9th September 10:30

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The Gospel of Luke  •  Sermon  •  Submitted   •  Presented   •  21:44
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Jesus ends separation and brings restoration

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Pigeon-holed on 18th and then you need to code. Hope City all I'm worried and worried about whether is uppercase or lowercase. Is she just work?

Play I'm at I'm going to leave this here house City and I'm really glad you could be with us today. I wanted to start with the story. So just the other day. One of my old old friends asked if I happen to know the address that we live that together while I was at University and I was actually working out the dates and that's 25 years ago was a little bit harder fight, but he asked if I knew the address of this house, we lived twenty-five years ago and it just so happened that in my files. I had a letter from my beloved to the address. So I was able to provide it with people and I never take it when I remembered is this guy will I moved in with he had a kind of a positive and negative relationship with one of the other housemates are gone cool and AJ and the will and AJ underwear Nishi friends for each other into the house, but they will and each other up living together more and more and more because the thermostat for the whole house was in AJ's room. The thermostat for the heads in AJ's room at every door had a locking door more you would do is he would set the thermostat in the morning and then go out get on the bus to University disappear and leave the old and the rest of us in the has had to put up with whatever temperature he had chosen one day. I can't remember this particular or protected ecoable one day get set this thermostat in a way that was so so irritating to will broke the door down to his room rip the thermostat off the wall so we could never be Miss set ever again and stormed out. That's a small thing. Well, I think it's a relatively small thing but it ended the relationship between will and AJ. That was it. I was thinking that I was just looking back. You know, I'm Facebook friends. Like you always are with a bunch of people from University for this one guy. That's it. He's not even Facebook friends with us is distance. The relationship is broken. I'm sure lots of us could think of people we were once close to you, but now we're alienated from How people who we were friends with people who we were deeply connected with but now we're separated. The process because of things they've done. Process because of things we've done a princess at Birth I think often that's the story about the loss of a relationship at one time or another. I must have felt what it's like to lose that you lost something that you had. We're continuing our journey Fruit Loops biography of Jesus Luke's gospel and is telling us the story of what Jesus is up to and we come to a section today though. It might not seem like it at the beginning once we dig in a bit will see this section is all about separation. But not just separated separation and restoration to Jesus about 8:30 now and he's going to the serious and active section of his ministry. He's been rejected and it's only time he's been celebrated in capernia Muse on all sorts of wonderful things that he said. Nope. I'm going to go elsewhere to speak the good news the last week. We had him calling his first disciples with amazing fishing chip for some chip fishing trip for not eating well and breakfast fishing trip from Luke Chapter 5. So come with me and find out if you get one of these blue Bibles then you can find that on page 1032 chapter 5 is the big number and Sam. Can I invite you up chapter 5 is the big number and then we're looking for verse 12 11 number 12 is the heading Jesus heals a man with Leprosy page 1032 in Sam's going to repress them.

Well, Jesus was in what are the times a man came along who is covered with Leprosy when he saw Jesus he fell down with his face to the Grind infect him Lord. If you're willing you can make me clean Jesus Sweet States has Hines and touch them and I am willing. He said be clean and immediately the leprosy left him. Then Jesus ordered don't tell anyone show yourself to the priest and offer the sacrifices that Moses commanded for your cleansing as a testimony to them. Yeah, the news about them spread all the more so that crowds of people came to hear him and to be healed of the illnesses, but Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed. I meant thanks him. So the key character he is going to skin condition. Like I'm leprosy it says for the word they use them covered a bigger category of things. So it might be like receiving might be some other terrible skin condition that we've already seen a lot of people he would have been with us for a few weeks. She would have walked through the stories of healing. I told you a joke about how he healed everyone who came to him in this place told him she was sick. So the question I was asking when I found this story was why is this one here? We've had so many healings already buy we had the weirdest mother-in-law and then this whole crabs and cues of people's the picture given. Why is this story? Why would another healing what makes this one different? What is this guy? Get the spotlight? Was emphasized in the text there that he was unclean and he was made clean their unclean is not just the opposite of the idea of being dirty or Messi and needing to scrub up the idea of being separated by being wrong for you to be together. You needing to have distance from other people your unclean have distance from God. You can't, and worship among his people and the other the rule book for life in this time. They would have been thinking about what the Bible told them. It sets at what separation look like in practice. This is a chapter from The Book of Leviticus. If it says anyone with such a defining disease like this leprosy will they have to wear torn clothes let their hair Beyond camps for teenagers were already suspicious that you might have leprosy. I'm going to cover the lower part of their face when they have to cry out and as long as they remain unclean and they have to live alone. Date a live outside the camp they have to be separated. Now. That sounds extreme. Doesn't it? That's an isolating. That's distancing humanizing. We might think the separation from people was at least in part pragmatic leprosy at least is a contagious disease. The separation is well, controlling that the other serious conditions the term covers as well where they're likely to be as well. But this man with this disease he dares to approach Jesus. He cares to approach Jesus and you can see it's an emotional moment in the language that she used it talk about what happens when he came in in the inverse 12. He he fell with his face to the ground not a lot of people will meet Jesus Through the stories were going to read about him in this file to see a lot of people are going to meet Jesus not many people. In front of him another guy as it turns out and he comes not just pulling on his face he begs and a lot of people would talk to Jesus by someone with some will ask some will some won't shout some Wilmot for this guy is not a lot of people bag such an emotional moment. He is really anxious about this connection with Jesus and why is that is because the stakes are high. So at risk is is rejection at risk is a return to the separation with red about outside away from people. No contact no connection to the worship of God. Yeah, he's thinking just perhaps is it possible? Is it possible that there could be some restoration if you look away he says he says Lord, if you're willing you can make me clean. He doesn't have any doubts about whether Jesus is able to do this. You can make me clean. He's confident of that his question. His question is whether Jesus will his question is whether Jesus Will Break the separation Reach Out And Touch the unclean whether you will cross this divide.

Jesus heals the man but if you read carefully he done something else first, he starts by touching them and now it's risky for Jesus. If you could get sick a buddy's costly for Jesus is going to make him unclean that's probably would have been under the rule book of the day that he too was going to end up separated from people. Not the sort of thing fine outstanding people like to do to go and take a risk to do and get themselves in that category legs are on you'll see some of the religious leaders and teachers wanting the the governor the governor of the Party come out of his house to meet them. So they don't have to go into his hands because that would make them unclean really don't want to become unclean in these days. So it's risky for Jesus is costly and it's all so I guess I'm necessary for Jesus. Jesus has all the power he wants he could have healed at a distance. You could have never touched the dangers unclean guy and just said be healed. It does seem to be with words in the end that heal the guy. He says be cleansed. So, why does he touch? I think it's because Jesus actually cares about people. He actually cares about people he is also I guess beginning to declare the end of the separation that is uncleanness is brawl. He's no longer on touchable you're touched. I'll be cleaning commands Lizzie's immediate results. The separation is ended the the connection to the wider people group is restored is sudden, but what's happened here is very profound. The impact is going to have a nice guy's wife is enormous Beyond just being well or unwell, he's going to die from being ostracized excluded to being included in one of the people. That's not play where the story ends on Jesus has some marching orders for this newly cleansed man, and he has been to carry a message to the religious times. He sends him to the priests have to go until he heard the phrase that show don't tell ever heard the phrase like a picture is worth a thousand words. Was kind of weird going on here. I see the man is commanded Jesus specifically says don't tell anyone. And definitely as you know, who struggle with absolute anyone includes absolutely nobody.

He's meant to show what happens when to show he is the the message himself and you can argue with what's happened to him his his skin has been cleansed is going to be very very obvious. I mean, imagine the skin product for this, you know, those before and after pictures that the slightly's Buddy Guy. That's the cream on his face and then slightly less party afterwards play imagine that it's not the sort of thing to you want to see pictures of people with Leprosy pictures of people with similar diseases, and now all of a sudden he's completely cleansed. A demonstrates Jesus's power demonstrates his undeniable his unique ability to change things in an instant. The more than that, he's also sending this cleanse Guide to the priest to the religious authorities as a a message a testimony of his own identity C Moses way back when he's making the rules for Israel. I do read before they're more rules that but what should do has rules about warpriest to do when somebody becomes well again, after this sort of disease. He says they have to go outside the camp they have to go to wear these unclean people are and have to go to the healed or rather the ones who have gotten better and then and cleanse the month amount as approved for being back in circulation improve your back into the people approved for back into the presence of God. Damn no longer separate.

Jesus sent the heel one inside to the Priestly sentiment already cleansed.

He's already done that kind of priest the work. He's sending the message. He's saying I am I am the true high priest. That's why he's marking out by sending himself in and he will do more as we read on through the gospel than just cleanse. The lepers is a high priest with C in the weeks to come just how far he'll go in this the weapon is back to where I started.

Must be something know the pain of losing a relationship with somebody else. And the truth is that often plays at wrongs done by us or wrongs done to us.

This one relationship we were all made for and that was our relationship with God. That's what the Bible tells us. That's one of the essential elements. But just like we're separated from others in our relationship by wrongs. What were separated from Gone by the wrongs we've done if you know your Bible think about the stories of the beginning Adam and Eve don't listen to God the Google. I told them not to and what happens there separated from him. the put away from his presence and ultimately they're separated from each other their two children one of them kills the other the saw is alienation the separation will we know in human relationships is wrong at her when we lose a relationship with somebody else it aches. There's a gap and avoid what's wrong with me lose this relationship with God. It's not how it's meant to be with him either.

And here's the good news today story is not just an amazing healing we've seen lots of them already. Today's story is Jesus's picturing the restoration of the separated. Is Patron something much greater he'll do.

A part of the Mist I think he's sending these priests in their thinking in their minds. Unclean means go away. Get you out of some I gave you away from me. I don't want to be in your presence. The amazing though. It is in Jesus. The Holy Ghost has come to the unclean and he's come with compassion when we took that. Why does he touch he's come with compassion he cares.

And we don't separate if I'm Gone by a skin condition will most of us at least we're separated by our wrongdoing. That's what separates us from God.

But still he comes to us. It comes to us with mercy and not with John Chapman.

And the story tells us that we can approach god with Hive we can approach Jesus with pipe that just like he is able to heal this condition or he is able to cleanse us is able to restore our relationship with God is able to end this separation between us. Why does nothing Beyond Disability this disease were talking about here? That's the most feared. That's the worst. This is as unclean as you could be their Chaps in chapter the regulation about this cuz it's such a big issue for them. Cleanse with a single word. You see no matter what you've done no matter how far you are from God no matter what you think is the giant things that separate you from him. But he is enough and he is able to undo that I was a famous Sim. I'm the says his blood can make the foulest clean. And then the older brings a homie says his blood availed for me that was enough even for me. He's not just able. So I chose this one more thing. It shows as he is willing Rises. I am willing.

He still reaches out his hands their nails got in there, but he reaches out his hands to us. Just need to ask.

Do you see yourself in the outcast today? Do you see yourself in the one separated from God distance from God? You can be reconciled. I can happen today happens in a moment with his word.

The Firm any of us in this room, I guess that restoration is already a part of our story so what is this passage have to say to you if that's your Story one of the say to you when it says to us There's Hope for those who are far from God. The no one is beyond this character. There's no one he is unwilling to talk to other there's nothing Beyond his ability to repair. There's nothing he can't restore but the truth is we are very quick to running people off. We are very quick to think that. Is People Like Us? People we might like to be in the company of the god is interested.

But God is interested in everyone no matter what and the funny thing is I think more people than it looks like are interested in God. Now you see here this man this leper was desperate. He comes to Jesus in his desperation. He expresses it with falling on his face with his begging. And we presume the people around us or not interested in God. And most people do like pre-sorted. I think the running to day today. A truth is this Simon you're desperate on the inside are the phrase living lives of quiet desperation.

I-24 so many people around us

You saw the terrifying suicide stats? The number one killer of man, I think in their thirties the enormous self-harm stats published recently. So many people write she living these desperate lives. It works profoundly wrong with me to see when somebody is not on God's agenda. oftentimes we can be wrong when we think he is not on their agenda to

So often God restores an even Delights and using just the most unlikely an unexpected people if you know your bible stories will think about Peter he's a deserter Wolves Away from Jesus on that critical day cuz he never knew him three times. Double go on to use and right in the very very center of his work. Think about that guy Paul, right? What he used to do is go around killing Christians. That was a day job. and God is able to use him to

so I think if you would say this is your story The Challenge is to open your eyes to the people around you we talk here about small steps of reaching out to others with Jesus in the first of those small steps being noticing. There are people around you to need him if they need him noticing those people and helping your heart to grow for them. So one thing

he wants to find I'm going to Jesus welcomes the outcasts and so must we I mean, it's easy to prefer a quiet or Julie home to chaos and mess of welcoming in the broken. Azizi prefer tiny house with children who have flying The Nest versus the chaos of having to my home.

But Jesus it compassion challenges us. He says don't keep your distance from this mess of the world. Don't stay safely separate don't keep it all arm's-length. That's not what he does. He reaches out and touches it.

And if you think it's a bigger story of Jesus he steps into this broken World rather than turning away from it. He called us to follow him in that Journey will go on to say in just a few weeks as we read on I it's not the healthy who need a doctor but the sick. How did the good news that we have about Jesus explicitly for the broken? Explicitly for those who are not sorted.

This has to be a church where we going to go out to the broken. This has to be sure it's where we're delighted to see the broken come in because the truth of it is we are all broken people.

We're all broken people.

I need to be open to people messing up. MS MR tidy places the church is meant to be the Glorious mess of Jesus working at his Restoration in the middle of us. Kale, sometimes I'm pretty overwhelming. One day we'll see this is a beautiful thing that he is doing.

What we see today Jesus and the separation. That's the big Point Jesus ends the separation. What does that mean for you?

Okay, just for a moment, then. I'll hand it over to David.

Got to go. Thank you so much for this amazing picture of how Jesus does not keep his distance from broken from unclean. Known as power. He's not we take him to others.

Amman

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