Latest / HBCWestminster / 8.22.21 Luke 17:11-19 Pastor Danny Gardner

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8.22.21 Luke 17:11-19 Pastor Danny Gardner · HBCWestminster

• 0:00
  Let's jump right into God's word, church. Luke 17, our text is 11 to 19. We pick up where we left off last week. If you're able to stand as I read in honor of God's word, that would be great. Beginning in verse 11, on the way to Jerusalem, he was passing along between Samaria and Galilee. And as he entered a village, he was met by 10 lepers who stood at a distance and lifted up their voices saying, Jesus master, have mercy on us.
• 0:29
  When he saw them, he said to them, go and show yourselves to the priests. And as they went, they were cleansed. Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice. And he fell on his face at Jesus' feet, giving him thanks. And he was a Samaritan. Then Jesus answered, we're not ten cleansed. Where are the nine? Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner? And he said to him, rise and go your way, your faith.
• 0:56
  has made you well let's pray lord we bless you and we thank you for for worship because music so often puts words to our faith and expresses our gratitude it helps to focus our minds to receive your implanted word we thank you lord jesus for being our savior our shepherd our ever-present help in time of need and lord we ask that you illuminate your scriptures by sending your holy spirit and may we yield to his leading to his guidance to his authority
• 1:26
  to his interpretation and to his application of your holy word we give give us these things lord we ask in jesus name amen amen thank you church you can be seated in 2019 i shared with you an article entitled dear church here's why people are really leaving it was written by a man who had been raised in the church and who had for many years even ministered within it but had become disillusioned with the established orthodox historical american church
• 1:58
  And so declared himself to be a voice of truth, a harbinger for the true savior in a culture of disbelief and skepticism. And the subtitle read this way, a hard, honest look at why people are leaving the church. And the article began, and I quote, you want to know why people are really leaving the church? Being on the other side of the exodus stinks, doesn't it? I see the panic on your face, church. I know the internal terror as you see the statistics, statistics, and hear the stories and scan the exit polls.
• 2:27
  I see you desperately scrambling to do damage control for the fence sitters and manufacture passion from the shrinking faithful." I then, in 2019, shared the results of a Barna poll that said something quite different, in fact. In the previous 70 years, they said, church attendance in terms of percentage of the American population had actually dropped very little since the 1950s.
• 2:56
  They found there had not been a wholesale exodus away from religious things. And the question that I asked then was this, how can our sanctuaries remain full all the while our biblical values are under attack? I asked that in 2019, but then came 2020. And it seems like the curtain has finally been removed. By that I mean our biblical values are still under attack.
• 3:26
  but our sanctuaries are no longer full. Churches across the country have diminished in the last 18 months in their attendance and in their influence. In 2016, it was estimated that 1,000 churches per year were closing across the country. 1,000 churches per year closed in America per year. In 2020 alone,
• 3:53
  That number grew to between 12 and 14,000. Between 12 and 14,000, it is estimated churches closed just in the year 2020. Anywhere from 12 to 14 times the normal average. In fact, one pastor has recently said, the best thing COVID did in America was close a lot of bad churches.
• 4:16
  I think I agree with that. I don't know. Only the Lord knows. I have said for years that the problem with the American church is not numeric. Make sure you hear what I say by this church. I don't think that the problem with the church in America is that there aren't enough churches. I know that the answer to every one of America's spiritual problems has always been church planting. The focus of all churches has been church planting. More churches, more churches, more churches. And although I agree with the sentiment of that,
• 4:44
  I don't think I agree with the solution. The answer, I don't think, is more churches. I think a better answer would be that the churches that already exist would actually do their jobs. I don't think we just need more churches. I think what we need is better churches. The churches that already exist to begin doing their jobs. And COVID may have finished the work that had been trending the last several decades.
• 5:15
  Because society at large, honestly, seems to have removed their mask. We are finally witnessing the massive cultural shift away from biblical values and morals, especially in the areas of sexual identity.
• 5:32
  The sanctity of marriage, the sanctity of human life, parental authority over children, respect for the authority of police. You know, just this week, I was at an intersection here in town, just in Broomfield. I was here at an intersection. Right next to me, kind of going the opposite way, was a Broomfield policeman in his patrol car. Two young teenage boys are walking across the crosswalk in front of the policeman, all the while flipping him the bird.
• 5:58
  through his windshield just walking along just like this flipping in the bird all the way across and i thought how dare you who do you think you are you little punks i mean i just what in the world who thinks that's okay unbelievable respect for teachers is gone the sexualizing of kids when did that become normal
• 6:23
  Utter disregard for others, the seeming total abandonment of common sense, not to mention the flat-out denial of our Creator. I don't know if we can say with a clear conscience anymore, church, that we live in a Christian nation. Why would we think that if all of these sentiments are growing?
• 6:44
  The question we find ourselves is asking, why? Why is this happening? Why is there this massive cultural shift and why right now? And may I offer this as an answer? I think the answer is because Americans have finally stopped feigning interest. Americans have finally stopped pretending to care about Christian values. They have stopped pretending.
• 7:13
  the godlessness that has been growing in America that we can always kind of feel.
• 7:20
  Pastors have been preaching about this for decades. This is not new. But there seems to be this godlessness that has been growing, but has always until now been under the surface, has suddenly, because of COVID, come to the forefront. People have finally taken off their masks. And I think that there might have been millions of Americans who just two years ago, in 2019, pretended to care about spiritual things.
• 7:43
  but who in reality didn't actually care. There might have been millions of Americans who never actually cared about the church or Christ's kingdom, but continued to attend the church because they knew they should, or because it was the way they were raised, or because it was good for their kids. I heard a lot of people say that. Millions, maybe who today have finally, because of COVID, found their palatable excuse for bailing.
• 8:12
  They stopped going to church because, well, we can't gather in mass. We can't do that anymore. I'm not comfortable doing that, whatever. But then you go see them at the grocery store and you go see them at the coffee shop and you see them going wherever. They're going to Rockies games. You're like, well, how does that fit? That doesn't fit. What happened was COVID just gave them their excuse that they always felt all along. They never really cared about the church, but COVID just gave them their card that they could play every time they just wanted to get out of jail free.
• 8:41
  They can they found continue to claim the name of Christ They can continue to receive his benefits and yet they cannot give a rip about him or his bride the church They got from the Lord what they needed. They feel good about themselves. They feel good about their souls They know enough spiritual lingo to get by and now they feel like they can move on Rod Dreher has recently said the signs are very very clear America is leaving Christianity behind
• 9:10
  and he says we're not going to vote our way out of this one christian pastors christian laymen who may comfort themselves with the idea that we can keep on living as we've always done and hope for the best are lying to themselves he says he continues we are in a fight for our religious lives and souls are at stake in other words just because many have been taught
• 9:34
  spiritual things just because many in generations past and in decades past have grown up in the church and have grown up with Christian morals and Christian values and biblical understandings of marriage just because they were taught didn't mean that they were convinced.
• 9:52
  Luke in his gospel in chapter 1 and verse 4 even says that he compiled Christian testimonies, eyewitnesses, so that, Luke chapter 1 and verse 4, so that you may have certainty concerning the things that you have been taught.
• 10:08
  In other words, his gospel was penned in order to convince those who had been taught about Christ's claims of the truth of Christ's claims. His gospel was to be used as a history textbook, compelling his readers to believe. As we were introduced to the gospel of Luke, you will recall that the author set out to compile, using eyewitness testimonies, and then to compose what he called an orderly account of the life of Jesus.
• 10:39
  so that they would be convinced of the certainty of what they had been taught. And so my question to you this morning, Hyland, is this, are you convinced? I know you've been taught, but it turns out a lot of Americans have been taught, but have never been convinced. And so my question is, have you been convinced? Do you genuinely?
• 11:03
  Believe. I'm not asking if you're a Christian because we've seen a lot of Americans, a lot of Americans claim the name of Christ. I'm not asking if you attend church because a lot of Americans attend church. I'm not even asking if Jesus has changed your life because what we'll see in our text this morning is that Jesus changed a lot of people's lives who never then in turn followed him, who never in turn, as we'll see this morning,
• 11:33
  even thanked him they completely disregarded him they got what they want from from jesus and then they completely ignored him beyond that what we have maybe in our text this morning church is an example of so-called christian america get what you need from the lord ask and receive and then leave without so much as a thank you
• 11:58
  I said before that the thrust of Luke's account of Jesus is that the Jewish Messiah came not only to save the Jews, but the Gentiles as well. He came not only for the healthy, but for the sick, not for the rich, but for the poor, not to the elite, but to the off-scouring of society. And so his preaching, Luke's preaching in this section is poignant. Jesus cares for the one lost sheep. He cares for the prodigal son. He places poor and lame Lazarus as the hero of his story. And this morning we see
• 12:27
  that Jesus takes time for lepers and make sure that you notice church that he is Jesus is Rejecting those who reject their need for a savior and then offers himself to those who recognize their need And who plead for help and so notice the verses 11 14 our text is awesome. It's an awesome one this morning Our text says that ten lepers begged for mercy right and all ten were cleansed notice that
• 12:56
  Ten lepers beg, ten are cleansed. Look at verse 11. On the way to Jerusalem, he was passing along between Samaria and Galilee. Now, this would have been a normal thing for him to pass between Galilee and Samaria because in order to get from Galilee in the north to Judea in the south, he probably went through Samaria. Some went directly through, as Jesus did. Some went way around. But he certainly, in that journey, would have come across a lot of Gentiles. He continues in verse 12. As he entered a village, he was met by ten lepers.
• 13:25
  who stood at a distance and lifted up their voices, saying, Jesus, Master, have mercy on us. When he saw them, he said to them, go and show yourselves to the priests. And as they went, they were cleansed. You can circle that word cleansed if you like. It's going to be an important word we'll come back to in just a moment. Ten lepers beg for mercy, and ten lepers are cleansed. Now, I have been in full-time pastoral ministry for about 20 years.
• 13:54
  You know, as a pastor, you experience a lot of unusual things. You spend enough time in full-time ministry, you will see just about everything you can imagine. Hallie and I joke that I, because of the nature of my job, have had to become the king of awkward conversations. If there's anything that nobody wants to say, but it has to be said, the pastor is always the one who's willing to say it. It's funny how necessary seminary really is to pastoral work.
• 14:21
  and yet how little seminary can prepare you for some of the things you will encounter about 10 years ago for instance i was doing marriage counseling in my office i just had for this evening i just had the husband there the wife was not there i had some things i just needed to say to him some things that were hard that were going to be hard to hear that i knew he wouldn't like it was an evening and so all the other pastors and staff at the church had gone home i was in my office alone
• 14:46
  This man came in, and like I said, this is 10 years ago. This is at a former church. This man came in. I was the only one left on campus, but he didn't know that. I said what I believed the Lord had compelled me to say. I showed him what Scripture says, the role of a husband is, the responsibility of a husband to care for and love his wife the way that Christ loved the church. He got horribly offended by it. In fact, he was so angry about what I had said that he began to threaten me openly right there in my office.
• 15:16
  And he began to say, I am going to put us up to this. I mean, this was a big dude too. He was bigger than me. And he began to threaten me like he was going to fight me. He was going to get in a fight right now. And man, I'm like, I don't know what to do. You know, I was the only one on campus, but he didn't know that. And so I just said, hey man, do you see my phone? My phone was sitting there on the desk, my office phone. Yeah. You see that red button? Yeah. Now listen, my...
• 15:40
  phone had a red button on it. That red button, if you pushed it, just turned the phone to speaker mode. That's all it did. Just turned off the headset, right? So you could put that down and it just turned it to speaker. That's all it did, but it was a red button. I said, that red button is connected to our security personnel here for the church. If I push that red button in just a few seconds, three guys will be in here to escort you out of my office and off of this campus. If I push that red button, you're going to wish I hadn't.
• 16:06
  He got really quiet. And listen, I'm fully bluffing. I'm hoping that he wasn't going to lean forward and look at the phone because it literally said the word speaker underneath the button, but he couldn't see it. And so I said, hey, if you push that red button now, listen, I don't know. Maybe you can debate the ethical nature of, you know, fibbing in order to spare yourself from getting beat up or whatever it was. But man, I just said, hey, if I push that red button, it's over for you. Our security patrolmen are going to come in here. They're going to arrest you.
• 16:35
  They're gonna put you in handcuffs. They're gonna drag you out of here. You don't want me to push that red button. He got a little more docile at that point. But then he said, if I ever see you around town, if I ever see you around town, we'll handle it then. I ended the meeting. He left. A number of months went by. I'd forgotten about it. But Hallie and I and my boys were walking through the mall.
• 16:57
  And I turned around and I saw that guy just a couple hundred feet behind me in the mall walking behind me. I didn't know if he had seen me or not, but I just told Hallie, I said, Hallie, listen, I'll answer questions in just a minute. I just need you to keep on walking. You and the boys just keep walking straight. I'm going to hang a left into one of these stores and then I'm going to wait. And I was going to wait to see if that guy continued following. If he continued following my wife and boys, then I could come out, right? I could stop him. If he turned and came in, then at least I'd be in front of him. You know, I could handle it that way.
• 17:26
  way. But man, I turned, I went into the shop, they kept on walking, you know, and then I never saw the guy again. And then I moved a thousand miles. And so the Lord worked it out. But you have to do some really weird things as a pastor. You spend enough time in ministry, man, you're going to have to figure out how to think on your feet. You're going to be confronted with some situations you're not always going to be sure how to handle. And surely that continues to happen to every one of you. You spend enough time in Christian ministry. You follow Christ long enough.
• 17:55
  You're going to begin to make observations about how the world works. And here are a few things that I've learned being in ministry now for 20 years. A few things. First, you don't have to look very hard to find people in need. Right? I mean, they're everywhere. In fact, usually they'll find you. Second thing I've learned, being in ministry for so long, people in need are not hard to minister to. In fact, they're usually quite open to receiving not only your help, but your message as well. Third.
• 18:26
  We don't always want to minister to the people who need help because the people who need help and the people who are asking for help and oftentimes the people who are willing to receive help might have leprosy. They might be difficult to minister to. They might be the unlovables, the untouchables. And that is certainly the case here as Jesus is just cruising. He wasn't seeking a leper colony, but the leper colony found him.
• 18:55
  They sought him out. And notice his response. There are a few things our text says about these lepers specifically, and then Christ's ministry to them. Notice first in verse 11, it says that they were cast out. On the way to Jerusalem, he says he was passing along between Samaria, Samaria and Galilee. And as he entered a village, he was met by 10 lepers who stood at a distance, it says.
• 19:21
  They were cast outs. Society would not, indeed, could not accept them. They were forced into solitude because of their health condition, living in what would become later known as leper colonies. But then look what Jesus does. Notice, not only were they cast out, they were cut off. Verse 13, they stood at a distance and lifted up their voices saying, Jesus, Master, have mercy on us. And when he saw them,
• 19:52
  He said to them, go and show yourselves to the priest. And they went and were cleansed. Now, other passages actually have said that Jesus would touch the lepers.
• 20:03
  Now, any physical contact at all between a healthy person, a clean person, and a leper was strictly enforced so as not to spread the disease. And this is why it was such a big deal if somebody were to touch them. But listen to another time Jesus was confronted by a leper in Matthew chapter 8 and verse 1.
• 20:24
  When Jesus came down from the mountain, it says, great crowds followed him. And behold, a leper came to him and knelt before him saying, Lord, if you will, you can make me clean. And Jesus, listen to this, Matthew 8, Jesus stretched out his hand and touched the leper. Can you imagine everybody around him, his own apostles, disciples gasping? You touched him? You touched him. It'd be like hugging a COVID patient. Like, whoa, you don't do that.
• 20:51
  Right? Keep your distance. Keep your mask. Keep your whatever. Scrub your hands. All that stuff. Rub whatever on your hands to make yourself clean. Jesus stretched out his hand and touched the leprous man saying, I will be clean. Now that would have been the very first time any physical contact was made with this man since contracting that awful disease. And then what's really cool is Jesus' instruction.
• 21:17
  Afterward, Matthew 8 and verse 4, he says, go show yourself to the priest and offer the gift that Moses commanded for a proof to them. He says something similar here in our text in Luke 17. When he saw them, verse 14 says, he said to them, go and show yourselves to the priests as a proof to them. And you say, well, why show yourself to the priest? What does that even mean?
• 21:45
  Leviticus chapter 14 described in detail the process that was to be followed in order to become ceremonially cleansed from leprosy. If you had contracted leprosy in ancient Israel, you would have been thrown out of your community. You could no longer have had contact with anybody in town. They would have sent you out into the leper colony.
• 22:12
  in order to keep the disease from spreading. If somehow you were healed miraculously or medicinally in order to come back into that community, you had to go and show yourself to the priest. And Leviticus 14 talked about if you were healed from leprosy, which very rarely even happened.
• 22:32
  It talked about the offerings that were needed, the sacrifices that were needed, the cleansing and all of that stuff that was needed in order to rejoin your family and in order to rejoin the public. And healings of lepers happened on occasion throughout the Old Testament, especially during the time of the prophets. However, there hadn't been a recorded healing since the time of Elisha.
• 23:02
  5 now that is 800 years before christ when elisha comes and heals a man named naaman naaman who by the way was a syrian which means a gentile okay he was not jewish and so in second kings 5 you have this healing of naaman the syrian for 800 years there had not been a a leper
• 23:24
  healed, which means for 800 years. Imagine all of those generation of priests who had never done whatever it was that Leviticus 14 had described. This was not a normal part of their function, right? So they wouldn't be able to recall.
• 23:43
  Okay, now what are we supposed to do if a cleansed leper walks in? It had been 800 years. So you can imagine if this guy, either from Matthew 8 or from Luke 17, goes walking into the priest, what can we do for you? Well, I'm here because I was cleansed from leprosy, and I'm here to offer whatever it is I'm supposed to offer. Those priests thinking,
• 24:05
  what are we what's he supposed to do remind me again let's go back and check you can imagine them scrambling back Leviticus 14 exactly how are we supposed to do this and what's the normal order and all of that stuff right I mean this would have been a scramble there are no other accounts of any lepers being healed
• 24:23
  from Naaman until Jesus. And so certainly the priests of Jesus' time would have heard about Christ by now, either from Matthew 8 or from Luke 17. And here, Jesus shows not only compassion on the man, but even sends a message to the priests as well. In case you were waiting for the Messiah to show up, guess what? He's here. You're going to start hearing about people who have been healed. You better figure out what is needed from Leviticus 14, because I'm going to be doing this a lot. Can you imagine that?
• 24:51
  Jesus saying, keep showing up, keep showing up, keep showing up. I want the priest to know that the Messiah is here. And so the question we have, church, is did it work? Did it work? Did these consistent testimonies from these healed lepers, did those testimonies work? Turn with me in your Bibles, if you would, to Acts chapter 6. There's a really cool statement made. Acts chapter 6.
• 25:20
  takes place about four months, I think, about four months after Luke 17, okay? So in Luke 17, this is just before Jesus is going to be crucified, all right? So we're just a matter of weeks, I think, probably from him arriving at Jerusalem, being tried, convicted, crucified, buried, eventually to rise. So about four months later, we have Acts chapter 6, and notice what it says in Acts chapter 6 and verse 7.
• 25:48
  And the word of God, it says, continued to increase. And the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem. And look what it says. And a great many priests became obedient to the faith. Just four months later, this whole wave of priests comes to Christ. And it causes me to wonder if these were not the same priests in Acts 6, if that was not the same pool of priests.
• 26:17
  that were testified to here in Luke 17.
• 26:21
  They had received this testimony about a leper being healed, claiming that he'd been healed by the Messiah. None other than the Messiah himself. They're all wondering, who could this man be? Four months later, they hear about him dying and raising from the dead. Perhaps they'd even witnessed it. Perhaps they'd been part of those great clouds of witnesses that were witnessing the resurrected Jesus. And now they are coming to faith. It's awesome. Jesus says, go show yourself to the priests as a proof for them. But notice also,
• 26:51
  They were crying out. They were crying out, verse 13 says, lifting up their voices, saying, Jesus, Master, have mercy on us. We see desperate people don't care about appearances. Certainly, these men would have drawn a lot of attention. By the way, they were screaming out in a loud voice. And I love that Jesus doesn't give ministering to them a second thought. His compassion on these men was immediate, and it causes me to question, is my compassion as?
• 27:22
  immediate. It's confusing to me, my response, when I encounter people in genuine need. Why do I try to pawn them off on someone else, right? Just call this number and ask for this person. Or why do I invite them to something a week from now? Why do I feel that reluctance? Why do I suddenly become protective of my time or my wealth or my truck? Let me check the church budget. Why do I do that?
• 27:48
  Why do I not just take the approach of Jesus who offered immediate help? Why do I not take the approach of John and the Apostle Peter in Acts chapter 3? All right, silver and gold, I don't have. But what I have, I offer freely and they share the gospel. Just giving them what they've got. And I love the immediate compassion of our Lord. And so we see that 10 lepers ask for help, 10 are cleansed. But notice it says only one says thank you. Look at verse 15. Then one of them.
• 28:18
  When he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice, he fell on his face at Jesus' feet, giving him thanks. And he was a Samaritan. And Jesus answered, were not 10 cleansed? Where are the nine? Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner? I mean, 10 were cleansed, right?
• 28:37
  Shouldn't verse 15 have read, then all 10 of them, realizing that they were healed, turned, said thank you, and praising God in a loud voice, but that's not what happened. Only one of them turned and gave thanks, and the one happened to be a Gentile, a Samaritan, no less. The other nine, we find, were Jews. They went to the temple to go offer what Jesus had said, but they never turned back to say thank you.
• 29:05
  Turns out only one was grateful and so turned back to show his gratitude and it happened to be the one Samaritan and I want you to see here how He was turning back and look at verse 15 again. He turned back and what does it say? praising God with a loud voice
• 29:25
  falling on his face at Jesus feet and giving thanks you notice the request was made with a loud voice remember that they were crying out and so now he gives an equal amount of volume to his thanks I wonder sometimes how do I praise and thank God
• 29:48
  Now, if we were doing this service in person, if you are to visit the church Sunday morning as we gather together in person, this is going to be done a little bit differently. It's difficult to do this online, but I'll try my best, okay? Imagine that you were here in front of me and I were to give you this. This is one of those little Hershey chocolate minis, right? If I were just to hand this to you and say, hey, I've got something for you. I handed you this and I said, it's a gift. It's for you. You'd receive it and you'd say, oh, thanks.
• 30:16
  Right? You'd say, yeah, thank you. Thank you very much. But if I were to say, hey, I've got something for you. Come here. And I were to give you this. This is a little bit bigger. Same thing, right? Hershey's bar. But look at the size difference, right? If I were to give one of these to your buddy standing next to you, and then this one to you, you'd be like, yeah, it's 10 times bigger, right? And I might expect 10 times the thanks. If I were to give you this, you'd just say, no, thanks. That's nice.
• 30:41
  And then I already give you this and you said, man, thanks. That's nice. I'd wonder like, wait, that was 10 times as big. Shouldn't you thank me 10 times more, 10 times louder, right? There deserves a little more gratitude, wouldn't it? And now imagine I was to call you over and I say, hey, come here real quick. I've got something for you. And I already give you this. I said, man, that's significantly larger, right? I mean, it's a hundred times bigger than that. Maybe 50 times. I don't know. You know, it's...
• 31:09
  what five six seven times bigger than that like i hand you this i say it's a gift it's for you this is for you you can have it shouldn't i expect a greater thanks right and there's a there's a concept and i've said this before i know i've said this before church pardon me for saying it again but it illustrates this point well the concept is this the greater the gift the greater the thank you the greater the gift the greater the thank you this man had been cleansed from
• 31:40
  leprosy, not only was he spared a significant amount of pain and discomfort,
• 31:45
  Not only was he spared horrible disfigurement, this man was returned to his city, to his neighborhood, to his own home. This man could have been reunited with his wife if he were a married man. This man now got to participate in his children's lives again. So can you imagine the gift that this man had been given? It goes far beyond physical healing. This man had social and emotional healing as well. Restoration.
• 32:12
  And so he turned around and with great volume is praising God and falling on his feet, right? Falling at Jesus' feet and thanking him. Thank you so much. Far more than just restoring him physically. This man had been the recipient of a great gift. And so his gratitude was great as well. And so let me ask you, church, how big is the gift that you have received from Christ?
• 32:41
  How big is that gift? We have been saved from the wrath of God. We have been now called friends of God. Instead of enemies, we're no longer his enemies. Now we eat at his table. We have received reconciliation. Not only are we not going to be punished for our sin, but we will actually receive the reward that should have been due Christ. We co-heirs with him in eternity.
• 33:13
  Unbelievable. This is an eternal gift that we have been given. In fact, Romans chapter 3, Romans chapter 3, even, nope, sorry, Romans chapter 6 and verse 23 even says that, that the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. It actually calls it a gift. We have been the recipients of a gift that will last for eternity. And shouldn't our praise be at a high volume? Shouldn't our gratitude?
• 33:42
  just overflow into praise and worship. Shouldn't we fall at Jesus' feet the way that this cleansed leper did, rejoicing and kissing his feet and thanking him? You notice 10 asked for help and got it. One returned and was grateful. And notice what Jesus does for him. The healing of this man goes even farther because one leper leaves.
• 34:12
  healed. I said that 10 left cleansed, one left healed. There's a difference. Look at verse 19. And he said to him, rise and go your way. Your faith has made you well. There is a very distinct difference between the cleansing of the 10 and the healing of the one. Verse 14 says the nine left cleansed. Look at verse 14.
• 34:42
  As they went, it says they were cleansed. So all 10 of them were healed. If you want to think of it that way, cleansed from their leprosy. Okay. They were no longer considered outcasts, socially unclean. They were cleansed. They were cleansed from their disease. They were cleansed from their way of life. They were cleansed from their separation, removal from society. But then one exercised faith and he left.
• 35:11
  saved. There is a difference. Look at verse 19. The very last word in verse 19 is the word well. It has a translator's note. You guys see in your Bibles a little number four. One left. Well, your faith has made you well. Little number four. If you go down to the translator's note, it says, or your faith has saved you. He left not only healed physically, but healed spiritually.
• 35:40
  healed spiritually, and what a difference. Many years ago when my oldest son was just a little boy, I coached his t-ball team, okay? So he was four, five, six years old. He played t-ball with a bunch of his little buddies, the city field or whatever, you know, and it was just this little goofy thing, you know, it was really fun, those little squishy baseballs that you can't get hurt with even if you get pegged with one, right?
• 36:04
  And so he played for this t-ball team and there were some other believers on the team, these believing families, and so one of the other little boys on the team would leave
• 36:14
  Right? And, you know, they're five-year-olds and so you don't have much expectation in terms of getting thank yous and things, you know, for coaching. They don't know what to do. They're still figuring things out. So oftentimes as we would finish our practices or finish games, I'd dismiss the team. They'd all run to their mommies and, you know, whatever, jump in the cars and they'd all go home. But there was this one dad who always sent his son back with this response, with this command, right? His little boy would run over to him and he would just look down at him and say, hey, go be the one.
• 36:43
  Go be the one. And his son had been trained. He knew what that meant, right? And so his son would turn around. He'd run back over and he'd say, thanks, Coach Danny. You know, I appreciate everything. Thank you so much. And then he'd run back and jump in the car and they'd go home. And then the next practice would come around. Practice would end. All of the kids would disperse. None of them would say thank you. And then his dad would say, hey, go be the one.
• 37:03
  go be the one and he turned back around and run back over thanks coach danny see you next week all right bye buddy we'll see you next week then over and over and over he did this and i i went up to the dad one time and i said hey what are you telling your kid to do because i couldn't really hear him you know he says well uh coach danny one time jesus healed 10 guys 10 guys 10 guys left cleansed but one came back and said thank you
• 37:27
  Only one. And that man left saved. He expressed faith and was saved because of his faith. And so we've just taught our boys to make sure to be the one. To make sure that they are the one who says thank you. Be the one. Don't be the other nine. Be the one. And church, may I commend you the same way. Be the one. We should be a people whose lives are defined by gratitude. We have received far more than physical healing.
• 37:58
  We have received a spiritual healing which will last for eternity and an eternal gift, Romans 6 says, that should cause us to give praise with a loud voice, to thank the Lord, to fall at Jesus' feet in gratitude. Amen. Let's make sure, church, that we are the ones. And Lord, I pray a blessing over the preaching of your word. Lord, be exalted in our midst.
• 38:23
  We thank you, Lord, for the healing that you offer, not only physically but spiritually as well. And we thank you for the eternal joy that we will have because of it. And it's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen.