Ten Lepers Cleansed

The Reverend James E. Anderson, pastor of Overflow Outreach Ministries, encourages listeners to give thanks to the Lord in all circumstances. He shares the story of the 10 lepers who were cleansed, but only one returned to thank Jesus. He emphasizes the importance of crying out to the Lord for mercy and taking action in our situations. The Reverend urges believers to publicly acknowledge Jesus and glorify God with their lives. He reminds listeners that faith without works is dead and encourages them to have faith and trust that God will work things out. He concludes by emphasizing the need to walk in the light, confess sins, and continue to glorify God in all aspects of life. Praise the Lord. You've tapped into the encouragement corner once again. This is the Reverend James E. Anderson, the pastor of Overflow Outreach Ministries. Listen, wake up and rejoice. This is the day that the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad therein. I have a wonderful word for you on today. We're going to be coming from Luke chapter 17, verses 11 through 19. Amen. If I had to put a topic on this, it would be called 10 lepers was cleansed. But watch this. Only one came back and told the Lord, thank you. Amen. Be one of the ones that tell the Lord, thank you. Thank you in all things, all circumstances, all situations, in all things, give the Lord thanks. Real quickly, let's go into prayer before we go into the word of God. Father, in the name of Jesus, Lord, we just thank you for waking us up this morning and starting us on our way. Oh Lord, you didn't have to do it, but you did. And Lord, because of that, we say thank you. Lord, we just ask you to be with us today as we go to work, be with our kids today, be with our grandchildren today. Everybody that is connected to us on our route as Jesus was on his route to Calvary. So Lord, we just ask you to put it in our minds to continue to push and to serve you. Lord, we just thank you for the confidence, but without it, we can't do anything, Lord. So we just ask you to give us doing this power to do the things that you have commissioned us to do as we continue to walk in our purpose. Oh God, Lord, we just ask you to forgive us for all our sins and cleanse us of all unrighteousness, Father. The Lord will be careful to praise you, to magnify your holy name. It's in Jesus' name we submit this prayer. Amen. Amen. Once again, you've tapped into the encouragement corner. I'm here to encourage you in the things of God. Amen. And so 10 lepers was cleansed, but only one came back and told the Lord, thank you. So as we read Luke chapter 17 verses 11 through 19, and it reads while he was on the way to Jerusalem, he was passing between Samaria and Galilee. And the Bible says, as he entered a village, 10 leprous men who stood at a distance to meet him. And they raised their voices saying, Jesus master, have mercy on us. It's important. It is very important to cry out to the Lord every day and ask him to have mercy. We need mercy on our children. We need mercy on the job. We need mercy. Just with this nation in general, we need mercy because the nation has turned their back on the Lord. Amen. And so as we stand at a distance and we watch the affairs of this world from a distance, we have to cry out to the Lord and ask God to have mercy on us collectively. And the Bible says, when he saw them, he said to them, go and show yourself to the priest. And as they were going, they were cleansed. Now it's interesting to note, if you know anything about biblical history, when something of this magnitude happens, you know, the Jews had to go to the priest and get inspected. But as they were going to see the priest, the Bible says they were cleansed. And that lets me know that faith without works is dead. And so you may be hoping for something, for God to perform a miracle in your life. But I want to ask you today, what are you doing about your situation? Hallelujah. Are you just sitting there having a pity party? Are you sitting there complaining to someone about your past? Or are you actively seeking God, respectfully kneeling to him and asking him to show you what your next move would be? Amen. And then it reads, now one of them, when he saw that he had been healed, one of them seen it, all of them was healed. But only one turned back, glorifying God with a loud voice. Now listen, when you pray to God in this season, and God worked those things out in your life, be sure to double back and double down and glorify God with your life. Don't just glorify God with your speech, because it's never in our words, it's always in our actions. Do a 180 and repent and give your life totally to the Lord. It's not hard to live for God if your mind is made up. Now, you're going to be prosecuted for being a believer that's in this way. But Jesus never said it would get easy, he just said it would get better. Hallelujah. And so he turned back, he glorified God with a loud voice, and he fell on his face at the feet of Jesus. Are we kneeling before God every day? Are we waking up every day to pray? Are we fasting? Watch this, are we being an example of the love of God? And so the scripture says he fell on his feet, giving thanks to him, and he was a Samaritan, and you know how the Jewish people felt about the Samaritans. A mixed breed of people, just like some of us. Some of us have people that was raised in church, but some of us didn't go to church like that, and so we're kind of like a mixed breed of faith walkers. And the people of the household of faith, they look down on others because they didn't go to church all the time, or they don't have a father or a mother that's an evangelist or a pastor, but for some reason those who stand afar off, yes, they are looked down upon because they don't know every scripture in the Bible, but watch this, they have faith. And the Bible says that this Samaritan man, he fell on his face at the feet of Jesus. That should be us every day. We need to publicly acknowledge Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. Then Jesus said, were there not ten clans? But the nine, where are they? That's indicative of the fact that no matter what you do for some people, they're not going to appreciate you. They're not going to celebrate you, but I'm here to let you know, go where you're celebrated at, don't go where you're tolerated at. That's another sermon all by itself. And so the Bible says only one came back. I'm here to let you know, be the one that comes back and tell the Lord, thank you and glorify God in all that you do. But notice what Jesus says, was no one found who returned to give glory to God except this foreigner. Some of you guys, amen, are foreign to the things of God. Your excuse may be, I would go to church, but the pastor, he takes all the money. The people are fake. And why do I have to dress up? Well, guess what? People will label you a foreigner because you're saying these things, but don't worry about it. Continue to give God the glory by chasing after him in everything. In everything that you do, God is to get the glory out of it. And the Bible says, and he said to him, stand up and go, watch this. Your faith has made you well. In other words, literally your faith has saved you. Listen, without faith, it is impossible to please the almighty God. God is looking for your faith today. How much faith do you have? Honestly, do you have faith in the Lord enough to know and understand that this too shall pass? Romans 10 and eight says, but what does it say? The word is near you in your mouth and in your heart. That is the word of faith, which we are preaching. Watch this. Romans 10 and nine, this may be the most familiar scripture in all the New Testament, that if you confess with your mouth, Jesus is Lord. This is what these leperous men did. They confessed with their mouth that Jesus is Lord. But watch this. It's not enough to just confess him. We have to live it. And that's true faith. Living your life out for the Lord. That if you confess with your mouth, Jesus as Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart, a person believes resulting in righteousness with the mouth he confessing, watch this, resulting in salvation. Matters of the heart, matters of the heart is where your belief system is at. And it puts you in right standing with God. But when you confess what's in your heart, it results in salvation for the scripture says, whoever believes in him will not be disappointed. Now you may be facing disappointment today, but if you keep crying out to God, reaching out to God, no matter what the situation is, you may be battling drug addiction, alcoholism. You may have a sex addiction on your life. You may even be lonely. Keep reaching out to God. And I promise you, according to the scripture, God is going to fix that situation. Amen. First John chapter one says, this is the message we have heard from him and announced to you that God is light and in him, there is no darkness at all. So if we say that we have fellowship with him and yet walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light, pay attention. If we walk in the light, if we walk in the light and as he himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another and the blood of Jesus, his son cleanses us from all unrighteousness. It cleanses us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us. Watch this. All of us are sinful by nature. We're spiritually dead, disconnected from the Lord. But watch this. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. That's the thing. Even if you're saved, we have to always confess our sins to the Lord. All of us are sinners saved by grace. It is by grace, through faith, praise the Lord, that we are saved. If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar and his word is not in us and we know God is not a liar. There is no cathing in God. And so I want to keep God in me by glorifying God in all that I do, in or say. Amen. This is the encouragement corner. I am the Reverend James E. Anderson, the pastor of Overflow Outreach Ministries. We are reaching out to everybody to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ. Listen, God is on your side. God is working things out in your life, but you have to keep reaching out to him like the leper is man. But watch this. After God answer your prayers, make sure you double back and double down and glorify God for the rest of your life. Listen, continue to walk by faith and not by sight. And God has a spiritual and a natural blessing with your name on it. I love you all in Jesus name. Amen.