If you have your Bible this morning, I want to invite you to turn to the book of Luke chapter 17. Luke chapter number 17 in the word of God. And as you can see this month, we are beginning a new sermon series entitled Draw Near with Thanksgiving. And I love our theme verse for the month, which is found here on the screen beside me. Colossians 2, as you have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in Him, rooted and built up in Him, established in the faith as you have been taught, abounding therein with what? Thanksgiving. I would just direct your attention to the two words in that first phrase, in Him. And then in the next one, in Him. It's kind of hard to be in Him unless you're near Him. Right? And so there's a correlation between our nearness with Him and that attitude of gratitude that He calls us to bring as we approach Him. And today we're going to Take a look at one place in the Bible that really gives us a graphic illustration of what it is that the Lord has put upon me to share with you in this coming month on these Sunday messages. And we're going to begin looking this morning in verse number 11. And the Bible here says, and it came to pass as he went to Jerusalem, that he passed through the midst of Samaria and Galilee. And as he entered into a certain village, there met him 10 men that were lepers, which stood afar off. And they lifted up their voices and said, Jesus, master, have mercy on us. And when he saw them, he said unto them, go show yourselves unto the priests. And it came to pass that as they went, they were cleansed. And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, and with a loud voice glorified God, and fell down on his face at his feet, giving him thanks. And he was a Samaritan. And Jesus answering said, Were there not ten cleansed? But where are the nine? There are not found that return to give glory to God, save this stranger. And he said unto him, Arise, go thy way, thy faith hath made thee whole. Let us pray. Our Father and our God today, as we approach your word, may we do so with humility. Lord, I pray that by thy spirit you would open the eyes of our spiritual understanding. Would you reveal to each of us that truth that you have, before the foundation of the world, ordained for us to glean into our hearts? And Lord, I pray that we would not just gather information, but may we seek transformation. And Lord, I pray that you might receive the glory for this we ask in the lovely name of Jesus. Amen. This week, We had several teenagers that went to West Coast Baptist College in Lancaster, California. Brother Daniel and Becky took them there for their annual college days event, and they gather together with hundreds of other teenagers that are considering attending a Christian college, and they have the opportunity to experience college life, hear some wonderful preaching in the chapel services, and just get a glimpse of what it might be like to live in a dormitory and to interact with other people that are like-minded in preparing themselves to serve the Lord. And while Brother Daniel and Becky were there chaperoning the young people, they had the opportunity to see his uncle Earl. His uncle Earl is a very godly man. I've known him now for about 35 years. And I've known his aunt, Kay, for the same length of time. They were among the very first members that ever came to the Lancaster Baptist Church under my brother Paul's ministry, as he has just celebrated 35 years of pastoring that church. And what made their visit so consequential was that For a few years now, his Aunt Kay has been very, very sick. In fact, she was dying. She had terminal diagnosis and was told that unless you receive a liver transplant, you'll not survive. I would tell you that his aunt was one of the most beautiful vocalists that you've ever heard. I've seen her literally take the breath out of an auditorium filled with three or four thousand people singing praises to the Lord. And I always held her in great respect and esteem as I did her husband. And I was happy that Becky had the opportunity to be adopted by them when she was attending school. And they often would have her to their home for meals and see to it that whatever she lacked, she had. And so it hit us hard when we learned that their Aunt Kay had a terminal illness. Well, during the course of waiting for a donor and going through all of the steps to try to get on the donor list, she got COVID. And she went to the hospital and while there she was on a ventilator and things were not looking very good. They were administering a number of medications. They were kind of throwing the kitchen sink at this thing, trying to see what they could do to help her get all the way through it. And just as she was kind of coming towards the end of her struggle there, they were able to locate a liver suitable match. But it wasn't certain whether she was even going to be able to receive it. For you see, the medicine they gave her to address the COVID, began to kill a kidney. Now, not only did she need a liver, she needed a kidney in order to live. And we began to pray. And Brother Daniel and Becky prayed with tears. And we as a church family mentioned it in prayer. And as the Lord would have it, She came out of the ICU and off the ventilator. She began to improve. But no kidney was available and she would have to go on dialysis. She was in a compromised health situation. They were thinking they would have to give the liver to someone else because even if they gave it to her, she couldn't survive. Well, she began to improve a little bit. All of a sudden, there was a perfect match for a kidney. And so last week, I think it might've been on Thursday and Friday. I can't recall which she went in the hospital on, I think it was Thursday and received a liver transplant. And the very next day she received a kidney transplant and the prognosis is looking better and we're praising the Lord. And, uh, I said that because they did not have the opportunity because of the COVID environment we're living in to go and see Aunt Kay, but they had dinner with their uncle Earl. And you know, I just can't imagine that the overwhelming sense that he had was of deep, abiding gratitude. to the families that offered organs, but especially to the Lord. Many of you know that Jan Oldridge was a longtime member of our church, and she was a longtime member because another member of our church gave her a kidney about 13 years ago. I stood there in the hospital with them, both of them side by side on gurneys. I held their hands like this and I prayed as they went into the operating room together. And God used one of our ladies in our church to help save the life of Jan. It was Denise Montoya that gave Jan one of her kidneys. And I'm going to tell you something. The overwhelming sense that Jan had throughout the remainder of her days was a sense of overwhelming gratitude for the gift of life. She often told me, Pastor, if you ever know of anything that Denise needs, let me know. Because from what she's done for me, there's nothing I wouldn't do for her. We're getting ready to jump into a portion of Scripture where that Ten men had a death sentence on them. And the Lord delivered them all. But only one had the deep abiding sense of gratitude that caused him to draw back to the Lord in grateful praise and in worship. That's really a commentary on the world in which we're living. In fact, as you study Romans 1 and 2 Timothy 3, you will find that one of the leading indicators that we are living in the last days is that men will be unthankful. In both passages, it highlights that the sign of the times, one of those will be ingratitude. I've seen that on many occasions. Years ago, my father was my pastor and I was serving on a staff of the church that he pastored. And there were some folks in the church that I'm not even sure were believers that were there when we arrived. And the church was a part of an ungodly convention that that denied the fundamentals of the faith. And their seminaries did not believe in the inerrancy of the Word of God. And their professors at the seminary would question the deity of Christ, the blood atonement, the virgin birth, and they took a position on homosexuality that allowed them to ordain homosexuals into the clergy and also to take a pro-choice position on abortion. If you can imagine what was then considered to be a mainline denomination in our country doing such a thing. Now it seems like that's the norm in the mainline today. But then it was not so much so. And so Dad, being sage in understanding the time in which we were living, began to draw the church away from that and to sever any ties to that convention and to make it an independent Baptist church. And through all of that, there were 50 people that chose to sue the church. And it was a terrible thing. It lasted several years. Well, if you've ever been involved in a lawsuit, you've learned that lawyers typically don't work for free. How many of you have ever found that out? How many of you know if you just call them on the phone to say, hey, nice day we're having, you get a bill in the mail? Right? And if you talk three minutes, you're billed for 15 because that's how they bill in 15-minute increments. And typically, it's $200 to $300 to $400 an hour. And then it's two and a half times that for all the hours spent in front of a judge in a courtroom. And they get paid for driving to the courthouse and driving home from the courthouse. for their bathroom breaks at the courthouse, and for their lunch, and you have to buy them a Happy Meal. You know, I mean, all of this. And is it any wonder that lawyers have such a wonderful reputation? But through the course of that, after it came to a conclusion, all of the bills were tabulated, and we would have as a church, and my dad is here to testify, had to have paid 1.5 million dollars in legal expenses. We're not for God using the ministry of the Christian Law Association, which represents Christians who are taken to court simply for doing what they believe from the Word of God. And they never, for 50 years now, have never presented them with a bill. We didn't get a bill. $1.5 million. And they do that every day of the year, sometimes receiving up to 3,000 phone calls per day for their legal offices. And they never make a charge. One night I was having dinner with Dr. Gibbs, the founder and lead counsel for the Christian Law Association, and I said, you know, Dr. Gibbs, out of curiosity, of all the churches that you have represented and never given a bill to, no doubt many of those churches would have had to have paid hundreds of thousands of dollars or perhaps even millions of dollars in legal fees. I said, How many of them have decided to just support your ministry on a monthly basis, even with a gift of $50 or $100, just as a token of their gratitude for what you did for them? And he looked at me and he said, about just under 40%. I thought, Did I hear that right? Somewhere south of 40%? He said, yes. We're grateful for the ones that do, he said, and it's our privilege to continue to represent the ones that don't. But I thought, If that isn't an indicator of the time in which we're living, because I'm not talking about unsaved people being ungrateful, I'm talking about churches that have been represented, that have been provided a service that was worth in excess of hundreds of thousands, and in some cases, millions of dollars, and yet, they never even, as a token gesture of gratitude, offered to support the ministry 50 or 100 dollars a month. To me, that would have been just a starting place for expressing gratitude. And as strange as that may seem, I want to just bring this home. There are many believers who have been saved by the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ. And according to all the polling data that I have ever read, and I have read a great deal of it, the average Christian will never, in the course of their Christian experience, lead another person to Jesus Christ. In fact, the statistics tell us that only one person out of ten that names the name of Jesus Christ will ever take a Bible and clearly and succinctly show someone the plan of salvation and lead them to faith in Christ. Only one in ten. As I read that statistic, My mind raced to Luke 17, thinking about the fact that there was only one in ten that had been delivered that returned to offer thanks. I think that, unfortunately, I think as much as we say we love the Lord, we may have to just admit that there are times where our lives themselves, and the way that we choose to lead them, are a sign of the end times. Because as others look at our lives, they would question whether or not we have that sense of wonder for what God has done for us to the extent that we would say, whatever it is that the work of the Lord needs, there's no end to what I would do for all that He has done for me. And so, what we find here is the man that was genuinely grateful and returned to offer thanks, drew near to Him to offer that thanksgiving. And I think that we need to consider the profound healing that we have received, the healing of the soul, and learn the lesson personally that God would have us to draw from Luke chapter 17. Now, I want to say that for many years I thought I understood what love was, and the fact of the matter is, for a big percentage of those years, what I thought was far afield from the reality of what love was. Until I heard some wise person say one day that love is giving of yourself to meet the need in another, expecting nothing in return, and being content when that's what you receive, nothing. I think that really separates the lip service from the sincere love. There are many people that say, I'll give of myself to meet the need in another, But if they don't say thank you, that'll be the last thing I ever do for their sorry, sick soul. Right? And so, sometimes our lack of gratitude reveals something about us, as well as our response to ingratitude revealing something about us. If you stew and obsess because you've done something for someone that didn't rightfully acknowledge it in your opinion, and you're upset about that, then you didn't give that in love. You gave it for affirmation. And so, you thought, I'm going to do this, with the expectation they will love me more and appreciate me more for having helped to meet their need. But the problem was when they didn't acknowledge you like you thought they should, you reserved the right to be mad and say you'll never do anything for them again. And what you have to understand is that whole scenario began with you and it ended with you. And so therefore, it was never love. It was, by the strictest definition of the term, lust. Because it was entirely about your gratification. Aren't you glad when we fail to give gratitude to the Lord for His good gifts? And that happens a lot. That He doesn't say, well, that's the last thing I'm ever going to do for you. Despite that fact, we discover what Lamentations 3 says. His mercies are new every morning. And so, I want us to take a look here because what we find is, in this passage, I've titled this message, Where are the Nine? Where are the Nine? And I want us to notice first of all the coming cross. The Bible reveals to us in verse 11. It came to pass as He went to Jerusalem that He passed through the midst of Samaria and Galilee. I want to point out the fact that Jesus knew at this point that He was in the home stretch to the cross. There was not a great deal of time, and if you study the harmony of the Gospels and see them in their chronology, you will understand that this event, the healing of the ten lepers, is now just a matter of perhaps less than two weeks from the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. The next major event would be the raising of Lazarus. And it was not a great while after that that the intense conspiracy was underway to put Jesus to death and things began to catalyze and move very quickly. We know that before Jesus entered into Jerusalem for His triumphal entry, He stayed at Bethany, and there were a number of things that took place there. Of course, the supper at the house of Simon, where Mary of Bethany lavished the alabaster box of ointment upon Jesus. But Jesus is moving towards Jerusalem knowing that His hour is coming Nye, it is almost at hand. I don't know about you, but when I anticipate difficulty, sometimes it makes me more measured in my actions as I am moving towards difficulty that I know is inevitable. I know that it's probably like a broken record, It took me a long while struggling over the last four weeks dealing with kidney stones. And I told Linda at one point when the doctor told me that I had some stones that were lodged and they would pass naturally, I just had to wait. There were times where I was laying there and the nausea, everything that came along with it was so intense that I was feeling a little bit of anxiety just in the anticipation of having to face the extreme pain. The Lord would soon, after this event, suffer more inhumanity, indignity and pain than any other human has ever suffered in the history of this world. And yet, knowing that, He made His way through Samaria and Galilee, in the midst of it, in a desert place, And I believe that it was because He knew that there would be ten lepers there. And although they were cast out of society, and they're nameless to us, they were known to God. And God was the supply to their every need, and He knew that what they needed was cleansing, and so He passed by that way. And I want to just point out the fact that while Jesus knew the suffering that awaited Him, He still took time to care for the suffering of others. I thought of that often as I visited Brother Monty this week as he lay there struggling to speak and slurred speech and blind in one eye and couldn't find his arm or his hand and numb over the entire left side of his body. And there he lay in a condition And every time someone walked by the door, he wanted to give him a tract. Every time a nurse or someone, a dietician or a caseworker would poke their head in. He'd say, this is my pastor. You need to come and visit our church. In fact, I've got some brochures right here. I can't reach him. I've had a stroke. But pick one up. Come on in. It's right there. Pick it up. And he'd tell about the Lord. And the fact is that everyone in the world would have given him a pass to lay there and feel sorry for himself for what he had suffered. But he said, you know what? I'm in a place now where I can't do anything but be His witness. And so while I'm here, I'm going to do what God wants me to do. And friends, I just say that so that we can be reminded that so often we get so engrossed in the issues of our life that those that are dying with terminal conditions all around us, Go uncomforted and without the gospel of Jesus Christ, because we've got some tough stuff coming. because we're going through some stuff. Isn't it interesting that the Bible tells us here that He passed through the midst of Galilee and Samaria, and pretty soon the people in Galilee would cry out for His death. The people in Samaria weren't too fond of the Jews, and He was Jewish, and so He was going through some stuff, and He was facing some stuff, but guess what? It didn't change the reality that He paused to help those that were homeless and cast out and with the sentence of death upon them. We notice, secondly, the common curse. You see, the Lord was met by ten men who were cursed with leprosy and all that it resulted in. Know this, that when a person had leprosy, you were cast out of the city limits in a quarantine situation. Legally, in those days, if you had leprosy, you could not come within 100 paces of another person, or you could be summarily stoned. Their family members that took pity upon them would have a designated place where they would leave provisions if they even had family members that would own them. And they would place them there and then they would walk away and they would stand a hundred paces away to see to it that their loved one got the little bread or provisions that they left for them to have. In addition to that, a leper was required whenever someone came within their purview to cry out, unclean! Unclean! Unclean! So that people knew to cut a broad swath around them lest they also be affected by this terrible curse. There are many types of sin in the Bible. Egypt is one of the classic types of sin in the Bible. We know that leaven, which we'll discuss tonight, is a type of sin in the Bible. But we also know that leprosy is a picture or a type, if you would, of sin. And what we see is that this is a common curse upon us all. And the reason why there were 10, many say 10 in biblical numerology represents humanity, the number of men. I believe not only that, but I believe that it represents the number of the Gentiles. And what we find in this group was that there was a mixture of Jews and Samaritans. In other normal circumstances, they would never have had anything to do with the other. They despised one another. In fact, the Jews called the Samaritans dogs. They were considered to be half-breed bastards. And that's what they thought about them. And that's why in John chapter 4, the disciples thought it so unusual that the Lord would pause and talk to a Samaritan woman at Jacob's will. And so, these men were joined together and they all had this common curse. And it's amazing how tragedy and adversity brings people together. The Bible says that in Proverbs, that a brother is born for adversity, And the fact is that these brothers were born for adversity, and it didn't matter that one was a Jew and the other was a Samaritan, they were all dying in the same lot, and they didn't have to quarantine from each other. And so the only comfort that they would have had was the fellowship with one another. And so what we understand is that we too are afflicted with a common curse. It's called sin. We're a part of the ten men, as it were, in the respect that we too have been unclean. And so we notice, thirdly, the collective cry. The Bible says in verse number 13, it says, they lifted up their voices and said, Jesus, Master, have mercy upon us. It's interesting that in many of the physical healings of the Lord, Dr. Luke gives us a special insight into those because of his being a physician. And as you study a little further about the scourge of leprosy, you discover that as the disease begins to advance, it destroys the vocal cords of the person. It not only would take their limbs, many of those that would have leprosy would have their ears, their nose eaten away, As it advanced, it would so necrotize that there would be black patches of skin that were just dead. And they would just fall off. And it would move internally. Necrotizing and eating away at different parts of the body and it would attack the vocal cords. It was not uncommon that lepers that had to cry out unclean would have to stay far away because they could barely be heard, and so they would try to keep enough distance that it wasn't necessary for them to cry out lest they be stoned. And so what we find is that they gathered together, and in this instance, they knew that it was the Lord coming. Perhaps they saw an entourage, maybe His disciples. They heard that He might be passing that way. And I'll just have you notice that they were not out there seeking the Lord. Guess who came seeking them? God did. You see, there was a popular movement in about the 80s and 90s, and there was a book written about it called The Seeker-Sensitive Church, and that everybody is a seeker if they don't know the Lord. They're seeking, seeking, seeking. And the fact is, look, we do need to have a seeker-sensitive church, but guess what? You're not the seeker. God is. That's why the Bible says in Luke 19.10, for the Son of Man, that's Jesus, has come to seek and to save that which was lost. These men weren't looking for Jesus. He was looking for them. Aren't you glad? You know what? There are times where you look to in your life where you weren't looking for God, but He was out looking for you, and aren't you glad He found you? I'm glad both of you are that happy about it. The fact is there was a collective cry. And so they began to lift their voices in unison to cry out to Jesus. And they cried out for Jesus to have mercy upon them. And that should be our collective cry as the Lord passes our way. As we know that God is nearby. Because He is the only hope that we have. And we must cast ourselves at the very mercy of Almighty God. These men couldn't go. into the community. They couldn't go to the temple. They couldn't do anything. There was no possible way they could help themselves. The only help that was there was what God could provide them. And so God sent His Son, God in the flesh, God the Son, to pass that way. And as they cried out, the Lord stopped and had an exchange with them. And we notice fourthly, the compassionate command, for the Bible tells us in verse number 14, and when he saw them, he said unto them, go show yourself unto the priests. Now, that may seem like an odd statement if we take it randomly, because you say, why would they have to do that? They're sick and a death, or you've got a terminal disease. It's like, you're gonna go show somebody your owie? Now, I'm pretty good at that. When I'm sick, I want everybody to feel sorry for me, right? If I've had surgery, I want to show you my scars and have you ooh and aah and feel bad for me. But the Lord wasn't saying, go show your owie to the priest. No, what He was saying was, go show yourself to the priest because that is what the law required in order for a leper to be declared to be unclean. They had to present themselves unto the priest for seven days, and on the eighth day, the number of purification, the priest would ceremonially, in the presence of family and friends, declare them to be unclean, and thereby they would have access back into their communities and into their homes. And so the Lord was fulfilling all the law. He was doing exactly what was put into the law in the book of Leviticus. And so what we find is the Lord was not so taken up with the suffering that awaited Him that He failed to see the peril of these men. He looked upon them and He had compassion in His heart for them. He saw their need and with compassion He directed them to go and show themselves to the priest to be declared clean legally. And what it reveals to us is that Jesus did not come to destroy the law, but to fulfill the law. Now, I want to just simply say to you that we are not saved by the keeping of the law. But it is the law that serves as the schoolmaster, according to the book of Galatians, that brings us unto Christ. The Bible declares that the law is good. but it also declares that by the deeds of the law there shall no man be justified in his sight. It is not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, Titus 3, 5 tells us. And so these men were not saying, tell us what law we broke and we'll fix it, we'll repent of it. No, what they said was, have mercy upon us. And the Lord said, go show yourself to the priest. And so what we notice is the corresponding cleansing. Corresponding cleansing. The Bible tells us this. In verse 14 again, He said, Go show yourself unto the priests. And it came to pass that as they went, they were cleansed. And what I feel compelled to share with you about this is that just knowing what Jesus said did not bring cleansing. They had to, in faith, act upon His Word. There have been many times that I've shared the Gospel with people that said they did not know that they were saved. And as I went through the points of the Gospel, verse by verse through the Word of God, you know, they say, I know that. I already know that. I already believe in God. I know. I already know. And I'm saying, good for you. Glad you know. But, you know, all that knowledge hasn't done anything for you. Now, God said, here's what I want you to do, and they knew what God wanted them to do, but just knowing what God wanted them to do wasn't enough. The Bible says in James chapter 2, Thou believest that there is one God, thou doest well. The devils also believe and tremble. So they know there's a God and they're scared to death of Him. But you know what? That emotion has not moved them to do anything about what they know. And so guess what? They're doomed. They're doomed. There are people that say, well, I already know that. I already know Jesus. I believe in God. I know all that stuff. Well, wonderful. Okay? Let's imagine that I'm going to take Brother Scott on a drive. Brother Scott, Pastor Cronk is here today. He pastored up in Crown King, I think for 17 or 18 years. I've never been there, but I've been told that it's a treacherous drive on the road to Crown King. How many of you have ever been up there? Okay. I've heard that it's a very narrow road. It's kind of scary. A lot of switchbacks and turns and drop-offs that are many hundreds of feet down to rock below. And that if you meet someone coming down, you know, it's a dilemma. Someone has to figure out where's the widest place and back back into a situation where maybe somebody could get by. And and so it's pretty treacherous. And imagine that I had a buddy that had a dune buggy and I swung over to Brother Scott and Paula's house and said, hop in Scott, we're going to go up to Crown King today. And so we're driving those roads with switchbacks and turns and big drop-offs, hundreds of feet, where many people have gone over the edge and never lived to tell about it. And so, I'm driving a little fast and Scott's grabbing the bar in front of him and he's like, do you think that you need to slow down a little bit? And I say, don't worry. I got an A. in math. Don't worry. He's like, what does your A in math have to do anything about our lives right now, man? Well, you know what? I understand the law of physics. And I understand because of getting an A in physics when I have to put my foot on the brake in order to safely navigate the next hairpin without falling to our death. And I come towards the next hairpin, I'm going a little fast, and you pass physics, barely. And you're saying, wait a minute, I think you're pushing it here. And I say, don't worry. He's thinking, I am worried. And I say, I got an A in auto shop. He's like, big, stinking, honking, hairy deal. Slow down, man. What does auto shop have to do with you saving my life right now? And I say, listen, I know how to change brakes. So does Paula. Scott makes her do it. I know how to change brakes. And you know what? I know the material brake pads are made out of. And I know that you've got to bleed the brakes. And I know the kind of fluid that goes in those brakes. And I know how many pounds of pressure per square inch for the RJ go through those lines in order to make those brakes close up and slow that vehicle down. So don't worry. I know all of that stuff. Right? Now, if I know all of that stuff, and I don't put my foot on the brake, will the knowledge save me? No. They knew what God wanted them to do. But until they did it, There was no cleansing. And so they had to take God at his word. And so they had to, in faith, act upon it. And what followed their act of faith was the healing that they sought. Which leads us to this. The cleansing change. So there were 10 men that were walking to the priest. They were hoping to be able to be pronounced ceremonially clean. And as they were going along, maybe they were talking among themselves saying, we can't go to the priest yet. We're not healed. We've got to have some sign or indication of healing in order for the priest to even talk to us. We can't get within 100 paces of him. What are we going to do? But you know what? That's what Jesus said, do so. Let's go. And so they went along. And you know what? Maybe they got a little ways away, maybe 100 yards, maybe 200 yards. And someone said, Jim, Your voice is back. What happened to you? Joe, weren't you missing that left ear? Hey, Jaime. I'm a little anti-Semitic. I'm sorry. But you know, you didn't have a nose a minute ago. You've got a beautiful nose now. And they begin to look around and say, hey, wait a minute. I don't have leprosy anymore. Look at this, man, I got all my digits. Look it, I got all my toes now. Look it, I got a nose. I can even pick it. And look it, I got ears. The fact of the matter is that they experience a healing. And you know what? One of those men, a Samaritan man, thought, Jesus just gave me my life back. I don't need to go see a priest. I need to go see God. And this Samaritan man was not simply healed, but he was changed as evidenced by his response to Christ. He drew near in thanksgiving. He didn't just send him a text. He didn't just drop him a line. He said, for what He's done for me, I have to see Him face to face. I need to turn around and go back. The Bible tells us He drew near to offer that thanks. And here's what He did. He turned back. He offered up. He fell down and was lifted up. He turned back. He offered up, he fell down, and was lifted up. What do you mean? Well, he turned away from whatever he was pursuing in his life, and he turned to Christ. He turned to Christ. He was already healed, you see. But he went back, not to receive healing, but because he had been healed. And he wanted to offer praise and thanks unto the One that had given it. So he turned back and he offered up the praise unto the Lord. And he fell down at His feet worshiping Him. And the Lord lifted him up. What we discover is next, the conventional conduct. Conventional conduct. You know, the usual. What was the usual? Well, nine out of ten. Nine out of ten dentists recommend Trident to their patients at Chew Gum. No, I forget. Is that it? Here's the point. The conventional conduct was that nine of the ten men who were healed did not return to Christ to offer thanks and praise for the healing he provided. And you know what? That's about how it goes in Christianity. It's about how it goes. If I said, folks, how many of you are excited to be saved? Everybody that's saved and knows it, they raise their hand and say, man, I'm really excited to be saved. And how many of you really love God for all He's done for you? Everybody's hand would go up. I say, okay, tonight at six o'clock, what we're gonna do is we're gonna have a special prayer meeting. And it's just gonna be prayers of praise and thanks to God. And we're gonna spend just a solid hour or face before God in prayer. You know what? About one out of 10 would show up. About one out of ten. You say, why did those nine men not come? Were they just ingrates? I don't think probably that was the forefront of their consciousness that I don't appreciate what Jesus did. But they were more taken up with the whole idea, well, you know what, I can't get home to Mama. I'm going to sleep with Mama tonight. And I'm going to see the kids. Man, I hope she... fixes up a bunch of lentils and lamb chops for me. That'd be great, wouldn't it? And thinking about, hey, listen, I'm going to get my life back. Here's what I'm going to do. Here's where I'm going to go. Here's what I'm going to see. And they were so taken up with what they wanted. And it wasn't evil to want to be with mom. It wasn't wicked to want to see the kids. It wasn't bad for them to dream and have their mouth water when they thought about a decent meal. And it wasn't bad stuff, but it was the stuff that preempted their passion to return thanks to the One that gave them their very life. And do you know, I'm just going to say this to you, that anything that you are more passionate about than God is an idol. Anything that you think about more than God is an idol. Anything that you give yourself to more than God is an idol. And by the way, I just want to say this to you, the very first and second commandments out of the Big Ten have to do with this stuff. Thou shalt have no other gods before me. And I'm probably the most unpopular guy in the house every time I say this, but it's true and I'm going to say it. And that is that most of us have an idol in our life. And I'm going to tell you, I can almost guarantee that I know what your idol is. What you are worshiping and more passionate about than God. And it's not? Something wicked. It's not something inherently evil. That's why you do it so casually. I'm going to tell you what most of your idol is. Family. Because what you would do for family every day. You would never imagine doing for God on a regular basis. Although you may stand up and say that, oh, I would do anything for the Lord. But when push comes to shove and the rubber begins to meet the road. We're doing lip service, not life service. I'm just saying. If a missionary came and said, I have the opportunity to build a church that has a radio station and a printing press. And it's situated in the capital city of a small nation. And I've got the boots on the ground. I just need to feed them. I need to send them some direction, organize them. If I had just some help, I could reach this whole nation for Christ. Oh, we'd reach into our billfold and we'd pull out a hundred bucks, maybe a couple. Maybe if we're feeling really generous, Write a check out for a thousand bucks. How about those grandkids? How about those kids? What would you do for them? Well, it's the birthday. Well, they just graduated. Do you see my point? It's not... You're not bowing down in front of a stone God, but we're worshiping to the extent that we'll compromise truth and we'll be violative of what God said do in order to service the idol in our life. There's a lot of uncomfortable people here. Now, I'm just going to say this to you. You can serve your God by serving your family. But what are you teaching your family if church is discretionary in your life? What is it teaching your family if prayer and the study of God's Word are only as time permits? What are you teaching them about values? The fact is, The conventional conduct of even Christians is much too like the nine who refuse to return and give thanks. Taken up with personal desires that may not be evil, that lead us from drawing near to God with thanksgiving and worship. But notice with me lastly, the core cure. Verse 19, He said unto him, Arise, go thy way, thy faith hath made thee whole. He was the only one out of the ten that was told this. Now, I believe all of them received healing, but this man didn't just get physical healing, he got salvation. You see, the return to the Lord with gratitude was the revealer of what was in his heart and who that man believed Jesus to be. And he fell down and worshipped Him. And that man knew that the only one that is worthy of worship is God. So by falling on his face and worshipping Him, he was acknowledging that Jesus was the Messiah, God. Although he was not even a Jew, he was a Samaritan. The Lord did not simply deal with a man's disease. He dealt with the cause. He didn't put a Band-Aid on a tumor. He removed it. And today, understand the Lord desires to make us completely whole. So, friend, He will not just help you, He will save you today. The Lord asked the question, where are the nine? That question can still be asked today. There have been multitudes of people that have become the beneficiaries of the Lord's kindness. He showers it upon us every day. Upon the Samaritans and the Jews. The good and evil, it rains on the just and the unjust. But very few have returned in a demonstration of profound and genuine change in their life to offer that thanks and gratitude. Let me just say, sometimes you can just get so used to going to church and doing all the stuff that we're supposed to do as Christians, that we just get caught up in the rat race of Christianity, if there's such a thing. Not too many people do that, really, by the way. Really. Because my idea of the rat race and yours are probably two different things altogether. To you, it's like, I've got to go to church. You know, that's your rat race. You know, that's a very slow rat. It's a special ed rat, right? I'm just saying. But my point here is this. Look, we get caught up in it. And before we know it, we talk about the cross. We talk about communion in the blood of Jesus, and we think, oh, the service will be long again. That's what we think about. You know why? Here's why. You're one of the nine. Because you know why we have communion? Not to take up more of your precious time. It's to help you hit the reset button on your ungrateful heart. So I recognize in me sometimes That exposure to it desensitizes me to it. And so you know what I have to pray all the time? Lord, please help me never get over the wonder of it all. All that you've done for me. Lord, keep it fresh in my mind. May I find your mercies new every morning. May I still weep when someone breaks down the aisle to be saved. May it still stir my heart. May my heart be tender when I open your word instead of reading it like a textbook. May I yearn for that time for you like I used to. God, don't let me be like one of the nine. Help me be the one. that will return and draw near with thanksgiving. Let me be the one. Friends, never ever get over the wonder of it all. Heavenly Father, thank You for this time that we could study Your Word. I pray, Lord, that we would not just study it so that we can know it, but so that we might live it. Lord God, I pray that for those who have just allowed the wonder of all the love and kindness You've showed to just ebb away from them, Lord, may they today renew in their heart a passion to draw near to You with gratitude, with thanksgiving. And Lord, for those that are one of the ten by the roadside, affected by a curse, alienated from man and God because of sin. Lord, may they see today that You came to save them. And may they cry out unto You, Master, Lord, have mercy upon us. Might they be saved today.