Topic: THY FAITH HATH MADE THEE WHOLE
Bible Verse: Luke 17 vs 12-19
•Luke17:12 … there met him ten men that were lepers, which stood afar off:
•17:13 And they lifted up their voices, and said, Jesus, MASTER, HAVE MERCY on us.
•17:14 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.
•17:15 And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, and with a loud voice glorified God,
•17:17 And Jesus answering said, Were there not ten cleansed? but where are the nine?
•17:19 And he said unto him, Arise, go thy way:
The Message:
For sure the above is a popular passage about thanksgiving but I want us see why sometimes we genuinely forget to give thanks, only God knows how long those guys have been in that denigrating problem of leprosy and I’m sure other new problem would have ensued, e.g (poverty, isolation)… But they unexpectedly met Jesus and did not miss their visitation .
A cry for mercy is the recognition of the sovereign power of God to change our situation whether we’re qualified for such blessings or not, but note:
1. Despite this great encounter they never got instant healing. Is that not disappointing?
2. The miracle occurred as they went! Along the way, much later.
3. The lepers didn’t receive a perfected miracle! Yes they were healed, but not yet perfectly whole.
4. The only leper who returned to Jesus to give thanks got a perfected miracle.
Applying this to our lives, are we not sometimes disappointed that despite our fasting, prayers, prophecies and all spiritual gymnastics our problems stare at us?
But please be assured that if we have had encounter with the Lord, the master of all, there is a power shift spiritually & manifestation is just a matter of time!
But this is where ungratefulness comes in. We have waited & waited for this miracle and we’re not sure is gonna come. Besides during the period of waiting (for the lepers, as they went) other new issues and challenges might have risen. So the prayer points have increased from just one to many.
And suddenly the answer came to this one but not packaged in the way we expected, besides these other new or older problems are still there, So is it not logical to just wait till all is very well and perfectly fine before celebrating what God has done?
Many people live ungrateful and unhappy lives because of this, even though the lepers were cleansed, they were still ugly, jobless, poor…
Focusing on what you don’t have makes you displeased God. Many mothers live sorrowful lives because of a child not doing well and neglect their husband and other kids and at the end they lose their home.
God wants us to celebrate every of His “work in progress”, when you do, he completes it.
Remember life can never be without challenge (Job 5:7), but faith is thanking God for this, so that he can do that and when you regularly display such faith you please God (Heb 12:1-6).
However you become God’s enemy when you think you have nothing to be grateful for.
(Matthew 25:29)… “but from him that hath not shall be TAKEN AWAY EVEN THAT WHICH HE HATH”.
Don’t claim you don’t have because there’s something you have .
You will not lose your testimony in Jesus name. Rejoice in faith and I decree that the perfection power of God will overshadow your life in Jesus name. (Amen)
