Proclaim that you've been changed!

Mark 1:40-45 - A man with leprosy came to Him and begged Him on his knees, “If you are willing, you can make me clean.” Filled with compassion, Jesus reached out His hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” He said. “Be clean!” Immediately the leprosy left him and he was cured. Jesus sent him away at once with a strong warning: “See that you don’t tell this to anyone. But go and show yourself to the priest and offer the sacrifices that Moses commanded for your cleansing, as a testimony to them.” Instead he went out and began to talk freely, spreading the news. As a result, Jesus could no longer enter a town openly but stayed outside in lonely places. Yet the people still came to Him from everywhere. (NIV)

Have you ever eaten powdered donuts? My daughter brings them over when I babysit so the grandsons can eat them in the morning. As the boys enjoy their treat, the powder gets on their fingers and hands, their clothes, the furniture. Unless I contain the boys and quickly clean them off, the evidence of their morning treat is everywhere! As soon as the boys are done, they attempt to scurry off to their next activity. As I attempt to clean them, they are struggling and squirming. Many times they are too excited to sit still long enough to clean them up and send them on their way.

Looking at the boys covered in white powder reminds me of the story of when Jesus healed the leprous man. I could wipe the powder off the boys and furniture, or change their shirts. I could “clean the boys up.” But the leprous man wasn’t as fortunate.

When Jesus walked the earth, leprosy was a disease akin to AIDS of today. If you had leprosy, you were a social outcast. You were believed to have committed some sin that caused the disease. You were unclean (see Lev 13:45-45 and 14:2-32). Your skin would turn white and eventually body parts would fall off. The man with leprosy in the above scripture was a social outcast. He wore the sign of his sin on his body every day. He couldn’t get rid of it. He couldn’t hide it from anyone.

But when Jesus healed the leper and healed him from this disfiguring, uncurable disease, the leper couldn’t contain his joy! And who could blames him. Jesus warned the man to show himself to the priest and go through the normal cleansing process. But that would take 8 days! Who could wait that long? The former leper was so excited; he had to share the news NOW! He needed to tell others what Jesus had done. He could not keep this to himself! The result of the former leper sharing his testimony of how Jesus changed his life caused people to seek the Lord so much that Jesus had to stay outside the city. The city couldn’t contain the people who wanted to meet Jesus.

What would happen if every one of us who’s been touched by the Lord went out and EXCITEDLY told others? I doubt the churches could contain the people who would want to know more about Jesus. Psalm 107:2 says “Let the redeemed of the Lord say so, whom He has redeemed from the hand of the enemy.” What does this say to you? To me, it shouts when someone’s life has been changed, they cannot hide it!

Are you telling others what Jesus has done for you? Let the redeemed of the Lord say so! If you tell just one other person what Jesus has done for you, you will impact the Kingdom. Let us all proclaim that we’ve been changed!

Which is Easier?

Mark 2:1-12: When Jesus returned to Capernaum several days later, the news spread quickly that he was back home. Soon the house where he was staying was so packed with visitors that there was no more room, even outside the door. While he was preaching God’s word to them, 3 four men arrived carrying a paralyzed man on a mat. They couldn’t bring him to Jesus because of the crowd, so they dug a hole through the roof above his head. Then they lowered the man on his mat, right down in front of Jesus. Seeing their faith, Jesus said to the paralyzed man, “My child, your sins are forgiven.” But some of the teachers of religious law who were sitting there thought to themselves, “What is he saying? This is blasphemy! Only God can forgive sins!” Jesus knew immediately what they were thinking, so he asked them, “Why do you question this in your hearts? Is it easier to say to the paralyzed man ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or ‘Stand up, pick up your mat, and walk’? So I will prove to you that the Son of Man has the authority on earth to forgive sins.” Then Jesus turned to the paralyzed man and said, “Stand up, pick up your mat, and go home!” And the man jumped up, grabbed his mat, and walked out through the stunned onlookers. They were all amazed and praised God, exclaiming, “We’ve never seen anything like this before!”

The story in Mark 2:1-12 is familiar to most. Jesus was preaching in someone’s house. It was packed with people. So much so that people were standing outside the door to hear him preach. A group of friends carried a man who was paralyzed to the scene with the explicit intent of seeing Jesus. Their friend needed healing. How could they get their friend to Jesus through that throng of people! They tried and tried but they couldn’t. People pushed them back. I can almost hear the noise of the crowd as some said, “Who do you think you are! I was here first! Get in line like the rest of us!” But these friends of the paralyzed man were persistent. They went up to the roof and tore open a portion of it and let their friend down through the roof to Jesus so that their friend could be healed. Can you imagine how that disrupted the service that day? Can you image how that interrupted what Jesus was trying to teach!? Can you hear what the people were saying? “Who do these men think they are?” I can hear the owner saying, “They can’t destroy MY house! What do that think they are doing?” And when Jesus healed the man, I imagine there were people commenting under their breath, “What makes these men think their friend is any more deserving of seeing Jesus than I am?” I’m sure there was jealousy, resentment, and bitterness from others. But there was also awe! “Wow…Jesus healed this paralyzed man!” “What kind of a man is this than He can heal?” “I heard He’s the Messiah?” “Is He? Is He the promised one?”

Back when Jesus was ministering on the earth, people saw Him do some miraculous healings, and as a result, word quickly spread about Him. The people of Jesus day found it easy to believe that He could heal. But this concept that He could save them from their sin? That was foreign. That was considered blasphemy. Only God can save from sin! The common people weren’t concerned whether He said “your sins are forgiven” or “take up your mat and walk”. They were only concerned with the outcome. Jesus healed. But the religious people…they didn’t like the words Jesus chose in “your sins are forgiven”. It didn’t matter that Jesus just healed someone. He said the wrong words! They believed He had the power to heal, but didn’t believe He had the power to save from sin.

Today, it’s just the opposite. We find it easy to believe Jesus can save us from our sins, but not that He can heal us. We know He can save us, but when it comes time to believing in healing….that challenges us just a bit. Why is that? Is it because we don’t see it as often as they did in the times when the Bible was written? Is it because you hear the stories but haven’t seen it for yourself? Is it because you haven’t received healing personally? What causes our disbelief in healing? I think if Jesus were here today in front of us, He would realize we believe He can save from sins, but chastise us for our doubt that we can receive healing.

The truth is that we need both! The forgiveness of sin and receipt of healing go hand in hand. They aren’t separate. It’s not “either or”. When Jesus asked “Is it easier to say to the paralyzed man ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or ‘Stand up, pick up your mat, and walk’? the outcome was still the same. He still healed the paralyzed man, and he also forgave him of his sins. Salvation and healing accompany one another.

When our missionaries go out onto the field, or when you and I go out into our community or school, or speak to unsaved loved ones, we must be able to communicate that Jesus saves from sin AND He heals. Salvation and healing aren’t separate; they are mutually inclusive. You and I have the right to both. When the world sees the signs and wonders (in this case, the healings), it can cause the unsaved to come to the knowledge of Christ. So many times throughout the Word of God you see salvation and healing associated. What's exciting is that along with it came growth in the Church. Not the individual church, but the Church. In Acts 5: 12 it says, “And through the hands of the apostles, many signs and wonders were done among the people” and in verse 14 it says “and believers were increasingly added to the Lord, multitudes of both men and women.” In between those two verses, it says in verse 13 that they “were all in one accord”. If we want to see salvation, we must believe we will see healing. Unity connects the two. When we join our spirits and lives together, when we link our faith with others, salvation and healings will come.

God is raising the spiritual bar for Christians who want to impact the world for Christ today. He wants to break through into people's lives supernaturally by giving them insights into the needs of people in order to bring them to Christ. Jesus often spoke supernaturally into the lives of others based on the circumstance of the moment. He often spoke of their current condition in life and invited them to make a change. Whether that current condition was a paralyzed man, a leper, a woman steeped in adultery, a young boy possessed by demons…He dealt with the situation and brought them a message of salvation. Which do you believe more? That the son of man can save from sin, or that the son of man can heal?

The good news is He does both.

They Hailed Him as King

History records that he was a great man. Yet he had humble beginnings. He grew up in a small town, an ordinary boy who did nothing to draw attention to himself. Like most boys his age, he attended school. He also worked in the family business and did his best to grow up strong and healthy. Deep inside, however, he knew he had a special destiny to fulfill.

As he grew older, people began to notice him. There was something special about this young man. He had talent. He had charisma. He had gifts that none had ever seen! It wasn’t long before he started attracting crowds. Thousands came to see and listen to him. He chose a small band of loyal companions who traveled with him everywhere he went. Many of them gave up their normal jobs just to be with this man.

As his fame spread, some grew jealous of him. They thought this man was leading people astray and they plotted against him. But his popularity only increased. He touched the lives of young and old alike and brought them joy and laughter. Many hailed him as “king”.

Toward the end of his short life, he suffered quit a bit. Some who followed him fell away. He died alone. Those closest to him were left discouraged and confused. They never expected his life to end that way. Soon after his death, there were rumors that he didn’t really die. His followers spread the news all around. “HE LIVES!” they said. “He isn’t really dead.” Some claimed they actually saw him. Even today, many believe he is still alive.

But Elvis has really left the building. I was 14 when Elvis died. I was attending summer camp meeting at the Iowa campgrounds for the Church of God. I’ll never forget the message delivered at camp on the evening the news hit that Elvis died. That message was “Elvis was NOT the King.” There was a whole lot of rock and roll being talked about, but it was about the rock that was rolled away when our Savior rose again. That message has affected me to this day.

You see, if you word things generally enough, you can find a lot of similarities between Elvis and Jesus. There's probably a lot of similaries in this story and YOU. However, Elvis, you are I are simply human beings; Jesus was fully God and fully human. Elvis came to entertain us; Jesus came to save us.

There is only one King. He’s Jesus Christ, the Son of the Living God. He was born of a virgin, died to save us from sin, rose again on the 3rd day, and today sits at the right hand of the Father making intercession for everyone who calls on His name.

There may be others who have been hailed as "King", some even called “Messiah”. But there is only one King of King and Lord of Lords. His name is Jesus. Ladies and Gentlemen….Jesus has NOT left the building.

(story adapted from Hot Illustrations for Youth Talks)