
a
barrier
between
us
as sinful
people
and a
perfectly
holy
God.
We were
made to
know
God
and his
love
and his
joy
but sin
is a
barrier
that isolates
Jesus
wants to
deal
with that.
That's why
he went
to the
cross
and he
calls us
to
faith
so that
barrier
would be
removed.
And also
Jesus
knows
where you
will find
deepest
joy.
Deepest
joy
is found
in
enjoying
the
glorious
love
and
life
of
our
eternal
God.
Jesus
knows
that the
love
and the
joy
that we
are
looking
for
ultimately
can
only
be
found
in
him.
Nothing
else
lasts.
Nothing
else
compares.
So
this
Jesus
who
stretched
out
his
hand
to
restore
a
leper
to
community
and
community
with
God
would
stretch
out
those
hands
again
at
the
cross
so
that
you
and I
by
trusting
in
Jesus
we
could
be
forgiven
we
could
be
made
clean
we
could
be
given
new
life.
This
story
teaches
us
that
it
takes
a
touch
of
Jesus
great
love
to
produce
deep
restoration.
So
let me
encourage
you
whoever
you
are
don't
settle
for
less.
We're
all
searching
for a
love
and a
happiness
that is
real
and that
lasts
for a
hope
that we
can rely
on
for a
peace
that is
deep
and real.
can
I
tell
you
that
what
you're
looking
for
is
found
in
Jesus.
This
Jesus
who is
willing
and able
to heal
us
and to
restore
us.
This
Jesus
who went
to the
cross
to bring
you into
fellowship
with God.
So
come to
him in
your need
whatever
your need
is today.
Come
with
humble
dependent
faith
and
receive
his
great
love.