 Ecclesiastes 3:1-2
To everything there is a season, A time for every purpose under heaven: A time to be born, And a time to die; A time to plant, And a time to pluck what is planted; Jesus Plants Hope The story I’m going to share this morning starts in a place called Capernaum and not only have I been there but it is a place that God planted a new seed of hope in my life… Matthew 4:12-25 12 Now when Jesus heard that John had been put in prison, He departed to Galilee. 13 And leaving Nazareth, He came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is by the sea, in the regions of Zebulun and Naphtali, 14 that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying: 15 "The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, By the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles: 16 The people who sat in darkness have seen a great light, And upon those who sat in the region and shadow of death Light has dawned." 17 From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." 18 And Jesus, walking by the Sea of Galilee, saw two brothers, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. 19Then He said to them, "Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men." 20 They immediately left their nets and followed Him.21 Going on from there, He saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets. He called them, 22 and immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed Him.23 And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease among the people.24 Then His fame went throughout all Syria; and they brought to Him all sick people who were afflicted with various diseases and torments, and those who were demon-possessed, epileptics, and paralytics; and He healed them. 25 Great multitudes followed Him--from Galilee, and from Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea, and beyond the Jordan. The call of God is CLEAR but a seed of HOPE is whats actually planted… I believe that Jesus is calling and people are hearing the call but the call to follow is a difficult one to answer… Follow Me, AND I WILL… Testimonies of Spirit filled joyful Christians help people to be willing to follow the call of God on their life… We need Bells and Pomegranates!!! The journey is where the death of the seed begins to turn into life… John 12:24 24 Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain. The disciples see the healing and transformation and they begin to have HOPE for a life beyond what they had previously known… The seed has to be given time to grow… and sometime it is quick depending on the soil… I want to look at 3 stories from Matthew chapter 8 where “Jesus Plants Hope”… Matthew 8:1-4 1 When He had come down from the mountain, great multitudes followed Him. 2 And behold, a leper came and worshiped Him, saying, "Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean." 3 Then Jesus put out His hand and touched him, saying, "I am willing; be cleansed." Immediately his leprosy was cleansed. 4 And Jesus said to him, "See that you tell no one; but go your way, show yourself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.” 1. “Jesus Plants Hope” through touch Many of us have areas in our lives where we truly want to be healed and changed but there are also areas where the healing and change are actually the doorway to something deeper we’re longing for and in need of… The leprousy this man suffered from prevented him from being TOUCHED and embraced and able to be in relationship with those he loved and those that loved him… When you read the old testament you see that if someone was suspected to have leprousy they were washed and prayed for and if things didn’t show signs of change they were quickly removed from the community within days… They were isolated and could only see their loved ones from a far… They could only be in community with other lepers… They were without hope and the leprousy was the cause and the barrier but not the fulfillment of their dreams… They wanted to be rid of the lerprousy barrier so that they could be TOUCHED again… Jesus touched the leper before the physical healing came and that is so important… Verse 3 says… Jesus put out His hand and touched him, saying, "I am willing; be cleansed.”… “Jesus Planted Hope” and that seed of hope sprouted up quickly into healing because His touch created amazing faith within this leper… Many of us and many we know need something beyond healing… We need to be TOUCHED by God before our healing… We need to be hugged in our mess and held in our filth and embraced in our shame… This is hard to receive and also hard to do with others but Jesus did it and so can we… Matthew 8:5-13 5 Now when Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to Him, pleading with Him, 6 saying, "Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, dreadfully tormented." 7 And Jesus said to him, "I will come and heal him." 8 The centurion answered and said, "Lord, I am not worthy that You should come under my roof. But only speak a word, and my servant will be healed. 9 For I also am a man under authority, having soldiers under me. And I say to this one, 'Go,' and he goes; and to another, 'Come,' and he comes; and to my servant, 'Do this,' and he does it." 10 When Jesus heard it, He marveled, and said to those who followed, "Assuredly, I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel! 11 And I say to you that many will come from east and west, and sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. 12 But the sons of the kingdom will be cast out into outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth." 13 Then Jesus said to the centurion, "Go your way; and as you have believed, so let it be done for you." And his servant was healed that same hour.
Verse 13 says… Jesus said to the centurion, "Go your way; and as you have believed, so let it be done for you.”… This centurion believed that Jesus had authority over things that no other man has authority over… He compared Jesus ability to speak things into existence or out of existence to the way he himself could direct men under his authority to go places or not to go places… Many of us believe that Jesus is God and we believe that when God said let there be light there was light… The important thing I’ve learned is that many rarely hear the Lord speak to them… It is not His existence or His authority we doubt… It is His desire to speak to us and our ability to hear Him that we doubt… This centurion came to the One He knew had authority and he knew exactly what he wanted from Him… A word spoken over his situation… Hebrews 6:17-19 17 Thus God, determining to show more abundantly to the heirs of promise the immutability of His counsel, confirmed it by an oath, 18 that by two immutable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we might have strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold of the hope set before us. 19 This hope we have as an anchor of the soul His Word & His Promises are the 2 immutable things… Many of us need to stop looking for the answer to our problems & pain and start listening for a promise to claim… He can’t lie and He speaks promises that “Plant Hope” in the hearts of those who trust Him… Verse 13 says… Jesus said to the centurion, "Go your way; and as you have believed, so let it be done for you.”… The centurion walked away from Jesus with great hope that the word Jesus spoke would be confirmed in the near future… Verse 13 finishes by saying… And his servant was healed that same hour… When “Jesus Plants Hope” the tree is already in the seed but we have to walk by faith and not by sight until we get to the place where the end of His word and the end of our faith meet… It was done when Jesus spoke it but if the centurion never walked home he would never had seen the promise fulfilled… Listen for His word and then keep walking until your faith finds fruit…
Matthew 8:14-22 14 Now when Jesus had come into Peter's house, He saw his wife's mother lying sick with a fever. 15 So He touched her hand, and the fever left her. And she arose and served them. 16 When evening had come, they brought to Him many who were demon-possessed. And He cast out the spirits with a word, and healed all who were sick, 17that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying: "He Himself took our infirmities And bore our sicknesses."18 And when Jesus saw great multitudes about Him, He gave a command to depart to the other side. 19 Then a certain scribe came and said to Him, "Teacher, I will follow You wherever You go." 20 And Jesus said to him, "Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head." 21 Then another of His disciples said to Him, "Lord, let me first go and bury my father." 22 But Jesus said to him, "Follow Me, and let the dead bury their own dead.” We began today with the call of Jesus to follow Him and we end with the same call… Everything is about hearing and answering the call of God to follow Him… Peter’s mother in law is sick and “Jesus Plants Hope” through healing… We don’t really know anything about Peter’s wife or his mother in law but if Jesus is in the house chances are they had strong faith… She may have also been one of those women who said “I had plans for my daughters life and they didn’t include her husband walking away from a good fishing business to go tagging along with this crazy teacher”… We aren’t sure of that but what we are sure of is that “Jesus Planted Hope” in her through healing and when she was healed she immediately became a servant of the Lord… It didn’t take months or years before she realized the appropriate response to being healed by the Lord is to serve others… Verse 15 says… He touched her hand, and the fever left her. And she arose and served them… And what did her service produce… Verse 16 says… 16 When evening had come, they brought to Him many who were demon-possessed. And He cast out the spirits with a word, and healed all who were sick… The work of the Lord to bring deliverance and healing to others was accelerated because of her being healed and then immediately beginning to serve… When we serve… God moves… So…
In 2 Kings chapter 5 a leper comes to see and hear from a man of God much like you have some need… Watch how everything we’ve talked about is seen in these 7 short verses… 2 Kings 5:9-16 9 Then Naaman went with his horses and chariot, and he stood at the door of Elisha's house. 10 And Elisha sent a messenger to him, saying, "Go and wash in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh shall be restored to you, and you shall be clean." 11 But Naaman became furious, and went away and said, "Indeed, I said to myself, 'He will surely come out to me, and stand and call on the name of the Lord his God, and wave his hand over the place, and heal the leprosy.' 12 Are not the Abanah and the Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? Could I not wash in them and be clean?" So he turned and went away in a rage. 13 And his servants came near and spoke to him, and said, "My father, if the prophet had told you to do something great, would you not have done it? How much more then, when he says to you, 'Wash, and be clean'?" 14 So he went down and dipped seven times in the Jordan, according to the saying of the man of God; and his flesh was restored like the flesh of a little child, and he was clean. 15 And he returned to the man of God, he and all his aides, and came and stood before him; and he said, "Indeed, now I know that there is no God in all the earth, except in Israel; now therefore, please take a gift from your servant." 16 But he said, "As the Lord lives, before whom I stand, I will receive nothing." And he urged him to take it, but he refused. This man was told to go and wash seven times in the Jordan in order to be made clean… When He took the word and put faith into action even though he still had some doubt he received his healing… He put his faith in the true God and tried to give for what he received and he was told that God didn’t want to take anything from him… God just wanted to heal and bless him… If you are not saved I’m not going to ask you to go to the Jordan river and wash seven times… First I just want you to have the courage to say “thats me… I’m a leper and I want to be made clean and new”… Second I have a word and promise from God… The Lord says that He has already paid for your sin and the cause of your leprousy and if You will put your faith in Him He will wash away all your sins right here right now… Are you willing to take the Lord at His word and receive His promise??? Now begin the journey to where the end of His word meets the end of your faith and it will be a fruitful journey…
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