What God Owes You

Welcome

Well, good morning friends! Welcome to Lifepoint. If we haven’t met yet, my name is Dan and I serve here as the teaching pastor for the Worthington Campus.

If you’ve got a bible, open with me to Luke 17:11-19. 

New Guest Language

If this is your first time here…

Thanksgiving Greetings

Introduction

And while you’re turning there…

In 2003, psychologists Robert Emmons and Michael McCullough published the results to their ground breaking study on Gratitude and Thankfulness. 

Here’s what they did: They took three groups of people who were all asked to take time each week to journal.  The first group, the gratitude group, was asked to only write about things they were thankful for during the last week.  The second group, the hassled group, was asked to write about what had frustrated them during the week and the the third group was simply asked to write about anything that had affected them during the week, whether good or bad.  

At the end of 10 weeks, what they found was that participants in the gratitude group felt better about their lives as a whole and were 25% happier than the hassled group.  They reported fewer health complaints, and exercised an average of 1.5 hours more.  They even found that participants in the gratitude group were more likely to offer others more emotional support or help with a personal problems!  

And this was really the first time anyone could scientifically back up many popular beliefs about gratitude and thanksgiving--and they proved that being thankful actually makes us healthier and happier.  

And if you look closely, most of the articles that popped up on your timeline and newsfeed this week about why you should be thankful all use the findings from this study!  

But here’s what I find so amazing about what Emmons and McCullough discovered. 

How easy it is to cultivate a lifestyle of gratitude and thanksgiving!  

I mean all they suggest you need to do--and most articles follow suit--is really take some time each to reflect on things that you should be grateful for! 

Maybe write out a ‘thank you’ note every now and then or let someone know that you’re grateful for what they’ve done. There’s not much more you need to do!  

But if really is that easy and that good for us, that begs the question: 

Why do we need so many reminders to be thankful?  

It’s because there’s a problem with thankfulness.  See, it’s not hard to be thankful. It’s just much easier not to be.

It’s not hard to be thankful, it’s just really easy not to be.

Isn’t it true? 

You may have even realized it on Thursday evening, right?  I mean most of take at least a few moments to think about things that we should be thankful for on Thanksgiving...and almost every year we’re reminded of some big things that we hardly even REMEMBER! 

Why?  

It’s not hard to be thankful, it’s just really easy not to be.  

And in our passage we’re looking at this morning, we’re going to see Jesus respond to this problem with thankfulness and actually address what makes it so easy to NOT be thankful! 

So if you’re not there yet, would you open with me to Luke 17:11-19.

Let me the text, pray, and then we’ll get started.  

Luke 17:11–19 ESV

11 On the way to Jerusalem he was passing along between Samaria and Galilee. 12 And as he entered a village, he was met by ten lepers, who stood at a distance 13 and lifted up their voices, saying, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.” 14 When he saw them he said to them, “Go and show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went they were cleansed. 15 Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice; 16 and he fell on his face at Jesus’ feet, giving him thanks. Now he was a Samaritan. 17 Then Jesus answered, “Were not ten cleansed? Where are the nine? 18 Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?” 19 And he said to him, “Rise and go your way; your faith has made you well.”

PRAY

Rising Action - Tell the Story

Alright, let’s get started.  Look with me at v. 11.  

Jesus is traveling with his disciples to Jerusalem which at the time was the center of all the religious activity in Israel.   

Jesus has been going around from village to village all throughout Israel healing and preaching about the Kingdom of God.  And as he’s doing this, more and more people are beginning to follow him.  People in one city hear that he’s coming toward their city and so they prepare for him to get there…and usually, it was those who were sick and dying that wanted to see him most.  

They wanted to meet him because word had spread that he was able to heal them and there was a whole set of EXPECTATIONS that people had developed for what would happen in an encounter with Jesus--the belief was ‘If you met him, and he talked with you, HE WOULD HEAL YOU.’

And as Jesus approached this particular city, He’s met by 10 men who had Leprosy.  

In the bible, ‘Leprosy’ is a general word for different kinds of skin infections and in the Old Testament, God gave commandments to his people about these infections.  

If someone showed any symptoms of Leprosy, they were supposed to go to the priests for inspection.  It was only the priest who could definitively say if you were infected or not.  And if you did have Leprosy, you couldn’t live in the city...because it could spread too easily to everyone else.   

But friends, don't just hear that as a medical quarantine. I want you to try and feel the emotional weight of that for a moment. To be a leper meant you were untouchable.

It meant the last time you hugged your spouse was the day you left home. It meant you couldn't tuck your children into bed or wrestle with them on the floor. If your own mother saw you on the road, you had to shout 'Unclean! Unclean!' to warn her to stay away.

It wasn't just a skin disease; it was a sentence of radical loneliness. It was the feeling of being utterly unwanted and dangerous to the people you loved the most.

And Leprosy was common enough, that colonies would form outside cities, so you’d have all these people with different skin infections gathering to live together. 

And in Luke 17, Jesus is probably passing by one of these Leper colonies.  

And while these 10 men are standing off at a distance--they begin to call out to Him.  Look with me at v. 13,

Luke 17:13 ESV

13 and lifted up their voices, saying, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.”

They’re asking for Jesus tp heal them, right?   They want Jesus to see their situation and do something about it!   Remember, news about Jesus had spread all over the country and people had a set of expectations of what He would do for them.  

But look at Jesus response to them in v. 14.

Luke 17:14 ESV

14 When he saw them he said to them, “Go and show yourselves to the priests.”

That’s it.  That’s all he says.

Which, at first, sounds a bit like he’s just passing the buck to someone else!  Like it’s not his problem, right?

But that’s not what was going on.

See, the Priests weren’t just the ONLY ones who would declare you had leprosy, they were also the ONLY ones who could confirm you’d be cured!  

And so when Jesus says, ‘Show yourselves to the priests.’ he’s not trying to dismiss them...he’s actually demonstrating his power over their sickness!   

That’s an incredible picture of Jesus, isn’t it?  He doesn’t need to touch them...he doesn’t need to go through a special ceremony...he doesn’t need to have a conversation with each one to figure out exactly what’s wrong with them!  All he needs to do is desire that they be healed and it happens! 

And what’s amazing, is these guys actually go, right?  Jesus tells them to do exactly what the Old Testament said they should do when they had been cured! And they go!  

Look with me at the end of v. 14,

Luke 17:14 ESV

14 …And as they went they were cleansed.

AS THEY WENT!

They didn’t wait for any kind of confirmation. They didn’t wait to start feeling better! 

Jesus said, ‘Go’.  So they went!  Believing something had happened. 

And that, by itself, is a profound picture of faith!  

And you can imagine for a moment, that as they realize what’s happened to them--that as they went, they’ve been healed!  That the very thing that has kept them expelled from their communities, their families, is gone.  The stories they heard about Jesus were true and he did exactly what they expected him to do!

PAUSE

Now we’re not told what these guys do when they realize they’ve been healed.  They probably go to the priests because as soon as their declared clean, they can get back to their lives...pick up where they left off...be reunited with their families and celebrate with them! 

The One Returns

But we do know that one of them has a different response from the rest.  V. 15. 

See, while the nine are on their way, one of them, overcome with everything that’s just happened decides that he’s going go back to Jesus first! 

And when he get’s there, he falls on his face, thanking Jesus for what he’s done!  

And the kicker is--he’s a Samaritan.  Which isn’t an important detail for us, until you realize that in Jesus day, the Jews really looked down on the Samaritans...they were second class…they were not part of God’s People and they certainly weren’t the ones to understand or do what God expected his people to do! 

And yet this Samaritan’s life has been radically changed in a matter of moments and it’s not because he’s done anything to deserve it, but because Jesus had mercy on him….Jesus did for this man what he could not do for himself and as a result, he has a new life--he has been healed!  

And Jesus points out the irony here in v. 17 saying

Luke 17:17–18 ESV

17 Then Jesus answered, “Were not ten cleansed? Where are the nine? 18 Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?”

Now, let’s be clear...Jesus isn’t upset he didn’t get credit from the other guys! 

No, no...you see, he’s pointing out that the outsider...the one who’s not supposed to “get it”…is the only who is truly thankful for what’s happened to him!  

And the whole scene ends with Jesus saying to the man in v. 19,

Luke 17:19 ESV

19 “Rise and go your way; your faith has made you well.”

But when Jesus says this, there is something much deeper, going on than just sending this Samaritan man off.  You see that phrase right at the end there, your faith has made you well...makes it sound like Jesus is talking about the healing that’s just happened.  But remember, ALL 10 were already healed!  

Actually, in the original language of the New Testament, what Jesus says here is ‘your faith has saved you!  You see, in this man’s response to Jesus, falling at his feet and thanking him...there is so much more going on then just a physical healing, there is a spiritual restoration that has taken place! 

Climax:

And it really is a short story, but you see, I think when we get the full picture here of what happened, Jesus actually makes a very profound statement about thankfulness!  That thankfulness is our response to God’s undeserved kindness!  His undeserved Mercy...his undeserved compassion!  That’s why Jesus emphasizes the fact that this guy is a Samaritan, if there’s anyone who doesn’t deserve God’s mercy, it’s a Samaritan! 

They’re outsiders!  They weren’t following God’s commandments! 

And yet because of his response, the Samaritan is the only one who actually experiences the true healing!  He is truly restored and made well!  And not because he’s earned it, but because he’s recognized that Jesus has done something for him that he did not earn or deserve himself! 

Jesus was NOT on the hook for this guy!  

And yet, it’s his thankfulness that brings about what he really needs!  It’s his thankfulness that restores him...his thankfulness for God’s undeserved kindness!  

And I’d say the same is true for us today!  That true thankfulness is our response to God’s undeserved kindness!  And so we can begin to look through our lives...and see where God has engaged with us and, as followers of Jesus, we respond in that same way as the Samaritan!  And I’m not talking about a Hallmark-Card, feel-good, sentimental kind of thankfulness, but a fall-on-your-face-in-worship thankfulness! 

You see it is thankfulness that leads us, just like the Samaritan, to the worship, celebration, and enjoyment in how God has engaged with us!  If there is one thing were supposed to walk away thinking about from this story it’s that thankfulness is our response to God’s UNDESERVED kindness! 

Falling Action: Why Don’t The Nine Come Back?

But...I wonder...even after an entire week of most of us  thinking about what we’re thankful for--even for just a few moments...I wonder if we have this kind of thankfulness.  

Friends, it’s not hard to be thankful...it’s just much easier not to be.

You know, when I read this story, there’s this nagging question that I keep coming back to...and it’s a question that I think we’re supposed to be asking with this story. 

PAUSE

Why didn’t the nine Lepers come back?

PAUSE

It’s odd, isn’t it?  

All 10 of them asked Jesus for mercy.   All 10 of them, before even being healed, decided to follow Jesus’ instructions to go to the priests. All 10 of them are cleansed!

And yet, nine of them simply go on their way and we never hear anything else about them again?

So why aren’t they thankful like the Samaritan?  

PAUSE

What if…

What if it’s because Jesus did exactly...what they expected him…to do?

Think about it for a moment.

PAUSE

This is subtle, but we really aren’t grateful when people do things for us that they're supposed to do, right? 

When someone owes us something, we aren’t really thankful that they hold up their end of the deal...Like I’m not necessarily grateful that the city plows my streets when it snows because I pay taxes for that!

I’m sure most of you aren’t really thankful when you’re boss pays your salary each month, right?  Yes, you might be thankful you have a job or a well paying job, but you’re supposed to get paid! 

That’s what they're supposed to do! 

And when you read this story, you almost get the sense that this is the same kind of feeling that the nine lepers had, right? 

They found Jesus...the miracle worker...they called over to him...asked him to Have mercy...and in their minds, He’s on the hook to do fix them! 

When you look at it that way, it’s actually not hard to see why they simply kept going, is it?

It’s because…in their minds…healing is what Jesus is supposed to do for them! It’s what they deserve. And let’s be honest for a moment... a lot of times, we believe the same thing, don’t we?

We subtly tell ourselves that there is a benefits package that God owes us. We treat our relationship with God like a contract. We think, "I’ve been a good person. I’ve gone to church. I’ve tried my best. So, God, here is my invoice." And on that invoice, we list things like: A spouse. [expand] Kids. [expand]. Health. Success. A pain-free life.

And friends, this is where we get into trouble. Because as long as we view life as a contract—as long as we think God is an employer who owes us a paycheck—we will never be truly thankful.

Think about it. You don't write a "Thank You" note to a vending machine when it gives you the candy bar you paid for, right? You just get mad when it eats your dollar! If you think God owes you, you won’t worship Him when life is good; you’ll just feel satisfied that the transaction went through. And when life is hard? You’ll feel cheated. You’ll feel like God broke the deal.

But here is the hard truth, and I say this with love, especially to those of you hurting today: God is not your employer. He is your Father. And life isn't a wage you earn; it is a gift you receive.

Some of us need to hear this this morning: The 3-bedroom condo? That’s not a right; it’s a gift. A spouse, children, even your health? These aren't things we are entitled to; they are graces we are entrusted with.

And I know that pushes against our culture. But listen—when you stop seeing these things as rights you are owed, and start seeing them as gifts you didn't earn... that is when gratitude actually explodes! Because you realize that in His kindness, He gives us so much. But we have to see that He gives and takes away not because He’s satisfying a contract, but because He is a loving Father who is writing a story we can't always see the end of yet.

PAUSE

Some of us need to hear this this morning: God does not owe you a 3 bedroom condo...he does not owe you a house in the suburbs...he does not owe you a new job, he does not owe you a spouse...he does not owe you your health...he does not owe you children...he does not owe you an escape from pain and suffering!  

And yes, in his kindness, he gives us many of these things! 

But what we have to see is that it’s he gives and takes away not because he’s obligated, not because we’ve earned them, but because He is loving!

Gospel/Resolution

And friends, this is where the Gospel comes in. Because the Gospel is the ultimate story of God’s undeserved kindness!

You see, when we look at Luke 17, what we have to admit is that...we are the Lepers. And I don’t mean we are outcasts. I mean that, like them, we have a condition we can't fix on our own. Scripture calls this sin. And it’s more than just breaking rules; it’s like a spiritual infection. It separates us from God, it separates us from each other, and it vandalizes the life God wants for us. We are the ones in need of a cure that we cannot invent ourselves.

And here is the incredible news. Religion says: "Clean yourself up, get cured, and then you can come to God." But the Gospel says: "God came to the Leper colony."

God showed us an undeserved kindness in Jesus. He didn't stay distant. He entered our world. He walked into the mess. And when Jesus went to the cross, look at what happened. He took the full weight of that infection onto himself. He let the consequences of our sin—the death, the separation, the darkness—fall on Him instead of us. He didn't do it because He had to. He didn't do it because He was forced. He did it to break the power of the sickness so that we could be healed.

Paul puts it this way:

2 Corinthians 5:19 ESV

19 …in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself…

Jesus took the death we were heading toward, and He let it die with Him on the cross. And then He rose again to offer us a new life—a restored life!

And He does all of this, not because we earned it. Not because we passed the test. But simply to demonstrate the magnitude and the depth of His love for us. Friends, this is the Gospel. That we were sick, and the Doctor sacrificed Himself to save the patients.

And our response... the only reasonable response... is just like that of the Samaritan man... a fall-on-your-face-in-worship thankfulness!

So What?

So we ask the question:  How does the Gospel help us to be thankful?  

But friends, do you see:

It’s only when we truly believe God owes us nothing that we are actually liberated to be thankful for everything.

And it is this kind of thankfulness gives us a new perspective any kind of life situation!  Because, as followers of Jesus we are freed to see that full satisfaction, true healing, and restoration is not found getting what God ‘owes’ us...they are not found in our vision of the Good Life...in our marital status, our children, or even our health! No!  They are fully in the undeserved kindness we have been shown in the Gospel--because it’s in the Gospel that once and for all shown us that God cares, he loves, and there is hope that he will restore all things!  As followers of Jesus, we can respond in thankfulness even when everyone else around says we don’t have anything to be thankful for right now!  

And this kind of thankfulness is not a once a year kind of deal...but it develops as we regularly, daily remind ourselves of the Gospel--and the story of God’s undeserved kindness towards us!

Let me close with this. 

The Thirty Years War is known as the longest, and deadliest religious war in European history.  Between 1618 and 1648 over 8 million people were killed...whole cities destroyed...families ripped apart.  Horrendous things being committed on all sides. 

During that time, one German pastor, Martin Rinkart is said to have buried almost 5,000 citizens and congregants in one year...including the devastating process of having to bury his own wife.  

His church was ravaged by the war, famines, plagues and on average, he would conduct 50 funerals each day that year.  

And yet, in the midst of the darkness of that year, he sat down with his surviving children to write out this prayer that would become a regular for them as they gathered for dinner:

Now thank, we all, our God With Heart, and Hands, and voices; Who wondrous things has done In Whom his world rejoices

Who, from our mother’s arms, Has led us on our way With countless gifts of love And still is ours today.

Oh may the bounteous God Through all our life be near us With ever joyful hearts And blessed peace to cheer us.

And keep us still in grace And guide when perplexed And free us from all ills In this word and the next. 

Friends, true thankfulness is our response, not to what God owes us...but to God’s undeserved Kindness.  And because of this, thankfulness truly is easy. 

Would you pray with me?