As He made His Journey, He heard this pitiful cry from ten lepers “Jesus, Master”!
Notice, they called him “Master”.
They did not call Him “Teacher” or “Lord” or “Messiah” or “Son of David”, they called Him “Master”.
Is this significant?
Yes, they called Him Master because a more literal reading would be: “Jesus, we see your power and respect You as One who works miracles, please have mercy on us.”
It is also significant, they were not professing faith in Jesus as the Messiah, but professing faith in Jesus as a miracle worker.
In actuality they were humbling themselves before someone more powerful than they are and begging for help.
In fact, they were desperate, they said, Have Mercy on Us!
According to the Law of Moses (Lev. 13 and Numbers 5:2-3) were ceremonially unclean and must live in isolation outside the village.
They were to let their hair of their head hang loose, cover their upper lip and cry out ‘Unclean, Unclean’ if they were to meet someone according to Lev 13:46.
This was for the protection of others for what was a contagious disease.
This is why these ten lepers “stood at a distance” and shouted to Jesus.
These ten men cried out for mercy because they recognized their awful situation and Jesus’ ability to help them.
Jesus heard their cry for mercy and granted it. He put their faith in His healing ability to the test by telling them to go show themselves to the priests before they are even healed.
Consider for a moment that they were lepers when they cried out to Jesus for mercy, they were lepers when Jesus told them to “go and show yourselves to the priests”, and lepers when they began walking to the priests. It is “as they went, they were cleansed.” When they began walking, they were lepers, but as they went to the priests, they became cleansed of their leprosy so that when they arrived the priest would inspect them (Leviticus 14:2-4) and declare them ceremonially clean and could enter back into society.
All ten believed that Jesus could heal their leprosy, and all took steps of obedience in going to the priest in order to be healed of their physical ailment.
All ten were cleansed of their leprosy, but “one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice, and he fell on his face at Jesus’ feet, giving Him thanks. And he was a Samaritan.”
Jesus asked a very heartbreaking and revealing question: “Were not ten cleansed? Where are the nine?” Jesus laments that out of the ten only one returns to “give praise to God.”
What distinguishes the Samaritan from the other nine is that this man not only believed that Jesus could help him physically, but also spiritually. This man recognized that Jesus is sent from God, does the work of God, and is worthy of praise and worship.
Notice, our text begins, “It is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord...”
We usually think of being thankful as being connected with good manners.
Illus: It seems that there used to be a time when PARENTS used to stress the importance of good manners to their children from the time, they were very young.
• They taught them how to properly address adults.
• They taught them how to show respect for each other and for adults.
• They taught them to express their thankfulness when anyone was kind to them or gave something to them.
These were some basic things just about ALL PARENTS used to teach their children.
Then the PUBLIC SCHOOLS reinforced those good teachings at school.
Along with teaching reading, writing, and arithmetic, they taught such things as:
-Kindness.
-Courteous.
-Cooperation.
-Friendliness.
-Patience
They considered these things to be as important as teaching reading, writing, and arithmetic.
It is a sad day in our country now because it seems that MANY PARENTS and MANY SCHOOLS no longer place emphasis on good manners as they once did.
We have raised a generation of ungrateful individuals. They spend much time griping and grumbling.
What a contrast to the way things used to be.
For example,
• There was a time when store clerks would look you in the face with a smile and thank customers for their patronage. They recognized they would not have a job if it were not for the customers. You could feel the appreciation as you went through the cashier’s line.
Often today when you go through the cashier line the cashier will not even bother to look you in the face with a smile but make you think they are doing you a favor to wait on you. The customer is made to feel that he/she needs to apologize for disturbing the cashiers, or for imposing on their time, to get them to wait on them.
• There used to be a time when you could drive into a service station and an attendant, with a big smile, would greet you and ask how he could help you. Now you pull up and all you see are the signs that instruct you how to pump your own gas.
We are in the middle of an AGE OF INGRATITUDE.
Illus: Some time back people read a newspaper report of a ship that sank in Lake Michigan. One young man braved the cold waters, swimming to the sinking ship and bringing someone back to shore with him over nineteen times. He actually saved 19 lives! He later reported that not one of those people came to him to so much as say, “Thank You!”
Ingratitude is certainly a problem today, but it seems that in the day of Christ it was also prevalent.
Illus: Remember the ten lepers that Christ healed? Only one came back to thank Him. Christ noticed their lack of gratitude. He asked the one who came back to thank Him where the other nine were.
The bright side of this is that in this age of ingratitude Christians have an excellent opportunity to express their gratitude for the many blessings God has bestowed upon us.
Illus: A light can be best seen in darkness. Gratitude can best be seen in a world of ungrateful people.
The psalmist shows us why we should have a THANKFUL HEART.
He shows us...
I. IT IS A GOOD THING TO DO.
In Psalm 92:1 we read, “It is a good thing to give thanks unto the LORD, and to sing praises unto thy name, O most High:”
One of the most worthwhile things you and I can do is take time to give thanks to the Lord. We could never thank Him enough for what He has done.
There is nothing you and I could do as Christians that reveals to the world that Christ is in our lives than having a THANKFUL SPIRIT!
Illus: This reminds me of an ungodly man who came to know Christ. Before he was saved, he was known for his temper and the foul language he would frequently use. However, he was gloriously saved and the news of his conversion spread among his many coworkers at his job.
• A group of men decided to “test” his religion. They hid his lunch box. Lunch time came and they all wanted to hear the profanity that would usually come from his lips.
• To their surprise he said, “Praise the Lord! At least I still have an appetite.”
All of us are guilty of not thanking God the way we should. There is nothing better we can do.
Why is it A GOOD THING TO GIVE THANKS unto the Lord?
A. It is good to give thanks to the Lord because giving thanks lightens life’s burdens.
We look around and see two kinds of people.
(1)First, we see people whose lives are full of trouble.
That is; their lives are like dumping grounds. Everything that is bad that could be dumped on them seems to have dumped on them.
2. Second, we see people whose lives are full of blessings.
Their lives are like a flower garden. Everything beautiful that could be planted in one has been “planted” in their lives.
We see these two kinds of people, but actually there is only ONE KIND.
Job said, Job 5:7, “Yet man is born unto trouble, as the sparks fly upward.”
Every person alive has his load of problems to take care of in this life. Some do a good job of concealing their problems. Others do not do so well, but everyone has trouble according to God’s Word.
What makes some people DIFFERENT from others is the way they react to those problems.
(1) Some choose to MURMUR constantly.
They cannot see that there is anything good in life. All they can see is that life is full of sorrow. They are quick to tell you that everyone else has something to be grateful for, but they do not have anything.
Illus: They have things to be grateful for also, but they are like the man who cannot see the forest because their nose is up against a tree.
Listen, it doesn’t matter how bad things may be at times, you can always be thankful because things could be worse! SOME CHOOSE TO LIVE CONSTANTLY MURMURING!
Also...
-Some choose to constantly be GIVING THANKS. Do they have problems? Sure, they do. They have as many problems as possible as the next person, but they have discovered that life is too short to live on the DARK SIDE. They prefer to live on the BRIGHT SIDE and be thankful for all the good things.
Illus: Pastor Odell Belger and his wife go and see a man in a nursing home that once attended his church twice a month. But every time they go, they are amazed that this man is always in a cheerful mood. He tells the pastor and his wife how that he is busy trying to help others in the nursing home.
A thankful attitude, more than anything else, helps us keep our eyes fixed on the brighter side of life.
Illus: Anyone who has dealt with people who suffer with chronic depression will tell you that all of those people THINK ON THE NEGATIVE and TALK ONLY OF THE NEGATIVE.
-You can tell them it is a beautiful day, and they will say, “Yes, but it is supposed to rain tomorrow.”
-You can tell them that a glass is half full and they will say, “Yes, but is it also half empty.”
-The pessimist expects nothing on a silver platter except tarnish.
Someone said, “The pessimist is a person who absorbs sunshine and radiates gloom.” He cannot find a thing to be thankful about because all he can see are the bad things that happen to him. And the reason he cannot see the good things is because all he looks for are the bad things.
The Psalmist said, “It is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord...”
Why?
BECAUSE THANKFULNESS LIGHTENS LIFE’S BURDENS.
It keeps us focused on the POSITIVE. If we are focused on the positive, then we will not have time to dwell on the NEGATIVE.
Next...
B. It is good to give thanks to the Lord because thankfulness quickens our spiritual perception.
Illus: How many children do you know that perceives that their mother is a loving and caring person? That is; every day that precious mother watches over her child from the time he gets up until he goes to sleep.
The mother:
-Feeds the child.
-Washes his clothes.
-Irons his clothes.
-Mends his clothes.
Yet to hear the ungrateful child talk about his mother you would perceive his mother has ruined his life by placing demands upon him when she requires him to take baths, wear clean clothes and eat the right kinds of food. To hear him talk you would think his parents were his enemies.
Every day an ungrateful child is thinking his mother is only fulfilling her obligation when she serves him. He has the wrong PERCEPTION of his mother.
Yet another child, that perceives his mother to be a loving and caring individual, will fly into her arms and say, “Mom, I appreciate all that you do for me, and I thank you from the bottom of my heart.”
The same principal applies to us, spiritually:
-We have some who soak up the blessings of God and they are not grateful. They see God, the Father, showering His blessings on them and they feel He is fulfilling His obligation to them by serving them. Why should they be thankful to God? He is only doing what He is supposed to be doing. Their PERCEPTION of God is wrong!
-We have others who receive the blessings of God, and every time God blesses them their SPIRITUAL PERCEPTION is this -- GOD IS A GOOD GOD! He does not have to bless them, but He has blessed, and their GRATITUDE reveals that they PERCEIVE God to be a good God Who is gracious to them.
The Bible says, “It is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord...” Why?
• BECAUSE THANKFULNESS LIGHTENS LIFE’S BURDENS.
• BECAUSE THANKFULNESS QUICKENS OUR SPIRITUAL PERCEPTION.
The Psalmist is absolutely right!
IT IS A GOOD THING TO DO
And also...
II. IT IS A DAILY THING TO DO.
Look at Psalm 92:2. We read, “To show forth thy lovingkindness in the morning, and thy faithfulness every night.”
Notice, the Psalmist mentions two times to “show forth” our gratitude.
A. In the morning.
This is one of the best times to offer up thanksgiving to the Lord.
Why?
Every day that God allows us to open our eyes and live another day on this earth should never be taken lightly.
Illus: Someone said, “Every day is like a resurrection.” From the depths of sleep, we rise up to serve the Lord.
One day the sun will rise, and we will not be here, but for now, every day that God allows us to open our eyes and enjoy another day with our FAMILY and FRIENDS we should start the day off with THANKSGIVING.
Another reason it is such a good time is because our mind and heart are cleaner from the world before we get involved in the day’s activities.
IT IS GOOD TO GIVE THANKS UNTO THE LORD IN THE MORNING.
It is good also to give thanks unto the Lord...
B. In the evening.
Every evening it should be a set thing that we do before we close our eyes to take a few minutes to do a little self-examination and “Count Our Blessings and Name Them One by One” and give thanks unto the Lord.
If we counted all the blessings of God on our lives at the end of each day before we went to sleep, we would see that they far outnumber the trials we have had to face.
The Bible says, “IT IS A GOOD THING TO GIVE THANKS UNTO THE LORD...” and IT IS A “DAILY THING” WE SHOULD DO.
Conclusion:
IT IS A GOOD THING TO GIVE THANKS UNTO THE LORD.
Everyone would not agree with that. Look at verse 6. We read, “A brutish man knoweth not; neither doth a fool understands this.”
The psalmist says that some people live as if they were dumb, “brute” beasts.
Illus: He may have had in mind the fact that you can buy the best quality hog feed available, but the hog will show no gratitude whatsoever for your having gone to the trouble and expense of providing that for him.
God has given people six days to do the things they have to get done, yet today, as the Lord’s Day dawned, it never crossed their minds that they should go to church and thank the Lord. It should have, but they live like the dumb, “brute,” beasts.
Saints HAVE THANKFUL HEARTS unto the Lord.
I. IT IS A GOOD THING TO DO.
II IT IS A DAILY THING TO DO.
