Faith Working Through Thanksgiving

Luke 17:11-19.

Now this is one of those old familiar stories, but it’s message for us needs to hit us a fresh today.

Observation 1.

Lukes emphasis in his gospel account is to show us that Jesus is particularly concerned with the outcasts, the lowly, the broken, the sick. This shows up in our text here. To be a leper was a terrible thing. These men were excluded from society, from their families, their only social dealings were amongst their own leprous community.

Observation 2.

The Leapers all start out in faith. vv 13,14. They take Jesus at His word and go to the priests to be evaluated. John 2:23-25. John 6:66.

Observation 3.

One turns back.

His gratitude is greater than His cry for mercy. vv 15;16

He is a Samaritan. What is the significance of this detail? Luke holds off on mentioning it for emphasis? He is a stranger to the things of God? Yet He is the one praising and thanking God. Probably the others are Jews.

Observation 4.

Jesus disappointment. vv 17,18

Those who were of the household of God, did not give glory to God. A foreigner is the only one.

Observation 5.

The one leper goes away healed and made whole or saved. v19

His gratitude demonstrated that his faith was a saving faith. Genuine faith is made known in thanksgiving. The one leper is saved from the greater disease of ingratitude because His faith ran deeper than to the outward cleansing of his leprousy ( great as that was!) And Jesus assures him that he has been made whole in both body and soul. “Arise, go thy way: thy faith hath made thee whole.”

The other lepers while cleansed outwardly, now suffer from a greater disease which is ingratitude. And what an awful disease we as humanity have contracted from the devil and from our first parents. But for the grace of God, naturally, we are all bent toward ingratitude. Romans 1:21“For even though they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish heart was darkened.”

The other 9 lepers and many with them, do not understand that their souls and their hearts are diseased, and sick with sin and their greatest need is to be cleansed of this. But so many come to Jesus for surface level cleansing. Maybe it’s an ailment, an addiction, financial struggles, struggles with immorality, or whatever, and they might be freed from whatever that is, but there is no gratitude to be found, no worship and glorifying God, no devotedness to Him. “Where are the nine, where there not ten cleansed.” R.C. Sproul points out that most commentators don’t fully grab hold of idea of ingratitude. Probably, these nine lepers went away with much gratitude, they probably had families that they were restored to and so on. He says it’s fair to say they were probably very grateful. But they were not grateful to God. You here people express gratiutude in all sorts of ways while dodging the real giver. I thank my lucky stars, or just say I’m so thankful in general. But specific thanks to God is what Jesus is looking for here.

I had a friend who was a professing Christian who I watched go through this. It was alcohol, then this struggle, and that struggle, and it seemed I would watch the Lord deliver him from all of these struggles and He would turn right back into something else, or the same thing. I never heard him thank God. And I don’t believe he ever thanked God from the heart.

We need to look back with gratitude and praise for all God has done for us in Christ.

Application.

As believers, how do we avoid this disease of ingratitude? We have been freed from our bondage to it. But the presence of sin and the reality and danger of ingratitude still lurks around. How do we avoid it?

a. Calling to mind God’s great deliverances. Remembering our sins and how God has so mercifully dealt with them in Christ. Call to mind your past sins. I am often lead to worship when I once again see what God has forgiven and delivered me from.

b. Beginning our prayers with thanks. We know how brother Brian begins his prayers. Somebody tell me? The reason he does it is because it’s Scriptural. can anyone tell me a passage where we would see this?

Ephesians 5:20 “always giving thanks for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God, even the Father;”

Colossians 3:17 “And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.”

Philippians 4:6 “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and petition with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.”

Colossians 4:2 “Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving;”

1 Thessalonians 5:18 “in everything give thanks, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”

Lets Pray.