I want to start off tonight by reading Matthew 8:1-13: When he was come down from the mountain, great multitudes followed him.
2 And, behold, there came a leper and worshipped him, saying, Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean.
3 And Jesus put forth his hand, and touched him, saying, I will; be thou clean. And immediately his leprosy was cleansed.
4 And Jesus saith unto him, See thou tell no man; but go thy way, shew thyself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses commanded, for a testimony unto them.
5 And when Jesus was entered into Capernaum, there came unto him a centurion, beseeching him,
6 And saying, Lord, my servant lieth at home sick of the palsy, grievously tormented.
7 And Jesus saith unto him, I will come and heal him.
8 The centurion answered and said, Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldest come under my roof: but speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed.
9 For I am a man under authority, having soldiers under me: and I say to this man, Go, and he goeth; and to another, Come, and he cometh; and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it.
10 When Jesus heard it, he marvelled, and said to them that followed, Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel.
11 And I say unto you, That many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven.
12 But the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
13 And Jesus said unto the centurion, Go thy way; and as thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee. And his servant was healed in the selfsame hour.
These stories in the first part of Matthew chapter 8 are about faith; and not just any old faith in any old thing. It’s about faith in Jesus; and not about faith in a Jesus that you may love in your own mind, but the true Jesus of the Bible. Jesus, Healer and Savior.
Notice in the first story that the leper knew who Jesus was. He came to Jesus and said, “Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean.” The leper knew that Jesus could heal him. How do you suppose the leper knew that? Or do you think he just looked around at the crowd and said, eeny, meeny, miny moe, I choose this guy to cleanse me from head to toe? Do you think that he just guessed right or got lucky by asking the one person around there that could make him clean?
Of course not! This man knew who Jesus was, the one true Jesus – Healer and Savior. This man had either heard about how Jesus was going around healing people or maybe he knew someone that had been healed. Either way, he knew that Jesus could heal him. He said, “thou canst make me clean.” He knew who Jesus was. He asked Jesus to heal him and He did!
More importantly, the leper knew that Jesus was Lord. He came to Jesus and worshipped Him. He worshipped Jesus and called Him Lord! He understood that Jesus is Lord. He bowed his knee and confessed with his mouth that Jesus is Lord. Have you done this? Have you ever bowed your knee and confessed with your tongue that Jesus Christ is Lord?
Each and every one of us will do this. You can willingly do this in this life and receive everlasting life. You can be saved. You can repent and put your trust in Jesus, just like the leper did. You can be saved tonight – if you own up to your own wretchedness and see Jesus’ Holiness. You can be cleansed. You can be forgiven for your sins. You can confess and forsake your sins and put your faith in Jesus. Join the cleansed leper tonight and be made whole. Be cleansed from your sins. Turn from your sins and turn to Jesus.
The second story that I read in the first part of Matthew chapter 8 was about the centurion. He was a Roman soldier in charge of 100 soldiers. Even though he was a Roman (and remember the Israelites were under the rule of the Roman Empire at the time) and he was an important person with a powerful job, he also knew who Jesus was. He also came to Jesus and asked for help. He asked Jesus to heal his servant whom he had compassion for.
But please notice how the centurion came to Jesus. He didn’t say, I’m an important Roman soldier and I command you, a lowly Jew to heal my servant and do it right now! No, the centurion recognized his own sinfulness and Christ’s Holiness. Just like the leper, he too understood that Jesus is Lord. The soldier said, “I am not worthy that thou shouldst come under my roof.” He was saying, Lord, I’m a great sinner and You are a great Healer and Savior and I don’t deserve the honor of you coming to my house. This mighty centurion was humble. He humbly came before the King of kings and the Lord of lords.
What is your perception of Jesus tonight? Do you see you His Holiness and your own sinfulness? Do you realize that He is sinless and that you are a sinner? Of course not just you alone, but all of us are sinners. But have you personally ever thrown yourself at the feet of Jesus and cried for mercy? Have you ever humbly cast yourself before Jesus and begged Him to save you?
If you did this in the past, are you still humbly at the feet of Jesus right now? I’m asking you this because when you are truly saved, God convicts you of sin in your life. Those of us who are truly saved – continue to repent. We continue to bow humbly before our Lord and Savior and we continue to ask for forgiveness when we sin. Does this describe you tonight? Or are you still counting on a one-time prayer with no real repentance? Do you still have a heart of stone instead of a new regenerated heart of flesh; that only comes from God when He convicts and saves you?
Are you truly saved? If not, humbly come to Jesus. Get right with God. Do this tonight. God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble. Will you swallow your pride tonight and surrender your life to Christ? Will you bow to His Lordship tonight? Just like the leper and the centurion humbly came to Jesus, they both had great faith. The leper said you can make me clean. The centurion said you can say the word now and my servant can be healed. They both had faith in the authority of Jesus. He is the great Creator and Sustainer and He has authority over all of us – even those who mock and scoff Him.
Will you surrender to the authority of Jesus tonight? Will you humble yourself and ask the perfect One to cover your sins, to pay your sin debt? Will you ask Jesus to cleanse you from your sins and make you whole? Will you do this tonight? Will you receive salvation tonight, the only salvation that can save you from the wrath of God? Will you receive the salvation that is freely offered by our great Healer and Savior? Will you repent and put your faith in Jesus? Will you exercise faith tonight – the same type of faith that the leper and centurion had?
Acts 3:19 says: Repent therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord. Be saved tonight. Repent and trust Jesus. Remember that Jesus said people will come from the East and the West (in other words from all over the world) and be saved. They will enjoy eternal life with Jesus in Heaven. But those who refuse the healing and saving grace offered by Jesus, will be cast into outer darkness where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth. Jesus was talking about Hell. All who die in their sins, everyone who dies without Jesus being their Lord and Savior, will be cast into Hell.
Don’t foolishly die in your sins one day and end up in Hell. You don’t know when your last day on this earth will be. You could die tonight. Those four young boys that tragically died Wednesday night did not expect that night to be their last night on this earth. Life is precious and life is short. Don’t put salvation off. Today is the day of salvation.
Will you come to the Healer and Savior tonight? Will you humbly bow your knee and confess with your tongue the Lord Jesus? Romans 10:9 says: That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. Romans 10:13 states: For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. Call on the great Healer and Savior. Call on Jesus tonight. Believe on the Lord Jesus and thou shalt be saved (Acts 16:31).
(This message was lifted up in downtown Springfield, MO on November 28, 2014)