JESUS HEALS A LEPER

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In Luke 5:12 Jesus is uniquely approached by a leper. Leprosy in Biblical times was a terrible thing. We're not exactly sure what Biblical leprosy was. While it may have described what is known today as "Hansen's Disease," the word probably included other skin diseases, as well. Whatever it was, once a person caught it, it was considered incurable, and those diagnosed with leprosy were banned from society. Lepers were considered unclean and must be separated from the rest of society.

To the rabbis, the cure of a leper was as difficult as raising a person from the dead. In all Biblical history only two people had been cured of leprosy—Miriam, who had leprosy for seven days as a punishment for speaking against Moses' leadership (Numbers 12:9-15), and Naaman, general of the army of Aram, a Gentile from Damascus (2 Kings 5). When he obeyed Elijah's instruction to wash seven times in the Jordan River he was healed. Healing a leper had not been done in Israel for seven hundred years, and was thought to be a sign of the Messiah.
But to come to Jesus for healing is a risk in itself. The leper will be beaten if he doesn't strictly observe the rules to keep his distance from "normal" people, at least six feet, and some people will throw dirt and stones at him if he is twice that distance. He decides he must risk it. If Jesus can heal him, he must risk any punishment, however severe. He must!

So now, all of a sudden, he rushes across the street to where Jesus is standing, and falls down with his face to the ground before Him. You can almost hear a gasp from the people around Jesus, and they involuntarily take a step back, hands to their mouths. Let’s go to the text itself:
While Jesus was in one of the towns, a man came along who was covered with leprosy. When he saw Jesus, he fell with his face to the ground and begged him, "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!" And immediately the leprosy left him.

When you think about it, his statement is remarkable for its faith. Here is a man who states his belief that Jesus can do what only Elijah could do—heal a leper. It isn't a matter of ability, the leper is saying. It is a matter of will. Jesus is ABLE to heal him, the man boldly states. Is He WILLING to do so?

Jesus is standing. The leper is kneeling, face to the surface of the street, inches from Jesus' feet, already violating the law of distance that lepers were to keep. And then Jesus begins to stoop. Jesus is moved by the boldness of this man’s faith. Before the eyes of the onlookers, Jesus begins to stoop down and reach out his hand. He extends His fingers until they rest on the unclean leper's head. A murmur goes through the crowd as Jesus touches the unclean man, and then total silence as Jesus speaks quietly: "I am willing, be clean!"

Luke records, "Immediately the leprosy left him." A moment before, he was covered with leprous sores and lesions, "full of leprosy," and now his skin is clear, unblemished. A dramatic and instant transformation has taken place in him.

A gasp goes through the bystanders. The man is healed! The leper is healed! Then Jesus ordered him, "Don't tell anyone, but go, show yourself to the priest and offer the sacrifices that Moses commanded for your cleansing, as a testimony to them."

Yet the news about him spread all the more, so that crowds of people came to hear him and to be healed of their sicknesses. But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.

Think about this a minute. Only two lepers had ever been healed and healing a leper was to be something only the Messiah would be able to do. Instead of just wowing the crowds with this amazing feat, Jesus routes the cleansed leper to his priest to perform the appropriate sacrifice for the healing of a leper.

No priest had performed the appropriate sacrifice for such a miracle for a long time until now. I believe Jesus sent the leper to the priest in order to spread the message even further than a simple word of mouth from the crowd might have done. Whoever the lucky priest might be who would get this walk-in request would, no doubt, call the press, radio and CNN in order to let the world know that he was going to actually perform this sacrifice for the first time in centuries.

This, then, was a clear and specific sign that Jesus was God’s Messiah. Healing a leper is an amazing thing. If Jesus can pull this off, then just maybe He is able and willing to heal other things in your life. Are you willing to ask?

JESUS PUTS FISHERMEN OUT OF BUSINESS

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In chapter 5 of Luke we are immediately set into a sharp contrast from chapter 4. Jesus was having some difficulty in Nazareth, but here in Capernaum He is finding a mass acceptance. Let’s look at it: One day as Jesus was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret, the people were crowding around him and listening to the word of God. He saw at the water's edge two boats, left there by the fishermen, who were washing their nets. He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little from shore. Then he sat down and taught the people from the boat.

This all seems pretty presumptuous on the part of Jesus to simply get into a boat that didn’t belong to Him. But if you investigate the context of this story in the Gospels, you will soon see that Jesus had already had an encounter with Peter and his friends in the 1st chapter of John.

The first time Jesus met Peter He challenged him to follow Him. It must have been a positive encounter and impression on Peter, but they really didn’t start following Jesus fully at that time. They were still in the fishing business, yet were probably following Jesus from afar. This time Jesus is going to sink the hook a little deeper and He does it by advising these professional fishermen on how to fish. NOTE what happens:

When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, "Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch." Simon answered, "Master, we've worked hard all night and haven't caught anything.

Peter is really saying, “Jesus, we know the fishing business and there aren’t any out there in that area. We’ve been fishing there all night.” Then Peter relents and says, “But because you say so, I will let down the nets."

When they had done so, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break. So they signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them, and they came and filled both boats so full that they began to sink. When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus' knees and said, "Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!" For he and all his companions were astonished at the catch of fish they had taken, and so were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, Simon's partners.

Simon Peter and his partners were very impressed with Jesus’ fishing knowledge. Even though they were experienced professionals at fishing and Jesus wasn’t, Jesus really showed them up. Now listen to what is said next: Then Jesus said to Simon, "Don't be afraid; from now on you will fish for people." So they pulled their boats up on shore, left everything and followed him.

There are 3 very important principles here:
1. There are various levels of commitment in following Jesus and both are acceptable. Yet, it’s important to note that Jesus seems to have changed the level. This time Jesus wants these fishermen to be released from their vocations and begin fishing for people.
2. No matter your profession, Jesus knows how to work it best, so let Him. Listen to Him and follow His lead. You don’t know better than He does how to run your business.
3. When you see Jesus at work with His miraculous touch, you will drop to your knees in submission. As you see His purity and power, you come to realize how vulnerable and weak you really are. Therefore, you are drawn to Jesus as the only solution to your need.

What strikes me about this episode in the life of Jesus is that here we have a clear as to the heart of Jesus. He isn’t concerned to start an organization or club or to build a membership list. Jesus is most concerned about people and He will continually come back to you, until He gets you headed in that same direction with the same heart He has. If you are in real estate, you are not just selling property. It isn’t the property, but the people that matter most. If you are in the high tech business, you are not just building a competence in high tech. You must be concerned about developing a high touch with the people around you.

The focus for revolutionaries today is reaching and touching people in the name of Jesus. He calls you to be a fisher of men and then gives you the opportunities and the power to fish most effectively. So, if you are hearing Jesus’ revolutionary call, “Follow Me!”, then do whatever you have to do to follow Him. Have you ever heard those words from Jesus, “Follow Me”? Listen carefully, because you are just the kind of person He is looking for.

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Going on MacArthur toward the beach...
Take a left on Bonita Canyon...
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Then immediate left on Newport Hills Drive...
Follow Newport Hills Drive (keep right always)...Until you come to Port Carlow Place...
Take a left on Port Carlow Place and go to the end of the street on the left.

Traveling on Bonita Canyon toward MacArthur...
Take a left on Mesa View Dr.)...
At the stop sign go right on Ford...
Then immediate left on Newport Hills Drive...
Follow Newport Hills Drive (keep right always)...Until you come to Port Carlow Place...
Take a left on Port Carlow Place and go to the end of the street on the left.

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P.U.S.H.

A man was sleeping at night in his cabin when suddenly his room filled with light, and the Lord appeared. The Lord told the man he had work for him to do, and showed him a large rock in front of his cabin.

The Lord explained that the man was to push against the rock with All his might. This the man did, day after day. For many years he toiled from sun up to sun down, his shoulders set squarely against the cold, massive surface of the unmoving rock, pushing with all his might.

Each night the man returned to his cabin sore, and worn out, feeling that his whole day had been spent in vain. Since the man was showing signs of discouragement, the Adversary decided to enter the picture by placing thoughts into the man's weary mind:

"You have been pushing against that rock for a long time, and it hasn't budged. Why kill yourself over this? You are never going to move it." Thus giving the man the impression that the task was impossible and that he was a failure.

These thoughts discouraged and disheartened the man. "Why kill myself over this?" he thought. "I'll just put in my time, giving just the minimum effort; and that will be good enough." And that is what he planned to do, until one day he decided to make it a matter of prayer and take his troubled thoughts to the Lord.

"Lord," he said, "I have labored long and hard in your service, using all my strength to do that which you have asked. Yet, after all this time, I have not even budged that rock by half a millimeter. What is wrong? Why am I failing?"

The Lord responded compassionately, "My friend, when I asked you to serve me and you accepted, I told you that your task was to push against the rock with all your strength, which you have done. Never once did I mention to you that I expected you to move it. Your task was to push. And now you come to me with your strength spent, thinking that you have failed. But is that really so?

Look at yourself. Your arms are strong and muscled, your back is sinewy and brown, your hands are callused from constant pressure, and your legs have become massive and hard. Through opposition you have grown much, and your abilities now surpass that which you used to have. Yet you haven't moved the rock. But your calling was to be obedient and to push and to exercise your faith and trust in My wisdom. This you have done. I, my friend, will now move the rock."

At times, when we hear a word from God, we tend to use our own intellect to decipher what He wants, when actually what God wants is just simple obedience and faith in Him.... By all means, exercise the faith that moves mountains, but know that it is still God who moves the mountains.

⇒When all hope seems to be lost....PUSH
⇒When you are tired and battle worn....PUSH
⇒When you feel like giving up.....PUSH
⇒When you are disillusioned by a friend...PUSH
⇒When you are accused and are innocent....PUSH
⇒When all looks dark around you....PUSH
⇒When you lose your job....PUSH
⇒When you are weary with the world....PUSH
P.U.S.H - Pray Until Something Happens!!!!!

JESUS HEALS EVERYONE HE ENCOUNTERS

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There are 3 scenes at the end of this chapter that are quite revealing of the power of Jesus:

A demonized man healed
Then he went down to Capernaum, a town in Galilee, and on the Sabbath he taught the people. They were amazed at his teaching, because his words had authority. In the synagogue there was a man possessed by a demon, an evil spirit. He cried out at the top of his voice, "Go away! What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God!"
"Be quiet!" Jesus said sternly. "Come out of him!" Then the demon threw the man down before them all and came out without injuring him.

All the people were amazed and said to each other, "What words these are! With authority and power he gives orders to evil spirits and they come out!" And the news about him spread throughout the surrounding area.

Simon’s mother-in-law healed
Jesus left the synagogue and went to the home of Simon. Now Simon's mother-in-law was suffering from a high fever, and they asked Jesus to help her. So he bent over her and rebuked the fever, and it left her. She got up at once and began to wait on them.

A variety of people healed
At sunset, the people brought to Jesus all who had various kinds of sickness, and laying his hands on each one, he healed them. Moreover, demons came out of many people, shouting, "You are the Son of God!" But he rebuked them and would not allow them to speak, because they knew he was the Messiah.

At daybreak, Jesus went out to a solitary place. The people were looking for him and when they came to where he was, they tried to keep him from leaving them. But he said, "I must proclaim the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns also, because that is why I was sent." And he kept on preaching in the synagogues of Judea.

Remember when Jesus spoke to the synagogue in his hometown? He quoted Isaiah 61 which set forth the mission of the Messiah—healing all kinds of diseases and difficulties, setting people free. Well, in this section of Luke, Jesus is doing just that—being God’s Messiah.

NOTE that when the people tried to keep him in one place, Jesus said, “I must proclaim the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns also, because that is why I was sent.”

Just a few years ago I came to realize that Jesus is the Gospel—Jesus plus nothing else. Now, here Jesus talks about the “Gospel of the Kingdom.” Jesus is the person (the what) of the Gospel. The Gospel is a person, not a program. And, the Kingdom of God is the way we act out this person’s presence in our lives (the how). When you practice kingdom principles, you are practicing the rule of Jesus in your life in that situation, in that moment.

So, the Gospel—the good news—is Jesus and His kingdom. Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness (that’s Jesus). Just as we have been seeing in the book of Acts. The primary theme is Jesus and the kingdom. Jesus, in person, taught the disciples about the kingdom, Jesus, in person with His great I AM’s taught mostly about the kingdom. Then at the end of Acts Paul hosts all those who are interested in his rented quarters and taught them about Jesus and the kingdom of God.

When you encounter Jesus, you will be changed or will be healed. The healing touch of Jesus’ presence is most powerful and empowering, no matter your background or religious beliefs. So, do everything you can do to stay close with Jesus and His kingdom and you will know His healing touch on your life. This is not just a first century experience; it is for today—for you and those you love.