Give Thanks
Sunday July 09, 2000 A.M.
Luke 17:11-19
11 As Jesus continued on toward Jerusalem, he reached the border between Galilee and Samaria.
12 As he entered a village there, ten lepers stood at a distance,
13 crying out, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!”
14 He looked at them and said, “Go show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went, their leprosy disappeared.
15 One of them, when he saw that he was healed, came back to Jesus, shouting, “Praise God, I’m healed!”
16 He fell face down on the ground at Jesus’ feet, thanking him for what he had done. This man was a Samaritan.
17 Jesus asked, “Didn’t I heal ten men? Where are the other nine?
18 Does only this foreigner return to give glory to God?”
19 And Jesus said to the man, “Stand up and go. Your faith has made you well.”
You are blessed today with the privilege of hearing the Gospel and have much to be thankful for.
You that are Christians today have much to be thankful for.
I believe that as Christians we ought to be the most thankful people on the face of the earth.
Think a minute. You have been blessed beyond measure.
Even if you are not saved this morning you should be giving thanks.
Just look at what the Lord has done!
You are alive! You are here!
He has allowed you to live yet another Sunday hoping that you will give your heart to Him!
I think all of us here have pretty good health, and the list goes on and on.
And if you are a Born again Child of God you are saved from the torments of hell.
You are delivered from the punishment of sin.
What more has God done for you?
What is He doing right now in your life?
What thanks are you giving to Him?
In our text Jesus healed ten lepers and only one came back to thank Him.
Boy does that one ever hit home! It has been 2000 years and people still haven’t changed!
You can do and do and do and it never seems to be enough for some people.
You do for them, you give to them and if you are lucky maybe one out of ten will come to you and say thank you!
Surely this was a disappointment to our Lord as He asked, where are the nine?
Where are the nine?
Are they back with there friends?
Are they back in the world and the worldly ways?
Have they totally forgotten what they just went through?
It seems like such a simple thing to do.
Where are the nine?
Are they like so many people today, cry and whine to Jesus for help through some thing that has happened in their lives?
Then as soon as it is taken care of and everything seems to be all right off they go again.
Then what if they don’t think that God did a good enough job for them what do they do next?
Complain and turn against God!
When will people ever learn?
This is not a Burger King world, you can’t have it your way all of the time.
There comes a time that you have to do it God’s way!
If you only give half way to God why do you expect Him to give you 100%?
It’s time to wake up!
People today are not a bit different in our time?
People today might be even worse than they were in the time that Jesus walked the earth.
I can tell you for sure that people haven’t changed!
A few Sunday’s ago we had a new person come to church and what was the first thing that came out of there mouth?
Can you give me a little money, I’ve had hard times come upon me.
So I knew better than to give a person money before church started so I told them that I would help them after church and I did.
Do you know what the response was?
Is that the best that you can do!
So you can see that people haven’t changed and by the way that is only one story I could spend the rest of the day telling you stories about people that never say thank you, just a simple thank you.
Time and time again you are blessed with the goodness of God Are you taking the time to show Him your appreciation?
Make a joyful noise unto the Lord. Enter into His gates with thanksgiving.
Psalm 100:1-5
1 A psalm of thanksgiving.
Shout with joy to the LORD, O earth!
2 Worship the LORD with gladness.
Come before him, singing with joy.
3 Acknowledge that the LORD is God!
He made us, and we are his.
We are his people, the sheep of his pasture.
4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving;
go into his courts with praise.
Give thanks to him and bless his name.
5 For the LORD is good.
His unfailing love continues forever,
and his faithfulness continues to each generation.
As a nation, the United States, has been blessed beyond measure.
And as we observe our people day in day out, week after week, year after year, we see a vast number too busy with the cares of life to take time out to enter into the Lord’s gates.
Each Sunday many of our church buildings are nearly empty and our sports stadiums are packed.
Do you think that our Lord is disappointed?
You know in your heart that He is. Look at the way that we feel when we are treated that way!
Where are the nine?
Do you know that the one that did come back to thank Him was a Samaritan?
The Samaritan people was a race that was despised by the Jews.
There was a deep hatred between the Jews and the Samaritans.
See the Jews saw themselves as pure descendants of Abraham.
The Samaritans were a mixed race produced when the Jews from the northern kingdom intermarried with other peoples after Israel’s exile.
So you see the Samaritan was the last person on earth that Jesus and the disciples ever thought would come back to give thanks.
That man was not only healed but he also received salvation!
Enter into his gates with thanksgiving in our hearts.
I. What God Has Done:
What has God done for you? ( tell some of your stories )
If you are a Christian today then you can rejoice with the Psalmist in Psalm 40:1-3
1 I waited patiently for the LORD to help me,
and he turned to me and heard my cry.
2 He lifted me out of the pit of despair,
out of the mud and the mire.
He set my feet on solid ground
and steadied me as I walked along.
3 He has given me a new song to sing,
a hymn of praise to our God.
Many will see what he has done and be astounded.
They will put their trust in the LORD.
When we looked to God with repentance, He heard us.
He lent us His ear. He saved us.
He lifted us up out of the horrible pit of sin.
He set our feet on solid ground.
He established our goings.
He put a new song in our mouths. Praise God!
If you are not a Christian this morning you can be.
If you will turn to the Lord, Jesus Christ, and seek Him with all your heart, He will hear your cry.
He will bring you up out of the miry pit of sin.
He will make a new creature out of you.
He will set you on the rock. He will establish your goings.
He will put a new song in your heart.
He will save you from the torments of hell.
You can thank God today that you have this opportunity.
Not only do you have this opportunity, but all of your family, friends, and countrymen also have the same opportunity.
That is the greatest blessing that any people can ever have.
That is the opportunity to be lifted out of the pit of sin and established in the Kingdom of righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.
Not only does He lift us up out of the pit of sin, He also loads us every day with His benefits.
Let’s look at, Psalm 68:1-35
1 Arise, O God, and scatter your enemies.
Let those who hate God run for their lives.
2 Drive them off like smoke blown by the wind.
Melt them like wax in fire.
Let the wicked perish in the presence of God.
3 But let the godly rejoice.
Let them be glad in God’s presence.
Let them be filled with joy.
4 Sing praises to God and to his name!
Sing loud praises to him who rides the clouds.
His name is the LORD
rejoice in his presence!
5 Father to the fatherless, defender of widows
this is God, whose dwelling is holy.
6 God places the lonely in families;
he sets the prisoners free and gives them joy.
But for rebels, there is only famine and distress.
7 O God, when you led your people from Egypt,
when you marched through the wilderness,
8 the earth trembled, and the heavens poured rain
before you, the God of Sinai,
before God, the God of Israel.
9 You sent abundant rain, O God,
to refresh the weary Promised Land.
10 There your people finally settled,
and with a bountiful harvest, O God,
you provided for your needy people.
11 The Lord announces victory,
and throngs of women shout the happy news.
12 Enemy kings and their armies flee,
while the women of Israel divide the plunder.
13 Though they lived among the sheepfolds,
now they are covered with silver and gold,
as a dove is covered by its wings.
14 The Almighty scattered the enemy kings
like a blowing snowstorm on Mount Zalmon.
15 The majestic mountains of Bashan
stretch high into the sky.
16 Why do you look with envy, O rugged mountains,
at Mount Zion, where God has chosen to live,
where the LORD himself will live forever?
17 Surrounded by unnumbered thousands of chariots,
the Lord came from Mount Sinai into his sanctuary.
18 When you ascended to the heights,
you led a crowd of captives.
You received gifts from the people,
even from those who rebelled against you.
Now the LORD God will live among us here.
19 Praise the Lord; praise God our savior!
For each day he carries us in his arms.
20 Our God is a God who saves!
The Sovereign LORD rescues us from death.
21 But God will smash the heads of his enemies,
crushing the skulls of those who love their guilty ways.
22 The Lord says, “I will bring my enemies down from Bashan;
I will bring them up from the depths of the sea.
23 You, my people, will wash your feet in their blood,
and even your dogs will get their share!”
24 Your procession has come into view, O God—
the procession of my God and King
as he goes into the sanctuary.
25 Singers are in front, musicians are behind;
with them are young women playing tambourines.
26 Praise God, all you people of Israel;
praise the LORD, the source of Israel’s life.
27 Look, the little tribe of Benjamin leads the way.
Then comes a great throng of rulers from Judah
and all the rulers of Zebulun and Naphtali.
28 Summon your might, O God.
Display your power, O God, as you have in the past.
29 The kings of the earth are bringing tribute
to your Temple in Jerusalem.
30 Rebuke these enemy nations these wild animals lurking in the reeds, this herd of bulls among the weaker calves.
Humble those who demand tribute from us.
Scatter the nations that delight in war.
31 Let Egypt come with gifts of precious metals;
let Ethiopia bow in submission to God.
32 Sing to God, you kingdoms of the earth.
Sing praises to the Lord.
33 Sing to the one who rides across the ancient heavens,
his mighty voice thundering from the sky.
34 Tell everyone about God’s power.
His majesty shines down on Israel;
his strength is mighty in the heavens.
35 God is awesome in his sanctuary.
The God of Israel gives power and strength to his people.
Praise be to God!
He loads us with righteousness.
He puts His power in us, which enables us to live right.
We are able to do the right thing.
We are able to live holy, upright lives through the power of His Holy Spirit.
This is not a once in a while thing, but daily we are loaded with this great benefit.
His power is over us as His children and He is present with us to establish our goings in every thing that we do.
He daily loads us with peace. Peace of mind, peace of heart, peace with God, peace with our fellow man.
Peace like a river. Peace that passeth all understanding.
Peace that no one else can give.
Peace that only comes from living with God in control.
Daily He loads us with joy; the joy of living, the joy of giving, the joy of praise, the joy of salvation - there is no end to the joy He loads us with.
Our Lord is Good. We have much to be thankful for.
Psalm 107:1-8
1 Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good!
His faithful love endures forever.
2 Has the LORD redeemed you? Then speak out!
Tell others he has saved you from your enemies.
3 For he has gathered the exiles from many lands, from east and west, from north and south.
4 Some wandered in the desert, lost and homeless.
5 Hungry and thirsty, they nearly died.
6 “LORD, help!” they cried in their trouble, and he rescued them from their distress.
7 He led them straight to safety, to a city where they could live.
8 Let them praise the LORD for his great love
and for all his wonderful deeds to them.
Yes, Oh, that men would praise the Lord.
We have so much to be thankful for and His mercy and goodness reaches out to every one today.
He stands ready to deliver you that are bound by sin today, just as he delivered the children of Israel in time past.
He delivered them out of all their distresses and He will deliver you out of all your distresses if you will repent of your sin and turn your heart to Him.
Do you long to live right?
Do you hunger to live the right way that God would have you to live?
Listen to what the Psalmist is saying to you as we go on,
Psalm 107:9-43
9 For he satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things.
10 Some sat in darkness and deepest gloom, miserable prisoners in chains.
11 They rebelled against the words of God, scorning the counsel of the Most High.
12 That is why he broke them with hard labor; they fell, and no one helped them rise again.
13 “LORD, help!” they cried in their trouble, and he saved them from their distress.
14 He led them from the darkness and deepest gloom; he snapped their chains.
15 Let them praise the LORD for his great love and for all his wonderful deeds to them.
16 For he broke down their prison gates of bronze; he cut apart their bars of iron.
17 Some were fools in their rebellion; they suffered for their sins.
18 Their appetites were gone, and death was near.
19 “LORD, help!” they cried in their trouble, and he saved them from their distress.
20 He spoke, and they were healed, snatched from the door of death.
21 Let them praise the LORD for his great love and for all his wonderful deeds to them.
22 Let them offer sacrifices of thanksgiving and sing joyfully about his glorious acts.
23 Some went off in ships, plying the trade routes of the world.
24 They, too, observed the LORD’s power in action,
his impressive works on the deepest seas.
25 He spoke, and the winds rose, stirring up the waves.
26 Their ships were tossed to the heavens and sank again to the depths; the sailors cringed in terror.
27 They reeled and staggered like drunkards and were at their wits’ end.
28 “LORD, help!” they cried in their trouble, and he saved them from their distress.
29 He calmed the storm to a whisper and stilled the waves.
30 What a blessing was that stillness as he brought them safely into harbor!
31 Let them praise the LORD for his great love and for all his wonderful deeds to them.
32 Let them exalt him publicly before the congregation and before the leaders of the nation.
33 He changes rivers into deserts, and springs of water into dry land.
34 He turns the fruitful land into salty wastelands, because of the wickedness of those who live there.
35 But he also turns deserts into pools of water, the dry land into flowing springs.
36 He brings the hungry to settle there and build their cities.
37 They sow their fields, plant their vineyards, and harvest their bumper crops.
38 How he blesses them!
They raise large families there, and their herds of cattle increase.
39 When they decrease in number and become impoverished
through oppression, trouble, and sorrow,
40 the LORD pours contempt on their princes, causing them to wander in trackless wastelands.
41 But he rescues the poor from their distress and increases their families like vast flocks of sheep.
42 The godly will see these things and be glad, while the wicked are stricken silent.
43 Those who are wise will take all this to heart; they will see in our history the faithful love of the LORD
Yes, He gathered, He sent His word, He led, He delivered, He satisfieth, He saved, He broke out bands, He healed, He blessed us with the Gospel, He gave His son a sacrifice for our sins,
He daily loadeth us with His benefits.
Oh that every one would praise the Lord for His goodness and mercy.
Oh that all would take the time to be thankful, to give thanks, to show Him their appreciation.
Think about the Pilgrims that came over on the Mayflower.
They wished only to worship God in Sprit and in Truth.
The year had been very difficult.
The Pilgrims had crossed an Ocean, suffered hunger, disease, pain and half of them had died.
In the spring, they planted a crop, the summer passed and with the fall came a harvest and hope for survival for the few that remained.
They set aside a day and gave thanks.
Perhaps you are having or have had a tough year and the future looks dark. Do not despair, lift up your eyes to God.
He loves you and waits to be gracious to you. But like I tell you every Sunday He waits on us, but never will He force Himself upon us!
As the Pilgrims did hundreds of years ago, let us too give thanks unto God for we are alive.
But you know, we should not just set a day aside to give thanks, but we should be giving thanks every day, every hour of every day!
We have survived and have great hope for the future of our people.
Let’s read in, Deuteronomy 8:10-14
10 When you have eaten your fill, praise the LORD your God for the good land he has given you.
11 “But that is the time to be careful! Beware that in your plenty you do not forget the LORD your God and disobey his commands, regulations, and laws.
12 For when you have become full and prosperous and have built fine homes to live in,
13 and when your flocks and herds have become very large and your silver and gold have multiplied along with everything else,
14 that is the time to be careful. Do not become proud at that time and forget the LORD your God, who rescued you from slavery in the land of Egypt.
Yes, when life is full with many things to do and many places to go, it is easy to forget God.
Let us take heed to the warning given by the Bible and be sure to give thanks and to be truly thankful.
Give thanks with a grateful heart!
Indeed most of us in our nation have plenty to eat.
We have good homes to live in. Our wealth is multiplied.
We are full and have so much to be thankful for.
No people that ever has lived or that lives today has as much to be thankful for as the people of our nation.
Beware, lest thou forget God!
II. Give Thanks:
The Bible instructs us how to live and how to be thankful
Colossians 3:1-17
1 Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits at God’s right hand in the place of honor and power.
2 Let heaven fill your thoughts. Do not think only about things down here on earth.
3 For you died when Christ died, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God.
4 And when Christ, who is your real life, is revealed to the whole world, you will share in all his glory.
5 So put to death the sinful, earthly things lurking within you. Have nothing to do with sexual sin, impurity, lust, and shameful desires. Don’t be greedy for the good things of this life, for that is idolatry.
6 God’s terrible anger will come upon those who do such things.
( Think about God’s anger when you are faced with the temptations of saten )
7 You used to do them when your life was still part of this world.
8 But now is the time to get rid of anger, rage, malicious behavior, slander, and dirty language.
( get rid of your old life )
9 Don’t lie to each other, for you have stripped off your old evil nature and all its wicked deeds.
10 In its place you have clothed yourselves with a brand-new nature that is continually being renewed as you learn more and more about Christ, who created this new nature within you.
( glory to God! We are ready to start a new life )
11 In this new life, it doesn’t matter if you are a Jew or a Gentile, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbaric, uncivilized, slave, or free. Christ is all that matters, and he lives in all of us.
( the Church of God should never have any barriers against any person, race , or nationality, Christ breaks down all barriers and accepts all who come to him )
12 Since God chose you to be the holy people whom he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.
13 You must make allowance for each other’s faults and forgive the person who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others.
14 And the most important piece of clothing you must wear is love. Love is what binds us all together in perfect harmony.
15 And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts. For as members of one body you are all called to live in peace. And always be thankful.
16 Let the words of Christ, in all their richness, live in your hearts and make you wise. Use his words to teach and counsel each other. Sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to God with thankful hearts.
17 And whatever you do or say, let it be as a representative of the Lord Jesus, all the while giving thanks through him to God the Father.
Colossians 1:9-14
9 So we have continued praying for you ever since we first heard about you. We ask God to give you a complete understanding of what he wants to do in your lives, and we ask him to make you wise with spiritual wisdom.
10 Then the way you live will always honor and please the Lord, and you will continually do good, kind things for others. All the while, you will learn to know God better and better.
11 We also pray that you will be strengthened with his glorious power so that you will have all the patience and endurance you need. May you be filled with joy,
12 always thanking the Father, who has enabled you to share the inheritance that belongs to God’s holy people, who live in the light.
13 For he has rescued us from the one who rules in the kingdom of darkness, and he has brought us into the Kingdom of his dear Son.
14 God has purchased our freedom with his blood and has forgiven all our sins.
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
16 Always be joyful.
17 Keep on praying.
18 No matter what happens, always be thankful, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.
You are blessed today with the privilege of hearing the Gospel and have much to be thankful for.
I to encourage you to give thanks.
You that are Christians today have much to be thankful for.
I believe that as Christians we ought to be the most thankful people on the face of the earth.
Think a minute.
You have been blessed beyond measure.
You are saved from the torments of hell.
You are delivered from the punishment of sin.
You are alive.
You live in a nation that has received more of the goodness and mercy of God than any nation ever before or since.
What more has God done for you?
What thanks are you giving to Him?
Are you putting Him first in your life?
Do you know that he puts us first every morning that we wake up?
Every day that He allows us to live Jesus Christ is thinking of us!
Are you willing to put Him first this morning and invite Him into your heart?
