Jesus - Part 7, The Healer is Worthy of
Praise
2004 : Week 4 | Printer
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Today’s passage reveals God’s power, grace and love
for humanity. It contains lessons for both Christian and non Christian
to learn from:
- The first lesson is that, sadly, people don’t always thank and
glorify God. Even when God has miraculously intervened for them,
people can be ungrateful.
- Second, the text reveals that Jesus is God.
- Third, it shows that God’s love extends beyond the Jewish people.
- Fourth, when we get to heaven, we’ll probably be surprised at
some of the people who will be there with us. That’s the nature
of God’s grace; it’s extended to all sinners who believe in Him.
We’ll go over the first point today, and we’ll discuss
the remaining points in the weeks ahead.
The ten men in this story were suffering from a serious, horrible
and contagious skin disease known as leprosy. Lepers were forced
to live outside of town, to prevent spread of the disease. What
a terrible existence; they were isolated and living as repulsive
outcasts of society. You can imagine the countless prayers they
lifted to God. How many times did they beg Him for healing? How
many times did they cry at night, while they prayed for His intervention?
 God
hears their prayers and comes to heal them in Person; Jesus wipes
away their leprosy. Their healing is miraculous and stunning, but,
sadly, only one man glorifies and thanks God for the healing. Nine
of the ten men leave without a prayer or praise for God and don’t
return. I’m sure they ran home to hug and kiss their families and
friends. While we can excuse them for being excited and wanting
to see their loved ones again, they should have first directed joy
and praise to God. He had just set them free from a horrible existence,
but only one thinks that God deserves praise for this.
Do we, as Christians, act like those lepers at times? Do we forget
the great miracle God has performed in our lives? Sin is far worse
then leprosy. It scars our body, mind and soul and condemns us to
hell, yet God took our sins and forgave them on the cross. There
has never been a greater display of love and there never will be,
but are we like the lepers in regards to this? Have we forgotten
this great miracle of healing?
No doubt, there are difficulties in your life, but there is also
much to be grateful for. If you, like the 9 lepers, have been walking
away from God without looking back, stop, turn around, and praise
Him for the great work He has done in your life. Rejoice for your
sin is forgiven if you’ve accepted Jesus as Lord and Savior. You
will spend eternity with Him.
Many Christians understand the gift of forgiveness God has given
them; they are usually the most joyous ones. They understand the
love God has poured out on them, and they are filled with joy because
of that love. They spread that good news and joy to those they meet.
They understand the meaning of Psalm 92,
1 It is good to give thanks to the Lord and to sing
praises to Your name, O most High;
2 To declare Your lovingkindness in the morning and Your
faithfulness by night,
- Psalm 92:1-2 (NASB)
We pray that we would be a thankful people. That daily,
we would have a song in our hearts, a prayer on our lips, love in
our soul and wholeheartedly worship God. Be like the one healed
man who returned to God and fell at His feet thanking Him. That
man displayed the thankful heart the Lord loves. Like him, come
back and praise God; Jesus, the Healer, is worthy of this.
May the grace and peace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you today
and always…
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Luke 17: 12-19
12 As He entered a village, ten leprous men who stood at a distance met Him;
13 And they raised their voices, saying, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!”
14 When He saw them, He said to them, “Go and show yourselves to the priests.” And as they were going, they were cleansed.
15 Now one of them, when he saw that he had been healed, turned back, glorifying God with a loud voice,
16 And he fell on his face at His feet, giving thanks to Him. And he was a Samaritan.
17 Then Jesus answered and said, “Were there not ten cleansed? But the nine-where are they?
18 “Was no one found who returned to give glory to God, except this foreigner?”
19 And He said to him, "Stand up and go; your faith has made you well."
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