Where Are The Nine? Thanksgiving Sermon

DO YOU KNOW HOW THANKSGIVING DAY CAME INTO EXISTENCE?

Illus: The crew of the Mayflower had set their sites to land in northern Virginia, however, things did not work out that way. The Mayflower landed at Plymouth Rock, off Cape Cod, in November 1620. Once they landed, half the ship's crew and pilgrim passengers died from pneumonia in that first winter. Later, when things began to look better, they were blessed with a bountiful harvest. Governor William Bradford declared that a feast would be held to give thanks for the harvest.

The thanksgiving feast held in 1621 lasted 3 days, however it was not repeated until 1623, when a severe drought, which led the Pilgrims to invoke divine intervention, was ended by providential rains.

In the next 200 years, thanksgiving feasts were held intermittently throughout the New England area although many, including Thomas Jefferson, were opposed to celebrating what was viewed as a strictly local religious observance, as a national holiday. The custom caught on, however, and in 1863 Abraham Lincoln proclaimed the fourth Thursday in November as a national day of thanksgiving.

Each president thereafter annually proclaimed a Thanksgiving Day holiday, usually designating it as the fourth Thursday in November, until 1941 when Congress officially made the fourth Thursday in November a national Thanksgiving Day holiday.

Thanksgiving Day is a religious holiday. But like so many of our religious holidays, the devil does all he can to sidetrack the purpose of observing them.

For example, the day that has been set aside to give thanks unto the Lord for His bountiful blessings in our lives, is quickly being changed to:

• Turkey Day

• Parade Day

• Football Day

We can’t help but wonder how God feels about blessing us the way He has, and having people celebrate Thanksgiving without even taking time to stop from what they are doing, and look up and say, “GOD, THANK YOU FOR YOUR BLESSINGS ON MY LIFE, HOME, NATION, AND MY CHURCH!”

But let the world in which we live decide which way they are going to celebrate Thanksgiving. We cannot do anything about that as much as we wish we could, but let us celebrate it the way it should be celebrated.

Let me show you three things.

I. THANKSGIVING SHOULD BE CELEBRATED DELIBERATELY

Look at Luke 17:11-17, we read, “And it came to pass, as he went to Jerusalem, that he passed through the midst of Samaria and Galilee. And as he entered into a certain village, there met him ten men that were lepers, which stood afar off: And they lifted up their voices, and said, Jesus, Master, have mercy on us. And when he saw them, he said unto them, Go show yourselves unto the priests. And it came to pass, that, as they went, they were cleansed. And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, and with a loud voice glorified God, And fell down on his face at his feet, giving him thanks: and he was a Samaritan. And Jesus answering said, Were there not ten cleansed? but where are the nine?”

Notice, in this passage of scripture, the Lord healed ten lepers of this deadly disease called leprosy. This is one of the most horrible diseases that mankind has ever had to encounter. The flesh literally rots off the body. Those who are attacked by this disease die a tortuous death.

The Lord healed ten of them, and only one came back to express his gratitude. He was so grateful for what the Lord had done for him.

Look at verse 16, we read, “And fell down on his face at his feet, giving him thanks: and he was a Samaritan.”

The Lord was pleased that he returned, but He said this in verse 17, “Where are the nine?”

The Lord then, and the Lord now is looking for people that will show gratitude for His blessings. Being grateful is not a gift that we are born with, it is something that we have to teach ourselves to do.

Illus: Have you ever watched parents with a small child, when a man, out of the kindness of his heart, gives the child a lollipop? The parents stand there saying, “What do you tell the nice man?”

The child slides the lollipop in his/her mouth, and the Mother is really getting embarrassed as she says with a different voice again, “What do you tell the nice man who gave you the lollipop?”

The child takes a look at the nice man and does not have the slightest idea of what to say. Finally, the mother says, with a stronger voice, "Tell the nice man THANK YOU!”

And the child very reluctantly pulls the lollipop out of his/her mouth and finally says, “Thank You!”