First Baptist Church Litchfield
chapel 4/29

      • Isaiah 58:10ESV

  • A Cheerful Heart
  • Lord I Lift Your Name On High

      • Colossians 3:12ESV

  • Lazy Bones
  • Cast your cares
  • “1 When he came down from the mountain, great crowds followed him. 2 And behold, a leper came to him and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, if you will, you can make me clean.” 3 And Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, “I will; be clean.” And immediately his leprosy was cleansed. 4 And Jesus said to him, “See that you say nothing to anyone, but go, show yourself to the priest and offer the gift that Moses commanded, for a proof to them.” Matthew 8:1–4

    The People Everyone Avoids

    There are people in every school, every community, and every culture who get avoided. You know who I am talking about. They sit alone at lunch. They walk the halls without anyone speaking to them. They get left out of conversations, left out of groups, and sometimes quietly pushed to the side.
    They are not always loud about it. Sometimes they just disappear into the background. Sometimes they carry burdens no one else sees. They may be struggling at home. They may feel different. They may feel like they do not belong anywhere.
    If you are honest, you have seen people like that. And if you are really honest, you know how easy it is to walk the other way. You may not say anything cruel. You may not intend to hurt them. But you also do not step in. You keep your distance. You protect your comfortable space in your social influence.
    That instinct is not new. It has been part of the human heart since the fall. We naturally move toward what is comfortable and away from what is broken.
    In Matthew 8, Jesus steps into a moment like this, and what He does is completely different from what anyone would expect from a notable Rabbi. A man approaches Him who is not just sick, but completely rejected by society. He is a leper.
    Leviticus 13 tells us that a leper had to live outside the camp. He had to wear torn clothes. He had to cover his face and cry out “Unclean, unclean” (Leviticus 13:45–46). He was cut off from worship, from relationships, and from normal life. He was not just physically suffering. He was socially and spiritually isolated.
    William Barclay described leprosy as a disease that slowly disfigured a person until they no longer resembled themselves, becoming repulsive to others.
    This man had not been touched in years. No one would shake his hand. Not even his family would embrace him with a hug. His neighbor would not welcome him into his home. He was an outcast all alone.
    And yet, he comes to Jesus. Jesus is not like his family or his community. Jesus is not scared or repulsed by the leprous man because He does not become unclean or broken when He touches what is unclean and broken. Jesus loves this unclean and broken men and women, so much so, that the compassion of Jesus compels him to move toward the broken, and to touch the untouchable. If His love is in you, then he calls you to do the very same thing. Moving toward the broken and unclean with compassion begins by seeing people the way Jesus sees them.

    See People the Way Jesus Sees Them (Matthew 8:1–2)

    Matthew tells us that great crowds were following Jesus. There is movement, excitement, and attention all around Him. And in the middle of that crowd, a leper approaches.
    This is shocking. This man is not supposed to be there. According to the law and the culture, he should be far away, outside the community, separated from everyone else.
    But here he is, moving toward Jesus.
    And what is even more shocking is Jesus does not move away.
    Where everyone else would have stepped back, Jesus remains. Where others would have avoided him, Jesus looks at him. Where others saw a problem, Jesus saw a person created in God’s image who needed him to look at him, love him, and be present with him.
    Compassion begins when you see people the way Jesus sees them. Your classmates are not labels. Your dysfunctional family members are not problems. Your neighbors are not interruptions. They are people created in the image of God who are broken and in need of grace.
    Our world trains us to categorize people. We sort people by popularity, by ability, by background, by appearance. We quietly decide who fits and who does not. We decide who is worth our attention and who is not. Moreover, our criteria of who is worth our time and who isn’t, is often convoluted.
    But Jesus does not build His kingdom that way. He moves toward the very people our society and culture avoid.
    At LCS, this matters more than you think. Compassion begins with your eyes. It means you notice the student no one talks to. It means you pay attention to the person who seems left out. It means you refuse to let people remain invisible.
    When you begin to see people the way Jesus sees them, your heart begins to change, but only if you’ve responded to Jesus with humble faith.

    Respond with Humble Faith and Compassionate Courage (Matthew 8:2)

    The leper comes to Jesus and kneels before Him. His posture is really important for you and I to remember and model. He did not come to Jesus demanding anything, as if he is entitled to Jesus’ healing. He is humble himself before God, and God always rewards humility.
    He says, “Lord, if you will, you can make me clean.”
    Do you see his faith. He believes Jesus has the power to heal him. He does not question Jesus’ ability. He questions whether Jesus is willing to heal him.
    That question lives in many hearts today. People believe God is powerful, but they are not sure if He cares. I think that resonates in many of your hearts today. You may believe God exists. You might even believe he is powerful. But you do not believe he is good or that he cares about you. God has proven he cares about you by sending his son to the cross, and even today he cares by having you here to listen to this sermon.
    The leper comes to Jesus. He takes the risk. He steps forward in humility and faith. That takes courage.
    It takes courage to step toward Jesus with your need. It takes courage to admit that you are broken. It takes courage to believe that He might care for you. And it takes courage to show compassion to others.
    Students, compassion is not always easy. I would say most times genuine compassion is very difficult. It costs something. It may cost your comfort. It may cost your convenience. It may cost your reputation.
    It takes courage to sit with someone others avoid. It takes courage to speak kindly when others are silent. It takes courage to include someone when it is not socially easy.
    But that is exactly the kind of courage Jesus is calling you to, and its the kind of courage Jesus empowers you with His Spirit. A Spirit empowered courage that moves toward the broken with sacrificial compassion.

    Move Toward Others with Sacrificial Compassion (Matthew 8:3)

    Matthew tells us that Jesus stretched out His hand and touched him.
    That is the moment that would have stopped the crowd. They would’ve gasped, maybe even turned on Jesus. You do not touch a leper. Touching a leper made you unclean. It was avoided at all costs. Jesus knows the law and the customs. But Jesus reaches out anyway.
    Before He even speaks, He touches him.
    Think about that moment. This man had likely gone years without human contact. And suddenly, the first one to touch him was Son of God. No one would have ever thought God would touch this man. He was cursed, and yet Jesus not only touches him, but heals him.
    Jesus says, “I will; be clean.” And immediately his leprosy is gone.
    This is compassion. Compassion is not just feeling sorry for someone. It is being moved to act. It is stepping into someone’s pain and doing something about it.
    There is something powerful about your presence in someones time of need. Sometimes the most meaningful thing you can do for someone is simply to be there. To sit with them. To listen. To care. You don’t even need to speak anything. Just showing up and being present is powerful.
    Jesus did not just heal this man’s body. He restored his dignity. He welcomed him back into life.
    Students, this is what compassion looks like in your life. It is active. It moves. It reaches. It gives life to those who are convinced they are far from it.
    You have hands that can help. You have words that can encourage. You have time that can be given.
    Compassion uses what God has given you to meet the needs of others.

    Receive the Compassion of Jesus for Your Own Heart (Isaiah 64:6, 2 Corinthians 5:21, 1 John 1:9)

    But this story is not only about the leper. It is about you.
    What the leper was on the outside, we all are on the inside.
    Isaiah says that all our righteousness is like polluted garments. Our sin makes us spiritually unclean before God.
    We may look fine on the outside, but our hearts are broken by sin.
    The good news isJesus does not step back from us. He steps toward us.
    He came into our world. He took on flesh. He lived among us. He felt our weakness.
    And at the cross, He took our uncleanness on Himself. 2 Corinthians 5:21 says that God made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.
    Jesus took our place so we could be made clean.
    When you come to Him like the leper and say, “Lord, make me clean,” He responds with compassion. “I will.”
    1 John 1:9 says that if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
    Jesus does not just forgive you. He cleans you. He restores you. He brings you into His family. He gives you His Spirit.
    And then He begins to change your heart so that you reflect His compassion to others.

    Become the Kind of Person Who Moves Toward the Broken

    We should not live in a world where there are people everyone avoids, but unfortunately, we do. So, the question is not whether those people exist. The question is what you will do when you see them.
    Jesus did not walk away. He moved toward them. He touched the untouchable. He loved the unlovable. He restored the broken.
    And now He calls you to do the same.
    When you understand the compassion Jesus has shown you, it changes how you see others. You no longer avoid people. You move toward them.
    This week, do not just listen to this message. Live it.
    Look for the person who is alone. Look for the person who is hurting. Look for the person others ignore.
    And take one step toward them.
    Because the compassion of Jesus that has changed your life is meant to flow through your life to others.
  • Empowered by the Spirit, Guided by the Word

      • 2 Corinthians 13:11ESV

First Baptist Church Litchfield
pastorjason.fbcl@gmail.com
217-324-4232
http://www.firstbaptistlitchfield.org/
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