INTRODUCTION
• The following proclamation was made by Governor Bradford in 1623, 3 years after the Pilgrims settled at Plymouth;
To all ye Pilgrims,
Inasmuch as the great father has given us this year an abundant harvest of Indian corn, wheat, peas, squashes and garden vegetables, and has made the forests to abound with game and the sea with fish and clams, and inasmuch as he has protected us from the raids of the savages, has spared us from pestilence and disease, has granted us freedom to worship God according to the dictates of our own conscience; now I, your magistrate, do proclaim that all ye Pilgrims, with your wives and ye little ones, do gather at ye meeting house, on ye hill, between the hours of 9 and 12 in the day time, on Thursday November ye 29th of the year of our Lord one thousand six hundred and twenty three, and the third year since ye Pilgrims landed on ye Plymouth rock, there to listen to ye pastor and render thanksgiving to ye Almighty God for all His blessings.
• The Pilgrims had a choice to make. They could have thanked God for the fact they were alive and functioning. They could have cursed God for the fact they lost well over half of the people they left England with. Or they could have cursed God because they did not land in FLORIDA! The other choice they had was to just forget about what God did for them and just live out their lives.
• They chose to be thankful. Even though they had a lot they could complain about, they chose to be thankful. They knew who to give the glory to.
• Are you thankful today? Do you realize how much God has blessed you? Even if you have not given your life to Jesus yet, do you realize what God has been doing in your life?
• We can go through life complaining or being thankful.
• Today we are going to look at the healing of the 10 lepers by Jesus as recorded in Luke 17:11-19. As we look at this story, I hope that we can gain a few insights from it that will help us to be thankful for.
SERMON
I. UNDERSTAND YOUR NEEDS (11-12)
• Leprosy was a generic term applied to a variety of skin disorders from psoriasis to true leprosy. Its symptoms ranged from white patches on the skin to running sores to the loss of digits on the fingers and toes.
• For the Jews it was dreaded maladies which rendered its victims ceremonially unclean—that is, unfit to worship God (Lev. 13:3). Anyone who came in contact with a leper was also considered unclean. Therefore, lepers were isolated from the rest of the community so that the members of the community could maintain their status as worshipers.
• The disease would manifest itself as a skin condition, but in reality it started down in the joints and bone marrow.
• Today we do not hear much about it all though it still exists in some parts of the world.
• According to the World Health Organization, At the beginning of 2002, the number of leprosy patients in the world was around 635 000, as reported by 106 countries. About 760 000 new cases were detected during 2001 (WHO WEB SITE http://www.who.int/lep/)
• In Jesus day if you had leprosy, the Old Testament Law commanded that you be put out of the city. You could no longer live with friends or family. You had to keep a far distance from the highways. Whenever you were approaching a group of people, you were commanded by Law to yell out, “unclean, unclean” so that people could have the chance to get out of the way. Lepers would congregate together outside of the cities to help each other survive. They would beg at the city gates for food. If you were fortunate enough to have family around, they would leave food for you on a rock and when they left, you cold go get the food.
• The life of the leper could in some way be compared to the way we treated Aids patients when the disease first was recognized. We did not know how it spread so we tried to isolate those with it.
• Being a leper was a terrible way to live your life. As Jesus is getting close to His crucifixion, He is going to come across 10 lepers who after meeting Jesus, their lives would never be the same.
A look at the scriptures
• READ verses 11-12
• These ten men knew they had a problem. They knew they needed help, they knew left to their own they had no hope and a bleak future.
• If we are going to be thankful, we need to understand that we have needs than need to be addressed. If we are self-sufficient, then we are apt not to be thankful because we feel no need.
• These men had a disease they could see, they had a sickness that affected them in ways they could see. The sickness started out in the depths of their bodies and if finally showed itself in their skin.
• All who have ever lived have a disease called sin. It starts deep in our soul then if manifests itself in our lives. We all need to understand we need a cure for that disease. This disease separates us from God. We need a cure.
• There is not a single person here today who is without need. A person who is not thankful is a person who feels no need. These ten men were keenly aware of their need.
• Once you discover you have a need, what are you to do about it, where are you to go?
II. KNOW WHERE TO GO WITH YOUR NEEDS (13)
• Here are ten men who afflicted with this terrible disease. They were standing at a distance as required by the Law and they were raising their voices to try to get Jesus attention. They could not shout because many times leprosy would affect the vocal cords.
• No telling how many different things these men might have tried to get rid of their problem. Now they are going to go to Jesus.
• These men who were at gate to beg for money are not asking Jesus for mercy. They want Jesus to heal them of their disease. They knew He could do it because of Jesus reputation. They must have known about the raising of Lazarus. Maybe they heard of other people whom Jesus healed.
• They have a need and they are taking it to Jesus.
• READ VERSE 13
• One of the things that will lead us to being thankful is going to the right place for help. When we go to the right place for help, we can get help.
• Many people go to the wrong place for help. When we need help with our sin sickness, we must go to the right place for the cure. Jesus is the place we need to go.
• These men knew where to go for a cure.
• Do you know where you need to go? I have dealt with people who said they came to Jesus for a cure for their life but they did not think Jesus really did anything for them.
• That is not true, if that happens it is because they did not really go to Jesus. When you come to Jesus, you will not be disappointed! If you develop a relationship with Jesus, you will be overflowing with thanksgiving for what He has done for you.
III. UNDERSTAND THAT OBEDIENCE LEADS TO BLESSINGS (14)
• After these ten men call out to Jesus, Jesus responds to them. READ VERSE 14
• Jesus does not heal them on the spot; instead He tells them to go show themselves to the priest. In the Old Testament, when a person thought they were healed of leprosy, they would have to go to the priest who would pronounce them cured and therefore clean again so they could come to worship. Jesus is abiding by the Law.
• The men had enough faith to do what they were told. In verse 14 we find that as they were going to see the priest they were cleansed!
• The trip would have been at least 20 to 30 miles and would take a few days or so to get to the priest so we do not know how far along they were when the healing took place.
• I wonder what was going through the minds of the men if it took a couple of days for the healing to take place?
• What would have happened to the men if they decided not to be obedient to Jesus? THEY WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN HEALED.
• Their healing was based on their faithfulness to Jesus.
• How many times do we find ourselves feeling we have nothing to be thankful for? I wonder how many blessings we cheat ourselves out of because we are not obedient to God’s word?
• Many times we dig our hole, fall into it and wonder why God allowed it to happen.
• These men could have disobeyed Jesus, never received healing and then called Jesus a phony for not healing them.
• This did not happen. Their faith in what Jesus could do lead them to do what they were told.
IV. KNOW WHO TO THANK (15-18)
• As they were being obedient, they were healed. What did they do? Let’s look at verses 15-18.
• One of the ten turned and headed back to praise God for his healing. Notice when they were calling out to Jesus, it was with raised voice, now one of the ten is shouting praise to God.
• The one who returned was not even a Jew, he was a Samaritan.
• What about the other nine? They had enough faith to do what they were told, but not to return and thank Jesus for their healing.
• Why didn’t they return? Maybe they were afraid if they did before they went to the priest they would not be healed? Maybe it was anxiety to get back to their families and lives, to society? Maybe they just followed the crowd; nine of the ten didn’t go. Maybe just plain thoughtlessness of their great debt to God? Maybe they thought they would catch Him later? Maybe they thought they were lucky?
• Vance Havner in an article in Christianity Today, Vol. 31, no. 17. said:
• Our biggest problem in the church today is this vast majority of Sunday morning Christians who claim to have known the Master’s cure and who return not [at other times] to thank Him by presence, prayer, testimony and support of His church. In fact, the whole Christian life is one big "Thank You," the living expression of our gratitude to God for His goodness. But we take Him for granted and what we take for granted we never take seriously.
• Being a disciple of Jesus is in essence an act of a thankful response for His spiritual healing in our lives.
• How many times have we chalked up some great blessing in our lives to good luck?
• The nine did not return, that is all we know. Many people will come to Jesus and be baptized for the remission of their sins and to receive the gift of the Holy Spirit in their lives only to do nothing for God. It is because they do not appreciate what God has done for them!
• Many times when we get what we want, we do not return.
• This Samaritan knew who to thank for his healing!
• Do you know who to be thankful to?
V. ENJOY YOUR BLESSINGS (19)
• Jesus finishes this discussion with the one who returned by telling him that his faith has made him well. READ VERSE 19
• What do you think this one who was healed did with his life? I bet he enjoyed the blessing he received and I bet he told other people about his experience.
• In the book of Acts 8-9 when the gospel went to Samaria, it was received with great joy. Who knows, maybe this person was instrumental in that happening?
• A thankful person is a happy person. An ungrateful person is a sour one who wastes their life being mad feeling cheated over everything.
• Jesus blesses us and He wants us to enjoy what He gives us.
CONCLUSION
Do you have a lot to be thankful for? I believe we do! If you belong to Jesus you should be thanking Him everyday for the opportunity you have to follow Him.
He has done so much for you. He wants to do so much more! Many times in life we can look at the glass as half empty of half full. Listen to this from an unknown author.
THINGS I’M THANKFUL FOR "....the mess to clean after a party because it means I have been surrounded by friends.
....the taxes I pay because it means that I’m employed.
....the clothes that fit a little too snug because it means I have enough to eat.
....my shadow who watches me work because it means I am out in the sunshine.
....a lawn that needs mowing, windows that need cleaning and gutters that need fixing because it means I have a home.
....the spot I find at the far end of the parking lot because it means I am capable of walking.
....all the complaining I hear about our government because it means we have freedom of speech.
....my huge heating bill because it means I am warm.
...the lady behind me in church who sings off key because it means that I can hear.
....the piles of laundry and ironing because it means my loved ones are nearby.
....weariness and aching muscles at the end of the day because it means I have been productive.
....the alarm that goes off in the early morning hours because it means that I’m alive.
....the Old Rugged Cross because it means my faith is in Jesus Christ. (author unknown)
Jesus is calling you today. Will you come!
