BE WHAT YOU SHOULD BE

BE WHAT YOU SHOULD BE:
DECIDING TO HAVE THE CORRECT VIEW OF SPIRITUALITY

Harsh as it may seem, the Bible hammers into our consciousness the hard fact of life that many of our emotional ups and downs are products wrong choices motivated mostly by either uninformed spirituality or a stubbornness coming out of our old nature. The Bible also tells us that our spirituality, as an experience, begins by being born again. That implies that we start our journey as babies in the faith, excited but still uninformed about the deeper truths of our salvation. It is expected of every believer to outgrow infanthood and grow to become a person mature in the faith and skilled in making decisions for his daily life. However, we know that this is not often true. Many believers who should have mature long ago still remain toddlers in their faith.

We are to decide, by the grace and mercies of God, to be what we should be before God and even before the world. There is no excuse of immaturity. We all must grow to maturity for though we are Christians in this world we are not worldly Christians.


COURAGE IS A CHOICE SO CHOOSE TO BE COURAGEOUS.
Matt 8:1-4. And when He had come down from the mountain, great multitudes followed Him. 2 And behold, a leper came to Him, and bowed down to Him, saying, "Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean." 3 And He stretched out His hand and touched him, saying, "I am willing; be cleansed." And immediately his leprosy was cleansed. 4 And Jesus said to him, "See that you tell no one; but go, show yourself to the priest, and present the offering that Moses commanded, for a testimony to them." NASB

Here is a deep spiritual truth that we must make a part of our library of principles: THE CROWD CANNOT HIDE YOU FROM THE LORD’S LOVE AND KINDNESS. Close your eyes and picture this: The Lord had come down from the mountain. The multitudes (not multitude- did you notice?) were there, waiting for Him and when they saw Him, they followed Him. A more modern translation renders the verse this way: Matt 8:1. “When Jesus came down from the hill, large crowds followed him.” TEV. In a literal sense, we can say that they were all followers. With all the people there, ONLY ONE ACTUALLY directly benefited from the love and kindness of the Lord. A leper approached the Lord and, with all humility, said: “Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.” The Lord says: “I am willing, be cleansed.” It may not appear a lot to us but IT WAS! The Lord healed the Leper so he can go back and be reconciled to Society. But, here is the challenge to you: Out of the multitudes that were there, one who had a serious need received the blessings. You see, the multitudes cannot hide you and your need from the loving and kind eyes of the Lord. I don’t know where you are now as you read this but it makes no difference because wherever you are, nothing can hide you and your needs from the eyes of the Loving Savior. Is it your turn today to be noticed by the Lord? Claim it! Think about your need. Tell the Lord that if He is willing (and He will certainly be willing), He can meet your needs.

CONFIDENCE IS AN EXCELLENT CHOICE SO CHOOSE TO BE CONFIDENT:
Matt 8:1-4. And when He had come down from the mountain, great multitudes followed Him. 2 And behold, a leper came to Him, and bowed down to Him, saying, "Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean." 3 And He stretched out His hand and touched him, saying, "I am willing; be cleansed." And immediately his leprosy was cleansed. 4 And Jesus said to him, "See that you tell no one; but go, show yourself to the priest, and present the offering that Moses commanded, for a testimony to them." NASB
Here is another wonderful truth for our library of principles: NOBODY CAN KEEP YOU AWAY FROM THE PRESENCE AND PROVISIONS OF THE LORD. Both by the prevailing law and culture of those days, a leper cannot just approach any other person. Jesus was already regarded as a Rabbi or a teacher at that time. A leper approaching a Rabbi risks being stoned away. The leper knows his condition; it’s quite serious. The leper knows what the people can do to him; they might stone him away. But there was one thing more the leper knew and was certainly confident about: he was certain the Lord would not turn him down so he took the risk, approached the Lord and got healed. He never doubted that if Jesus willed, the Lord could make him clean.

Sometimes there is something in us that prevents us from approaching the Lord with confidence. Is it sin? Is it discouragement? Is it frustration? Whatever that is, just take the attitude of the leper. He knew the seriousness of his condition and the risks he was taking but he also, without a shadow of a doubt, had pure confidence in the Lord and so he approached him. He understood that the basis of approaching the Lord was not his (the leper’s) lack of qualifications but the love and kindness of the Lord. Try this principle of APPROACHING THE LORD WITH CONFIDENCE and ask Him for a favor today. Right now, pause and talk to the Lord. Be confident. You may actually be disqualified (just like most of us) as a sinner but that is not the issue. The Lord loves the unlovable and accepts the outcast.

HUMILITY IS NOT AN EASY CHOICE BUT WE MUST CHOOSE TO BE HUMBLE.
Matt 8:1-4. And when He had come down from the mountain, great multitudes followed Him. 2 And behold, a leper came to Him, and bowed down to Him, saying, "Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean." 3 And He stretched out His hand and touched him, saying, "I am willing; be cleansed." And immediately his leprosy was cleansed. 4 And Jesus said to him, "See that you tell no one; but go, show yourself to the priest, and present the offering that Moses commanded, for a testimony to them." NASB

He is the third of those wonderful principles you may want to add to your library of principles: APPROACH THE LORD WITH CONFIDENCE NOT BECAUSE OF ANYTHING YOU HAVE BUT APPROACH HIM WITH THE “IF YOU ARE WILLING” ATTITUDE. The leper was courageous; give him that. He knew the risk of being stoned away but no threat of stoning can prevent him from approaching the Lord. The leper was confident; he was banking on the Lord’s already talked-about kindness and not on his personal disqualification as a leper. Yet, when he actually got in front of the Lord (how it happened without him being stoned away is in itself a miracle), he “bowed down” and said: Lord, if you are willing, You can make me clean.”

Here is demonstrated humility. He presented a request not based on his right. He says: “If you are willing.” It would be like saying: “I know my needs and I know that You can meet my needs but I am presenting this request to you because I know that if you are willing, You can make me clean.” Humility goes a long way. It can open the door to the presence of the Lord. Tell God about your needs and just say: Father, if you are willing, You can give me the desires of my heart.

NOT EVERYONE CAN ACCEPT THE NEED TO BE REVERENT BUT WE MUST CHOOSE TO BE ONE:
Matt 8:1-4. And when He had come down from the mountain, great multitudes followed Him. 2 And behold, a leper came to Him, and bowed down to Him, saying, "Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean." 3 And He stretched out His hand and touched him, saying, "I am willing; be cleansed." And immediately his leprosy was cleansed. 4 And Jesus said to him, "See that you tell no one; but go, show yourself to the priest, and present the offering that Moses commanded, for a testimony to them." NASB

Here is our fourth principle for our library of principles: APPROACH THE LORD WITH PROPER RESPECT AND GIVE HIM THE GLORY DUE HIM AS OUR LORD AND SAVIOR. The NASB tells us that the leper BOWED DOWN. The NIV says the leper KNELT BEFORE HIM. The KJV tells us that the man WORSHIPED HIM. There is a good reason for the use of the word Worshiped in the KJV. The Greek verb is proskunein, and it really means worship! But worship is usually accompanied by the behavioral act of bowing down or kneeling, the NIV and the NASB opted to refer to the physical act- probably to make it more understandable – while the KJV opted to use the word “worshiped” to reveal the meaning of the act.

The crowds followed the Lord but at this stage there is no record of the Lord being worshiped. Now, one man, disqualified by their law and culture from approaching the Lord, did approach Him and demonstrated the proper way to approach the Lord: REVERENTIAL WORSHIP. A rephrased translation would be like this: “he (the leper) approached Jesus, worshiped Him and said; Lord…”. In the passage, we see three signs of reverence: The attitude (worshipful), the act (bowed down or knelt before Him) and the Title used (Lord). Approach the Lord with reverence because this is the proper way to talk to the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Try this: Find a place to kneel down (you can use pillow to protect your knees if you want to). Start worshiping God on your knees. Tell Him who He is in your life. Sing if your spirit feels like doing so. Towards the end, tell the Lord about your need. It is a wonderful experience. Try it today.

MANY PRAY WITH HOPELESSNESS AS THE CONTROLLING MINDSET. DON’T BE LIKE THEM. BE EXPECTANT WHEN YOU ASK SOMETHING FROM THE LORD:
Matt 8:1-4. And when He had come down from the mountain, great multitudes followed Him. 2 And behold, a leper came to Him, and bowed down to Him, saying, "Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean." 3 And He stretched out His hand and touched him, saying, "I am willing; be cleansed." And immediately his leprosy was cleansed. 4 And Jesus said to him, "See that you tell no one; but go, show yourself to the priest, and present the offering that Moses commanded, for a testimony to them." NASB

Our fifth principle in our library of principles: YOU ARE APPROACHING THE KING OF KINGS AND THE LORD OF LORDS WHOSE POWER IS UNLIMITED AND WHOSE COMPASSION KNOWS NO BORDERS. Imagine this: Crowds following the Lord. Then one man, a leper at that, managed to find his way to the Savior (if there’s a will, there’s a way, right?). The leper worshiped Him (bowed down or knelt before Him). Do you see the picture now? The leper was blocking Jesus’ path! He was that expectant! Of course the leper did not say : you can only move forward over my dead body.” It was more like: “ The Lord will soon walk forward over my HEALED BODY.”

Then the leper felt a touch; Jesus was touching Him (unthinkable really, in those days) and the leper heard the words that would end his misery, mend his broken life, free him from the misery of social isolation and usher in the hope which long ago had been taken from him: “I am willing, be cleansed.” I suppose that since that day, the leper may have become the LEAPER; one who leaps for joy. Read Matthew 7:7 and apply it in prayer today. Be expectant.

COMPASSION IS FADING AWAY AS AN ATTITUDE BUT WE MUST BE DIFFERENT. WE MUST BE COMPASSIONATE.
Matt 8:1-4. And when He had come down from the mountain, great multitudes followed Him. 2 And behold, a leper came to Him, and bowed down to Him, saying, "Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean." 3 And He stretched out His hand and touched him, saying, "I am willing; be cleansed." And immediately his leprosy was cleansed. 4 And Jesus said to him, "See that you tell no one; but go, show yourself to the priest, and present the offering that Moses commanded, for a testimony to them." NASB
Here is our sixth principle in our library of principles: IF YOU HAVE EXPERIENCED GOD’S COMPASSION, IT IS NOW YOUR DUTY TO BE COMPASSIONATE TO OTHERS. The leper was literally “untouchable” in the sense that others were not allowed to touch him. Compassion, however, notices the need, feels the hurt and goes beyond what is usual and ordinary. It generates healing, gives comfort, assists and restores. This is what the Lord did to the leper. The touch of compassion, the words of compassion changed the life of the leper. He was not a leper anymore. He had become a LEAPER; leaping for joy.

The Bible tells us that God is gracious and compassionate. Joel 2:13. Rend your heart and not your garments. Return to the LORD your God, for he is gracious and compassionate , slow to anger and abounding in love, and he relents from sending calamity. (NIV). The Bible tells us to be compassionate. Eph 4:32. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. (NIV). Here is something I discovered from observing life and by actual experience. He who has received the Lord’s compassion and goes out and becomes compassionate to others has more chance to enjoy life and to enter into a deeper and closer relationship with the Lord. . Read Eph. 4:32 again rephrase it this way (to become your prayer): Father, make me kind and compassionate to others, to forgive others just as you have also forgiven me in the Lord Jesus Christ.

THIS IS A NON-NEGOTIABLE REQUIREMENT: BE A WITNESS FOR THE LORD.
Matt 8:1-4. And when He had come down from the mountain, great multitudes followed Him. 2 And behold, a leper came to Him, and bowed down to Him, saying, "Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean." 3 And He stretched out His hand and touched him, saying, "I am willing; be cleansed." And immediately his leprosy was cleansed. 4 And Jesus said to him, "See that you tell no one; but go, show yourself to the priest, and present the offering that Moses commanded, for a testimony to them." NASB

Here is our seventh principle for our library of principles: To be a good witness for the Lord, be prepared to do it the right way. The last verse in our text for the week is a bit strange for most people. The healed leper was told not to tell anyone about his healing. Why should you be quiet about such wonderful news? There is a good reason for this. If you want to be (and we should) a witness for the Lord, you have to be prepared to do it the right way, otherwise you bring more harm than good.

The Lord told the leper to go to the priests to make the correct offering and to go through the process required to receive a certificate that he has, indeed, been healed of his leprosy. The process is discussed in Leviticus 14 (read it some other time). Finally, after a thorough process, he gets declared as having been healed of his leprosy. Then he gets a certificate. At this stage, he can tell others because others will actually demand of him.

Without the certificate, he can talk about what the Lord had done but it will simply trigger troubles for everyone, including the Lord. The Romans would be suspicious, the Jewish leaders would be disturbed and the population may want to make the Lord their King and fight the Romans. On the other hand, when he finally gets the certificate from the priests, then he has incontrovertible proof of having been healed and he can point to the Lord as the reason for his healing and it cannot be disputed anymore. He was being prepared to become a good and credible witness for the Lord. Are you being trained to be a witness for the Lord? Without being trained, one can sometimes becomes a HOSTILE witness; doing more harm than good. Ask God to help you become a good and credible witness of His love and compassion.