INTRO.- ILL.- A lady wrote a letter to Dear Abby. “Dear Abby, I am 44 years old and would like to meet a man my age with no bad habits. Signed, Rose. Abby replied: ‘Dear Rose: So would I.’” Could that be called desperation?
If any woman or man is trying to find a mate that has no bad habits, I say, “Good luck, God bless you, May the Force be with you, break a leg, go for it,” and everything else. It’s not going to happen.
There are a lot more important desperate situations in life that we should be concerned about.
Job 14:14 “If a man dies, will he live again?”
When an unbeliever is on the brink of death, that’s a desperate situation or should be! If it’s not a desperate situation to them, then they are either stupid or are completely hardened to God and Christ.
This message is also about faith.
ILL.- Occasionally, someone will ask me a question (Biblical or otherwise) that I have no answer for. I generally answer like this. I say, “I’m in sales, not management.” Some people might consider an easy way out. For me, it’s a matter of faith.
There are some things in life for which we have no concrete answer. We must accept by faith that God is God and He is in control and knows exactly what He is doing. HE IS THE MANAGER. We must walk by faith in Him whether we have an answer or not.
This message is also about love.
ILL.- W. Carl Ketcherside was a church of Christ preacher many years ago. As you know, many church of Christ preachers are ultra-conservative, as was Carl. Finally, one day Carl discovered that life was not about perfect doctrine but rather about a perfectly loving God. It wasn’t that Carl stopped preaching the Word of God. He did that, but he tried to emphasize the fact that all who came to Christ would be accepted by Him. He believed in immersion but he believed it was not just “for the remission of sins.”
Someone said to him one time, “By the way you talk you would think that love is the most important thing.” Carl replied, “Thank God, you finally got it.”
I Cor. 13:13 “And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.”
PROP.- In this text about the life of Christ we see desperation, faith and love.
I. DESPERATION – THE LEPER
Matt. 8:1-4 “When he 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 cured 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."
This leprous man was desperate. He was diseased and dying.
ILL.- Fausset’s Bible Dictionary: "Leprosy is a disease of the skin brought on by heat, drought, the absence of a nourishing diet and personal cleanliness. It begins with a little pain, goes on until it mutilates the body, deforms the features, turns the voice into a croak, and makes the patient a hopeless wreck. A poison in the blood ferments there and affects the skin, and destroying the sensation of the nerves."
Anyway you look at it, leprosy was a horrible disease, making a person desperately hopeless. Can you imagine how that leper must have felt?
ILL.- One old preacher said, “The soul that walks alone wanders along the borders of Hell.” No one could touch the leper, not even family. The leper was left alone with his pain.
As one writer put it, “If anyone had a right to doubt God’s love, it was the leper. If anyone had a right to doubt God’s willingness to forgive and cleanse the most wicked sinner, it was the leper.”
ILL.- Preacher Chuck Swindoll tells the story of his time in the Marines in 1958. He was serving with the Marine Corps band in Okinawa when their tour took them to a leper colony on the island. Swindoll said he was totally unprepared for what he encountered at the leper colony. He saw stumps instead of hands, clumps instead of fingers. He saw half faces, and he saw one ear instead of two. So heinous were those who lived on the colony that they were unable to applaud the band’s performances. He said he could literally see the anguished cries of the men, women and teenagers who made that place their home. He said, "We could play music for them, but we could not cleanse them of their disease."
The desperate leper of our text dragged himself to Jesus and worshipped. He knelt before Jesus. Cleansing does not come unless we are willing to bow before Jesus. The leper asked for mercy.
“Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.” That’s the cry of desperation. Jesus reached out and touched him, saying, “I am willing.” Jesus is always willing to cleanse and forgive.
All of us experience desperation in life: declining health, family crisis, work related problems, financial shortages, loss of loved ones, etc.
ILL.- My son Shane had major abdominal surgery when he was only 8 days old in 1980. He survived but I had a $5000 hospital bill and no insurance. That was a crunch deal because I already lived from paycheck to paycheck. I think I paid off that hospital bill. If not, then Shane needs to go back to St. Mary’s Health Center in Jefferson City, MO.
Brothers and sisters, all of us experience times of desperation in life. But what we do during those times is what makes the difference in our lives. Do we look within? Without? Or up?
“Lord, if you are willing…you can make me clean…you can provide for me…you can take care of me.” God help us all to realize that in our times of desperation that Jesus is the only hope that we have.
II. FAITH – THE CENTURION
Matt. 8:5-10 “When Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to him, asking for help. "Lord," he said, "my servant lies at home paralyzed and in terrible suffering." Jesus said to him, "I will go and heal him." The centurion replied, "Lord, I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. “I tell this one, ’Go,’ and he goes; and that one, ’Come,’ and he comes. I say to my servant, ’Do this,’ and he does it." When Jesus heard this, he was astonished and said to those following him, "I tell you the truth, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith.”
The centurion was a man of great faith and he was also a kind and caring man. He cared about someone who was beneath him or perhaps lower on the financial scale in life.
It’s easy to care for those who can do something for you, but what about those who can do nothing for you?
ILL.- Take, for example, Warren Buffet, the second richest man in the world at 42 billion dollars. As some of you may know, Warren Buffet has joined with Bill and Melinda Gates (the richest people in the world) to give back a big portion (85 percent) of his money to help find some cures for diseases that affect the poor people of this world.
Most wealthy people don’t think in terms of helping the poor of this world. I think what Buffet is going to do is very commendable in the light of scripture that admonishes the rich of this world to share with others. (I Tim. 6:17-19)
It would be easy for me to scratch your back, knowing that you might scratch my back, but what about those who can’t scratch our backs? Do we care for those who are less fortunate than ourselves?
The centurion replied, "Lord, I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed.”
Just say the word. I like that. Just say the word and I’ll take care of that for you. If I just said the word, is there anything you could take care of for me?
It’s kind of nice when you can say the word and someone will respond to your need. That doesn’t happen very often. Not many people are that willing or able. BUT JESUS WAS!
And the centurion had the faith to recognize Jesus’ ability to heal without even going there to get the job done.
Jesus could speak things into action. Don’t you wish life was that easy or simple?
ILL.- I’d love to be able to say to Elaine, “Hon, bacon, eggs, biscuits and gravy, and right now” and it would happen, BUT IT’S NOT GOING TO HAPPEN!
However, our Lord could say, “Be healed” and healing would take place. How could He do that? That’s so simple to answer. HE IS GOD! And the centurion with his limited training and education recognized Jesus’ ability to heal just by speaking a word. What faith he had!
Do we believe in God’s ability to do certain things in life? Do we honestly walk by faith in Him or do we just hope for better days?
Heb. 11:6 “And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.”
What’s the evidence that we believe in God’s ability to take care of everything? PRAYER. Plain and simple. We pray about anything that bothers us or concerns us or worries us. And we go to God first. That’s the sign of faith.
ILL.- I have a faithful preacher friend in southern IL. His name is Jerry Ford and he’s a Southern Baptist preacher. We’ve known one another for a long time and when I need some advice I am not afraid to ask him. He knows a lot about life, people and the Lord. And I trust him.
But as much as I trust in him, I know he can’t do everything. And even though I may ask him for prayer or for advice, I FIRST GO TO GOD IN PRAYER! The Lord should be our first priority whenever we’re faced with any obstacle in life! And when we do this we are walking by faith. We are telling the Lord that we believe He is able to do all things!
III. LOVE – THE LORD
Matt. 8:3 “Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. "I am willing," he said. "Be clean!"
Matt. 8:13 “Then Jesus said to the centurion, "Go! It will be done just as you believed it would." And his servant was healed at that very hour.”
No matter how you figure it or cut it, Jesus responded to these people out of a heart of love. Jesus wasn’t interested in self-glorification like some people. He was solely interested in cleansing these people and setting them free from their pain and anguish for their sake.
ILL.- Remember the old song by Tina Turner, “What’s Love Got to Do with It?” Tina sang these words.
What’s love got to do, got to do with it
What’s love but a second hand emotion
What’s love got to do, got to do with it
Who needs a heart when a heart can be broken
What was she talking about? Marriage? Love should have something to do with marriage and a whole lot more of life.
ILL.- Recently, I read where singer Britney Spears had her nude photo displayed on the front page of Harper Bazaar now that she is six months pregnant. Now why in the world would she do that? What’s love got to do with it? NOTHING.
I think it was purely to promote herself and make more money. Love for her unborn child had nothing to do with it.
But love should have a lot to do with giving birth to children and then raising them. Love should make all the difference in the world. Love will nurture them, discipline them, provide for them, teach them, hug them, kiss them, hold them, and direct them in life.
ILL.- Over 30 years ago I worked for a grain elevator company in the small town of Bayard, IA. I drove a truck and scooped a lot of beans and corn. I scooped so much that at night my hands ached with pain. It was probably one of the more difficult jobs I’ve ever had in life. But I was a young man and I could take it.
Still, there are some jobs out there in America that are not very pleasant. Do you have one of those? Or have you had one of those? What’s love got to do with it? A lot. Even if you have a job you don’t like, you still go to work, you still contend with it, you still endure it out of love for your mate or your family. That’s what love has to do with it!
Love should have a lot to do with going to work every day. Love should have a lot to do with going to church every Sunday. Love should have a lot to do with everything we do every day. Why? Because love had everything to do with what Jesus did in life!
And love is what made him heal the leper and the centurion’s servant. Love motivated Jesus in life in every way. It’s what made him get up every morning and go off to a solitary place and pray. It’s what motivated Him to teach, preach, heal, bless, AND…DEFINITELY GO TO THE CROSS! And love should be the motivating force in our lives as well. Love for the Lord, love for our families, and love for people.
CONCLUSION-----------------------------
ILL.- A mother repeatedly told her little boy to sit down. The boy continued to stand, disobeying his mother. Finally, the mother went to him, and plopped him down in a chair. Fuming, the boy said, “I may be sitting down on the OUTSIDE, but I am standing on the INSIDE!”
Matt. 8:3 “Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. "I am willing," he said. "Be clean!"
Jesus had a stubborn streak about him. His heart, mind and soul were set on helping people, blessing people, loving people. He said, “I am willing.”
Jesus stubbornly, willingly lived for others. What about you?
