Elevation with Steven Furtick - Lonely Places

Episode Date: July 20, 2020

Feeling lonely? Isolated? What if this season of loneliness is an opportunity?  In “Lonely Places,” Pastor Steven Furtick shows us that, not only will God meet us in our isolation, but we may even find an opportunity in it.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an I-Heart podcast. Guaranteed Human. Hey, this is Stephen Ferdick. I'm the pastor of Elevation Church, and this is our podcast. I wanted to thank you for joining us today. Hope this inspires you. Hope it builds your faith. Hope it gives you perspective to see God is moving in your life.

Enjoy the message. Those of you who are here in the room, be seated. Let's get started. And those of you who are a part of our eFAM, our global extended family, or as we call it these days, It's everybody family, because none of us are really, you know, it's kind of been weird. I always have the worship team come back out here and sit with me while I preach.

One of my preacher friends was like, why do you have the worship team up there? And I was like, it's lonely up here, man. And especially it's kind of ominous preaching in an empty auditorium because we built this room for like, I don't know, 100 times the amount of people that we're allowed to put in here right now. So it's kind of creepy. I mean, I'm not saying anything bad about those of y'all who are here, but it just looks like the rapture happened and y'all weren't living right when it did. We all missed it.

So it's kind of lonely up here on preaching. Are y'all the only ones coming back today? There's more coming. Yeah, even since the first week of when we went into quarantine, I was like, if y'all could just keep some stools back there and when you put your mics down. grab a stool and come sit with me because it'll just help me to not feel lonely. You wouldn't think the pulpit would be a lonely place, but sometimes it can be, because you're bearing your soul for everybody to see. And especially some people have these facial expressions

when you're preaching. They look at you with a very, I don't want to be judgmental in the way I put this, but they look at you like they never did anything wrong in their life. And they look at you like they might have something better to do. Not everybody looks at you that way, but sometimes when you're preaching, it's like you're trying to give out a bunch of love, and sometimes you don't get the same amount of love back. So in an empty room, it's different, or an almost empty room. I don't know what you can see, but all these seats are empty. It's kind of lonely, you know.

It's kind of lonely lately. It's been kind of lonely lately, hadn't it? It's been kind of lonely. We used to get to come to church, and this was one place where we could come. You know, whether you were going to our Rock Hill, formerly Rock Hill, now known as Riverwalk Campus, or whether you were going to our Gaston campus or our Blakeney campus or Ballanty here where I preach, or Raleigh, Durham, or Morrisville, or Greenville or Greensboro. We had all these campuses, and the idea was where you could come out and be with others, and to know that

But you're not alone in this thing called faith. You're not alone in this battle called life. Somebody say it in the chat. I'm not alone. I'm not alone. And just make eye contact with somebody if anybody's there and tell them you're not alone. You're not alone. But right now it's kind of harder for us to do that because even if you were here, I couldn't

have you touch your neighbor. I used to have people touching their neighbor all the time during church and somebody would say that's obnoxious. And when do you have to touch our neighbor? I don't like touching my neighbor. I don't even know what my neighbor's hands have been. I don't know if my neighbor, you tell him a high five, my neighbor. I'm not trying to catch anything.

Well, now it's almost illegal to have them touch your neighbor. So it's really, really different. It's kind of been lonely. Do you all remember when we recorded The Blessing, the song The Blessing? I went to watch the video the other day of the song The Blessing. blessing, and it was amazing to me how what was such a joyful moment when we recorded that song with our church had a little bit of sepia to it, a little bit of sadness, just a little bit of melancholy to it, because we didn't know that a couple weeks after we released

the blessing that the buildings where we used to gather would sit empty. When I watch it back, man, I feel kind of homesick. I was telling Holly that the other night. I said, I feel kind of homesick. I kind of miss some things. It's kind of lonely. And I want to preach to you along those lines today from Mark chapter 1, verse 35 through 45.

I asked the Lord what I could give you today that would help you. And he knows that I don't know what you need right now. But he's gracious, and so I believe that he gave me something that is beyond my limitations of human understanding that's going to reach right into your spirit and speak to you. I want to encourage you to share this message with somebody. While we cannot convene physically, it's never been easier for you to share the Word of God with somebody. Isn't that awesome?

So right now you could click a share button wherever you're watching this, or you could text a link. You could reach out to somebody and say, there's a message that's going forth right now, and I want you to be a part of it with me. because we are physically alone doesn't mean that we have to be spiritually. And that's why we're here. And that's why we keep coming out every week, no matter how crazy it gets outside, no matter how uncertain it is in the world, we've got to keep coming together. We've got to keep coming together. And it's so important that we do. And it's so important that we continue

to come around God's word, which never changes in a world that has never been more unstable. So today's message comes from Mark chapter 1, verse 35 through 45. And the Bible says that very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up. Very early in the morning while it was still dark, Jesus got up. Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up. No, your YouTube is not buffering. I read it three times on purpose. I wonder if that's foreshadowing something that's going to happen later.

in the Gospel of Mark. Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up. I'm going to turn my chair around and preach back here and see if anybody knows the Bible back here. I just wondered if Mark put that in because he was giving a little bit of foreshadowing of what would happen later very early while it was still dark. Jesus got up. And so just pointing that out to you, that God knows how this thing ends, that he knows, that he knows how this thing turns out. Oh, you're not ready for me, Gene Lakey. Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up,

left the house, and went off to a solitary place where he prayed. Where he prayed. Simon and his companions went to look for him, and when they found him, they exclaimed, Everyone is looking for you. And Jesus replied, Let us go somewhere else, to the nearby villages so I can preach there.

preach there also. That is why I have come. That is why I have come. So he traveled throughout Galilee preaching in their synagogues and driving out demons. A man with leprosy came to him and begged him on his knees. If you are willing, you can make me clean. Jesus was indignant. He reached out his hand and touched the man. am willing, he said, be clean. Immediately the leprosy left him and he was cleansed. Jesus sent him away at once with a strong warning. See that you don't tell this to anyone, but go show yourself to the priest and offer the sacrifices that Moses commanded for your cleansing as a testimony to them. Instead, he went out and began to talk freely.

spreading the news. As a result, Jesus could no longer enter a town openly, but stayed outside in lonely places. Yet the people still came to him from everywhere. That's my title today. It says Jesus could no longer enter a town openly, but stayed outside in lonely places. I want to talk to you about lonely places today. Lonely places. Let's pray. God, you inhabit all things. You inhabit the praises of your people. You inhabit the broken and the contrite heart.

Today, Lord, I pray that you would fill every kitchen where this word is going forth, that you would fill every bedroom where this word is going forth, every living room, every condo, every back deck, every car, every hospital room, every prison cell where this word is going forth. And everybody in this room is here to agree with me. that you are filling all spaces right now with your glory. We thank you that you are here. We thank you that we are never forsaken, never abandon.

We pray this and believe this because we have your word on it, a guarantee from heaven that never will you leave us or forsake us. And we stand on that promise right now in Jesus' name. Amen. Amen in the chat. Amen in the chat. is hiding from his disciples. Jesus is hiding from his disciples. Let's make elevation a Catholic church for a minute and have a confession, all right? Let's turn this into a confession booth in the chat. How many parents have hiding places where you go to get away from your

kids? There's a few hands going up in the room. Raise your hand in the chat. And I know y'all don't have kids yet. You don't have kids. So you're judging this whole situation right now. Oh, if I had kids, I would be emotionally available so that they could see the heart of my good, good father whose arms are open. But we have this little workout room in my house. I'm grateful for it. Sometimes I go in there for six hours, six hours and do ten bicep curls. It's really like a second office for me. I go in there to high, and I go in there and I'd be seven times bigger if I was actually lifting weights in there.

But I go in there just to hide sometimes. I have a whole desk right beside my pre-workout is a Bible and then a notebook, especially in these last few weeks. I've had to. How many of you? Yeah, I see it in the chat from Jessica and Ivy and Jesse, all the hands raising, and all of you that are judging me with the captions because your kids are only six months old right now. And I just love to snuggle them all the time. And I just like to get to do. I speak this as a prophetic declaration into your future.

watch this message in five years, you will have nests within your home. If you parent long enough, you will do drive-bys on your own house when you come home from work. You will go to work to hide and rest from your children. Praise the Lord. And it's interesting because, like I was saying, some of the places that we used to go to get away are now places where we can no longer go. and it's forced us to deal with some of the things in our own hearts that we used to be able to run from. Y'all didn't come to help me preach today. It's lonely in this elevation pulpit today. And Jesus, I don't feel so bad about hiding from my kids every now and then, and I really am a very, very present, dad.

I don't want you to get the wrong idea. Every once in a while, like Jesus, I got to get away from Peter. I thought it was so ironic because we talk about spending time with Jesus. I see y'all on Instagram with your coffee mug and your journal and your amplified Bible, study scripture, three different translations, devotion books, talking about just spending some time with Jesus. And I thought it was cool that even Jesus needed to spend time with Jesus. This is really important because if you never spend any time disconnect, from the external, you will always be driven by agendas that come from the outside.

Really, the life of Jesus models in so many ways the ability to live from within. What he's teaching us here is not just the importance of getting up early, and thank God, because I'm not a morning person. I think it's hilarious that I have to preach these messages in the morning, because a lot of mornings I don't even feel like a Christian until about 11 a.m. It takes me that long to get saved again. It takes me a cup of coffee and a diet Coke just to feel the Holy Spirit in the morning. But Jesus got up early. Why? To pray.

To align himself with his purpose. And it's never been more important because Jesus is at the height of his popularity. And he understood that popularity and purpose don't often work together. In fact, can I preach like I did to the young people? Can I preach like I did to the young people? I was telling them not to confuse fame with fruitfulness, not to confuse being noticed with being known. When I came and preached to the young people on Friday to close youth X, I was telling them how, you know, Jesus refused to be controlled by popular opinion or external agendas. And for this reason, the Bible says, that he snuck away from Peter, James.

James, John, Andrew, Bartholomew went to a solitary place the Bible calls it. It's the same phrase that you would see to mean wilderness or wasteland or desert. Jesus apparently had a secret spot that he liked to go and recharge and spend time with Jesus. Jesus had to go spend some time with Jesus and with his father. The Bible calls this prayer, not just a time for him to read through his list of things that he'd like God to do for him, but a place for him to get his orders on the inside of what God wanted him to do that day.

Now, if you do not have this place in your life where you go and you are willing to be alone for a little while, you will spend your entire life scrolling through screenshots of everybody else's idea of purpose. But Jesus understood that it is important to get alone sometimes, to get alone. sometimes. And I found out that we're living in a time where it's never been more difficult to really be alone. I mean really alone. I don't mean that there's no other human bodies around. That's pretty easy right now. But I mean to really just be alone and to really seek, God, what do you want me to do? That's hard to do because I'm bombarded. It's hard to do because

Because, you know, if I'm reading my Bible or if I'm watching a sermon on the same phone where I have my Bible app, there's all these other apps, it's never been harder to be alone. Have you noticed this? Even when we're alone, we are flooded with voices. Even when we are alone, there is an abundance of noise. And so Jesus had a spot, and you have to have a spot. And I wish they made an airplane mode switch on my mind. You know how they have it on the phone where you can turn off the connection and just be with what's really on the device. I wish there was one for my mind, but I can't find it in my mind. And I find that even when I'm all alone physically, emotionally, it's a crowded space right now. One of the issues

of our day is going to be that we are going to become numb to the things that really matter because we are so bombarded and constantly connected to the things that are peripheral that vie for our attention that are not really essential. I'm preaching, Caroline. I'm preaching, Melissa. I'm preaching, Neo. Yes, I am. Jesus got alone.

He chose to go get alone. Now, it wasn't easy for him. In fact, the Bible says that Peter came looking for him. Peter came looking for him. You know what my kids have started doing now? They started FaceTiming me in my own house. Yes, they have. FaceTiming me in my own house.

for me like I'm on their payroll. So Peter tracks Jesus down. Now, listen, the Greek, you can look this up on a study Bible if you want to. The Greek where it says that he went looking for Jesus, when Jesus went to his little spot, you know, Jesus had a little spot where he could get alone, just be alone, hear what the father says, and get away from all the distractions, and get away from all the opinions, and get away from all the 24-hour cycle of depression and anxiety and craziness that they feed to us and they give us our fear in the form of entertainment.

And we didn't even realize we're hooked on stuff that is designed to keep us in a state of needing the very thing that is killing us. Jesus got away. And here comes Peter. Here comes Peter. The Greek says he tracked him down, almost like he was a stalker. Almost like how the devil will track you down. Almost like how anxiety will track you down. Almost how something that happened two years ago will track you down and try to keep you from enjoying this present moment.

And Peter's like, hey, rabbi, everybody's looking for you. As if Jesus was going to conform to the expectations of others when he came from God for a purpose that was innate to his very nature. They're looking for you, man. You've got to get out there, do some more of this exorcisms, these demons casting out. This is playing really well in the polls. People say that they'd be more likely to vote for you if you would do more of these exorcisms. Jesus is at the height of his popularity, but he chooses to be alone. And watch what he does next.

And this is what you can do when your intention is set from within. Here's what I mean by that. Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness. Here's what I mean from that. You operate from a place of peace, not a place of pressure. Here's what I mean by that. You let the world be as crazy as it wants to be, but you have something that transcends understanding to guard your heart and mind in Christ Jesus.

Here's what I mean by that. You set up boundaries and you say, this is the scope of what I'm willing to give my attention to. You set your focus and your eyes on what is eternal, not what is temporal. And Jesus said, I'm glad they're looking for me. But right now, I need to be alone. So let's go, this is what he said to Peter, to some of the other villages and towns, because this is what I came for.

This is what I came for. Somebody in the chat say, this is what I came for. This is what I came for. When you know what goes on the other side of that, this is what I came for. Okay, to church today. What did you come for? What did you come for? What did you log on for?

What is your purpose in being here? My purpose today is to preach the word of God to you. I'm not able to change you. I'm just a person, so I'm not even able to give you the illumination to the issues that plague humanity is too big. But I know what I'm here for. I am here to speak a word from God. I believe that he has given me a tongue to sustain the weary.

And the Lord sent me today for an assignment for somebody who's been in a lonely place. I wanted you to notice that Jesus chose to go to a lonely place. Jesus chose for a season to separate himself from all of the stress. Jesus chose to separate himself from all of the drama. chose to separate himself from all of the demands that were surrounding him, and he had to save the world. And maybe in this season the reason that some of us have been so stressed out is because we don't know why God put us here. We have been so busy chasing after things like popularity, status, achievement, recognition. We have been so busy chasing after those things, but Jesus withdrew to a lonely place so he could be

reminded of his assignment and aligned with the reason that God's in him. He said, let's go to some of the other towns. He said, I didn't come to impress people. I didn't come just to do spectacular things so people would see how great I am. I didn't come for that. Let me go do what I came to do. Everybody in this room do what you came to do today. You shouldn't need an instrument.

If you came to worship him, then worship him. If you came to worship him, I don't want a single guitar or a kick drum or an organ. In fact, right now in your home, do what you came to do. If you logged on to this sermon today just to be entertained, then sit there. But if you came to praise the Lord and you don't care how it looks or how it feels, but you You know that real worshippers can worship him anywhere, anytime with anything, then let everything that has breath, praise the Lord. Ten seconds to do what you came to do.

Five seconds to do what you came to do. I came to praise you, Lord. I came to magnify you. I came into somebody's home today on this stream to remind them that you are with them in the lonely place, that you are with them in the dark place, that you are rising right now in the spirit of everyone who will set their intention in the direction of their destiny and not the distraction of this moment. Jesus said, let's go do what I came to do. So let's see what he came to do. I know what I came to do. Come on, tell somebody next to you. I don't know

what you came to do. But I came to glorify God. I don't know what you think your life is about, but God put me here so the world could have a picture of Him. I am made in the image of God. I have a purpose from Almighty God. He said, let's go do what I came to do, not what others expect me to do, but what I came to do. And then the Bible says that in verse 40, a man with leprosy came to Jesus.

He said, let's go do what I came to do. And then a man with leprosy came to Jesus. Did the man come to Jesus or did Jesus come to the man? Jesus said, let me show you what I came to do. And a man with leprosy came to him and begged him on his knees, a man in a desperate situation, a man who had a skin condition, who had a skin condition that the dermatologist couldn't fix, a man who had been quarantined outside the camp.

See, a lot of things we go through, we think they're new. So most of us just found out about social distancing a few months ago. Social distancing is in Mark Chapter 1 and Leviticus 13. The challenges we face are nothing new to God. They're new to us. The thing you're dealing with right now is nothing new to God. You think you have some struggle or some sin that's just so innovative? You think you're like that creative of a sinner that God has never seen your sin before?

Man, we often forget that. He came for the things that we try to hide. That's why he came. He said, let me do what I came to do. Everybody's looking for you. You got a book signing at one. Joe Rogan's got you on the podcast today. This is big Jesus.

This could be a big moment for your ministry. And a leper came to Jesus. A leper came to Jesus. Before we gloss over the power of that sentence, I want you to understand that Jesus had the legal right to pick up the first stone that he saw and throw it at the leper. Because according to Levitical law, if a leper gets within 50 paces of someone who has been deemed clean, the clean has the right to throw at the unclean a stone. So when it says a leper came to Jesus, I want you to pause and think about the tremendous

risk that was represented in this man's decision. He had a way that he could live with leprosy, and we are given no detail. to how the condition appeared or when it spread. It's kind of interesting that we don't even know this man's name just as issue. We don't know his hopes, his dreams, just as issue. We don't know his children's names or how long it may have been since he got to hold his daughter in his arms just as a little. his issues. We don't get to know all the people that he had helped at one point in his life that would

no longer come near him anymore because to do so would be exposed himself to a disease that was deemed very contagious at this time. We just know him by his issue. Isn't it awful to be defined by your issues? Isn't it terrible when something takes over your life to the point where it seems to overshadow all the good things about you and now all you're known by is your issues. Isn't it a horrible thing when you go to try to think about something good, but all of the issues of everything that is wrong clouds out all the things that are right? It's a horrible thing to be known

by your issues. And some people will define you by your issues to hide the fact that they don't have issues. They have a whole subscription. Little dad jokes in my sermon just to lighten the mood. It's a horrible thing to be known by your issues and to have your issue come into the room before you do. That's what it was like to be a leper. If you were a leper, you were required by law to walk into a space where you were intending to get in the distance or vicinity of anyone who was not a leper.

You could live in a leper colony. You could live with other people who had the same skin condition as you, but you were confined to that place. If you wanted to come out of that place, you had to say this at least two times, unclean, unclean. You don't get to announce yourself by your name. You don't get to announce yourself by the fact that you have a good heart. How lonely would it be if you were only known by your issue and nobody really ever saw the real you?

Now, there's a contrast here. Jesus was becoming known by his gift. The man was known by his issue. I've met a lot of famous people who are known by their gift, but they are never accepted for their personhood. So they are lonely because they are only known for what they do, not who they are. Jesus resisted that. But here comes a man who's willing to say, I got to press. past my issue. I want to be touched. I want to be known. I want to feel again. I don't want to live like this on the outside. I don't want to have to scream every time I walk in a room unclean. Unclean? What if you had to announce in the chat what you struggle with to keep streaming this sermon? Would you stay? What if y'all had to come in here today and before they let you in to record this worship?

They didn't just take your temperature. With that little gun they tested your temperature. What did they put a little thermometer to see what was your biggest temptation that you gave into last week? Would you come in? If they could scan you for that. Would you come in? Elijah was asking me the other day, if every thought that you had went on the screen during

worship like the lyrics to the song, would you still have a job? I said, nope. I wouldn't have any friends. I wouldn't have a job. I wouldn't have anything. I said, how about you? Would you have any friends? Would you put it on the screen? He said, nope. I said, what would come on the screen if we could see your thoughts? He said, I'm not telling you. I said, I'm going to tell you either. And we just kept moving right along. But Jesus, when the man came to him, y'all think this is dangerous because we're

supposed to be social distancing. Punishable by death, here comes this man who all of his life has had to Walk around, identified by his issue. Or maybe it wasn't all his life. Maybe it's more recent. Nobody really knows. See, when you got a spot on your skin as a leopard, you had to come to the priest, the sons of Aaron, and you had to show them the spot that was developing on your skin.

And when you showed them the spot that was developing on your skin, if it was just on the skin, that was a scab. And if it was just a scab, then you could stay integrated into society. But if it had gotten into the skin, or if the coloration continued to spread all across your skin, then they would confine you for seven days and check you out again. So when this man first saw a spot, maybe it was something he could cover up for a little while, because you know how it is. When something first starts in your life, you could cover it up for a little while and transfer something,

check in and savings, and Peter and Paul and all of that, and not really have to identify it. But the thing about it is, eventually, it had spread to the point where the man could no longer cover it and live normally because it began to cover more and more of his skin until the point where it had spread so far on his skin that it had pushed him out of the spaces where people tended to live. And I thought that this might be for some of us how shame operates. For a lot of us, what keeps us isolated isn't something on our skin. It's something in our souls.

When I was reading about the leprick coming to Jesus, I started to see myself. See, my spots aren't on my skin. My spots aren't visible to you. It might be better if they were. Because usually we address what others can see. So we get really good at fixing stuff, whether it's a hairline, you know, whether it's an external, cosmetic sequence of events that are designed to restore your youth, or whether it's a way that you dress to impress people, we're usually pretty good at covering up the outside stuff.

But what do you do when the spots aren't on your skin, rather? They're on your soul. This man broke through shame. This man broke through excuses. This man broke through tradition and came all the way. to Jesus and fell down at his feet and said, if you are willing, you can heal me. Now, a surface reading of this text, let me teach. I'll make me feel like I've got to close right now, and I don't want to close. In this text, we know too much. We know that Jesus

ends up healing the man and goes on to have a great ministry. But if you put your in the original context, this is not only a risky move for the leper, it's a risky move for Jesus. I want to make sure we understand why, because this is really going to help somebody. The Levitical law prescribed that not only should the leper stay away, but if a priest touch something that is deemed unclean, then the clean becomes unclean. Essentially the leper is saying to Jesus, if you are willing to be dirty by the person, you're association with me. It's going to cost you. But if you are willing, see, he's not just moving

this man out of the way to get to something more important. Remember what he just said, let's do what we came to do. So this is not an interruption. This is the assignment. This is not an interruption. This is the assignment. Sometimes we get confused and we start pushing away the very thing that God brought to us. that we could do the thing that we came to do. So we're pushing to the side the very thing that is our purpose. But Jesus, that's why I came for. I am willing, be clean.

I speak that over every shameful heart today. Be clean. I speak that over every sorrowful past today. Be clean. Be healed. Be washed. Be sprinkled with the water of this word. Be clean.

But Jesus didn't just speak it. See, he could have healed him just with a word. He did it for the official son. He sent his word and healed him. Jesus didn't even have to be in the same neighborhood to heal him. He could have spoken to the leprosy, but he didn't just want to speak it. He wanted to show it. He did something so dramatic.

He did something so costly. He did something so dangerous. hear me today, I don't know who this is for. You've been in a lonely place. It's a lonely place. Not just a little bored, a lonely place. A lonely place. You think this message is just for single people, it's not. I think it's the loneliest thing in the world to have people around you, but you can't really touch them and connect with them for who you really are. Because you just keep trying to give them who you think you're supposed to be. That's a lonely place. You think I'm talking about people who don't have followers on Instagram?

I'm not. I think we all have spots. I think we all have spots. I used to not think that. I used to think certain people didn't. I used to be embarrassed because I thought I was the weird one. But I think we all have spots. I think we all have insecurities.

We don't wear them on the outside so the priest can't see them. We don't wear them on the outside, so sometimes even the people who love us can't see what we really wrestle with. We all have spots. And now here you are in a pandemic, and you can't even come to church like you used to. That used to be the one time every week where you could get around other people and sing and let somebody's faith carry you. And now you're even having to have church in your lonely place.

But God gave me a word for you today in the lonely place. He said, I will. I will. And then he did. He didn't just speak it. He didn't just say it. He demonstrated it. Be clean.

And put the verse on the screen if you can, and he touched the man. Remember what I told you? If the clean touches the unclean, what did I say? that the clean becomes unclean, but this is not just any priest. We don't come to a high priest who is unable to be touched by the feeling of our infirmity. One of the first things that leprosy would attack was your ability to feel. One of the first indications that you had leprosy wasn't on your skin. It was the fact that you lost the ability to feel.

It's a bacterial infection that touches the nerve system. Now this man who is unable to feel is being touched by a priest who is feeling for him. Splagnyzomai, the Bible says. Jesus felt for him. He feels for you. He sympathizes with you. He sits with you. He lives with you.

He weeps with you. He walks with you. He gets angry with you. He feels what you feel. He said, I will. And he touched the man. Now here's the interesting thing about the text. We expect now that Jesus, the great high priest, becomes unclean and is disqualified because

he touched something that was defiled. But since this isn't just any priest, since this priest does not originate from men, since this priest did not come from earth, since this priest is without sin, the spotless lamb of God, since this is not just any priest, when the unclean touch, when the unclean such is the clean. The clean does not become unclean. The unclean becomes clean. And immediately that man's slupressy fell off. And immediately, shame has broken off your life. And immediately, what used to hold you doesn't hold you anymore. Give God praise if you know. Touch them, God. Touch them, God. They've been in a lonely place, God. They don't even

like themselves anymore. But touch them, God. They're so sick of this, God. But touch them. They're wondering how much longer? God, will my kids ever go back to school? Will I ever be able to go out again? Touch them like you touched that man. Touch them beyond the issues that they face. Not intimidated by our spots. Oh, God, whatever's been keeping them at a distance, I pray that they would have the courage to come close to you today. You've been in a lonely place. Because we all got spots. We all got spots. We've all got insecure places, inadequate places.

We've all got spots. When he touched that man, this is so beautiful. When I was texting my friend about it, I started to cry. I was just texting the idea how when this passage started, the leper was in a lonely place. I'm going to imagine thousands of people who are living in a lonely place today. And maybe nobody even knows that but you. You know, in the Bible, the lepers had to stay outside in the camps. Leviticus 1345 says that anyone who has this defiling disease on their skin has to wear

torn clothes. We do that by choice now for fashion, all these little worship leaders with their skinny jeans and the holes. But when you dressed in these clothes, it was to identify you from a distance as somebody who couldn't come close. You identify yourself as someone who can't get close. Some of you can't get close to others. You can't get close to God.

You can't really pray because you're not even praying about the real things. You're pretending to be somebody in God's presence that you're not, and he can't touch that. He can't touch that. But these lepers see, they were identifiable. from a distance because their clothes were torn. And the Bible says that they had to have unkempt hair. I was like, dang, this is like it was written in 2020. You see it? All the barbershops were closed. And the Bible says that these lepers, this gives us a picture of what the man had to live like. Unkempt hair, torn clothes, and they had to cover the lower part of their face.

The Bible's not relevant, is it? The Bible... The Bible is very relevant to the moment we're in. You've got to cover your face and cry out with your mouth, unclean, unclean. And as long as they have the disease, they remain unclean. They must live alone. When this passage started, the leper was in a very lonely place. Identified by his issues. And that's where some of you have been.

What brought a tear to my eye is how the passage ended. Because the Bible said that when Jesus healed the man, he told him, don't tell anyone what I did for you. That's the opposite of what we teach you in church. We tell you, click share, and if you have a testimony and praise the Lord and what has he done for you, but Jesus was governed by purpose. And he knew that if people started coming to him just to perform external miracles, it would miss the intention for which he came. When he told the man not to tell anyone, the Bible says he gave him a strong warning.

And the Hebrew image here is that his nostrils flared. Y'all ever heard of savage Jesus? How about snorting Jesus? I know y'all saw sweet Jesus, sweet little baby, eight pounds, six ounce Jesus, you know, superstitious Jesus, little stitious Jesus. I know you've seen all of those Jesuses, but this is snorting Jesus. And he gave the man a warning. He said, don't tell anybody what I did.

The first thing the man did after he got healed was go tell everyone. I thought, well, now, come on, Jesus. You know the future. You knew the man was going to go tell everybody, and it was going to cause you to have to go out, and it was going to cause you to have to move on, and he went and did exactly what you told him not to do. You knew he was going to be disobedient. Why did you heal him?

He said, I wanted to let you know I'll do it anyway. Come on now. I need you to know this. You think when God saved you, he didn't know what you were still going to struggle with, but I got news for somebody in this chat today. He did it anyway. If you know that God saved you and you still struggle with some things, but you can still come close to him and depend on him,

just put this in the chat right now. He did it anyway. He called my name. He gave me grace. He filled me with his spirit. He did it anyway. He didn't have to. I couldn't buy it.

I couldn't earn it. I don't deserve it. But he did it anyway. Anyway, praise. Come on, this is a message for the lepers. This is a message for the lepers. How do you get to Jesus? Any way you can.

Whatever it takes. I'm going forward. I'm not backing up. I'm not dying alone. I'm not going down. I'm coming alive. Anyway, anyway, I know I'm not supposed to touch you, but I'm going to touch you anyway. I know I'm not supposed to use you, but I'm going to use you anyway.

I'm going to do it anyway. I hear God saying about 2020. I know it's been a living hell, but I'm going to grow your faith anyway. I'm going to raise you up anyway. I'm going to get this gospel out anyway. I know it's only 40 people in the room, but I'm going to raise you up anyway. I'm about to preach anyway. He did it anyway.

I'm not perfect, buddy. He likes me anyway. I've got some obnoxious parts of my personality. But he likes me with rough edges. He's a carpenter. He's going to do it. You missed it. You missed it.

He's a carpenter. He needs something to work on. He needs an object lesson. He needs something that looks so unclean. He needs somebody so messy. He needs a situation so desperate that he can say, this is what I came to do. This is what I came to do. When the passage started, the leper was in a lonely place.

This man runs around running his mouth telling everybody about Jesus. And now everybody wants to come see it. But Jesus didn't come for that. He came for something. He didn't come just to fix what's on the surface level. Look at verse 45. He could no longer enter a town openly, but stayed outside in lonely places. When the passage started, Josh, this is what got me.

When the passage started, the leper was in a lonely place. But when the passage was over, it was in a lonely place. It's not just that he touched that man, it's that he traded places with him. You've been in a lonely place. I know you have. God showed it to me in the Spirit. He didn't have to show me your lonely place, because I know mine. Preachers get lonely, pastors get lonely, parents get lonely, kids get lonely, married people get lonely.

Jesus chose his loneliness. The leopard didn't choose his. And so some of you are sitting in a loneliness that was not chosen in this season of your life. The Lord wanted me to tell you, give him the scripture again from verse 45. This is my message today. He stayed in lonely places, yet the people still came to him from everywhere. God said to tell you he'll meet you in your lonely place. your hands. He said, you don't have to hide that from me. I'm willing to touch you. You don't have to stay away from me. You might be having to distance from people right now, but you can

just come closer to me. He's near to the broken heart. He gave us a gospel lesson that he went outside the camp so we could come in, that he became sin who knew no sin, that we might become the righteousness of God. So he said he wants to meet you in your lonely place. You know that place? You know that spot. You know that thing you keep trying to fix and you can't. God of all comfort, spirit of grace, I thank you for what you showed us in the text today, that Jesus traded places with the leper who was lonely.

And God, I thank you right now that you invite us into your presence so that we never have to be alone. This building right now has a lot of empty seats in it, and it's good, because now it's Because now it forces us to put this message into the lonely places. The lonely places. As they lift their hands, God, whether they're one of the few in this room or one of the hundreds of thousands all over the world who are receiving this message today, I ask that you would fill every lonely place and that we would have the courage to come close to you. real self, true self, honest self, let you into our emotions and let you into our situation, that the clean would touch the unclean, and that just like that man's leprosy fell off of his skin,

I pray that shame would fall off of your sons and daughters right now. In the name of Jesus, I break the power of shame off of the life of everyone who is lonely in the shadows, hair unkempt, dressed in torn clothes, known by their issue, Speak to that identity that is not sullied by shame with no layers of pretension. We come before you in your presence, God, is fullness of joy. Let's help us to be here and just right into that space, right into that home. If they're the only one there or if they're surrounded by people and they're feeling lonely, God, fill the lonely places as we worship you now. It came to him in a lonely place.

you could come to him in a lonely place with your clothes torn he said will you if you're willing you can make it you can make it stop you can stop the spread because all i want is all you are we meet body not come he said i took your place i took your shame this is what i came for come on bring it all into my presence This is what I came for. This is what I came for. That part of you, this is what I came for. Thank you, Lord. It really touched me.

I hope that it hit home for you too, just to know that Jesus is with you in your lonely place, that God is able to be accessed anywhere. There's no part of you that is too shameful to bring into his presence. You're not alone. And I hope you know that our ministry is here for you. It's been a lot different. I'm not going to lie, we never really imagined that we would be ministering in such a unique time, but God knew. And I believe he placed this ministry here for you and for others.

And also share the message, subscribe, you know, so you can get these messages every week. We need to keep God's word coming, not just once in a while. But, you know, we can't live off bread alone. We've got to live off every word that comes from the mouth of God. So make sure you subscribe so that we can continue to remind you of the truths that God has spoken. over your life. I'm going to leave you for now, but thank you for giving. Thank you for praying for me and Holly and Elijah and Graham and Abby and our family. We pray for your family as well. God would show up in amazing ways in your life this week. Thank you for supporting this ministry.

I'll see you soon. This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed human.