Participants: Bill Liversidge
Series Code: VIJ
Program Code: VIJ000013
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00:21 And God says oh, I want to minister to her.
00:24 I said, well, of course you do, go ahead. 00:27 That's what you do so well. 00:30 Oh, God says, don't play games with me. 00:33 You know that I neither instrument to work. 00:36 Then I said, well, I have noticed that. 00:39 I don't know why I do but I just to say okay, 00:41 I'm available here use me 00:43 but I go through this rigmarole. 00:48 And God says, well, you are pretty 00:49 close to the accident here. 00:51 I said, there's 50 people standing here, 00:55 you know I'm continuing to be stubborn. 00:56 I can't believe it why are You singling me out. 01:00 And God says, are you or are you not working for me? 01:04 I said, well, yes I'm. 01:06 Well, God says will be quite. 01:09 I'm planning to use you and that's it. 01:11 I said, okay, I have the message 01:13 what do You want me to do? 01:15 Then God says, go over there and pray for this woman. 01:18 I said in front of 50 people? 01:20 God says, yes. 01:22 God and put your armor and I said you can't put 01:25 your armor in the homeless woman. 01:27 If you've had any dealings with the homeless 01:29 you will now have skittish. 01:32 And as soon as I approached this woman 01:33 she backed her way from me. 01:34 I knew she would so God whisper in my ear 01:38 let her know that I've sent you. 01:41 So I said to this woman don't be afraid I'm a Christian 01:48 and I was standing over there by the pole 01:50 and God spoke to me and said go 01:53 and minister to this woman. 01:56 So I said, God has sent me 01:58 to minister to you right up at this very moment, 02:01 I hope that's okay. 02:04 She hesitated. 02:05 I said, well, I'd like to pray for you. 02:07 Right now I'm gonna put my arm around your shoulder 02:10 and say, that's okay, 02:11 and I'm gonna lift you up to God. 02:13 I could see the tear in the corner of her eye. 02:17 She said, please. 02:19 Just like that God knows exactly 02:21 what He is doing, doesn't He? 02:22 Why do I even question to her. 02:25 So I put my arm around her 02:26 she did not resist which amazed me 02:30 and I just lifted her up and God gave me 02:32 the most beautiful prayer for this woman, 02:35 the pain she was in. 02:36 How humiliating it must have been 02:38 to walk into a restaurant and to get carried out bodily. 02:44 And so God gave me a beautiful prayer 02:47 of compassion for this woman. 02:51 I finished prayer, she is weeping. 02:52 I can tell its had a profound impact upon her 02:57 and I finished praying. 02:59 Oh, by the way I meant to tell you something else. 03:01 I have a very poor sense of smell. 03:05 It saved me from great disasters in New Guinea. 03:10 But even I could tell that this woman 03:12 has not been near a shower for a long, long time. 03:17 Even my poor sense of smell could detect that. 03:20 I'm standing there with my arm around her 03:22 and the smell was incredible. 03:25 So I decided to flee as quickly as I could. 03:29 So I withdrew my hand from her shoulder 03:33 and before I could take a step towards my car 03:36 which was my refuge she spun around. 03:41 She is this close to me and she is facing me now 03:44 and before I could actually say a word 03:47 this woman bless her heart, 03:49 plants a big kiss right on my lips. 03:57 Yes... 04:00 I said to myself it's my destiny. 04:05 I'm being kissed by a homeless woman 04:09 and everything in me said-- 04:16 And once again, you know, I can't believe 04:18 I've been such a slow learner in these matters. 04:22 Once again the rebuking 04:24 voice of God's spirit came to me. 04:26 I don't know how many times God has rebuked me 04:28 for something similar to this beginning with the leper. 04:32 You think I would have learnt this lesson 04:34 whole those years ago. 04:38 God incredible sense of humor kicked in 04:41 and God said to me what's wrong with you, 04:43 you are not that desirable. 04:47 I said, okay. 04:52 And before I could think it through 04:55 same thing with the leper God says to me 05:00 she is not kissing you... 05:07 she is kissing me. 05:08 Amen. Amen. 05:11 You just happened to be the vessel 05:16 that I'm choosing to use to manifest my love 05:19 and compassion to this woman. 05:22 And she is responding to me. 05:27 And once again I stand amazed 05:30 that the incredible compassion of God. 05:32 You know, what I said to myself as I looked up, 05:35 God has the whole universe to administrate, 05:39 probably millions of worlds that He is looking after 05:43 and He has the time to look down to our planet 05:48 to my hometown to the main street 05:51 at 8 o'clock at night and spot one woman. 05:57 What does that tell us? 06:00 In the whole universe God has the time 06:04 and the inclination to look down 06:07 and focus on one woman who is hurting 06:12 and to reveal Himself as a God of love 06:16 and compassion to this one hurting soul. 06:19 I'm humbled at the realization 06:24 that I'm being privileged to be an instrument 06:27 for revealing the compassion to God 06:29 to such a hurting human being. 06:31 Amen. Amen. 06:33 I repent immediately for being concerned about me 06:38 and I allowed her to kiss me. 06:42 Finally I had to push her away 06:43 to come up for birth 06:50 and I had to excuse myself 06:52 but before I did God said remember, 06:54 I've asked you to put your hand in your pocket 06:56 and give her enough money for the next two or three weeks 06:59 so she can eat for the next several weeks which I did. 07:04 I said to her, remember this is not me, this is God. 07:07 Amen. Amen. 07:09 And I walked away rejoicing, 07:13 ashamed of the fact that once again 07:14 I had allowed myself 07:16 to get involved virtual about God not me. 07:20 And my eyes had been opened again to the marvelous, 07:24 marvelous depth of the love of God 07:28 and the compassion that He has 07:29 for hurting human beings. 07:33 How is your faith this morning? 07:34 Amen. 07:36 Are you worshiping a God of compassion? 07:39 Are you letting Him love you? 07:44 Would you let Him get this close 07:45 but not this close? 07:48 What happens with our leper friend here this morning? 07:50 Let's look at... 07:55 for verse 41, 07:56 "Jesus has moved with compassion" 07:58 and now the big point of the sermon. 08:00 Every sermon has a big point 08:04 and this is the big point. 08:06 You know, what I like about Jesus He is radical. 08:09 I mean He's almost revolutionary. 08:12 He's constantly getting people to turn to Bible 08:15 I would say isn't he Jewish? 08:18 Wasn't He raised in a good Jewish home? 08:20 Didn't they teach Him anything? 08:24 Because Jesus has a penitent, 08:27 He has a habit of wanting to reach out 08:30 and touch unclean things. 08:32 Have you noticed it? 08:34 He is always doing it. 08:37 You got a little city called Nain 08:40 and a funeral procession coming out of the gates 08:42 and what does He do? 08:45 He walks over in front of all of pharoses 08:47 and the Jewish leaders and he touches the coffin. 08:52 Nobody in Judaism touch the coffin. 08:56 It took three or four days of ritual cleansing 09:01 to be made right again once you touch things 09:04 associated with the dead. 09:07 But Jesus didn't have any hesitation, 09:08 He just goes up and touches the coffin. 09:12 Then He was up the last supper, 09:16 He washed the feet of His disciples. 09:20 I wonder about that verse for years 09:21 where it says that Jesus took off His garments. 09:25 I finally allowed myself to ask the big question, 09:27 well, what's He standing there in 09:30 if He took off His garments and why did He take them off? 09:35 When it came to me it says He guarded himself 09:39 in a tell we say traditionally you know, 09:41 I had a shower this morning and then I was done I wiped, 09:44 I picked up a towel and dried myself 09:45 and I wrapped it around my middle. 09:48 Jesus did not walk into the last supper 09:50 wearing a towel around His middle. 09:54 My research showed me that in those days 09:56 the servants wore a special garment 10:00 made from very coarse cloth. 10:03 Jesus took off His own garments 10:05 because He's putting on the robe of a servant 10:11 and one end of this robe was longer 10:14 so they could drape it over their arm. 10:18 So that when Jesus wiped the feet of His disciples 10:23 the Bible says He wiped their feet 10:25 with the towel which He was wearing. 10:30 Jesus actually wiped the feet of His disciples 10:34 on the very garment that He is wearing. 10:38 Symbolically trying to show us what? 10:42 I see your head nodding there, Cindy, 10:43 what are you thinking? 10:45 He is taking our sin 10:48 and He is placing them on Himself. 10:50 Amen. Amen. 10:52 Would you call that an enthusiastic response. 10:54 Repeat it again. Repeat it again. 10:57 He is taking our sin 10:59 and He is placing them on Himself. 11:01 Amen. Amen. 11:02 Whenever-- thank you very much. 11:04 Whenever Jesus touches something unclean 11:08 He is symbolically transferring the dirt, 11:12 the sin, the grime 11:14 from whatever He is touching unto Himself. 11:18 It's a symbol of His atoning death 11:21 which takes all guilt and sin away from the sinner 11:26 and transfers it onto Jesus opening the door 11:31 for transformation of life healing, 11:34 even restoration of life to take place. 11:37 Amen. Amen. 11:38 What a splendid example Jesus continually set 11:43 that's why He always reaches out 11:45 and touches the unclean. 11:47 He is trying to teach His disciples 11:50 that sin will ultimately be transferred onto Himself. 11:56 What a God we have? 11:58 And what happens here, 12:01 He knows He's about to die, 12:03 He knows that all the sin 12:05 of this leper will be transferred onto Him 12:08 at the cross 12:09 so He reaches out symbolically 12:12 and dramatically shows the transference of sin 12:15 so that what might take place? 12:19 The healing, the restoration 12:22 of the leper can now take place. 12:26 Notice the words of Jesus at the end of verse 41. 12:33 The leper already said to Him if you are willing 12:35 and Jesus now uses those immortal words, 12:38 "I'm willing, be cleansed, be healed, be restored." 12:46 And if you are looking at the next verse, 12:47 verse 42 there's a great word there, 12:50 "Immediately" do you like that word? 12:53 Yes. 12:54 There's no messing around with Jesus, 12:56 He's touched the man, his sins are forgiven 12:59 by being transferred to Jesus. 13:01 He is about to die and take them to death. 13:06 Immediately now the door is open 13:10 for the leper to be healed, cleansed, restore. 13:16 Having hugged a leper 13:19 I can only imagine what this must mean. 13:23 When I started hugging lepers 13:24 I have to confess this story kept popping into my mind. 13:28 I begged God to give me the level of faith 13:31 that I could say what Jesus said to the lepers, 13:36 be healed, be restored, 13:41 be cleansed and immediately. 13:45 How is your faith here today? 13:46 Amen. Amen. 13:49 Any leper sitting here today? 13:52 Yes. 13:53 Anyone in need of cleansing today? 13:57 But I want you to notice I mean, 13:58 this is the great sense of humor 14:00 that Jesus has in verse 44. 14:04 It's almost hard for me to believe 14:07 that Jesus said this makes me laugh every time 14:09 I think about it because here's a guy 14:11 that's been a leper probably for most of his life 14:13 and Jesus has just healed him and he says to the God, 14:17 don't tell anybody. 14:22 If I was a leper I want to tell you 14:23 I would be shouting out to the mountain tops. 14:26 I'm healed, I'm restored, 14:30 I'm made whole. 14:33 Praise God. Amen. 14:36 Because Jesus didn't say it lightly 14:38 because He knew that His life was gonna 14:41 become much more complicated once the word went out. 14:45 And after this it was hard for him to appear in public 14:47 because the crowds were just so big. 14:50 So He started going to more remote areas after this. 14:54 But the leper could not hold himself back. 14:59 I think I'd be the same, wouldn't you? 15:01 Amen. 15:02 I would be wanting to shout out to the stars 15:05 that God has healed me in a most amazing 15:09 and miraculous manner. 15:11 Amen. Amen. 15:13 So I'm bringing this home to you today 15:17 because this is the message 15:18 that we need to have serious reflection upon. 15:24 I'm very serious when I ask is 15:26 there any leper sitting here 15:28 and some of you have already acknowledged that 15:32 because God is in the healing, restoring, 15:38 forgiving, loving, acceptance mode. 15:42 You know that, don't you? 15:44 There is no need to remain unhealed, 15:49 un-restored, lacking in wholeness in your life. 15:55 We are dealing with the life giver himself here. 16:00 It didn't matter to Jesus whether He is dealing 16:03 with a person who is considered 16:04 to be at the lowest level of society. 16:09 Jesus was simply available for the restoration 16:14 of the fullness of life to sinful humanity 16:19 and you simply want to say to Jesus by faith 16:22 and it doesn't matter I've already made this point 16:26 whether it's physical, 16:29 spiritual, mental, 16:34 social whatever aspect of your life 16:40 is out of balance 16:43 and you need healing and wholeness restored to you. 16:48 You're so weary, perhaps you are a slave to sin 16:52 and you have been struggling and you cannot break free. 16:57 Perhaps you are weary of being double minded 17:00 and you have moments on a mountain top 17:02 and then you find yourself in a valley 17:05 and you are wondering when you will be done with this 17:09 and you can actually on a daily basis praise God 17:12 and give Him glory. 17:16 If there's anyone sitting here today 17:19 who in anyway is identifying with the leper 17:23 and the Holy Spirit is touching you at this moment 17:25 and saying to you, hey, that's you buddy. 17:29 I want you on your feet this morning. 17:33 This is not a board call now, 17:34 be very careful responding to this. 17:36 It's an individual matter. 17:39 Wow, I had no idea 17:41 I was visiting another leper colony today. 17:48 I love your spirit. 17:53 Is there anyone on their feet 17:57 who is boldly acting upon their faith as the leper did? 18:03 He came to Jesus and boldly 18:07 and simply said Lord, if You are willing 18:10 You can heal me. 18:12 Amen. 18:13 And Jesus responded I'm willing be healed. 18:19 You can walk out of this room today a healed, restored, 18:24 made whole individual by the grace of God. 18:28 Is there anyone bold enough today to act on their faith 18:31 and to publicly declare to God 18:35 if You are willing You can heal me? 18:38 Anyone here who has that kind of faith? 18:41 Go ahead please. 18:43 Heavenly Father, thank You reminding to us 18:47 that You are God of compassion. 18:51 Thank You that Your Holy Spirit 18:55 makes clear to my heart 18:57 that I'm indeed a leper in need of Your healing. 19:01 Amen. Amen. 19:03 Thank you, Lord, for Your promise to heal me 19:06 from all that sin has done 19:09 and now I can go in my life rejoicing 19:13 in having relationship with You everyday. 19:17 It's a faith statement. Praise God. 19:19 Amen. 19:20 Anyone else responding by faith? 19:22 Over here please, yes. 19:28 Heavenly Father, I confess to You 19:32 my fearful spirit and God I believe 19:37 that You have compassion on me. 19:39 You know how I struggled with this my whole life. 19:43 I confess to you Father, the health issues 19:46 that I deal with my whole life. 19:48 I know You can heal me. 19:50 God, you are gonna be glorified in my life, 19:53 I want to be fit vessel for You, 19:55 I want to represent You 19:56 and I thank You for Your compassion 19:59 in making that happen, I'm being set free. 20:02 Amen. Beautiful statement. 20:04 Thank you very much. 20:05 God is hearing and answering this morning. 20:08 Who else is acting on their faith here today? 20:10 Maddy has her hand up. 20:11 Okay, thank you. 20:22 Father God, Lord Jesus... 20:30 it's overwhelming... 20:34 that You would choose to make me clean. 20:36 Amen. Amen. 20:40 So I ask You please to make me clean. 20:45 Cleanse me of my selfishness, my lack of compassion, 20:51 my lack of faith in You. 20:54 And thank You for the promise that You will 21:00 and I'm indeed clean by Your grace. 21:04 Amen. 21:05 Beautiful things happening here this morning. 21:08 Anybody else moving boldly into faith? 21:11 Please over here. 21:19 Father in heaven, thank You for touching me 21:26 and for cleansing my condition of leprosy. 21:34 Amen. 21:36 Thank You for being willing to approach me 21:38 and to come close to me. 21:42 God, may I open myself to You fully 21:44 and may I welcome Your embrace. 21:47 Thank you, Lord. I pray in Jesus name, amen. 21:49 Amen. Amen. Wow. 21:53 There's still time if anyone else is convicted 21:56 to enter boldly into faith. 21:58 Okay, we got two hands down the front here. 22:00 Thank you. Go ahead. 22:05 Dear Father in heaven, 22:08 I know You are willing to heal me and able 22:14 and so right now as You tossing Your word 22:17 that we should confess our sins one to another 22:21 and Lord, I have overworked and now I have pains 22:28 and just in chapter 3 You also talk about this man 22:34 that had a withered hand I have pain in my hands 22:39 and I just ask that You bring healing 22:44 and Lord, emotionally also there are so many 22:51 dark clouds in my home and its getting tiring. 22:58 I have leprosy of just negativity 23:05 and I pray that You would please heal me 23:11 and my loved ones of depression 23:15 and I know You can. 23:19 Yes. He is willing. 23:22 Yes. 23:23 You are willing. Amen. 23:25 And so come into my home to my family. 25:54 Creative Media Ministries is a faith based ministry 25:57 dedicated to the sharing of the good news 25:59 of the Lord Jesus Christ. 26:01 We need your help to take this dynamic message 26:03 to the uttermost parts of the earth. 26:06 If God has touched your heart 26:07 and the Word of God has come to life like never before 26:10 contributions can be sent to Creative Media Ministries, 26:14 PO. Box 9485, 26:16 Bakersfield, California, 93389 26:20 or you can make your donation online 26:22 by visiting our website 26:24 at www. creativemediaministries.org. 26:29 To order the complete series of Victory in Jesus 26:31 and many other seminars in DVD or CD format contact us 26:36 at www. creativemediaministries.org. 26:40 You can also call us at 26:42 888-744-0443 26:46 that's 888-744-0443 26:50 or write to us at Creative Media Ministries, 26:53 PO. Box 9485, Bakersfield, California, 93389. |
Revised 2015-01-08