Luke #42: The Life of Gratitude

A Chain Reaction

Lets play a game. I”ll describe a situation to you and you tell me what has just happened.

You are watching the jumbo tron and you see a woman crying… jumping up and down saying yes yes yes… what just happened?

What about this one:

A group of kids wearing matching pajamas all looked shocked then one at a time begin to smile, laugh, then hug their parents

What about this...

A young man in the hospital, walking up to complete strangers giving them hugs or shaking hands then giving them a cigar...

Three situations where people react in exactly the same way… but all three caused by different experiences.

Have you ever felt joy like that?

Joy is a good description, but there’s much more going on here. There’s a life change.

Something happened to you that caused a change in you, and produced a response from you.

Which brings us to today’s text from the Gospel of Luke. Today we look at a story of Jesus that is completely unique to the Gospel of Luke, it’s the only Gospel that records the encounter.

Luke 17:11–13 NIV

11 Now on his way to Jerusalem, Jesus traveled along the border between Samaria and Galilee. 12 As he was going into a village, ten men who had leprosy met him. They stood at a distance 13 and called out in a loud voice, “Jesus, Master, have pity on us!”

Lev 13.

Bacterial disease… legions… highly infectious… caused a loss of feeling or paralysis… leading to injuries that often got secondary infections…

Numbers 5:2–4 NIV

2 “Command the Israelites to send away from the camp anyone who has a defiling skin disease or a discharge of any kind, or who is ceremonially unclean because of a dead body. 3 Send away male and female alike; send them outside the camp so they will not defile their camp, where I dwell among them.” 4 The Israelites did so; they sent them outside the camp. They did just as the Lord had instructed Moses.

UNCLEAN… 6 ft - then 150 ft

Leper colony… Jews and Samaritans… Misery loves company

Years since they’ve been touched or hugged

Lev 14 describes the process for being made “clean”… show to priest and let him inspect… not healed, but accepted.

Luke 17:14 NIV

14 When he saw them, he said, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went, they were cleansed.

It took some faith for them all to be healed… they all went… they were all healed…

I imagine their reactions “AS THEY WENT”… skin clearing… fingers and toes

Luke 17:14–19 NIV

14 When he saw them, he said, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went, they were cleansed. 15 One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice. 16 He threw himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him—and he was a Samaritan. 17 Jesus asked, “Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? 18 Has no one returned to give praise to God except this foreigner?” 19 Then he said to him, “Rise and go; your faith has made you well.”

One reaction was different… all were healed… but one was made well. One experienced saving grace… he was different

What happened to him, did something in him, that now demanded something from him… he went back to worship… to give thanks.

Samaritan was the only one… outsider…

Why is gratitude so important?

1 Thessalonians 5:18 NIV

18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

Ephesians 5:17–20 NIV

17 Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is. 18 Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit, 19 speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord, 20 always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Philippians 4:4–7 NIV

4 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 5 Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. 6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Psalm 100:4 NIV

4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name.

Psalm 103 NIV

Of David. 1 Praise the Lord, my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name. 2 Praise the Lord, my soul, and forget not all his benefits— 3 who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, 4 who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, 5 who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s. 6 The Lord works righteousness and justice for all the oppressed. 7 He made known his ways to Moses, his deeds to the people of Israel: 8 The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love. 9 He will not always accuse, nor will he harbor his anger forever; 10 he does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities. 11 For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; 12 as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us. 13 As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him; 14 for he knows how we are formed, he remembers that we are dust. 15 The life of mortals is like grass, they flourish like a flower of the field; 16 the wind blows over it and it is gone, and its place remembers it no more. 17 But from everlasting to everlasting the Lord’s love is with those who fear him, and his righteousness with their children’s children— 18 with those who keep his covenant and remember to obey his precepts. 19 The Lord has established his throne in heaven, and his kingdom rules over all. 20 Praise the Lord, you his angels, you mighty ones who do his bidding, who obey his word. 21 Praise the Lord, all his heavenly hosts, you his servants who do his will. 22 Praise the Lord, all his works everywhere in his dominion. Praise the Lord, my soul.

Why is it so hard to live with attitude of gratitude?

Human heart… we find ourselves like the lepers… Jesus please have mercy on us… and quickly it becomes… Never mind… I don’t need Jesus after all.

Enemies of Gratitude

Enemy of Gratitude: Comparison

Matthew 20:11–12 NIV

11 When they received it, they began to grumble against the landowner. 12 ‘These who were hired last worked only one hour,’ they said, ‘and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the work and the heat of the day.’

When you compare yourself to others, it’s hard to appreciate your life when all you see is what you don’t have...

Enemy of Gratitude: Entitlement

I want it… I deserve it…

Prodigal and his brother…

Luke 15:11–12 NIV

11 Jesus continued: “There was a man who had two sons. 12 The younger one said to his father, ‘Father, give me my share of the estate.’ So he divided his property between them.

The younger brother - I want it now

Waiting in line... Bad service!

What took years or decades for the father to accumulate — took the son weeks or months to squander

We see this today in kids striving to obtain the same lifestyle that my parents have!

Then there’s the other side… I deserve it.

WE saw this in the older brother:

Luke 15:29–30 NIV

29 But he answered his father, ‘Look! All these years I’ve been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends. 30 But when this son of yours who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him!’

If someone owes you more… how can you ever expect to appreciate what you have?

Where entitlement says this is what I deserve… Pride says see what I’ve done...

Enemy of Gratitude: Pride

Snoop Dog

Last but not least, I wanna thank me I wanna thank me for believing in me I wanna thank me for doing all this hard work I wanna thank me for having no days off I wanna thank me for, for never quitting

I wanna thank me for always being a giver And tryna give more than I recieve I wanna thank me for tryna do more right than wrong I wanna thank me for just being me at all times

Deuteronomy 8:11–17 (NIV)

11 Be careful that you do not forget the Lord your God, failing to observe his commands, his laws and his decrees that I am giving you this day. 12 Otherwise, when you eat and are satisfied, when you build fine houses and settle down... 14 then your heart will become proud and you will forget the Lord your God, ... 17 You may say to yourself, “My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me.”

Pride sees me as the source… giver of Good things

Enemy of Gratitude: Bitterness

Spoke to it last week… Bitterness extinguishes love...

Matthew 18:32–35 NIV

32 “Then the master called the servant in. ‘You wicked servant,’ he said, ‘I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. 33 Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?’ 34 In anger his master handed him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed. 35 “This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother or sister from your heart.”

Bitterness appears to be a wedge between me and another that is actually a wedge between me and God.

I can’t love God and hate my brother…

The other way bitterness works is when we blame God for our problems…

Enemy of Gratitude: Shortsightedness

Circle Maker… Play the Long Game… It’s hard to be thankful sometimes when we can see past right now’s difficulty.

Hebrews 12:7–8 NIV

7 Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as his children. For what children are not disciplined by their father? 8 If you are not disciplined—and everyone undergoes discipline—then you are not legitimate, not true sons and daughters at all.

In today’s YouVersion bible reading closed with a prayer… Lord show me there is a greater purpose for my life and that there is more to life than “this”

In today’s text, the Samaritan found that which was more… not just healing… but salvation… salvation that turned him around to praise.

Let your blessings turn you into praise.

What’s the alternative to praise? The alternative to not allowing blessings to turn us to praise… Pride, Entitlement, Comparison, Bitterness...

One of my favorite old school modern worship songs… i say that because the song is only about

[Verse 1] Blessed be Your name In the land that is plentiful Where Your streams of abundance flow Blessed be Your name [Verse 2] Blessed be Your name When I'm found in the desert place Though I walk through the wilderness Blessed be Your name

[Pre-Chorus] Every blessing You pour out I'll turn back to praise When the darkness closes in, Lord Still I will say [Chorus] Blessed be the name of the Lord Blessed be Your name Blessed be the name of the Lord Blessed be Your glorious name [Verse 3] Blessed be Your name When the sun's shining down on me When the world's all as it should be Blessed be Your name [Verse 4] Blessed be Your name On the road marked with suffering Though there's pain in the offering Blessed be Your name

Fixing your eyes on Jesus, fixes your heart.

Sozo… Faith has made you well…

Hemorrhaging woman - blind beggar - only spoken to outsiders, sinners,

Salvation is the key to gratitude

Philippians 4:11–13 (NIV)

12 I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation… I can do all this through him who gives me strength.

Faith is the key… but not just any faith… it’s saving faith is the key to our selfish heart.

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THE GREAT THANKSGIVING

The Lord be with you.

And also with you.

Lift up your hearts.

We lift them up to the Lord.

Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.

It is right to give our thanks and praise.

It is right, and a good and joyful thing, always and everywhere to give thanks to you, Father Almighty, creator of heaven and earth. You formed us in your image and breathed into us the breath of life.

When we turned away, and our love failed, your love remained steadfast. You delivered us from captivity, made covenant to be our sovereign God, and spoke to us through the prophets.

And so, with your people on earth and all the company of heaven we praise your name and join their unending hymn:

Holy, holy, holy Lord, God of power and might, heaven and earth are full of your glory. Hosanna in the highest.

Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest.

Holy are you, and blessed is your Son Jesus Christ.

Your Spirit anointed him to preach good news to the poor, to proclaim release to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, and to announce that the time had come when you would save your people. He healed the sick, fed the hungry, and ate with sinners.

By the baptism of his suffering, death, and resurrection you gave birth to your Church, delivered us from slavery to sin and death, and made with us a new covenant by water and the Spirit.

When the Lord Jesus ascended, he promised to be with us always, in the power of your Word and Holy Spirit.

On the night in which he gave himself up for us, he took bread, gave thanks to you, broke the bread, gave it to his disciples, and said:

"Take, eat; this is my body which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me."

When the supper was over, he took the cup, gave thanks to you, gave it to his disciples, and said:

"Drink from this, all of you; this is my blood of the new covenant, poured out for you and for many for the forgiveness of sins.

Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me."

And so, in remembrance of these your mighty acts in Jesus Christ, we offer ourselves in praise and thanksgiving as a holy and living sacrifice, in union with Christ's offering for us, we proclaim the mystery of faith.

Christ has died; Christ is risen; Christ will come again.

Pour out your Holy Spirit on us gathered here, and on these gifts of bread and wine.

Make them be for us the body and blood of Christ, that we may be for the world the body of Christ, redeemed by his blood.

By your Spirit make us one with Christ, one with each other, and one in ministry to all the world,until Christ comes in final victory and we feast at his heavenly banquet.

Through your Son Jesus Christ,with the Holy Spirit in your holy Church,all honor and glory is yours, almighty Father,now and forever.

Amen.

THE LORD'S PRAYER

Our Father, which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy Name.

Thy Kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread.

And forgive us our trespasses,

As we forgive them that trespass against us.

And lead us not into temptation,

But deliver us from evil.

For thine is the kingdom,

The power, and the glory,

For ever and ever. Amen.