Learning to Be Thankful Week One: The Ten Lepers

Life Crew 11.15-16

Introduction

Have you ever put a lot of time and energy into making someone a gift or doing something nice for them… only for them to not even say thank you? Like they didn’t even notice how much trouble you went to to do that for them?

[Share a personal story of when this happened to you.]

It’s not that I did it to receive a “thank you,” but I never expected that he wouldn’t even pause to notice what I had worked so hard on.

How did it make you feel to be overlooked instead of thanked?

Yeah, it doesn’t feel good. It definitely doesn’t make me want to do it again!

But here’s the other side of this problem… I know I have 100% been the person who accepts the blessing and then forgets to ever even say thank you.

[Story of Rob feeling put-off by not even getting a verbal “thank you” when he saw us after gifting us the dresser]

[Compare with story of running into Green a year after receiving the gift and saying thank you and how meaningful it was.]

Transition

Jesus shares a story in the Gospel of Luke about a group of people that He performed a miracle for… and this story teaches us a lot about Thankfulness.

We are talking about Thankfulness obviously because Thanksgiving is in two weeks! So this is a great time of year to practice being grateful for what god has done and what He has given us. So let’s read this story and learn what Thankfulness really looks like.

Luke 17:11-19

11 Now on his way to Jerusalem, Jesus traveled along the border between Samaria and Galilee. 

Jesus did not avoid hard people or hard places.

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!”

These guys knew the power Jesus had because of His reputation, and they begged Him for mercy.

We often shout our requests to God because we know He can answer them. However, unlike these guys, we aren’t asking for mercy. We are demanding with expectation. “You had better do this for me or we are never talking again because you owe it to me.”

Maybe the reason our prayers have gone unanswered is because of they way we have been talking to God.

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

They had to start on their way as if they were clean before they were actually healed. Their faith healed them on the way.

When God answers our prayers, we are excited. The other nine could not wait to get to the temple and present themselves as clean! This is understandable. When God does an amazing work in your life, you’re excited about it! You want to go life in the freedom or fullness of what you have been healed for, etc. But then we forget to thank the one who gave us the miracles.

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.”

The challenge here is to be the one who offers thanks.

The leper came loudly praising God for the way he was healed.

What Thankfulness Looks Like

This leper’s response to Jesus teaches us a few things about what true thankfulness looks like:

Thankfulness is Worship

Psalm 50:14 “Sacrifice thank offerings to God, fulfill your vows to the Most High…”

Before Jesus came, they worshipped God through offering sacrifices. They had different kinds for different sins, but they also had certain sacrifices for thankfulness to God. Thanks is not supposed to be a quick comment that acknowledges you got what you wanted—it is meant to be a heartfelt response to the God who gave it to you.

When the leper came back, he didn’t just say “Thanks, Man!”

He loudly praised God. He threw Himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked Him. This is humility in action.

He recognized that Jesus didn’t owe him anything. He wanted to worship God for the wonderful gift he had been given—healing.

Apply it Now: On your papers, answer this question: What is one thing you can thank God for from this last week that show him that you worship Him as the one who provides for you?

Thankfulness is Remembrance

Remembrance is a weird word. It just means that we actually remember the things that God has done for us!

Psalm 103:2 “Praise the Lord, my soul, and forget not all his benefits.”

David then goes on in the next few verses to give some examples of what God gives us:

Psalm 103:3-5 “Who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.”

Thankfulness is a way we pause and remember what God has already done.

The leper turned around to go say thank you to the giver of the gift.

Apply it Now: On your papers, answer this question: What is something God has done for you recently that you need to remember to say thank you for?

Thankfulness is Not Circumstantial

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 “Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”

ALL circumstances, he says. Now, this leper had a lot to be thankful for. Jesus had healed him of leprosy which was a disease that required quarantine—if you got leprosy you basically had to live in the wilderness by yourself and not touch anyone. So Jesus healing this guy of the disease was much cause for thanks!

But his life wasn’t perfect yet. We don’t know how long he had been sick out there, but we can guess he needed time to rebuild relationships with the friends and family that he had left behind. He would need to find work again.

But God had done a work for him, and he was ready to say thank you even in the midst of the unknowns.

He thanked Jesus BEFORE he was able to present himself as clean and re-enter society.

Are you willing to thank God in the middle of the mess for things He has already done, even when there is more you’re waiting for?

Apply it Now: Think of an area of your life that isn’t perfect. What is something you can thank God for in the midst of the mess?

e.g. Caleb has been long broken, but we have thanked God for His provision and for the love He has shown us through His people.

Ending

Jesus healed ten lepers—only one came back to say thank you. Don’t be the nine who ran off with the blessing. Be the one who comes back to thank God.

Be the one who worships—thanking God for who He is

Be the one who remembers—thanking God for what he has already done

Do it always — thanking God no matter what you’re facing in life