“What Are We To Do?”

 Preacher: Rev. Lamont Waddles
Date: June 27, 1999
Notes:

Our Text: Mark 1:40-45

And there came a leper to him, beseeching him, and kneeling down to him, and saying unto him, If thou wilt, thou canst make me clean. And Jesus, moved with compassion, put forth his hand, and touched him, and saith unto him, I will; be thou clean. And as soon as he had spoken, immediately the leprosy departed from him, and he was cleansed. And he straitly charged him, and forthwith sent him away; And saith unto him, See thou say nothing to any man: but go thy way, show thyself to the priest, and offer for thy cleansing those things which Moses commanded, for a testimony unto them. But he went out, and began to publish it much, and to blaze abroad the matter, insomuch that Jesus could no more openly enter into the city, but was without in desert places: and they came to him from every quarter.

Bad News

As we listen to the news on television and radio, we may hear any day that...

These are tragic stories of human suffering and pain.  Many others don't make the headlines, yet we know that sorrow and grief are around us.  So, we ask... "What are we to do?"  How do we as Christians deal with the problems of human suffering.  You may want to shut out the bad news, turn noff the television, or skip to another section of the paper. 

There was an eight year old boy who enjoyed visiting the haunted house at the amusement park.  When asked if he was afraid, he replied, "No... I kept my eyes shut."

What Are We To Do?

Should we keep our eyes shut to the suffering all around us?  Jesus could have kept His eyes shut.  A leper came to Jesus pleading for healing.  Jesus could have said, "That is enough... I can't take any more."  However, Jesus was moved with compassion.  According to the Jewish laws, a leper was a lifing corpse... unclean and untouchable.  The leper had to warn people to stay away from him because they could potentially be infected with his disease.  Regardless, this leper went directly to Jesus and dared speak to Him.  If the leper came to one of us, we would be shocked and horrified.

Jesus, however, was moved with pity and touched him.  Jesus was never callous to human suffering.  We can't close our eyes and shut out the pain of others.  We need to have Christian love... never being unmoved by the suffering of others.  We need to suffer with the suffering and hurt with the hurting.

The Next Step

It wasn't enough for Jesus to suffer with the leper.  Jesus touched the leper and healed him.  Jesus violated the religious and social customs and touched the untouchable.  Jesus gave a healing touch.  We can relieve the pain and hurt of others but we must stop ignoring their suffering.

The social outcasts... the ones with AIDS... they need more than just your compassion.   They need you to reach out and touch their hurt.  We are empowered by the loving touch of God to act with healing wherever we can.  We are empowered to believe the gospel -- the good news -- despite the overwhelming bad news.

What are we to do?  We are to reach out and touch somebody.  If Jesus has touched your life, and if you confess to be a Christian, you will touch someone else's life.

Jesus came to touch.  There is healing power in Jesus' touch.  We are supposed to reach out and touch somebody.  We don't just come to church to be entertained... we are to reach out and touch somebody.

Show Some Sign

If you are not touching somebody in some way, you really don't know Jesus.  He tells us to

We need to touch.  If you had the touch of Jesus, there would be some sign.   Don't be like the tree that didn't bloom and gets cut down.  You can't come into God's house Sunday after Sunday and not show any sign.  If you were touched by God, you should have a gift.  If you want to be touched by God, ask Him.  There is something that keeps you from touching someone else... even in the house of God.   What is it?  Is it...

Sin is a disease worse than leporosy.  The woman with the issue of blood touched Jesus' robe and she was healed. 

The leper broke the law... but he heard about Jesus who can make a way out of no way.   The leper ran and confronted Jesus and asked what he already knew, because he had faith.  Then, Jesus touched him and said not to tell anybody.  But how in the world can you not shout when Jesus touches you?  I can't keep it to myself, because He's been so good to me.

Your Obligation

If you say, "that person is not my problem," that is WRONG!  To be a follower of Christ, you need the gift to touch somebody who is in need.  One day, you will be in that situation.  You don't have to commit a crime to go to jail... you could be falsely accused.  You can be down on your luck and lose your home.  You need to reach out in the community and touch somebody.