Are You Thankful? – 19th October 2008
What do we have to be thankful for today? Some may say “nothing” others may say “everything”
1 Thessalonians 5:17 says, In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.
Did you know that there are various ways that we can show our appreciation to the Lord for what He has done? There are outward ways of expressing an inward, thankful heart.
In the Gospel of Luke we will look at 3 men who showed their appreciation for Jesus healing them in 3 ways.
I. One Man Praised The Lord – Luke 17:11-19
Verses 11-12
Ten men were very sick. They had leprosy. It was a disease that ate at the skin, and made one an outcast according to Jewish law. Because they were outcasts, they stood afar off.
We had a problem like these lepers that was fatal. It made us outcasts before God. The problem was our sin.
Verse 13
These men had the right idea. They called on the Lord Jesus to have mercy on them. They really had no other hope.
Like these men, we needed mercy. We were dead in trespasses and sins. The only one who could help us was the Lord Jesus, because it was Him who died for us. Like these lepers, we needed to call on the Lord in order to be saved. Romans 10:13
Verse 14
These men were told to go show themselves to the priest. In order for them to get back into society, they needed for the priest to pronounce them as "clean." They took the step of faith to show themselves to the priest, taking Jesus at His word, and as they went, they were healed.
Our healing for salvation was similar. We took God at his word, that he would save us, if we believed, and He did exactly what he promised. John 3:16 & 2 Corinthians5:17
Verses 15-16
I think each man saw that he was healed. However, only one of them turned around, worshipped God, and gave thanks.
What happened to the others? I think that they were so busy wanting to get back to their lives that they forgot to say "thank you" and to worship God.
Here is a great reminder for you and me. How thankful are we for what God has done for us.
Our sins have been forgiven.
We have a home in Heaven.
We have the Holy Spirit.
We have answered prayer.
We can’t lose our salvation, if we are truly saved.
We are truly loved of God!
Shouldn’t we, of all people be giving praise and adoration and thanksgiving to God?!
1 Timothy 1:12-17 - And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who hath enabled me, for that he counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry; Who was before a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and injurious: but I obtained mercy, because I did [it] ignorantly in unbelief. And the grace of our Lord was exceeding abundant with faith and love which is in Christ Jesus. This [is] a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief. Howbeit for this cause I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might shew forth all longsuffering, for a pattern to them which should hereafter believe on him to life everlasting. Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, [be] honour and glory for ever and ever. Amen.
This harvest time, this time where we recognize what God has blessed us with and thank His name for it, this time should be one of worship for those of us who know Christ personally. We have reason to worship and praise God!
Verses 17-19
There was 90% more cleansed than were actually giving thanks. I wonder if this percentage is true for us who are saved? What percentage of us who are saved are truly thankful?
Let us make sure that we are among the ones who return to give thanks.
We do not like it very well when people fail to give thanks for what we’ve done. Imagine how God must feel!
II. One Man Followed The Lord – Luke 18:35-43
Verse 35-37
As the Lord come near to Jericho, He met a blind beggar. Mark gives his name as Bartimaeus. In this day, blindness was a common affliction for which there was no cure. There was no laser treatment and all a blind person could do was beg.
He hears the commotion that came with Christ’s approach and asked what was going on. He was told that Jesus of Nazareth passeth by. He would never pass that way again. It was now or never for the blind man, and he raises his voice, Verse 38 “Jesus, thou Son of David,” here he gives Jesus His full Messianic title, “have mercy on me.”
The fact that he addressed Christ in this way indicates that he knew Jesus could give sight to the blind Isaiah 35:4b-5 He (God) will come and save you. [5] Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, And the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped.
He is told to be quiet in verse 39, but this just made him cry out all the more. The time had come for a decision to be made; such a time had come to the rich young ruler, and also Pilate as he stood face to face with Christ. It came to Felix and King Agrippa.
This time of decision also came in our lives, and now it had come to this beggar. Some had let this moment pass because they did not feel the need to be saved. Not this man, his cry gets louder and louder.
Verse 40-41a
Jesus came to a stop and commanded him to be brought to Him. When the blind man was brought before the Lord, Jesus asked him what he wanted. Surely the blind mans needs were obvious. Yes they were but he had to voice his request to the Lord.
He calls Jesus Lord – Kyrios “he to whom a person or thing belongs, about which he has power of deciding; master, lord, this title is given to: God, the Messiah”
Verse 42
Jesus responded to his faith and he was saved. What a change took place in his life. Is there a change in our life as a result of salvation? There should be.
Verse 43
He went from darkness to light, from crying to praising the Lord, from begging to following Jesus.
Bartimaeus followed Jesus after being healed. He also worshipped God as a result of his healing.
Bartimaeus reminds me that a truly thankful person is someone who will walk after Jesus. Because of what Jesus has done for him in saving him, he will walk after and with Jesus.
Luke 9:23-24 - And he said to [them] all, If any [man] will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it.
A worldly kind of person came to the preacher, defending her practice of attending worldly entertainments. She said, "But, pastor, I can take Jesus Christ with me wherever I go." The pastor after a few moments of thought quietly replied, "Indeed, is that so? I didn’t know that was the order of the Bible. Is it for you to lead Jesus to where you want to go or for Him to lead you where He wants you to be?"
John 15:1-7 - I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman.
Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every [branch] that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit. Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you. Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. I am the vine, ye [are] the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing. If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast [them] into the fire, and they are burned. If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.
III. One Man Testified of The Lord – Luke 8:26-39
Verses 26-27
Luke describes the plight of this man. He was possessed by demons, wore no clothes, lived among the tombs and he was demented and beyond all human help. He had been in this condition for a long time.
This man was controlled by the forces of the devil. Before we came to Christ we were the devils John 8:44 Ye are of [your] father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.
As a result of our faith in Christ we have a new father and belong to a new family John 1:12 But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that have believed on his name:
Verse 38-39
As Jesus was boarding the boat the changed man begged Christ to allow him to be with his Lord. But no, the man was to remain where he was as the Lord’s ambassador to his fellow countrymen.
Four times the word besought is used in this account. Verse 31 the demons besought Him not to send them into the Abyss. Verse 32 they also besought Him to let them enter into the swine. Verse 33 the people besought the Lord to go away. Verse 38 the healed man besought the Lord to go with Him.
All of these requests were granted except the last one. Jesus refused the last request and told the cleansed maniac “Go home.” That is the proper place to begin living a new life in Christ. It meant going back to the people who knew him before. It meant going back to the people who knew him best. They would no doubt see the change in this mans life.
He did a good job too Mark 5:20 And he departed, and began to publish in Decapolis how great things Jesus had done for him: and all men did marvel.
We are the ones who can best reach the ones we love.
We are the ones who can best reach the ones we know best.
We are the ones, who should show our appreciation for what the Lord has done for us, by telling others.
There was once a Hindu woman who had accepted Christ as her Saviour by hearing the Word of God read. She suffered much persecution from her husband. One day a missionary asked her, "When your husband is angry and persecutes you, what do you do?" She replied, "Well, sir, I cook his food better; when he complains, I sweep the floor cleaner; and when he speaks unkindly, I answer him mildly. I try, sir, to show him that when I became a Christian I became a better wife and a better mother."
Psalm 107:2 - Let the redeemed of the LORD say [so], whom he hath redeemed from the hand of the enemy;
1 Peter 3:15 - But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and [be] ready always to [give] an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear:
