back to indexBerean Community Church Sunday Service 3.12.2023
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♪ And now I freely walk into the arms of Christ ♪ 00:03:32.600 |
♪ And now I freely walk into the arms of Christ ♪ 00:04:27.760 |
♪ And now I freely walk into the arms of Christ ♪ 00:04:47.720 |
♪ And now I freely walk into the arms of Christ my Lord ♪ 00:04:52.720 |
♪ And now I freely walk into the arms of Christ my Lord ♪ 00:05:13.380 |
Let me get to some announcements that we have this morning. 00:05:18.900 |
that is scheduled for August 11th through the 13th. 00:05:24.220 |
Every year we wrestle with whether we're gonna be having 00:05:30.540 |
just because of the growing number of the church. 00:05:33.620 |
But this year, I mean, the benefit that we get 00:05:37.700 |
and it kind of helps the newer people to integrate 00:05:52.500 |
we have a dedicated time of wrestling with God's word 00:05:57.660 |
So we are going to be having that in August 11th 00:06:04.700 |
And again, I'm not gonna go into too much detail, 00:06:08.300 |
but we're really privileged to be able to have him come 00:06:11.540 |
and join us and deliver the word of God to us. 00:06:15.280 |
It's going to be in Western Rancho Mirage Golf Resort and Spa. 00:06:18.380 |
This is the place that we had it two years ago. 00:06:23.780 |
Early bird registration is gonna start pretty soon, 00:06:28.620 |
and we'll give you more information about that 00:06:35.660 |
to try to come to that because it is very beneficial 00:06:39.620 |
in every way to be able to all be together for that weekend. 00:06:42.420 |
So we'll remind you as we have more clear announcements 00:06:46.500 |
The service auction that you guys have volunteered, 00:06:55.980 |
So you can go on there and all throughout this week, 00:07:27.860 |
In a few weeks, we have the Easter week that's coming up 00:07:37.760 |
this is probably the busiest week of our church 00:07:39.540 |
'cause we dedicate the whole week every single day 00:08:00.460 |
just directions of what happened to Christ that day 00:08:08.400 |
And then there's gonna be some members of our church 00:08:14.660 |
And then on Thursday, we have a Passover meal 00:08:19.580 |
So if you've never attended a Passover meal before, 00:08:22.300 |
I highly encourage you to come and participate in this 00:08:25.660 |
to be able to get a visual representation or presentation 00:08:33.240 |
and how it was really embedded into the culture 00:08:41.700 |
and what it signified and what it pointed to, 00:08:46.900 |
I encourage you to sign up as soon as possible. 00:08:50.300 |
obviously because it is actually going to be a meal. 00:08:55.340 |
but right now we're looking at somewhere around 120 to 150. 00:09:02.820 |
especially those of you who have young children, 00:09:09.700 |
and what Christ has done through the Passover meal. 00:09:17.500 |
among your family, you're more than welcome to do that. 00:09:21.220 |
we're gonna have to cap it because of the space. 00:09:31.060 |
the next session is gonna be happening on April 16th, 00:09:43.540 |
or there's a place to sign up on the app and on the webpage. 00:09:49.940 |
will give you information of where to meet and when to meet. 00:09:55.200 |
It goes over the fundamental doctrines of our faith. 00:10:09.140 |
And so that's an eight-week course starting on April 16th. 00:10:18.440 |
or if you have come and brought physical offering 00:10:24.420 |
But for the rest of us, we have electronic giving. 00:10:31.280 |
Heavenly Father, we thank you for the privilege 00:10:44.060 |
Lord, we brought various burdens of our hearts, 00:10:55.160 |
We pray, Father, that you would cause us to hear from you, 00:11:04.500 |
we would honor you and worship you this morning. 00:11:07.900 |
May this offering be given as an act of worship 00:20:38.760 |
If you can turn your Bibles with me to Luke chapter five. 00:21:02.760 |
"behold, there was a man covered with leprosy. 00:21:08.760 |
"'Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.' 00:21:12.760 |
"And he stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, 00:21:26.760 |
"just as Moses commanded as a testimony to them. 00:21:29.760 |
"But the news about him was spreading even farther, 00:21:45.760 |
Heavenly Father, we pray for your blessing upon the Word. 00:21:50.760 |
We pray, Father God, that those who have ears would hear, 00:21:54.760 |
that you would soften and prepare our hearts, 00:21:59.760 |
May your Word accomplish what you have ordained for it, 00:22:03.760 |
that we would grow, mature, and be sanctified 00:22:14.760 |
I think our world has gone through some craziness, right? 00:22:18.760 |
And now slowly all the countries are starting to open, 00:22:25.760 |
and some of the even more, the strictest countries 00:22:28.760 |
are starting to open so that people can travel. 00:22:31.760 |
I remember very distinctly in the beginning of it 00:22:35.760 |
where there was a lot of information that came out 00:22:37.760 |
and said that this is going to be like the Spanish flu, 00:22:41.760 |
and we need to stay in, and so out of fear, we went home. 00:22:46.760 |
And we opened up as soon as we were able to open up, 00:22:50.760 |
and I remember the first week that we got back together, 00:22:53.760 |
and I don't think we were closed for that long. 00:22:55.760 |
I think maybe about a month or so that we were closed, 00:23:00.760 |
But I remember the first crowd that came back 00:23:02.760 |
and how we all missed being together, you know? 00:23:14.760 |
when we decided to have our all-church retreat. 00:23:17.760 |
A lot of people were saying that we're crazy. 00:23:31.760 |
We thought there's too many people who are going to be afraid, 00:23:36.760 |
but to my surprise, we had the largest attendance ever 00:23:41.760 |
And I think because people really were hungry for interaction. 00:23:49.760 |
just was not enough, and wanted to get back to 00:23:58.760 |
just being isolated, not a fear of what may happen. 00:24:03.760 |
Now, you know, we have all this information that's coming out, 00:24:05.760 |
and it wasn't as severe as it was first thought. 00:24:09.760 |
And I don't think that--you know, there's a lot of theories going around, 00:24:12.760 |
and I don't think we'll ever completely know. 00:24:16.760 |
and what information was given and why was it given, 00:24:23.760 |
But I think emotionally, we can all understand 00:24:35.760 |
what we're looking at this morning with leprosy. 00:24:39.760 |
Leprosy was considered one of the most hideous diseases. 00:24:43.760 |
In fact, oftentimes, they would have preferred death 00:25:02.760 |
It's mentioned 58 separate times in the Bible, 00:25:05.760 |
and out of that, 13 of it in the New Testament, 00:25:18.760 |
but there are many encounters, specifically with leprosy. 00:25:28.760 |
And basically, if you got it, it was a death sentence. 00:25:32.760 |
And you were forced to live in complete isolation. 00:25:43.760 |
as to how to identify and how to restore them back. 00:25:48.760 |
In fact, almost to the point where there's nothing else 00:26:03.760 |
that this disease of leprosy is the outer manifestation 00:26:11.760 |
And we can see why, and I'm going to make that case 00:26:22.760 |
First, Luke says that he was covered in leprosy. 00:26:27.760 |
In some of your translations, it says he was filled with leprosy. 00:26:35.760 |
that it's taken full effect, and every part of his body 00:26:43.760 |
of someone who has leprosy, whether on Google 00:26:46.760 |
or encyclopedia, depending on what era you were born. 00:26:50.760 |
However you've seen it, it's a hideous picture. 00:26:52.760 |
And I didn't even want to show you this picture 00:26:58.760 |
So somebody who is suffering with this disease, 00:27:04.760 |
not necessarily because of the disease itself, 00:27:06.760 |
but the disease basically attacks the central nervous system, 00:27:14.760 |
And so what happens is, when you see the deformities 00:27:17.760 |
and the pusses and all the stuff that you know, 00:27:20.760 |
you've seen pictures of someone who has leprosy, 00:27:23.760 |
basically, it's because they don't feel pain, 00:27:28.760 |
or they would get burned, or they would get a broken arm, 00:27:31.760 |
and they don't feel any pain. They don't know what's happened. 00:27:33.760 |
So as a result, they're not able to treat it, 00:27:35.760 |
and as a result of that, it would get infected 00:27:40.760 |
So the pictures that we see of somebody who has leprosy 00:27:56.760 |
and they said that oftentimes patients would come in 00:27:59.760 |
with this disease, and then their biggest problem 00:28:01.760 |
is they would go home, and it's a third world country, 00:28:06.760 |
it would attract rats, and in the middle of the night, 00:28:17.760 |
and parts of their body chewed off by the rat, 00:28:19.760 |
but they don't know it because they can't feel any pain. 00:28:25.760 |
and they said that oftentimes the doctors would, 00:28:32.760 |
just to scare off the rats while he is sleeping. 00:28:34.760 |
This is how hideous and horrible this disease is and was. 00:29:01.760 |
"and the hair of his head shall be uncovered." 00:29:29.760 |
He said, "He shall cover his mustache and cry, 'Unclean, unclean.'" 00:29:35.760 |
I mean, it's horrible enough that the physical pain, right, 00:29:45.760 |
Everywhere he went, basically warning people, 00:29:53.760 |
"all the days during which he has the infection." 00:30:09.760 |
and the pus oozing and rats gnawing at this person, 00:30:15.760 |
everywhere he goes, he needed everybody around. 00:30:20.760 |
By law, he had to tell everybody, "Unclean, unclean." 00:30:26.760 |
basically was understood as you were cursed by God. 00:30:30.760 |
And that's exactly how they took it in the first century. 00:30:38.760 |
he also had to be completely isolated, live by himself. 00:30:42.760 |
And we know to some degree what that feels like, right? 00:30:52.760 |
I mean, this isolation was miserable for you, right? 00:30:57.760 |
are the middle-aged parents who had younger kids 00:31:03.760 |
You know, we had our kids forced inside the house, 00:31:06.760 |
so we were able to spend time with them like never before. 00:31:18.760 |
He said, "But a leper had no choice. He was isolated." 00:31:34.760 |
So you can see why this man was so desperate. 00:31:39.760 |
When Jesus comes and he hears about Christ coming, 00:31:54.760 |
but it is directly linked to how God views sin. 00:32:00.760 |
God brings an indictment against the nation of Israel 00:32:04.760 |
and this is how their rebellion is described. 00:32:10.760 |
The whole head is sick and the whole heart is faint. 00:32:20.760 |
not pressed out or bandaged nor softened with oil." 00:32:47.760 |
This sin, this heresy, if we don't deal with it, 00:32:50.760 |
he says, this skin disease, it will begin to spread. 00:32:57.760 |
That would be an understatement to say that he was desperate. 00:33:12.760 |
I asked you to kneel when we prayed this Friday 00:33:23.760 |
recognizing that we are in desperate need of His mercy. 00:33:27.760 |
that this is not something that we just kind of, 00:33:29.760 |
whether he can answer or not, we're okay with it, 00:33:33.760 |
And so this man, seeing Christ come into town, 00:33:37.760 |
bowed down on his knees, imploring, begging Him, 00:33:41.760 |
"Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean." 00:33:46.760 |
You notice here, he doesn't question his ability. 00:33:53.760 |
Oftentimes in our generation, we pray to him, 00:34:00.760 |
Can He actually change, get rid of the whole COVID? 00:34:05.760 |
Can He actually overpower whatever problems that we have? 00:34:13.760 |
He said, "You are able, but are you willing?" 00:34:21.760 |
"And without faith it is impossible to please Him, 00:34:23.760 |
for he who comes to God must believe that He is, 00:34:27.760 |
and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him." 00:34:30.760 |
First of all, this man had no problem with this. 00:34:34.760 |
He believed that Jesus, if He was willing, He is capable. 00:34:45.760 |
Think about today, the way we consider grace. 00:34:52.760 |
Grace has been passed out like Halloween candy, 00:34:56.760 |
to the point that people who are asking for grace, 00:35:08.760 |
I went to that church and they don't practice grace. 00:35:26.760 |
the definition of grace nullifies your demand. 00:35:32.760 |
Because the definition of grace is you asking for, 00:35:47.760 |
Grace is something that you are pleading for. 00:36:24.760 |
to be in a situation of humility and desperateness. 00:37:27.760 |
you don't demand him to forgive you of your sins. 00:37:53.760 |
"Who knows whether He will not turn and relent 00:38:15.760 |
But sometimes the way we approach God is like, 00:38:28.760 |
He didn't come running when I told Him to come." 00:38:32.760 |
I mean, it's just the arrogance of our generation 00:39:00.760 |
You know, the fact that he even came to Jesus, 00:39:20.760 |
they could have picked up the stone and stoned him. 00:39:50.760 |
If he contaminates you and he contaminates me, 00:40:39.760 |
This man probably hasn't been touched for decades. 00:41:51.760 |
And it was an expose on the Romanian orphanages. 00:42:07.760 |
So we took our team and went to the orphanage 00:42:16.760 |
They weren't like other kids, you know, typically, 00:44:21.760 |
Wednesday morning, you can go to this Catholic center, 00:44:42.760 |
In fact, I've seen many people gain weight out there 00:44:58.760 |
I said, "Do people yell at you and curse at you, 00:45:04.760 |
"For the most part, they just leave us alone." 00:45:10.760 |
He said, "The hardest part is not mattering." 00:45:27.760 |
They try really hard not to make eye contact. 00:45:41.760 |
He said, "That's the hardest part," they said. 00:46:23.760 |
everybody he was around would also be unclean. 00:47:02.760 |
obviously he's referring to the atonement on the cross, 00:47:46.760 |
That's when the Bible says that sin reigns in mankind. 00:47:58.760 |
and only Christ comes into this curse of mankind 00:48:05.760 |
"He made him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf 00:48:08.760 |
so that we might become the righteousness of God." 00:48:13.760 |
Only Christ absorbed our uncleanness upon Himself 00:49:02.760 |
The others needed to see that He made him clean. 00:49:28.760 |
people are going to want to forcefully make Him king. 00:49:48.760 |
He tells them to go show themselves to the priests 00:50:07.760 |
Because that was the primary suffering of a leper. 00:50:26.760 |
That's why Jesus tells him to go to the priests 00:50:29.760 |
because it says in Leviticus chapter 13 and 14, 00:50:37.760 |
Outside of Jesus' miraculous healing of the lepers, 00:50:42.760 |
If you had leprosy, it was a sentence of death. 00:50:47.760 |
So why this elaborate law of how to get restored 00:50:52.760 |
when He knew that this wasn't going to happen 00:51:06.760 |
Once He came and the priests began to see signs, 00:51:10.760 |
and this whole process took about seven days, 00:51:13.760 |
and then on the eighth day He would be confirmed. 00:51:36.760 |
representing the uncleanness of this man being cleansed 00:51:44.760 |
Now on the Day of Atonement, they used lambs, goats, 00:51:50.760 |
but this was something, because it was personal, 00:51:56.760 |
Those of you who know what the Day of Atonement is, 00:52:13.760 |
representing that because of the slaughter of this one lamb, 00:52:16.760 |
the other will represent the sins and be gone. 00:52:21.760 |
So the restoration of a leper was a mini-event 00:52:24.760 |
of the Day of Atonement for that particular man. 00:52:47.760 |
that God was trying to teach us what he came to do. 00:52:53.760 |
In fact, the very next passage that we look at, 00:52:55.760 |
they come and they want Jesus to heal, right? 00:52:59.760 |
And then Jesus says, "Your sins are forgiven." 00:53:06.760 |
so that you know that I have authority to forgive sins." 00:53:13.760 |
is also to illustrate to us what Christ came to do. 00:53:26.760 |
and to spread the news around so such an extent 00:53:29.760 |
that Jesus could no longer publicly enter a city. 00:53:33.760 |
This is exactly the reason why he told this man 00:53:45.760 |
what it would have looked like three years later? 00:53:50.760 |
if we weren't Christians and we don't know the story, 00:53:59.760 |
What do you think happened to Jesus and his disciples? 00:54:07.760 |
For sure he probably would have taken over the world. 00:54:11.760 |
And we look at today and say, "Yeah, I mean, look at this. 00:54:19.760 |
no human being, whether you are a believer or not, 00:54:32.760 |
"Oh, it's because he performed all these miracles 00:54:38.760 |
At the end of three years, instead of honoring him, 00:54:53.760 |
He's healing the sick, opening the eyes of the blind, 00:54:57.760 |
healing lepers, touching them and reversing the curse. 00:55:06.760 |
The scripture tells us that his fame of his miracles 00:55:18.760 |
And eventually, those who came for the miracles 00:55:21.760 |
will be separated with those who came for his word. 00:55:51.760 |
"Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears my word," 00:55:59.760 |
he who experienced miracles, he who saw great things, 00:56:04.760 |
"No, he who hears my word and believes him who sent me 00:56:09.760 |
has eternal life and does not come to judgment 00:56:17.760 |
Everything that Jesus did, everything that Jesus does, 00:56:30.760 |
As you and I are here because we've been touched 00:56:40.760 |
that we will come to understand the depth, the height, 00:56:43.760 |
the width, and the length of the love of Christ 00:56:52.760 |
to this mercy and grace that God has given us. 00:57:05.760 |
Let's take some time to come before the Lord in prayer 00:57:24.760 |
loving what they love, hoping for what they hope for, 00:57:36.760 |
Ask the Lord to open our eyes, soften our heart, 00:57:40.760 |
that what we do will simply be a reasonable response 01:02:53.760 |
♪ Yes, He rose that we would be free indeed ♪ 01:04:22.760 |
that they would be curious about the God that we serve. 01:04:30.760 |
that we would be the light that you have called us to be, 01:04:57.760 |
and to be the intercessor of those who do not know you.