LOVING A LEPER

Table of Contents

1. Introduction: Breaking Sacred Cows
2. The Power of Love and the Ministry of Removing Condemnation
3. Guilt, Shame, Condemnation, and the Failure to Receive Miracles
4. Love Realized Equals Faith Energized
5. Examining the Healing of the Leper (Mark 1:40–42)
6. Understanding Compassion in the Greek
7. Smashing the Sacred Cow of “If”
8. The Old Covenant Context of Sickness in Israel
9. God Responds to Faith—Not the Works of the Covenant
10. Grace Welcomes the One Who Comes with “If”
11. The Life of a Leper: Social, Emotional, and Physical Death
12. Lori’s Testimony: Steps, Index Cards, and the Holy Spirit
13. Jesus Touches the Leper—The Expression of Love
14. Love as the Release of Healing
15. Knowing God’s Unconditional Love for You
16. Loving Yourself Because God Loves You
17. Loving Others as a Reflection of Realized Love
18. The One Who Prays: Why Jesus Walked in Power
19. Jesus Knew the Father’s Love and Walked in Faith
20. Perfect Love Casts Out Fear
21. Final Exhortation: Love Realized → Faith Energized → Miracles Realized
22. Closing Encouragement

Introduction: Breaking Sacred Cows

Pastor Lenny opens the message by greeting the listeners and explaining that today’s teaching will once again follow a theme common in his ministry: smashing sacred cows. He emphasizes that many Christians hold on to beliefs that actually hinder them rather than help them. These beliefs, handed down by religion and tradition, often keep people bound in guilt, shame, and condemnation. He explains that God has given both him and Pastor Lori a ministry focused specifically on removing guilt, shame, and condemnation from God’s children. According to him, this is essential because as long as a believer carries guilt, shame, and condemnation, they cannot experience the miraculous in their lives. None of these negative burdens come from God; they always come from man and religion. His introduction sets the tone: he is here to dismantle the false beliefs that have kept believers from receiving what God wants to freely give—especially healing.

The Power of Love and the Ministry of Removing Condemnation

Pastor Lenny explains that today's message centers on a topic that cannot be discussed enough—love. He shares that he wrote a book titled The Two Greatest Sources of Power in the Life of a Believer: Love and Righteousness, which is available on Amazon, and even offers to send it for free to those who cannot afford it. His point is that the revelation of love and righteousness is foundational for understanding how God works. He names the sermon “The Power of Love” with the secondary title “The Love for a Leper.” He stresses that no one can be guilted, shamed, or condemned into the miraculous. It will never work, and it has never worked. His prayer is that this message will break sacred cows people have been clinging to, and that the understanding of God’s love will release miracles from within each listener.

Guilt, Shame, Condemnation, and the Failure to Receive Miracles

Pastor Lenny describes how guilt, shame, and condemnation often arise when someone has not yet received a miracle. They are told that their lack of healing or breakthrough is their fault. Some are told they have unbelief. Some are told their unbelief has canceled their faith. Others are told they have not used their authority correctly or have not followed enough steps. But Pastor Lenny passionately argues that many people who are hurting—people who have been in wheelchairs, bedridden, or suffering for decades—have been believing, standing, and praying for years. He says it is wrong to tell suffering people that they are not receiving because they are not believing. Continuing to do so only heaps more guilt, shame, and condemnation onto them. He declares again: it is the power of love that will release the miraculous.

Love Realized Equals Faith Energized

Pastor Lenny shares a foundational statement he wants every listener to remember: Love realized equals faith energized. When someone truly realizes God’s love for them—personally, deeply, and internally—that realization energizes faith within them. He explains that when faith is energized, believers can speak and believe with confidence. He emphasizes that this is true both for the one praying and for the one being prayed for. He gives a caution to those who pray for others: many people boldly quote the verse about believers laying hands on the sick and the sick recovering, yet when someone does not recover, they blame the sick person for lack of belief. He challenges this thinking by pointing out that if the one praying is truly believing, then according to that verse, the sick should recover. Therefore, people should be very careful about placing the blame on the person who is suffering. The energized faith that brings healing comes from love realized—not from pressuring people to “believe harder.”

Examining the Healing of the Leper (Mark 1:40–42)

Pastor Lenny now turns directly to the foundational passage of the message. He reads and explains the account of the leper who approached Jesus in Mark 1:40–42. He emphasizes how remarkable it is that a leper even came near Jesus, because lepers were forbidden to approach anyone. Yet Scripture says he came, implored Him, knelt before Him, and said, “If You are willing, You can make me clean.” The passage continues by showing Jesus moved with compassion, touching the leper, and declaring, “I am willing; be clean,” and immediately the leprosy departed.

Mark 1:40-42- “And there came a leper to him, beseeching him, and kneeling to him, and saying unto him, If thou wilt, thou canst make me clean. And Jesus, moved with compassion, put forth his hand, and touched him, and saith unto him, I will; be thou clean. And as soon as he had spoken, immediately the leprosy departed from him, and he was cleansed.”

Pastor Lenny stresses again the stunning boldness of the leper in approaching Jesus. Lepers were expected to stay far away, yet this man moved toward Him because he had heard about Jesus—faith comes from hearing, which Pastor Lenny later supports with Romans 10:17, inserted at its later reference point.

Understanding Compassion in the Greek

Pastor Lenny explains the meaning of the word “compassion” in the original Greek. He breaks down that the term refers to a deep bowels-yearning, the inward organs being moved, because in ancient Hebrew and Greek thought, the bowels were considered the seat of love, pity, and emotional longing. Compassion is not shallow sympathy—it is deep, gut-level, love-driven movement toward someone’s suffering. He then defines pity as the feeling of sorrow caused by the suffering and misfortune of another. Jesus, moved with compassion, acted from this deep inner love when He touched the leper. Pastor Lenny reinforces that compassion—not judgment, not duty, not religious performance—is what activates the miraculous.

Smashing the Sacred Cow of “If

Pastor Lenny begins smashing the first “sacred cow”: the idea that praying with “if” destroys the possibility of healing. He points out that the leper said, “If You are willing,” and yet Jesus healed him instantly. Many Christians have been taught that praying “if it be Your will” makes the prayer powerless, but Pastor Lenny argues that this passage proves that is not true.

Mark 1:40 42-“And there came a leper to him, beseeching him, and kneeling down to him, and saying unto him, If thou wilt, thou canst make me clean. And Jesus, moved with compassion, put forth his hand, and touched him, and saith unto him, I will; be thou clean. And as soon as he had spoken, immediately the leprosy departed from him, and he was cleansed.”
He notes that despite the leper using “if,” Jesus did not turn him away, question his faith, or require him to come back when he had perfected his language. Grace did not reject him for uncertainty. Grace healed him.

The Old Covenant Context of Sickness in Israel

Pastor Lenny explains why sickness was so widespread in Israel at that time. He references Deuteronomy 28, where blessings and curses are tied to perfect obedience to the covenant. Because Israel could not keep the commandments, they fell under the consequences outlined in that chapter. To support this, we insert the relevant verses:

Deuteronomy 28:1–2- “And it shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe and to do all his commandments which I command thee this day, that the LORD thy God will set thee on high above all nations of the earth: And all these blessings shall come on thee, and overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God.”

Deuteronomy 28:15- “But it shall come to pass, if thou wilt not hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe to do all his commandments and his statutes which I command thee this day; that all these curses shall come upon thee, and overtake thee.”

He clarifies that because the covenant was conditional, and the people failed to keep it, sickness overran the nation. Yet he also asks an important question: If God said in Psalm 89:34 that He would not break His covenant, how could Jesus heal people who were technically under the curse? He inserts:

Psalm 89:34- “My covenant will I not break, nor alter the thing that is gone out of my lips.”

God Responds to Faith—Not the Works of the Covenant

Pastor Lenny explains that although Israel was under a conditional covenant, God was never restricted from responding to faith. He references Paul’s teaching that the law given at Sinai did not annul the earlier promise. Thus, if someone came to God in faith, God could freely respond. Pastor Lenny emphasizes Romans 10:17 to support the idea that faith comes from hearing about Christ, and that once people hear about Jesus, faith arises in their hearts.

Romans 10:17- “So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”

This faith—born from hearing about Jesus—became the basis for healing. The leper approached Jesus because he heard the reports of His miracles, and that hearing produced faith. Jesus responded not to law-keeping but to faith.

Grace Welcomes the One Who Comes with “If

Pastor Lenny continues smashing the sacred cow that says a person must have perfect, doubt-free faith to receive from God. He emphasizes that the leper—approaching Jesus with uncertainty, doubt, fear, and the word “if”—was not rejected. Jesus did not say, “Come back when you fix your confession.” Jesus did not say, “Your unbelief disqualifies you.” Grace welcomed him, embraced him, and healed him.

Mark 1:40-42- “And there came a leper to him, beseeching him, and kneeling to him, and saying unto him, If thou wilt, thou canst make me clean. And Jesus, moved with compassion, put forth his hand, and touched him, and said unto him, I will; be thou clean. And as soon as he had spoken, immediately the leprosy departed from him, and he was cleansed.”

Pastor Lenny stresses that many people suffering today pray “if it is Your will,” and religion often condemns them for it. Yet Jesus shows the truth: their “if” is okay. What matters is that they come. Grace meets people where they are—not where religion demands they should be.

The Life of a Leper: Social, Emotional, and Physical Death

Pastor Lenny gives a vivid and heartbreaking description of the life of a leper in biblical times. He explains that leprosy was not merely a disease—it was a death sentence on every area of life: physically, economically, spiritually, relationally, and socially. Rabbinic tradition considered curing leprosy as difficult as raising the dead, because they saw leprosy as the physical manifestation of sin’s consequences.

He describes how a leper could not touch, hug, or come near anyone. They were barred from synagogues, temples, family homes, employment, and community life. They could not own property. They could not participate in normal human relationships. They were forced to stand far from people, and if they got too close, they could be stoned or driven away with trash, dung, and feces.

He paints an emotional picture: the leper unable to hug his children, unable to speak with friends, unable to return home, unable to hear the laughter of family. Every day was a step closer to death, marked by loneliness, isolation, and hopelessness. This makes Jesus’ response of compassion even more powerful—Jesus moved toward someone everyone else moved away from.

Lori’s Testimony: Steps, Index Cards, and the Holy Spirit

Pastor Lenny shares a personal story about Pastor Lori during her own journey of healing. She had been following a strict set of steps, using index cards with Scriptures and confessions written on them. She believed that if she followed every instruction perfectly—reading, quoting, confessing—she would unlock her healing.

One day, while walking the dog, a strong wind blew all thirty of her index cards away. They scattered entirely out of sight. She searched for them, believing her healing depended on those steps, but she could not find a single one.

Pastor Lenny explains that this was the Holy Spirit telling her to abandon reliance on steps, methods, and formulas. She needed to focus on one thing only: God’s love for her. When she shifted her focus from steps to love, she was healed. Love realized equals faith energized, and formulas do not produce miracles—love does.

Jesus Touches the Leper—The Expression of Love

Pastor Lenny points out that before Jesus healed the leper, He touched him. This is astonishing, because no one touched a leper. Touching a leper made a person ceremonially unclean, socially unacceptable, and physically at risk.

Yet Jesus—moved with compassion—stretched out His hand and touched him. To illustrate the cultural meaning of touch, Pastor Lenny references the Apostle Paul’s repeated instruction to greet one another with a holy kiss. He lists several Scriptures, which we now include:

Romans 16:16- “Salute one another with a holy kiss. The churches of Christ salute you.”

1 Corinthians 16:20- “All the brethren greet you. Greet ye one another with a holy kiss.”

2 Corinthians 13:12- “Greet one another with a holy kiss.”

1 Thessalonians 5:26- “Greet all the brethren with a holy kiss.”

Touch in Hebrew culture was a deep expression of love, connection, and acceptance. When Jesus touched the leper, He was doing something far greater than healing. He was restoring dignity, identity, and humanity. Before the miracle occurred, love was transferred. The touch communicated: “You are loved. You are accepted.”

Love as the Release of Healing

After describing the touch, Pastor Lenny explains how Jesus’ action released love into the leper. It wasn’t the perfection of the leper’s faith that healed him, nor the accuracy of his words. It was the release of divine love. That love answered every doubt, every fear, every “if,” every bit of uncertainty.

1 John 4:7-8- “Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.”
Where love is realized, faith is energized. This love-centered revelation crushed the sacred cow that doubt prevents miracles. The leper had doubt and uncertainty, but Jesus released love—and the miracle came instantly.

Knowing God’s Unconditional Love for You

Pastor Lenny now shifts from the leper’s experience to the listener’s personal experience of God’s love. He emphasizes that it is essential for every believer to know that God loves them unconditionally. There is nothing a person can do to make God love them more, and nothing they can do to make Him love them less. His love is not based on behavior, performance, or spiritual perfection. It is based entirely on His nature.

He explains that value is measured by the price someone is willing to pay for something. God demonstrated the believer’s worth by offering His Son, Jesus, as a sacrifice. This irrevocably proves the believer’s value. Jesus’ death and resurrection are the eternal declaration of how loved and treasured each person is.

Then Pastor Lenny emphasizes that this revelation must grow daily. The more a believer understands the depth of God’s love, the more they will respond with a natural reflex of loving God back. No commandment can force someone to love God—but revelation of His love produces love for Him effortlessly.

John 17:23- “I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me.”

Loving Yourself Because God Loves You

Pastor Lenny asks a direct and reflective question: “Do you love yourself?” He shares a conversation with Pastor Lori, who immediately answered, “without a shadow of a doubt.” When he asked himself the same question, he responded likewise. He explains why: they know they are lovable because God loves them.

Before the fall, God saw humanity together with Him in Christ in love. He created them in love, sees them through love, and relates to them in love. Because God loves you, you are lovable. Because you are lovable, you can love yourself. Knowing this truth is essential because the ability to love others flows directly from loving yourself. If believers struggle to love themselves, it is a sign they need a deeper revelation of God’s love.

To support these truths about love, Pastor Lenny references 1 John 4:7-8- “Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.”

Loving Others as a Reflection of Realized Love

Pastor Lenny teaches that once a believer understands God’s love for them and learns to love themselves, they can finally and freely love others. True love for others does not come from willpower or moral effort—it comes from the overflow of God’s love within.

He explains that if someone struggles to love others, it reveals that they have not fully realized God’s love for them, and they are not fully loving themselves. The love of God must be realized inwardly before it can be expressed outwardly. This realization is the foundation for healing, ministry, relationships, and walking in the miraculous.

To demonstrate Jesus’ love for others, Pastor Lenny reminds listeners of the leper. Jesus’ compassion moved Him to touch and heal. The miracle flowed out of love, not law, not commandments, and not religious know-how. The more a believer grows in the revelation of God's love, the more they will naturally love others and walk in the power of God.

Mark 1:40-42- “And there came a leper to him, beseeching him, and kneeling to him, and saying unto him, If thou wilt, thou canst make me clean. And Jesus, moved with compassion, put forth his hand, and touched him, and said unto him, I will; be thou clean. And as soon as he had spoken, immediately the leprosy departed from him, and he was cleansed.”

The One Who Prays: Why Jesus Walked in Power

Now Pastor Lenny turns to an equally important part of the message: understanding why Jesus Himself walked in such extraordinary power. He lists some of the miraculous things Jesus did—calmed storms, walked on water, commanded fish to fill nets, and cast demons into pigs. The question becomes: What was the source of Jesus’ supernatural power?

Pastor Lenny answers by directing listeners to Hebrews 12:2:

Hebrews 12:2- “Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.”

He explains that Jesus was the ultimate “faith being.” He was the author and finisher of faith because He walked in the fullness of faith. But where did that faith come from?

Pastor Lenny answers: Jesus walked in the fullness of the knowledge of the Father’s love for Him. Jesus knew without question that the Father loved Him completely. Pastor Lenny then references Matthew 3:17:

Matthew 3:17- “And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”

This declaration of love appears multiple times in Scripture, and Pastor Lenny notes that Jesus ministered with this unshakeable awareness. Because He fully grasped the Father’s love, He walked in perfect faith. Because He walked in perfect faith, He walked in perfect power.

Jesus Knew the Father’s Love and Walked in Faith

Pastor Lenny emphasizes that the reason Jesus walked in supernatural, miraculous power was because He fully understood the Father’s love for Him. He reminds listeners that Jesus lived, ministered, and operated in complete awareness that the Father was “well pleased” with Him. This constant awareness fueled unshakable confidence, faith, and boldness.

Matthew 3:17- “And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”

Jesus’ miracles were not the result of striving, techniques, formulas, or spiritual gymnastics. They flowed naturally out of His revelation of divine love. Pastor Lenny explains that when a person truly knows they are loved, they can scale mountains. He shares that when he knows his wife loves him—and especially when he knows God loves him—he feels like “a superman inside,” whose name is Jesus. This boldness comes from love realized.

He teaches that if believers want to walk in the miraculous like Jesus, they must walk in the same knowledge of the Father’s love. Faith flows effortlessly from love, and miracles flow effortlessly from faith.

Perfect Love Casts Out Fear

Pastor Lenny now addresses the common struggles that hinder believers: fear, anxiety, worry, and the inability to love oneself or others. He explains that these issues are all signals that one needs a deeper revelation of God’s love. He references 1 John 4:18, which we now include:

1 John 4:18- “There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love.”

He teaches that fear and torment vanish in the presence of perfect love. The more a believer realizes the love God has for them, the more fear loses its grip. This leads to boldness in prayer, confidence in God’s goodness, and freedom from guilt, shame, and condemnation.

He explains that if someone struggles with fear or anxiety, it does not mean they are spiritually weak—it means they need a fresh revelation of love. When the believer grows in that revelation, faith becomes energized, and miracles become possible.

Final Exhortation: Love Realized → Faith Energized → Miracles Realized

Pastor Lenny brings the sermon to a powerful conclusion by repeating the central theme:
Where love is realized, faith is energized. Where faith is energized, the miraculous is realized.

He urges believers to call upon the Holy Spirit for a fresh and continual revelation of God’s love. This is not a one-time experience but an ongoing relationship with the Holy Spirit, who desires to reveal God’s love continually. When believers walk in the knowledge of God's love, they walk in power just as Jesus did.

John 17:23- “I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me.”

Hebrews 12:2- “Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.”

1 John 4:18- “There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love.”

Each of these verses supports the final truth: if believers want to walk in miracles, they must first walk in love—God’s love revealed to them personally.

Closing Encouragement

Pastor Lenny ends by reminding every listener that they are deeply, completely, and eternally loved by God. He and Pastor Lori also express their personal love for those who follow their ministry. He encourages listeners to continue seeking the revelation of God’s love every day, because it is His deepest desire to reveal that love to every one of His children.

Through love, faith is energized. Through faith, the miraculous becomes a natural part of the believer’s life.

We hope this article blessed you and brought clarity and encouragement to your walk with God. If this message ministered to you, please consider sharing it with someone who needs to know the depth of God’s love. The revelation of His love has the power to transform hearts, release faith, and manifest the miraculous. May you grow continually in His love and experience His goodness in every area of your life.