What is Faith? Faith leads to Restoration

Well, very good morning and welcome to our church service this morning.

Great to be able to be with you.

We pray that together we would hear God speak in his words

and that we would enjoy being able to worship at our homes.

I want to begin with words from a letter that Peter wrote, a friend of Jesus,

called Peter, 1 Peter chapter 1, verses 3 and 4.

1 Peter 1:3

And here we read these wonderful words.

Now we're going to read in our Bibles a short reading today from Matthew chapter 8.

Matthew 8 · chapter mention

Matthew chapter 8.

Matthew 8 · chapter mention

And we are going to read just the first four verses.

And hopefully the words will come up on the screen as well

so you can read along if you don't have access to a Bible.

When Jesus came down from the mountainside, large crowds followed him.

A man with leprosy came and knelt before him and said,

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.

Immediately he was cleansed of his leprosy.

Then Jesus said to him, see that you don't tell anyone,

but go, show yourself to the priest and offer the gift Moses commanded as a testimony to them.

And we'll leave our reading there.

So we've been thinking, we started last week thinking, what is faith?

And again, we're on that topic this week,

thinking about the fact that true faith leads to deep restoration.

And we're going to see that in the life of this man that Jesus meets.

I want to begin with a little bit of travel.

Years ago, I went with some school friends to Crete.

And we happened to visit an island called Spinalonga.

I'm sure that's not how you say it.

I'm not sure if any of you have been there.

Well, Spinalonga was a leper colony for the nation of Greece from 1913 until 1957.

At its peak, there were some 400 inhabitants.

Those who were suffering from horrible boils and those debilitating nerve conditions.

And so you have the loss of sensation.

Those inhabitants had been shunned by their communities,

often by their families out of fear as well.

There was a great stigma attached.

And so when a Greek contracted leprosy,

their property was seized by the state.

Their citizenship was cancelled.

They were then transported to Spinalonga.

They received no medical care.

And effectively, they were deported there to die.

An insight into the fear that leprosy brought.

And the tragic life of a leper.

In our current crisis,

I wonder if this is the first time that we've been able to,

as in a sense, enter into, even in a tiny part,

the life of a leper.

The tragedy and the loneliness of that kind of life.

We discovered in the Old Testament and the New Testament

that someone with leprosy, they had to wear a sign saying they were unclean.

If they were close to someone else, they had to shout,

unclean, unclean.

They weren't allowed contact with anyone apart from a fellow leper.

They had to live outside the community.

They would be avoided to avoid potentially contracting the illness.

So theirs was a self-isolation that lasted until death.

And we can begin to feel just something of what that must have been like.

Now, Matthew in his gospel,

in chapters 5 to 7 that we didn't read,

last week we were in chapter 4, 5 to 7,

we're presented with Jesus, the amazing teacher.

He preaches the most famous sermon in history,

the Sermon on the Mount.

And now in chapters 8 to 10,

he focuses our attention on Jesus with amazing power.

There are 10 miracle stories.

And among those miracle stories,

we're also going to see evidence of faith.

So today, let's see together,

how do we see the faith of this leper?

What does faith look like in his case?

And what does the restoration of Jesus look like for the leper?

And then what does that mean for us?

So let's begin with some lessons from a leper on faith.

The first thing to notice is that he is humble.

Now, as Matthew tells the story of Jesus,

we see the focus changes,

as it were moving from a panorama

where there are huge crowds who follow Jesus up the mountain

and he teaches and then they follow him back down the mountain.

Matthew changes now to a zoom lens,

focuses us in verse 2 on a man with leprosy.

And just before we move on,

that's a helpful reminder of how God sees us

and how God deals with us.

He doesn't see us just as a mass of humanity.

He wants to deal with you,

to speak with you,

to know you personally.

Now, what do we learn about this leper?

Well, we're told that this man with leprosy,

he came and verse 2,

he knelt before Jesus.

This is the posture of a lesser before a greater.

As it were, he recognises,

I am the servant

and Jesus is master,

Jesus is king.

Notice too,

there's no demand on his part.

What does he say to Jesus?

In verse 2,

Lord, if you are willing,

you can make me clean.

So he knows

that Jesus has the power to heal.

But,

he doesn't presume on it.

He doesn't stand before Jesus and demand,

this is my right that you heal me.

He doesn't know,

will Jesus be like everyone else?

If I come close to him,

will he body swerve around me?

So we see

faith is humble

in the life of this leper.

And second,

it's very basic,

but it's very important to recognise

that he comes in his need.

Now let's just imagine for a moment

what is involved

in this leper coming to Jesus

in his need.

He is going to most likely

have to face

the stigma

and the disapproval

of others,

perhaps to see the fear

in their face

as he walks by.

He will need to announce,

he will need to shout

his uncleanness

in order for him

to gain access

to Jesus.

And even while

he's on that journey,

he knows there is that possibility

of being rejected.

So then what is it

that motivates him

to take this risk?

Well, he has

leprosy.

Leprosy has often been described

as the death

before death.

So he knows

his great need.

And,

as his words tell us,

he knows

Jesus is his only hope

of salvation

and restoration.

So he comes humbly

and he comes

in his need.

Now let's apply

these lessons

to our lives

for a moment.

I wonder

if today

you find yourself

tuning in

to this church service,

maybe even

to other church services

out of a sense

of desperation.

Where it's not

leprosy,

but perhaps

it's the COVID virus

and its impact

that's turning

your life

upside down.

And maybe

you realise

you need

help that comes

from beyond yourself.

Well,

let me say

that to come

to God

to come

to Jesus

is to come

to the right

source of help.

I was thinking

about the

FA Cup hymn,

Abide With Me.

Some of the words

that we find

there are helpful.

So in

the first verse

we hear,

when other

helpers fail

and comforts

flee,

help of the

helpless,

O

abide with me.

And then

in verse 2,

the prayer

continues,

change and

decay

in all

around I see,

O thou

who

changes

not,

abide

with me.

When we feel

there's no one

else that can

help us,

when we feel

everything,

it is turning

to dust

and decay,

it is wise

to look

to the

unchanging

and good

God,

to Jesus

as the

good

saviour.

Christian faith

is about

humble trust

and dependence,

and not just

sometimes,

but all of the

time.

From the beginning

of the Christian life

to the end

of the Christian life,

we never

outgrow

that need

of Jesus,

our saviour

and elder

brother,

that need

of God,

our Father,

that need

of the Holy

Spirit

to be working

in our lives.

on our

daily exercise

break as a

family,

we quite

often find

ourselves

either cycling

or walking

to one of

the places

nearby,

we're near

Blackford Hill

and Holyrood

Park,

and almost

without fail,

the boys will

find some

rocks to

climb on,

and even

though they're

getting older

and more

confident,

sometimes I'll

still hear

one of

them say,

Dad,

help me,

as they're

struggling to

get up a

particular rock

face.

No matter

what our

age,

no matter

what our

stage in

the Christian

life,

whether we

are looking

to begin,

have just

begun or

have been

a Christian

for years,

that needs

to be our

attitude.

Father God,

help me.

I need

wisdom to

know how

to live

well,

I need

your peace

today,

I need

your protection

today,

I need

to hear

your voice

above all

the other

voices in

my life

today.

Father God,

help me.

Faith is

humble and

dependent all

the time.

And also,

before we

move on,

leprosy

is helpful

in providing

a picture

of our

greatest

need.

If we

want to

learn

lessons,

one lesson

that this

man can

teach is

our

great

need.

So the

Bible is

really clear

about the

reality of

sin,

our

disobedience

against God

and against

his word,

our rejection

of his

rule in

our life,

our failure

to love

God and

to love

others as

we should

so that

we are

by nature

without

Jesus

spiritually

dead

even

while

we

live.

We find

ourselves

separated

because of

sin from

life with

God,

that's how

we were

made,

and we

are facing

his

judgment

and the

certain

reality

of eternal

separation

from God

and all

that is

good.

Our

condition

is

serious.

And just

as it was

with leprosy,

so with us

it will take

a miracle

to cure

us by

ourselves.

We cannot

change that

condition.

And that's

where the

Bible offers

such good

news to

us,

because it

presents to

us this

miracle of

God's

saving

grace.

And we

see that

at the

cross of

Jesus,

where Jesus

will give

his own

life,

he will

die so

that we

might live.

He will

take on

himself our

sin and

its punishment

so that we

might be

forgiven.

He will

face being

abandoned so

we can be

adopted into

the family

of God,

restored to

the life

that we

were made

for.

So there

is good

news even

as we

see the

bad news

of our

own

condition.

So having

looked at

the faith

of the

leper,

it's important

that we

look at

the deep

restoration

of Jesus.

There are

two highly

significant

details for

the leper

and for

us to

take out

of this

short

reading.

The first

is the

touch of

Jesus.

Verse

three,

Jesus

reached out

his hand

and touched

the man.

I am

willing,

he said,

be clean.

Immediately he

was cleansed

of his

leprosy.

some of

you I

know are

finding as

the days

and weeks

go by that

this is a

time of

real hardship

because you

feel starved

of company

and maybe

especially

starved

of

contact.

We have

in our own

personal experience

stories and

we know

from news

reports stories

of babies

being born

and families

who cannot

visit,

loved ones

being buried

and friends

and family

members that

can't gather.

Friendships

are being

missed.

Important

events

are being

cancelled

because we

cannot be

close together

and sometimes

that two

metre

separation

can feel

like a

Grand

Canyon,

can't it?

I wonder

how long

had this

man been

facing the

reality

of no

contact

and

total

isolation.

Imagine

his

unending

loneliness.

We have

hope that

it will

return.

This man

had no

hope

outside of

a miracle.

So in

Jesus'

touch

there is

mercy

compassion,

there is

love

and there

is welcome.

There is

so much

going on

here

and it

reminds us

that we

are made

for relationship

and Jesus

our creator

knows that

and he

lovingly

brings

restoration.

relationship

with God.

And what

has Jesus

come to

bring?

Jesus

brings to

this man's

life the

very presence

of God

because he

is the

son of

God and

he brings

the touch

of God,

the healing

touch of

God into

this man's

life.

And let

me say

that Jesus

wants to do

that for

you too.

Jesus

doesn't

change.

He is

still

willing to

respond to

our need

if we

come to

him in

faith.

And so

we are

invited to

ask him

for the

help that

he is

willing to

provide.

The second

thing to

notice about

the deep

restoration of

Jesus is

perhaps the

surprising detail

of verse

four.

when Jesus

said to

the man

see that

you don't

tell anyone

but go

show yourself

to the

priest and

offer the

gift Moses

commanded as

a testimony

to them.

So what's

this about?

You see

Jesus could

have sent

the man on

his way

as it were

saying well

go and

enjoy your

family.

That's a

wonderful thing.

Be part of

the community

is a great

thing.

Perhaps

find a

job.

But Jesus

knows that

is not

enough for

true restoration

because still

when his

body is

healed still

there will

be

discontent

still there

would be

disappointment

and ultimately

death would

come.

So verse

four is

showing us

that Jesus

wants the

man's

restoration

to be

deeper.

How do

we see

that?

Because his

first priority

is that the

man go to

the temple.

The man

offer a

sacrifice to

God.

So here's

what's

happening.

The

miracle

that Jesus

works of

healing the

man makes

praise and

worship

possible.

In

stretching out

his hands

to heal

the leper

he is

restoring the

man to

his place

among the

people of

God.

Now he

can worship

again.

And that's

the greatest

restoration that

Jesus can

bring.

As we

bring this

to a

conclusion

let's

think about

us

receiving

this

deep

restoration

of

Jesus.

It's

tempting I

think to

seek God

in a

crisis

for some

kind of

boost

to see

us through

and then

we'll go

back to

the way

things were.

But this

little story

here reminds

us that

God,

that Jesus

wants to

go deeper.

He would

change your

heart and

change your

desires,

not just in

the short

term,

but for

the long

term and

for all

eternity.

He wants

to bring

a deeper

healing,

maybe to

one that

you didn't

even realise

that you

needed.

Maybe to

help illustrate

this,

I was

thinking about

last winter.

So I

have had

asthma

since

childhood

and last

winter,

I got a

fairly

significant

chest

infection

and after

a few

days

I dragged

myself to

the local

GP,

effectively

because I

wanted relief

to be able

to breathe,

to be able

to sleep,

all those

kind of

things.

Well the

nurse and

the GP

took one

look at

me and

they said

yeah we

can do

that but

we want

to go

deeper.

So I

got my

antibiotics

and some

time off

work but

also over

the course

of a couple

of weeks

they did

some really

helpful things.

They gave me

new insight

that I never

had really

about the

damage that

asthma

untreated

can do to

your heart

and to your

lungs.

They gave me

a new

inhaler and

gave me even

a new

technique for

taking my

inhaler.

I wanted

just a bit

of short

term relief

but six

months on

I am so

thankful,

so thankful

they wanted

to go

deeper.

My quality

of life

has been

enhanced

no end.

You might

want

short term

comfort

but Jesus

would want

you to

go,

would want

to go

deeper

in your

life.

Jesus

knows

your

greatest

need

and mine

love

and

God

is

going to

end

our

isolation

from

God.

That

Jesus

would

deal

with

the

sin

that

creates

a

barrier

between

us

as sinful

people

and a

perfectly

holy

God.

We were

made to

know

God

and his

love

and his

joy

but sin

is a

barrier

that isolates

Jesus

wants to

deal

with that.

That's why

he went

to the

cross

and he

calls us

to

faith

so that

barrier

would be

removed.

And also

Jesus

knows

where you

will find

deepest

joy.

Deepest

joy

is found

in

enjoying

the

glorious

love

and

life

of

our

eternal

God.

Jesus

knows

that the

love

and the

joy

that we

are

looking

for

ultimately

can

only

be

found

in

him.

Nothing

else

lasts.

Nothing

else

compares.

So

this

Jesus

who

stretched

out

his

hand

to

restore

a

leper

to

community

and

community

with

God

would

stretch

out

those

hands

again

at

the

cross

so

that

you

and I

by

trusting

in

Jesus

we

could

be

forgiven

we

could

be

made

clean

we

could

be

given

new

life.

This

story

teaches

us

that

it

takes

a

touch

of

Jesus

great

love

to

produce

deep

restoration.

So

let me

encourage

you

whoever

you

are

don't

settle

for

less.

We're

all

searching

for a

love

and a

happiness

that is

real

and that

lasts

for a

hope

that we

can rely

on

for a

peace

that is

deep

and real.

can

I

tell

you

that

what

you're

looking

for

is

found

in

Jesus.

This

Jesus

who is

willing

and able

to heal

us

and to

restore

us.

This

Jesus

who went

to the

cross

to bring

you into

fellowship

with God.

So

come to

him in

your need

whatever

your need

is today.

Come

with

humble

dependent

faith

and

receive

his

great

love.