Luke 17:11-19
11 And it came to pass, as he went to Jerusalem, that he passed through the midst of Samaria and Galilee.
12 And as he entered into a certain village, there met him ten men that were lepers, which stood afar off:
13 And they lifted up their voices, and said, Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.
14 And when he saw them, he said unto them, Go shew yourselves unto the priests. And it came to pass, that, as they went, they were cleansed.
15 And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, and with a loud voice glorified God,
16 And fell down on his face at his feet, giving him thanks: and he was a Samaritan.
17 And Jesus answering said, Were there not ten cleansed? but where are the nine?
18 There are not found that returned to give glory to God, save this stranger.
19 And he said unto him, Arise, go thy way: thy faith hath made thee whole.
- God’s mercy should always yield thanksgiving. (an attitude of gratitude)
- ok now that everything’s good I can go back to how I was (repeating failure)
- preacher I praised him last week, I’m good. (neglecting thankfulness takes us further from humbleness and closer to pride)
Psalm 107:1-3
1 O give thanks unto the Lord, for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever.
2 Let the redeemed of the Lord say so, whom he hath redeemed from the hand of the enemy;
3 And gathered them out of the lands, from the east, and from the west, from the north, and from the south.
- God works through Jesus (v. 15).
– We must exercise our faith through Christ, the door to God, the voice to God’s ear, the intercessor by the sacrifice.
John 10:9
9 I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.
- Getting close to God is a matter of trusting him. One who seems far away can really be near.
- The outsider, the foreigner (allogenes), is the most sensitive to Jesus. Those who respond to God may not be the ones we expect to respond.
- God’s blessing can be appreciated or underappreciated.