The Lutheran Hour
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"Lord, Give Me What I Need — Give Me Faith!"
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Text: Luke 17:11-19
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Then Jesus answered, “Were not ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?” And Jesus said to him, “Rise and go your way; your faith has made you well.”
Christ is risen! He is risen, indeed! Alleluia.
Have you heard of Elon Musk? He is a business entrepreneur, visionary, and inventor. He is behind the development of Tesla Motors electric cars, the SpaceX company’s efforts to privatize space travel, and the development of PayPal-the online payment system you use when you buy stuff.
Elon Musk is no shrinking violet. He is a relentless innovator who is very clear about his personal vision to change the world and humanity. At forty-five years of age, Musk is shaking up the status quo in the twenty-first century.
Musk isn’t perfect. He has plenty of flaws. But, whether you agree with what he’s up to or not, you’ve got to give him this; he is a bold human being.
But, when I was reading the text for today, I wondered if the boldness of these lepers crying out to Jesus for help was a bit like the boldness of Elon Musk, to do what was unexpected, to challenge the norms because it was really, really important.
The episode unfolded this way. On the way to Jerusalem [Jesus] was passing along between Samaria and Galilee. And as he entered a village, he was met by ten lepers, who stood at a distance and lifted up their voices, saying, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us” (Luke 17:11-13).
Those men who suffered from the dreadful disease of leprosy were supposed to shout, “Unclean! Unclean!” before anyone got close to them. Who do you think started the hubbub to shout something else? What did these men know about Jesus?They knew something. Not far from where they were wandering, Jesus had raised a widow’s son back to life in the village of Nain (Luke 7). Jesus sent out the Twelve Disciples to go from village to village, preaching the Gospel and healing people (Luke 9). These men with no hope of healing, they knew about Jesus. They understood that nothing was impossible for Him. So, they were suddenly filled with a reason to shout out something they never shouted before. They called for Jesus and they asked for His mercy.
God’s miracles bring audacious hope. That’s what it means to live by faith. As the writer of Hebrews said, “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1). Faith receives the certain promises of God. It is the boldness to trust that God can do anything.
It’s why you don’t have to settle for what the world hands you. Instead, you can joyfully expect God’s miraculous grace in your life. The men with leprosy realized they didn’t have to settle. God would open a door.
Have you ever heard of Dr. Paul Brand? He was a leprosy expert for all of his adult life until he died just over ten years ago. Leprosy still affects millions of people every year. Today it is called Hansen’s Disease.
Dr. Brand saw the devastation of leprosy while he worked as a surgeon in Vellore, India. Even though the disease is not as contagious as people think and is very treatable, many who suffer with leprosy are still shown terrible cruelty-just as they have been throughout history, including the time when Jesus walked the earth. Brand embraced victims of leprosy. He studied how to help and to heal. He pioneered surgery that restored the use of hands and feet-allowing victims to re-enter society, get jobs, and live life again.
Dr. Paul Brand didn’t settle for what the world handed out. He didn’t accept the fear, alienation, discouragement, and hopelessness of leprosy. Neither did Jesus. When the ten men cried out for help, Jesus didn’t see a disease; He saw people who needed hope that He could give. He saw people who felt forgotten, helpless, and unwanted. So Jesus did something about it. Luke reports: “When he saw them he said to them, ‘Go and show yourselves to the priests.’ As they went they were cleansed” (Luke 17:14).
Jesus doesn’t settle for what the world hands out. What is the world handing out to you? What has life dished up for you? Do you struggle with worry? Are you paralyzed by fear? Does your loneliness seem insurmountable, your relationship irreconcilable, and your problems unsolvable?
How long have you been trying to do this by yourself? What if you did what the ten men did in Luke 17? What if you stopped trying to figure it all out and fix it on your own and, instead, called out to Jesus for help? What if you lived by faith in Him? Instead of relying on what you can do, what if you placed your hope in the One Who healed the leprous men and Who came to seek and to save your lost and weary soul?
There’s hope out there. There’s hope for you. It’s in the person of Jesus Christ Who came to a world that could only settle for chaos and inevitable death. But instead of settling for that broken and sinful condition, Jesus sacrificed Himself on a cross to put an end to sin’s dominance. He crushed the dead-end of hopelessness and He rose from the dead with a brand new scenario for us all.
You may feel like you have to settle for the guilt you carry. You may feel like you have to settle for the baggage from your past or the problems today; but Jesus doesn’t settle for that. God sent His Son Jesus into the world because He loves and cares about you. Jesus walked this earth to heal, to restore, and to save. You heard what He did for ten hopeless and broken men. It’s no different for you! With Jesus in the picture, you can be healed. With the risen Savior at hand, you can be filled with hope. With the Son of God overpowering the grave, you can receive a new beginning today that leads to everlasting life. Cry out to Jesus. Say, “Jesus, have mercy on me!” And watch what He does.
A man from India named Sadan suffered with leprosy near the beginning of Dr. Brand’s research. Sadan was shocked when Paul and Margaret Brand took him into their home. This man with disfigured hands and feet was utterly amazed when Paul Brand took his wounded limbs into his hands to examine them. Sadan said, “I had nearly forgotten what human touch felt like.” Paul Brand did pioneering surgery to correct Sadan’s hands and feet. He made sure Sadan went through physical therapy to regain the ability to walk and to function in life. Sadan experienced the miracle of being whole again-physically and emotionally.
And then Sadan said something amazing. He commented, “I must say that I am happy that I had this disease. Apart from leprosy I would have been a normal man with a normal family, chasing wealth and a higher position in society. I would have never known such wonderful people as Dr. Paul and Dr. Margaret, and I would have never known the God Who lives in them.”
Living by faith means receiving the precious gift of knowing the God Who can do all things through His power and love, and rejoicing in Him no matter what the circumstance. Why, because with faith in Him. You’re not on your own. He lives in you by faith, for you, with you through it all until you see Him in eternity!
That’s what happened to one of the men who was healed from leprosy in Luke 17. You see, one of the ten returned to Jesus. Luke tells it this way: Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice; and he fell on his face at Jesus’ feet, giving him thanks. Now he was a Samaritan. Then Jesus answered, “Were not ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?” And he said to him then, “Rise and go your way; your faith has made you well.”
The man was no longer an outcast with leprosy. He was no longer an unacceptable Samaritan. He was even more now. He was a grateful man of faith. He was a bold follower of Jesus. He recognized that there was much more to life than the labels given to him by the world. He realized that the situation into which he was born didn’t determine his future. He understood that an illness didn’t define him. By God’s grace and the work of Jesus, he finally grasped that he didn’t have to settle for second best. He didn’t have to passively accept the broken life the world handed to him. No, by God’s grace in Jesus Christ, he now lived by faith. And that changed everything!
So let me ask you today; what about you? I want to let you know that, for your life, there is hope out there. It is hope in Jesus, the living Savior. You don’t have to settle for a broken or hopeless life. You can live by faith in the Son of God Who heals, forgives, and Who restores. You can be bold and expect God to bring His gracious help, His amazing comfort, His deep insight, His remarkable transformation, His constant care, and His daily leadership to you. You can be bold as you hear the Word of God and receive His sacraments for the forgiveness of your sins. You don’t have to settle. You too can live by faith. You can be His person of hope and faith right now.
I love the passion of people like Dr. Brand, don’t you? But, did you know that early in his life, he actually didn’t want to be a doctor. His father was a missionary and a builder and he wanted to follow in his father’s footsteps. Brand was raised in India by caring and self-sacrificial parents who built buildings and helped under-resourced communities there. So for years, Paul Brand was a builder. But when Paul was a young man of twenty-one, he went to a training program outside of London. Part of the training included some first aid and basic medical instruction for life in the mission field. The sessions were held at a local hospital. That’s when a dramatic change happened in his life.
One morning Paul was stationed in the emergency room when a woman with an internal hemorrhage was rushed in. Her face was white, her body lifeless. As doctors checked her pulse and started a blood transfusion, Paul looked on, convinced the woman was gone. ‘What a waste,’ he thought, ‘to pump blood into a dead person’s body.’ Within moments, however, everything changed. As the doctors worked, Paul saw some color come back into her cheeks. A few moments later she opened her eyes. From that day on, he knew he had to become a doctor.
Paul Brand saw someone who appeared to be dead come back to life. He saw that the doctors didn’t settle for death. They brought a new scenario of healing and restoration.That is God’s passion for this world and for your life, too. Through Jesus Christ, He brings a new scenario of healing and restoration. Through the miracle of the cross, God showed His boldness as He dared to love you and do something about your condition. Because of the resurrection of Jesus Christ, you do not have to settle for death and defeat. Today, I wonder if you have a better sense of the amazing words of the Apostle Paul when he declared: “From now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard him thus no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come” (2 Corinthians 5:16-17).
This is the faith you live by-faith in the One Who has made you a new creation! That’s how you can approach your life today. Jesus told the man who returned, “Rise and go your way; your faith has made you well.” He was instructed to go back to his life as a person who lived by faith. That’s how God sends you back into your life today too. You’re a person who brings faith and hope to everyone you meet because your faith is in Jesus.
Have you seen the restoring work of Jesus in your life? Have you received His forgiveness and grace? Then rise and go your way! Head into life today with gratitude and hope. Be bold about not settling for one-dimensional defaults of this world. Follow in the steps of Jesus Who refused to conform to life’s frenzied pace, but instead, stopped to connect with people in need. Break the mold of pessimism and self-centeredness by living in gratitude and growing in faith. Show the world that criticism, anger, and division, they do not have to prevail. Patience, love, and kindness can take their place. Don’t settle! Live by faith in Christ! Walk through each moment with the bold expectation of God’s grace and new life in Him. As God’s servant, you will make His difference.
You know, Paul and Margaret Brand moved to the United States to continue their research and the development of pioneering surgical techniques for leprosy patients, but years later, they decided to return to India to visit the village where Paul was raised. He was much older now, so on this visit, he expected to walk through the small and remote village unnoticed, reminiscing about days long ago. But as he and his wife drove into the wilderness and approached his former home, he was absolutely astounded. Hundreds of people, hundreds of people lined the road to greet them. With gratitude and joy people traveled for hours to see Paul and to tell stories about his mother and father. One woman recalled how Paul’s mother saved her from being abandoned on a roadside. Now she was a nurse, serving people in need, expressing gratitude for a saved and transformed life every day. A man named Namo had a twenty-year-old picture of Paul’s father on his wall with the caption below, “May the Spirit that is in him live in me.”
The Brands brought hope to people who thought there could be no hope. They didn’t settle for what the world handed out. They lived by faith and brought more than physical healing, they brought what people really needed, the gift of hope and faith in Jesus Christ!
That’s what Jesus did for ten men with leprosy in Luke 17. It’s what Jesus did for you through the cross and the empty tomb. It’s what you receive today through God’s Word. You don’t have to settle! You can live by faith and bring bold hope to everyone in your life. That’s what we all need and that’s God’s gift for you today as well! Amen.
Action in Ministry for October 9, 2016
Guest: Pat BurkeANNOUNCER: You’re listening to The Lutheran Hour. This is Action In Ministry and Pastor Seltz thank you for today’s message.
SELTZ: Oh, thanks. You’re welcome.
ANNOUNCER: You know; there’s always so much more we can learn about this journey of faith.
SELTZ: Mark, that journey begins with our faith in Christ; from there though God can do more than we can ever imagine or ever think.
ANNOUNCER: And that’s certainly true for our guest today, Pat Burke, she grew up as the child of an alcoholic, abusive father. She vaguely knew of God but nothing more about God until she was in her early 30s. Her story is featured in our video resource titled The Journey From Unbelief to Faith.
SELTZ: Pat, thanks for joining us.
BURKE: Thanks for having me.
SELTZ: It’s great to have you. In a previous segment you told us about your journey to faith but give us just a brief look back at your life before you met Christ.
BURKE: Before I met Christ, as a child, I always felt I was never safe. My dad was violent. You never knew what he was going to do and I was scared all the time. I hated summer vacations because I was safe at school. Family members didn’t have anything to do with us because of my dad and so we were just left to flounder.
ANNOUNCER: And the video tells the story of how you came to faith in Christ. That happened when you were in your early 30s. But, that didn’t mean that everything from that point on has been joy and sunshine, right?BURKE: No. No. It hasn’t.
ANNOUNCER: Tell us a little bit about your life after that.
BURKE: It was a big change in me personally; but the pain comes whether you’re a Christian or not.
ANNOUNCER: Okay.
BURKE: Different things that I experienced: my husband fell back into addiction; my seventeen-year old daughter ran off, got involved in drugs, became pregnant, ended up having four children-one after the other-with different dads. I took the first two oldest boys and raised them. The Lord just took my hand and walked me through all that, guided me through it. When my husband just took off after twenty years, I had to get a divorce, He guided me to get…what job to get, how to do my finances. It wasn’t that I didn’t shed any tears; it was that I was no longer alone. Christ was with me.
SELTZ: That’s the thing. You’re not by yourself in the middle of this. It’s real life though.
BURKE: Oh, yeah.
SELTZ: It’s the real life that a lot of folks are dealing with out there today.
BURKE: That’s the thing is that even when you feel hopeless, you can’t give up hope. I just knew that. I think it was God’s grace that just…when I’d get so down, and you do going through terrible things like that. My daughter ended up passing away 4 ½ years ago from a drug overdose. That was horrible. I don’t know how in the world you can get through anything like that if you don’t have Christ right there with you. I was so grateful for Christian friends. He calmed me through the whole thing; the whole funeral, everything. It was just amazing and I’m forever grateful.
SELTZ: You were just talking about that. How do you cope with things from the past? You were talking about this Jesus. It’s not religious. It’s actually knowing that there is a God Who’s there Who really loves you and will never leave you, right?
BURKE: Absolutely. He is…He’s the father that I always wanted, that I needed, and even better. I can go to Him with anything. I know that He loves me. One of the things that I heard was never forget in the darkness what God has told you in the light. That’s what got me through.
ANNOUNCER: Speaking there of what God has told you in His Word, the promises that He has made to you.
BURKE: Right. That’s it. I mean, you have to read the Bible. It’s the instruction book. To me, I didn’t know anything so I was reading everything and going to Bible classes and still do because there is always something new.
SELTZ: It’s the power of God.
BURKE: That’s right.
SELTZ: Get you through these times.
BURKE: There you go.
ANNOUNCER: Pat shares more of her story in this video resource, The Journey From Unbelief to Faith, and you’ll also hear the stories of three others who followed very different paths to faith.
SELTZ: Mark, we read in the Bible how God changed people but as we’ve been talking with you today, Pat, your story reminds us that He’s still at work with you. He’s with you and that changes everything but it allows you to face problems that maybe you’re going to deal with day by day just like a lot of other folks do too, right?
BURKE: Right.
SELTZ: Well, thank you so much for being here and thank you for sharing your story with us.
BURKE: You’re welcome. Thanks for having me.
SELTZ: God bless you. That’s our Action In Ministry segment today; to bless, to empower, and to strengthen your life in Christ for others.
ANNOUNCER: And the name of this resource is The Journey From Unbelief to Faith. To view or download this content for free go to lutheranhour.org and click on Action In Ministry. Or call 1-855-john316. That’s 1-855-564-6316. Our email address is info@lhm.org.
LUTHERAN HOUR MAILBOX (Questions & Answers) for October 9, 2016
Topic: What Is Faith?ANNOUNCER: We are back once again with Pastor Gregory Seltz. I’m Mark Eischer. We talk on this program a lot about faith. Sometimes people get the wrong idea that faith is kind of wishful thinking. What exactly do we mean by faith and what does it mean to have faith?
SELTZ: Mark, I’m glad that our listener asked this question because sometimes we develop a vocabulary as followers of Jesus and we never really explain what it means.
ANNOUNCER: Faith is a good example of that. We’re not talking about some sort of belief in ourselves or some wishful thinking that our dreams might come true. Here at The Lutheran Hour we’re talking about faith in God who has revealed Himself to us in Jesus Christ.
SELTZ: That’s right. To be perfectly clear for our listener, we’re talking about faith in God-Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
ANNOUNCER: So, what is faith? What does it mean to have faith?
SELTZ: The best place to start is not in our imaginations or with our humanly constructed definitions. Let’s go to the source. Let’s get at it from God’s Word. In fact, let me ask you, any verses come to mind?
ANNOUNCER: Let’s go to Hebrews, chapter 11. The very first verse says, “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1).
SELTZ: That is a great start. In fact, Hebrews, chapter 11 is called “the faith chapter” of the Bible. After that first verse that you just read, it goes on to give examples of faith in action. Let’s run with that chapter. So far, the Bible is telling us that “faith is the assurance and confidence of the heart in those invisible and spiritual things promised to us by God in His Word, in His Gospel” (Koehler, 139).
ANNOUNCER: But doesn’t that make faith kind of a flimsy thing, like we’re trusting in something that’s invisible?
SELTZ: It would be if the invisible things were based on stories or fantasies. But faith is not based on fantasies. It is founded on facts. That’s where the faith chapter comes in. We hear in Hebrews, chapter 11 that “by faith the universe was created by the word of God.” We see the creation. We see its glory. It is evidence of God’s amazing work. The chapter says that by faith Abraham and Sarah had a baby in their old age. It’s a fact. Isaac was born.
ANNOUNCER: In this case, God did something remarkable in order to start the family tree of Jesus.
SELTZ: Yes, faith is trust in God Who acts in history to redeem and restore His people. So I ask, do you see a trend? His promises are trustworthy. Faith is founded on God’s real, documented, miraculous actions in history. He is Someone we can trust. That’s why we can have the assurance of what we hope for and the conviction of things not seen.
ANNOUNCER: Like the promise that God is with us or the conviction that we are truly forgiven by the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus and the assurance of eternal life promised by Jesus Who rose from the dead.
SELTZ: Yes. God is trustworthy. Jesus Himself was the fulfillment of promises made long ago; so in Him there is hope for the future too.
ANNOUNCER: But faith is not mere knowledge or an understanding of facts.
SELTZ: It’s much more. As our confessional documents states-the defense of the Augsburg Confession says, “To have faith means to want and to accept the promised offer of forgiveness of sins and justification.” Faith desires the blessings that God gives and faith allows us to receive those blessings by God’s grace.ANNOUNCER: Here we are reminded of those words of the Apostle Paul in Ephesians, chapter 2 where he writes: “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith-and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God- not by works, so that no one can boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9 NIV).
SELTZ: Exactly. What a precious gift faith is!
ANNOUNCER: Main question, how can a listener have faith?
SELTZ: That is the most important question of all. The Apostle Paul says in Romans 10:17, “Faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.” A listener is hear the Good News of Jesus -the Savior who lived a perfect life in your stead, gave His life to forgive you your sins, and rose from the dead so that you, too, can live with eternal hope in Him.
ANNOUNCER: So, you hear the Good News of God, you receive it through His gifts of Word and Sacrament and then trust in God’s promises for your life.
SELTZ: Yes, there are facts to face. Be assured of His love. Trust and believe in God’s promises. You have faith. And the power of that faith is that you are saved in Him.
ANNOUNCER: Thank you, Pastor Seltz, and we thank our listener for that question. We hope you’ll join us again next week. This has been a presentation of Lutheran Hour Ministries.
Music Selections for this program:
“A Mighty Fortress” arranged by Chris Bergmann. Used by permission.
“Your Hand, O Lord, in Days of Old” From The Concordia Organist (© 2009 Concordia Publishing House)
“All Depends on Our Possessing” From The Concordia Organist (© 2009 Concordia Publishing House)