Introduction
HOW DO I STRUGGLE WITH THIS?
Saying thank you is hard! Look at young children, it is not a natural response for a child to say thank you. Children are expecting; they are not appreciating. Children are expecting when they go with you to Wal Mart and you past the toy aisle that you are expected to buy them a toy. There is very little appreciating that you are buying them that toy. Appreciating must be taught to the child by the parents. How many times have you heard a parent say to their child, “Now, what do you tell them”? And the parent is hoping their child will say “thank you”? Some parents don’t leave it up for chance. They ask the child, “Did you say. ‘Thank you’?”
Parents, there is some good news. The older we get, the more we begin to understand that there are times people invest in our lives with either their time, their money, their words of encouragement or their talents and they deserve a thank you. But it is still a struggle to say thank you, but it is done.
Now, I am a full-grown adult; in fact, a full-grown Christian adult (having given my heart to the Lord in 1976), and I struggle with thanking the Lord. There is a Scripture in James 1:17 (NKJV) that states:
17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.
And then I started thinking to myself of some scenario in my life and do I really remember to thank the Lord. Let me give you a couple of them and see if you thank the Lord. I got to admit on these examples I fail more often than I succeed.
1. I stop off at the gas station, and I fill up my gas tank, do I remember to thank God for the ability to fill up my tank? That is a good gift and I just read every good gift is from God.
2. When I get in my car and turn on the radio and listen to the Message on Sirius Radio and hear all those talented artists touch my heart with song, do I thank God that I can be blessed as I am driving down the road? That is a good gift and I just read every good gift is from above.
3. When I can go to bed and do not toss and turn for hours but immediately go to sleep and wake up fresh, do I thank God as my feet are hitting the floor for a peaceful rest. After all, that is a good gift and I just read every good gift is from above.
You say, why is it such big thing to you that you forget to say “thank you, Lord” for some normal everyday activity? It is because Jesus tells me that it is a big thing to Him. 1 Thessalonians 5:18 (NKJV)
18 in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.
So, today I want to look at a guy who did the big thing and returned to give God thanks and see what I can learn from him.
2 SCRIPTURE
HOW DOES GOD'S WORD SAY?
Luke 17:11-19 (NKJV)
11 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 up 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.”
3 POINT #1
THE ONE LEAPER COULD BE THANKFUL BECAUSE HE COULD REMEMBER WHAT HIS LIFE WAS LIKE BEFORE CHRIST PASSED THROUGH HIS VILLAGE.
Luke 17:11-12 (NKJV)
11 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.
This one man with leprosy didn’t forget where he was when Christ came walking through the village. He was in a leaper’s camp. Leapers had to be separated from all their family and their friends and could not live within the community. They lived on the outskirts of town. The Jewish rules of not touching a dead body were the same rules that were applied to the leaper. They were in the minds of the Jewish religious leaders the living dead. And if someone accidentally got too close to them, the leaper had to yell out “unclean”. It was a horrible life of isolation. The best way to describe a leaper’s life is to say it is as bad as it can get and still be alive.
Only one remembered what that kind of life that was and went back to thank God for changing it. The other nine gave little thought to what their past was like and put their focus on what is ahead for them.
Do you remember what your life was like before God touched your heart and changed your life? If you cannot then you probably are not very thankful. Thankful people remember from where they came and that is the source of their attitude of Thanksgiving. In my life, I need to remember that Anne and I were not on a very good road when God touched our lives. We drank, way too much, I was addicted to gambling, and our marriage was on shaky ground. I need to thank God every time I pass a package store and don’t stop; I need to thank God living so close to the Gulf Coast Casinos that those casinos don’t call my name beckoning me to them, and I certainly need to thank God we are in our 47th year of marriage. But I don’t thank God like I should; but today I am going to be much freer in my thanksgiving to God.
What is your story and what should you be thanking God for?
4 Point #2
THE ONE LEAPER REMEMBERED WHO MADE THE DIFFERENCE IN THEIR LIFE. AND IT WAS JESUS.
Luke 17:13-14
13 And they lifted up 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.
The ten leapers all did the same thing and shouted with their voices, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.” And they all did what Jesus told them to do and they went to show their selves the true source of the healing. to the priest. But that is where the similarities end. Only one came back to thank the true source of their healing.
We are not told what the other nine did. But it is possible that some did not think a thank you was necessary because they were expecting a healing. Why should I have to live on the outskirts of town, a loner, isolated from my family? I deserved what Jesus did for me; it was the only right thing for Him to do.
Others might have patted themselves on the back and gave themselves credit. After all, they did what Jesus told them to do and so they brought about their own healing. It wasn’t like Jesus touched them and told them they are clean. They had to walk to the priest. “We had to take care of our own healing.
And still others might had said thank you to the priest who gave them the clean bill of health and allowed them to go back in the community.
My dad use to tell me growing up to give credit where credit is due. And that is good advice. And I can tell you right now, if something good has happened in your life, it is not your parents, your spouse, your employer, or your doctor who deserves the ultimate credit although they may have participated in some way. The ultimate credit goes to Jesus. Every good and perfect gift is from heaven above.
Only one got it right. And that might mean in our lives that we are not giving the credit to who ultimately deserves the credit.
5 Point #3
THE LORD NOTICED THE UNGRATEFULNESS OF THE OTHER NINE.
Luke 17:17-18
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?”
The giver of the gift of healing was Jesus Christ. And it was He who noticed that the other nine did not come back. Well, you may say that in this passage of Scripture, Jesus never asked them to come back to Him. You are right. He did not ask them to come back, but out of a sense of appreciation, I would think that they had an obligation to find Jesus and thank Him.
And obviously, from the reading of this passage Jesus thought so too.
Those nine had unfinished business that they needed to take care of. I hope that they did so before they left this earth.
I wonder today if God has done something good in your life and you were like the nine and did not come back to thank Him. If that is the case, you have some unfinished business that you need to take care of. It is not too late while you still have breath, to thank God for what He has done for you.
6 Point#4
THE SCRIPTURE TEACHES THAT APPRECIATION OPENS THE DOORS TO OTHER BLESSINGS IN YOUR LIFE.
Luke 17:19
19 And He said to him, “Arise, go your way. Your faith has made you well.”
The other nine left with a bodily healing.
The one that returned and thanked Jesus left with a spiritual healing as well.
And Jesus clearly teaches us that gratitude opens the door for more blessings in your life. If you don’t think that God is blessing you like you should, I would tell you to check your gratitude for what He has already done for you.
Remember, it is God’s will for our life to give thanks.
Let us pray!
