Where are the 9

Luke 17:14-19

11 And it came to pass, as he went to Jerusalem, that he passed through the midst of Samaria and Galilee.

12 And as he entered into a certain village, there met him ten men that were lepers, which stood afar off:

13 And they lifted up their voices, and said, Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.

14 And when he saw them, he said unto them, Go shew yourselves unto the priests. And it came to pass, that, as they went, they were cleansed.

15 And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, and with a loud voice glorified God,

16 And fell down on his face at his feet, giving him thanks: and he was a Samaritan.

17 And Jesus answering said, Were there not ten cleansed? but where are the nine?

18 There are not found that returned to give glory to God, save this stranger.

19 And he said unto him, Arise, go thy way: thy faith hath made thee whole.

Pray:

It is important to note while reading our bibles that these are historical events. These historical events recorded in our bibles tell us something about the way we behave the way we do. And more often than not the word of God accurately paints us as selfish, stiff necked unthankful.

Realizing that accounts such as these are true stories, I often find myself imagining the back stories of the people in them.

In the story we just read I imagined that perhaps that one who came back was a family man. Maybe he was a fisherman or a farmer. He probably worked 24 hours a day and 7 days a week to provide for his beautiful family. Maybe he had two sons and two daughters and a loving wife.

We know that he was a Samaritan man. Maybe his name was Tim. We’ll just call him Tim. He had a nice home, a good job and a pleasant life.

He goes to work comes home at night and everything in his life is going so well. When out of nowhere heartache comes into the life of Tim.

And we know that happens in life. We take so much for granted. We take our health for granted, we take our finances for granted, we often even take our families for granted. Until something tragic happens. But everything is going well until one day someone gets the news that they have been diagnosed with cancer. Everything was going well until someone gets the news that they have lost a loved one. Everything was going well until that man received a dear John or a Dear Tim letter from his wife who was leaving him. That is just how life is, it is impossible to live without facing heartache in some form.

But we know a little something about Tim’s heartache. Tim came down with a fever one day. And day by day he continues to get worse. So, he goes to the local Dr to see if they can figure out what is wrong with him.

And the Dr says let me see your eyelids and your hands. And the Dr sees an infection in his eyelids and his hands. And the Dr says, Tim, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but you have leprosy. You are a leper.

And so poor Tim asks. Doc how long will it be before I start to get better. And the Dr looks down and says. Tim you will NEVER get better. There is no getting better.

Well, asks Tim. How long will I have to be in bed with this? And again the Dr. says you will NOT get better. Well asks Tim as he still hasn’t accepted the news. What kind of medicine can I take for this. And the Dr says once more. There is no medicine that can help you now.

Well ok says Tim. When can I return to work? Tim you will NEVER work again. But Dr who will take care of my family? That is the least of your worries now Tim. You are a leper.

Dr. asks Tim finally. What is leprosy?

It starts with infection on the eyelids or the palms of your hand. And it spreads and spreads until it is in your fingers. And the ends of your fingers begin to rot and eventually the tops of your fingers will fall off. Next it will be your toes then your hands and then your feet. Tim, you will have to leave your wife and kids.

Well come on Doc. How long will I have to be away from my wife and kids. To which the Doctor says. Tim. You can never see your wife or your kids again. You cannot even go back to your house. It wouldn’t be safe for your family.

By the way. As inhumane as this sounds. This is exactly what our government did to our families during the covid farce. And it is wrong and we should never again allow this government or any other government to use health care as an excuse to destroy our families and our churches.

But the Dr tells Tim. You will NEVER again get your life back. And so, Tim fighting back the tears rushes to hug his wife. And the Dr grabs him and says you can’t do that. Tim, you will NEVER hug your wife again. Don’t you understand you can infect her with your leprosy.

Well, how long before I can hug my wife? And the Dr tells Tim. NEVER AGAIN.

Then Tim rushes towards his children. Surely, he says I can give them one last hug. And again, he is restrained by the Dr and his staff. And told. No, you can never again hug your children Tim. You have hugged your children for the last time.

Stories like this were common in bible days. In fact, there are still leper colonies in many places even in our modern world.

Then Tim gets an idea. Hey, I’ll just run down to the local church and have the pastor rub oil on me and pray for me. Listen to me Tim. You can never again go to the house of God. You can never again walk up to brother Virgil and shake his hands and tell him good morning. You can never again walk up to brother Danny or brother Roger and shake their hand and smile and say it is good to see you in Gods house this morning.

You can never again walk up to Sister Mary or Sister Sally or Sister Zena and see their smiling face while you shake their hand. Because Tim, you are no longer allowed into the house of God. It’s just too dangerous. You can infect other people with your deadly disease.

And there’s more to it Tim. Everywhere you go you will have to cover your face and shout unclean, unclean, unclean. You can’t hug your mother or your brother or your dad or your sister. It is too risky.

So, the Dr takes Tim outside the city into a leper camp. Can you imagine poor Tim walking into that leper camp. The scary and horrible sites he must have witnessed. A man standing there between bandage wraps with his eyes falling out. The smell of the filthy rags in need of being changed on the rotting bodies of the infected. By the way, this is what the bible means when it says that our righteousness is as filthy rags in the site of God. It means if you take a filthy rag from the rotting corpse of a living leper and think of how disgusting that rag is that is how disgusting our works are in the sight of God.

As I said last week. Righteousness must be inherited.

That poor man entering that camp must have been in shock. Looking at the puss covered soars all over the bodies of the people. Thinking to himself this is my future. I will be the man who can barely walk because his toes have rotted off. I will be the man who can barely see because his eyes have rotted out. One day I will be the man covered in blood and filthy smelly rags because there is no hope or help for me in my condition.

He knows there will be no visitation service from friends and family. He knows that his pastor will not be coming by to see how he is doing. This has now become Tim’s life.

He will never again see or hug his wife and kids. This was his life now.

Every day he wakes up and watches the leprosy spread throughout his body. He keeps inspecting and feeling the different places in his body wishing and hoping that he could see his family just one more time.

Until one day along comes the Lord Jesus Christ. The King of kings and Lord of Lords. The Lilly of the Valley, the fairest of ten thousand. The light of the world. The alpha and the omega, the beginning, and the end. The way the truth the life the door the good shepherd. The great physician was coming.

Jesus coming through that city on that day decided to enter it through the leper colony. And when Jesus walked into that leper colony there were ten men who had heard of him. They’d heard that Jesus made a blind man see and a lame man walk. They had heard that he cast out devils and even healed lepers. They had heard that he calmed the wind and the waves and fed the thousands.

But they couldn’t approach the King of Kings. As they were unclean. They must have wanted so badly to approach Jesus, but they couldn’t.

So, from a distance they fell down on their knees.

I said from a distance they fell down on their knees.

And they cried out “LORD JESUS HAVE MERCY ON US.” LORD JESUS HAVE MERCY ON US.”

Oh, listen to me. Don’t you know those are the words that Jesus is waiting to hear from you this morning? And those were the exact words Jesus wanted to hear from Tim and the other 9 men that day.

Too many of us living in our pride. Going at it alone. Trying to get through the heartaches of life without Gods help. It will get so much better if we could all just learn to cry out. Lord Jesus have mercy on us.

There is no other name.

Acts 4:12

12 Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.

How precious is the name of Jesus to those who call upon his wonderful name.

On that day Tim hit the lottery. Tim hit the jackpot. When he cried out, Jesus have mercy on me.

No one who has ever lived has ever come to Jesus asking for mercy and not received it. We read Hebrews 11:6 last week.

6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

God rewards those of us who seek him.

We can all relate to Tim, can’t we? Our righteousness was as filthy rags. Until the day we called out. Lord Jesus have mercy on us. Like the leper we were separated from the Love of God by our unclean ways.

We realized that we were lost and corrupt and a sinner and in need of help. We were sick in sin and at the end of our rope. Until we fell upon our knees and cried out. Lord Jesus have mercy on me, a sinner. That is a beautiful picture here of the saving love and tender mercies of our Savior.

Have mercy Lord. Have mercy.

And Jesus told Tim and the other 9 lepers to go show themselves to the Priest. And so, they did.

And the bible says on the way they were cleansed. You see they didn’t need the priest did they. They had already been cleansed for having faith in Jesus. Again, the consistency of the word of God on display here.

But they did as Jesus instructed. And when they got to the priest. He goes outside and gets two birds and hyssop and scarlet and wood and he gets some cedar wood. Then he takes one of the birds and kills it. And he takes the blood of the bird and sprinkles it on the ten men. Then he sprinkles the blood on one of the living birds and lets it loose. Then the priest declares I now pronounce you as clean.

Can you imagine how those men must have felt. We can finally go home. And Tim goes home and knocks on the door. And his wife must have been scared out first. But Tim shows her the bill of cleansing from the priest.

And they cry out in joy. Come in, come in as they embrace, and the kids come running and they all share a hug. He thought he would never again see his wife and kids. But there he was with them once again.

Listen to me. There are no words for what Jesus can do for you and your family. There are no limits to what Jesus can do for you and your marriage. If Jesus isn’t the center of your family life you are missing out.

The next morning comes, and Tim is back in church hearing his preacher brings the mornings message. And he’s putting his tithes and offerings into the plate with a smile on his face. And he just can’t wait to shake the hands of brother Virgil, brother Don, Brother Danny, and Brother Roger. He eagerly shakes everyone’s hands with a huge smile on his face.

And the next morning he goes back to his old boss, and he gets his job back. And he is so happy to have his life back until something dawns on him. Oh my, he thinks. Oh no. I forgot something. He tells his boss. I’ll be right back.

Tim goes back out to find his Savior. And when he does once again, he falls on his knees and glorifies God with a loud voice.

Let me tell you something. Tim may have been a Baptist but that moment he had an old-fashioned Pentecostal shouting and jumping for joy moment. I bet Ol Tim had a spell. Tim wasn’t afraid to shout amen.

Thank you, Jesus!! Glory to God. I got to hug my wife I got to hug my kids I got to see my friends I got to see my church friends again. Thank you, Jesus. I cannot thank you enough. Hallelujah I’m cleansed!!

And Jesus said. Where are the 9?

My bible says that Jesus healed 10 Lepers. Isn’t that what your bible says? And so, Jesus asked. Where are the 9?

Well, like I said. I tend to imagine what the lives of these people in these true stories were like.

Perhaps one of those 9 went straight to the liquor store and was too hungover from his celebration to come to Jesus and thank him.

Perhaps one of those 9 didn’t think to give credit to Jesus because he gave credit for his well-being to his religion and the priest.

Maybe just maybe another of those 9 didn’t feel like getting up early to come see Jesus. After all that was his one day off and he wanted to sleep in.

And who knows another of the 9 might have given credit to modern medicine. There must be a logical explanation for what happened and he was determined to figure it out.

It could be that another of the 9 was saying I am not the type to get emotional over religious matters. It is inappropriate to shout and carry on like that. Maybe that one was the Baptist.

Jesus said. I healed 10 where are the 9?

Could it be that one of the 9 didn’t really take the word of God seriously. After all it is full of errors, and it is pointless to waste my life serving Jesus. Folks that’s most Christians attitude today.

I can tell you a true story about a real Tim. I can tell a story about you and I this morning. We were all sinners. We were all born in sin. And sin is a disease worse than leprosy. Because sin will separate us from the love of God not just for a while but forever. And God said you are unclean.

Romans 3:23

23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;

Isaiah 53:6

6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.

And like you I was without hope. I was eternally separated from the love of God and any hope of eternal life. And I was on my way to hell to burn forever and ever and ever.

We were way worse off than that leper and we didn’t even know it.

Until one day I heard the message of the gospel from the pulpit in a little church in South Texas.

And I was pricked in my heart. And I began to ask questions. And I was surprised to know the answers. I was a leper in the sight of God. I was a sinner in need of the mercy of Jesus Christ. As we all are.

And on that day Jesus came to town. I was 17 years old when I cried out. Lord have mercy on me, I’m a sinner in need of your love.

You know there have been times in my life where I have been like the 9. There have been times in my life when I would only come to church around Christmas and Easter. I went through a period of time in my life where just like the 9 I wasn’t grateful for the mercy that Jesus showed to me.

There was a time in my life where even as a Christian I was too proud to come to the alter. There was a time in my life when even as a Christian I made excuses for not coming to church. I have no problem confessing to you that I have been just as bad as the 9 and not been grateful for the gift of eternal life. I’m human.

Jesus Christ pronounced me clean in the summer of 1987. And my sins are all forgiven past, present, and future. I’m no longer a leper. My sins are gone, and my soul is free.

There’s a new name written down in glory and its mine, yes, it’s mine. With my sins forgiven I am bound for heaven never more to roam.

There’s a song in my soul, there’s a bible in my hand, heavens my home, Jesus is my savior, God is my father, the Holy Spirit is my power, I look for the blessed appearance of my King and I am his child.

And if you can say the same this morning. Be like the one who came to give thanks. Don’t be like the 9 who took the most wonderful gift we could ever receive for granted.

Jesus said, Tim, I’m glad you came back. But where are the rest of them? Where are the 9?

I read this before and again it amazes me how accurate the word of God is to the world. Almost 70% of Americans claim to be Christians. And of that 70% only 10% believe that the bible is the perfect word of God.

Ten percent. Not much has changed has it. That one in ten goes to church. That one in ten reads their bible. That one in ten is thankful to Jesus. That one in ten gives his or her tithes and offerings. That one in ten took time to thank Jesus.

What about you this morning. Are you the one out of ten? Or are you like the 9? Must Jesus ask of you. Where are the 9?

If you are saved. Act like it. Your sins are forgiven then act like it. Which group are you in this morning?

God cured you of the leprosy of sin. Don’t be like the 9. Show up. Be thankful. Be part of something. Listen to me. Something good is going on here at Westside Baptist and if you are watching today on facebook I want to invite you to be like the one and to come be part of it. We are going to grow. We are going to share the love of Christ and the gospel message in Jacksonville, Arkansas. Because here at Westside we want to be like the one of the 9.

This world is not my home I”m just a passing through. My treasures are laid up somewhere beyond the blue. The angels beckon me to heavens open door and I don’t feel at home in this world anymore.

Jesus didn’t say those 9 felt it and didn’t show it. He said where are the 9. He didn’t say well those 9 are just baptists you never know about them. No. He asked where are they? Jesus wanted all of them to live a more abundant life. He saved them to give them a joyful life. A life of service to Him. And believe me there is no greater joy than serving God.

Too many miserable Christians out there this morning. Sitting at home and that is exactly why they are miserable.

Too many of us have no idea what we have in Christ. Come back to Jesus this morning.

Where are the 9? Where are the 9? Where are the 9?

Enjoying what they received the day they got saved. And blind to the fact that there is so much more that Jesus has to offer.

Pray:

Alter call.