A soldier was wounded in a battle and ordered to the nearest military hospital. Arriving at the entrance, he saw two doors: one marked “For Minor Wounds,” the other “For Serious Wounds.”
He entered the first door and walked down a long hallway. At the end of the hall, he saw two more doors. The first read “For Officers,” the other “For Enlisted Men.” The soldier went through the second door.
Again, he found himself walking down a long hallway with two doors at the end. One read “For Party Members,” the other “For Non-Party Members.” The wounded soldier took the second door and found himself back out on the street.
When he got back to his unit, his buddies asked, “How'd your trip to the hospital go?”
“The people really didn't help me much,” he said, “but, man, are they organized!” (Andy Cook, “The Search for God's Own Heart,” Men of Integrity, March/April 2005; www.Preaching Today.com)
Organization is a good thing, but sometimes it can get in the way of helping real people with real needs. Now, that’s especially true if the organization has been around a while. Studies show that after a church has been around for more than 10 years, it begins to lose its vision and focuses more on maintaining the organization.
So how do we keep from doing that here at Faith Bible Church? How do we keep on ministering to the real needs of real people especially as we move well into the second decade of our ministry here? How do we continue to minister in such a way that hurting people find true healing and lives are transformed for eternity?
Well, if you have your Bibles, I invite you to turn with me to Mark 1, Mark 1, where we see Jesus doing just that in the context of 1500 years of religious tradition.
Mark 1:40-42 A man with leprosy came to him and begged him on his knees, “If you are willing, you can make me clean.” Filled with compassion, Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” he said. “Be clean!” Immediately the leprosy left him and he was cured. (NIV)
Jesus touched the untouchable, despite 1500 years of religious tradition. The Mosaic law made it very clear. Lepers could not come near anyone. And if anyone came near them, they were to shout, “Unclean! Unclean!” so people would stay away. Lepers lived outside the towns and villages all by themselves, all alone.
They were untouchable, but Jesus dared to touch the untouchable. As that leper approached Him, perhaps in the early morning half-light, Jesus would have known he was a leper just from the smell. Lepers were not allowed to bathe, and their appearance was unmistakable. Even so, Jesus didn’t turn away. When that leper approached our Lord and begged, “If you are willing, you can make me clean,” Jesus didn’t scold him for not shouting, “Unclean!” No. Jesus reached out and touched him. It was probably the first touch this man had had in years!
Filled with compassion, Jesus touched the untouchable and cured the incurable. Then, in accordance with religious tradition, Jesus sent the man back to the priest.
Mark 1:43-44 Jesus sent him away at once with a strong warning: “See that you don’t tell this to anyone. But go, show yourself to the priest and offer the sacrifices that Moses commanded for your cleansing, as a testimony to them.” (NIV)
This is what the Mosaic Law required. When a leper was cured of his disease, the first thing the law required him to do was go to a priest, who would certify him clean and welcome him back into the community. That’s what Jesus told the cured leper to do.
Mark 1:45 Instead he went out and began to talk freely, spreading the news. As a result, Jesus could no longer enter a town openly but stayed outside in lonely places. Yet the people still came to him from everywhere. (NIV)
That’s because Jesus really cared for people. He didn’t ignore the traditions of His day. He just didn’t let them keep Him from reaching out to people. He touched the untouchable and cured the incurable. And that’s what we must do, if we’re going to meet the real needs of real people in our day. Like Jesus, we must…
TOUCH THE UNTOUCHABLE.
Like Jesus, we must reach out to those nobody else wants to touch. Like Jesus, we must have the compassion to get close to those everybody else shuns. That may include the homosexual with AIDS. That may include the odd person the rest of the community avoids. That may include the child who is a real discipline problem. We don’t have to ignore our procedures and traditions, but we cannot let those procedures keep us from touching real people with real needs.
Rebecca O’Connor is a pediatric nurse at the New York Presbyterian hospital. Several years ago, she felt compelled to do something when she first saw “the horrific images of the Asian tsunami disaster.” So she flew to Sri Lanka, along with eight other medical professionals, for a two-week medical-relief trip.
Arriving in Sri Lanka, they traveled through 150 miles of destruction before arriving in a downtown area that had been completely devastated. Setting up their clinic in a downtown Sri Lankan mosque, they saw 40 to 100 patients every shift. Respiratory problems and foot and leg wounds caused by stepping on debris when wading through water were the most common ailments treated.
O’Connor and the others soon discovered they were less than a mile away from a local hospital and another large clinic. She questioned a Sri Lankan friend, “Why are people coming to us?”
The friend said, “Because at the hospital someone asks, ‘Name? Age? Complaint?’ and then gives them a sheet of paper and tells them to go wait somewhere. You sit them down, ask them what’s wrong and treat them. You listen to them.”
Rebecca O’Connor summed it up: “It seemed that the most valuable therapy we were providing had nothing to do with antibiotics or wound care. By listening to story after heart-breaking story, admiring pictures of families once happy and healthy, and playing soccer with children who lost everything, we were able to say, ‘We care about you, and we share in your grief,’ without speaking a word.” (Rebecca O'Connor, “They Needed to Know the World Cared,” Newsweek, 2-14-05, p. 18; www. PreachingToday.com)
Often, that’s all we need to do to minister in such a way that hurting people find true healing. We just need to care. We just need to listen. We just need to get close to those who are hurting, especially those nobody else wants to touch.
If we want to meet the real needs of real people, then like Jesus, we must touch the untouchable. More than that, like Jesus, we must…
FORGIVE THE UNFORGIVABLE.
We must divorce people from their sin, and oet God cancel the debt of those who are suffering because of their sin. That’s what Jesus did for a paralyzed man. He cancelled his sin, which had paralyzed him for years.
Mark 2:1-4 A few days later, when Jesus again entered Capernaum, the people heard that he had come home. So many gathered that there was no room left, not even outside the door, and he preached the word to them. Some men came, bringing to him a paralytic, carried by four of them. Since they could not get him to Jesus because of the crowd, they made an opening in the roof above Jesus and, after digging through it, lowered the mat the paralyzed man was lying on. (NIV)
Like many Palestinian dwellings, this house probably had an outside stairway leading to a flat roof. The roof itself was composed of grass, clay, tiles and laths, so it was just a matter of digging through the dirt, removing the tiles and laths, and lowering the man down with some fishing ropes (readily available in that fishing village).
Mark 2:5 When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven.” (NIV)
Again, Jesus demonstrates His love by calling him “son,” a term of affection; and He tells the paralyzed man, “Your sins are forgiven.” Literally, “You sins are dismissed, departed, gone, cancelled.” The word is actually used in 1 Corinthians 7 to describe “divorce” (1 Corinthians 7:11,12,13). And in the Greek translation of the Old Testament, the word is used in Deuteronomy to describe the cancelling of a loan or debt (Deuteronomy 15:2). In other words, Jesus tells this man, “You are divorced from your sins, and your sin-debt is cancelled. In other words, you owe God nothing for your sin.”
Mark 2:6-7 Now some teachers of the law were sitting there, thinking to themselves, “Why does this fellow talk like that? He’s blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?” (NIV)
Do you know they’re absolutely right. Only God has the right to cancel the sin-debt, because our sin is always against Him.
Mark 2:8-9 Immediately Jesus knew in his spirit that this was what they were thinking in their hearts, and he said to them, “Why are you thinking these things? Which is easier: to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up, take your mat and walk’? (NIV)
Of course, it would be much easier for Jesus to say “Your sins are forgiven,” because nobody could prove whether or not the man’s sins were indeed forgiven.
Mark 2:10-12 But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins….” He said to the paralytic, “I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home.” He got up, took his mat and walked out in full view of them all. This amazed everyone and they praised God, saying, “We have never seen anything like this!” (NIV)
“Jesus backed up His word of forgiveness with a word of healing, and the man went home whole” (Wiersbe). Now, by this action, Jesus demonstrates that He is indeed God, who alone has the authority (i.e., the right and the power) to forgive sins.
Even though it’s not always the case, this man’s sickness was the result of his own sin. And many people would probably say to a man like this, “You made your own bed, now you have to lie in it.” In other words, many people would be content to let this man suffer the consequences of his own actions without doing anything to ease the suffering.
Not Jesus! Because of the faith of this man’s friends, Jesus cancels his sin and raises him from a bed of his own making. In other words, Jesus not only takes away the sin; He takes away the suffering that was caused by that man’s sin.
Jesus completely divorced this man from his own sin, and that’s what we must do if we’re going to meet the real needs of real people. Now, we ourselves cannot cancel people’s sin-debt like God. But in our own minds we can divorce (or separate) people from their sins and love the sinner without loving their sin. We can, like Jesus, love people whose sin is destroying them and try to ease their suffering a little.
Tim Brown, a pastor in Clovis, California, talks about how this worked for him when he was having lunch in McDonald’s with his daughter and mother-in-law. They were enjoying a pleasant conversation when a man, with his wife and children, plopped down at a nearby table. The man was someone who in the past had hurt Pastor Tim in the past, wounding him badly. They faked pleasantries and exchanged hellos, but Tim could feel his blood begin to boil at the thought of what that man had done to him. He was surprised that he still felt so much hurt.
Pastor Tim and his family gobbled down their food and on the way out of the restaurant, Tim overheard his “enemy” and his wife arguing because neither had any money to purchase the food they had ordered. Their three kids were screaming for their Happy Meals. The couple was embarrassed. Pastor Tim’s first thought was, “Praise God, there is justice in this world. He deserves every bit of embarrassment he's feeling, and I'm so glad I got to see this.”
Then God spoke to Tim about the text he had read that morning. “Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written: ‘It is mine to avenge; I will repay,’ says the Lord. On the contrary: If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink” (Romans 12:17-20).
Tim knew he had a choice to make. He could either obey God or bask in his bitterness. Somewhat reluctantly, Tim chose to obey. He reached into his wallet, pulled out $20, and gave it to this man who had been his enemy.
“Have lunch on me,” Tim said with tears in his eyes, as God healed him from years of pain. (Tim Brown, Clovis, California; www.PreachingToday.com)
There are people who deserve what they have coming to them. They are suffering because of their own poor choices. Even so, Jesus wants to reach out to them through us. He wants to forgive their sin and heal their pain.
Maybe that’s where you’re at today. You know you are in pain because of some poor choices you made. Please, let us your friends introduce you to Jesus who wants to take away your sin and its pain. He died to pay the price for all of our sins. Your sin debt was cancelled by Christ Himself on the cross. Then three days later He rose again, and now he offers you release from your sin and its pain.
All you have to do is trust Him with your life. Won’t you do that this morning? Just call upon the Lord and ask Him to deliver you from the sin which is destroying you. Ask Him to set you free, and He will!
And my friends, let’s make sure we release people from their sins, as well. Let’s make sure we do what we can to alleviate their pain even if it is the result of their own sin.
For if we’re going to meet the real needs of real people, then like Jesus, we must touch the untouchable. We must forgive the unforgivable; and finally, like Jesus, we must…
BEFRIEND THE DESPICABLE.
Like Jesus, we must eat with the enemy and associate with those we might find abhorrent and repulsive. You see, Jesus invites such to follow him.
Mark 2:13-14 Once again Jesus went out beside the lake. A large crowd came to him, and he began to teach them. As he walked along, he saw Levi son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax collector’s booth. “Follow me,” Jesus told him, and Levi got up and followed him. (NIV)
Jesus is still in Capernaum, which was an important stop on a trade route coming from the east and going west to the Mediterranean Sea. There was a toll booth there where everybody who passed by had to pay a toll. Only there were no fixed rates like we have on our toll ways today. The man in the toll booth, called a “tax collector” would arbitrarily determine the tax (or toll) each traveler had to pay. First, he would force people to unload all their pack animals, open every package, dump the contents out, and even open every private letter. Then, he’d look at the goods they were carrying, the number of people in the party, the number of animals, the number of axles or wheels on their carts, the number of bridges they crossed, the number of roads they traveled, the length of their shoelaces, the number of pins in their hair, and whatever else he could think of to determine the toll they would have to pay. The tax collector was ingenious for inventing all kinds of taxes.
He was a notorious swindler. The Roman Government required a certain sum of money from each of their tax collectors every so often, but they always collected more than the Roman Government required and pocketed the difference. They overcharged. They brought false charges of smuggling to extort hush money. Basically, they took advantage of the system to get rich.
But worst of all, these tax collectors were normally Jews who were collecting tolls for the Roman government. Therefore, the Jews treated them like traitors. The whole community, Jew and Gentile alike, classed them with the worst of men, with murderers and thieves. The tax collector was disqualified to be a witness in a court of law. He was excommunicated from the synagogue, and his family was disgraced in the eyes of the community.
And yet this was the kind of man Jesus invited to follow Him! As you can imagine, this created quite a scandal in that little town. But worse than that, Jesus eats with the tax collector and all his “sinner” friends!
Mark 2:15-16 While Jesus was having dinner at Levi’s house, many tax collectors and “sinners” were eating with him and his disciples, for there were many who followed him. When the teachers of the law who were Pharisees saw him eating with the “sinners” and tax collectors, they asked his disciples: “Why does he eat with tax collectors and ‘sinners’?” (NIV)
You see, sharing a meal together was an expression of friendship. They were not only sharing food, they were sharing their very lives with each other. Jesus was including these “sinners” in his circle of friends, and they were including Him! That’s why the religious leaders were so incensed. They would never think of doing such a thing. In fact, their traditions forbade them from eating with the common people, “the people of the land” as they called them. And they certainly wouldn’t eat with a notorious sinner! But Jesus did! And on hearing their complaints, Jesus said to them…
Mark 2:17 On hearing this, Jesus said to them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” (NIV)
What good is a doctor who doesn’t spend any time with sick people? And how in the world can Jesus save sinners if He doesn’t get close to them? Jesus befriended the despicable, and He wants us to do the same.
In his book, The Kingdom of God Is a Party, Tony Campolo talks about an experience he had late one night in Hawaii. He was in one of those sleazy places that deserves the name “greasy spoon.” The fat guy behind the counter came over and asked him, “What d'ya want?”
Tony Campolo ordered some coffee and a donut, and while he was sitting there at 3:30 in the morning, to his discomfort, in marched 8 or 9 rowdy prostitutes. Their talk was loud and crude, and he felt completely out of place. He was just about to make his exit when he overheard the woman beside him say, “Tomorrow's my birthday. I'm going to be 39.”
When Tony heard that, he made a decision. Instead of leaving, he sat and waited until the women had left. Then he called over the fat guy behind the counter, and asked him, “Do they come in here every night?”
“Yeah!” he answered.
“The one right next to me, does she come here every night?”
“Yeah!” he said. “That's Agnes. Yeah, she comes in here every night. Why d'ya wanta know?”
And then Tony Campolo told him, “I heard her say that tomorrow is her birthday,” and he suggested that they throw a birthday party for her. He promised to return at 2:30 the next morning and decorate the place. The man and his wife, the cook, liked the idea and decided to bake a birthday cake.
So at 2:30 the next morning, Tony Campolo was back at the diner. He had picked up some crepe-paper and had made a sign out of big pieces of cardboard that read, “Happy Birthday, Agnes!” Word must have gotten out on the street, because by 3:15 every prostitute in Honolulu was in the place.
At 3:30 on the dot, the door of the diner swung open, and in came Agnes and her friend, and they all screamed, “Happy birthday!” Agnes was stunned. Her mouth fell open. Her legs began to buckle, and her friend grabbed her arm to steady her. As she was led to sit on one of the stools along the counter, they all sang “Happy Birthday” to her. Then they brought out the birthday cake, and that’s when Agnes just lost it and openly cried.
Unable to compose herself, she excused herself and went home with the cake. When the door closed, there was a stunned silence in the place, and Tony Campolo, not knowing what else to do, broke the silence by saying, “What do you say we pray?”
So he prayed for Agnes, and when he was finished, Harry, the fat man behind the counter, leaned over and with a trace of hostility in his voice, he said, “Hey! You never told me you were a preacher. What kind of church do you belong to?”
Tony replied, “I belong to a church that throws birthday parties for whores at 3:30 in the morning.”
Harry waited a moment and then almost sneered as he answered, “No you don't. There's no church like that. If there was, I'd join it. I'd join a church like that!” Well, that’s the kind of church Jesus came to create – a church that throws birthday parties for whores at 3:30 in the morning. (Tony Campolo, The Kingdom of God Is a Party, Word, 1990)
My dear friends, if we want to meet the real needs of real people, then like Jesus we must touch the untouchable, we must forgive the unforgivable, and we must befriend the despicable.
Reach out and touch a soul that is hungry;
Reach out and touch a spirit in despair;
Reach out and touch a life torn and dirty,
A man who is lonely – if you care!
Reach out and touch that neighbor who hates you;
Reach out and touch that stranger who meets you;
Reach out and touch the brother who needs you;
Reach out and let the smile of God touch through you. (Charles F. Brown)
