Thanksgiving 2019
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Thanksgiving 2019
Thanksgiving 2019
34 Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
for his steadfast love endures forever!
13 And now we thank you, our God, and praise your glorious name.
;
17 I will give to the Lord the thanks due to his righteousness,
and I will sing praise to the name of the Lord, the Most High.
13 But we your people, the sheep of your pasture,
will give thanks to you forever;
from generation to generation we will recount your praise.
I thes 5:
18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.
Psalm 79:13
Our text today will be Luke 17:11-19
Luke
Welcome Guests - If you are a guest, we are very glad that you are here. Thank you for coming today. If you missed getting that guest card in the offering plate would you fill that out and leave it in your seat. We would love to know that you were with us.
This is a beautiful time of year.
So many of us look forward to reconnecting with family. There is travel, guests at your house.
Most importantly this is a great time to tend to your heart.
Important time to tend to you heart.
Important time to check your spiritual growth.
As we begin into the holiday season now is the time to make a special push spiritually. Now is the time to draw close to God.
There are some in this room who would say. I’ve been slow in engaging in growing in the Lord this Fall.
Now is the time - engage with the Lord fresh today.
Pray
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.”
Thanksgiving
Intro Construction -
Opening Illustration - Growing up in my parents house at Thanksgiving my mom would cook a wonderful traditional thanksgiving meal. You could count on the fact that there would be 3 candy corns laying next to your plate on the table. Our tradition was to go around the table 3 times and share 1 thing you were thankful for. Each time you shared you ate 1 candy corn. We would do this before the prayer as the turkey was before us.
As a teenage young man I would like to be able to tell you that I was eager to share the blessings of the year. However, I saw those 3 candy corns as the obstacle that must begrudgingly be passed through to get to the turkey and mash potatoes.
There were times that my heart wasn’t humbly thankful as it should have been. We have all been in this place.
This brings us to the question we will answer today ...
How do I construct a thankful heart?
Constructing a thankful heart.
Answering the question - What does it take to construct a thankful heart?
You may have never had someone with leprosy instruct you in godliness, but today we will.
The first thing that we see is this.
If you are going to have a thankful heart you too must confess your need to Jesus.
Transition? 1 thing is for sure. The lepers saw their need. And they confessed their need to Jesus.
1 thing is for sure. The lepers saw their need. And they confessed their need to Jesus.
I. I must confess my need. (Luke 17:11-13)
The Lepers’ need was obvious. They had a disease that was incurable.
BUT - Their need went passed a physical sickness.
Lepers were outcasts of society.
The Leprous looked different in the
45 “The leprous person who has the disease shall wear torn clothes and let the hair of his head hang loose, and he shall cover his upper lip and cry out, ‘Unclean, unclean.’ 46 He shall remain unclean as long as he has the disease. He is unclean. He shall live alone. His dwelling shall be outside the camp.
Commentary - Clothes must be torn. Hair hangs loose, covered mouth, yelling unclean when they traveled, lived alone - away from population, and considered unclean.
In the N.T. lepers were believed to have leprosy because they had sinned or someone in their family had sinned (or a curse or punishment was passed to them from past generations).
A lonely people, who were without a family. These 10 were a family to themselves.
Had to yell “Unclean” when traveling around so others could stay away.
Thickening of the skin - especially on the face. They looked different. They were ugly.
Even their relationship with God was interupted by this disease
They could not worship like everyone else. They could not go to the Temple to worship like everyone.
Here is the point. These 10 Lepers knew they needed help from God. They knew that they needed God to provide for them.
So, when they saw Jesus, they confessed their need.
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.”
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.”
They were outcasts.
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
let me ask you these questions:
Do you have a heart that is humble, that believes that daily you need help from God?
Do you regularly cry out to Jesus and say, “Have mercy on me.”
If not, what is holding you back from having a humble heart that cries out to the Lord for help?
As a pastor - One of the best things about going to visit people who are sick is that the sickness usually humbles them. In their humility there is an extra tenderness and awareness of their need for God not only physically, but also spiritually.
Illustration - The times in my I’ve gotten badly sick (like the flue) I am always amazed at how good I felt one day and then 2 days later feel like I’m going to die.
About 10 years ago I got the flu. I remember laying on my couch thinking, “I’m sure sometime in life I’ve felt this bad and been this sick, but I don’t remember when.” I was amazed at how I had gone from strength to frailty.
Sometimes it is difficult to believe that we have needs.
-You need strength to not only get through your day at work, but to thrive at work.
-You need to God’s help not only to survive in marriage, but to love your spouse.
-You need grace to not just be patient with that very difficult person in your life, but to have compassion on them.
-You need help in not only getting the bills paid, but to have joy in the midst of financial stress.
We all need help. God is asking us to confess our need of help to him.
What will you confess to God in your heart that you need help with?
Will you confess to him right now, in your seat? God I need help with … (PAUSE)
To confess your need to God, you must be humble.
You can’t take care of your needs.............
If I am to construct a heart of Thankfulness. I must confess my need to God.
Transition - This next point is really a continuation of the first.
Not only must I confess my need to God, but ...
II. I must believe that all my needs are met by God. (Luke17:13)
Our Lepers say this ...
13 and lifted up their voices, saying, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.”
Commentary - The Lepers were convinced that God and God alone could help them. They called Jesus by a title “master”.
By using this title “Master” - they were conveying that they knew He had authority. In their case, authority over disease.
Not only does Jesus have authority over disease He has authority over all the universe.
Speaking of Jesus, the book of Hebrews tells us more about His authority...
3 He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,
Jesus by His authority holds up all things by His power.
He holds up the connection of the atoms that make up your body.
-Authority over physical nature of the universe.
He holds up the organization of governments.
-Authority over the reign of mankind.
He holds up our economy and keeps it from falling into chaos.
-Authority over the dollar.
He has given you the ability to work and any skill that you exercise that brings income to your family.
-He has authority over you income.
He gives your immune system the ability to react to pathogens in your body.
-Authority over your health.
He gives you emotional strength so you are not fragile when tough relationships challenge you.
-Authority over your heart.
He knows and cares when the smallest sparrow falls to the ground and dies.
-He has authority over the balance of nature and living things.
“...He upholds the Universe by the word of His power...”
Any need that is met - ultimately comes from His hand.
Application
-You didn’t earn that paycheck all by yourself. God gave you the ability and desire to work hard - and skillfully. Ultimately any ability is from Him.
If I am going to construct a thankful heart - I must believe that
Today’s
all my needs are met ultimately by God - and God alone. (Pause)
Question - Do you believe that God has authority over every single relationship and aspect of your life?
If so, will you cry out to Him?
These men didn’t get to meet Jesus closely and beg at His feet for help.
These men asked from a distance. They asked without seeing the color of Jesus eyes. It was a great request, but they were not able to ask in an intimately close way.
Here’s the point - Even at a distance they fully trusted.
Application - Have you ever struggled with the fact that you can’t see and touch Jesus like those in the NT and because of that it is sometimes hard to really trust and have faith in Jesus? Let me tell you a secret. We all have struggled with this before.
(This may not fit this sermon) The Samaritan didn’t worship in Jerusalem. He worshiped at Mount Garizim Never had a priests minister to him before
(This may not fit this sermon) The Samaritan didn’t worship in Jerusalem. He worshiped at Mount Garizim Never had a priests minister to him before
Transition - If we are going to construct a thankful heart ...
III. Yesterday’s hurts cannot overshadows today’s joys.
17 “But when he came to himself, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have more than enough bread, but I perish here with hunger! 18 I will arise and go to my father, and I will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. 19 I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Treat me as one of your hired servants.” ’
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.”
17 “But when he came to himself, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have more than enough bread, but I perish here with hunger! 18 I will arise and go to my father, and I will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. 19 I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Treat me as one of your hired servants.” ’
Luk
LUKE 15:17
Only one Leper returned to give thanks.
Look who that Leper was (vs. 16) - a Samaritan.
Not only was this man an outcast because he was a Leper, he was an outcast because he was a Samaritan.
The Jews hated Samaritans. They called them dogs and considered them half-breeds.
By jewish standards touching a Samaritan would make you ceremonially unclean.
The region of Samaria was in the middle of Israel and connected the north (Galilee) from the south (Judea).
When traveling, the shortest distance between the north and south was to go through Samaria.
The Samaritans were so hated that Jews would walk an extra day’s journey and go around Samaria, just to avoid the dirty Samaritans.
Racism or bullying a certain group is not just an issue in America - there is some kind of racism in every region of the world.
Racism is in the sinful heart of humankind.
Do you think this Samaritan had been taught to hate Jews? Probably.
Do you think this Samaritan had been excluded by Jews and treated poorly? Definitley
(Pause and slowly) Did the painful past of this Samaritan keep him from having a thankful heart for the Jew that healed him? No.
The question for us today is thi
Application
There are people in this room that are struggling to have a thankful heart because of a deep hurt in their past.
Maybe even this year there was a wound that took place that has left you so hurt that you feel stuck on the inside.
Maybe that wound has dealt a deep blow to your heart and you have struggled to keep the hurt from controlling you.
God is calling you right now to re-surrender that hurt and bring a sacrifice of praise to the Lord.
(Slow) To construct a thankful heart I must not let yesterday’s hurt overshadow today’s joys.
The question for us today is this will I construct a thankful heart to God?
Will I confess my need to Him?
Will I believe that He can meet all of my needs.
Will I keep from allowing yesterday’s hurts control my joy in Jesus?
Gospel
As I close I want you to look into your text at verse 18 and see how Jesus refers to the Samaritan.
18 Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?”
One of the things that we see is that Jesus loves the foreigner.
It is our nature to be suspicious of the foreigner, but Jesus absolutely loves the foreigner.
Why is this important?
Speaking to Gentiles - non Jews - you (a foreigner) are described in...
12 remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. 13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.
There are those here today who have a condition that is much worse that fatal leprosy.
There are some today in this room who are far from God.
You are far from God, under the judgement of God, because your sins are held against you.
You are far off - because you your sin separates you from God. While you are in church today (which is good) -
Your sin causes you to be further from God than the furthest visible star in the night sky.
There is good news. Jesus loves the one who is far off.
Jesus wants to bring you near to Him today.
Jesus wants to bring you near to Him today.
Jesus right now is inviting you to confess your need of Him, confess your sin, and trust that only He can meet your spiritual need because of the payment He has made on the Cross.
Will you today say “yes” to Jesus?
_________________________________________________
Not treated fairly. Sinned against. Looked down upon. Abused. Not given the same opportunity as others.
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vs. 12-13, “…who stood at a distance and lifted up their voices...”
These men didn’t get to meet Jesus closely and beg at His feet for help.
These men asked from a distance. They asked without seeing the color of Jesus eyes. It was a great request, but they were not able to ask in an intimately close way.
Here’s the point - Even at a distance they fully trusted.
Application - Have you ever struggled with the fact that you can’t see and touch Jesus like those in the NT and because of that it is sometimes hard to really trust and have faith in Jesus? Let me tell you a secret. We all have struggled with this before.
(This may not fit this sermon) The Samaritan didn’t worship in Jerusalem. He worshiped at Mount Garizim Never had a priests minister to him before
Samaritan - foreigner
Not treated fairly. Sinned against. Looked down upon. Abused. Not given the same opportunity as others.