Back then when we were small kids, we used to see many beggars with leprosy waiting in the gates of the church begging for money, that picture has changed now, we don’t see that type of picture now a days prevalent today, thanks to the advanced medical treatments we have and praise God that he has saved us from this dreadful disease from all of us.
In the ancient world, leprosy was a terrible, destructive disease – and still is in some parts of the world. Leprosy beginnings with the loss of all sensation in some part of the body. The nerve trunks are affected, the muscles waste away, the tendons contract until the hands are like claws. Then it follows ulceration of the hands and feet. Then comes the progressive loss of fingers and toes, until in the end a whole hand or a whole foot may drop off. The duration of that kind of leprosy is anything from twenty to thirty years. It is a kind of terrible progressive death in which a man dies by inches.
Bible we see many instances where Jesus lends his hand to cure people with leprosy disease. One of such incident is in Luke 5:12-16
'While Jesus was in one of the towns, a man came along who was covered with leprosy. When he saw Jesus, he fell with his face to the ground and begged him, “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!” And immediately the leprosy left him. Then Jesus ordered him, “Don’t tell anyone, but go, show yourself to the priest and offer the sacrifices that Moses commanded for your cleansing, as a testimony to them.” ' Luke 5:12-14
Leprosy and Sin
It has been noticed by many that leprosy is a perfect picture of sin and its effects on a man. In its beginnings, its effects the nerves, it effects the face and body, and in its imposed isolation.
Beginnings of Leprosy
When leprosy first appears, it begins as little specks on the eyelids and the palms of the hands.
Jesus pointed out that, sin also is a disease that begins to manifest itself on the eyes and hands, Jesus says 'If your right eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. ' Matthew 5:29
Today’s christendom the preaching on Sin is less and more on blessing. We tend to keep sin under the wrap, many churches don’t talk about sin and its impacts spiritual life and our relationship with Jesus. Due to which Sin has become very common inside christendom, it’s a sad state on where we are heading in the last days.
Like leprosy Sin in our life starts with a small mistakes we make, a young brother peeking to see some obscene pictures leading to addition to ponography, a sister or a young girl starting a conversation with another male to comfort leading to lustful acts of adultery and sexual sin, a brother starting to have a beer at a party slowly drinking regularly leading to alcoholism.
Effects of Leprosy
Leprosy destroys nerves, leaving a person with no feeling, which leads to further injury. Sin, too, destroys the sensitivity of the nerves, and the sinner injures himself further because he has no ability to feel.
The small sins in life makes one person insensitive to Sin and also makes them numb to sin where they feel that there is nothing wrong with that type of behavior. Satan is a master of deception, for example idolatry he uses the common worldly things to justify the Sin. He uses earning more money as blessing and our race to get more money as justified as that was normal people do. I am not saying that a wrong thing, but there is a fine line to what we do is right vs. wrong. Going after money is not wrong as long as God directs to get that blessing, it becomes a Sin when our sole job in life is all about money and we keep other things (Integrity, righteous ways etc..) out to earn more for the sake of money.
If unchecked, leprosy spreads throughout the entire body, eating its way through all tissue. The face and different members of the body are attacked and gradually destroyed until the sufferer becomes a hideous spectacle, and literally falls to pieces. So too, the sinner. If unchecked, the effects of sin become evident on our faces, our hearts, and our lives. And we often hear about people who fall to pieces because of sin. A person who is addicted to alcoholism ruins his family and robs peace of the family. A person addicted to ponography ruins marriage and his family relationship leading to many cases of divorce.
Separation from others
The Old Testament Law said that leper was first to be isolated, then completely removed from God's people. 'As long as they have the disease they remain unclean. They must live alone; they must live outside the camp. 'Leviticus 13:46
So too with sin, at first, we become isolated from others, and as it runs its course, we become completely removed from our families, the church, and God's people.
Satan robs good people from our circles and isolates us to live a lonely life and life with Sinful people to commit more sin in this course.
How to get victory
How can we have victory over being infected by this disease of progressive decay of sins of our life ? As we read earlier Matt 5:29 Jesus told us to amputate that part of the body, he meant to cut the Sin from body. When sin rears its ugly head, cut it off. Get control over it. As soon as the speck of sin appears on our eyes or hands, it must be cut it off. Paul wrote that to have victory, we must be... 'We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. ' 2 Corinthians 10:5
But there have been many times we don’t do like what Jesus asks us to do. Instead of cutting it off immediately we neglect the sin as a small sin or justify that its not that bad of a sin comparing to others and justify God will save us with his grace as we are not exposed with the sin.
Slowly the Sin creeps to show on our faces, the evidence is on our bodies. But even worse is what it's done to our inside our heart. We suffer horribly from the effects of sin. We get progressively worse with this issues. Blame others for our issues, build Bitterness, Unforgiveness, Defeatedness, Residual hurts and repeating behaviours that we can't explain until we realize and recognise that they are the effects of our sin.
There is a delivering, a healing, and a cleansing from the effects of sin only from Jesus, outside Jesus there is no other way for a deliverance from Sin. You won't find it in a counselling, a seminar, or a psychologist. Cleansing in the same way the leper did - by the touch of Jesus Christ. Because this leper is a perfect picture of a man suffering from the effects of sin.
This sinner has come to Jesus Christ for help. If you want your Sins to be free and gone. There are four things we can learn from the beggar.
He Looked to Jesus
He begged Jesus
He Believed Jesus
He testified Jesus
1. Lookup to Jesus
Verse 12 tells us that first, “When he saw Jesus”. If we're to be cleansed from the effects of sin, those residual hurts and repeating behaviours, we must first see Jesus.
How and where can we see Jesus? Remember one Sunday morning when some women came to the tomb looking for Jesus? The angel told to them, "You're looking for Jesus of Nazareth....: Luke 24:5-6 "Why do you seek the living One among the dead? He is not here, but He has risen."
If you want to see Jesus, look up! Look up! In other words, get your eyes off the hurts, the circumstances, and the problems - and look up. Until you direct your focus towards Jesus, you cannot and will not be cleansed.
2. He Begged Jesus
So the first thing the leper did was “he saw Jesus”. The second was this: “he fell on his face to the ground and begged Jesus”
Have you seen a beggar, he cries out loud to get the attention of people to show mercy
Same way, we have to cry out , call on him, request him, plead to him earnestly. Fall on your face and ask for cleansing. We tend to do this act only when we get into issues and its impacting our life, normally we don’t cry out or call on Jesus when the sin is in the small form.
God knows all the sins of our life’s, he is patient and gives us some more time for us to repent and come to his ways. His patient is misunderstood that he will not act on the sin and we keep doing this sin more.
If you haven't asked yet, ask yourself why? "Why haven't I asked for relief from all this baggage? Why haven't I asked to be healed from these hurts? Why haven't I asked to be cleansed from the effects of sin?" Maybe we're afraid of how the Lord will cleanse us. Maybe we don't want to give up that bitterness, unforgiveness, and defeatedness. Whatever the reason is, it's not a good one - and it’s keeping you from your cleansing. There is such a simple solution: James told us... James 4:2 ...You do not have because you do not ask.
The leper begged earnestly to Jesus for cleansing.
3. He Believed in Jesus
So first, he sees Jesus, then he begged Jesus.
Now the third things the leper did was: He acknowledged that Jesus could make him clean. He had total faith in Jesus' ability to heal him. He had no doubts at all that statement, “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean” Jesus said: Matt. 21:22 "...All things you ask in prayer, believing, you shall receive."
That is the third step: believing. Unless you believe, you won't be expecting to receive. I find it very interesting that every leper (all thru the Bible) who was healed by Jesus first believed that Jesus could heal him. If you want to be cleansed of the effects of sin: those residual hurts and repeating behaviours, deep rooted sins (adultery, phonograph, alcoholism, drugs etc.. ), you must have faith in Christ that He is able to heal you.
'Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” he said. “Be clean!” And immediately the leprosy left him. ' Luke 5:13
Once he touches you he will get you the spirit of repentance to deliver from the Sin you are in bondage. Jesus will never condemn you for the sinful life you lead in the past, the repentance spirit will lead you to ask for forgiveness from Jesus. The forgiveness from God will make us “Be Clean”
He will not only make it clean, he will ensure the Sin does not enter again. Thats how God cleans our sins. He will not replay the sin of residual hurt or deep desires to come and torment us. He removes the sin from the root of it and make us free to lead a righteous life towards him. 'Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! ' 2 Corinthians 5:17
Having deliverance from Sin, does not mean we are immune from other sins of the world, we are prone to get new sins in our lives as devil is looking to trap us into new sin, so walk with Jesus daily to have sin at bay from your life.
4. Testimony to Jesus
After the person was cured of his leprosy / sin Jesus instructed the man to testify God 'Then Jesus ordered him, “Don’t tell anyone, but go, show yourself to the priest and offer the sacrifices that Moses commanded for your cleansing, as a testimony to them.” ' Luke 5:14
Think about it. When a wife-beating / drug addicted / alcoholism guy receives Christ and his life takes a complete 180-degree turn, and now he's loving his wife, rejecting the drugs and free from the clutches of alcohol, pornography and many more sins.. that's a testimony to the world - they can see that person's life has changed. His healing is a testimony to them.
Is your life a testimony? Is your life evidence of the new creature that God made you? this will glorify God on his power to cleanse us, this motivates other sinners to turn to God and be cleansed. Thats the power of testimony.
Summary
I don’t know what Sin holds your life back from the Joy that Lord has blessed, you may feel dejected with the Sin not knowing how to get a solution to the issue. All you need to do is to Look to Jesus and not the problem, Ask him with an earnest Prayer to touch him. His light will shine on you, the Sin will slowly move away from your life. Deliverance will come from Jesus. He will work his miracle to save you from the deep clutches of Sin no matter how deep and how bad it may be. He is the only one who can save us from Sin,as he has conquered the Sin for us in the Cross.
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