In this sermon, the speaker emphasizes the importance of healing and salvation through the shed blood of Jesus. The congregation is encouraged to examine their own hearts and rely on the precious blood of Jesus for forgiveness and redemption. The speaker leads the congregation in singing a hymn that highlights the humility and strength of Jesus, who gave his life to give us life. The sermon concludes with a call to hold onto the promises of Jesus and partake in communion as a reminder of his sacrifice.

...concerning thy son, our Lord Jesus Christ, whom today we would see as our healer. We're asking that the eyes of our hearts may open, touch our minds that we may perceive, our hearts that we may feel, and our wills that we will respond to whatever it is that thou, by thy Spirit, will say to us. May the Lord Jesus Christ, who himself took our infirmities, for our sicknesses, be glorified. May he see of the travail of the soul, and be satisfied. O God of all things, let it be that among us and through us, the lamb that was slain may receive the reward of his suffering. In his matchless name we ask you. Amen. Our Lord Jesus had just come down from the mountain where he had spoken to the multitude. Several hundred, perhaps more, several thousand, may have been on that hillside, alongside of Lake Galilee, as the Lord Jesus spoke. He wanted every one of them to hear, to perceive, and to understand. But our Lord is not just concerned about the multitude. He's concerned about the individual. He cares for one person as much as for the group. We've heard a great deal on television, radio, writers, God, love, and it's true, that he's concerned about you. Well, he was certainly concerned about the leper. The first thing we see is that concern strikes there in verses 1-4. A leper came to him. Now, leprosy, leprosy, what is it? Much is made of it in the Old Testament. I, at one time, felt that leprosy was a type of sin. I don't any longer. I don't think that leprosy has been a type of sin. I think that the leper is the picture of the sinner. Now, there's a difference. When you have a type, it has to follow almost in all particulars. That's quite a different matter. Now, in the Old Testament, there were very specific instructions as to what the leper should do. We have found, for instance, since today, that leprosy is basically a malnutritional disease, generally where there's an extreme cocaine deficiency, a vitamin deficiency, a kind of illness towards leprosy. It was not a virulent, contagious disease, though the organisms that cause it do transfer by contact from one to another. But still, it's a constant picture, full-length picture of the sinner. Now, in the Old Testament, when the leper was given an opportunity to go before the priest for the process of cleansing, it was very specific. The leper would come, line up the day it comes, the priest would come out, and you would see. You can picture them here, a company, a long line of people outside the camp. They had no fellowship, no participation. And here's one who comes in, well, I think I'll make it today. I've just got one spot in my hand. I did something I shouldn't. And another said, well, I'm a little worse off than you are. I've got a spot here on my lips. I said something I shouldn't. And someone else, well, it's hit me here in the ear. I've been hearing things I shouldn't. And so, then there's one more cat back there. They look at him and say, there's no hope for you. Why? From the top of his head to the sole of his feet, you can't find a place on him as big as a quarter where there's caverous evidence of leprosy is not present. And he knows there's no hope for him. So, as they come and line up before the priest, the one with the spot on his hand, unclean, go away. The one with the spot on his hand, unclean, go away. The one with the spot on his foot, go back. You're not acceptable. And here comes this chap that's been the last in the line. The priest looks at him through the hair, through the face. And there isn't a spot on him that isn't leprosy. Why? You see, we have to understand that the sin is not just something that touches us, something that affects us, something, some part, but it is that which is from the top of the head again to the sole of the feet. Now this leper is coming to Christ, the one who gave the instructions. And the leper did as all sinners must do. He recognized the full extent of the disease. He realized there wasn't anything that he could do about it. And he came to Christ. And he bowed. He knelt. He recognized that Christ is God. And he didn't ask for, did you notice that? It did not say that he asked for healing, and it did not say that he was healed. He said, if thou wilt, thou can make me clean. You see, in this first portion of this marvelous chapter, with the Lord Jesus Christ as the cleanser of sinners, salvation from sin is after all far greater. One day, bodies are all, but until that time, we want to keep them in as good repair as possible. In this case, the leper came. And the leper, picture of the sinner, recognizes Christ as God, and he asks the appropriate thing. When he's named. When you and I came as sinners, worthy only of God's judgment, we pled for mercy, and God gave it. Isn't it thrilling to see the Lord Jesus as he reaches out and he touches? How interesting is that here? It doesn't state it, but he touched him. He touched him. How interesting it is that the Lord Jesus Christ was willing to name sin for us, he who did no sin. He touched us. In fact, he became what we were, that we might be made what he was. And he said, I will. He didn't say be healed, he said be cleansed. And immediately, his leprosy was cleansed. Strange, isn't it, in the Old Testament, they went to the stream, they took living water, they bathed with leprosy, dealt with by water. No, in the Old Testament, it was exactly as it was here. It was a miracle. A miracle of God's grace. This one with whom leprosy had taken him from the top of his head to the sole of his feet, went to the stream, sacrifice was made, blood was shed, he was washed in the water of the blood, and the miracle happened. And so here, it's coming to the same one who did the miracle in the Old Testament, the Lord Jesus Christ, and immediately his leprosy is taken away. And he said, now don't advertise this and promote this until you have fulfilled all righteousness. Go to the priest. Let him declare you to be clean. Let him pronounce you so that the people will know that it has been done. They will accept you as having been a leper. And you must do everything that I prescribe in the law, because the Lord Jesus Christ, who is cleansing that leper, is the very same one who spoke to Moses and gave him the Levitical instruction. That we see. Christ our healer. But you must never disassociate salvation from sin from every other gift of God's grace. That is of paramount importance, and it is so given here. But in verses 5 to 13, we see the consideration of Christ. We pass from a miserable leper to a well-established and really outstanding Roman officer. Now both have faith in Christ. And in this they have in common. You see, faith takes different forms in different people, and it reflects the habits of mind of those in whom faith is shown. The faith that you express may not necessarily be as it will for me, and the faith that you express may differ from that of others. It always takes the character and the habits of mind of the person who is showing and exercising the faith. Now, this Roman officer's faith is based first on his human kindness. His kindness of heart. He is seeking nothing for himself, but he's troubled about his slave, his servant. Teaching us that God wants us to be as concerned about the needs of others as we are about our own neighbor, friends. I suppose that you, every person here, is in touch with someone who desperately needs Christ, but he needs to know Him, needs to meet Him. We all raise our eyes just a little at great healing pathways. I remember some years ago, I was in Florida, and I met a man who heard me speak, and he knew I was from the Christian Missionary Alliance, I was ministering down in Florida. And he came to see me after the service, and waiting right there, we sat down on the front view. He said, Brother Beanhead, I'd like to share. I said, why are you here, doctor? He told me the town of New England he was from. I said, why are you here? Why are you spending these weeks? He said, I'm a dentist. I make my living by hand. I've been a tither. I've been working in the church. I've been an elder in the church, and I knew the pastor in the church. And he said, arthritis has come into my hand, and I can't hold a forceps, and I can't do my work as a dentist. It's my only way of making a living. And I said, why have you come down here? Because so-and-so, and he gave the name of a nationally known, we would call them healing evangelist, is here with a meeting, and I am going every day for instruction, and each night, in the hopes that I'll be given the opportunity to be in the prayer. He said, I have nowhere else to turn. I sat there on that pew in front of this man, and tears started down my cheek, and I couldn't check. Because here was a man who was an elder in an outstanding evangelical church, that where the pastor had stood valiantly for the faith, and yet, among that company of people, was so little insight into the nature of Christ our healer, that this elder had to slip away, ostensibly on a vacation in Florida, so he could go down there to be in an environment where there was the possibility that his need could be met. He said, but why are you crying? And I said, oh, to think how the church has lost its Lord, lost sight of Him who is our healer. If there wasn't one person in that church, among that eldership, with those people, who like this centurion, would have gone to the Lord in behalf of this dear man, who was suffering such great loss, where obviously the enemy was attacking him at the plate of his strength of his ministry as a steward for God. Here is a centurion, and he's concerned. Oh, that there would have been some Roman centurion in that New England church, who could have gone in behalf of this dentist. He said, my servant, my brother is sick, and he needs to be delivered. You have someone in the scope of your acquaintance, and you are the one who can be to them the centurion. He doesn't just want you to come about your own need. This kindness is often the best preparation for faith. Selfishness is often cynical, and cynicism is always skeptical. But when you care about someone, and you're concerned about another, and then this centurion's faith is accompanied by humility. Christ is a Jew, and he is a Roman centurion. Wouldn't he find it hard not to despise a Jew? But this particular Roman seems to be emancipated from his racial prejudice. He's able to see the greatness of Christ, and he feels lowly and humble when he's beside Christ. He feels utterly unworthy. You see, he's been enlightened by his experience. He said he knew power. He exercised it. Go, and he goeth. Come, and he cometh. Do, and he does. And he believes in the irresistible power of Christ's command. He recognizes Christ's authority over nature. He recognizes his power over distance. And because of what he sees in Christ, there's something that Christ sees in him. He's recognized by Christ. A man who has none of the privileges of Israel, understands none of the promises of the Word, but this man has faith greater than any that he has found in Israel. When there's any faith, there's always response. And the servant is healed. Oh, what a charge this is to us. What an encouragement it should be to us that we should be centurions and be pleased to those about us. But in verses 14 and 15, you see the constancy of Christ. We saw his concern, his consideration for his constancy. It's been a long day, hasn't it? He's come down from the mount where he's delivered the sermon upon the mount, to the throng. He's been met by the leper. He's been dealing with the centurion. And now he goes to Peter's home to rest. Oh, to sit down. Oh, to lie down. Oh, to rest a moment. But when he gets into the home, he sees human need. And wherever the Lord Jesus goes and sees human need, need is concerned. And he's ready to put forth his power, his wretched trouble. Closing the door on Peter's house to the throng that followed him did not close the door on pain and trouble. They're not shut out at night. And Peter's association with Christ did not exclude illness in Peter's family. Service to Christ, you loving Christ and serving him, does not insure against your having trouble and problems. Apparently, Peter's home was near the swamps along the shore of Galilee. It's still there. They've been drained by Israel. It's no wonder. They were just bedded swamps. And the mosquitoes, malarial berry mosquitoes, were everywhere. So it wouldn't be at all surprising that Peter's mother would have had a fever. And if you've ever had malaria, But when the Lord Jesus comes into the house, he never went to a hotel. He always stayed with his friends. He wasn't like John the Baptist who wanted to go into the desert. He wanted to be with people. He still visits homes. He visits yours, though he doesn't seem to be present in the meal, in the conversation. We're delighted to meet him. We're also delighted to meet him in the silence of our own home. He likes to presence himself in our lives. So it was there. He was not invited into Peter's home to take care of us. And there was no secondary interest on the part of Peter to come. He wasn't there for that purpose. But when he's present and there's a need, he's always ready to help. And he saw the Mother of God. And he touched her. And he healed her. Immediately, she arose. The fever was gone. Her strength was returned. Not that period of recuperation and increases. Immediately, the Lord touched her and healed her. What did she do? She began to serve. We must understand that service should be the automatic outcome and outflow of healing and blessing from the Lord. Peter's wife's mother immediately sets about her tasks. Healing from the Lord ought to fit us. To serve the Lord. To glorify Him. Now, what's the conclusion? Let me see. That Christ is our healer. Is not that what Matthew saw? The crowd collects at the door of Peter's house. They've heard about the marvelous healing of Peter's wife's mother. And they come. He's there. The leper was healed. The centurion's servant is healed. Peter's wife's mother is healed. And there's a thong at the door. And the Lord Jesus. And when evening was come the same day, there brought unto Him many who were possessed with devils. And He cast out the spirits with His Word. And He healed all that were sick. We have details about the leper. And the details about the centurion's servant. And we have details about Peter's wife's mother. And we don't know who they were that were sick. They were healed. Why? The writer puts it very clearly. That it might be fulfilled. Which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet saying. Isaiah himself took on the table of the lepers. Why sin, regret, his body given are maintained. How fitting it is to this table. We should see it as it is indeed. The table of Christ our Savior. And we might see Him here in the midst of the canoes. This one Thou has glorified. Thou has given a name. It is above every name. Jesus Christ. God come and replace. Very God. Who Himself took. Who can cleanse us from this. The parable of the king of sin. Redeemer's vice poured out and cast. One day we'll return to them. We'll be resurrected in that day. We might serve Thee. Like through us. Satisfied that we treasure everything. And then we might be as the centurion's servant. Caring for others. And bringing them. Touch them. They might discover His love and His power. Nothing so prepares the way for the word concerning forgiveness of sins. As the evidence of the power of Christ. The healing of people. So to that end Father we ask Thee now. To bless us at this table. We remember Him. And see Him as He is. Amen. As we think of communion. We think of course. But when we remember that communion. The death of Christ. John 3.16 Tender love. His love is tender. His love is strong. Humble, bravely. He humbled himself. He became obedient. Early to death. Even to death through us. To communion. To tender love of Christ. Tender was love. So tender. Was love. So strong. Even in his serenity. His love for death. As his heart was breaking. As he loved. Was keeping us fighting. Because His love is strong. Kings of death. As tomorrow was told. As He reigns. He's still living. His love is strong. We will finish to His glory. His love is strong. As we continue our preparation for communion this morning. And as the whole service has been lending itself in preparation for that. Basis upon which Pyrrhus has been sharing with us. Is healing. Is found in the Atonement. That is one of the cardinal truths of the Old Testament. Salvation is found in that shed light. Also in Corinthians as we read. It talks about examining our own hearts. You can't examine mine. I can't examine yours. You don't really know what goes on within my heart and mind. You may think you do. But you really don't. But there is that precious blood that covers. I'd like you to take a few moments. If you could just prepare for the last moment. Number 512. We're going to sing an acapella. This is one of the songs that if you were to catch me driving down the road alone. I would proudly sing. Nothing but can wash away my sin. Nothing but the blood of Jesus. Let's stand together and sing one or two verses of this. Singing an acapella. While we're singing. Examining your own heart. And then we're going to take just a moment or two. For you to look into your own heart and your own life. The only thing we ask. Is that you know Jesus Christ is your personal Savior. You've done everything you know. To put it all under the blood of Jesus. What can wash away my sin? Nothing but the blood of Jesus. What can make me whole again? Nothing but the blood of Jesus. Oh precious is the flow. That makes me white as snow. No other. Nothing but the blood of Jesus. Verse four. This is all my hope and peace. Nothing but the blood of Jesus. This is all my righteousness. Nothing but the blood of Jesus. Oh precious is the flow. That makes me white as snow. No other fount I know. Nothing but the blood of Jesus. And as we remain standing for just a moment or two. For you and your own heart and life. I'm asking the Holy Spirit to just make sure your heart is clean. My faith appropriating all of those things. There in that perfected hand. You need that healing blood who's there to meet you. You need that cleansing blood who's there to forgive you. To remove those thought patterns and all that has come in through the past few days. You're clean and ready. Thank you Heavenly Father that you so love us. That you provided everything for us. Heavenly Father someday communion will be set aside. Because we'll be able to talk with you face to face. But Heavenly Father this time of communion is a sign for you to remind us that you love us so very much. As we prepare for this time this morning. As we prepare for the bread. The cotton. For that time of expression back to you. Every way we know how. For the deep emotions that flow within our hearts. At times this time. We don't even know about. But it's time for you Heavenly Father. To give them down upon us. Though we've never sinned. You provided everything for me. For the Christian life. So let's pray. Let us pray. As we wait for it. The air comes around the back. The bread. Every one of them is sent. The sin of us. The sufficiency of Christ. All of you. All the strength of Jesus Christ. All the strength you give to us. Heavenly Father we don't understand the mystery of it. But you don't call us to understand. You call us to accept our faith. In the sense of the faith of resurrection of Christ as our Lord. So we do it in this way. Embrace to our own hearts. To our lives. To our emotions. Let us give praise to the Father. Let us give thanks to the Father. Amen. For us. Freely you have received. Freely give. And our Lord would stop all that we give him. As we receive what he gives us. We must express it in our giving. To others. Shall we stand and sing. His admonition. For that we pray. Freely you have received. Freely give. I think we lost the music on this one. But I think we can sing it. I think. God forgave my sin. In Jesus' name. I've been born again. In Jesus' name. And in Jesus' name. I come to you. To share his love. And hold me too. He said freely, freely. You have received. Freely, freely give. By name and because you believe. Others will know that I live. Amen. Almighty and everlasting God. We thank you for assuring us. That we are living members of the body of your son. And heirs of your eternal kingdom. And now Father. Send us out to do the work you have given us to do. To love and serve you. As faithful witnesses of Christ our Lord. To him, to you. And to the Holy Spirit. Amen.