                    [Times Square Church Pulpit Series]

                            Where Are The Nine?

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By David Wilkerson
March 8, 1993
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          Imagine this scenario from Luke 17: Jesus was on His
          way to Jerusalem as the time for His crucifixion drew
          near. As He passed between Samaria and Galilee, He
          approached an unnamed village. And outside that
          village, ten lepers were encamped in terrible squalor
          and shame.

          Evidently, nine of these lepers were Jews, and one was
          a Samaritan. Now, the Jews of that day did not even
          touch Samaritans, let alone live with them. But
          apparently the common distress of these ten had brought
          them together in a shared misery.

          If you've ever studied leprosy, you can imagine the
          sordid conditions they existed in. What we see every
          day in New York City is bad enough. On 41st Street,
          near the entrance to the Lincoln Tunnel, makeshift
          hovels line the street, stretching a city block. They
          are cardboard shacks - refrigerator boxes covered with
          rags. You see filthy, soiled mattresses; rotting, torn
          clothes; worthless junk piled high on top of these
          pitiful "homes." It's a little town filled with lice,
          roaches, rats, drugs, alcohol, AIDS, rampant disease
          and constant fighting.

          But believe me - those hovels are palaces compared to
          the squalid conditions of the ten lepers living in
          Jesus' day! These men had no disability checks, no
          welfare, no food stamps, no hospitalization, no social
          safety net. They had been totally abandoned by society.

          They were homeless outcasts - forced to live in an
          isolated camp outside the village. Lepers were required
          by law to stay at least 100 paces (200-300 feet away)
          from all others. When people walked by, they had to cry
          out, "Unclean, unclean!"

          Depending on how long they'd had leprosy, some had lost
          fingers, toes, ears, teeth, arms, noses. Their flesh
          was raw and rotting - and the stench and sight was
          unbearable. These men begged, scrounged, and ate food
          that others would not even look at. They probably lived
          out of the garbage dumps.

          Yet what had to torment these outcasts most of all was
          the haunting memories of loved ones they had to leave
          behind when the priest pronounced them lepers. They
          lost loving wives and laughing, adoring children who
          once romped with them. They lost homes, careers,
          respect and all hope of usefulness. Some of them
          probably had been faithful Jews, entrenched in the
          tradition of the church. Yet now they were camped
          outside this unnamed village, leading a bleak, lonely
          existence of unspeakable shame and sorrow.

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            Leprosy in the Bible Has Always Been a Type of Sin!

                  ---------------------------------------

          Scripture shows the leper to be a type of sinner living
          in shame - debilitated and wasted by sin's terrible
          effects.

          In many of our services at Times Square Church, the
          first three rows are occupied by former "lepers. These
          are the young men from Timothy House - former drug
          addicts and alcoholics. The leprosy of sin cost many of
          them all they had: wives, children, jobs, self-respect,
          health, sanity. Some ended up homeless, helpless,
          totally lost.

          I don't know how these ten lepers ever heard about
          Jesus. Perhaps a vagabond leper had passed through and
          told them of the miraculous healings Jesus had
          performed for lepers in other towns or villages. In any
          case, they somehow knew Jesus would be passing by - and
          they were waiting anxiously to see Him!

          Try to picture it: There they sit, as near to the road
          as they can get, but still two to three hundred feet
          out in the field. They've camped all night. What a
          pitiful sight they must have been! Ten hobbling,
          filthy, decaying, dying men, holding each other up for
          the moment when Jesus walks by.

          I have often wondered if, when they saw Jesus and the
          apostles coming down the road, they started waving
          their stump arms. Did they point to missing limbs? Did
          they wave their dirty rags of clothing? I don't know
          how they got His attention. But when Jesus came within
          ear shot, they cried aloud, "Jesus, Master - have mercy
          on us!"

          They weren't asking for money, or for heaven when they
          died. They were crying for mercy! It was as if they
          were pleading, "Jesus - how can You look upon such a
          pitiful sight and not have mercy? How could You turn us
          down?"

          I am sure Jesus did not wince or turn away for even a
          moment. He looked them right in the face - and with
          great compassion He said, "Go shew yourselves unto the
          priests" (Luke17:14).

          Can you imagine what these lepers must have thought?
          "Go back to the priest? Why he's the one who examined
          us and pronounced us unclean! He chased us out of the
          village. If all ten of us showed up at his door, he'd
          take one look at us and mock our impudence. No one has
          ever been healed of leprosy. He'd think we were crazy!"

          Yet I believe there was an immediate flow of life,
          health and strength into all ten of these men! One
          moved an arm he hadn't been able to move in months.
          Another felt life begin to throb in him - and he began
          jumping up and down! One after another, they looked at
          their hands, at each other's faces - and their scaly,
          ashen skin was beginning to change. Healthy-looking
          flesh was being restored to their limbs, their faces -
          they were being healed!

          Do you remember the hour Jesus had mercy on you - how
          clean and alive you felt? Did you shout because you
          felt His cleansing power? Did you feel new life in you?

          These men had to feel that life! You can be sure that
          some kind of thrill went through that group, and they
          let out shouts of joy! Raw, rotting skin was now
          closing. And where sores had been, now there was new,
          healthy skin!

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                        Jesus Told These Ten Lepers
              The Same Thing He Told Every Leper He Cleansed:
           "Go and Show Yourself to the Priest as a Testimony!"

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          In Luke 5:14, Jesus had told a different leper: "Go,
          and shew thyself to the priest, and offer for thy
          cleansing, according as Moses commanded, for a
          testimony unto them" (Luke 5:14).

          Now, no leper could simply return to his home or church
          or covenant rights. There were certain things he had to
          do.

          First, he had to be pronounced clean by a priest - and
          that entailed a very elaborate, detailed ceremony
          covering eight days. He had to be thoroughly shaved,
          bathed and examined. Afterward came sacrifices,
          sprinklings by blood and oil, anointings, offerings.
          And after all this, he had to wait another eight days
          before he could be restored to his family and his
          rights. Altogether, the process took sixteen days of
          incredible religious activity!

          These highly religious ceremonies were all symbolic -
          types used to teach the people about the glory of the
          Messiah. It's all described in Leviticus 14 - and this
          is what the ten lepers were headed back to their
          village to do.

          By this time Jesus and the apostles probably had
          something to eat and were far up the road beyond the
          village. Yet suddenly they heard a racket behind them.
          When they turned and looked back, they saw a man
          running toward them - shouting and waving his arms! One
          of the disciples said, "It's one of those ten lepers
          from the village." And as he neared, they heard him
          shouting, "Glory - glory to Jesus! Praise You!"

          It was the Samaritan! When he came up to Jesus, he fell
          prostrate at His feet - and he broke out in praise and
          thanksgiving! Out of his innermost being poured
          adoration for the Son of the living God: "You're God!
          You couldn't have done this unless you were the Son of
          God. Praise God! Glory!"

          Jesus looked down at him and said, "Were there not ten
          cleansed? but where are the nine?" (Luke 17:17). He was
          asking, "Why only you? Where are your friends, the
          others I healed?"

          Beloved, that is the question Jesus is still asking
          today! Of the many multitudes He has cleansed and made
          whole, only a remnant are drawn back to Him! So where
          are all the others? I'll tell you where - they are in
          the same place the nine healed lepers ended up: lost in
          the church - swallowed up by religion!

          I believe in the Bible's statistics. And if the
          statistic from this story in Luke's gospel is accurate,
          then 90 percent of those who are touched by Jesus end
          up going back to some dead, dry church. They never get
          into Jesus - because they get lost in religion!

          Now, these nine lepers were anxious to get on with
          their lives. They said, "I've got to get back to my
          wife and family. I want my self-respect back. I want to
          go to the synagogue again and study about the coming
          Messiah!"

          You may say, "What's wrong with all that? Isn't a man
          commanded to provide for his own household? and doesn't
          David speak of meditating on the deep things of God?
          Aren't Christians supposed to be motivated to work
          diligently - to do exactly what the nine lepers did?
          And didn't Jesus tell them to go directly to the
          priest?"

          Yes, that is all true - but it all becomes meaningless
          if you don't first get to know Jesus!

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                   These Nine Lepers Had Truly Been
                   Touched By the Power of Jesus -
               They Had Become Witnesses to His Power!

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          "Go... to the priest... for a testimony unto them"
          (Luke 5:14). For years to come, these lepers would have
          a powerful testimony. They could spend the rest of
          their lives talking about how Jesus merely spoke a
          word, and they were healed:

          "I was once a leper! I was all alone with no hope -
          dirty, filthy, lost, a dying man. Then Jesus came along
          and cleansed me. I've been healed now for twenty-five
          years - praise His name!"

          That all sounds wonderful. But the problem was, they
          were talking about a Man they did not know - witnessing
          to the power of a Savior they knew nothing of! They
          only say Him afar off. They could tell you what He
          looked like, what He talked like, how He walked - but
          they never got near to Him and to His heart!

          One of my greatest griefs in all my years of ministry
          has been to witness the burnout of former addicts and
          alcoholics who had been miraculously delivered from
          lives of terrible sin and crime. Many of them were
          called of God to preach. but churches and pastors
          throughout the United States kept asking them to come
          and give their spectacular testimonies. They were
          cajoled and encouraged to give the gory details of
          their past.

          Now, years later, many of these former addicts are
          telling the same story: "Fifteen years ago I was a
          pimp. I lived with prostitutes and went to jail twenty
          times. One day somebody told me about Jesus - and I was
          cleansed and made whole!"

          Beloved, hundreds of such precious converts are now
          burned out, backslidden and shipwrecked! They have none
          of the character of Christ, no relationship with God,
          because they are living on a past, one-time experience.
          They never returned to Jesus - they never got to know
          Him!

          Many people have asked why Times Square Church doesn't
          have converts from our charity outreaches come and
          testify each week. Indeed, these men and women have
          some of the most incredible testimonies you've ever
          heard.

          But we want more for them than to end up with an old,
          worn testimony! We want them to go on with Jesus - to
          be able to stand and tell about a fresh, daily walk
          with Him, about what He's done for them today!

          We want them to have more of Christ!

              -----------------------------------------------

              How Sad It Is to See So Many Converts -
			  So Many Delivered People - Settle Down and
			  Get Lost in the Hype of Modern Christianity!

              -----------------------------------------------

          Some people simply do not want to go on with Jesus.
          They prefer dead religion! They enjoy the pomp and
          formalism of the "high church" ceremony.

          Oh, how religious those nine lepers must have felt as
          they went through the long ritual of cleansing! And
          what an incredible ceremony it was:

          First, the priest took two birds. He killed one over a
          bowl of "living" (or, running) water and allowed the
          blood to drip down into the water. Then he tied hyssop
          to a cedar paddle (about 16 inches long) and bound it
          to the living bird with a crimson wool ribbon. This
          bird's wings and tail were dipped in the blood and
          water.

          The blood was sprinkled on the cleansed leper's
          forehead and wrists seven times. Then the living bird
          was set free to fly away into an open field. afterward,
          the leper washed his clothes, shaved off his hair,
          bathed carefully and came into town to be isolated for
          seven days.

          On the eighth day, he came back to the priest bringing
          two male lambs and one ewe without a blemish. He also
          brought 2.8 gallons of flour and a pint of oil. These
          were for a trespass offering, a sin offering and a
          burnt offering.

          The priest took the oil and poured it into his own
          palm, then sprinkled it seven times on the ground.
          Taking the blood of the lamb, he touched the leper on
          his right earlobe, right thumb, and right big toe. The
          priest then anointed him with oil at these same three
          points, and poured the remaining oil over his head.

          How very ceremonial it all was - how religious the
          lepers must have felt! And indeed, these rituals stood
          for some very significant things - unctions,
          anointings, cleansings with the blood. But it was all
          dead!

          These lepers had gone from being touched by Jesus, back
          to dead, dry ritualism and formalism. Yes, they had
          gotten back their self-respect. They had re-entered the
          life of the church. They had regained material
          blessings. But they never did get to know Jesus!

          You may ask, "Why would Jesus send them back into such
          ritualism?" I believe Christ sent those lepers to the
          priest hoping they would get hungry to know the reality
          behind all the ritual:

          "The running water - did He not once say He Himself was
          the Living Water? And the sprinkling of blood - did He
          not say His blood would be shed, that He would be
          crucified? The lamb being slain - what does that mean?"

          You see, there was not a priest in Israel who could
          tell those nine lepers what those ceremonies meant.
          They performed them all by rote! No - Jesus wanted
          those lepers to turn to Him and be taught! When they
          had cried out to Him by the roadside, "Master, have
          mercy!" they used a word that meant, "Commander,
          Teacher!" They knew He had all truth - but they hadn't
          been hungry for it.

          Those nine lepers represent the thousands of poor souls
          today who sit in church listening to ministers who
          don't know what they're talking about. It is all dry,
          boring - dead! Yet I know it is having one good effect:
          People are getting fed up! Many are saying, "This is
          not what Jesus saved me for - to sit here and dry up
          under a man who's just going through the motions. Give
          me reality! Give me Christ!

                  ---------------------------------------

               I Want to Tell You Now About The Remnant Man -
             the One in ten Who Turns and Runs Back to Jesus!

                  ---------------------------------------

          Why is it that in every generation there is a remnant
          who run after Jesus with passion and thanksgiving? Why
          does God always have one in ten who leaves everything
          and comes back just to worship and praise Christ -
          while the other ninety percent continue to go through
          the motions?

          I believe the Samaritan ran back to Jesus because he
          wasn't bound by forms and rituals. He didn't have to
          "unlearn" it all! You see, the other nine had been
          raised orthodox, their minds trained from childhood in
          ritual and ceremony. They were still bound by their
          tradition. But once the Samaritan saw the whole
          religious system, he cried, "No way!"

          He witnessed the phoniness of the religious leaders and
          churchgoers. He saw Pharisees robbing widows and taking
          away their homes. He saw priests bribing and being
          bribed. He was the temples filled with money changers,
          turning God's house into a den of thieves. He saw
          scribes making rules for others that they never lifted
          a finger to keep themselves.

          He saw all the whitewashed fronts, the false faces and
          double standards. And he said to himself, "This is the
          blind leading the blind - it's not for me. I want the
          real thing!"

          Now, as he heads toward the village with the other nine
          - back to the priest, to church, society, respect and
          the good life - he stops and thinks: "Wait a minute! I
          remember what it was like when I had it all - money,
          prestige, security. I was miserable! My so-called
          friends all rejected me at the first mention I might
          have leprosy. I was empty - bound by sinful habits,
          full of hate and bitterness. It was a living hell. Why
          should I go back to that?"

          Then something in his heart began to burn: "Look at me
          - I'm clean. Jesus healed me! The church can wait - my
          family and career can wait. I'm going to Jesus! I want
          to get to know the One who healed me!" He came to the
          same conclusion all remnant people come to :

          "There is nothing out there I want. It's all vanity!
          I'm going to Jesus - He is going to be my reality!"

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           Don't Think for a Minute This Cleansed Leper
		   Came Back Just To Say Thanks - No, He Was 
		   Overwhelmed By a Desire to Worship This Man Jesus!

           -----------------------------------------------------

          The remnant leper could not stop crying, "Glory!"
          praises sprang up from his innermost being!

          I believe that if any person worships Christ as this
          man did - lying prostrate at His feet, crying thanks
          out loud without restraint - such a one is determined
          never again to leave Jesus! In his heart he says, "To
          whom shall I go? He has the words of eternal life!"

          I imagine this man showing up everywhere Jesus taught.
          Every time Christ was on a mountainside or seashore,
          there sat the cleansed leper, right in front. He cried
          aloud: "I love You, Jesus! Glory to God! Praise You!" I
          see him at the Ascension, crying, "Take me with You,
          Jesus!" And I like to think he was in the Upper Room on
          the day of Pentecost, praising God - filled with the
          Holy Ghost!

          Yet the truth is, we have been given something the
          thankful leper never had - a potential for power beyond
          any known to mankind!

          In January, every four years, America inaugurates a
          president to what is called "the most powerful office
          on earth." His signature is law. He commands the
          world's most powerful army. He can simply push a button
          and bring destruction upon whole nations. But the power
          he holds is nothing compared to the power Jesus has
          given to you and me!

          You see, we have absolute access to come into the very
          presence of the living Creator God - and also for Him
          to come to us! "Having therefore, brethren, boldness to
          enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new
          and living way... let us draw near with a true heart in
          full assurance of faith" (Hebrews 10:19-22).

          The remnant leper didn't have such power. It came only
          after the veil in the Temple was rent in two. When that
          happened, it meant that man could go in and God could
          come out - that He could meet us!

          The word "boldness" in this verse means "with open,
          undisguised publicity." Beloved, that "publicity" is
          for the devil's sake! It means we can say to every
          demon in hell, "I have a right by the blood of Jesus
          Christ to walk into the presence of God and talk to Him
          - and He to me!"

          Do you believe you have this right - that God is
          willing to come out and meet you? Let us draw near to
          Him with a heart full of the assurance of faith! We do
          not come by the blood of a bird or goat or bull - but
          by the blood of our Lord Jesus:

          "Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his
          own blood he entered in once into the holy place,
          having obtained eternal redemption for us. For if the
          blood of bulls and goats, and the ashes of an heifer
          sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of
          the flesh; how much more shall the blood of Christ, who
          through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot
          to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve
          the living God?" (Hebrews 9:12-14).

          Nothing thrills the heart of God more than when His
          children come to Him in boldness, without timidity! He
          wants us to come saying, "I have a right to be here.
          And even if my heart condemns me, God is greater than
          my heart!" (see 1 John 3:20).

          After this leper drew near to Jesus the second time,
          Scripture says Jesus "made [him] whole." "And he said
          unto him, Arise, go thy way: thy faith hath made thee
          whole" (Luke 17:19). This time Jesus gave him more than
          cleansing - He gave him wholeness, in his mind, body,
          soul and spirit. And that is what God is giving to all
          who draw near to Him today: wholeness!

          I like to think this remnant leper went back to his
          hometown and had a reunion with the other nine healed
          lepers. What a conversation they would have had!

          The nine probably stood around talking about all the
          problems they face when they went back: Wives were
          remarried. Children turned away in shame. Old friends
          still acted like strangers. The adjustments had to be
          overwhelming!

          Then they all turned to the remnant one. "How did you
          turn out? Do you remember that Galilean, Jesus, who
          healed us? Whatever happened to Him? And why are you so
          happy?"

          He broke into a smile and said, "I was with Him just
          yesterday! I'm following Him - I'm His disciple, and He
          is my teacher. And believe me, I haven't had an
          adjustment problem! It doesn't bother me that my family
          rejected me, or that my friends forsook me. Jesus took
          me in!

          "Brothers, let me tell you - I walk with God! He talks
          to me and teaches me. I'm a tent-maker now - but my
          most rewarding work is praising my Lord!"

          Perhaps he invited the other nine to go with him to see
          Jesus. But they probably would have turned him down:
          "Sorry - we study the law three nights a week. We're in
          a big discussion now about when the Messiah is going to
          come." They may have thought they were looking for the
          Messiah - but they had already missed Him!

          So off the remnant one goes - back to Jesus, singing,
          "There's a song in my heart that the angels can't sing
          - Redeemed! Redeemed!" He is living in redemption -
          made whole, totally free!

          Dear saint, you and I have something far greater than
          this leper had. We have not just an open door, but a
          loving Father who says to us, "Come - you're cleansed.
          Believe it - act on it. Come and meet Christ!"
          Hallelujah!

          ---
          Used with permission granted by World Challenge, P. O.
          Box 260, Lindale, TX 75771 USA.

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