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THE ROAD TO RECOVERY

Introduction

Don’t you just love the simplicity of the life and teaching of Jesus? Even with all the technology we have in our day, there is nothing that can come close to the touch of Jesus!

One of the great principles of the Bible is that God is not a respecter of persons.

Paul said that in Romans 2:11–“For there is no respect of persons with God.”

Aren’t you glad that the playing field is level with God. He doesn’t play favorites.

We can be assured that what God has done for others, He can and will do for us, as long as we come to Him on His conditions.

Here we see that our text illustrates a pattern that man needs to follow in order to reclaim wholeness in his life.

I.         MAN MUST ADMIT THAT HE HAS A PROBLEM THAT HE CANNOT FIX.

Luke says that this man was “full of leprosy.” It was obvious to him. It was obvious to others around him. It was obvious to Christ. But in order to receive help for his condition, he had to acknowledge that he had this problem in his life that he could not fix.

            What was so terrible about this disease that this man had called leprosy?

            Leprosy was a dreaded disease which was incurable by any human means.

            Let’s look at some things about leprosy:

            A.        A Leper Had Obvious Signs That Showed He Had The Disease. 

Leprosy started from a small spot and ate away the flesh until the sufferer was left with only the stump of a limb or limbs. It was literally a living death.

The disease generally began with pain in certain areas of the body, however, numbness soon followed as the nerves were desensitized.

Soon the skin in the infected area would lose its original color and then the skin would get thick, glossy, and scaly As the sickness progressed, the thickened spots would become dirty sores and ulcers would erupt due to a poor blood supply.

The skin, especially around the eyes and ears, would begin to bunch, with deep furrows between the swellings, so that the face of the afflicted individual began to resemble that of a lion.

                        Fingers and toes of affected limbs would drop off or be absorbed.

Eyebrows and eyelashes would drop out. And the leper emitted a very unpleasant odor.

The disease would also attack the larynx and the leper’s voice acquired a grating quality. His throat became hoarse, and others could not only see, feel, and smell the leper, but they could also hear his rasping voice.

So leprosy was a physically desensitizing, disfiguring, and debilitating disease which caused one to be repulsive in the extreme to both himself and those around him.

Everything that a leper came into contact with was considered contaminated.

Lepers were also considered ceremonially unclean (i.e. unfit to worship God) and because of their condition, they were ostracized from the rest of society.

Leviticus 13:45-46–“And the leper in whom the plague is, his clothes shall be rent, and his head bare, and he shall put a covering upon his upper lip, and shall cry, Unclean, unclean. 46All the days wherein the plague shall be in him he shall be defiled; he is unclean: he shall dwell alone; without the camp shall his habitation be.”

So, the physical agony of leprosy was intensified by the social stigma attached to it. Death not only grabbed the leper’s body, but his heart as well.

            B.        Leprosy Is A Picture Or A Type Of Sin In The Bible.

Like leprosy, sin affects man’s whole being:

                                    Sin desensitizes a man to spiritual things.

                                    Sin causes man to be disfigured from what God intended for him to be.

                                    Sin is loathsome in his life.

                                    Sin corrupts everything about man.

                                    Sin contaminates him as well as everything he comes into contact with.

            Sin renders man unfit to worship God.

                                    Sin alienates us from the family of God.

                                    Sin is incurable by man.

            C.        A Person Infected With Leprosy Could Do Nothing To Fix His Problem.

He could not do anything to himself to fix his condition.

                        He could not go to any priest to fix his condition.

                        He could not go to any other person or thing to fix his condition.

                        So also is the man infected by sin.

            MAN MUST ADMIT THAT HE HAS A PROBLEM THAT HE CAN’T FIX.

II.       MAN MUST RECOGNIZE GOD’S SOLE ABILITY TO MAKE HIM WHOLE.

            This leper came to the only source he could come to for help–Jesus Christ!

            A.        No One But God Could Help This Leper With His Condition.

We’ve already said, that a person infected with leprosy could do nothing to fix his problem. He couldn’t help himself and no other man could help him.

                        In fact, the only thing a leper could do about his condition is go to God.

(e.g. 2 Kings 5:1ff – Naaman, captain of the host of the king of Syria, the little Jewish maid, the king of Israel, and Elisha)

There was absolutely nowhere else that a leper could go for help with his awful condition! Only God could relieve this awful condition!

The same holds true for sin. The only place we can go for help with our sinful condition is to the LORD!

And there is absolutely no help for a person who does not recognize that he needs the help of the LORD in his life!

You can’t cleanse yourself of your sin today. I can’t cleanse you of your sin today, but I can tell you about the one who can!

Sin, just like leprosy, is a problem man cannot solve without God’s help.

            B.        This Leper Recognized That Jesus Was Lord.

                        “Lord, If thou wilt, thou canst make me clean.”

Over the centuries, God had promised again and again to send a Redeemer to undo sin’s defilement to those who place their faith and trust in Him.

                        This promised Anointed One of God, had finally come!

This leper recognized Jesus as the Son Of God. – “Lord.”

1 John 5:5–“Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?”

1 John 5:10–“He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself: he that believeth not God hath made him a liar; because he believeth not the record that God gave of his Son.”

                        Only Jesus can meet our deepest needs. He said in John 15:5–

                        “. . .for without Me ye can do nothing.”

                        When we recognize Jesus for Who He is, we too will come to Him for cleansing.

            MAN MUST ADMIT THAT HE HAS A PROBLEM THAT HE CANNOT FIX.

MAN MUST RECOGNIZE GOD’S SOLE ABILITY TO MAKE HIM WHOLE.

III       MAN MUST BELIEVE THAT THE LORD JESUS CHRIST IS READY, WILLING, AND ABLE TO MEET HIS NEED.

For this leper to approach Jesus, he must have believed that Jesus was LORD.

            But, he must also have believed that the LORD was able and willing to meet his need.

            No doubt he had heard the testimony of who Jesus was.

            No doubt he had heard the testimony of what Jesus had done for others.

He not only had to believe the testimony of who Jesus was, but he also had to believe the testimony of what Jesus did for others and he had to believe that Jesus was ready, willing and able to do the same for him!

            You’ve heard the testimony of who Jesus is. Do you believe it?

            You’ve heard the testimony of what Jesus has done for others.

            Do you believe that He is able to do the same for you?

            Do you believe that He is willing to do the same for you?

IV.      MAN MUST SEEK AFTER THE LORD IN FAITH–(i.e. PRAY!)

            That is exactly what this leper did. Prayer is nothing more than talking to the LORD!

            If this leper had not called out to the LORD for help, he wouldn’t have received it.

            There is no shortcut. There is no substitute. 

            Prayer is the God appointed way for us to touch the power of the LORD to our need.

If you are in need of salvation today, listen to the words of Romans 10:9-10:

Romans 10:9-10–“9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.  10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”

Conclusion

Have you ever come to that time in your life where you:

1.         Admitted you have a problem that you cannot fix?

            Until a man sees that he has a problem with alcohol, there is no hope for him.

            (That is a fundamental of all of the 12-step programs.)

            Until a man sees that he has a problem with drugs, there is no help for him.

            Until a man sees that he has a problem with sin, there is no way to help him.

2.         Have you recognized God’s sole ability to make you whole?

3.         Have you believed that the LORD is ready, willing, and able to meet your need?

4.         Have you sought after the LORD in faith believing on Him for your salvation?

If you haven’t, then you are still dead in your trespasses and sins, you are unclean before God and you are destined to be separated forever in hell unless you repent of your sin and turn to the LORD!

Won’t you come to Jesus today?

Dear Christian friend, it is our job to be bringing spiritual lepers to Dr. Jesus! He specializes in the hard cases! There is no sin He cannot cleanse! There is no sinner beyond his ability to save, if they will only come to him. It is our job to get the good news out about His ability to save them from the deadly disease of sin!

Home Page   Contact Us    Service Times   Sermons   Are You Going To Heaven?

NOTICE:   THESE SERMONS ARE FREE TO BE USED BUT ARE NOT TO BE SOLD!