Then there was One! Giving Thanks

Intro: And there was one! How many of us has cried out to the Lord for help? Be it for financial reasons, health, family, deliverance salvation, circumstances , issues of life we found ourselves in? Be it of our own making, or things out of our control.

The only real answer to our condition is faith and obedience to the Lord Jesus Christ. Healing and restoration is available to all.

Proverbs 3:5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding;

I come by to declare to all that the Lord is willing and able to reach you where you are, don't despair, don't give up, give out our give in have faith in Jesus Christ!

SCRIP: Luke 17:11-19 Ten Lepers Cleansed 11 Now it happened as He went to Jerusalem that He passed through the midst of Samaria and Galilee. 12 Then as He entered a certain village, there met Him ten men who were lepers, who stood afar off. 13 And they lifted up their voices and said, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!”

14 So when He saw them, He said to them, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.” And so it was that as they went, they were cleansed.

15 And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, returned, 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 So Jesus answered and said, “Were there not ten cleansed? But where are the nine? 18 Were there not any found who returned to give glory to God except this foreigner?” 19 And He said to him, “Arise, go your way. Your faith has made you well.”

He Journey between Samaria and Galilee Luke 17:11 As Jesus journey between the rejected, the Samarians, and Galilee His chosen people. The Lord was demonstrating that those called the outcast of society have access to the mercies of God. People that the Jews considered half-breeds, people unworthy of Gods blessings and their friendship. The Lord demonstrates that his mercy is available to all.

No Respecter of Persons: Deuteronomy 10:17 For the LORD your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great, mighty, and awesome God, showing no partiality and accepting no bribe.

Acts 10:34-35 When meeting with the gentile centurion Cornelius, the apostle Peter explained what God had revealed to him: "Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons: but in every nation he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with him". The New King James Version translates "God is no respecter of persons" as "God shows no partiality."

2 Peter 3:9 Many of Peter's fellow Jews thought that God loved them more than the gentiles, but Peter came to understand that God did not show favoritism. God wants people of all nations to repent and be saved.

The apostle Paul explained that the time order of God's plan was not a sign of injustice or favoritism. "There will be trouble and calamity for everyone who keeps on sinning, for the Jew first and also for the Gentile. But there will be glory and honor and peace from God for all who do good, for the Jew first and also for the Gentile. For God does not show favoritism" (Romans 2:9-11, NLT).

Therefore, God shows no favoritism or partiality, and the Bible teaches us that we should not either. James 2:9 says that "respect to persons" or "partiality" is sin. Therefore, God shows no favoritism or partiality, and the Bible teaches us that we should not either.

What it means:

Our heavenly Father, will not be showing any type of partiality or favoritism to anyone.

What this means is that every single man and woman and child He has ever created is on an equal footing with Him.

It means that the Father has an equal and unconditional love for you and I

It means we will all have an equal chance to be able enter into God’s perfect plan and destiny for our lives.

He Healed them from a Distance Luke 17:12 You are never to far from the Lord that you cannot be reached! His grace knows no limits.

The lepers stood afar off Numbers 5:1-2 God commanded the children of Israel that they put out of the camp every leper, everyone who has a discharge, and whoever becomes defiled by a corpse.

In like manner sin will separate us from the Lord, sin will cause us to be excluded from the family of God, unable to sit down at the marriage feast of the lamb.

Isaiah 59:2 “But your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden His face from you so that He does not hear.”

These men knew their condition, the law said separate them, society said cast them out

We know our condition too, the devil uses our knowing to convince us that we are not worthy of Gods forgiveness, but I come by to remind you

You are never to far from the Lord that you cannot be reached! His grace knows no limits.

Romans 3:23 For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

Romans 5:8 But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Hebrews 7:25 Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them.

Misery Like Company Even though Jews and Samarians normally did not socialize together, their condition brought them together. They were all outcast, so what difference does birth make, when you are experiencing a living death! They had hope because Jesus was there!

Even in their condition, they were able to recognize Jesus.

Luke 17:13-14 And they lifted up their voices and said, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!” 14 So when He saw them, He said to them, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.” And so it was that as they went, they were cleansed

Their healing immediately followed their demonstration of faith and obedience.

When you are in the presence of the Lord, ask what you will

Hebrews 4:16 Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.

John 14:13 And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.

1 John 5:14 And this is the confidence that we have before Him: If we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.

John 14:13 And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.

Then there was One Luke 17:15-16 And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, returned, 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.

Conclusion: Don't let this verse escape you, look clearly at it. It was the Samaritan, the outcast, the one that even without his leprosy was shun by the rest of Jewish society. The one that everybody else looked down upon. Of the ten he was the only one that came to give thanks to the Lord.

He was the one that came with praise on his lips, and worship in his heart. Don't let what others may say about you, keep you from giving thanks to the Lord! See, the Lord did for him what no other could do, not even the priest.

Jesus has done the same for every believer in Christ, He has given us something no other could have; Muhammad couldn't do it, Confucius couldn't do it, Science can't do it.

Salvation and healing, in the Spirit and the body has been once-and-for-all purchased and provided by the death of our Lord Jesus Christ, and this great salvation is available for all who will receive it by faith.

What we need to do is to come with empty hands and receive the wonderful provision that God has made for us to be saved for all eternity.