Have you ever noticed something on your skin that just didn’t seem quite right? Something that seems to a bit out of place, you know something that didn’t seem to be there at first and now you noticed it? It seems as though it might just be some strange acne, or a rash of some sort.
The problem here is that it started spreading pretty quickly. And in our society, there was no tolerance once word got out that a white spot had been discovered on your skin. So it began in my life as a leper. I was isolated from my family and friends. Cast out of the city limits to live in this village with other lepers. So I question myself like how am I ever going to get well in this environment? I’m surrounded by the very thing that I’m trying to get free from.
Pray for me because I’m kind of upset because every time that I go into to town, I had to call out, leper, leper, leper. I always thought that was dumb for me too had to announce my illness when there were others that had some sickness that they didn’t announce. I didn’t think that it was necessary because everyone knew who the lepers were. In this small community kind of like your city here in Jackson, the word
got around fast especially whenever something bad would happen.
I’m sorry I didn’t mean to get off of the subject but it was really just one more act of humiliation to go through, for me to make this announcement night and day to people who already knew.
I know this sounds a pretty miserable. At least most of my leper friends thought so. In fact, most of them had pretty much thrown in the towel, and had given up. It was just a matter of time until fingers, toes, and ears started falling off, it would not long before their complete demise was about to happen and there was no reason to even believe that life will ever get any better. It was a rapid, downhill slide to death.
But I’ve got to tell you not for me. I’ve always been the eternal optimist. So when I heard that there was a man moving through the countryside. A man with supernatural powers, a man who some were even saying might be the very son of God. I kept hope alive. I said that it would take a great strategy, but if I played my cards right, I just might be able to get close enough to Him, and I know that He could make this whole skin problem disappear.
So one day I heard that he is giving a sermon where he was sitting up on the side of some mountain, just a preaching away. And you know how that works. The people who were attending were just looking at the preacher during the sermons. I mean it was like people weren’t paying any attention, someone could walk right into the back of them
and none of them would even notice. And that was my plan.
As he was preaching, I moved in. And when he finished, I knew my opportunity was upon me. He started heading down the mountain, and this great mass of people turned as he went by, so I fell in line with him, and I began moving with him. I mean he was right there, I could’ve fainted but I knew it was now or never.
So I broke through the crowd, ran right toward him, and began worshipping him. Some of the people around him must have thought I was crazy. But what else could I do. This was the son of God standing right in front of me. Can you think of anything more logical to do than worship him? I couldn’t. So I worshiped him. And as I worshiped him, my faith welled up within me, and I looked at him, and just like Matthew tells you in his record of what happened that day, I said, “Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.”
I knew it was that simple. I knew that if he wanted me to be clean, it was a done deal.
So,check out what he did. He reached out his hand, and touched me. I know that this probably is no big deal to you, because you get touched all the time. I used to watch people touch each other all of the time and they was laugh and would have a good time, and I would think man, what I wouldn’t give for someone to be willing to shake my hand, give me a high five. Gently of course, because remember I was still a leper. And then it happens.
Jesus did it, He touched me. And then he said, “I am willing, be cleansed.” And it was gone. It was not some slow retraction. Not some three week of a diminishing cure. I mean, it was gone. Not in three days you were going to be healed after you have got my money and gone and I’ll never see you again, nawwww it happen right then and there.
Boyyyy I’ll tell you that I learned an important lesson that day. I learned that if you want to see a miracle in your life. If you want to see God do something that will blow your mind. Take your focus off yourself, and put it on him. For me, the mindset for a miracle is a mindset that worships with anticipation.
So here’s the deal. I live in a town called Capernaum. I am a Centurion. Pretty cool job. I’ve got plenty of authority. Plenty of soldiers that have to do what I say. I’m paid pretty well. We definitely aren’t in the poor house. I have a nice chariot. It’s a sweet ride. Alloy rims, those wheel covers that spin even when you stop. It’s a good life. We have always done pretty well. I even have my own servants.
And I have got a soft side too, and there are a couple of these servants that have serve in my house who I’ve kind of grown close to. They work hard, and they take care of my family. I’ve have no reason to wish ill upon them.
But I got a little disturbed when one of them started looking not so good. I gave him a few days off. I gave him some time to rest up and get better. But he didn’t. In fact, he got worse. He got so bad, that the illness progressed to paralysis. He couldn’t move. And it wasn’t that I was being put out by not having him working around the house. No big deal because I can get another servant. But I felt for this guy. He was being so tormented by this illness, and no human should have to go through that. Something had to be done.
Well, wouldn’t you know it, look who came into our humble little town, it’s Jesus. Well, the way I got it figured, problem solved. I knew he would have the answer. So I went and told him about my servant’s condition. Well, he didn’t even hesitate. Jesus was ready to come to my house and heal him. But I figured, why you don’t have to do all of that Jesus, you are Jesus. You are the man. You don’t need to come to my house. So I said to Jesus, Jesus, you just say the word, and I know my servant will be healed.
So he did, and he was. But this is what really perplexes me. I had only heard a few rumors about Jesus, but I had heard enough to believe.
You all have years and decades, and centuries of his miraculous moving, recorded for you, right in front of you. But you still don’t get it. You still don’t see the simplistic nature of how Jesus works.
I knew back then, and it’s still true for you all today, Centurion or not, if you just develop a mindset for miracles which believes that Jesus has the answer and that Jesus has the power. The rest is up to him. If you don’t believe me, wait here, I’ll get my servant. He’ll convince you. But you must have a mindset for a miracle.
He had just preached this awesome sermon on the mountain. He had just been mobbed by this crazy, worshiping leper man that he healed just like that. Then came this centurion who had a sick servant, a slave of all things and Jesus just said the word and the servant was made well. Jesus never even saw him, Jesus never went to the house, he just said the word. I mean, he’s healing people that aren’t even in front of him.
So I should have know that when he walked in my house and saw my wife’s mother, that something was about to happen. You see, she had been down for some time with a fever. It was really a strange turn of events. Usually when she and I were in the same room together, I was the one that started feeling not so good. But there she is, sweating bullets, shaking one minute with chills, and burning up at the same time with fever; I tell you that some bad stuff going on.
But this was No biggie for Jesus. Check this out. He looks at her, walks over to her, reached down to take her hand, and the minute he touches her hand, the fever is gone.
But it was what happened next that really turned the light bulb on for me. She jumped right off the bed, and went straight to work serving all of us. Cooking, cleaning, making us all comfortable. The more I thought about it, was really no surprise. That’s just who she was. From the time I started dating her daughter, she would treat me like her own son. In fact, she treated everyone that way. I guess she had, what you all refer to now as, a servant’s heart.
And it got me to thinking about the humble little leper man. The centurion guard with all this authority and power, but yet he approached Jesus in such a submissive manner on behalf of his servant, and then my mother-in-law was healed at just a touch. It got me to thinking. Maybe this is part of how this whole thing works. Maybe part of having a mindset for the miraculous is to live with a servant’s heart.
In fact, I decided to watch him as we left the house and went out into the surrounding area’s. And sure enough, time and time again, Jesus capitalized on the opportunity to heal people who had this humble, servant’s heart. For those with that mindset, who has a servant’s heart. They really seemed to be ready for the miraculous.
You see, what I’m trying to tell you is if you have this mindset for the miracle, God is waiting on you.
Ask your neighbor do you have a made of mind?
I don’t know about you but my mind is made up, my heart is fixed, and I’m looking for my miracle.
Before I leave you all there is one other person that I want to tell you all about. He’s from the west side of Chicago family didn’t have much but the Lord still was good to, he went through some trials and tribulations some ups and some diamonds some heartaches and pain but he still was looking for a miracle.
Some days he didn’t think he was going to make it some days he thought he was just going to give up, but he was looking for miracle. But he kept looking for a miracle.
One day the Lord saved him, some days fell by the wayside, up the Lord lifted him up. Some days he went astray, but the Lord brought him back, and if you still don’t know what a miracle looks like, you are looking at one right in from of you.
He saved me
He blessed me
He kept me
When I feel alone he is my company keeper
When I feel discouraged, he encourages me
He died for me, but then he got up for me
He my savior
He my guide
He my love
He is my everything
He makes my miracle happen
Do you know him
If you don’t his name is Jesus
Somebody call his name, say Jesus.
