Luke 17:11-21 November 15, 2009
“Hey God – Thanks!” Part 4
Rev. Meagan M. Boozer
When I started this sermon series 4 weeks ago, I started with 2 scriptures about men who had been healed from leprosy. One was a guy named Naaman whose story is found in the Old Testament, the other guy was one of a group of ten lepers whose story is found in the Gospel of Luke. We’re going back to the scripture about the 10 lepers in Luke today as we prepare to pray for each other for wholeness and healing.
“On the way to Jerusalem Jesus was going through the region between Samaria and Galilee. As he entered a village, ten lepers approached him. Keeping their distance, they called out, 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 made clean. Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice. He prostrated himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him. And he was a Samaritan. Then Jesus asked, “Were not ten made clean? But the other nine, where are they? Was none of them found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?” Then he said to him, “Get up and go on your way; your faith has made you well.”
Once Jesus was asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God was coming, and he answered, “The kingdom of God is not coming with things that can be observed; nor will they say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or ‘There it is!’ For, in fact, the kingdom of God is among you.”
There are a couple of things I want you to notice about this story. First, notice in v. 12 that the lepers approached Jesus, but they maintained the rule of keeping their distance from him. When someone was diagnosed with leprosy, they were removed from their communities, and were required by law to keep a certain distance from people so as not to pass on the disease. (In these days of H1N1, we can identify with this, a little.) So, the lepers came as close to Jesus as they were allowed, and then they lifted up their voices saying, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!” Now, it is significant that they called Jesus, “Master,” but I want you to simply hold that thought for just a few more minutes until we go a bit further.
When Jesus saw them, he told them to go show themselves to the priests because someone healed from leprosy could only return to his/her community if they were declared clean by the priest. So, in the rare case that a leper was healed, a process was in place to have them reenter their communities. Jesus tells this group of 10 to get up and head over to the Temple.
So, let’s think about this: probably based only on what they had heard other people say about this Jesus guy and his healing power, they did what he said to do. Leprosy and all - probably missing toes, fingers, and carrying unimaginable sores - they headed for the Temple where they would find the priests. After all, it’s not like they had a whole lot to lose here.
Look carefully at the sequence of action towards the end of v. 14: “As they went, they were made clean.” Not before they went, but as they went, God removed their leprosy from them. I think we learn an important principle here about Jesus’ healing ministry: We must step out with whatever faith we have to claim our healing. Whether we think we have very little, or quite a lot of faith, Jesus calls us to start moving in that faith towards that place of hope and God’s promise of new life. This is what the 10 lepers did. And as they stepped out in faith, their leprosy was removed from them. They experienced a visible, external, physical healing.
Jesus gave all sorts of physical healings to people:
He healed the paralytic lowered down through the roof by his friends;
he healed the man by the pool who couldn’t walk for over 30 years;
he healed the woman with a withered hand;
he healed the blindness in the eyes of several people;
and he stopped a flow of blood that a woman had been having for 12 years.
Jesus gave physical, observable healings to people in the days of his physical, observable presence here on earth. And Jesus still gives physical, observable healings to people, through his power made present for us today by his Holy Spirit (who is here with us right now).
Jesus is still healing in accordance with God’s good and perfect will for each of us. And so we pray for physical healing all the time. I’m constantly praying for physical healing for people’s afflictions. We cannot allow fear to stop us from stepping out in faith and praying for healing:
fear of failure,
or fear of our hope being squashed.
We cannot allow fear of disappointment for ourselves,
our family members,
or a false fear of disappointing God or others, to stop us from praying or being prayed for, for physical healing.
In these days, in these times, Jesus Christ is still healing people who come to him in obedience and ask for mercy.
Now, let’s look at what happened with the lepers next. Several weeks ago we took note of what happened in v. 15: One of the lepers, upon noticing that his leprosy was gone, turned around, starting praising God, and made a beeline for Jesus. He was overcome with gratitude! And in his heart, because he knew the leprosy was gone, he crossed that invisible line, and ran right up to Jesus, fell at his feet, and thanked him. Jesus then told him, “Go on, your faith has made you well.”
Look back up in v. 14: “As they went, they were made clean.” Now, Jesus tells this one who came back to him, “Your faith has made you well.” The word translated ‘well,’ means “rescued, or saved, and/or delivered from demonic spirits, to be restored to health.” The tense of the Greek word used here is the perfect tense which conveys the idea of completed action with abiding results. In other words, it was written in the past and is still in force. Jesus said, “Your faith has made you well.” Allow me to expand that statement a bit. Think for a moment that you are that healed leper, at the feet of Jesus. This is what he is telling you:
“Your faith, in returning here to my feet to acknowledge that I alone am the one who removed leprosy from you, that faith in me, as the Lord and Savior has given you an eternal peace that will make its way to the very core of your being. See, before, when you called me Master, you gave me a place in your life like a slave owner, a master. But now, you are giving me a place in your life that is far beyond the relationship between a master and his slave. Now, you are acknowledging that I am who I say I am:
I am the promised Messiah.
I am the Son of God.
I am God in the flesh.
I am the ruler over all things, and all things are under my feet.
I am Jesus, the Christ.
The Alpha, and the Omega, the beginning and the end.
And I have called you into a relationship with me. From this moment on, because of what God has been doing in your life even before you knew he was there, the Kingdom of God is within you. Now go on, your faith in me, has cleansed you from all impurity inside and out.”
See how this fits with what comes next? “Once Jesus was asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God was coming, and he answered, “The kingdom of God is not coming with things that can be observed; nor will they say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or ‘There it is!’ For, in fact, the kingdom of God is among you.”
Healings are not always observable. Sometimes they are. And we pray that more times than not, that will be so, right here in this place that is claimed by God, for God’s purposes of healing. But Jesus is teaching us here that the invisible healing on the inside, having to do with our faith in him as Savior and Lord, is what really makes the difference in our lives - knowing with all confidence that Christ is alive within us.
We have been called by God to acknowledge Jesus Christ as the Lord of our lives, living in a way that reflects our love for him and for one another.
We are called by God to be healed from past hurts, to be healed from broken hearts, to be healed from fears, doubts, confusion, and pain.
We are called by God to be well; Whole; Filled with God’s truth; Comforted by God’s love; Covered by the blood of Jesus, bringing a peace that passes all understanding.
If that’s the kind of relationship you want with God, you’ve come to right place this morning. He wants you healed, and he wants you whole.
This past summer when the mission team headed to Camden, NJ, we traveled in 4 different cars. Marty Parsons was one of the drivers. We traveled on the turnpike, and when we got on and off, Marty, who seemed to often be ahead of us, pulled off, and waited for the caravan. Why? Because Marty had EZ Pass. Now, I travel the turnpike quite a bit and I never really understood how EZ pass worked. So I took advantage of the chance to ask Marty how it worked. After he explained it, it seemed pretty EZ (get it?). Easier than I thought.
So, several months ago, I got EZ pass. What an invention! Often I would get a call to get somewhere in a hurry, and I would be so focused on getting there, that I’d be on the turnpike and think this sinking thought, “Uh oh. Do I have any money?” I’d start scrounging around in the bottom of my pocketbook, in the ashtray of the car, trying to come up with what I needed to get off the turnpike. I don’t know what they do to you if you don’t have the money to pay at the end, but I’m pretty sure they wouldn’t just say, “Oh, that’s okay sweetie. Try to remember next time.” To be able to get in the car and just go, to be able to simply slow down until that wonderful green light shines the words, “Thank you!” is absolutely fantastic! WHY didn’t I do this before??
Folks, there is a lot that goes on in our lives that causes pain – both inside and outside. We become afflicted with disease or injury of some sort, and we need surgery, we need medicines, casts, crutches, canes, walkers, splints, bandages, etc. God uses those in the medical profession to bring healing and strength to our bodies. God also can and still does spontaneously heal people, as he sees best. If you need physical healing, I invite you to come forward this morning when it’s time to ask for personal prayers.
But here’s the harder part, and I think even the more crucial part: No matter how well a person may be physically, if he or she is not well emotionally and spiritually, his/her physical wellness is in jeopardy. When we are not spiritually or emotionally well, there is no shining “Thank you” to God as we pass through this life – there seems to be little more than a small hope to make it through the day – and sometimes even that is missing.
I don’t know any families that don’t have “issues.” I don’t know any church families that don’t have “issues.” It seems like any time you get more than one person in one place, there are “issues.” The devil is always prowling around, looking for a family to devour – looking for a church family to devour.
The most potent weapon we have – the most effective weapon we have – is prayer. And the second most potent weapon
we have is personal holiness as
enabled by the grace of God.
Remember, we do not battle against our brothers and sisters, our mothers and fathers, our neighbors, our children. We battle not against flesh and blood. (Eph. 6) Our enemy is Satan. He wants you torn up inside. He wants you puffed up with pride saying, “I don’t need this. I don’t need prayer. I don’t need Jesus. I don’t need anything.” He wants you to feel completely alone. He wants you mad. He wants you to hold grudges. He wants you addicted to anything – alcohol, nicotine, sports, TV, sleep, the need to be right all the time, illegal drugs, the sick thrill of adulterous affairs – he wants you to consider everything more important than your relationship with God. And he definitely doesn’t want honesty.
Now I’m going here today: What tears people away from church families most often? Sometimes it is real differences based on interpretations of biblical truths and the living out of those truths. But often, (and I think I can say this with a fair amount of confidence), people turn away from a church family based on nothing but misunder-standings, innocent mistakes, and missed opportunities for healing.
You know me. You know my passion for leading a congregation into healthy, honest, Christ-honoring life together. It breaks my heart when I hear that someone has walked away from the church without engaging in honest conversation about their hurt. Because most times, that hurt is coming from a simple misunderstanding or an innocent human mistake. Blowing things out of proportion and making them personal is the devil’s work, and we are way too quick sometimes to partner with him instead of taking our stand against him and exposing his predictable tactics to tear us apart.
Prayer is our opportunity for healing. Prayer is how we keep moving towards a personal holiness that keeps us in constant communion with our Savior who says, “Your faith has made you whole.” Allowing our church family to pray for us keeps us in communion with each other, and shuts down what the devil tries to start up.
Whatever you’re dealing with today, I invite you to come for prayer as an act of thanksgiving to God. He is the Healer. And he uses us as vessels through whom his healing flows.
We’re going to go to the Lord in a time of confession now. Then we’re going to sing, More Like You as we prepare for prayer.
At that time, I invite you to take the card in your bulletin and fill it out as best you can. Your concerns are confidential, kept between you and the one praying for you. I’ll receive all the cards after the service so I can continue to pray for you. But if you don’t want me to have your card, that’s okay. Just take it back with you when you are seated. I pray that you’ll say after leaving today what I said about EZ pass: “Why didn’t I do this before?” Amen.
“Hey God – Thanks!” Part 4
Rev. Meagan M. Boozer
When I started this sermon series 4 weeks ago, I started with 2 scriptures about men who had been healed from leprosy. One was a guy named Naaman whose story is found in the Old Testament, the other guy was one of a group of ten lepers whose story is found in the Gospel of Luke. We’re going back to the scripture about the 10 lepers in Luke today as we prepare to pray for each other for wholeness and healing.
“On the way to Jerusalem Jesus was going through the region between Samaria and Galilee. As he entered a village, ten lepers approached him. Keeping their distance, they called out, 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 made clean. Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice. He prostrated himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him. And he was a Samaritan. Then Jesus asked, “Were not ten made clean? But the other nine, where are they? Was none of them found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?” Then he said to him, “Get up and go on your way; your faith has made you well.”
Once Jesus was asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God was coming, and he answered, “The kingdom of God is not coming with things that can be observed; nor will they say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or ‘There it is!’ For, in fact, the kingdom of God is among you.”
There are a couple of things I want you to notice about this story. First, notice in v. 12 that the lepers approached Jesus, but they maintained the rule of keeping their distance from him. When someone was diagnosed with leprosy, they were removed from their communities, and were required by law to keep a certain distance from people so as not to pass on the disease. (In these days of H1N1, we can identify with this, a little.) So, the lepers came as close to Jesus as they were allowed, and then they lifted up their voices saying, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!” Now, it is significant that they called Jesus, “Master,” but I want you to simply hold that thought for just a few more minutes until we go a bit further.
When Jesus saw them, he told them to go show themselves to the priests because someone healed from leprosy could only return to his/her community if they were declared clean by the priest. So, in the rare case that a leper was healed, a process was in place to have them reenter their communities. Jesus tells this group of 10 to get up and head over to the Temple.
So, let’s think about this: probably based only on what they had heard other people say about this Jesus guy and his healing power, they did what he said to do. Leprosy and all - probably missing toes, fingers, and carrying unimaginable sores - they headed for the Temple where they would find the priests. After all, it’s not like they had a whole lot to lose here.
Look carefully at the sequence of action towards the end of v. 14: “As they went, they were made clean.” Not before they went, but as they went, God removed their leprosy from them. I think we learn an important principle here about Jesus’ healing ministry: We must step out with whatever faith we have to claim our healing. Whether we think we have very little, or quite a lot of faith, Jesus calls us to start moving in that faith towards that place of hope and God’s promise of new life. This is what the 10 lepers did. And as they stepped out in faith, their leprosy was removed from them. They experienced a visible, external, physical healing.
Jesus gave all sorts of physical healings to people:
He healed the paralytic lowered down through the roof by his friends;
he healed the man by the pool who couldn’t walk for over 30 years;
he healed the woman with a withered hand;
he healed the blindness in the eyes of several people;
and he stopped a flow of blood that a woman had been having for 12 years.
Jesus gave physical, observable healings to people in the days of his physical, observable presence here on earth. And Jesus still gives physical, observable healings to people, through his power made present for us today by his Holy Spirit (who is here with us right now).
Jesus is still healing in accordance with God’s good and perfect will for each of us. And so we pray for physical healing all the time. I’m constantly praying for physical healing for people’s afflictions. We cannot allow fear to stop us from stepping out in faith and praying for healing:
fear of failure,
or fear of our hope being squashed.
We cannot allow fear of disappointment for ourselves,
our family members,
or a false fear of disappointing God or others, to stop us from praying or being prayed for, for physical healing.
In these days, in these times, Jesus Christ is still healing people who come to him in obedience and ask for mercy.
Now, let’s look at what happened with the lepers next. Several weeks ago we took note of what happened in v. 15: One of the lepers, upon noticing that his leprosy was gone, turned around, starting praising God, and made a beeline for Jesus. He was overcome with gratitude! And in his heart, because he knew the leprosy was gone, he crossed that invisible line, and ran right up to Jesus, fell at his feet, and thanked him. Jesus then told him, “Go on, your faith has made you well.”
Look back up in v. 14: “As they went, they were made clean.” Now, Jesus tells this one who came back to him, “Your faith has made you well.” The word translated ‘well,’ means “rescued, or saved, and/or delivered from demonic spirits, to be restored to health.” The tense of the Greek word used here is the perfect tense which conveys the idea of completed action with abiding results. In other words, it was written in the past and is still in force. Jesus said, “Your faith has made you well.” Allow me to expand that statement a bit. Think for a moment that you are that healed leper, at the feet of Jesus. This is what he is telling you:
“Your faith, in returning here to my feet to acknowledge that I alone am the one who removed leprosy from you, that faith in me, as the Lord and Savior has given you an eternal peace that will make its way to the very core of your being. See, before, when you called me Master, you gave me a place in your life like a slave owner, a master. But now, you are giving me a place in your life that is far beyond the relationship between a master and his slave. Now, you are acknowledging that I am who I say I am:
I am the promised Messiah.
I am the Son of God.
I am God in the flesh.
I am the ruler over all things, and all things are under my feet.
I am Jesus, the Christ.
The Alpha, and the Omega, the beginning and the end.
And I have called you into a relationship with me. From this moment on, because of what God has been doing in your life even before you knew he was there, the Kingdom of God is within you. Now go on, your faith in me, has cleansed you from all impurity inside and out.”
See how this fits with what comes next? “Once Jesus was asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God was coming, and he answered, “The kingdom of God is not coming with things that can be observed; nor will they say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or ‘There it is!’ For, in fact, the kingdom of God is among you.”
Healings are not always observable. Sometimes they are. And we pray that more times than not, that will be so, right here in this place that is claimed by God, for God’s purposes of healing. But Jesus is teaching us here that the invisible healing on the inside, having to do with our faith in him as Savior and Lord, is what really makes the difference in our lives - knowing with all confidence that Christ is alive within us.
We have been called by God to acknowledge Jesus Christ as the Lord of our lives, living in a way that reflects our love for him and for one another.
We are called by God to be healed from past hurts, to be healed from broken hearts, to be healed from fears, doubts, confusion, and pain.
We are called by God to be well; Whole; Filled with God’s truth; Comforted by God’s love; Covered by the blood of Jesus, bringing a peace that passes all understanding.
If that’s the kind of relationship you want with God, you’ve come to right place this morning. He wants you healed, and he wants you whole.
This past summer when the mission team headed to Camden, NJ, we traveled in 4 different cars. Marty Parsons was one of the drivers. We traveled on the turnpike, and when we got on and off, Marty, who seemed to often be ahead of us, pulled off, and waited for the caravan. Why? Because Marty had EZ Pass. Now, I travel the turnpike quite a bit and I never really understood how EZ pass worked. So I took advantage of the chance to ask Marty how it worked. After he explained it, it seemed pretty EZ (get it?). Easier than I thought.
So, several months ago, I got EZ pass. What an invention! Often I would get a call to get somewhere in a hurry, and I would be so focused on getting there, that I’d be on the turnpike and think this sinking thought, “Uh oh. Do I have any money?” I’d start scrounging around in the bottom of my pocketbook, in the ashtray of the car, trying to come up with what I needed to get off the turnpike. I don’t know what they do to you if you don’t have the money to pay at the end, but I’m pretty sure they wouldn’t just say, “Oh, that’s okay sweetie. Try to remember next time.” To be able to get in the car and just go, to be able to simply slow down until that wonderful green light shines the words, “Thank you!” is absolutely fantastic! WHY didn’t I do this before??
Folks, there is a lot that goes on in our lives that causes pain – both inside and outside. We become afflicted with disease or injury of some sort, and we need surgery, we need medicines, casts, crutches, canes, walkers, splints, bandages, etc. God uses those in the medical profession to bring healing and strength to our bodies. God also can and still does spontaneously heal people, as he sees best. If you need physical healing, I invite you to come forward this morning when it’s time to ask for personal prayers.
But here’s the harder part, and I think even the more crucial part: No matter how well a person may be physically, if he or she is not well emotionally and spiritually, his/her physical wellness is in jeopardy. When we are not spiritually or emotionally well, there is no shining “Thank you” to God as we pass through this life – there seems to be little more than a small hope to make it through the day – and sometimes even that is missing.
I don’t know any families that don’t have “issues.” I don’t know any church families that don’t have “issues.” It seems like any time you get more than one person in one place, there are “issues.” The devil is always prowling around, looking for a family to devour – looking for a church family to devour.
The most potent weapon we have – the most effective weapon we have – is prayer. And the second most potent weapon
we have is personal holiness as
enabled by the grace of God.
Remember, we do not battle against our brothers and sisters, our mothers and fathers, our neighbors, our children. We battle not against flesh and blood. (Eph. 6) Our enemy is Satan. He wants you torn up inside. He wants you puffed up with pride saying, “I don’t need this. I don’t need prayer. I don’t need Jesus. I don’t need anything.” He wants you to feel completely alone. He wants you mad. He wants you to hold grudges. He wants you addicted to anything – alcohol, nicotine, sports, TV, sleep, the need to be right all the time, illegal drugs, the sick thrill of adulterous affairs – he wants you to consider everything more important than your relationship with God. And he definitely doesn’t want honesty.
Now I’m going here today: What tears people away from church families most often? Sometimes it is real differences based on interpretations of biblical truths and the living out of those truths. But often, (and I think I can say this with a fair amount of confidence), people turn away from a church family based on nothing but misunder-standings, innocent mistakes, and missed opportunities for healing.
You know me. You know my passion for leading a congregation into healthy, honest, Christ-honoring life together. It breaks my heart when I hear that someone has walked away from the church without engaging in honest conversation about their hurt. Because most times, that hurt is coming from a simple misunderstanding or an innocent human mistake. Blowing things out of proportion and making them personal is the devil’s work, and we are way too quick sometimes to partner with him instead of taking our stand against him and exposing his predictable tactics to tear us apart.
Prayer is our opportunity for healing. Prayer is how we keep moving towards a personal holiness that keeps us in constant communion with our Savior who says, “Your faith has made you whole.” Allowing our church family to pray for us keeps us in communion with each other, and shuts down what the devil tries to start up.
Whatever you’re dealing with today, I invite you to come for prayer as an act of thanksgiving to God. He is the Healer. And he uses us as vessels through whom his healing flows.
We’re going to go to the Lord in a time of confession now. Then we’re going to sing, More Like You as we prepare for prayer.
At that time, I invite you to take the card in your bulletin and fill it out as best you can. Your concerns are confidential, kept between you and the one praying for you. I’ll receive all the cards after the service so I can continue to pray for you. But if you don’t want me to have your card, that’s okay. Just take it back with you when you are seated. I pray that you’ll say after leaving today what I said about EZ pass: “Why didn’t I do this before?” Amen.
