The Moment That Changes Everything: Healing, Forgiveness, and Following Jesus

Hi, friends. Good morning. Good morning. It's such an honor to be here with each of you for family worship. Kids did a great job.

Well, it's my delight to share with you today. We're continuing our series in Luke. Last week, Patrick walked us through, through what it means to be a disciple. And he used a phrase that I really like, talking about being understudies of Jesus. And he challenged us, like Bobby did a few moments ago, is that we must make a choice to daily follow Jesus.

So today we're going to be continuing in Luke, chapter 5, verses 12 through 26. Now these are two stories. One about a man who is healed from leprosy and a man who is healed from from being paralyzed. Now, it can be very easy to look at these stories and think they're about healing. And I'd say probably most of you in this room, as I read this text, you're going to be very familiar with it.

But my challenge for you as we read this is to put on new eyes and to look at it as if you've not read it before. If you're a highlighter, I want you to pull out your highlighter. If you're a note taker, this is the time to pull out your notebook. And if you're neither, today might be the day that you begin that process. So if you have your Bibles, I want you to open them up to Luke chapter 5.

And I'm going to start with verse 12.

While he was in one of the cities, there came a man full of leprosy. And when he saw Jesus, he fell on his face and begged him, lord, if you will, you can make me clean. And Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, I will be clean. And immediately the leprosy left him, and he charged him to tell no one. But go and show yourself to the priests and make an offering for your cleansing, as Moses commanded for a proof to them.

Verse 15. But now even more. The report about him went abroad and great crowds gathered to hear him and to be healed of their infirmities. But he would withdraw to desolate places and pray. Now, here's our second story.

On one of those days, as he was teaching, Pharisees and teachers of the law were sitting there who had come from every village of Galilee and Judea and from Jerusalem. And the power of the Lord was with him to heal. And behold, some men were bringing on a bed a man who was paralyzed. And they were seeking to bring him in and lay him before Jes. But finding no way to Bring him in.

Because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and led him down with his bed through the tiles, into the midst before Jesus. And when he saw their faith, he said, man, your sins are forgiven you. And the scribes and Pharisees began to question, saying, who is this who speaks blasphemies? Who can forgive sins but God alone? When Jesus perceived their thoughts, he answered them, why do you question in your hearts?

Which is easier to say your sins are forgiven you? Or to say, rise and walk. But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins? He said to the man who was paralyzed, I say to you, rise, pick up your bed and go home. And immediately he rose up before them and picked up what he had been lying on and went home glorifying God.

And amazement seized them all. And they glorified God and were filled with awe, saying, we have seen extraordinary things today. Would you pray with me? Lord Jesus, I thank you that we are in this place because of what you did on the cross and that you rose, you resurrected, and you defeated sin and death. So I just pray right now that as we look to your words and we try to understand what's going on here, that your power would work through me to speak your words, and that you would be glorified in everything I say and do.

Open our ears to hear what you have for us. In your name I pray. Amen. So if you know me at all, you know that I love a good story. I usually have a pretty huge stack of books on my nightstand at all times.

Looks like that. No, actually, it doesn't. It looks more like this. It's chaotic, but I try to keep it like the other. But anyways, the reason I love good stories is because they have good settings.

There's really cool plots, the characters are amazing. I just love good stories. So I want to introduce you to a few of my favorites. We've got Harry Potter. Any Harry Potter fans in the room love Harry Potter.

We've got the lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. There's Lucy from the lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, and then Bilbo Baggins from the Hobbit. Those are really, really cool stories that I enjoy reading. But I'm sure you're thinking, well, well, I know a better story. So this is what I want you to do.

I've got a background in children's ministry. I'm going to count to three, and I want you to shout out your favorite story. Are you ready? You got it in your mind? One, two, three.

Oh, my goodness. Those were some good stories. Very, very good stories. I wish I had my phone so I could type them into Goodreads. Well, guys, all great stories have a moment, an instant where the plot goes from this is the way things are to things will never be the same again.

If you take Harry, for example, he's an orphan. He has a really mean uncle and aunt and a very selfish cousin. And he thinks that's his life until all these letters start showing, showing up. And then this big massive man comes and shows up and says to him the iconic words, you're a wizard, Harry. Then you've got Lucy.

She's In World War I, she's an evacuee. She's with her brothers and her sister and they have come to the country to live with a very eccentric professor. They're playing hide and seek. She gets in a wardrobe which is just a freestanding closet, goes through these coats and she enters this land called Narnia. And then finally, Bilbo Baggins.

He's happy to just stay at home in his nice little hobbit hole, drinking his tea, doing 11 season second breakfast, when all of a sudden a large wizard shows up and all these dwarves show up and tell them that he's going on an adventure with them. And at first he's a little reluctant, but then he runs out the door after them and goes on an adventure and his life is never the same. So all great stories have a moment. Why don't we say that together? Would you say that with me?

All great stories have a moment. And now, although the descriptions I just gave you were from fiction, Luke has a moment in his gospel which is a true telling of Jesus life. And he tells us this shift that goes from the way things are to things will never be the same. So I want us to go back to our scripture passage and I want you to look at verse 12 with me. We're going to start our first look at our first story because there's these two stories that are going on and I want you to pay attention to the characters that are present reading verse 12.

While he was in one of the cities, there came a man full of leprosy. And when he saw Jesus, he fell on his face and begged him, Lord, if you will, you can make me clean. So I just want you to think for a minute. Who are our characters? We've got the leper and we got Jesus.

Now let's talk about the leper for just a moment. He has a disease called leprosy. And you couldn't just go to the dermatologist and get a cream. You couldn't just do an elimination diet to get rid of this leprosy. It was permanent and there was no cure.

And it was also very contagious. And because it was contagious, he had to live outside the city. There was actually laws that were in place for how his life should be lived while he had leprosy. So I want to read that to you. It comes from Leviticus.

And if you've been following along with our Bible reading plan, we've been trudging through Leviticus. But Leviticus 13, 45, 46 says, the leprous person who has the disease shall wear torn clothes and let the hair of his head hang loose. And he shall cover his upper lip and cry out, unclean, unclean. He shall remain unclean. As long as he has the disease, he is unclean.

He shall live alone. His dwelling shall be outside the camp.

So now, because of his disease, he couldn't go home. He couldn't touch anyone, because if he touched them, they would get leprosy.

But then, you know, this story could be a little hard to understand in current times, but it makes me think of my dad. My dad, when I grew up, he had epilepsy. I had seizures. And when I was about a year old, he woke up in a ditch and realized that he probably shouldn't be driving anymore, he probably shouldn't work anymore. And he was terrified to come to church because he didn't want to have a seizure and cause a disruption.

So a lot of times we would come home after church and we'd say so and so said hi to you. I think that might be kind of what it feels like in this situation where you see all this life going on and you can't be a part of it.

So we have the leper, but we also have Jesus. Lepers, unclean, contagious and outsider. But we have Jesus, guys. He's the son of God. He's the ultimate clean person.

He's preaching in the synagogue, he's doing miracles. Crowds are following him everywhere. He's not alone at all. And this man with leprosy comes up to him, seeking his help. He says, lord, if you will, you can make me clean.

Now remember, we're looking at this story as if we haven't seen it before. So I wonder, did you notice that he didn't say, can you heal me? He knows Jesus can heal him. He doesn't doubt his ability. He asks if Jesus is willing.

Now I've done a little creek, so I. I want to show off, I guess. I don't know. But the word here for will is fellow, and it has the definition of willing, wish, desire. As in, I am willing.

I wish, I desire. So in other words, the leper is asking Jesus if he desires for him to be healed. So let's look at verse 13. See? See what happens?

And Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, I will be clean. And immediately the leprosy left him. Wow. We just talked about how the leper couldn't touch anyone because if he touched him, that person would get leprosy. But Jesus touched the man and he became whole and healthy and clean, no longer an outsider.

Which leads us to point number one. If you're taking notes, and I hope that you are, Jesus is willing to make us clean. I want you to write that down. Jesus is willing to make us clean. Now, let's make this practical for a moment.

Do you ever. This happens to me, so I wonder if it happens to you. Do you ever get stuck on past things that you did, either before you became a Christian or even in your walk with Christ? And you're like, I did that again. Maybe you cringe over something you said or did.

I don't know about you, but I replaced stories in my mind of actions I took. But maybe you wonder, how could Jesus claim that part of me? Maybe you're having trouble letting go of something. So you wonder, is Jesus having trouble letting go? Would he be willing to cleanse that part of me?

I'm here to say that he is. There is no part of your life that Jesus is not willing to touch. There is no part of your life that is untouchable. Jesus is willing to make us clean, but the story isn't over. Luke, he's a mastermind.

He really wanted to put this whole book together in a way that just made it easy for us to understand a few things. So he placed two healings back to back. So I want to look at our second story, and in this one, I want you to pay attention to. To the characters and what they're saying. So in verse 17, Jesus is teaching.

And there are religious leaders that are coming from all over to listen to what he's saying. And we're going to read verses 18 through 20. And behold, some men were bringing on a bed a man who was paralyzed. And. And they were seeking to bring him in and lay him before Jesus, but finding no way to bring him in because of the crowd, they went up on the Roof.

Let's stop for just a minute, man. Those are some good friends. They're going up on the roof because, you know, I just think that's amazing.

They went up on the roof and let him down with his bed through the tiles, into the midst before Jesus. And when he saw their faith, he said, man, your sins are forgiven you. So let's just recap for a minute. Jesus is teaching. There's leaders, guardians of the law.

Nearby, a crowd is gathered, and a group of friends have a man who's paralyzed. He's on a bed. They can't get through the crowds. So they go up on the roof and they lower him down and. And Jesus sees their faith and he says, your sins are forgiven.

I wonder why does he respond with forgiveness? I mean, if you think about it, we're reading this, the leper comes to him, lord, if you're willing, you can make me clean. Jesus heals him. And then they come. They're like, he's healing other people.

And he says, your sins are forgiven.

Guys, this is the moment, the moment where Jesus makes it clear who he is. Because remember, all great stories have a moment. All great stories have a moment. So let me explain what I mean, because I probably got a little ahead of myself. Up to this point, Jesus and anyone who talks about him has been clear about who he is.

We're going to break that down. Luke 1:32. An angel visits Mary, tells her she's going to give birth to the Son of God. Luke 1:43. When Mary visits Elizabeth, the baby in her womb leaps.

And Elizabeth, she's asking, how is it that the mother of my Lord should come to me? Then Luke 2:11, the angels visit the shepherds, and they're announcing the birth of Jesus Christ, the Lord. Luke 22:38. Jesus is brought to the temple. And Anna, the prophetess, and Simeon, a godly man, they both recognize him as the Christ.

Luke 2:49. When Jesus parents lose him on their way back from Jerusalem, they find him in God's house. And what does he respond with? Didn't you know that I'd be in my Father's house? And when he's baptized in Luke 3:22, a voice from heaven says, you are my beloved Son.

And then Luke 4:34, even the demons are calling him the Holy One of God. So, guys, Luke is laying it out, and he is laying it out sick. He's making an argument for whom Jesus is and what Jesus can do. He's God, and he has a heart to forgive. He's God, and he has a heart to forgive.

And I think that's why the religious leaders are so upset, because this is the first time Jesus has mentioned forgiving sins. And because they don't understand who he is, his words are a little upsetting. So let's read verse 21. It says the Pharisees and the teachers of the law began thinking to themselves, who is this fellow who speaks blasphemy who can forgive sins but God alone? Now, let's pause here for a moment.

Blasphemy is not a word we use, like every day. But blasphemy is doing something that either dishonors God or. Or is claiming to do what only God can do. And no man had ever claimed to forgive sins. And here Jesus was forgiving sins.

He was claiming to be God. So let's Continue. In verse 22, it says Jesus knew what they were thinking and asked, why are you thinking these things in your hearts? Which is easier to say your sins are forgiven or to say, get up and walk? But I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.

Guys, this is really important, especially in the world we live, where it's you do you find your truth? Follow your heart. All roads lead to the right place. Jesus is not just a nice man. He's not just someone that we follow his morals.

We. We adopt his code of ethics. He's the Son of the living God.

So this leads us to point number two. If he's God and he's claiming to forgive sins, he must be able to do that. So point number two. Jesus can forgive our sins. Why don't you write that down?

Jesus can forgive our sins. Now, I like to make lists, so I made a list of three different types of people that might be in this room. Maybe there's four, maybe there's five, but humor me and let's pretend there's only three. When you think about what I just said, that Jesus can forgive our sins, one thought that might come through your mind is, well, my sins are too great to be forgiven. But I hope before this day is over that that's not what you think anymore.

I hope you recognize that there's no sin too great for the love of Christ. But let me read this scripture passage in Psalm 103 that gives me encouragement. It says, the Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. He will not always chide, nor will he keep his anger from forever. He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities.

For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his steadfast love towards those who fear him. As far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us.

So my sins are too great to be forgiven. Maybe you're the other side of that. Maybe you're thinking my sins aren't that great, aren't that bad. You know, I look at that person and what they do, or what they posted to Facebook, or what my neighbor just did, my sins are not that bad. But sin, no matter the type it separates, we see in Romans 3:23 that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.

Not some, not a few, not a handful. All have sinned. Which means every single person in this room we have sinned. And we are separated from the we have fallen short of the glory of God. In his devotional New Morning Mercies by Paul David Tripp, I know several people in this room that really think highly of him.

He gives a few examples. Sins we may say aren't that bad, he writes. So those little sins are not so little after all. The nasty retort, the me first pride, the flash of lust at the mall, the anger at someone who got in your way, those little bitter thoughts, your addiction to little pleasures, the impatience with a loved one. Sure, they all happen in little moments that go by so quickly you may fail to notice them, but they depict a deeply needy heart.

They remind you and me that we have not risen above our need for rescuing grace.

So my sin's too great. My sin's not too bad. This is where I hope we all land with the morning is up. My sin is great, but his love is greater. Paul writes again in Romans 6:23 the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Now, spoiler alert. I like fiction. I love stories, right? But part of the reason I love fiction so much is because I believe it shines a light on the truth. It's not the truth, but it shines a light on it.

It can create an abstract world where you can see something about God that is hard to understand in a concrete way. And one of those times came for me when I was reading the lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. And there's this little boy named Edmund. He starts off as a pretty nasty kid, makes fun of his sister, pretends Narnia doesn't exist, makes an alliance with the witch. But there comes this Moment where he recognizes that he has made a big mistake.

He is in the wrong, and he's rescued by Aslan and his army. And he has this talk with Aslan. We don't know what is said, but something has changed in him. And then the witch shows up because she wants Edmund back. She calls him a traitor, and she wants him back.

So she says these words. You have a traitor there, Aslan, Said the witch. Of course, everyone present knew that she meant Edmund. But Edmund had got past thinking about himself after all he'd been through. And after the talk he'd had that morning, he just went on looking at Aslan.

It didn't seem to matter what the witch said. Guys, we can get really overwhelmed by our sin. We can start thinking about all the things that the devil whispers into our ears, all the lies of who we still are. But what I would encourage you to do, as Edmund did to Aslan, is to put your eyes on Jesus. Stop forgetting about yourself and your sin, and put your eyes on him and what he did for you.

May we look to him and recognize that our sin is great, but Christ's forgiveness and love is greater. Well, let's get back to our real story. The paralyzed man. His sins are forgiven. Jesus is halfway through his theology lesson, but the man is still on the mat.

He's still paralyzed. He can't move unless someone moves him. There's a crowd. There's the friends, and there's Jesus. And everyone is wondering, what will Jesus do?

So let's read the second part of verse 24 and keep going. So he said to the paralyzed man, I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home. Immediately. He stood up in front of them, took what he had been lying on, and went home praising God. So Jesus not only forgave the man of his sins, but he healed him.

Now, I want you to think about this for a moment. Why does Jesus do miracles? Why does he do miracles? As I look in this room, I can see many broken bodies, many broken hearts. People who love Jesus, people who honor him with their lives, people who honor them with everything they do.

But there's still sickness and brokenness in their lives. So it can't be a demonstration of God's love because he loves us all, but we still live in a broken world. So what is it? Why is Jesus doing these miracles? Well, some people who are smarter than me think that it's to prove that He's God.

And I want you to sit on that for a moment. No human person can heal paralysis, even Today. But Jesus healed him. He got up, picked up his mat and he went home. Can you imagine him walking home praising God?

Can you imagine him walking through the door for the first time? His family seeing him walk through the door for the first time, his life was changed, radically changed. Which leads us to point number three. Jesus changes everything.

I want you to write that down. Jesus changes everything. Now, in our first story, the leper was restored to his community. In our second story, the paralyzed man was able to walk home. And when we experience the cleansing touch of Jesus, when we get that healing, forgiveness, our lives will be changed forever.

And although we hope for healing and miracles and life transformation, in this day, in this time, the greatest miracle we could experience is encountering Jesus.

So I had a bumpy childhood. That's probably everyone's story in one way or another. But I mentioned my dad before, who has epilepsy. He also had mental illness, which came out in the words he spoke. He was manipulative, he was angry.

I didn't know what dad I was going to get when I walked through the door. But when I turned 12, I found Jesus. And my life was changed in a way that anchored me. The verbal abuse, the gaslighting, it continued. It didn't go away, not until my dad passed away in 2010.

But something about having this encounter with Jesus anchored me. I remember a couple years ago, I was walking with a friend, a neighbor, and we had talked about everything and we'd finally gotten to our childhood and she shared about her family dynamics, so I shared about mine. And she looked at me and she said, she said, patty, I would have never thought that was your past. I would have never thought that's what you experienced as a child.

And you know what? She's right. Because armchair psychologists that I try to be, whatever you experience as a child, you typically bring into your own home. No matter how hard you try. If you were verbally abused, you're probably going to verbally abused.

If you were physically abused, you're probably going to physically abuse. And I'm not that way now. I don't not have struggles, I don't have, don't deal with anxiety or have to be careful that the words I'm using are not manipulative. But there's been a change in my life that I can only credit to the life altering power of Jesus in my life. Because Christ intervened, I'm not who I should be.

Jesus changes everything. So let's recap. We've talked about how Jesus is willing to cleanse us. He restores us to community. And Jesus stands ready to forgive.

He restores our relationship to God. And finally, Jesus changes everything. He redeems our lives and makes us a new creation.

So all great stories have what a moment. And we have one final moment to discuss, and it's not in the text. How will you respond to Jesus?

So let's think about the characters that we went through as we were going through both of these stories. And I wonder if you might find that you identify with one of them. Which one do you connect with the most? With the leper. Like him, you know, God is able to make you clean, but you wonder, is he willing?

Perhaps you feel like an outsider on the inside. You come to Legacy every week, but there's just something standing in the way of you feeling like you truly belong to this body of believers.

But as Second Corinthians 5:17 says, we proclaim this at the end of every service every week. That therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away. Behold, the new has come. So if you identify with the leper right now, I want you to remember that Jesus is willing be clean.

Then we have the lame man. For some of you in this room, you know Jesus is the son of God. Got that? Got that. But you wonder, is he really able to forgive me?

Is he able? And my encouragement to you would be that your past, your present, your future, failings, none of that can separate you from Christ. Jesus is able to forgive your sins.

So we talked a little bit about these guys, but what about the religious leaders? Leaders? No one wants to be a Pharisee. But Jesus, in his compassion, he's not trying to make the Pharisees mad by the way he approaches the situation. He longs for them to understand that he's the Messiah they're looking for.

They've studied the scriptures that promised a rescuer. They were actively looking for a savior, and he was right in front of them. The Pharisees were near Jesus and missing the point. So I want to ask you, are you missing the point? Ask yourself, am I missing the point?

Am I so close to Jesus? I come to church, I give offering, I go to life group every so often. I live a moral life. Everyone knows I go to church.

But have you really come to know him? We've talked a lot about cultural Christianity this past year. People who say they're Christians, but their actions contradict it. There's this moral life going on, but that's it. They haven't encountered Jesus in Ephesians 2, 8, 9.

It says, for by grace you have been saved, saved through faith. This is not your own doing. It is the gift of God, not a result of works. So no one may boast.

So if that's you in this room this morning and you feel like I can check off all the ways I look like a Christian, but you haven't had that encounter with Christ where you understand that there is absolutely nothing you can do, do to have salvation other than receive it, that might be where you are today. Well, we also have the crowd. We're going to read verse 26. It says, and amazement seized them all and they glorified God and were filled with awe, saying, we have seen extraordinary things today. I think the crowd is my favorite.

They come, they see, they leave. Glorifying God, they believed. I want to ask you, have you ever come to church? And the worship was amazing. The sermon was awesome.

There was incredible time where people could just respond. And there was prayer. And you walked out of the building and you're like, wow, that was awesome. That was a move of God.

I think we all have. I think we've all experienced it. Maybe it doesn't look the way I just described it, but you've walked out of this room and thought, I just had an encounter with the Lord.

But does that awe and wonder make it any further than these doors?

Does it make it to the car? Before we start talking about where we're going to eat, do we talk about it with our family, with our neighbors? What about the Starbucks barista? She's like, so what did you do this weekend? What a great softball to just roll into.

Wow. I was at church and it was amazing. And we talked about how Jesus changes everything. Has Jesus changed everything for you?

Friends, may we come and see and leave glorifying God today? May we share it with those we come in contact with.

Well, I've been reading the Hobbit with my son Devin. I've read it several times, but this is my first opportunity to read it with him and Devin. Sorry, spoiler alert. I'm gonna give away part of the plot but there's this scene that stops me every time I read it. We've got Bilbo, this hobbit who has been hired by the dwarves to commandeer their treasure that Smaug the Dragon is sitting on.

And they've made it through all these adventures and he's sitting in this tunnel about to go check out, check out the treasure and he has this moral dilemma. He's got to make this decision. Is he going to move forward and go be brave? Or can he? Is he going to leave because he has this ring?

He's invisible. They'd never know. I'll just leave.

But Tolkien, I love him. He writes, it was at that point that Bilbo stopped. Going on from there was the bravest thing he ever did. The tremendous things that happened afterward were as nothing compared to it. He fought the real battle in the tunnel alone before he ever saw the vast danger that lay in wait.

Would you close your eyes with me today? We all have a decision to make. If you've made the decision to follow Christ and live out this life completely for him, it's truly the bravest decision you've ever made. And if you're contemplating it right now, I just want you to know that you fight the battle in your heart right now. Not when life gets hard or busy or demanding.

So I want you to ask yourself, will I place my faith in Jesus, the son of God, who is able and willing to forgive me of my sins? And will I go home into my workplace and share the remarkable things that God has done in my life? Friends, if you haven't made that decision to follow Jesus, come find me. Find Kevin, Mark, Darian, Shelby, grab your life group leader.

There's prayer partners. Make the decision to fully surrender your life to Christ. I want you to leave today knowing that you are his.

And for most of us in this room, you've made Jesus the boss of your life. He has changed everything for you. Let's leave this place and tell others the remarkable things that we've experienced in this place. Let's not keep it to ourselves. Let's pray.

Father, I thank you for your word that is alive and active and I pray that it is spoken to us today. Thank you that you are able cleanse us. You're willing to cleanse us. You touch our lives and we're never the same. Thank you Jesus that you're able to forgive us and transform our lives.

Those sins that we've not told anyone about. Those areas of our lives that are struggles on the daily, you know about them and you are able to forgive them. Lord, I thank you that you change everything. Not just part of our lives. Not just the part of our lives that we section off on Sundays, but every single part of our lives.

Every person we come in contact with, every conversation, every work interaction, every smile and nod at our neighbors or at the grocery store. You change everything when we surrender our lives to you. Lord, I just pray that you would allow us to leave this room and share these remarkable things with those we come in contact with. May we be a light in a dark world. May we bring joy and salt and peace, beauty.

And may we tell others that Jesus changes everything. It's in your Son's name I pray. Through the power of your Holy Spirit that resides within us. Amen.