“Small Wings…Big Wind”
(No Fear…pt. 5)
(Luke 5:12-16)
Dr. Richard S. Koole
Chapel Pointe
November 29, 2009
I. Introduction
A. The Warrior’s Ethos
1. Introduce Captain C.
2. Application to us
*Last Sunday
1. I will always place the mission first
*This week
2. I will never accept defeat
3. I will never quit
*Next week
4. I will never leave a fallen comrade
II. Review
A. Luke established Jesus’ qualifications as the Messiah
1. Genealogy -- Legal qualification
2. Birth -- Prophetic qualification
3. Baptism -- Divine qualification
4. Temptation -- Spiritual qualification
5. Teaching -- Theological qualification
6. Miracles -- Supernatural qualification
a. Proof that what he said was true
b. How they could tell Jesus was telling the truth
c. Jesus asserted He was God (John 10:24-30)
(24) The Jews gathered around Jesus, saying, “How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly. (25) Jesus answered, “I tell you, but you do not believe. The miracles I do in my Father’s name speak for me
(30) “I and my Father are one.”
B. The two-fold purpose of the miracles
1. Prove the deity of Jesus
a. John 20:30-31
(30) Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. (31) But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.
2. Demonstrate the compassion of Jesus
a. What Jesus could have done
1. Mind-numbing feats
b. His were miracles of compassion
1. He starts with a leper!
c. To understand the impact, you need to know some background
III. Text
A. The Leprosy (v. 12)
(12) While Jesus was in one of the towns, a man came along who was covered with leprosy.
1. Leprosy
a. The most feared of all diseases in the ancient world
1. E.W.G. Masterman
“No other disease reduced a human being for so many years to so hideous a wreck”
b. Began with little specks of white on the eyelids and on the palms of the hands
1. Spread to rest of body
a. Bleached white
b. Nodules developed which soon ulcerated
2. Gave off a foul smelling discharge
a. Could smell a leper coming
c. Ate through skin to bones and joints
1. Bones shriveled
d. The larynx attacked
1. Grating noise
e. Muscles waste away
1. Tendons contract
2. Hands and feet like claws
f. Nose and fingers and toes rubbed off
1. No feeling
g. Feared transmittal
1. Transmitted by touch or the air they breathed
2. Could not get closer than 6 feet to another person
a. 150 feet if wind blowing
h. Lepers usually avoided all contact anyway
1. A leper was required to cry “unclean, unclean”
2. Wore cloth over mouth
i. Called the “Living Dead” (Zombies)
1. Might take 20-30 years to die
j. To make matters worse, the Rabbis said it was due to their sin
1. Were being punished for their sin
k. Avoided lepers at all cost!
2. Now back to our story
a. As the crowd pressed around Jesus
b. A cry runs through it from the extremity
c. It looked like the parting of the Red Sea
1. People diving for cover
d. Why?
(Luke 5:12) While Jesus was in one of the towns, a man came along who was covered with leprosy.”
B. The Leper (v. 12)
1. He walked through the crowd
(12) While Jesus was in one of the towns, a man came along who was covered with leprosy. When he saw Jesus, he fell with his face to the ground and begged him, “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.”
a. “What’s he doing here?
b. They screamed at him to get away
c. Despite their abuse he hobbled forward
2. He pleaded with Jesus to heal him
(12) While Jesus was in one of the towns, a man came along who was covered with leprosy. When he saw Jesus, he fell with his face to the ground and begged him, “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.”
a. Came for more than a physical healing
1. Called Him Lord
2. Kurios – Lord God!
b. Had heard the claims of Jesus
c. Fell to His face in front of Jesus
1. A posture of reverence!
a. Bowed before the Lord God
d. To make him clean
1. Physically
2. Spiritually
3. He left it up to Jesus
(12) ……When he saw Jesus, he fell with his face to the ground and begged him, “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.”
a. “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean”
b. Not demanding
C. The Lord (v. 13-16)
1. The crowd now waited in hushed anticipation
a. Would Jesus concern himself with such a filthy sinner?
b. Would He throw a rock at him
2. Then Jesus did something shocking
(13) Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man.
a. The crowd gasped!
1. “Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man”
b. He touched a leper!!!
c. He said—
“I am willing. Be clean!”
d. Just like that!
3. The touch was shocking—but then they saw what happened
a. “And immediately the leprosy left him.”
b. The soft skin on his face
1. Hands straightened
2. Limbs recreated
c. Never such a miracle!
4. Remember the purpose of his miracles?
a. To prove that He was God
b. To demonstrate His love and compassion
5. Jesus started at the bottom
a. None was too filthy
b. He wept over sinners
c. Wants them ALL to be saved
d. He loves the unlovely
6. The key…every single person matters to God
7. The rest of the story (v. 14-16)
(14) Then Jesus ordered him, “Don’t tell anyone, but go, show yourself to the priest and offer the sacrifices that Moses commanded for your cleansing, as a testimony to them.” (15) Yet the news about him spread all the more, so that crowds of people came to hear him and to be healed of their sicknesses. (16) But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.
IV. Summary
A. Who are the “Lepers” around you?
1. When we see some people
a. Some kids at school
b. Poor
c. Illegal aliens
2. Discussion at Mel Trotter
a. One bad choice from being there
3. Jesus never feared contact with sinners….He touched them
4. That irresistible force called love
a. More than talking about it
b. Done one-on-one
c. Find them and love them
d. Acts of compassion
5. Our church
a. Jesus loves you and so do we
b. Non-denominational
c. Teaching the Bible with truth and love
6. Delivering a fresh message from God
7. Every single person matters to God
a. Jesus wept for sinners
B. You may think you don’t matter to God
1. A life of failures or mediocrity
a. Have hurt and disappointed people around you
2. Nothing to look forward to
3. Your dreams have died
4. Do you feel like a leper
C. A message to you lepers this morning
1. You have incredible value
a. Value is determined by what something cost
1. What you cost God…
b. You are a literal masterpiece
1. Ephesians 2:10
“For we are God’s workmanship (masterpiece…NLT), created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
2. God didn’t create any junk
3. Psalm 139:14-16
(14) I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. (15) My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, (16) your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.”
2. You have an important mission to accomplish
a. Why were you created?
b. Ephesians 2:10
“For we are God’s workmanship (masterpiece…NLT), created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
c. God has planted a dream in your heart
1. Do you remember what you wanted to be?
2. Have you given up on it?
d. He prepared it in advance
1. And only you can do it
e. Don’t accept defeat
1. The Warrior’s Ethos
“I will never accept defeat”
3. Don’t let discouragement steal your dream
a. Watching your dreams die…
1. Exhausted and discouraged
2. Others critical of your dreams
3. Ready to throw in the towel
4. You may be closer to success than you think
b. Joel Olsteen climbing Beaver Creek Mountain
1. 11,000 feet
2. A three hour climb from 8,000 feet
3. The first 15 minutes were fairly easy
a. Great pace
4. 45 minutes into it the altitude and terrain took their toll
5. Legs and chest aching
a. Couldn’t endure another two hours of the pain
b. Contemplated giving up
6. The older gentleman coming the other direction
a. Seemed to assess the situation
b. Spoke these words in a calm voice
“You’re closer than you think”
7. Joel’s renewed commitment
8. Discovered he was less than 10 minutes from the summit
c. Your dream may be closer than you think
1. Don’t let others discourage you
d. It’s God’s mission for your life
e. Remember the Warriors Ethos
1. I will always place the mission first
2. I will never accept defeat
3. I will never quit
4. Don’t give up on fallen people
a. When children struggle
b. The power of persistent prayer
c. We don’t give up on our people
1. We will never leave a fallen comrade
2. Fallen in sin
d. Next week…The Warrior’s Ethos….Friends
4. I will never leave a fallen comrade
5. Be ready for God’s winds to blow
a. The story of “the hopper”
1. Locusts aren’t built for a smooth take-off
a. Thick bodies and small wings
2. A “hopper” is a young locust
a. Can’t fly unassisted
b. But they can jump 200 times their height
3. They wait for the sound of the wind
a. And then they jump
4. Massive clouds of locusts flying in the wind
a. Small wings…big wind
b. Your wings may be small
1. You feel like a “hopper”
2. And the first jump is the hardest
3. But God’s wind is huge….Power
c. Be ready when his wind begins to blow
1. It’s your time
2. Jump!
“Small Wings…Big Wind”
(No Fear…pt. 5)
(Luke 5:12-16)
Dr. Richard S. Koole
Chapel Pointe
November 29, 2009
I. Introduction
A. The Warrior’s Ethos
1. Introduce Captain C.
2. Application to us
*Last Sunday
1. I will always place the mission first
*This week
2. I will never accept defeat
3. I will never quit
*Next week
4. I will never leave a fallen comrade
II. Review
A. Luke established Jesus’ qualifications as the Messiah
1. Genealogy -- Legal qualification
2. Birth -- Prophetic qualification
3. Baptism -- Divine qualification
4. Temptation -- Spiritual qualification
5. Teaching -- Theological qualification
6. Miracles -- Supernatural qualification
a. Proof that what he said was true
b. How they could tell Jesus was telling the truth
c. Jesus asserted He was God (John 10:24-30)
(24) The Jews gathered around Jesus, saying, “How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly. (25) Jesus answered, “I tell you, but you do not believe. The miracles I do in my Father’s name speak for me
(30) “I and my Father are one.”
B. The two-fold purpose of the miracles
1. Prove the deity of Jesus
a. John 20:30-31
(30) Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. (31) But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.
2. Demonstrate the compassion of Jesus
a. What Jesus could have done
1. Mind-numbing feats
b. His were miracles of compassion
1. He starts with a leper!
c. To understand the impact, you need to know some background
III. Text
A. The Leprosy (v. 12)
(12) While Jesus was in one of the towns, a man came along who was covered with leprosy.
1. Leprosy
a. The most feared of all diseases in the ancient world
1. E.W.G. Masterman
“No other disease reduced a human being for so many years to so hideous a wreck”
b. Began with little specks of white on the eyelids and on the palms of the hands
1. Spread to rest of body
a. Bleached white
b. Nodules developed which soon ulcerated
2. Gave off a foul smelling discharge
a. Could smell a leper coming
c. Ate through skin to bones and joints
1. Bones shriveled
d. The larynx attacked
1. Grating noise
e. Muscles waste away
1. Tendons contract
2. Hands and feet like claws
f. Nose and fingers and toes rubbed off
1. No feeling
g. Feared transmittal
1. Transmitted by touch or the air they breathed
2. Could not get closer than 6 feet to another person
a. 150 feet if wind blowing
h. Lepers usually avoided all contact anyway
1. A leper was required to cry “unclean, unclean”
2. Wore cloth over mouth
i. Called the “Living Dead” (Zombies)
1. Might take 20-30 years to die
j. To make matters worse, the Rabbis said it was due to their sin
1. Were being punished for their sin
k. Avoided lepers at all cost!
2. Now back to our story
a. As the crowd pressed around Jesus
b. A cry runs through it from the extremity
c. It looked like the parting of the Red Sea
1. People diving for cover
d. Why?
(Luke 5:12) While Jesus was in one of the towns, a man came along who was covered with leprosy.”
B. The Leper (v. 12)
1. He walked through the crowd
(12) While Jesus was in one of the towns, a man came along who was covered with leprosy. When he saw Jesus, he fell with his face to the ground and begged him, “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.”
a. “What’s he doing here?
b. They screamed at him to get away
c. Despite their abuse he hobbled forward
2. He pleaded with Jesus to heal him
(12) While Jesus was in one of the towns, a man came along who was covered with leprosy. When he saw Jesus, he fell with his face to the ground and begged him, “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.”
a. Came for more than a physical healing
1. Called Him Lord
2. Kurios – Lord God!
b. Had heard the claims of Jesus
c. Fell to His face in front of Jesus
1. A posture of reverence!
a. Bowed before the Lord God
d. To make him clean
1. Physically
2. Spiritually
3. He left it up to Jesus
(12) ……When he saw Jesus, he fell with his face to the ground and begged him, “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.”
a. “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean”
b. Not demanding
C. The Lord (v. 13-16)
1. The crowd now waited in hushed anticipation
a. Would Jesus concern himself with such a filthy sinner?
b. Would He throw a rock at him
2. Then Jesus did something shocking
(13) Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man.
a. The crowd gasped!
1. “Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man”
b. He touched a leper!!!
c. He said—
“I am willing. Be clean!”
d. Just like that!
3. The touch was shocking—but then they saw what happened
a. “And immediately the leprosy left him.”
b. The soft skin on his face
1. Hands straightened
2. Limbs recreated
c. Never such a miracle!
4. Remember the purpose of his miracles?
a. To prove that He was God
b. To demonstrate His love and compassion
5. Jesus started at the bottom
a. None was too filthy
b. He wept over sinners
c. Wants them ALL to be saved
d. He loves the unlovely
6. The key…every single person matters to God
7. The rest of the story (v. 14-16)
(14) Then Jesus ordered him, “Don’t tell anyone, but go, show yourself to the priest and offer the sacrifices that Moses commanded for your cleansing, as a testimony to them.” (15) Yet the news about him spread all the more, so that crowds of people came to hear him and to be healed of their sicknesses. (16) But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.
IV. Summary
A. Who are the “Lepers” around you?
1. When we see some people
a. Some kids at school
b. Poor
c. Illegal aliens
2. Discussion at Mel Trotter
a. One bad choice from being there
3. Jesus never feared contact with sinners….He touched them
4. That irresistible force called love
a. More than talking about it
b. Done one-on-one
c. Find them and love them
d. Acts of compassion
5. Our church
a. Jesus loves you and so do we
b. Non-denominational
c. Teaching the Bible with truth and love
6. Delivering a fresh message from God
7. Every single person matters to God
a. Jesus wept for sinners
B. You may think you don’t matter to God
1. A life of failures or mediocrity
a. Have hurt and disappointed people around you
2. Nothing to look forward to
3. Your dreams have died
4. Do you feel like a leper
C. A message to you lepers this morning
1. You have incredible value
a. Value is determined by what something cost
1. What you cost God…
b. You are a literal masterpiece
1. Ephesians 2:10
“For we are God’s workmanship (masterpiece…NLT), created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
2. God didn’t create any junk
3. Psalm 139:14-16
(14) I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. (15) My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, (16) your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.”
2. You have an important mission to accomplish
a. Why were you created?
b. Ephesians 2:10
“For we are God’s workmanship (masterpiece…NLT), created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
c. God has planted a dream in your heart
1. Do you remember what you wanted to be?
2. Have you given up on it?
d. He prepared it in advance
1. And only you can do it
e. Don’t accept defeat
1. The Warrior’s Ethos
“I will never accept defeat”
3. Don’t let discouragement steal your dream
a. Watching your dreams die…
1. Exhausted and discouraged
2. Others critical of your dreams
3. Ready to throw in the towel
4. You may be closer to success than you think
b. Joel Olsteen climbing Beaver Creek Mountain
1. 11,000 feet
2. A three hour climb from 8,000 feet
3. The first 15 minutes were fairly easy
a. Great pace
4. 45 minutes into it the altitude and terrain took their toll
5. Legs and chest aching
a. Couldn’t endure another two hours of the pain
b. Contemplated giving up
6. The older gentleman coming the other direction
a. Seemed to assess the situation
b. Spoke these words in a calm voice
“You’re closer than you think”
7. Joel’s renewed commitment
8. Discovered he was less than 10 minutes from the summit
c. Your dream may be closer than you think
1. Don’t let others discourage you
d. It’s God’s mission for your life
e. Remember the Warriors Ethos
1. I will always place the mission first
2. I will never accept defeat
3. I will never quit
4. Don’t give up on fallen people
a. When children struggle
b. The power of persistent prayer
c. We don’t give up on our people
1. We will never leave a fallen comrade
2. Fallen in sin
d. Next week…The Warrior’s Ethos….Friends
4. I will never leave a fallen comrade
5. Be ready for God’s winds to blow
a. The story of “the hopper”
1. Locusts aren’t built for a smooth take-off
a. Thick bodies and small wings
2. A “hopper” is a young locust
a. Can’t fly unassisted
b. But they can jump 200 times their height
3. They wait for the sound of the wind
a. And then they jump
4. Massive clouds of locusts flying in the wind
a. Small wings…big wind
b. Your wings may be small
1. You feel like a “hopper”
2. And the first jump is the hardest
3. But God’s wind is huge….Power
c. Be ready when his wind begins to blow
1. It’s your time
2. Jump!