I Will!

Notes: I Will

Matthew 8:1–4

SPEAKER:

Tony Clark

WORSHIP TEAM:

Harvest Worship Band

Welcome To Harvest Sunday Morning! 

Sunday, February 7, 2016 — 8:00 a.m.

“I will” are some of the most precious words in our vocabulary today. When we get married, or when we ask for help, we love to hear those words.

Matthew 7:27-28 NKJV and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall.” And so it was, when Jesus had ended these sayings, that the people were astonished at His teaching,

Jesus spoke with authority to the people and it astonished them. People followed Jesus for all sorts of reasons. 

Why are you following Jesus?

If you are following Jesus for any other reason than He is worthy, then you are no different then the people in this crowd.

Matthew 8:1-4 NIV When Jesus came down from the mountainside, large crowds followed him. A man with leprosy came and knelt before him and said, “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.” Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” he said. “Be clean!” Immediately he was cleansed of his leprosy. Then Jesus said to him, “See that you don’t tell anyone. But go, show yourself to the priest and offer the gift Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.”

The man had leprosy, it was a very horrible disease and very much the AIDS of the time. Their skin would fall off, they could be smelled from 100 feet away. 

“I would not so much as buy an egg from a market on street that had a leper on it.” was a statement a Rabbi of that day made.

God compares sin to leprosy in Isaiah and Leviticus. Just like leprosy, eventually sin will destroy you.

Matthew 20:20 NKJV Then the mother of Zebedee’s sons came to Him with her sons, kneeling down and asking something from Him.

Many come to church because they know they will need to ask God for something this week. God sees right through that. 

This leper did not approach Jesus that way. This leper did not doubt Jesus power, he was asking Jesus about his willingness.

How many of us don’t doubt God’s power, but doubt His willingness?

Many of us need to burst through the crowd and come to Jesus. 

Matthew 8:3 NKJV Then Jesus put out His hand and touched him, saying, “I am willing; be cleansed.” Immediately his leprosy was cleansed.

By cleaning this man, Jesus did the unthinkable and the unlawful. This leper had not been touched in years. According to Leviticus Jesus would have become unclean, but instead Jesus made the man clean.

Would we have touched the man or would we have thrown stones? If leprosy is like sin, how many times have we thrown stones at sinners instead of reached out to them?

Maybe you feel like a leper in your sin today, Jesus wants to touch you and clean you. Jesus is willing. Not only does Jesus have the power to heal you, but he has the desire to also.

Are you desperate enough to push through the crowd to approach Jesus? 

Matthew 8:4 NKJV And Jesus said to him, “See that you tell no one; but go your way, show yourself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.”

This was the first man they would have ever seen cleaned of leprosy. Jesus is still into cleaning people of leprosy.

He can clean you of your sins today!