Thanksgiving: Are You Thankful?
Luke 17:11-19
Introduction
Today we are celebrating our annual Thanksgiving dinner and church founding anniversary
Just in case you didn’t know, our church was founded in November 1951 and so this is our 56th ministry year at Trinity.
Special to me because it’s how God brought me here (Expound)
I want you to know that I am truly Thankful for the opportunity that you have given me to be the Shepherd of this flock
My message today is entitled “Thanksgiving: Are You Thankful?”
We have so much to be thankful for and yet sometimes, I think we forget all that we need to thank God for
Thanksgiving is mentioned in the bible some 40+ times
Here are some of the key verses that talk about “Thanksgiving”
Psalm 26:7 That I may publish with the voice of thanksgiving, and tell of all thy wondrous works.
Psalm 50:14 Offer unto God thanksgiving; and pay thy vows unto the most High
Psalm 69:30 I will praise the name of God with a song, and will magnify him with thanksgiving.
Psalm 95:2 Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving, and make a joyful noise unto him with psalms.
Psalm 100:4 Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name.
Psalm 107:22 And let them sacrifice the sacrifices of thanksgiving, and declare his works with rejoicing.
2 Cor 4:15 For all things are for your sakes, that the abundant grace might through the thanksgiving of many redound to the glory of God.
David gave thanks to the Lord in Psalm 103 for all of God’s provision & blessing
Daniel gave thanks to the Lord in Dan 6:10 when he heard the decree that no one is to pray to anyone except King Darius
Paul tells us in 1 Thes 5:18 that we should give thanks IN ALL circumstances
Today I want us to look at a different thanksgiving message as we look at lessons of Thanksgiving from a leper.
Turn to Luke 17:11-19 (pray)
TRANS: First I want us to see is that…
1. The Lepers Call to Jesus (vs 12-13)
Notice that the lepers here stood afar off from Jesus
Why? Lev 13:44-46 Turn there
These men had an incurable disease…the doctors could not cure them…it was a very infectious disease and could easily be spread
There skin literally was rotting on their body…literally fingers would fall off, noses would rot off, eyes would fall out of the socket
It was a nasty incurable disease and no one wanted it
When a person was found to have leprosy, they were considered cursed and the law said they must leave outside the city…alone…or with other lepers
As we see here, there were ten of them traveling together
And in desperation, these lepers CRY OUT TO JESUS “Master, have pity on us”
Our Lord is rich in mercy…Lam 3:22-23 tells us that His mercies are new every morning…don’t have to rely on yesterday…new every morning
We see these lepers cry out to Jesus because of their hopeless state…they have called upon the right Man
These lepers had many things in common with us
They are all afflicted with the same disease
I want to draw a parallel here to say that Leprosy is a picture of the sinful state of us all
We all have the incurable disease of sin in our lives…it is disfiguring, it rots the flesh, and causes us to be like lepers…those who are UNCLEAN (Rom 3:23)
They were all dying men from this disease…you and I were the same way (Rom 6:23)
Without the intervention of Christ on there behalf, they had no hope…we were the same
Look at Eph 2:11-13
I don’t’ know about you but I can identify with these lepers
TRANS: When they cried out unto Jesus, He heard them and…
2. They were Cleansed
Notice in verse 14 “when He saw them”…our Lord looked upon them and had compassion
We know that because it says He responded to their call…He heard their cry
Jer 33:3 says “Call to me and I will answer you…”
Rom 10:13 says “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved”
But notice what Jesus told them in vs 14 “Go show yourselves to the priest.”
Why? Because His command demanded that they put their faith in Him
And faith is an action word…they must show by action they believe Him
Notice is says “as they went they were cleansed.” It didn’t happen until they WENT
Their first step of faith brought cleansing
Faith in Christ brings immediate cleansing
And why go to the priests? What hope do you think they had in the priests?
Do you think they might have already cried out to the priests for help?
The priests were hopeless as well…the RELIGION of the day could do nothing for their state of hopelessness
Jesus wanted them to see that…but He also wanted the priest to see it as well
The same is true today Saints…religion cannot help you in your hopeless state
In the incurable disease of sin…the priest cannot help you…cannot cure you
But if you will take the first step of faith, you will experience immediate cleansing through Jesus Christ
TRANS: After they saw that they were cleansed, there was only…
3. The One Leper Who was Thankful (vs 15 – 16)
Upon seeing that he was healed, he came back to Jesus
Out of his thankfulness he glorified God with a loud voice…when you are truly thankful…you can’t help but get loud
Psa 42:4 These things I remember as I pour out my soul: how I used to go with the multitude, leading the procession to the house of God, with shouts of joy and thanksgiving among the festive throng.
Not only did the leper glorify God with a loud voice but he fell down at the feet of Jesus and gave thanks
Sometimes the only true place of thanksgiving is at the feet of Jesus
Why was this leper thankful?
- He had been hopeless, now he had hope
- He had been homeless, now he could go home
- He had been rejected, now he would be received
- He had been basically pronounced dead, now he
was alive again
We too should be able to see ourselves in this leper
We ought to be thankful for the cleansing power of Jesus in our lives…just like the leper
TRANS: There was one leper who was thankful but there was…
4. The Nine Lepers Who Were Thankless
Nine others had been cleansed…but they went on their way
Even Jesus asked in vs 17 “where are the other nine?”
I think this a wake call to us as the church Saints
How many of us are like the nine lepers? Why didn’t they come back?
Here are a few suggestions that I came up with and they reveal a whole lot about human nature.
• One waited to see if the cure was real.
• One waited to see if it would last.
• One said he would see Jesus later.
• One decided that he had never had leprosy.
• One said he would have gotten well anyway.
• One gave the glory to the priests.
• One said, "O, well, Jesus didn’t really do
anything."
• One said, "Any rabbi could have done it."
• One said, "I was already much improved."
Maybe they all ran home, to friends, families, etc…to share with them what had happened…I don’t really know…but I do see what delights Jesus
Look at what Jesus says in vs 19 Then he said to him, "Rise and go; your faith has made you well."
We all get so busy…we all make many excuses…we all try to rationalize…
But the truly thankful people take time to come back to the one who cured them and gives thanks.
Conclusion
The fact that only one came back is almost a picture of the church today…
Only one-tenth of the church are truly thankful…how do I know?
Only 1/10th tithe in thankfulness; only 1/10th is involved in doing for the Lord; only 1/10th are always here
Question: Which are you today? Are you like the one thankful leper? Or are you part of the nine?
You say, I am like the one…really…does the Lord see that by your actions? Are you here? Do you tithe? Are you involved?
The good news is, that Jesus commends a thankful person…you can start today
You can come down today and be thankful and give thanks to the Lord…He deserves our thanksgiving and praise (pray)
