The outward appearance of something often tells you a lot
about what is going on in general. When you go to a business and see that there
are weeds growing, the paint is peeling, and dust is covering the merchandise,
you know that that business is not in good shape. It is lacking the resources
to keep itself in shape.
A lot of times you can tell whether a person is healthy or
not by looking at them. If they are pale and sweating, if they are gaunt and
emaciated, if they are swollen and puffy, or any other number of signs, you
know that something’s wrong.
Thankfulness and praise, or the lack thereof, can serve a
similar function in assessing the spiritual health of a person or community.
This is because thankfulness and praise are closely related to faith. When and
where the Holy Spirit gives the gift of faith, he also produces thankfulness
and praise. Thus the outward sign of thankfulness and praise is an indication
of faith, even though faith is something internal, something that can’t be
seen.
In our Gospel reading nine out of the ten go their way. They
return to the lives that they were familiar with. Only one comes back thanking
and praising Jesus. Jesus tells him to go in peace. “Your faith has saved
you,” he says. The man’s thankfulness and praise is a sign of what is going
on inside. Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. So it is only
natural that if the heart is filled with the goodness of the Lord, that this
should come out in what is said. On the other hand, if the heart does not know
the grace of God, or believe in it, then you can’t squeeze blood out of a
turnip.
So what if we took stock of ourselves? What has been going
on with our mouth? What has been in our heart, soul, and mind? I think we all
would like to think that our thankfulness and praise has been alright, and
that, therefore, our faith is in good shape. I don’t know how honest that would
be though. Even if we have been better than other people in this regard, it
still is falling short. Where is the praising God with a loud voice, the
falling down on your face?
This does not mean that you Christians do not want to be
able to do this. All Christians would like to be filled completely with thanks
and praise. It is a joy in and of itself. It is also, as I’ve mentioned, a sign
of what is going on on the inside. We’d feel better about ourselves and more
confident of our relationship with God if we were moved to worship God
wholeheartedly.
Worship experiences, in general, are highly sought after
regardless of whether a person is Christian or not. Religious feelings are
powerful and enjoyable. It’s the reason why people listen to stirring music, or
go to concerts, or go to stadiums filled with thousands of people. There is a
spirit that takes hold of us when we are moved by such things. As I’ve said, it
is pleasant to feel this. It makes us feel alive and important. It also isn’t
something that happens everyday, which makes it quite special too. Since it is
rare, it is also valuable.
Since Christians share this desire to be moved, as well as
having the specific desire to thank and praise the true God, it is not
surprising that we should find errors in regards to thanksgiving and praise. There
are certain techniques that Christian churches can use to manipulate how a
person feels as all entertainers know. Our country, in particular, has a long
history of churches focusing on religious feelings.
It started with the revival movement 200 years ago and more.
Tent revivals were held on the American frontier. People would gather from
miles around for these occasional services that would sometimes go on for days.
They would make sure that they booked a good preacher for those occasions. You
didn’t want somebody droning on, boring the people. Eventually a large library
of stirring music was composed to further enhance the mood of these meetings.
Almost all of what our people refer to as their “old favorites” are from this
time period. Rich harmonies and vivid images make this kind of music very moving.
That is why it was developed and used. Some examples of this music would be:
“Rock of Ages cleft for me,” “Softly and tenderly Jesus is calling,” “Amazing
grace,” “What a Friend we have in Jesus,” and many more.
As you well know, I choose these kinds of hymns for our
services. I’m glad that you sing these hymns with feeling and enjoyment.
Singing praise to God is holy. We dare not call something unclean that Jesus
has made clean.
There is a danger, though, of falling in love with a feeling
and losing sight of the Savior whom we are supposed to be loving. I know I’ve
had this experience, perhaps you have too: There’s a hymn or a song that is
very moving to me. I enjoy it. So I return to it again, and again, and again.
But feeling refuses to stick around. It gets less. And that’s disappointing. So
maybe I go looking for something else that might provide me with that feeling.
But sometimes this feeling has nothing at all to do with
God’s work or his promises. Feelings can be achieved with certain musical
techniques, by drawing upon sentimentality, by being in a huge crowd, or any
other number of ways. Is it any surprise, therefore, that megachurches were highly
successful in the recent past? By pooling the resources of thousands of people
they were able to provide moving experiences with their professional musicians,
talented preachers, and huge crowds.
This does not mean that megachurches can’t accomplish
anything in the kingdom of God. There are Christians who have been converted to
faith in Christ in these places. The same thing is true of the old revivals.
Sinners were brought to repentance and faith there. But there is a danger when
our natural craving for religious experiences is indulged. It is not our
feelings that make us Christians. Our thanks and praise is not primary. It is
entirely secondary. What is primary are God’s words, promises, actions, and
promises fulfilled. God’s promises and actions were what prompted the man who
was healed of his leprosy to give thanks and praise in our Gospel reading.
Years ago I heard a bit of advice that has stuck with me
because I’ve found it so helpful with what we’ve been talking about today. And
old, bookish theologian—someone you wouldn’t expect to have much feeling—said
this in a sermon: “I’ve had a lot of religious experiences over the years,” he
said. “I’m thankful to God for them. He gave them to me. But I do not put my
trust in them.”
I like what this learned man said so much because he
acknowledged that Christians can and do have moving experiences and strong
emotions. There are some in our circles who are afraid of these feelings and
want to deny that they exist at all. If that’s the case, then I’m at a loss for
how you would explain what we hear about in our Gospel reading today.
But the really important part of this man’s advice was when
he said that he didn’t put his trust in his feelings. What did he put his trust
in? The Word of God that cannot be broken. He trusted in God’s actions and
promises which had brought about his justification before God and the hope of
heaven that would not disappoint because God is faithful.
This might sound like Kindergarten stuff for you because we
are always talking this way, but not relying on your feelings is easier said
than done—and here I’m talking about my own experiences. The fact is that it
feels good to feel good. I like feeling holy and righteous and uplifted. I like
feeling strong. I like feeling like I’m going to stick with Jesus no matter
what—even if everybody else should abandon him. I understand how Peter feels
when he says something similar to this on the night when Jesus was betrayed. But
what happens when you don’t have these feelings? What happens when you feel
disgusting and like a failure? What happens when life is so unpleasant that you
would prefer death to life?
If propping up a feeling is the main goal of Christianity,
then you’re going to have to figure out a way to turn that frown upside down.
But you tell me where it says in the Bible that you have to feel a certain way
in order to be saved, that you have to be happy in order to be a Christian? If
that’s the case then King David can’t be in heaven, for he sings some awfully
sad songs in the Psalms. Jesus, also, was far from happy on several occasions.
No, we are not saved by how we feel. We are saved by Christ’s redemption. In
him and in his cross do we trust regardless of how we feel.
If some poor sheep is wandering around, out in the cold,
miserably baaing, the Good Shepherd leaves the 99 and goes after the one. What
good would it do for that poor sheep to pretend that it was happy, strong, and
so on? How can the shepherd find the sheep unless it is baaing? When feelings
are given too much emphasis people are prone to work hard to fake it—even to
themselves. What a horrible door to doubt is opened up thereby! No, that old
professor was right. Thank God for the good spiritual gifts that he has given
to you throughout the years, but do not put your trust in them. Trust instead
in the God who gave them to you. Trust in God’s faithful words and deeds.
I want you to remember this advice, because you might find
it even more relevant in the future than you find it today. Over the years as a
pastor I’ve been around some people who are pretty miserable without any
reasonable hope for improvement in their quality of life. It feels good to feel
good. It feels bad to feel bad. And these are some people who feel bad. What
are we supposed to say to them? Turn that frown upside down? Pretend that you
are happy?
No, our feelings are not the most important thing. The
Christian thing to say to such a person is that they should put their trust in
Jesus. He is the great physician. He will set things right in his own time. You
will be made well either sooner and partially—perhaps in this life; or you will
be made well later and completely—with the resurrection from the dead. Then you
will rejoice. Nobody’s going to have to tell you to rejoice. You won’t be able
to help yourself. You’ll rejoice because if you didn’t you’d burst. In the
meantime be patient and lift up your eyes to the hills from whence cometh your
help.
Now it might be the case that a miserable Christian hears
this message and it puts a smile on their face, a thrill of joy is in their
heart, and a twinkle in their eye. If that should be the case, then such a
Christian should give thanks to God. Genuine thanks and praise is always a gift
from God. They should enjoy it, but also let it pass. Their faith in God’s
promised salvation, however, should not change. Let that remain constant.
The Apostle John says in his epistle: “This is love, not
that we have loved God, but that he has loved us and sent his Son to be the
atoning sacrifice for our sin.” Here you have something that you can rely
upon regardless of how you are feeling. And if you are not feeling good, then
don’t worry about it. So long as you keep your eyes on Jesus, the author and
perfector of our faith, then you are going to feel good eventually. And that’s
an understatement if I ever heard one. If you have ever had a thrill of joy,
then know that it is nothing compared to the pure and clean rejoicing of the
heart that will take place when you see Jesus your Savior.
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