If You Complain You Remain: The One Leper Who Came Back
Dr RJ Sing, 1 hr 16 min
Originally recorded as “Where Are the Nine?”
Sermon outline
Enter the new year with a thankful heart: like the one leper who returned, the grateful go forward and rise, while complainers stay where they are.
Main text
- Luke 17:11-19
- Exodus 16:1-3
- Deuteronomy 28:43
Opening
He tells the church that some receive what they believe and others what they confess, that his daily confession is 'Lord, you are planning my success', and that 2008 will be a year of laughter, so they must get their talk, thinking and heart right. After notices about a Christmas CD for partners, the book launch and a cancelled fast, he welcomes visitors and says that after several Holy Ghost meetings this will be a teaching meeting on having a grateful heart.
A thankful heart opens the way
We bring tithes and offerings because God commands it, but above all out of gratitude. When blessings seem blocked, the key issue is often an unthankful heart. Be thankful for a home, a bed, a job, friends, family, a husband or wife, parents who struggled for what you have, the church, the worship team, and preachers whose books and broadcasts inspire faith.
Illustration: After a meeting up country, he thanked God for the diligent people who went ahead and prepared it, because without them he could not have preached effectively.
“A Christian must have a thankful heart.”
Israel murmured in the wilderness
Two months out of Egypt the whole congregation complained against Moses and Aaron and longed for the pots of meat, forgetting all God had done. People complain against authority: bosses, parents, pastors and government, yet submitting to delegated authority brings a blessing. Complainers look back like Lot's wife, but God set your eyes and feet facing forward, and your true metal shows under pressure.
Illustration: A fifteen-year-old who thinks a father three times his age doesn't understand life, when he should write a thesis on it himself.
“If you praise, you should be raised. If you complain, you'll remain.”
- Exodus 16:1-3
- Romans 13:1
- 1 Timothy 2:1-2
- Genesis 19:26
Recover all in the new year
Be thankful you are still here and that God has given you another year to correct last year's mistakes. As God told David at Ziklag to pursue and recover all, whatever you lost this year you will recover, but the essential ingredient is a thankful spirit.
“If you've lost things in 2007, you will recover it in 2008.”
- 1 Samuel 30:8
Go show yourselves to the priest
Ten lepers, standing a hundred paces off as the law required, cried for mercy, and Jesus did not lay hands on them or rebuke a devil; He simply said 'go show yourselves to the priest', and as they went they were cleansed. The power was in the word He spoke. Some are healed immediately and some as they go, so when a man of God speaks under the anointing, believe the word, as Naaman finally did.
Illustration: He has a member, Bongi, act out a leper walking slowly towards 'the priest' at the other side of the room.
“The power was in the word Jesus spoke.”
- Luke 17:11-14
- Luke 4:27
- 2 Kings 5:10-14
Where are the nine?
Only one returned, glorifying God with a loud voice and falling at Jesus' feet in thanks, and he was a Samaritan. Jesus was not carried away by the moment; He asked, 'Were there not ten cleansed? Where are the nine?' Pastors ask the same when people are healed and then disappear. Ask yourself that question every time you are tempted to complain.
“Whenever there's an opportunity for you to complain, just ask yourself, where are the nine?”
- Luke 17:15-19
The stranger shall rise above you
Jesus called the grateful one 'this foreigner', implying the nine were of the household of Israel. Deuteronomy 28:43 says the stranger among you will rise higher and become the head while you become the tail. People in church can grow complacent, while an outsider grabs hold of the Word with hunger and a grateful heart and becomes the leader. Don't be like the nine.
“Don't you be like the nine.”
- Deuteronomy 28:43
- Luke 17:18
Giving thanks always for all things
Ephesians 5:20 says to give thanks always, for all things, not just when there is money in your pocket. Lost a job, a business setback, a wayward child, a big bill: give thanks, because all things work together for your good and God is stretching your faith. Forgive those who wrong you or owe you, and sow the loss as a seed.
Illustration: If thieves steal your car, say 'Lord, I forgive them, and I sow the car as a seed'; business owners can lay their unpaid invoices on the desk and forgive every debtor.
“God is interested in your success.”
- Ephesians 5:20
- Romans 8:28
Putting it into practice
- Thank God daily for home, work, family, church and the people around you.
- Stop complaining about those in authority over you; pray for them.
- Whenever you want to complain, ask yourself 'where are the nine?'
- Give thanks in every situation and forgive those who have wronged you.
- Start planning the new year with a thankful heart.
Closing
He urges the church to go into the new year with a great big thankful heart and prophesies favour upon favour, 'heaped favour', waters rising from ankle-deep to overflowing, and an end to financial struggle, telling them to act in faith by opening bank accounts. He shares how years of hard work alone did not make them rich until he learned the principles of confession and sowing, and says the Holy Spirit told him seven people present would have a financial miracle before 31 December.
Declarations he led
- The Lord is good to me.
- Lord, you are planning my success.
- A heart of thankfulness, that's what I need for 2008.
- Where are the nine?
- I will recover.
- All things are working together for my good.
In his words
- “If you praise, you should be raised. If you complain, you'll remain.”
- “The quality of your metal is revealed when the pressure arises.”
- “Whenever there's an opportunity for you to complain, just ask yourself, where are the nine?”
- “The power was in the word Jesus spoke.”
- “Hard work is good, it won't make you rich.”
Every scripture in this message
- Exodus 16:1-3
- Romans 13:1
- 1 Timothy 2:1-2
- Genesis 19:26
- Hosea 4:6
- 1 Samuel 30:8
- Deuteronomy 28:43
- Proverbs 29:11
- Luke 17:11-19
- Luke 4:27
- 2 Kings 5:10-14
- Matthew 14:29
- Ephesians 5:20
- Romans 8:28
- Ezekiel 47:3-5