The Action of Reaction

Okay, if you have your Bibles this morning, I'm going to ask you, if you would, to turn to the Gospel of Luke and the 17th chapter, Luke chapter 17. And the title of the message, as it's before you, is The Action of Reaction.

The Action of Reaction, and I'm not the best at titling messages, but Brother Keith and Brother Mike are really good at it because they link all these words together and it sounds like a poem and a rhyme and all that stuff.

The Ten Lepers in Luke 17 and the Theme of Faith’s Reaction

But The Action of Reaction, and so I want to look at the account this morning of the 10 lepers. And not only that, but next week I want to continue to look at another miracle that is very similar to this in many ways, and Lord willing we'll get to that next week, but I do want to look at the account of the lepers as it is given to us in Luke's Gospel.

So, if you would, read with me in Luke chapter 17 from verse 10 down through verse 19. And again, if you're visiting, I read from the New King James Version, so if you have a different version, there might be some words that appear differently.

Luke chapter 17 verse 11,. Now it happened, as he went to Jerusalem, that he passed through the midst of Samaria and Galilee. Then as he entered a certain village, there met him ten men who were lepers, who stood afar off.

And they lifted up their voices, and they said, Jesus, Master, mercy on us. So when he saw them, he said to them, Go, show yourselves to the priest. And so it was, as they went, they were cleansed. Now one of them, when he saw that he was healed, returned, and with a loud voice glorified God.

He fell down on his face at his feet, giving him thanks. He was a Samaritan. So Jesus answered and said, Were there not ten cleansed? But where are the nine? Were there not any found who returned to give glory to God except this foreigner?

And he said to them, Arise. He said to him, Arise. Go your way. Your faith has made you well. And let's again just ask God again to bless his word. Father, now as we open your word, we pray that you would come among us.

That your words would be our words, and your thoughts would be our thoughts. And that Christ would be glorified through it all. Again, in his precious name we pray. Amen. So as I said, I want to look at the account.

And this account of the ten lepers is only found in Luke's gospel. Remember who Luke is. Luke is the beloved physician that has a perfect understanding of all things from the beginning. And that is what he says in the opening of his gospel.

That he had that understanding and he wrote it to bear witness to that truth. And if you remember also, just to remind us of who this writer is. He's also in many ways the New Testament historian. As he records for us in the book of Acts the early years of the church and the activities of Paul.

Even as at some points you can see even in the book of Acts that he is with Paul. As Paul is on his missionary journeys. But this is one of the accounts that is exclusively given to us in the gospel of Luke.

As you remember, many of the other gospels, the synoptic gospels in particular. Which would be Matthew, Mark, and Luke. That they have similar accounts with some variation of the same things that took place at certain times.

And of course John being the gospel that in that way is purposed with a different reason and a different thought presented to us. But this account of the ten lepers is only found in the gospel of Luke.

And so I want us to think about what he lays out for us. And I want to give you my purpose this morning. And here it is. And there's actually two. Let me just mention them to you. The first purpose that I want to set before you today is that faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.

Faith in Christ. Saving faith. Real faith. True faith. Requires not only an action on our part. And that action be to believe. But that there must be with that action a reaction. And I hope to open that up a little bit.

That you and I who say we are his. That there not only must be that action on our part where we repent and believe. But that there must be a reaction that comes out of that. And that that reaction is the thing that you and I once we have belief are to focus on.

Maybe say it to you this way. There are things that accompany salvation. Right? There are things that accompany salvation. And without those things manifesting themselves. You and I have to really ask ourselves.

If that is not happening in our lives and others do not see it. Then perhaps our faith is not true faith. And if our faith is not true faith. We are in a world of trouble. So that is really what I want to ask us to think about.

The things that accompany salvation. And I will use the term that those are the things that are the reaction to the action of faith. And that true faith always requires. Listen friends. True faith always requires a result in our lives.

True faith has to be more than lip service. It has to manifest itself. It has to show and I hope to show you by this account of the ten lepers. That that is what is demonstrated in part through this rendering of those ten lepers.

So that is my main purpose. Is to ask us to think about the things that accompany salvation. And show it in the particularly in the leper who returned to Christ. But there is also a second thought that I would ask you to think about as we go through this.

And it is this. Answer to prayer. Not only that but answer to prayer and even outward blessings. Are not always an indicator of true faith. Now some of you might say. Wait a minute. Well just give me a couple minutes.

But I want us to think about the fact that just because someone prays. And someone has an answer to that prayer. And that even in that answer of that prayer. They believe that God has blessed them. In and of itself that is not always a true indicator of a right relationship with God.

And I hope to show you that in the account of the lepers. So keep those two things in mind. As we look at the text and as we consider it. So let us just take a few minutes and look at the text itself.

And then make some applications based on that. So it says now it happened as he was as he went to Jerusalem. And so the setting is given to us. And Jesus is headed towards Jerusalem. It is later on in his ministry.

And he is headed towards where? He is headed towards the cross. He is headed towards the hands of wicked men. He is headed to that place where he will be mistreated. Where he will be maligned. Where he will be accused of by false witnesses.

Where he will be mishandled by the high priest and by Pilate. And ultimately where he will find that cross. Golgotha's hill. And that he will as we read this morning. Become an offering for sin. Not his sin.

Our sin. And so that is where we jump in if you will. He set himself towards Jerusalem to make an offering for sin. And I want to just point this out in the beginning. And that is to me one of the great wonders in all of this.

Is that as Jesus is headed towards Jerusalem. As he is headed towards what he knows awaits him. Of cruelty and abuse and mocking and beating. And ultimately the cross. That regardless of what yet lies before him.

As he goes. This great physician. This compassionate savior. He never draws back from doing good. Even as he is headed towards the cruel and ugly cross. That this God that you and I are before. He is ever merciful.

Ever willing to distribute of his greatness and of his goodness. And as you read through some of the accounts in the gospels. You will find that as Jesus moves closer and closer to Jerusalem. And as things begin if you will to close in on him.

He never closes in on his desire to see others. Receive from him. And that is a wonderful thing. That is a glorious thing. He is always desiring to give of himself for the benefit of others. That in and of itself could be a lesson for all of us to spend and think about.

That regardless of where we are. And regardless of our situation. And regardless of the issues of our own life. That you and I should always have a mind. And a desire to see others benefit. Even if it means to our own detriment.

And that is certainly not easy. So that is the scene. That is the setting. He is headed towards Jerusalem. And he passes through the midst of Samaria and Galilee. And I want to mention that. Because I want to suggest to you that as Jesus is headed towards Jerusalem.

That as he enters this village where he is going to be met by the ten lepers. That Jesus is not just taking the trade route. But that as Jesus is moving closer and closer towards Jerusalem. Again because he desires to be compassionate.

Because he desires to gather his sheep in from wherever they are. That he is moving through some of the more remote villages. Of the area of Galilee and Samaria. And that as he is making his way towards Jerusalem.

He is still seeking out his sheep. He is still seeking out those that he wants to bring to himself. And I do believe that that is something that you and I should be so thankful for. That you and I would realize that our God doesn't always take, if we think about it in our understanding, the normal path.

Just think about how God found you. Think about where you were when God found you. Were you in the straight path? Were you in the majority or were you in the minority? Were you pursuing him or was it him pursuing you?

Were you up on the mountain or were you in the valley? You see, the God that we serve, he goes to the mountain, he goes to the valley. And as he travels, he finds those that he desires to worship him.

And that's a wonderful thing that as Jesus is making his way again to this horrible thing that lies before him. He enters into a certain village. And there he is met by the leper. Now I want to set to you, I want to set before us, just for a moment.

Because we're going to be dealing with lepers and leprosy. And I want to just spend a moment on that. And I would think, I would hope that most of us are familiar with leprosy. Not personally, I hope.

But if you've read any of the Bible, the Bible many times mentions lepers and leprosy. And I want us to just be reminded of it. Leprosy was and is a horrible disease. There are still, and I looked it up as best I could, there are still hundreds of cases of leprosy in the United States every year.

As a matter of fact, as I did a little bit of research on it, I come to find out that in certain countries it's even more prevalent and it's even more rampant, if you will. That by statistics, and again, who people are that do these things by God's grace?

I mean, I just don't know if I would be the one that would want to take statistics on leprosy. But nevertheless, that in African nations and in Indonesia, there's something like 200 ,000 cases of leprosy every year.

And leprosy, again, is a horrible disease. As a matter of fact, it's called Hansen's disease today. If you ever hear of Hansen's disease, it's really leprosy. If you want to know, from the abundance of scripture, how to understand how leprosy was handled under the old covenant and with the children of Israel under the Mosaic legislation, read Leviticus 13.

And Leviticus 13 will give you all the minute, and it's amazing, the minute details that God laid out for those who were lepers and what they were supposed to do and what the priests were supposed to do and how these things were to be handled.

And again, you just read through Leviticus 13, and actually you can read Leviticus 13, 14, 15, and you're going to find out about a lot of things in a very clear way concerning these diseases. But leprosy was a horrible disease.

It's a contagious disease, by the way. Leprosy is contagious. And really what it is is it's when your flesh begins to have boils on it and that those boils begin to open up as lesions. And then there's discoloration of your skin.

And again, it not only affects your skin, it affects the nerves under the skin. I was thinking about this when I was telling my wife. I don't know. I was sitting in my garage, and the gnats decided that I was just fresh meat.

And so they had been biting me, and now I won't go out of my garage unless I have a long-sleeved shirt on. So I've been scratching myself all week because you know how you get when you get those little ding-a-ma-jiggers that see me not, so whatever the heck they are.

But anyway, it made me think about it because it not only affects the bite area, it affects everything. And so now I'm fighting, I'm using calamine lotion and all this good stuff to try to... But leprosy was, in a sense, it was where there were boils and lesions that busted open on your body.

And your skin would turn color. And your nerves that were under the skin would be disturbed. And it was, in many ways, disfiguring. One of the characteristics of leprosy is that you get it around your facial area.

And it actually affects your respiratory area greatly. And so if you've ever seen pictures, and sometimes you see them in the movies or even pictures, where they'll show pictures of people who have leprosy, there's great disfigurement around their facial area.

And it even says that it can go so far that leprosy can affect internal organs. So again, let's not be deceived into thinking that, as it talks about lepers, that they just had some mat bites. But this was a horrible disease.

And again, if you read through what was laid out in Leviticus, so if you had this disease, and it could come and it could go. And it could come back and go back again. But if you had this disease, you were not allowed to be in the camp of God's people.

Matter of fact, not only were you not allowed to be in the camp of God's people, but if you had it, and you came in contact with someone who was not affected by leprosy, you had to cover your mouth, and you had to yell.

And by the way, one of the effects of leprosy is you can't, your vocal cords are interrupted. But you had to cover your mouth, and when you saw someone who did not have leprosy, you had to shout, unclean!

Unclean! Now, I don't know about you, but that doesn't sound like a whole lot of fun. They were unclean, they were in pain, they had disfigurement, they were in and of themselves unable to remedy it, and not only that, they were put out of the camp.

They could not have fellowship in that condition. So, it was a separating disease, it was a lonely disease, it was a hurtful disease. And as we go through this account, as we go a little bit further, I want us to think about that, and I want to make this application at least in part.

That I find in this a picture of not just physical leprosy, but spiritual leprosy. And that I ask us to think about it. That those who have leprosy in the flesh were not allowed to be with other people.

Not allowed to have fellowship in the people, amongst the people of Israel, or amongst other groups. And were suffering. That this is a picture of what it is to be a spiritual leper. To be unclean before God.

To not be able to fellowship with God. And so, I believe I can make this statement. That if you are not in Christ, then you are a spiritual leper. And that as we read through what happens, and what takes place, that it is amazing to me how so many people never return to give thanks once they're healed.

And I'll show that to you. So I want to consider it further, but let me ask us to think. And so, again, he's on his way to Jerusalem, and he's walking through the areas of Galilee and Samaria, and he enters a certain village, and there met him ten men who were lepers who stood afar off.

So, get the picture. I don't believe they were in the village, I believe they were on the outskirts of the village, because they couldn't have gone in the village because they were lepers. So there they are, they're on the outskirts of the village.

Jesus passes by, and there's ten men, and it says they were men who were lepers, who stood afar off, and verse 13, and they lifted up their voices, and they said, Jesus, Master, have mercy on us. And we're met by the cry of these lepers.

Now, according to what I've read concerning Jewish law, you aren't allowed to come within a hundred paces of someone. If you were a leper, you had to remain at least a hundred paces from someone else, except another leper.

And so you can get the scene, if you will. Jesus is walking, he's got his disciples with him, and I'm sure he's got some sort of a following as he's headed towards Jerusalem. And just as we read in many of the Gospel accounts, as Jesus is moving in one direction, there seems to be those who are surrounding him with all kinds of maladies and diseases and concerns, whether it be for themselves or for their children or for this or for that.

I guess I'm speaking so powerfully I blew a fuse. So here they are, and they're standing afar off, and they cry out, and they cry out for help. This again, to me, is a picture of where those who are spiritually diseased should be, calling for help.

Can you get it? There they are, unclean, dismayed, disfigured. And Jesus walks by, and here's the thing, and I thought about this, they have one thing in common, and it says that some of them were Jews, and I believe we can be sure of that.

It says at least one of them was a Samaritan, because ultimately he's the one that comes back after he's healed. So there's this mixed company, if you will. And there they are, they're all diseased, and they cannot enter into the camp, they cannot have fellowship with those that are clean, and they see Jesus walk by, and they begin to cry out to him.

And it's interesting, in verse 13, they use the right words, don't they? Jesus, Master, mercy on us. You know, maybe they've heard about him. I think there's a, there's a, there's a Samaritan that they've heard about this Jesus, this one who has healed so many, of so many different maladies, and so many different diseases, and so many different life issues.

And they've heard of this one, and they have no alternative but to look to him, to cry out to him. But as I hope to show you, that in and of itself is not always an indicator of truly coming to Christ.

Because as you will see, and as we work through this, as Jesus sends them and they are cleansed, only one of them returns. So as they are crying out, they are desiring mercy, and observe that it doesn't say anything how they desire mercy for their souls, but they definitely desire mercy for their body, don't they?

And that's the way many people are today. Many people cry out for help and mercy with the physical, and they never consider the mercy that's needed for the spiritual. I liked what Matthew Poole said. He said, many howl to God when they're on their sickbeds, but they glorify him not when they are lifted up.

Cry to God for mercy. Heal me. Help me. Be compassionate to me. Look to my needs. And then as soon as those very needs are met, it's the end of it. So there they are. He raised their voice. Look at verse 14.

It says this. So when he saw them, he said to them, Go, show yourself to the priest. And so it was that as they went, they were cleansed. And I thought about this for a while, and I had to consider, because this is not, in that sense, the, I don't want to say normal, but the pattern of ways in which Jesus healed.

Many times, if you remember, someone would come and ask for healing, and Jesus would say, I will, or so be it. And he would meet their need, and he would tell them, and he would grant them their desire, if you will, immediately, and the response would be immediate.

I want to suggest to us, this is a little different. When he saw them, he said to them, Go. He's going to send them away. Do you remember a man, and maybe you don't, but there was a man in the Old Testament, his name was Naaman.

And Naaman was a servant to the Syrian king, and Naaman was a leper. And Naaman had heard about God's man, and how God's man could heal him. And so as he comes, and he presents himself before Elisha, Elisha says, Go and wash in the river, and you'll be clean.

He tells them to go, tells them to wash in the river, dip in the river seven times, and you'll be clean. But as I looked at this, and I thought about this, Jesus never says that in that way. He merely tells them, or he simply tells them, Go.

Go to the priest. I want us to think about that a little bit. He doesn't say to them, If you go, you'll be healed. He doesn't touch them. He doesn't even come up to them, although, can you get the picture?

They're far off. Jesus, Master, save us. I believe Jesus approached them, but remained at a distance, and said, Go, show yourself to the priest. I have to ask myself, is he testing them? I mean, they're in need.

It's obvious. Is he testing them? Is he seeking to draw out of them something other than just what they desire? Is he demonstrating that he has the power to heal in many different ways? And if you think about it, Jesus has demonstrated his power in many different ways, hasn't he?

Sometimes he's touched people. One time he made spittle in the dirt and rubbed someone's eyes. Other times he simply said, I will. Other times he said, Go your way. Your desire has been granted. Not here.

He tells them, Go. Go show yourself to the priests. And so, they go. They follow his instructions. Is Jesus seeking to draw from them more than just following outward instructions? Just following outward laws?

Listen, let me say this to you this morning. If you and I believe that all we need to do to be right with God is to follow some set of instructions, directions, we're wrong. We're wrong to think that all we have to do is follow certain steps, do certain things, check certain boxes.

Whether that be outward or even inward. You know, friends, and I hope you'll understand, there are many people who think they're right with God that are absolutely wrong. Because to them, all it is is following some sort of system or some sort of instructions.

Is that how we really become children of God? By just following some outward instruction or outward rule? Is this how men really are saved? He tells them to go. Go show yourself to the priests. And so it was, verse 14, and so it was, as they went, they were cleansed.

Wow, that's just cool stuff. As they went, they were cleansed. Now, I'm not absolutely certain if they all truly went to the priest. He told them to. I'm not absolutely sure how far the priest was from where they were.

I'm not sure if Jesus waited to see if they would return after they went to the priest. I'm not absolutely certain about that. Here's what I am certain about. He told them to go, and as they go, their bodies begin to be healed.

Can you imagine what that must have been like to them? Man, I can't wait for these things, these gnat bites to disappear. Could you imagine what it must have been like to have been infected with boils and lesions and sores and your nerves are being affected and you're disfigured and you've been cast away and as you walk, all of a sudden, your flesh begins to be restored?

What must have been in their minds to see such divine power? Again, keep in mind the spiritual aspect of this. Because the spiritual reality, my friends, in many ways is much greater and much higher and much more exalted than the physical.

Jesus said it would be better for a man to enter into life, what? Halt and maim. To have those things of the physical body to be cast into hell. But can you imagine the thought as they went? Again, I can't tell you for sure what's taking place in the meantime.

Whether they returned or whether they actually all went to the priest. But I will say this in verse 15. Not one of them, when he saw he was healed, returned. And with a loud voice, he glorified God. This is what made me think about this.

That truly believing in Christ, truly being one who has been healed spiritually and perhaps physically, that there has to be something attached to it. Is it not amazing, my friends, that only one of them returned?

I don't even know if this is the point of his salvation. I really think it's further on. When Jesus in verse 19 says, Arise and go your way, your faith has made you well. To me, that's more the language of salvation.

I don't know. I don't need to know in that sense. But I know this. I know this one came back. This one came back. And not only did he come back, he came back to worship. You see, the action of faith is great.

The action of faith is what is needed. It's the instrument by which God draws us. But friends, there are things that accompany salvation. And the thing that I want to highlight this morning is that which accompanies salvation ought to be worship.

Worship of him who has healed us. He returns to give thanks. Look at this in verse 16. Look at his posture. He fell down on his face at his feet giving him thanks. He was a Samaritan. Remember who the Samaritans are?

They're the half-breed, religious half-breed. They've taken some from the Jewish faith and some from the other nations' faith and they've kind of put it all together and got it all messed up. And they were considered as half-breeds.

They were neither liked by the Jew nor the Gentile. So in and of themselves, they're outcasts. I want you to notice the position. Look at it in verse 12. He went through a certain village and there met him ten men who were lepers who stood afar off.

Notice where they are. Notice where they are when they're unclean. Notice where they are when they're diseased. Notice where they are when they're helpless and hopeless. Now, verse 16. The Samaritan is now at the feet of Jesus.

He who was afar off is now close. I'm going to say something and I'm going to step on some feet. And if you disagree with me, come and show me. And Lord willing, hopefully I'll have enough grace to repent.

But I'm going to say it. If you and I are as far from Jesus after we say we have a saving relationship with him, if we are as far away as we were when we first believed, then I seriously ask you to consider whether you're saved.

Or you're going to scare some people off. So be it. Because here's the truth. You cannot stay as far from Jesus after you believed as you were before you believed. You can't do it. It's got to be worship.

It's got to be reaction. It's got to be thanksgiving. It's got to be falling at his feet. It's got to be a change of life. And it has to pour out of you. If he's no more glorious to you today than he was when you first believed, then I seriously doubt whether you know him.

And again, that might be offensive. But I'll use this scripture as well as many other scriptures to prove my point. Because look what he says. He fell down at his feet. He gave him thanks. And he was a Samaritan.

And look at Verse 17. Jesus answered and said, Were there not ten cleansed? Where are the nine? Where are the nine? Now, you might want to try to write it off and say, Well, you know, they went to the priest and they never came back, but they were thankful.

You can come up with a whole lot of scenarios, and perhaps you will. But I will stand at this point on this, that having been healed of such a great illness, that the demonstration of the one who returned to give thanks is a demonstration of where you and I ought to be.

Isn't that a strange question, Jesus, to ask? Jesus answered and said, Were there not ten? Where are the nine? Let me ask you this morning, in light of this. Where are you? Where am I? Are we part of the nine or are we part of the one?

Are we here this morning because we're compelled? Or are we here this morning because we think we have to do certain things? Are we compelled to fall at his feet and worship him? I really believe, and I hope you would agree with me, one of the greatest deceptions in all this world, from the beginning until now, is for men to believe that they're not dead in sin, that they're not helpless and hopeless without Christ, that they have some merit, that they have some ability to heal themselves.

It's one of the greatest deceptions, and it's one of the easiest tools in the toolbox of the evil one to deceive us to thinking that we don't really need to worship Christ, God's Savior. Listen, friends.

Was that not what happened to Adam when he fell? What does it say? Dying you what? Shall die, both physically later on, but spiritually at that very moment. And that anyone who comes into this world, and you get in a lot of trouble, I guarantee you go to work tomorrow and start calling people spiritual lepers and see what happens.

Better be carrying, because people will resist you, because they'll understand from that very statement, what are you talking about? I'm not unclean, I'm not diseased. Listen, every person under Adam, in Adam, outside of Christ, is diseased.

Simply what he is, or she is. You could be an old leper, or a young leper. You could be a male leper or a female leper. Are we here as the one to come and to give thanks? Listen, friends. How thankful are you that God has saved you?

If you've never pondered that question, if that doesn't do something inside of you, then I want to ask you to think about whether you really know him. It's got to move us. It's got to affect us. It's got to cause us to come and desire to worship.

Does that mean we're not going to sin? Does that mean we're going to be perfect? But friends, the things that accompany salvation, one of those things is worship. Public, private. Inward, outward. That you and I need to ask ourselves more and more, am I of the nine or am I of the one?

And listen, that doesn't necessarily mean that you're going to have these amazing achievements in your life. You might not. And it might not mean that you'll even demonstrate the greatest fruits possible.

Remember what we're told. That there'll be measures of fruit. Some 30, some 60, some 100. So coming to Christ and the things that accompany salvation, not always standing up and preaching or evangelizing or doing great outward things or being a missionary or being the most faithful church attendee.

I'll tell you what it does mean. It means you'll be a worshiper of Jesus Christ. And it will affect you. It has to. Do not be deceived. God is not mocked. Whatsoever a man sows, he will reap. And if we are really in Christ, it ought to really be that we're so in worship.

Thanksgiving. Can we say in our hearts in any measure what Paul said when he was met on the road by the risen Savior? Remember what he said? Lord, what will you have me to do? Or is it the other way around?

As it is to so many in this world. Lord, here's what I want you to do for me. And in worship it ought to be, Lord, what would you have me to do? Because if we are the true worshipers of God, listen friends, I'll close, but let me say this.

If we are the true worshipers of God, we're going to get ourselves in a bunch of trouble. We're going to offend. We're going to be upset. We're going to be dismayed. We're going to be troubled. We're going to be perplexed.

We're going to be persecuted. We're going to be a lot of things. Is he not worth it? I was telling Brother Steve before, by God's grace, I've been able to preach in many situations for 40 years. I was telling him this morning, I was telling him before, I get so nervous.

You can ask my wife. Because I'll be out in the garage at 2 o 'clock in the morning and get bit up by nuts, by semen nuts. Just thinking about what I'm going to say and should I say it and how should I say it.

And Lord, give me the right spirit and give me the right words. And I wonder sometimes, what am I doing? Losing my mind. I'm not losing my mind. I want to worship him. I want to please him. I want to do what he wants me to do.

Verse 18, When not any found who returned to give glory to God except this foreigner, he said to him, Arise, go your way. Your faith has made you well. So ask us this morning, friends. Are we part of the nine or are we part of the one?

Are we worshipers of God in spirit and in truth? Are we willing, if need be, to give our bodies to be burned? Are we willing, if need be, to worship him in such a way that we're not number one? And we might even lose outward battles.

Never lose him. Is he not worth it all? And so as Jesus said to him in verse 19, Rise and go your way. Your faith has made you well. Would you rather be healed in body only or would you rather be healed in your soul to know him, the power of his resurrection?

I pray that's the case. I pray as we go on in the faith, friends, that worship of him grows brighter and brighter and that we are not deceived into thinking that all we have to do is come this far and go no further.