Experiencing God’s Blessings Through Obedience

Greater Galilee Church-in-Training Outline

Luke 17:11-19 Experiencing God’s Blessings Through Obedience

 

Leprosy was a dreaded skin disease that was contagious, incurable, and infectious. It covered its victims with scales and sores and caused the limbs to deteriorate.

 

Lepers were forbidden from comingling with the rest of society and had to cry out Unclean! Unclean!  to warn others that they were infected.

Lepers lived a life of exclusion, isolation, deterioration, and humiliation.

 

Jesus encounters 10 lepers “along the borders” of Galilee and Samaria. One of the ten was a Samaritan.  Because of their common tragedy, two opposing groups were able to meet together because of common misery.

 

1. Obedience teaches us that we cannot stay in the along the (borders      ).  If we want to be healed, to be better, to achieve – we have to get unstuck, move beyond our conditions and move toward something significant.  Some people never get healed because they stay stuck in the margins of life- nursing, rehearsing, and cursing the same wounds. But in prayer, we disperse them and God will (reverse       ) them.

 

2.  Obedience teaches us that God blesses  (togetherness      ).

One of the symptoms of leprosy was a hoarse whisper. It took all 10 using what little they had to get Jesus’ attention. Peter and John go up to prayer together; Paul and Silas sing and pray together; Jesus said where there are two or three gathered together… the devil fights hardest against our togetherness because he knows God Blesses our togetherness – and the lepers cried out together….

 

3.  Obedience teaches us faith happens before the ( blessing       ).  Hebrews 11:1 tells us that we have to believe that certain things will happen before the blessing is actually possessed.  “As they went” they were healed…as they walked toward the priests in obedience to the Lord, they received their deliverance…Healing isn’t always instantaneous, its gradual life conversion and revelation. We have to (move        )!!  Get on with YOUR life, move past the divorce, move past the victimization, move past the disappointment. Jesus said Go!

 

4.  Obedience teaches us to receive the gift but thank the (  Giver       ).

10 lepers were healed, only one returned. Why? Because there is a lot more to health than not being sick- a lot of people have physical health but are still sick- egotistical, self-centered, petty, jealous, drama kings and queens, and spiritually unfocused. We can’t be whole if we can’t experience gratitude, which means we have to move on beyond entitlements to   (empowerments         ).

 

5. Obedience teaches us that we have to walk in God’s ( direction       ).  We either walk in the direction of obedience or we walk away from God into spiritual abyss totally unaware that the Lord is not with us.

Saul  – didn’t know God had left him

Samson – didn’t know the Lord had left him

The lost in Matthew 25 totally unaware that they had missed opportunities to serve the Lord.

 

As we go plant a thought and we reap an attitude;

We plant an attitude and we reap behavior;

We plant a behavior and reap a character;

We plant a character and we reap a destiny.