Bobby Chandler - When I Feel Like a Lost Cause
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Summary:
This sermon tackles the spiritual injury of feeling like a «lost cause"—that deep mindset where you lose hope of ever changing or succeeding in life. Drawing from the story of the ten lepers in Luke 17, the preacher shows how Jesus healed all ten physically as they obeyed Him, but only one (a despised Samaritan) returned to worship and received true salvation. The key takeaway is that we’re never beyond God’s reach; by reminding ourselves we’re made new in Christ and focusing on the eternal healing of salvation rather than just temporary fixes, we can overcome the enemy’s lies in our mind and live in hope.
Recapping Last Week’s Message
Last week, we started a brand-new series titled «Warning: How to Prevent Spiritual Injury.» How many of you enjoyed last week’s message? It got kind of heavy. Last week was pretty heavy; I think everybody left with at least a few tears coming out of their eyes. But we asked a big question that we will be exploring throughout this whole series: What do you do when you feel spiritually broken?
Right? You know that heaviness sometimes when you know you can trust God and that God is good, and you’re excited about what He’s doing in your life, but at the same time, you just feel like you have no more hope? Or maybe you’re struggling to have faith that God is going to do something big out of your situation. Because God, I know you’re big, but this doesn’t seem to get better, and every day I’m fighting a new challenge. What do you do when you feel spiritually broken? Or what do you do when life is not what you expect it to be? That’s a difficult question to ask.
And if you were here last week, this is what we learned: We learned that if God always did what you expected him to do when you expected him to do it, guess what? He would never have the opportunity to exceed your expectations. See, we serve a good but powerful God. He has a lot of authority, and what God wants to do in your life, He wants to do things that are bigger than what you can even imagine right now. Because sometimes we’re praying to God, «I need this to happen right now, » and God’s like, «Are you sure about that? Just wait a little bit longer.» Guess what? You’re praying about that relationship, right? You think that’s the one? It’s not, but I got something better for you, and it’s right around the corner. You’re praying for that house to come through? You don’t know what’s in that house; I do. What I have for you is better.
Yeah, you experienced a job loss, but who is your provider? Who is with you? What does my Word say? Will He ever leave us alone? He will never leave us nor forsake us, even when you lose your job and don’t know what to do next. I’ve seen it in my own life over and over again; I’ve seen testimonies within this room of people saying, «I can’t believe what God did.» Why? Because He wants to exceed our expectations. He wants to do something bigger than what you can imagine right now.
God’s Goodness as Our Refuge
Let me read this out of the book of Nahum, chapter one, verse seven, from the New Living Translation: «The Lord is good, not sometimes, not every now and then, but the Lord is always good.» Why? Because He is a strong refuge whenever our troubles come, and He is close to those who trust Him. Your job is not to have everything figured out. Your job is not to have answers to every bit of life’s hardest problems that come your way. Your only job is to walk in obedience and trust that the Lord is good and that He will lead you through, no matter what it looks like, no matter what wilderness you’re going through. I don’t care; God is still good and He loves you.
A Different Spiritual Injury: Feeling Like a Lost Cause
So today, I want to talk about a different spiritual injury. Last week, we talked about pretty much the heart and some of the feelings we experience when we feel rejected or when we feel like God is not showing up like we wanted Him to. Today, I want to talk about a spiritual injury that affects the mind. I want to talk about a spiritual injury that attacks your mindset and the belief of who you are. Today, I want to talk about you believing that you are what I would call a «lost cause.» A lost cause.
Now, what is the definition of a lost cause? So we can kind of go into that. The definition is this: it is the mindset of a person who no longer has the hope to succeed or believes that they can be changed for the better. Have you ever been through a situation where you’re saying to God, «I’m a lost cause»? Raise your hand if you’ve ever felt like a lost cause. Raise your hand if you’ve ever felt hopeless. Raise your hand if you’ve ever struggled with faith. See, I believe that every one of us in this room would raise our hands because we can all relate to that. We’ve been through something where we have doubted, right? Or we’ve struggled. «God, I know that you’re going to do something good, but I don’t know how. I’m just losing hope right now. I’m losing faith.»
But isn’t it ironic? Because I started to think all of us know and believe that we’re children of God. At the same time, there are still going to be problems and situations that come in our lives that make us doubt and make us feel like this «lost cause.» What do we do? The reason why this is so heavy on my heart is because just this week, Kirk and I were working out in the gym. I’m trying to be as swole as him, trying to flex like him. Anyway, we were in the gym, and one of our friends that we occasionally see, we were talking to him. We went up to him and said, «Hey man, you got to come to the church. You got to come check this out; God’s doing big things.» It was incredible this past Sunday. I want you to come. I told him, «I will save you a seat. You gotta come.»
But as soon as we said that, I looked into his eyes and could just tell he was ashamed. I could tell he was broken. This is a really big guy, yet he was walking around kind of like this. I noticed every time we brought up the subject of God in his life, his eyes started to tear up in the gym. Did you know that God can do ministry through you, not just in the church building? He can do it in a gym; He can do it in your workplace. I make this joke all the time, but He can even do it in Walmart. Okay? No power in hell won’t be able to withstand.
But you know what? Every opportunity is an opportunity. I’ve been reminding myself of that over and over again lately. You don’t feel like it? Guess what? It’s still an opportunity. You don’t want to say anything? Guess what? It’s still an opportunity. You’re tired? Well, guess what? It’s an opportunity.
I looked into his eyes, and I could just tell him. I said, «Seriously, man, come join us. I’ll save you a seat. I would love for you to be here.» And this was his reply: «I don’t think it would do any good.» And he walked away, spiritually broken. That’s what I’m talking about. What do you do when you feel spiritually broken? What do you do when you feel like there’s no hope? What do you do when you don’t know how your situation is going to change for the better?
This became a burden on my heart. As the children of God, we should not be walking around believing this lie because that’s exactly what it is. And it’s my job to show you just how good God is. So I want to share with you two important truths today as we get started. But I want to reevaluate this. What is the definition of a lost cause? It is the mindset of believing there is no hope. Let me say that again: it is the mindset of believing there is no hope.
Let me show you something else; it is a mindset; it is how you are thinking; it is how you are perceiving the situation. I want you to underline that or write that down: it is only a mindset. Because what is Satan trying to attack in your life? Your mind. If he can get inside of your head, if he can make you believe his lies, then he can also convince you to live it out.
The Spiritual Battle Is in the Mind
Let me show you this: point A is this: the spiritual battle that we face as believers will always be against your mind. We will always face a battle with our minds. First Peter, chapter one, verse thirteen, New Living Translation, says, «So prepare your minds for action.» How do we do this? We exercise self-control, meaning we don’t just give in to everything that we want to do. Your flesh is always going to crave sin; I need you to understand that. But the Spirit of God lives inside of us, and the Spirit of God is telling you no, and by His authority, you can walk away.
Because I’ve realized a lot of people come in here, and they just feel guilty. «Well, I’m having the thoughts, I’m having the thoughts, I’m having the thoughts.» Yeah, that’s your flesh. Your flesh will always crave sin, but nobody is making you give in to it. The Bible tells us, by His Spirit, we are set free. We’re able to stand up against this. So exercise self-control. How do we do this? We put all of our hope in what is gracious salvation, that it does not matter what life looks like or what’s going on around me. My hope does not come from this world because this world is broken. Guess what? The people I love are still going to hurt me. People I trust are still going to do things that I’m not going to like. There are going to be situations in my life that are going to make me fear, but I trust God.
So all my hope is in Him because that’s where my salvation comes from. It says that salvation will come to you when Jesus Christ is revealed to the world. So every believer, we must prepare our minds for spiritual war. Because if Satan can convince you to believe the lie, he will convince you to live the lie. Let me say that again: if Satan can make you believe the lie, he will convince you to live the lie.
That’s why I see people walking around with spiritual injuries, but they don’t know that there’s an attack on their life. Why? Because they matter. But instead, they believe the lie, «I’m nobody; my situation is not going to change; my job is never going to get better; I’m never going to get out of debt; these things are always going to be in my life; this is who I am because this is how my family was.» Right? This is what I’ve always seen. When did you start believing that lie, and what did it do to your mindset?
Paul reveals this. I love this because Paul says, guess what? You’re not weak. You don’t have to run and hide; you don’t have to be afraid. Why? Because Christ has given us the authority to fight back. Let me show you how good this is: Second Corinthians, chapter ten, verse five, New Living Translation: «We destroy every proud obstacle that keeps people from knowing God.» I love the wording. Listen to that again: we don’t just run from it; we don’t hide; we don’t even block it; we destroy it. Everything that the enemy throws your way, we are able to destroy it by knowing God’s Word.
So as believers, guess what? This is what Paul is saying: You should recognize the lie. The world’s not; they’re going to believe it; they’re going to live it out. But you’re going to look at that lie and say, «You know what? That’s not true.» Why? Because I test it by the Word of God, and I know what my Father has said about me. He says we capture their rebellious thoughts and teach them to obey Christ.
Here’s a thought that the world is trying to tell me is true: I know it isn’t. Why? Because here is the Word. So I just destroyed that argument in my life. I’m no longer going to live that out. I’m no longer going to think that it’s okay to go this direction because I know that every time I’m with those people in that place, something bad happens. I know that every time I go this direction or I have this addiction in my life, I walk into the church building feeling like I’m no good and ashamed, and that God is never going to do something. I’m tired of it because I also know that when I gave my life to Christ, that’s where my hope comes from, and I know that He changed me, and who I am shapes how I speak and how I think.
So this means that your mind should be able to catch every lie of Satan and destroy it with the Word of God. And here’s what Satan does. I don’t know if you’ve ever felt this before, but you may walk into the church building, and all of a sudden you hear, «You’re going nowhere in life. Look at you. I know what you did last week; I know what you did last year. Right? I know what you did last night. You’re going nowhere in life.» What do you do? You take that lie, and you put it towards the Word of God. And you stand up and say this — and this is not on the screen; I added this — Deuteronomy, chapter 31, verse eight: «Do not be afraid or discouraged.» Why? Because the Lord will personally go ahead of you. It is your job to trust, to follow, to obey. Because the mighty presence of God will go before you, His people. You’re His child. He will be with you, and He will neither fail nor abandon you.
What about that mess-up? He’s not going to leave you. Why? Because His Word says so. He will not abandon you. It doesn’t matter what you said; it doesn’t matter what you did. He will not abandon you. But the enemy gets in our ears and says, «No, you’re going nowhere.» Here’s what you do: I know the truth. You want me to tell you where you’re going? I can tell the enemy where he’s going because that’s in here too. I know exactly what’s going to happen to Satan. I know exactly what’s going to happen to this world.
So therefore, my hope comes from the power of God and the presence of God. And when you have this mindset, do you understand? You are an unstoppable force. People are going to see a peace in you and look at you funny. «What’s wrong with you? Why are you so happy? You understand what everybody’s going through right now?» «Yeah, but my God is still good.»
I want you to have that peace because that’s what you pray for when you come into this room. You glorify God; you worship His name. Why? Because you want peace. You want to know that you’re somebody; you want to know that God loves you and that He’s going to use you and He’s not abandoned you. And I just told you it is His Word that He just said, «I will neither fail you nor abandon you.» So walk in that truth; walk in that truth.
But I love it because even though Paul had a past, he had a bad past. He persecuted Christians; he went out to kill them; he was ruthless, even towards women and children; he did not care. Yet he thought he was doing the right thing. So he struggled even within his own life. Romans, chapter 7, verse 23 says, «But there is another power within me that is at war with my mind, and this power makes me a slave to sin that is still within me. Oh, what a miserable person I am!» These are the words of Paul. We don’t think of it like that, though. Even Paul doubted. Even Paul was tempted to feel like a lost cause because of his past. He said, «Who will free me from this life that has been dominated by my sin and by death?» And Paul was saying, «I’m just like you; I’m a human being. My flesh is constantly craving the wrong things. I crave the wrong things yet I want to do the right thing.»
You know how that is? You feel that too in your life. In situations, God says, «Don’t speak that about them, » but I just want to say one thing: «God, one thing! Forgive him! He hurt me; she did me wrong.» It’s hard. My flesh always wants to do the opposite, but then he says, «Thank God that the answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord.» Paul was one of the most inspiring, positive writers you can find in the New Testament, and most of those letters were written when he was going through persecution and jail. And we complain about a hard day, and we doubt God when things don’t go our way.
When life is not what you expect it to be, the battle is against your mind. Just because you hear the lie does not mean you need to believe it.
The Power of the Church
Point B is this: this is a good one — the power of the church. People have forgotten; I’m serious, people have forgotten, especially within our culture, the authority that is in the house of God. Because I talk to people all the time, «Hey, come to church; I’ll save you a seat.» And as soon as I say that, they’re like, «Church? You want me to come to church?» Yes!
If I come, something bad is going to happen, and I’m going to catch on fire as soon as I walk into the room! Right? I’m going to taint somebody. There’s no way that I can come into the church and I look at these people and I get it; they just don’t understand. But a lot of the believers have forgotten the authority that’s in the house of God. Let me show you what Jesus said about His church. You ready for this? Matthew, chapter 16, verse 18: Jesus mentions the church for the first time. He says, «Now I say to you that you are Peter, which means rock, and upon this rock, I will build my church.»
Now listen to the rest: «And all the powers of hell will not be able to conquer it.» No power in hell is able to stand against my church! The Greek word here is «ecclesia.» It actually means church; it means to assemble; it means to gather, it means that we are called out. So in other words, think about it like this: Jesus is saying, «When my people assemble together in my name, no power in hell can stop you.»
So where do we get this mindset that if I walk in church, I’m not good enough? Or if I go to church, I’m going to feel judged? This is how people are; people are imperfect. Maybe some of you have grown up in church hurt; you’ve been to places that were really hard on you, and you felt alone. But I’m telling you, the true authority and the presence of God, that anointing that is falling down, God is saying to you: «I’ve spoken over you — no power in hell can take it away!» But you need to assemble together.
Like the first Avengers, coming together to fight the enemy. I’m a superhero nerd sometimes; I gotta make jokes. But God is doing something; there’s a reason that you’re here today. It’s not just because it’s a Sunday morning; God put something in your heart. He wants to free you from something in your life. And this is what’s good because Jesus said, «No power in hell will be able to stop it.»
This is true even in the end days. This is really cool to me; this is interesting because a lot of people right now are talking about the end days. «Pastor, do you think we’re getting closer? What do you think right now?» Let me share this with you. Okay? There was one thing in the end days that holds Satan back from revealing who the Antichrist is. You know who that is or what that is? The church.
Let me show you this: Second Thessalonians, chapter two, verses six and seven: «And you know what is holding him back, » talking about the Antichrist, talking about Satan, «for he will be revealed only when his time comes. For his lawlessness is already at work secretly, and it will remain a secret until — listen to this — the one who is holding it back steps out of the way.»
In fact, if you look at the Greek, instead of «stepping out of the way, » it also means «snatched, taken up.» See, the enemy is not going to be able to stop the church. No matter what persecution comes, no matter what opposition comes, no matter what comes your way that makes you feel small, the church starts to rise. Why? Because no power in hell can overtake it! Jesus meant it when He said that.
So even in the end days — this is talking about a rapture — the enemy will not be able to remove us. God will free His people before the Antichrist is revealed because no power now will be able to overcome the church.
The Story of the Ten Lepers
But if you have your Bibles with you, here’s an interesting story I want us to study today: Luke, chapter 17. So go ahead and turn to Luke, chapter 17.
Before I dive into the Word, I’m going to give you some context of what’s actually happening here because it’s powerful and it gets really cool at the end of the story. But here’s the background. Jesus is traveling to Jerusalem, and we see that He’s along the border of Samaria and Galilee, which means that He’s around a lot of mixed-racial people at this point in His location, which also means that He’s going to be around the Samaritans.
If you know anything from the past few sermons, I’ve talked about the Samaritan woman when Jesus met her at the well. The Jews hated Samaritans; they hated that race. The reason why they hated Samaritans is because they were Jews who married non-Jews. Because of that, they started to worship other idols; they started to worship other gods, and they allowed all these evil, corrupt things into their lives. So they hated them because they thought, «Okay, they are a lost cause. They are people that are too far gone; God’s never going to do anything with them.»
And then we studied not that long ago that Jesus purposely went to a well and sat down with a Samaritan woman, and He also revealed to her that He was the Messiah. Here’s what’s so powerful about that story: she was one of the first to understand He was the Son of God. And this Samaritan woman, who was not supposed to even talk to a Jew, started to praise Him as the Son of God and went into the village and told everybody.
She used to hide. Not only did she hide from the Jews, but she hid from her own people. Have you ever noticed that you read these stories, and I know a lot of times we look at the location and just kind of skim over it? But really notice the location because a lot of times, Jesus is putting Himself in environments that are uncomfortable, around people that don’t like each other. You mean, Pastor, you’re telling me that sometimes God’s going to call me to people I don’t like? Yeah. You mean, Pastor, sometimes God’s going to call me to love on people I don’t want to be around? Yeah, because you never know what can happen. You never know what God can do.
So here’s the context: He’s right here, and He’s going into this village, and then all of a sudden, these ten men start shouting, «Have mercy on us!» But they’re shouting from a distance. They know who He is. Now, maybe they just believed He was a good teacher; maybe they understood He was the Messiah; they probably heard all these rumors. But they’re yelling to Jesus, «Have mercy on us.»
And the reason they have to yell it from a distance is because they all have leprosy. Okay? So ten men with leprosy are yelling at Jesus, «I can’t believe He’s here! You see Him? He’s a Jewish man! Why is He here? Have mercy on us!» Let’s look at the story: Luke, chapter 17, verses 11-14: «As Jesus continued on toward Jerusalem, He reached the border between Galilee and Samaria. As He entered a village, there ten men with leprosy stood at a distance, crying out, ‘Jesus, Master, have mercy on us! ’»
And He looked at them and said, «You’re healed.» Is that what the text says? No. But He did; He looked at them and said, «You know what? Go to the priest.» I wonder if they were confused. But you have to understand their mindset. When they’re asking for mercy, they’re also meaning, «Please, Jesus, give us some goods. Give me some food; give me some clothes; give me the normal things that we usually beg for and satisfy my needs in this way.»
And instead, Jesus says, «Go to the priest.» And they’re probably like, «Did He just say that? What did He say? You hear Him? Yeah, did He say He was giving us food?» No, He said, «Go to the priest.» What’s the priest going to do? He doesn’t even like us! You know?
And they start walking to the priest, and here’s what’s miraculous about it: as they’re walking to the priest, guess what? They’re healed! They’re healed! I need you to notice this: that they heard Jesus speak, and they obeyed. They listened right away, and it was as they were walking in obedience that healing came; not before, but after.
Not before, but after. Because it’s easy for us to say, «All right, Jesus, you heal me, and then I’ll go do it.» Because we pray that so much: «God, give me that relationship and then I’ll do more for you; God, give me that car and then I’ll serve; God, take me out of debt and then I’ll give; God, just help me in this area! And if you’re a good God, you’ll do this, and then I’ll be everything you want me to be.»
No! You won’t trust me; the temptation not to do it only gets worse! Even as God gives you His miracles, God is trying to teach you something: walk in obedience and trust Him no matter what it looks like. But I need you to understand this: as they walked to the priest, they were cleansed of their leprosy.
What Biblical Leprosy Meant
So I need you to understand: What was biblical leprosy like? What did that mean for your life? Okay, if you caught leprosy, that meant for the rest of your life, guess what? You were a physical outcast; you were a social outcast; and you were a religious outcast. You didn’t fit in the church; you didn’t fit in with people; you couldn’t even be near people because everybody thought it was highly contagious. So as soon as you came near people, guess what? You had to do: «Unclean, unclean!»
Can you imagine how that feels? Some of you do. And some of you online watching right now, you know how that feels. Because I believe some of you watching online, that’s the reason you’re not in the building today. Because as soon as you walk into a presence like this, you automatically hear in your head, «Unclean, unclean!»
Leviticus, chapter 13, verses 45 and 46 says this: «Those who suffer from a serious skin disease must tear their clothing and leave their hair uncombed.» Okay? Look like a hot mess, right? As dirty as you can be, tear your clothes up; don’t wear the good stuff; make sure everybody knows that you stink; you haven’t showered in days, mess up your hair, and walk around saying «Unclean, unclean!»
As long as the serious disease lasts. Did you understand this? Biblical leprosy was not for a season; it was not for a short time. If you caught leprosy in biblical times, it was for the rest of your life. What do you do when you feel like a lost cause? What do you do when this is your future? This is all you’ll ever be; this is all people will know you of!
What do you do? And here’s what it meant. It meant that you no longer could have a career; it meant that you no longer could go to church. You couldn’t even go to church if you had leprosy, or you had to be on the outside. You were never prayed over, spoken over, or taught to. You felt like an outsider in the house of God. Not only that, but you couldn’t get married.
Here’s what hit me really hard: if you were already married and had children, you would never be able to hug and kiss your family again. And I think about this because there are people living that right now. They’ve lost their families; they’ve lost their children; they’ve lost their spouse; they’ve lost their friends; and all they hear every day is «Unclean, unclean, unclean.»
And I’m telling you, you start to believe it; you start to live it, and people start to self-destruct. People I love are killing themselves because they believe that they have no more purpose or that God can’t free them. And the Jews, if they saw you with leprosy, you know what this meant for them? They believed that God had left you; that God had punished you. You did something, it was your fault, it was your sin, whatever you did or whatever your parents did, this is judgment on you! This is what they believed.
And guess what? You did too! Complete outsider; a complete lost cause. What do you do when you feel like a lost cause? In the words of Paul, what did he say? Where’s the war? It’s in your mind. And what did Paul say to every believer? You don’t have to believe the lies of the enemy. What can you do? You can stand up; you can fight back; and you can destroy the lies by the Word of God.
Why? Because God’s Word says, «I will never forsake you; I’m never going to leave you.» If I’ve got to say that over and over again, I will until you believe it, until you see it! No matter how bad your situation is, God is not going to leave you. And no matter what things look like, He is always good. When troubles come your way, He is always good and will always supply what you need, even when it’s not expected or not the way you expected it to be.
And Paul says destroy the enemy’s lies! How do we do that?
Remind Yourself: Who Am I?
I want to share two points with you. Point number one is this: Remind yourself, «Who am I?» Ask yourself this question: Who am I? Let me ask you this: Who are you?
And you may be thinking, «Pastor, that’s a silly question. What do you mean, ‘Who am I’? I know who I am.» Let me ask you this: Who told you you were a lost cause? Who put that lie in your head? Who spoke to you so long ago that you started to believe this was true about yourself?
For some of you, this brings up painful memories — maybe with your family. You didn’t have the best family. Maybe you were scared or embarrassed, and no matter how hard you tried, you never heard, «I loved you.» You never heard anybody say, «I’m proud of you; I’m there for you.» And though you kept trying to prove to your parents or prove to family, «It’s going to be okay, I’m not going to mess up this time, » nobody ever believed you, and you felt this pressure.
And somehow along the way, you believed that you were a lost cause. Maybe it was the way you grew up in school. You were always the outsider; you didn’t fit in with everybody. You weren’t smart, but at the same time, you weren’t a jock, and you just kind of felt like, «What do I do now? Where do I fit in? Who wants to talk to me?» And you felt embarrassed.
Maybe it’s your workplace right now. People talk about you; they say things. You know it’s not true, but it still hurts. And because we’re human, you can only be strong for so long on your own strength, and eventually, you’re going to break down. Eventually, you’re going to say, «I’ve had enough.» And you’re either going to explode or you’re going to give it to God. But you have to choose; because that’s what it’s going to take. You’re going to explode, or you’re going to give it to God.
And for some of you, you met the love of your life, and you thought everything would be perfect. But something kind of just switched, and now, somebody you trusted is verbally abusive to you. And they spoke to you in such a way that it really made you believe it — that you’re nobody who’s never going to change. Maybe that was you. Maybe you’ve allowed your anger to get the best of you, and you said some things to people you love because that’s how you grew up. And as soon as you walk away, you’re just like, «God, why’d I say that? I’m a lost cause.»
No matter what I try to do, I told you you’re a lost cause. I want to show you something in Luke, chapter 17. Did you notice this? That the ten men with leprosy, I told you that they were healed after they obeyed Jesus, not before. And He said to them, «Look, look at them, and said, ‘Go show yourselves to the priests.’» As they went, they were cleansed of their leprosy.
All of them were willing to obey Jesus for the miracle they desired. What did they desire from Jesus? To meet their needs. «Okay, give me clothes, give me food, give me this, give me money, give me a relationship; give me all these things; life will be better if you just did that; hey, Jesus, have mercy on me! I’m lonely; help me; I’m sad; just make me happy! It’s got to be more than ice cream; I want something real.»
And here’s what’s powerful about the story. So they all obeyed Jesus for what they desired, but only one out of ten men came back to worship Him. Only one of them came back. Look at this: Luke, chapter 17, verses 15 and 16: «One of them, when he saw that he was healed, came back to Jesus, shouting, ‘Praise God! ’ and he fell to the ground at Jesus’ feet, thanking Him for what He had done.» Can you imagine? You thought the rest of your life you would be dirty and unclean and never have anything, and Jesus says, «Go.»
So you start going, and you start to feel different; and something is changing on your skin. You’re looking at your friend, «You’re being healed; you’re being healed too!» But that’s what they wanted! All they desired. And they walk away, but there’s one man standing, and he recognizes the gift that he’s been given. And he says, «I can’t just walk away from Jesus now!»
And he goes back to Jesus, and you see this humble man crying out to Him as loud as the others did for the other miracle. He’s crying out, «Praise I praise you!» But the Bible is so cool. Who are you? If you’ve ever felt alone, felt like a nobody, felt like a lost cause, because then the Bible inserts this one sentence that puts it all together: this man that came back to Jesus, that humbled himself, guess what?
He was a Samaritan! That’s who he was — a man who should not even be speaking to a Jewish man! Yet he was there to worship Him because at that moment, he realized who the Son of God was. It didn’t matter where he had been or what the social rules were; he went over there to praise Jesus. It had a huge impact on his life. Let me share this with you: Who are you?
I’m going to tell you who you are today. Are you ready for this? Because the devil doesn’t want you to find this out! In Second Corinthians, chapter five, verse seventeen: «Anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person.» What about what I did two years ago? You’re a new person. What about a year ago? You’re a new person. What about last month? You’re a new person. What about two days ago? If you gave your life to Christ, you are a new person! Why? Because the Word of God says so.
Come on, make a noise, make a shout of praise — because He saved you! This is salvation! This is what this man realized: I gotta go back to Jesus because He’s making me new, not just physically, but spiritually. Something inside has changed and I want to worship Him.
The Illustration of Filthy Garments
But man, again, it’s actually beautiful because we’re like, «Why would God tell them to rip their clothes and get all dirty, mess up their hair?» Avery, can you stand in the middle, brother? Avery’s got a dirty shirt. Go ahead and come up here. Just imagine he’s a mess. He’s a good-looking guy so it’s kind of hard to do, but imagine he’s a mess. And everywhere he went, he had to yell, «Unclean! Unclean!»
And we look at this, and we’re kind of like, «That’s cruel! I mean, I get that they have a sickness, but it’s kind of cruel.» Oh, the Bible’s cool! All of a sudden, in the book of Zechariah, it makes sense! And you get this visual: there is a vision; high priest Joshua has died, and he’s now being judged by the Lord. And Satan is there accusing him because Satan is the accuser day and night. He accuses us!
And so, you may have walked into this room feeling dirty, feeling unclean, feeling unworthy. And Satan’s all in your ear like, «I know what you did! You’re going nowhere!» There’s no way you’re going to change. You think that addiction is going to get out of your life? You think you’re going to grow now just because you want to be in a connect group? It’s never going to change. Stop it! Just go back, get angry, be angry at God. He hurt you, didn’t he? But Satan knows God didn’t hurt you; it was him!
In the book of Zechariah, high priest Joshua was standing there, and Satan’s just accusing him left and right. And in Zechariah, chapter three, verses one and then verses three and four, it says this: «Then the angel showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the Lord, and the accuser, Satan, was there at the angel’s right hand, making accusations against Joshua.» Guess what God did? The Lord rebuked him!
The Lord rebuked every accusation that was coming his way! Jesus stood before him and said, «No! He’s my child, and everything that you throw at him right now, I have freed him from that addiction! I’ve known about it, and I threw it away! It’s no more! He is a new person! As soon as he came to me, he became a brand-new person!» So I rebuke you! And the enemy has to shut his mouth because there’s no power in hell that could withstand the church!
Now here’s where it gets good. All right, talking about a dirty shirt. Why would they make them wear dirty shirts? Because it’s a representation of what Jesus has done for you. Listen to this: verses three and four of the Amplified version: «Now Joshua was clothed with filthy»—and the wording here is it’s actually nauseating, it’s vile—like the shirt is so bad, it has a stench! It stinks; it is awful! Nobody wants to be around him!
These are his garments, and he was standing before the angel of the Lord, and he spoke to those who stood before him, saying — Jesus says this: «Remove the filthy garments from him.» Here’s what I want you to do: can you put this on? Don’t worry; he’s not taking off his shirt; put that on top of it, the big one. He says, «Put that on! Remove the filthy garments from him, and he said to Joshua, ‘See, I have caused your wickedness to be taken away from you, and what I give you, I will clothe you and beautify you with rich robes! ’» Meaning forgiveness!
Come on, give the Lord a praise! Seriously! You came here with this mess, and Satan said, «Don’t show up! It’s not going to help! You’re unclean!» And Jesus said, «Don’t worry; Satan will call you a lost cause, but guess what? Jesus came to save the lost!»
So who are you running from? Because every time you run away from God, you believe the enemy. And I don’t know about you, but for a long time, I did the same. And I got sick and tired of it. And I’m not perfect, and neither are you. But He is! And when I trust Him, Satan can never steal my hope because my hope is in His salvation that He has for me! Thank you, Avery; you can go sit down, brother.
Look at my hand! But notice the wording, put it all together now. Because when they had a disease, or leprosy, this sin, actually — I mean this disease — represented sin. And that’s what God wants you to understand; that’s what it is! It’s a result of sin; it’s a fallen world that we live in.
All pain, all suffering, all bad things are a result of sin. It’s just the world that we live in. But when we’re before the presence of God, He removes all that and He frees us. And listen to this: Galatians, chapter three, verse twenty-seven: «All of you who have been united with Christ in baptism, guess what you’ve done? You put on Christ!»
And He says it like this on purpose: «You put on new clothes! New clothes!» Right? Shining, glorifying the authority and the goodness of God! Remind yourself of who you are.
Focusing on the Right Healing
My last point is this: you will always feel lost when you focus on the wrong healing.
I read the story over and over again, and I really started to think: man, ten guys with leprosy all got healed; only one came back. Because the only miracle they desired was physical healing. And people, like I said, will come through these doors and say, «Pastor, I want to get right with God! I just want to be happy again! That’s my healing! I want to be happy! I want to be out of debt; that’s my healing! I want to be out of debt! Or I just want life to be better; that’s my healing! I want all these things! If God can just give me all these things, I’ll be happy!»
But did you know that even though these men were physically healed, they still lacked salvation? Where does your hope come from? Salvation in the Lord! And it was one man who came back, a Samaritan, that worshipped Him and praised Him. And Jesus said this: look at this, putting you in your place.
Luke, chapter 17, verses seventeen through nineteen: «Jesus asked, ‘Hey, didn’t I heal ten men? ’» Imagine that guy is probably like, «Did I just get them in trouble? Because I just wanted to worship you.» This is what I felt. He said, «Didn’t I heal ten men? Where are the other nine? Has no one returned to give glory to God except this foreigner?»
And Jesus said to the man, «Stand up and go, because your faith has healed you.» The other men were loud with a request, but only one was loud with this praise. They know! Maybe right now you feel like a lost cause. Maybe right now you can relate to that, and you feel a little hopeless, a little faithless in your situation. But let me remind you who you are: you are a child of God, and He will not leave you nor forsake you.
And what He has for you is good, and He will speak to you in times when you feel like your darkest moments because you’re not alone. But I want you to remind yourself what Jesus has already done, and I want you to go back to that presence, that atmosphere, and say, «God, thank you! Thank you for what you did, no matter if it was last year, two years ago, five years ago, ten years ago, twenty years ago. You saved me, and I still praise you!»
No, I’m not coming to this church just to shout out my needs. I’m coming here to shout out praise! Because the reality is this: even if God gave you that house, even if God took away your debt, guess what? There are still going to be other problems! Even if God healed that relationship or that problem, something else is going to come up eventually. Our hope is something the enemy cannot steal, cannot take away. It is salvation in this holy name.
And because of that, we come in here, and we praise, we shout, and we remember who we are and how we were saved. You always feel like a lost cause when you focus on the wrong healing. Because listen to this too: when Jesus said, «You came to me, » and He said, «Because of your faith, you’ve been made well.» In the Greek, it actually means: saved!
Because of your faith, you’ve been saved! You’ve been sanctified! You have what the others don’t! They have physical healing; you’ve been changed!