Only one? “"Where Are The Others?"
Ill. One day a woman was rushing home from a doctor’s appointment.
The doctor had been somewhat delayed at the hospital, and the lab work took a little longer than usual,
so by the time she left the clinic she was running quite a bit behind schedule.
She still had to pick up her prescription, pick up the children from the baby-sitter, and get home and make supper,
all in time to make it to the prayer meeting at her church that evening.
As she began to circle the busy Wal-Mart parking lot, looking for a space, the windows of heaven were opened,
as it says in Genesis, and a downpour began.
While she wasn’t usually the type to bother God with small problems, she began to pray as she turned down the row closest to the front door.
"Lord, you know what kind of a day I’ve had, and there’s still an awful lot to do.
Could you please grant me a parking space right away, oh, and close to the building so I don’t get soaked."
The words weren’t even completely out of her mouth when she saw the backup lights of a car come on at the end of the row.
It was the best space in the whole parking lot, right next to the handicap spots and straight out from the front door.
She made straight for it and as she pulled in, she said, "never mind God, something just opened up."
Isn’t that the way it seems to be now a days,
You know, “the God I need you right up until, oh never mind I can take it from here, mentality.”
Although we laugh at the illustration, the word thank you most of the time, seems to never be said enough publicly or privately,
to the one we call on so frequently to help us in our time of need.
Luke 17:11-19 MSG.
11-13. It happened that as he made his way toward Jerusalem, he crossed over the border between Samaria and Galilee. As he entered a village, ten men, all lepers, met him. They kept their distance but raised their voices, calling out, "Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!"
14-16. Taking a good look at them, he said, "Go, show yourselves to the priests."
They went, and while still on their way, became clean. One of them, when he realized that he was healed, turned around and came back, shouting his gratitude, glorifying God. He kneeled at Jesus’ feet, so grateful. He couldn’t thank him enough—and he was a Samaritan.
17-19. Jesus said, "Were not ten healed? Where are the nine? Can none be found to come back and give glory to God except this outsider?" Then he said to him, "Get up. On your way. Your faith has healed and saved you."
TBS. (the bible says) As he entered a village, ten men, all lepers, met him. They kept their distance but raised their voices, calling out, "Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!"
There are a lot of people even today, including Christians that have the same philosophy,
They have needs that need to be met and their calling out for mercy, but its always from a distance.
The good news is that God is accessible to you, no matter where you are.
Like the lepers, He will help you where you are, all you have to do is come as you are to Him!
So many people say that they will come to church and the things of God,
After they do this and give up that, when they stop living in sin, or when they change the way their living.
If people wait until all that happens, they may never see it happen.
God can do, what no one else can do on their own, Amen?
TBS. Taking a good look at them, he said, "Go, show yourselves to the priests."
They went, and while still on their way, became clean.
*Did they confess their sin, before they went and received their healing?
*Did they clean up, or change their lifestyle before they went and received their healing?
There need wasn’t dependent on their capabilities, They weren’t responsible for the results, God was!
They weren’t sin conscious first, they were Jesus conscious, they were aware of Jesus and His capabilities, not theirs.
TBS. Taking a good look at them, he said, "Go, show yourselves to the priests."
Jesus knew that He had their attention and He told them, “Go”
He didn’t say, never have I seen such great faith, in all of Israel like yours,
He didn’t say, your faith has made you whole, be on your way!
He said Go and Show yourselves to the Priests. The priests according to the law, we’re the only ones who could pronounce them clean, so Jesus told this in keeping with the law.
Can you imagine the questions they asked when the lepers came to them healed!
TBS. faith without works is dead, He wanted them to step out and exercise their faith in what He was capable of doing for them.
And with every step they took, they were one step closer to the miracle they were so desperate for.
God still asks, the same of us today, He hasn’t changed.
He says, trust me!
*Don’t look at your circumstance,
*Don’t look at your condition,
*Don’t look at your doctors prognoses,
*Don’t look at your test results
At best, all those things are just circumstantial evidence the accuser is trying to use against you!
Don’t look at anything else but God and what His word says about you, because He has the final word in every situation!
If you have a need, look to His Word! Praise God, even Jesus reminded the devil of the power of the word, He said it is written!
His word says, you shall live and not die, Ps. 118:17 NKJ.
Isaiah 45:2 KJ says,
I will go before thee, and make the crooked places straight
Hebrews 11, is caulked full of examples of the hero’s faith in the bible and what can be accomplished,
Amazing things, can and will happen, “When you believe what Gods word declares to you”
TBS. the lepers, they went to show themselves to the Priests, and while still on their way, became clean.
It doesn’t say, whether it was their 1st step, or their 100th step they received their healing,
But I’m sure with every step they took, they were expecting to receive a miracle.
Gods timing is always perfect, sometimes its not easy to understand His perfection!
The word doesn’t say we have to understand it, but only accept it and believe He will complete it, in our lives!
Every day we exercise our faith and believe, is one day closer, to Victory and our miracle, in Jesus Name and all of our needs being met!
Thank you Jesus, for your faithfulness to us, you are so worthy of our praise!
All 10 of the lepers were made whole that day, it was a mass miracle, every one of them healed head to toe, just like they had never had anything at all wrong with them!
And we have no reason to believe that the priest did not pronounce everyone of them clean, each one able to return back into society.
But TBS. One of them, when he realized that he was healed, turned around and came back, shouting his gratitude, (praising) glorifying God. He kneeled at Jesus’ feet, so grateful. He couldn’t thank him enough—and he was a Samaritan.
Jesus said, "Were not ten healed? Where are the nine? Can none be found to come back and give glory to God except this outsider?" Then he said to him, "Get up. On your way. Your faith has healed and saved you."
Ten people that day received the benefits of God’s grace!
Ten people were touched by the love of
God, they were made, both legally and ceremonially clean,
But nine of them kept on going and never even looked back, these people seemed to puzzle Jesus.
"Where are the nine?" He asked.
It seems, as if they totally forgot, who was responsible for the healing they had just experienced in their bodies.
Like the lady with the parking space need, “oh never mind” I’m feeling so much better, I won’t be needing You now.
They never thought of giving thanks to God for what had just happened,
Why didn’t they return to give thanks, or even just a “thank you Jesus’’ thought as they kept going,
After all He would have known, but the bible didn’t even mention that kind of gratitude being offered up.
Ingratitude is a very common, it runs rampant.
We know from life experience, the feeling we get, when we really help someone and they don’t even say thank you, that’s really a grace moment isn’t it?
Aren’t you glad for the grace God extends to us, even when we don’t deserve it,
even when He knows how were going to act after we receive it, He still continually offers it, because He loves us!
This Samaritan leper, choose to close the circle of grace, the day of his cleansing.
Instead of focusing on his illness and what he had done to overcome its irreversible effects,
He choose to acknowledge and worship the God who had set him free.
And that act of gratitude completed his healing. As he worshiped he was made whole.
The rest were made whole by the power of Christ, in compassion to their distress, and in answer to their prayer; but he was made whole by his faith, by which Christ saw him distinguished from the rest.
Hebrews 11:6 NKJ
6. But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.
Ephesians 1:3-6 MSG.
3-6. How blessed is God! And what a blessing he is! He’s the Father of our Master, Jesus Christ, and takes us to the high places of blessing in him. Long before he laid down earth’s foundations, he had us in mind, had settled on us as the focus of his love, to be made whole and holy by his love. Long, long ago he decided to adopt us into his family through Jesus Christ. (What pleasure he took in planning this!) He wanted us to enter into the celebration of his lavish gift-giving by the hand of his beloved Son.
That day, even though he was considered to be an outsider, he became part of the family of God.
His faith and his effort to seek out Jesus, resulted in him receiving a lifetime of blessing,
Scripture referenced as to being made whole, which in the original Hebrew, is the word sozo.
Which means all encompassing, God adopted him that day, he became entitled to every benefit that was provided by Jesus at the cross.
He entered the realm of “kingdom possibilities” that day, somewhere the other nine would never go.
He entered into the celebration of his lavish gift-giving by the hand of his beloved Son, Jesus.
It was no accident Jesus passed by, where the lepers were that day,
He knew where they were and He knew their need.
They didn’t get a lot of news back in those days, because of their condition, but even they had heard of the saving power and miracles Jesus was capable of!
And how did they know?
Because someone gave God praise and was willing to thank Jesus for what He had done for them.
They were willing to shout it from the rooftops, as to what Jesus had done for them.
With no means of mass communication, the word got out, not only to the elite, but to everyone and anyone.
So much so, even this band of lepers knew they could be helped, if they could just get to Him.
All because someone told them!
He can’t help the helpless, the homeless and the hurting, if they don’t know about Him.
Romans 10:14-17 MSG.
14-17. But how can people call for help if they don’t know who to trust? And how can they know who to trust if they haven’t heard of the One who can be trusted? And how can they hear if nobody tells them? And how is anyone going to tell them, unless someone is sent to do it?
Its up to us to tell them, its up to you to tell them.
The man who came back and gave thanks, life was changed forever by Jesus!
Have you shared the life changing message of the gospel with anyone lately.
These are the last days, think of the circle of people you know,
Are You telling them about Jesus, you could be the only thing standing between them and eternal damnation.
Jesus thought it was a pretty important thing to do, so much so, it was the last thing He instructed us to do,
Make a life changing difference in some ones life today, tell someone about Jesus.
