THANKSGIVING—Exposing the Quality of Your Faith—
Luke 17:11-19
*Attention-1:
How many of you expect certain things at your family Thanksgiving celebrations?
You look forward to certain items being on the table because you might not eat it at any other time of the year. Maybe appreciate the way a certain person makes an item as opposed to all other recipes. In fact, if you will admit it, right now, you’re thinking about those particular foods! As the years go by, you yourself may now be responsible for cooking those dishes. But as hard as you try, yours isn’t quite the same ‘aunt Sally’s’ Thanksgiving dressing. Or maybe your collards are missing some small something that made uncle Bill’s collards memorable.
Those menu items help bring back memories of favorite relatives or friends that you haven’t seen in a while—a next-door neighbor, a coworker, a sibling, an aunt, uncle, or cousin, or grandparent.
Your expectations may be of specific ‘family activities’ that take place only on Thanksgiving.
One family I know of, used to invite the entire neighborhood to a huge Thanksgiving lunch, which that particular family would prepare for everyone, by renting out the church facilities.
In the midst of all of that family interaction, there are a multitude of ‘things’ that we’re all truly thankful for.
But, I invite you to consider a question today...
?To whom is each of the people at your Thanksgiving celebration thankful?
?To whom is their ‘thankfulness’ offered?—Is it to some ethereal, untouchable, nameless, flesh-derived ‘god’ of their own creation, that bears no resemblance to the true God of glory?
?Where is YOUR ‘thankfulness’ directed? To Whom is it directed?
*The way you answer those questions in your heart of hearts, fully ‘Exposes the Quality Of Your Faith’ for what it really is!...either truly saving or merely temporal. THANKSGIVING—Exposing the Quality of Your Faith—
Luke 17:11-19
Need:
Even though Thanksgiving is a nationally designated holiday in our country, there is NO CERTAINTY that everyone who celebrates it, is truly thankful.
Nor does it guarantee that the thankfulness of those who celebrate it, is directed toward the TRUE Creator & Provider!
Our ‘Thanksgiving’ Celebrations will be hollow if our thankfulness is limited to the things & people of this earth, but not directed toward YHWH-God’s loving provision for us.
Attention-2:!THIS ILLUSTRATION UNUSED!
Back in the day, when my wife & I were first married, we lived in Savannah, GA. We joined the local Sierra Club. One of the things that our group was ‘into’ was canoeing. We loved canoeing thru swamps like the Okefenokee & Ebenezer Creek, & also on black-water rivers, like the Ohoopee, Ogeechee, & Alapaha Rivers.
Conoeing requires that you know how to properly tie a certain few crucial ‘knots.’ Two essential knots are a ‘Trucker’s Hitch’ & a ‘Bowline.’ Before the days of the internet & YouTube video instruction, we learned how to properly tie them from our fellow canoe-ers. Those knots are necessary in order to transport your canoe from the storage area, to the canoe ‘put-in’ on the body of water you’re accessing. Because the knots are used to tie a canoe to your vehicle.
The proof of the quality of the canoer’s knot-tying expertise, is in the knot’s ability to securely hold a canoe to the roof of a vehicle, (1)While driving the interstate at 70mph, (2)While taking 55mph curves in the country, (3)While having to come to a sudden stop for animals, while trying to find the river/swamp put-in, & (4)While putting your vehicle into precarious positions in an attempt to get as close to the ‘put-in’ as possible before unloading!
I still use those knots today! Though we no longer canoe, we still have a container full of various lengths of rope. Since we have moved so often in pastoral ministry, those same knots have come in handy for securing furniture inside of moving trucks.
Jesus’ interaction with 10 lepers, elicited/drew contrasting responses of Gratefulness for Jesus’ mercy.
Gratefulness to YHWH-God is determined by the quality of personal faith in Him.
--OR--
The quality of your personal faith in YHWH-God, determines the quality of your Gratefulness for His mercy.
But:
?How does Gratefulness expose/express the quality of our faith?
3 means of measuring your personal faith by the personal Gratitude you exhibit.
**************
Gratefulness exposes the quality of your faith thru....
1. Personal STRUGGLES(:12-13)
2. Personal TRUST(:14)
3. Personal ACTIONS(:15-19)
**************
3—Gratefulness exposes the quality of your faith thru....
Personal ACTIONS(:15-19)
Explanation/Argumentation:(:15-19)
:15—“And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, returned, & with a loud voice glorified God,”
:16a—“and fell down on his face at His feet, giving Him thanks....”
A. Come to terms w/ the Reality of God’s handiwork
Ps. 103:2-5 “Bless the LORD, O my soul, And forget not all His benefits: Who forgives all your iniquities, Who heals all your diseases, Who redeems your life from destruction, Who crowns you with lovingkindness & tender mercies, Who satisfies your mouth with good things, So that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.”
Ps. 147:3—“He heals the brokenhearted And binds up their wounds.”
Jer. 17:14—“Heal me, O LORD, & I shall be healed; Save me, & I shall be saved, For You are my praise.”
B. Come to terms w/ the Relationship between Gratefulness & Personal Trust in Christ Jesus.
Mat. 5:23-24—“Therefore if you bring your gift to the altar, & there remember that your brother has something against you, “leave your gift there before the altar, & go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, & then come & offer your gift.”
Ps. 107:22—“Let them sacrifice the sacrifices of thanksgiving, And declare His works with rejoicing.”
C. Come to terms w/ God’s Agent of relief, giving Him Open Glory
*Ps. 95:1-2—“Oh come, let us sing to the LORD! Let us shout joyfully to the Rock of our salvation. Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving; Let us shout joyfully to Him with psalms.”
:15--“Glorified”—doxazw—1) To think, suppose, be of opinion; 2) To praise, extol, magnify, celebrate;3) To honor, do honor to, hold in honor; 4) To make glorious, adorn with lustre, clothe with splendor—4a) To impart glory to something, render it excellent, 4b) To make renowned, render illustrious—4b1) To cause the dignity & worth of some person or thing to become manifest & acknowledged.
D. Come to terms w/ our own Humanity(Humility)
Mat. 18:4—“Therefore whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.”
Mat. 23:11-12—“But he who is greatest among you shall be your servant. And whoever exalts himself will be humbled, & he who humbles himself will be exalted.”
1Pet. 5:6-7—“Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.”
:16a--“Thanks”—eucaristew—Present Active Participle - Nominative Sing. Masc.—1) To be grateful, feel thankful; 2) Give thanks. Strong—To be grateful, i.e. actively--To express gratitude(towards); specially--To say grace at a meal. Used 39X.
:16b—“And he was a Samaritan.”
The Jews regarded “Samaritans”(:16) as pagans, outsiders, & foreigners(:18).
Jn. 4:9—“...For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.”
•In Jesus’ day, they were largely influenced by the Assyrian’s & Babylonian’s resettlement programs during the two major Jewish exiles.
•“Samaritans” resulted from Jews intermarrying with pagans, & thru such, compromising their Jewish faith.
•“Samaritans” generally held to their own views of faith, much like people do who have been raised in Christian homes but allow non-Christians to influence their lives(thru non-Christian Marriage/Television/Work relationships/Social Media relationships).
•They edited or ‘improved’ the Scriptures to fit the ‘felt-needs’ of their chosen lifestyle in “Samaritan” society.
Generally—“Samaritans” held aberrant views of Scripture—Witness--The Samaritan Pentateuch.
•In actuality the Jews did the same thing—recall Jesus’ constant run-ins with the Pharisees & Sadducees, who trusted the ‘commentary’ on the word of God, more than they trusted the word of God!
“Samaritans” as a whole, were Doctrinally Wanting/Deficient:
Lu 9:51-53—“Now it came to pass, when the time had come for Him to be received up, that He steadfastly set His face to go to Jerusalem, & sent messengers before His face. And as they went, they entered a village of the Samaritans, to prepare for Him. But they did not receive Him, because His face was set for the journey to Jerusalem.”
•The Samaritans thought to themselves, ‘?Why would Jesus go to Jerusalem, when He could come to Samaria?
Jn. 4:19-24—“The woman said to Him, “Sir, I perceive that You are a prophet. “Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, & you Jews say that in Jerusalem is the place where one ought to worship.” Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe Me, the hour is coming when you will neither on this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, worship the Father. “You worship what you do not know; we know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews. “But the hour is coming, & now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit & truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. “God is Spirit, & those who worship Him must worship in spirit & truth.””
*HOWEVER, ON THE OTHER HAND, this one particular “Samaritan”, in Lk. 17, recognized God was working in Jesus! And he’s not the only “Samaritan” who recognized God’s work!
Jn. 4:39-40—And many of the Samaritans of that city believed in Him because of the word of the woman who testified[the woman at the well], “He told me all that I ever did.” So when the Samaritans had come to Him, they urged Him to stay with them; & He stayed there two days.”
AND recall the parabolic example Jesus gave in Lk. 10:25-37...
Lk. 10:29-37—a certain man,—“...wanting to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” Then Jesus answered & said: “A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, & fell among thieves, who stripped him of his clothing, wounded him, & departed, leaving him half dead. Now by chance a certain priest came down that road. And when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. Likewise a Levite, when he arrived at the place, came & looked, & passed by on the other side. But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was. And when he saw him, he had compassion. So he went to him & bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil & wine; & he set him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, & took care of him. “On the next day, when he departed, he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, & said to him, ‘Take care of him; & whatever more you spend, when I come again, I will repay you.’ “So which of these three do you think was neighbor to him who fell among the thieves?” And he said, “He who showed mercy on him.” Then Jesus said to him, “Go & do likewise.””
:17—“So Jesus answered & 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?””
Jesus was taken aback by the ingratitude of the 9 cleansed lepers. They had not acknowledged “Jesus”, but freely accepted His gift of healing.
•A person “can experience God’s grace in terms of general mercy & still not benefit fully from it, because the response never moves beyond reception of kindness to the exercise of faith.”—Darrell L. Bock in BECNT ‘Luke 9:51—24:53’
Jesus spoke to the Samaritan, asking him rhetorically, the total of their number “cleansed.” He then asks him where the 9 others were—who did NOT have the wherewithall/compulsion/compunction/heart/faith to thank Jesus personally!
The one Samaritan had "given glory" to God, though their doctrine was considered aberrant & unacceptable by the Jews.
:18--“Foreigner/Stranger”—allogenhv—Adj. Nominative Sing. Masc.—1)Sprung from another tribe, a foreigner, alien. Strong—Foreign, i.e. Not a Jew. Used 1X--Lk. 17:18.?From—allov—“Else,” i.e. Different(in many applications) reduplicated; a primary word.—&—genov—“Kin”(abstract or concrete, literal or figurative, individual or collective).
:19—“And He said to him, “Arise, go your way. Your faith has made you well.””
Jesus’ response to all this is that He instructs the formerly leprous Samaritan to “arise” from the ground where he prostrated himself in an attitude of sincere thankfulness. Jesus tells him to continue on his “way” to the priests & beyond, because his personal “faith” had indeed ‘saved’(“well”) him.
The “Samaritan”(:16) “foreigner”(:18) experienced a new lease on life thru Jesus’ forgiveness!
•The Greek word translated here as “well”(NKJV), is in the New Testament, translated 93 out of 110X as “save”!
“Well/Whole”—swzw—Perfect Active Indicative 3rd Sing.—1) To save, keep safe & sound, to rescue from danger or destruction—1a) one(from injury or peril)—1a1) To save a suffering one(from perishing), i.e. one suffering from disease, to make well, heal, restore to health—1b1) To preserve one who is in danger of destruction, to save or rescue, 1b) To save in the technical biblical sense—1b1) negatively—1b1a) To deliver from the penalties of the Messianic judgment, 1b1b) To save from the evils which obstruct the reception of the Messianic deliverance. Strong—To save, i.e. Deliver or protect (literally or figuratively); from a primary swv(contraction for obsolete saov "safe").
Argumentation:
*1Cor. 1:26-29—“For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called. But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, & God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty; & the base things of the world & the things which are despised God has chosen, & the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are, that no flesh should glory in His presence.”
Ex. 20:2-6—““I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. You shall have no other gods before Me. You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third & fourth generations of those who hate Me, but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me & keep My commandments.”
Rev. 3:19—To Laodicean church—“As many as I love, I rebuke & chasten. Therefore be zealous & repent.”
Rom. 1:16—“For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first & also for the Greek.”
Col. 3:9-10—“....you have put off the old man with his deeds, & have put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him,”
*Jn. 3:18-21—““He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, & men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For everyone practicing evil hates the light & does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God.””
•2Cor.. 5:17—“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.”
Jer. 29:11-13—“‘For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the LORD, ‘plans for welfare & not for calamity to give you a future & a hope. ‘Then you will call upon Me & come & pray to Me, & I will listen to you. ‘And you will seek Me & find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.”
Rom. 15:8-12—“Now I say that Jesus Christ has become a servant to the circumcision for the truth of God, to confirm the promises made to the fathers, & that the Gentiles might glorify God for His mercy, as it is written: “For this reason I will confess to You among the Gentiles, And sing to Your name.”[2Sam. 22:50; Ps. 18:49] And again he says: “Rejoice, O Gentiles, with His people!”[Deut. 32:43] And again: “Praise the LORD, all you Gentiles! Laud Him, all you peoples!”[Ps. 117:1] And again, Isaiah says: “There shall be a root of Jesse; And He who shall rise to reign over the Gentiles, In Him the Gentiles shall hope.”””[Isa. 11:1]
Illustration:
At our home in Wesley Chapel, FL. On a particular day, we were having tile installed in bathroom & kitchen. My wife was at work. We didn’t know the tile man, so I was forced to hang around the house till he was done. I was feeling bad all that morning. I had increasing pain on lower right side. A church member, named Rose happened to call. I described my symptoms & she urged me to go to the hospital. I brushed it off. Later, the pain grew so intense that, leaving the tile guy in the house, I managed to drive to the high school, where I had our oldest son, Matthew drive me to the hospital. They discovered that I had a burst appendix! Dr. McCallister operated on me & saved my life!
Later, after being healed completely, I personally returned to Dr. McCallister & in a face-to-face conversation, related to him that I was truly Grateful to him for saving my life.
•Personal ACTIONS
Application:
*?Do YOUR own personal ACTIONS reflect the Gratefulness of saving faith in Christ?
?Are YOU Faithfully Grateful to God, thru Christ Jesus?
CONCLUSION:
Visualization:
Recall your Thanksgiving expectations.
At your Thanksgiving celebrations...
?To whom, or to what, is YOUR personal ‘thankfulness’ offered or directed?
The way you answer that question in your heart of hearts, fully ‘Exposes the Quality Of Your Faith’ for what it really is!...either truly saving or merely temporal.
•?What is the quality of faith, that YOUR Gratefulness exhibits or puts on display?
Action:
Gratefulness exposes the quality of your faith thru....
3. Personal ACTIONS(:15-19)
Pnt# 3 only! Presented 11/23/2025am[THANKSGIVING SUNDAY] to:
Salem Baptist Church
1618 Salem Rd.
Bennettsville, SC 29512
Pts. 1-9[see pre-2025] Presented 11/24/2013pm to:
COMMUNITY THANKSGIVING SERVICE to:
Carrabelle Church of God
1478 Highway 67
Carrabelle, FL 32322
Pts. 1-3[see pre-2025] Presented 11/24/2013am
THANKSGIVING SUNDAY to:
FBC C’belle
206 Storrs Ave. SE
Carrabelle, FL 32322
Presented 11/22/2009am(1-4) & pm(5-8)[see pre-2025] to:
Needmore Baptist Church
1620 Mt. Vernon Rd.
Woodleaf, NC 27054
