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Morning Message Text: Luke 5: 12-16
Jesus Heals a Man With Leprosy
12 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.”
13 Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” he said. “Be clean!” And immediately the leprosy left him.
14 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.”
15 Yet the news about him spread all the more, so that crowds of people came to hear him and to be healed of their sicknesses.
16 But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.
Morning Message:
Last week’s message was a call to action. Remember we talked about being filled with the Holy Spirit so that we could make a difference in the world for God’s kingdom. We have the ability to be filled with the Holy Spirit but sometimes sin stands in the way of that fullness that we need. This is important and that’s why I remind you of our need for confession on a regular basis.
Today I want to touch on some other things that we can do, and should do, in order to open ourselves up to the full indwelling of the Holy Spirit. I have three focus points that we to often overlook that can help us draw closer to God and open ourselves up to walk more fully in the Spirit.
The first, and I think the most overlooked, is SILENCE. It is easy to think that silence is awkward, or something must be wrong when things are too silent. But the truth is, solitude often frees up space to hear from God. Our scripture in Luke is something that I have preached many times before, but we always seem to focus on the details of the healing. There is something deeper and very important for us to pay attention to. The very last verse says, “But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.”
Parker Palmer, a Christian writer says this, “The soul speaks its truth only under quiet, inviting, and trustworthy conditions. The soul is like a wild animal, tough, resilient, savvy, self-sufficient and yet exceedingly shy.” He says, “If we want to see a wild animal, the last thing we should do is go crashing through the woods, shouting for the creature to come out. But if we are willing to walk quietly into the woods and sit silently for an hour or two at the base of a tree, the creature we’re waiting for may well emerge.” The Psalmist in Psalm 46: 1-3 says this, “God is my refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, even though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; though its waters roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with its swelling.” In verse 10 he says, “Be still, and know that I am God.” Find silence so you can hear God.
Today we spend too much time inside, removed from nature. Nature reflects God’s peace. PEACE is my second focus point today. Isaiah 55: 12 says, “For you shall go out with joy, and be led out with peace; the mountains and the hills shall break forth into singing before you, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.” I read this in my devotional this week. “Every single day millions of people play ocean sounds from their music streaming services for relaxation, sleep and ambient noise. The repetitive sounds of waves crashing and receding calm us. Psychologists have noticed that recurring ocean sounds resemble actual biological rhythms such as breathing and heartbeat patterns. The Lord has built these peaceful patterns into His creation for our benefit.” I find it amazing that the more I discover about nature the more I see God’s hand in creation.
Now it’s true that nature was diminished by Adam’s sin in Genesis 3. Weeds now grow naturally while crops must be cultivated. Natural disasters occur. But the genius of God’s creative ability still shines through. What restoring, refreshing moments we experience when we sit in the sunshine, gaze across a mountain vista, or even hear the birds chirping! Being outdoors is good for us physically and mentally and spiritually. There’s value to sitting on the porch or patio watching the sunrise or sunset. It can be therapy for the soul and bring us to a place of peace where we can more easily hear God.
How many of you have ever attended a church camp? A number of years ago the ministers in the ministerium in Dawson and Vanderbilt decided that we would have a weekend retreat in the mountains, so we arranged for a weekend retreat at Jumonville. The cabins were kind of primitive, the beds were hard, the mosquitoes and the bugs were relentless. But there’s something about being in the woods or camping in the mountains that often opens our hearts to the Lord. There is a rest that your soul seems to get from the quiet undisturbed calm that is hard to explain, but you can feel your soul being renewed as if God is breathing life back into it. God designed us for times of REST so that we could be filled with the Spirit.
Martin Luther said, “God writes his gospel, not in the Bible alone, but in trees, and flowers, and clouds, and stars.” As I told you last week there is a great need for energized, spirit filled Christians in our world today, but first you need, we all need, to regularly experience God in order to be filled with the Holy Spirit. When was the last time you just sat in SILENCE before God, allowed his wonderful PEACE to wash over you, and actually felt REST in your soul? God’s Word is essential. So is prayer, But, even our Savior got away from the noise; He withdrew to a lonely place, a place where He could find SILENCE, PEACE, and REST. If Jesus needed this, how much more do we?
In Christ’s Love and Peace,
Pastor Bob
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