Turn with me to Luke 17. Luke 17, I asked Gabe to read
that blessed passage he read out of Ephesians 1, where the Spirit of God was pleased
to reveal God's will and God's purpose. that the Lord was going
to choose a people. He was going to have those that
he'd everlastingly love. He's going to have them predestinated,
predestinated according to the purpose of Almighty God. Determine the destination of
where they were going to be. Tonight I'd like for us to look
just a few minutes at one that God was pleased to show mercy
to, predestinated, put him just exactly where God purposed for
him to be. Luke 17. I'd like to read verses 11 to
19. And he 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 ten 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 priest. 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 with a loud voice. glorified God, 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
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. Here we find the glorious servant
of Jehovah, doing just exactly as he himself said, always did
those things that pleased the Father. Scripture says that he was traveling
to Jerusalem. Now this was going to be the
last time that our Lord was going to go to Jerusalem. He was going
to finish the work that his father had given him to do. He was going
to redeem his people. He was going to Jerusalem and
he was going to lay down his life, made sin, give himself. Nobody was going to take his
life from him. The means of those Romans was
God's purpose. He laid down his life. The scripture
says in verse 11, it came to pass and it always does. As he
went to Jerusalem, now notice this, that he passed through
the midst of Samaria and Galilee. At that time, There was no reason
for him to stop. I know my sheep. My sheep are
going to hear my voice. And he passed through just like
he did Jericho. There was blind Bartimaeus as
he was coming in and he went through Jericho and on the other
side of Jericho there was Zacchaeus. But here he went through Samaria
and Galilee. And the scripture says that After
he'd gone through, it says he entered into a certain village. Doesn't tell us what the name
of the village was, but it was a certain village, just like
Sychar, where he must needs go. There was one of his own. The
scripture says, and there met him 10 men that were lepers,
and they stood afar off. Now that's a pitiful sight. ten
lepers. Now there's a picture of all
men by nature. Leprosy. Leprosy was a type of
sin. A type of incurable sin. A type of that which had separated
man from God Almighty. Isaiah 59, 2 says, But your iniquities
have separated between you and your God, and your sins have
hid His face from you, and listen to this, that He will not hear. Now that's separation. That's
a pitiful state. Almighty God says, I will not
hear. for your sake. That sin, that spiritual leprosy
corrupted everything about man. Man died in the garden. Man was ruined in the fall. Man in himself has no hope of
recovery, none. Ten lepers. One common misery. They're lepers. Somebody asked Brother Scott
one time. They said, I noticed that you
call a lot of men brother. He said, how do you know he's
a brother? He said, well either in Christ or in Adam. He said,
I can be related. Common misery. We're all born
sinners. All of us unclean. I tried to
read just a little bit about the effects of leprosy. And I'm
telling you, it was a nauseating disease. I mean, it was just
description of it, just oozing scabs and losing fingers and
just horrible, horrible. Oh, but what a picture, what
a type of sin. In the Old Testament, the law
required that a leper had to give this kind of announcement. If he was prohibited, stand off,
get away, don't get separation. Leviticus 13.45, it says in the
leper, in whom the plague is, his clothes shall be rent." His
clothing, our righteousnesses are his filthy rags. We have
nothing to bribe. No sound clothing had to wear. Rent, his clothes shall be rent. And his head bare, uncovered. exposed. No atonement. That's what, that's what atonement
means, to cover. I need a cover. I need a covering,
one to cover me. And he, he shall put a covering
upon his upper lip. found out that was the attitude
of a mourner. A mourner had to cover his mouth. No joy. A mourner. And he shall
cry, unclean, unclean. That's the only announcement
that he had concerning himself. Scripture describes, this is
us, Isaiah 1, 5 and 6. Why should you be stricken anymore?
you will revolt more and more. The whole head is sick, the whole
heart is faint, and from the sole of the foot, even into the
head, there's no soundness in it, but wounds and bruises and
putrefying sores, they have not been closed, neither bound up,
neither mollified with ointment." Man is born a mass of spiritual
leprosy. He's unclean. No covering. Ramped righteousness. Unclean. Unclean. But obviously, there
were ten men, ten lepers, scripture says, back in Luke 17, that had
heard that the Lord Jesus Christ was coming that way because verse
13 says, it says, they lifted up, well verse 12, I'm sorry,
he entered into a certain city and there met him ten men that
were lepers which stood afar off. I looked up the word met
and it means to go to meet. They went there on purpose. I
don't know how they knew. But obviously his fame had spread. They knew because the word means
to go to meet. There met him standing off, off
to the side, standing far off. That was their place. They were
not welcome in society. They were lepers. The scripture
says in verse 10 there, met him 10 lepers which stood afar off. And verse 13 says, and they lifted
up their voices and said, Jesus, master, have mercy upon us. These lepers. If it was detected that they
might have leprosy, They were to go to the priest. A leper was never sent to a doctor. There's no cure for leprosy.
You would go to the priest, and the priest would examine the
area that appeared to be possibly leprosy. And if it was determined
by the priest that they were truly a leper, The scripture
says that that priest would declare them unclean, Leviticus 13, 2. And the only place for them was
outside the camp. According to Numbers 5, 2, the
leper was to be put outside of the camp, separated, separated. They saw the Lord coming and
they lifted up their voices because they needed mercy. Mercy. Brother Scott told me one time
that one of his boys had gotten in trouble and they went to the
judge and the judge, after hearing the charges, extended the sentence
and put Scott's son in jail. And Scott said, is there no room
for mercy? There's no room for mercy here.
And the judge said he doesn't deserve mercy. And Scott said
no criminal deserves mercy. Mercy is mercy to the guilty,
to the broken. That's mercy. If they deserved
it, that's not mercy. Lord, Jesus, Master, have mercy on
us. We're lepers. These lepers knew,
either from personal observation or from testimony, they knew
that no mere man could heal a leper. Not a mere man. Nicodemus at
least admitted that. During his first part of his
conversation with the Lord in John 3, he said, we know that
you must be a prophet, a man sent from God. No man could do
the miracles that you do. And they cried unto the Lord.
And they knew that if he chose to show mercy, he could. In Matthew 8, 2, and behold,
there came a leper and worshiped him, saying, Lord, if thou wilt. Now that's the cry of one that
needs mercy. Lord, if you will. Lord, if you
will, I'm not, I'm not saying I deserve it. I'm just asking,
Lord, you're the only hope I got. Those lepers knew you're the
only hope that we have. Jesus master have mercy on us. Lord, if you will, you can make
me clean and lift it up. And they cried unto him, Jesus,
Savior, Master, Christ, have mercy on us. When they, when
they called unto the Lord, they, they set forth in, in the acknowledgement
of his titles, who he truly is. When they said unto him, Jesus,
that's Savior, Christ. Hold your finger there and turn
to Matthew 23. They were declaring Him in His singleness. Matthew
23, verse 9 to 10. The Lord is teaching here. He says, Matthew 23, 9, and call
no man your father upon the earth, for one is your father which
is in heaven. I read Mr. Gill's account on this and I think he's right. He's not talking
about the common courtesy that a child would extend to their
dad, calling him, not that. He said, but what he's talking
about is one who claims to have spiritual authority over you.
Labeling himself as a father. To have spiritual authority over
you. He says, call no man your father
on the earth. For one is your father which
is in heaven. There's one who has all authority. And no man on earth is to be
given that title. Neither be ye called masters,
for one is your master, even Christ. The Lord said in John
13, 13, ye call me master, doctor, teacher, and Lord, and you say,
well, for so I am. The Lord, supreme in authority. The Controller. That's what the
word Lord is. The Supreme. The Lord. They cried back in Luke 17. They cried unto Him, Jesus Master
have mercy. Here they were calling to truly
the priest himself. The priest. And what our Lord
did as he always did. When he came into this world
to seek and to save his people, that which is lost, he did always
those things that pleased the Father. He obeyed Sammy every
jot and every tittle of the law. What did the law require? What
did the law require? This is what the law required. Verse 14, they cried unto him
for mercy. And the scripture says in verse
14, and when he saw them, he said unto them, go show yourselves
unto the priest. And it came to pass that as they
went, they were cleansed. He did just exactly what the
law demanded. He sent them to the priest. Only the priest could declare
a leper to be clean. A priest declared a leper unclean
and the priest declared the leper clean. Leviticus 14 too. This shall be the law of the
leper in the day of his cleansing. He shall be brought unto the
priest. And there's one that's going
to come to the priest. Here was the Lord himself commanding
in perfect obedience. to the law that must be obeyed
and must be fulfilled. This was God's command. He did
always those things that pleased Him. Oh, but what power is beheld
in our precious Savior. What mercy He's showing. He's telling them there's 10
lepers there. He said, now you go and show
yourself to the priest who will declare you to be clean. And the scripture says that as
they were going, as they went, they were cleansed. I don't know the fullness of
what they looked like. I don't know if they had all
their fingers. I don't know where all the oozing
sores were. But as they went, all of a sudden,
they realized, I don't have leprosy anymore. I've got all my fingers and you
do too. the other nine did too the scripture
says 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 The Lord had sovereignly healed
ten lepers. Completely healed them. The scripture
says that they were healed. As they went, they were cleansed. Look the word up. It means healed. They were healed. Physically
healed. But something marvelously happened. to one. One of them I know according
to the word of our Lord. You let scripture answer for
scripture. The scripture says, I'll read
it, we've read it many times, John 6.37. What does the Lord say happens
whenever one of his sheep, John 6.37. all that the Father giveth me shall come to me and him that
cometh to me I will in no wise cast out look at John 10 27 my sheep hear my
voice and I know them and they follow me and I give unto them
eternal life and they shall never perish neither shall any man
pluck them out of my hand back in Luke 17 verse 15 and one of them when he saw that
he was healed he turned back Why? According to the word of
our Lord, he said, my sheep hear my voice. Someone said, well, I didn't
hear the Lord say anything verbally. This man heard it in his heart
because he turned. My sheep hear my voice. And what
do they do? They follow me. All that the Father giveth me
shall come to me. When he saw that he was healed,
he turned back and with a loud voice, he glorified God. He turned from going to the law,
only the law. could pronounce a leper ceremonially
clean. But here is the fulfiller of
the law and the Spirit of God revealed that to that leper and
that leper turned around and went from heading to the shadow
to go into the fulfillment of the shadow. He turned back and
with a loud voice, he glorified God. I am not an outcast anymore. God has summoned me and I'm not
going back to the law. Almighty God has called me and
I don't stand afar off. He has reconciled me. He has
made peace with me. He has cleansed me. And that
leper was humbled. He that shall humble himself
shall be exalted. The Lord said that in Matthew
23, 12. One of them, when he saw that he was healed, he turned
back with a loud voice. He glorified God and fell down
on his face at his feet, giving him thanks. And he was a Samaritan. The Lord said in John 4, 23,
the hour cometh and now is when the true worshipers, truthful
worshipers, worshipers in heart, worshipers that know by the grace
of God, their Lord, their master, their savior. Our cometh and
now is when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit
and truth, for the Father seeketh such to worship Him. You notice
who does the seeking? The Father. Spirit of God who knows the redeemed
and the Redeemer who knows who the Father has chosen, all that
the Father giveth me. all that the Father giveth me.
I lay down my life for the sheep and the Spirit of God in that
eternal covenant of grace. One God, Father, Son, Spirit. One God. One God in will. One God in purpose. One God in
love. One God. The hour cometh when the true
worshippers shall worship the Father, Spirit, and Truth. The
Father seeketh such to worship Him. And here was one drawn by
the power of God Almighty. And the scripture says, he fell
down, verse 15, and with a loud voice, I'm not ashamed of the
gospel. I'm not ashamed of the gospel
of Christ. It is the power of God unto salvation. I'm not ashamed of this gospel.
With a loud voice, glorified God, he knew who he was. Fell on his face. This man came
the only way he could come. He's the only hope I've got.
You're the way and you're the truth and you're the life. And
no man cometh unto the Father, the Lord said, but by me. He
fell down on his face, giving him thanks. Gave him thanks. What else was he going to give
him? Psalm 116.12. The psalmist says,
What shall I render unto the Lord for all of his benefits
toward me? Now you stop and think. All of
the Lord's benefits. the physical benefits. That breath
of air that we just took, that's God's air. That food we had,
the energy, the mind that we have to even think right now,
the earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof. Oh, to just
stop and think, Lord, but for your grace, I would have absolutely
no desire to be here. I'd have no desire to be here.
But for your grace, Lord, you chose to show mercy to me. You caused my path. You crossed my path with the
gospel, the power of God and salvation. Lord, you brought
me where I am. What shall I render unto the
Lord? for all of its benefits toward me. Psalm 116 verse 17
answers it. I will offer to thee the sacrifice
of thanksgiving and will call upon the name of the Lord. If you parents do anything for
your children, what more can they do for you? Dad, thank you. Thank you. Thank you. He fell down on his
face at his feet, giving him thanks. And he was a Samaritan. A Samaritan. A Samaritan was
reckoned by the Jews to be the ignorant, the heathen, the worthless
sinners, the dregs, but these are the ones that Christ
came to save. You can come save the well. Samaritans, sinners, this is
my question. Lord, if in your mercy and grace
you found some Samaritans, spiritual Samaritans, We are the recipients
of your mercy. Verse 17, 18, Jesus answering
said, where they're not ten cleansed, but where are the nine? They're
not found that return to give glory to God. Save this stranger,
the stranger, this different one. This foreigner, two men
went into a temple one day to pray. One was a Pharisee, the
other was a publican. And the Pharisee began to pray,
the scripture says, thus with himself, God, I thank thee that I'm not like
other men are, extortioners, adulterers. I'm not even like that publican.
that outcast, that hated one, that different one. I'm not like
him. That was the one that the Lord
justified. This man went, the scripture
says, that publican that stood afar off like these, wouldn't
even lift up his eyes toward heaven and said, God, be merciful
to me, a sinner. He said, I say unto thee, This
man went justified. This man right here was a Samaritan
leper, the dreg of the dregs, the outcast. And the Lord said
in verse 19, said unto him, Arise, go thy way. Some say, well, yeah, after the
Lord said, he said, go that way, someone said, well, yeah, he
then, he continued on back to the law to go see, let the, no. Go thy way. Led by God's spirit, thy faith
hath made thee whole. The Lord said, thy faith hath
made thee whole. Yes, he did. Yes, he did. Well, I thought that faith is
a gift of God. It is. I thought that all men
have not faith. They don't. But I'll tell you
this, just like that Syrophoenician woman that came to the Lord,
was begging for mercy for her daughter. And the Lord said,
it's not me, it's not fit that I should give the children's
bread to dogs. That woman bowed before him. She said, Lord, even the dogs
eat the crumbs that drop from the master's table. And he says,
woman, great is thy faith. That woman had an issue of blood.
She said, if I can touch the hem of his garment, I'm going
to be whole. And she touched him. And he said,
virtue has gone out of me. Who touched me? Disciples. You know, Lord, everybody's touching
you. You're in the press. He looked at that woman. He said,
Woman, thy faith hath made thee whole. What God gives is by God's
grace and what the Lord gives is ours. Thy faith hath made thee whole. The Lord gives faith and then
says it's our faith. that believes him, and he said
in John 3, 36, he that believeth on the Son. It was by the grace of God that
they do. He that believeth on the Son
hath everlasting life. Lord, have mercy upon us for
Christ's sake.