In Case of Mildew — If Jesus Came to Your House

How many of you are enjoying our discovery in the book of Leviticus?

Actually, there's more hands than I thought. Either that or I'm going to have

to talk about lying next week. I don't know.

But anyway, we're looking in the book of Leviticus, and it's interesting.

There are a lot of things in there that I have gone through the book of Leviticus

more than once, but it seems like every time you go through Scripture,

you find something else.

In fact, you know, the guys I'm meeting with for Bible study were going through

Revelation, and we were talking this last week that I've—some of it just kind

of started fitting this week when I was reading through it.

Not that I make sense and I have the plans for know what God's going to do in the end times.

I just know it just kind of fit together as I was reading this time.

I don't know why this time more than any other, but it's just interesting how

Scripture does that to us. I told the guys that when speaking of the end times,

I am not pre-millennialist or post-millennialist.

I am pan-millennialist. And that is, I believe that if you trust in Christ,

it's all going to work out and pan out in the end.

And so if we just be faithful to the Lord, it's all going to pan out for us.

But let's look at this passage we're going to look at this morning.

Deals with diseases that attack the homes.

Now, Pastor Tim, why are you talking about diseases that attack the homes?

Well, because it's in Leviticus.

So if it's in Leviticus, it must be something we should be looking at.

So you may ask, why does the Bible include all of these detailed instructions

on what to eat and what to sacrifice and how to keep clean and how to treat

leprosy and all these kind of things?

The practical application behind this biblical mandate to rid our homes—and

we're going to be looking at what does the Bible say we need to do in case of mildew—the Bible,

the practical application says it tells us the biblical mandate to rid the homes

of mildew involves multiple reasons

that are still even prevalent today in cases of home mildew and mold.

And yet it also deals with the mold and mildew that comes and happens in our lives as well.

That that can infect us with deadly diseases.

Mold and mildew is a form of fungus

that spreads through the transfer and transportation of mold spores.

Mold spores can be transported through contact by human, animals,

insect water, and even air transport.

If you or an animal or insect touches mold spores, they can be transported to other areas.

When the mold is damp, the spores spread by chain reaction of growth on the

surface of their infestation.

When you look at the fields, when you see an area of fungi, of toadstools,

a lot of times you will see it in a circle, won't you?

You'll see them form in a circle, and that's because the mold spores just kind

of spread out and they work around into a circle in there.

A lot of times it's by a place where there was a dead tree or something that

had been cut down and mulched up.

You'll see those things grow and those are spread.

You know, everybody knows, well, maybe not everybody knows, but if you've ever

had athlete's foot, how many have had that?

Horrible, isn't it? And that's just

because of moisture and stuff that that fungi begins

to grow in between your toes and you've got to keep them

dry and clean and all that we had in cross country

in high school we had a tub of of

a medicated powder foot powder that after every practice after every race after

every shower that we took after and we would stomp our feet in those to get

get rid of any kind of mildew that might mold that might build up on our feet

i know that's kind of gross,

but that's just the way the mold is. It'll spread.

It'll keep going. And when an area is damp—,

the spores spread even faster. When mold is dried out, the spores are released

into the air to float to other areas.

Mold and mildew have been found to be toxic to humans and animals.

They have been determined to cause and accentuate respiratory illnesses,

chronic fatigue syndrome.

Immune suppression illnesses, allergic reaction and skin and lung reactions,

up to and including in stream cases, brain damage and death,

you know that my wife suffers from fibromyalgia.

And it has been determined that that probably began as a virus from black mold,

possibly in one of our homes.

There was one of the homes we lived in and one of the parsonages we lived in,

we found it had black mold. And they said that would have infected her lungs

and caused the preconditions for what would become the fibromyalgia.

And so we understand that these things can be long-term causes.

The skin disease of leprosy was closely related to mildew problems.

Leprosy was a fungal disease.

We read about that in Scripture. You don't hear about a lot of it anymore in

the world, except in Africa you still see some cases of leprosy.

Well, we don't see much of it because it was a fungal disease,

and it's pretty much kept at bay by keeping areas dry and free from infection.

So this was another example of God giving the people a practical command to

govern their life and help the Israelites to live.

God was giving them an example of what to do in cases of these things in their

homes, as we'll see in the Scriptures.

And what that would do, it's a practical way. The Ten Commandments were not ten.

Well, they were not 10 suggestions, correct, but they were not 10 ways that

God wanted to rule out your fun.

There were 10 ways that God wanted to give us so that he knew that we would

be governed by something that would keep us on the straight and narrow, but also help our lives.

The same thing with this message is these lessons that we learned today.

Mold and mildew in the home would spread to other areas and affect the health

and welfare of all inhabitants and guests in that home as well as be transported

on clothing and hair to other places.

So if some person had black mold in their home, mold and mildew in their home,

they could actually transport that to someplace else and infect another area.

One could be a carrier of mold and mildew. Now, I don't know about you,

but I don't want to be known as a mold carrier.

You know, it's just kind of not one of those things, you know,

when people call me Pastor Tim, I don't want them to think, oh, he's a mold carrier.

A mold and mildew issue in a home was an indication of how sin can move into

a person's life and spread through the heart and even to transport it into their homes.

I'm going to point out to you God's reason stated in chapter 11.

He says, I am the Lord your God.

Consecrate yourself and be holy because I am holy.

I am the Lord who brought you up out of Egypt to be your God.

Therefore be holy because I am holy.

The main emphasis of Leviticus is how we can become holy before a holy God.

Part of that is getting rid of all the filth.

And as we see in this scripture, it's going to be, how do we get rid of the

filth that comes into our homes?

We're going to be reading from Leviticus chapter 14, verses 33 through 53.

Leviticus 14:33–53

The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, When you enter the land of Canaan,

which I am giving you as your possession,

and I put a spreading mold in a house that land, the owner of the house must

go and tell the priest, I have seen something that looks like a defiling mold in my house.

The priest is to order the house to be emptied before he goes in to examine

the mold so that nothing in the house will be pronounced unclean.

After this, the priest is to go in and inspect the house.

He is to examine the mold on the walls, and if it has greenish or reddish depressions

that appear to be deeper than the surface of the wall, the priest shall go out

the doorway of the house and close it up for seven days.

On the seventh day, the priest shall return to inspect the house.

If the mold has spread on the walls, he is to order that the contaminated stones

be torn out and thrown into an unclean place outside the town.

He must have all the inside walls of the house scraped, and the material that

is scraped off dumped into an unclean place outside the town.

Then they are to take other stones to replace these and take new clay and plaster the house.

If the defiling mold reappears in the house after the stones have been torn

out and the house scraped and plastered, the priest is to go and examine it,

and if the mold has spread in the house,

it is a persistent defiling mold.

The house is unclean. it must be torn down its stones, timbers,

and all the plaster, and taken out of the town to an unclean place.

Anyone who goes into the house while it is closed up will be unclean till evening.

Anyone who sleeps or eats in the house must wash their clothes.

But if the priest comes to examine it and the mold is not spread after the house

has been plastered, he shall pronounce the house clean.

Because the defiling mold is gone. To purify the house, he is to take two birds

and some cedar wood, scarlet yarn, and hyssop.

He shall kill one of the birds over fresh water in a clay pot.

Then he is to take the cedar wood, the hyssop, the scarlet yarn,

and the live bird, dip them into the blood of the dead bird and the fresh water,

and sprinkle the house seven times.

He shall purify the house with the bird's blood, the fresh water,

the live bird, the cedarwood, the hyssop, and the scarlet yarn.

Then he is to release the live bird in the open fields outside the town,

and that way he will make atonement for the house, and it will be clean.

We had a building up at Sky Lodge Camp that had been vacant,

had nobody been staying in it for quite a while.

And about a year or so ago, we discovered that there was a water leak in the building.

Actually, it's been almost two years now.

Water leak in the building that had flooded the building and developed mold

all through it. Where do you think all that mold went?

What do you think it affected everything?

It affected all of the drywall. It affected the flooring.

It affected the ceilings. It infected the air ducts that were going through in the house.

It infected the fiberglass, the insulation in the house.

And now we didn't sacrifice any birds.

We didn't drain their blood over water and dip the other live bird in that or anything like that.

But we had to completely gut the house, completely gut the house,

and treat the building for the mold and then had to have tests to confirm that

it was finally mold-free.

It was a mold that would have been contaminated to whoever stayed in that building.

And this is kind of what this is talking about But as you are aware.

These things can affect Not just I

mean if you've had any respiratory illnesses And stuff like that You will know

that if there's Pollens or molds or anything like that In the air outside Especially

molds in the air in the later summer That affects me horribly My lungs And if

you've ever had that You know what that's like It just makes it difficult to breathe,

Mold-infected houses have caused a flood of lawsuits that seek compensation

for health problems and property damage.

In some cases, the problems have become so severe that some residents have had

to abandon and even burn their homes and their belongings in order to get rid

of the mold infestations.

Toxic mold can incubate, grow wherever there is water leaking,

flooding, or even clothes dryers not vented properly to the outside.

And water standing in houseplants, to name just a few. I've got to tell you

something about houseplants.

We had one of our churches that Nancy and I had bought.

Several of these artificial ficus trees for the church.

And one day I came over to the church and saw there was water around all of the bottom of these.

My janitor had decided to take it upon himself to water those trees.

Just a note, artificial trees don't need watering.

Just to make that known. I wonder if you've ever noticed those greenish or reddish

spots of mold that are announced in the Scripture.

You see those sometimes in your houses. You'll see little specks of green or

something like that on some drywall, and you're immediately like,

oh man, I got to clean that off with bleach and get rid of it.

And you do, because if you don't, it'll spread.

So listen to what God says, when you enter the land of Canaan,

which I am giving you as your possession, and I put a spreading mildew in a house in that land.

Now, you know, it's really interesting that God said to Moses,

tell the people when I put leprosy or a spreading mold in a house,

then it's time to take the problem to the priest and do what is necessary.

Just as our houses become unclean, when we have mold and mildew and viruses and germs in them,

our spiritual houses also become unclean because of the leprosy of sin that

has invaded the human heart.

And in the home of the heart, sin like toxic mold grows and creates an environment

that is unfit for holy people to live in.

We wonder why would God cause leprosy or mold to attack the dwelling places of some people,

or how can a holy God cause an unholy disease to erupt in the dwelling place?

I believe the answer is that God put the diseases in the houses just like God

puts them in our bodies. Why?

Because it's a warning, it's a signal. Just like mold and mildew, pain is a signal.

When you start running from home plate to first base and you fall and you've

pulled your hamstring, that pain reminds you, don't do that again, right?

It tells you some of those things.

Pain is like a smoke detector that goes off to let us know something is wrong

inside our bodies, and we better do something before this disease kills us.

Can you imagine what it would be like if God had not put the sensation of pain in our bodies?

There are some people that do not have a sense of pain.

They can literally cut members of their bodies off without feeling it.

Can you imagine what it would be like to work in construction or any other field if you can't do it?

One year, my brother-in-law, who was in construction at the time,

and well, he still is, but I was working with him in the winter.

We were putting a roof on a building in Sterling, Illinois.

The furniture store owner wanted to have that roof on, put on in February.

Now, why, I don't know, but he just insisted it had to be done.

And so we were up there shingling that roof.

And at the end of the day, my hands had gotten so numb and cold that I did not

even know that my hatchet, I was hitting my fingers, oftentimes in addition to the nail.

And when you've got galvanized nails sliding through your fingers,

it makes little grooves.

Anyway, I got done at the end of the day, and my left hand was bloody from having

beat my fingers so much with that hammer that I hadn't even felt it.

And that's what happens when we don't have that sense of pain.

God has put that sense of pain like a smoke detector to tell us something is wrong.

We'd never know anything was wrong if we didn't and we would ruin our bodies.

God said this, I put a spreading mold in the house.

It served as a reminder that there were matters within the house that needed

attention. And God was not just referring to a water leak, although that's oftentimes

the source of that problem.

He was making the family aware, though, that sin had invaded the house.

A disease had invaded the house. A disruption had invaded the house.

And sin, when it grows and spreads, makes the family inside unholy.

Let me say that again.

Sin, when it spreads, makes the whole family unholy.

Thoughts produce feelings. Feelings predicts actions. Actions have consequences.

When we think on unholy things, when we take marvel and thought of sin and think

it's good, that thought causes us to disobey, and then that has its consequences.

It contaminates and makes those who become contaminated unacceptable to the

one who sees everything. God

said, be holy as I am holy, and how can we be holy if we have sin in us?

Spreading mold or leprosy in the house was God's smoke alarm, as I said,

just as mold in a house is a warning sign of water leakage and damage,

or spreading fungus mold in a spiritual house was God's way of warning the family

that they'd better do something because a fire of sin was smoldering,

and if they didn't get it stopped,

their whole house would be consumed by the deadly inferno of sin.

Nancy and I were driving somewhere.

This week, I don't even remember where. And we saw up in the distance,

we saw smoke coming up out of a silo.

I thought, that's really strange.

But as we got closer, I knew what is exactly happening.

You see, when you put silage, wet silage into a silo, as farmers know.

Or if you would put wet hay into a pile, as farmers know.

After a while in the heat that will begin

to smolder and mold and

smolder and then begin to break out in fire and so as we got closer we found

that the silo had had ignited inside and was causing a fire you can't do anything

about it just almost have to just let it burn out don't you pretty much.

I mean, you can try to put out fire in a haystack and all that,

but it's pretty difficult sometimes because it's smoldering underneath.

And that's kind of this way with disease and sin is if we don't treat it and

get rid of it, it begins to smolder inside of us and cause problems.

Job's chapter 22 says it this way, if you return to the Almighty, you will be restored.

If you remove unrighteousness from your tents, and if the Almighty is your gold

and your precious silver, then you will delight yourself in the Almighty.

2 Chronicles 26 records how proud King Uzziah went into the temple with a bold

and arrogant and defiant attitude.

He was a man who thought no one is going to tell him what to do or how he should

worship, so he said, I'll do it my way.

So he made his own offering instead of asking the priest to do it for him, as he should have done.

Humiliated, he had to live his life in exile as a leper until he died.

Obedience to God is so important. That's why we talked about following Christ

in our songs and obedience this morning.

Miriam is another example of one who was struck with leprosy because of her

sin, but because she had a praying brother who went to God to plead for her

healing, God answered his prayer.

And after seven days of quarantine, which we see in this scripture,

she was released and totally healed.

I can imagine picturing Miriam dancing with her tambourine, singing and praising

God for healing her and restoring her to the company of God's people.

Can you imagine what it's like with these people who had been diagnosed with

mold in their homes and in their clothes and all that, that,

that once they were established that it's clean now and they're safe to go back,

can you imagine the rejoicing they would have knowing that everything is fine

for them to go back where they were?

Let's look at some things here from the Scripture.

Item number one, the first step that they needed to do was to admit that there

was a problem and go and get help.

First step in the 12-step recovery program is to admit you've got a problem, right?

If we don't admit we've got a problem, we'll never do what needs to be done

to face the consequences that we have caused.

The head of the house was to go to a spiritual advisor and let him know that

there was a problem at home.

The head of the family was to let the priest know that there was something going

on in his home that just wasn't right.

Maybe the man of the house wasn't able to put his finger on exactly what kind

of sinfulness had entered the home, or maybe he was the one sinning himself.

Whatever the problem is, God was working to alert the family that they needed

help and they needed to admit there was a problem and go to seek help.

Zechariah 5 sheds light on how God responded to sin in the home.

It says this, this is the curse that goes out over the face of the whole land.

For everyone who steals shall be cut off according to the writing on one side,

and everyone who swears falsely shall be cut off according to write on the other side.

I have sent it out, says the Lord of hosts, and it shall enter the house of

the thief, and it shall bide in that house and consume it both timber and stones.

The second step that the family was to take was to completely empty the house.

Verse 36 says, the priest is to enter the house or is to order the house to

be emptied before he goes to examine the mildew so that nothing in the house

will be pronounced unclean.

After this, the priest is to go in and inspect the house.

When we looked at those houses in Scripture, it says to scrape the inside of

the walls. Well, that was because all of their walls were coated with mud,

basically, like we would do with drywall compound.

And they were coated with mud and dirt, and that is where infections can grow,

that and the soft textures of some of our furnishings.

Even before the priest came to inspect the house, they were supposed to get

rid of all of the rot inside that had the potential of infecting their lives.

It might have been stolen property or evidences of lying.

Today, sin-infected houses need to be rid of evil books, harmful toys.

Suggestive videos, violent video games, anything that would lead the family

to unholy living and to disobedience to a holy God.

Sometimes we think we can play around with those things. It's okay to have those

certain things in the house.

But what happens is some of those things begin to affect us the way we think,

and the way we act, don't they?

After cleaning out the home of our heart, we would not want to bring the rot back in, would we?

I mean, it wouldn't make sense to go clean out your house of all of the infected

items and things like that.

And then after you've gone through and cleaned the walls and stuff,

bring all of those infected carpets and clothing and everything else back in. It wouldn't make sense.

Why? Because you're bringing back the infection.

The next step was to do a thorough and severe housecleaning.

If the source of the mildew was the furnishings and the clothing that were thrown

out, the mildew would not spread on the stone walls.

But if the priest discovered that the mildew had spread, it indicated that mildew

had started in the contents of the house, but now infiltrated the house itself.

They were to do a thorough and severe housecleaning, completely scraping the

walls, as I said, gutting the house to get rid of the mold.

Today, we need to do a thorough soul-searching.

And cleansing of everything that is sinful. We need to be looking in our lives.

And if there's any sinful material, any sinful thoughts, any sinful items that

are in our home, they need to go directly to the garbage where it would be destroyed.

I remember a while ago, I don't remember what it was that we had,

but we had something that somebody had given to us, and we found out to be it

was not a holy thing, okay? And somebody had given us something.

We found it not to be a holy thing. And I said something to Nancy.

I said, well, let's just put it on our garage sale. She said,

if it's not holy for us to have, why would it be holy for anybody else to have?

So we burned it. I know one of you didn't give it to us, thankfully.

But you just think of those things. If there's something that you have,

why would you want to recycle it at Goodwill or Salvation Army?

Why would you want to give it to somebody else? If it's not good for you,

it's not good for anybody.

Whatever needs to be purged, God wants us to get rid of it, not to transport

it to another location. The psalmist prayed, purge me with hyssop and I will be clean.

Wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.

The fourth step is to tear out and replace the affected parts of the house.

The old polluted stone walls needed to be replaced with new stones and new plaster.

Everything in our houses should make a statement that Jesus is a welcoming guest.

In fact, everything on our homes and our lives should testify that Jesus lives

in our home, making our home sacred and sweet.

When people see us and when we greet them, they must know at first acquaintance

that Jesus is a permanent resident and house.

What do people see when they walk into your house?

Do they see that you are a house, a home, a family that worships Almighty God?

What do people see when they look at your lives?

Do they see that you are being holy as God is holy.

The passage continues and points out that if leprosy persists and is only half-heartedly

dealt with, it says, he shall have the house torn down, its stones and timber,

and all of the plaster of the house, and take it outside the city to an unclean place.

The whole house needed to be torn down, and God cannot tolerate half-hearted obedience.

Jesus said to us, No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the

one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to one and despise the other.

One can't say that they are clean if they continue to do the things that make them unclean.

An alcoholic cannot say that he is clean and yet keep a beer or two in the refrigerator

or go visit his friends to help them at the bar.

Oh, I'm going to go to my friends and I'm going to help them recover.

Yeah, no. It could only lead him back to the cycle of sin that he was cleansed of.

Listen again to the words of Job. It says, if you return to the Almighty, you will be restored.

If you remove unrighteousness from your tents, and if the Almighty is your gold

and your precious silver, then

you will delight yourself in the Almighty and lift up your face to God.

Can you imagine what would be, tell me what you think would be better would

it be better to live with mold and mildew and sin in your life or would it be

better to delight in the almighty.

Not a tough choice, do you think? And then what follows in the rest of chapter

14 of Leviticus is the final step of going to the house of God to offer sacrifice for forgiveness.

God's pronouncement is then, so he shall make atonement for the house and it will be clean.

Again, we can shout hallelujah that we don't need to bring two birds and a goat

or a lamb into the church for ritual slaying.

For our forgiveness, it already has been done for us.

In 1 John 5, verse 6, it says, this is the one who came by water and blood,

1 John 5:6

Jesus Christ, not with the water only, but with the water and the blood.

Jesus' complete fulfillment, he has given the sacrifice that allows us to be

clean. It's not just forgiven.

He has given the sacrifice of his own life that allows us to become clean before a holy God.

The question I ask you this morning is this.

What would you do if Jesus came to your house today?

Would Jesus be pleased with what he saw inside?

Would he be pleased with what you have on TV?

Would he be pleased with what you have on Facebook? Would he be pleased what

you have in your language and your words?

Would Jesus be pleased to sit with you at a meal?

Would he be pleased with what he saw, or would he find it infested with unholy

garbage and full of a lethal, toxic atmosphere? For sure, we probably don't

have any pornographic magazines in our homes.

I hope not. And we probably only listen to Christian music on the radio station

instead of all the junk that talks about cheating on your wives or divorce and drinking.

But how about the hidden things in our homes that no one can see with their

eyes? In other words, how about the moldy stuff in our hearts?

Is there an unforgiving spirit towards others in our homes?

Has someone done you wrong and you can't forgive them or don't want to forgive them?

And you know that your unforgiving spirit is consuming your heart and home.

It's often been said that if somebody has something against you,

or I mean, if you have something against somebody else, if they've done you

wrong and you can't forgive that and release that, they continue to have their hold over you, right?

You constantly think about how that person has wronged you.

Jesus teaches us to pray, forgive us our sins as we have forgiven those who sin against us.

Or maybe your home is infested with a coldness toward others or towards your extended family.

Or do you feel that your boss or your neighbors or your co-workers are real

jerks. Don't say it out loud.

Oh yes, you speak to them, but you're not really interested or concerned about

their joys or concerns. Do you really extend your love to people in a Christ-like manner?

Jesus said, this is my commandment that you love one another as I have loved you.

Or is your home tainted with the toxin of self-absorption?

Does each person live to satisfy his or her own needs and desires at the expense of family harmony.

Have you ever been with certain people.

That have eye disease. You know what I mean by that?

They're always saying, I did this, I'm that, I did this. Aren't they a joy to be around?

I'm saying that facetiously, of course. You know, there's a certain amount,

some of these things, sometimes people are just so self-absorbed,

they don't know that there's anybody else around them.

That needs their attention and needs their love and their care.

Do you find yourself reasoning, It's my time, my car, my pleasure, my recreation, my body.

I'll get what I want and don't expect me to sacrifice any of my privileges or

my entitlement for anybody else.

Don't we live in an entitlement culture?

Really big. It's all in it for me. Think of the commercials we have. Go for the gusto.

Go for number one. Number one, it's us, me.

It's all about pleasing me. Everything that we do in this culture is about pleasing me.

I've discovered that Satan will take little things in our homes,

like petty annoyances, and have a heyday with them.

Satan loves to have a little sin about and spread that into all kinds of moldy demons.

We're seeing churches destroyed these days by the mold of discontent and self-absorption and control.

If we don't take charge with the power of Jesus and ask for forgiveness and

spiritual healing, we will eventually become overcome, sin-sick, and miserable.

Friends, there's a spreading mold in our culture.

There's a spreading mold in our world.

And unfortunately, that spreading mold has even come in and begun to affect

the churches and families in our culture.

God said, I am the Lord your God. Sanctify yourself, therefore,

and be holy, for I am holy.

Good news is there's a remedy for the mold in our lives.

We need to ask the great high priest to throw out everything in our lives that's

been contaminated. We can't even do it ourselves.

And in these days, the priests had to go in and clean the walls.

The family couldn't do it.

You know, part of that is because the family didn't want to.

You don't want to get rid of all your stuff, do you? It's really difficult.

But we need to ask the Heavenly Father and His Son to cleanse us of all that mold that's in us.

And He does it. And once our spiritual houses are cleansed, Jesus begins to

rebuild the house with pure furnishings.

He declares that we are clean.

He declares that we are holy. And he puts it back in those right fruit of the Spirit in our being.

Love, joy, peace, faithfulness, all of that that comes in and purifies us and makes us like him.

Let's pray. Heavenly Father, as we read some difficult scriptures in Leviticus,

sometimes we wonder, why on earth did you have those in there?

Why on earth would you talk about mold and mildew and leprosy?

In it, we even learn that those things happen in our lives.

Father, I pray that you would help us to face the uncleanness that is in us.

Help us to turn those over to you to be cleansed by the power of the Spirit

and the blood of the Lamb. In Jesus' name, amen.