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Healing School #17 | The Ten Lepers, Part One | Nancy Dufresne | Jesus the Healer Broadcast
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Hi, I'm Nancy Dufresne. Welcome to our podcast channel. We know you'll be blessed by today's message.
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Welcome to today's broadcast of Jesus the Healer. We're so glad you've joined us, and it's been our privilege to be teaching what we're calling healing School. We're taking all of the healings that happened under Jesus earthly ministry, and we're studying them line by line by line because we find out if we do what they did, we get what they got. And so we've been studying these in detail. We invite you, get hold of your Bible, get a notebook, get pen and pencil, follow along with us. And while you're listening and while you're studying with us, expect something. Release your faith in the word of God that you hear to receive your own needs met, because the Word will answer every single need in your life. Today we're going to start with Luke chapter 17. And we're going to start reading in verse 11. And I'm going to read the entire passage, then I'll go back and we'll take it verse by verse and look at it in detail. Luke chapter 17. And verse 11 reads, and it came to pass as Jesus went to Jerusalem, that he passed through the midst of Samaria in Galilee. And as he entered into a certain village, there met him 10 men that were lepers which stood afar off. And they lifted up their voices and said, jesus, master, have mercy on us. And when he saw them, he said unto them, go, show yourselves unto the priests. And it came to pass that as they went, they were cleansed. And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back and with a loud voice glorified God and fell down on his face at Jesus feet, giving him thanks. And he was a Samaritan. And Jesus answering said, were there not 10 cleansed? But where are the nine? There are not found that returned to give glory to God. So save this stranger. And Jesus said unto him, arise, go thy way. Thy faith has made thee whole. Now I want us to go back and let's look at verse 11. It reads, and it came to pass as Jesus went through, went to Jerusalem, that he passed through the midst of Samaria and Galilee. Now, what we need to understand is about this region. Samaria was a region that devout Jews would not mingle with. This was considered a Gentile region, that Jews that had married Gentiles, they had married people that had no covenant with God. And so because of that, the devout Jew would not have any really association with Those who lived in Samaria. So we see something. Jesus walked right through that region that religious traditions did not dictate where Jesus went. He went right in the midst of regions that others said were not fit to go through. And so Jesus went anywhere that there were hurting people. He went anywhere that there were hungry people. His life he made available to all humanity, not just certain ones, but every man has the opportunity to receive his life. When you read this, that he went through the midst of Samaria, he didn't just go around the border, he didn't just stay on the outskirts so that no one would say something negative about that. He went right through the middle of where really tradition said, don't have anything to do with this group of people. And when you see something like this, I'm reminded about a very personal story. So many of you that are sitting here would know the story, but I love to be able to rehearse it to the viewing audience because it's such a blessing. My husband was raised in a home of mental illness and alcoholism. He was raised a Catholic. He was not born again. He had never received Jesus in his heart. He didn't know anything about it. And so there came a time through this very difficult home life that he grew up in that his own life was going the same direction. And so as a 25 year old, he was hungering for God. He was reaching to know, is this all that my life is going to be? He saw the example of a life off course. He did not want his life off course. And so he had. He was a construction worker at the time, and a fellow coworker invited him for over a year to church. But Ed didn't recognize that as his rescue, so he declined to go. But he went to his Catholic priest one day and he was sharing with him, my life is falling apart. I'm becoming an alcoholic, I can tell it. And I'm going the same path as my parents. And so he was looking, what can you say to me that's going to change my life and get it on course? Well, the man didn't know what to say to Ed to help him. And so Ed walked out of that meeting dejected. And he ended up just going to the place he had been going all along. He went down the street to the bar and he went and sat down on the bar stool. And before he even started to drink, a voice came to him and said, you're going to go all over the world and preach the gospel. He didn't know what that word meant to Preach the gospel to go all over the world. But I will say this. That was Jesus walking through my husband's right in the midst of Samaria. That was his Samaria location. And Jesus showed up and gave him a word about his future. He was basically saying, I have a plan for your life. And I want you to know those of you watching, God has a plan for your life. Don't accept the life that you've seen other people live if it's off course. On course is living the plan of God. And so I love this story that Jesus walked through the midst of Samaria. He walked through the midst of the place of people who had no covenant, who knew nothing about God. And he offered them something that they did not even know was available. That was my husband. So God spoke to him on that bar. He heard the voice audibly and said, you're going to go all over the world and preach the gospel. He did not know what that meant, but he recognized there was hope for his future. So that same co worker again invited him to church. This time he accepted. So the very next Sunday after that experience, sitting on a bar stool, he attends church. He hears the salvation message. How to be born again. Well, how are you born again? Well, the word says, whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved. It's that simple. You call on the name of the Lord Jesus. I call on you to be my Savior. I receive you as my Savior. It's just that simple. That's what he did that day. And he was born again. And that night he began serving in the local church in the ministry of Helps. And after several years of serving in his local church, God called him to the full time ministry. And he was in the ministry almost 50 years before he went to heaven. But that is really the testimony of a man who was in Samaria, if we could say it that way. And Jesus walked right through the midst. And so thank God that Jesus loves everybody, no matter where they're from, no matter their history, no matter their social standing, no matter their status in life, no matter their education or the lack of education, no matter what kind of home they were raised in. I tell you what, Jesus offers us his life. And so it blesses me when I read that Jesus walked through the midst of Samaria. There's so much connected to that. Amen. He was letting this society of outcasts know he was available to them. He made himself available to this region that was rejected by the rest of society. No matter how bad their lives have Been. That's such an important statement. No matter how bad you've lived, how hard you've lived, Jesus didn't even care. He just went walking through the midst and made himself available. And I say this, he'll never force Himself on anyone, but he has made Himself available to everyone. So if they'll receive what he offers, they can come out of that Samaria dwelling place and they can. They can occupy the plan of God for their life. So I love verse 11. It looks like it's just a information verse, but it holds so much for us. Then as we look at verse 12, it says, as he entered into a certain village, there met him 10 men that were lepers, which stood afar off. So we have to understand, if someone was a leper, it was the priest who would determine if they had leprosy. And if they did, then the priest would then declare that they were to be an outcast of society. If they were a leper, they became outcasts, meaning they couldn't live among their own anymore. Now think about it. They had to leave their families. Can you imagine a mama having to leave her children, A daddy having to leave his children, maybe a son that had elderly parents, and he had to leave them to go live out in a place where no one else dwelt. No one's out there selling them food. No one is out there bringing them clothes. They've got to find a way to live in a place that was unoccupied. And so they had to leave their families, but they also had to leave society. Think about it. That you could not go and just walk up and down the streets of your hometown anymore. You couldn't talk to your neighbors anymore. The devastation of this disease robbed in every single aspect of their lives. So it was not uncommon for lepers to collect together, to live together, because all they had was each other. But they had to live in a place. They had to stay a certain distance from the people. It says in though, and it, it says that these 10 lepers, that they stood afar off. So we have to realize that when, when you were considered an outcast, they also in that day, the mindset tended toward. If someone had leprosy, they had come under the judgment of God. So they were looked down upon, not just having the disease, but it was very common for the mindset to be, oh, God judged them because they were evil or bad people. So you can understand, no one offered compassion that direction because they thought that God had done this. Well, we know this. God doesn't judge anyone. With sickness and disease. Amen. The Bible says Satan comes to steal, kill and destroy. But Jesus said, but I've come that you might have life. Anything that steals, kills and destroys is from the enemy. It's from Satan. Sickness is a thief. Sickness steals from us. And sickness will cause premature death. So we know that God had nothing to do with it. But the mindset of people was that this was the judgment of God. So people looked upon them critically. They did not look upon them with compassion. And so because this was a contagious disease, it was devastating. The flesh would be eaten off. It could eat off. This disease could eat off fingers, toes, facial features. And so if a healthy person got anywhere near the region where a leper was dwelling, they would have to by law, call out unclean. They would have to declare it so that that healthy person would not come within proximity of them. If anyone got within 300ft, they could not have anyone come into a distance of about over 300ft was what Jewish law prescribed. So they would have to call that out unclean. So imagine, every time they see someone coming, they've got to call out to let them know, don't get within 300ft feet of me. But see, they're pronouncing that over their own life every day, all day long. I'm unclean. I'm unclean. I'm unclean. And so we can see this, that faith works by declaring what God says, but bondage works by declaring what the devil says. So they are forced to declare themselves unclean, which you can understand in the natural, that's all men were going by. So it says that as Jesus passed through this region, and it says they came to him and stood off at a distance. Look at this phrase. They came to him, meaning they were further away, but they came as close proximity as they could without violating the guidelines. They came. They didn't just sit back in a group and say, well, if God wants me, well, he knows where I'm at, He can find me. No, when they must have heard something about Jesus because they came as close as they could to him. So notice this, when you need something from God, get to where, get to where God is moving. Get to where God is speaking. And you say, well, you can't see Jesus walking down the street today, like then. No, but he's put local churches all up and down the streets that anywhere that his word is preached and believed, these are the places you can go and you can receive what these men received. Amen. And I'm saying this, don't just sit back and wait. They did not just sit back and wait. They got as close as they could. Ten men clustered together, and they started lifting up their voice for his attention. And so in verse 13, it says that they lifted up their voices and this is what they said. Jesus, Master, have mercy on us. Now, they would not have called to him if they hadn't heard something about Him. So although they are isolated, they are outcasts of society. Still they're receiving word that Jesus is evidently healing people because this is why they came to Him. So it matters what we hear. It matters what we hear. If you hear report that God's done something good for somebody, hook onto that, say, I believe that. Instead of saying, I don't believe that could happen. They believed they were in an impossible physical condition. There was no help for them. But notice they had not given up hope. When they heard something about Jesus, they came to the region where he was passing through and they started making themselves known to Him. Why? Because they would not settle for an impossible situation in their life. With God, nothing is impossible because all things are possible. To who? To him that believes. So they believed something. So they said, jesus, Master, have mercy on us. Now, on several occasions, the Word records that people needing healing would cry out for mercy. They didn't say, heal us. They said, have mercy on us. So we know this healing is a flow of God's mercy. Part of the mercy of God is healing. A flow of his mercy is healing. Another flow of his mercy is deliverance. Another flow of his mercy is salvation. Another flow of his mercy is. Is supply and prosperity. Amen. Well, when you think of this, that they weren't just limiting this, their request to healing alone. They were saying, have mercy on us. Anything their life needed, mercy would fulfill. Anything their life needed, mercy would fulfill that need. And I love the verse, and you're well acquainted with it, that his mercies are new every morning. That means we never run out. Because if you think you've spent all his mercy, just wait. And when you get up in the morning, there's a whole new daily supply of mercy. Meaning this. He expects us to live by his mercies every day, or he would not make them new. A new supply every day that we need to be mindful of. The mercies of God. The mercies of God over your children, the mercies of God over your home, the mercies of God flowing in your body. The mercies of God working in behalf of your business, in behalf of your finances, the mercies of God visiting Your unsaved loved ones. Amen. The mercy of God contains all the help of God. And they said, jesus, master, have mercy on us. It is right for us to be mindful and talk about and draw on the mercies of God for our lives. So there's healing mercies available to us every day. Why? Because his mercies are new every morning. So anything. His mercy will work. It's available to us every day. All we have to do is receive it. Yeah, right now we do have to receive it. He's made it available, but we have to put a demand on it. You know, as Jesus was walking through that region where those lepers were, he was making himself available to anyone that would see him coming, know he's coming, and put a demand on him. That's what these 10 lepers did. Well, the mercy of God is available every. Every day, flowing right through the middle of your day. What you gonna do about it? What you're going to do about it? Believe it. Receive it. How do you receive it? With something you say, I believe in the mercies of God. I believe in the mercy of God that's working in my body, Father, I receive your mercy in my body. Amen. These are wonderful, thrilling words, aren't they? Hallelujah. So you say with your mouth. Just as these men secured Jesus attention by using their mouths, they said something to let him know, I believe you can do something for me. That's why they called out to him. If they didn't believe that Jesus could do or would do something for them, they would have never said anything. But look at verse 14, and it says, and when he saw them. Look at that. When he saw them. Those are precious words to someone who's been outside society. He saw them. He saw them. The rest of society was trying to forget them, but he saw them. And when he saw them, look at this. He said he had something for them. I want you to know, so many times people are looking for people to give them something, something tangible, something they can feel. Money, compassion, something. But he gave them words. He gave them words. I tell you, the word of God is our greatest gift because he gives us Himself in His Word. When Jesus saw them, he gave them something. He gave them words to obey. And he said to them, go, show yourselves unto the priests. And it came to pass that as they went, they were cleansed. Now, remember this, that we said earlier that it's the priest that would decide whether they could stay in society or not based on whether or not they were lepers. So for them, to go show themselves to the priests. There was no outward sign that they were healed. It didn't say that they were healed at that point. It says he told them to go show themselves. And as they went, as they went, they went without seeing any change. That's what faith does. Why? Because the Word was given to you. Jesus saw you and gave you his Word. Act on that word. This is what God always does. He gives us something to obey when we need a miracle. He gives us something to obey when we need healing, he gives us something to obey. What is that? It's His Word. Obey His Word. And as we move in the direction of his Word, power will manifest in our lives. And so he gave them something to obey. Go show yourselves to the priests. What an act of faith. What? What an act of boldness, really. Because if they were back in society, they have got to go to the temple. This is where the priests are. They're going among society again. That took faith to act on that instruction. Amen. And as they went, they were cleansed. So they obeyed. Know this. Faith always moves ahead. Faith never stops and waits for something to change. It keeps moving in the direction that God tells it to go. Just make a move. Make a move, make a move. Don't just sit at home and wait for God to drop something on you. Make a move, keep going. You know, faith authorizes you to never stop living the life of obedience, that you never have to stop and wait for money to show up, wait for healing to show up, wait for victory to show up. Just keep moving. Just keep moving. Because faith knows it's going to run into the manifestation of what it's believing for. If I could say it this way, faith believes, so it keeps moving towards what it desires. Faith believes, so it moves. It keeps moving towards what it desires. If I could put it to you this way. When faith goes to market, she takes a basket with her. Why? Because she's expecting to get her something. Amen. As they went, they were cleansed. So their healing came into manifestation as they obeyed. If things are not manifesting, we have to ask ourselves, are we obeying? So the manifestation came as they obeyed as. And sometimes to walk into your healing, you got to go. You got to keep going. You've got to show God I'm not going to stay at home. I believe the Word's working in me. I believe healing power is working in me. So since I believe that, I'm going to get up and act like it. As they went, they were healed. We have to keep doing Some winting Amen. They could have reasoned among themselves, oh, we'll get in trouble if we. If this doesn't work. But they didn't. And it says, and they were cleansed. The process of leprosy was stopped. That means no more of the skin rotting off their bodies. Verse 15. And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, he turned back and with a loud voice glorified God. And he fell down on his face at Jesus feet, giving him thanks. And he was a Samaritan. He wasn't trained in how to worship God just out of his gratitude. And Jesus said, where are the others? Where are the 10? Jesus didn't doubt that they were all healed. He said, where are they? Notice this. Jesus was expecting them to return. He was looking for them to come back. And only one out of ten showed proper gratitude. I would say this. Check our lives. Are we showing proper gratitude for what we have received? Gratitude keeps the enemy from stealing from you what God's blessed you with. Without gratitude, the enemy will steal from us the things that we've received from God. But gratitude keeps the door shut to the devil. And I noticed this. He said that. Where are the other nine? So he was looking for them. Look at verse 19. And Jesus said unto him, arise, go thy way. Thy faith has made thee whole. Notice what he says, Your faith has made you whole. Well, what did we see him do when he came back to Jesus? We saw him worship. He didn't confess scripture. He didn't make a prayer to God. All he did was worship. And Jesus called that faith. He said, your faith made you whole when you're worshiping. That is one of the highest flows of faith you can express. So to stay in faith, stay in worship. A lifestyle of worship. Notice this. So we could say this as Jesus said, thy faith has made thee whole. We could say it this way. Your worship has made you whole. I want you to know body parts that are missing, you can worship and God will put them back. Now go with me and I want to read. Look at this, this last phrase. Thy faith has made thee. Look at the word whole. It says in verse 14, they were cleansed or healed. That means the process of leprosy was stopped. But this man was made whole. What's that mean? Body parts put back. What was lost is now back in place. Amen. What made the difference? Worship. I wonder what the other nine thought the next time they saw him. The process of leprosy was stopped in their bodies. But he had body parts back. Why was Jesus disappointed? That they didn't. The nine didn't return to worship because he wanted them whole. He didn't just want the process of leprosy stopped, he wanted them whole. Keep moving with God. That means when God does something for you, return in gratitude. Don't just receive something once and never give God another thought. Always return. Why? Because he's always got more for you. He's always got more for you. Hallelujah. Praise God the Lord. Hallelujah.
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