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Alright, we're here in Luke chapter 17 and the name of the sermon is The Story of Ten Lepers. The Story of Ten Lepers. And last year around this time of year I started to preach sermons about being thankful. And in the U.S., you know, one of the biggest holidays is Thanksgiving. And it's pretty much strictly an American holiday. But it's a good holiday because it's all about being thankful to God for the things that He's given us. So I've kind of decided that at this time of year that I'm going to be preaching sermons about being thankful, you know, right before Thanksgiving comes in the U.S. which is the fourth Thursday of November. And so we're going to look at the story, the story of ten lepers. And point number one is this, these ten lepers, they have a desire for mercy. They have a desire for mercy. Notice what it says in verse number 11. 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 ten men that were lepers which stood afar off. And they lifted up their voices and said, Jesus, have master on us. And what you're seeing here is you have these ten lepers. They have this disease. And they cannot be healed. And they're standing afar off from Jesus. And they're basically crying and yelling out, Have mercy on us! Now look, I would imagine because when Jesus is preaching in the Bible He's surrounded by big crowds. So I would imagine they're like way at the back. And they're yelling, Have mercy on us! And all of a sudden people just start turning around like, what is that? Right, you know, it's kind of like if we had somebody crying out during service we'd probably have to just kick them out of the service. Right? But here, I mean, they're crying out, Have mercy on us! And I'd imagine people just kind of turn around to look and you see these ten men standing a very long way afar off from Jesus. Why were they standing a long distance away? Go to Leviticus 13 in your New Testament. Leviticus 13. Leviticus 13. And leprosy is not as common in today's world, but leprosy was a skin disease that was extremely contagious where basically if you were around other people it's going to spread to other people. And just imagine when people are sick they generally are not out in public. They're generally going to cover their mouths so they don't pass germs to other people. And leprosy was an extremely contagious disease. Notice what it says in Leviticus 13, verse 44. Leviticus 13, verse 44, the third book in the Bible, Leviticus 13. And it says in verse 44, He is a leprous man, he is unclean. The priest shall pronounce him utterly unclean. His plague is in his head. And the leper in whom the plague is, his clothes shall be rent, which means to be torn, and his head bare, and he shall put a covering upon his upper lip, and shall cry, unclean, unclean. And so the Bible's saying when a man has leprosy that whenever he's going out in public near people he's screaming unclean. You say why? Because he's warning people don't get near me. Because they're going to be spread with leprosy as well if they get close. And even his clothes are torn because you're seeing someone that from a long distance away they can tell, hey, that man has leprosy. Let's not go near this man. He's unclean. Because the disease of leprosy would easily spread to other people. And look, if you are extremely sick, what is common courtesy? Don't go out in public. Cover your mouth. I mean, isn't that just kind of basic? Don't shake hands with people. Just kind of basic hospitality or just being kind because you don't want to pass that on to others. Verse 46, All the days wherein the plague shall be in him he shall be defiled. He is unclean. And it says, He shall dwell alone. Without the camp shall his habitation be. Dwelling alone means he wasn't in normal society. He wasn't around other people. And he is without the camp meaning here's the general people and he is away from everybody. Now there is symbolism with leprosy about being kicked out of a local church where basically you get removed from a local church and you can only come back when you're cleansed of whatever that sin that you have is. And it's the same thing with leprosy where they were without the camp and they were not allowed to come back until the priest determines that they're cleansed. But it says they're going to be without the camp, dwelling alone. Verse 47, The garment also that the plague of leprosy is in whether it be a woolen garment or a linen garment, so it's talking also about the clothing being unclean as well. Now go back in your Bible to Luke 17. Luke 17. Now let me ask you a question. When you're reading Luke 17 and Leviticus 13, is there any debate whatsoever whether or not leprosy is contagious? I mean there's no question when you read Leviticus 13 that according to God, leprosy is contagious, right? It wasn't just that man thought leprosy was contagious. God is saying, hey, this is extremely contagious. You are not to be around other people. But you know, if you were to go on Google today, you know what they're going to say? Leprosy was never actually contagious. It's actually just a myth. People thought it was contagious but actually they just were ignorant, uneducated, and it was never actually contagious, very easily treatable. That is what the world is going to tell you in 2023. In fact, let me read you some articles. And it says, Hansen's disease parenthesis, also known as leprosy, is an infection caused by slow-growing bacteria called Mycobacterium lepra. It can affect the nerves, skin, eyes, and lining of the nose, nasal mucosa. With early diagnosis and treatment, the disease can be cured. People with Hansen's disease can continue to work and lead an active life during and after treatment. Then it says, Leprosy was once feared as a highly contagious and devastating disease, but now we know it doesn't spread easily and treatment is very effective. However, if left untreated, the nerve damage can result in crippling of hands and feet, paralysis, and blindness. What it's basically saying is, it's primarily a neurological disease and it cannot actually be spread just by touch or by being near people or by, you know, spreading germs. And it says, now we know. So those people that lived thousands of years ago were dumb and uneducated. Does that know what the article is saying? They were dumb. The entire world was scared about leprosy. You know why? And here's the thing about leprosy. This was a disease that was visible. Meaning that when somebody caught leprosy, everybody knew it. Meaning, the reason why people were scared is because they had seen leprosy grow in communities. All of a sudden, everybody's got this skin disease that is visible to the eyes. And so here's what I'm showing you. Leprosy and Hansen's disease, they are not the same thing. Now, they are both skin diseases. I'll say that. They're things that could look similar, but obviously, they're not the same because here's the thing. Leprosy is very contagious. And according to this, Hansen's disease is not contagious at all. But what people are going to tell you in 2023 is that leprosy is now called Hansen's disease, which, when you look at Hansen's disease, it does not fit what leprosy is in the Bible. Here's from another article. And it says, you cannot get leprosy from a casual contact with a person who has Hansen's disease, like shaking hands or hugging, sitting next to each other on the bus, sitting together at a meal. So according to this article, if someone has leprosy, no big deal. Shake hands with them. Hug them. Sit by them on a bus. It's not a big deal at all because it's not contagious one bit. But when you read Leviticus 13, is that true? I mean, in Leviticus 13, it is very obvious that leprosy is a very contagious disease. Now, I'm not going to claim to know exactly what modern-day leprosy is, the difference is. There's a lot of diseases that have been conflated. And what they're calling leprosy today is often mixed with Hansen's disease, which is completely different, okay? Now, let me read you from this other article about leprosy. It says, a leper colony, also known by many other names, is an isolated community for the quarantining and treatment of lepers, people suffering from leprosy. So a leper colony would basically be like, when somebody got leprosy, they would be without the camp, but what would take place is all the lepers would dwell together. Kind of like there's homeless communities where they'll often dwell together. And when somebody had leprosy, what would take place is they'd live in these communities, and society would drop down food to them and give them their necessities, and it would prevent them from needing to go out in public, but they would live together, okay? And it says here, in Lepra, the bacterium responsible for leprosy is believed to have spread from East Africa through the Middle East, Europe, and Asia by the 5th century before reaching the rest of the world more recently. Did you notice what I just said? Do you see a problem with that statement? Leprosy came in the 5th century? Excuse me? I mean, the Book of Leviticus is thousands of years ago, and it spread in the 5th century to the Middle East? I mean, I'm sorry, but that does not fit with what the Bible says. And make no mistake about it, this is the most accurate history you're going to find from thousands of years ago. This is actually giving information on society, and leprosy was a known thing in the Book of Leviticus. It didn't start in the 5th century AD and spread to the Middle East at that point. It's been around for thousands and thousands and thousands of years at the very least, and probably since the very beginning. And it says, historically, leprosy was believed to be extremely contagious and divinely ordained, leading to enormous stigma against its sufferers. Other skin diseases, notice this, were frequently conflated with leprosy, and all such sufferers were kept away from the general public, although some religious orders provided medical care and treatment. I believe that sentence will sum up what the issue is. It said that leprosy was frequently conflated with other diseases, meaning they weren't really sure, is it leprosy or is it something else? And now in our modern day, they've completely mixed it up, and they're going to tell you, well, we can't trust the Bible, and the Bible's saying that it's contagious, so it's actually just Hansen's disease, and it is not contagious whatsoever. Let me read you one other article here about leprosy before we get into the sermon. But it says, the Culion leper colony is a former leprosarium located in Culion, an island in the Palawan province of the Philippines. It was established by the US government in order to rid leprosy from the Philippine islands through the only method known at the time, isolating all existing cases and gradually phasing out the disease from the population. In addition to segregating the disease from the rest of the population, the island was later established in order to offer a better opportunity for people afflicted with leprosy to receive adequate care and moderate treatments. And so in the Philippines, they established a colony in Palawan. Now here's the thing. This was not that long ago. We're talking less than a hundred years ago. I don't have the year in front of me. I think it was in the 1900s where this was established. It was not that long ago. And this is what the medical and the science industry always does. They say everybody has always been an idiot, but now we figured it all out. All you have to do is look at the history of science in the medical industry. Mistake after mistake after mistake after mistake after mistake after mistake. Now look, I'm not saying that the science industry is wicked or the medical industry is wicked. I mean these things are necessary things, but there's a lot of wrong things. And don't think for a second they're more educated than what the Word of God says. They are not. But there's no doubt this is extremely contagious and that is why these lepers, they desire mercy because they're going to have to live without the camp away from everybody, away from society around only other lepers. So of course, they're thinking, here's an opportunity to be healed and they're screaming out, you know, have mercy on us. Save us. Spare us. Heal us. They desire mercy. But here's the thing. All of us in our lives are going to have times where we desire mercy from God. But there is a decision from the Maker that's going to end up coming. See, we have times in life we desire mercy. Maybe we desire God's forgiveness. We desire promotion at work. We desire various things in our lives. And we cry out to God. And we pray out to God. But there is a decision from the Maker and there is no guarantee that He's going to say, you're healed. I'm going to give you that promotion. I'm going to give you that new job. I'm going to bless you with better health. I'm going to heal you of the sickness. There's no guarantee that the decision from the Maker is going to be, you're healed. I would say that if you track your prayer requests, sometimes God answers yes and sometimes He answers nay. Right? Sometimes He gives you what you want and sometimes He does not give you what you want. You say, but why? You know what, we don't always know why. You have to realize some things are out of our hands. I mean, you can give your prayer requests to God. There's nothing wrong with that. But the decision from the Maker is not necessarily going to be what you want. The Bible says in Luke 17 verse 13, and they lifted up their voices and said, Jesus, have mercy on us. And when He saw them, He said unto them, go show yourselves unto the priests. And Jesus says, you know what, go show yourself unto the priests. What is He saying? He's saying you're cleansed. You're healed. The decision from Jesus is what? I will heal you. He says, go show yourselves unto the priests. You say, why does He say go show yourself unto the priests? You're like, I don't get it. Go to Luke chapter 5. Luke chapter 5. Luke chapter 5. And I'm going to show you another story of leprosy in the Bible. And in this story, this is actually parallel to Matthew 8, 1 through 4, and Mark 1 verses 40 through 45, here in Luke 5 verse 12. And it says, and it came to pass when He was in a certain city. Behold a man full of leprosy, who seeing Jesus, fell on his face and besought him, saying, Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean. Now when you read this story in Luke 5, Matthew 8, and Mark 1, it's not 100% clear how close the leper comes to Jesus. In Mark 1, it seems to imply that the leper comes very close to Jesus, and then Jesus reaches out and touches Him. But it's not 100% clear in my head. You know, you can certainly have a different opinion. Biblically speaking, the leper should be standing afar off from Jesus. It does not appear to me when you're reading this in these Gospels that he's standing afar off, but it could be wrong. I don't think it's really clear. I think he goes close to Jesus, and Jesus touches him. It is also possible he stands a far way off. And when it says Jesus touches him, Jesus actually goes and then touches him. It is not 100% clear in my opinion. You're welcome to read that in Luke 5, Matthew 8, and Mark 1 and come to your own conclusion about that. Regardless, this man comes, and then Jesus, he says, you can make me clean, basically. Verse 13, and he put forth his hand and touched him, saying, I will be thou clean. And immediately, the leprosy departed from him. Now here's the thing. As I said, I believe the leper comes close to Jesus, which is a big no-no according to the Word of God, right? Regardless of whether that's true or not, another thing that was a big no-no according to the Word of God is to actually touch somebody that's unclean, right? You weren't allowed to do that. Whether or not the leper does come very close to him or not, there's no doubt that Jesus touches him. And see, you are not allowed or supposed to do that according to the Word of God because he's unclean, and then you're going to be unclean, and you're going to spread this disease. But Jesus touches him, and he's saying, hey, I will heal you. I will cleanse you. And notice this in verse 14. And he charged him to tell no man, but go and show thyself to the priest. So once again, he's like, show thyself to the priest. Just like in Luke 17 in a different story with ten lepers, with this one leper, he says, show yourself to the priest. So he says, you are... Immediately, the leprosy departed from him. So immediately, he's cleansed. And then he says, now go show yourself to the priest. Go in your Bible to Leviticus 14. Leviticus 14. Now, obviously, I hope everyone's aware of this, but when we see the word priest in the Bible, this is not like a Roman Catholic priest, okay? Priest is a term for those in the Old Testament, spiritual leaders that had various different assignments and things and responsibilities that they did, so it's very different than the Roman Catholic Church. But here's the thing about leprosy. Let us say that somebody at our church... Let's say we were living 2,000 years ago and somebody from our church got leprosy. Here's the thing, everybody would immediately be aware of it because you could see it. Everybody would hear about it. That person would be taken from society and be without the camp. All the neighbors would know. Everybody would know that brother so-and-so or sister so-and-so, they got leprosy and now they're gone. Where's brother so-and-so? He hasn't been to church recently. He has leprosy. Everybody would be aware of it. This would be a very public thing. And here's the thing, people would be very afraid to be near that person because he has leprosy. And because people would be so afraid, it was a very public system where there's the declaration they're clean. They no longer have leprosy. You say, why? Because if somebody had leprosy and they said, hey, I'm cleansed, people would still be like, I don't want to be near you. It's like, how do I know you're cleansed? Yeah, I see it's not on your arms. What about the rest of your body, right? It's like, no, I don't trust you. I don't think you're cleansed. I don't want to be around you. That is what would take place. And so God had a very public system to declare somebody has been cleansed and then they're eventually allowed to come back to society as they have been declared cleansed by the priest. Leviticus 14, verse 1. Leviticus chapter 14, verse 1. And look, I know everyone's familiar with this because obviously this is your favorite part of the Bible, right? Leviticus 13, Leviticus 14, these very long chapters on leprosy. These are the ones you've studied. You know this. I mean, these are your favorite parts. You're doing your Bible reading chart. It's like, oh, man, I'm done with the flood. Now I get on to leprosy in the book of Leviticus, right? You know, this is the exciting stuff. And because of the fact these are not the most known chapters, it's like you could easily miss some of this information or not really realize why is it in the Bible. But when you're looking at the New Testament, you understand the meaning and the purpose of these chapters in Leviticus. Leviticus 14, verse 1. And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, This shall be the law of the leper in the day of his cleansing. He shall be brought on to the priest and the priest shall go forth out of the camp and the priest shall look and beholdeth the plague of leprosy be healed in the leper. Then shall the priest's command to take from them that is to be cleansed two birds alive and clean and cedarwood and scarlet and hyssop. And the priest shall command that one of the birds be killed in an earthen vessel over running water. As for the living bird, he shall take it and the cedarwood and the scarlet and the hyssop and shall dip them and the living bird and the blood of the bird that was killed over the running water. And he shall sprinkle upon them that is to be cleansed from the leprosy seven times and shall pronounce him clean and shall let the living bird loose into the open field. Drop down to verse number 19, Leviticus 14 verse 19. And the priest shall offer the sin offering and make an atonement for him that is to be cleansed from his uncleanness. And afterward he shall kill the burnt offering and the priest shall offer the burnt offering and the meat offering upon the altar and the priest shall make an atonement for him and he shall be clean. So leprosy would be something that would be very publicly and commonly known. So for someone to be cleansed, they go through a process where they can say, I went to the priest. The priest can confirm it. They've determined to be clean. Now they're allowed back at the local church or as I said, symbolism with someone getting kicked out, but they're allowed back in society, right? So if this were existing today, if somebody here in Metra Manila gets leprosy, Metra Manila is a very densely packed place, so they'd have to go outside of Metra Manila. They would have to go to Palawan or wherever, right? Go to 2 Corinthians chapter 12, 2 Corinthians chapter 12. Let me give you an example that maybe you know just from sports from like 30 years ago. Who remembers when, and this is not the exact same thing, but who remembers when Magic Johnson got HIV? That was a big thing. I mean, Magic Johnson got HIV and here's the thing, he plays on the dream team. He plays in the NBA a few seasons and a lot of players are like, no, I'm not gonna play with the man that got the gay man's disease, and that's what they said, okay? Carl Malone was the most outspoken. If you know Carl Malone's a famous basketball player, he's like, no, I mean, he got the gay man's disease. It's like, no, I don't wanna be around him because they didn't know. They didn't know that if you touch somebody, you know, you're fighting for a rebound, all of a sudden you've got HIV or AIDS also because they didn't know the difference necessarily HIV and AIDS because all these homos are dying left and right from getting AIDS, right? And so when Magic Johnson got HIV, a lot of people are like, I don't wanna be around this guy. I mean, he got the gay man's disease. It's like, I don't wanna be around him. By the way, let me say this. You know why he got the gay man's disease? Because he was a whoremonger. It's a fact. I mean, I think he said that he slept with thousands of different women. I mean, he was a married guy just cheating on his wife left and right. I mean, just perversion. And a lot of pro athletes, they do the exact same thing, right? But he got HIV and nobody wanted to play with him because they're like, wait a minute. I might get HIV. I might get AIDS. I don't wanna be around this guy. And look, I don't blame them. If I lived during that time period, I would not have wanted to play with Magic Johnson either. It's like, you know, hey, I'm sorry you got it, but I don't wanna be around you because I don't wanna risk getting HIV because they didn't know. Maybe it could pass, you know, from a little bit of blood from person to person. Maybe they cough on you. They didn't really know how it was spread at the time. Now, of course, I mean, if they knew Romans 1 pretty well, they would kind of understand. It's like, well, Magic Johnson got it for being a sexual pervert and that's how people get AIDS and they die. That's how they get any of the STDs, right? Second Corinthians chapter 12. Second Corinthians chapter 12. And look, if you have no idea who Magic Johnson is, you know, God bless you, you are not worldly at all, right? He's a very famous athlete, you know, very well known, like right under Michael Jordan in terms of basketball players is like Magic Johnson, very famous guy. But here's my point. These 10 lepers, they get leprosy and they desire mercy. And of course, they would desire mercy. They cannot live around other people. They're without the camp. Their lives are miserable. But there's a decision from the maker. And as I said, that decision might be I'll heal you. That decision might be I'm not going to heal you. And here's the thing. It's not necessarily determined based on how godly you are. You say, well, if I'm godly, God is automatically going to give me what I want. That is not necessarily the case. In fact, here's how it works sometimes. Those that are ungodly, God gives them what they want and it destroys them. Those that are godly, God does not give them what they want because it's better for them not to get it. And then sometimes those that are godly, God gives it to them because it is a good thing. And those that are ungodly, God does not give it to them because He doesn't want to bless them. But here's the thing. Sometimes God does not give us things we want. You say, why? Because it's better for us not to get it. In our minds and in our thoughts, we think this is the ultimate answer, but maybe it's not. Maybe this is better for you in the long run and we just don't really know because we don't see the end of everything. Let me give an example of a very godly person where God says no to him. 2 Corinthians 12, verse 7. This is Paul the Apostle speaking. And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there is given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure. Now, there is a lot of debate about what this messenger of Satan is, the thorn in the flesh. Some people think it's kind of a devil or a demon or something like that. For me, I think it's relatively clear that it's a problem with his eyesight. And I believe that as he got healed on the road to Damascus, I don't think he ever fully 100% was healed. And it was kind of a reminder to him, hey, I specifically interacted with you so you could get saved from Ananias and this is a very unique situation. And it was always a reminder in the head of Paul the Apostle, I owe my life to God. Right? And another reason why I believe it's his eyesight is because of the fact in the book of Galatians, you see how large of a letter I've written with mine own hand. And he talks about his eyesight in that book. So for me, I think it's his eyesight. Maybe you disagree. That's fine. But it's a severe ailment that Paul is dealing with. And he is desiring mercy from God. You would think this is Paul the Apostle, so of course God is going to say yes. You would think, of course he's going to heal you because you're Paul the Apostle. But notice what the Bible says here in verse 8. For this thing I besought the Lord thrice that it might depart from me. Now when it says he besought the Lord thrice, I don't think this is just right before he sleeps, please heal me and the next day and the next day and he's done. Because when you are beseeching God, it's a very strong term for getting a hold of God. So I believe this is a long time period where he's begging God, please heal me, please heal me, please heal me. And then God doesn't answer, so maybe a year later, please heal me, please heal me, please heal me. Where basically he's really beseeching God because this is really a big hindrance. And it says that Paul's saying that I could get exalted if I did not have this ailment. Because here's the thing about Paul the Apostle, he was a very unimpressive man. You say, what do you mean? I mean that if you met him, you wouldn't be impressed. And if you had a physical ailment where he had trouble seeing, you would look at him and say, this man's preaching and he's having trouble reading the notes. This is the man that's turning the world upside down. But isn't it amazing what God can do through us if we're dedicated to God regardless of what abilities that we have? Now don't misunderstand me. Paul was a very intelligent person. We get that. Very educated. But he didn't just magically impress you like King Saul did because he's so tall or anything like that. No, Paul was just an ordinary person with a major ailment. And look, you know, I get it. If you have major problems with your eyes and you can't get it healed, I mean, you would beseech God. I mean, I'm wearing contacts right now, but if I don't have contacts or glasses on, I cannot see. I can see colors and that is it. I cannot read any of the numbers on that clock over there unless you do this. You know, for those of you that have bad eyesight, this is what you do, right? I have very bad vision, but, you know, I have glasses and contacts, so it fixes it. But if I could not see at all, I mean, it would really bother me. It would be probably something I would try to get ahold of God quite a bit for God to heal me. And then it says in verse 9, And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee, for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly, therefore, will I rather glory in my infirmities. The power of Christ may rest upon me. And what is God's answer to Paul? No. I'm not going to heal you. But it's not fair. Why? Other people are living wicked lives. Why won't you help me? God says no. And Paul knows the reason because he says he would get arrogant for this, but we don't necessarily know why God says yes or no. All we know is this, that God says no to Paul the Apostle, so it is not necessarily dependent on how godly you are. There are ungodly people that seem to get everything they want. There are godly people that don't seem to get the things that they want. Now look, oftentimes, you know, you think of health and wealth are the two things people often think of. Well, you know, just with wealth, we have the example of Abraham, how he gets rich by going down to Egypt and backsliding on God. But was that money a blessing to him? And the answer is a resounding no. That's where he got Hagar from. That's the reason why Lot had to separate from Abraham. So this idea, if I only had more money, God blessed me with more money. Did you realize money is not necessarily a blessing? Now of course, we all think that money is going to solve our problems, but in reality, it's not necessarily a blessing. It's not necessarily a good thing. And God might say no. Why? Because He actually cares about you. Because you are His child if you're saved and God's looking at you saying, I want your life to be blessed. I want you to have a good life. But if I give you this, I know it's not going to turn out right for you. It reminds me of the song we sing in the hymnal, you know, Thanks to God, where it says, Thanks for prayers that thou hast answered, thanks for what thou dost deny. And sometimes in life, we can look back on prayers that were not answered and say, thank you, God. Because if you had given me what I wanted, I would have just destroyed my life. Go to Luke 17. Luke 17. Luke 17. And I'll just give you an example from my life of something that God did not answer my prayer request and I prayed for it for a long time. And in hindsight, I'm like, thank you, God. You know, at my secular job, you know, when I lived in the U.S., you know, I worked as a pension analyst in an actuarial firm. And, you know, the actuarial field is a very good paying career, potentially. But I was at a company that I just, you know, I got a decent pay, but I was by no means making a rich salary. And you really have to move to the big city to make the big salary. Now, I first desired to be a pastor when I was 19 years old. You know, just shortly after I got saved, I didn't know exactly what that meant, but I wanted to serve God in my life and I really became very interested in the Bible. And you know what? Eventually, though, you know, I didn't get married for a while, so I'm in my mid to late 20s. I decided to dive into my career. And so as I'm diving into my career, it's like, well, wait a minute. You go to another company, you can make a lot more money. And so I prayed that God would bless me to have, you know, make a good salary in a big city. And of course, you know, I promised God I'll still be dedicated to church and go soul winning as much as I do now, et cetera, and all these things. But I'm just being honest. When I look back, if God had answered that request, I would not have become a pastor. You say, why? Because you can always make more money by passing another exam and another exam and another exam. And it's like the opportunity of a little bit more, a little bit more, a little bit more, and there's no end to it. And I'm just saying I can look back on my life and say, thank you, God, for denying my prayer request. Now, look, I don't know what prayer request or what things you're desiring mercy from God today, but there might be things where God is saying no, no, no. And you're like, why? It doesn't make sense. Why won't you answer this? You're answering other people's prayer requests. Why won't you answer mine? But you know, one day you might look back and you might say that's the reason. Now, look, you might have something where you don't know the answer and maybe you never really figure it out. Maybe you go to heaven and then say, God, I don't get it. And then He explains and you're like, I'm so stupid. But I'm just saying, you know what, there's a decision from the Maker and He might give you what you want. He might not. And with Paul the Apostle, He says no. So point number one, we see that these ten lepers, they desire mercy. Point two, there's a decision from the Maker. Point three, there's a demonstration of mending or a demonstration of healing or cleansing that takes place. Notice what it says in Luke 17 verse 14. And when He saw them, this is Jesus, when He saw them, He said unto them, Go show yourselves unto the priests. As I said, when He makes that statement, He says you're cleansed. But this is very different than Luke 5 because notice what it says after this. Go show yourselves unto the priests. And it came to pass that as they went, as they went where? As they went to the priests, they were cleansed. So wait a minute. When Jesus said go show yourselves unto the priests, were they immediately cleansed? No, they were not. He says show yourself unto the priests and they were not yet cleansed. So when it says as they went, I mean, I imagine these ten lepers, they're dwelling together, they're probably going to the priests together. We don't know how far away this is. I would imagine it's a bit of a distance. I'd imagine they couldn't run the entire distance as excited as they might be. So they're coming together and as they went, it's like they're cleansed. It didn't happen when He said go show yourselves unto the priests. They actually had not been cleansed yet, but it happened along the way. Go to Romans 8. Romans 8. Romans chapter 8. See this gives us a great symbolism of salvation in Luke 17. You always have to be careful when you look at stories that are symbolic or trying to use symbolism. But here's the thing. When a person gets spiritually saved, do they physically change immediately? No, they don't. Do you get the glorified body at the moment of salvation? No, you don't. You get to dwell with the Holy Ghost which is the promise of the redemption of the body, that glorified body happening at the rapture, which by the way is after the tribulation. According to Matthew 24 in the entire Bible. But it does not happen immediately. You get saved and there is no proof, no empirical evidence, no physical manifestation of salvation at all. Right, if you were saying hey Pastor Shucky, prove to me you're saved. Look, I can hand you a driver's license to prove I have a license in the Philippines. I can hand you a passport to prove I have a passport. I could hand you, you know, things with my name and identification and my date of birth but I can't hand anything that says here's my salvation. Because it's not manifest. Because of the fact you get cleansed and you know when you're going to see that manifestation when you're actually in heaven at the moment of the rapture. Go to Romans 8, look at what it says in verse 19. Romans 8 verse 19. Romans 8 verse 19, for the earnest expectation of the creature. Look, when you expect something you know it's going to take place. And honest, meaning you're excited about it, you're expecting this with great zeal, waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God. We are waiting for the manifestation that we are sons of God. When Jesus was here the Bible says God was manifest in the flesh. Jesus was God in human flesh. It was seen. It was known. It was evident. But here's the thing, we are waiting for the manifestation of the sons of God. We don't have that yet. You can't look at me and know that I'm saved. All you can go off of is what I say salvation is. So if somebody says you've got to live a good life, I say they're not saved based on what they say salvation is. If somebody says by faith alone I assume they're saved. Because if they believe that they're saved. But you cannot look at someone and know. So for example, you knock on a door and somebody's wearing a suit and a tie and they're singing soul-stirring songs and hymns. They've got a King James Bible in their hand. I'm an independent fundamental Baptist. I'm new IFB or whatever. And then you say what do you think it takes to get to heaven? You've got to be baptized. Well, it doesn't matter that on the outside everything was perfect. Because they said you've got to live a good life. Or for example, somebody is drinking alcohol. And then all of a sudden you ask them, Hey, what do you think that you have to do to get to heaven? It's just believe on Jesus Christ. You don't have to be a good person. You can never lose your salvation. It's by faith alone. I say they're saved. You say why? Because it's not the physical evidence because that's not a proof of salvation. And look, I have run into that before when I lived in West Virginia. I met a man at the WVU campus and he was drunk as a skunk. And then all of a sudden, and I didn't realize that when I first approached him. And then all of a sudden he said, you're not going to believe it. He's like, but I'm saved. He's like, I know I'm drunk. I know it's wrong. And then he's like, quoting Romans 10, 9 and 10, he's like, I'm a fundamental Baptist. You can never lose your salvation. He's like, I know you don't blame me. I said, I do believe you. I do believe you. And I said, come to church tomorrow. I said, come to church. Now, he didn't come to church, but here's the thing. It's not the physical evidence that proves salvation. He said he believed it was by faith alone. I say he's saved based on his words. Because it's not your works, it's the words that you say that determine whether or not you're saved. If that's actually indicating what's inside your heart. Somebody could obviously lie. We get that. But notice, we are waiting for the manifestation of the sons of God. For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope. Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. Did you know that we do not have 100% liberty today? Because what is liberty? What is freedom? It's doing what you want to do. Here's the thing. I don't always do what I want to do. You say what? When I sin, that's not what I want. I mean, in this room right now, everybody would say, I want to read the Bible. I want to go to church. I want to obey God's commandments. But the Spirit is willing and the flesh is weak. We do not have 100% liberty. Don't tell me somebody that's drunk or addicted to drugs or smoking a pack of cigarettes every day, don't tell me they have freedom. They don't want to do that. But they're addicted. Vices are very powerful. And look, none of us have 100% liberty today. You say, why? Because we do not have that manifestation of the sons of God. We do not have the glorified body. We still have what? The sinful old man that is fighting against us until the day we die. Verse 22, For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now, and not only they, but ourselves also. So those of us that are saved, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body. We are waiting for that redemption. Verse 24, For we are saved by hope, but hope that is seen is not hope. For what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for? But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it. Now look, when we were doing the Romans memorization challenge a couple years ago, I was reading verses 24 and 25 over and over again, and I'm like, what? I don't understand what God's trying to say. It confused me. I was actually, I think there's a few people around. I was memorizing it like right here in church, and all of a sudden I was like, I got it. Makes perfect sense because notice what it said in verse 24. We are saved by hope, right? But hope that is seen is not hope. You say, what does that mean? Here's the thing. In our modern day, you say, I hope I'm going to get a pay raise, and what you mean by that is it might take place, it might not, but I really want it. That's not the way hope is used in the Bible. The Bible says our hope is in the Lord. Our hope is Jesus Christ. That's a sure thing. Hope is something that is 100% sure, but for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for? But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it? Hope is something that's 100% positive with no proof. Do you understand what I'm saying? For example, do you know for sure you're going to heaven? Absolutely, 100%. Where's your proof? I have none. That's hope. That's hope. It's something you earnestly expect, you know is going to take place, you're positive, but hope that is seen is not hope, because we are saved by faith. It is not by works. It is not by a physical manifestation. We are saved by faith. So it is not something that is physically seen or known. We're saved by hope. It's something that's 100% sure, and yet I cannot give you my proof. I can't hand you, here is my license that says I got saved on October 9, 2003. We don't have that, because hope that is seen is not hope. We're saved by faith. It's not something that is physical. So when people tell you, well, if you're really saved, you're going to have the works. Actually, we're saved by hope. We're not saved by something that's a physical manifestation. We're saved by hope. You know, we're saved by putting our faith in Christ, and it's not something that is seen, because we are waiting for the manifestation of the sons of God, and yet none of us have that here today. Go back to Luke 17. Luke 17. Luke chapter 17. And in Luke 17, verse 14, And when he saw them, he said unto them, Go show yourselves unto the priests. And at this point, they are not cleansed. And it came to pass that as they went, they were cleansed. Now look, I think it's pretty obvious these 10 lepers probably dwelled together in a leper colony or something similar. And I would say that as they left, they probably left together, because I don't think you're going to want to be one person away from everybody. You're probably just going to go in a group. And so I would assume all 10 of these lepers kind of left together. They came together. They probably left together to go to the priest, to make sure, you know, obviously you don't want to go by yourself. And so the 10 of them, they're going, and what it says is as they went, they were cleansed. So here's the thing. They're walking. They're walking. They're walking. They're walking. They're walking. And then all of a sudden, they look at their flesh, and they're cleansed. Here's the reaction of probably nine of them, because only one comes back. Nine of them are thinking, I'm cleansed. They probably just sprinted the rest of the way to the priest. They're finally cleansed. And they're probably screaming, I'm cleansed! I'm healed! I'm healed! And they just went on their merry way, never to be seen again. But there's one person. He's going, and he's cleansed. And instead of going to the priest, you know what he does? He turns around, and he starts screaming, I'm cleansed! I'm healed! Thank you! Thank you! And it says in verse 15, And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, and with a loud voice glorified God. See, point number four is the demeanor of maturity from one out of ten. He had the demeanor of maturity, as opposed to those other nine. And look, as I said, there's probably a big crowd around Jesus, so all of a sudden they hear this person who sounds like a maniac, I'm cleansed! I'm cleansed! And people are like, what is going on? Are we at war? And then it says, And fell down on his face at his feet giving him thanks. And he was a Samaritan, the enemy of the Jews from the northern kingdom of Israel. One out of ten came back to thank God. One out of ten. You say, well, why wouldn't the other nine come back? Well, look, it's not really that shocking to me because think about this. Let's say you have spent ten years being a leper. And then all of a sudden you finally get cleansed. Are you happy? Of course. Are you excited? Of course. But there could easily be an attitude inside of you. It's not fair I lost ten years of my life. I'm not going to waste another second. Right? I can certainly see that. Makes sense. Because these other nine, they felt that they were owed something by God. It's not fair I got leprosy. It's not fair I lost years of my life. And they just weren't that thankful. But one comes back and he decides to give thanks to God. He is very thankful that he was cleansed from leprosy. And Jesus answering said, were there not ten cleansed? But where are the nine? They're not found that return to give glory to God saved a stranger. And he said unto him, Arise, go thy way, thy faith hath made thee whole. You know, we go out soul winning. And we'll say, you know what, hey, we've got, and by the way, we've crossed between our three churches the 10,000 salvation mark for the year. So praise God for that. But you look at these numbers and obviously we've grown as a church quite a bit. But here's the thing. People say 7,777 salvations. That seems like an interesting number you chose. 7,777. Where are they all? I'd be like, I don't know. There's just some are in, you know, around this area. There's some that are there. There's some that are probably getting drunk there. There's some people watching TV there. People are watching Vice Pong eat over there. I don't know. They'll say, well, where are they? And they'll say, if they're not here, they must not have gotten saved. Well, where in this passage does it say that being, you know, cleansed, really being healed, you're going to automatically prove by living a good life. Only one out of 10 came back to give thanks to God. Well, I only believe one out of 10 got cleansed then. Is that what you believe? I mean, that'd be a very interesting interpretation of this passage when it's clear all 10 of them were cleansed, and yet only one thanked God. And you know what? When we get people saved all the time, a lot of them, most of them, they're never going to come to church. You say, why? They're not that thankful. That's the reason why. Doesn't the Bible say that to be saved, it says, as many as receive the word, to them gave you power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name. As many as receive. And yet, when the Bible speaks about people getting baptized, it talks about they that gladly received his word. You say, why? Because you can receive salvation without actually being that glad or thankful about it. You can receive salvation and say, you know what? I'm just going to go on my own merry way. I'm not going to dedicate my life to God. I got to make money. I mean, life's difficult. It's like, yeah, I'm glad I'm saved, but I'm never going to serve God. Now, people are not going to say that to you audibly but that's really what's on the inside of their hearts. You say, well, how do you know that? Because they're not here. If you're really thankful, you would be here, right? I mean, people have all the excuses why they can't be dedicated to God and yet we have people at our church that come from hours away. Hours. There's people at our church that have made real sacrifices to be a part of this church. You say, why? Because they are thankful to God. But a lot of people, they're not that thankful to God. Go to 2 Kings 20. 2 Kings chapter 20. 2 Kings chapter 20. Now, look, when it comes to these 10 lepers, in my opinion, I don't necessarily know about the spiritual salvation of all of them because although this is an example of salvation, I don't think it necessarily means they all are saved. They might all be saved, but it's an example of salvation where your faith makes you whole. But obviously this example has given us to show us that people get saved and yet they don't dedicate their lives to God at all. They're just not thankful enough because here's the thing. To be a part of this church, you kind of got to make some sacrifices because if you line up with Verity Baptist Church, Manila, you know what that means? You're going to be mocked by your old Baptist friends, by your family. They're going to criticize you. I mean, why do you drive so far to come to church? I mean, your preacher's a maniac. He's always preaching against Vice Pongie. What's his problem? That's the way people think. You make sacrifices. Even anyone in this room is going to make some sacrifices unless you're coming to this church and your family's asking, where are you on Sundays? I was at Robinson's for hours. I couldn't find the soy sauce and I just got stuck. Unless you're making excuses every single week why you're not there, it's like you're making some sacrifices to come here because I'm sure many of you have heard family and friends and people you know criticize me. Criticize Pastor Jimenez. Criticize this church. You make some sacrifices to be a part of it, but here's the thing. How thankful are you to God? Just a little bit of mocking is going to cause you to quit church? How thankful are you to God? Look, we are owed nothing by God. Nothing. We're not owed a fancy house and a fancy car and a great life. We're not owed the greatest health of anybody in the world, but people live their lives and they have this attitude. Everything is owed to me. I deserve more. Why? The fact that you're saved from hell makes you better than 99% of this world. And let's just chop away at that other 1%. The fact that you have a church like this makes you better than 99.99% of the world. There are people that have relocated from other countries to be a part of our church because they said, man, we don't have a church like this where we are. There's people that have moved here from other places, made real sacrifices. You say, what? It's called being thankful to God. It's called having an attitude of gratuity inside of your heart and not having this attitude that you're owed something by God. God owes us nothing. And the fact that He enabled you to hear the Gospel and get saved, you should always be thankful for that by itself. Not to mention all the other blessings God has given you in your life. But there's no guarantee being saved you're going to be thankful to God. Let me give you an example of a character in the Bible named Hezekiah. I mean, Hezekiah, good king or bad king? Great king. Right? Great king. He was an awesome guy. He did a lot of great things. And then you get to the end of his life and you just kind of scratch your head like, Hezekiah, what's wrong with you? 2 Kings 20 verse 1, In those days was Hezekiah sick unto death and the prophet Isaiah the son of Amaz came to him and said unto him, Thus saith the Lord, Set thine house in order for thou shalt die and not live. Then he turned his face to the wall and prayed unto the Lord, saying, I beseech thee, O Lord, remember now how I have walked before thee in truth and with a perfect heart and have done that which is good night's sight. And Hezekiah wept sore. I had a preacher say one time that he thinks Hezekiah was not being real. Like he was just faking this. He wasn't really, you know, beseeching God. He was just doing it on the outside. I'm just thinking God says here very clearly that he's beseeching Him. See, you can ask for things. You can desire mercy from God and then once you get it, not be thankful at all. That's what this story tells us. Verse 4, And it came to pass before Isaiah was gone out into the middle court that the word of the Lord came to him, saying, Turn again and tell Hezekiah the cap of my people. Thus saith the Lord, the God of David thy father, I have heard thy prayer. I have seen thy tears. Behold, I will heal thee. On the third day, thou shalt go up unto the house of the Lord. And I will add unto thy days fifteen years, and I will deliver thee in this city out of the hand of the king of Assyria. And I will defend this city for mine own sake and for my servant David's sake. Imagine, you go to the doctors, you've got a pain in your stomach or a pain in a part of your body or you have just a normal yearly checkup, and then the doctor says, You've got one month to live. That would be devastating. I mean, obviously, that would be completely unexpected. It comes out of nowhere. You know what you're going to be doing? You're going to be praying and beseeching God. You're going to be desiring mercy. But here's the thing, there's still a decision from the Maker that comes. There's not a guarantee that He's going to give you mercy. And here's the thing, there's the demeanor of maturity that when God gives you something, you're thankful. And then there's this childish attitude that when you get something, you don't give any thanks whatsoever. Isn't it true that with kids, you have to teach them to use the word thank you or salamat? It doesn't really come naturally. It's like sometimes I'll give something to my kids and then they go to take it and then I won't let go. And I'll just wait and I'm thinking, when are they going to figure it out? And then it's like, thank you, Dad. I was like, there you go. You're welcome. It's like, no, you've got to say the words. You've got to actually be thankful. And here's Hezekiah. You would think that he would be thankful. But go to 2 Chronicles 32 and we'll close up. I mean, ask yourself this question, how thankful you are to God. I mean, for probably most of us, we live most of our lives as unsaved people. Then we heard the Gospel. We ought to always be thankful that God gave us the Gospel and say, regardless of if I don't get anything else from God, I'm still going to give the rest of my life to God because He gave me the Gospel. But many of you, I mean, there's a lot of people in this room that before this church started, you were praying for a church just like this. Every once in a while, I go back and I see YouTube comments from some people in this room from like eight years ago. I'm like, oh, wow, someone from a church asking for a church. Like, please send someone to the Philippines to start a church, Pastor Anderson, Pastor Jimenez. I'm like, oh, wow, that's cool. You know, someone from like seven years ago is asking. But then once you get what you want, isn't it true that oftentimes you just kind of take it for granted? You kind of forget about the pain that you went through for years asking and asking and asking and God gives it. And then all of a sudden, you just kind of get And then all of a sudden, you just kind of go about your life and forget about it. You're not that thankful. And Hezekiah is an example of this because notice what it says in 2 Chronicles 32 verse 24. In those days, Hezekiah was sick to the death and prayed unto the Lord and he spake unto him and he gave him a sign. So 2 Chronicles 32 verse 25. But Hezekiah rendered not again according to the benefit done unto him. What does that mean? It means that God gave him exactly what he wanted. He added 15 years to his life, but he rendered not again according to the blessing that God gave him. He wasn't thankful. And this is a saved man. This is a good man. I'm not saying he's a bad person. He was a good man. But he was not thankful for what God had given him. And you have to ask yourself this question here today. What about you? It is inside your heart and inside your mind. And inside your mind right now, you're thinking about all the things that you don't have that you want. Man, it's not fair. Why can't I have a better job? Why can't I have this? Why can't I have that? Or is inside your heart just an attitude of being thankful to God saying, man, thank you God that you gave me the gospel, that I heard it from somebody. Thank you for all the blessings you've given me. What is inside your heart here today? Are you thankful to God? Or do you have this bitter attitude as if you're owed something by God? Let's close in a word of prayer. Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for allowing us to be here today and ask all of us in this room, including myself and my family, help us to be thankful for everything you've given us. Thank you God for allowing us to hear the gospel and getting saved. Thank you also just for everything else you've given in life, all the blessings you've bestowed upon us, each and every one in this room, God, and help us inside of our minds and our hearts just be thankful and have the attitude of just thankfulness for what you've done for us and decide in our lives that we're going to dedicate our lives to serving you and not living for ourselves. God, we pray these things in Jesus' name, Amen.