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Speaker 1: Let us pray and the Publican standing far off would

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Speaker 1: not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven,

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Speaker 1: but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me,

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Speaker 1: a sinner Louke eighteen thirteen, God of Heaven and Earth,

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Speaker 1: I want to take a moment and thank you for

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Speaker 1: cleansing my life and forgiving me a second chance to

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Speaker 1: enjoy all that you have for me, like you did

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Speaker 1: to those lepers in to Day's story. May my posture

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Speaker 1: and my heart be like the one leper who came

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Speaker 1: back to thank you. May my life serve as a

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Speaker 1: continual thanksgiving to you for all that you've done for

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Speaker 1: me and all that you are going to do for

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Speaker 1: me in the future. I live with gratitude because it

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Speaker 1: is only by your power, Jesus, that I have access

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Speaker 1: to eternal life and life in abundance here on earth.

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Speaker 1: For I will not live with the spirit of judgment

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Speaker 1: on my life like the Pharisees did to the tax collector. Instead,

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Speaker 1: I will be a model of the life of Jesus,

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Speaker 1: who looked at the heart before any outward appearance. Pride

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Speaker 1: will not be afforded the luxury to take up space

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Speaker 1: in my mind and my life because that space is

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Speaker 1: already occupied by the love and humility of Christ. I

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Speaker 1: stamp this as my truth in Jesus name. Amen. Thanks

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Speaker 1: for making prayer a priority in your life. To hear

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Speaker 1: the Bible come to life, stay tuned for the Bible

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Speaker 1: in a Year brought to you by Bible in a

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Speaker 1: Year dot com.

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Speaker 2: Lepers, Judges and Pride, and our last story, we explored

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Speaker 2: the story of the prodigal Son. Jesus used his story

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Speaker 2: to demonstrate the steadfast forgiveness of God. No matter how

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Speaker 2: far gone someone may seem, the Lord is actively waiting

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Speaker 2: to restore and forgive. Now we see Jesus healing lepers,

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Speaker 2: ministering to his disciples, and rebuking the Pharisees. And all

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Speaker 2: these interactions Jesus shows that he is driven by compassion

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Speaker 2: inspired by the Gospels.

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Speaker 3: We're so glad you've joined us on the Bible and

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Speaker 3: of your podcast today. The Bible any of your podcast

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Speaker 3: is an outreach of PowerPoint Ministries and can only come

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Speaker 3: to you each week through the support of listeners just

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Speaker 3: like you. Your support today is so important that we want

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Speaker 3: to thank you for your gift by giving you a

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Speaker 3: copy of my book called the Jesus Book. It is

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Speaker 3: a powerful guide that shows how every book in the

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Speaker 3: Bible points to Jesus and how his living word, the

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Speaker 3: truth of God's Word, will transform your life. So to

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Speaker 3: get a copy of the Jesus Book, simply go to

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Speaker 3: Jack Graham dot org slash Jesus. That's Jack Graham dot

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Speaker 3: org slash Jesus, and thank you for your support. In

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Speaker 3: our last episode, we heard about a loving, forgiving father

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Speaker 3: who accepted his repentant son with open arms, which provides

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Speaker 3: us a picture of God's own nature and his desire

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Speaker 3: to restore us into his family when we come to him.

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Speaker 3: Jesus was showing the Pharisees and all of us that

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Speaker 3: God rejoices greatly when even one of his children comes

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Speaker 3: back to him, no matter where they've been or what

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Speaker 3: they've done. It's never too late for a new beginning. Today,

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Speaker 3: we'll hear as Jesus continues to show mercy, compassion, and

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Speaker 3: healing to those around him who have great physical and

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Speaker 3: spiritual needs. His unconditional and limitless love for humanity is

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Speaker 3: a stark contrast to the religiosity of his day. As

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Speaker 3: we listen, Jesus also will teach a lesson about prayer

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Speaker 3: and God's willingness to hear our cries for help and

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Speaker 3: forgiveness when we come to Him with a humble heart.

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Speaker 3: So let's listen now to today's gospel reading.

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Speaker 2: Have mercy on us, Jesus heard from the distance. The

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Speaker 2: faint moans were coming from the shadows below some rocks

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Speaker 2: near Galilee. Jesus, our Master, please have mercy on us,

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Speaker 2: the voices cried out again. Jesus and his disciples stopped

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Speaker 2: to inspect the source of the painful moans. Then creeping

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Speaker 2: out of the shadows were ten lepers. Their faces were

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Speaker 2: mangled from years of rotting. Their eyes were yellow and

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Speaker 2: nearly lifeless. The disciples leaped back in fear, but Jesus

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Speaker 2: stepped forward. The ten lepers all fell to their knees

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Speaker 2: and begged Jesus to heal them. Jesus touched each and

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Speaker 2: every one of them gently. He was moved with compassion.

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Speaker 2: Go your way, show yourselves to the priests, for you

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Speaker 2: are healed. As the ten lepers arose, the dark sores

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Speaker 2: on their bodies began to heal. Their limbs regained color

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Speaker 2: and feeling. Even their voices were filled with more life

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Speaker 2: than before. The lepers leapt with joy and skipped their

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Speaker 2: way back into the city. Their laps echoed as they

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Speaker 2: held each other arm to arm. Jesus smiled, then turned

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Speaker 2: back to continue walking with his disciples. After about a mile,

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Speaker 2: Jesus heard a voice shouting from behind him. It was

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Speaker 2: one of the healed lepers. He had used his new

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Speaker 2: found energy to run back to Jesus and fall at

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Speaker 2: his feet. He thanked Jesus and praised him for the

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Speaker 2: work he had done in his life. Thank you, the

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Speaker 2: man said, with tears. Jesus laughed from his belly and

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Speaker 2: embraced the man. Then he looked around. There were no

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Speaker 2: signs of the others. Were there not ten of you?

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Speaker 2: Where are the other nine? Jesus asked? Is there no

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Speaker 2: one else who will thank God? Except this man? Jesus shrugged,

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Speaker 2: saddened by the lack of gratitude. Later that evening, Jesus

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Speaker 2: was beside the fire with his disciples. The cool breeze

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Speaker 2: was a welcomed relief after a hot day of traveling.

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Speaker 2: The men ate together and told stories. Sometimes they would

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Speaker 2: speak of God's will, other times they would make jokes

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Speaker 2: and laugh. Eventually, the disciples were asking Jesus about prayer.

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Speaker 2: They wanted to know if God always listened to them,

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Speaker 2: if he always bent his ear to hear their cries.

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Speaker 2: A few of them confessed that they would often lose

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Speaker 2: heart when they prayed to God. They would pray for

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Speaker 2: a few weeks, but eventually stop when things wouldn't change.

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Speaker 2: Jesus propped himself up closer to the fire, Looking deeply

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Speaker 2: into the flickering flame, He pondered for a moment, and

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Speaker 2: then began to tell another parable. There was once a

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Speaker 2: judge who did not fear God. He was a grumpy

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Speaker 2: man and unhappy in his city. There was a widow

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Speaker 2: who had been wronged. Every day she went into his

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Speaker 2: courtroom yelling give me justice. That every time the judge refused,

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Speaker 2: the widow would come in every day asking for justice.

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Speaker 2: She would ask so often that the judge eventually said

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Speaker 2: to himself, I will do anything to get this woman

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Speaker 2: to leave me alone. So he granted her justice. Jesus

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Speaker 2: leaned over to his disciples and said, even the unrighteous

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Speaker 2: judge was worn down over time. Will not God, who

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Speaker 2: loves you bend his ear to bring you justice? Cry

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Speaker 2: to him day and night?

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Speaker 1: He will give justice.

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Speaker 2: To those who cry out for it. The next day,

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Speaker 2: Jesus and his disciples were walking in the city streets

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Speaker 2: of Galilee. The city was busy and many tax collectors

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Speaker 2: were set up on the cross streets to collect what

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Speaker 2: was owed to Rome. Pharisees and other Jews scoffed and

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Speaker 2: spied the men collecting taxes in the courtyard. They looked

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Speaker 2: at them with complete disdain. They saw them as rats

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Speaker 2: and betrayers of Israel because they worked for the Romans.

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Speaker 2: Jesus watched from a distance as the Pharisees stuck their

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Speaker 2: noses high in the air. Moved by the spirit, Jesus

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Speaker 2: rose up and elevated his voice. Two men went to

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Speaker 2: the temple to pray.

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Speaker 1: He yelled.

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Speaker 2: Jesus had a voice that drew attention. Everyone stopped to listen.

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Speaker 2: Two men entered the temple. One of them was a Pharisee,

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Speaker 2: the other was a tax collector. The pharisee prayed standing.

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Speaker 2: He held his arms high in the air and yelled,

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Speaker 2: O God, I thank you that I am not like

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Speaker 2: other men. I thank you that I am not like

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Speaker 2: these thieves, adulterers, liars and tax collectors. I fast every

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Speaker 2: week I tithe all I earn, and I know your

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Speaker 2: law inside and out. Jesus walked over to the desk

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Speaker 2: of the tax collectors. He looked at them with compassion

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Speaker 2: and gave a gentle smile. Still projecting his voice, he

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Speaker 2: said the other man. The tax collector was on his

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Speaker 2: knees and face. He could barely look to Heaven. Knowing

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Speaker 2: his heart was wicked, he beat his chest and whispered

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Speaker 2: to God, have mercy on me. I am a sinner.

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Speaker 2: Jesus pointed to the Pharisees and gave them a long,

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Speaker 2: glaring stare. Know this. The tax collector went home justified,

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Speaker 2: not the Pharisee. He who exalts himself will be humbled,

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Speaker 2: but he who humbles himself will be exalted. With those words,

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Speaker 2: the Pharisees left to conspire against him.

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Speaker 3: In today's scripture, Jesus and the Disciples are passing between

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Speaker 3: Samaria and Galilee on their way to Jerusalem, and as

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Speaker 3: they enter a village, they are met by ten lepers,

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Speaker 3: men who stood at a distance to ask Jesus to

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Speaker 3: heal them. These men, as all lepers in those days,

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Speaker 3: were shunned and cut out of society, kept away so

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Speaker 3: they could not infect others. It was a terrible existence,

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Speaker 3: both physically and emotionally. So these ten came to ask

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Speaker 3: for healing, for restoration, that their skin could be cleansed,

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Speaker 3: so that once again they could join their families and friends,

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Speaker 3: that they could get their lives back. Their cries had

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Speaker 3: surely fallen on deaf ears before. But Jesus was not

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Speaker 3: like everyone else. He heard their pleas for mercy and

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Speaker 3: turned to them, telling them to go and present themselves

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Speaker 3: to the priest. And as they turned, just as Jesus

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Speaker 3: told them to do, each man was cleansed, the scales

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Speaker 3: of leprosy shedding to reveal a healthy skin. So they

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Speaker 3: ran off, surely eager to reap the benefits of this miracle.

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Speaker 3: But we're told that one man, when he saw what

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Speaker 3: Jesus had done, turned back and he said, Jesus, thank

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Speaker 3: you for healing me. Of all the ten men, only

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Speaker 3: one expressed gratitude for the blessing. And this didn't go

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Speaker 3: unnoticed by the Lord, because he ask the man, where

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Speaker 3: are the others? Where there are not ten men healed.

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Speaker 2: It was a.

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Speaker 3: Rhetorical question intended to point out that only this Samaritan

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Speaker 3: man once again the least likely suspect in the eyes

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Speaker 3: of any self respecting Jewish person at that time. But

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Speaker 3: only this man had the right heart attitude towards God,

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Speaker 3: one filled with gratitude. His praise and humility opened the

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Speaker 3: door for an even greater healing. For in Luke seventeen

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Speaker 3: and verse nineteen, this is what Jesus said to the man,

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Speaker 3: rise and go your way. Your faith has made you whole.

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Speaker 3: You see, while all ten lepers received healing that day,

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Speaker 3: physical healing, only this grateful man, who returned to worship

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Speaker 3: the Lord, experience true spiritual restoration. We then heard as

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Speaker 3: Jesus taught his disciples about prayer and how they are

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Speaker 3: to be persistent in prayer, trusting God to hear them

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Speaker 3: and answer, and not to give up, not to lose heart.

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Speaker 3: He told them of a judge, a very hard and

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Speaker 3: difficult man who didn't listen to the Christ of those

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Speaker 3: in need, nor did he fear God. And yet this judge,

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Speaker 3: when pestered for justice by a widow, eventually gave in.

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Speaker 3: Then he told them that if this unjust man, who

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Speaker 3: was not righteous, would help this widow, how much more

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Speaker 3: would God help them. The point was not that God

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Speaker 3: only hears our prayers if we pray hard enough or

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Speaker 3: long enough, or that our prayers fall on deaf ears.

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Speaker 3: Sometimes quite the opposite. Jesus was making the point that God,

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Speaker 3: who is perfectly good and is perfectly just, will always

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Speaker 3: give justice and hear the cries of those who seek him.

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Speaker 3: The challenge for us, of course, is that we don't

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Speaker 3: often understand God's timing. But knowing that God loves us

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Speaker 3: and is perfectly good, that his goodness and mercy follows

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Speaker 3: us all the days of our lives, we know that

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Speaker 3: when we pray, he hears us and cares for us,

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Speaker 3: and in his own time and in his own way,

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Speaker 3: he will answer us. But Jesus had more to say

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Speaker 3: to the disciples about prayer, because they needed to understand

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Speaker 3: the proper posture of prayer, the principles of prayer. He

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Speaker 3: told them about two men, and once more the characters

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Speaker 3: were cast in counterintuitive roles, a tax collector and a pharisee,

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Speaker 3: each going to the temple to pray. To all who

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Speaker 3: heard this, they would have expected the model to be

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Speaker 3: the righteous man, the pharisee, who kept all the rules.

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Speaker 3: The good man, so called the tax collector, was a

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Speaker 3: traitor and a cheat. He would never be a good

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Speaker 3: example of prayer or anything else. Imagine the shock to

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Speaker 3: the audience as Jesus told this story. The pharisee stood

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Speaker 3: proudly and spoke loudly, telling God everything about himself that

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Speaker 3: made him better than sinners, like the tax collector, reminding

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Speaker 3: God why he had every right to be blame. Like

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Speaker 3: the older brother in the story of the prodigal son,

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Speaker 3: this man felt justified by his own good deeds, but

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Speaker 3: the tax collector liked the prodigal son who came home

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Speaker 3: and fell on the grace of his father. This man

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Speaker 3: humbled himself before the Lord. He said, Lord, be merciful

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Speaker 3: to me, a sinner, and he asked God for his forgiveness.

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Speaker 3: What then does Jesus conclude that the one who owned

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Speaker 3: up to his son, the man who humbled himself and

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Speaker 3: asked for forgiveness, he was the one who went to

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Speaker 3: his house right with God. When we humble ourselves before God,

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Speaker 3: he always hears us. And if you want to know God,

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Speaker 3: if you want to know Jesus as your Lord and Savior,

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Speaker 3: begin with that simple prayer. The prayer of this man

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Speaker 3: who said, Lord be merciful to me a sinner, and

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Speaker 3: then looked to the savior, the Lord Jesus, who died

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Speaker 3: for our sins and rose again so that we could

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Speaker 3: have eternal life. Dear God, we thank you for your

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Speaker 3: word and what it teaches us about your desire to

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Speaker 3: love us and restore us and heal us, both physically

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Speaker 3: and spiritually. May we always return with gratitude day after day,

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Speaker 3: with thanksgiving in our hearts for all that you have

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Speaker 3: done for us. And may we always look to you

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Speaker 3: in humility, asking for your forgiveness when we sin, and

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Speaker 3: receiving your love and grace and healing. For we pray

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Speaker 3: in Jesus's name because your love never fails. Amen. Thank

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Speaker 3: you for listening to today's Bible into Your podcast, and

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Speaker 3: before we go, I wanted to let you know that

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Speaker 3: the Bible into Your Podcast is an outreach of PowerPoint

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Speaker 3: Ministries and can only come to you each week through

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Speaker 3: the support of listeners like you. Your support today is so

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Speaker 3: important that we want to thank you for your gift

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Speaker 3: by giving you a copy of my book called The

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Speaker 3: Jesus Book. This book is a powerful guide that shows

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Speaker 3: how every book in the Bible points to Christ and

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Speaker 3: how you can better read and understand the Bible and

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Speaker 3: how God's Word transforms our lives. So to get your

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Speaker 3: copy of the Jesus Book, simply go to jaggraham dot

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Speaker 3: org slash Jesus. That's Jagraham dot org slash Jesus and

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Speaker 3: thank you for your support