1 00:00:03,480 --> 00:00:06,080 Amen. We can claim our promise today. 2 00:00:06,480 --> 00:00:08,960 Thank the Lord. Aren't you glad that you have a 3 00:00:08,960 --> 00:00:11,480 promise you can claim? Amen. 4 00:00:11,480 --> 00:00:14,520 So glad today to be in the House of the Lord of each one of you. 5 00:00:15,040 --> 00:00:16,880 Amen. Here today, we're so glad to 6 00:00:16,880 --> 00:00:18,840 have everyone of you. I want to make honorable 7 00:00:18,840 --> 00:00:20,520 mention. It's good to have Aaron Brown 8 00:00:20,520 --> 00:00:23,000 swing through here today. This is the only service he's 9 00:00:23,000 --> 00:00:28,200 going to be able to be here. He's got he's got more teaching 10 00:00:28,200 --> 00:00:31,520 to do away and more schools to inspect and such. 11 00:00:31,520 --> 00:00:33,720 But we're glad when he can stop in. 12 00:00:33,960 --> 00:00:36,560 He's worried that he's not going to get a bowl of chili whenever 13 00:00:36,560 --> 00:00:40,240 it's the annual chili supper. And so I didn't, I don't even 14 00:00:40,240 --> 00:00:41,760 know if we're going to even save him one. 15 00:00:41,760 --> 00:00:44,880 I just and I've talked to brother Fred about it and see, 16 00:00:45,040 --> 00:00:47,920 get a committee together and we'll make a vote about it. 17 00:00:48,160 --> 00:00:50,120 Hey, man. But with that being said, coming 18 00:00:50,120 --> 00:00:52,640 up in the month of October and folks October is just around the 19 00:00:52,640 --> 00:00:57,120 corner in the month of October on the 11th is our annual chili 20 00:00:57,120 --> 00:00:58,880 supper and hayride here at the church. 21 00:00:59,120 --> 00:01:02,840 Even invite you to come and be a part of that of that day. 22 00:01:02,840 --> 00:01:06,240 We'll be having our second annual cornhole competition and 23 00:01:06,240 --> 00:01:08,000 there's sign up sheet on the bulletin board. 24 00:01:08,320 --> 00:01:11,760 If you want to put together a team of two people and come up 25 00:01:11,760 --> 00:01:15,000 with a team name and participate in that, you can, Amen. 26 00:01:15,000 --> 00:01:18,440 And that then also kind of springs boards, our fall revival 27 00:01:19,040 --> 00:01:23,040 with The Smiths that will begin on that Sunday, the 12th and go 28 00:01:23,040 --> 00:01:25,640 through the 15th. That Wednesday every night, 29 00:01:26,240 --> 00:01:27,840 we'll be having revival with them. 30 00:01:27,840 --> 00:01:30,600 And so there'll be a great opportunity, Amen, to come. 31 00:01:30,800 --> 00:01:33,440 We're going to be turning to the book of Leviticus chapter 13 32 00:01:33,440 --> 00:01:35,840 today, Amen. We're so thankful for God's hand 33 00:01:35,840 --> 00:01:37,600 on the different things with Brother Mason. 34 00:01:37,800 --> 00:01:40,480 What you don't know when he fell, his head hit the they have 35 00:01:40,480 --> 00:01:44,080 radiator heating in their house and his head hit the radiator 36 00:01:44,440 --> 00:01:47,200 and they had just taken off the cover, which typically has sharp 37 00:01:47,200 --> 00:01:49,200 edges on it just taking that off. 38 00:01:49,200 --> 00:01:52,960 So we're thankful that the Lord Amen kept his hand of protection 39 00:01:53,320 --> 00:01:57,000 Amen upon him and we are we exceedingly glad to have the 40 00:01:57,000 --> 00:02:00,320 Champions man. They just like in my hip pocket 41 00:02:00,320 --> 00:02:03,760 they have helped and it wasn't till today I recognized. 42 00:02:03,760 --> 00:02:06,800 I contacted them late last night probably, I don't know, 7 43 00:02:06,800 --> 00:02:10,680 thirtyish or something or more, which was 830 their time and it 44 00:02:10,680 --> 00:02:16,280 was their anniversary yesterday celebrating 2022 years of 45 00:02:16,280 --> 00:02:18,440 marriage together. Amen. 46 00:02:18,440 --> 00:02:22,680 Let's honor them today. What a great, great Amen couple 47 00:02:22,680 --> 00:02:25,400 and we love and appreciate them dearly. 48 00:02:25,560 --> 00:02:28,280 Leviticus chapter 13. I'm going to read just a few 49 00:02:28,280 --> 00:02:32,360 verses skipping around here this morning, starting with verse 12. 50 00:02:32,680 --> 00:02:35,240 I want to read from the King James Version, and then I'm 51 00:02:35,240 --> 00:02:37,960 going to read it from the contemporary English version, 52 00:02:38,160 --> 00:02:41,800 which is the version that kind of spawned me in this direction 53 00:02:41,800 --> 00:02:44,160 today. All right, Leviticus 13 and 54 00:02:44,160 --> 00:02:48,120 verse #12 the Bible says, and this is all concerning people 55 00:02:48,120 --> 00:02:52,960 who have leprosy, the treatment of leprosy, the all things 56 00:02:52,960 --> 00:02:54,720 concerning leprosy. OK. 57 00:02:55,080 --> 00:02:59,360 And if a leprosy break out abroad in the skin, and the 58 00:02:59,360 --> 00:03:03,440 leprosy cover all the skin of him that have the plague from 59 00:03:03,440 --> 00:03:08,800 his head even to his foot, wheresoever the priests look of 60 00:03:08,800 --> 00:03:11,000 them, the priests shall consider. 61 00:03:11,000 --> 00:03:15,720 And behold, if the leprosy have covered all his flesh, he shall 62 00:03:15,920 --> 00:03:18,200 pronounce him clean that have the plague. 63 00:03:18,520 --> 00:03:21,600 It is all turned white. He is clean. 64 00:03:21,600 --> 00:03:28,160 Skipping to verse #2023 today. But if the bright spots stay in 65 00:03:28,160 --> 00:03:32,040 his place and spread not as a burning boil, and the priest 66 00:03:32,040 --> 00:03:36,000 shall pronounce him cling. Verse 28, the Bible says in the 67 00:03:36,000 --> 00:03:38,240 King James. And if the bright spots stay in 68 00:03:38,240 --> 00:03:42,640 his place and spread, not in the skin, but it'd be somewhat dark. 69 00:03:42,880 --> 00:03:45,560 It is a rising. It is a rising of the burning, 70 00:03:45,560 --> 00:03:47,760 and the priest shall pronounce him cling. 71 00:03:48,600 --> 00:03:51,280 It's an inflammation of the burning. 72 00:03:51,280 --> 00:03:54,160 Now if you'll just allow me to read those same verses from the 73 00:03:54,160 --> 00:03:57,240 contemporary English version, and I think you'll see a little 74 00:03:57,240 --> 00:04:01,040 pattern going on here. But if the disease has run its 75 00:04:01,040 --> 00:04:05,280 course and only the scars remain, he will say you are 76 00:04:05,280 --> 00:04:08,200 clean. Verse 23 says, But if if it 77 00:04:08,200 --> 00:04:12,720 doesn't spread and only a scar remains, he will say you are now 78 00:04:12,720 --> 00:04:15,560 clean. Verse 28 says, however, if the 79 00:04:15,560 --> 00:04:19,760 infection hasn't spread and has begun to heal, and if only a 80 00:04:19,760 --> 00:04:24,160 scar remains, he will say only a scar remains from the burn. 81 00:04:24,600 --> 00:04:27,520 You are clean for a little while this morning. 82 00:04:27,520 --> 00:04:30,640 I want to minister this to this precious group of people. 83 00:04:31,000 --> 00:04:40,120 Only a scar remains. Only a scar remains. 84 00:04:40,440 --> 00:04:43,080 Let's ask the Lord's help today. Father, we love you today. 85 00:04:43,080 --> 00:04:45,080 We're so thankful, Lord, to be in your house. 86 00:04:45,440 --> 00:04:47,760 We're thankful, Lord Jesus, for those that have gathered 87 00:04:47,760 --> 00:04:50,120 together. We're thankful God, Lord, for 88 00:04:50,120 --> 00:04:52,560 the baptism that's going to take place at the end of this 89 00:04:52,560 --> 00:04:54,720 service. God's, we rejoice with Brittany. 90 00:04:55,000 --> 00:04:56,320 God, we're thankful for our guests. 91 00:04:56,320 --> 00:04:57,880 We're thankful, Lord, for your anointing. 92 00:04:58,120 --> 00:04:59,600 God, our friends that are here today. 93 00:04:59,600 --> 00:05:02,920 Lord, let your spirit do its work, Lord, in this building 94 00:05:02,920 --> 00:05:06,600 today and will not fail to thank you and praise you God for what 95 00:05:06,600 --> 00:05:09,880 you accomplished in this house. And the lovely name of the Lord 96 00:05:09,960 --> 00:05:13,280 Jesus Christ that I pray, Amen and Amen. 97 00:05:13,280 --> 00:05:17,000 The church say Amen, Amen. You may be seated this morning 98 00:05:17,240 --> 00:05:20,880 in Jesus name now, whereas there are several of you that that 99 00:05:20,880 --> 00:05:23,640 know me and you have a history with me. 100 00:05:23,640 --> 00:05:27,800 But for those that are some of our newcomers here, I am the 101 00:05:27,800 --> 00:05:31,240 youngest of five children. I'm the youngest of five 102 00:05:31,240 --> 00:05:35,680 children, and those siblings that are older than me are all 103 00:05:35,680 --> 00:05:38,920 girls, all right? So I expect some sympathy right 104 00:05:38,920 --> 00:05:41,680 now. And whenever we were young, 105 00:05:41,920 --> 00:05:45,200 whenever we were young. And then you might think that 106 00:05:45,200 --> 00:05:47,200 don't have no stories to tell, right? 107 00:05:47,200 --> 00:05:50,040 Because they're all girls and I'm just one boy. 108 00:05:50,040 --> 00:05:53,040 So there's no such thing as fights or nothing like that 109 00:05:53,040 --> 00:05:55,040 because you don't have a house full of boys. 110 00:05:55,400 --> 00:05:58,640 Well, I'm here to tell you today and I have all four sisters that 111 00:05:58,640 --> 00:06:03,480 are here this morning. All right there, I know my 112 00:06:03,480 --> 00:06:06,640 sister Rebecca looks like the premise and proper thing of 113 00:06:06,640 --> 00:06:10,000 mankind. But when we were young, Rebecca 114 00:06:10,000 --> 00:06:14,600 bloodied numerous noses, all of which were boys. 115 00:06:16,680 --> 00:06:20,680 So she was like, she was like the security of the McGee 116 00:06:20,800 --> 00:06:24,200 siblings. And so she she I mean, I know 117 00:06:24,200 --> 00:06:26,960 she looks sweet, but if she wanted to and needed to, she 118 00:06:26,960 --> 00:06:29,200 could take you out. All right, I'm just letting you 119 00:06:29,200 --> 00:06:30,920 know. But it wasn't always sweet. 120 00:06:30,920 --> 00:06:34,280 There was one particular time I was standing at one of the 121 00:06:34,280 --> 00:06:37,400 dressers and Roberta, I know you think she's sweet, don't you? 122 00:06:37,760 --> 00:06:41,760 And Roberta Mason, Sister Mason was standing by me and she acted 123 00:06:41,760 --> 00:06:45,160 like she was going to slap me. And so from impulse, I just 124 00:06:45,160 --> 00:06:49,280 downward with my head and caught in the corner of the dresser 125 00:06:49,280 --> 00:06:52,480 and, and caused a RIP right above my eye that required 126 00:06:52,480 --> 00:06:55,960 stitches. And as a result of that, and so 127 00:06:55,960 --> 00:06:58,760 they weren't always sweet. You know, they I know they talk 128 00:06:58,760 --> 00:07:01,600 bad about boys, but the girls have the spice and it's not 129 00:07:01,600 --> 00:07:03,920 always everything nice. I'm just letting you know. 130 00:07:04,560 --> 00:07:09,320 But with that then also years years ago been now almost 30 131 00:07:09,320 --> 00:07:14,160 years ago, the night before I graduated from high school, my 132 00:07:14,160 --> 00:07:17,720 girlfriend, who is now my wife right here sitting on the front 133 00:07:17,720 --> 00:07:19,560 row. She and I were getting ready to 134 00:07:19,560 --> 00:07:22,400 jump into my car to head somewhere. 135 00:07:22,720 --> 00:07:26,440 And so I started to get into the car and I had the door just 136 00:07:26,440 --> 00:07:30,560 partially open and of course I was staring at this beautiful 137 00:07:30,560 --> 00:07:34,440 creation that God had get in the car right across from me. 138 00:07:34,640 --> 00:07:38,520 And as I made the movement down Ray into the vehicle, a partial 139 00:07:38,520 --> 00:07:43,000 open door, the back of this melon head hit that, that, that 140 00:07:43,000 --> 00:07:46,960 that door and then it ricocheted my face into the door framing 141 00:07:47,320 --> 00:07:53,240 again, bloody Black Eyed on my graduation day was in the 142 00:07:53,240 --> 00:07:58,080 emergency room late at night getting stitches from that as 143 00:07:58,080 --> 00:07:59,560 well. I matter of fact, I went through 144 00:07:59,560 --> 00:08:01,880 some of the graduation pictures, thought about bringing 1 putting 145 00:08:01,880 --> 00:08:04,640 up there, but you know, photography wasn't as good as it 146 00:08:04,640 --> 00:08:06,240 was today. Today you'd have been able to 147 00:08:06,240 --> 00:08:08,480 see every little tear of the skin. 148 00:08:08,480 --> 00:08:12,000 So I I didn't bring it, But again, it required stitches. 149 00:08:12,000 --> 00:08:15,280 So upon close examination, if you got to my face and you 150 00:08:15,280 --> 00:08:16,720 probably don't want to get that close. 151 00:08:16,720 --> 00:08:20,640 But nonetheless, I have scars from both of those episodes 152 00:08:20,880 --> 00:08:23,760 above my eye. And of course, as I've grown 153 00:08:23,760 --> 00:08:27,240 older, most people know this as we grow older, they're not as 154 00:08:27,240 --> 00:08:30,960 visible today as they once were because now they camouflage 155 00:08:31,000 --> 00:08:34,799 almost as wrinkles on my faces, right? 156 00:08:34,799 --> 00:08:37,240 And so it just matches other stuff that's on my face, you 157 00:08:37,240 --> 00:08:39,720 know, like it got caught on fire and someone stomped it out. 158 00:08:40,000 --> 00:08:43,440 And so it, it just now wrinkles that are upon my face. 159 00:08:43,440 --> 00:08:46,520 It's just, and if you ever wonder why do you, your eyebrows 160 00:08:46,520 --> 00:08:48,040 are so hot, you know, heavily grown. 161 00:08:48,320 --> 00:08:50,240 I don't wax, I don't pluck, I don't trim. 162 00:08:50,240 --> 00:08:52,920 That's because some of the scars are right there in the eyebrow. 163 00:08:53,200 --> 00:08:55,360 So it's my way of concealing them. 164 00:08:57,640 --> 00:09:00,400 But medically, they say a scar is in the bodies. 165 00:09:00,400 --> 00:09:04,040 It's the body's natural way of healing, replacing loss or 166 00:09:04,040 --> 00:09:06,440 damaged skin. They, they say one of our skin 167 00:09:06,440 --> 00:09:10,520 is injured, that whether it be by a cut or a burn or, or or a 168 00:09:10,520 --> 00:09:14,320 sore, that our body works very quickly to repair itself. 169 00:09:14,440 --> 00:09:18,240 There's new little collagen fibers that will form and put a 170 00:09:18,400 --> 00:09:20,920 patch, if you will, upon the wound. 171 00:09:20,920 --> 00:09:24,360 And, and they tell us though, that the skin will, will not 172 00:09:24,360 --> 00:09:28,040 look exactly like it before sometimes in many of you. 173 00:09:28,040 --> 00:09:30,880 How many has a scar on their body somewhere. 174 00:09:30,880 --> 00:09:34,480 And we don't have to have show and tell, OK, but have a scar 175 00:09:34,480 --> 00:09:37,080 somewhere on your body. It doesn't doesn't look exactly 176 00:09:37,080 --> 00:09:40,000 like the rest of your skin. It may may be raised, there 177 00:09:40,000 --> 00:09:42,840 might be some discoloration of it there. 178 00:09:42,840 --> 00:09:44,960 There may be a different texture to it. 179 00:09:45,200 --> 00:09:49,320 But the very presence of a scar signifies that that wound has 180 00:09:49,320 --> 00:09:52,360 closed, that the bleeding that may have been happening has 181 00:09:52,360 --> 00:09:55,960 stopped and that the risk of infection that you had that all 182 00:09:55,960 --> 00:09:58,240 of that is gone. But have you ever noticed, 183 00:09:58,240 --> 00:10:02,360 particularly in our generation today, how people try to hide 184 00:10:02,360 --> 00:10:06,240 their scars, try to hide their scars? 185 00:10:06,240 --> 00:10:09,160 We, we'll go out and we'll, we'll buy lotions, you know, 186 00:10:09,160 --> 00:10:12,200 we'll look on Amazon till our eyes are crossways. 187 00:10:12,200 --> 00:10:14,880 And I'm remember when Moderna came out and everybody's like, 188 00:10:14,880 --> 00:10:16,760 oh, if you get Moderna, put that on there. 189 00:10:16,760 --> 00:10:19,240 It'll take care of those scars. Amen. 190 00:10:19,240 --> 00:10:20,600 As long as you don't go out in the sun. 191 00:10:20,600 --> 00:10:22,440 Now you don't want to do that, you make it worse. 192 00:10:22,440 --> 00:10:24,840 And so we buy lotions and creams. 193 00:10:24,840 --> 00:10:28,720 Some people even have surgeries in order to make their scars 194 00:10:28,720 --> 00:10:31,920 fade away. People try to cover them up. 195 00:10:32,280 --> 00:10:36,240 Some people I see just just an observation of of being a part 196 00:10:36,240 --> 00:10:38,880 of this fabric called life. Sometimes I see them constantly 197 00:10:38,880 --> 00:10:41,600 pulling up their sleeve. They're trying to keep a scar 198 00:10:41,600 --> 00:10:44,760 hidden or they're pulling up a collar because of a spot on 199 00:10:44,760 --> 00:10:48,440 their neck that they had or, or they may be sitting in a public 200 00:10:48,440 --> 00:10:52,360 place and I see them just just consciously putting their hands 201 00:10:52,360 --> 00:10:55,440 in just a certain position because they're trying to keep 202 00:10:55,440 --> 00:10:59,280 anybody body from noticing A scar that they have on their 203 00:10:59,280 --> 00:11:01,400 body. And then we asked ourselves, why 204 00:11:01,400 --> 00:11:04,080 do we do this? Because scars to a certain 205 00:11:04,080 --> 00:11:06,560 degree, I think for all of us make us feel a little bit 206 00:11:06,560 --> 00:11:09,640 self-conscious, just a little bit self aware. 207 00:11:09,640 --> 00:11:13,560 It it reminds us maybe of something painful that happened 208 00:11:13,560 --> 00:11:16,600 that maybe some of us would just really like to forget. 209 00:11:16,920 --> 00:11:19,960 Because the fact of the matter, every scar has a story. 210 00:11:20,800 --> 00:11:23,840 I mean, as a young boy, if you had a good scar and someone 211 00:11:23,840 --> 00:11:26,680 said, hey, what went on? You was ready to tell the story, 212 00:11:26,680 --> 00:11:28,840 You know, because it's boys, the mentality is different. 213 00:11:28,840 --> 00:11:32,000 It's like, yeah, I survived. You know, it was gruesome and 214 00:11:32,000 --> 00:11:35,280 all of that. But every scar has a story. 215 00:11:35,600 --> 00:11:39,400 And some of those stories, the scars of our life, we, we would 216 00:11:39,400 --> 00:11:43,360 though, rather not tell. Sometimes there's just a a scar 217 00:11:43,360 --> 00:11:46,880 on the arm and it might whisper some type of accident or like 218 00:11:46,880 --> 00:11:50,560 Bishop and Sister McGee and now Sister Brenda have that scar 219 00:11:50,560 --> 00:11:54,840 going down on their sternum that speaks of a surgery that they 220 00:11:54,840 --> 00:11:58,760 had and maybe the fear that came with that and the pain that was 221 00:11:58,760 --> 00:12:02,600 experienced from that. Or a scar for sure on on a face. 222 00:12:02,600 --> 00:12:05,120 Someone says, well, that that that's just going to make 223 00:12:05,120 --> 00:12:08,600 everything me going to be a little bit more less attractive 224 00:12:08,600 --> 00:12:11,200 with that scar. Because we live in a culture 225 00:12:11,200 --> 00:12:16,960 that is obsessed with perfections, smooth skin, 226 00:12:17,560 --> 00:12:21,400 flawless beauty, airbrushed images. 227 00:12:21,760 --> 00:12:25,800 And in that world, a scar feels like a blemish. 228 00:12:26,240 --> 00:12:30,200 In that world, a scar feels like a mark against us. 229 00:12:30,200 --> 00:12:33,800 It it tells people, you know, I've been hurt and I've had a 230 00:12:33,800 --> 00:12:37,840 hard life or I've been broken and I've been through something 231 00:12:37,840 --> 00:12:41,000 I wished I'd avoided. And we, the ones having the 232 00:12:41,000 --> 00:12:44,480 scar, look at everybody else. And since we don't see their 233 00:12:44,480 --> 00:12:48,080 scar, it's just the assumption they had the perfect with life. 234 00:12:48,080 --> 00:12:50,840 They've never had any challenges, they've never done 235 00:12:50,840 --> 00:12:54,200 anything wrong, they've not made a mistake, they've never had an 236 00:12:54,200 --> 00:12:56,920 errand. All of that can be very self 237 00:12:56,920 --> 00:13:01,120 incriminating to those of us that know our own scars. 238 00:13:02,800 --> 00:13:06,760 Then there are scars that nobody can see because they're not on 239 00:13:06,760 --> 00:13:08,800 the skin, they are on the inside of us. 240 00:13:08,800 --> 00:13:11,920 There's emotional scars, some here today. 241 00:13:11,920 --> 00:13:14,640 Maybe you've been betrayed in the past and you carry some 242 00:13:14,920 --> 00:13:19,440 emotional scars or spiritual scars, if you will, things of a 243 00:13:19,440 --> 00:13:23,080 failure of yesteryear. And we have been even the shame 244 00:13:23,080 --> 00:13:25,360 of sin. But the Bible speaks of us upon 245 00:13:25,360 --> 00:13:30,480 our lives that leaves a mark of deep in our soul, scars upon our 246 00:13:30,480 --> 00:13:31,600 soul. Amen. 247 00:13:31,600 --> 00:13:35,000 And they're hard to carry because we can't cover them up, 248 00:13:35,000 --> 00:13:39,120 so to speak, with a mask or we can't pull a collar or a shirt 249 00:13:39,120 --> 00:13:42,200 down to cover those. We just try to learn to smile 250 00:13:42,200 --> 00:13:46,320 with a happy face and nod and hope that nobody looks too 251 00:13:46,320 --> 00:13:50,440 closely and sees the pain of where we once was. 252 00:13:52,000 --> 00:13:59,440 Sometimes scars embarrass us, disgust us, make us at times 253 00:13:59,440 --> 00:14:06,320 even feel unclean, like we're damaged goods, unworthy of love, 254 00:14:07,280 --> 00:14:11,240 unworthy of acceptance. That's just how people feel 255 00:14:11,240 --> 00:14:14,480 about scars. People sometimes have the idea, 256 00:14:14,720 --> 00:14:22,120 if they only knew what I've done, if they only knew where 257 00:14:22,120 --> 00:14:27,480 I've been, if they only truly saw what I'm carrying, they'd 258 00:14:27,480 --> 00:14:34,680 never look at me the same way. Leprosy in the book of 259 00:14:34,680 --> 00:14:38,960 Leviticus, in the Old Testament, it was more than just a skin 260 00:14:38,960 --> 00:14:43,560 disease. It was a slow, relentless enemy, 261 00:14:43,600 --> 00:14:48,200 a disease that consumed the body of the individual that had it, 262 00:14:48,200 --> 00:14:53,600 basically from the inside out. It started leprosy started very 263 00:14:53,600 --> 00:14:55,000 small. As a matter of fact, when a 264 00:14:55,000 --> 00:14:58,800 priest was looking for someone that maybe suspiciously had 265 00:14:58,800 --> 00:15:01,840 leprosy, they're just looking for a little, a little spot. 266 00:15:01,840 --> 00:15:06,760 They're just looking for a tiny spot, a slight discoloration of 267 00:15:06,760 --> 00:15:11,520 the skin, almost unnoticeable at first, but I was trained to pick 268 00:15:11,520 --> 00:15:15,440 up on any type of variance. And the fact of the matter is 269 00:15:15,440 --> 00:15:19,800 though, if it was left unchecked, it would absolutely 270 00:15:19,800 --> 00:15:25,320 spread and it would attack the flesh and the nerves and the 271 00:15:25,320 --> 00:15:29,280 cartilage of the one who had this leprosy. 272 00:15:29,280 --> 00:15:34,360 Fingers and toes would eventually rot away off their 273 00:15:34,360 --> 00:15:36,920 body. Their faces sometimes would 274 00:15:36,920 --> 00:15:40,040 become disfigured from this disease. 275 00:15:40,120 --> 00:15:44,480 Their lips would become cracked and they would begin to bleed. 276 00:15:44,480 --> 00:15:49,920 Their eyes would would weaken and become often times blind. 277 00:15:49,920 --> 00:15:54,880 It it wasn't just a painful situation or a painful disease, 278 00:15:55,120 --> 00:16:00,200 it was a deforming. It was a debilitating disease. 279 00:16:00,200 --> 00:16:04,960 It it isolated the one who had it from all of society, from its 280 00:16:04,960 --> 00:16:09,640 family, from its friends. Everybody feared contracting or 281 00:16:09,640 --> 00:16:14,120 getting the disease of leprosy. It affected their body but 282 00:16:14,120 --> 00:16:18,400 affected their social life. It impacted every aspect of 283 00:16:18,400 --> 00:16:21,760 their life. A person that was infected with 284 00:16:21,760 --> 00:16:26,200 leprosy could not come in contact with anyone. 285 00:16:26,640 --> 00:16:28,760 Amen. For the sake of perhaps maybe 286 00:16:28,760 --> 00:16:31,400 spreading the contamination to others. 287 00:16:31,680 --> 00:16:36,240 So that meant anything such as family gatherings or worship 288 00:16:36,240 --> 00:16:39,520 taking place in the Tabernacle when they would have their feast 289 00:16:39,520 --> 00:16:43,520 and their festivals or just simply daily routines from 290 00:16:43,520 --> 00:16:48,600 day-to-day, all of those things were denied to the leper. 291 00:16:49,120 --> 00:16:52,320 All of those things were off bounds to the leper. 292 00:16:52,560 --> 00:16:56,080 And so the priest would come and he would examine a person very 293 00:16:56,080 --> 00:17:00,560 carefully and see if the infection was active in their 294 00:17:00,560 --> 00:17:03,560 body. And if the verdict was clear 295 00:17:03,560 --> 00:17:08,359 that leprosy is raging rampant inside their body, they were 296 00:17:08,359 --> 00:17:13,599 pronounced by the priest that they were unclean. 297 00:17:13,920 --> 00:17:18,280 Not only were they unclean, they had now the due diligence and 298 00:17:18,280 --> 00:17:23,119 responsibility of being a leper that they must pronounce from 299 00:17:23,119 --> 00:17:27,960 themselves to others that may be approaching them unclean, 300 00:17:28,000 --> 00:17:32,040 unclean, stating their state and their situation. 301 00:17:32,040 --> 00:17:37,040 That word unclean them became a word of separation for them. 302 00:17:37,320 --> 00:17:40,840 It was a word of Shane. Can you imagine happening to 303 00:17:40,840 --> 00:17:46,200 emit your own uncleanness to the society in which you lived? 304 00:17:46,520 --> 00:17:47,600 Amen. Unclean. 305 00:17:47,600 --> 00:17:50,200 That word became a word of exile. 306 00:17:50,480 --> 00:17:53,840 Amen to them. And so a leper became a living 307 00:17:53,840 --> 00:17:58,000 reminder to others what sin could do, what impurity could 308 00:17:58,000 --> 00:18:01,960 do, what this disease could do to them. 309 00:18:02,680 --> 00:18:08,120 But spiritually, leprosy is a perfect picture, and it's used 310 00:18:08,120 --> 00:18:13,280 as that in the Bible. Force him because it often 311 00:18:13,280 --> 00:18:23,480 starts small, unnoticed, undetected, unrecognized. 312 00:18:24,120 --> 00:18:28,520 A lie here, brother champion. A little misdeed, a selfish 313 00:18:28,520 --> 00:18:33,120 thought there, a little compromise over here that seems 314 00:18:33,120 --> 00:18:36,720 to be harmless. It, it starts small, but seeing 315 00:18:36,720 --> 00:18:40,160 we know according to God's Word and through the history of God's 316 00:18:40,160 --> 00:18:44,120 Word, when it's left unchecked, sin spreads. 317 00:18:44,560 --> 00:18:47,600 Sin doesn't just isolate itself, it spreads it. 318 00:18:47,800 --> 00:18:51,840 It wants to metastasize. It wants to impact everything 319 00:18:51,840 --> 00:18:54,400 around it. It wants to eat away at all 320 00:18:54,400 --> 00:18:56,360 these things and such like leprosy. 321 00:18:56,600 --> 00:18:59,400 It doesn't just eat away at you, it eats away at the 322 00:18:59,400 --> 00:19:01,240 relationships of people around you. 323 00:19:01,240 --> 00:19:05,560 Have you ever had any sin or infection, if you will, of sin 324 00:19:05,560 --> 00:19:08,280 in your life that it separated you from people you would 325 00:19:08,280 --> 00:19:11,840 normally love and hang out with and want to be friend and be 326 00:19:11,840 --> 00:19:12,880 around? Amen. 327 00:19:12,880 --> 00:19:16,320 It eats at our integrity. It numbs our conscious. 328 00:19:16,600 --> 00:19:19,840 It'll distort our desires. What we used to like to do and 329 00:19:19,840 --> 00:19:22,880 who we used to like to see and who we used to like to hang 330 00:19:22,880 --> 00:19:25,520 around. Now it isolates us and we're 331 00:19:25,520 --> 00:19:29,720 just dealing with this and our souls becoming deformed, if you 332 00:19:29,720 --> 00:19:39,520 will, by the infection of sin. Isolate our body, but in sin as 333 00:19:39,680 --> 00:19:42,280 in our bodies will also isolate our spirit. 334 00:19:43,680 --> 00:19:47,880 Sometimes sin will keep people from worship, keep them from God 335 00:19:47,880 --> 00:19:52,760 himself. Yet when sin is exposed, it 336 00:19:52,760 --> 00:19:58,960 brings shame to it brings embarrassment to, it brings fear 337 00:19:59,000 --> 00:20:03,280 to, and it makes us try out. We're unclean. 338 00:20:03,720 --> 00:20:10,160 We are unclean. The devastation of leprosy in 339 00:20:10,160 --> 00:20:12,160 Scripture was supposed to remind us. 340 00:20:13,480 --> 00:20:15,680 Of the weight of the seriousness of sin. 341 00:20:16,480 --> 00:20:22,840 How it's not harmless, it's not benign, it's not innocent, it's 342 00:20:22,840 --> 00:20:25,240 not something to be taken lightly. 343 00:20:25,680 --> 00:20:28,880 It does spread. It does destroy. 344 00:20:29,160 --> 00:20:33,040 It does isolate. It does. 345 00:20:33,480 --> 00:20:38,880 Sin leaves behind reminders just like leprosy, whether they be 346 00:20:38,880 --> 00:20:41,200 physical, emotional or spiritual. 347 00:20:41,200 --> 00:20:44,560 It leaves back some reminders as well. 348 00:20:44,880 --> 00:20:52,200 Memories of being under sin, consequences from sin, Dare I 349 00:20:52,200 --> 00:20:59,880 say scars from sin? Someone say Amen. 350 00:21:01,800 --> 00:21:08,440 But in Leviticus chapter 13, something powerful is happening 351 00:21:08,440 --> 00:21:13,280 here. Over and over that priest as the 352 00:21:13,280 --> 00:21:18,720 new cases would come to him and he would examine the skin of a 353 00:21:18,720 --> 00:21:23,840 possibly infected or had been infected individual of leprosy 354 00:21:24,600 --> 00:21:28,240 if the infection was still active. 355 00:21:28,800 --> 00:21:36,360 The person was unclean if the infection was still spreading to 356 00:21:36,360 --> 00:21:40,920 new areas of the body, the person was unclean. 357 00:21:41,440 --> 00:21:45,760 If the infection that the the meat or the skin looked raw, 358 00:21:45,760 --> 00:21:51,040 like raw meat, raw flesh, the person was unclean. 359 00:21:51,440 --> 00:21:54,760 But listen closely once again this morning to what the priest 360 00:21:54,760 --> 00:22:00,240 says when the disease has ran its course, When the disease is 361 00:22:00,240 --> 00:22:05,120 no more, can I tell you again? It said if the disease has run 362 00:22:05,400 --> 00:22:13,640 its course and only the scar remain, he will say you are 363 00:22:13,800 --> 00:22:18,320 clean. If it doesn't spread and only 364 00:22:18,360 --> 00:22:23,360 the scar remains, he will say you are clean. 365 00:22:23,640 --> 00:22:28,040 If it's not spread but it's begun to heal and only a scar 366 00:22:28,040 --> 00:22:31,600 remains, he will say only a scar remains. 367 00:22:32,000 --> 00:22:38,720 And you are someone say man this morning, we are in this building 368 00:22:38,720 --> 00:22:43,000 today and has several hands raised about physical scars that 369 00:22:43,000 --> 00:22:46,360 you have in your life. I know we all are here at the 370 00:22:46,360 --> 00:22:49,880 foot of the cross this morning and say I've been scarred by 371 00:22:49,880 --> 00:22:54,240 sin, I've been scarred by mistakes, I've been scarred by 372 00:22:54,240 --> 00:22:58,040 bad choices. But the scar is testifying this 373 00:22:58,040 --> 00:23:02,840 morning and saying what that means is this, though sin is no 374 00:23:02,840 --> 00:23:06,600 longer in your life, that mistake is in your past. 375 00:23:06,840 --> 00:23:09,600 That failure, it's in your rearview mirror. 376 00:23:09,840 --> 00:23:15,760 And if it's not spreading and if it's run it's course, you are 377 00:23:15,880 --> 00:23:22,400 clean. I'm trying to preach to someone 378 00:23:22,400 --> 00:23:26,000 today that's having the nagging mind, Amen. 379 00:23:26,000 --> 00:23:30,600 Voices in your head trying to condemn you and tell you you 380 00:23:30,600 --> 00:23:34,480 can't make it, you'll never be anything, you'll never arrive. 381 00:23:34,760 --> 00:23:39,520 I come to tell you today, if all you have is a star, you are 382 00:23:40,240 --> 00:23:58,680 clean. Hey man, what God's love in is 383 00:23:58,680 --> 00:24:03,240 telling us is having a scar is not the problem. 384 00:24:07,360 --> 00:24:09,920 Having a scar is not the problem. 385 00:24:10,800 --> 00:24:17,200 And having a scar should not be a mark of shame for you, but it 386 00:24:17,200 --> 00:24:19,920 should be a sign of your healing. 387 00:24:20,280 --> 00:24:25,600 I show my star today not because I'm shameful, I'm showing you 388 00:24:25,920 --> 00:24:28,320 I've been healed. I'm whole. 389 00:24:34,240 --> 00:24:36,640 Someone say glory. You don't have to. 390 00:24:36,640 --> 00:24:40,440 If you will pull down your sleeve over what sin had done. 391 00:24:40,640 --> 00:24:43,960 You don't have to pull up your collar over what sin had done. 392 00:24:44,240 --> 00:24:48,600 It's a sign that scars a side. You were delivered. 393 00:24:48,800 --> 00:24:51,640 You've been healed. You've been set free. 394 00:25:01,300 --> 00:25:06,940 Someone say Amen that there's a scar. 395 00:25:08,600 --> 00:25:16,810 It meant the disease was gone. If it was still spreading, 396 00:25:16,810 --> 00:25:19,650 they'd still quarantine them. They lock them up, the bottle 397 00:25:19,650 --> 00:25:21,850 says, for seven days. At the end of seven days they'd 398 00:25:21,850 --> 00:25:26,730 look at them again. But if all they had to look at 399 00:25:26,730 --> 00:25:32,690 in the moment after seven days was a scar, you're free to go re 400 00:25:32,690 --> 00:25:36,800 enter society, go back to your family, go back to regular 401 00:25:36,800 --> 00:25:40,280 activity, enjoy life again. I'm scarred. 402 00:25:40,280 --> 00:25:42,640 That's all right. But you're not infected. 403 00:25:42,840 --> 00:25:58,920 You're yes, scarred. 404 00:25:58,920 --> 00:26:01,800 Just tells us the dangers now passed. 405 00:26:05,720 --> 00:26:13,040 Amen, our sweet Brenda window. That's why here a few weeks ago 406 00:26:13,040 --> 00:26:23,000 she had to go back and have her wound opened more after heart 407 00:26:23,000 --> 00:26:29,560 surgery because she had an incision that was infected and 408 00:26:29,560 --> 00:26:35,760 wasn't healing. Doctor looked at that and said 409 00:26:36,960 --> 00:26:43,480 this, this is getting worse, put a wound back on that to promote 410 00:26:43,480 --> 00:26:46,760 healing. He called me yesterday and 411 00:26:46,760 --> 00:26:50,720 talked to me for a little bit. He said that he was doing a 412 00:26:50,720 --> 00:26:53,640 little better and healing. She'd went to the wound. 413 00:26:53,640 --> 00:26:59,880 Dr. of that terminology went to the wound Dr. Doctor said things 414 00:26:59,880 --> 00:27:03,320 are looking better. Just going to take some time. 415 00:27:05,840 --> 00:27:09,280 As long as she goes back and there's still raw flesh, she 416 00:27:10,040 --> 00:27:11,240 going to be under care of the wound. 417 00:27:11,240 --> 00:27:14,360 Dr. they go keep that back on there. 418 00:27:17,080 --> 00:27:21,040 But the day that that discoloration of skin forms over 419 00:27:21,040 --> 00:27:25,400 that and that different texture, although it may look crude, 420 00:27:25,400 --> 00:27:28,800 forms over that and there's marks that something had been 421 00:27:28,800 --> 00:27:30,640 there, but there's no raw flesh there. 422 00:27:30,640 --> 00:27:31,800 You know what they're going to say? 423 00:27:32,160 --> 00:27:34,840 That's just a scar now. You all right? 424 00:27:35,960 --> 00:27:40,840 She'll be released from that wound, Doctor, because the scar 425 00:27:40,840 --> 00:27:44,240 will be a testimony. There's no more danger here. 426 00:27:44,440 --> 00:27:48,520 There's nothing else that's I'm telling you today. 427 00:27:48,520 --> 00:27:50,880 Some of us might be in the process of healing. 428 00:27:51,280 --> 00:27:52,560 Amen. We're not there yet. 429 00:27:52,760 --> 00:27:56,160 But if you ever get a scar, it's your testimony. 430 00:27:56,400 --> 00:28:00,160 It is your testimony. It is your testimony. 431 00:28:06,080 --> 00:28:20,880 Means there's no more separation, there's no more 432 00:28:20,880 --> 00:28:24,160 spreading, there's there's no more corruption. 433 00:28:26,520 --> 00:28:30,960 The scar is a proof that life can be a begin again. 434 00:28:34,200 --> 00:28:38,800 Let me state in these terms, the scars a proof that they survive, 435 00:28:44,640 --> 00:28:49,280 that they survive, that what you went through that took others 436 00:28:49,320 --> 00:28:51,960 out. You weren't taken out, but 437 00:28:51,960 --> 00:28:53,960 you're still here to tell the story. 438 00:28:54,240 --> 00:28:58,240 You survive. That's what your scar says. 439 00:29:08,160 --> 00:29:14,200 To testimony, a victory, a vote. It is exactly as that Old 440 00:29:14,200 --> 00:29:15,800 Testament priest did for leprosy. 441 00:29:16,000 --> 00:29:20,920 It is exactly what God does concerning our sin. 442 00:29:21,360 --> 00:29:25,480 It may have left scars in your life and me knowing, knowing the 443 00:29:25,520 --> 00:29:30,000 dynamics of sin, I know that it will leave scars in our life, 444 00:29:30,280 --> 00:29:33,280 sometimes in our wake. It will leave broken 445 00:29:33,280 --> 00:29:36,320 relationships many times in our wake. 446 00:29:36,600 --> 00:29:41,200 It will be, if you will, a lot of regrets, Amen, that we have, 447 00:29:41,600 --> 00:29:43,480 Amen. Mistakes that are still back 448 00:29:43,480 --> 00:29:47,160 there with domino effects that are taking place, Amen. 449 00:29:47,160 --> 00:29:49,160 Moments that we wish we could erase. 450 00:29:49,160 --> 00:29:53,120 All of those things, Amen, are the type of scars that sin will 451 00:29:53,120 --> 00:29:57,240 leave if I can this morning. It will tell you, well, you were 452 00:29:57,240 --> 00:30:02,480 a drug addict scar. You were an alcoholic scar. 453 00:30:02,840 --> 00:30:06,520 You did compromise your life with things that were less than 454 00:30:06,520 --> 00:30:09,960 God scar. But when we look into the mirror 455 00:30:10,160 --> 00:30:14,440 and we see all the evidence of our failures and our weakness, 456 00:30:14,840 --> 00:30:18,840 those are not the signs of a ongoing corruption. 457 00:30:19,120 --> 00:30:21,960 They are the signs of his redemption. 458 00:30:22,200 --> 00:30:24,760 They are the signs of his healing. 459 00:30:25,080 --> 00:30:37,120 They are the yes. What does scars say? 460 00:30:37,320 --> 00:30:40,120 Scars say I was hurt, but I'm healed. 461 00:30:40,480 --> 00:30:44,680 Scars say there was pain but the pain didn't destroy me. 462 00:30:44,880 --> 00:30:50,840 Scars say something cut me deep, but grace carried me through. 463 00:30:57,800 --> 00:31:02,000 Someone to say, Amen, they want to get in that pocket. 464 00:31:02,000 --> 00:31:04,480 That's the Mike Penrod candy pocket. 465 00:31:12,960 --> 00:31:18,600 And so as we're maybe attempting to conceal that part of our life 466 00:31:19,720 --> 00:31:21,960 because we're like, well, that that's the part I just choose to 467 00:31:21,960 --> 00:31:24,240 forget. That's ugly. 468 00:31:28,360 --> 00:31:31,240 God says I see something different than you see. 469 00:31:33,680 --> 00:31:41,000 You see something putridden, but I see something beautiful. 470 00:31:41,000 --> 00:31:48,680 We're we're we're considering it shameful, but I see something 471 00:31:48,680 --> 00:31:53,000 different. What you see, I see the traces 472 00:31:53,000 --> 00:31:57,280 in those stretches and that is I see the traces of my mercy. 473 00:31:58,280 --> 00:32:03,280 That's I don't want them. I don't want them to ever know 474 00:32:03,280 --> 00:32:09,280 that I says that's, that's the testimony that I've given you. 475 00:32:10,440 --> 00:32:17,680 And so just as the priest would examine the leper, God examines 476 00:32:17,680 --> 00:32:22,720 our life. And when he looks at us, he is 477 00:32:22,720 --> 00:32:28,920 seen by the scars we have, the areas that are truly healed. 478 00:32:34,880 --> 00:32:40,040 When He has mercy and His grace and His act on the cross for all 479 00:32:40,040 --> 00:32:45,520 of us is the power and the way by which that infection of sin 480 00:32:46,000 --> 00:32:51,400 can be drawn from our life, then the scar that remains has been 481 00:32:51,400 --> 00:32:57,760 just the stamp of His approval. You are clean, you are healed, 482 00:32:58,640 --> 00:33:07,840 and most importantly, you are. That's the why in the spiritual 483 00:33:07,840 --> 00:33:10,240 life, folks. Our scar should never be hidden 484 00:33:11,520 --> 00:33:20,840 in shame because they're proof of God's power to overcome any, 485 00:33:20,840 --> 00:33:30,480 everybody say any, any sin that's been in our life. 486 00:33:31,400 --> 00:33:37,360 It's the sign that what used to separate me no longer separates 487 00:33:37,360 --> 00:33:40,960 me. And it's God saying re enter the 488 00:33:40,960 --> 00:33:45,200 camp, go back and do what you were called to do. 489 00:33:49,280 --> 00:33:53,720 Go back and do what you're called to do, not as a broken 490 00:33:53,720 --> 00:33:56,440 person, but as a person with a scar. 491 00:33:58,840 --> 00:34:00,720 You know what's amazing about Scripture? 492 00:34:02,280 --> 00:34:05,400 And we see injuries and we see mishaps in God's Word, and we 493 00:34:05,400 --> 00:34:08,760 see sin and mistakes and regrets and all these things. 494 00:34:08,760 --> 00:34:11,320 If you look in the pages, your Bible from leather cover to 495 00:34:11,320 --> 00:34:15,280 leather cover cover, maybe it's not even leather, paper to 496 00:34:15,280 --> 00:34:17,679 paper, it don't matter. If you look in your Bibles, 497 00:34:17,679 --> 00:34:21,560 you'll see the stories of those over and over and over again. 498 00:34:22,239 --> 00:34:24,719 And that's a great testimony in the Old Testament with the leper 499 00:34:24,719 --> 00:34:29,480 in the book of Leviticus. But can I remind you today, can 500 00:34:29,480 --> 00:34:36,199 I remind you today that the greatest star in history belong 501 00:34:36,199 --> 00:34:42,360 to a man by the name of Christ Jesus, who after his crucifix 502 00:34:43,120 --> 00:34:51,520 shows up among his disciples? And he said, handle me, handle 503 00:34:51,679 --> 00:34:58,320 me and feel my hands and my feet. 504 00:34:59,280 --> 00:35:02,240 Put your hand over here on my side. 505 00:35:02,560 --> 00:35:06,560 What are you doing, Jesus? I want you to feel the scars. 506 00:35:09,080 --> 00:35:12,960 I want you to feel where the nail pierced me in my hands. 507 00:35:12,960 --> 00:35:16,320 I want you to feel you where the nail pierced me in my feet. 508 00:35:16,320 --> 00:35:20,280 I I want you to feel where the spear went through my side, and 509 00:35:20,440 --> 00:35:23,880 if you'll run your head, your hand along the crown of my head. 510 00:35:24,200 --> 00:35:27,920 I want you to feel the indentations of the scars where 511 00:35:27,920 --> 00:35:32,280 the thorns from the crown of thorns pierced my brow. 512 00:35:32,560 --> 00:35:37,200 Those, those were not his pains or shameful things He had them 513 00:35:37,200 --> 00:35:40,320 handling. No, that was his testimony of 514 00:35:40,320 --> 00:35:46,240 his victory and of his power and of his defeat over the power of 515 00:35:46,240 --> 00:36:00,480 sin, by his scars, by his scars. He wasn't having them feel 516 00:36:00,480 --> 00:36:06,960 weakness when they felt bad. No, they were evidences, if you 517 00:36:06,960 --> 00:36:09,640 will, a failure. They were proof. 518 00:36:09,960 --> 00:36:11,520 You feel that you're feeling victory. 519 00:36:12,840 --> 00:36:18,160 You see that you're seeing triumph because what held me 520 00:36:18,160 --> 00:36:24,000 then means it don't hold me now. It stopped there. 521 00:36:24,800 --> 00:36:33,000 It you want someone saying man, I know we are buried with him 522 00:36:33,000 --> 00:36:36,680 with baptism. I know we are crucified with him 523 00:36:36,680 --> 00:36:39,920 by our repentance. He's like but I got up and 524 00:36:39,920 --> 00:36:43,240 walking in the newness of life and now all that I bear is the 525 00:36:43,240 --> 00:36:46,040 scar of the sin that held me to the cross. 526 00:36:46,400 --> 00:36:48,480 Amen. Brittany, whenever you go down 527 00:36:48,480 --> 00:36:51,800 in Jesus name today and you already received the Holy Ghost 528 00:36:51,800 --> 00:36:53,440 last week. You know what's happening. 529 00:36:53,600 --> 00:36:58,040 You're rising and all you have on you are scars that are 530 00:36:58,040 --> 00:37:01,840 testimony of God's power, God's mercy. 531 00:37:02,240 --> 00:37:08,440 That's grace, that's deliverance in your life, and that's nothing 532 00:37:08,440 --> 00:37:09,600 to be ashamed of. Nothing. 533 00:37:21,260 --> 00:37:25,340 You know what the words that he's going to pronounce, it's 534 00:37:25,340 --> 00:37:28,380 not spreading. It's not raw. 535 00:37:30,420 --> 00:37:32,100 You. All I see is a scar. 536 00:37:32,460 --> 00:37:41,320 You are clean. You are redeemed, you are 537 00:37:41,640 --> 00:37:54,310 forgiven, you are restored. Every scar has a story, let me 538 00:37:54,310 --> 00:38:02,470 tell you. It's a story foretelling that 539 00:38:02,470 --> 00:38:14,720 the reminders of the past sin, past failure, past shame, they 540 00:38:14,720 --> 00:38:20,640 all point to the same reality that stopped, that finished. 541 00:38:21,360 --> 00:38:29,280 That's over. If you, if you've not went under 542 00:38:29,280 --> 00:38:32,520 the careful high of your master today, if you've never repented 543 00:38:32,520 --> 00:38:35,240 of your sins, today, I'm telling you, today there can be a 544 00:38:35,240 --> 00:38:37,840 cleansing in your life. Cleanse. 545 00:38:37,840 --> 00:38:41,040 You might be walking around with daping wounds, but the Lord 546 00:38:41,040 --> 00:38:43,000 wants to turn your wounds into scars. 547 00:38:44,640 --> 00:38:48,640 You may been wounded by a myriad of things in this life, whether 548 00:38:48,680 --> 00:38:53,520 on your body or in your soul. Nonetheless, it's part of your 549 00:38:53,520 --> 00:38:56,280 story, so don't look at it. Amen. 550 00:38:56,280 --> 00:39:00,480 With an eye of disdain. Look at it out of an eye of 551 00:39:00,480 --> 00:39:07,280 favor and thankfulness unto God. Look at the seal of his mercy 552 00:39:07,280 --> 00:39:19,000 upon your life in your scar. It's my here's, here's the fact 553 00:39:19,000 --> 00:39:21,960 of the matter. And we are humanity. 554 00:39:21,960 --> 00:39:25,320 I know, right? The mind games happen. 555 00:39:27,560 --> 00:39:30,720 Mind games happen especially when everybody else is good 556 00:39:30,720 --> 00:39:34,760 about covering up their scars like, well, they've never had to 557 00:39:34,760 --> 00:39:36,080 go through anything, face anything. 558 00:39:37,480 --> 00:39:40,880 They don't know what I have, so that's the reason why they pull 559 00:39:41,000 --> 00:39:44,880 the sleeve, race the collar and are protective. 560 00:39:46,480 --> 00:39:52,720 But what we need in the church today is people that's OK with 561 00:39:52,720 --> 00:39:55,800 someone else seeing the scars. Why? 562 00:39:57,320 --> 00:40:03,160 Because they need help with things that might be presently 563 00:40:03,160 --> 00:40:06,240 in their life and come to an understanding. 564 00:40:06,680 --> 00:40:08,480 It don't always have to be there. 565 00:40:09,720 --> 00:40:16,240 It don't always have to be perpetually just a wound oozing, 566 00:40:17,880 --> 00:40:24,880 spreading, hurting. Be like going up with the wound. 567 00:40:24,880 --> 00:40:26,600 You probably got some, some somewhere. 568 00:40:26,600 --> 00:40:28,640 I know you. You probably got more than, but 569 00:40:28,640 --> 00:40:32,160 it's like saying slap that I don't hurt. 570 00:40:32,160 --> 00:40:33,960 No. See, there is a place in your 571 00:40:33,960 --> 00:40:39,600 future. There is a place in your future. 572 00:40:39,760 --> 00:40:42,320 You might have a visible sign of it, but you don't have the pain 573 00:40:42,320 --> 00:40:43,760 that used to be associated with it. 574 00:40:43,760 --> 00:40:50,000 There is a place in your, remember, there's places in our 575 00:40:50,000 --> 00:40:53,880 future that we won't always have the same pain that we have when 576 00:40:53,880 --> 00:40:56,280 we first did or we first experienced or we're in the 577 00:40:56,280 --> 00:40:59,120 recovery process. There'll be a time you'll be 578 00:40:59,120 --> 00:41:02,160 able to show people the scars, so to speak, of your life and 579 00:41:02,160 --> 00:41:05,840 say, see that that was then, but now touch that. 580 00:41:05,960 --> 00:41:07,760 I don't have the pain that I used to have. 581 00:41:07,760 --> 00:41:10,560 I don't have the agony and the shame that was associated with 582 00:41:10,560 --> 00:41:12,640 that. God did that. 583 00:41:12,960 --> 00:41:18,320 God healed me. God redeemed, only a scar will 584 00:41:18,320 --> 00:41:26,840 remain. Amen. 585 00:41:28,440 --> 00:41:38,310 You stay with me today as scarred people today when we 586 00:41:38,310 --> 00:41:41,750 open this alter and the Champions can come, but when we 587 00:41:41,750 --> 00:41:44,350 open this alter, we have a time to be able to come and pray or 588 00:41:44,350 --> 00:41:48,830 pray in our seat. Those that are starred people 589 00:41:48,830 --> 00:41:52,750 here today, I want you to be able to declare from wherever 590 00:41:52,750 --> 00:41:54,710 you're sitting, standing, bowing, whatever. 591 00:41:55,280 --> 00:41:56,840 I want you to be able to declare to God. 592 00:41:57,560 --> 00:41:59,520 Be simple. We're simple, but sometimes 593 00:41:59,520 --> 00:42:02,880 difficult for us to articulate or put out over our lips. 594 00:42:03,400 --> 00:42:13,600 I want you to be able to say I am clean, scarred, but clean 595 00:42:15,440 --> 00:42:21,680 because the scarring was the proof of the cleanliness. 596 00:42:21,680 --> 00:42:29,840 And I challenge you today, use your scars to help somebody else 597 00:42:30,560 --> 00:42:34,000 that they would be the inspiration to them that you can 598 00:42:34,000 --> 00:42:40,480 make it to. Or if we could all cross this 599 00:42:40,480 --> 00:42:42,080 place today. They're preparing a song. 600 00:42:42,600 --> 00:42:44,000 I want to cross this place today. 601 00:42:44,000 --> 00:42:47,240 If we could just be obedient, just begin to raise our hands. 602 00:42:47,240 --> 00:42:51,680 And as you lift those hands in essence, in a symbolic manner, 603 00:42:51,680 --> 00:42:57,800 you can just lift those scars unto the Lord, lift those 604 00:42:57,800 --> 00:43:02,120 physical scars, lift those emotional scars, lift those 605 00:43:02,360 --> 00:43:06,640 spiritual scars, whatever they may be, just lift them to the 606 00:43:06,640 --> 00:43:08,960 Lord. And no one doing so. 607 00:43:08,960 --> 00:43:12,040 God, I'm not, I'm not lifting something grotesque to you. 608 00:43:12,440 --> 00:43:14,120 I'm not lifting something grotesque. 609 00:43:14,120 --> 00:43:16,840 No, I see today, God, that you see these. 610 00:43:17,040 --> 00:43:23,080 You see these as beautiful because that's all that remains 611 00:43:24,600 --> 00:43:29,000 is the scar. I understand today you see this. 612 00:43:29,000 --> 00:43:37,840 It's beautiful because these are the proofs that I've been healed 613 00:43:37,880 --> 00:43:43,280 by you, I've been touched by you, I've been reformed and 614 00:43:43,280 --> 00:43:48,400 redeemed by you. This altar is hoping for anybody 615 00:43:48,400 --> 00:43:51,200 that would desire to pray today and say, Pastor McGee, I'm 616 00:43:51,200 --> 00:43:54,640 bringing my scar. I bring up my scar. 617 00:43:54,640 --> 00:43:57,760 I've tried to hide it, I've tried to cover it up, I've tried 618 00:43:57,760 --> 00:44:00,560 to make it unknown to others around me, but I understand 619 00:44:00,560 --> 00:44:03,960 today, this scar is my testimony. 620 00:44:04,880 --> 00:44:10,080 This scar is my testimony of where I used to be, but where I 621 00:44:10,080 --> 00:44:14,080 no longer am. It's my testimony of what I 622 00:44:14,080 --> 00:44:17,240 allowed to take advantage of me. But now that has stopped. 623 00:44:17,520 --> 00:44:20,840 It is no longer spreading. It no longer has vitality in my 624 00:44:20,840 --> 00:44:24,840 life. This scar is the proof of my 625 00:44:24,840 --> 00:44:27,240 healing. Don't let the negative voices 626 00:44:27,240 --> 00:44:30,200 speak to you, Sir. Don't let the negative voice 627 00:44:30,280 --> 00:44:33,280 speak to you, ma'am. You can be overcomer through 628 00:44:33,280 --> 00:44:40,000 Christ Jesus and only be left with a scar of the proof of 629 00:44:40,000 --> 00:44:43,640 God's grace, of the proof of his mercy in your life. 630 00:44:43,640 --> 00:44:45,960 Come on church family, can we begin to talk to God? 631 00:44:46,200 --> 00:44:49,440 Begin to pray in your own way. You don't have to speak in King 632 00:44:49,440 --> 00:44:51,760 James Version language. You just talk to him like a 633 00:44:51,760 --> 00:44:54,360 friend, Amen. And cry out to God and say God, 634 00:44:54,360 --> 00:44:57,560 here's my scar. It's been made possible by you. 635 00:44:58,440 --> 00:45:03,520 It has a story behind it, and it's testifying into my future 636 00:45:04,160 --> 00:45:08,080 God. Only a star, only a scar remains 637 00:45:08,080 --> 00:45:10,760 today. Come on, let's lift our voices, 638 00:45:10,760 --> 00:45:13,280 young and old alike. It doesn't matter if you're 639 00:45:13,280 --> 00:45:15,000 young. It doesn't matter if you're old. 640 00:45:15,200 --> 00:45:18,960 There's not a single person here today whose body and life at 641 00:45:18,960 --> 00:45:22,440 some period of their life has not been left with scars. 642 00:45:22,640 --> 00:45:25,800 But we have a mindful God. He's looking over us.