Weekly Message/Devotion
October 13, 2019
Luke 17:11-19
Did You Go Back and Thank Him?
Sermon Prayer: “Heavenly Father, I stand before Your people, to deliver Your message. Though the words are mine and I prepared this message, I pray that this message is Your message in its entirety. I pray your blessing and anointing on its delivery, its reception and most of all its application in our lives.” Amen
The Reading
Now on his way to Jerusalem, Jesus traveled along the border between Samaria and Galilee. As he was going into a village, ten men who had leprosy met him. They stood at a distance and called out in a loud voice, “Jesus, Master, have pity on us!”
When he saw them, he said, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went, they were cleansed.
One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice. He threw himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him—and he was a Samaritan.
Jesus asked, “Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? Has no one returned to give praise to God except this
foreigner?” Then he said to him, “Rise and go; your faith has made you well.”
Dr. Luke is sharing this event in the travels of Jesus. Here, Jesus is making His way to Jerusalem and has just arrived at the border between Samaria and Galilee. There He is greeted by ten men who were stricken with one of the most dreadful diseases of that time – leprosy.
We understand that those stricken with leprosy, were automatically shunned and lived as outcasts from villages and tribes, due to the fact that the disease is highly contagious.
That makes it understandable that they stood at a distance to call out to Jesus: “Jesus, Master, have pity on us!”
Jesus immediately recognizes their plight and instructs them to go and present themselves to the priests. And just like that, as they turned and went as they were instructed, they were cleansed.
One among the ten realized that he was healed and returned to Jesus, praising Him in a loud voice. He humbled himself in a very demonstrative way by throwing himself at the feet of Jesus thanking Him. Here Luke tells us that this fellow was a Samaritan.
We read and hear references to the Samaritans frequently in the New Testament.
Rather than add little tidbits of information, please allow me to quote a very good overview from that wonderful World Wide Web:
https://www.gotquestions.org/Samaritans.html
Question: "Who were the Samaritans?"
Answer: The Samaritans occupied the country formerly belonging to the tribe of Ephraim and the half-tribe of Manasseh. The capital of the country was Samaria, formerly a large and splendid city. When the ten tribes were carried away into captivity to Assyria, the king of Assyria sent people from Cutha, Ava, Hamath, and Sepharvaim to inhabit Samaria (2 Kings 17:24; Ezra 4:2-11). These foreigners intermarried with the Israelite population that was still in and around Samaria. These “Samaritans” at first worshipped the idols of their own nations, but being troubled with lions, they supposed it was because they had not honored the God of that territory. A Jewish priest was therefore sent to them from Assyria to instruct them in the Jewish religion. They were instructed from the books of Moses, but still retained many of their idolatrous customs. The Samaritans embraced a religion that was a mixture of Judaism and idolatry (2 Kings 17:26-28). Because the Israelite inhabitants of Samaria had intermarried with the foreigners and adopted their idolatrous religion, Samaritans were generally considered “half-breeds” and were universally despised by the Jews.
Additional grounds for animosity between the Israelites and Samaritans were the following:
1. The Jews, after their return from Babylon, began rebuilding their temple. While Nehemiah was engaged in building the walls of Jerusalem, the Samaritans vigorously attempted to halt the undertaking (Nehemiah 6:1-14).
2. The Samaritans built a temple for themselves on “Mount Gerizim,” which the Samaritans insisted was designated by Moses as the place where the nation should worship. Sanballat, the leader of the Samaritans, established his son-in-law, Manasses, as high priest. The idolatrous religion of the Samaritans thus became perpetuated.
3. Samaria became a place of refuge for all the outlaws of Judea (Joshua 20:6-7; 21:21). The Samaritans willingly received Jewish criminals and refugees from justice. The violators of the Jewish laws, and those who had been excommunicated, found safety for themselves in Samaria, greatly increasing the hatred which existed between the two nations.
4. The Samaritans received only the five books of Moses and rejected the writings of the prophets and all the Jewish traditions.
From these causes arose an irreconcilable difference between them, so that the Jews regarded the Samaritans as the worst of the human race (John 8:48) and had no dealings with them (John 4:9). In spite of the hatred between the Jews and the Samaritans, Jesus broke down the barriers between them, preaching the gospel of peace to the Samaritans (John 4:6-26), and the apostles later followed His example (Acts 8:25).
Understanding that Samaritans were looked down upon by the Jewish peoples, there is a major point to be made here. As in the case of the “Samaritan woman at the well”, Jesus extended his love and mercy without hesitation and without any sense of degradation. Can you and I say that we extend the love and mercy of our Lord Jesus to all, without regard to who they are or where they came from?
Yep! You guessed it – Here at CFF, we strive to LOVE and SERVE GOD by loving and serving each other – EVERY each other.
Can we say that there are times when that might be a struggle? Yes, I think we can. Whatever the struggle, it is what we are called to do.
Let us now go forth to LOVE and SERVE God by loving and serving each other – ALL OTHERS!
In the reading, Jesus asked this Samaritan man, “Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? Has no one returned to give praise to God except this foreigner?”
Underline in your subconscious: “Giving Praise/Thanksgiving is equal in our Christian maturation process with our prayers and entreaties. How is it that we have little reluctance to go to God when we NEED Him, and for whatever reasons, neglect that second part of the equation: giving SPECIFIC Praise and Thanksgiving for His response (even when the response is not what we expected or wanted)?
I am reminded of a century old story of a hot air balloonist, who was attempting to fly over the Alps. As an experienced balloonist, he mapped out a route for his travel to a destination. Unexpectantly, the winds blew him completely off course landing him in a completely different village. The following day, he mapped out a new direction for a new destination only to have the exact same thing happen, landing him in another unexpected and unplanned locale. When interviewed, his response was: “I never knew this place even existed. Had I known; I would have planned to land here.”
I fear that unlike the balloonist, when things don’t go our way, our attitude misses the potential blessings that may even outweigh our original plans. Of course, sometimes when things go awry, we may actually suffer pain and/or loss.
A good time to remember:
“Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” Romans 8:28
We all have bad days and we all have problems in our lives. Some petty and some quite devastating. While citing bible verses may temper our responses to problems, they are not the solutions. Words are not THE answer but rather the GUIDE the DIRECTION to the answer.
What is that answer? YES – The answer is GOD ALMIGHTY. He has the power, the ability, the love, the mercy to see you through your problems. The journey through your problems may not be comfortable, certainly may not be what you expect or want BUT if you put your faith and trust in HIM, His JOURNEY will lead you where He has great plans for you.
Do you trust Him? Do you? ? In ALL things
When Christopher Columbus sailed to the Americas, do you think that journey was a piece of cake? Do you think it was worth it?
When Paul journeyed to Europe across the sea and was shipwrecked, later imprisoned and tortured, do you think it was worth it?
When Jesus rode a donkey to Jerusalem on that fateful journey that led Him to the cross, do you think it was worth it? Do you think YOU are worth it, for Jesus to die on that cross for YOU? He did you know.
Like that Samaritan leper in our reading, we should make it a very regular habit to humble ourselves at the feet of Jesus and express our love, praise and thanksgiving.
Shall we? Let us pray:
“Almighty God, we cannot fully express our thankfulness for the sacrifice of Your Son, Jesus on that cross for us. We rejoice in His resurrection and our fellowship with Him and with You. Thank you for saving us and thank you for leading us in the journeys of life that lead us where You will have us go.” Amen
I humbly and sincerely ask for your prayers!
https://churchleaders.com/outreach-missions/outreach-missions-articles/311609-how-to-pray-for-your-pastor-ronnie-floyd.html?utm_source=outreach-cl-daily-nl&utm_medium=email&utm_content=read-more&utm_campaign=cl-daily-nl&maropost_id=&mpweb=256-7370272[HG1]
Note: It is the practice of this church to preach straight from the bible. We follow the lectionary assigned readings from which the sermon/messages are derived.
