Kushukuru, Kuniabudu, Kuniinua (Giving Thanks, Worshipping, Praising)

Luke 17:11-19

Now it happened as He went to Jerusalem that He passed through the midst of Samaria and Galilee. ¹² Then as He entered a certain village, there met Him ten men who were lepers, who stood afar off. ¹³ And they lifted their voices and said, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!”

¹⁴ So when He saw them, He said to them, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.” And so it was that as they went, they were cleansed. ¹⁵ And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, returned, and with a loud voice glorified God, ¹⁶ and fell down on his face at His feet, giving Him thanks. And he was a Samaritan.

¹⁷ So Jesus answered and said, “Were there not ten cleansed? But where are the nine? ¹⁸ “Were there not any found who returned to give glory to God except this foreigner?” ¹⁹ And He said to him, “Arise, go your way. Your faith has made you well.”

Sometimes things are not so easy, and you have nothing else to do or say, it is best to thank, worship and praise God.

God said, I am the Lord God, besides Me there is none. I have come to lift you up. I will raise you up to another level. I am the faithful Bridegroom. I will be with you, I will never leave you nor forsake you, I am your God.

Isaiah 43:2

When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, nor shall the flame scorch you.

Never try to get yourself out of the fire; just walk in the fire, for the fourth man is with you. We have a cause to thank God.

It is only for a while, just as with the persistent woman in Luke 18:1-8. God is taking you through whatever you are going through to test your faithfulness.

Why should we thank, worship and praise God?

• Thanksgiving is an offering.  
• We thank Him for Who He is.
•  We thank Him for He is good.

Psalm 100:3 
Know that the Lord, He is God; it is He who has made us, not we ourselves; we are His people and the sheep of His pasture. ⁴ Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name. ⁵ For the Lord is good; His mercy is everlasting, and His truth endures to all generations. 

If you want to overcome and conquer, be a thankful person. Murmuring and complaining only delays God’s purpose over your life. As you enter into His presence, enter with thanksgiving.
Give thanks, it is just for a moment.

• His faithful and His faithfulness endures forever. A fiancé may forsake you, even a husband may leave you; the Lord says He is the faithful Bridegroom, and His courtship is for forever, as He is a covenant keeping God.

• His truth endures for all generations. If He promised, His truth endures forever. What did God promise you? His truth is forever.

As we have seen in Luke 17, lepers could not come near other people, as they were counted as accursed, forsaken, cast away. As Jesus was passing by the town where the lepers were, He saw them flocking together, unclean people. You should be encouraged; though you look cast away and accursed because you don’t have money or a husband or a job etc., the Lord is passing by.  The Lord is passing at the border. If you do not know how to hijack Him at the border, you might remain there for a long time. Jesus was not in the business of healing the lepers, but they hijacked their miracle.

Hook up with your type. Do not go to unbelievers to seek help; hook up with your type, which is how the Lord will sort out your problem. The lepers hooked up together, which is how the Lord sorted out their problem. Though we may be going through many problems, hook up with your type, and comfort one another. The lepers hooked up together and cried out with one voice. There is power in unity. Their unity attracted the Son of God. Jesus never gave them anything; He just gave them a word.

Psalm 29:5

The Voice of the Lord is powerful; the voice of the Lord is full of majesty. ⁵ The voice of the Lord breaks the cedars, Yes, the Lord splinters the cedars of Lebanon. 

When Jesus spoke in Luke 17, the leprosy called Lebanon had no choice but to hear and bow down. When you have something poising as a cedar of Lebanon in your life, as the Lord to speak into your life, and the cedar will break. The Lord spoke, and as they walked, they received their healing. As you walk with a heart full of worship, thanksgiving, praise, the Lord will heal you. The doors will be opened as you move on.

Though He has spoken the word, do not just tarry on. Just move on, praying, seeking the Lord. We have so many causes to thank God. We have a reason to praise Him. Learn to thank God for every situation, for what He is about to do, for what He is going to do from today. The ingratitude heart keeps God away. The heart full of gratitude attracts the presence of the Lord.

When they were healed, only one man went back to give thanks to the Lord. The nine who did not come back to receive healing were Jews, and must have taken the healing for granted. This man who came to give thanks was not an Israelite, but rather a Samaritan, but he found it worthy to go back and give thanks.

It is very hard for ungrateful people to receive anything from the Lord. We should change our mentality, our attitudes, and start giving thanks to God despite the circumstances. Learn to give thanks. Don’t be a Jew; be like the Samaritan. The Samaritan gave thanks, and went back home whole, prospered. His life never remained the same.

The Samaritan received wholeness, health, prosperity and was imparted by the power at Jesus’ feet. When you give Him thanks at His feet, He imparts you. Jesus told the man to rise up. In giving thanks, there is a rising up.

There is a prophetic word that came forth from the life of God about your destiny. If you do not pray and give thanks for that prophesy, it will not come to pass. You must work for that prophetic word. Start thanking God for that word from today. Start thanking God for that son, wife, husband, the unsaved husband, drinking husband etc., that the Lord is about to bring into your life, that the Lord is about to save.

Your background and weakness will not deter God from blessing you or hinder what He is about to do in your life.

Learn to thank God. What you are going through today is to glorify God.

-- Prophetess Grace Mwasya.

(03/11/13 Sunday Service Sermon, Africa Transformation Mission. Pramukh Plaza, 6th Floor).

Prophetess Grace Mwasya who is an anointed servant of God with a calling in the ministry of intercession. She has been used by God to release prophetic utterances in many countries and her passion is to minister the true word of God without fear.