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Welcome to the live big broadcast with Derek Greer. We believe this teaching from God's Word will empower you to live a full, impactful life in Christ. Let's dig in.
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Now, I'm not sure if David said this, but Palm Sunday is the Sunday we celebrate the day that Jesus entered into his last week and he entered the city of Jerusalem. And the people spread cloaks on the ground and they shouted hosanna in the highest and they waved palm branches, and it was an incredible day. But it would just be, you know, a week later that Jesus would hang on the cross. Today we're going to look at a man that I'm almost certain was in the crowd that particular day. Luke, chapter 17 and verse. Now, it happened as he went to Jerusalem again. Jesus is taking his final journey into the capital city where all the who's who of Israel lived. It was about a week or so before Palm Sunday, and he knew he had been preaching this for months, if not at least a year, that he would be crucified when he got to the city. But what's amazing about Jesus is he kept walking anyway. You know, whenever I feel like giving up, whenever I feel like running away, anytime I feel like throwing in the towel, I can't help but think about. You see, the gospel is the only story where the hero dies for the villain and Jesus passed through the midst of Samaria in Galilee. Jesus had been rejected on both sides by both nations, people in both territories. So he was forced kind of to walk and travel in between the two territories. And likewise, when I feel rejected, when I feel like there's trouble on every side, when I feel like folks don't get me, I can't help but think about Jesus. You see, our pain was the only reason Jesus did not exempt himself from his. Then as he entered a certain village, you have to understand, the weight of the world was on Jesus shoulders. He was tired. He was weary. He knew his disciples would betray him. He knew that the Pharisees and the Sadducees would gloat over him. He knew that people would mock him and make fun of his naked body on the cross. When I feel like unfriending everyone on social media, when I feel like locking up my heart and throwing away the key, I can't help but think about what it was like for Jesus. You know, his attitude was a lot like my wife's. Every morning I wake up grumpy, by the way, if you didn't know that, well, actually, you shouldn't know that. I wake up grumpy but my wife wakes up like, if you don't have a smile, I'll give you mine. And there met him 10 men. Now, if I was about to be stripped, crucified, beaten, mocked, hung for birds to pick from my flesh, I'm sure I would have got a little stuck on the inside of myself. And if Jesus was just focused on the pain that he was about to face a couple miles up the road, we would have never read this story. But it's the little things we do in life that make our lives big. And despite what he was facing and going through, he still had time to enter a village and to speak to these 10 men. It said there met him 10 men who were what? Lepers? I like the way Luke writes that, because most of the time we see people by their problem. But Luke learned enough from Jesus to see them first as people and people with problems. And it's funny though, how people have a way of finding each other. These men connected because they had similar problems and similar pains. But such friendships typically only last until someone escapes the problems and the pains. So, you know, she was your girlfriend till you got out of your situation. You see, I used to hang out with people because, you know, they kind of came out or came from a similar place. But I've learned that a relationship does not last unless we're trying to go to a similar place. So there were 10 men, people first, who were lepers. But what you have to understand, because we live in a modern environment, it's very, very different now. But these 10 men assaulted the senses in every possible way. They had oozing sores, they had disfiguring bones, they had tumor like growths on the back of their thighs, their hands, their faces, their necks, the fingers were curled and they probably had some missing limbs. And on top of that, they stank. But Jesus, despite all that he had on his mind, I mean, as bad as the cross would be, I think the most troubling thing for Jesus was that the Father would lift his presence from him. That's why from the cross he didn't say a whole lot, but he did say this. My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? For the first time in eternity, Jesus, as he took our sin, our shame, our punishment, he didn't sense the help and the presence of the Father. And he had never had a moment without God being very real. And pray, he said, I don't do anything unless I first see the Father do it. And this would be the first thing that he Would do just completely as the second person, if you will, of the Godhead. Despite all of that, when Jesus gets to town, not only gets to, I would have stayed on the outside of the city. I would have been so wrapped up. And this ain't fair, this ain't right. Why you da, da da. I'd be so wrapped up. But Jesus still enters the town and he engaged with the lowest. We only love God as much as we love the person we love least. And these 10 men, the Bible says, stood afar off. Leprosy was so contagious that at this time in history, to make sure that, you know, it didn't become an epidemic, people were legally required to stay 100 paces from anyone that was healthy. And if anyone healthy got even remotely near them, they had to scream, unclean, unclean, unclean. And these men had obviously heard about Jesus. They lifted up their voices and said, jesus master. Now, if you call Christ master, it implied that you were willing to serve. So anytime I call Christ my master, I'm really saying that, Lord, I'm willing to obey. But here's the question. Can you still call Jesus master when life has made you an outsider? I mean, everyone else is going on with their lives, raising their children and enjoying their families, but your face is pressed against the window pane on the outside looking in with no hope of things ever changing. Can you still call Jesus master? The step of faith that these 10 lepers took was great. Jesus, master again. Outsiders, pariahs. You know, solitude is healthy at times, but alienation crushes the soul. Watch what they said to him. Jesus, Master, have mercy on us. You see, no other attribute of God could help if Jesus didn't put his mercy first. You see, God's justice would doom us. His holiness would be forced to reject us. His power would crush us. His truth would condemn us and his wrath would torment us. But mercy said no. So when Jesus, when he saw them, he didn't just see their problem, their condition, he saw them. And I don't know what your problem is. I don't know what your issue is. And, you know, you might walk in a room and everybody say, here comes such and such who do such. But let me tell you something. Jesus doesn't first see your problem. He sees you. He sees the person behind the problem. The person behind the issue. So when he saw them, he said to them, go show yourself to the priests now. He told them to go while they were still lepers, still had sores, still smell all the rest. But they had to see it before they saw it and they had to do it before they had it. To walk with a God that calls things that are not as though they were. You gotta adjust your attitude about things in life. Romans 8:24 tells us this. It says, hope that is seen. Watch. This is not hope, meaning if you can see it, it's not hope. But my Bible says faith is the substance of things hoped for. So if you're going to have faith, there got to be some hope. And if it's hope, it's something you can't see. So last week, we learned that God was a God of hope. You know, if I said that he was the God of joy, that meant he had a whole lot of it. I mean, that's his thing. But of all the things he called Himself, he called himself the God of hope. So if he's the God of hope, the most important things he does in our lives start where we can't see them. Start where no one can see them. The most important work God does in any of our lives is first in places nobody can see. And he does it before anyone sees. Verse 14. So when Jesus saw them, he said to them, go show yourselves to the priest. And so it was as they went, they were cleansed. Now, I can't predict how long a walk or how short a walk it's going to be before you get the thing God promised. All I know is if you keep doing what Jesus told you to do, at some point the miracle will happen. What God promised may seem impossible, but he who promised is faithful. So it was that as they went, they were cleansed. If you're like me, you want it before you go. I plan ahead. I look, I want it before I go. But if you're like God, the miracle won't happen unless you go. Peter could have never walked on water if he stayed in the boat. We are saved by faith alone, but real faith is never alone. Deeds are faith's constant companion. As they went. As they did what Jesus said, they were cleansed. Now, a lot of folks want to get cleansed, but you don't want to do what the Master done told you to do. It gets worse. As they went, they were cleansed. They were healed as they obeyed. You see, Jesus didn't send you on the road that you're currently on to punish you, but to heal you. And you gotta learn to trust the journey. Trust the journey. Trust the journey. Verse 15. And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, returned. Now, initially, these 10 men had a common bond, and they Befriended based on their shared problem and their shared pains. But you'll notice once the healing came, they went in different directions. So don't be surprised if you can no longer hang out with some folks once you get well that you used to. Now, it might break your heart, but you gotta learn to say, I love you. I wish you would join me, but I got to keep moving on with Jesus, with or without you. That friend loved you while you were still in the projects. But when you moved to the suburbs, okay, we gonna stay. And with a loud voice. You know, there is a time for quiet, and everything doesn't always have to be loud. But the Bible recorded the volume in his voice because it was significant and it mattered all the details that could have been. He recorded this. And with a loud voice. This man had spent years of his life shouting from 100 paces. Unclean, unclean, unclean. And probably by this time in life, he only knew how to talk loudly. But it's funny how turned up we were in our uncleanness, how turned up we were in our mess, how turned out we were. We had oozing sores and all the rest. But after God sets us free, all of a sudden, we so quiet, you know, I ain't got. I don't want to say nothing. I don't want to. I don't want to do nothing I don't want to. Confused. I don't cause no problems. But if just half of God's people did half as much for God as they did for the devil, our world will be turned around almost overnight. We just get a little bit of boldness. I mean, we were on fire for the devil, marching for the devil. Shouting of devil's language and we were the devil's kids, boy. Remember some of that language and how loud you said it. But now you're like, God knows my heart. I don't want to say hallelujah. I don't want them to think, you know, that I'm one of them. With a loud voice, he glorified God. He didn't care who was watching. He didn't care what anybody thought. With a loud voice, he glorified God. This man was lit for Jesus. Yeah, and we gotta be a little bit more like David. I like David. You know, when his wife, Mikayl got an attitude, she started criticizing him for getting a little too carried away in worship. But watch his response. Second Samuel 6. 22, baby. The first service, I said woman, but I was like, I don't know if he said it that way, but he Might have. He said, mama, I will be even more. You think you mad now? I will be even more undignified than there. I haven't even gotten started. See, this is between me and my God. This has nothing to do with you. And I'll be humble in my own sight. Y'all talking about what the handmaidens think. Listen. In my own sight. Listen, listen, listen. Look, my point is not to be foolish in the way we worship. We must operate in the context we're in. The Bible does say we're to do things decently and in order. All that's true, but I'm not going to let anybody shame me either. Why is it okay for you to shout when your team scores, but it's not okay for me to shout when my team scores? You see, if he brought you through what he brought me through, you shout, too. I said, if he brought you through what he brought me through, you'd have a shout, too. I said, if he brought you through what he brought me through, you'd find a shout, too. You'd have a thank you, Jesus. You'd have a praise the Lord. You talk about hallelujah. If you've been where I've been, done what I've done, and God blessed you and loved you anyway. Anyway, anyway. Luke 17:16. And he fell down on his face at his feet, giving him thanks. Some are like, that's too much. Say, don't take all that. But if he brought you through what he brought me through, you do the same thing, too. He fell down at his feet and began to give him thanks. I've learned there's no higher place than at the feet of Jesus. And here's the rub. And he was a Samaritan. Samaritans didn't mix with Jews. You see, all 10 of the lepers were separated from the healed, the well, the good folk, the clean folk, and Jesus because of their leprosy. But this man had a double separation. He was separated because of his nationality. So why was the guy with the highest hurdles to overcome the only one who returned? Probably because the rest felt entitled, because they would use be careful about living your life like God owes you something. The world owes you nothing and will keep spinning if you fall off. You know, in my life, every touch, every insight, every explanation that God gives me has been a pure act of mercy. I don't deserve an explanation. I don't deserve half the things he's. He's shown me. And when you realize that, there's a gratitude that comes up out of your heart. But when you think you deserve it because you're a Christian and Christianity becomes a religion and not a relationship where someone high look low, but somehow because you were born in the right place, you know what? I kind of deserve it. And I'm a good old boy. And God ought to do to me this, that, and the other. And I'm mad that he didn't do this. And he was a Samaritan. This man did not feel a natural right to receive from the Jewish Messiah. You see, a mistaken sense of entitlement will shrink the joy and the wonder in our lives and also minimize the worship of the true God. Now, back in the day, the electric company and the gas company had counters. So if you did not pay your bill or send it in the mail on time, you had to go in. Or if they shut it off and you needed, on that day, you had to go into the counter. Not that I've ever had this experience, of course. Now, I don't know what they do nowadays. But no, I've been at those counters, but not one time have I gone to one of those counters and paid my electric bill, my gas bill, my cable bill, or my mortgage. And the person on the other side of the counter began to rejoice because I paid my bill. Why? Because I owed it. I owed it. I owed it. When you realize that Jesus paid a debt he didn't owe because you owed a debt you couldn't pay, the only thing left in your life will be to rejoice and to be happy and glad about it. And he was a Samaritan. Brothers, I want you to remember when certain diseases were incurable and you went down to the clinic for a test and you were clear. Don't tell me you didn't rejoice. Don't tell me you were not thankful. Your deeds deserve something else. But you ain't never been in church talking about hallelujah. Thank you, Jesus. Yes, sir. Sisters, I'm not letting you off the hook. Remember when you peed on that stick? Six of y'all know what I'm talking about. And waited for the color on those two lines. See? All of a sudden, now you get it. You didn't deserve it, but he let you off the hook anyway. So Jesus answered and said, were there not 10 cleansed? Yep, but we're at a nine. Jesus doing the math. He said, I did the same thing for all 10. But only one is grateful enough to return and say thanks, but not the others. I don't just come to church out Of a sense of duty. And if that's all you have, that's not bad. That's a good start. Some of us come to church because mom and them told us to and, and all the rest. And it's the right thing to do. So start there. But for me, I don't come to church just because it's the right thing to do. I don't stream just because it's the right thing to do. I don't worship just because it's the right thing. I don't give just because it's the right thing or what I'm supposed to do. I give because I'm grateful. I worship because I'm grateful. I'm in this house because I'm grateful. He's been good. Better than good to me. Better than good to me. Better than good to me. Me. Young Derek Greer should have been dead. Middle aged Derek Greer should have lost his mind. But he's been better than good to me. So I can't help but worship and praise him. Take a little time out to say thank. Thank you. And Jesus said, were there not any found who returned to give glory to God except this foreigner, the man who didn't feel entitled. And in many Christians you feel entitled. God don't owe you nothing. He doesn't owe you an explanation for one thing. Everything he says to you is out of his mercy and kindness and love for you. There are not any found who return to give glory to God. Except this foreigner. You see, God's justice doomed him. His holiness frowned on him. His power could have crushed him. Truth condemned him. His wrath would have eternally sentenced him. But instead Jesus healed him because mercy said no. And then Jesus said to him, arise. And God's not in your life to put you down. He's just trying to get you up. Arise, go your way. And when you really come to God with a true sense of gratitude, you will never leave the same way you came. In fact, the more you show gratefulness, the more things you discover you can be grateful for. He said, arise, go your way. Your faith has made you well. You see, all 10 received a physical healing. All 10 got the thing they asked for they wanted. But the Bible says only one of those 10 men truly got well. You can get the thing you want and not get the wellness you need. You see, health is a matter of body. Wellness is a matter of the soul. Your faith has made you well. It was not just a faith to receive from Jesus. It was a faith that came back to Jesus and was thankful and if you only receive from God, but never spend any time thanking God, celebrating God, you will never know the wellness that this man came to know. Did you get anything out of that message?
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Thank you for joining us. Until next time, remember you have what it takes in Christ to live big. We also invite you to partner with Derek Greer Ministries in bringing the life changing and impactful teachings of God's Word to the world. Get started by visiting Derekre.com by clicking the link in the description.