Good evening. Celeste, thank
you for that special. That's what we call back home
a special, and I think there's a reason for that. Open your
Bibles with me to Matthew chapter 8. Matthew chapter 8. I'd like for us to look at the first
three verses of this chapter this evening with the title,
Coming to Christ. Let's read this together. When
he was come down from the mountain, great multitudes followed him. And behold, there came a leper
and worshipped him. Saying, Lord, if I will, thou
canst make me clean. And Jesus put forth his hand
and touched him, saying, I will be thou clean. And immediately
his leprosy was clean. When He would come down from
the mountain, great multitudes followed Him. The first thing I see here is
this. He came down. The Lord Jesus Christ came down. In John chapter 1, verse 14,
we read, the Lord was made flesh. and dwelt among us. And we beheld
his glory, the glory as of the only begotten Father, full of
grace and truth. He came down from glory, from heaven itself to dwell among
men. He came down. The Lord Jesus Christ came down. And he became what he previously
was not. Listen, he didn't cease to be
God when he walked on this earth. But he became a man. Almighty God took upon himself
this rodent flesh. He became a man, yet sinless. and perfect. And he bore the sins of his people. That's what Scripture says. He
bore the sins of his people in his body on the tree. The Lord Jesus Christ came down. And we also read it that great
multitudes followed him. In John chapter 6, 26, there
was a group that followed him. I imagine as he walked this earth,
that must have happened often. Everywhere he went, people would
follow him. But he said this to them. He
said, you see me not because you saw the miracles, but because
you did eat of the loaves and were filled. Outwardly, outwardly
they were honoring him, but inwardly, their interest was themselves. Inwardly, their interest was
this land. The thing to this earth, earthly
kingdoms, earthly comforts. In John chapter 2, verse 23,
when our Lord was in Jerusalem for the Passover, Scripture says
this, many believed in His name when they saw the miracles, but
He did not commit Himself to them, because He knew all men. This outward appearance, a lot
of us get by with that, but listen, He knows our inward heart. He
knows us as we are. Back to our decks, Matthew 8, out of this great
multitude, don't know what that number was that followed after
him, but out of that, this is an amazing thing, out of that
great multitude, there was one. We know of one here that he was
pleased to show mercy to. Just one. This leper who came
to Him. One who came to the Master. One
who came to the Lord Jesus Christ. How did he come to Christ? How
is it that this man came to Christ? What do we read in Scripture
about him coming to Christ? I want to know the answer to
that. How to approach unto the Lord. And first we read this. He worshipped. This man fell
down and he worshipped the Lord. That word worship, it means to
reverence. It means to adore. And it's derived
from a word that means to kiss. I found that interesting. I looked
a little further. And this isn't just any kids. And it's not very flattering.
But it's like a dog licks his master's hand. He took his place as a dog. to know this, I can receive nothing, nothing at all but from His righteousness. That Syro-Phoenician woman, you
remember her, our Lord said this to her, He said, it's not meat
to take the children's bread and give it to dogs. And you
remember her reply, Listen, she didn't come back with, I'm not
a dog, did she? No. She didn't say, you can't
talk to me like that. Or what men say, that's not fair. No, she said, truth. What you're saying is the truth. Truth, Lord, yeah. The dogs eat
the crumbs that fall from their master's feet. I'm a dog. I'm completely dependent upon
my master. That's worship. This leper worshiped
the Lord. And no matter our age, No matter
our race, no matter our position in life, whether I'm a pauper
or president, God is to be worshiped. In Psalm 150, verse 6, we read,
let everything that hath breath praise Him. And if a man or woman
or a young person is coming to God for anything. For healing,
for comfort, for mercy, for grace, for salvation, for the forgiveness
of sin. The place to start is seen right
here in this letter. Worshiping Almighty God. Turn over to Job chapter 1. Job chapter 1. Job 1 verse 20. Job had lost
everything. He lost his servants. He lost
his sheep. He lost his camel. He lost his
children. sons and daughters, he lost everything. Other than the few servants that
came to report the bad news to him and his wife that told him
to curse God and die, he had lost everything. What was his response? What was
Job's response? You know, I have no doubt he
was brokenhearted. No doubt that he was filled with
sorrow. But we read in Job chapter 1,
verse 20, that Job arose and he ran his mantle, shaved his
head, and he fell down upon the ground, and he worshipped, he
worshipped Almighty God. Our Lord God came down from the
mountain. This leper went to Him and worshipped
Him. And you note this, before he
asked anything of Him, before he asked anything of the Lord,
before he saw any results from Him, whether He would be merciful
or not, he worshipped Him. Sam, look at verse 2 of Matthew
8. He said, Lord. He referred to
Him as Lord. He recognized His authority,
His Lordship. The Lord Jesus Christ said this,
All authority is given to me in heaven and in earth. In His high priestly prayer over
in John 17, our Lord said, Thou hast given me power over all
flesh. All flesh. Speaking to his disciples,
he said, you call me Lord and Master, and you do well, for
so I am. The thief on the cross, he saw
this. It was revealed to him. He said,
Lord, remember me. This world and false religion,
have such a low opinion of God. A high opinion of self and a
low opinion of God. They said this back in the early
scriptures. They said, how can anything good
come out of natural? Men say this, or they bring him
down. They say that man, that Almighty
God is dependent upon man. How foolish is that? God that
created the heavens and the earth, everything in. They say that
He needs man's help, that He needs you to make a decision. They say things like, poor, pitiful
Jesus. That He's standing at the gates
of heaven wringing His hands over what man's going to decide
about something. I don't know where they read
it. I don't know where this comes from. Not God's Word. It may be the Jesus of this world,
but listen, the Scriptures declare Him as King of kings and Lord
of lords. Have not the potter power over
the clay? of the same love to make one
vessel unto honor and another vessel unto dishonor. Here's
what we need to be reminded. I'm the clay. I'm the clay. And he can do with me as he will
because he's Lord. He's Lord of heaven and earth.
He's the Lord Jesus Christ. Turn to Philippians chapter 2. Olivian chapter 2, beginning with verse 5. Let this mind be in you, which
was also in Christ Jesus, who being the form of God, thought
it not robbery to be equal with God, but made himself of no reputation,
took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness
of men. We read that earlier. He came
down. He became a man. And being found in fashion as
a man, he humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even
the death of the cross. Wherefore God hath highly exalted
him and given him a name which is above every name, that at
the name of Jesus every knee should bow of things in heaven,
things in earth, things unto the earth, and that every tongue
should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the
Father." You see that? He came to him saying, Lord. Third, he said, Lord, if you
will, if you will, He didn't say, I've decided to exercise
my free will. No, the leper knew that he was
going to be healed. It would be by the Lord's will. Think about this. I was thinking
about this earlier today. Men will argue until they're
blue in the face about man's free will. But they'll go to
the cemetery. And they'll gather around the
coffin of a dear loved one and join with the preacher in reciting
the Lord's Prayer. That prayer that our Lord used
to teach his disciples to pray. Over there Luke left, Our Father
which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come,
thy will be done. You hear that? Thy will be done. in earth as it is in heaven. There's no distinction. He's
sovereign in all things, and His will will be done. I don't know if I ever noticed
this before, but isn't that the same thing that was revealed
to King Nebuchadnezzar back there in Daniel? Nebuchadnezzar lifted
up his eyes to heaven. That same king who said, is this
not the great Babylon that I have built? He said, by my power,
for the honor of my majesty. That man the Lord humbled. And
he said this, that same Nebuchadnezzar, we read this, he raised up his
eyes to heaven, He blessed the Most High. He praised and honored
Him that liveth forever and ever. He said His dominion is an everlasting
dominion. His kingdom from generation to
generation. All the inhabitants of the earth
are reputed as nothing, and He doeth according to His will in
the armies of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth.
And none can stay His hand or say unto Him, What doest thou? This leper prayed, if you will,
you will. To him that worketh all things
after the counsel of his own will. Again, I'm the clay. Lord, I am in your hands for
it. He said, if you will, thou canst
make me If you will, you can. I must have a Savior that is
willing and able. I had a friend recently buy a
treadmill. It was the first of the year,
everybody buys a treadmill to get in shape, right? And they
had it delivered to the house and they packed it upstairs,
several steps, big heavy treadmill. They opened the box and it was
in pieces. It was broke. Somebody had bought
it before. Must have tried to put together
lost pieces, taped it back up, and they resold it. So they called
the store about returning it, only to get this response. The
person on the phone said, I want to help you. I know what you
need. I just don't have the authority
to make it happen. That sounds like false religion
to me. That sounds like what's spewed
from pulpits across this country. Huh? This is what my friend's reply
was. I need someone with the will and with the authority to
help me. I thought, why is it we can see
that about something on this earth? But we cannot see that
concerning salvation. That's what a sinner needs, huh? A Savior who is willing and able. This leper is without strength.
He's without hope. He's without help. Lord, you
can. You can because of who he is. He's almighty God. Because of
where he is, he's seated at the right hand of the majesty on
high. He ever lived to make intercession for his people. He can because
of what he did as our substitute. He died in the place of his people. He suffered the wrath of Almighty
God. How did this letter approach
the Lord? How can a sinner approach unto
the Lord? Well, first, we read he worshiped
him. Second, we see he realized something
of his sovereignty. He called him Lord. He saw something of his will,
his sovereign will. I'm in your hands. Of his ability. He is able. He is able. And last, fifth, this leper had
a desire to be made clean. He said, you can make me clean." This leper was in need. That's the first thing we read
about him. Behold, there came a leper. In Luke's account, he said this
leper was full of leprosy. Listen to this description. You've probably heard it before.
But it says here that the face of a leper resembles a coal half-extinct,
just about burnt out. His hair is short and stiff. pull out a piece and a great
chunk of flesh would fall out with that. Can you imagine, can you imagine
just the smell? I mean, one is the appearance,
but the smell of that rotten flesh. Nose would be sunk in. And it
wouldn't be uncommon for for maybe the nose or a finger or
a toe or an ear to just fall off. Consider how miserable,
how deplorable this leper condition was. And the scripture said he
was full of leprosy. A divining picture of sin. If that's what a leper looks
like before us, what must sin look like in the sight of Almighty
God? Hawker wrote this, what leprosy
is to the body, sin is to the soul. And none but God can heal. None but God can pardon the sinner. Nothing but the blood of the
Lord Jesus Christ can cleanse a sinner. The whole of our nature,
by reason of sin, is leprosy before Almighty God. This leper
came in need of the only one that could cure
him, the only one that can make him clean. I ask myself, I ask
everyone here tonight, are you in need? Am I in need? In Luke 9, verse 11, the people,
when they knew it, when they knew something, they followed
Him. And He received them and spake
unto them of the kingdom of God. And listen, you're going to want
to hear this. He healed them that were in need of healing. The Lord Jesus Christ healed
them that were in need of healing. I ask you again, are you in need? Are we in need? Are you lost? Scripture says that he came to
seek and to save that which was lost. Are you under great trial and
affliction? That man by the pool of Bethesda,
he had suffered 38 years. He said to the Lord, he said,
I lay here every day. And he said, there's no man to
take me, to carry me to the waters when there's trouble, that I
might be healed. There's no one to take me to that pool. And
the Lord Jesus Christ looked at him and he said, Take up thy
bed and walk." Are you sick? The Canaanite woman, she continually
cried out to the Lord for her daughter who was sick. He said
this, "'Great is thy faith, and be it unto thee even as thou
wilt.'" Do you question your faith? Are
you filled with doubts and fear? Remember that man that approached
our Lord over there in Mark 9? He said, have compassion upon
us. Help us. And the Lord Jesus Christ
said, if you can believe, all things are possible. And that father, he cried out,
I believe. Help thou mine unbelief. And the Lord healed. He was pleased
to heal his son. He healed all that were in need
of healing. Back to our text again here,
chapter 8, verse 3. That leper came to our Lord. He worshiped him. He said, Lord,
if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean. And the Lord Jesus Christ put
forth his hand and touched him. Imagine that leper again, full
of leprosy, how he must have looked the shame of that disease
that separated him from everyone. Parts of his body falling off,
that horrible smell, his humiliation to even come amongst that crowd,
amongst that crowd of people and approach unto the Lord Jesus
Christ, his desperate need. And the Lord Jesus Christ put
forth His hand and touched him. That word touch, you take time
to look that up. It doesn't mean he just put his
hand on his shoulder and said that it's okay. No, that word
touch, it means to fasten oneself, to adhere to, to cling to. I hope I can use this illustration.
Years ago, we were at a conference at Todd's Row. Donnie Bell was
preaching. Me and Abby and her mom and dad
were sitting back where you guys are in the back of the church.
Usually the preacher will stand up here until the last verse.
and make his way to the back. Well, about halfway, halfway
through closing him, Donnie come down, walked back that way to
have his dad, Dale. And he wrapped his arms around
him. Dale was probably, he was probably six inches taller than
Donnie, and I think Donnie tried to pull him clean out of his
shoes. Why'd he do that? It's his brother. Loved him. Think about this leper. I just
picture that same thing. Here's this leper. He wasn't even allowed to be
close to anyone. He had to cry unclean. Unclean as he walked
through that crowd. He came to our Lord. You will. He worshipped him. He bowed down
before him. He worshipped him. He said, Lord,
if you will, you can make me whole. And the Lord reached for
his hand, and he touched him. All that sin and all that shame,
he touched him. He wrapped his arms around him,
and he said, I will be thou clean. And immediately, Immediately,
his leprosy was cleansed. You know, the priest could die. They could die. They could declare
a man clean. They could make him clean. The
Lord Jesus Christ made him clean. He was cleansed. Isn't that a beautiful picture? of how the Lord Jesus Christ
saves a sinner. I ask you again, are you in need? Are you in need? If you are,
come to Him. Come to the Lord Jesus Christ.
All right.