Go back to Mark chapter 1 with
me. Mark chapter 1, this is a wonderful,
wonderful story. Let's read verses 29 to 31. when they were come out of the
synagogue. They entered into the house of
Simon and Andrew with James and John. But Simon's wife's mother
lay sick of a fever. And Anon, they tell him of her. And he came and took her by the
hand and lifted her up And immediately the fever left her and she ministered
unto them. That's good, isn't it? That's
just all good news, isn't it? I kept singing while I was studying
this. I read the text and I read the
text and I kept singing. And there were quite a few songs
that I couldn't get out. You know how songs get stuck
in your head and you can't get them out of your head? There
was some songs going over and over in my mind every time I
read that. He lifted me out of the deep
miry clay. He settled my feet in a straight,
narrow way. He lifted me up to a heavenly
place and floodeth my soul each day with his grace. Isn't that
what he's done for all of us? He lifted us up. Once my soul was astray from
the heavenly way. I was wretched and vile as could
be. But my Savior in love gave me
peace from above when he reached down his hand for me. When Christ
Jesus reached down for me. When he reached way down for
me. I was lost and undone without
God's precious son when he reached out his hand for me. That's my
testimony. If I was going to give a testimony,
that's what it would be. I was a dead man in a cesspool
of sin, but God had mercy on me. He looked at me. He chose me. And of his own will
he reached down his hand and he lifted me out. There's one song in particular
that perfectly fits this message. Absolutely perfectly fits this
message. He lifted me. From shades of
night to planes of light, oh praise his name, he lifted me. This account, this story of Peter's
mother-in-law, is in Matthew, Mark, and Luke, three of the
Gospels. And I read it first in Mark.
I was going through, you know, the next set of verses here in
Mark, and I read it there, and then I read it over in Luke,
and then I read it in Matthew. And here's what I noticed as
I read each of the accounts. Mark showed the compassion of
our Lord. That's what did all this in the
first place. Did he have to? No. Does God
have to save anybody? No. Do you know that? God did not have to save one
soul. Well, he would be lonely if he
didn't. No, he wouldn't. He is the self-sufficient one. Those three are one. And those
three are all they need. He didn't have to save anybody.
We were all dead in sin. We all possessed this sickness,
this rebellion, and he could have left us to ourselves. You
know why he reached down and lifted her up? Compassion. That's why. Compassion. Mark
showed the compassion of the Lord. The way he handled every
bit of this was in such love, such tenderness. And then I noticed
that Luke showed the authority of our Lord. The power. What happened right here was
with absolute power. There was no option here. It was done with compassion,
but it was done with command. Absolute command. And then I
read Matthew's account, and I saw the sacrifice of our Lord. A compassionate, all-powerful
substitute at work. That's what we see here. Because
Jesus Christ came to Peter's house. This is all because Jesus
Christ came to Peter's house. this poor sick woman, his mother-in-law,
was lifted. Now just listen to the words
of this song, He Lifted Me. First, listen to the compassion.
Alright? In loving kindness, Jesus came. My soul in mercy to reclaim. And from the depths of sin and
shame, through grace, He lifted me. All right, now listen to
the authority. He called me long before I heard,
before my sinful heart was stirred. But when I took him at his word,
forgiven, he lifted me. Now listen to the sacrifice. His brow was pierced with many
a thorn. His hands by cruel nails were
torn. When from my guilt and grief,
forlorn in love, he lifted me. From sinking sand, he lifted
me. With tender hand, he lifted me. From shades of night to planes
of light, oh praise his name, he lifted me. I want us to see
all three of those. in this precious account. Lord willing, we're going to
close this by singing that song. First, the compassion. Look at
verse 29. And forthwith, when they were
come out of the synagogue, they entered into the house of Simon
and Andrew with James and John. Is it not great love and compassion
and humbleness that the mighty God of heaven would come into
a house and be entertained by sinners. Can you believe he did
that? Can you believe he did that?
We have nothing to compare that to. We have nothing to compare
that humility, that condescension that he would walk into a sinner's
house and be entertained. by sinners. Look with me over
at Luke chapter 15. Luke 15 verse 1 says, Then drew
near unto him all the publicans and sinners for to hear him.
You know who will draw not to the Lord Jesus Christ. You know
who will come to Christ? Sinners, publicans and sinners. Verse two, in the Pharisees and
the scribes murmured saying, this man receiveth sinners and
he eats with them. He eats with them. Man, that
is, that's wonderful news. what love and compassion that
he would be numbered with the transgressors. That centurion
had it right. He said, Lord, I am not worthy
that thou shouldest come under my roof. I'm not worthy. You know what the good news of
the gospel is? He does not come to the worthy. He did not come
for the worthy. He will be entertained by all
who are unworthy. He will be in the presence of
unworthy sinners. If there are any unworthy sinners
in here, that's good news. The Lord Jesus Christ will come
to your house. Zacchaeus, I'm coming to your
house. I want the Lord to come to my house. I really do. I want
the Lord to come into this house right here. numbered with the transgressors.
Back over in Mark chapter 1 verse 29 says, And forthwith, when they were
come out of the synagogue, they entered into the house of Simon
and Andrew with James and John. But Simon's wife's mother lay
sick of a fever. And anon, they tell him of her. That word anon means soon, shortly,
directly. It was, as the scripture would
say, straightway, but after a short moment of time, after a short
moment of time. I can envision our Lord walking
into this house with those four men. And Peter greets his wife. And he greets the rest of the
family that's in the house. And then they introduce the family
to the Lord. This is Jesus of Nazareth. How'd you like for that to happen?
That poor woman had no idea God just walked into the house. And Peter is checking on his
mother-in-law. They're all asking, how's she
doing? Is she any better? Oh, she's sick. All this time,
the Lord is standing right over here patiently waiting. Now, this is the God of glory, the highest king of heaven. And
He's about to show that glory through a miracle. He knows what
He's about to do. But in love and in tenderness,
He patiently lets them tell Him about this woman. He listens
to them. They fill Him in on the details. This is what's going on. This
is the all-knowing God. And anon they tell him of her. Verse 30 says, But Simon's wife's
mother lay sick of a fever, and anon they tell him of her. This ought to show us the great
importance of bringing our loved ones before the Lord. Tell him
of them. Tell him. Well, we're about to
see in Luke that she was very sick, very sick, that can't move
kind of, you know, that flu, that deep flu where you just
are sick, no energy, no strength, the verge of death. Verse 31
says, and he came. She couldn't come to him. And
you know, that's how it is with every single man and woman on
earth. We cannot come to Jesus Christ that we might have life.
We will not come to Jesus Christ that we might have life. Well,
I've decided to accept Jesus. That is not possible. Nowhere
in the word of God does it say, accept the Lord Jesus Christ.
They received him, but we don't accept him. He came. She couldn't come to Him. He
had to come to her. And that's what God had to do
for me. That's what God had to do for you. That's what God is
going to have to do for every sinner that He calls. He's going
to have to come to them. Verse 31, And He came and took
her by the hand. And if we could enter into that,
can you imagine what that felt like? Can you imagine what that
felt like? You know what it feels like when
somebody touches you, they touch you on your shoulder. Can you
imagine, here she is laying there and Jesus Christ of Nazareth
walks up and he eases his hand under her hand. Virtue was going
out of him, into her. I want, you know the Lord said,
fear not thou worm Jacob, I will hold your hand. I want the Lord
to hold my hand. Verse 31, he came and took her
by the hand and lifted her up and immediately the fever left
her and she ministered unto them. Everybody said, how did you get
out of that bed? She said, love lifted me. And
there he is. Love himself. the compassion
of our Lord, that He would have mercy on sinners like us. I am
nothing at all. Jesus Christ is my all, and He's
in all. I'm only a sinner saved by grace.
I'm just a sinner that God saved, that He would have compassion
on us. All right, now let me show you His power, His authority. Go with me over to Luke chapter
4. Luke chapter 4 and look at verse
38. And he arose out of the synagogue
and entered into Simon's house. And Simon's wife's mother was
taken with a great fever. Now Luke was a physician. He
was a doctor. So he would know. He ought to
know. He said this woman had a Great
fever she was extremely sick Extremely sick, and I'm gonna
tell you that We're not just a little bit sinful you know
I did I told a few white lies and I Drove too fast. I broke the speed limit and I
cut out seven minutes early from work and No, no, no, we are absolutely
from the crown of our head to the sole of our foot, wounds,
bruises, putrefying sores, nothing but sin. Luke said she was extremely
sick. Verse 38, he arose out of the
synagogue and entered into Simon's house and Simon's wife's mother
was taken with a great fever and they besought him for her. And He stood over her and rebuked
the fever. I love that. He rebuked the fever. I see why they were always so
amazed by His Word. What is this Word that He has
the power to cast out unclean spirits? He has the power to
do all these things with just a Word. Look at verse 36. They
were all amazed and spake among themselves saying, what a word
is this? For with authority and power,
he commanded the unclean spirits and they come out. I'm just as
amazed. I'm just as amazed. He rebukes
fever. Get out. This is God. That's who this
is. This is God. Look over at Luke
chapter 8. Luke 8 verse 22. Now it came
to pass on a certain day that he went into a ship with his
disciples, and he said unto them, Let us go over unto the other
side of the lake. And they launched forth. But
as they sailed, he fell asleep. And there came down a storm of
wind on the lake, and they were filled with water, and they were
in jeopardy. And they came to him and awoke
him, saying, Master, Master, we perish. Then he arose and
rebuked the wind and the raging of the water, and they ceased. And there was a calm. And he
said unto them, Where is your faith? And they, being afraid,
wondered, saying one to another, What manner of man is this? For he commandeth even the winds
and water, and they obey him." They obey him. Fever does too.
This is God. What manner of man is this? God
Almighty. Absolute God. You know what guarantees
our salvation? His blood. And His Word. His Word. He said, I will, you shall. You know why we're going to make
it to glory? His Word. His Word. The power in His command. There's compassion in His touch.
There's authority and power in His command. He rebuked the fever
and it left her. In our Savior's work for us,
we were talking about, we read all these songs, talking about
Him going to the cross of Calvary. His work for us and in us, there
was much compassion. Love held Him on that tree. And
there was much authority and power in that. He said, it is
finished. and there was also much sacrifice. Much sacrifice. Let me show you
that in Matthew chapter 8. Matthew chapter 8 verse 14 says, And when Jesus was come into
Peter's house, he saw his wife's mother laid and sick of a fever
and he touched her hand and the fever left her and she arose
and ministered unto them. When the even was come, they
brought unto him many that were possessed with devils, and he
cast out the spirits with his word, and healed all that were
sick, that it might be fulfilled, which was spoken by Isaiah the
prophet, saying, himself took our infirmities and bare our
sicknesses." Our sickness is sin. It's sin. And it has caused
us to be laid down dead. All of our sickness is due to
sin. And there was only one hope that any one of us had of being
raised from that sickness. Someone else had to bear that
sickness for us. That's the only way. How can
a sinner be raised from death to life? Someone else had to bear that
sin. Someone else had to take that sin away. Somebody else
had to lay it on themselves. That's the only way, and that's
exactly what the Lord Jesus Christ did. This is why we worship the
Lord Jesus Christ. It's because He came to us where
we were in our sickness, and He laid hold on our infirmities,
and He laid them on Himself, and then He took every single
one of those to that cross, and He gave up the ghost, and did
away. He took our infirmities and He
bare our sicknesses. You know what chapter in Isaiah
that is? 53. Let's go over there and read
a few verses in Isaiah 53. Isaiah 53 verse 6 says, All we like sheep have gone astray.
Every one of us. We have turned everyone to his
own way. I'll do things the way I want
to do things. And the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us
all. That's grace. He was oppressed
and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth. That's
grace. He is brought as a lamb to the
slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he opened
not his mouth." The whole time he was being punished for what
I did, not what he did. He was standing there in shame
and in guilt and in conviction as me, and he opened not his
mouth. Verse 8 says, He was taken from
prison and from judgment, and who shall declare his generation? For he was cut off out of the
land of the living. For the transgression of my people
was he stricken. And he made his grave with the
wicked and with the rich in his death, because he had done no
violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth. Yet it pleased
the Lord to bruise him. Thank God. Thank God. That's why we'll be thanking
God for all eternity. It pleased the Lord to bruise
him. Why, oh why? How can this be? It pleased the Lord to bruise
him. He hath put him to grief. When thou shalt make his soul
an offering for sin, he shall see his seed. He shall prolong
his days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his
hand. He shall see the travail of his soul and shall be satisfied. By his knowledge shall my righteous
servant justify many." Not all, many. Did Christ die for everybody?
Did Christ die for everybody? He's going to justify all that
the Father gave him, many. For he shall bear their iniquities,
therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall
divide the spoil with the strong, because he hath poured out his
soul unto death. And he was numbered with the
transgressors, and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession
for the transgressors. I was sinking deep in sin, far
from the peaceful shore, very deeply stained within, sinking
to rise no more. If God ever comes to a sinner
and if God ever reaches His hand down and lays hold of that sinner
and lifts that sinner up, He will know I was dying, dying
in my sins. My life, I thought it was such
a good little life. I thought I was doing all the
right things, but I was running straight for the gates of hell. But God reached down His hand
for me. I was sinking deep in sin, far
from the peaceful shore, very deeply stained within. There's
nothing good in here. No, not one. Sinking to rise
no more. But the master of the sea, the
one that can rebuke the wind and the waves, heard my despairing
cry from the water, lifted me. Now safe am I. It's all because
Christ lifted me. In all three places, after the
Lord lifted that precious woman, it says, she ministered unto
them. All three places. You know why
she did that? Love. Thankfulness. He did not lift her up and she
said, well, thanks, that feels much better, and then go on about
her way. She ministered unto him. Oh, thank you, Lord, for
saving my soul. Thank you, Lord, for making me
whole. Thank you, Lord, for giving to
me that great salvation, so rich, so free. After everything you've
done for me, you have redeemed my life from destruction. Let
me just show a small token of my thankfulness. That's why we
do it. We don't do anything in order to earn heaven. You better
be good so you can go to heaven. No, no, no. See, I was dead. I had no hope of heaven, but
God. Therefore, I'm ready to start
doing out of thanks, out of love, a small token of my thankfulness. It's my reasonable service. That's
my story. It's the only one I have. It's
a good one, too. It's all of our story. All right,
let's stand together and sing that song, hymn number 459.